Imperium Off Topicum 8: The New Dawn

"WARNING! WARNING!! Chaos Fusion Reactor damaged! Force field down!"

"Oh, shut it!"

The green and cream-furred being was sweating profusely as he tried to get the AI to quit its incessant whining. Typing away at the keypad, he sighed with relief as he finally was able to take the ship off alert... though as damaged as many of the circuits were, the distinctive sound of a door sliding open could be heard.

"Why Ventus... so good to see you've managed to keep things under control."

The hedgehog groaned. That voice. It belonged to a being that had lorded over the Mobians long before he was born, albeit, a being that showed not a sign of aging. Originally he was known as "Shadow," but few had the gall to call him such - he was the Imperator now.

"My Lord." Ventus' guts twisted as those words escaped his lips, giving the obligatory bow. He gave the due respect to his Emperor, his superior... his stepfather.

Cape flowing behind him, Shadow moved forward, gently brushing Ventus aside as he surveyed the damage, knowing the system all too well - he'd overseen its design personally.

"Reactors damaged from the planetfall... wonderful. We lack the resources to repair them on board. No shields... we lack even the ability to transport ourselves back home. And without an emerald for a power source, my own abilities are limited to myself... Of course, of greater import..." He started to turn towards Ventus, who gulped.

Blood red eyes gazed into brown. "...exactly HOW did the hyperspace drive become activated?"

"I..."

He was silenced by a swift punch to the stomach, keeling over the length of Shadow's arm as the latter slowly withdrew his fist. A bit of drool slipped forth from Ventus' lips as he coughed. Few Mobians possessed the strength of the ebony overlord.

"No excuses, Ventus. You may be just shy of eighteen years, but you have spent enough time in my court to know proper conduct. How hard was it to simply stay in your quarters for the duration of the journey?"

Ventus gazed upward for a brief moment... but quickly darted his eyes away. When angered, his stepfather's eyes were those of the Devil's.

Shadow was swift to upright Ventus, embracing him. He dared not try to pull away as he felt the length of the Imperator's arm wrap itself around him.

"If you were anyone else, such insolence would surely be punished with summary execution. Fortunately, your mother - bless her soul - entrusted you to my care... And so, you shall live. As tempting as the alternative is."

Shadow pulled back his arm as he walked away without regard for Ventus' well being, the latter hunched over clutching his sore, bruised stomach.

"We still have some of our manuals. Find out what this world has to offer and report back. Consider this another one of your many payments of your ever-expanding debts."

With a swish, the doors sealed shut. Ventus' eyes narrowed. Like his biological father, he had never particularly liked Shadow... but unlike said father, he was savvy enough to not openly challenge him. Shadow had saved the world from Enerjak, from Iblis, from Venice... few Mobians questioned his power or his "heroism." The Dark Eyes made short work of any who did.

For 100 years the Jihadist Warriors were the guardians of Tradition and Terrorism in the old Iran, before the dark days, before the Imperium. Following the dissolution of outside central authority, the various states of the middle east were involved in Increasingly Savage wars. Iran stayed largely neutral, allowing their neighbours to weaken each other whilst they developed the new 'Kamino' Weapons system, the details of which have been lost to time. 3 Years after the begining of the 'Kuwait Wars', the new leader of Iran declared Order 66, the complete annihilation of the old Jihadi Order. Only those who swore loyalty to the newly styled emperor were allowed to live. They were then sent against the various surrounding states, using the Kamino System to wipe out central governments time and again.

Thus began the New Order. The Emperor established himself as the undisputed ruler of the Gulf Area, but over the years the assorted problems of the war-torn Gulf began to show. The new Order failed to make significant progress restoring economic activity and normalised living conditions in the outer regions of the Gulf, and ultimately the Emperor Gave up the project. The areas were placed under the control of a series of Moff's, who were told to do what they had to to keep order, with all other considerations being secondary. The Emperor had effectively abandoned most of his territory.

However, upon his death, his successor declared that the Gulf Union would be expanded further, and bring the ordered stability of the Core region further East. With the aging Kamino systems reaching the end of thier lifespans, and no comparable replacement available, the Emperor ordered the Imperial Army to expand east. The Army Successfully carved out a small area of the Indian Subcontinent, and the 'Yavin Dominion' was incorperated into the newly renamed 'Greater Gulf Imperium'. The emperor then spant the rest of his reign establishing a self-sufficient economy in the core of the Gulf Union still under his effective control.

Now the new Emperor has come to power, and Sidious bin Palpatine has made clear his intent to restore Peace, Freedom, Justice, and Security to the Union and beyond.