Imperial Civil War

"I disdain what these puffed-up, self-appointed warlords have inflicted upon our fighting forces these squabbling children have caused as much damage to the Empire as the Rebel Alliance has."

- Admiral Daala, 12 ABY

The Imperial Civil War, or Imperial Mutiny, refers to the fratricidal series of conflicts that critically weakened the Galactic Empire between the aftermath of the Battle of Endor (4 ABY) and the purging of the last major warlords by Admiral Daala (12 ABY), which resulted in the reunified (but much weakened) Empire.

The death of Palpatine at the Battle of Endor marked the beginning of the end for his Empire. The Empire was too large to be destroyed in one blow, however, and for the next decade or so it was ruled by former Imperials styling themselves as independent warlords, as well as by Imperial loyalists, such as Grand Admiral Thrawn and former intelligence director Ysanne Isard.

Empire divided
Immediately following the Imperial defeat at the Battle of Endor, Grand Vizier Sate Pestage seized control of the Empire. He lacked the charisma, Force powers, and terrifying presence, however, that both Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader used to keep the Empire together. Admiral Harssk was the first Imperial to declare himself a warlord and set up his own mini-Empire, but he would not be the last. Later self-styled warlords included Admiral Teradoc, Admiral Zsinj, and General Delvardus, to name a few.

Sate Pestage only managed to hold the throne for a scant six months before he was deposed by the Imperial Ruling Council, which was comprised of three Tribunes. The Ruling Council was acting under the manipulations of Imperial Intelligence Director Ysanne Isard, though, and their leadership of the Empire ended under brutal conditions executed by Isard.

Ysanne Isard managed to hold the Empire together and stem off aggressive warlords for nearly two years before losing control of Imperial Center. In 5 ABY, the Central Committee of Grand Moffs was formed by the remainder of the Galactic Empire's Grand Moffs in an attempt to subvert Ysanne Isard's claim to rule the Empire. When Ysanne Issard started to lose her control, she had her scientists develop a biological virus targeting only non-Humans that she later let loose on Coruscant.

The remnants of the Empire soon found themselves on the same side of the table as the New Republic for the first time, as both governments viewed the rogue warlord, Zsinj, as their biggest threat. Zsinj came under the pressure of both governments, but it wasn't until Admiral Rogriss teamed up with General Han Solo that they managed to bring him down at the Battle of Dathomir.

The Empire continued to be beaten back until the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn. He was the last remining Grand Admiral and only non-Human to climb that high through the ranks of the Imperial Navy. Grand Admiral Thrawn's campaign recaptured nearly half of the Galaxy in the name of the Empire, but it came to an end, however, when Thrawn was assassinated by his own bodyguard, the Noghri known as Rukh. Captain Gilad Pellaeon, Thrawn's capable second-in-command, knew his limitations, as well as those of his command, and ordered a retreat.

The New Republic immediately took advantage of the Imperial power vaccuum and moved to cut off future Imperial threats from allying themselves with the remaining warlords. Using the pretext of pursuing Imperials who had committed various crimes, the New Republic began their push against Prince-Admiral Delak Krennel. Despite Krennel's new ally (a clone of Ysanne Isard) and Isard's machinations to steal back her Super Star Destroyer, the Lusankya, the New Republic emerged victorious and began pressing their advantage even more, though this left the Core Worlds with only minimal protection.

In 10 ABY, the various Imperial warlords, encouraged by what Grand Admiral Thrawn had recently accomplished with so little in such a short amount of time, agreed to organize under the Imperial Ruling Council for an offensive thrust into the Galactic Core. The New Republic was no match for the military might of the re-unified Empire, and after a short and decisive campaign, the Empire had retaken the former Imperial Center in the Fourth Battle of Coruscant.

After Coruscant had been retaken, the Council decided that it was time to elect a new Galactic Emperor. The various Admirals, Generals, and Moffs were unable to agree upon a candidate, however, and an armed conflict soon broke out amongst the various Imperial factions on Coruscant. It laid much of the planet to waste, and was only ended when the reborn Emperor Palpatine announced that he had returned, several months after the retaking of Coruscant. While most of the rank and file troops returned to loyal service, few of the warlords did, most instead choosing to flee for their lives, as the Emperor did not take kindly to pretenders to his throne.

Return of Palpatine
The apparent rebirth of Palpatine revealed his own plans to conquer death: he would transfer his spirit into a newly-cloned body. Imbued with the dead despot's spirit, which had fled the death of his body at Endor, the clone proceeded to rebuild the Empire, and just six years later had regained the strength to challenge the New Republic. Palpatine's clone regrouped the fragmented Empire's many warlords and loyal forces into a single unified force, headquartered at Byss in the Deep Core. Using a series of devastating attacks and newly-produced superweapons, he nearly brought the New Republic to its knees.

The Imperial Ruling Council, however, were reluctant to surrender the authority they had acquired since Endor. At Sarcev Quest's urging, the Council had already lent its patronage to Carnor Jax, a Royal Guard officer and aspirant Sith Lord, as a new figurehead for the Empire, and Quest and Jax now worked together in the heart of the Imperial court to overthrow the Emperor.

Laying the groundwork for a coup, Quest installed Carnor Jax as one of the cadre of Sovereign Protectors who provided Palpatine's personal guard, and together, they sounded out support, eliminating rivals like Sa-Di and Nefta, the only other Force-users on the Council. With funds provided by Council members, such as Xandel Carivus, Quest bribed the Emperor's physician to sabotage the genetic material for the clone bodies which were the key to Palpatine's rebirth.

On the most basic level, the motivations of the conspirators are not hard to understand: they were faced with the palpable madness of the cloned Emperor, the transfer of much of their power to a Dark Jedi elite, and the willful, wanton destruction of Operation Shadow Hand. Some perhaps believed that they were taking necessary action for the good of the Empire, while others were driven by ambition or by concerns for their own survival and status. In any event, the Council now contained a small, shadowy group conspirators. Jax and Quest led this cabal, of course, but the Lord Jax's key role in the conspiracy may indicate the support of his mistress, Lumiya, while the subsequent appearance of Blackhole stormtroopers as Jax's personal guard hints at at a connection with Lord Cronal.

Palpatine seems to have been oblivious to the machinations of the Council, and while there is no evidence that they predicted events on Onderon and the destruction of Byss, they were nevertheless ready to make their move when the time was ripe and remove those who might oppose them. This was, of course, a coup, but it was a coup headed by those who had, ever since Endor, regarded themselves as rulers of the Empire and guardians of the principles of the New Order.

Daala's campaign
"One Empire, one fleet&mdash;only this will guarantee us victory."

- Admiral Daala

Following the disastrous collapse of the campaign spearheaded by clones of the "reborn" Palpatine, the Empire once again fell into chaos and disarray. High-ranking officials and military commanders gathered their own forces and retreated to the Deep Core, establishing their own dominions of power and fighting amongst themselves for control of what remained. These warlords were self-absorbed beyond anything seen in the post-Endor years, with each commander wasting precious resources in order to advance their individual postitions. In hopes of reunifing the squabbling remnants of the Empire, Admiral Daala took it upon herself to act as a sort of emissary between the factions, though she met with limited success. When Daala was forced into the service of "Supreme Warlord" Harrsk to fight against the forces of High Admiral Teradoc, she could take it no longer. Allying herself with Teradoc's top fleet officer, then-Vice Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, she held a meeting of the thirteen most powerful warlords at Tsoss Beacon with the intention of negotiating a reunification and the appointment of a Supreme Commander.

Hours into the negotiations, it became apparent to Daala that the warlords refused to work together. Tired and angry, she executed them all by sealing them in the conference room and poisoning the air. Although it had not been her original intention, Daala effectively made herself both Supreme Commander and Imperial Head of State, and was now poised to wage war against the New Republic. Though the stable government associated with the modern Imperial Remnant had not yet been established, it was this event that would form the process by which that government would take shape.

Still bitter from the losses she had taken a year prior, Daala regrouped the Imperial Navy under the flag of the Star Dreadnought Knight Hammer. She then placed Pellaeon in command of a fleet of thirteen amassed Imperial-class Star Destroyers. She also gave contol of Crimson Command (a fleet of one hundred twelve Victory-class Star Destroyers) to Colonel Cronus, her loyal third-in-command, before setting her plan in motion. In Daala's opinion, the greatest hinderance to Imperial victory lay with the Jedi and their academy on Yavin IV. Focused upon this objective, she ordered Pellaeon's fleet to lead the attack as a vanguard for her flagship. The battle was a disaster for the Empire, costing Daala the lives of many loyal soldiers, including Cronus, as well as the Knight Hammer. Pellaeon succeeded in recovering Daala from an escape pod, though his Star Destroyers had been damaged by the Jedi. Embarrassed and ashamed, Daala resigned her command and commission; her final act was to promote Pellaeon to full admiral and convey upon him the powers of Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet, thus bringing the Imperial Civil War to an end.

Aftermath
The remaining Imperial forces, now known as the Imperial Remnant, suffered several more defeats over the ensuing years, forcing its retreat into eight backwater sectors in the Outer Rim Territories. Seeing that defeat was imminent, Pellaeon finally admitted the need to sue for peace. After a peace accord was signed with the New Republic, the Remnant settled into a period of stability that was not tested until the Yuuzhan Vong War, when the Imperial Remnant allied with the New Republic and its successor-state, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances in the fight against the Yuuzhan Vong.

Notable battles

 * Battle of Tralus
 * Battle of Vahaba
 * Fourth Battle of Coruscant
 * Battle of Yinchorr
 * Battle of Ord Cantrell
 * Battle of Harrsk's fortress

Appearances

 * X-wing: Solo Command
 * Dark Empire
 * Crimson Empire
 * Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood
 * Darksaber