Five small stories of a Galaxy far far away.

The Stormtrooper officer stared at the hologram in front of him, that of a fellow trooper who he had commanded back on Tatooine. This soldier died bravely in hand-to-hand combat against a Trandosian. The man won, but succumbed to his injuries shortly after.

The officer had been the one to drag his body through the streets of Tatooine, the streets lined with stakes, all bearing the heads of Imperial soldiers and Stormtroopers.

Each stake, each head he passed, only further proved the truth.

'You are on the right side of history.'

He remembers how he screamed to the medic to save the brave soldier, to apply bacta, to do anything, but all the medic could do was tell him that the trooper was too far gone to save.

He didn't know the soldier, not at all, but it was his duty as an officer to look after the lives of all his troops. It was his duty… yet he lost a quarter of the legion in that accursed city! 2,000 brave men who had fought against the terrorist scum of the New Republic and the mercenary of the vile Hutts.

The officer had heard a rumour that the Grand Moff had killed a Hutt envoy, created soap from his fat and sent it back to the Hutts. He thought that such a response was too weak. She should have invaded their systems, annihilated their entire organisation and hunted down every last one of those fat slugs.

However, as long as the Grand Moff did not escalate to open warfare, neither would the Hutts.

Sighing, the officer called the Stormtrooper's familiar contact. It was only a few minutes before the call finally came through. Truly, holo-communication was a marvel, to be able to contact the other side of the galaxy near-instantly.

"Who is this?" asked a woman. She looked to be in her late 40's and her clothes were pretty shabby. She likely lived on one of the poorer planets.

"I am General Lauri. I am in charge of the Legion your son fought in."

The woman's face went from one of confusion to one of horror. The officer's heart went out to the lady. It weighed heavily, knowing that he was responsible for it. When the officer of your family member came calling, it meant that your family member had died in some way and this woman knew it.

"Your son died in heroic combat against Hutt mercenaries in the service of the Empire. He has been posthumously awarded the Medal of Valour and the Hero of the Empire Medal."

The woman began to sob, putting her hand over her mouth, trying to maintain a veneer of sociability, even while grief wracked her body.

"He… he died a hero," she said softly, trying to soothe herself.

"Yes."

The officer swallowed hard.

"According to new law, compensation for the loss of a family member in the military will provide a non-inheritable death gratuity of 2,000 credits each month as standard."

Although the salaries on each planet differed, the standard salary for a citizen was 1,000 credits per month. Lauri understood that once the Grand Moff learned that the payment for the death of a family member was 500 credits a month, she immediately had it increased. He didn't know if it was because she wished to be popular with the people, because she wanted more volunteers in the army, or because she really meant well with the citizens and the army.

Honestly, he held a rather low opinion of the upstart leader. She was corrupting the ideals of the Emperor... But the Emperor was dead. Was loyalty to the Emperor worth anything? Shouldn't he now turn that loyalty to the Empire?

"You can receive the income by referring to the nearest Imperial Army office. If there isn't one then ask for it at an ISB office."

The woman nodded, still sobbing.

"My son died for the Empire," the lady stated pitifully.

"And the Empire will not abandon those who sacrificed their lives for it," the officer replied. "Long live the Empire."

"Long live the Empire," the woman echoed, but she didn't seem quite convinced that the words were worth speaking.

The call was cut short and Lauri slumped back in his chair. He still had around 300 families to contact, to say the same words and tell them how they could get their 'compensation' from the state.

A ringing tone began to play from his handheld holocommunicator laid on the table in front of him. He picked it up and turned it on.

"This is General Lauri."

Before him appeared the captain of the ISD which he had been attached to.

"The Hutts have reacted to the Grand Moff's response. Apparently, they want a proxy war on Tatooine. There is talk of an invasion a million troops strong. Hutts' direct orders apparently."

"What should I do?"

"You are promoted to temporary Field Marshal of the army deployed on Tatooine. You are to prepare the ground and planetary defences. The Imperial fleet is to withdraw for the time being. If the ISB reports are correct, we would be heavily outnumbered by the invasion fleet."

Lauri sighed. He wouldn't be calling those families who had lost their children, he supposed. He would have to relegate it to his sergeants. Now the lives of even more troops were in his control, more men he would be responsible for the deaths of.

"I have about a million troops. I'll make short work of their unorganised army of gangsters!" The Captain nodded, visibly pleased with the General's declaration.

"Long live the Empire," said the Captain. "And long live Tanya Degurechaff."

Lauri raised an eyebrow. Was the Captain a reformer?

"Long live the Empire."

There was a moment of silence.

"And long live Tanya Degurechaff, Grand Moff of the Empire," finished Lauri.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rano Resuci stepped out of the ship which had brought him down to Naboo. As he did so, he was quickly greeted by a large delegation, even including the Queen.

"It is a pleasure that the home planet of the first Emperor remains loyal to the Empire. It would be a great shock to the entire Empire if your people's reputed love for democracy... was to be tarnished by rebellion."

Rano Resuci as the head of the ISB in Super Sector South heard many things, many rumours. He had ears and eyes on every planet. So it was that he heard that the Queen of Naboo had privately considered siding with the New Republic. Such thoughts had supposedly been choked out after seeing the constant failures of the New Republic to fend off Tanya Degurechaff's week-long offensive. So it was that Naboo stayed loyal.

"The Planet of Naboo and its inhabitants will always be loyal to the Empire, esteemed ISB Director.

He smiled at the Queen who turned around with the delegation. They walked through the harbour, then through the streets until they reached the main square of the city. At that public place stood two statues. One depicted a pair, that of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, and the other was that of Emperor Palpatine. They had been made in respect for the public heroes of their world.

"It is curious how such a peaceful planet has among its history such heroes. Anakin Skywalker, Padme Amidala, and Emperor Palpatine."

"Anakin was from Tatooine," the Queen corrected, as she continued walking.

"Although few know his story, Naboo honours him as a hero because he defended and protected Padme Amidala and the Republic during the Clone Wars."

They continued walking towards the palace, more statues residing on pedestals lining the path they took. A Togruta that was likely an ancient jedi of some sort, a Gungan that Rano Resuci couldn't identify, and other local heroes.

Soon they arrived at the palace and made their way indoors. Within the final destination of their entourage were dozens of chairs, and in those chairs sat the leading members of two philosophical currents. This was the reason Rano Resuci had come.

On the left were the representatives of Naboo who advocated that each planet should have its own local police force and that it should remain a civilian force, and on the right sat the representatives of Eriadu who advocated for a centralised police force on all planets and that such a force should be militarised.

Eriadu and Naboo were two of the most important planets in the politics of Super Sector South. The two planets, their ideologies antithetical to each other, found themselves in disagreement often. Democracy, compassion, and social services on one side. Militarism, authoritarianism and indifference to the weak on the other.

What struck Rano Resuci the most was that even though the capital was in Eriadu, that didn't mean they had more political power. He knew this for a fact. After all, the Grand Moff's hate for Tarkin came up often during 'private' conversations with the General Staff.

Not a day went by that she didn't insult him.

What was her catchphrase?

'The Tarkin Family's actions and their consequences have been disastrous for the Empire!'

Rano Resuci smiled. He could agree with that statement.

He moved forward through the rows of chairs, taking his seat in a central chair while the Amidala Queen sat on the throne. His entourage was already milling around the discussion area.

"As head of the ISB, I, Rano Resuci, am in charge of implementing the plan for a galactic police force. However, in keeping with the reformist spirit of our great leader Grand Moff Tanya Degurechaff, I have decided to enable this debate between our most important representatives on the creation of this police force. The aim of both groups during my week of stay is to convince me on which route to take. Now to start this in full, I will let the political scientists of Naboo take the floor first."

One of the elderly men among the Naboo representatives stood up. He was apparently the leader and would be the first to speak.

"I want to begin this debate with a question that I believe to be important. Can the Super Sector treasury afford to police a million planets? Can the Super Sector's treasury afford to maintain decent organisational control over a million planets? With all due respect, and fully utilising the rights given by the 50th Freedom of Speech Law issued by the Grand Moff, I consider the attempts by the Grand Moff to push for such strong centralisation a mistake. Let's say that the annual cost of a planet to maintain 500,000 police officers is approximately 1,000,000,000 credits. Just multiply that figure by one million. The result is 1,000,000,000,000,000 credits. With that money annually the Empire could build a shipyard on the level of Sullust. While it is important for the Empire to take direct control of certain things, it must also be willing to delegate, otherwise rampant state spending will prevent it from having sufficient resources for galactic-wide public works and the creation of military equipment so necessary to the war effort."

Rano Resuci nodded. He liked the old man's argument, although he was curious about one thing.

"Excuse me, may I ask a question?

"Of course," said the man with a smile.

"Why do you consider it necessary to mention Law N.50 on Freedom of Expression in your argument?"

The man laughed lightly.

"It's just that some members of the ISB haven't read the new regulations and have tried to arrest me when I openly criticised the policies of the esteemed Grand Moff. Not with subversive intent, but with the intent for constructive debate. I therefore consider it necessary to call upon the laws instituted by the Grand Moff herself."

Rano felt rather embarrassed with the knowledge that some of his subordinates had made such fools of themselves.

"I will see to it that they are punished appropriately," he said apologetically.

"No need. They were young, they still have the mentality of our former, and honestly not so esteemed, Emperor."

One of the members of the Eriadu delegation stood up and pointed his finger at the man in outrage.

"You dare insult the Emperor? You should be arrested!" the man said. To which the old man smiled.

"Freedom of Speech Law No. 50. I have the right to openly criticise the state as long as it is not on the grounds of inciting terrorism or rebellion."

Rano Resuci raised his hand to cease the conversation from escalating.

"I have come here in the presence of respected political scientists of conflicting philosophies. If I wanted to watch mindless animals fight, I would've gone to the coliseum, esteemed representative of Eriadu. So I invite you to take a seat and save the straw men for another time."

The humiliated man sat down and Resuci came to the realisation that this would be a long week.

"Now I will hear the arguments of Eriadu's political scientists."

A middle-aged man, wearing a garb reminiscent of an Imperial Army officer and bearing scars on his face, stood from his seat. He had likely served in a military organisation of some sort in the past.

"I apologise for the improper behaviour of one of my compatriots. I will punish him appropriately in private. However, I must now turn to the representative of Naboo and argue that while his arguments about expenses are true, he does not take into account the fact that in the past, most rebel forces were composed of local police forces who rebelled and as a result gained military equipment that would've been out of reach otherwise. We cannot rely on planetary governments for things that involve security forces or armies."

"Can you provide evidence for your argument?" Resuci asked.

"The army of Sullust that fought against the Empire was made up primarily from the local police force. The army on Tatooine was also what one may refer to as 'local police forces'..."

The man referred to dozens of planets where police forces were the main reason the New Republic had gained control. Many of them now acted as military forces for the New Republic.

"What do you have to say to that?" Rano Resuci said, looking back at the Naboo elder.

"It's hard for police forces not to rebel when the Imperial Army was often the investigator, judge and executioner of many situations. I am more than certain that with the reforms proposed by the esteemed Grand Moff, they will find little reason to reject Imperial authority."

The look of rancour from the Eriadu representative towards the Naboo representative had Resuci feeling the week lengthening ever more. He might be here for what will feel like a year by this point.

"Let the debate continue," declared the Queen of Naboo.

------------

Kal Rando wandered through the desert land of Geonosis. No living thing walked this planet but him and his company engineers. The sound of thrusters echoed through the planet. High above in orbit, a shipyard was being constructed. Millions if not billions of droids were in the process of building factories on the planet. Closely following Kal was a Super Tactical Droid.

"Estimated production in five months. 5 million B-1 droids, 1 million B-2 droids, 100,000 Tridroids, 100,000 T-1 class unmanned tanks, 50,000 Droidekas, 10,000 tactical droids, 1,000 super tactical droids among other productions."

Kal turned to the tactical droid.

"Per month?"

"Per month," the droid confirmed.

"The Separatist Secret Council will be pleased that their investment is going to pay off so quickly. As for the Black Hole Project, how many are being produced per month?"

"We predict that after the fifth month we will reach a production rate of 5 per month. I recommend testing its use on an uninhabited planet to find out what happens if the failsafe systems fail."

Kal thought for a second before looking out over the uninhabited deserts of Geonosis. He remembered all too well the Clone Wars, how they fought for independence for the Outer Rim, how they fought to break free of the Core.

To stop the tyranny of the Republic.

"Arse- No, she wouldn't want me to say her real name. Tanya Degurechaff can test it if she wants to, I'm not about to sacrifice one of her wonders for a test without her permission. Her plan is ambitious, but if it succeeds it will create a new era for space travel. It may make the economy worse but it will definitely give her more control on a galactic level... The Black Hole Project is a marvel of engineering."

The Super Tactical Droid nodded, continuing the briefing.

"The shipyard will be completed in five years, but production of starships can begin within one year. According to my calculations it is impossible to further advance construction times as we are already using maximum manpower capacity before construction efficiency decreases."

"What about the smart ship project?

"Engineers and computer scientists are still preoccupied with the possibility of making a spacecraft intelligent and self-controlled. The project continues, but has been delayed yet again. The prototype AI rebelled again."

"Order them to destroy it and start from scratch!" Kal stated strongly. "The AI must be submissive and cooperative. A rebellious AI will not do if we are to give it control of a spaceship!"

"Understood," the Super tactical Droid replied in monotone.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Eriadu, a figure made his way out of the capital city where the government of Tanya Degurechaff resided. This figure came to a clearing near a forest, sure that no one had followed him and that there were no dangerous animals nearby.

As he stepped off his speeder, the cloaked man pulled out a cigarette out of a pocket and lit it, contrasting the darkness of the night with the flame of his lighter. The cigarette slowly began to burn and he took a long drag.

Footfalls echoed throughout the clearing, as out of the woods came a man in full Mandalorian armour, its plating glistening. The man held a rifle in his arms and a pistol was holstered by his side.

"Bounty hunter, you're out of a job in this sector of the Galaxy," the hooded man said, a laugh hiding under his breath.

"Tell me what you want. I don't like to waste my time."

The hooded man finished the cigarette, stubbing it out and suffocating its embers before placing it in one of the pockets of his cloak. He didn't want to leave any trace that might give him away in case something went wrong.

"Since your work is now illegal, you may be interested to know that you could get work as a private investigator. I could get you a licence for the Super Sector and pay you well in exchange for serving as a sort of... personal agent."

A T-shaped visor stared blankly at the hooded man.

"Why shouldn't I just move? Go to the other side of the galaxy?"

The figure chuckled slightly and pulled something out of his pocket, showing it to the Mandalorian. It was a Beskar ingot.

"When the Empire was born, tightening control of Beskar made your people lose access to it. Now your people crave it as if it were water. I have access to good Beskar and I can pay you in it, if you do a good job."

The Mandalorian looked at the speeder the man supposedly came in on, looking for any clues as to the identity of this shadowy individual, but it was either rented from the city or stolen as he couldn't find any distinguishing marks. He lifted his gaze to try and catch a glimpse of the face of the speaker but he couldn't identify him either in the darkness.

"Who are you?"

"Call me Rat. It is an appropriate name. Now, will you accept my offer?"

"With that offer I could get you an entire Mandalorian clan."

"And would you get it for me?"

"If you gave me enough Beskar, yes."

"Unfortunately, that is not an option. I will give you Beskar every time you complete a task, however one cannot simply get it from the Central Bank of Eriadu. Are you in or not?"

The Mandalorian took a closer look at the Beskar. It was the real thing, not some fake or alloy. It was pure Beskar.

"I accept. What will my mission be?"

"To spy on Rano Resuci. I want you to keep an eye on him at all times and tell me who he hangs out with, who he makes deals with, what he does, why he does it. All of it."

"It's... dangerous to try and tail a subordinate of Degurechaff. A rumour in the city is that the ISB now applies torture to any terrorists who survive after attacking a loyalist of the Grand Moff."

"If you get caught, I'll get you out of there through my contacts. But I will only do so if you can prove yourself useful."

The Mandalorian swallowed as he looked at the Beskar.

"Consider me at your service, Rat."

"Good," said the man, approaching the Mandalorian and handing him a holocommunicator with his other hand.

"You will call me by this holocommunicator. Your nickname by which I will call you will be Field Marshal Lauri. When you speak to me, treat me as a military man would speak to his superior. Understood?"

The Mandalorian turned the holo-communicator on and the sound of a holo-call rang out from the man's suit. He pulled out his holo-communicator and turned it on. A hologram of a Legion Stormtrooper General appeared. On the Mandalorian's hologram appeared a blurry hologram that was indistinguishable.

"You really want to hide your identity. Count on me to do my job, Rat."

The hooded man smiled as the Mandalorian disappeared from his sight, and gradually the sounds of the ex-bounty hunter's footsteps faded from the clearing. Once again, the cloaked man heard nothing but the sounds of nature. He took out a second cigarette and lit it.

"It's my job to be paranoid, that's what I exist for," he said, with a smile. "If you don't want to be, then I will be."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Committee for Imperial Reformation met in a large rented hall. They were in Eriadu City after their mission had been successfully completed, but there were still several things to be done before they could show themselves to Degurechaff.

"Grand Moff Degurechaff, a few days ago, prevented the beginning of a civil war with the Moff Council," began the leader of the Committee, Ranel Tropoto. "Every time I hear of her actions I have no doubt that she is the figurehead that we have been waiting for, but we must be careful. She is not one to tolerate those who undermine her authority. I fear that factor may interfere with our plans. How can we reform the Empire with a Great Moff acting as a pseudo-Emperor? That is why I have called this meeting. To ask you all, what should we do?"

The fifty or so members, all heads of different reformation movements and groups, looked at each other, whispering and discussing. The Grand Moff was perfect for their plans, but her strong authority and willful attitude posed a problem. At any moment she could reveal herself to be a tyrant who would destroy them with no intention of cooperating in the reformation of the Empire.

"It is my belief," called out one of the aliens of the Reform Committee. Standing up, he possessed a humanoid appearance with thick short hair. He wore a traditional toga of his homeland and had been a senator during the Imperial era. "That we must stay hidden until she needs us. It is clear that she is quite the authoritarian, but she is no fool. If we wait for her time of need and aid her, the Grand Moff will welcome our help and see the profitability in close co-operation for the good of the Empire."

"And if it turns out that this is not so?" asked a human, who had similarly been a senator in the Empire. "What if she purges us regardless? Our reputation has crumbled ever since our radicals left the Empire and joined the New Republic. She might believe that we are sympathetic to the New Republic, when we hate those traitors certainly more than she does!"

Another non-human interjected. This one was also rather humanoid, its distinguishing features being the lack of eyes and a developed skull to be able to use echolocation with great accuracy.

"Agent Max Grobelnel could be of good help. Introducing Degurechaff to the concepts and ideas of our group, and he could be our connector for a peaceful union."

"What utter nonsense!" shouted another, this one was human. "Grobelnel betrayed us to get in Degurechaff's favour! He admitted it himself!"

The alien gave his companion an eyeless stare that made him shrink back.

"The man decided to put his loyalty to Degurechaff above us and gave us good warning about treading carefully, which may as well have saved us from any future mishaps. I believe that ex-agent Grobelnel wants us to unite peacefully with Tanya as much as we do. It may be that he fears that the… 'arrogance,' of some of our peers will paint a poor picture of our organisation and cause trouble for the partnership. It is therefore I say, that just as he warned us of the Grand Moff, so should he warn Degurechaff of ours. That way we slowly get to know each other, over the course of several informal meetings. With conversations calculated like a mathematical operation, eventually we will acquire a successful integration of our two parties."

The committee members looked to each other, discussing in hushed tones what should be done next.

Tropoto stood up from his chair.

"I have been convinced. Please Lraumean, I will ask you to initiate preparations for what you described should be our method of action."

The alien bowed slightly to Tropoto.

"It shall be done. It will be my great pleasure to help improve the Empire that saved my species from Tralan genocide. I will not fail in our peaceful approach to Tanya Degurechaff"