Ardus Kaine

**Ardus Kaine** was an Imperial Moff and the successor of Wilhuff Tarkin as Grand Moff of Oversector Outer following Tarkin's death after the Battle of Yavin. Following the Battle of Endor, Kaine became a breakaway Imperial warlord but soon gathered local leaders from the Velcar Free Commerce Zone and established Pentastar Alignment, an isolationist political conglomerate in the Outer Rim without interference from the newly-formed New Republic. Kaine hatched a plan to replace important citizens of the galaxy with clones, starting with Booba Fett, a clone of the bounty hunter Boba Fett.

## History

### Rise to prominence

Ardus Kaine was a Human male native to the Outer Rim world of Sartinaynian in the Braxant sector. The son of successful trader and speciesist Vilardo Kaine, Kaine had all of his father's misplaced ambitions foisted upon him, despite the fact that he was not particularly hateful of non-humans and was given more to co-operation than giving orders. However, his father saw his ascending the highest echelons of political society. Despite not particularly agreeing with his father, he worked hard to please him, eventually becoming involved in politics.

A strong character and noted public speaker, Kaine was involved in the politics and administration of the Galactic Republic, becoming one of the earliest, most ardent supporters of Naboo Senator Palpatine, embracing his philosophy wholeheartedly after his father was killed in a pirate attack. Kaine remained at the Senator's side as Palpatine was elected Supreme Chancellor; when Palpatine reorganized the Republic into the first Galactic Empire, Kaine adopted the principles of the New Order with fanaticism. His leadership and organizational skills came to the fore in the Imperial Period, during which Kaine played a key role in administrative reform. Immediately after the Declaration of the New Order, he was instrumental in ensuring the Grand Army of the Republic's support for the new regime. Kaine worked alongside the likes of Crueya Vandron, Ishin-Il-Raz and Janus Greejatus in the formation of the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order, after concerns about the administration of Imperial Intelligence, viewing it as something his father would have been proud of. Kaine quickly became disillusioned with the COMPNOR project, however, viewing the organization's constant feuding with Imperial Intelligence as a waste of valuable Imperial time and effort. It was around this time he began a lifelong feud with Ennix Devian: he viewed Devian as a cruel, brutal thug. Devian, in turn saw Kaine as pompous and uncommitted to Human High Culture - something, ironically, that was correct.

For his loyal and productive Imperial servitude, Kaine was appointed governor of several worlds, and later a moff. Extremely wealthy, Kaine at some point became a corporate backer of the Imperial Inquisitor Jerec. After Wilhuff Tarkin's death at the Battle of Yavin, he became Grand Moff of Oversector Outer. While this offered him a prestigious title and control over a huge region of the Outer Rim Territories, Kaine saw his promotion as a personal rebuke: he wanted to be near Palpatine on Imperial Center, assisting in important Imperial policies, not tucked away in the farthest fringes of the Empire trying to repair the damage left by Tarkin's death - even his enemy Devian had managed to be closer to the halls of power. With Kaine's new title came command of the Outer Rim Imperial Fleet and the elite Scourge Squadron, a considerable force of Star Destroyers tasked with rooting out and quelling Rebel Alliance activity in the Outer Rim. Kaine's first flagship *Reaper* was one of the few Imperial *Executor*-class Star Dreadnoughts in commission. Around the time of the Battle of Endor, one of the two worldcraft in orbit around Coruscant was due to be given to Kaine for his service to the Empire: it was later stolen by Ennix Devian.

### The stars align

In 4 ABY, Palpatine was killed during a Rebel attack on the second Death Star at Endor, and the Empire was thrown into a state of disarray. News of the Emperor's demise was slow to reach Oversector Outer, but Kaine was eventually informed aboard the *Reaper*. In previous times, the loss of his hero would have been met with great sorrow by Kaine, but, still bitter about being stationed in the Outer Rim, he merely saw it as an opportunity. Kaine still believed in the ideals of the New Order, but now the opportunity to found a new Imperial state, with Kaine at its head, had been presented to him. While other Imperials in the Outer Rim initiated chaotic internecine conflicts, Kaine moved quickly to consolidate his power and form a new Imperial faction. The following year, knowing that many corporations would struggle to keep afloat without Imperial backing, Kaine called together a gathering of corporation heads from the Velcar Free Commerce Zone and Imperial governors aboard the *Reaper*.

The "conciliatory meeting" was attended by Imperial Governor Ib Dekeet; Commerce Master Commissioner Gregor Raquoran; Dynamic Automata Corporate Head Elta Besk; Galentro Heavy Works Representative Wyrn Otro; and Kaine himself. Kaine proposed a treaty which would unite the Imperials and corporate interests to create an isolationist political conglomerate that would practice the ideals of the New Order and allow the allied businesses to continue to trade as under the Empire, without interference from the newly-formed New Republic. Kaine was well aware that, should the Velcar Free Commerce Zone fall under New Republic jurisdiction, local syndicates use of slavery and corruption would be quickly stopped, and he used this fact as leverage during the talks, emphasizing the fact several times. The talks were fraught with paranoia and confrontation, and Kaine had to work hard to keep the participants off each other's throats. As it was, none of Kaine's colleagues particularly cared for his political theory, and Otro openly questioning Kaine's ambitions. The Grand Moff refuted claims that he would install himself as Emperor, emphasizing the need for unity and co-operation to ensure the project was a success. Ultimately, sometime following the Battle of Jakku which saw the fall of the Empire as a whole, the Pentastar Alignment Treaty was signed by all parties, creating the Pentastar Alignment. Kaine dubbed it thus because there were five plenipotentiaries present on his flagship; despite mild objections from Governor Dekeet, all Pentastar vessels and soldiers were adorned with a badge, which Kaine hoped would be a symbol of both unity and fear.

With newfound corporate backing and significant forces of capital ships and soldiers at his disposal, Kaine established the Alignment in a huge number of systems, engulfing areas with force and installing planetary overseers to carry out the will of Kaine and his allies. Many Imperial forces in Oversector Outer voluntarily joined the cause, due to Kaine's strong leadership and fervent Imperialism. The Grand Moff kept his burgeoning quasi-Empire mostly independent from the wider galaxy, refraining from any conflict with the New Republic or rival warlords. As a result, Kaine's business allies were allowed to continue operating free from interference, despite the New Republic's moral opposition to their Humanocentric, oppressive *modi operandorum*. Ironically, at the same time Kaine was quite happy to use large numbers of non-humans in his Pentastar Patrol - as his Human High ways were largely a sham, he was pragmatic enough to use them to shore up his military. Ultimately, aside from dissident pirate groups, the Alignment was most at risk from internal threats. Differences between various Pentastar departments and leaders threatened to destabilize the alliance; though rarely confronted, Kaine was unpopular among many of his colleagues, such as Raquoran.

Aboard his second flagship, the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer *Reaper II*, Kaine established a Tarkin Initiative-operated cloning laboratory that contained Spaarti cloning cylinders. With the cloning cylinders inside the lab, he could carry out his plan to replace important citizens of the galaxy with agents loyal to him. Among the important galactic individuals Kaine planned to replace was the bounty hunter Boba Fett, and subsequently the clone Booba Fett was created aboard the *Reaper II* in the cloning laboratory.

### Hiring Boba Fett

In 6 ABY, Kaine wished to finally set his ultimate plan into motion. As part of a ruse for Booba Fett to kill Boba and take his place in the galaxy, Kaine hired Boba, telling him to come to the *Reaper II* at Thanos for a supposed assignment.

### Death

In 7 ABY, the Dark Empire revealed its existence to the wider galaxy in a last-ditch attempt to reunite and consolidate the faltering Empire, as well as topple the New Republic. The Alignment contributed some forces to the Dark Empire's efforts but did not formally join them, preferring to continue its militarization in anticipation of conflict with the New Republic. Eventually Kaine was killed over the planet Panna in between 7 ABY and 8 ABY, when his shuttle was ambushed and destroyed by several New Republic E-wing fighters. Kaine's death was noted by General Veers while he was in a conference with several other Imperial Officers aboard the *Eclipse*. It remained unknown whether Kaine was able to put his cloning plan into full action before his death.

## Personality and traits

Ardus Kaine was noted for his ambition and hunger for power. He cared more for actual power than titles or prestige; the office of Grand Moff did not appeal to him, nor did the title of Emperor of the Pentastar Alignment. He wanted to be at the core of the Empire, making important decisions, being involved in the day-to-day running of the Imperial machine. He was also opportunistic, taking chances as soon as they were presented to him. He moved to establish his Imperial remnant post with haste after learning of the Imperial defeat at Endor, and after its founding, organized the power structure so that Kaine was a *de facto* autocrat.

As one of Palpatine's earliest converts to the ideals of the New Order, Kaine was fervently loyal to the Empire and everything it stood for. He truly believed in the tenets of the New Order, and believed that enforcing them on subjugated worlds was justified. The core Imperial precepts and mandates were, Kaine felt, somewhat neglected and under enforced, and in his own Empire, they were zealously adhered to and held a more significant position.

What few realized was that much of this was a carefully presented and maintained front - Kaine was largely indifferent to the Human High Culture that many of his contemporaries believed in and did not seek power for the sake of it. Kaine was motivated by the memory of his father, who had foisted upon him all of these ideals, and sought to impress him, even though the elder Kaine was now dead. He wanted to rule not because he genuinely wanted it, but because his father had drilled it into him from his earliest days. However, it also fostered an intense inferiority complex in Kaine: with his father dead, Kaine felt genuine fear at the prospect of power - when he established the Imperial remnant at Thanos, one of his chief, yet secret reasons for its isolation from the ongoing Galactic Civil War was that Kaine preferred to rule successfully over a smaller kingdom like his remnant than lose it all in a fool's gamble for the position of the new Galactic Emperor. The irony of this was that some, like Gallius Rax, genuinely viewed Kaine as having the leadership ability to successfully rule.

The Grand Moff's rhetorical acumen was well known as used by the Empire. His subtle, persuasive oration was convincing; flitting between aggression, tacit intimidation, and syllogism, he was rarely dissuaded. These skills came to use after the Declaration of the New Order, when Kaine helped garner military support for Palpatine's fledgling regime. Ultimately, during the Age of the New Republic, Kaine hatched a grand plan to replace important galactic individuals, like Boba Fett, with clones, even converting a space aboard his flagship *Reaper II* into a cloning lab for the experiments. He even hired Fett for a "mission," knowing about the famed bounty hunter's reputation, though this was all part of a ruse to kill Fett aboard the *Reaper* and replace him with a perfect clone, Booba Fett.

## Appearances

* Shadows of the Empire (First appearance)
* Into the Crossfire (Mentioned only)