Anakin Skywalker looked at the map of the Galaxy, his daughter and son in his hands, sitting around the table was Ahsoka Tano, Yularen, Bail Organa, Tarkin and Commander Rex. The tension in the room was high as the news spread out through the galaxy like fire, today as the Galactic Stock Exchange Center opened billions of investors sold out their stocks so rapidly that when the Bureau of Economy tried to close the Galactic Stock Exchange in order to avoid the economic collapse it was too late, thousands of companies were declaring themselves in bankrupt and soon millions would follow, in just one day the estimated GDP of the Galaxy had fallen 9.45%, something never seen in more than five thousands years of history.
"Why?" Was the simple question asked by Anakin to the people sitting at the table. He did not understand economics but he could understand that this is bad. The separatist counter-offensives were stopped but they were draining a lot of resources as he was trying to rapidly destroy the Imperial Council. It was, in some sort of form, funny that these men would follow a dead man, with no clear leadership yet much power they were weaker than him. They were still a problem.
Tarkin's unexpected betrayal to the Imperial Council had destroyed most of the fleet that the Council possessed, for that help to his cause, Tarkin asked Anakin to become head of the Imperial Navy, and Anakin accepted his gift and thus granted him his wish.
Yularen was now the head of the new Internal Affairs ministry for the help he had given to Anakin in his rise to power, that combined with the trust Anakin had in Yularen made this role to fit perfectly to Yularen.
Bail Organa had become personal political adviser of Anakin, their friendship coming from the mutual respect they held for Padme, it didn't surprised Organa to find out that Anakin was married to Padme, rumours were common but never confirmed until he, in an attempt to save the democratic chambers of the senate approached Anakin Skywalker.
Commander Rex was here as military advisor but also as the new head of the Royal Guard, partially replacing the old Coruscant Guard that chose to be loyal to Palpatine, thus dying under the blaster-fire of their own brothers of the 501st.
Finally, Ahsoka was here, she had no position, no role in the government, she was just there and she felt as bad about it as uncomfortable it was for Yularen and Tarkin to be present in the same room with the ex-padawan together with her master after the Jedi Order genocide that Palpatine did.
The worst part of it was that Tarkin and Yularen had supported Palpatine in this action. Now, things have changed yet the crimes of the past did not disappear, they were still there, it was just that no one mentioned them.
"It is difficult to explain the complicated galactic economy," equivocated Organa.
Who, who had thought that, in just a few weeks, the Grand Chancellor would declare a Galactic Empire, die, and Anakin Skywalker taking the role of Emperor.
It went so fast that when many of them understood what happened it was too late to change anything, Bail Organa as an example, thought later, after Padme's funeral, that he could have used situation to restore the Republic, without Palpatine, without Skywalker having actually enough support he could have used his political power to convince the Senate to not accept Anakin as an Emperor and then try to talk with him about the relevance of keeping the republic, maybe even giving him concessions like converting him the head of the Armed Forces. But it was now too late, everything had moved so fast that when everyone realized what happened no one could react as they had wished.
"Difficult or not, we are fighting a civil war and I need to know why the numbers go down and people are angry. What is happening"
Organa's hands became notably white as he searched for words to explain the situation, the Core Bubble had exploded, after thousands of years of the Republic controlling the situation it finally exploded, and its explosion was bigger and more destructive than any weapon created in galactic history.
"All the economic growth, all the numbers of prosperity and gained benefit are false. For thousands of years we have grown at an approximate 13% GDP growth annually, but all of it was false. The basic economic understanding was that the Core would produce everything for the Mid Rim and the Outer Rim while the Mid Rim and the Outer Rim gave us all the material resources needed. The balance of this economy expected an exponential economic growth for all the galaxy and its creators defended that this situation would end up improving the quality of life of all the citizens in the galaxy. Sadly, that became untrue."
Organa sighed as the rest sat silently, no one here knew about economy except Organa, but that didn't change the fact that everyone had an opinion of how the economy should be run.
"For thousands of years only twenty percent of the manufactured products produced in the Core had been sold, the rest had been stored in warehouses waiting for the day they would be sold. Many were also thrown straight out into the depths of the galaxy to dispose of them and many other companies started to recycle what they produced themselves in order to keep up production. False growth numbers given by the private companies and supported by the bureaucrats of the Republic that believed in the Core-Rim system had meant that for thousands of years these private companies had been growing as trillions bought stocks from the companies. And every time a big enough private economy was about to collapse the Republic saved them with public funds. This became so common that Private Companies began to take seats in the Senate. But, it just worked, for that reason many did not worry, but with the civil war we had lost many of the civilized planets in the Outer Rim and even Mid Rim, the false numbers were no longer sustainable; new ones were invented in order to stop the stockholders from panicking, but it was impossible to stop. We failed to win the civil war and reform the economy, it also didn't help that the Imperial Council rebelled against us. Right now millions of private companies are collapsing after the bubble has exploded and there is nothing we can do to stop it."
Organa did not expect anything in this matter from Anakin, for he was a warrior, not a politician.
"Why is it called a bubble then? I understand that the private companies have collapsed because they couldn't sell their products and after thousands years of uncontrolled growth they just exploded. But I don't see the bubble you mentioned there."
Organa expected Anakin to close the meeting and go to war again, but he was greatly surprised by the New Emperor's attitude – he was more mature than he ever realized.
"Well, the galactic economy runs around the Galactic Stock Exchange, trillions, if not more, sentients buy stock in that building and every time a stock is bought the Private Company becomes richer. The stock prices became bigger and bigger every year to the point that a single stock could cost three million credits, but there were enough rich people investing to keep the system going on. But, when the prices had been the most high the galaxy had ever seen then the collapse happened. The private companies could no longer hide the system that had been running round for thousands of years, suddenly the companies that seemed to sell to all the galaxy were discovered to have such a limited market that the amount of resources they produced no longer made sense unless they were trying to fool the galaxy to believe in the numbers they put on the data-pads. Seeing this and being the stock in its highest value everyone tried to sell their stocks, it remains to be seen but the bubble has exploded and probably we will see the stock dropping to prices that do not surpass the three digits, something that has never happened in the Core in thousands of years."
He sighed, realizing that Anakin could probably not visualize why it is called a bubble.
"It's called a bubble because it grows, and grows, and grows until it explodes and everything disappears. Controlled economic bubbles can be created in order to make temporary economic growth but then its dissolution would have to be taken care of with careful and precise reforms and actions. But most times bubbles are created by accident by private companies and stock-buyers."
"So we are in an economic crisis because the people are stupid?"
Those words were said by Ahsoka, trying to add something to the conversation as she was feeling worse and worse as it went on and could not face this conversation continuing without interfering. Not because she had something to say, in fact she found herself lacking words. But because the silence after the Jedi Order death was killing her, she had lost everything and everyone acted so normal, she feared that if she didn't make her presence known she would disappear as the Jedi Order had. She did not want to disappear, she did not want to die, she did not want to be near those that have destroyed the Jedi Order. She could only trust her old master.
Although she didn't know that it was Anakin who destroyed the Jedi Order before betraying the Emperor when he discovered that he had kidnapped and killed his wife.
"All the economic growth was a lie based on private companies greed and the stupid people that bought their stocks. What is even the point of having stocks?" Asked Anakin, following Ahsoka's pointed comment.
"Well, it lets private companies gain capital in order to expand their economic operations," defended Organa, "and those that buy in have an investment in the company – with enough they can become important people inside the company and even with just a few stocks they at least have a secure investment, the value of the stock increasing with time."
"All I hear that it has only been useful to empower private companies, creating the civil war that we are currently fighting and that it has been a tool to keep the Rim poorer while enriching the Core, improving the life quality in the Core and forcing the people in the Rim to suffer for fake economic growth," retorted Anakin angrily, his white teeth were exposed in his rant, almost as a wolf that was ready to kill his prey. His anger had never been pacified, he had never recovered from the trauma. He just kept advancing, his fatigue feeding his anger and power as he destroyed those that dared to oppose him.
"Not only that but the private companies became so powerful they overran the Republic and now have caused this civil war following Palpatine after his death. The system is broken and should be left to die. Private companies had more representation in the Senate than millions of planets. How can you justify keeping that system alive?"
Ahsoka's words were delivering pure venom. She had been a child soldier since she was fourteen, she had survived two betrayals, her heart was broken, her mind still processing the situation. With nobody but Anakin with her, raw aggression was the only way she could hold herself together. Yet, the hatred she was showing now was not part of this self-preserving hatred. It was her three years of war experience speaking, she had seen thousands of private companies that overran planets, she had seen entire populations forced to live in poverty to benefit the Core, she had seen a war begin only because of the private companies.
Ideologically Ahsoka and Anakin were so close that one would believe they had shared the same ideology, but they never cared about ideology. It was their experiences that they were talking about here.
The clone wars all this time were just a fight between private companies' interests. And it sickened both of them. Heroes that had lost all hope, a man that wanted to be happy and constantly lost everyone that is important to him and a girl that grew up to become a missioner of peace but instead became a child soldier, killing and following orders in the interest of a morally corrupt and company controlled Grand Republic.
"Well…" Organa could not even defend his position before Anakin slammed his hand against the table.
"The people have the right to retire their investment, open the Stock Exchange again, I might not understand about the economy but if this is a bubble, allow it to explode, let the private companies be destroyed and then we will deal with the problems as they come."
Organa's heart stopped beating as he heard those words.
"Quadrillions will suffer!" He screamed, honestly scared of Anakin's rushed decision.
"They have already suffered," claimed Anakin, "The only way we will help them in the future will be to destroy the current system and change it for a new one as we fight this civil war. I'm closing this meeting – Ahsoka, Rex and Tarkin, come with me."
He stood up, ignoring Organa as he walked away, Tarkin, Rex and Ahsoka followed him silently, his dark clothes and cape made him look more like a warrior than an Emperor, his eyes were different, Ahsoka noticed, they were tired, filled with doubt, sadness. He looked strong but his eyes told a dark truth. Both haven't had the time to have a talk in this weeks since he had killed Palpatine and become Emperor. She thought that maybe she had to try to gain a day and talk with him. So many things had to be said, so many emotions shared. She just needed to know that he would be by her side, and she knew Anakin also had to know that she would be by his side even if she didn't understand the situation completely.
The contrast of this Emperor and warrior was unsettling once Ahsoka realized that he was carrying two kids, one in each hand. No one of them cried and Anakin had contracted maids in order to take care of the babies when he couldn't personally do it, yet, even if he could leave the babies with those maidens he carried them with him everywhere. As if they were his property and he couldn't let anyone else have them.
Anakin sighed.
He looked stable, but he was a destroyed man. The Jedi Order betrayed him and he destroyed it, Obi-wan betrayed him and he killed him, Palpatine betrayed him and he killed him too, Padme betrayed him and was killed by Palpatine.
He was surrounded by people constantly but he felt alone, the babies were only a reminder of how lonely he was, he hated himself. He would have killed himself weeks ago if he didn't have the babies with him.
Ahsoka had betrayed him too, but she had returned to him, for that reason he had forgiven her, but still his paranoia affected him, he feared what would be Ahsoka's reaction if she ever truly found out what he did, what would be her reaction if she knew that he had turned to the Dark Side… If she had abandoned him twice, why wouldn't she betray him for a third time? A small intrusive thought said to him that he should lock her up, but he felt proud, knowing that it wouldn't stop her. If she wanted to run away from him she would be able to archive it. His mind played a game where one part wanted to ensure that she never escaped again, like an obsessed man that had lost everything. The other part was telling him that he had done a good job training her and that she was too good to be locked, that she would always find a way to escape, like a proud master, he had only good words for the abilities of his ex-padawan.
Anakin's mind was a mess. But he had in his control an Empire in two civil wars, he didn't have the time to talk about his feelings or try to deal with his insecurities. He just had to keep going forward, he just had to be a hero again, everything would work out, because if it didn't, he didn't know what he would do.
"What is the situation, Tarkin? How many planets does the Imperial Council still control?"
"Several thousand, the clone legions are conquering five planets per day but their numbers are not near enough for such a massive campaign, the enemy planets are not surrendering either – apparently they fear the punishment if they surrender more than the consequences of the war."
"They should, I will kill them all," stated Anakin as they moved into the open and beautiful corridors of the Jedi Temple. He tried to avoid using the Senate as the government building for security reasons as he did not trust the Senate Guard and could not disband it without creating another civil war with the moderates that waited to see how this first Galactic Empire worked out.
"But it is concerning," continued Anakin, "many times we had the local armies in our favour against the Separatists, now without them while we continue to crush our enemies we cannot re-capture planets as fast as we used to. You are right in something, we need more troops or the civil war against Palpatine's followers will take more years."
Ahsoka kept silent and looked uncomfortable to Tarkin, the man had always hated the Jedi Order and had persecuted her, trying to kill her. Anakin might have been happy to blame it on the Coruscant Guard but she knew better, Tarkin's ways were rough and too uncaring. He didn't want a fair trial, he wanted to send her into jail for life. Not because he believed she was a criminal but because he wanted to end the situation as soon as possible. It was almost as if in this man's head the idea of her being imprisoned suddenly appeared and then he decided to use everything in his hands in order to complete that idea. Or at least, so Ahsoka believed.
If it was up to her, Tarkin would be dead. But his betrayal of the Imperial Council had made a rough civil war become more of a clean up operation than anything else. The entirety of the Imperial Council fleet lay destroyed together with several millions soldiers dead thanks to Tarkin's actions.
She wanted to say to Anakin that Tarkin should not be in the position he is, but again, they never had the time to talk.
"We could create an Imperial Army," Tarkin hesitantly suggested as they walked, Anakin's cape moving even though there was no wind inside the Jedi Temple. Ahsoka noticed that Anakin liked to do these things with the force in order to make people respect him. He always had an attention to detail of how he looked that she never understood where it came from.
"Elaborate."
They passed the Jedi Order's library, where hundreds of clones were categorizing every Jedi book and holo-book that was in its interior, Ahsoka looked to the floor trying to ignore it. Even if weeks ago the Jedis were alive now they had become a thing of the past and if she stuck too much in this past she feared that she would become part of it.
"The clones are an elite force; they were never meant to be the standard infantry man of the Republic, but every attempt of the Grand Chancellor to create a standing army of normal humans was canceled by the Senate because of the weak minds of these democrats – another reason for the Senate to be dissolved."
Tarkin's ideology could be sensed even if he didn't state it outright.
"A standing army, do we even know how to create one?" Asked Anakin.
"We should base them in the most successful planetary army that we can find, but most of those have turned traitors, it is going to be a difficult task but I believe you could trust me with…"
"Tarkin."
Anakin stopped walking, his cape stopped moving and the air turned cold in the corridor. Ahsoka felt for the first time in her life in Coruscant a coldness natural only to planets too far away from their local star. She shivered and the babies began to cry.
"Since when does the head of the Navy take care of Army matters?"
His question was cold but it expressed a level of authority that neither Ahsoka or Tarkin had ever sensed in their life. No figure of authority, no leader or Jedi Grand Master had ever shown this type of absolute authority, and both folded to the pressure.
"Understood, Emperor Anakin."
"Then retire, I will soon join the Clone Legions to fight the enemy in the front lines and I will gather the military experts I need to create an Imperial Army. We have time and the enemy can run but their planets can't so we can take our sweet time"
"The system is collapsing" Answered Tarkin, his anger hidden behind his dark eyes.
"The system might collapse but it doesn't matter as long as I can kill our enemies and the Council of Advisors I will create work to make things work."
"Council of Advisors?" Asked Tarkin, who for the first time had been given a glimpse into how Anakin will run things.
"I am not a learned person and I do not lie when I said I never wanted this. I will create a council of wise men in every matter possible and they will take the decisions and actions needed to solve the situation. And if they cannot decide then I will help to decide as the Head of the State"
He remembered, remembered the fields of Naboo, and those happy days he had with Padme. He said back then that the wise men and politicians should discuss and make decisions; she said that people sometimes don't agree and his answer was that someone should force them to make a decision.
He wasn't wise or smart, he didn't have the scholarly background nor skills in most political matters, but he had the tool of violence in his control, and with that monopoly of violence he could create a system that worked.
He would be that one, the one that would force the greatest minds of the galaxy to work together and make decisions. And, if in the end, after all that, they cannot agree on a decision, he would do it for them.
He calmed the babies in his hands as he moved from left to right, the cold disappeared in an instant and Ahsoka felt the need to puke once the oppression was over.
"Tarkin, do your job in the navy and don't forget that you are head of the Imperial Navy. Nothing more nothing less."
"Understood," Tarkin answered unhappily.
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Tanya von Degurechaff read the holo-sign that ordered the city's evacuation and broke her smile with an ugly movement that showed how displeased she was.
She thought of how badly this would turn out for them; if the enemy was certain that there were no civilians in the city they would shell the hell out of them, and that would mean more troops dead. She had been asked by Yuli to win this battle and she knew that the chances of winning were reduced with the civilians being evacuated.
She looked at the Hotel three hundred meters away where, she knew, the General was.
She took out a cigarette and began to smoke as she slowly walked. She knew that Yuli wouldn't be as convincing as her so she had to take this situation in her own hands.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Tanya von Degurechaff, what are you doing here?" The General said as he looked at the girl; he was somewhat fat but not enough to call him obese, his face looked serious even if he had a friendly attitude toward most of the officers, yet, his eyes didn't lie, he looked at Tanya as nothing else than an object, an object that had no use other than dying or being fucked.
But Tanya never noticed those eyes as she began to talk.
"I have noticed the evacuation order, I want to express my thoughts on the matter and try to convince you to stop the evacuation."
She wasn't smoking, but he was. The strong smell of the plant impregnated the room with a sweet flavor that combined well with the room's colors – red, orange, golden and dark brown. Behind the General there was a big window that allowed him to see almost all the city.
"Continue," he said. For him this was nothing but an interesting diversion. Like when you found an animal that was doing something that animals aren't meant to do. A dog dancing would be a good example of how Tanya looked to him.
"They call it the politician's holochess," Tanya stated.
"Oh?" He idly responded, "I didn't think you'd have heard that."
"I still get to hear things, even if it's just while I'm queuing for cigarettes, "Tanya explained, "Oh, people complain about the tax increases and the food shortages, but for the office workers, the stock brokers, the middle-management and the everyday citizen this civil war is a game played out by the elite in the lives of conscripts, unfortunates and–" here, a very short pause "–convicts. This suits the leadership of both sides very well, and neither wants to be the ones to break that illusion."
"I'm sure I couldn't say any such thing," the General replied, straightening up a little.
"That brings us to here and now. The only way we can survive the coming battle is if we can rely on trench and then on urban warfare and so I believe the evacuation is a mistake. For if we allow citizens to stay inside the city they will not want to use artillery against us because of the danger to the local civilians and subsequent adverse reaction from the general populace."
"You're not expecting the sheep to rise up, are you?" the General inquired.
"Managing an unruly populace is another pressure that nobody wants to deal with, but if we are dealing with it then better a populace that is offended by our enemies," she clarified.
"And urban warfare is really that much better for us?"
"Every army struggles with urban warfare and if they have the numerical and weapon superiority we will need to rely on it. The city will neutralize their advantages – they will not be able to do maneuvers as the narrow streets of the city have no space for that and we know the territory. If we can force them into street by street battles we will leave them in a grinding battle of attrition," Tanya explained.
If the General had been surprised before, he had been surprised twice in mere five minutes. Her words seemed to express nothing but the truth but it felt hard to see it by his own. These ideas she expressed, he could have never thought of it but now that she mentioned it just made so much sense.
His eyebrows raised slightly, Captain Yuli had been getting impressive and innovating ideas out of nowhere, and Ortorio had too showed some incredible sharp tactics. But after hearing those words of what he believed to be the personal whore of Yuli, his mind begun to paint a picture. A picture that made him smile with honesty, because if his sudden theory was right, it meant that these two man were draining out the abilities of their inferiors.
That made them such great assets, only those officers that were capable of getting the best of their subordinates were worth something, and he believed himself good at that task.
"You are sure the enemy will not simply bomb this city and ignore the civilian population."
"They will not, or at least certainly not easily or quickly. This civil war is meant to decide who is right, if those that follow the dead Emperor or those that follow the living Emperor, the population that is in the rear line will decide who is right according to what they see, if they bomb this city we will fill the Holo-News with images of civilians killed by the artillery of the followers of the Dead Emperor. Maybe they will bombard our city the first days, but after the civilian population sees their fellow planet-man killed they will revolt or ask for their armies to care for the lives of their own citizens. This is not a civil war where the population hates each other, but one where the elites and the armed forces fight. Gaining public opinion should be the top priority of our armed forces if we want to win the civil war."
"And what if they ignore it and continue to bomb us?"
"Sooner or later, public pressure will come to our side, whether we win or lose will not matter because in the long run the civilian population will be on our side and an army that has no support from the civilians will soon disintegrate."
She had learned that experience in her second life. A hard lesson written in blood.
"They could say that we have forced the civilians to stay in the cities," the General tried to counter her argument, he felt the need to test her, how far would she go, how many words she had to speak in order to finally convince him. He felt like a kid playing with a new toy that had many features. He wanted to see all of them.
"Controlling the narrative is easier when you are on the defending side, because even if people believed we indeed forced the civilian population to stay in the city, still those that had bombed the city were the bastards that followed the dead-emperor."
He believed her. Not because she had any proof but because her words were convincing, and it surprised him because it sounded logical, rational. But somehow he had not been able to come up with it. Almost as if the difficult part was having that first idea and then once said it became just common sense.
"Right, they wouldn't be able to use their artillery, but the city itself gives us the advantage, it hides us from many of the consequences of artillery and these buildings are created to last. What other benefit would it give to keep the civilian population? Because as far as I know this will be a siege battle and in siege battles food is very important. With so many civilians our food would run out sooner rather than later."
"Nothing that cannot be solved with good logistic management. But, as unethical as it is, having civilians once the urban battle begins will benefit us greatly if we arm and supply those that are willing to fight and neglect those that aren't. We will force the enemy to fear every civilian, they will not know if the woman doing groceries in the middle of battle is just doing groceries or she has a weapon hidden and is ready to kill them at any moment. We will force the enemy soldiers to a constant fatigue of not being able to know if the civilians that are behind their lines are enemies or just civilians. Their fatigued soldiers will perform worse in a stressing scenario like urban warfare, where a single mistake means death. If we put machine guns covering main streets and we put the soldiers in the buildings the enemy soldiers will be forced to clean each building apartment by apartment adding more fatigue to the already fatigued soldier together with radicalizing the civilian population that will without a doubt suffer abuse by the enemy soldiers."
If he wanted, he could monopolize her himself, but she was too young for his own taste. If Yuli was happy with her and could make good use of her abilities then he as his superior could grant him the privilege to keep her.
"Tanya von Degurechaff, that's not your real name. Tell me why did you change it?" He asked.
"Because my name was given by criminal scum, I committed no crime but being born from the love of two criminals so I found fit to give myself a name that would make me and the ones around me forget my fathers"
"Would you consider yourself a patriotic person?"
"Without a doubt."
"Why?"
Tanya was not surprised by his questions, but she did not like them, in the end it was tiring to be under constant interrogation
"Because I believe one day I will be free through my effort and labour, when that day comes I will be able to become a free citizen through my own strength. The prison system had made nothing but taught me tough lessons that I could have learned nowhere else. The system has created me and for that I am thankful to the system."
It was a fucking lie, she hated the system but, deep in her heart, she believed that one day, through the system, she could be freed.
"I see, you are a pragmatic kid, aren't you? Leave, you have accomplished your mission of convincing me."
Tanya gave a military salute and left the room, inside she cursed her situation and her fathers, but she knew that the system was rotten. Maybe the revolutionary guy could have been useful to her, even if he was communist, if it allowed her to be free then she could have escaped to another planet.
Now, so many weeks later, she regretted sending him to fuck off, but it was too late to change anything.