The Message

[Darth Viscera]

The Unknown Regions



The star system had been completely uninhabited. Until recently it had appeared on no galactic star charts, had been host to no hyperlanes, no deep space traders. This had changed abruptly six months ago, and now the system, named XR-559 by an Imperial survey vessel, was host to a single communications outpost, built into a planetoid just outside the system's asteroid belt.

Two shuttles had departed the outpost just moments ago, their sublight engines cutting in, and after a moment of orientation, the shuttles shot into hyperspace, heading in different directions.




Delteon



The shuttle had landed at the starport, and as its boarding ramp descended, a man had disembarked, followed closely by an astromech droid. The man wore the uniform of a COMPNOR officer, save for one minor detail. On his sleeve was the seal of Darth Viscera, the Diktat. He motioned to the squad of stormtroopers who stood arrayed in two lines awaiting his arrival, and spoke.

"Take me to the Vice Diktat."

"Yes, sir."


***

The COMPNOR officer stepped into the throne room, the astromech following closely behind. He looked from side to side, trying to get his bearings, the room dark and brooding. He noted the magnificent banners, looked down now upon the Imperial seal upon which he stood, now gazed at the dais. He saw Khendon Sevon now, and gave a breath of recognition, before raising his voice for all to hear.

"My lord, I bear a message from the Diktat."

He reached a hand out, tapped the droid on the dome, and the astromech responded with a whistle. A beam of light projected from the R10 unit, and a hologram of the dark lord's head materialized above, towering over everything in the room.

"Lord Sevon," began the hologram of Darth Viscera. "I have foreseen the downfall of the Rebellion. Await my arrival in the Tarkanis cluster. Together, we shall see the Empire restored to its former glory."




Thyferra



On Thyferra, another COMPNOR officer had entered the headquarters of Grand Admiral Telan Desaria, and stood now within his office, an R10 unit nearby, its holoprojector active. Above, the image of the Diktat spoke.

"Greetings, Admiral Desaria. A war is coming, and soon we shall put an end to this insignificant rebellion. Serve me faithfully, Admiral, and you shall share in the triumph of the New Order. Await my orders on Thyferra."

[Telan Desaria]

The words hung in the air, the collective held breath of every officer in the room frozen in time as the revalation hit them all - the future was now over and no matter how much they fought against it, the past had returned. Darth Viscera, Lord Diktat of the Empire, had disappeared nearly five years before at the head of the largest armada ever assembled to drive the Vong from the galaxy by doing battle in the great rifts beyond. Reports had come in through every channel telling of horrors unseen in any war visited upon man or beast.


The missive was simple but the implications thereof could not be outdone in severity by any congregation of words. With the return of Viscera all pretense of factionalism would die, the last remnant of the Great Fragmentation would fade from the memory of all who lived. The massive starfleets that once roamed the galaxy in search of prey would again be unleashed, music to the ears of any Admiral. So too would hatred, anger, and violence, loathe to any man of honour.


Drawing his strength, Grand Admiral Desaria looked from Xucphra City, sprawling around High Command and then in to the faces of the men who had served him loyally for a half-decade.


" No man who salutes the Imperial Banner, no being who draws the Standard of the Empire close to his heart will ever swear allegiance to one man. They will take and obey the same oath they have taken and execute their duties as I have done. We swear our allegiance and pledge our lives to the Empire. Victory and glory will reign again, but not at the cost of our honour or humanity. We will remain true to ourselves and our cause.


" However, if the Lord Diktat commands us to die then die we shall with our jackboots polished and our honour intact. When we enter the real of enternal battle that lies beyond for all warriors we can hold our heads high knowing we never sacrificed the one thing that separates us from our enemies - our pursuit of true jusitce, order, and dignity.


" We fight. We await his arrival and carry on in the name of the Empire. We cannot defeat the galaxy divided, only united do we stand a chance. So united we shall become!


" Gloria Imperium!!!!"

[Khendon Sevon]

Khendon scrutinized the COMPNOR officer with heavy, cold eyes. His face had remained motionless with a permanent scowl on it since Viscera’s messenger had entered.

In the still mists that floated at the edges of the throne room figures shifted uneasily. Two elite stormguardsmen, nearly invisible in the deep bath of blackness, analyzed the single threat in the massive chamber.

The silence was shattered when Khendon stood. His trench coat took to the air and danced with dark glee. The Imperator’s voice rang through the hallowed halls as his hand clasped a saber’s long hilt, “And what words, Good Soldier, did Viscera bid you give me? Have you forgotten something?

“Holograms can be forged. There are certainly sufficient images and clips of the Diktat to produce a counterfeit. Tell me, what words did that Dark Soul command ye to tell me? Speak quick and with an unwavering tongue!”

[Darth Viscera]

The officer kneeled now, his eyes on the base of the dais upon which the Vice Diktat of the Galactic Empire sat.

"My lord," he began, "If you examine the droid's memory banks, you will find irrefutable authentication. Encrypted within the header of the message is none other than your own command code. The Diktat's message is quite genuine."

The astromech shrieked in dismay at the casual mentioning of an examination that could lead to its disassembly.

[Khendon Sevon]

The moisture in the air fled as Khendon approached the kneeling man, saber still clenched in a tight fist. “Rise, you serve the Diktat well. It will be noted when I meet him in the Tarkanis cluster.

“Send him word that his dark disciple is ready to crush the skulls of the Rebels beneath armored, Imperial feet. Powder shall be made from the bones of the slain and sprinkled across the cosmos as a reminder to all who would defy us!” The Imperator smiled at the little droid and patted it.

Without a sound the neural transmitter interfaced with the droid’s systems. Information was streamed to advanced analyzers as fast as the little machine’s hardware could work. A neural pulse was relayed to Khendon. He showed his teeth. “Now, be gone! And make haste to my Master, recite every word as I have said it!”

The ruler of the most technologically advanced people in the galaxy returned to his seat of power. With head propped on arm, he thought of what had just transpired. The future will be a test beyond any planning… I must be prepared for anything and everything.