Ascension of Greyson Uebles
All across the Empire sirens wail and announcements are made to prepare for a priority message from the Imperial Palace. Hours before, public places where decorated with flags and Imperial crests. Stormtroopers and law enforcement units are waiting in formation while the buzzing of Imperial speeders and spaceships fills the skies on thousands of worlds. Then suddenly silence enshrouds the Empire. The crowds of people of all races almost simultaneously look up anxiously at huge public trideo screens or at their private holoprojectors.
The Imperial Crest is displayed and the tunes of the Imperial march begin to play gently. The image fades and is soon replaced by a view of the large throne room from the Imperial Palace on Coruscant, a hall huge enough to house a Carrack Cruiser easily.
The black columns, each several stories tall, support the ceiling that is shrouded in dark mist. Row by row the view passes thousands of dignitaries, officers, Troopers and Royal Guards. Among them the surprising presence of the Lord General Disc00rd is noticed. The cam goes on, displaying the gloomy light reflected by ornate robes, polished armour and raised Force Pikes.
The end of the hall is occupied by a free floating platform carrying the throne and situated before a huge window, shaped like the Imperial Crest.
Now there is commotion and from behind the platform a company of Royal Guards enter, escorting the members of the High Command, led by Grand Vizier Correll Aintab and Darth Knyte.
They round the platform and form a double row while the constant whispering and mumbling in the hall fades.
Suddenly the camera angle swivels and high doors at the opposite end the tunes of the hall blast open and the tunes of the Imperial March get louder until they end in a crescendo. Silence descends as a tall figure in black silk and steel enters and begins walking across the lines of the attending crowd. His eyes are covered with a thin blindfold but still his gaze seems to pierce the twilight like a laser beam and his black cloak wavers in an otherworldly gust of icy air.
Several steps behind him three other men enter and follow him down the ranks. Grand Admiral Black Lodge in his white gala dress carries the large golden seal of the Empire on a velvet cushion. On the other side walks the fallen Dark Lord, Master Vodo Bonias, his black robes wavering in reflection of his new Masters cloak, his eyes locked balefully at the back before him. In his hands he carries a black gem the size of an egg.
Between them, a third figure is barely visible, as it’s outlines blur constantly and the pure darkness of it’s undistinguishable colour hurts the eyes of the spectators. Only the fiery red glow of a pair of eyes, hovering in this uneasing spectre remains stable.
The strange group continues and where they walk, the people at the left and right fall to their knees, as if they are glad that they can touch the reflecting red marble floor beneath them for support. For the first time in years, they are there together, Imperials Soldiers and Citizens, Officers, Governors, and the Sith. All of them.
They reach the platform and the leading man ascends the thirteen steps to the throne, where he stops and turns around. Greyson Uebles gazes at the people beneath him, radiating raw power and an aura of domination as he stands there silently. His three followers, accompanied by Correll Aintab and Darth Knyte follow him slowly, stopping one step beneath him, kneeling. Only the spectre goes one step further, again blurring, before the darkness recedes like a veil from it. A gasp echoes through the hall as some of the attendants recognize the ghostly apparition now that it revealed itself. Though translucent and surrounded by a numbing corona that lets him appear like a photographic negative, the features of Piett, long lost Emperor and Dark Lord of the past, are clearly distinguishable.
Piett turns around and receives the Imperial Seal from Black Lodge, before he turns again to place it onto Uebles’ simple black breastplate.
Then he turns again and takes the gem from Vodo Bonias and attaches it to Uebles’ forehead, where it seems to fuse with skin and bones before it fades away.
A wailing sounds briefly echoes through the hall, the sound of tortured souls suddenly muted and a hollow laughter escapes Piett's apparition.
Finally the two aspects of power are reunited… A hoarse whisper, but heard throughout the hall.
Now the Dark Side is in balance once more. Now you can lead us to victory my old Apprentice. I bow before you, Emperor Uebles…
With these words he is enshrouded by shadows once more and erupts in a bursting cloud of strange black birds that quickly vanish in the twilight.
For a second, everyone is stunned with exception to the Emperor and his Sith who look like they are listening to a far away voice uttering dark secrets, smiling coldly. Then Correll Aintab raises and turns to the crowd.
Hail the new Lord of the Galaxy. Hail Emperor Uebles!
The hall erupts in cheers and shouted oaths of loyalty and it seems that some kind of frenzy has befallen the attendants with exception of the Royal Guards and the members of the High Command that approach the Emperor one after the other to swear their fealty.
After the last one has risen and taken a place behind the throne, Emperor Uebles steps forward, commanding silence with but a brief motion.
Subjects of the Empire. Nobles, Citizens and people of the Colonies and the Outer Rim.
Today dominion over the known Universe is mine. And thus it is yours as well, as the Emperor and his Empire are one. Together we bring order and stability to a chaotic universe, where the forces of Chaos threaten what has been conquered from the mindless, soulless void surrounding us.
From the filth and corruption of the Republic, we and those that came before us built a Bastion of peace and stability. Where there was constant strife and turmoil there is now peace and order and the people of the Empire can thrive and grow without fear of what tomorrow may bring.
But the walls of this Bastion are under siege. Terrorists, criminals and madmen are tearing at them. Still we prevail. Our Soldiers keep them at bay, wave after wave they crumble before their valiant spirits and their righteous fury. Inside, countless of Agents, Administrators, Entrepreneurs and Workers are keeping the Empire running and the Troops fed and equipped. This shall be their day of Glory as well, as without all of them – of you – there would be no Empire.
But we cannot be content with this. Still billions of people lead a miserable and hollow life outside the walls of our Empire. Countless of Planets moan under the yoke of terror and chaos. We cannot live in peace until all of them are embraced by the Empire. Our work will never be over unless every sentient being and every single planet in this Galaxy are united under our shield.
His voice becomes cold.
There are those tainted servants of Chaos, which defiled and corrupted the Republic before the creation of the Empire sent them into hiding, cowering in fear before the righteous wrath of the very same people that they mislead and betrayed for so long. They still hide behind the disguise of a warped religion, teaching their hollow dogma while they whisper their blasphemous gospel into the ears of the weak.
The wretched dogs that call themselves Jedi, they who spread the lie that the cold, cruel Light brings salvation instead of the warm embrace of Darkness… They still linger at the edges of civilisation. Whipping the poor morons that trust them into a mindless crusade against us. Yes I do speak about the pitiful so called *Rebel Alliance*.
They are out there, terrorizing the people, luring them with false promises of freedom and the flawed and weak concept of democracy…
The last sentences he nearly did spit out, his face displaying utter disgust.
This is why we must go out there and fight them where we find them. We must not rest before they are wiped out from the face of creation or there will never be true peace and order.
He clenches his armoured fist and blue lightning crackles over his arm.
We have the power and we have the dedication! Together we will crush all opposition! Onward! To Glory! To Victory!
Again the hall is filled with frenzied cheers and this time even the Royal Guards cannot shake the emotions surrounding them, while the image fades.
