Star Wars: Heir to the Sith (Part 1) (#Wattys2018 shortlist)

Chapter 9: "Death to the Empire!"

Palpatine dead! The Executor lost with all hands?

Pina gasped. And then the realisation that the Death Star had been destroyed hit him. His own career had been fast tracked after the destruction of the first one, when so many officers that formed the cream of the Empire had perished. Could the Empire survive another loss of that magnitude?

The battle report repeated:

"Emperor Palpatine and Lord Vader are captured or dead. Star Destroyer Executor is lost with all hands. The Death Star is destroyed. All Imperial forces are making a strategic withdrawal under the direction–"

"Turn it off!" Karion yelled. "Turn it off!"

The technician fumbled his unit and the report started a third repeat.

"Emperor Palpatine and Lord Vader are captured or dead . . ."

It couldn't be true! It just couldn't!

Pina reached for his communicator to contact the Reaver, but even as he did so a great cry carried out of the camp, a yell that issued forth from every refugee capable of making any noise. It was the cry of celebration. It was the cry of the dream of freedom that, so long forgotten, was suddenly in reach.

The wookie elder, chained to the post before the firing squad, bared his teeth and joined them. Tears ran down his face as he howled out his triumph.

Valsum had indeed lived long enough to see Palpatine fall.

"Death to the Empire!" the crowd shouted. "Long live the Republic!"

"Freedom!" cried others. "Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!"

Pina motioned to the stormtrooper nearest him.

"Get my belt and blaster," he said. He saw Karion, bellowing orders at the Imperial technician. The broadcasts finally ceased.

"Verify it," Karion commanded. "It's most likely some damn rebel trick." The admiral pointed at the wookie, still chained and bellowing. "Carry out execution immediately."

Queen Myr spoke out:

"It's over Admiral Karion. If Palpatine and Vader really are dead, then there is no Empire left. There is no need for this murder!"

"They're not dead," Karion answered. "It's impossible that the rebels succeeded when the trap was set by the Emperor himself. You'll see. Soon we will have real confirmation. Not rebel propaganda. Proceed with the execution."

The ten stormtroopers took aim at the joyful wookie. Their captain gave the orders.

"Please Admiral Karion!" Jish cried. "Don't do this!"

"You'll have an uprising on your hands!" King Garrand shouted.

Pina looped his belt around his waist and unclasped his holster. Even with the blaster in easy reach, he didn't feel secure from the thousands of chanting faces less than three hundred metres away.

"Form up," he instructed the nearest squad of stormtroopers. "Keep an eye on the crowd. But keep your blasters down. We don't want to provoke anything."

"I forbid this Admiral Karion. I forbid it." For the first time Governor Mazier seemed truly motivated. "As the Governor of this system the judiciary is under my control. You have no right here. Return to your ship and leave."

Karion's mouth fell open in disbelief.

"You are ordering me? I will have you arrested and tried for treason after this. You! A third rate governor who has failed in his bid to maintain order! Therefore, the judiciary is mine to command. And I have passed judgement. The Empire's will still holds sway."

"The Empire is finished!" Governor Mazier yelled. "It was finished before you even jumped into this system. You will find, Admiral Karion, that the real Empire is far different when viewed from a planet's surface than from the bridge of a Star Destroyer. Or are you such a fool as to deny this?"

It was exactly at that moment that the stormtrooper commander gave the order to fire.

Ten bolts of red super-heated laser fire poured into Valsum's defiant figure. He didn't even have time to cry out. Pina watched in shock as the charred remains of the noble wookie fell to the earth in black ash.

Silence.

A gust of wind stirred the remains. A blackened bone appeared, shattered from the force of the blaster fire. There was no flesh. No hair. No blood.

Only black ash that hid black bone.

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This is one of those occasions where an action has been taken that cannot be undone or corrected. There are only repercussions to be faced. It is also interesting how the Imperial Governor on Farsalt, Mazier, insists that the Empire is already finished - having seen the Empire from the ground up, where its actions are undeniable, his experiences are far different from Karion's or Pina's.