CHAPTER ELEVEN
Imperial Palace
Kilrah
"Our conquest of the galaxy is not going fast enough."
That simple comment was enough to jolt the Emperor out of the gentle lull of indifference that he had found himself in over the last few minutes. Being the leader of an Empire meant that someone in his position was often required to partake in matters of politics and diplomacy. Sure, it provided one with ultimate power over their subjects, but it obviously did not come without its pitfalls. And he had been forced to learn this firsthand.
Every now and then, the Emperor was required to hold court with the Barons; the leaders of the other seven Noble Clans, to discuss matters deemed vital to the Empire. But more often than not during these meetings, he found himself wishing that he were out on the frontlines, spilling the blood of many an enemy. But then, who was to say that such an event could not occur even here in the halls of the Imperial Palace? That was the Kilrathi way, after all.
Discreetly easing himself back up in his chair, the Emperor narrowed his one good eye at the individual who had just spoken. It came as absolutely no surprise whatsoever that, of all the Barons, it was Jukaga nar Ki'ra who chose to vocalise his disapproval of the Emperor's policies. He was by far one of the craftiest individuals that the Emperor had ever had the displeasure of meeting. He was very intelligent, and he hardly ever did anything that did not benefit him or his goals in some way. This kind of behaviour was not uncommon amongst the Kilrathi, but Jukaga took this to a whole new level.
And, of course, he absolutely despised the Emperor with every fibre of his being.
This hatred seemed to stem from Jukaga's belief that the current ruler was of lower blood, and that his policies would inevitably lead the Kilrathi Empire to ruin. But that was only scratching the surface. A much deeper reason was the fact that Jukaga's clan, the Ki'ra, had actually been the rulers of the Empire long ago; before the Utara had visited Kilrah and bestowed upon them the gift of space travel, with which they would use to bring their desire for battle and conquest to the stars. But the Kiranka had launched a crusade against the Ki'ra, ousting them from power and establishing themselves as the new royal family.
Even a passing thought of the Emperor would cause Jukaga to positively seethe with rage; an unrelenting hatred at the fact that the current ruler was the decendant of those who had taken the throne away from his clan. Rightfully, it should have been him sitting on the Throne of Kilrah! Not this descendant of usurpers and backstabbers!
Countless times, the insidious Baron had plotted over and over in his mind the day when he would depose the Emperor, evening the score and regaining the throne for his clan. The day he would finally exact his revenge for the Ki'ra against the vile Kiranka who had taken the power away from them. It was a day he looked forward to with much eagerness.
But until then, he would play the dutiful follower, carrying out the Emperor's will when necessary, all while discreetly attempting to undermine his power from beneath him. Sowing mistrust and dissent within the high-ranking nobles, in the hopes that it would filter down the ranks into the lower classes, laying the foundation for that single glorious moment when he would make his move.
Jukaga was a patient individual. He could wait.
"And what evidence do you have to back up such a claim?" another deep voice growled in the dim lighting of the meeting room. Jukaga recognised it as belonging to Baron Talmak nar Sutaghi. A powerful clan in their own right, the Sutaghi owned several of the more developed inner worlds of the Empire. Unfortunately, they had an annoying habit of palming off their problems onto one of the other clans. If they were faced with a setback or something else which could cause them trouble, they very rarely fixed it themselves, but rather turned it into something which another clan would solve for them. Baron Talmak had honed this into an art form.
"Indeed," another voice rumbled. "All things considered, we seem to be doing quite well. We have expanded faster than we ever have in our history." This remark was made by Buktag'ka; the Baron of the Sikhag clan. Out of the eight Kilrathi clans, the Sikhag were considered the lowest of them all, and were willing to do anything to elevate their status. This included sucking up to the Emperor and the royal family at every available opportunity, which was what Buktag'ka seemed to be doing right now.
"All things considered, yes, we have made expansions the likes of which have never been recorded in the history of our race," Jukaga replied very coolly. "But at the same time, one cannot help but wonder that maybe we are going too slowly. After all, in the past, we conquered our foes quickly."
"That is true," spoke up Yikta of the Caxki clan. "But we were only fighting small isolated races then. This time, we are waging war upon the whole galaxy. Even at our fastest pace, such a campaign is going to take years to complete. If we expand too quickly, we risk overstretching our resources and leaving ourselves vulnerable to attack. In this particular situation, it pays to take things relatively slow."
The Emperor only just managed to suppress a frustrated groan. He had been hearing this same argument over and over again ever since the war started over a year ago. While virtually every Kilrathi was behind their war effort against the Galactic Alliance, there was still division amongst them. There were those among his people who wanted to step up the pace against the Alliance and hit them hard and fast, and there were others who believed that they should take their time and be more thorough. But one thing that the Emperor could count on was the fact that Baron Jukaga would oppose him on everything, regardless of what the matter was and where he actually stood on it.
By Sivar, did he ever hate politics!
Wishing to head off any futher pointless debate, the Emperor raised his voice and spoke his next comment in a commanding tone. "Regardless of your constantly-shifting stances on the war, I believe that we have found something that may very well please all of you." Here, the squabbling between the Barons ceased, and he lowered his voice. "Something that may very well turn the favour of this war in our favour." He gave the others a knowing grin, his pointed fangs glinting in the dull light. Motioning with his right claw, he ushered forward a figure that, until now, had remained hidden in the shadows behind his large chair.
Stepping forward, Gilkarg nar Kiranka carried himself with a sense of pride and decorum commonly seen amongst long-serving members of the military, regardless of what side they fought for. Though he was not as revered as his father, nor quite as feared as his ruthless son, he was still Kalralahr; the Supreme Commander of the armed forces, and thus commanded a great deal of respect from all facets of their society.
Drawing himself up to his full height, Gilkarg began his speech. "Under orders from the Emperor, I was assigned to investigate a series of rumours that we managed to discern from many of the captives we secured and interrogated during our campaign throughout the Outer Rim. Specifically, we wanted to determine if there were any serious threats that could pose a potentially great danger to us or our forces."
"If such threats existed, then surely we would have heard about them by now," commented Vak, the Baron of the Ragitagha clan. "In fact, they would have most likely used them against us already."
"Your arrogance will be your undoing!" snapped another Baron. "You continue to underestimate our adversaries. Just because they have not utilised them yet does not mean they have no intention of doing so in the future. If you truly understood war, then you would realise that one does not use their greatest assest until such time as it is required." It was no surprise to anybody that the individual who had spoken up was Qar'ka, the leader of the Qarg clan. While the Ragitagha were famous for their over-developed sense of superiority, the Qarg were known for employing a sense of rationale and intelligence with the way they fought; a tactic not usually employed by the other clans.
Not only that, but for as long as any Kilrathi could remember, the Qarg and Ragitagha had been long-standing enemies, much like the Ki'ra and the Kiranka. But while the cause of that particular enmity was well known, the reason for the Qarg-Ragitagha feud was more of a mystery, though speculation abounded. It was commonly assumed that the two sides had been at odds for so long, the reason had simply been forgotten.
Eager to head off any further bickering between the two rival clan leaders, Kalralahr Gilkarg cut in, continuing his presentation in a slightly louder voice. "Regardless of what they may or may not have right now, my people managed to ascertain that such objects have indeed existed in the past. For example, from what we have learnt about the recent history of the greater galactic community, we know that there was a great war between the New Republic – the precursor to the current Alliance – and their enemies who called themselves the Galactic Empire. You are all familiar with this, correct?" Here, the other occupants of the room nodded.
"Well, apparently, this Empire was quite liberal in their use of such 'superweapons'. In fact, they built not one, but two of such devices that were called Death Stars. Each one was roughly the size and shape of a small moon, and was equipped with a superlaser that was capable of destroying an entire planet, reducing it to an asteroid field. And from what I heard, they utilised these Death Stars more than once. If you were to look up the planets Despayre and Alderaan, you will find they no longer exist. At least not as intact planets."
A shocked murmur rippled through the room. Ka'ta of the Kurutak clan asked a question. "But what could possibly be the purpose of such a horrible weapon?"
"From what we determined," Gilkarg continued, "the leader of this Empire, a Human named Palpatine, cared very little for honour and glory. He simply wanted to control everything, and make everybody so afraid of him that they obeyed his will without question. The Death Stars were likely designed for such a purpose. If a planet showed any sign of disobedience, they would be threatened with utter destruction, all in order to prevent anybody from questioning Palpatine's authority. If they openly continued to rebel, the whole world would be destroyed."
The silence in the room suddenly became all the more oppressive. The Kilrathi were undoubtedly a violent race, but they usually did such things for the good of their whole Empire. This Palpatine, however, seemed more than willing to wipe out countless millions - if not more - simply to force others into doing what he wanted, almost like a petulant child throwing a temper tantrum because things did not go his way.
"You said that there were two of these Death Stars," Ka'ta asked tentatively. "What happened to them?"
"Fortunately, both of them were destroyed by Alliance forces in two separate battles, four years apart," Gilkarg answered, prompting very subtle sighs of relief from all around the room. "Apparently, both of them had very vital weak spots that the Alliance was able to exploit, which caused chain reactions that ultimately destroyed them. And even then, there were other weapons that the Empire built, but were ultimately destroyed by the Alliance."
"Were they as terrifying as these Death Stars?" asked Yikta nar Caxki.
"Some were," Gilkarg responded. "Others were even worse. There was a weapon called the Galaxy Gun, which was also capable of destroying entire planets. Its method was slightly different, though; instead of using very powerful lasers, it launched projectiles that contained a very rare substance capable of generating a tremendous explosion. These projectiles could be sent through hyperspace itself, and when they impacted with the targeted planet, or starship for that matter, it would burrow to the core, and set off a chain reaction to make it explode.
"Another Imperial weapon was one known as the Sun Crusher. This one was a small vessel, not much larger than a fighter, but it was capable of launching specialised projectiles into a star. These projectiles contained something which would destabilise the core of the star, causing it to go supernova."
"This Sun Crusher was capable of destroying entire star systems?" Talmak nar Sutaghi asked incredulously.
A simple nod from Gilkarg was all the answer that was required. The Kalralahr paused for a moment to let the shocking news sink in. Privately, he enjoyed their fear. Though these weapons he spoke of were not of Kilrathi design, and had long since been destroyed, it still pleased him that he could use them to put fear into the Nobles. They had an annoying habit of acting all superior to everybody, and there were some, particularly Jukaga, who felt that they were more suited to rule the Empire. If nothing else, they needed a sharp reality check to keep them under control and remind them who was in charge.
Though the Emperor would never voice such thoughts out loud, Gilkarg knew deep down that his father appreciated him doing such things.
Naturally, it was Jukaga nar Ki'ra who broke the spell. "Well, as devastating as all these weapons were, if they were all destroyed, then why should we waste any time worrying about them?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Gilkarg noticed his father flash an ever-so-slight grin, knowing that his son was about to reveal a delicious morsel of information that would put the Barons – particularly Jukaga – back in their place. "Because," he announced, "there is yet another such weapon still in existence. One that we could actually use to our own advantage."
This brought silence to the Barons once again. "What did the Imperials create this time?" Buktag'ka nar Sikhag asked rather tentatively.
"They did not create this one. No, this particular weapon is very old, believed to predate the old Republic that used to rule the galaxy before the Galactic Empire supplanted it. Nobody knows who created it, but its power is reported to be unbelievable. Not only can it destroy whole systems, it can create them, as well!"
"Create them?" asked Buktag'ka. Gilkarg ignored him and continued.
"This facility is called Centrepoint Station, and it is located in the star system known to the Alliance as Corellia. Legend has it that the system itself was created by this station; that its tremendous power was used to transport five habitable planets into stable orbits around the central star. If these legends are true, then this station is a potentially powerful asset that we could use against our enemies."
"And how do you propose we do that?" Jukaga asked, his voice tinted with sarcasm. "You politely ask the Alliance to let us use it?"
"No," Gilkarg retorted, his own voice displaying a frosty edge. "We capture it. The task itself would require some effort. However, the timing is likely at its most optimal."
"How so? We are in the middle of the Sivar-Eshrad."
"That is exactly the point! With the amount of effort we are throwing at Naboo to do the Sivar-Eshrad, the Alliance will be distracted, and they will likely be unable to commit forces to any other fronts. This makes it an ideal time to make our strike against Centrepoint Station."
Qar'ka nar Qarg leaned forward as he spoke. "You intend to commit many of our forces to capture a mysterious facility that we know nothing about? Have you lost your mind? How do we even know that we will be able to operate this station properly? For all we know, you could make a serious mistake which will destroy the station instead, in which case, we would potentially lose a powerful weapon as well as a great deal of our own forces!"
This sudden outburst brought forth other exclamations from the others. Both the Emperor and Gilkarg noticed that Vak nar Ragitagha was staring down Qar'ka, his clawed hand edging ever so slowly towards the dagger hanging from his belt. Given the intense rivalry between the two clans, he would have used any excuse to shed his enemy's blood. It did not matter in the slightest what the reason or excuse was; any one would do.
Despite the contempt that he felt for the squabbling Barons, the Emperor preferred not to let such a meeting degenerate into bloodshed. Standing up, he raised his voice and bellowed, "Silence!"
At their leader's booming command, the Barons immediately fell silent and turned their attention to him. Vak's hand moved back away from his dagger. Once the attention was back on him, the Emperor slowly and deliberately sat back down on his chair, the Barons following suit, never breaking their gaze away from him.
"I understand that this plan is…" he briefly glanced sideways at his son, "questionable." Gilkarg's gaze dropped to the floor. "However, history has shown, not just in our society, but in other societies around the galaxy, that the course of history has often been decided by the actions and choices of a few key individuals. Sometimes it is even a single individual who just happens to be at the critical moment at the opportune time. Given your interest in other cultures, Baron Jukaga, you should know this better than most."
Despite the obvious rebuke, that was true. Since expanding out from their own corner of the galaxy, the Kilrathi had come in contact with many more societies than they could have ever dreamed of. This had prompted a sudden influx of information on these societies; their history, culture, customs, literature, everything. Given their belligerent nature, most had displayed little to no interest in such things, opting instead to kill simply these peoples instead of study them. But there were some of the more intelligent ones in Kilrathi society who made it a point to learn about their new adversaries, if only to find any weaknesses they could exploit. Baron Jukaga was just such an individual.
"Now," the Emperor continued, "whatever the reasons or history behind this Centepoint Station, my son has determined that it does indeed seem to be a weapon of great power. We have no way of knowing whether or not this is true, but we cannot simply dismiss such things because they sound too incredible. However, I have only asked Gilkarg to research such things. What he chooses to do with such information is entirely up to him." He turned to his son. "So, Kalralahr Gilkarg nar Kiranka," he enunciated his full title, "what shall you choose to do about this?"
Suddenly feeling the eyes of everybody in the room upon him, Gilkarg had to take a few moments to steel himself. What his father had said echoed through his mind, throughout history, there had indeed been individuals whose very actions had steered the course of history. If he had made the wrong decision, then an incredible opportunity could have been lost, and he would probably be remembered through the ages as one who hesitated at his greatest moment.
But on the other paw, if he made the right decision, then he would be remembered as the great supreme commander who turned made perhaps the greatest strategic victory in the history of the Kilrathi; one that allowed them to eventually conquer the entire galaxy!
Thinking about that, he knew he could not let such an opportunity pass him up.
Gilkarg turned to the gathering of Barons, and made his announcement in a deep, clear growl. "We will take Centrepoint Station!"
That statement 'on the other paw'... it's obviously a play of 'on the other hand', but since Kilrathis have paws, I figured that was more likely to be in their lexicon.
All of the Barons in this chapter are pre-existing ones from the Wing Commander franchise. I researched them, their clans and how each of them would act. I'd like to think I did them justice in this chapter.