Umbrous - Empire's Shadow
Part 1 - Awakening of Shadow
Oh, propaganda, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
Chapter 14
"Citizens of Ukio, the Empire has heard your pleas". The tinny voice of Governor Matap was amplified by the microphone, and he was high up, obscuring the terrified expression behind his bushy moustache. Beneath the large podium on the balcony of his office, a crowd of Ukians gathered, silently staring up at him.
TIE fighters hovered in mid-air beside him, and the orange of the assembled Ukians was intersected by a squirming web of white stormtrooper helmets. To the governor's left was the expanse of the Ukon Market, now mostly empty, and to the right was a forest which stretched all the way to the university grounds.
If any of the assembled beings had been looking, they would have seen a rustle in the trees as a young human female and Ukian male snuck out of the forest and into the back of the crowd.
What fewer people would have been able to see was a movement in the treeline as a smaller figure made its way stealthily, hidden in between the branches and leaves of a tree, to get a good view of the plaza before it.
As it was, the crowd had fallen silent and attentive. The Empire acknowledging their pleas had been an entirely unexpected move, one which had caught the growing revolution on Ukio, such as it was, off guard.
The governor's office had hastily prepared a stage near the edge of the Market, and once the working day had begun to end, people had begun to flock in.
This was undoubtedly a response to the previous month's protests, during which a stormtrooper helmet filled with Uko leaves had been thrown through the governor's window.
Inside had been a holorecording by Tosta Di Casto, demanding change from the governor's office, and threatening riots and popular revolt.
"Death Before Slavery" had been their motto, and it had been painted in black paint over the town hall and university. The past few weeks had seen Imperials being refused food at the Market or forced to pay double.
The government had not made any statements until this announcement, and now many Ukians had arrived, though the absence of Tosta Di Casto and his core following had been noted.
Some suspected that they didn't consider the Empire's move to be genuine, and others thought they were scared of being killed by the Empire. Either way, his absence was felt by the assembled crowd, and few believed they would see much change from this statement.
High up in the trees, Kaan suspected he knew something of what was going on, but was surprised by the move, nonetheless. It fit right in with the Empire's grandiose delivery, but not with the timidity Kaan associated with Matap.
"The benevolent Empire understands the hardships you have faced since the destruction of our Death Star. We know how you have suffered to help compensate for its loss, and how many meals you have missed. Know this, however: The Empire will not let you stand alone!"
This looked like it had been intended to provoke a tremendous roar of approval, but the Governor got a low cheer at best. He still hadn't promised anything, yet.
Kaan saw the look in his eyes that most of the assembled wouldn't have, however, and realised that Matap knew this. He was simply judging the crowd's mood, to evaluate how best to deliver his next words.
Kaan, accustomed to seeing Matap as little more than an underqualified fool, suddenly felt a newfound respect for the Governor.
"As of next week, all Ukian farmers are to be provided with specialised farming machinery, designed by Imperial engineers, to help with the difficult task of ploughing and transporting your crop!"
All were shocked, with the exception of Kaan. He knew this was, at least in part, his suggestion playing out even better than expected.
A direct subsidy would have been seen as the Empire taking pity on the Ukians, and besides might have landed Matap in trouble with off-world superiors who would have wanted to just tax Ukio and quash any revolt with force of arms.
This move was no better from a practical standpoint, as the machines would be firmly under Imperial control, but would allow the Ukians to feel like they were being helped and not patronized.
Being an entirely male society, Ukians valued pride and strength over understanding and compromise, and this policy satisfied their calls for justice while carefully avoiding the accusations of patronization. Kaan smiled to himself assuredly, confident that Matap had the crowd in the palm of his hand.
From the crowd, a voice called out in the broken Basic spoken by Ukio's illiterate peasantry "Empire is think that we too weak to farm?". Others in the crowd began to mutter amongst themselves and turn to the podium to hear a response. In the trees, Kaan gulped, not having considered this possibility.
He hoped that Matap's charisma would see him through this. And indeed, Matap frowned, trying to understand, before his eyes widened and he hastily responded
"Oh, but the Empire knows of the might of the Ukians! Who can deny the fearsome strength of the great Palo San Casto?". Kaan was surprised that he knew this, and clearly the Ukians were too.
They began to smile at his familiarity with the fable of the mythic Ukian farmer who, with his immense strength, had single-handedly stopped a landslide from hitting a village. The story was likely apocryphal, but his descendants, amongst them the rebel Tosta Di Casto, were incredibly proud of telling it, and his story was told in bedtime stories to Ukian younglings from poorer backgrounds, raising him to folk hero status amongst most of the population.
Younglings like Bongo, who came from richer backgrounds, heard a different version, in which the patriarch Casto had been protecting criminals and thieves in the village and had forced his slaves to hold up the landslide, who were interred in the process. Bongo was resolute in his belief that the slaves had been killed and interred with Palo taking credit for it, but Kaan was equally suspicious of this telling as of the original.
After allowing a moment to pass, Matap resumed speaking "The Empire's aid does not come to replace your strength, but to augment it. An Ukian alone in a day can farm a quarter of an acre of land, but with the Empire's harnesses and transports, you will farm an acre a day! These tools are here to help you, and let you feed your families"
He now adopted a serious tone, having won the crowd over to his side. "For too long we have ignored your pleas, and for that we can only beg your forgiveness."
Governor Matap's moustache had stopped quivering, and he spoke softly, and deliberately, forming a stark contrast with the stormtroopers around him, whose imposing, immobile stances suggested anything but humility. "Let there be peace between Ukians and the Empire, and let it be known that they speak with one voice."
And with that, Governor Matap signalled the TIE fighters to fly back to base, and the assembled congregation broke up.
There was scattered applause, as if the crowd was unsure whether what they had heard was good or bad. Kaan couldn't help but be impressed at the tact with which Matap had spoken, the guile with which he had subdued the crowd's rage.
This, he surmised, was how Matap had attained his lofty position, hiding his lack of political acumen or economic understanding behind a veil of oratory brilliance. Matap had executed Kaan's plan with a kind of subtlety that Kaan lacked altogether.
Looking down from his perch, he saw a group of Ukians leaving the crowd which had begun discussing amongst themselves. Focusing on the conversation, he sensed their emotions: rage at the Empire, shock and confusion at the sudden generosity, and above all, wariness as to their intention.
These Ukians were part of Casto's rebels, and the leader would soon learn of these plans. He would be furious at losing his control over the people, and when he made a blunder, the Empire would destroy him. Kaan made a mental note to congratulate the Governor on a job well done.
So... we all misjudged Matap. Me included, and I invented him! His political strategy is very much based off of the current UK Prime Minister (at the time of writing)