De Minimis (GNS)

Galactic News Service - "De Minimis"

Posted by: Jarek Sankin on Year 12 Day 222

Onboard the Imperial Star Destroyer I Imperator in system Coruscant (-6, 50).

CORUSCANT (INB) -- Imperial military forces remain undaunted despite the Old Republic's recent declaration of war against the Galactic Empire with reports indicating that Imperial strategists determined that it was unnecessary to increase the state of alert within the fleets and legions throughout the Empire. "Quite frankly," remarked an intelligence officer from the Department of Military Intelligence who spoke on condition of anonymity, "we knew that the Old Republic was going to declare war after trade negotiations broke down with the increasing erratic behaviour of Chancellor Vildras. That was a while ago though, so they probably had to build up their courage to make the declaration." The intelligence officer went on to state that DMI ultimately considered the Old Republic's military outdated and poorly maintained, and it posed insufficient enough a threat to require any major alterations in the Imperial military's daily routines.

According to the Empire's Coalition for Diplomacy, relations between the Galactic Empire and Old Republic collapsed when Korinas Vildras, Chancellor of the Old Republic, threatened the Empire after a trade disagreement for the continued purchase of Modular Taskforce Cruiser datacards, a ship the Ministry of Industry referred to in their progression report as a "suitable but non-critical material hauler." While representatives of the Empire were more than willing to find a 'fair price' for the datacards, the Chancellor refused reasonable offers from the negotiation team, and attempted to extort the Empire and its allies by demanding 200 million credits for each Modular Taskforce Cruiser datacard sold to the Empire and the rest of the Imperial Union, whilst maintaining a separate price for other customers. In response to the suspect trading practices, the erratic behavior of the Chancellor during negotiations, and the blatantly-insulting attitude of by the Old Republic's negotiating team, on Year 12 Day 106, the Empire completed its outstanding contracts with the Old Republic and then declared an embargo. Other Imperial Union members joined the Empire in its embargo with the hope that the economic pressure would move Vildras and his government to see reason.

Rather than see reason though, it appears that the Chancellor of the Old Republic sank further into dementia as he began to see Imperial agents and plots to eliminate him around every corner and in every shadow. Many members of the Imperial Department of Psychological and Social Evaluations suspect these fears to stem from an attempt on Vildras' life in late Year 11 by members of the Old Republic's own council, though there is currently no evidence of any connection of the assassination attempt to the Empire. The Chancellor's claimed link is that at the same time, the Imperial Union rejected the Old Republic's application for membership. The Coalition for Diplomacy cites that the Imperial Union Council made the decision due to concerns that the Old Republic was only joining to gain access to highly valuable and restricted military technology.

"If you combine such a close brush with death, and a firm rejection by the largest galactic coalition that could have provided safety, then certainly an individual might believe that someone is specifically out to get them," reasoned Dr. Ilme Peerkailn, a top psychiatrist in the IDPSE. "Untreated, this belief can develop into pure paranoia, which, unfortunately, appears to be the case with Chancellor Vildras." Many political analysts currently share a sentiment that the true danger to the safety of the Old Republic and its citizens appears not to be the threat of an Imperial military which has made no steps of aggression towards the fringe government, but rather the unchecked paranoia of its own political figurehead.

Regardless of the inability of the Old Republic to inflict any serious damage to Imperial subjects or its infrastructure, and only minimal changes to military patrols and alert statuses, the Imperial Government is taking the declaration of war seriously. "Any declaration of war against the Empire is treated with serious and careful consideration by the Inner Circle, whether the entity making the declaration poses an actual threat or not - they are still threatening the harmony and lives of His Majesty's subjects, and all such peoples and groups will be dealt with by the Empire," stated a staff member at the Empire's military headquarters on Coruscant. The Lord Admiral and Lord General's offices have declined to make comment on the situation.

Imperial military forces continue to monitor the borders for any incursions whilst the embargo on goods produced or traded by the Old Republic remains in place. The Throne's press office has stated that representatives of the Empire will be discussing the matter with other Imperial Union members to see if a joint response is appropriate or desired, but the Empire places no blame on the citizens of the Old Republic, nor does the Empire bear any ill will towards those citizens. The war, according to members of the Imperial government, "is the result of the private machinations and delusions of a paranoid, self-appointed messiah. That's why so much of [Vildras'] speech was in the first-person - he doesn't speak for the citizens of the Old Republic. When asked for comment, Executor Ndengin said, "Chancellor Vildras claimed that the only forms of peace with the Empire are enslavement or death. We will be happy to accommodate the Chancellor himself with either option."