Chairman Vorian Senlas, of the Aquarian Terran Imperial States Council, stepped down from the heavily armed presidential shuttle craft, flanked on both sides by power-armoured veteran Crimson Marines from the Imperial Security Service's elite Council Guard. As the Chairman's entourage arrived at the podium, looking over the vast planet-wide ruins of the once proud former capital world of Aquarius, and the Old Federation; Eridonia, the marines took up positions on either side as a quartet of gunships flying ISSCG colours, carrying a dozen armoured marines each buzzed overhead, beyond them, the countless silhouettes of the vast Imperial Navy fleets amassing in orbit lurked like shadows, blotting out the warm Eridonian Sun.
The address was to be broadcast to all Aquarian sectors via the government emergency broadcast system; a priority open channel to essentially every officially registered installation or city in the entire cluster, and likely, thousands more unofficial ones listening in to what the Chairman had to say in this time of crisis.
An optical drone took up positions before the Chairman and his elite guard, hovering subtly in front of the podium; the gravi-magnetic drives emitting a distinctive, faint low-pitched humming as it hung gracefully in the air, cameras pointed at the Chairman: ready to transmit his address to a trillion people.
"People of Aquarius. I speak to you today from the skeletal remains of a once great city-world, once the home of our proud ancestral heritage; the Old Federation, and the seat of everything it held dear. I address you today, to remind you that this skeletal husk, this city-wide carcass, which was picked clean by non-human beings allowed in from beyond Aquarius by the previous government of our cluster, is a stark monument to our fragility as a species, even in the very worlds we call our homes.
It should serve as an apt reminder to all those that seek to destabilise the integrity of Aquarius, those that call themselves 'rebels', that in the blink of an eye; we can lose everything we have all worked so hard to achieve and build. We can lose everything we held, and hold, dear. In the blink of an eye, we can be eradicated as a species leaving nothing behind but charred remains and a forgotten legacy never to be.
That is why I address you today. I know that times have been hard, I know that we have all had to make difficult decisions. I know many of you have suffered. But you must know that the Imperial States stands only to unite our species under the single flag of humanity. It is in unity that we are strong.
These crumbling ruins, that of which to this day, remain as a reminder not only of our innate fragility, but also the failures of the states that came before. The failures of the so-called Federations that sought to unite humanity, only to be crippled by internal corruption and greed. This is the result of human depravity, a hundred billion human lives extinguished in the blink of an eye.
It has become clear that existing forms of government are no longer capable of ensuring humanity's wellbeing and survival. And that is why the Imperial States exists, it exists to serve You, the People, it exists to protect you, and it exists to forge a legacy for humanity among the stars.
The so-called rebels of the Eridonia Free Peoples' Fleet and their allies in the rebellious Coronian Government fight bravely for what they believe to be the true cause of unity; restoring the once-revered Old Federation and it's so-called bastions of 'Peace, Freedom and Equality' for all. I respect and admire them for their conviction to what they believe is the right path for us, as a species, to take. But you must know that it is only a path that leads to what you see before you today, here, on Eridonia.
It is a path for what leads to the cause of everything you have suffered, and endured. It is path that leads to chaos and corruption, and ultimately, extinction. I call upon you, the People of Aquarius, today, to stand with the Human Flag, with the Aquarian Terran Imperial States, and shoulder to shoulder, we will correct the misguided rebellion and educate their dissident followers with the truth that is clearly laid out before them.
I also address the leadership of the rebellious Coronian Government, warriors, and people of the self-proclaimed 'Eridonia Free Peoples' Fleet'; you claim to fight for freedom, yet you seek only turmoil. What is this short-term 'freedom', if it leads only to suffering as we have all witnessed with the failings of the Old Federation? To prove our dedication to humanity and the conviction that the Imperial States possesses to securing a future for all humans in Aquarius, I extend an offer of peace to you, and your followers. It is an offer that will only be extended once, so consider it carefully.
Lay down your weapons and surrender to the Imperial Military at once, and you will not be harmed. You will be spared, and perhaps you will be able to witness the transformation of Aquarius into the beacon of humanity's defiance of an unforgiving universe that we have set out in our vision."
With his speech delivered, the Chairman withdraws from the podium and makes his way onto the ornate landing-ramp of the presidential shuttle; Crimson Marines following on each side as several phalanxes of highly disciplined Imperial Planetary Forces infantry march from nearby landed Heron-class dropships, accompanied by myriad armoured vehicles and mechanised units; all ready to be loaded onto orbiting Gesturum planetary assault vessels. Peace was offered, but the Imperial States was preparing for war.
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