Resurgence

Impossible Atonement

Lady Erika and several other defected Imperials have been invited to share their stories at the Republic Capital on Nakadia. Their stories of Rebel heroism were lost to the Republic from missions that either ended in failure, or ended when the Rebel in question sacrificed themselves for the greater good. Having been such a prolific and high profile Imperial executioner, Lady Erika in particular had many stories to tell.

She has even been invited to speak at a memorial service, commemorating the 15 year anniversary of the Battle of Endor. Partly because of her high social status on Coruscant, and partly because of her natural charisma and skill at telling stories, no one suspected that things would go the way they did. But dressed in a black and gold dress, she looked not all that dissimilar to the girl from the holos who so publicly slaughtered so many Rebel heroes all those years ago. And on her forearms and calves were visible some of the anchor points for her power armor, which perhaps too sorely reminded them of Darth Vader.

Erika steps on stage at the veteran's hall. She's nervous. Unlike Saleucami, everyone here was against Erika in the last war... up until the last year. With no need to posture, an outburst like the reporter's is unlikely... but at the same time, she knows that in their minds she was once evil beyond redemption. She may very well bring up memories a little too close to home for some of them.

She proceeds cautiously, "I can't change what I was. For 8 years I committed unspeakable atrocities in the Empire's name and ordered others to do the same. I believed so often that Rebels and agitators deserved everything. I reserved the most severe punishments for Rebels that I felt were most deserving... the ones who didn't care if they harmed innocents to harm the Empire. But all too often, I the people I hurt the most were themselves innocent. 

"I've helped bring some of your unsung heroes to light in my reports to the Republic military. Many forgotten or lost informants or whole cells you thought abandoned you had in fact been captured and summarily executed by my Hammer of Light. For strategic reasons, their actions were never announced publicly, so I'm glad I could bring their heroism to light.

"But the heroism you need to hear the full story of today is one you're probably already familiar with: the capture and public execution of Harpy Squadron. It was one of our most famous successes. The Governor of Cerea had called us in to handle the matter. Harpy Squadron, only a few months old, had been gaining fame galaxy wide, and their arrival in the Cerean system was quite the headache for a Governor, as you'd imagine. 

"Pressure from his Moff to handle the matter before the entire sector fell to the Rebellion was high, and he didn't think there really was anything that could be done. So, he called me in, and I could sense in his mind that he didn't truly believe I could succeed, and he was just glad to have someone to point his finger at every time Harpy Squadron pulled off another victory. But less than a month later, we caught them. Right at the beginning of Empire Week, Kendalina correctly intuited when and where we could expect to catch one of their informants, and from there it wasn't long before we had a lead back to their operating hanger.

"I captured them without a fight, and I discussed with my Captains what we should do. On the one hand, their crimes in the war were not so great as to merit a public execution. They were pilots fighting a war after all, and we knew that to some extent even if Imperial law forbid us from offering any quarter or leniency to Rebel thought or deed. An execution by firing squad seemed appropriate.

"Interrogation was ruled out fairly quickly. It doesn't take me but a few minutes to tell how effective even the most brutal interrogation will be, and I knew we couldn't crack the Harpies. But we got greedy... I got greedy. I knew that a public execution of Harpy Squadron, played up for maximum emotional effect, would have galaxy wide consequences. It would shatter Rebel resolve in the Cerean system and slowly lead to their withdrawal from the sector.