Saga Security and Prosperity: Interviews with the Emperor and Vader

Author: aldocassidy
Title: Security and Prosperity-Interviews with the Emperor and Lord Vader
Era: Between the Trilogies
Summary: An excerpt from an article written about the state of the Empire.

Disclaimer: This is a fictional article about fictional characters (courtesy and property of Mr. Lucas). It is in no way a spoof of actual political figures or events, and no political connotations, agendas, or hidden meanings should be derived from it. It is purely entertainment, nothing more. Thank you.




Security and Prosperity: Interviews with the Empire
Part 1-With the Emperor on Naboo

Published in Vol. 325, Issue 19, of Galactic News and Business Quarterly Magazine.


By: Wob Boodward

Another year, another Empire Day. The novelty is gone now, along with, perhaps, the thrill of the whole concept behind it. New Holidays are declared everyday by self-important governments, whether broad or local. It is, however, a rare occasion in our lifetimes when we see one that transcends their transparent origins, nominal announcements, to penetrate deep within our collective souls and fuses together with the identity of our society. Whether Empire Day has accomplished that yet, of course, is still up in the air.

It is the tenth celebration of holiday, though, and efforts to mark it across the Galaxy have been accelerated with a renewed vigor which, ostensibly demonstrates, the malaise that has accompanied the day the last few years. Gone is the sense of urgency and danger that accompanied the first years of the celebration. The Separatists are but ancient history now, the old systems incorporated firmly into the Galactic Empire. The Jedi are now virtually extinct, save for the few insurgencies that spring up in various outer-rim colonies (we have Lord Vader to thank for taking care of such incidents). All this brings us to the inevitable question: What use is a Patriotic holiday in a time of peace and stability?

Located in the Mid-Rim, Naboo is as different from Coruscant as the Sith are from the Jedi. The air is fresh, the surrounding meadows and rivers are subtle but complete in their natural beauty, and the people here hold a rather antiquated, yet charming sense of tradition and protocol. Hard to imagine that such a planet is the birthplace of an Empire, or rather, its Emperor.

I had the privilege to spend the tenth Empire Day with the Emperor himself, at his sprawling mansion on the outskirts of Theed, the planet's capital. Rarely acknowledged anymore by his actual name in favor of his current, and lifetime, title, the former Senator and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine granted our magazine and myself special access as he returns to his native home.

The Emperor admits that it's been years since he's been back. "Such is the life of an Emperor,¡¨ he remarks as we walk through one of the estate's gardens, still lovely and full of life despite the lack of an active maintenance in the past decade. "In reality, you are sacrificing away your personal life, your identity, for the betterment of society and the Galaxy as a whole. I would like nothing more than to spend the rest of my days here on Naboo, tending to my flowers and strolling by its waterfalls, but to do so would be an act of negligence on my part."

It is hard to imagine the Emperor as negligent. It is also hard to perceive him as someone deprived of power. Twenty-three years in charge of a Galaxy will tend to do that to public opinion. Yet, the complaint these days is that the Emperor is less visible than ever, rarely making any speeches or appearances anymore. Some allege that the venerable Palpatine has become senile, leaving most of the administrative work to his administrators and the bureaucracy that he has so despised throughout most of his political career. Other less visible critics charge that the exalted one is embarrassed of his physical appearance.

"I suppose," muses the Emperor, "that I should be proud of the scars I suffered from the betrayal of the Jedi. That I wear them as a

 

Interesting. Though I'm not seeing many parallels? perhaps the warning is unnecessary?

Nice work!

KT

 

¡§Operation D-Star. I cannot impart you the exact details of what it is, but the operations success will do much to improve areas of our government such as security, diplomacy, as well as the final elimination of the bureaucracy.¡¨



This was priceless!! I can't wait for Vader's!

 

Though I'm not seeing many parallels? perhaps the warning is unnecessary?

You would be surprised what people will read into things when they want to.

 

As a (former)History and Political Science major in school I have to say this concept for a fic is brilliant! I'm on pins and needles to hear Vader's reaction to THAT question!

bran
_ThatJediScum_
ps. uh, it's a sock(see sig)

 

Today, I look in the mirror and I can't help but see the persona of, perhaps, a plotting villain.

My goodness. Palpatine has a sense of humor.

Please PM me when you have Vader's interview up.

- lazy

 

This was great Aldo! I loved the Emperor's sense of humor when it came to his appearance. This conversation almost convinced me that the Empire wasn't such a bad thing I can't wait to read Vader's response!

 

Very cool. For the first time i found myself sliding towards the Emperor's side...And this was just an article, no wonder the Republic fell. I think i must write a pro-Empire fic...

 

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Kilik_Twilight: Thanks! Perhaps the warning wasn't necessary, but I just had to make sure.

LLL: Yeah, I just couldn't help adding that in. Just as a friendly reminder of the devious side of Palpy, after seeing his softer PR side for awhile.

_That_Sith_Witch_: Thanks! I had been reading a lot of news and business magazines, and the idea just somehow popped into my head.

lazykbys_left: Hey, the best lies are ones that are hidden with truth.

jpauln: Thanks for reading. This ditty is the polar opposite of your new story, huh? Or maybe they're not as different as they seem...

Brant_Flir: Glad I could give you ideas! With all their resources, you figure the Empire and Palpy's gotta have some type of PR every once in awhile.


Again, thanks to everyone for reading. I haven't started the Vader part yet, but hopefully I'll do it soon, after the whole New Year's craziness is over with.

 

I can't wait for more! That was priceless!