Long Live the Empire

20,000 stormtroopers, 5-star destroyers and a small amount of fighters, was all that was left of what was once my army. As an Admiral I had a great position away from the danger of direct combat and had led my troops so well that even Emperor Palpatine himself commended me. I also participated in several military campaigns with Darth Vader, a being that made my hair stand on end every time he appeared.

However, all that was destroyed by freedom loving idiots, they destroyed security, they destroyed peace and they destroyed prosperity. They installed a new republic that only meant that the big corporations controlled the government. So outrageous was the situation that they did not even have armed forces. Keeping the rebel army and fleet as their monopoly of violence. Disgusting, terrorist militias as the army of the big capitalist corporations and corrupt politicians.

Sure the Empire was a tyranny, sure there was no freedom, but there was security, efficiency, prosperity and adherence to the rule of law.

Without efficiency there is no security, without security there is no law, without law there is no prosperity.

And now I was wanted by the New Republic, a trial without my presence dictated a public sentence accusing me of crimes against the galaxy, against civilization and against the New Republic.

Sentence? Obviously death.

I could not do like the other traitors and join them and ask for a pardon from the New Republic. I would have surrendered immediately if I could have, but they did not give me the chance. My sentence was published only after Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin and Admiral Thrawn were sentenced.

That I was the first Admiral to be sentenced who was alive gave me little time to act and consider my situation. Although I believe they would have shown me no mercy even if I had surrendered.

Captain Draneir looked at me silently as I was slumped over my chair.

"What do we do, Admiral?"

I looked into his helmet eyes and sighed.

"There is nothing we can do."

The captain stood still and stoic at my side while I thought. How everything had dissolved in my hands, as in my second life when I was executed as a war criminal. Why do I always have to lose?

"X-Wing approaching," said one of my bridge operators. I looked at him and quickly waited for the next sentence.

"Confirmation is Luke Skywalker's X Wing. Orders?"

That nasty bastard ruined the empire, and now he was coming for my head. However, rationally, any resistance was futile. He destroyed the death star. He defeated the empire alone. Is that how my enemies felt when they heard my name?

"Contact him," I said.

They all looked at me in surprise, but followed the order. Quickly, in front of me appeared a hologram of Luke Skywalker, dressed in black robes.

"This is the first time the Empire has not shot me on sight," he said with a certain comedy in his voice.

"I request a civilized discussion."

If I was going to die on this day, at least I was going to ruin the great hero of the Republic. I would destroy his irrational idealism at any cost. Who knows, maybe it will turn him against the Republic.

"How can I trust your word?" Luke asked. I just looked around, not seeing the 2 Darth Vader's that would be necessary for me to consider letting this devolve into violence and sighed.

"You destroyed not only the Death Star but the two most powerful beings in the galaxy. Even if I betrayed you, you'd still make it out alive."

I saw a wry smile on Luke's face, but it quickly turned into a stoic face.

"Then send me an escort to guide me to the right ship."

—------------------------------

In front of me was a young man in his early 20s, with dark blond hair, sitting and drinking water. Meanwhile, I was drinking wine. After all, if I was going to die today, at least I would die with a good taste in my mouth.

"What did you want to talk about?" Luke asked after drinking some water.

"Do you know the damage you've done to the galaxy?" I asked, staring into his eyes.

Unperturbed, he continued to stare at me.

"I have saved the galaxy from the tyranny of the Empire and I have helped in the establishment of democracy, I do not see the damage you mention."

Classic idealism. The political formation of this hero was null.

"You've killed millions of people, with families, you've killed millions of civilians and all for what? To establish democracy?"

Luke seemed to get up, and my guards got ready, but I raised my hand.

"Don't even try, he'd kill us all without batting an eye. Don't do anything, and hopefully you'll get out of here alive."

The soldiers returned to their stoic position and I looked at Luke who stood up fully, looking at me accusingly.

"How many people has the Empire killed? Billions, with the Death Star and your oppression"

"The Death Star was designed as a deterrent weapon. DISSUASION. Which means it was meant to be used as a deterrent to prevent further bloodshed, you forced us to use it and on the other hand. Oppression? You mean hunting down terrorists who trained children for war or bombed civilians for their cause? Or the worlds that rebelled like the ones that now rebel against the New Republic and are answered by the rebel armies in the same or worse way than we did?"

Luke replied, breaking his sullen silence.

"You killed my family, you oppressed and forced all the planets into a campaign of absolute fear"

"And what fault do I hold that your family cooperated with terrorists, and on the other hand, what does the New Republic do now? If you worked for the Empire, you are executed, or you are barred from having a job. What is that? Democracy? We didn't forbid anyone to work, and here the New Republic forces people who cooperated with the Empire to starve to death."

Luke answered again.

"You had slave labour for the prisoners"

I rose from my chair, drinking what was left of the wine in my glass.

"And now the New Republic uses former Imperial soldiers as slave labour until they die, or don't tell me you haven't read the news, where young patriots who had just surrendered were being beaten by rebel authorities and subsequently sent to concentration camps!"

Luke shut up, and I took the opportunity to put the wine glass on the table.

"You want to know the worst thing, Luke? That your New Republic is led by the ex-elites of the Empire, by the ex-businesses of the Empire. The Empire kept those miserable rats you now call senators and big businessmen at bay. Have you read the holo news? The public health and education system has been completely privatised and coincidentally now senators of the old Imperial senate under the New Republic have control of the new education and health companies. The banks have raised their interest rates by 20% and the poorer segments of the people are now being thrown out of their homes for not being able to pay their debts. You have not only destroyed security, peace, prosperity but the lives of trillions of people. The New Republic is no different from the Empire, only so much worse as at least we held this scum in line, whereas now the scum are the government!"

Luke sat and looked at me, silent for a minute. I sat down after waiting for an answer that never came, and the time began to pass.

"Can you get me some data pad that has access to the holo net?"

I looked at my captain, who nodded, leaving and then returning minutes later with the requested object. Luke began to read, staying silent for an hour.

Without warning, Luke stood up, closing the tablet and putting it back on the chair he was sitting in.

Feeling it was the end, I sighed, glad to have at least ruined the hero of the New Republic's delusion about his 'accomplishments'.

"I only ask that my death be swift and that you spare the lives of my men," I said, closing my eyes, but I heard no sound of a lightsaber igniting.

"I have things to do on Coruscant, if you die, it will not be at my hand."

Wait, what? Was he going to let me live?

I looked into his eyes and he looked back at me.

"You are right about one thing, what difference is there between the Empire and the New Republic really."

With that he left my ship, my captain approached me, waiting for me to do something, however, I did not say a word.

A few minutes later he broke the silence.

"What now?"

I looked up at the ceiling, thoughts racing furiously. While most of what I said was true I also ignored some things. The Empire was a tyrannical government from start to finish and there was no saving it. It was far from my ideal sort of government, but it was what was there and what I worked for to secure my future. I had really partly hoped that in time the regime would be transformed but apparently the rebellion came first.

I really had no loyalty to the system, but I also had nothing left outside of it. The Republic wanted to kill me and even if I avoided that fate by convincing Luke, they would never stop pursuing me.

"Call all the remnants of the Empire, I'm going to create an Imperial Restoration Council with me at the head."

It was the only real solution to my problem. I had to restore the Empire and I had to do it in a way that the population was not in favour of the Rebellion. And to do that I had to lead the movement. It was that or die. And since the unstoppable beast called Luke Skywalker was no longer coming for me, it was the only real choice I had. Because surrendering to a beast I could never hope to defeat was the only logical option there. But I would never surrender to someone I could defeat.

"Long live the Empire!" shouted the captain, before walking out of my sight. I filled the wine glass again and began to drink.

"I, Tanya von Degurechaff will not die today, the only time I accepted my death I did not die. It's... ironic... You know, I think it's your fault Being X, I didn't think it would be that easy to convince Luke. You had to interfere somehow for sure."

The silence was loud.. Being X hadn't spoken to me in decades.

"Damn you... Being X."