[2276 words, not the longest I've ever done but still a good amount.]
Marcus stood on board the reclaimer as he examined his surroundings passed the window leading into cold dark space. Located on both sides of his ship were two more Harrower-class dreadnought's which were the Standard 800 meter long Variant.
Surrounding himself alongside the two other Harrower-Class dreadnought's were six Terminus-class destroyers acting out as escorts.
The Terminus-class was similar in appearance to the smaller Gage-class transport, but wielded far more firepower. Despite the similar features found onboard the two ships, the Terminus destroyer was built as a dedicated warship used for several tasks such as escort missions, search and destroy, or transporting important Imperial figures.
The armament consisted of two Turbolaser cannons, two Laser turrets, one Ion cannon, and two Concussion missile batteries.
Marcus could not help but smile as his first fleet was slowly but surely forming. It's taken him two months of mining asteroids to build this fleet and he was proud of the progression made thus far.
Within these two months resulted in Marcus having time to think of his actions a few months back.
'Raging like a lunatic about not being capable of using the force might have been a little extreme... Even so, I still despise those capable of using such a gift… As childish as it may be I simply don't care at this point. My existence matters more than Jedi or Sith. The common folk shall remain otherwise I'll rule an empire of droids…' Marcus took a breath as he laid his gaze upon the desert planet before him.
"Everything has to begin somewhere, Isn't that right SN-21?" Once she heard the commander's question she responded.
"Affirmative, however, I can not understand why you would choose such a planet when there are so many better options available." Marcus remained silent as he understood that SN-21 was currently unable to comprehend those who are desperate.
Marcus came to this planet as it housed desperate humans who are forced to scavage parts from crashed ships only to receive food rations that would barely cover the energy they used.
"SN-21, I want loyal civilians who will view me as their savior, not someone who will ditch our future Empire at the first sign of conflict." Hearing this caused her to respond with a voice of uncertainty.
"Do you wish for them to view you as a God?" Marcus could feel the irony in her question as to how could he not? The Emperor of Mankind gave his blessing to him and with the name of the Imperium? God-Emperor?
"In a way SN-21... If all my future subjects are fanatic believers then that would drastically lower the odds of traitors appearing along with spies being more noticeable." Marcus didn't plan on using the title of Emperor of Mankind or God-Emperor but as of now, he was unable to think of a decent title for himself.
[ A/N: Suggestions are needed and if none quite fit the bill then I will likely use Emperor of Mankind or simply God-Emperor. Then again I'll perhaps come up with one in which case you won't be reading this A/N. ]
Soon the Reclaimer followed by the rest of the fleet began their descent as different ships broke formation and headed towards different settlements.
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Within a cavern, a lone human male was breaking open a panel. This panel in question housed core components used within the hyperdrive of ships. The man soon dropped his metal hammer in frustration as he sat down along a wall.
The man then clenched his stomach and a noticeable sound escaped signaling that this man is starving.
"Is it even worth it at this point? I've been beating and prying at that panel for what felt like hours now... I'd get what? Two or three days of rations for all the components, should I just grab what's not overly sealed down and come back another day?" The man then closed his eyes before opening them and looking at the panel with new vigor. If he left now then there is a likely chance that this place would be stripped clean upon his next arrival.
After an unknown amount of time passed, the man finally broke the panel off but what he found did not cause joy but instead despair.
Most of the components within were heavily damaged and after estimating how much he would receive in food rations from this he cried.
"Half a day's worth... All the energy I wasted..." The man contemplated whether or not he should end himself and his daughter suffering but deep down he knew he could never do such a thing.
After a while, the man could be seen climbing out of a ruined ship but within the distance, he saw a massive ship descending from the clouds.
Thinking of his daughter the man began running as fast as he could towards the settlement in which the ship loomed above.
After running for an hour the man saw transport ships exiting the much larger counterpart. For better or worse the man also arrived within the settlement as he heard a loud booming robot voice coming from the small ships.
"DO NOT BE AFRAID PEOPLE OF JAKKU! YOU HAVE BEEN NOTICED BY THE IMPERIUM AND SHALL BE SAVED!" the man rushed towards his 'home' but at this moment the transports landed releasing countless Sith War droids.
Once the man entered his home he found his daughter peeking out the window as she was wondering what was happening.
"Jenny are you okay?" the little girl who appeared to be eight years old spoke.
"I'm fine papa, what's going on?" the man attempted to remain calm at her question.
"Nothing sweetheart, get your shoes on, and let's go on a trip." Once the little girl got her shoes on the man lifted her up and carried her out the door but he came face to face with a machine he has never seen before.
It had four sharp limbs that kept it upright and its 'hands' held two arm-mounted blasters on each limb.
"Human male and Human female-identified... Please follow this unit towards the salvation point." the man was in fear as he was worried that any moment the droid would suddenly gun himself alongside his daughter down.
With no other choice, he followed along but what he found both worried and gave hope to the man. Along the way, he saw groups of other species forcibly being escorted away while being called 'Xeno' while on the other hand humans were receiving aid.
He watched as a young man who was just the other day on death's door was receiving an injection of some kind by a humanoid droid design. Further down the road the man quickly covered his daughter's eyes and spoke.
"Sweetie cover your ears and don't let go." Jenny did not understand but still done what she had been asked of. The man held his daughter tightly as he watched what could only be called an Execution line.
Along a wall had 'aliens' of all ages on their knees with their hands behind their heads. Facing towards the group were multiple droids of the same model that was currently escorting himself.
All of a sudden the droids began blasting as screams echoed due to the unimaginable pain but it was soon silenced out due to the sheer volume of blaster fire.
The man could not help but clench his daughter tighter as he continued forward. Soon the father and daughter arrived at a large camp that held other individuals but those within consistent of purely human.
Suddenly another Humanoid robot entered followed by large crates being carried.
"Those who pledge their loyalty to the imperium shall receive class-six Citizenship. Within this class, your status would be similar to a slave." suddenly countless individuals yelled out but were soon silent due to the robot speaking.
"Further interruptions will result in the loss of food privilege for the next 24 hours." everyone quiets down at the mention of food. Soon the robot continued.
"Unlike the term 'slave' which is commonly known for someone who is legally owned by another person and is forced to work for that person without pay. The imperium will pay you for your service and you will receive medical care upon injury. Alongside this, you will receive a paid lunch break which you be provided food." Everyone here could not understand how this would be considered a 'slave' when it's more luxurious than their current life.
"Class-Five citizenship will grant you the status of 'free folk'. Within this rank, you are given a free decision on available work options alongside greater pay and more rights. You will also receive the right to purchase property in your name. If you own property then you have the right to defend yourself and your property." those around soon began muttering about such benefits but the robot continues.
"You may wonder how to move up from Class-Six to Class-Five and there are multiple ways. First and foremost you can inform the authorities which are currently the droids that escorted you here about Xeno's within the surrounding area we could have missed." suddenly a woman raised her hand hoping she would be allowed to speak and once she was given permission she spoke a question many other had.
"Um, what's a 'Xeno'?" identifying the question caused the robot to respond.
"Xeno's are non-human species. Xeno poses a threat to humanity and must be executed on-site, attempting to hide a Xeno from authorities will be heresy resulting in you and your family's execution." When the people heard this they become fearful but Jenny's father suddenly raised his hand and spoke.
"There is a small encampment of Togruta around two miles or so south of here..." everyone suddenly looks in disbelief at how this man sold someone out, however, the robot 'smiled'.
"We shall investigate this matter, due to being the first man to bring us this information you will be immediately accepted for Class-Five if your information holds true." The robot then reached into one of many large crates and pulled out two plastic trays.
Once everyone saw this they were stunned because within the plastic trays held fresh food. Unlike the dehydrated bread packs, they have grown accustomed to, the food within the tray has vegetables, fruit, bread, and meat.
The robot then moved forwards and handed the trays to Jenny and her father.
"The Imperium values their citizens and I hope everyone will follow this man as an example on how to be a Patriot to our nation."
Jenny's father meanwhile could only think to himself as to how he could now properly support his daughter. Become a part of the Imperium and receive money and food? Gladly!
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Onboard the Reclaimer Marcus examined multiple screens showing countless humans grouped together. He knew that he was viewing through the 'eyes' of droids as they explained the structure of the civilian class system he would implement.
'Class-One through Class-Six... The lowers you get the more influence you can cause to the Empire but this is only an illusion. This will be MY Empire and nothing will change it.' Marcus knew that in due time he would have loyal civilians who would die for him just so that their loved ones may continue to live in prosperity.
"SN-21 how long will be able to sustain the human population of Jakku with the amount of food we brought?" she then began calculations on the matter and once she had an estimation she spoke.
"As of now, we can only support the entire planet for at most a week. May I suggest the construction of a synthetic food factory to enable the possibility of being self-sufficient in Jakku?" Marcus nodded his head even though he still could not understand how such a thing works.
A synthetic food factory was capable of rearranging the atomic structure of almost anything into food which is how Marcus was able to support an entire human population on a planet in such a short amount of time.
This technology naturally came from SN-21 which also indicated that the product was much worse than it's truly capable of.
She claimed that the factory could create enough food for ten billion humans in less than 24 hours if we had the correct parts and substances. Unfortunately with what Marcus had on hand, he could only create a couple of million within a week. He felt depressed at having such useful technology that he was unable to build correctly, he would have to build multiple of these factories to have Jakku capable of supporting itself.
Knowing that thinking of such matters would not bring any benefits he returned to the civilian classes.
'Class-One civilians would be considered Nobles who can suggest laws and regulations in which I will either pass or oppose. If the person is within the military and reached this class they would be capable of reaching the rank of Grand Admiral after passing the training.
Class-Two would be individuals who are capable of owning their businesses solely to themselves with lower tax requirements. Alongside this, if they have potential they could become captains of escort fleets.
Class-three would authorize the ability to become lesser important figures within the military such as officers. Their families would be allowed to travel freely within the imperium space minus the future classified locations.
Class-Four would allow anyone to volunteer and enlist within the army or navy." Was Marcus worried about corruption? Not at all, when the day it begins and it certainly will, he would use them as an example to everyone within the Empire.
If you are wondering how they will move up within Class ranks accordingly then I haven't got that far yet. I should be able to explain it by the next chapter though.
Needs to be edited so mistakes are likely noticeable.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter and would appreciate reviews. It's free :)