Empress Teta

[Beck Pilon]

The Curich-class shuttle known as Heaven's Taint blasted out of hyperspace, moving quickly towards the surface port of Cinnagar. Beck sat and watched the movements of the crew, which was very minimal, since they didn't need as many for their small trip to Chandrila. The detour to the capital was an unexpected one at best. Juhn sat across from the Admiral, staring deeply into a datapad as he attempted to find something for himself to do. The younger lad had learned already in his time around Beck Pilon that no opportunity given should be wasted and one should always be prepared. He wondered if he could turn the young man into a fine military leader or if he would always be on the bureaucratic side of this branch they both served in. What other thoughts he may have held were quickly disrupted by someone from the bridge calling out. "We're making our final approach. Should be on the ground in less than two minutes." 

 

"Alert the main office that we're arriving and that we have an urgent matter to discuss." The comm officer stuck his head out. "No need, the main port control sends all top entries to the main office regardless." Beck narrowed his own eyes at the statement and kept his next thought to himself. That seems boardline paranoia. But dismissed it with a wave of his hand to the officer and returned his look towards Juhn, who was lowering his own head in some attempt to hide that he was looking at Beck. It was enough for him to realize that the younger man also held the same thought. 

 

As Beck and Juhn made their way into the main hall of the office suite that housed many of the Moffs and other council members of the senate, Beck took notice of the many colors of choice reminded him of what he would call the glory days of the Empire. The new Iron Citadel as it was being called amongst the ranks was something to take in. As they approached the receptionist desk, Beck took notice that the two stormtroopers who were on either side of the desk stood at the ready upon him coming into view, but the others in the room did not. There was a woman of human standards with yellow/greenish hair working the desk in a pure white uniform. He gave her a small nod.  "Hello miss, I'm Admiral Beck Pilon here to se-" "Turbolift of the right will take you up to Vangar Longfang's office. He's expecting you-" She only then looked up. "But only you. He has to wait down here."

 

Beck turned and looked at Juhn, who quickly gave him a head nod. "You'll do fine. This isn't truly a political conversation." He gave his commanding officer a salute and then turned and went exploring the hall of the massively large citadel. He let out a breath as the younger departed him, and wondered if he was being too eager to pursue Zalis. Trying to not show any signs of hesitation, he moved quickly and climbed into the turbolift, which was as the woman said, already programed to take him straight up to Vangar's office. As the turbolift moved upwards, Beck had many thoughts race through his mind. Why was he expected? Did he overstep his bounds on Chandrila? Did the War College fail after he left? Did they not want such a strong Imperial front from him? Did they already know about the Gala and that Zalis was there? There was honestly no way to tell. He just simply had to enter the room and let fate run its course. 

Edited January 1, 2023 by Beck Pilon

[Beck Pilon]

Beck paused for a moment as Vangar invited him in. He was a bit annoyed at the comment about finer things, as it felt like something that Zalis would be in the market to even capitalize upon. Another reason there needed to be something that squeezed her lanes. But even further, he held a slight annoyance for the Moff Council, as he was certain that they somehow managed to bring forth an idea that such finer things even belonged to this lowly office. Vangar was not an Emperor, nor did the outside offices even suggest he could be one. But it was not Longfang's fault at such annoyances he felt. They were beyond him and therefore the Head of State did not deserve any of his emotions on the situation, but rather solely on the reasoning that he even came. 

 

He realized that he stood in the doorway for a little bit too long, gave a quick salute and walked in taking the chair on the left side. He began to speak even before he was seated. "I know that this most likely comes with your position, so you're used to having many bring urgent matters before you and that it is up to you to decide what is truly urgent and what is not." He forced himself to lean back into the chair and to look comfortable, which was hard to do with the chairs provided to the office. But also for the fact that Beck did not like politics and the conversation he was about to bring up was one that would bring heavy discomfort to himself. 

 

"I have come to understand that the Business Security Act is now in motion on the senate floor. While I have nothing against it, I do have a problem against someone who is getting it moved quickly. Zalis Krales." He let her name hang for a moment, knowing full well that many within the Imperial Remnant held a certain disdain for the woman after Empress Raven's account on Dark Sun Station. "She has been leading the way in locking this act into place, and is able to do so because of weakened policies and a lack of enforcement." And now was the big push. The one he wasn't sure if Vangar would help push or not. "We need to tighten our policies and drop the hammer on her movements more so then what we've been doing the past 6 years." There is was. The request to urge and move the Senate into action. Only a passionate leader could do so, or one with enough influence. Was Vangar that guy? Did the Moff Council have enough gumption to see things through? Was the structure of the entire government too fractured and scattered to even pull this off? They were all questions he held and wanted answers for. He wasn't sure what would get answered, but he learned enough from talking with Zalis to know that it was here, the political side of things is where she got to live rent free. It was the higher powers that allowed for her to move so freely and take things that she wanted. 

 

A beep came into his commpad, which was Juhn letting him know that he made a request to pull all of Zalis' files for him to go over after his meeting. He only looked at it, but quickly and never responded. The response was all he wanted to hear. So that was what he did. He just sat and awaited the Barabel's response eagerly.

[Beck Pilon]

Beck almost refused to move at the words that came from Vangar’s mouth. The very action of releasing his own grip upon what would be the right to rule the remaining bodies within the Alliance itself. He wondered if perhaps he had misjudged the entire setup of leadership that the Moff Council appointed, or if they themselves were too much of the old guard or too much of a push over breed. And for maybe even a more rapid second of a thought; his own mind wondered if he made a mistake bringing Lieutenant Lilla Rurn out of her Alliance and into the Imperial Remnant side of things. Granted, both were the same side, just a different face of the coin. But such thoughts were not something he would dwell upon, at least not now. He paused for a moment, letting his eyes become more narrow and full of judgment. But surprisingly not directed at Longfang before him, but rather at the state of the government before him.

 

Normally he would have rejected the idea of becoming too political, as his skills were better served at the helm of a Star Destroyer, leading navies and armies into battles. But today… Today was different. There was a fire burning now deep inside him. He was unhappy with the state the Government had fallen into. Yes, the war and aftermath had indeed forced many changes that were necessary. The times have changed. With such change, one must always adapt and grow. It was something that was programmed into him. And it was now clear that the Galaxy needed new leadership within the confines that refused to let others dictate them into making policies and procedures by voices who never once stepped foot into the fields that they dictate. It needed an Emperor. But not like the ones before, but rather one who had the foresight to push the agenda.

 

Raven came very close to pushing a new empire, but fell short. The last one before her, Deton was beyond a reasonable man who ruled mainly through fear and forced everyone to bend to his will. Cruel and effective for his era. But such a style had died out and could not be put into place now. And now he looked at the cylinder before him and allowed for his mind to wonder and dream of what could happen if he took the reigns being offered to him. He stood up and walked over to the large glass window in the office and stared out.

 

Taking a deep breath in,  and turning, he locked eyes with Vangar. “Unfortunately I feel like maybe fate is at work here. I came here to see what policies could be pushed to help secure our own borders and resources. Our people through the war have been neglected to a point where we let people like Zalis Krales gain power and momentum enough to be far from easy to be taken down. Alliance strength as ebbed away, taking the best of their leadership down with every fight. Our own Moff Council has not done anything good for us recently and has elected to fold many of its own strong principles established by our former Empress. And even then, Raven was barely able to push them into the agendas that needed to be pushed....” He glanced back out the window again. "We need that imperialistic strength returned to the galaxy. We need to be something beyond just an Alliance..."

 

He paused, hesitant to even speak out loud the words that were sitting on the tip of his tongue. The words seemed like a foreign language to him that he just simply didn't understand. Yet somehow, he did. He knew he was better off making a stand here if we was ever to even try to attempt one. He looked more towards the ground below as he spoke the next words. “We need to have a power shift of a leader who can establish rule again. To be more than what Raven was, but nowhere near as hard as Deton was.” Knowing the weight of what he said, what he was meaning to say to Vangar before him, he looked back at the Barabel. "We do need a new Emperor, and I may be the only one able to lead the way it needs to be done right now...."

[Beck Pilon]

Beck stood and looked for a moment at the former leader before him. He wondered what sort of leader he would be. He just stood there and looked at Vangar with an almost shocked face as he attempted to figure out what he was supposed to be doing. After a moment passed, he realized he was asked a question by the former Chief of State. Turning his hand over and putting down the cylinder handed to him upon the desk and walked closer to Vangar. While he wondered if Empress Raven was still out there, the call made by the Sith was convincing enough for him. He couldn't place any hope in such a longshot. 

 

"You are free to head back to Bespin. Build up a strong defense there and begin to enforce there. But be careful in any pursuit. The Outer Rim is large and vast. Don't waste your resources hunting the Sith when you have your own borders to secure." Beck leaned in and embraced the Barabel. Upon releasing his embrace, he locked eyes with him. "I expect to see you soon."

[Beck Pilon]

Beck now sat at the desk, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the entire feeling of having to take on a whole galaxy. How could someone like him guide it all? As it was for the past many years, a Moff Council was available to help the Emperor. The senate would help the Chancellor. But almost all of them held such a wide variety of ideas and goals that such a singular leader would end up failing half of whom they served. One push or another would hinder another. No such one style worked for everyone. And no such strong imperial rule as he would have loved to see return could hold onto the galaxy without beginning to crush half under such a banner. 

 

And that was where he stood now. On the opposite of his desk sat the entire Moff Council, outside of two, both of whom were holoprojected into the meeting. He truly didn’t trust their wisdom, hence his own almost unamused face as murmurs and disbelief came over every Moff before him as he dropped the news they did not want to hear. The Emperor has dissolved the council. Some words he picked up from the outrage of mixed voices. ‘How dare you’, ‘You have no right’, ‘This will be the end’, and perhaps his personal favorite, ‘I refuse to recognize your rule.’ The words rose like a tidal wave against him as he sat there and took in the full waves of anger at the commencement. Upon the wave dying out, he then slowly stood up. 

 

“Your words are full of justifiable anger. No one in this room loves the Imperial style way of life more than me. I broke Alliance commanders to fold into the Imperial way of military execution and perfection. It’s a banner that I would love to see flying high over the entire galaxy.” He began to walk out from his desk, letting his presence fully be felt within the room. There was a very small and limited number of guards within the room, as Beck dismissed them due to him not wanting to hear the news before his now former council, which held no time to even advise him on what he should do. Their time with a new Emperor had indeed been short lived. It was no fault of their own. 

 

“But when you look at the galaxy and the current state that it is in. It’s fragile, barely held together after the last war. No fault of Empress Raven, as she did everything she could. But the model of her rule, as would have been mine if I continued upon said path, would have led without any questions towards the ruthless Deton style of an Empire. One that would end up crushing the galaxy under our tightly grasping fists.” He began to move his way to stand back behind his desk. He let his words sink in a bit. “But no one here is blind either. To have a democratic rule of a senate and Chancellor as its leader is also a flawed outline. It works to a degree, but much like the Imperial style, the more you have, the harder to perform duties correctly without causing more issues and problems.”

 

Beck now found himself at his desk again, and he took the time to sit down in the chair. “What I am proposing is something entirely new. Our head remains as it is. An Emperor to rule over many. My direct rule will be over the Core, handling policies and daily leadership. From there, the systems will be greatly divided into many pockets of systems where they will have their own leader. A Lord or Duchess of sorts. Within said territory the Lord or Duchess would have direct control over policy and overall ruling. These Lords and Duchess would have their own banner, but would heavily still be under the Emperor. Each consortium would have its own sovereignty, ruled by a monarch. But these Sovereignties are all bound by one leader, the Emperor. Therefore they all can maintain control over their own territory, yet still be available to be called upon when the Emperor needs them…. An Alliance of many Sovereignties. Or rather, the Sovereign Alliance. From henceforth, we ARE the Sovereignty of the Galaxy.”

 

Beck now fully leaned back within his chair and observed the faces of everyone present. He already knew those who would have a problem with this and those who would easily come around to the idea of something new. Change was always hard for those who profited heavily from the system in place. Especially when they could not see their own role in the new system. He could tell questions were forming and coming forth into the minds of many of them. One, a male whom he saw many times jump between the political fences with Raven, turned towards him with a question upon his lips. "So, we are to have this entire council die at the very whim. Jobless and powerless." The very mention of the word power struck him awkwardly, as he always knew the council of Moff's was slightly power hungry, but he never in a thousand years would have assumed one of them would be as so bold as to say it out loud. 

 

"If power is your worry, then yes. You are going to lose it." He paused to let the very realness sink in the anyone who was power hungry. After the moment passed, he continued on. "Jobs will still be maintained, as the new Core Consortium will need many to fill roles. Some of you in fact have already been chosen to take direct control over a rising Consortium. But for the rest of you... Spys, builders, trainers and comrence of the Core is needed, as will other Consortiums. You will all have your assignments within the next two planetary rotations... All Hail the Sovereignty..." He let the final words hang in such a way that it indicated the meeting was over. They all had to dismiss themselves. He stared them all down until one by one they all resigned to the decree and left the throne room. Once they all left, he turned his attention to his own datapad and called up a few other officials that he needed to have words with. The new reign, HIS reign would come swiftly. And with the swiftness, the Sovereignty would rise.

[Beck Pilon]

A handful of senators sat within the Grand Office on Empress Teta, none of which seemed too worried about what was just laid out before them. There were a few notable ones that he took note of not being present, but for the most part, didn't seem to care too much if no one else in the room held a major problem to the new ground work. The Coreillan, Kuati and Twi'lek senators all kept faces low, yet hope remained upon their faces. The Selkath and Mon Calamari both moved more fluid like as they stood up, while the Bothan was the one who spoke. "Emperor Pilon, I must inquire then. Under this new setup, what purpose would us as Senators even serve? Would not the Lords and Duchess who rule the consortium we are under be sufficient enough?" The comment made Beck smile. It was one he was expecting to arise at one point. 

 

"Forgive my sense of humor in this situation, but the comment isn't one that hasn't been pondered upon during the whole setup. While you may think that the democracy is being washed away, and in some sense it is, but not fully. At least not in the sense you're thinking. And in no way is this becoming a new Empire. The Lords and Duchess rule in a smaller democracy in a sense. They become the standing point to bring many issues before a much smaller council. And within that council things can be either decided galaxy wide... or be presented back to the individual consortium to decide. So inn that very sense, every senator still serves their planet. And at any point can a new Lord or Duchess arise to represent their consortium if needed." Beck now stood up, letting his black and red uniform be on display. As he stood up, he began to walk over to the Selkath. "For instances, you'll notice that Thyferra and Manaan are within the same Consortium. This is done so that Sholles can work with the Thyferrans to come up with their own trade policies regarding Kolto and Bacta, to which are used galaxy wide. In fact, many of our much needed trades fall under the Tapani Consortium for this reason. Trade their will be massively different than the Chommell Consortium. So for this reason alone, every senator needs to still hold and maintain their voice."

 

Beck moved again to walk towards the door, but in such a way that it wasn't him attempting to kick anyone out of the office. When he got there, he turned around to face all of the senators within his office, all of which were now fully looking at him. "Perhaps to help answer more questions, I can hold a special session to answer questions, vote and install these Duchesses and Lords over the Consortiums if people would prefer that. I can be at Coruscant in the old Senate building within a week." The Twi'lek senator stood up and walked over to him. Beck tilted his head upwards as he approached him. Much smaller in size compared the other Twi'lek senators in the past, but far more muscular than others. When he stopped to be face to face with him, he extended his hand.  Beck took it as the two gripped each others forearms. "I think this might be the best move made in a very long time. So I should say long live the Emperor, so long as he doesn't get grandeur ideas to fully hold control over the entire galaxy and its people..."

 

Beck kept his eyes locked upon him. The strong grip told him exactly what he knew would be feared. Another Empire. Another dictator. It was something he would have to make sure he never became, or else there could be consequences like full on rebellion. But with each individual Consortium having different ruling leaders, such a dictatorship would be easily quenched early on. If not that, it made it far easier to withdraw from the Sovereignty and have rebellion. Knowing full well what was being said underneath everything, he matched the Twi'lek in calmness of voice. "No senator... long live the Sovereignty."

 

**** Four Hours Later ****

 

With the meeting done, and most of the senators satisfied with the answers presented to them, a memo went out to all leadership within the new Sovereignty, letting them know of the gathering taking place on Coruscant. It was a chance to ask questions, setup the Consortiums officially, and to kick off the Sovereign Alliance as the new Sovereignty of the galaxy.