Palpatine
Cries were yelled as Palpatine appeared.
“
Order! Order!!” Mas Ameeda.
“You have my full assurance that I will not disband the Senate,” the Emperor told the large audience he had summoned to the Senate Rotunda. “Futhermore, I don’t want you to think of yourselves as mere accessories, ratifying legislation and facilitating the business of governing. I will seek your councel in enacting laws that will serve the growth and integrity of our Empire.”
He fell silent for a moment, then delivered his bombshell.
“The difference now is that when I have taken into account your contributions and those of my advisors, my judgment will be
final. There will be no debates, no citations of constitutional precedent, no power of veto, no court proceedings or deferrals. My decrees will be issued simultaneously to our constituent worlds, and they will take effect immediately.”
The Emperor leaned foreword in the high-backed chair, but not so far foreword that his disfigured face was placed in the full light.
“Understand this: you no longer represent your homeworlds solely. Coruscant, Alderaan, Chandrila… all of these tens of thousands of worlds far removed from the Core are cells of the Empire, and what affects one, affects us all. No disturbances will be tolerated. Interplanetary dquabbles or threats of secession will be met with harsh reprisals. I have not led us through three years of galactic warfare to allow a resurgence of the old ways. The Republic is
extinct.”
The Emperor took mental notes of their reactions for further announcements. Whispers crowded the Senate Auditorium like living things. The Emperor could feel their distress, but he felt their satisfaction, too.
A pop-up appeared on his screen. “The Senate recognizes Yarrl Poona of Commenor,” he announced in a ringing voice.
A small pod floated to the center of the Auditorium. “Your Majesty, if I may,” said the human Senator in a suitably deferential tone. “Perhaps you could shed some light on the matter of why the Jedi betrayed us. As you are undoubtedly aware, the HoloNet seems reluctant to provide details.”
The Emperor made a derisive sound. “The Order deserved all it received for deluding us into believing they served
me in serving you. The complexity of their nefarious plan continues to astound me. Why they didn’t attempt to kill me three years ago is something I will never understand. As if I could stand against them. If it were not for the recent actions of our guards and our troopers, I would be
dead.”
Palpatine’s off-color eyes glowed with hatred.
“In fact, the Jedi believed they could oversee the galaxy better than we could, and they were wiling to perpetuate a war simply to leave us defenseless and susceptible to their treason. Their vaunted Temple was a fort, their base of operations. They came to me with tales of killing General Grievous—a
cyborg nonetheless—and sought to arrest me because I refused to take them at their word that the fighting was suddenly over, the Separatists defeated.
“When I dispatched a legion of troopers to deal with them, the drew their lightsabers and the battle was met. We have to Grand Army to thank for our victory. Our noble commanders recognized the truth of the Jedi’s treachery, and they executed my commands with vigor. The very fact that they did so without question, without hesitation, suggests to me that our troopers had some inkling all along that the Jedi were manipulating events.
“We still lack confirmation that Vicery Gunray and his powerful allies are dead. That their battle droids and war machines stand motionless on hundreds of worlds we can take as a sign of their surrender. At the same time, however, we must focus our attention on solidifying the Empire world by world.”
Palpatine sat back in his chair.
“The Jedi Order is a lesson to us that we cannot permit any agency to become powerful enough to pose a threat to our designs, or to the freedoms we enjoy. That is why it is essential we increase and centralize our military, both to preserve the peace and to protect the Empire against inevitable attempts at insurrection. To that end I have already order the production of new classes of capital ships and starfighters, suitable for command by nonclone officers and crew, who themselves will be the product of Imperial Academies, made up of candidates drawn from existing star system flight schools.
“No less important, our present army of clone troopers is aging at an accelerated rate, and will need to be supplemented, gradually replaced, by new batches of clones. I suspect that the Jedi had a hand in creating short-lived armies in full confidence that there would be no need for troopers once they had overthrown the Republic and instituted their theocracy based on the Force.
“But that is no longer a concern.
By bringing the known worlds of the galaxy under one law, one language, the enlighted guidance of one induvidual, corruption of the sort that plagued the former Republic will never be able to take root, and the regional governors I have installed will prevent the growth of another Separatist movement.”
While everyone in the room was satisfied Palpatine was finished, the Senator from Rodia said: “Then species other than Human need not fear discrimination or partiality?”
Palpatine spread his crooked, long-nailed hands in a placating gesture. “When have I ever shown myself to be intolerant of species’ differences? Yes, our army is human, I am human, and most of my advisors and military staff are human. But that is merely the result of circumstance.”
When no one said anything, the Emperor smiled slyly. “This meeting is adjourned.”