Galactic Empire

The Galactic Empire (GE), also known as the New Order is an autocratic super-state that embodies its law and constitution in its head of state, the Emperor. The Galactic Empire is supported by a number of treaties based on a 'city-state' system of government, which expands its influence into a number of areas including Mandalore. The Galactic Empire is believed by some to be, by some distance, the largest, most militarily capable and most economically powerful polity in the galaxy.
==Leadership==
The highest aspect of the Imperial government is the Imperial High Command, which is chaired by the Emperor and his two lieutenants: the Executor and Dark Lord of the Sith. Represented on this are the various branches; the ministries of the government, the Sectors (headed by Moffs), the Imperial Army, the Imperial Navy, COMPNOR, and the city-states.
The current Emperor is Thomas Cherokee. The current Executor is Guinar Ndengin who acts as the Emperor's deputy in all public matters. The shadowy role of Darth Knyte is not well known, but he isn't believed to play a major role in day-to-day management.
==Ideology==
The Galactic Empire is by policy human-only, though it is believed that aliens can be employed in some capacities in particular circumstances. DII has been known to use aliens, for example, and aliens have served in parts of the government. Historically, non-humans have been permitted to join the Galactic Empire at various times and a number have even become members of Imperial High Command. Even a Gamorrean, Hovstad Stockmann rose to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in the Imperial Army before defecting to the Rebel Alliance.
The Galactic Empire is locked in a mortal battle with the Rebel Alliance, an organisation that considers the Empire a corrupt of the old Republic and aims to replace it with a New Republic. Beyond this, the political landscape of enemies and friends changes regularly for the Empire. As the largest power in the Galaxy however the Empire is identified with general law and order, and this therefore brings it into competition and conflict with pirate and terrorist organisations, such as Eidola.
==History==
After a thousand years of growing mismanagement and corruption, the Galactic Republic fell. More and more factions, both political and economic, grew weary of the stagnation and bureaucracy to the point where they gathered together to seceed and declare themselves independent from the Republic. Events rapidly deteriorated until armed conflict was inevitable. The 'Seperatists', armed with vast droid armies, fought openly with the newly created Clone Army of the Republic. At the same time, other political bodies and trade groups broke away to form their own independent territories as their own.
The Seperatists, eventually, were worn down and broke apart due to their massive losses and internal factionalisation, its members collapsing into obscurity or being absorbed by others so only a few largely independent factions of varying influence remained. However, the damage was done, as the galaxy collapsed into innumerable local wars between local warlords.
===The First Emperor===
Hiram Drayson, an ambitious but not particularly skilled Admiral of the Republic Navy, forcibly took control of what was left of the Republic and declared the First Galactic Empire with himself as its Emperor. The formation of the Empire and his ascension to the new throne meant little, as rival claimants (including his own commanders) warred against him. At the end of the final battle of the war, Captain Vodo Bonias of the Imperial Navy turned his fleet against the Emperor's, destroying much of it and forcing Drayson to flee with what remained of his force.
===Order of Darkness===
Suntzu, Commanding Officer of the Imperial Navy, was next to sit on the throne. However, Emperor Suntzu was only on the throne for a short period when a civil war erupted between the Army and Navy. General Balsaraph, the leader of the Imperial Army, formed his own rebellion with the intention of taking the throne himself and accused Moff Vodo Bonias of encouraging Suntzu to instate policies which favored the Imperial Navy over the Army. Overwhelmed by Moff Bonias' forces, Balsaraph fled and allied himself with former Emperor Drayson. Thus was born the Order of Darkness which believed that Suntzu was a puppet of Vodo. This group was short-lived and quickly dissolved following the death of Drayson.
Operating with many of the Empire's ships and personnel, Drayson and Balsaraph directed operations against the Empire. They were greatly assisted by Lady Dyvel, an Admiral in the Imperial Navy. Dyvel defected to the Order of Darkness with many of the Empire’s ships and funds. Officer Evax also defected taking many of the land assets over to the Order as well. After serving as ruler of the Galactic Empire for only one month, Emperor Suntzu abdicated, a decision which the Order of Darkness heralded as a victory. In the aftermath, Suntzu abdicated and Bonias took the throne.
The first reign of Vodo Bonias saw no relief for the Empire. Years of infighting had caused economic ruin on many worlds, and corruption was entrenched in the Imperial bureaucracy. The members of the Imperial government hoarded the wealth of worlds as billions of sentinents starved. The breaking point was when a young female Imperial Army officer was raped in front of, and by, the Imperial High Command, the news of which turned the population against the Imperial bureaucracy and the Emperor. With the wrath of the citizenry and the Imperial Army held back only by the increasingly deserting Imperial Navy, and to restore order to the Empire, Bonias abdicated in favour of Executor Spytek. With the ascension of Spytek as the new Emperor, the Order of Darkness would soon collapse as its support drew thin, thus, allowing the Empire to recover many of its stolen ships.
===The Rise of Piett===
Under Emperor Spytek, the Galactic Empire enjoyed a brief period of peace and prosperity until the ambitions of a rising officer, Admiral Piett, would upset the balance of power once again. Angry over the many weaknesses and mistakes of Emperor Spytek, Piett led his followers in the Navy to overthrow the young Emperor. The revolt was successful and short, and in the end the Sith Lord Piett took the throne. Piett, a much stronger Emperor than Spytek was able to remain free somewhat of his former Master and teacher, Vodo. Piett's strong will kept the Empire prosperous as the new Emperor established and maintained policies which led the government into a new golden age of conservatism. During his reign, few advancements or changes occurred in the structure or policies of the Galactic Empire. Eventually, the betrayed Sith Master Vodo took his revenge on his old apprentice by inciting a new revolt. The voices of reform in the Empire had for a long time been silenced by Piett, and now they sought his removal under the leadership of Vodo. The revolution was unsuccessful and Piett had many of the ring leaders rounded up and tried. Grand Admiral Gorn Veynom, Admiral Gunther von Esling, and Surface Marshal Trey Connel were captured and accused of treason but were later pardoned by the Emperor. Sith Master Vodo Bonias escaped with the help of then Captain Machkhit and Fleet Admiral Simms. Piett was unable to identify the many others who were working secretly for Vodo; eventually he succumbed to paranoia, fearing further revolts, and chose to flee the Empire, seeking a peaceful retirement on the Outer Rim.
===The Great Break and the Core===
The Emperor and Dark Lord of the Sith, Piett, was gone. For nearly a year he had led the Galactic Empire through one of its most prosperous ages. In his wake, the Empire was left without an apparent heir, civil war quickly erupted as the few remaining Sith followers slipped into the shadows following their leader Vodo. Two candidates emerged during this conflict, Grand Admiral Veynom, leader of the Imperial Navy, and Executor Connel, leader of the Imperial Government. The fighting was brutal, it lasted weeks, the Empire was wrenched apart, but in the end, Connel arose victorious. Veynom, his fleet broken and battered, retreated with his followers, which included much of the Imperial High Command into the core of the galaxy. In a last ditch gamble, the Grand Admiral took a personal ship and left to the very edges of the galaxy, to the vast unexplored part of space known as the Unknown Regions seeking ancient secrets and allies that might restore the Empire's former glory. In his absence he left Fleet Admiral Simms in charge of the fleet with the instructions to seek out a suitable system where they might forge a fortress from which they might strike back at their enemies some day. After a great many weeks of searching, the small fleet of Star Destroyers happened across a small uninhabited system which appeared to be uncharted, the location was ideal; the fleet immediately secured the area and set up a large base camp on a temperate planet in the system. In the passing months, the fleet explored many nearby systems while establishing several small, fortified cities on the planet's surface. Deciding that they did not wish to be associated with Connel's Empire, the group chose to call themselves the Imperial Core, in the belief that they were the Core of the once mighty Galactic Empire; they then named their new home Bastion to symbolize their strong determination in restoring the Empire's glory.
Benefiting from anarchy rising during the Empire's civil war, the Rebel Alliance, a group wishing to establish a new republic as the galactic government grew strong while rallying many former Imperial Systems to their cause. The now diminished forces of the Galactic Empire were unable to enforce their rule over such a vast territory.
===Connel and Mccarthur===
Over the course of the next half year, the Imperial Core drew support from many pro-Imperial Systems which had been discarded by Emperor Connel, becoming a sizable government in their own right. Connel was unable to neither stabilize the Empire nor stem the tide of the growing support for both the Rebel Alliance and Imperial Core. And, in a short time, Connel planned to abdicate the throne at the behest of his advisors while giving his support to a new Emperor, Mccarthur. Shortly before he could make his abdication public however, he was killed (presumably) when his shuttle exploded en route to the Imperial Palace, although his body was never recovered. Unfortunately, Mccarthur was able to accomplish little more than his predecessor. His designated heir, Charon, ascended to the Imperial Throne.
===The Rise of Charon===
About this time, the galaxy was further shaken when a broken transmission was relayed to the holonet from the outer rim. The sender, Grand Admiral Veynom had discovered an old secret in the unknown and was trying to make contact with his followers, instead his message was intercepted by rogue agents and made public. Unable to properly secure his message because of the many relay points, the Admiral encoded it with a series of puzzles and clues. The meaning of the message was further disrupted by a series of faulty holonet receivers that wiped out many lines of text. Ultimately it was his old followers in the Imperial Core who deciphered the meaning of the message which revealed the location of an old Death Star weapon that was hidden in an unexplored region of the Outer Rim. The group quickly tracked down the weapon, intending to take command of it for use against their enemies. Unfortunately, the weapon itself proved to be incomplete and irreparable, though the operation was still of great value to the Core in that they recovered a veritable treasure trove of lost information and data from much older times. Additionally, the speed with which they solved the Admiral's puzzle and the mounds of recovered information granted them a great deal of prestige in the galaxy as more systems and people flocked to the banner of the Imperial Core. During this time, Fleet Admiral Simms was revealed to be force sensitive, Jennifer Dreighton was then chosen to act as steward for the government so that Admiral Simms could spend time focusing on his force abilities.
===Return of the Sith===
Some months later, the Sith returned to the limelight under the leadership of the Sith Master and former Galactic Emperor, Warlord Vodo Bonias. The Warlord quickly joined his Sith followers with the Imperial Core, forming a new faction, the Dark Empire, now the third largest faction in the Galaxy. Fleet Admiral Simms returned as well, serving as the new Emperor's second in command and newly named Dark Lord of Sith. It was roughly a year later when the two Lords mysteriously arranged the return of the Dark Empire to the Galactic Empire. An action which sparked a ferocious debate and uncouth riots within the Galactic Empire, although no known cases of disobedience or disloyalty were recorded in the Dark Empire as a result of this event. Charon, ever distrustful of Vodo and his followers agreed to the merger reluctantly, but was allowed to remain on the throne. Count Uebles, an Imperial aristocrat and member of the Dark Empire was chosen as the compromise for Executor. Many Dark Empire officers and leaders were hereafter integrated into the Galactic Empire in a variety of positions; Warlord Vodo in turn formed a secretive fleet outside the chain of command that incorporated many loyal and high ranking officers as well as several Dark Jedi. Later this sect would become known as the Order of the Dark Hand. Vodo also managed to preserve the secretive MJ-12 intelligence branch which had been essential in the Dark Empire's success.
===The Hidden Dark Lord===
Charon's hate and distrust ran deep, in time his paranoia grew to exaggerated proportions and often he and his officers lashed out at Vodo and his followers. Around this time, the often used terms "Charonist" and "Vodoist" arose to describe those who remained loyal to Charon, and those who supported Vodo in his bid for the Imperial Throne. The final straw came several months after the merger, Charon ordered the ISB General Matrel Byden to arrest Vice Admiral Dreighton, CO of the Dark Hand Fleet and to seize the fleet's assets in the middle of a combat operation. The Fleet was brought back to Coruscant where it was initially dissolved. These actions constituted such an outrage that eventually Vodo's supporters rose up against Charon, Count Uebles revealing himself to be a powerful Dark Lord of the Sith seized the opportunity and ascended the throne, while out of kindness offering the former Emperor a position in the Imperial High Command. Instead, Charon incited many Imperials loyal to him into defection while not actually defecting himself, the former Emperor disappeared leaving the Empire in a state of chaos, many officers and enlisted throughout the many branches of the Empire left, still a vast majority of the Imperial population remained, many of the defectors themselves vanished or took shelter within a variety of pirate and service factions that were already unfriendly to the Empire. In the wake of this catastrophic event, Emperor Uebles reorganized the government of the Empire, appointing new Moffs and other leaders. Other branches underwent similar reforms over the next year as the Empire attempted to pull itself back together and ultimately Uebles' reign was marked as a period of major reform though he was unable to achieve much success in reviving the Empire. When he finally stepped down, Executor Vodo once again assumed the mantle of Emperor. During Uebles reign, many victories on the battlefield were afforded to the Empire despite its internal problems, these include Operation Beta, Operation Tenax, Uvena, Alderaan, and Tatooine. It was also during the reign of Uebles that Admiral Zerk came into prominence.
===The Second Reign of Vodo===
right|thumb|150px|Vodo Bonias
The Dark Lord Vodo took the Imperial Throne at a time when the Empire was still suffering through internal problems brought about by the cowardice of Charon. Immediately he introduced reforms for all the branches. He brought Imperial Intelligence under the charge of COMPNOR and placed Grand Vizier Bach as the branch leader. He then promoted Zerk and put him in charge of the Navy while changing the old Navy structure and modifying it with many improvements. Under Vodo, the academy system was revised, restructured, and reinstituted. Many such changes were brought about by the new Emperor, and by the time of his 1st Anniversary as leader of the Galactic Empire, the faction was once again a strong and thriving community. His rule was off to a great start and he didn't appear to be slowing down. A few months into his reign, the Empire declared victory in two more major campaigns, at Allied Tion, and the Bacta Wars, further boosting Imperial morale and power. It was near the end of his first six months however that problems first started arising in Admiral Zerk's Navy, conflicting management styles between Zerk and his officers is perhaps the best way to describe these problems. And, within a short while, many dissenting officers signed a petition to the Emperor, requesting Zerk's removal from the Navy. The change was reluctantly made, and Vice Admiral Goth, Zerk's XO, was placed in charge of the Navy while Zerk was promoted to Grand Moff of the Imperial Government. Despite this change, the Grand Moff maintained a major influence over Naval Structure and Policies, and he continued to clash with many ranking Naval Officers. After only a few months in the saddle, Vice Admiral Goth retired his commission in the Imperial Navy without formally stating his reasons for doing so. Under normal conditions, Goth's XO would have succeeded him directly, but the Grand Moff decided to go a different route, he chose to push for a series of reforms. For almost a month, the Admiralty and other senior Navy officers debated possible changes for the new reform, Rear Admiral's Crog and Slicer were the main voices in the debate, and when the dust settled they were granted a temporary joint leadership of the Navy while the reorganization took place. When the designated time was up, both were promoted to full Admiral; Crog was selected as the new NCO, and Slicer as his XO.
===A New Revolution===
In the months following the radical changes to the Navy developed by the Admiralty in co-operation with Grand Moff Zerk, renewed arguments took center stage as old Charonists grew enraged with more pieces of their old dynasty now crumbling. Using Zerk as a rallying point, former Charon supporters incited a number of enlisted and officers into open revolt under false pretenses. The Charonists dismiss Emperor Vodo in peaceful negotiations, launching their own plans shortly after. Within mere days following these events, Admiral Slicer and Captain Pangborn rallied a majority of the movement's supporters around a Vodo friendly platform and signed a new peace treaty with the Emperor leaving the new rebellion devastated and crippled. A week later, a number of Charonists and former Imperials were arrested and executed for treason against the throne as what was left of the New Imperial Order propped itself up with funding from several pirate groups. Forced into hiding among the many empty regions of space, the group lives with little money, few ships, and a deep hatred for everything the Galactic Empire stands for.
===Growth of an Empire===
After quelling the dissent within its ranks, the Empire progressed at a rapid pace under the continued leadership of Emperor Vodo; its membership continued to grow while achieving victories against its many enemies throughout the galaxy including the Kathol Republic. The vanguard of this progress is the passing of the City-State Accords has brought approximately 65% under the direct influence of the Galactic Empire, the 12 Colonies, and Mandalore. Many consider this to be a new Golden Age for the faction, a time of successful reform with the help of experienced leaders, a time when once again the Empire is the clear forerunner in all fields: military, scientific, economic, and political.
==Government and politics==
The Galactic Empire is an authoritarian empire: the Empire is ruled with absolute power by the Emperor, with the support of Imperial High Command.
The Executor, or Regent, serves as the second-in-command of Empire, often alongside or in place of the Emperor, and most commonly when the Emperor is either absent or incapacitated. The Executor serves directly under the Emperor, and thus his authority and word is considered of the Emperor's.
Aside from the Emperor, the Imperial Inner Circle is the highest executive body over the Galactic Empire. The Inner Circle is the Emperor's cabinet and is tasked with assisting and advising the Emperor in affairs of governance. The Inner Circle consists of the leaders of the Order of the Dark Hand, COMPNOR, Imperial Military, Ministry of Industry, Council of Moffs, and Imperial Intelligence.
In addition to the Imperial Inner Circle, Moffs, appointed by the Imperial Throne, are given full governance over their Sectors. With a seat in Imperial High Command and the Council of Moffs, a Moff has command of all citizens and military units within his Sector. The Sector Moff is assisted by a Sector Adjutant, typically the second-in-command of the Sector. Most Sector Adjutants control the daily activities that occur across the Sector that requires the Government to act. The last position in the Regional Government is that of Planetary Governor. Appointed by the Sector Moff, Governors are only responsible for their planet and are tasked with the running of the planet. Additionally, Governors are required to improve, maintain and develop their planets as much as possible without hampering any Imperial plans.
The Imperial Security Bureau, a sub-branch of COMPNOR, is responsible for law enforcement within the Galactic Empire. ISB maintains the Imperial Code of Laws and ensures that protocols and procedures are followed by all Imperials. Most charges are brought up by the ISB; however, the Imperial Military may court-martial any within their ranks as needed.
==Society and Culture==
The role of art and media in the Galactic Empire was primarily didactic; cultural expression served as an instrument for inculcating New Order ideology. The Coalition for Progress, a sub-branch of COMPNOR, oversees many aspects of Imperial Government not directly related to politics, the military, or economics. Artistic and written propaganda was managed by the Art Team and Imperial News Bureau respectively as departments under the Coalition for Progress.
Competitive sports (particularly Bolo-ball, Shockball, and Podracing) are also popular within the Galactic Empire. The Imperial Gaming Commission regulates all gambling, as well as organizes and oversees all sporting events, within the Empire. Their responsibility is to ensure all events run fairly and that winnings are correctly distributed.
The Galactic Empire is a militaristic society; the Imperial Military is greatly revered and supported by the average Imperial citizen, with most - if not all - politicians and officials rising to prominence through their service in the military early in their careers.
The Empire also advocates Humanocentrism, the tendency to view the galaxy from the perspective of a Human majority. The Imperial policy of Human High Culture is not actively anti-nonhuman; it simply classifies nonhumans as cultural and ethnic minorities. The foundations of the Empire rest on the views of the Human majority, and as such the Empire heavily promotes such views through COMPNOR. The Order of the Dark Hand welcomes acceptable Force-sensitives of all species within their ranks, and could in no way be viewed as xenophobic.
==Economy==
The Ministry of Industry manages the various companies and corporations that contribute to the Imperial economy, including the Corellian Engineering Corporation, Imperial Resource Extractions, Magnaguard Manufacturing, Myorzo Weapon Systems,Primus Medical and Imperial Resource Conversions. These nationalized factions enter into a contract with the Galactic Empire with the agreement that they will only trade with the Empire, its allies, and any neutral factions. In fact, trading with enemies of the Empire, all named in the Blacklist, is forbidden for all Imperials and is a punishable crime according to the Imperial Code of Laws.
Regional Governments have been focusing on building up cities on the planets and systems within their Sectors, which provides more jobs, better standards of living, and stronger economies for the Sectors and, in turn, the Empire overall.
==Military==
The Imperial Navy and Imperial Army make up the Imperial Military.
==The Imperial Union==
In a historic move to bring about order and peace to the galaxy, Emperor Vodo signed a mutual-defense accord with King Jessy James of the Hapes Consortium. Designed to counter the threat from the Rebel Alliance, Falleen Federation, and SoroSuub Corporation, the treaty brought the economies of the two largest governments in the galaxy, as well as defence forces, in order to bring about joint growth. The First Imperial Union (IU) allows eventual paths for City-State Allies to join the Union. The Imperial Union has united more people in the galaxy since the Old Republic. The future of the galaxy looks extremely bright for all those who believe in the New Order.
Recently, the IU was expanded to inlcude both Mandalore and the Trade Federation, creating one of the largest economic and military forces the galaxy has ever seen.
==Banner==
* (Year 4)
==See also==
* Imperial Army
* Imperial Navy
* COMPNOR
* Emperors
==External links==
* Galactic Empire - Website
Category:Government Factions
Category:Galactic Empire
Category:Factions
Category:Imperialist