The Veteran Conspiracy

Emperor Arya addressing the conspiracy to the Imperial Senate

## History

### Causes & Prelude

After February, 2062 marked the official founding of the Galactic Empire, numerous changes were planned for the new Imperial military. The loyal veterans and recruits became the first generation Imperial stormtroopers and they were deployed all across the world to ensure the spread of the new Empire to every country. However, it was clear from the beginning that Emperor Arya Bell did not want a military completely comprised of recruited soldiers.

Earlier in the late 2040s, the Nobel Prize winner and richest man in the world invested over $562 billion in Cloning Technology and Development and in the early 2050s, Arya used the purchased DNA of one of the most physically strong and succesfull US veteran, James Sullust to serve as a template for the planned development of tens of million of clones he intended to utilise as the backbone of the Imperial military. The cloning process began in 2051 and over 15 million clone troopers were fully bred and trained from birth by 2063.

With his new and fully obedient and skilled military prepared, it was always Arya's intention to phase out the recruits and veterans replacing them with these new clone troopers. Utilising other extremists deeply invested in the cloning project such as **Admiral Malik Rampart**, they formulated Project War-Mantle. The project would consist of phasing out the recruits in the order of when they became apart of the military starting from the conscripts working up to the devoted and trained veterans.

Rampart took control of Camp Lehigh and noted Experimental Unit 99 as a capable human force which he wanted to use alongside the clones. As the months and years went by, without most of the veterans and soldiers realising, they were slowly being replaced by new clone troopers, however, this unrealisation was only because such replacement rarely actually happened in the US itself, instead in outer countries and such news from said soldiers never reached their peers in America.

In November 2067, however, everything would change when Rampart was given the order by ISB Director Wullf Yularen to destroy Camp Lehigh to serve as a symbolic end of the old era. Although the order to destroy their long-time home was followed without question from the veterans, this action caused PTSD among them and a few of them such as Cade and Slip even became disillusioned with the new Empire viewing it as a force of destruction and chaos.

### Cade's Asassination

Several months later, in June 2068, highly-skilled veteran Cade, who was present when Rampart gave the order to destroy Camp Lehigh sent a message directly to the admiral (who was campaigning for the Defense Recruitment Bill; a legistlation to formalise the decomissioning of veterans and full replacement with clone troopers) to confess the truth of Camp Lehigh's destruction to the Imperial Senate, or he would do it himself. In response, Rampart had Cade killed by an asassin, but not before Cade had told his friend Slip of his discovery to which the latter would go on the run and wish to expose the truth to the Senate

### Exposing the Truth

Meanwhile, the Imperial Senate was debating the Defense Recruitment Bill which had mixed support, with the more high-class and wealthy senators in favour and the more liberal and lower-status senators vigorously campaigning against it. Riyo Chuchi, a rare example being from a very high-class Capitol family, criticized Rampart who advertised the bill immensely, questioning the fact that the loyal and faithful veterans would just be abandoned and left to fend for themselves, let alone a pension and compensation for their work. Using this and the issue of the cost reshaping the military would bring, the vote was tabled.

Later, whilst Chuchi garnered veteran support to plead her case of equal rights for the retired soldiers, Slip managed to tell her about the truth of what happened to Camp Lehigh. Believing the soldier to be unwell, Chuchi initially dismissed his claim, but eventually believed him when the veteran confessed that veterans who tried to speak out were reassigned or even ended up dead, in reference to Cade. Chuchi subtly questioned Rampart on these findings to which he continued with his lies, but he got Chuchi to leave after he accepted her demands for pensions to the veterans.

However, Rampart used the same asassin and targeted Slip and even Senator Chuchi if she got involved. Chuchi visited Slip for one last time as she begged him to testify before the senate. Slip denied, planning to escape New York with the help of a contact, but told Chuchi the evidence of Camp Lehigh's destruction was on Admiral Rampart's Venator ship. Right after this, Slip was killed by the same asassin along with two of Chuchi's guards, but she was saved by former Captain Kix of Experimental Unit 99.

With the help of Kix' squad and allies, the latter were able to board Admiral Rampart's venator which was being stationed for repairs and Chuchi used the help of militarist Halle Burtoni, exposed the divertion of salaries for veterans to outside projects. Kix managed to retrieve the clip file and provided it to Senator Chuchi, who used it to expose Rampart during the Imperial Senate's session to vote for the Defense Recruitment Bill. Chaos then ensued in the Senate but everyone went quiet when Emperor Arya appeared to address this conspiracy.

### Twisting the Truth

Emperor Arya Bell, along with Grand Vizier Mass Ammeda appeared in the Senate to address this conspiracy. Firstly, Ammeda had Rampart immediately arrested deeming 'his' attack on Camp Lehigh a foolish attempt to further his own self-goals. Despite Rampart's pleas that he was following orders, Arya stood to talk.

> "I am deeply disturbed by this recent revelation. My gratitude to Senator Chuchi for uncovering a rogue element in our ranks. Many lives have been lost, but I assure you, Admiral Rampart will face the consequences for his actions. However, he did not act alone. The fact that the countless veterans under his command so blindly followed orders, inflicting such carnage without hesitation, gives me pause. Perhaps it is time for a change, now more than ever. Building a strong world requires protection and security, we cannot solely rely on an easilly-comprimisable force. Due to the nefarious actions of Admiral Rampart and the immediacy of this bill on the floor today, it is my opinion that this legistlation is our future. And with this momentous act, we shall usher in a new era; heralded by the Imperial clonetrooper!"
>
>

After Arya's twisting of the destruction of Camp Lehigh and an even worse image painted on Veterans, with the Emperor implying they were rogues along with Rampart and deliberately destroyed their own homes and the home of many others, wiped almost all opposition to the voting of the Defense Recruitment Bill, even though Chuchi still managed to obtain little compensation for veterans when they were eventually phased out.

### Epilog

After the senate's voting on the Defense Recruitment Bill, the conspiracy spread all around the Capitol painting a terrible image on Veterans. In the coming months, more and more veterans were decomissioned with the Empire replacing them with newly christened clone troopers, by 2071, even in the Capitol, recruited soldiers were becoming a rarity. In 2078, the last veteran in the capitol retired marking the complete shift to a military of solely clone troopers.