LiotrentImperial Palace Complex
Vitrograd
Praetoria
Catherine was relatively plainly dressed. Her clothes were in dark colours, certainly appropriate for the occasion, but far from her full regalia. She was not wearing the Imperial Crown, just a simple tiara, and there was no ermine cape in sight. She sat behind her desk in the Breskavitz Office, facing down the holocameras and preparing to address her nation and the galaxy at large. She looked down at her speech; it was not quite the speech she might have liked to give, it had been carefully tailored to accommodate the current domestic situation. Had it lost its teeth in the process? Or was it a message that would truly ring in every heart? An aide coughed delicately. “Your Imperial Majesty? Are you ready?”
“Yes Askvar, start the countdown.”
“Of course your majesty. Live in 3...2...1…”
Catherine slowly looked up at the cameras, and began to speak.
“My countrymen,” Catherine said somberly. “Citizens and non-citizens alike, whatever your race, whatever your creed, from the deepest Core to the farthest Verge, I speak to you today bearing grave news. This is, perhaps, our most fateful hour, in all our long history. In this hour, I implore you to hear my words, as if I were welcomed into your homes and speaking to you in person. You have heard a vote was passed in the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich. Lord Chancellor Metternich and his Cabinet have already taken action on this vote, but now I speak to you all as the Imperial Queen. As of this moment, we are at war.”
“Mere days ago, on the flimsiest of pretenses, the genocidal maniac Faust declared war on our ally, the Core Imperium. In response to our solemn treaty obligations, we have declared war on the Dominion of Man, and unfortunately, its allies the Varangian Remnants and the Empire of Musashi. For the allies of the Dominion, I yet hope we might find a diplomatic solution, and to that end, I have elected to continue operating our embassy on Musashi.”
Catherine’s voice turned to iron. “But there can be no peace with the Dominion. Let me be clear; Faust is guilty of war crimes of the most heinous nature. Nothing will sate his thirst for blood. Surrender to the Dominion means not the end of our ways, but the end of our lives. There can be no resolution of our differences, so there will be no surrender, not now, not ever. We may be tempted, fighting such an enemy, to willingly visit atrocities on them, knowing full well that given the chance, they would inflict atrocities on us. But we must be better than that. We must adhere to our values, now more than ever.”
Her words took on a gentler tone.“With this in mind, I have instructed our armed forces to act in full accordance with the Old Imperium’s Code of War. We will take prisoners, and they will be treated well, wherever they are from. We will be just, we will be honorable.”
The iron crept back into her voice. “But do not mistake my clemency for weakness. Our hearts are strong, our will is iron! The enemy will learn to fear us in the fire of battle! We will fight the Dominion across the known worlds, on the ground and among the stars, and we will never! Give! Up!”
“We are not alone in this fight. Our friends and allies already flock to the banner! The Alorian Empire. The Core Imperium. The Sovereign Star Confederation. Together, we will fight, and together, we will prevail!”
“The coming days will be hard. There will be losses, there will be deaths. All of us will have to make sacrifices, but none so much as our brave soldiers on the front lines. I ask you to stand behind those soldiers, united as never before. Let us take pride in our diversity, in our freedom, in the nation we have built for ourselves in the stars, and from that pride let us draw strength. Let us steel ourselves against the coming hardships. Let every man woman and child of the Commonwealth do their part as best as they are able. Let us each do our duty with honour and integrity, and we shall prevail!
I say again, my countrymen, we shall prevail! Victory for the Commonwealth! Victory for our Grand Coalition!”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CSC Corinthene
Southern Reaches
Admiral Emden Konig nodded resolutely as he listened to the Queen’s speech. The Crown had temporarily shutdown civilian comms traffic over the subspace relays in order to simultaneously broadcast the Imperial Queen’s speech across the entire Commonwealth. Out in the Southern Reaches however, it had taken almost a day for the message to reach Konig’s assembled fleets. Five Commonwealth Star Carriers and Five Battlefleets were at his command, and they were making best possible speed to the Core Imperium and Uther’s defence. Only time would tell if they would be enough.
Vitrograd
Praetoria
Catherine was relatively plainly dressed. Her clothes were in dark colours, certainly appropriate for the occasion, but far from her full regalia. She was not wearing the Imperial Crown, just a simple tiara, and there was no ermine cape in sight. She sat behind her desk in the Breskavitz Office, facing down the holocameras and preparing to address her nation and the galaxy at large. She looked down at her speech; it was not quite the speech she might have liked to give, it had been carefully tailored to accommodate the current domestic situation. Had it lost its teeth in the process? Or was it a message that would truly ring in every heart? An aide coughed delicately. “Your Imperial Majesty? Are you ready?”
“Yes Askvar, start the countdown.”
“Of course your majesty. Live in 3...2...1…”
Catherine slowly looked up at the cameras, and began to speak.
“My countrymen,” Catherine said somberly. “Citizens and non-citizens alike, whatever your race, whatever your creed, from the deepest Core to the farthest Verge, I speak to you today bearing grave news. This is, perhaps, our most fateful hour, in all our long history. In this hour, I implore you to hear my words, as if I were welcomed into your homes and speaking to you in person. You have heard a vote was passed in the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich. Lord Chancellor Metternich and his Cabinet have already taken action on this vote, but now I speak to you all as the Imperial Queen. As of this moment, we are at war.”
“Mere days ago, on the flimsiest of pretenses, the genocidal maniac Faust declared war on our ally, the Core Imperium. In response to our solemn treaty obligations, we have declared war on the Dominion of Man, and unfortunately, its allies the Varangian Remnants and the Empire of Musashi. For the allies of the Dominion, I yet hope we might find a diplomatic solution, and to that end, I have elected to continue operating our embassy on Musashi.”
Catherine’s voice turned to iron. “But there can be no peace with the Dominion. Let me be clear; Faust is guilty of war crimes of the most heinous nature. Nothing will sate his thirst for blood. Surrender to the Dominion means not the end of our ways, but the end of our lives. There can be no resolution of our differences, so there will be no surrender, not now, not ever. We may be tempted, fighting such an enemy, to willingly visit atrocities on them, knowing full well that given the chance, they would inflict atrocities on us. But we must be better than that. We must adhere to our values, now more than ever.”
Her words took on a gentler tone.“With this in mind, I have instructed our armed forces to act in full accordance with the Old Imperium’s Code of War. We will take prisoners, and they will be treated well, wherever they are from. We will be just, we will be honorable.”
The iron crept back into her voice. “But do not mistake my clemency for weakness. Our hearts are strong, our will is iron! The enemy will learn to fear us in the fire of battle! We will fight the Dominion across the known worlds, on the ground and among the stars, and we will never! Give! Up!”
“We are not alone in this fight. Our friends and allies already flock to the banner! The Alorian Empire. The Core Imperium. The Sovereign Star Confederation. Together, we will fight, and together, we will prevail!”
“The coming days will be hard. There will be losses, there will be deaths. All of us will have to make sacrifices, but none so much as our brave soldiers on the front lines. I ask you to stand behind those soldiers, united as never before. Let us take pride in our diversity, in our freedom, in the nation we have built for ourselves in the stars, and from that pride let us draw strength. Let us steel ourselves against the coming hardships. Let every man woman and child of the Commonwealth do their part as best as they are able. Let us each do our duty with honour and integrity, and we shall prevail!
I say again, my countrymen, we shall prevail! Victory for the Commonwealth! Victory for our Grand Coalition!”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CSC Corinthene
Southern Reaches
Admiral Emden Konig nodded resolutely as he listened to the Queen’s speech. The Crown had temporarily shutdown civilian comms traffic over the subspace relays in order to simultaneously broadcast the Imperial Queen’s speech across the entire Commonwealth. Out in the Southern Reaches however, it had taken almost a day for the message to reach Konig’s assembled fleets. Five Commonwealth Star Carriers and Five Battlefleets were at his command, and they were making best possible speed to the Core Imperium and Uther’s defence. Only time would tell if they would be enough.
. Let's see about collabing some battles, pop me a PM sometime.