Arriving back on Veldari, Malrik was taken to the Imperial Palace where he would be taken care of by the best Force healers and other medical professionals in the galaxy.
Daimon proceeded to his office and sat with Cortana to start planning.
"So, what do you think Cortana," said Daimon as he just explained an Imperial edict that was about to get issued.
"Personally, I think it will be beneficial to do this and end the war. But obviously this will benefit the Republic the most." responded Cortana.
The edict that Daimon planned to issue, basically announced that in light of the recent attacks against the Imperium, the Imperium will now seek out and destroy all would be threats throughout the galaxy.
And the Sith-Republic war is currently a threat as it disturbs not just the balance of the Force, but also it creates a distraction that allows threats to the Imperium to hide behind the cloak of war. Daimon was going to shut this war down and scour the galaxy of any threats to the Imperium.
This will take centuries to complete considering how large the galaxy is, but it would also discover new and hidden systems within the already known space.
Cortana had speculated that there were other powers at be that were lurking in the darkness of space waiting to strike against the galaxy. Aruun was just the one of many, and who knew how powerful the other threats are.
The second and final edict involved enemy planets. For a long time, Daimon had restricted the Imperium from a certain level of destruction against worlds during invasions. Now, the Imperium military was free to conduct any level of destruction against a planet.
The edict would also expand the Imperium's influence, effectively creating sphere of influence across the galaxy. Any world or empire that tries to refuse the Imperium what it wants will be subject to invasion or face destruction.
This was part of Daimon's strategy in response to the attack on his son. He had to send a message to those that dared to attack his family instead of him directly.
The following day after the arriving back on Veldari, the edicts were complete, and a galaxy wide announcement was scheduled to take place in a few hours.
Issuing the edicts would be the Grand Chancellor Progenitor Thoryn. Daimon was occupied with various meetings and projects that he and Cortana were working on as a counter to the Killiks invasion. But he also spent several hours throughout the day with his son in meditation.
When the day came, millions of people had gathered in front of the Imperial Palace, completely blocking all the roads around the area. Thousands of galactic news stations from around the galaxy were also present, streaming the entire thing live to well over a quadrillion people across the galaxy.
When the Grand Chancellor walked to the center of the stage, everybody grew quiet and he began his speech.
"As many of you may know already, the Imperium and the galaxy is under attack." He said pausing for a few seconds. The crowd wasn't surprised by what he said as many of them had already seen the videos on the galactic net from civilian and military channels.
"This attack has been orchestrated by a man named Aruun. He is an extremely dangerous Force user that has similar abilities to the Emperor, but alas he is not stronger than the Emperor. Before the Emperor came back and liberated Veldari, he ventured out in the galaxy..." Thoryn went on and explained Daimon's past, leaving out a few key details here and there.
"Aruun is one of those powerful people the Emperor met, and now Aruun has come to claim vengeance because he strives for power and revenge against Daimon. Because of this, he directly attacked Prince Malrik and managed to critically injure him. But the Emperor felt his son's injuries and….." Thoryn explained the event in details leaving out things like the name of the Dagger of Mortis and how Malrik lost his connection to the Force.
Eventually he got around to talking about the edicts. "Now, I will go over the new edicts that will go into effect immediately. These are written by the Emperor himself and are an extension of his will. The first edict is that all threat to the Imperium throughout the galaxy will be hereby sought out and destroyed. This included the Republic-Sith war which disturbs the balance of not just the Force, but the galaxy as well. So, the Sith now have 24 hours to stop their war against the Republic, or they will have to face the Emperor himself.
In addition to that, the Imperial military will scour the known and unknown parts of the galaxy for threats against us. Any empire or faction that tries to stop us will be viewed as enemies and will be dealt with as such.
The second edict will now permit the Imperial armed forces to commence any level of destruction against enemy worlds. Now worlds that are harboring a great number of enemies can just be destroyed with orbital bombardment or planetary strikes rather than risking Imperial lives in prolonged ground campaigns. This does not mean indiscriminate slaughter will become policy. Civilian populations that surrender or that have no involvement in hostile action will still be protected under Imperial law. But those who choose to resist, who choose to shelter combatants, who choose to fight rather than yield, will no longer be granted the mercy that the Imperium has shown in the past."
Whispers travelled throughout the crowd, and across the galaxy, in a quadrillion homes, cantinas, and command centers. People leaned closer to their screens and holograms.
"The Emperor wishes it to be known," Thoryn continued, "That these measures are not born from cruelty, nor from a desire for conquest beyond what is necessary. They are born from a father's grief and a ruler's resolve. Prince Malrik yet lives, though the cost of that survival was steep. The Emperor has shown patience and restraint for centuries. That patience has been mistaken, by some, for weakness. Let this announcement serve as correction to that mistaken belief."
"To the Sith Empire: twenty-four hours. Cease your war against the Republic, withdraw to your established borders, and submit to Imperial oversight of your Dark Council's activities, or face the full might of the Veldari Imperium turned against you. This is not a request for negotiation. It is a final warning."
"To Aruun, wherever he hides: you have struck at what is dearest to the Emperor, and in doing so, you have ensured that every resource of this Imperium will be turned toward your destruction. There will be no sanctuary deep enough, no army large enough, no fortress hidden well enough to save you from what is coming."
Thoryn paused, letting the weight of his words settle across the crowd and the countless worlds watching through their screens.
"To the citizens of the Imperium, and to those beyond our borders who have watched our restraint over the years and wondered if it signaled hesitation or mercy, understand this: the Emperor's patience was never a limitation on his power. It was a choice, made because he believed that a galaxy built through cooperation would endure longer than one built through fear alone. That belief has not changed. But those who mistake compassion for vulnerability will now learn the difference."
Across the galaxy, reactions varied. On Coruscant Chancellor Ranik watched the broadcast in his office with his senior advisors gathered around him, their expressions ranging from relief that the Sith war might soon end.
"Twenty-four hours," Ranik murmured, "He's giving them less time to respond than it would take most governments to convene an emergency session."
"He's not asking them to convene anything," his chief military advisor appointed as one of the new members of the Republic High Command replied. "He's telling them what will happen if they don't comply. There's a difference."
On Korriban, the broadcast reached the Sith Council chamber almost the moment it concluded on Veldari, translated and retransmitted through a dozen relay stations before it finally played on the holoprojector at the center of the room. The Sith Emperor watched in silence, while the assembled council members erupted into overlapping arguments the instant the recording ended.
"Twenty-four hours," one of the younger Council members repeated. "He speaks to us as though we are children to be disciplined."
"He speaks to us as though he has already decided what happens if we refuse," the Sith Emperor said quietly, and the chamber fell silent at the sound of his voice. "Which he has. The question before us is not whether his threat is genuine. We all know enough of Veldari Imperium's history to know that it does not make threats it cannot fulfill. The question is whether continuing this war against the Republic is worth what remains of our Empire."
This prompted a deep discussion amongst the Sith Emperor and Council. They would be left in a position of weakness. But it was also brought up that the Killik invasion would occupy most of the Imperium's forces, and the forces that they sent to attack them wouldn't be as big and they could probably fend them off.
With this said, most of the Councilors were still hesitant. But if they backed down now, what would happen to them after they started this war but gained nothing.
After hours of deliberation, it was decided that they would ignore the Imperium's threat and bet on the Killik's invasion, delaying what support the Imperium can give the Republic.