STAR WARS: RETROSPECTION- Brothers

"I am honoured to meet you, Moff Garridge. I am Melkor of House Esgabath." He nods respectfully, not wanting to annoy that man.

"But it seems I was invited to this Banquet."

"You don't get 'invited' to these sort of things," Moff Garridge says. "It would defeat the purpose of even holding it if everybody just got invited. I had to pay fifty-thousand credits for my family's seats."

He pauses.

"Did you say Esgabath?"

Melkor decides not to dwell on the fact that he is here without paying, which would propabably annoy Garridge.
"Respectable contribution. And indeed, House Esgabath from Erengard."

Hang on, Melkor... Garridge is the Moff assigned to Tasker's Crown!

"Ah, Erengard," Moff Garridge says. "Sticky situation, that. So... you're royalty, then. Don't suppose you could tell your brother to stop making an ass of himself? The Emperor is ready to claim first blood, at this point."

Melkor swallows, shocked by this coincidencee.... or is it? Who arranged the order of the seats, Tarkin himself?

"Well.... unfortunately my relations with Einar have never been the best, and certainly are not now. He is blinded by his own ego, now that father gave him most of his power, and doesn`t understand the finer points of politics at all."- He hesitates, wondering how much he could speak against his brother before this man.

"Of course, I am quite confident that the likes of Koshtas and Kuylens won`t let him start a rebellion againstEmpire. And if he does, he will be made an example of, won`t he? I am sure you are aware that there is internal opposition to him as well...."

Moff Garridge smiles.

"Is there? Then I suppose Tarkin was correct, we do have something to discuss..."

"Of course we do," Tarkin says, suddenly appearing beside you. "The Erengardian loyal to the Empire. It is impossible that young Melkor would not be willing to help his government."

He smiles.

'Grand Moff Tarkin!" -Melkor almost falls from his chair, but then stands and bows respectfully.

"I am deeply honoured by this invitation. And indeed, I see no reason why my world should suffer because of Einar`s foolishness."

"We will discuss matters in a moment, my young friend," Tarkin says. Up close, you can see that the years have not been kind to him, his cheeks hollowed and eyes sunken. But he is not quite as old as we see him in Episode IV- there are still tints of red in his graying hair.

Tarkin asks everyone to please be seated as he taps a silver spork against a crystal glass. He begins to welcome everyone to the banquet and thanks the Imperial Youth for hosting. He clarifies that it is a fundraiser for the Imperial Navy as the Emperor and his scientists try to push through new designs for various projects to ensure superiority. Present are several special guests- Senators, Moffs, billionaires, talented individuals, etcetera.

He elaborates on potential plans for a section of the Navy that wear space-worthy stormtrooper armor- dubbed Spacetroopers- and mentions that designs for a new class of Star Destroyer is in the works.

Before seating himself to eat, he thanks everyone once again, before turning to you.

"So, Melkor," Tarkin says as he slices pieces of meat off of a roast and puts it on his plate. "I hear you had some trouble at home."

Melkor blushes slightly.

"Well, to be frank, Grand Moff, my brother seems to be insane.He tried to kill me for no apparent reason. I doubt that reasonable settlement could be reached with him at this point, though my father is still the nominal ruler."

"I see," Tarkin says, delicately slicing off a piece of meat and eating it. "The Castellan has refused to speak with us on the matter. Only his heir has done so, and his decision has not been in our favor. What do you think should be done, Melkor? Because right now, our first option is orbital bombardment and invasion... but surely that would be costly in more than one way."

Melkor isn`t quite in mood to be eating, as he tries to formulate the right answer.

"Well, I would say that invasion would be a waste of resources, so I would suggest it as last resort. I would continue negotiating with Kuylens and Koshtas to put pressure on Erengard. Of course.... well, there may well be way to overcome the issue of Einar without invasion or lenghty negatiotions. I have allies on Erengard that could help overthrow my brother."- He takes a glass of wine, trying not to appear too nervous. Then he focuses his gaze on Tarkin, waiting for his response.

A slight grin spreads to Tarkin's lips.

"You are a resourceful young man, Melkor," Tarkin says. "The Empire has need for men such as you. You understand what needs to be done in order for the Emperor's grand vision to progress."

"Of course, Grand Moff." Melkor tries his best not to spill the wine.

"In this case, what is good for Emperor`s vision is good for Erengard, as it should be. Einar`s foolishness will doom my world, and we need to change."

"So," Tarkin says, taking a sip of his own wine, slowly as to enjoy its flavor, "what is your plan, exactly?"

Actually, this is a good question. I quess Melkor would not have enough support on Erengard to win an open rebellion against his brother? So covert coup would be a way, or putting pressure on the Castellan, perhaps....

Still, wouldn`t most people consider it treachery, if Melkor tries to get power with the Empire`s support, while Einar does not give to their demands?

If you entertained open rebellion, you may as well just let the Empire go ahead with the bombardment and subsequent invasion and see who sides with them. It would be devastating for Erengard and impossible for them to retain any dignity under the Empire, and an embarrasment for the Boyar.

But a covert coup... Einar would be gone, but that leaves the Castellan with his second son having murdered his heir.

And yes, though honestly the people will bend to the will of the Castellan if he holds power and deems it good for their world. Imperial stormtroopers and Erengardian soldiers loyal to you would keep a rebellion from happening in the wake of Einar's death, assuming you are blamed for it.

So just removing Einar covertly would be the best option? Then Castellan would have no choice but to accept Melkor as heir... he seems to have lost much of his rule to live.

What if the Castellan refuses to make you his heir?

Well, Melkor and his allies could put pressure on him- Melkor would always have the advantage over someone withoout the right birthright, right?

Yes, but your father is still Castellan. He could have you 'removed' for the death of Einar and put his power behind a new person (though this contingency has never been used in Erengardian except in cases where the Castellan and his wife were unable to conceive).

What if this happened?