Imperial Remnant

Template:Government infobox

"We call it the Remnant, but to these people it's still the Empire."
"An Empire without an Emperor."

―Leia Organa and Han Solo

The Imperial Remnant was the name of the government for what remained of the Galactic Empire following the collapse of the functioning government of the New Order, but more specifically following the reunification of the Deep Core warlords by Admiral Daala and the subsequent campaigns of expansion and stability under Gilad Pellaeon between 12–13 ABY.

Name

The official name of the Imperial Remnant was the Galactic Empire. The term Imperial Remnant initially had a derogatory connotation to describe what remained of the Empire, most especially popular among New Republic citizens. Eventually, though, common usage drove the Imperials to also use the term.

The term "Remnant" was an overt reference to the vastly diminished size of the Galactic Empire, and the fact that the majority of former Imperial systems and sectors had gone over to the New Republic or smaller, independent governments. In the wake of the failed invasion of Imperial Space by the Yuuzhan Vong and the Imperial Remnant's decision to join the war against the aliens, the term seems to have lessened. Even so, the enlarged and revitalized Empire that existed in the post-Yuuzhan Vong War Galaxy could still be considered the "Imperial Remnant".

While the Remnant moniker was usually used for the post-treaty Empire, the term occasionally popped up in New Republic slang a handful of years prior to the end of the Galactic Civil War. For example, the Jedi Knight Kyle Katarn and even Mon Mothma were known to have referred to the Empire as the "Imperial Remnant" prior to the Empire's decision to sue for peace.

History

There was no official starting point for the Remnant, nor an official ending point for the Empire. It seems, rather, that as the functioning government of the Empire fell into disarray, it slowly evolved into the modern confederated government. Evidence of the start of this evolutionary process point to five dates:

• 4 ABY—following the first death of Palpatine at the Battle of Endor.
• 11 ABY—following the final death of Palpatine.
• 11 ABY—several months after that, following the death of the last Galactic Emperor, Xandel Carivus.
• 12 ABY—following the unification of the Deep Core warlords by Admiral Daala and the subsequent campaigns of expansion and unification undertaken by Gilad Pellaeon.
• 19 ABY—following the signing of the Pellaeon-Gavrisom Treaty.

Though much evidence seems to point to 19 ABY, 12–13 ABY were chosen as the founding dates since evidence seems to suggest that the reunification of the Empire by Daala at Tsoss Beacon was the incident that would eventually spark the formation of the Imperial Remnant's modern government. Furthermore, it seems clear that the Imperial Remnant was a functioning government by the time and, therefore, before the Pellaeon-Gavrisom Treaty.

The warlords and Daala's campaign (12 ABY)

"One Empire, one fleet—only this will guarantee us victory."

―Admiral Daala

Following the disastrous collapse of the campaign spearheaded by 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 beyond anything seen in the post-Endor years, with each commander wasting precious resources in order to advance their individual positions. In hopes of reunifying the squabbling remains of the Empire, Admiral Daala took it upon herself to act as a sort of emissary between the factions, though to limited success. 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 a 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, sealing them in the conference room and poisoning the air. Not 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 forty-five amassed Imperial-class Star Destroyers and her loyal third-in-command, Colonel Cronus, in charge of Crimson Command, a fleet of one hundred and twelve Victory-class Star Destroyers. Daala then set her plan in motion. In her opinion, the greatest hindrance to Imperial victory lay in the Jedi and their academy on Yavin IV. Set on this objective, she ordered Pellaeon's fleet to attack as a vanguard for her flagship. The battle was a disaster for the Empire, costing Daala the life of many loyal soldiers—Cronus among them—as well as Knight Hammer. Pellaeon, his Star Destroyers damaged by the Jedi, succeeded in recovering Daala from an escape pod. Embarrassed and ashamed, Daala resigned her command and commission; her final act was to promote Pellaeon to full admiral and convey on him the powers of Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet.

Expansion under Pellaeon (12–13 ABY)

"Thanks to Daala's unification efforts, the Empire was stable, though still only a shadow of its former self. If anyone could restore the Empire… Pellaeon appeared to be the one."

―Voren Na'al

In a near repeat of the Battle of Endor and the Battle of Bilbringi, Pellaeon was once again left to pick up the pieces, only this time he had both the means and authority to re-stabilize the situation. Realizing that the Deep Core was too limited and exhausted, the new Supreme Commander looked elsewhere, specifically the valuable territories of the Mid and Outer Rims. Intent on rebuilding the Empire to its former glory, Pellaeon almost immediately took the offensive and pushed his way out of the Core. In the process he managed to garner both military and political support from the officials and Moffs who had avoided the disastrous Deep Core in-fighting, absorbing old Imperial holdings. Among these holdings was Grand Moff Ardus Kaine's formerly-autonomous empire, the Pentastar Alignment, and Kaine's former flagship, the Star Dreadnought Reaper. It is more than likely that the modern governing bodies of the Imperial Remnant, specifically the Council of Moffs, formed about this time as more and more Moffs continued to rally support behind the new Supreme Commander.

A mere six months after Daala's resignation, Pellaeon—now commanding from the bridge of the Reaper—decided to campaigns for the conquest of the planet of Orinda in the Mid Rim. The New Republic responded by sending a fleet under the command of General Wedge Antilles and Lusankya, but it proved too late. Though a month of fighting succeeded in pushing Pellaeon back, the campaign proved a relative success for the Empire. The New Republic's defeat came at the Battle of Orinda where the fleet carrier Endurance was destroyed with the majority of its fighter complement on board. Soon after, a second Imperial victory came at the Battle of Gravlex Med where the Imperial forces successfully reacquired the symbolically important Star Destroyer Chimaera. After this, the battle lines along the Mid Rim would come to a stalemate as both sides fortified their acquisitions.

Following the collapse of Moff Getelles's control over the Antemeridian Sector, the New Republic entered the territory with two fleets. Gentelles was unable to combat the invasion, costing the Empire that sector along with a sizeable area of neighboring space. Occupied on the front at Adumar, Pellaeon arrived in time to stop the New Republic's advance, but at the cost of his flagship Reaper, forcing him to move the starfleet's flag to his old warship, Chimaera. This would prove to be the beginning of the end for the Imperial Remnant's expansion.

Disciples of Ragnos (14 ABY)

In 14 ABY, a faction of the Remnant would co-operate with the Sith cult, the Disciples of Ragnos, who sought to resurrect the spirit of Marka Ragnos and rebuild a new Sith Empire. During the crisis of the Disciples of Ragnos, the Remnant were active on locations such as an old power station on Bakura, Echo Base on Hoth, Bast Castle on Vjun, Kril'dor, Dosuun, Yalara, the remains of Byss, and Taspir III. The Remnant had several run-ins with members of the New Jedi Order, and especially Kyle Katarn and Jaden Korr proved to be thorns in the Imperial side, thwarting Remnant missions time and again. For instance, one of the Remnant's more prominent figures of this period, Rax Joris, was killed by Korr. Under the command of Tavion, Remnant troops would fight alongside Sith Cultists and New Reborn Dark Jedi, as well as mercenaries hired by the Disciples of Ragnos. A few Remnant troops were present at the Battle of Korriban, but were not involved in the fighting until they were attacked by Jaden Korr who single-handedly managed to eliminate them all and move on to defeat Tavion, thus ending the cooperation between the Remnant and the Sith Cult for good.

Final years of conflict (17–19 ABY)

"Tell them that it's time to send an emissary to the New Republic. To discuss the terms of our surrender."

―Fleet Admiral Gilad Pellaeon

The signing of the Pellaeon-Gavrisom Treaty.

In 17 ABY, hoping to take advantage of the issues that had plagued the New Republic following the Black Fleet Crisis, Pellaeon—now a Fleet Admiral—decided to initiate another offensive campaign of expansion. It turned out to be a failure. In a series of battles, which included the dramatic conflicts at Champala and Anx Minor, the Imperial Remnant was slowly but surely pushed back. By the time the major combat operations had ended, Pellaeon found himself at the head of an Imperial Remnant unlike that of only a few years prior. From an expanse of space that reached from the Mid Rim to Wild Space, the Remnant had been pushed into the Outer Rim and controlled a mere eight sectors. For its part, the starfleet had suffered greatly, going from twenty-five thousand Star Destroyers at its peak to a mere two-hundred. These matters were beginning to press on Pellaeon's mind as he thought about the future of the Empire. In 19 ABY, it would eventually lead him to conclude that the Imperial Remnant could no longer last if it continued at war with the New Republic.

There were those within the Imperial Remnant who thought differently from the Supreme Commander, among them the official in charge of the Braxant Sector, Moff Disra. Determined to oust Pellaeon and continue the war, he formed a triumvirate with Royal Guardsman Major Grodin Tierce and the con-artist Flim. While Disra provided the resources and political needs necessary to carry out the coup, Tierce conducted the military aspect, all of which relied on Flim and his disguise as Grand Admiral Thrawn. With the New Republic in chaos over the Caamas Document and Bothan involvement, the triumvirate moved and prepared a situation that they hoped would eventually drive the New Republic to civil war. Fortunantly, Pellaeon—assisted by Mistryl Shada D'ukal, smuggler Talon Karrde, and, indirectly, Jorj Car'das—succeeded in uncovering the plot and had Disra and Flim taken into custody.

The coup foiled, the plot to start a civil war within the New Republic was successfully halted when copies of the Caamas Document were discovered and brought to public attention. These matters settled, Pellaeon's plans for peace could finally be realized. Aboard the bridge of Chimaera, more than two decades after its inception, the Galactic Civil War at last came to end with the signing of a treaty of peace. The Imperial Remnant was no longer a rogue entity of a greater past, but a recognized state, politically equal to the New Republic.

War against the Yuuzhan Vong (25–29 ABY)

"Understand this: If the Yuuzhan Vong can defeat the New Republic, we cannot stand against them."

―Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon

The Empire adopted an isolationist stance until the New Republic's former chief of state, Leia Organa Solo, went on a diplomatic mission to the Remnant to seek an alliance against the Yuuzhan Vong shortly after the Battle of Dantooine. Grand Admiral Pellaeon, seeing the threat the Yuuzhan Vong posed to the Galaxy, persuaded the Council of Moffs to send a fleet to assist the New Republic.

The Imperials rescued a New Republic task force and aided in the eventually futile defense of the planet Ithor. When Ithor was devastated by the Yuuzhan Vong's biological weapons, the Council of Moffs ordered Grand Admiral Pellaeon to return to Imperial space and ready Imperial defenses against a possible attack by the extragalactic aliens. Grudgingly, Pellaeon obeyed. Curiously, Pellaeon did not withdraw the entirety of Imperial forces from Republic space, as a small Imperial task force centered around the Star Destroyer Erinnic continued to assist New Republic forces until the Battle of Ord Mantell. It appeared some Imperial elements defended Bilbringi prior to the Battle of Fondor.

As the war between the New Republic and the Yuuzhan Vong continued, the Imperial government and general populace grew increasingly convinced that the Yuuzhan Vong would simply bypass the Remnant. For a number of years, they were correct. Even though Pellaeon personally favored of joining the military campaign against the Yuuzhan Vong, the political leadership of the Empire remained officially neutral. Despite yet another attempt on Leia Organa Solo's part to forge a military alliance between the two states, the Remnant continued to stay out of the fighting. Grand Admiral Pellaeon, however, supplied the New Republic with the Empire's highly classified star charts of the Deep Core regions as a gesture of good faith. The New Republic would later use these state secrets to plan a highly successful trap at Ebaq 9.

Perhaps in retaliation for the Empire's hand in the preparation of the Battle of Ebaq 9, the Yuuzhan Vong launched an invasion of the Imperial Remnant. Despite achieving the element of surprise and burning the capital city of the Empire to the ground from orbit, the attack would prove disastrous for the Yuuzhan Vong.

Grand Admiral Pellaeon, although confined to a bacta tank after the initial assault on Bastion, was able to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong at the Battle of Borosk, forcing the alien invasion force to retreat and abandon its attempts to knock the Imperial Remnant out of the war. Following the victory at Borosk, Grand Admiral Pellaeon was again able to ram an alliance down the collective throat of the Imperial Council of Moffs, despite extreme resistance from old guard Imperial politicians such as Moff Flennic, who came close to attempting an assassination on the "Old Man of the Empire".

While the Empire lent its fleets to assisting the Galactic Alliance, Grand Admiral Pellaeon personally commanded a squadron that chased down the surviving vessels from the Yuuzhan Vong fleet that had invaded the Empire. After a string of indecisive victories, Pellaeon routed the Yuuzhan Vong fleet at the Battle of Esfandia.

In the operation to retake the Bilbringi system, a handful of Imperials took part in the near-disastrous battle. Those who found their way into the system were TIE/D Defender pilots from the interdictor Wrack, including the ship's captain, Mynar Devis. All the Imperials were killed when they attempted to disable a Yuuzhan Vong picket ship. Gilad Pellaeon's reaction to learning of Captain Devis's death led Jaina Solo to believe Devis was somehow Pellaeon's son.

The Empire participated in numerous other battles near the end of the war, most notably in the defense of the Galactic Alliance's provisional capitol on Mon Calamari and the invasion and liberation of occupied Coruscant. In a private ceremony following the surrender of the Yuuzhan Vong, Grand Admiral Pellaeon presented Han and Leia Organa Solo with a piece of art from Pellaeon's personal collection—Killik Twilight, a painting that Pellaeon had inherited from his mentor, Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Post-Yuuzhan Vong (35–c. 40 ABY)

By 35 ABY, Pellaeon had retired from his post and the Imperial Remnant had become a member state of the Galactic Alliance, while retaining a degree of autonomy over their own personal affairs.

Treaty of Anaxes (40–127 ABY)

Sometime between 40 ABY and 130 ABY, the Remnant somehow started to regain power over a number of worlds and expanded.

The Galactic Alliance started the Ossus Project and selected 100 worlds for terraforming. The project was successful, but an unknown assailment sabotaged the project; natives of terraformed worlds began to mutate and grow painful bony growths. The Remnant was enraged and invoked the Treaty of Anaxes to start the Sith-Imperial War against the Alliance.

Sith-Imperial War (127–130 ABY)

Various Legacy era Imperials c. 130 ABY.

By c. 130 ABY, the Imperial Remnant had been replaced by the New Galactic Empire. The Emperors of the Fel dynasty were in command of this new Empire, and Emperor Roan Fel was attacked as part of the resurgence of the new Sith Order. It was not learned until later that the Emperor Darth Krayt had killed was a double meant to take the place of the real Fel.

Government and politics

The organization of the Imperial Remnant was different from that of the Empire under Palpatine in several distinct ways. The government of the Imperial Remnant was headed by the Imperial Council of Moffs, an oligarchy which governed a confederation of the sectors still under Imperial control. Each Moff represented a component sector of the Empire and governed that sector with few apparent checks or balances to their authority from within or without their sector. Moffs also acted as the commanders-in-chief of their Sector Fleets. The Supreme Commander could, however, "federate" and command all Imperial military assets, including sector fleets, during times of emergency or at the Supreme Commander’s discretion.

The authority of the Supreme Commander to federate the Moffs' regional units was the only explicitly demonstrated political check to the Council of Moffs' powers. The Supreme Commander at the end of the Galactic Civil War and during the Yuuzhan Vong War, Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, was regarded by the general populace of the Galaxy and such other interstellar governments as the New Republic and the Chiss Ascendancy as the leader of the Empire, an assessment Pellaeon agreed with.

It was unclear how the Council of Moffs appointed or elected a new Supreme Commander or how Moffs gained their positions. Some of the Moffs may have been those appointed by Palpatine or his successors to govern their sectors when the Galactic Empire still controlled the Galaxy, while others could have seized power as much of the Imperial hierarchy splintered into factions led by warlords. In additions to the Moffs and the Supreme Commander, the positions of Minister of State and Deputy Minister of State were also important positions in the Remnant government, although it is unclear what they did or who held them.

It is also unclear what led to the appointment of a new Emperor, and what powers the position held.

Economy

Economically, the Imperial Remnant suffered tremendously following the signing of the Pellaeon-Gavrisom Treaty. Cheaper goods from the Republic flooded Imperial markets, and the Imperial credit's value plummeted rapidly and remained weak for several years.

Society and culture

"Freedom, after all, is a highly relative and subjective thing. And as I've said, we're not the Empire you knew."

―Admiral Gilad Pellaeon

In social terms, the Imperial Remnant was drastically different from the Palpatine-era Empire. Blatant anti-alien and anti-female bias was a thing of the past, with one Moff during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion being a woman, in addition to a higher number of female navy captains. In terms of basic rights, life in the Remnant, though far ahead of Palpatine's Empire, still lagged slightly behind the New Republic.

Following the Bastion Accords, the Remnant contained fifteen indigenous sentient species. Among them were the Yagai, Muun, and Iotrans, and possibly the Kroctari, Huk, and Kaleesh. Presumably, species that did not originate from Imperial Space, such as Humans, were not among those fifteen.

Military

Military-wise, the Remnant maintained Sector Fleets centered around a dozen or so Star Destroyers for each component sector, and a strategic, federal-styled force of ships under the direct command of the Imperial Navy and, presumably, Central Command. At the time of the Pellaeon-Gavrisom Treaty, the number of Star Destroyers in the Starfleet was said to be approximately two hundred, with some thousands of smaller capital ships. Given the poor economic condition of the Empire following the end of the Galactic Civil War, it seems unlikely that the Remnant would have expanded its forces to any great degree.

The primary ships of the line in the Imperial Starfleet remained the venerable Imperial- and Victory-class Star Destroyers that it relied on for decades — a testament to the sturdiness and prowess of the designs. In addition, the Imperial Remnant possessed one "Super Star Destroyer" of unspecified class just prior to the Yuuzhan Vong attack on Bastion. By that time, the Imperial Starfleet mainly fielded aging warships such as the outdated Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser.

The main Imperial starfighters active against the Yuuzhan Vong were the TIE Interceptor and the TIE Defender. They acquitted themselves well enough against Yuuzhan Vong coralskipper fighters, but they were never as effective against other Yuuzhan Vong craft as "stutterfire"-capable Galactic Alliance craft were. The SoroSuub Preybird-class and Incom I-7 Howlrunner fighters that increasingly became the backbone of the Imperial fighter force prior to the Galactic Civil War's conclusion took a backseat to new TIE designs. This may have been at the behest of Grand Admiral Pellaeon himself, who was known to have criticized the Preybird design shortly before the signing of the Bastion Accords.

The Imperial Army remained in fighting trim, with Imperial ground forces assisting in the liberation and occupation of Coruscant at the end of the war against the Yuuzhan Vong. AT-AT walkers were apparently still in use as well. In addition, stormtroopers at one point assisted Jedi Knight Jacen Solo to expose traitors and infiltrators inside the Imperial ranks, and also assisted Kyle Katarn during the battle to liberate Ord Sedra.

Astrography

Imperial Remnant's territory consisted of eight "backwater" sectors in the Outer Rim Territories that bordered the Unknown Regions. The Borderland Regions separated the territories of the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant during the latter part of the Galactic Civil War. Presumably, this was continued even after the Galactic Civil War.

The original name of the Remnant's capital world was Sartinaynian; however, it was codenamed Bastion by the Empire, which eventually became the most commonly-used name for it Galaxy-wide. It is possible that the Remnant increased its size following the war with the Yuuzhan Vong, but this is as yet unconfirmed.

At the time of the Yuuzhan Vong War, the Remnant consisted of "a few thousand" worlds spread among eight sectors (sometimes referred to as Imperial Space). Notable planets, systems, and sectors under Remnant control were:

• Braxant Sector
  • Sartinaynian system
    • Bastion
  • Rimcee Station
• Borosk system
  • Borosk
• Clacis Sector
  • Ord Sedra
• Dolis system
  • Dolis 3
• D'Astan Sector
  • Nez Peron
• Muunilinst system
  • Muunilinst (also known as "Moneylend")
• Orinda
• Ruuria
• Shataum Sector
  • Kroctar
• Valc system
  • Valc VII
• Yaga system
  • Yaga Minor (only major Remnant shipyard)
• Velcar Sector (possibly)
  • Capza
  • Criton's Point
  • Bextar system
    • Bextar
  • Entralla system
    • Entralla

Appearances

• Darksaber
• Specter of the Past (First identified as Imperial Remnant)
• Vision of the Future
• Dark Tide I: Onslaught
• Dark Tide II: Ruin
• Destiny's Way
• Force Heretic I
• Force Heretic III
• Equals and Opposites
• The Unifying Force
• Star Wars Legacy 3: Broken, Part 3 (Mentioned only)

Sources

• The Essential Chronology
• The New Essential Chronology
• The New Essential Guide to Characters
• Star Wars: Legacy 0
• Star Wars Legacy: Broken