His Majesty, Emperor Palpatine, was today made aware of an explosion in the lower levels of Imperial Center that appears to have been a deliberate act of destruction by dissidents, Jedi, or possibly both. Five stormtroopers—acting, at the time, as community support officers—and seventeen innocent humans, including children, are believed to have been killed in the explosion. His Majesty expresses his sorrow at their loss, and has permitted Moff Brandt, of Imperial Center, and Moff Kadir, of the Coruscant Security Force, to use any and all means necessary to find those responsible for this heinous act and to punish them accordingly.

This senseless act of violence shows us the foe that we face. The dissidents, the Separatists, and the Jedi fugitives would regard you, the people, and your children as mere bodies to be climbed over in their mad thirst for power. We saw it in the reptilian glare of General Grievous, in the scars inflicted upon His Majesty by Jedi assassins, and today we have seen it once more on Imperial Center. But we have bested this foe before, and we shall best it again. Remember, citizens, that our unity is our strength. With your loyalty to the Empire, its policies, and its principles, you and the Empire will prosper, in peace, for all time.