News From Osseriton
Following the annexation of Osseriton by the Galactic Alliance,
William Harris
returned to Osseriton and secured nomination for the world's seat in the Senate. His first action was to restore Alexander II Fel to the Throne of the world, announcing the Foundation of the Free Empire of Osseriton. Though still subservient to alliance oversight, as well as the Galactic Standards, the Fel Emperor once again donned the purple to form the center of restored governance on the world. His initial decree was to open the people's assembly for the first time in close to a decade.William Harris, who had fled the planet 11 years before following a coup, carried with him a legacy of stable statecraft and populist politics. His platform includes the removal of the prison camps that had been re-established around the world following the Fel Imperial collapse. Other items include the expansion of security forces in the system to curb the rampant piracy. The repopulation of the world, as well as development and reterraforming particularly devastated areas, are all areas in which Harris has garnered support. Should he succeed in raising funds via the senate and on-world business ventures, Harris may once again be the savior of Osseriton.
It should be stated, some critics view the new political landscape of the galaxy at large, as well as the senate in which he has joined, as a chaotic and fundamentally different reality from the one in which he rose to power. Let it not be forgotten that as the Fel Empire Collapsed, and their authority struggled to be maintained outside of the sector, it was William Harris who deposed the Old Emperor and established a military Junta. Harris has also been criticized in the past due to what some have called "Authoritarian Tendencies." Though rumors have been thoroughly denied, and recounts were issued following a minor protest, Harris's accession as Premier stirred some controversy with a vocal minority accusing the Premier of everything from voter interference to rigging, to even silencing of opposition voices.
The first Term of William Harris's Premiership was chaotic to say the least, with attempted coups, the assassination of a newly appointed Emperor, and his near-death at the hands of a would-be Generalissimo in charge of the Naval Garrison in the sector. Following his recovery from treatment and holding of a constitutional convention, the situation stabilized. Harris nationalized industries, removed work camps, or abandoned them. Renovated imperial palaces, lowered taxes, mobilized workers brigades to carry out early industrialization, and opened the first elected Senate and People's Assembly. His second term saw an economic miracle of growth. Jobs opened, industries expanded, and Harris signed an executive decree to form the Osseriton Arms Corporation, which allowed the government to locally produce weapons for defense forces without the need for foreign dependency. Immigrants began to pour i, and it appeared that the mixed policy of the 'Grand' Premier had finally started to bear fruit. Had it not been for the coup that followed, many believe Osseritonon would have lost its reputation as a backward prison colony.
If Mr. Harris can accomplish his goals in the senate and once again bring Osseriton back from the brink, he may forever gain the favor of the citizens of Osseriton.
The Restoration of Alexander II Fel
A somewhat tragic tale is the case of Alexander II. Alexander II, as his regal name implies, is the Son of Alexander I, a wealthy and somewhat successful businessman on Coruscant and a Relative of the old Emperor Toran Fel. Though removed from the family for a few generations, his blood and his prestige made him a desirable candidate for a new age in Fel history, one which the then Regent William Harris saw as a pragmatic balance between popular sovereignty and strategic use of Executive Authority.
Alexander II Fel ascended to the throne the day his father was crowned. The ceremony had just barely finished when gunmen blew through the Imperial Palace's side gate and overpowered the Imperial guard on site. The men were Toran-Loyalists, and part of an organization later referred to as "The Iron Hand." a neo-absolutist group within the military and civil service that had believed the sole authority of the realm rested within the hands of the Imperial line, and a monarch who refused to wield that power in full had no claim to the throne. It wasn't long before Alexander watched blaster bolts rip through his father. Before he could even grieve, he was grabbed by the Premier Harris and pulled through escape routes under the palace.
While awaiting a friendly transport, Premier Harris was struck by blaster fire, which was intended for the Emperor-to-be. Alexander assisted men in dragging the Premier to safety aboard the shuttle as they escaped to a fleet in orbit. Some say the man cried; others who were there claimed he just stared. Regardless of his true response, it became clear that with the military compromised, the Premier on death's doorstep, and the assembly either dead or captured, he was the sole authority of the Fel Imperium. Alexander was crowned unceremoniously aboard the flagship of the fleet and immediately gathered his advisors to develop a plan. By the time Harris had stabilized and was able to properly assist, Alexander and his fleet had destroyed 10 hostile ships and secured a beachhead in the overrun capital below. With Premier Harris by his side, the two stirred a popular revolt in the city, which led to the capture and trial of most of the leadership, and 6 months of tracking and purging survivors of what some call "The Imperial Civil War." In a twist of fate, it was the authoritarians defeated by a man who never wished to exercise the full extent of imperial power.
Alexander II remained popular in the Empire following the civil war, and it wasn't until the coup that removed the Grand Premier 11 years ago that anyone dared lift a finger against him. Radicalism had never quite been entirely eradicated from the Imperial military, and the loud minority never appeared to be quite a threat to imperial authority until the night armed guards attempted to seize the premier who planned to sign a controversial economic bill into law. As Harris fled, Alexander attempted to raise his Imperial guard once more to defend the palace. This time, the guard under the command of Kael Virex managed to fend back the siege for a day before ammunition ran low, and Alexander ordered a surrender. The militarist collectivist faction overnight turned the Emperor into a puppet figurehead of their rule. The Emperor was on paper combined with the position of Premier, encompassing all executive authority, whilst the Commander of the Home Guard and several other party members created a shadow government to pass increasingly authoritarian and tyrannical legislation, imposing strict regulations on drinks, working hours, quotas for industrial output, laxing workers' protections, and seizing wealth from the state and wealthy to line their own pockets, all the while using Alexander as a puppet to do it and deflecting all blame on him. When the people eventually rioted, the Red Guard revealed themselves and ousted Alexander and all final facades of Imperial rule.
Alexander II, much like Harris, spent the better part of a decade wandering. With Harris's ascension to the Seat of Osseriton in the Galactic senate, Alexander was immediately invited back to form a new government, which he accepted. Alexander brought back with him documentation and a defense against his alleged crimes, and accurately pinned the blame on the Red Guard, which used him as a puppet before revealing themselves to the wider population. Though his reception was mixed on arrival, the combination between his generally positive legacy- save for his inability to oust the red guard, and Harris' successful economic and political policy set the stage for Osseriton to rise from the ashes like a phoenix and become a hub of learning, industry, and wealth in the mid rim.
