Borderlands-Slice-Core Worlds Imperial Civil War

## Background

The *Borderlands-Slice-Core Worlds Imperial Civil War* of 4 ABY to 5.5 ABY was Imperial political infighting and a brief Imperial civil war following the Emperor's death in the year and a half after the Battle of Endor for the Imperial throne of the Galactic Empire, mostly contained to the Inner Rim, Colonies, and Core Worlds along Trans-Hydin Borderlands, The Slice, and the Arrowhead (Inner Core).

The civil war put the Imperial Ruling Council against the rebellious Grand Moff Dunhausen and Moff Leonia Tavira supported by Grand Admiral Josef Grunger and was seen, largely, as a useless exercise of wasted manpower & resources that hampered a proper and focused Imperial counterattack after the Battle of Endor and allowed the Rebel Alliance to make easy inroads into Imperial territory, easily taking large areas of the Outer Rim Territories.

### Imperial Forces during the Civil War

The vast majority of the Imperial Military remained out of the civil war and continued to follow orders from Coruscant and its various commands of power from it: Imperial High Command, Army Command, Naval Command, and Stormtrooper Command until a new government was put in place or the old government remained in place.

#### **Imperial Royal Guard: Which Side?**

Which Imperial Royal Guards did not commit suicide following Palpatine's death, ensured the security of the late ruler's most prized possessions and locations, including the Imperial Palace, Byss and the Emperor's Citadel, Emperor's Retreat, Wayland, and the Jakku Observatory to name a few. The Imperial Royal Guard Academy on Yinchorr became their defacto headquarters. Ved Kennede maintained command of the Royal Guards as Master Instructor after Palpatine's death and wielded immense power with both the Imperial Court and the Imperial Ruling Council and maintained a very close working relationship with the Imperial Security Bureau (as his Imperial Guards had dirt on them all---from the Court to the Council and even the feared ISB---from past security details), answering only to Palpatine's closet allies within the Imperial Ruling Council, Kennede ensured the Royal Guard maintained their late ruler's feared memory and power among those who crossed paths with the Imperial Guard and provided security detail only to the Council and selected few within the Imperial Court and, a course, Palpatine's earlier listed locations.

#### **Stormtrooper Corps: Which side?**

With very, very few documented occurrences, the Stormtrooper Corps overwhelmingly supported and followed orders from the Imperial Ruling Council; the Corps saw the council and by default Coruscant the rightful government head after Palpatine's death. This, by default, secured the Empire's vast Imperial Star Destroyers, Dreadnoughts, and other highly valuable military assets. Starship, battle station, and garrison commands that attempted to revolt and had large or sizeable Stormtrooper contingents assigned to them were ruthlessly put down.

This left the Grand Moff Dunhausen / Moff Leonia Tavira / Grand Admiral Josef Grunger had a grave tactical disadvantage almost immediately, securing for themselves far less Imperial assets---especially *Imperial*-class Star Destroyers---than they had first hoped, leaving them with very few dreadnoughts and ISDs to operate as command ships to mostly older *Victory I* & *Victory II*-class Star Destroyers and *Dreadnought*-class Heavy Cruisers---with whom Imperial Army Trooper and Imperial Navy Trooper units staffed with no or very few stormtrooper units onboard---as their primary hitters with *Gladiator I* and *Gladiator II*-class Star Destroyers, Imperial Light Cruisers, Imperial Freighters, and various other smaller warships in support. This lack of heavy firepower particularly doomed their war efforts in the Colonies and Core Worlds, where the Imperial Ruling Council's heavier *Imperial*-class Star Destroyers had a field day toe-to-toe in naval battles.

#### **TIE Pilots: Which side?**

Like their Army and Navy brethren, TIE Pilots fell in line with their immediate commander's wishes or their own personal convictions. The exception to this rule were elite TIE Advanced v1, TIE Advanced x1, TIE Phantom, and TIE Defender pilots, who all followed the Imperial Ruling Council's wishes.

#### Imperial Navy: Which side?

Like their Army brethren, Imperial Navy crews tended to go with their immediate commander's wishes or their own personal convictions. However, the Navy did see the *highest rate of defections* of any other branch of the Imperial Military. Whether this was due to higher standards and higher education than the Imperial Army is up to debate.

#### Imperial Army: Which side?

Like their Navy brethren, Imperial Army units tended to go with their immediate commander's wishes or their own personal convictions. Interesting enough, the Army *saw less defections* than the Imperial Navy.

### Failure of Operation Cinder

The failure of Operation Cinder due to Operation Revelation by the House of Royal Intelligence provided the Empire a stable footing as they recoiled and readjusted to the loss at the Battle of Endor, as well as handle the surely to follow political infighting that would follow.

## Imperial Ruling Council Victory

The civil war was decisively won by the Imperial Ruling Council and after savagely executing the rebellious Imperial Moffs and their Grand Admiral and much of their officers and other high ranking military personnel, and with the aid of the Imperial Security Bureau and the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order, the defunct Imperial Senate was reinstated to power to help balance & strengthen the Empire after Endor and show a more open and willing approach to its citizens, as well as distance itself from some of the questionable political practices of Emperor Palpatine. These new Imperial changes were part of the New Imperial Political Document, a carefully designed document to keep power where it should be kept: the Imperial Ruling Council.