[K20 - Terminus - AE] The Emperor’s Vision

The bridge of the Valiance was silent, save for the low hum of control panels and the faint beeping of distant sensor readings. Before the vast, reinforced viewport, Emperor Ashlon stood alone, his white uniform pristine, the golden pauldrons gleaming under the cold lights of his command deck. Beyond the transparisteel window, the sprawling, polluted expanse of Terminus stretched beneath him, a world of neon-lit cities, industrial wastelands, and tangled underworld networks.

This was his world.

He clasped his hands behind his back, exhaling slowly. Terminus had become the last true stronghold of the Ashlon Empire, a refuge for those unwilling to submit to the so-called New Republic. The fall of the Imperial remnant at Jakku had been a severe blow, but Ashlon had long since prepared for such an outcome. He did not believe in sentiment, only in strategy.

His second-in-command, Admiral Simmons, approached with measured steps, stopping precisely three meters behind him.three meters away, awaiting acknowledgment.

"Speak."

"The prison facility reports that the terrorist has been secured," Simmons said. "The one from Jedha. Our interrogators believe he holds key information on hidden Republic supply routes, potentially even warship movements."

Ashlon remained silent. Beyond the viewport, dozens of warships drifted above Terminus, casting long shadows over the world they ruled. A fleet unmatched in the region. A fleet prepared for the next phase.

"And the insurgencies?" the Emperor finally asked.

"Minimal resistance remains," Simmons responded. "We've increased patrols in the lower districts and at the shipyards. The Corpo remnants are too fractured to pose a real threat. The Grid is secure."

"Good."

Ashlon’s gaze remained fixed on the planet below. The Grid was his. But beyond Terminus, the stars still burned with the false hope of the New Republic. They thought the war was over.

They were wrong.

"Contact the fleets. Begin preparations for expansion beyond the Grid. The Republic is still fractured, still weak. It is time we remind the galaxy that the Empire does not fall."

The Admiral nodded and departed, leaving the Emperor to his thoughts.

As the Valiance hung above its conquered world, the future of the Ashlon Empire was no longer in question, only how far it would spread before the galaxy could react.