Excerpt of cover story Imperial Trash from EMPIRE NOW, volume 19, issue 1, Special Commemorative Hard-Print Flimsi Edition celebrating the Twenty-First Anniversary of the Galactic Empire. (day)15.(month)10.(year)20 AFE  print run for (day)01.(month)01.(year)21AFE release.

Editors Note: We at EMPIRE NOW do not usually include descriptive text for images, as they are supposed to invoke thoughtful contemplation of the many issues and challenges, as well as the strengths and successes, of the Galactic Empire which we regularly bring to our readers' attention. They are included in this hard-print flimsi edition by request of Imperial Prince Luke Skywalker, who, himself, is vision-impaired.

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On the Cover - In the foreground, Imperial Prince Luke Skywalker stands leaning against a broken wall covered in graffiti and torn posters darkened with the shadows of nearby buildings, in the background of the image, the Imperial Palace can be seen lit brightly by the noon-day sun. Skywalker is half in shadow, half in light, the sunshine cutting diagonally along his body, with his head 'haloed' by the five towers of the Imperial Palace, giving the impression of a five-pointed crown. He is dressed in close-cut, dark charcoal grey high-waisted pants that have a grey-toned maroon stripe three inches thick along the outside of either leg and cinch cleanly and smoothly without the need for a belt. Black, knee high boots as standard for Imperial officers cover his feet and are worn over the lower part of his pants. He wears a deceptively simple long-sleeve jacket cut to meet the high-waist of his pants and no lower, in the same charcoal grey as the pants. It has a stiff collar and is worn open to let the viewer see the black t-shirt he wears over a black turtle-neck undershirt that houses his vocoder. The shirt sports a design with the Imperial Cog in Durasteel Grey superimposed by Aurebesh graffiti in Imperial Red angled upward and reading "Imperial Trash".  He leans against the broken wall with shoulders hunched forward, and black-gloved hands in his pants-pockets, two thick, black, durasteel wristbands around either wrist are just visible past the cuffs of his jacket. His head is lowered just enough that we don't get a clear look at his face and his feet are crossed at the ankle. Skywalker's hair is slightly longer than military regulations allow and the ends curl up, framing his ears and the edge of his collar. In his left ear, three earrings can be seen chasing the rounded edge: a TIE Advanced dangling from the primary hole, and two Tie/IN's further up the shell. There is visible refuse, mostly unidentifiable scraps made of plastics, metal, and wire, scattered around his feet.

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Opposite - Imperial Prince Luke Skywalker hangs one-handed, half-way up, off the yellow boarding/maintenance ladder that sits against the side of his personal X-Wing Rebel Sunset. What we can see of the X-Wing is primarily the underside of the nose-cone and it is mostly grey, with the stripes running along the sides divided into three solid colors going from the nose of the X-Wing to the back: yellow, orange, red. Skywalker is dressed in a dark-grey flight suit with the upper half pulled down and tied around his waist. Thick, grey work boots can be seen under the lower cuffs of the pants. He wears a black, sleeveless T-Style shirt over his long-sleeve, black turtle-neck bodysuit that houses his vocoder. The shirt has "Sithspawn" blazed across the chest in dark-red 'bleeding' Aurebesh graffiti. His hands are covered in black gloves and the thick, black, durasteel wristbands that connect the hand sensors of his speech-aid to his bodysuit are fully visible. In the hand that is not holding onto the ladder, is an unidentified tool held loosely to his side while his head is turned to look back over his shoulder, providing the viewer a profile shot. What can be seen of his eyes appear to be unfocused as his head cocks to one side, clearly listening to something outside the camera frame. His earrings are more practical for maintenance work, all three being small, discreet, black studs. The hanger he is in, as well as the S-Foils of his ship, are in soft-focus, keeping the eye drawn to the Imperial Prince. In the foreground, blurred edges of a crate and scattered tools can be seen just under the edge of the X-Wing.

Across the bottom of the image, aligned right, is printed:

COVER STORY: IMPERIAL TRASH

 

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At the top of the page, aligned left and in large print meant to draw the eye when skimming the text, is the quote:

"No.; I was never a spy.

"No.; I was never a traitor.

"No.; My loyalties were never in question.

"And No.; I am NOT a Rebel."

The final lines of Imperial Prince Luke Skywalker's message to the leaders of the rebel alliance after his rescue from one of their desolate prison ships by his father, Lord Darth Vader, has swiftly become the favorite rallying cry at gatherings of loyal Imperial Citizens galaxy-wide. The sincerity and conviction of these words, from a man who had, at one time, proudly labeled himself 'rebel scum' can easily be said to be the reason for not only his own growing popularity among the people of the Empire, but the nearly double-the-normal influx of Imperial youths, particularly those from the Inner and Outer Rims, applying for and entering the Imperial Academies at the sector level in the lead up to the Twenty-First Empire Day.

"It feels like a dream," His Imperial Highness told us when we asked what it felt like to know he had inspired such a renewed interest in serving the Empire among it's younger generations, hands moving at a speed that only his vocoder could keep up with. "When I was growing up on Tatooine, I also aspired to attend the Academy. But I kept putting off my application because my family needed me there, on the farm. Joining the Academy wasn't a priority. I felt no real... connection, I suppose. Motivation may be a better word. If I've really been the one to inspire so many to stop putting off their applications, to take that step forward, to allow themselves to know what it really means to be a citizen of the Empire..." He paused at this point, but he'd been smiling the whole time, gold eyes distant even beyond their usual unseeing state. "It is an honor. Truly. I feel humbled at the idea of being that for so many."

The Prince grew up poor, a moisture farmer on the desert world of Tatooine, in what is (in the Outer Rim) considered the heart of 'Hutt Space'. It is, of course, a part of the Empire, but the Imperial presence is felt only lightly in the sand-strewn wastes far from the population centers where His Imperial Highness lived the first 19 years of his life. His priorities, and that of his Aunt and Uncle, who raised him, were bringing in enough water to keep the farm going, if not thriving, and pay their taxes. Common, basic, concerns shared with a large swath of Imperial Citizens. He was educated at a community school so small that the 20 or so regular attendees included both the entirety of the Child-Group and the Sub-Adult Group for the area. While he, and others he grew up with, did aspire to join the Imperial Academy, most of them assumed that it was beyond their reach and settled for taking over for their parents in whatever trade they were already involved in. The Prince, then known only as Luke, presumed orphaned son of parents who died at the tail end of the Clone Wars, was much the same. He felt drawn to the stars, but the needs of his known family kept him grounded.

"I wasn't happy," he told us with a shrug and what would have been a soft laugh had he been able to speak with his voice, "but I also wasn't unhappy. It was just how life was. Boring and repetitive, for the most part, but not uncomfortable or without it's blessings. I learned to fly and I had friends that would race with me. I got into trouble for running away looking for adventures just as often as I got out of trouble because I ran off into a sandstorm and barely survived to get scolded for it."

At our concerned comment to that statement, he shook his head and reassured us, "It was dangerous, but not as much as it would be for those who didn't grow up in a desert. Our classes included the usual math and history courses, but they also included desert survival. And what we didn't learn there, our parents and guardians made sure we were well educated on. Every world has it's quirks and dangers that the natives are going to be more capable of handling than an off-worlder. I trust myself in a sea of sand, but put me anywhere water is abundant and I'm going to need a lot of help. It took me weeks to figure out that not all rain was drinkable the first time I spent any length of time on a world where the sky opened up no less than three times a day."

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Opposite - Imperial Prince Luke Skywalker leans back with his elbows on a rough-textured and sand-blasted wall just high enough to easily lean on. He has his head tilted back and to the side, as if looking up and off to the horizon with his unfocused and sightless eyes. His expression is open and thoughtful. He is wearing the same outfit as the cover photo, except that his shirt features a bust of Darth Vader that nearly fades into the background of the shirt, with the left side of his helmet lit up by the red glow of his lightsaber which is held vertically next to his left eye. The 'blade' of the lightsaber is made up of Aurebesh-Imperial Standard Font that reads "Son of Vader".  The sun shines brightly on the scene and the sky behind Skywalker is blue and clear. There is coarse, yellow-brown sand piled at the bottom edge of the wall and scattered across the cracked and dry ground, giving the viewer an idea of how desolate life on Tatooine is.

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Opposite - Imperial Prince Luke Skywalker sprawls on what remains of a freshly-broken black-stone throne carved in the style favored by historical dramas, left leg hanging off the front of the seat, the other thrown over the arm rest opposite his chest. Darth Vader stands behind the throne, leaning forward with his weight on his hands, which are spread to rest on either side of what remains of the throne's backrest. Lord Vader's head is turned to the right of the page and tilted slightly downward, his gaze directed at his son. Skywalker, in turn, has his face turned towards the left of the frame, attention drawn to something out of frame. His far (right) hand is lifted to rest on the side of Lord Vader's helmet that is turned away from the camera and what can be seen of his fingers are spread to allow the Imperial Prince to 'see' his father's 'face'. Skywalker is grinning brightly, looking like he might be laughing. Darth Vader is dressed in his iconic black armor. Skywalker is dressed in a physical-education style tank top and a pair of the slim, close-cut pants he favors. The pants are black with durasteel-grey lining the outer seems, and a black belt with a steel buckle etched with the Imperial cog is threaded through the beltloops. Black, knee high boots as standard for Imperial officers cover his feet and the lower portion of his pants. The tank top is black and "My Dad Can Kick Your Dad's Ass" is written in Imperial Grey, Aurebesh-Imperial Standard Font justified into a perfect 2:1 vertically-orientated rectangle. Skywalker is not wearing his usual black bodysuit or gloves. Instead, the thin, skeletal innards of the speech-aid system can be seen wrapped around his fingers and arms, making their way upward to eventually meet an equally thin shoulder harness that secures the motion-capture sensors on his hands and arms and connects them to the one inch flexi-collar around his neck that houses his vocoder. The black durasteel wristbands that usually join his finger sensors to the sensors of his bodysuit are also missing. Under the sensors, wires, and tank top, Skywalker has sharply defined muscles. Barely visible, peeking out from under his flexi-collar, is a faded scar from the surgery that took his vocal cords and left him in need of sub-dermal plating in his neck to support the damaged muscles. In his left ear, the visible one, the same TIE-Fighter set from the cover image are worn. Chunks of the once-towering backrest are strewn around the base of the throne. In the background, the smoldering remains of a banner hangs, out of focus, but providing a burst of soft red color to the shot and framing most of Darth Vader's silhouette.

His Imperial Highness left Tatooine only a few weeks after his 19th birthday and just days before the Battle of Yavin. This was not a coincidence. While his life on the Outer Rim had largely been devoid of the troubles of war the Empire at large endured, the Rebellion would not leave even a "backwater desert world" that the Imperial Prince once described as "the furthest thing from the bright center of the universe" alone and untouched. The details of the Rebellion first contacting him is classified information, but His Imperial Highness has said that the series of events led to the death of his Aunt and Uncle as well as his first contact with the galaxy beyond the desert world - escaping the planet on a smuggler's freighter along side a now-dead rebel agent. The same agent that dragged him into the rebellion and convinced him that it was the right and moral thing to do.

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Half way through the page, aligned right and in large print meant to draw the eye when skimming the text, is the quote:

"I wanted my guardians deaths to mean something. The rebellion told me it meant I should oppose the Empire and I thought I had nothing else, and what had the Empire ever done for me anyway... so why not?"

"It's a sad truth that the rebellion has drawn so much of the Empire's focus that the Imperial presence on many worlds that far from the Core is often too little for many of the citizens to really understand why they should care about being a citizen of the Empire," The Imperial Prince told us with a pained look upon his young face. "I don't believe it's an intentional side-effect of the conflict, but the Rebellion does take advantage of it. It's easy to convince idealistic farm boys that the government that's supposed to be protecting you is evil if there's not enough resources and personnel on the planetary level for them to help all their citizens when and where those planetary deployments are supposed to. Resources and personnel that are rightfully being diverted to the active combats that the Rebellion forces upon communities that should never have to deal with the terrors of war."

His Imperial Highness paused a moment, gathering his thoughts before he elaborated further, "The great drought hit when I was about ten, I think. And the constant complaint was that the Stormtrooper garrison wouldn't send anyone to help protect the farms from being hit by the Tusken tribes. We were farmers and the closest garrison was Mos Eisley, which was nearly a full day's travel by speeder from the edge of the Judland Wastes where the furthest of us lived. An old hermit. Long dead now.

"We had little contact with them and couldn't know that they were busy protecting the spaceport from off-world opportunists as well as the tribes that attempted to raid the outskirts as the drought wore on. All we knew was that they weren't helping us," he said with as much of an air of sadness as his vocoder was able to provide, "Ignorance is the Rebellion's greatest weapon."

The Imperial Prince has become, in the few months since being formally named the first Heir to the Imperial Throne, loudly outspoken as an educational reformist, which he has credited to his own experience growing up with a poorly funded school that left him vulnerable to the Rebellion's manipulation. He is unapologetic about his time with them, nor is he ashamed of it.

"I am not proud of my time there, but I am also not ashamed. Shame is what keeps others in the rebellion who have misgivings from leaving. It is what keeps them from returning to the Empire and makes its citizens forsake them, leaving them feeling like they have no choice but to continue on the path they've started walking," His Royal Highness said after we at Empire Now were assured it was not treasonous to broach the subject with him. "There are so many within the rebellion who question what they're really there to achieve. So many who would return if they weren't ashamed of their contributions and fear that they can never atone. I only know this because I have had the privilege of meeting so many who were brave enough to step past that shame and come back. They are the ones that taught me that owning my mistakes, no matter how terrible, was as important as owning my successes. That those mistakes don't have to be left to fester. I can't change that they were made, but I can work every day to not make them again and help others not to make similar ones."

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At the top of the page, aligned left and in large print meant to draw the eye when skimming the text, is the quote:

"Alderaan was a mistake. You're allowed to print that."

His Imperial Highness had no real ties to the rebellion before he arrived on Yavin IV, where the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station was destroyed, killing an estimated 1.5 million Imperial citizens, both civilian and military. A run-in with Imperial forces had seen the death of the rebel agent that had pulled the young Luke Skywalker, who thought he had nothing left and no where to go, into the rebellion's sights. His Imperial Highness speaks of the smuggler that landed him there with fondness, "He was only doing what he'd been paid to do. He's like many of those on the fringes of the Outer Rim, just trying to get by. The conflict out there makes it difficult to make an honest credit and many of the planets don't even accept those honest credits because they don't trade in Imperial currency. I don't blame him for doing what he thought he had to. And considering what we had learned, about Alderaan, only hours before, it felt like he'd brought me to where I needed to be."

We asked him about that, too, once we were cleared to do so. It is not a conversation to have casually and the Imperial Prince acknowledged that - because such topics, if not treated with the seriousness and delicacy they deserve, can be twisted by the rebellion to imply opinions and views that are not acceptable even in mixed company. Perhaps especially in mixed company.

"Grand Moff Tarkin was a great man," His Imperial Highness told us, "and he is due every honor he has received both in life and in death. But Alderaan was a point of hubris that Grandfather and I have gone several rounds about. I don't disagree with the ultimate outcome, but if it was ignorance that gave the rebellion the means to draw me in, it was Alderaan that made me believe. Made me close my eyes to whatever else they did and the great works the Empire had behind it. Because it was so easy to see horror in the destruction of a valued population and planet that had loyally served the Empire since its inception. A few loud voices of dissident in the best manner of improving the Empire, and the confirmed involvement of a member of the Royal family with the rebellion, and Tarkin condemned them all to death without trial. A just execution of many, to be sure, but one that should have come after a proper inquiry to see how far the rebellion's influence reached. An inquiry that could have, and should have been, a matter of public record so that the recourse didn't seem to come out of no where."

He let out a heavy sigh at this point, despondent at what had occurred in the wake of what he described as Tarkin's haste, "The rebellion took the incident and used it to convince entire planets that the Empire would come after them unjustly, for no reason, except that we could. Which completely ignores that if sanctions did come, it would be in response to inappropriate and illegal actions of the planetary government or their people. If action is taken, it is with just cause. But with the destruction of the Orbital Station over Yavin IV, there was nothing but circumstantial evidence - mostly statements from the few who survived and a few reports that were filed before the battle - to satisfy those who had a personal stake in Alderaan's fate. Those who had family on world. Who were easy targets to manipulate in their grief.

"And those like me, who had no strong ties with anyone and took what they were told was the truth at face value."

His Imperial Highness was with the rebellion for about 3 months following the Battle of Yavin.

"During that time, I felt like I was living an adventure novel," the Imperial Prince told us with a soft, nostalgic gaze. "I was the titular hero in my mind. A young man from humble origins running off to save princesses, make friends with thieves who had hearts of gold, and fighting against a great, nebulous evil. I flew shuttles, mostly. Sometimes I was able to climb into an X-Wing and do a scouting mission. But with the evacuation of the main base and the rebel fleet scattered - don't worry, this isn't classified anymore - and I being a farm boy who had never flown out-of-atmosphere before leaving Tatooine, I wasn't exactly someone important. I was, in fact, largely unimportant, but I felt like I was doing something good. Right up until the rebellion decided I was so unimportant that I could be left for dead and forgotten about."

While the details of that incident are almost entirely classified and could not be discussed with us, it is now well-known that whatever happened is what ultimately led to His Royal Highness permanently losing his sight and ability to speak. He now uses a customized speech-aid system that uses motion capture nodes in his gloves and the arms of his body suit to interpret his High Corsacanti Sign Language and translate it into speech through a vocoder. Most of the surgical scars on his neck, the only other physical evidence that remains to give a hint of what he suffered, have largely faded or been covered by synth-skin grafts.

"It was in the aftermath that I was found by Imperial forces."

And met his only surviving parent.

"And met Father, yes," he agreed when we brought that up, smiling brightly, his more somber memories chased away by the mention of Lord Vader while his eyes shifted to a brilliant blue. "That was... that was a surprise. I'm not sure if anyone can really imagine what that felt like. There are still days I can barely comprehend my own fortune at not only finding out I still had family, but that he was the Darth Vader? The 'monster' that the only training the rebels can provide for facing him amounts to 'run away as fast as you can and pray your death is a swift one'? I was... I think I was in shock for the first week."

When he was merely Luke Skywalker, moisture farmer, his Aunt and Uncle had believed his parents to have all died during the chaos surrounding not just his own birth, but the birth of the Empire.

"They didn't even know I had a second father," His Imperial Highness explained. "Both the father they knew of - Anakin Skywalker, my Uncle's brother - and my mother met, and exceeded, the strict Imperial standards to qualify as Legally Fully Human. As you know, that still allows up to 15% non-human DNA. Which does allow for some expression of minor non-human traits, but generally that doesn't get expressed in one of the parents being able to procreate with more than one other DNA donor. I'm safely above the threshold at 92% human and I'm told my eyes regularly shift color between blue and gold, which is such a minor expression in the grand scheme. So anything more was entirely unexpected." At this, he shrugs before continuing, "The medical facility I was born in is unknown, the records have been lost, but my Aunt and Uncle said I was brought to them only a few days old, just after Empire Day, by an old friend of my mother's, who managed to name Skywalker as my father before she died from the complications of childbirth. Near as Father, Lord Vader, and I can piece together, it was probably assumed - and rightly so as that's the case for most humans - that there was only one father. With her death and the death of my other father, and finding out about both weeks after they occurred without any mention of a surviving child, Father had no reason to assume that I had. Neither of us knew the other existed until the medical tests brought it to our attention.

"Following that..." His Imperial Highness shrugged once more and gave what should have been a laugh, his smile as bright as the twin suns he grew up under, "It's been an eventful... almost two years now. Father worked hard to make up for lost time. He made sure I had the opportunity to get involved in the Imperial Academies like I had always wanted to. Ensured everything was done to get me flying again. I mean, I'll probably never fly live combat again, but at least I'll fly and the war games will help our pilots get and stay combat ready...

"Things like that... Father did all he could to give me the chance to prove myself to him, to Grandfather, to the people of the Empire. To prove that while I was lost for a time, I have now found my way."

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That journey included the rebellion retaliating against someone they once treated as little more than expendable canon fodder by kidnapping His Imperial Highness and attempting to use his inability to speak with his own voice against him - to frame him as a traitor and spy to their ranks. To fake a confession via droid interpreter that he, Luke Skywalker, was the one who took the killing shot against the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station and not the deserter Biggs Darklighter, whose fighter was shot down just after his own shot had been fired.

"It would have been easy to frame me," His Imperial Highness admitted, "I was one of the only two surviving fighter pilots in my squad at the Battle of Yavin. Biggs and I grew up together. We dreamed of joining the academy together. He got there first. Made his commission and then deserted. I don't know what prompted it, but I saw him on Yavin just before the battle began and while I joined him in the air, it was my first time in an X-Wing and the first time flying out-of-atmosphere. My experience with T-16's and a desperate need for pilots was all that got me in the air. At best I was a distraction, another target. That I survived really is just plain luck. But it would have been so easy to divert attention from Biggs' sacrifice and put the blame on me if I hadn't been rescued and been able to make my own statement before they got whatever they were planning out."

Fortunately, the Imperial Prince was rescued, and with his rescue - and declaration of loyalty the likes of which is certain to inspire generations to come - the Empire gained it's first Heir to the Throne.

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A third of the way through the page, aligned right and in large print meant to draw the eye when skimming the text, is the quote:

"Can I keep the shirts? Father loves them. Don't believe him if he tells you otherwise."

We at Empire Now are honored to bring this first interview delving into His Royal Highness' past and his tumultuous history. The Imperial Prince is just as friendly and kind in person as he appears in formal functions. He has an irreverent sense of humor and expressed excitement at the many ideas we offered for the photos to accompany this article. He was especially eager for what could be perceived, by those who lack an understanding of such things, as a controversial and potentially treasonous idea. But as he, himself, said:

"I love it," replied Imperial Prince Luke Skywalker when the idea was pitched, "Can the first one say 'Imperial Trash'? That's what the rebels called me when they held me prisoner and interrogated me. I couldn't be more proud of such a label.

"I've had both titles and I think 'Imperial Trash' is much better than 'Rebel Scum'."

We, of course, couldn't agree fast enough!

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Pages 25 & 26 - An intimate portrait of Emperor Sheev Palpatine and Imperial Prince Luke Skywalker acts as the Center Spread of our issue and the conclusion of our cover story. The Emperor sits on a heavily padded and ornate chair carved in the Naboo style. The wood is a warm blond and the fabrics are a deep, nearly black, purple with a subtle flower pattern woven in. The Emperor is dressed in the black robes he wears for state addresses, the silver of the collar clasp reflecting the soft glow of the banked fire opposite the two and out frame. The Emperor's face is tilted downward, shadowed by his hood, and hiding most of his face from view but still allowing the viewer to see the soft, fond smile he has directed at the Imperial Prince who sits below him. Skywalker is on the floor, sitting in a comfortable pose that lets him tuck his legs loosely to one side while he rests his arms on the Emperor's lap and his head on his arms. We cannot see his face in this position of supplication to his elder, but the Emperor's regard draws the eye to him all the same. The Emperor's right hand lays on the arm rest and his left hand rests on Skywalker's head, fingers tucked gently into Skywalker's hair, clearly in the middle of brushing through the locks. The Imperial Prince is dressed in the outfit from the cover image and now, finally, the back of the jacket can be seen: the Imperial Cog created out of small plates of shining durasteel as thin as paper sewn into the fabric. In the center of the Cog a single, red, circular durasteel plate just as thin as the others. The carpet of the room is a deep ply, soft and luxurious, and patterned in a myriad of flowers native to the Emperor's birth planet of Naboo. The walls of the room are a dark and warm brown stone marbled with occasional veins in a lighter, more golden, tone. The room is well-lit by the unseen fire in the out-of-frame fireplace.