The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2740 One-Day Dynasty (Part 2)
2740, One-Day Dynasty (Part 2)
Mas-Ameda looked at the congressmen, large beads of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

It's obvious that something's wrong with these people, but the problem is, what if they suddenly go crazy? I'm being controlled by them; what if they kill me?

The thought of this made Mas-Ameda tremble.

He was no longer the young man who dared to try and control the newly elected Speaker of the Republic, Shiv Palpatine. Now, under Palpatine's tyranny, he had all his edges smoothed out, becoming obedient and cautious.

He said in a trembling voice, "Um... how about... a temporary recess? All the councilors are here, let's rest for an hour...?"

At this moment, the councilors and representatives of the inner circle of nobles separated from the middle, and a huge holographic projection was projected.

This man was about 60 years old, with a beautiful head of silver hair neatly combed back. He wore a dark red robe, and had a dignified and gentle demeanor.

Upon seeing this person, Mas-Ameda paused, “Cassius Alcott… Senator… Sir. Why…?”

This person is a member of the inner circle of powerful figures, the patriarch of the Alcott family, and also a joint representative of several star sectors including Sanbra, Hook.N, and Juris. He is also a high-ranking member of the Imperial Council.

However, to Mas-Ameda's surprise, Cassius-Alcott had long been a moderate who advocated controlling the Middle and Outer Rings through trade and economic means. He even wrote a report called "The Theory of Imperial Economic Symbiosis" to explain how to build an economic system centered on the Empire and use economic blockade to completely marginalize or even starve the Kingdom of Dawn and the rebels around it.

His report even caught the attention of Emperor Palpatine, who was then withdrawing from the war. Palpatine also ordered the implementation of the plan, imposing a long-term economic blockade on the Kingdom of Dawn.

Although this theory was ultimately proven to be useless, and the Kingdom of Dawn easily broke through the blockade after the war broke out again, the fact that it received the Emperor's personal approval shows that Cassius-Alcott was still highly valued.

Mas Ameda never expected that the person who seemed to be working with Demetrius Zarin was actually him!
Cassius-Alcott magnified his holographic projection, which flew to the center of the hall on the anti-gravity platform. He turned on the megaphone and announced in a loud voice: "Former Emperor Palpatine of the Galactic Empire has betrayed the true mission of the Empire, allowing the war to spread, exhausting the nation's resources, and creating corruption, leading to the collapse of the front lines! Now, he is no longer worthy to be the Emperor of the Galactic Empire! Palpatine has been arrested by Marshal Demetrius-Zarin. Therefore, I hereby declare that Emperor Palpatine of the Galactic Empire has been deposed, and the Galactic Empire shall be taken over by the Provisional Council from this day forward!"

The entire parliament was completely silent; everyone was stunned.

Palpatine had long instilled deep fear in everyone's hearts, especially after the establishment of the empire. He had always lived a secluded life in the palace, yet he controlled every aspect of the empire like a spider. Anyone who dared to defy him would suffer the cruelest retribution. Every year, countless people died silently in some corner, all because of the emperor's will.

Palpatine established a large number of violent institutions, using these henchmen to serve him. From large-scale wars to small-scale assassinations, his presence was behind almost every violent incident.

And now, Cassius Alcott is saying he wants to oust Palpatine?
Seeing the silence around him, Cassius's tone turned cold. "Do I have to repeat myself? Palpatine has been arrested by Marshal Zarin! The Galactic Empire no longer has an emperor! I will form a provisional governing council to exercise power and maintain the Empire's operation! Now, issue the resolution!"

Everyone present exchanged bewildered glances, none daring to move. They all knew that once the resolution to remove Palpatine was issued, everyone present would face the death penalty! No matter how illustrious their family backgrounds, at that point, their families would immediately sever all ties with them.

Seeing the timid and hesitant demeanor of these senators, Cassius-Alcott's originally gentle expression gradually turned ferocious; he was going all out. In his previous conspiracy with Demetrius Zarin and Arden-Lin, Arden-Lin had confidently told them that she could defeat Palpatine.

Arden-Lin even demonstrated it herself—she punched a large crater in the main armor belt of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer! Moreover, she was wearing heavy metal armor, and several soldiers used traction beams to restrain her, but she actually broke free of the restraints, and even the power of the traction beams could not stop her.

Those involved in the conspiracy were convinced, and they also had concrete information indicating that Palpatine had engaged in multiple battles with Tang Xiao in the North and on Palancy, resulting in mutual casualties. This further solidified their confidence.

Now that Palpatine's problem could be solved, and the First Star System's army had been lured away by their conspiracy, plus the advanced prototype brought by Marshal Demetrius Zarin, they were certain that this rebellion could succeed!
Cassius Alcott and Marshal Zarin shared the view that the Galactic Empire was heading towards its demise under Palpatine's rule. To prevent the empire's impending collapse from affecting them all, and also to avoid being dragged down with Palpatine, they resolved to launch a rebellion and depose him!

However, as things have progressed, Cassius feels that the situation is getting out of control... First of all, he cannot contact Marshal Zarin and Arden-Lin. All communication channels are blocked and there is no signal. Once the definite news of Palpatine's arrest cannot be sent from their side, it will be impossible to suppress the various high-ranking officials, nobles, warlords, and ambitious people in the center of the empire, which will only cause greater chaos.

On the other hand, the mercenaries he secretly brought to Coruscant, as well as the gangs he had bribed, have also been cut off from communications. Although he knows that rebellions are successfully taking place in various places, he doesn't know the final outcome.

Finally, the capital region defense fleet, which he had bribed, seemed to want to back out after seeing that the situation was somewhat unfavorable.

At this point, there was no time to wait any longer!

Cassius-Alcott's eyes narrowed, and with a wave of his hand, a pre-prepared parliamentary resolution was sent to the screen in front of all the members of parliament. Immediately, his rebel soldiers pounced on them menacingly, climbing onto the anti-gravity platforms of the members of parliament, grabbing their hands and forcibly demanding that they sign the resolution!

The entire parliamentary chamber descended into chaos. Knowing that signing the papers would mean certain death, the members of parliament fought back desperately, wrestling with the soldiers. Some members even fell from the anti-gravity platform during the struggle, plummeting hundreds of meters to their deaths, their bodies mangled beyond recognition.

...When the Imperial Diet announced the resolution to depose Emperor Palpatine, Thrawn was leading a force of 12 Imperial Class II Star Destroyers and 23 light cruisers toward Marshal Zarin's weapons testing area.

Although Rufon-Digorinus directly issued orders that the Capital Region Defense Fleet and the 18 Star Destroyers in Coruscant's atmosphere must obey Thrall's commands, the Capital Region Defense Fleet remained inactive, and only 12 of the 18 Star Destroyers agreed to accept Thrall's command, while the other 6 also remained inactive.

However, it was too late. The two Star Destroyers escorting Palpatine had sent multiple distress signals, indicating that they were no longer able to resist Marshal Zarin's fleet attack and that the ships were about to be destroyed.

Thrawn made a decisive move, bringing along the existing fleet and quickly heading towards the target.

At this moment, the council's resolution has been issued, causing an uproar throughout the heart of the empire, but the situation is currently under control. Although the council's resolution has been disseminated through various channels, it has not yet reached the entire empire due to communication jamming on Coruscant.

However, if Palpatine is indeed taken into custody and the video message is successfully transmitted, then the situation will become extremely bad!

The counterinsurgency operations on Coruscant are progressing very smoothly. The financial center, which is considered the rebel command center, is under siege, and Cassius Alcott, one of the masterminds of the rebellion, is likely in this area.

Now that things have come to this, we absolutely cannot allow the rebels to turn the tide! The key to everything lies right before our eyes!
Thrawn's fleet had approached Marshal Zarin's weapons testing area. Radar showed that the two Star Destroyers were engaged in fierce combat with five other Star Destroyers, and that a large number of fighter jets were bombing them from the surrounding area.

The two star destroyers guarding the emperor were riddled with holes and billowing with smoke, but the warships chosen to guard the emperor were filled with officers who were loyal to the emperor. They fought to the death and managed to delay the emperor until this point.

Without any hesitation, Thrawn immediately ordered all fleets to open fire, while fighter squadrons took off and quickly approached the battlefield to cover the two Star Destroyers.

At the same time, he ordered the scanning device to be activated again to investigate how many warships Marshal Zhalin had brought with him to the weapons testing area.

However, the scanning device gave absolutely no feedback!

The scanning device, powerful enough to scan the entire galaxy, could only see darkness! How many warships were there, their locations—it was completely unknown! Marshal Zalin had used some technology to completely block all signals from that area!

Thrawn frowned and ordered all warships to immediately disperse into a claw-shaped formation, launching a simultaneous attack from eight directions. He widened his formation as much as possible and then had each ship send out reconnaissance aircraft to conduct comprehensive reconnaissance.

Meanwhile, his fighter squadron had already engaged in combat with the Zarin fleet's fighters. As before, his TIE Advanced X-1 fighters were easily routed by Marshal Zarin's TIE-Defender fighters. Thrawn didn't linger, immediately ordering all fighters to return to base. He knew that a frontal assault would only result in pointless attrition.

After observing the enemy ship deployment on the battlefield, Thrawn suddenly smiled knowingly. He realized that while the Zarin fleet's Defender fighters were powerful, their operational range was limited by the mothership's energy supply, preventing them from operating far from their bases. The enemy formation was outwardly expanded but inwardly hollow, indicating a fatal weakness in its core area—yes, it was the Imperial Emperor, Palpatine!
Zarin's plan was to prevent him from coming into contact with Palpatine!
He immediately ordered his fleet to continue to disperse, stretching the entire battlefield to a width of tens of thousands of kilometers, and to attack continuously from different directions.

Under his meticulous command, the warships in eight directions advanced in alternating waves, making quick contact and then disengaging, completely avoiding entanglement with Marshal Zalin's fleet. Once the TIE Defender fighter squadron was spotted launching an attack, the attacked warship squadron immediately retreated, creating distance so that even if the TIE Defender fighter squadron could sink those warships, it would inevitably move away from other directions, giving other warship squadrons the possibility of breaking through.

At the same time, Thrawn also ordered his fleet's fighters to concentrate their firepower on the TIE bombers that were being protected by TIE defender fighters. Once these bombers were destroyed, the firepower of the TIE defenders would no longer pose a threat to the warships.

His strategy indeed put Zarin's fleet in a predicament, caught between two equally important tasks. They wanted to destroy Thrawn's fleet while also ensuring the safety of Palpatine's ship, making them hesitant and timid. Even with advanced weapons like the TIE Defender fighters, they were still in chaos.

In the midst of the constant back-and-forth, Thrawn kept observing the enemy's formation. Finally, he narrowed his eyes and decisively issued the order for 20 light cruisers to launch a direct assault, exploiting a gap in Marshal Zarin's formation and penetrating it, heading straight for his flagship—the Star Destroyer "Honor"!

The command system of the Zarin Fleet was visibly thrown into chaos. The TIE Defender fighter squadron began to quickly retreat to defend, but this gave the other warship squadrons under Thoron's command an opportunity to break through, and the entire formation was immediately riddled with holes.

The two sides had roughly equal numbers of troops, but Thrawn took the initiative through tactical maneuvering. He did not intend to annihilate Zarin's fleet directly. The key to the matter always lay with Palpatine. As long as Palpatine was rescued, everything would be fine.

However, when his light cruiser squadron broke into the area, an enormous figure suddenly appeared on the battlefield!

With a length of 17500 meters, a brass-colored paint job, and a bow shaped like a hawk's hook, it is none other than the Eclipse-class super star destroyer!

The moment the warship appeared on the radar, the captains in Thrawn's fleet were terrified and wanted to turn tail and run! But Thrawn forcibly suppressed them and ordered them to continue forward! He told the captains that the current Eclipse-class super star destroyer could not form an effective combat force. Otherwise, Marshal Zarin would have only needed to deploy this super star destroyer into battle, and everything would have been over long ago.

However, this Eclipse-class super star destroyer suddenly opened fire!

(End of this chapter)