The Crimson Emperor/Chapter 2

'''CHAPTER 2. THE HIVE OF SCUM AND VILLAINY.'''

Mission accomplished.

A smoldering crater was all that remained of the Imperial Royal Guard Academy of Yinchorr. They dispatched a small dropship with a squad of Jax's best shadow stormtroopers was on its way down to the surface to examine the site and see if any remains of the Royal Guards' bodies can be found. But Jax had no doubt that they were all dead. No one could have survived such a bombardment even if they had some kind of military facility. The academy did not have any structures that could withstand the attack. But just to be sure, he sent down the squad to examine the site and see if they find anything interesting. A more ignorant man might have just left, but Jax did not become the new Emperor by being foolhardy. Well, not too foolhardy, at least, the former Guardsman thought with a slight chuckle.

Around him, the bridge of the Emperor's Revenge was a hive of activity. The crew had finished the bombardment and were making preparations to leave the system. Captain Harmon and General Wessel were standing at his side, looking down at the barren planet.

"Sir, what will be our next destination?" asked Harmon.

Jax thought for a minute. "Set our course for the Deep Core. Go through only the more remote systems to avoid any New Republic entanglements. We will depart as soon as the ground team returns to the Revenge."

The man nodded. "Understood, sir."

The naval captain walked away, leaving the former Guardsman and the Imperial Army general standing there by the viewport, looking down at Yinchorr. Jax was beginning to plan his next actions when a commlink sounded. General Wessel's. The brown-haired officer excused himself and walked a few meters away to answer the commlink. Jax could hear some snippets of the conversation from where he stood, but did not bother to listen. Wessel would tell him if it was something important. He instead returned to thinking of their next move: with the Royal Guards eliminated, the next biggest threat to his rule would be from the remaining Imperial warlords. Something had to be done about them. And the new Emperor had an idea of what that might be.

Jax would have to continue planning another time as General Wessel returned to his side. "My lord?"

He turned slightly to look at the general. "What is it?"

"We've received a report from Lieutenant Blim," he said.

Ah yes. Geff Blim was an Imperial Army officer who was highly trained in the arts of killing. A skilled sniper and knife fighter, Blim had shown distinction by besting every other crew member of the Revenge in mock fights. Jax saw a lot of potential in him, and decided to employ the man as his Emperor's Hand. Palpatine had personal assassins and spies known as his Hands that carried out his will more covertly than the Imperial armed forces. Now that Jax would be the Emperor, it would be fitting for him to begin assembling such a cadre as well.

"What did he report?"

"He has successfully infiltrated the Senate District on Coruscant and is working on infiltrating the Imperial Palace itself," Wessel reported. "He said he can take out New Republic leaders if you desire."

Jax shook his head. "No, that will not be necessary. Not for the time being, at least. It will be more valuable to know what's going on inside the Imperial Palace than to—"

"Sir!"

A call from Captain Harmon interrupted what he was telling Wessel. The pudgy man briskly walked up to the pair. "We have received a transmission from Ord Cantrell."

Ord Cantrell. It was the new seat of government for the Empire since the loss of Byss and Coruscant. An out of the way world Outer Rim, a place the New Republic would not be able to locate. Now it was where the Imperial Interim Ruling Council was based.

"Councilor Nolyds demands that you make contact with him," Harmon continued.

Demands? Jax thought. "Are those his words?"

The captain seemed to understand the former Guardsman's concern. "I told him that you were busy overseeing a matter, but Nolyds demanded to talk to you, my lord."

"Fine. I shall contact him from my quarters," Jax replied. "In the meantime, you know what to do. General, relay what I told you to the lieutenant."

The captain nodded and saluted Jax as the former Guardsman walked away. The Interim Ruling Council was a nest of vipers. They had originally come up with the plot to kill Palpatine and made the offer to Jax of replacing him. But he was not stupid. The Council was up to something, probably planning on making Jax some sort of figurehead with them being the ones in control. He tolerated their presence for now, since he needed some advisers and civilian administrators, but once they were in control of the galaxy, Jax would replace all of them with more loyal and competent bureaucrats.

He left the bridge and headed down several corridors towards the officers' quarters, which were located not very far away. Upon reaching his room, the former Guardsman locked the door as it slid shut, and activated the communications rig. He had it set up in his cabin to allow him to make private communications with his contacts, including the Council. As he activated it, a hologram of Councilor Burr Nolyds' face appeared above the communications console.

"What do you want?" Jax asked the man.

"The Council has been getting impatient. You promised results, and I hope they come soon."

I hope so too, he thought.

"And yet the New Republic is getting stronger by the day while the warlords are still refusing to work with us. I trust that—"

"Are you questioning my methods?" the former Guardsman asked calmly.

The thieving bureaucrat paused. "I am not even aware of what your methods are, my lord, but—"

Jax didn't let him finish. "Then stay quiet and do as your Emperor commands you to. I am on my way to the Deep Core right now to reason with these warlords, or wipe them out if I need to. One way or another, the Empire will be reunited. Do you understand, councilor?"

Nolyds looked annoyed, but nodded. "Yes, my lord."

The hologram disappeared as the transmission ended. Jax sighed and shook his head as he walked back to the bridge. Burr Nolyds was the head bureaucrat that he appointed to serve as the head of the council under him. His main ally on the Council, the former Emperor's Hand Sarcev Quest, was disappointed, but he understood that Jax had other positions in mind for Quest. The former Guardsman imagined personally executing Nolyds as he made his way back to the bridge.

Lieutenant Geff Blim was not a man known for being subtle. That was why when General Wessel had told him Emperor Jax's new orders, he had to admit that he was a bit disappointed. But being a personal agent of Canror Jax required more of Blim than his previous assignments, and also was much more promising. Not to mention that he was one of the few people who actually bested Blim in the dueling ring. That alone gained him the lieutenant's respect. Whatever the former Royal Guard ordered him to do, he would see to it being done. And now as he stood here, near the Imperial Palace, the lieutenant wondered how he would infiltrate the upper echelons of the new New Republic government. Just another day, he thought.

A large, bulky and muscular man, Geff Blim had trouble fitting into his Imperial uniform when he was on duty aboard the Emperor's Revenge or elsewhere. His muscular body and bald head and proved to be intimidating to his superiors and enemies alike. He used it to his advantage, but it sometimes could be quite annoying. Like right now.

The lieutenant looked out at the small side entrance to one of the many wings of the vast palace. Emperor Palplatine had always been known for his grandiose monuments, whether they be the Death Stars, his Eclipse dreadnought, or his own home. Two New Republic soldiers stood at the entrance. But they were not regular soldiers. The pair were members of the New Republic Palace Guard, wearing blue and white robes that no doubt covered a heavy set of armor. Taking them down and hiding their bodies would be simple enough, he thought. And taking their uniforms to enter the Palace.

The two guards stood by silently as Blim (who was wearing simple civilian clothes at the moment) pulled out his sniper rifle. His hiding spot was a small building about twenty or so meters across from the Palace side door. The lieutenant aimed the rifle towards the two men in uniforms. He shot one in the head, who went down quickly. Before the second guard even had time to react, he too took a blaster bolt to the head and collapsed onto the ground. Blim ran over to the door and quickly dragged the bodies behind several storage containers nearby.

He donned the full uniform of one of the guards and through their bodies into one of the containers. No one should find them in there. Looking around to make sure no one was in the area to see what happened, the lieutenant opened the side door and entered the Imperial Palace.

The Emperor's Revenge shook slightly as it left hyperspace and entered real-space in the Deep Core. His Star Destroyer was not made very long ago and was able to travel without any technical problems, allowing Jax to reach the Deep Core quickly. They managed to avoid running into any New Republic vessels, and Jax took the time to hash out his plan for uniting the squabbling warlords. The former Guardsman had sent out messages to the thirteen most powerful warlords on the way to the Deep Core, telling them that he was acting with the authority of the Emperor and that it would be in their best interest to negotiate with him. He left coordinates to a small research station on an asteroid that the Empire had created before the Battle of Yavin, known as Tsoss Beacon.

Many of the warlords did not replay. In fact, none of them did. But Jax's word as a former Emperor's Royal Guard carried a lot of weight, and the warlords would be nervous if they thought that there was a chance that Palpatine was still alive. That was what Jax implied in his message. Now they would have to wait here for the warlords to arrive, and even if only some showed up, their forces united with his should be enough to crush the rest. And those ones would probably understand that and simply surrender to him. In the meantime, the new Emperor oversaw several special modifications to Tsoss Beacon's meeting room. Those features would be revealed to the warlords later.

A few hours after their arrival, the first one of the warlords showed up. A Star Destroyer identifying itself as the 13X entered the system. Jax was in Tsoss Beacon's communications room, awaiting the arrival of the warlords. General Wessel was there with him while Harmon remained aboard the Revenge. If things here did not go according to plan, they might need some backup. But if all goes well, it won't come to that, Jax thought.

"This is the Star Destroyer 13X of the Federated Teradoc Union," a gruff voice said on the comms. "Is anyone there?"

Jax got up and answered the comms. "Yes, this Emperor's Royal Guardsman Carnor Jax." The 'Federate Teradoc Union'? he thought.

A new voice spoke. "This is Admiral Teradoc. What did you want?"

Good, he's already speaking like my subordinate, Carnor Jax thought. "This is what is going to happen. I invited all of the major warlords here. We will negotiate about putting an end to this useless bickering that will just get all of us killed, either by our own hands or by the New Republic's."

He paused for a moment to let his words sink in. "You will come here in a shuttle and began discussing the terms, and tell your Star Destroyer to return to your fleet. All warlords will be given that command, we wouldn't want a conflict to break out during negotiations."

The people at the other end remained quiet, no doubt going over whether or not to actually go through with this request. The 13X was a Victory-class Star Destroyer, while Jax's was the larger and more advanced Imperial-class. He could take them in a fight if he needed to. A couple of minutes passed before they finally gave a reply.

"Very well, Guardsman Jax, we will comply with your request. For now. My shuttle will head to the Beacon momentarily."

The wide halls of the Imperial Palace were quiet at this late hour. It was night here on Coruscant, with most of the Palace staff having gone home or to their assigned quarters. But the Admiralty, like the other military offices, continued to function. Admiral Hiram Drayson paced the office as he awaited an possible communications at this late hour before turning in. But as he did so, the small door to the office suddenly opened to reveal the Supreme Commander, Admiral Ackbar. The Mon Calamari looked tired but alert. He had no reason to show up here at this time, since the offensive was still being debated by the Ruling Council, as far as Admiral Drayson was aware.

But nonetheless, here he was. Whatever matter brought him here, it must have been important.

"Sir?" Drayson gave him a salute.

Admiral Ackbar walked up to him as he entered the room. "I've received disturbing Intelligence reports from Cracken's office that you should know about."

Drayson nodded and gestured to seat nearby for the admiral to sit down, but he remained standing. "And what would that be?"

The Mon Calamari looked worried. "Apparently, one of our scout ships in the Deep Core has spotted a gathering of various Star Destroyers near and asteroid field."

Admiral Drayson nodded but failed to see the importance of this. "Is that all?"

"No. The Star Destroyers were sending shuttles to a small space station in the system. But our scout had to leave in order to not be spotted before getting any more information."

Drayson nodded a second time, but still did not understand. "So? What does this mean?"

This time, Ackbar looked a bit annoyed, as if it were obvious. "It's just as I feared. The warlords are having some sort of meeting. And I'd bet that the meeting was organized by whoever is the new Emperor. We must act quickly."

He then understood. "Yes, sir, but our fleet is not yet ready for such tasks. The task force you requested for the offensive is still being put together. We only have a very limited amount of ships available at the moment."

"Doesn't matter. We have to put a stop to it right now, and have been given an opportunity. Most of the Imperial leaders gathered in place. We can wipe them out in one strike. Give the order to head to what ships you do have assembled. I'll leave in an hour."

"Yes, sir."

Blim heard Admiral Drayson answer to Ackbar's request through the door, and then a sudden sound of footsteps. The door slid open as the Mon Calamari admiral exited the office, heading down one of the corridors to prepare for the attack. He did so without giving either Blim or the other, actual palace guard on the other side of the door a second glance. It was quite a hassle to get to a security station upon taking the guard's armor, then finding a suitable place to stand guard where he was most likely to hear important information. The Admiralty office seemed like the best spot. The lieutenant smiled under his bulky helmet.

Emperor Jax is going to want to hear this.

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