Fourth Imperial Civil War/Letter to the Imperial Union

From: Orphaea Imperium
To: IU Leadership
Year 11 Day 291

To the leaders and ambassadors of the Imperial Union,

Greetings.

I am sure you are concerned with recent events involving the Empire. I'm not sure if any of you have received the email I sent to Imperial High Command, but in brief, I have taken the Empire's credits, raw materials, most of the Empire's planets and enough other odds and ends around the place to cripple the Empire's economy.

I'm not a sleeper Eidolan or Republican agent or some such rubbish, so you can put your mind at ease about that. The return of all these things is conditional on only one thing, and that is that Vodo abdicates.

Note: only abdicate. Not exile, not banished, not execute. He can hang around as a Sith Lord and respected ambassador, but he's just not active enough to be Emperor any more. And I know how that feels - you're not interested enough to do the job you should, but you're so attached to the job it's impossible for you to give up.

It's mostly an issue internal to the Empire, but I know you all recognise how inactive the Emperor is these days - in fact, I think he talks to you guys more than he does to us. I know you all also know how difficult it has been at times for the Imperial Union to make agreements with other factions because Vodo is Emperor. I know because I've seen it myself - 'We like you, we like the Empire, but we don't trust your Emperor'. If it were some other faction I wouldn't give a damn, but the Empire needs someone active in charge. An Emperor that's going to actually *be* Emperor, not just sit on the chair.

We could have moved on, but Vodo's been stonewalling successors for years. Goth was told for years 'yes', then in the end, 'no'. Cherokee was meant to become Emperor a few months ago, but at the last minute Vodo decided he wanted to remain 'owner' of the Empire and Cherokee could be 'leader'. When he found out this wasn't possible for a government faction, he decided to stay leader - but kindly told Cherokee that he could call himself Emperor if he wanted to. Not wanting to be (in mind or in practice) a puppet Emperor, Cherokee declined, and so Vodo remains.

I realise that you may not trust me - indeed, some of you commented on not being able to trust a looter when discussing Plaga on the IU forums. But you must be able to see that the only way Vodo is ever going to abdicate is if he is put in a position where saying no would destroy the Empire (and frankly, I'm not even sure about that). I know none of you want to be kept holding in the life support tube, and that's exactly what the Empire's going to be like if he stays - it will be on life support, divided, and enduring a civil war that will probably last years. It won't survive the Galactic Alliance. What I've got wouldn't survive the Galactic Alliance. If the Empire is going to survive, Vodo needs to abdicate.

Please... help me make him see that.

Grand Moff Orphaea Imperium
Chairman, Council of Moffs
Coruscant Oversector
Galactic Empire