Four unidentified Imperial Royal Guards Four unidentified Imperial Royal Guards led an Imperial splinter faction known as the Second Imperium . These four had formerly been stormtroopers promoted by Admiral Daala to guardsman status . History . Expansion . Following the signing of the Bastion Accords by New Republic Chief of State Ponc Gavrisom and Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon on the " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer " Chimaera " in 19 ABY , many Imperials in the Imperial Remnant rejected these accords as " sham " and sought the return of Emperor Palpatine and his Galactic Empire . These Royal Guards took advantage of this by founding the Second Imperium and impersonating Palpatine by using holograms stretching from his earliest days as the Senator of Naboo to Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and finally to Emperor of the Empire . The Second Imperium numbers grew as a result . Among the members of the Second Imperium was the former Jedi Brakiss whom they tasked with establishing a cadre of Dark Jedi to counter those of Master Luke Skywalker ' s New Jedi Order . To train and house these pupils , a cloaked hyperspace - capable space station known as the " Shadow Academy " was constructed . Those recruits discovered to be Force - sensitive were trained as Dark Jedi while those who weren ' t became stormtroopers , TIE pilot s , and various other types of workers . Following a series of raids on the New Republic including the Bulk Cruiser " Adamant " and on Thikkiiana City on Kashyyyk which provided the Second Imperium with hyperdrive cores and weapons , the four Royal Guards arrived at the " Shadow Academy " with Palpatine supposedly residing in a massive repulsorlift isolation chamber . The Royal Guards prevented Brakiss from visiting the Emperor , causing him to be concerned about the Emperor ' s health . Later , from his isolation chamber , the Emperor prompted Brakiss to launch an assault against the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4 . Attrition . At first the battle played out as planned . A Second Imperium ground force consisting of Stormtroopers and Dark Jedi surrounded the Jedi Praxeum while TIE fighters and TIE / sa Bomber s bombed the surrounding jungle . In space , the Shadow Academy and a fleet of refitted Star Destroyers and battle cruisers blockaded Yavin 4 . This changed with the arrival of the New Republic fleet under Admiral Ackbar and Brakiss ' defeat during a single combat with his former Master . Having made it back to the space station , Brakiss made his way to the isolation chamber and demanded to see the Emperor . However , he was blocked by two of the Royal Guards . Enraged and giving in to his anger , Brakiss cut them down with his lightsaber and then entered the chamber . There , he discovered a third Royal Guard working on a bank of controls , computer screens and holographic generators and realized that the Emperor had never returned . In reality , the Royal Guards had created this illusion so that they could control the Second Imperium . The fourth guard used his " Emperor ' s " override controls to activate the Shadow Academy ' s self - destruct systems , destroying the Shadow Academy and killing all onboard . With the destruction of the Shadow Academy , the battle turned in favor of the New Republic . Elimination . The fourth guard then managed to escape on a shuttle and headed for parts unknown . Despite the defeat of the Second Imperium , unlike Kir Kanos , he still continued to wear his uniform when doing business to both instill fear and to commemorate his close connection with his late master Palpatine . He entered the criminal underworld and made contacts within the Human - hating Diversity Alliance around 24 ABY , not realizing their strong hatred for Humans , particularly Imperials . In the end , the Diversity Alliance double - crossed him and took him prisoner . He was brought before the Alliance ' s leader , Nolaa Tarkona , who demanded that he reveal the location of the Emperor ' s plague storehouse , which contained a cache of deadly biological and chemical agents . When he refused , she murdered him by unleashing a sample of the dreaded Human - killing Emperor ' s Plague . Thus Kir Kanos was once again the last of the Imperial Royal Guards .