Post by Lute on Feb 21, 2019 16:17:23 GMT -5
After a brief popup warning on the edge of the screen to alert that a special transmission was about to take place, all the Galactic Hypernet visual transmissions in the Galactic Empire shifted, trillions of people across hundreds of planets watching a vast procession in the heart of Abbayor. Obviously, for those outside of the Empire, the transition was a lot more smoother - still, however, the procession was broadcasted across most of the Galaxy. And for good reason, too - after all, it was the Galaxy's last goodbye with the greatest hero of the modern era, a man with enough clout and fame to challenge the great Z-Fighters of the eighth century. Or a maniacal tyrant who put an end to blossoming Abbayorian democracy fueled by his selfish desire for power and deserved the cruel fate he received.
Your call.
The front of the procession carried an armored metallic coffin and a portrait of the dead Emperor in front of it, followed by a march of notable Imperial public officials, the few family members he still had, and a few others. Both sides of the street through which the procession was slowly moving had been "fenced off" by a line of Ultramarines, giving hand salutes as soon as the coffin passed their position, but otherwise remained stern and unmoving - behind them, crowds stretching for kilometers watched the event unfold before their eyes. People were crawling on buildings and cramping at windows to see the procession from above, those who were able to control their ki took to the skies - up to a point, however, as the Imperial Army set a no-fly zone over the procession and its path, as well as the end goal - the former Galactic Palace, abandoned upon Polaris's ascension to the throne in favor of Mitra, but a notable locale on Abbayor regardless, in whose wall the fallen hero's coffin was planned to be embedded into.
Though this was officially pronounced and declared as the funeral of Emperor Polaris, if one were to pry the coffin open, they would notice that nothing was inside. The answer to this was simple - no corpse was found in the aftermath of the battle in Peace Plaza. Though this information was obviously not released to the public to not foster conspiracy theories, the Imperial government considered a few possibilities themselves. The most obvious answer is that Polaris's body was completely vaporized during the battle, but it seemed... unlikely. The fallen Emperor was not that frail and weak to be completely vaporized by attacks which did not even destroy the entire planet. Perhaps his body was simply not yet found by the reconstruction authorities, flung somewhere or buried under the ground during the battle. Even a few... radical options were considered, such as Polaris's corpse being whisked away by someone during the battle, or the Emperor having somehow survived the bout and fled. Perhaps the answer will never be found.
The procession stopped in front of the Galactic Palace, a part of the wall having already been disassembled and a hole perfectly designed to fit the incoming coffin already prepared. While the Emperor finally reunted with the palace and the throne to which he brought peace, order and prosperity to, several salvos were fired in the air, the lines of Ultramarines behind all knelt down in unison, the sound of trumpets echoed across the air, and after a few bouquets of flowers were thrown into the hole afterwards for good measure, several soldiers began patching the wall back up, laying down concrete panels and melting them seamlessly into the wall in seconds. An another Ultramarine, with magic materialization, created a small wooden platform for three Frost Demons to step onto.
One of them was Imperial Regent Eis, the temporary head of the Imperial government due to the new Emperor's immaturity, dressed in regal clothing and trying to not keep eye contact with the gigantic crowd now staring upon them. The other one was a hologram of a Frost Demon woman in a long, glimmering black dress - normally, 1-CE, the artificial intelligence operating Planet Mitra, was not able to manifest herself outside of the planet's reaches, but thanks to the ingenuity of a few Imperial scientists and a portable hologram generator, she was able to appear on the platform today for the special occasion.
In front of them both, and the rest of the delegation surrounding the platform, a young Frost Demon boy with gilded armor, a flowing blue cloak hanging from his shoulders, and a magical sword attached to his back, stood and stared to the millions upon millions of Abbayorians in front of him.
A year ago, he was just one of them, and now he is supposed to command them, starting with... with a speech.
His mother stopped at nothing to make sure that he leaves a good impression today, even getting the best speech tutors in the Empire to prepare him for the day. And hand him a transcript of the speech to make sure he doesn't forget his words. The first impression was vital.
After all, for many, this was the first time they get to witness Absolut I, Emperor of the First Galactic Empire.
"I'm... glad to see all of you having come here, to give your last goodbyes to Polaris, the Hero of the Galaxy and its first Emperor... and my father. I know that not everyone meets this day with sorrow, I know that some may view my father differently or follow misinformation, and I cannot change that. But, despite what some say, there really was good intent in his heart, until his very last breaths. He had to live through difficult times, make many difficult choices, and yet remained stalwart in his dedication to his people and the Galaxy as a whole.
...However... he was not perfect. Far from so.
There were times, many of them, when those difficult choices and decisions, and sometimes his own selfish desires, led to suffering and pain for many. Some of his choices, such as unprecedented hostility and a first strike against the Saiyan Dominion, should have never taken place in the first place. And I know that this had led to many declaring him a tyrant, even the reincarnation of Lord Frieza. The continuist Galactic Patrol in Earth territory and the revolutionary Black Star movement in the Empire itself are such examples. And I understand their motivation. For the longest time, I resisted my father's Empire myself.
I have only been your Emperor for a weeks, and only made a public statement before you for a single time in my life. And... I cannot promise to be the same ruler as my father was before me. I cannot promise you military victories... I cannot promise you an Empire ruled by an iron fist, backed by fear and violence. For those wishing any of that, I don't have much to offer. But I can offer that I will do my best to... grant the people I have received the right to rule a better life. I can promise what my father promised - peace, order, justice and prosperity - in its pure form.
I know that this somber moment is not the best to be making political statements... but there are two things I need to state regardless. I want to reach out to all of the citizens of the Galaxy, especially those who see these months as an opportunity to raise the... banner of rebellion. I want to offer a chance to reconsider. The cruel past is exactly what it is... the past, I wish to see the Empire abandon its cruel, despotic roots and provide the democratic rights and freedoms which the citizens of any modern society require. My... government is willing to listen to your concerns and implement them, treat you with respect, and grant to those who peacefully stand down. I don't want to see the Empire fall to civil conflict. That is not peace. That is not prosperity. Only working together can turn both of those words to reality.
I also want to reach out to the other nations in the Galaxy, including, but not limited to, the Kingdom of the Saiyans, the Kingdom of Earth, the Kabochan Confederacy, and many others. The Galactic Peace Accords... I attended them, as a spectator, and I sincerely believe that had they been allowed to pass and were not disrupted by Lord Snow and his subordinates... they could have achieved a lasting peace in the Galaxy. I wish to reach out to the other nations in the Galaxy to revive my father's project which he proposed in the Peace Accords before his death. By that... I mean the formation of the United Systems, a multinational organization established in the core of the Galaxy which would fight to maintain peace, alongside the refounded Galactic Patrol under its jurisdiction. I promise... that the First Galactic Empire will throw its full weight behind the project, and I hope the rest of the Galaxy does the same."
Written by Legume