9BBY, August 30.
Imperial Capital, Imperial Center, formerly Coruscant.
Even during the Clone Wars, this place had remained prosperous and decadent, because everyone believed that the war would never be lost, and the flames of war would never spread to the heart of the Milky Way Galaxy.
But now, twenty-five thousand years after the founding of the Galactic Republic, the clouds of war and fears of defeat had spread across Coruscant for the first time.
Many people had already realized that the Kingdom of Dawn's military threat was tangible and persistent. It was unlike the Sith Empire or the Mandalorian Crusaders of old, which had threatened the heart of the Republic through surprise raids by elite fleets.
The Kingdom of Dawn's military threat had been built through one head-on battle after another, repeatedly defeating the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire.
When the flames of war ignited for the second time, there had first been the disastrous rout on Kira planet, then the panic after Fondor Planet was occupied, followed by the brief hope Lieutenant General Thrawn brought during the Northern Territory Campaign. Finally came the fall of Fortress Planet Bilbrin, proving that the Galactic Empire could no longer hold even the heavily defended gateway to the Core Worlds.
The fall of Bilbrin Planet had utterly shattered the Imperial people's illusion that Imperial Center was absolutely safe. Yet the Galactic Empire's response had merely been the Emperor of the Empire, like a madman, staging a massacre on Palanci Planet with Tang Xiao, the King of Dawn—a massacre of the Empire's own people.
The skies over Coruscant remained busy, but at some point, the luxury yachts flying through them had gradually been replaced by military transport ships. The polite security personnel patrolling the streets had also been replaced by cold, terrifying