The Crimson Emperor/Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5. TRIUMPH AND VANQUISHMENT.

"Sir," came a stormtrooper's robotic voice from nearby. "The Council is ready to see you now."

Carnor Jax stood up from his seat and headed towards the door into the meeting chamber. After arriving from the Deep Core, he reported to the Council Tower in the capital city of Ord Cantrell. The former Royal Guard was then asked to wait for the whole Council to assemble. He found it unnerving that now he had to wait until when the Council wanted to see him, not the other way around. Jax would make his opinion of this clear to the Council, he needed to show them that it was he who was really in charge. They were only there to serve the Empire as his advisers.

After a few moments, the former Guardsman stood up and headed towards the door, that was being held open by a white-armored stormtrooper. Passing through, Jax entered the Council meeting chamber. It was large room with a circular table in the center, having plain walls and ceiling, along with a carpeted floor. The wall opposite of the door was a glass window, showing the rest of the capital city around the tower. The council of sixteen officials was seated around the table, looking over at Jax as he walked in. The room quieted with Jax's entry, all attention on him. Good.

The head of the council, the "acting Grand Vizier", as he called himself, Burr Nolyds, was the first to speak.

"We have received a brief report of what occurred near Tsoss Beacon. It is very good news, and we hope you can describe to us yourself what happened," he said, and added a moment later, "Your Majesty."

Carnor Jax walked up to the table and cleared his throat. "The thirteen most powerful warlords have been . . . taken care of. They are no longer a problem for us. We have amassed their forces, with a total of 45 Imperial Star Destroyers and 112 Victory-class Star Destroyers."

Some murmurs began among the members of the Interim Ruling Council after those last couple of details. Jax grinned inside his black helmet. That got their attention.

"Are they all here, Your Majesty?" asked one officer.

The new Emperor glanced at him. It was Admiral Jeratai. One of the early conspirators involved in the sabotaging of Palpatine's clones, Jeratai was an average-looking brown-haired man. He was a brilliant strategist, and helped Jax make plans in the past. He was thinking about replacing Wessel with Jeratai, but the admiral liked his place on the council more. Because he has more political power this way, no doubt.

"Yes, they are all scattered throughout the system right now," he paused as the murmurs of the different councilmen increased. "And that's not all. Soon we will be leaving to one former warlord's territory. His second-in-command has joined us and told me that we might have some use for the Super Star Destroyer that his former commander has constructed in his system."

"These new assets will help the Empire a lot indeed," said another officer, General Immodet. "You can begin leading a new campaign against the New Republic soon, we hope."

Immodet was the Army representative on the Interim Council. He was not one of the backers of the conspiracy against Palpatine initially, but joined as one of the highest-ranking generals remaining in the loyalist Empire. He was more experienced than Wessel, but also wanted to remain on the council. For now.

Jax nodded. "Indeed. After I leave here, I will retrieve the Super Star Destroyer, and then begin an offensive. My advisers have already put together a plan."

"And what's that?" asked Jeratai.

"A strike on Coruscant with our fleet."

The murmurs grew into loud conversations now, and Jax could hear the council members' excitement at the prospect of taking back what was once called Imperial Center. The reborn Emperor Palpatine had succeeded in doing so, and he had even less resources than they did. Now it was their turn. But they were unified, and will actually keep the capital.

"So the council will move there once Imperial Center is liberated?" Nolyds asked, using the old Imperial era name for Coruscant.

The former Guardsman merely nodded in response. Before Burr Nolyds could say anything else, another member of the council spoke up. A Givin male, Kooloota-Fyf. He was one of the original funders of Carnor Jax's plot to sabotage Palpatine's clones and the representative of the Shipbuilders and Astromechs Guild. His position on the council ensured the cooperation of the Guild and little else.

But his position also annoyed many of the Human members of the council. Many of them were Humanocentrists, believing in Palpatine's old doctrine of anti-alien sentiment and the idea of Human superiority. Jax thought it was nonsense, but apparently many of his Human supporters took it seriously. He had recently spoke with Admiral Daala about the issue, and they agreed that the old anti-alien and anti-female policies would have to be dropped to gain widespread support for the Imperial cause.

"If you allow the Super Star Destroyer to be examined by our shipbuilders," said the Givin, "then we can probably build more."

That was probably the best news Jax had heard since arriving on Ord Cantrell. "Yes, very good, you can invite your engineers to take a look at it once we conquer Coruscant."

The Givin nodded and said nothing else. Feena D'Asta, the daughter of Baron Ragez D'Asta, a powerful shipping magnate who supported the Empire since its inception, stood up and addressed Jax.

"Although I support what you are doing, my father would never pledge support to you if he found out that you played a role in the demise of Palpatine," she told him. "I just wanted to let you that we must keep that a secret."

"Agreed," the new Emperor replied.

Burr Nolyds spoke up. "I think that if there are no other pressing issues, then this council meeting should be adjourned. We should not keep Emperor Jax from retaking Coruscant."

Gilad Pellaeon stood in front of a tactical simulation table aboard the Emperor's Revenge. He was facing off against Daala in a simulated battle. So far, she was able to trap and destroy a considerable amount of his forces, but he was now making a comeback by leading some of hers into a trap. Pellaeon snapped out of his concentration as Daala said something.

"Sorry, what did you say?" he asked.

"I said, what do you think we should do next after we get the Knight Hammer and take control of Coruscant?" Daala replied.

The Knight Hammer was the name of the Super Star Destroyer that they were on their way to retrieve. He thought about her question. "I am not sure. What do you think?"

"I read some Intelligence reports that Luke Skywalker built a Jedi Academy on Yavin Four."

"And you think we should attack it? I would expect a Jedi Academy to be heavily defended," Pellaeon replied as he moved some of his forces in the simulator.

"There are only a few trained Jedi active right now," she said. "Our forces could overwhelm them easily."

Pellaeon thought for a moment. "Perhaps."

The pair were separated by a wall as they made their moves in the tactical simulators. Pellaeon now held the advantage with his most recent attack. He held no illusions, though, as the vice admiral understood that Daala was usually the better tactician. She would find a way to change the tide of the simulated battle.

But that moment wouldn't come soon. The doors to the chamber opened, and Pellaeon glanced back to see General Wessel enter the room. He did not know the general very well, but it seemed to him that the man was not a very good tactician. During the battle against Admiral Ackbar's forces, he did not say a word unless it was to answer a question from either him or Daala about the capabilities of their forces.

He approached the pair of officers in the simulator. "We will be arriving in the Eriadu system momentarily, and I expect that you will be transferring to the Knight Hammer with Lord Jax."

The council chamber in the old Imperial Palace was filled with tension. Although no official statements have been made yet, news of Admiral Ackbar's defeat in the Deep Core and the strength of the Imperial forces had gotten out. This upcoming council meeting would be discussing the event. Leia looked over at Admiral Ackbar, who was sitting at the council table a few seats away, and caught his eye. She had warned him about taking actions like what he did, and now they lost a Star Cruiser because of it, along with many pilots. Those were both in short supply right now.

Leia looked over at Mon Mothma. The woman looked stressed and tired, which was not surprising, knowing her job. As the last of the council members entered the room and sat down, the former senator began speaking.

"As I am sure you have all heard, Admiral Ackbar has recently led a task force to respond to a disturbing report from the Deep Core," she began. "A large Imperial fleet was present, and managed to repel the task force. The admiral will provide the full report."

Mon Mothma stepped aside and allowed Admiral Ackbar to step up to her place. The Mon Calamari went over the battle and explained what happened, mentioning the loss of the Mon Delindo and many pilots, as well as the fact that apparently the Star Destroyers were waiting for them to arrive.

"That could mean one of two things. Either they had laid a trap for us on their own, noticing our scout in the system but allowing him to escape," he paused briefly for dramatic effect. "Or, they had a source here in the Palace that told them of what would happen."

Murmurs broke out around the room among the council members. Everyone remembered the campaign against Grand Admiral Thrawn and how he used listening devices hidden in the pots of trees that were used as decorations in the Palace to listen in on their conversations. They removed all of those devices after finding out, but could they have missed some? Or are there more hidden in other places that they did not know about?

Or, perhaps the possibility that disturbed Leia the most, could someone in the Palace have tipped them off? She did not rule out the possibility of a traitor in their midst, but the former princess of Alderaan felt that it was unlikely. Everyone on the council had been here since the resurrected Emperor's campaign, and there was no sign of betrayal back then.

Admiral Ackbar waited for the chatter to quiet down before continuing. "Either way, this means that the Imperial warlords in the Deep Core have united. Most likely under this new Emperor. I have sent a message to all New Republic fleets to keep watch for any Imperial fleet movements and to report on them."

"Is there anything else we can do at the moment?" Mon Mothma asked.

"No," the Mon Cal replied. "Not really, because we don't know where their fleet went. They left the Deep Core and most likely headed for what remains of Imperial space, but we don't know where exactly. And we don't have the resources to hunt them down anyway."

The council remained quiet after the last words Ackbar had said. Their military was already stretched too thinly in its fights against Imperial remnants around the galaxy and other threats, so their abilities to strike back against this new Emperor was limited. Not to mention that we don't even know who he is, she thought. It could be Palpatine again for all we know. Leia shuddered at the thought of Palpatine returning to life again. No, it probably isn't him. But then who?

The council meeting was adjourned after that, with Ackbar and Mothma promising to keep council members updated on any new developments.

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