Bart Long

"So, what shall we toast to, boys? I can blather on about 'to health' or 'to success,' but I'd like to do something a little less rote..." "How 'bout a toast to Operation Cinder?" "Now, there's a man who knows his history." "No, I don't just know it. I lived it. I was in Burnin Konn." "Burnin Konn? ...that was a hard day. I had to make many unpleasant decisions." "Yes, you did. Entire city gone in moments, along with everybody in it. We lost our whole division that day. Man, that was, like 5, 10,000 people." "Yep. All heroes of the Empire." "Yeah. And all dead." "Well, it's a small sacrifice for the greater good, son." "Depends on who you ask, don't you think?" "What you gettin' at, trooper?" "All those people, the ones who died, was it good for them? Hmm? Their families? The guys I served with? Civilians, those poor mud scuffers, died defendin' their homes, fighting for freedom. Was it good for 'em?" "But we've outlasted them, son. They're eating themselves alive. The New Republic is in complete disarray, and we grow stronger. You see, with the rhydonium you've delivered, we can create havoc that's gonna make Burnin Konn just pale by comparison. And then they're gonna turn to us once again. You see, boys, everybody thinks they want freedom, but what they really want is order. And when they realize that, they're gonna welcome us back with open arms. Ah. To the Empire." 💥