The Imperial Palace is the hub of Clan Scholae Palatinae in the Cocytus System and the seat of the Consul's power on Judecca. Created on the orders of newly annointed Thran Occasus, it took precisely 374 days to build, due to various delays and acts of sabotage. It is set in the middle of Ohmen, the capitol city of Judecca.
History
Originally, the Consul of Scholae Palatinae had taken up residence in the most glorious of the castles built by the Syrei. Though the castle was old and starting to crumble, the Consuls refused to look into building a palace on the grounds of cost. The anointment of Emperor Occasus changed that. Having already built one castle, Arx Ondorii, Occasus immediately set about having a grand palace built for himself. Hiring out the same company that designed Arx Ondorii, he gave Trident Architecture and Construction a set time of eight months to complete the contract. Once again, Trident came up with a design that appealed to the Consul, and that harnessed many of the Cocytus system’s own resources, such as lumber from Antenora and marble from Caina. Work began almost straight away. The project, kept under wraps for as long as possible was code named Butkragz. The old castle was completely flattened and the site made level, a sign that Occasus was a modernizer.
The project however stalled when the rebellion came out in full. Convincing citizens that the Consul was spending money that could be used to benefit the public for himself, the rebellion fast turned the people of Judecca against the project and the builders soon found themselves on the receiving end of death threats. The construction itself was continuously hindered by small explosions and the hijacking of materials that came from the port. Almost half the Scholae Palatinae Engineering corps refused to come into work, out of fear for their families lives.
Eventually, Occasus ordered a contingent of his Dark Jedi to assist in the construction. Knights patrolled the building site, and it is rumoured that Dark Jedi Master Natth a'Niel Palpatine was brought in to ‘motivate’ the workers that refused to continue building. A prefab landing zone was created, so materials could be brought directly from their source, rather than to the port and then to the building site by ground transport, allowing raids.
In total, the construction was delayed by four months, one week and two days. The rebellion forced Occasus to go over budget, to compensate this, he raised taxes in the areas that had the largest rebellion presence. While this did a lot to help, it still didn’t completely cover the costs, and Houses Acclivis Draco and Dorimad Sol were forced to pay a pittance, in exchange for entry to the Palace. After construction was finished, the various departments responsible for running Judecca were moved in, with little trouble.
Location
The Imperial Palace finds itself bam splat in the middle of Ohmen, the capitol city of Judecca. Surrounding the palace is a small moat and beyond that, expensive well tended plants, brought in by expert botanist Robin Hawk. The Palace itself is at the top of the city, so that the Emperor may survey his domain with unparalleled ease. It is also in an ideal position for ground defense, but is vulnerable to air attacks. This has been compensated with advanced scanners: Whenever an unidentified air craft comes within a square mile of the Imperial Palace, the shield is automatically activated. To enter the palace, one needs to traverse a winding path that leads up the mountain that is Ohmen, and then gain entrance through a single arch way. This is the only entrance into the Palace, however there are believed to be several secret exits, reserved for the Consul only.
Components
Treasury - Tunneled into the rock is the Judecca treasury, a vault of jewels, gold and silver. Many people have tried to gain entrance, but it has been heavily fortified by the Dark side, and all have failed.
Throne room – The largest room in the Palace, the Throne room is housed in the centre of the palace. The exterior is a large golden dome. A burgundy carpet bisects the vast room, going from the fifteen foot high entrance, made from varnished wood, to the throne, set on a small dais. The floor itself is made of grey marble.
The throne room
Set on either side of the doors and the throne are two pairs of the Emperor’s Iron Guard, dressed in ornate armour designed by Consul Emeritus Lucien. A royal blue robe trimmed with gold lies over highly expensive katarn-class commando armour. Spiked pauldrons, covered in gold leaf protect the shoulder whilst a full facemask, again covered in gold leaf and crowned with five horns, each measuring five inches high protects the face and head. Their weapon of choice is the custom made force trident, a variant of the Force pike. They also carry a pair of disruptor pistols and a shoto lightsaber.
Agriculture Tower – One of the eight towers. It contains the agriculture department, responsible for the production of food and goods. As one of the less important departments, staff numbers are smaller than some of the other departments. The cubicles contain several private secretaries, and principal private secretary, thirteen assistant secretaries, nine undersecretaries and two depute secretaries. On the top two floors, the office of the permanent secretary and the office of the Agriculture governor can be found.
Trade and transport Tower – This tower contains the department for trade and transport. The turret is equipped with powerful communications equipment for communication to all parts of the known galaxy. Like the other towers, most levels are split into large cubicles where there are several private secretaries, a principal private secretary, thirty-two assistant secretaries, sixteen undersecretaries and five deputy secretaries work. On the top two floors, the office of the permanent secretary and the office of the Trade and Transport governor can be found. Because of the importance of this department, the tower is slightly bigger to compensate for larger numbers of staff.
Health, Education and Employment Tower – This tower contains the two departments for Health and Education and Employment. Because of the importance of this department, the tower is slightly bigger to compensate for larger numbers of staff. It is widely considered to be one of the most important offices in the castle as it is directly responsible for the welfare of the Judeccan people. The cubicles contain several private secretaries, and principal private secretary, forty-one assistant secretaries, twenty undersecretaries and thirteen deputy secretaries. On the top two floors, the office of the two permanent secretaries and the offices of the Health governor and the Education and employment governor can be found. This tower also has a small basement, where medical demonstrations can be carried out. From here, a small passageway can be taken into the old catacombs where a large quarantine chamber can be found, in times of emergency.
Justice and Security – This tower contains the department for Justice and Security. Here, the laws dictated by the Consul are refined and put into play. The local security forces are also directed from this office. The office is unusual, in that for a very important department, there are very few administrative staff members. There is one floor with cubicles containing secretaries. The three other floors allocated to the department are made up of the single deputy secretary’s office, the two private secretaries offices, the principal private secretary’s office, the permanent secretary’s office and on the very top floor, the office of the Justice and Security governor. This is considered one of the most desirable departments that one can be assigned.
Because the Justice and Security department only occupy four floors of the tower, the other floors have been converted into room suites. On the floors directly above the Justice and Security, Clan Journeyman who rank Guardian or above are given a small room with a shower ensuite. Above them, the Equites are given a small bedroom, a spacious living room and a refresher. They are afforded an excellent view of the city.
The top floors are reserved for Elders and House leaders. They are large, luxurious apartment, containing expensive furniture and a fully stocked drinks cabinet.
Home affairs Tower – A harmless name, used to conceal the tower’s true nature. Inside, all manner of torture devices are kept, including several of the Clan’s own invention. Several prison cells are maintained, well guarded and usually full. The top half of the tower is entirely devoted to that. The lower half has been converted to an arena, by order of Thran Occasus himself. Every week, a series of battles is scheduled, involving beasts, prisoners and Dark Jedi. The Dark Jedi aspect is not compulsory, but many compete in order to garn favour from their Consul. This tower has an interesting feature, in that when a prisoner dies of torture, he is dumped on the floor, which then slides open to let the carcass drop into the arena floor, as animal chau.
Downtime Tower – This tower is devoted to the pursuit of entertainment and relaxation. With a variety of eating and drinking establishments, the tower caters to almost every known species’ needs. Special lounges have been provided exclusively for the various junior members of the Judeccan Civil Service and for the senior members. Three drinking establishments have been personally reserved for the Emperor and his favoured, each a different sort. One is a very sleazy establishment, where you can literally get anything you want. Another one is a very up market bar, where the best wine and cognac is brought to. It’s a fairly formal bar and rowdiness is punished with a ban from the entire tower. One restaurant that has become particularly popular is Haali’s Song, a restaurant that for an larger fee will allow you to pre-order your meal and have it delivered to your rooms on a silver platter. This has become quite popular with courting couples and weary Dark Jedi.
Consul’s Tower – As the name implies, this tower is designed for the Consul himself. There are four levels to this. The bottom floor houses the Emperor’s office, from where all edicts, memos and staff meetings are held. Rather than the contingent of civil servants that are housed in other towers, the Consul maintains a simple department. In charge of the department is the Consul’s secretary, a unique position. As well as being in charge of the department, the Consul’s secretary is also the head of the Judeccan Civil service. Under him is a principle private secretary and twelve private secretaries. Also in the department is a team of speechwriters, permanently on call. They work in conjunction with a team of press officers that work to keep the Emperor in favour with the public. On the second floor is an advanced fitness, training and health centre, for the Consul’s own personal use. Steam rooms, a small gym, a saber training room and a small swimming pool are just some of the things available. One or two influential clan members have permission to use these luxury functions, but abuse is not tolerated, and an afternoon in the arena often awaits those who mistreat the Consul’s generous gift.
The third level is the Consul’s apartment. Royal blue carpets trimmed with gold cover the floors in every room, whilst elegant chandeliers bathe the apartment in a soft white glow. Furniture of the finest quality fill the rooms, whilst a professional chef and a sommelier cater to the Consul’s every culinary need. The final floor is a huge bedroom, with a small room to the side, for any concubines the Consul chooses to have with him on any given evening.
An underground level contains a turbolift that allows the Emperor to visit any district in Ohmen, as well as several safe houses outside the city.
Research tower – There are some things that the general public just can’t know. In the Cocytus system, these are kept in the research tower library. The first floor contains neatly stacked datachips ranging from planetary geography to military tactics. The second floor contains terminals and desks for work. The third floor is far messier, devoted entirely to matters of the force. There are far fewer datachips here, instead there are hundreds of tomes and scrolls. The fourth floor is another reading room. Additionally, there is a large basement, containing items that are too dangerous for any journeyman to read. The next two floors contain small laboratories for Clan members with a taste for science to experiment. Each laboratory has state of the art equiment, with the "you break it, you buy it" ultimatum attached. The higher levels are military strategy rooms. The top floor has a large map of the galaxy.
Imperial Gardens – Expensive plants have been imported and are cultivated by a team of well qualified gardeners, hired and supervised by the Clan’s resident Botanist, Robin Hawk. A rainbow of colours, choreographed beautifully, soothes the eye. A special type of re-hydrating soil was conceived and created by Robin that draws moisture from the air, which stops the soil from ever drying. This does away with the need for sprinklers. Parts of the garden, well away from prying eyes, experiments have been conducted, relating to the use of plants in connection with the Force. This has produced extremely dangerous, carnivorous plants that respond to the call of a dark side user.