The Reign of Emperor Vader (SW AU)

[RighteousRancor]

"The Reign of Emperor Vader" is a Star Wars AU (primarily) told from the perspective of an in-universe piece of nonfiction covering the events following the assassination of Emperor Palpatine roughly six years before the (prime timeline) Battle of Yavin. Will be starting with several pre-written sections (on average, 1-2 pages long) and then updating as new parts are written!! This is my first time using SV and it's been a long time since I've used a writing forum so go easy on me as I get acquainted plz

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Section One: Background

The assassination of Emperor Palpatine by a sect of his Royal Guard and their putsch against the Galactic Empire in 13 ANO was a shocking move that marked a turning point for the New Order. As the ISB's report compiled afterwards tells, the leader of the "Crimson Cadre" - as the conspirators came to be known - Major Trellas Siego* was able to whip together a contingent of royal guardsmen, naval officers, and COMPNOR agents through blackmail, bribery, and the cultivation of a conspiracy theory that claimed that the Emperor had been responsible for instigating the Separatist Crisis and colluded with the Separatists to sack Coruscant towards the end of the war. This cadre was silently pulled together over and covered for by their agents within the Imperial Security Bureau, giving the conspiracy plenty of time to build its power and only act at precisely the right moment to take power. The coup was scheduled for the Emperor's grand tour of the Empire during its 13th year, as the Emperor would be totally reliant on his guard and the Imperial Navy for transportation and security, leaving him at their mercy.

Unbeknownst to the conspirators, somehow the Emperor had been forewarned about a possible assassination attempt and had dispatched his most loyal servant, Darth Vader, to put an end to the plot. The Sith Lord was extremely well-connected and used his ties within COMPNOR with officials such as Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin and Colonel Wulff Yularen to ascertain that elements of the agency had gone rogue and moved to crack down on the agency. He would lead his personal battalion, the 501st Legion, to sweep across the capital world of Coruscant and purge any official suspected of treason.

It was once news of the purge reached Siego, however, that the putsch would dramatically unfurl. While the conspirators had already blocked all communications with the Emperor's procession, Major Siego (according to recordings from the Deceptor's black box) had assumed Vader was en route to take down the cadre and stop them from executing their coup. The Major panicked and ordered his fellow conspirators to destroy the Emperor's shuttle while it was returning to the ISD Deceptor - a move even the Emperor didn't seem to have anticipated. Royal Guards piloting TIE Interceptors disintegrated the royal shuttle after a short but brutal dogfight and returned to the destroyer as the cadre moved to launch the coup proper and occupy Coruscant before it was too late.

The renegades' panic would seal their fate. While Major Siego believed Vader was on his way to intercept them, he had never actually left Coruscant as the Inquisitorius and 501st Legion was still in the process of tracking down traitors from the ISB and securing important locations such as the Imperial Senate. When the Deceptor and its escorts arrived, it found itself squaring off with Tarkin and Vader's task force and the Coruscanti Home Fleet; the coup wouldn't survive the battle in orbit, as they were hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned. Siego would be killed by Vader in a duel aboard the burning Star Destroyer, cementing the Sith Lord as the savior of the Galactic Empire - and the most likely choice for its Heir. This ascension, however, was far from guaranteed, and his allies would need to move quickly to cement his claim to the Throne.

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Footnotes:

1. "ANO" - After (Proclamation of the) New Order (OOC: In-Universe Calendar, 0 ANO is "Revenge of the Sith")
2. OOC: Major Siego is an OC; I don't plan on using many, just needed someone to spark the POD
3. "COMPNOR" - The Commission for the Preservation of the New Order (Umbrella organization including the ISB)

 

[RighteousRancor]

Section Two: Emperor Vader and the Reformation

With the concentration of his forces present on Coruscant and the support of the newly purged Imperial security apparatus, none openly challenged Darth Vader when he announced his intentions to claim the throne. In spite of his remarkable age, Palpatine had never established a clear line of succession (likely to dissuade any potential heir from trying to overthrow him) which left an opening for the Lord of the Sith and left him with the task of cementing his rule and courting the favor of the Imperial elite.

While his military prowess was widely known, Lord Vader himself was a complete mystery to the vast majority of the Empire. While he was allegedly involved in the Great Jedi Purge, he has little known history before then (The Emperor's endorsement of the Defender project claimed that he had been a former ace pilot in the Republic Navy, although this has largely gone unsubstantiated) and even the nature of his involvement in the Purge has been kept confidential by the state. To most, he simply appeared alongside the new regime and swiftly took the reins of the military in hand, acting as the Emperor's primary executor in all manners that required an iron fist. While Vader was nominally in charge of the remote Mustafar system, its meager population and the relative ease of 'governance' paled in comparison to the task of governing the entirety of the galaxy and reportedly failed to inspire confidence in many in the upper echelons of the Empire. While fear and discipline were plenty enough to keep the military and intelligence community in line, the Senate and the public would require something more substantial to legitimize the new Emperor. To secure the new regime, Wilhuff Tarkin would intervene; both have claimed that his dialogue with the Sith Lord in the wake of the coup attempt was where the foundations for the Reformation were first laid.

Tarkin would be the one to speak to the Imperial Senate on Vader's behalf and present their ideas for the first major reforms since the birth of the Galactic Empire. The Vader Era would see the powers of the Emperor divided between the throne and the new position of Prime Minister. The Prime Minister would be selected by the Emperor and tasked with assembling an Imperial Cabinet to handle civilian governance and replace the Imperial Ruling Council, whose scraps (as several Councilors had died along with Palpatine) would be reassembled into the powerless Imperial Advisory Council to assist the new Emperor with his daily tasks. The Prime Minister would oversee the duties of the Senate, taking the role of the Grand Vizier, and serve as their link to the Emperor. The Grand Vizier's duties would shift as Mas Amedda became the new head of the Advisory Council, de facto heir to the Emperor, and full-time governor of Coruscant.

The Grand Vizier accepted the changes without argument, ceding power in the Senate to Tarkin. While the Prime Minister was chosen by the Emperor, did not have to be a sitting Senator, and could be liquidated by the sovereign at any time, most in the Senate still viewed this as a substantial relinquishment of power. It was believed an Emperor with so little experience in government who still acted as the Commander-in-Chief (and had a close relationship with the new PM, allegedly to the point of deference) would likely not interfere with legislative affairs, granting them a degree of autonomy from the throne.

With the endorsement of the Senate and Grand Vizier secured, Vader would be officially crowned only a month after the death of Palpatine and immediately proceeded with the reorganization of the government. The Emperor moved into the Imperial Palace without much fanfare, Tarkin relinquished his military roles and began organizing the new Cabinet, Grand Vizier Amedda assembled the new Council, and the First Brother, head of the Inquisitorius, would take over from Vader as the lord of the Mustafar system. In spite of the massive shakeups, there was actually little notable shift in the immediate legislative agenda of the Galactic Empire. Tarkin, Amedda, and Vader were already massively influential figures within the Imperial apparatus and their new bodies would largely just serve as extensions of their former personal agendas. Their split with the plans of the deceased sovereign wouldn't come around until the new Prime Minister requested an audit of the Imperial military from the Council to enable the Senate to begin work on a new budget; it was at this point the extent of the former Emperor's schemes for his domain would begin to come to light.

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1. The Imperial Ruling Council was a body of Palpatine's most trusted advisors who would handle most of the day-to-day governance of the Empire. Their duties, while important, were primarily unofficial and up to individual interpretation.

 

[RighteousRancor]

Section Three: The Decimation

Initially, Grand Vizier Amedda promised that the audit would take roughly a month to deliver and began working with the Cabinet and Advisory Council to put together an overview of the Empire's finances. The month would pass with few updates from his task force beyond the occasional request for additional resources and manpower. The timeline was adjusted to six weeks, then eight, then twelve, with the audit failing to appear each time.

The new regime would publicly spend this time reorganizing the Imperial security apparatus by dissolving the royal guard and forming the new Praetorian Corps out of their remnants, the Coruscant Guard, and the so-called "death trooper division" attached to IMDAWR. These new Praetorian Troopers would wear white and blue armor, carry E-11d blaster carbine rifles and vibro-swords, and were directly incorporated into the Army's command structure, unlike the relatively autonomous royal guard. These new units were deployed across Coruscant and key locations for the Imperial R&D industrial complex, which was about to receive an overhaul of unprecedented proportions.

When the Grand Vizier finally delivered the audit to the Emperor and Prime Minister, the revelations contained within would bring the daily operations of the Empire's political apparatus to a halt. While some of Palpatine's vast and expensive projects were relatively familiar to the new regime - the DS-1 "Stardust" platform chief among them - the details displayed that no one beyond the late Emperor truly understood the scope of these operations. The vast majority of the details remain classified, but what little is publicly known suggests that the Empire was running at an unfathomable expense, pouring vast amounts of resources into superweapons, archaeological expeditions, elite divisions of stormtroopers, and even highly experimental forms of planetary administrations such as the Imperial Cult of Byss - all propped up by trillions of credits of debt to major megacorporations, many of whom had been directly involved in the Separatist movement.

However, the information dredged up by the audit wasn't half as disturbing as the information it couldn't. Many of these projects and the administrators involved in their operations had simply vanished following the coup, seemingly having gone off the grid once the death of the Emperor had been confirmed. Vader was enraged, immediately tasking the Inquisitorius with tracking down these 'defectors.' While the Prime Minister had been adjacent to most of the largest and most important projects in the Empire, even Tarkin was shocked by the depths of Palpatine's paranoia and the divisions inherent within the Empire of the past. His Cabinet would take charge of the "Imperial Decimation," as history has come to know it; a massive overhaul of the Empire's budget that would see the vast majority of these projects canceled and their funding reallocated to leaner operations or the development of conventional infrastructure.

A major divide between the Emperor and his Cabinet would emerge during this period. Previously, Tarkin had been responsible for overseeing the construction of the DS-1 Orbital Platform - better known to the modern public as "Stardust" - which had been in development for more than fifteen years. Vader believed that "Stardust" was a trillion credit waste of time and sought to gut the project, much to the chagrin of IMDAWR's top officials. He viewed the project as completely unnecessary, a waste of resources and manpower that would only end in disaster and recession. The rift would only grow when the Emperor would interrogate the usage of slave labor in its construction.

Ironically, given his militaristic and authoritarian tendencies, Emperor Vader was a devoted abolitionist and viewed treating sentients as property as abominable. He personally believed that labor could only be compelled as punishment for a crime and ordered Tarkin to end the enslavement of the Wookiees and Geonosians if he wished to continue construction on the DS-1. Legend has it that when Tarkin argued that the project could only be completed with the use of slave labor, Vader replied, "Then it won't." The project was completely scrapped and the Emperor ordered the station towed to the Bilbringi shipyards to be dismantled. The wedge this drove between Emperor Vader and the Imperial military bureaucracy would reportedly never heal.

The work done on Stardust wouldn't go completely to waste, however. Designers from Kuat Drive Yards, one of the military-industrial concerns involved in its construction, proposed that its primary axial super-laser could be miniaturized and mounted on a Super Star Destroyer frame, using a fraction of the resources of the former superweapon. While it wouldn't be as powerful as the DS-1, it would be far more practical for ship-to-ship combat and IMDAWR championed it as an acceptable compromise. Tarkin and the Emperor relented after lengthy negotiations and Stardust's diminished assets were transferred to Kuat.

One of the great victors of the Decimation was Commodore Mitth'raw'nuruodo, an exile from the reclusive Chiss Ascendancy who was slowly rising through the ranks of the Imperial Navy. His cordial relationship with the Prime Minister and Emperor* gave him access to Imperial leadership during a fairly tumultuous time and a platform to suggest a dramatic change to Imperial doctrine. The "Defender Program" called for the development of a new form of strike fighter, one that greatly differed from the so-called "swarm fighter" doctrine that fielded vast numbers of unshielded TIE-series starfighters. These new fighters would be capable of patrolling space independently of any capital ship and going toe-to-toe with any fighter or freighter that pirates or insurgent forces could field, increasing survivability, experience, and professionalism in the Starfighter Corps.

While the program might have been seen as far too specialized and expensive for the Empire to consider adopting at this time, it had several factors in its favor. The dismantling of the Stardust Program would eventually end in Kuat Drive Yards receiving a new contract, but Sienar Fleet Systems - the other major industrial concern involved in the DS-1's construction - was desperate for their own contract that would help them absorb the loss of Stardust. Additionally, while the program ran counter to the prevailing doctrine established by Prime Minister Tarkin, the Emperor would endorse it wholeheartedly, even publicly commenting that he would serve as the program's first test pilot*. The benefits of the program outweighed the potential political ramifications and Emperor Vader would see it implemented over the next several years.

The success of the Defender program was only the first success for the Chiss mastermind. Following a conversation with the Emperor over the new starfighter that would quickly devolve into a rant about the "defectors and warlords" who had disappeared in the wake of the coup, Commodore Thrawn would disclose his role in helping select Imperial forces chart the Unknown Regions on the edge of the galaxy as part of his dealings with Palpatine. In the wake of this revelation, the First Brother's task force quickly ascertained that many of the officers involved in these expeditions to the frontier had also vanished, and swiftly deduced that the disappearances were connected. The Emperor swiftly put Thrawn in charge of the ad hoc 96th Task Force and ordered him and a detachment from the Inquisitorius to depart for the Unknown Regions at once.

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1. "IMDAWR" - The Imperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research
2. Allegedly related to a joint Republic-Chiss mission during the Clone Wars only disclosed during the later strengthening of ties between the Empire and Ascendancy
3. While this was later clarified by an aide to the anxious Senate as a joke, Emperor Vader would actually pilot a personalized TIE/d.e on occasion

 

[RighteousRancor]

Section Four: The Emperor's Heir

While the first wave of major reforms were generally well-received by the Imperial political establishment, the inheritance of the throne was contentious within the new regime. While Mas Amedda had always been a fixture of Palpatine's political career, the xenophobia within his regime had led to the recent isolation of the Grand Vizier by many younger and more radical elements of the Imperial elite. Additionally, Amedda had been in politics for more than three decades by this point and, in the event of Emperor Vader's death, having the Empire fall to an aging alien was seen as untenable. Prime Minister Tarkin pressed the new Emperor to establish a proper Imperial family and prevent the Grand Vizier from ever being more than a regent. Emperor Vader initially pushed back against this with fervor, which was met with stiff criticism from many of the supporters of the old regime. It spurred rumors that the sovereign lacked the ability to father a child or was possibly even a clone trooper or droid; the disappearances of several political commentators spreading these ideas would silence those conspiracy theories, at least for a time.

Even after long arguments within the Palace, the Emperor stood firm on not marrying and only compromised on taking a ward. While the First Brother of the Inquisitorius was initially floated for the position by Tarkin, he was ultimately passed over due to his increasing responsibilities (and, rumor has it, fear of a coup from the Inquisitorius), leading the Emperor to turn his gaze to the Imperial court. Eventually, Emperor Vader would come upon the servant girl Mara Jade and declare her to be his ward. Much like the Emperor himself, Princess Jade was an unknown figure in the Empire - an orphaned eleven year old who danced and attended to visitors at the Imperial palace.

The shrouded nature of the Imperial family has been a breeding ground for conspiracy theories about the lives and ancestries of the new rulers. Court rumor claimed that Mara had been a ward of Palpatine himself and possibly even a secret descendent; the child of a bastard who the former Emperor never revealed to the public. What drew Vader to young Jade remains unclear, although the prevailing theory is that her blossoming mystic powers - much like Vader's - drew the attention of the Emperor and would hopefully serve as a counter to the power of the Inquisitorius, should they decide to rebel like the old Guard.

Princess Jade was folded into the chain of inheritance ahead of the Grand Vizier, who would serve as a regent in the event that the potential Empress wasn't yet fit to lead the Empire. She would receive an education in the functions of statecraft and diplomacy and was trained in combat by the best soldiers the Army had to provide. While her gifts would take time to prove to the galaxy, her mere presence assuaged the fears of the Prime Minister and allowed for the new Emperor to cement his rule over the Galactic Empire through dissuading criticism and silencing those few outspoken opponents left.

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OOC:

So, no footnotes this time - this is the shortest section I've written so far - but I want to expand on it beyond the scope of the in-universe source. I definitely want to write Vader and Mara's meeting as a full scene someday, but in the event I don't get around to that, I'll cover the basics here. Yes, Vader knows that Mara was being trained as an assassin by Palpatine and has properly taken her on as a Sith apprentice. Tarkin and Amedda are broadly aware that she's gifted like Vader and has a connection to Palpatine (Amedda probably knows everything, but is pretending like he doesn't because he does not need to get put under the microscope right now). However, that connection isn't a full-blown psychic link, as I'm guessing the eleven-year-old who isn't a proper Hand yet isn't going to be that important to whatever Palpatine's plans were at the time. Vader's initial push-back wasn't about not wanting an heir - given his offer to Luke in ESB and his apprentices in Lumiya and Starkiller in the old EU, it sure seems like he relishes in the idea - but it's been conflated over time with his refusal to remarry, as the public never learns about his relationship with Padme. That doesn't mean no-one ever will, however; it just means I've got more side-stories I'll need to work on in the near future!

 

[RighteousRancor]

Section Five: The New Weapons

While the Emperor worked on consolidating his rule, the Galactic Empire's best engineers and scientists began work on the new superweapon in orbit of Kuat. Director Orson Krennic, previously one of the heads of Project Stardust, would take the reins on Project Eclipse and adapt the DS-1's primary weapon to serve as the core of the new Super Star Destroyer. Much like the original platform, the new ship was designed to be a floating city capable of carrying hundreds of thousands of crew members and soldiers and all the amenities necessary to support a mobile fortress. It would have the heaviest armor and greatest mass of any ship ever commissioned by the Empire and serve as a potent weapon capable of destroying any rebel, pirate, or separatist stronghold in the galaxy.

The former Project Stardust had been compromised by political squandering, interpersonal rivalries, and even outright attack and sabotage throughout its history. Officially, the Empire has claimed that the station started as a Geonosian mining platform weaponized by the Confederacy of Independent Systems to serve as a weapon of terror against the Republic, powerful enough to destroy even the shields of Coruscant and bring the galactic capital to its knees. The bones of the platform were in the works when the Republic invaded the Confederacy and captured the Geonosian shipyards, appropriating the DS-1 and continuing its construction. Between the Republic Special Weapons Group, Siener, and KDY, there were numerous agendas competing for control over the Geonosian superweapon and the size of the project allowed for saboteurs to infiltrate and hamper progress.

The restart allowed for the new project to get notably streamlined and protected from political squabbling. Project Eclipse's vastly reduced scope and repurposed resources prevented it from getting pulled into budgetary disputes while the relative simplicity of the new weapon system required far less engineering than its predecessor, allowing for the project to use a smaller team of engineers hand-picked for their ideological loyalty. The development and construction process would still take several years, but the benefits were already beginning to show. Even Director Krennic, previously an outspoken opponent of Stardust's cancellation, was singing its praises before the Oversight Committee less than a year later.

The other major weapons program, the Defender Project, began designing its signature craft around the same time. Before departing for the Unknown Regions, Commodore Thrawn gave a presentation to Sienar designers and a handful of his hand-picked aides laying out his plans for the new starfighter. According to one of the designers present, the Commodore was inspired by the shape of the Kaminoan saber-dart - a rare weapon used by assassins back before the Clone Wars - and gave one to all personnel present, sourced from his private collection. While its design would evolve over the next two years, the general three-pronged shape would remain intact, as would its penchant for lethality.

While the TIE/d was officially considered a "multi-role starfighter," the end result would more closely resemble a single-pilot gunship. Armed with six L-s9.3 laser cannons, two NK-3 ion cannons, and three pairs of multi-purpose warhead launchers, the Defender was more heavily armed than most freighters but was still fast enough to run circles around most bombers. These advancements were not cheap, as a single TIE/d would cost twice as much to build as a Lambda-class shuttle, but its survivability would hopefully make the investment in the Starfighter Corps worth it. The Defender was planned to serve as the core of an elite division of pilots who would patrol independently of larger capital ships, who would continue to rely on squadrons of lightweight support fighters for screening and interception.

While both of these projects were considered top-secret, Emperor Vader believed that the sheer level of secrecy that had gone into veiling Project Stardust and Palpatine's other personal projects was simultaneously impractical and served as a potential avenue for treasonous behavior against the Empire, as the lack of oversight allowed for this equipment and the personnel involved in their creation to act with incredible autonomy and eliminate anyone who might interfere with their anti-Imperial conduct by claiming that their presence was compromising to the secrecy of their projects. The new Emperor was reportedly consumed by rage and paranoia over the missing cadre of Imperial officials and believed that putting these projects under the joint supervision of military and corporate personnel who would report back to him and the Prime Minister would prevent any future entanglements.

This ultimately resulted in the two new projects becoming public information far sooner than the original DS-1 platform did. The Eclipse prototype was assembled in orbit of Kuat - in stark comparison to Stardust, which was primarily assembled in dark corners of the galaxy strictly quarantined by the Imperial military - and the Defender prototype was developed in Rothana's orbital shipyards before entering production in facilities scattered across the Empire's industrial sector, from Coruscant's "Works" to the factories of Lothal. Their adjacency to the public eye seems to have maintained the Emperor's desire to monitor these projects directly, but it would also spark a wave of protest - and underground meetings by aspiring Rebel leaders.

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1. Reports of Director Krennic's hospitalization following a meeting with Emperor Vader led to rumors that he was physically assaulted by the Emperor during an argument
2. OOC: First off, thank you all for the attention!! This is my first writing project I've shared in a long time and this level of support is incredible. It's been a warm welcome to SV and I plan on sticking around as long as y'all keep me
3. OOC: Also, this is the last of the pre-written sections!! I've got a couple of ideas for where I wanna go next, but I'm also opening the floor to writing prompts; I want to keep things in roughly chronological order, but that's more of a guideline than an actual rule. Updates will definitely be slower from here, but the quality should only improve with time!

 

[RighteousRancor]

(So, I was gonna write the whole piece before sharing, but I realized just the first half was gonna be the longest post I've shared yet, so have the first half of our first interlude!)

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Interlude – Nevarro (Part 1)

Nevarro was, without a doubt, the worst posting Lieutenant Commander Graff Hafi had ever been stationed to. The planet was a ball of molten rock, obsidian, and ash - ash that managed to find its way into every nook and cranny of his armor, quarters, and taste buds. Sweltering heat made spending any time outside the climate-controlled central hub and research laboratory intolerable, whether it was their spartan quarters or the patrol routes around the outside, whose metal plating kept the temperature around the base a balmy 49° Celsius at all times. The reason the garrison was built in the first place was because the only living beings sadistic enough to call this place home were bounty hunters, pirates, and that manner of ne'er-do-well who required constant supervision from the Empire, lest they rampage across the Outer Rim. The labs were a fairly recent addition and the lieutenant was only informed that they were conducting biological experiments related to the climate of the planet.

Such a garrison rarely saw any notable activity and it was easy for the weeks and months to start blurring into each other, as if the haze of the heat filled his memories and obscured the face of time. The death of the Emperor was a sobering anchor that brought Graff back to reality and he could now note where he had been at any given moment over the next couple days. The initial flurry of fear and confusion quickly gave way to mundanity and grief while the garrison's commander spent all day in meetings and calls with Imperial officials in his vault-like office. When he emerged that evening, he instructed Hafi to be up early tomorrow; the base was going to be visited by a VIP and every trooper and scientist needed to be ready to greet them. This was going to be a rare opportunity and Commander Predann wanted to make the most of it.

While Graff configured the probe droids to oversee the night patrols, the technician handling the final maintenance checks looked over to him (so he assumed; it was difficult to tell what anyone was thinking under that teardrop-shaped bucket). "So, do you know who the visitor's going to be tomorrow, sir?"

He glanced back at the ground crewman. "No, Corporal. And I'd advise you not to stay up all night thinking about it; we'll be up before the sun."

The tech gave the droid he was working on a whack on the dome and stood back as it lifted up and drifted away to start its patrol. "Well, who do you think it's going to be, sir?"

"I'd assume someone's coming to inspect the labs. There were quite a few people who never came back from Mertath; doesn't feel like a stretch to suggest we've got a new boss who's gonna want a new report on our facility."

The tech shrugged. "We'll see, sir. Rest well." He picked up his toolkit and the two of them went back inside, the thick hangar door sliding closed behind them.

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Graff did not rest well. Despite his advice to the corporal, he spent much of the night staring at the ceiling and going through every possibility in his head. Could it be a surprise inspection? Was a new scientist coming? Did the rumored shake-up of the military extend all the way out to Nevarro? What if someone was suspected of disloyalty? Was this VIP coming to take someone away? Who would it be?

Given the eyebags all of the other officers and scientists were wearing the following morning, it seems most of the base had the same questions. Graff had known Commander Predann for two years and he had never looked more haggard. His dirty blond beard was fuzzy and unkempt, his uniform was loose over his barrel frame, and he had the eyes of a Hutt, likely from a night of little sleep.

Graff quickly straightened his uniform and came to a rigid standstill just on the edge of the Commander's field of view. "Commander Predann, ready to perform an inspection of the garrison before our VIP arrives, sir."

"Hmm?" He grumbled without taking his gaze off the datapad in his hands. "Oh, yes. Go ahead, Lieutenant."

"... Yes, sir," he stuttered. He'd led several inspections of the base before, and never had he heard the Commander give the order, 'Go ahead.' Whatever this visit was had the Commander distracted, so it had the Lt. Commander distracted.

Calling it an 'inspection' was generous, as Graff essentially just took a quick head count of the ten scientists and sixty Army personnel present at the outpost. No obvious uniform infractions, no rudeness or insubordination from the troops, so Graff gave them the thumbs-up of approval and dismissed them all until the VIP was set to arrive. The only ones who didn't look completely exhausted were the quartet of death troopers, stalwart and mysterious as ever.

The morning passed without incident, though each hour made Graff regret the early awakening. The Lieutenant Commander spent most of the time prowling the outside of the base on patrol, combing the area for any potential sign of infiltration. It was boring, uneventful, sweltering work, and he barely had time for a five-minute shower before the base's intercom announced that the VIP had entered the system and would be landing at noon. Commander Predann would take the Ubrikkian and lead the welcome party while Graff was tasked with whipping the base itself into shape.

It was a task he'd take to heart, as the base's troopers were an easy outlet for all of the confusion and fear that Graff had felt over the past few days. He arranged the welcoming procession in the main garage the way a toddler might arrange action figures - with petulant rage anytime a toe was slightly over the lines of the floor panels. Each trooper was perfectly positioned, backs perfectly straight, and rifles held at just the right angle, lest they receive an earful from the Lieutenant Commander. By the time the transport had arrived back at base, the procession was all ready, even if Graff was out of breath and flushed.

He had no idea what to expect from the VIP, but certainly the last thing he expected was a droid wrapped in the crimson robes of the Royal Guard. The android had a glassy dome-like head, and even though Graff couldn't see any eyes on it, he couldn't shake the feeling it was watching him as it glided down the ramp from the RTT, Commander Predann right behind it.

The commander greeted the procession with a faux-energetic clap. "Listen up! We have a very special visitor today." He cleared his throat. "This droid is a Messenger unit, here to pay us the privilege of helping plan our next steps. While the Emperor may be… deceased, his plans for us and his Empire have not died with him! While it will likely take on new forms – as the Messenger is here to help us plan – we will continue to advance his vision for the galaxy! Long live the Empire!"

"Long live the Empire!" the assembled troopers chanted in unison.

A pair of scientists and two of the Death Troopers moved over to flank the Messenger, shepherding it away deeper in the facility while the commander walked over to Graff. "An inspiring speech, Sir. I'm optimistic for the future of this base, Commander."

He grumbled. "If we're lucky, we won't be at this base for much longer. Big plans, Hafi. Big plans."

"Sir?"

"I'll fill you in after the meeting. Right now, Lieutenant, I need you to take a patrol out to the landing pad, make sure the shuttle's secure and ready to go… just in case."

Graff saluted. "Yes, sir." The commander gave him a pat on the shoulder before moving away to join the little clique assembling in the laboratory. Graff looked out at the troopers still in formation and gestured at a pair of scout troopers and the technician who he'd briefly chatted with last night. "You three! You heard the commander, with me!"

It was a ten-minute walk under the blistering Nevarro sun to the landing pad, as the base didn't have one built in (despite Command's repeated promises to send out a module). While the other members of his makeshift squad chattered about the new arrival and speculated about the future of their unit, Graff marched on in silence the whole time. There was… something about this entire affair that he couldn't help but chafe against. The loss of Emperor Palpatine was tragic, but the perpetrators had already been punished and the new Emperor already crowned. Was this Messenger sent by Emperor Vader? What did this backwater outpost have to do with the deceased Emperor? There was something going unsaid in all of this, something crucial, and the fact Graff's life and career were in the balance unsettled him to no end.

Lt. Commander Hafi's squad eventually came upon the Lambda shuttle parked on the massive slab of concrete settled in one of the less volcanic parts of the barren plains. The noise of the shuttle's fans - seemingly left running the entire time the Messenger was present - drowned out the grunts' idle chatter, which Graff used as an opening to order the two scouts to maintain watch while he and the ground crewman inspected the shuttle. While the corporal crawled beneath the shuttle to check its fuel levels, the Lieutenant excused himself to 'inspect the interior," which was, in all honesty, an excuse to sit in a proper leather chair for the first time in years while luxuriating in the air conditioning.

After a quick once-over of the interior, Graff made himself comfortable in the cockpit, leg slung over the arm of the co-pilot's chair, and picked up his comlink. "Specialists, status report on securing the shuttle pad."

The comlink clicked back a moment later. "All clear, Commander. No one else in sight."

The second scout chimed in, "Affirmative. Shuttle pad is secure."

Graff stretched over and activated the shuttle's comms, sending his message directly to the base's main holotable. "Lieutenant Commander Hafi to Nectar outpost. Shuttle has been secured, waiting on final checks from ground crew. Stand by."

"Standing by, LC."

Graff sighed as he leaned back in the cushy seat and caught his breath. With any luck, the afternoon would go by with nothing to w-

His musings were interrupted by a violent bang against the underside of the hull, jolting him out of his peace. He scrambled out of the seat - now slick with Nevarro sweat - and made for the ramp out of the shuttle. "Corporal?" He marched back out into the sun to confront the technician when he saw the crewman and the two troopers huddled around the engines, gawking at something in the crewman's hands. "Corporal! What is going on out here?"

"Sir!" The huddle broke and the technician gestured for him to come over. "I was inspecting the fuel gauges and I found this clamped next to the intake." The corporal handed over a small piece of machinery, resembling roughly half of a thermal detonator with a small cluster of razor-thin metal feelers dangling from the dome. Despite the scorching heat, Graff's blood ran cold while the corporal continued. "Didn't want to come off, so I had to take the prod and zap it to get it to come off."

"You two!" He spat at the scouts, who immediately squared their backs and stood at attention. "I want constant vigilance of the landing site, have blasters armed, don't take your eyes off the wilderness for a second. Corporal, I want this shuttle ready to take off as soon as possible!"

"Yes, sir," the technician responded as the two scouts fumbled for their pistols. "I'm just confused, why?"

"Because, Corporal, this is a homing beacon," he gestured with the device," and it's not Imperial standard. This has been planted. Either the landing site's been visited in the past fifteen minutes and we didn't know, which I highly doubt, or… someone wanted to follow the Messenger here, in which case, we've been compromised." Graff sprinted back into the ship and frantically turned the shuttle's comms back on. If he was correct, the garrison was about to have company - the only question was who.

 

[RighteousRancor]

Section 6: Brewing Resistance

The first few months of Emperor Vader's regime were marked by frantic meetings behind closed doors by the Senators and partisans who had long opposed the formation of the Galactic Empire and had taken various measures, legally and otherwise, to pursue reformation or resistance. The initial coup was so unexpected and concluded so suddenly that none of the Emperor's opponents had any time to take advantage of the opportunity beyond a handful of raids reported on Imperial depots and barracks, but the internal tension within the new regime would create new openings for those sympathetic to the idea of change.

While Emperor Vader would stack high-ranking positions with confidants and loyalists and had no reservations about purging those he found lacking in competency or devotion, he also freely challenged those around him and made massive doctrinal shifts within his first six months on the throne. The military was as loyal as they had ever been, but members of the civilian government and the aristocracy chafed against his bullish approach to governance and his refusal to entertain the elites in the ways Palpatine had. Once, the Imperial Palace had served as a "vacation home" for royalty and hosted frequent galas that allowed for the rich and powerful to directly rub shoulders with Imperial leadership; now, the Palace was a glorified barracks for the Praetorian guard and the Inquisitorius. Entertaining the upper class fell to the Grand Vizier - his increased sway over the executive branch of the Empire, however, was unsatisfying to those used to direct contact with the Emperor.

These tensions extended into the industrial sector as KDY and Sienar struggled to adapt to the loss of the Stardust Program. While the new projects helped cushion the loss of resources, both corporations were forced to lay off large swathes of workers and deal with the 'inspectors' sent by the Emperor to micromanage their development progress, throwing frequent wrenches into their work. When Kuat was configuring the shipyards for the first Eclipse prototype (with a notable sweeping design from the bow to the engine block and much thicker dorsal hull), Imperial engineers scrapped the proposed blueprints and demanded a leaner capital ship in order to cut down on manufacturing costs, forcing a complete redesign of the shipyards required for the new prototype.

The divide between the old and new guard would create room for more radical opposition to organize beneath the Emperor's nose while he was busy handling the fallout from his reforms. While the pacifist and federalist Delegation of 2,000 in the Republic Senate had dissolved following the formation of the Galactic Empire, several of its ringleaders still held prominent positions within the Imperial Senate and would quietly meet following the relinquishment of martial law on Coruscant in order to discuss their next moves. The first step, however, was figuring out who the new Emperor was and what they would oppose, which was remarkably difficult. On one day, Vader would elevate one of the most lecherous men in the entire chain of command to the position of Prime Minister without the consent of the Senate; on the next, he would defy that Minister in order to emancipate entire worlds.

Foundational to this early effort was Senator Bail Organa's Fulcrum network - an extralegal intelligence operation supported by the Elder Houses of Alderaan who would immediately begin probing the identity and background of the new sovereign and using the indiscretion of the new military projects to assemble vast portfolios on their strengths and weaknesses, giving the Republican loyalists within the Senate a crucial edge during budget negotiations and disputes with the military. A slow chain of leaks out of Geonosis and Kashyyyk following the dismantling of Stardust would keep many enraged with the Empire's activities, even in spite of Emperor Vader's attempts to prop up local regimes on those worlds who would take less belligerent tones with their Imperial overlords.

Some of the most prominent resistance, however, would come from the Underworld. Vader's harsh stance against slavery led to alarm from the leadership of Black Sun, the Hutt Clans, and many other criminal syndicates who had only survived due to back-room deals with Imperial leadership that had allowed their enterprises to flourish. While many of these groups had a working alliance during the Clone Wars in order to exploit the Neutral Systems and foster galactic instability, the rise of the Empire saw these organizations pitted against each other by Emperor Palpatine in order to keep any one syndicate from accumulating too much influence or power while wearing away at their prior business relations. This alliance, however, was well within living memory and seemed like an attractive option to an underworld saddled with a sovereign poised to destroy their former arrangements.

Several prominent leaders would come to light during this time. Prince Xizor of the Black Sun would consolidate power while using his stakes in Corellian manufacturing enterprises to take advantage of KDY and Sienar's drop in the market. Jabba Desilijic Tiure took advantage of the instability to sabotage the rival Hutt Clan Besadii by leaking the locations of their key warehouses and smuggling ports to the Empire; even he couldn't have expected the Emperor to personally helm the raid on Kor Besadii that would see Gardulla the Hutt and her entire family executed by Vader, forcing the dregs of Besaddii to assimilate into Black Sun to avoid the wrath of the crown. Lady Qi'ra of Crimson Dawn, despite the organization's slow decline, was able to broker peace between the most prominent syndicates and convince them to begin talks of reforging the alliance, promising that her intelligence network understood far more about the new Emperor than the rest of the galaxy and that the underworld could use this insight to remain one step ahead of their foes.

The figure orchestrating all of this has been shrouded in mystery from the very beginning; decades of records from the Galactic Republic and Empire present starkly contrasting views about the criminal mastermind known only as Maul. The first records of his existence come from the Battle of Naboo describing a black-robed Zabrak assassin killed during a battle with the Naboo security forces and their attached Jedi, though he would resurface a decade later during the Clone Wars with increasing ties to Mandalorian extremists and criminal syndicates involved in spreading galactic instability. Mandalorian sources attest that he was involved in former Prime Minister Almec's coup before the Republic intervention; Republic records indicated he was captured during the battle and Imperial records claim he was killed when his prison ship suffered an accident in hyperspace. Despite repeated claims of his death, however, Maul would resurface again and take an increasingly prominent role in the criminal underworld.

The reasoning for this involvement has remained entirely speculative, but prevailing theories suggest the rivalry between Maul and Vader's empires came down to their affinity for the Sith religion. The only thing every source on the crime lord can agree on is his mastery of martial and mystic arts, with numerous Jedi, rival crime lords, Mandalorians, and countless soldiers dead at his hands - the similarities to Emperor Vader are impossible to ignore. If Maul viewed himself as a fellow follower of the ancient faith and martial rival to the Emperor, conflict with the Empire would prove inevitable and his prior experience in manipulating interplanetary governments and eliminating his rivals would give him an edge against the politically inexperienced Emperor.

Reports from the Imperial Security Bureau suggest that Maul's first move against the new Emperor was executed only days following the coup by directing Crimson Dawn's resources against the most seclusive Imperial outposts and research facilities. When these secret bases fell to Mandalorian mercenaries, it took months for the Imperial security apparatus to notice these facilities had existed in the first place - vindicating the Emperor's beliefs about the excessive autonomy afforded to these projects - and the subsequent investigations into their destruction would take even longer. Maul would spend this time building up his power base on the seclusive world of Dathomir, establishing secret bases for the criminal underworld, and deepening their business ties to arms dealers and starship manufacturers. The power and wealth accumulating behind the alliance were only rivalled by the might of the ancient Hutt Empire and would soon be tested against a foe with the resources of the galaxy at his fingertips.

 

[RighteousRancor]

Section Seven: Tensions on Mandalore

The rise of the new Shadow Collective did not go entirely unnoticed, however; one of Maul's former lieutenants had entered Imperial service following the Siege of Mandalore and quickly took note of the spike in crime and Mandalorian agitation. Despite Gar Saxon's role in the Collective, his time in Imperial prison had drawn him closer to the Empire and he served as one of the Emperor's Hands before the coup. Following Emperor Vader's raid on Besaddii, Saxon approached ISB Director Yularen to share his concerns about the potential influence of Maul and quickly found himself making his case directly to the new Emperor.

The Emperor rewarded Saxon's vigilance with a new assignment - Commander Saxon was given command of the ISS Raider, an experimental corvette, and three squads of Mandalorian commandos who had allied themselves to the Empire, with the task of tracking down any rebels present on Mandalore and discovering the location of Maul's headquarters. He would be assisted in this task by Commander Gideon, an operative in the Imperial Security Bureau who had previously helmed IMDAWR's "death trooper division" and would now use the Praetorians as a secret police force on Mandalore to crack down on crime and round up dissidents in the name of tracking down Maul.

This intervention, however, has generally been regarded as foolhardy in hindsight. While Death Watch had found plenty of sympathy with the people of Mandalore towards the end of the Clone Wars, Maul's tentacles had not taken root in the streets, but in the boardrooms of Mandalore's elites, especially in MandalMotors - the leading industrial concern in the sector. The Imperial occupation of Mandalore had seen the corporation's profits plummet and increasingly rely on the support of the underworld in exchange for supplying them with starfighters, gunships, and even corvettes. While MandalMotors were under Imperial supervision, their Imperial Advisor was killed during the coup and the interim advisor had proven easily bribed by Crimson Dawn.

The state of surveillance imposed on the world was primarily focused on the general populace and was easily circumvented by those in Maul's pocket, leading to largely fruitless raids on the civilian population that offered little in terms of usable intelligence. This ended up driving those who actually opposed Imperial rule over Mandalore straight into the arms of the criminal underworld; Prince Xizor took special note of this and used his personal influence in MandalMotors to ferry dissidents off-world and incorporate them directly into Black Sun as informants and educators. Even the Pyke Syndicate would find a way to make themselves useful, as the Moff of the Mandalore Sector, Miltin Takel, was easily bribed with glitterstim from Kessel and blackmailed by the Syndicate into allowing the new Collective to operate in the sector with impunity.

In fact, the radical Mandalorians who Commanders Saxon and Gideon were dispatched to track down were neither allied with Maul nor present on the planet. When the Empire mobilized to launch their operation, an operative from Bail Organa's network reached out to the former regent of Mandalore, Bo-Katan Kryze, and invited her to Alderaan for a series of clandestine meetings to try and ally her cell with the growing Republican movement. While evidence suggests these initial offers were spurned, the months of martial law and midnight raids on her homeworld seem to have changed her mind, and the Nite Owls - a moderate remnant of Death Watch - would begin launching raids on points across the Mandalore sector in 14 ANO, using Corellian blockade runners to harass the Imperial Navy and sabotaging the resource extraction industries owned by Imperial oligarchs.

While Commander Saxon had been the one who predicted the return of Maul, his failure to produce results by the start of the new year saw Imperial leadership turn on him. Commander Gideon was happy to take credit for the unit's few successes and turn the ISB against the Mandalorian while the Emperor became increasingly frustrated by Saxon's attempts to cover for his failures. When the Commander was recalled to Coruscant following Kryze's first wave of raids, few were surprised at the news of his execution - though Princess Jade's involvement and impromptu promotion to the now-vacant position of Emperor's Hand was commented upon by Imperial officials of the time. This, however, would only further the wedge between the Empire and its Mandalorian subjects, as nobles and commanders from across House Saxon responded to the news with indignation as Mandalorian collaborators were sidelined in favor of increasing the authority of the Imperial occupiers.

It was in the midst of this chaos that Maul and the underworld would thrive. Corruption would seep into the heart of Mandalore's political apparatus while Mandalorian equipment found its way into criminal hands in ever-increasing quantities. The brazenness of the Nite Owls' attacks gave cover for more subtle acts of sabotage and theft while the lack of attention received by Crimson Dawn's allies in the underworld allowed for their illicit operations to expand into Coruscant itself. Maul had won the first battle of the war and would only receive more opportunities to cement his status as the Emperor's greatest rival when Commodore Thrawn's task force returned from their foray into the Unknown Regions with shocking news that would seize the Empire's attention and draw their resources into a confrontation beyond the veil of the known galaxy…

 

[RighteousRancor]

(Next section is WIP, so have a quick teaser!! Would love to know if more extras would be appreciated down the road , as well as any suggestions on future formatting [not 100% satisfied with just using the basic list])

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Infobox – 96th Task Force, 13 ANO

The 96th Task Force was Emperor Vader's initial spearhead into the Unknown Regions, and as such, had to be independent from other forces and well-supplied in order to conduct its months-long expedition. To these ends, each Imperial Star Destroyer assigned to the Task Force was modified to carry additional supplies and industrial fabricators in place of garages for ground vehicles and barracks for Stormtroopers; the Emperor's logic was the task force was sent on a reconnaissance gathering mission, not an assault force, and therefore didn't require facilities to support vehicles such as heavy AT-series walkers or prefabricated bases.

Organizationally, the Task Force was divided into three squadrons – a destroyer squadron and a pair of escort squadrons. The destroyer squadron was composed of three Star Destroyers, each with a full complement of strike craft and transports, who could take command of an escort squadron if needed or operate as a single heavy formation if forced to confront enemy capital ships. The escort squadrons themselves each had a trio of cruisers - including an upgraded flagship, a support frigate, a supply barge, and a pair of long-range scouts.

During the expedition, the star destroyers would shower a given area with probe droids while resupplying each escort squadrons' designated supply barge and conducting basic repairs. Once the probes returned data about notable locations, identified threats, or potential emissions from ships passing through, the escort squadrons would peel away - possibly with a star destroyer or pair of assault carriers - and begin their sweeps, with the Decimators taking the lead and light cruisers just behind. A single squadron could spread out across a system, using TIE fighters to extend their reach while the frigate stuck with the supply barge.

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Destroyer Squadron:

• ISD Anya Karu, Imperator-Class Star Destroyer
  • Commanding Officer: Captain Aron Harcourt
  • Complement:
    • Gozanti-class Assault Carriers x2
    • Lambda-class T-4a Shuttles x3
    • Sentinel-class Landing Craft x2
    • TIE/ln Starfighters x48
    • TIE/sa Bombers x12
    • TIE/sk Atmospheric Fighters x12
    • Zeta-class Heavy Cargo Shuttles x3
• ISD Chimaera, Imperator-Class Star Destroyer
  • Commanding Officer: Commodore Mitth'raw'nuruodo
  • Complement:
    • GAT-12h Skipray Blastboats x6
    • Gozanti-class Assault Carriers x2
    • Lambda-class T-4a Shuttles x3
    • Sentinel-class Landing Craft x2
    • TIE/ln Starfighters x48
    • TIE/rp Attack Landers x3
    • TIE/sk Atmospheric Fighters x12
• ISD Harbinger, Imperator-Class Star Destroyer
  • Commanding Officer: Captain Gilad Pellaeon
  • Complement:
    • Gozanti-class Assault Carriers x2
    • Lambda-class T-4a Shuttles x3
    • Sentinel-class Landing Craft x5
    • TIE/ln Starfighters x48
    • TIE/sa Bombers x12
    • TIE/sk Atmospheric Fighters x12

Escort Squadron Aurek:

• ISS Flesnor, Arquitens I-Class Light Cruiser
  • Complement:
    • TIE/ln Starfighters x2
• ISS Marauder, Arquitens II-Class Command Cruiser
  • Complement:
    • Sentinel-class Landing Craft
    • TIE/ln Starfighters x2
• ISS Mustafar Siren, VT-49 Decimator
• ISS Neutron, VT-49 Decimator
• ISS Tumnor, Arquitens I-Class Light Cruiser
  • Complement:
    • TIE/ln Starfighters x2
• ISS Vigil, Nebulon-Class Frigate
  • Complement:
    • TIE/ln Starfighters x2
    • TIE/rp Attack Lander
    • YT-1300h Medical Transport
• SB-1668, Eta-Class Supply Barge

Escort Squadron Besh:

• ISS Naboo Gauntlet, VT-49 Decimator
• ISS Paramount, Nebulon-Class Frigate
  • Complement:
    • TIE/ln Starfighters x2
    • TIE/rp Attack Lander
    • YT-1300h Medical Transport
• ISS Reaver, VT-49 Decimator
• ISS Shyrack, Arquitens I-Class Light Cruiser
  • Complement:
    • TIE/ln Starfighters x2
• ISS Tellstar, Arquitens II-Class Command Cruiser
  • Complement:
    • Sentinel-class Landing Craft
    • TIE/ln Starfighters x2
• ISS Thunder Wasp, Arquitens I-Class Light Cruiser
  • Complement:
    • TIE/ln Starfighters x2
• SB-5655, Eta-Class Supply Barge

 

[RighteousRancor]

Section Eight: The Expedition

The 96th Task Force had just spent the past four months patrolling the edges of the Unknown Regions and sending scouts along routes Commodore Thrawn had previously helped the Empire chart and they returned to the galaxy with a wealth of information about the extent of the conspiracy against Emperor Vader. The vast majority of the information gathered by the expedition into the Unknown Regions was never shared publicly, but what has been is incredible in its own rights.

Under Palpatine's reign, the Unknown Regions were colonized by the Imperial Navy and turned into a "final bastion" in the event of a (well-executed) coup against the Empire that would allow for the Emperor and his most loyal servants to recuperate and eventually retake the Imperial throne. However, when the Royal Guard conspired to overthrow him, they sent agents to these anchorages to secure the Unknown Regions and use the Emperor's own courier droids to issue orders to their fifth column within the Galactic Empire. These collaborators occupied a wide variety of positions throughout the Empire - from trainers at Imperial academies to prominent scientists to captains of Star Destroyers - and were slowly trickling beyond the reach of the new Emperor.

During the expedition, the 96th tracked a ship only recorded as an "artillery platform," recovered salvage from a number of ships destroyed by the hazardous terrain of the Unknown Regions, and made contact with a Chiss cruiser in order to gather information on rogue Imperial elements who had come into conflict with the mysterious civilization. Towards the end of the deployment, the Commodore describes hunting down a Corellian Corvette transporting one of Emperor Palpatine's former advisors – believed to have been killed during the coup – and capturing it, hauling it back to Coruscant as a prize for the new Emperor.

Following the task force's return, Imperial leadership held a flurry of meetings over the next few weeks to discuss their next course of action. The Emperor wanted to hit hard and fast, accelerating the development of the Defender and Eclipse projects to use them as a spearhead to wipe out the opposition mounting against him (a plan that had to be talked down; the Eclipse prototypes had only just received their shipyards, much less began construction). Prime Minister Tarkin ordered the Navy to assemble a blockade of the Unknown Regions, sending dozens of escorts and destroyers to prevent any additional collaborators from escaping, though all officials agreed that further action was required to permanently disarm the threat.

Reportedly, it was Princess Jade who helped form the Imperial response. She had interacted with these Imperial courier droids in the past and noted they usually displayed recorded holograms of Emperor Palpatine; if the Royal Guard were able to access these recordings, they could have possibly lured all of these officials out into the expanse (although how this would have been achieved is unclear, given that news of the Emperor's death was widely distributed). If true, this would mean the majority of personnel present weren't aware they were participating in a rebellion and could be swayed to turn on the remnants of the cadre – all that would be required is a surgical strike on their headquarters and a display of force from Emperor Vader.

Now, the Empire needed to assemble their strike force and locate the main bastion of the forces in the Unknown Regions. Now promoted, Admiral Thrawn was tasked with tracking down and salvaging Emperor Palpatine's vaults – known as "Observatories" – scattered across the fringe regions of the galaxy in order to ascertain the best possible region for their headquarters, with Princess Jade joining his retinue to train with the Admiral and potentially help unlock these vaults. Meanwhile, the Emperor accelerated work on the Defender project, directing as many resources into the starfighter as would be necessary to assemble a working prototype while commandeering fabrication facilities to install about several Star Destroyers - including his own - to make modifications to the prototype Defenders that would join the 7th Fleet during their strike into the Unknown Regions.

The 7th Fleet would be the instrument of this operation, using the numerous picket ships at its disposal to draw naval forces away from the headquarters while a half-dozen up-armed Star Destroyers – collectively nicknamed "Death Squadron" – and squadron of corvettes would hit the headquarters head-on. With prototype fighters at the helm, powerful new weapon batteries, and the Emperor personally leading the assault, the cadre would be brought to its knees and his reign would be undisputed from any within the Galactic Empire.

The details of Admiral Thrawn's mission – and his tutelage of the Princess – are poorly known, but it appears that, over the course of a month, they were able to track down roughly one dozen vaults (notably, several were marked as already destroyed by the time the Admiral reached them) and eventually recover records pointing them to the tomb world of Exegol. Allegedly, the existence of the planet was already known to the Chiss, though they were careful to avoid the world, as no ship sent to the system had ever returned until Palpatine launched his expeditions.

Emperor Vader's plan was a matter of great contention with Imperial leadership. Some believed the plan was overly ambitious, taking only a half-dozen Star Destroyers into battle against the cadre and unnecessarily risking the life of the new Emperor. Others believed it was overly aggressive and that negotiation could serve to dismantle the crisis, as Tarkin's blockade would inevitably starve them out. Even Admiral Thrawn expressed reservations, estimating that the Imperial task force would be outgunned by some of the heavier capital ships that were believed to have joined the conspirators. It was a plan that satisfied none except for the Emperor and his ward, but any argument about a better approach would inevitably devolve into petty squabbling and arguments over the compositions of individual squadrons.

It appears that the only change to the plan that the Emperor agreed to was the attachment of a pair of Clone Wars-era strategic transports for an extra complement of Stormtroopers and another unidentified "artillery platform," likely the same class as the Admiral encountered during his mission. When the Emperor and his ward departed, leaving the Empire in the Prime Minister's hands, they would be joined by the massed forces of the Inquisitorius aboard his flagship, the ISD Devastator, before they left for the strike on the cadre's bastion. While they left behind token defenses across their holdings, few could have predicted the brutal blow that was about to be dealt against the Emperor and his cohort while they launched their expedition to the distant regions of the galaxy…