by 
A Death Star hangs in the sky above us, its massive cannon poised to fire at everything we’ve built and fought for. It didn’t just randomly appear there; we’re partially responsible for drawing the Empire’s attention. And while not everyone on that battle station is evil, those who are in command see us as a threat to their dominance in this part of the galaxy. For we’ve shown there’s a different path to success, and they can’t allow our ideas to spread.
There are some people who are rooting for our destruction. They see us as petulant upstarts who care only about ourselves. “Why can’t you just step aside and let the true power take your place?” they ask. “The Empire will bring order and justice.” This is a lie, of course. One only need look around at other systems to see the results of submission.
And then there are those who suggest coexistence, as if it’s our desire to continue on in our current state forever, rather than continue the growth that’s brought us to this point. There can be no coexistence with tyranny except as its subject. Accepting the Empire’s domination will only diminish us and result in our permanent subjugation.
To be clear, we want to run this City. We want our colors alone on its buildings and in the streets. We want to become interwoven into its very fabric and become part of its history. We want our children and grandchildren to experience what we have and carry on the legacy. We want to build something that will last into the next century and beyond.
We want all these things, and we want others, wherever they are, to have the same opportunity.
It would be wonderful to go about our business and ignore the moon-sized weapon aiming at our heads, but that’s simply not a viable strategy – its mere presence has very real effects on our fortunes. The dark shadow it casts has scared away potential allies, yet still we work tirelessly to recruit more to our cause.
We’ve overcome other threats before, but they were more or less our equals. This new one is our greatest test. Even if our fighters can penetrate the station’s outer defenses and deliver a torpedo to its ventilation shaft, the Empire will be back. If we win a victory here, though, we’ll buy ourselves some time so that when they do return, they’ll be up against a mighty fleet.
This is the year on which our future hinges. What we’ve accomplished is significant; what we’re going to do is even greater.
Rebellion is in our blood. City is in our hearts.
