Ask Reform Command

[Davik Drast]

The Emperor was once again reading in his library. There were many reports -mostly from the security bureau- he still needed to get to, but for some reason an old 'Treatise of Will' had caught his interest. The walls were lined with datapads holding a digital library of philosophical treatises on politics, war and religion as well as many biographies of otherwise famous or important people. On the table in the lowered seating arrangement in the middle of the room was a bottle of Raxus Cognac, which was especially distilled to specifically please the Emperor's tastebuds. Davik, however, preferred to stand and at times when he lifted his eyes he would look over the skyline of his ever-growing capital city. Now, from his palace, both the headquarters of the Imperial Security Bureau and that of Imperial Czerka were recognizable and that pleased him immensily.

He had summoned Knight-Captain Atrix to the palace. Ever since the disappearance of Lord-Commander Wodan, the knight-captain had served as an interim of the missing Zabrak and done so admirably. The Emperor worried about a single thing: Atrix' former allegiances to the Sith Order. If she hadn't been mired in controversy and bad judgment, he would have preferred someone like Knight-Captain Demici ascending to Lord-Commander, if only because she always adamantly denied having been a member of the Sith Order.

Perhaps it was commendable that Atrix owned up to his past mistakes and poor judgement. To determine that, Davik had decided he should see and speak with the man himself. After all, the Lord-Commander of the Imperial Knights reported to the Emperor directly. He would need to trust Atrix completely for this to work as it should.

"Damnit," Davik signed and lowered the datapad, "can't even read a book anymore." The worries and the many things he needed to stay abrest of and plan for occupied his mind too thoroughly to focus on this 'Treatise of Will' after all, reagrdless of how interesting the subject matter. He hoped that after today he'd have one less worry to occupy his mind.

As if on cue an Imperial staffer appeared and informed him that Knight-Captain Atrix had arrived at the palace and was being escorted to the library, or the throneroom if the Emperor was so inclined. "Here is fine, this isn't a state visit." Kriff, that would complicate it even further. If Atrix, like the Grand Marshal, was a King of non-imperial planets in his own right. Allegiances were fragile.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn was actually thankful that his OCS training had taught him a precision about how he put himself together. While he didn't hold to that level regularly, it would certainly come into use today because today he was meeting the Emperor for the first time. Sure, he had filed reports for the Emperor as interim-Lord Commander, but that wasn't the same as meeting face-to-face.

Varyn had told been many things over the years to many people, and he could tell himself that this was just another job where he needed to act a certain way to get through it... but he had already decided he was sick of pretending to be something that he wasn't. As an Imperial Knight he had finally been able to be what he believed in.

Every piece of armor and weapon was perfectly in place and after a moment he was escorted in.

Your Majesty, he said, coming to a stop and standing straight at attention, giving a salute as he did so. He had expected to meet in the throne room, but this was an interesting choice. Perhaps more comfortable in a way, and it probably said something about the Emperor. Varyn couldn't help to note it curiously, but said nothing as he waited to be addressed.

@Eccles

 

[Davik Drast]

The Emperor turned towards the Knight-Captain and waved away the salute with a somewhat indifferent attitude. It was one of the perks of his rank. Everyone had to salute him, but he didn't have to salute anyone back. "Knight-Captain Varyn Atrix," the Emperor smiled and left the datapad on his desk as he motioned for the acting Lord-Commander to take a seat in the lowered lounge area.

There were topics to discuss, certainly, but what was most important to the former Grand Moff was the sense of a man. Varyn was awfully young to rise to the position of Lord-Commander, having already been considering to have risen to Knight-Captain at a young age. What worried the Imperial Security Bureau -whose Director had briefed him on Varyn's past- was his close relationship with the Grand Marshal. Altaïr Din had been the Sith Champion who rose to become the Warmaster of the Sith Empire before working with the Imperial Security Bureau to effectively banish the Sith Order from the Empire they created, but also founded the Imperial Knight Order where many of his friends ended up. The Tiefling had long been considered the presumptious Emperor and many still regarded the New Empire as the 'Din Empire'.

As such, having Grand Marshal Din on the Imperial Council was a threat to Davik's authority as Emperor. Having the Tiefling lead the attack on Dathomir would further increase his storied career and accomplishments while he was still defiant to Davik and refused to accept the Imperial principle over his own Kingdom. Installing one of his closest friends as Lord-Commander was therefore another move that would weaken the Emperor. After all, if the Emperor ordered it so, would the Imperial Knights under Lord-Commander Atrix move in to arrest the Grand Marshal?

All of these things were considerations that the Emperor struggled with. Imperial Czerka protected his position for now. Industrialization, resource mining and restarting the Imperial War Machine had all been possible because of the deal he made. Unfortunately it only seemed to protect his position against those that -like him- couldn't use the Force. He was acutely aware that Varyn Atrix could kill him now and the Grand Marshal would have the power and support to shield him from the consequences.

and yet none of it was noticeable when Davik Emer-Drast sat down on the couch himself. "Tell me," he picked up the bottle of Imperial Brandy -which was made to specifically cater to his personal taste- and filled two small glasses with the amber liquid. "What have my knights been doing since the attack on their castle," and the disappearance of the previous Lord-Commander.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn was an excellent field officer. He had said as much to Six when they had spoken about him taking on his position as acting-Lord Commander. He enjoyed it, thrived in it, and it was part of the reason that he had been so hesitant to actually make an attempt to seize the Lord Commander title.

Another part of the reason was that he had very little political acumen or interest. He was good at pretending to be things he wasn't when he needed to but reading other people and figuring out what they were thinking was neither his interest nor his specialty. For this reason, all of the concerns going through the Emperor's head as he evaluated the young Imperial Knight were mostly lost on him.

He took the offered seat, but couldn't shake the feeling of tension within himself. In a way, it almost felt like one of the old ISB investigations back when he was still undercover as a Jedi. It was that tugging feeling in the back of his mind that a single misplaced word would be a landmine.

But then, Varyn was still who he was. He had sworn off being something he wasn't, and so he recommitted in his mind to simply be truthful and hope that the new-Emperor was a man who could appreciate honesty.

The Knights have been keeping busy, he said. Despite their low numbers, they had had a surprising amount of presence in many different aspects of Imperial security.

There was no point in discussing the disappearance of Wodan as that was a topic already well-known to the Emperor. Varyn - despite keeping his ears open - had heard no signs of the presence of the former-Lord Commander and he doubted he would any time soon... if ever.

Our numbers are spread fairly thin with recent or active operations on Quermia, Ord Trasi, Stenos, and Vjun. A mixture of everything from concerns about Killiks to hunting down cultists and Sith, he said. Although he could recite more details if requested, he opted for a 1,000 meter overview to start.

Specifically with regards to the attack on the castle, I've had the opportunity to coordinate directly with the ISB and assist them in bringing down this "Oracle." While operations are still underway, we're closing the noose around them. The agents involved have been exceptional, he said. He knew that to many people in the Empire, his praise didn't mean much, but he knew that huge amounts of work had gone into the operation and if he could give accolades, he would.

Outside of Imperial borders, coordination with other Imperial branches have allowed us to assist with bringing Valc, Centares, Jaminere, and several other worlds back into the fold, he said.

His face became more serious with perhaps even a hint of sadness to it as he stopped speaking for a moment.

Unfortunately, the strained numbers have been felt even more acutely following Dathomir. We had casualties including Knight-Captain Winnz. I am glad to report, though, that Knight al-Bahir, despite her serious injuries, is expected to make a full recovery, he said. He finally came to a pause, realizing that while there was potentially so much more to say, he didn't want to just talk at the Emperor for minutes on end. He knew he probably could have and needed to check himself. Thoroughness was a virtue.

@Eccles

 

[Davik Drast]

The Emperor slowly sipped from his drink and nodded his head a few times as the acting Lord Commander spoke. "Ah, yes," he finally said after Varyn finished his update. "Vivienne getting corrupted through that hobby of hers was to be expected," he said, seemingly familiar with both the reports of Operation Oracle and the person behind the pseudonym. Vivienne Donatade, as leader of the Crimson Dawn, had projected her influence in Coreworld politics for decades. She had been everpresent in the Free World's Alliance, the Republic and some thought even made sure the vote for a new Galactic Senate passed. It was mere conjecture that she had also been involved in the dissolvement of the FWA and the Republic, but considering how deeply she had spiralled into madness it wouldn't surprise Davik.

It was one of the reasons he had made sure the Dark Side artefacts were safely secured in the Imperial Vault and couldn't influence those that would be unaware of such dark presences.

"Our losses are regrettable," he continued, referring to the untimely death of Knight-Captain Wiley Winnz, "but unfortunately also the cost of the progress of which you have all contributed."

Truly, the list of planets the acting Lord Commander had just told him that the Imperial Knights had been present, secured or defended against threats from Sith-aligned entities was impressive.

"Tell me, if you were to replace Wodan on a permanent basis," there was a point to which you could wait for a Lord Commander to return to his duties, given an acceptable excuse for his long unexplained absence, and the Empire had passed that points for several months already. "What do you think the role of Imperial Knights would be in my Empire?"

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

It was only for the briefest moment that Varyn showed surprise at the familiarity with which the Emperor spoke about "Vivienne." Of course, Varyn had no idea what went on behind closed doors and in the pinnacles of galactic society. The points of contact between the most elite and the dregs of the galaxy were more common than most people realized.

Quite so, sir, he said on that topic instead, deciding that "less is more" in a topic like that. When it came to the deaths of the Imperial Knights, he simply nodded. It was regrettable and it was something he'd have changed if he could, but he couldn't. They were soldiers, and soldiers died. Someday, his number would come up as well if the past decade was any indicator.

And then came the question. The real question that was at the heart of this meeting, it seemed.

Varyn had given a lot of thought to the Imperial Knights over the last several months. They were a strange organization in a strange new galaxy. He knew there were advocates for their dissolution, and he wouldn't have been surprised if - on some level - the Emperor agreed. That they should simply be swallowed up into the various Imperial organizations that now provided security.

The easy answer would be to say that their role is whatever you want them to be. But that's not really an answer, he said, laughing slightly to alleviate just a tinge of his nerves.

The real answer, though, is that the Imperial Knights are finally starting to find our footing. I imagine our role would be twofold. First, and most obvious, would be the continued investigation and combating of Force-based threats to the Empire, he said. It was the part that probably went without saying, but the more difficult part was the second.

Secondly, I envision us acting as force-multipliers, he said, intending no pun but internally taking just the faintest bit of pleasure in it.

In conjunction with and/or temporarily loaned to other Imperial sections: IAF, ISB, possibly even diplomatic corps, we can assist with things that other people may find more difficult, he said. Exactly how that would always unfold was its own question, but Operation Oracle was a prime example. Of course, Varyn was no stranger to some of the problems that individual Knights had presented at times, but that wasn't unique to the Knights. Abuse took place across all different levels of society and government, and for Varyn's part, he would continue to come down like a hammer on those under his command who abused that authority.

The truth was, Varyn was a believer in the cause. It was why he was still here.

@Eccles