Jedi Empire: Interregnum [7-18-08]

[Solauren]

"I might have been Lord Darth Vader, put Palpatine masterminded the fall of the Republic, the Rise of the Empire, creation of the military, and destruction of the Jedi Order. Without anyone noticing until it was too late."

"And did I mention how powerful he was at mind control?"

Properly worded and played out, it could be entirely possible, especially if certain high ranking officals are willing to go along with it, to blame the majority of the evil on the empire on the Emperor and his massive dark side abilities.

Especially if those officals are granted immunity and a nice retirement in exchange for there testimony and stepping down peacefully from office....

[Darth Raptor]

That's not going to happen. To the galaxy at large, Palpatine was just a figurehead, a beloved elder statesmen who guided the Republic through the Clone Wars and "retired" to The Throne of Galactic Emperor. Conventional wisdom holds that he was actually controlled by his advisors, who were ultimately responsible for the oppressive policies and atrocities committed by the Empire. Both sides in the succession crisis derive their authority and legitimacy from the late Emperor, and the things they do they do in his name. Blowing the lid off Palpatine the myth would be a political disaster for either side and would only serve to further fragment the galaxy.

The next chapter will be the first of a series dealing with the Succession War, as it will come to be called; and will deal with the politics of the interregnum in depth. I'm studying the works of Publius for this, and he deserves all due credit and more.

[Solauren]

What about;

Palpatine was controlled by another Sith Lord named Sidious, and Luke killed him on the Death Star?

That might work.

But your point about fragmentation, Palpatine's public preception, and legitimiacy there in are all taken.

[JME2]

Interesting developments and intrigue, as usual. I like.

[Darth Raptor]

Just a heads up: I'm not abandoning this, but I am going to be focusing most of my time and effort on EU 2.0, so this will be updating much less often. I won't even try to keep a regular schedule because I fail hard at that anyway. On the upside, you'll get proper chapters that are longer than the 10-15 page updates you've been getting thus far.

Thanks for reading!

[Karmic Knight]

I am glad you are not abandoning this, it is a great concept and thus far has been of great quality.

[Spice Runner]

Ditto. I'm glad to know that you will keep this story going.

[LadyTevar]

Please keep updating, that's all I'm asking.

[Mechanical_Sith]

Next chapter! Please. Don't leave us hanging like this.

[Pelranius]

And whatever happened to EU 2.0?

Haven't heard about it since August, I think.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Our discussions simply went from on-forum to off. But they've been much more extensive, rich, and responsive for it. We're getting ready to produce a writer's bible and grand outline of the era as a framework to produce stories. The TNOiP-esque blurbs and fluff are story-like in intensiveness and research and editing requirements (I considered the work I did put out to be very rough draft). And of course, all three of us have rough drafts we've exchanged and discussed but now shown on forum.

[Ford Prefect]

Though it has been some time since you last updated Raptor, I'd like to say how much I enjoyed reading it. As written, it was a highly effective piece; the number of political angles explored (however vaguely) were intruiging. As far as AUs go, this is perhaps one of the more interesting. If this is the sort of quality I could expect from the 'EUfic' project, then I look forward to it.

[Darth Yoshi]

Damn, I thought it was an update. Still, I'm definitely looking forward to EU 2.0.

[Darth Raptor]

It's like IP said. There was a metric ton of stuff that needed to be hammered out before we could start spinning yarns. At first, we couldn't agree about essential facts a school child would know (e.g., how old is the Empire? What is a sector?) but our most thought-intensive project is also our most ambitious: To unfuck the PT. In that regard you could probably call this "PrequelFic" because we've changed WAY more BBY than we have after. In fact, from Return of the Jedi to Vector Prime it's mostly rationalizing and rehabilitating the extant EU- the overall narrative isn't all that different. That said, the New Jedi Order and Legacy eras will be radically different, but so will the PT and its own EU. This is essentially turning back the clock to 1998, though we will still incorporate stuff that doesn't suck.

[Stuart Mackey]

It's like IP said. There was a metric ton of stuff that needed to be hammered out before we could start spinning yarns. At first, we couldn't agree about essential facts a school child would know (e.g., how old is the Empire? What is a sector?) but our most thought-intensive project is also our most ambitious: To unfuck the PT. In that regard you could probably call this "PrequelFic" because we've changed WAY more BBY than we have after. In fact, from Return of the Jedi to Vector Prime it's mostly rationalizing and rehabilitating the extant EU- the overall narrative isn't all that different. That said, the New Jedi Order and Legacy eras will be radically different, but so will the PT and its own EU. This is essentially turning back the clock to 1998, though we will still incorporate stuff that doesn't suck.

I trust that it will be sent to Lucasfilm? Its good quality stuff, its not like its the product of an over active 13 year old's ramblings. They might even listen.

[haard]

This is really good stuff. I really hope you get the time to continue it!

[Darth Raptor]

Roll call! The next chapters are on their way, and while the focus won't be shifting away from the main characters, there will be a lot of new faces coming on board. I think, maybe, a fun thing to do would be to have reader cameos like some of the other writers have done. I've never tried it before, so let me know if you'd like a part. If your screen name won't fit, tell me your real name and I'll Star Warsify it. Also, go ahead and make suggestions on who you'd like your characters to be and what you'd like them to do. I can't guarantee you'll get exactly what you want, nor can I guarantee safe or major parts, but that's the risk you take.

[Ford Prefect]

Well, it's not exactly an update, but it's close enough for me. I will totally spot myself for a cameo as some sort of flag officer or whatever.

[Karmic Knight]

Wonderful, I am definitely looking forward to the next update. I also wouldn't mind a cameo, as anything really.

[Master_Baerne]

I'd be honored to have a cameo.

And it's very good to know you're continuing this.

[Darkdrium]

I know I'm not exactly a high profile member, but I wouldn't mind a cameo.

[Darth Fanboy]

An "anglicized" version of my Star Wars name is Dalf Thran, and if he is a big fan of Vader or one of his aides you could have Han Solo refer to him derisively as some kind of "Sith Fanboy" or "Darth Fanboy", heheheh.

[Raesene]

I'd like to be included. ECR had me as commander of a star frigate and transferred me to the ISB, so perhaps the rebel side for a change, officer on one of the transferred star destroyers ?

[Pelranius]

I'd be honored to be included. I'd probably be some mid or low ranking officer under Teshik or Veers. You want me to message you my real life name? "Pelranius" belongs more to a fantasy setting.

[Edward Yee]

I'd be glad to cameo in some sort of junior officer or enlisted role, if the latter could be fitted into the story reasonably.