I've decided to try and step outside of my normal comfort zone by writing about a character who is not Palpatine, though this is still one of those "guy thinking philosophically about stuff" fics so what can you do? Grand Moff Tarkin is my other favorite villain and I feel that he is sadly under represented both in pop culture and on this site. So I am going to rectify that by writing this one shot. The reason I like him so much is because even though I'm the guy routing for the Rebels/Jedi/Republic there is a cold, intelligent manner to Tarkin that makes him very interesting. I don't own Star Wars. I never have, and I never will. I am not making any money off of this. Please leave a review!
"Commence primary ignition."
Deep within the core of this great behemoth kilometers beneath my feet latent energies gather and build. It seems as if everyone on the bridge, indeed, everyone on the station has stopped what they were doing, listening for the vibrations that shall shake the bulkheads and signal the coming desolation. It is as if time itself is warping and bending around us. Seconds become hours, and a deathly silence hangs above our heads like an all-encompassing shroud.
History is about to be made, and in these seconds that feel like an eternity I cannot help but think about the long road that has led me to this crowning achievement.
Before us on the view screen the planet Alderaan hangs like a glowing gem in the void. Billions of people surely look to the heavens, seeing but not believing what their eyes show them. A new moon has appeared in the sky, but this moon is far too artificial looking to be a real moon. By now Alderaan's subspace sensors have detected our presence and determined what we really are. The planet's communications officials have attempted to hail us. They will get no response. If only they had any real idea what was in store for them. They'll find out soon enough. In a fraction of a second, as the ground splits and shakes beneath them, as their friends and loved ones are atomized before their eyes, as they themselves finally die, they shall recognize that death has come to claim them. I have come to claim them.
Yes, this is the beginning of a new era. This is the true beginning of the New Order.
Many a fool would contest this. They would state that the New Order has existed ever since the Emperor founded the Empire nineteen years ago. They would state that the Empire is the New Order. They could not be more wrong.
The Empire and the New Order are not one and the same. The New Order is an idea, a way of life, a way of thinking, a way of existence. The Empire is merely the means by which the ideology of the New Order can be spread and supported.
The last nineteen years have been a period of transition, easing the people into accepting the doctrines of the New Order. The people had to be slowly weaned off of the decadent and corrupt teachings and values of the past. After all, no addict can quit cold turkey.
The people have come to accept the sweeping changes to their lives in the name of peace and security. They have accepted the loss of privacy, personal freedom and the disappearance of friends, family, and colleagues. They have accepted the regional governors such as myself. They have accepted the decreased authority of the Senate. They have accepted the Emperor's power. So to shall they accept a universe without the Senate. So to shall they accept the destruction of Alderaan. So to shall they accept the awesome power of this battle station, my power.
I have no doubt that there shall be those who will protest this "moral outrage". But their thoughts on the subject matter not. In the New Order the concept of morality is obsolete. For countless millennia the Old Republic was rendered impotent over countless issues due to questions of morality. Its leaders were made ineffectual either through corruption or through rampant idealism. There is no place in the New Order for either.
These occurrences were a cancer upon the Body Politic that needed to excised and destroyed. And that is precisely what the Emperor did. The Clone Wars were a rallying cry, rousing the people from their apathetic stupors and awakening them to the weakness and decay that they had allowed to run rampant. The failure of democracy and diplomacy brought us to the brink of anarchy, and therefore had to be done away with.
In its glory days the Republic was indeed a force to be reckoned with, of that I cannot deny. But the Republic could not change with the times. It became inflexible and unwieldy, unwilling and unable to adapt to an ever changing galaxy. And thus it died. The ideals it believed in; peace, justice, freedom, and democracy were outmoded and had to be abandoned for the greater good of galactic civilization. The people had proven themselves incapable of self-governance, forever discrediting democratic government in my eyes and solidifying one of the central tenets of the New Order: only the strong and capable deserve to rule.
And the masses accepted this. At least, most of them did. However, as the years have passed and the Empire's hold over the galaxy has solidified there has been a small yet incredibly vocal minority who have advocated a return to the old ways. These dissidents inevitably fermented into outright rebellion, and from there civil war. Or so the anchors on the HoloNews like to claim. But this isn't civil war, it is merely pest control. To allow this infestation to spread any further invites doubt into everything that I and the New Order stand for, doubt that shall plunge the galaxy back into chaos. This cannot, will not, be tolerated.
A lance of emerald light lunges forth towards Alderaan. An entire world is consumed in fire and death. A violent explosion flashes brighter than a star as rocks and debris fly forth into the depths of space, and for a split second I feel as if I have attained the power of a god. The feeling is intoxicating.
It took countless millions of years for Alderaan to become the planet it was less than a second ago. It took millions of years for life to form and thrive on that world. It took thousands of years for its sentient inhabitants to create a distinct society, to build up its institutions, its values, its culture and its sense of history. And in less than a fraction of a second millions of years of progress has been undone at my hands. Not even the forces of nature can resist the power at my disposal.
The Princess lets out a strangled gasp as she sees her beloved homeworld consumed and destroyed in a horrific inferno. Her feelings on the matter are irrelevant. Alderaan shall serve as an excellent deterrent against any future rebellion. I admit that I feel no small amount of satisfaction watching that world of holier than thou pacifists blown to smithereens. Much like the Republic they adored the Alderaanians were stuck in their ways, unable to adapt in a changing universe. It is a simple rule of evolution after all; those incapable of adapting to a changing environment do not survive.
With the death of Alderaan resistance to the New Order shall vanish. After all, the only thing the average being recognizes is brute force. The truncheon and the fear of it has done more to keep the peace than the spoken word ever has. This Death Star shall be that truncheon, a symbol to be feared and respected for all time.
And now that the Emperor has finally disbanded the Senate, sweeping away the last remnants of the Old Republic, I shall use this battle station to finally make the New Order a reality.
The Emperor was the man who dreamt of the New Order after all, and I am the architect that shall finally make it a reality. And it shall be glorious. No more shall the rebels sow discord and disunity. No more shall the corrupt and decadent abuse their powers for personal gain. No more shall the weak of mind and principle be allowed to govern. Only the strong and capable shall rule and have a say in what is to happen. The people shall no longer wallow in their own filth, but rather join us in the bright light of the Emperor's magnificent vision. The future shall be one of power and authority. Countless trillions shall march as one, upholding the Empire's banner while doing the Emperor's bidding.
Antiquated concepts of morality and idealism shall be replaced with cold ruthless pragmatism. The unnecessary rights and freedoms that the rebels claim to cherish so much shall be sacrificed, for the people have proven incapable of having these rights without abusing them.
Monuments shall be built to glorify the Empire and those who made it a reality. Great war machines shall ensure peace and conformity with the New Order's ideals. And should anyone oppose the Empire they shall be made to obey its demands or else be crushed beneath its heel. The alien rabble shall be kept firmly under the Empire's jackboot, with power and authority remaining in capable hands; Human hands.
No one can possibly oppose me in this, for history marches on my side. I shall make the Emperor's dream a reality. Unlimited and unquestioned power and authority shall be mine. The Empire shall rule over the cosmos for all eternity, and I shall rule at the Emperor's side. It fills me with something resembling joy that none of this could have been possible without me.
The death of Alderaan shall be the birth of The New Order, and if this is so then I am in this moment both executioner and father simultaneously.
Soon the rebels shall be crushed, and my New Order shall be secure for all time.