Galactic Empire

The **Galactic Empire**, declared as the **First Galactic Empire**, commonly referred to as simply the **Empire** or **Palpatine’s Empire**, also known as the **New Order**, and remembered as the **Old Empire**, was the fascist galactic dictatorship that replaced the Galactic Republic at the end of the Clone Wars and ushered the galaxy into a new age. The Empire was secretly controlled by the Sith, however, for its ruler was Darth Sidious, known publicly as Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine, whose reign was enforced by Darth Vader.

## General information

### Legislative branch

Imperial Senate (19 BBY–0 BBY, disbanded by the Emperor)

## **History**

### **Early foundations**

Main articles: Invasion of Naboo, Supreme Chancellor Election, 32 BBY and Separatist Crisis
The Imperial ideals of the Galactic Empire could be dated back to the Sith Empire of the Old Republic's time period. Following the defeat of the Sith during their final war with the Jedi Order, for at least a thousand years, the dominant governing body of the galaxy was the unicameral, parliamentary, and democratic Galactic Republic, which was governed by the Galactic Senate and led by an elected Supreme Chancellor.

In the last decades of its existence, the Republic Senate became embroiled in bureaucracy, rendering it woefully ineffectual as a governing body. Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith known publicly as Senator Sheev Palpatine of Naboo, privately lamented the declining state of the Senate, noting that the Republic was "not what it once was."

Thirteen years before the Republic's end as a democracy, Darth Sidious orchestrated the Invasion of Naboo by the Trade Federation in order to create a leadership crisis in the Senate. Sidious used the crisis to manipulate the then Queen of the Naboo, Padmé Amidala, into calling a Vote of No Confidence against sitting Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum. The vote passed, and in the subsequent election, Sidious—in his public persona of Senator Palpatine of Naboo—secured the position of Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic for himself through a strong sympathy vote. Ultimately, he would be the last individual to hold this office.

In the decade that followed, Sidious secretly manipulated galactic events to the extent that war became inevitable. Besides persuading a dead Jedi Master, Sifo-Dyas, to create a secret clone army, he also tasked his Sith apprentice, Darth Tyranus, with exacerbating political tensions in the Republic and engineering a Separatist Crisis. These actions would culminate in the outbreak of the Clone Wars, the last conflict of the Republic, while Sidious himself "reluctantly" accepted emergency powers from the Senate.

**Birth of the New Order**

Since the onset of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, the Republic endeavored to strengthen its security and stability through the creation of new organizations such as the Commission for the Protection of the Republic (COMPOR), which utilized propaganda to increase public morale, promote patriotism, and foster anti-Separatist sentiment within the general population. As the Republic became increasingly centralized, however, Chancellor Palpatine's powers continued to grow through additional assets ceded to the Office of the Chancellor, including the galactic banking system that was placed under his direct oversight. This gave Palpatine the finance he needed to build his empire.

The Chancellor remained a popular leader for the duration of the war, having managed to stay in office at the will of the Senate for longer than his term permitted. As he consolidated and centralized his own power, his influence expanded to an unprecedented level while the Republic shifted from a democratic government to an increasingly militarized and authoritarian regime on the grounds of security and stability. In addition to his authority as Commander-in-Chief of the Republic Military, the Chancellor exerted more control over the Senate, the courts, and even the media with HoloNet News becoming a state-run program in order to ensure that information would not be compromised by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Sidious' hold over the Republic further expanded with additional amendments to the Galactic Constitution while public support for the Jedi weakened as the war carried on, paving the way for his ultimate ascension as Emperor of the galaxy.

As the war neared its end in 19 BBY, the Jedi Order had grown skeptical about the Chancellor after his accumulation of emergency power. They began to suspect that a plot to destroy the Jedi was close to fruition. The ruling council started discussing forcibly removing Palpatine from office and temporarily overseeing the Senate in order to maintain political stability during the transition period. However, the Jedi learned of Palpatine's true identity as Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious. Following an attempt to arrest him, a brief but vicious fight ensued in which Sidious killed several Jedi and was himself visibly injured. The intercession of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, who was a personal friend of Chancellor Palpatine and already disillusioned with both the Order and the war, ensured Sidious' victory. The prodigal Jedi was turned to the dark side of the Force, while Sidious had a pretext upon which to turn the Republic against the Jedi.

Darth Sidious immediately purged the Jedi Order, issuing to the clone army Order 66: to exterminate all Jedi. With this command programmed into the clones since their births on Kamino, the clone troopers immediately turned on their Jedi commanders and exterminated the vast majority of the Jedi Order in an instant. Meanwhile, Anakin Skywalker—rechristened as Sidious's new Sith apprentice Darth Vader—attacked the Jedi Temple and wiped out what remained of the Order.

Despite their Order being wiped out, certain Jedi survived the initial purge. Many of them went into hiding after Grand Master Yoda and Master Obi-Wan Kenobi fought their way into the Temple and transmitted a holographic message warning the other Jedi about the Republic trap waiting for them there, right before the two Masters failed to destroy the Sith and headed into exile themselves. Some of them, however, were initially hunted down and either killed, taken prisoner or turned to the dark side as part of an agency of dark side adepts known as the Inquisitorius

Shortly afterwards, Sidious turned his eyes to the Confederacy of Independent Systems and dispatched Darth Vader to wipe out Nute Gunray and the rest of the Separatist government leaders on Mustafar, following which Imperial financier Arsin Crassus plundered the Trade Federation's accounts to fund the new Imperial government. Now able to demonstrate threats to the Republic from both within and without, a visibly injured and scarred Sidious addressed the Galactic Senate to announce the reforms which had been his plan since the beginning. To the thunderous applause of the Senators, Sidious—known publicly as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine—announced that in order to preserve security and continued stability, the Republic would be reorganized into the First Galactic Empire and proclaimed himself as Galactic Emperor.

### **Imperialization**

#### **Re-ordering the Republic**

Existing government bodies were renamed to reflect the change in authority as civil and military superstructure of the Old Republic were overhauled immediately under the personal direction of the Emperor. With vast portions of the galaxy still unconquered, the Grand Army of the Republic became the Imperial Army, while the Republic Navy became the Imperial Navy and the Galactic Senate was rechristened the Imperial Senate. The renowned Senate Plaza, with its name reminding residents of the Old Republic, was promptly changed to the Imperial Plaza, while an enormous statue of the Emperor was erected there. Ultimately, the mechanisms created for the Republic during the war were twisted to fit Palpatine's use, with even the systems built with help from the Jedi benefiting the new Emperor.

In addition, the former roundel of the Republic was replaced with the new Imperial crest, adorned on almost everything having to do with Palpatine's Empire. With every day that passed, Palpatine's hold over the galaxy grew tighter. For the next decade and a half, Imperial rule—bolstered by the military created to fight in the Clone Wars—dominated the galaxy and was largely unchallenged. The Empire soon began to upgrade its military hardware, replacing V-wing and ARC-170 fighters with newer TIE models five years after the Clone Wars, but Republic-era military equipment continued to be used for a while on distant outposts and locations such as Galidraan Station. The Republic's Phase II clone trooper armor would begin a phase out and be replaced by superior stormtrooper armor, whose development had been headed by the Imperial Department of Military Research.

**Continuing clean-up**

Happy for the peace the end of the fighting and rise of the Empire brought, the new government was welcomed by people tired of the Clone Wars; on the planet Pantora, citizens cheered as clone stormtroopers marched past them near a Imperial Informational Station, where a message played announcing personal chain codes and new currency.

After the Separatist Droid Army was promptly shut down, its navy was dismantled at locations across the galaxy such as the Bilbringi shipyards. However, various droid models and Separatist technology escaped Imperial appropriation and managed to work their way onto the black market, with many modules taken from Separatist frigates and destroyers, including pieces from Admiral Trench's warship, the *Invincible*. Despite Separatist-era technology continuing to be used and appearing in locations such as the Corporate Sector, the Empire continued to root out remaining holdouts of the Confederacy four years after the Clone Wars, while criminal organizations composed of repurposed battle droids such as the Droid Gotra operated in Coruscant's underground.

#### **Hunt for the Jedi**

Any Jedi survivors of Sidious' purge were systematically hunted down and killed either by Darth Vader or any of the Emperor's Inquisitors in the years that followed the rise of the New Order. When Zubain Ankonori and his nest of fellow Jedi were all found within the Jedi shrine on Anoat, they were forced to separate and flee, only to be tracked and killed by an Inquisitor one by one. Within two decades, only a few known Jedi were still alive and in exile to avoid the Empire's wrath.[*source?*]

In order to draw out any of these Jedi and the children capable of touching the Force, the Empire charged the Inquisitorius with not only tracking the Order 66 survivors down, but also preventing the Force-sensitive youth of the galaxy from becoming Jedi. The Empire also offered rewards for those who turned over Jedi survivors to the imperial authorities.

**Minor resistance**

As pirates, smugglers, and ex-Separatists were routinely imprisoned and destroyed, the Empire faced little serious resistance to its rule. A rare exception revolved around the Outer Rim world of Ryloth, where Moff Delian Mors and Colonel Belkor Dray were fighting an insurgency known as the Free Ryloth Movement, led by former Twi'lek Resistance leader Cham Syndulla, who established hidden bases across Ryloth and executed raids against the Empire, including those on its lucrative spice and slave trade in the sector. Composed of freedom fighters who fought with the Galactic Republic and Jedi Master Mace Windu during the Clone Wars to free their homeworld from Separatist occupation by Emir Wat Tambor, the newly formed Free Ryloth movement would continue its struggle for independence against the Galactic Empire for decades.

Seeking to make examples of worlds who continued to harbor secessionist tendencies, Moff Wilhuff Tarkin was assigned to make an example of Antar 4, a populous moon that had been a part of the Separatist Alliance and involved in a scheme involving Republic Intelligence to train locals into well-armed resistance groups. While COMPNOR initially stifled information regarding the killings, word soon leaked about the operation through inquisitive reporters such as Anora Fair and Hask Taff, while the event was soon penned as the Antar Atrocity, capturing the attention of many Coruscanti and other citizens from the Core Worlds.

### **Age of the Empire**

#### **Building the ultimate weapon**

At some point during its reign, the Empire undertook an expansion effort known simply as the Imperial expansion. It was during this time that they constructed a military installation on the volcanic world of Nevarro.

In total secrecy, the Empire took over construction of a massive battle station with enough firepower to destroy an entire planet, later known simply as the Death Star, that had formerly been a Separatist project engineered by Geonosian archduke Poggle the Lesser's hive colony for Darth Tyranus, who was entrusted with the project's plans for safekeeping throughout the Clone Wars, with supplies coming from various planets and locations such as Sentinel Base and Geonosis. During the Clone War, the Republic had begun work on the battle station.

**Spread of the Empire**

As the Galactic Empire grew, Palpatine moved closer to his ultimate plan of ruling the entire galaxy and unlocking the secrets of the Sith Masters who had come before him. With the near extermination of the Jedi Order and the Empire swelling in size and strength, the Emperor ultimately planned to possess the powers of the dark side to reshape reality itself into something of his own creation, and an omnipotent Empire would allow all the galaxy's inhabitants to be held in his dark embrace. As most planets were ecologically devastated, rampant industrialization and mass-production eroded local culture and ecological health. People saw their children drafted into Imperial service, while corrupt governors and magistrates often exploited local populations on worlds such as Jelucan, Devaron and Tangenine. Parades, obligatory attendance at patriotic functions and the erection of barracks and garrisons on various worlds across the galaxy became the norm.

Only a year after its founding, the Empire had already begun to enforce itself in the Outer Rim. Worlds that did not fall to the Empire's quick expansion, which installed an oppressive Imperial presence instead of simple bases, became homes to crime lords. In its effort to establish itself in the Outer Rim, in addition to using fear, the Empire withheld food to make populations endure hunger. While the Empire turned a blind eye to various abuses, it still maintained a policy of zero corruption and maintained its high standards of conduct, resulting in numerous Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) officials actively hunting down corrupt and negligent officials, even resulting in investigations by Lord Vader himself. Despite this, many citizens were content with the geopolitical situation in the galaxy, believing that strict measures were necessary to maintain order and stability after the destructive Clone Wars. Many also believed that the Empire, while not the best, was better than anarchy and chaos.

While many tolerated and even supported the Empire, many others continued to hold separatist tendencies and even exuded hostility, with those who fought in the Clone Wars seeing the transformation of the Empire from a source for order into a brutal bully in a quest for control.[*source?*] Nevertheless, overt resistance was crushed by the Imperial Military. During this so-called Age of the Empire, worlds such as Naboo underwent rampant beautification projects in an effort to produce idealized versions of life in the Empire as a whole, with the state-sponsored HoloNet continually citing new building projects, successful trade negotiations, and endless economic prosperity. Many supported the growing view of the Empire as a nearly invincible force.

Despite its seemingly endless expansion, such as on Raada, where Imperial forces arrived to harvest food, which destroyed the quality of the moon's soil and led to a growing oppression. This angered the people of Raada to the point where they staged an uprising after weeks of planning, with the help of ex-Padawan Ahsoka Tano and the forces of Imperial Senator Bail Organa in secret. A major turning point against the Empire's advance into the Outer Rim occurred in 11 BBY, with Imperial forces commanded by Captain Rae Sloane engaging in a small skirmish in the vital Inner Rim system of Gorse.

This event saw the meeting of later rebel Hera Syndulla and Jedi survivor Kanan Jarrus, who were confronting efficiency expert Count Denetrius Vidian and his aggressive methods of extracting thorilide—a vital component in the construction of turbolaser batteries and thus essential for the expansion of the Imperial fleet. The Gorse Conflict ultimately ended with the transferring of local thorilide mining operations to Imperial-aligned Baron Lero Danthe, while Syndulla and Jarrus departed on the heavily modified VCX-100 light freighter *Ghost*, and would become essential to the eventual formation of the Rebel Alliance.

Meanwhile, more and more worlds within the Empire began to realize its true intentions: After various massacres on Kashyyyk and increasingly brutal tactics, such as the Empire committing genocide on the Lasat homeworld of Lasan, a growing number of citizens of the galaxy began to rebel against Imperial dominion. At least nine years after the proclamation of the New Order, the Corellian Resistance fought the Empire from its headquarters on the planet Corellia. The Empire would also end the independence of many galactic, sector and planetary governments in its early conquests

**Theft of the *Carrion Spike***

In 14 BBY, various survivors of the Antar Atrocity and other malcontents joined together under the leadership of the former Captain Berch Teller, who organized them into a rebel cell intent on stalling the development of the Emperor's newest weapon under construction at Geonosis. After stealing the *Carrion Spike*, an advanced starship based on a prototype stealth corvette used during the Battle of Christophsis during the Clone Wars, the rebels wreaked havoc across numerous star systems including Lucazec, Galidraan III and Nouane, all while transmitting holovids of their attacks on Imperial HoloNet frequencies, increasing anti-Imperial propaganda across thousands of Mid and Outer Rim star systems before the Empire was able to shut down the communications grid.

After lengthy fleet redeployments and the discovery of a mole within the Imperial ranks, Tarkin, aboard the *Imperial*-class Star Destroyer *Executrix*, managed to disable the rebel warship and capture the dissidents after a brief battle and timely arrival of Star Destroyers *Compliant* and *Enforcer*. To reward Tarkin's skill, the Emperor promoted him to the newly created rank of Grand Moff and gave him command of the *Executrix* as well as oversight of the Outer Rim Territories, all while the recent attacks on Imperial facilities were made to look like an elaborate plot to root out rebel cells. The Empire had effectively dealt with a potentially disastrous situation, rooted out a traitor and kept details regarding the development of its superweapon at Geonosis a mere rumor.

The Emperor's long-term plan was to allow what he called the "skeleton of the Republic" to remain in place until the Death Star was completed; this included maintaining the Senate to make the systems believe that they still had a part to play in the government. However, upon the superweapon's completion, the Emperor planned to dissolve the Senate and grant its legislative and administrative powers to the military-industrial complex. The Death Star would also provide order to the galaxy, as part of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's doctrine of terror, by making its inhabitants too afraid to defy an Imperial command and stand against the Empire.

**Outer Rim expansion**

Around fourteen years into Palpatine's rule as Emperor, the Empire had begun its expansion into the Outer Rim. Worlds like Jelucan saw occupation and development, leading to rampant pollution and industrialization to support the Imperial war machine. One such world that was developed was Lothal, which joined the Imperial Registration Program seeking protection and economic opportunities whereby local citizens would find work in the local Sienar Fleet Systems facilities. Ostensibly this was to grow the local economy, but was in fact secretly part of a much larger five-year plan involving numerous Outer Rim worlds that was overseen by the Imperial Outer Rim High Command, a subdivision of Imperial High Command which was in charge of the Outer Rim Territories.

But the Empire did not fully control the Outer Rim and often utilized its worlds instead as testing grounds for new biological weapons and as a source of cheap labor. Lothal's industrial importance soon came to the fore for the Empire as the Emperor planned to further expand Imperial dominion over the Outer Rim Territories and beyond. In order to maximize the worth of newly occupied systems, worlds such as Lothal soon bore witness to Imperial authorities relocating farmers away from their farmlands to mine for Imperial purposes, leading to the development of re-settlement camps such as Tangletown and Lothal re-settlement camp 43, known by the residents as "Tarkintown" after the Governor of the Outer Rim. The Empire also limited the HoloNet across the Outer Rim, leading many dissatisfied systems to view the embargo as a part of the conquest of the Outer Systems.

**Galactic Civil War**

*Main article:* Galactic Civil War

**Fragmentation of the Order**

With the destruction of the Death Star II and death of the Order's totalitarian ruler, many worlds across the galaxy began to celebrate the Empire's defeat over Endor with the incorrect notion that the war was over. Despite being at the heart of the Galactic Empire, the Imperial Center would also see tumultuous festivities by its populace, eventually leading to a riot breaking out in Monument Plaza that would eventually coalesce into a full-scale civil war.

Owing to the lack of a clear system of succession following the Emperor's death, chaos gripped the galaxy as former Imperial expansionism stalled. Members of the Imperial Council and various other military warlords attempted to grab what territories they could, while tailored propaganda messages often contradicted one another. Some refused to legitimize the Federation, and thus banned referring to it by name. Others portrayed it as a monstrous terrorist organization, swallowing up Imperial worlds for plunder and conquest, while still others refused to even acknowledge the Emperor's death for months. Governor Adelhard, who was in charge of the Anoat sector, attempted to downplay the Empire's defeat over Endor and cover up the Emperor's death. The Empire was ripped apart from within as several of their commanders fought one another for power, leadership, and control, rendering them weak and no match against the united forces of the Galactic Federation.

Shutting down all travel and communications into and out of the Anoat sector, Governor Adelhard established the Iron Blockade and formed his own remnant faction. Citizens who dared to fight back and speak of so-called rumors of the Empire's defeat were hunted and eliminated by Commander Bragh and his Purge Troopers. While some such as Grand Moff Lozen Tolruck of Imperial territory G5-623 on Kashyyyk suggested that the Emperor had escaped the Death Star II through miraculous means, others claimed the even wilder notion that the Emperor was still leading the Empire from beyond the grave.

#### **Operation Cinder**

With the Empire fragmented, the Rebel Alliance embarked on numerous campaigns such as the Beltire Liberation and the Battle of Cawa City to capitalize on its stunning success over Endor, resulting in numerous Imperial defeats. Twenty days after Endor, the posthumous contingency plan of the late Emperor known as Operation: Cinder was delivered to numerous Imperial captains by messenger droids. The operation consisted of coordinated attacks on strategic worlds affiliated with the Rebellion, which the Emperor considered a final act of revenge against his enemies, including his homeworld of Naboo. In addition to Naboo, Burnin Konn, Candovant, Abednedo, and Commenor were all targeted for destruction through the use of climate disruption arrays. Utilizing N-1 starfighters dating thirty-six years earlier to the Battle of Naboo, the Alliance managed to destroy the satellites with the aid of an MC80 Star Cruiser and the Alliance Fleet. Despite the Order's defeat over Naboo, the Empire still attempted the operation on numerous worlds in the three months following the Battle of Endor.

After the Battle of Endor, illicit holovids of the Emperor's defeat over Endor and rebel propaganda detailing the liberation of worlds such as Naboo disseminated throughout the galaxy, with many risking arrest and execution for spreading what the Empire deemed lies. However, the increasing view that the Empire was weakened, reinforced by the insistence of authorities claiming otherwise, prompted thousands of planets to join the Alliance, while Imperial Military defections steadily increased. In order to counter the reports of the Emperor's demise, a proxy actor was installed in his place, but some citizens noticed slight differences in the facsimile. Eventually, the truth of the Emperor's demise became known to the general citizenry. Declarations of a new Emperor were announced almost every day, but none were able to consolidate any substantial power. Former aide to Emperor Palpatine since the Clone Wars, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda attempted to keep the Empire together while splinter fleets and other Imperial officials fought each other to support the various claimants to the throne.

**Fracturing and warlord era**

*Main articles:* Imperial Civil War *and* Imperial Remnant

The Empire, however, was too large, to be destroyed in one blow; for the next fifteen years, the Rebels (soon renamed the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances and then the New Republic) fought to free the galaxy from former Imperials styling themselves as independent warlords as well as Imperial loyalists, such as Thrawn and Ysanne Isard.

The Galactic Empire had for all purposes creased to exist by 8 ABY, with what Imperial loyalists remained continuing to lose ground until the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn, a military genius, the only nonhuman to climb the ranks of the Imperial Navy, and the last remaining Grand Admiral. Thrawn's campaign recaptured nearly half of the galaxy in the name of the Empire; however, it came to a sudden end when Thrawn was assassinated by his own bodyguard. Captain Pellaeon, Thrawn's second-in-command, knew that he could not continue Thrawn's inspired campaign and ordered a retreat of Thrawns military, the second Largest Fraction was lead by Gallius Rax.

**The Contingency**

Claiming that Sloane had been captured during the attack on Chandrila, Gallius Rax seized power as the self-styled Counselor to the Empire. When Borrum asked why they were traveling to the barren world of Jakku, Rax responded that he wanted to "test" the mettle of his new armada above the planet. In secret, Rax planned to eliminate the other Council members with the exception of Brendol Hux as part of the Emperor's posthumous Contingency. Unbeknownst to the Empire, its destruction had been planned by the Emperor who did not believe that the Empire should continue after his demise. He also deemed the Empire's downfall as a necessary outcome for the creation of a new order that would rise in its place. Determined to see his plans realized, Sidious entrusted Rax with the task of executing the Contingency and ensuring its success.

Meanwhile, Sloane joined forces with the former rebel Brentin Lore Wexley to hunt down and kill Rax. While Sloane had received information from the bounty hunter Mercurial Swift that he had discovered that Rax had come from Jakku, the two then traveled to the desert planet. After landing, Brentin and Rae visited a bar owned by Corwin Ballast in an attempt to find information about Rax. Ballast yielded no information but the pair soon got their answer when they witnessed Rax's Super Star Destroyer Ravager exiting hyperspace with his massive Imperial armada, the Emperor had returned home.

#### **Build up to Jakku**

With the support of the Shadow Council, which included Grand Moff Randd, General Hodnar Borrum, the propagandist Ferric Obdur, and the former Commandant Brendol Hux, Counselor Gallius Rax led the Imperial loyalist forces to his homeworld of Jakku. These forces consisted of a fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers as well as Rax's flagship, the *Ravager*, purportedly the last remaining Super Star Destroyer in the Imperial Navy. Admiral Garrick Versio also joined the Imperial loyalists on Jakku, adding his Star Destroyer, the *Eviscerator*, to Rax's fleet. The fleet also possessed Interdictor vessels, Immobilizer 418 cruisers, *Lambda*-class shuttles, TIE line starfighters, TIE bombers and interceptors, TIE strikers, Twenty-gun raiders, and a TIE Defender. Other loyalist units included the 204th Imperial Fighter Wing, the Hellhound attack force, and Omega Flight Group. Though united in a final stand against the New Republic, the remnants of the Imperial forces were unaware that they were to be sacrificed as "penance for their negligence," as the Emperor believed that they had failed in their duty to protect him.

The infantry comprised standard stormtroopers along with the requisite specialist troops such as Demolition Troopers, Heavy Weapons Stormtroopers, Imperial officers, jumptroopers, riot control stormtroopers, scout troopers, Imperial shock troopers, sandtroopers, and at least one member of the Emperor's Royal Guard. These ground forces were supported by several types of military vehicles including All Terrain Armored Transports, All Terrain Scout Transports, and a K79-S80 Imperial Troop Transport.

Rax established the main Imperial base beyond the Goazon Badlands and the Sinking Fields; the base housed a stormtrooper garrison and a large number of walkers. Other known Imperial facilities included an Imperial research base, the Jakku Observatory, and a remote Kesium gas rig. Unknown to the Shadow Council, the Jakku Observatory was central to the late Emperor Palpatine's Contingency plan to destroy the Empire in the event of his death. The Observatory contained computer generated maps of the Unknown Regions and was built on top of a borehole that led to the planet's core. Rax planned to detonate the core in order to destroy Jakku along with much of the Empire and the New Republic Defense Fleet. Then he intended to lead a select group of Imperials whom he deemed worthy of joining him in the Unknown Regions to rebuild the Empire. Rax's forces including a contingent of child soldiers who were recruited from local orphans.

In public, Counselor Rax claimed that he had brought the Empire to Jakku in order to toughen and harden them for their final showdown against the New Republic. Rax instituted a brutal training regime which encouraged savagery and violence among the Empire's soldiers and officers. In training sessions, officers egged their men to maul each other. Dissenters like RK-242 who questioned what the Empire was doing on Jakku were brutalized by their comrades for questioning Rax's agenda. The stormtroopers stationed on Jakku degenerated into armed thugs who developed an unkempt appearance due to the harsh, arid climate.

For months, the Empire's loyalist forces waited for the New Republic to launch its attack. The prolonged state of alert began to take a toll on the Imperial forces based on Jakku. While General Borrum expressed concerned that the long wait was beginning to affect the sanity of his men, Grand Moff Randd supported Counselor Rax's harsh regime as a purification process. During that time, Rax also struck a deal with the Hutt crime lady Niima, who was the leader of a cult. In return for supplying weapons, Niima guarded the path to the Valley of the Eremite and kidnapped local orphans. These orphans were trained by Commandant Hux into Rax's personal guard of child soldiers, which he hoped would become the template of his new Empire in the Unknown Regions. Prior to the New Republic's arrival at Jakku, Rax gave command of the children to Armitage Hux, the Commandant's illegitimate son.

Meanwhile, New Republic forces launched mopping-up operations against Imperial holdouts on Kashyyyk and Cloud City. Norra Wexley and her team discovered the Imperial presence on Jakku. Her son Temmin Wexley and the former Imperial loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus reported Norra's findings to the New Republic government on Chandrila. In response, Admiral Ackbar dispatched the scouting ship *Oculus* and several probe droids into the Jakku system to corroborate Temmin and Sinjir's information. The scouting party found that much of the Imperial fleet had indeed retreated to Jakku and were consolidating in a defensive arrangement. Despite some political obstruction in the Galactic Senate, Chancellor Mon Mothma managed to pass a resolution dispatching the New Republic Starfleet to Jakku.

Rax captured his rival Sloane and the former rebel operative Brentin Lore Wexley, who had teamed up with Sloane to stop Rax. After capturing them, Rax gave a test demonstration of his child soldiers. As a symbolic act of his plan to tear down the Empire and start a new regime, Rax ordered his child soldiers to execute a contingent of stormtroopers. Following the demonstration, Rax imprisoned Sloane and Brentin. With the New Republic fleet entering the Jakku, Rax delivered a rousing speech claiming that the coming battle would be the Empire's final stand against the New Republic.

#### **Battle of Jakku**

The Battle of Jakku commenced a year and four days after the Battle of Endor. With the Empire controlling most of the galaxy's major shipyards, the Republic sought to expand their fleet by capturing Imperial vessels, along with destroying a secret Imperial weapons facility on the planet. The battle took place in space and the barren deserts of Jakku as New Republic forces sought to destroy the Imperial presence on the planet.

The Imperial fleet was commanded by Grand Moff Randd while the Imperial ground forces were commanded by General Borrum. Randd's strategists devised a battle plan which involved the Star Destroyers forming a defensive cordon around the *Ravager*. During the battle, the Star Destroyers would periodically open formation to allow the *Ravager* to bombard the New Republic fleet with turbolasers and missiles. This blunted the New Republic assault until Commodore Kyrsta Agate attacked the *Ravager* with her Mark One Starhawk Battleship *Concord*. Despite her ship being crippled, she managed to use the *Concord*'s powerful tractor beam projector to drag the *Ravager* down into Jakku's atmosphere. This turned the tide of the battle in the New Republic's favor. With the Imperial command ship destroyed, New Republic forces were able to outflank the Imperial forces on all fronts. With the battle turning against the Empire, the surviving Imperial forces began pulling ships onto the planet's surface utilizing their tractor beams, killing most of the occupants in an instant.

**Final showdown**

Rax traveled to the Jakku Observatory along with Commandant Hux, Armitage Hux, the Imperial Adviser Yupe Tashu, and the child soldiers. While the Huxes and the soldiers waited aboard a replica of the Emperor's yacht *Imperialis*, Rax and Tashu entered the Observatory to activate the mining bore that would destabilize the planet's core. Rax planned to detonate Jakku's core, destroying the Imperial forces and the New Republic fleet. He then intended to escape to the Unknown Regions, taking the Huxes and the child soldiers with him to build a new Empire. As part of the ceremony, Rax threw the unwitting Tashu, who was carrying several Sith artifacts, to his death down the borehole, initiating the self-destruct mechanism.

Rax's plan was ultimately foiled by Sloane, Brentin, and Norra. Following a fight, Sloane managed to kill Rax. Sloane then managed to seal the borehole shaft, stopping the planet's core from destabilizing further. This effectively sabotaged Palpatine's Contingency plan to destroy the remnants of his Empire. Heeding Rax's last words, Sloane assumed responsibility for carrying out the final stage of the Contingency. She accompanied the Huxes and the child soldiers into the Unknown Regions. After several months of travel, they rendezvoused with the Super Star Destroyer *Eclipse*, which had been sent in advance after the Observatory's computers had plotted a safe route through the Unknown Regions.

The surface of Jakku would remain littered with wreckage from the battle for decades to come. The wrecked Imperial ships and vehicles on Jakku were plundered by local scavengers for spare parts and equipment. Decades later, contradicting stories continued to fly around Jakku's settlements about what exactly took place in the battle. A mysterious faction known as the dead-enders hung around Carbon Ridge, rumored to be protecting a secret Imperial research base.

**The Empire's end**

The Empire disintegrated with the death of Rax, the disappearance of Sloane, and the failure of the Imperial counteroffensive which ended with the loyalists' catastrophic defeat in the Battle of Jakku. The Empire forever changed as it was pushed back to a handful of sectors on the fringe of the Outer Rim, containing only a small fraction of the galaxy's population and industrial base. These sectors were a heavily fortified final redoubt, and the Federation deemed that they posed too minor of a threat to justify the high cost in life that liberating them would require.

The Federation immediately took advantage of the Imperial power vacuum and moved to cut off future Imperial threats in the form of the remaining warlords. Using the pretext of pursuing Imperials who had committed various crimes the Federation began their push against Prince-Admiral Delak Krennel. Despite Krennel's plans to steal back her Super Star Destroyer the Federation emerged victorious and began pressing their advantage even more, leaving the Core worlds with minimal protection.

with the Warlords forced out of the Coreworlds they made their way to other area's of the galaxy fortifying their territory.