“And because Freedom…” Andrew White trailed off in mid sentence as two squads of Stormtroopers marched out of the hotel and towards the podium with Kach sandwiched between them.
The shock of the emerging Imperials was enough to stop most of the crowd in their tracks. Not out of fear, but of out of curiosity of what was happening.
As Kach approached the podium his honorguard set up a pair of autoblasters on each side of him. These weapons weren’t for shooting at the crowd, but for shooting down debris thrown at Kach with their fast track technology.
Stepping up to the podium, the first thing Kach noticed was the size of the crowd, almost 100,000 beings and nearly thirty times the size of the Imperial supporters outside the Coalition Plaza. Of course, that was deliberate. While the crowds were assembling his agents had specifically directed Imperial supporters to the Senate hall and not the Plaza of the Rising Sun so that they would be visible to the Senators, giving them an effect far beyond their size. As a result, about 60 percent of the 125,000 Bandomeerian citizens outside the Senate hall were Imperial supporters, with more arriving every minute. Though the Coalition actually had more supporters, the fact almost all of the Imperial supporters were there meant they had a far stronger influence even if they were outnumbered.
But for now, at least, his focus was here and now. Leaning into the microphone he began to speak.
“People of Bandomeer,” he called into the microphone, “I have emerged to inform you about the lies this man has been telling you.”
“Lies?” the crowd shouted, “Freedom has no price.”
A few rocks were tossed towards Kach, but the autoblasters elegantly shot them out of the air with low power laser bolts.
“I listened to Mr. Smiths speech. He listed many freedoms. Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, and Freedom from hate, intolerance, and racism.
“One thing he didn’t say, however, was that too much of a good thing is not good at all. I assumed that Bandomeers citizens were smart enough to know this on their own, but apparently I was wrong.
“The Empire gives you the exact same freedoms as the Coalition does, just with a few limits, to prevent weakness from seeping into the Empire.
“These abundance of rights in the Coalition causes weakness, and in addition the hatred, intolerance, and racism that he stated so boldly that the Coalition was against. The truth is, that right now, and for almost the entire history of the Coalition and the New Republic that preceded it, the member worlds are at each other’s throats. Since the founding of the New Republic it has been like this, and the Coalition is carrying on the tradition. At many points, the New Republic nearly broke up because of this.
He paused a moment.
“Another Freedom he conveniently forgot to mention was the Freedom of Peace. Lately, the Coalition has been threatening war with us, such as in their state of the Coalition speech earlier this year.”
The crowd muttered as they remembered the Coalitions Prime Minister all but declaring war on the Empire.
“In addition, as of late they have been running a bloodthirsty campaign of expansion, often using underhanded tactics.
He paused once more.
“Peace. Isn’t that what you want most of all? Well, if you join the Coalition that is one thing you most certainly will not get. They want war, not peace, because it suits their goals.
“And if you joined the resource hungry Coalition, in the event of war their Congress would lay down tax after tax upon you as they conscripted away hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of your younger men and women. The Empire, on the other hand, is larger and doesn’t need to draw so deeply under the same circumstances.
“In addition, you would never see those young men and women you sent off to war with them. In the event of a full-scale war they would be gradually pulled back to defend more important worlds as less important ones fell, and many would get killed in the process. Then, when the Empire launched its final offensive, they would almost certainly be killed.
“If they were serving with the Empire, the far smaller number of you citizens would be returned to Bandomeer immediately after victory is achieved.”
The crowd was now muttering among itself.
“Another lie,” Kach continued, “That Mr. White claimed was that you would no longer be able to enjoy the rights you enjoy now if you joined the Empire. That is a complete lie and he most certainly knows it.
“The truth is, as of late the Empire has never been freer. Freedom of speech, press, religion, and assemble are all guaranteed. Now granted there are some limits. For example, you can’t speak out against the government and the press must pass all stories by the government, but this is not out a hate of freedom but are safety measures to stop weakness at its source. As I stated earlier, too much of a good thing is not good at all and freedom is no exception. Too much freedom causes weakness, and weakness is one thing the Empire is most certainly against.
“Another thing that I mentioned earlier was how the Coalition had begun using underhanded tactics to achieve its goals.
There was nodding and shouts of, “Yes,” from the crowd.
“And I am sure you all have heard bout the so-called ‘Imperial’ Grenade attack on civilians at the Plaza of the Rising Sun earlier this morning.”
There was more nodding and “Yes’s,” but this time there was also another call of “Get on with it.”
“Well, what if I told you that the Grenade attack this-morning was not performed by Imperial agents, but by Coalition ones hoping to turn the crowd and if possible the rest of the planet to its side. And by all measures they have nearly succeeded.
“Yes, I will confess there were Imperial agents in the crowd, and snipers in nearby buildings in case they were discovered and had to make a fighting retreat, but they were under express orders to observe, not instigate, the crowd and to report on Coalition movements. Not throw grenades at them.”
Once again Kach thanked the whatever the galaxies true deity was that there was no footage of the grenades, and the fact that other than the two illegally obtained grenades the leader had, there was nothing to mark them out as Imperial agents.
“This is just another example of their cheap tactics, though this time it took place right on your doorstep. They hope that by discrediting us that you will join them and their underhanded, blood thirsty war machine. But instead of have doomed any hopes of them taking the planet peacefully.”
He paused to let his words sink in.
"Go home, people. The faction you support is a faction of underhanded, bloodthirsty liars. You do not want to join them. You might not want to join the Empire, but joining the Coalition would be even worse.
There was muttering throughout the crowd. He waited for the crowd to quiet down. Eventually, realizing he had more to say, they did.
Perhaps Neutrality would be the best course, perhaps the Empire. But one thing is for certain. Anything is better than joining the Coalition. Go home, people. Leave us and your bloodthirsty comrades in peace.
"That bombardment yesterday. The Empire is most sorry about it. I didn't want to do it, it's a beautiful planet you have, but that's what I was ordered to do. The exact same thing I'll be ordered to do if you join them. Please, I do not want to do such a thing. Last time a little boy was injured. Now, at my own expense he is being given the best in Imperial medical care. But next time, if there is a next time, which I hope there isn't, it won't be like that. It won't be hills surrounding your city's. The turbo laser bolts will land on your cities. Please. I do not want to do that. Go home. Do not force me to do it. Joining the Coalition will only make you receive even more of the same, and that is not something I want to do."
"Beff Pike":
Every time a nub grows up an icon dies.
So thanks, Kach - you killed David Carradine!
"Omnae":
"What? What? Where are the nipples?" enters Seth Vinda.
"NIF. But I will find them! I am god like that." Kach Thorton speaks up.
