Ethereal Visions

[Darth Viscera]

Darth Viscera looked down upon the cityscape of Coruscant from the Imperial Palace. The gargantuan statues of monument plaza could be seen, even at this distance, the fallen Emperor Palpatine seeming to watch over his realm. Down below, dancing atop a large repulsorpad, thousands of humans donned the uniforms of the Battalions of Zhell, and engaged in some obscure celebration. This planet had been visited by war in all its fury thousands of times during the eons, and yet it survived, a marvel of adaptation.

Yet, we must not allow war to visit this planet during the coming campaign, to shatter that which we have worked so hard to construct.

He opened the palm of his hand, and touched the dark side of the force with a single command. A small device flew to him, a portable holographic generator which contained various maps which were updated in proportion to the political situation in the galaxy. Sitting it on the ledge, he activated the device, calling up the map he had viewed a thousand times before. Not once had it failed to enrage him, and tonight was no night of marvelous exception.

The Galactic Empire, itself represented in a dark blue hue, extended near the Core and Inner Rim worlds, then crescented around the galaxy towards the extremes of the Outer Rim. The Sith Empire, itself represented in a dark red hue, was far more scattered in its holdings, or rather those which the Empire was aware of.

He clenched his teeth. My Emperor would never have allowed this division to take place. They inhibit our expansion with their petty games, and deny us Fondor.

He stepped back from the balcony, still gripping the projector. Inside the large throne room, Rear Admiral Serena Laran sat atop a command chair. She had been called to the Diktat for a strategic consultation, and sat facing a durasteel desk in the corner, consulting her own maps and various war materials. The hues from her holographic maps played odd mixtures of light upon her red hair, which had been put up in an impeccable twist to maintain regulations. Her uniform was the dull gray of the Imperial Navy, and so most of her seemed to blend into the darkness.

"Come out of there, Admiral Laran. I do not wish to be reminded of Director Isard sulking in an ill-lit corner."

[Serena Laran]

Laran looked up from the maps and datapads she was studying, and blinked at the Diktat. Where he was standing the sunlight was brightest, although the light seemed to be choked in amongst his dark robes. She pushed the flimsies and datapads away from her, and stood to her feet, moving away from the table.

"I apologize, sir, for my appearance. However, I find that my attention is better spent on the Empire's plans. The devil is, as they say, in the details. If I may speak freely, sir," Viscera nodded slightly, "the assault on the main planets should be looked at closely."

She stepped back and jabbed her finger at a topographical map, outlining a few areas with a gesture. "Ground troops must be landed to take out these postitions. With all due respect, we won't break their backbone if our fleets simply bombard them from space."

Viscera looked as if he would tell her to take a break from thinking, but she looked stiffly at his boots, and then at his eyes, her green irises unflinching. "Again, with all due respect, Diktat." Serena, subdued again from her outburst, took her seat, her icy cool gaze meeting the eyes of the older, more experienced officers.

In the background she could hear the noises from the street, but they were more of a interference of her duty, a distraction from her resolve to serve the Empire to the best of her abilities.

[Zorin Hexes]

Zorin seemed be entranced by something, staring at the map carefully from his seat among the others. There were little bits of dust traveling through the projection. He ran his fingers back through his blond hair, letting it fall back against his scalp in a cascade. His blue eyes were engulfed in red hues, filled with images of the enemy territory. He cared not for The Sith Empire. The Diktat's voice caused him to turn his attention to Laran. He had worked with her on a few occasions... she was a very intriguing woman. Nothing like Isard.

[Darth Viscera]

In the center of the throne room, hidden doors installed in the floor and ceiling opened. Servos whirred, maneuvering droid arms into place. The droid arms, in turn, assembled a larger holographic generator in the center of the room, placing ultra-light composites in their respective positions, fastening power couplings together. Several seconds later, the assemblage was finished, and the holo-generator activated. It scanned the Diktat, translucent beams of violet light probing at the tympanic membrane.

Input stream accepted_

"Nine years ago," the Diktat began, illustrating with the galactic holomap. He pointed in the direction of Coruscant, and icons representing individual Imperial fleets streamed towards the capital of the galaxy.

"..we liberated the galactic capital. Scarcely a month afterwords, nearly a hundred thousand worlds had seceded from the Republic." In response to his words, the holomap changed the icon of Coruscant to an Imperial symbol, and changed the label of the planet to 'Imperial Center'. Floods of worlds abandoned the green color code which identified them as aligned with the Republic, and became grey, neutral.

"Why did they not join the Empire? Their fear obviously had enough of an impact amongst them to cause a secession. 'Between the hearts of the wicked two I have stumbled. I dare not move, in fear of enraging he who should be of greater distance,' or so the epic goes. Rob the supposed Sith Empire of their existance as a political entity, and we strengthen our own."