(OOC: These are the speeches listed in the itinerary as unofficial speeches. They give a few more insights into my nation. Any guests who wish to comment and ask questions can do so.
All ship designs and images are (c)
Fractalsponge1, who has kindly given me permission to use his custom designs for my factions. As such, I will eventually built his larger ships as well, but at this point in the story the smaller ones are better suited to me and would not immediately bankrupt my empire.)
Core conference
Skyhook
Lecture/conference hall 1
Speech by Prime Minister Gaeriel Captison-Thanas, Head of the Bakuran Republic, on:
“Are Imperial and democratic values anathema to each other? A look at the succesfull integration of Imperial and New Republic citizens in the Bakuran Republic.”
It had been decided that the four speeches would be happening at two different halls in order to give each audience the opportunity to ask questions. Thus, speeches 1 and 3 would be taking place at lecture/conference hall 1, whereas speeches 2 and 4 would take place at lecture/conference hall 2. Both had all the luxuries a Skyhook provided - from personal screens to soft real leather. Waiters were standing by with refreshments.
Gaeriel Captison rose to polite, but muted applause and approached the podium, noting with interest that Emperor Bell of the Second Corellian Empire was in attendance. “Your Imperial Majesty, excellencies, fellow delegates and officials. The topic of my speech is the supposed divide between the Imperial and Republican ideologies and whether they are anathema to each other. Let me answer this right away – they are. But that does not mean us Republicans and you Imperials cannot work together. Before I dive into the subject matter, I would like to use a few minutes to introduce myself, for my personal history may serve as an example for the rest of this speech.
I was born on Bakura in the Year 981 after the Ruusan Reformation, the Year 16 after the Great ReSynchronization, the Year 0 of the Emperor's reign or the Year 19 before the battle of Yavin. The use of all these time measurement units is no pasttime of mine, but to highlight that just because we use different terms, it does not follow that we mean differetn things. When I was 17, I won a position in the Bakur Senatorial Academy and at the age of 19, I won a seat in the Bakuran Senate. One year after the Battle of Yavin, the Galactic Empire invaded and annexed Bakura, both of my parents died during the battle in which the Imperial forces proved to be victorious. Two years after that, I did postgraduate work in Imperial Center, upon my return to Bakura I resumed my seat in the Senate. Despite the death of my parents, I did not blame the Empire for it as my religion dictated that everything in the universe was in balance – and the Empire did bring economic growth, stability and safety to Bakura. Or so I believed at the time. And then I met Luke Skywalker.”
Gaeriel paused for a second, observing the effects the name had on her audience. Some Imperials were grimacing, but the vast majority was simply listening with rapt attention.
“Bakura was attacked by the Ssi-ruuk, who intended to convert the entire populace into energy source via a process called entechment. My husband was then the commander of the Bakuran defence force, but even the best use of his talents could not save us. Our planet instead was saved by alliance forces under the command of the aforementioned Luke Skywalker. During the fight and over the following years, I discovered several things:
First, the empire at large was quite willing to sacrifice entire planets and millions of its citizens to gain a trivial technological advantage – for the price of a few droid fighters, Palpatine was willing to sacrifice Bakura and all its citizens and Imperial forces defending it to the Ssi-ruuk. Second, that the Imperial Governor of the planet was quite willing to betray his military allies - the rebellion and was also willing to poison dinner guests in order to hand them over to the Ssi-ruuk. By and large, the actions of the Imperial government and the actions of the local Imperial representative were betrayals of its citizens.
I further learned that my parents had not been killed in a crossfire, but that they were executed on Imperial orders on the suspicion that they were rebels. I also learned that the empire had kept a woman I consider a relative if not by blood then by choice in a debilitating medical condition – she was forced into a state of advanced senility due to a parasitic insect that fed on her brain. All of those atrocities were committed on Imperial orders and thanks to commander Skywalker I did finally see the Empire for what it really was. I also no longer consider myself to be religious.
I continued to play a role in Bakuran politics alongside my uncle Yeorg, who was the first prime minister of our independent planet. We faced several problems, one of the most pressing being the integration of former Imperials into Bakuran society. Under the Palpatinian period, Bakura had been one of the targets of Imperial colonization efforts, with Imperials occupying key positions in all of Bakuran society, including the repulsorlift industry. Needless to say, the former Bakuran defence forces had been 100% Imperial. We managed to achieve a reconciliation, nay, a union between those political factions through several policies. First, we did not persecute anyone for his political beliefs as long as he proved to be a loyal citizen. Second, we made sure that trials were based on fact, not on hearsay. And finally, we did not at any time confiscate Imperial property without proper compensation. When my uncle Yeorg retired and I succeeded him as the youngest Prime Minister in Bakuran history, I did so as the president of a unified Bakura and when I married my husband, it was not the union between a rebel and a former Imperial, but between two citizens.
Therefore, based on the practical example, I would suggest that no matter our political differences, society does not need to be divided along those lines. As long as both sides agree to adhere to the law of civilization and not committ atrocities, there is no reason why Imperials and so-called Rebels cannot peacefully coexist.
But what of the higher political philosophy? Now we enter an area in which a union seems to be impossible. First, both systems have its advantages when purely considering the practical applications. The Imperial system allows for quick reaction by the central power and is often more stable due to less political bickering due to elections. The Republican system on the other hand allows for a higher freedom of its citizens, which in turn leads to greater wealth and a higher standard of living. It also generally prevents abuses of powers like the ones I mentioned. I personally believe in the philosophy of Rouss'tau, that power flows from the people and that the people are the only legitimate sources of political power, however others clearly do not.
While the systems themselves are mutually exclusive in their most radical form, this does not mean there cannot be a synthesis between them. All the political power in the galaxy will not help anyone if he is not alive anymore to exercise it. And if we venture too much into the era of unlimited democracy, we arrive at the Old Republic, where too much representation led to the election of Palpatine – because there was no strong figure to stop a mad chancellor with a parliamentary majority, we arrived at the empire. Or the Naboo crisis – democracy is not worth anything if it turns into two rancors and a bantha deciding what to have for lunch.
I would therefore posit that the ideal system is a balance between both Imperial and Republican ideas. I would also submit that there are times in the galaxy when it becomes necessary for one idea to gain prominence over the other – of course, this time has to be a limited one. Therefore, Bakura supports the current system in the Imperial Remnant, even though it is is unsatisfactory for a Republican like me. However, the Imperial side has a point when it argues that representation can only take place if people are not starving anymore. Thus, the current structure is highly tied to another subject – reconstruction. Once reconstruction is complete, we will have to reexamine the status of the two systems. When the time comes to write a new Imperial constitution, it has to be determined which system will prevail – but for the time being, the sight of Imperials and Republicans working together should be enough to prove that the two values can coexist together. I hope that when reconstruction is complete, that which unites us is stronger than the ones that divides us. I already believe that this is the case, for our mutual goals, namely the reconstruction of the galaxy and a peaceful coexistence are shared by everyone.
The past is full of examples of a synthesis – the constitutional monarchy is just one of them. I personally believe it would be a good system for the entire Imperial state. Bakura joined the Imperial Remnant under the condition that as soon as reconstruction would be complete, there would be referendum on the political system of the Imperial state. I hope that we can find a compromise then. Even if our political ideals are anathema, our people are not.
Thank you for your attention. I shall now take comments and questions.”
Skyhook
Lecture Hall Two
Speech by his Excellency, Lord Nahdonnis Praji, Head of House Praji, Governor-General of Kaikielius, Foerost and Ruan, Marshal of the Galactic Empire, on:
“The new Imperial Navy – new ship designs, new structure”.
Lord Nahdonnis Praji looked over his audience and noted that it was mostly filled with professional officers. He had expected – and preffered – this.
While all the airheads are over at Captison talking dreamy philosophy, this is where states are made and nations fall. Praji, being the military man he was, was not in favor of any talk about “consitution” or “political values”. To him, the only political values that mattered were a strong commitment to the military and the financial support for said military.
And luckily, the council had decided to approve most of his plans, which he now announced to the public. Or as public as this meeting would get, considering there were no news reporters around.
“Greetings. I will now present the plan for the new Imperial Navy. First of all, an overview about the strategic situation. As you all know, we currently face both the siths – who join borders with us – as well as numerous belligerent factions. We also face the common threat of slavers and pirates. The Imperial Remnant therefore will operate under the assumption that there are at least two, but maybe four states hostile to us. Thus, our navy must be strong enough to meet that challenge. The forming of an alliance was the first step towards this. It ensures a common defence strength which no other alliance we know of can currently overwhelm. Thanks to our joined borders, our combined forces can assemble within a few hours and be deployed to meet any threat. However, the Sith have always been cunning enemies and we should not get complacent.
The Imperial Navy therefore aims to be the strongest navy in the galaxy. We have already started a rapid expansion plan. This year, our fleet will be joined by 4 Victory II Star Destroyers, 8 Carrack Cruiser and 36 VT-49 Decimator class assault ships. Our shipyards are among the largest in the galaxy and we will expand them by 2 1600m and 1 3600m shipyards in the foreseeable future.
The situation of the galaxy also demands that our structure changes. Under the old system, strategical forces were given preference over regional units. As there are no large-scale regional forces anywhere left, this distinction has become meaningless. Instead, we will give preference to naval units according to the following distribution table which should appear on your seat screens now. I should note that this does not apply to the Bakuran Navy, which has its own support structure.
Units with a high preference and high quality of recruits:
- Interdictor units
- scouting units
Units with a high preference and medium quality of recruits:
- Allegiance class command ships
- Tector class star destroyers
Units with a medium preference and high quality of recruits:
- Carrier forces
Units with a medium preference and medium quality of recruits:
- Star Destroyers
- convoy escort units
- cruisers
Units with a low preference and low quality of recruits:
- planetary stationed forces
- garrison forces
- reserve units
- space station crews unless otherwise specified
“The reasons for that are simple. First, the larger a ship, the less important the individual crew member becomes. Therefore, our larger units will receive medium quality recruits, excepting of course elite units. Second, planetary stationed forces, garrison forces, reserve units and space station crews are useless when it comes to offensive actions, whereas spaceborne forces have a much higher value. Meanwhile, our interdictors and scouting units are the most important units in the field – one locates the enemy, the other traps it. Some forces are of medium importance but require a high quality of recruits – our carrier forces, for example. More on them later. Convoy escort units meanwhile only face threats from pirates at the moment and we have just defeated the best organized pirate group there is. This does not mean that we will let our recruiting standards lax. On the contrary. We have tightened standards and will also look at means of automatizing ships. I cannot go into this further at this time.
As for the strategic picture, the majority of our forces is stationed in the core, leaving our non-core worlds somewhat vulnerable. To counter an attack on them we have placed planetary shields on every member planet. Also, concentrating our forces prevents them being picked off piece by piece and allows for a rapid response. Thanks to our alliance, potential enemies have to deal with our allies first before reaching us – with the exception of the Sith empire. Rest assured that the Remnant will immediately come to the aid of any beleaguered party.
The Imperial Remnant realizes that in the current situation, it is impossible to gain an edge quantitiy-wise. We currently do hold the record for heavy units of all nations, but we lag behind in other areas. We especially suffer from a shortage in cruisers and units who can operate alone behind enemy lines. Our current fleet program addresses those issues, but it will take some time.
We do believe however, that although it is impossible to gain an edge quantitiy-wise, it is possible to gain an edge quality wise. Simply put, we are operating under the design philosophy that a single Remnant starship must defeat any ship of similar size. Therefore, our new designs, which I will introduce in a minute, are built from materials that have undergone a 20% stricter quality control. The Remnant believes that the extra price to pay is small compared to the importance. In the days of a Navy of 25.000 ISDs alone, a single ship did not matter that much. Today, this has changed and the fortunes of all our empires might very well rest on one ship soon.
To this effort, the Imperial Remnant will soon introduce three new designs into the fleet. The design studies are done, but of course it will take some years before the designs themselves can join the fleet. Nevertheless, it gives me great pride to introduce them here, in front of such a dignified audience.
links to larger versions:
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Name: Procursator class light Star Destroyer
Faction: Imperial Remnant only
Size: 1200m
Price: 10 points
Building time: 10 months
Armament: 3x triple-barrelled HTL turrets (170 teraton per barrel), 24 capital missile tubes, 40 MTL in 10 quads, 24 larger-caliber LTL/ion cannons, 144 dual-purpose LTL/light ion cannon/point defense guns.
Complement: 24 starfighters
Crew: 10.000 + 2400 troops
Consumables: 6 months.
Role: Long-range patrol, rapid strike craft, cruiser, space superiority
The Procursator class destroyer is the answer to the Nebula and related designs. It has the same engines as an ISD-I on a smaller spaceframe, thereby making it very nimble and very fast. It is a combat vessel and can stand in the line of battle, covering larger ships.It has an armored hatch shielding the hangar, carrying 24 starfighters and possess the best targeting sensors we have. It is however over-armed (reactor power output 3.7e24W) and thus has a devestating alpha strike, but can only sustain 60% of that armament in prolonged combat at 1 shot/sec/barrel. It is therefore best used in flanking actions or any other situations where a fast, powerful ship can play to its strength.
“A few explanations to the design choice. First of all, the lack of a true rapid strike craft that can destroy enemy heavy units was heartily felt, especially with the advent of the Nebula class SD which prevented the VSDII from taking that role. This ship closes that hole in our order of battle. As we designed it, we briefly toyed with the idea of upgrading the VSD once more, but we felt that a new, larger spaceframe was needed. As there was no need for a large amount of consumables due to our much diminished territory, we radically reduced the amount a ship this size would normally carry. You may call it our Nebula class destroyer, but this would miss the point. This ship is designed to defeat every ship its size and run aways those larger ships it cannot engage. We feel this ship is rightly deserving of the name Procursator class light Star Destroyer. ”
Praji paused for a moment, allowing the delegates to look over the design schematics. From their looks, they were impressed. And rightfully so, Praji mused.
“The Imperial Remnant will export this design to any friendly nation if asked, no matter the diplomatic status.”
“For pricing, please sent an inquiry to the Lady D'Asta, I am just a soldier.” Polite laughter followed, though everyone knew Praji was more, much more than that.
“Our second new ship class is a new variant of the ISD.” Now he definitely had their attention.
Name: Imperial III class Star Destroyer
Faction: Imperial Remnant only
Size: 1600m
Price: 13 points
Building time: 12 months
Armament: 12 octuple HTL batteries (3840 teraton), 36 warhead launchers (capship grade), numerous smaller armaments
Complement: 72 starfighters
Crew: 37340 + 1200 troops
Consumables: 6 months.
Role: Capital ship, space superiority
A continuation of the successful ISD MKII line, the ISD III has several new features to offer. First, the Remnant decided to completely forego troop space except for a small marine force. The number of consumables carried was also lowered drastically and the cargo space nearly completely abolished. This variant has the same targeting sensors as the Procursator class. The space vacated by troops and less storage space translated into stronger weaponry of shields. The ISDIII boosts a 25% stronger shield strength and a 30% faster rate of fire while carrying a stronger armament. It also has heavy armor plating, making it much less vulnerable to ion cannon fire. However, unlike on Mon Calamari designs, the turrets are still vulnerable to ion cannon fire.
“We will export this class to all allied nations.”
“Now, on to our final new design. The Imperial forces have long lacked a strong battle carrier. The Venator design is nearly 40 years old. We have therefore decided to design a true battle carrier class. This one approaches dreadnought size and will be classed as such. It will also take the role of Imperial flagship until stronger dreadnoughts can be constructed”
Link to larger version
Name: Perditor class battle carrier.
Faction: Imperial Remnant only
Size: 3100m
Price: 24 points
Building time: 16 months
Armament: 12 dual HTL turrets (4080 teraton) 24 octuple HTL batteries (3840 teraton), 4 heavy ion cannons (800 teraton), numerous smaller armaments
Complement: 24 wings peacetime (1728 fighters), 36 wings wartime (2529 fighters, drawing on planetary garrisons/reserve units for additional fighters)
Crew: 64.000 + 1 corps of troops
Consumables: 6 months.
Role: Battle carrier
The Perditor class has 4x the firepower and shielding of an ISD and can therefore comfortably stand in the line of battle. It is a dedicated combat carrier.
NOTE: Dreadnought limits apply.
“The Imperial Remnant will export this design to all allied nations”.
By the sound of it, the assembled Imperials liked this design even more.
“We plan to built 12 Procursator class light star destroyers, 6 Imperial III class Star Destroyers and 2 Perditor class battle carriers over the following years. Other than that, we will mostly concentrate on light and medium cruisers as well as frigates. We plan to start researching the first two designs in one year and the Perditor class in two years. We estimate this building plan will take us a total of 9 years to complete, with us having set ample shipyard space aside for export orders.
Gentlebeings, I hope I have not bored you too much” – polite laughter - “ and I thank you for your interest. Any comments or questions?”
Skyhook
Lecture hall 1
Speech by Moff Jurang Saenger, Governor of the Axum system, Commander of the Imperial Effort to reconstruct Coruscant and Anaxes, on:
“The state of the Reconstruction effort."
Moff Saenger looked over the assembled dignitaries. After the usual greetings, he started with a view of the devestation caused by the war.
[several long segments about the industrial implications of choices removed – just imagine the speech being accompanied by a series of statistics]
“My topic is about the three planets on which Imperial reconstruction has taken place. First of all, let me recap the devestation wrought by the war. Before the war, Coruscant had a population of 1 quadrillion, Axum had a population of 250 trillion and Anaxes a population of 125 trillion. These figures sharply declined due to the war, but in many cases refuges fled to coruscant and the Axum system once it became clear that the Remnant would feed them. We still get a fair share of refuges today, though the flood has trickled now that the other nations are having an upsurge in prosperity. The refuge stream of today is down to merely a million a day. The Remnant will still accept refuges of all nations and species.
After the war, Coruscant had a population of 125 trillion, Axum of about the same number due to less devestation and Anaxes was down to 43 trillion. As you can see, Coruscant was the hardest hit of all planets, though devestation was substantial on the others as well. Overall, we imagine that
the total death toll was 1082 trillions or just about 1.1 quadrillion beings. Due to recent refuges and resettlements, we have been able to rise the populations to the following levels:
Coruscant: 135 trillion. Refuges were mostly directed to Axum.
Anaxes: 64 trillion. Due to the recovering economy there, we expect this number to rise.
I am proud to say that Axum has passed the 200 trillion mark and is experiencing a further upswing in population. However, we have started redirecting refuges to Anaxes. Other refuges were resettled on other planets of the Remnant. Our Bakuran members were most generous, while other refuges found work on Nez Peron and Ruan.
Our recovery effort focused first on Axum, out of two reasons. First, it was a major center of industry and therefore critical to the recovery effort itself. Second, it was the most intact of the planets. We did give equal attention to refuges centers and feeding the populations of all planets, but we focused our resources on Axum first in order to gain a center of industry at the core. This has proved to be the right choice as Axum has been fully restored and is now devoting considerable resources to the reconstruction effort.”
(OOC: this piece is fluff. Axum was a full planet when I bought it at the start of the game).
“The Imperial Ruling council has now fully financed the Anaxes recovery effort. We expect it to be completed within six to eight years and hope to have finished it in six years.
Coruscant is a more pressing problem, one that we admittedly not have found a solution yet. We will divert more resources to it as soon as possible, but for the moment we have to focus on Anaxes. As much as it pains me to say, this is a choice that will eventually ensure a faster reconstruction of Coruscant. However, the fact that starvation has been virtually eradicated as a cause of death is a positive one.
In closing, I would like to thank our allies and trading partners. Many of them allowed us the use of their architect bureaus in rebuilding the ruined cities of the three planets. Many of them sent generous aid and food shipments. These selfless acts of generosity fill my heart with hope for a new glorious age of prosperity, stability and security. Thank you.”
Skyhook
Lecture hall 2
Joint speech by the Lady Feena D'Asta, Baroness designate of Nez Peron and head of the Imperial Diplomatic Corps and Clan Leader the Rt. Hon. Kandon Secura, Representative of Ryloth, on:
“The common threat of the galaxy. Pirates, insurgents and slavers.”
As the two speakers walked up to the podium, there was a bit of a murmur in the crowd. Secura was unknown to most of them. With the Lady D'Asta it was quite the opposite, but more people were wondering about her status as heiress-apparent than about the subject of her speech.
“Your majesties, fellow excellencies, gentlebeings.
As I am sure you are all aware of, the Imperial Remnant recently defeated one of the largest pirate bands in the galaxy. However, this does not mean that the threat is over. Let us review the past successes of the pirates.”
Clan leader Secura continued.
“As I am sure you are aware, my homeworld of Ryloth was the hardest hit. Before the fall, we had a thriving space colony in our system. It has been completely wiped out by slavers. Even more slavers were targeting our people on the surface. It has been estimated that as a Twi'Lek you had a 25% of being enslaved. We currently estimate that of the Twi'Lek population in the galaxy, 50% are enslaved. Most of these are held on the Hutt or Hutt-aligned slave worlds. But Twi'Leks are not the only slaves in the galaxy, we are just the most visible. For every Twi'Lek slave, a dozen others exist, from all nations and species. Thankfully, Imperial forces protected my homeworld.”
Feena interceded. “The clan leader is too modest. What happened was that he led a succesful guerilla war that drove the slavers off planet and then petitioned us for help, which we were glad to answer.” That the matter had been a bit different – that the Bakurans pressured for this and were in effect pretty much alone in protecting Ryloth was not something for public discussion.
Secura continued. “Other Imperial and non-Imperial forces have been succesful as well. The Core Protectorate, the Star Empire of Manticore and the Second Corellian Empire have all eliminated slavery, as did several other states. The Core Protectorate has had a particularly successful campaign against slavers and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them for the many citizens returned to Ryloth.
However, unless the slave worlds themselves are taken and the slaves freed, the bane of slavery will continue to haunt the galaxy. The Bakuran Navy has been the hardest hit in the pursuit of this task and I would like to thank them for their service at this time. Rest assured, their sacrifices have not been in vain – we have managed to recently install a planetary shield generator at Ryloth, therefore safeguarding that planet from any further slaver attacks. ” He did not deign to mention that a great deal of the clans had made their living on selling off their people into slavery and that these clans had been growing more and more dissatisfied with Imperial Rule putting a stop to that practice.
Feena continued from here. “However, slavers are not the only danger to civilization. The threat posed by pirates is even greater. Piracy has plagued almost every single convoy outside our respective territories and has even dared to strike at Imperial convoys. Thankfully, we defeated the largest pirate gang, but this does not mean others will not take their place. We have not found a solution to piracy yet and it is unlikely that we will ever manage to eradicate it completely. But I am confident that we will manage to safeguard our convoy lines in the future.
The Imperial Remnant has a dedicated anti-piracy fleet. This anti-piracy fleet will engage any pirate base it finds anywhere. We would welcome any assistance from any nation, no matter whether it be intelligence, fighters, ships, troops or just the odd warning in case of an impending attack.
The Imperial Remnant is dedicated to the galactic peace and the galactic safety. With the signing of this alliance, we have found steadfast allies dedicated to this goal. The Imperial Remnant hereby pledges that it will not rest until every single one of its citizens has been freed from the horrors of slavery.
Thank you for your attention. I shall now take comments.”
OOC Results:
- new ship designs revealed
- lots of fluff about the Remnant revealed with a lot of relevant information in it.
