- "Long live the Empire!"
- ―Members of the Shadow Council in unison
The Shadow Council was a council that consisted of Imperial warlords and their remnants during the New Republic Era. Members of the Shadow Council secretly coordinated their individual efforts to subvert the New Republic while they maintained an illusion as unorganized remnant warlords to conceal their true strength.
Basing itself on the original advisory council that formed in the last year of the Galactic Civil War to be the new covert governing of the Empire, which collapsed after the Battle of Jakku, a new Shadow Council was active by 9 ABY. It consisted of at least ten delegations including Moff Gideon, Commandant Brendol Hux and Captain Gilad Pellaeon. During one of their meetings, they discussed a number of matters, including the quashing of Mandalorians intent on retaking Mandalore, advances made in cloning efforts, and preparations for the return of Thrawn. Moff Gideon, however, coveted the reins of leadership but would ultimately perish on Mandalore before he could rise to power.
Description[]
Organization and overview[]
The members of the new Shadow Council were responsible for their own sectors and maintained an illusion of working as unorganized remnant warlords to conceal their strength. Whilst Brendol Hux and Gilad Pellaeon were to amass countless resources and equipment to be shared, the other members including Gideon were to individually scrape and claw resources awaiting for their grand plan to take shape.[1]
Members[]
- "Captain Pellaeon, you always speak with much authority, and yet, I see, once again, that Grand Admiral Thrawn is missing from your delegation. Any word on when he will be able to participate in the Shadow Council?"
"With respect, our one hope for success relies upon the secrecy of his return." - ―Moff Gideon and Captain Pellaeon in a Shadow Council meeting
Captain Pellaeon represented Grand Admiral Thrawn's forces in the Shadow Council.
During the New Republic Era, the new Shadow Council expanded to include new members, with Commadant Hux included, and Navy Captain Gilad Pellaeon joined, with his delegation representing the forces of Grand Admiral Thrawn, his old superior and the ostensible leader of the advisory body. In theory, Thrawn stood as leader of the council, yet only Pellaeon could speak to his imminent return.[1] In truth, Thrawn was stranded in another galaxy,[4] rendering him leader in absentia. True to Pellaeon's word, however,[1] Thrawn was actively working to return to the galaxy and, eventually, succeeded in that goal, intending to lead the Empire on a renewed campaign against the New Republic upon his return.[4]
Moff Gideon was another member, as was a warlord who held the rank of Commander, and six other warlords. These other warlords included a warlord who believed that there were many citizens loyal to the Empire, another warlord who acknowledged this belief, and three other warlords.[1]
History[]
Lying in wait[]
- "Grand Admiral Thrawn's return will herald in the reemergence of our military."
- ―Gilad Pellaeon
Following the Battle of Jakku, the Empire apparently disintegrated, With the deaths of Rax, Obdur, and Tashu, the only known surviving members were Grand Admiral Rae Sloane, Hux, Grand Moff Randd and General Hodnar Borrum. Randd escaped the destruction of the Ravager[2] and led his own Imperial forces in the Queluhan Nebula.[5] Sloane and Hux commanded the Imperial fleet and officials[6] that regrouped as an regrouped in the Unknown Regions[2] and would go on to reform[6] as the First Order.[7]
By approximately 9 ABY,[3] surviving Imperial leaders had established a revised Shadow Council under the ostensible leadership of Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo "Thrawn,"[1] although in reality he had yet to return to the galaxy from his exile,[8] and included delegations from other remnants of the Old Empire, such as Moff Gideon, Thrawn’s old ally Captain Gilad Pellaeon, Commandant Brendol Hux, and at least six other Imperial warlords. During their time as Shadow Council members, Hux and Pellaeon secured numerous resources for themselves. When Gideon dispatched his[1] massive[9] squadron of TIE/IN interceptors[1] to destroy the residence of[9] one of his foes, the former ruler of Mandalore Bo-Katan Kryze,[1] she realized the amount of starships attacking her home was too large for a single Imperial warlord. Forced to flee before she found any answers, she remained unaware that[9] Gideon launched the attack and was part of a greater alliance of Imperial Remnants.[1]
Sometime after the pirate siege on Nevarro,[10] Gideon attended a meeting of the Shadow Council to discuss the Mandalorian threat on his operations. He requested three Imperial Praetorian Guards, reinforcements to his TIE/IN interceptor squadron, and[1] more[9] bombers to deal with them, which Hux and Pellaeon reluctantly agreed to upon learning of the re-emerging Mandalorian people. During that same meeting, Moff Gideon questioned Captain Pellaeon on Thrawn's absence, mockingly pointing out the lack of any concrete evidence of the Chiss warlord's "imminent return." The warlord then suggested the council needed new leadership, implying his ambition to assume that mantle. Moff Gideon also discussed Project Necromancer with Commandant Hux[1] that was started and led by the late Chief Scientist Doctor Royce Hemlock of the Advanced Science Division,[11] who accused him of using Doctor Penn Pershing to advance his own cloning experiments on Nevarro.[1]
Loss of Gideon and return of Thrawn[]
In the end, despite the reinforcements he secured from Hux and Pellaeon,[1] Gideon would be bested in the reconquest of Mandalore, in which Gideon's base was destroyed, taking Gideon and his forces with him.[12] All the same, the existence of the Shadow Council and the unified nature of the Imperial Remnants[1] remained secret to the New Republic. While officers General Hera Syndulla and Captain Carson Teva were convinced of a growing Imperial threat, with Teva pointing to the battle on Mandalore as proof, Senator Hamato Xiono, who sat on the Senate Defense Council, disregarded their concerns and saw no evidence of the Imperial Remnants being united. Xiono also pointed to the conflict on Mandalore as evidence, believing it proved Gideon worked on his own.[8] However, Syndulla would find out that Thrawn returned to the galaxy with his forces and the Great Mothers during the escape from Peridea.[4]
Appearances[]
The Mandalorian — "Chapter 23: The Spies" (First appearance)
Sources[]
- Bounty Hunting Highlights: 5 of Our Favorite Moments from The Mandalorian - "Chapter 23: The Spies" on StarWars.com (backup link)
- "Who's the Boss?" — Star Wars Insider 224
- Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
- "Making History: Five Years of The Mandalorian" — Star Wars Insider 228
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22
The Mandalorian — "Chapter 23: The Spies"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Aftermath: Empire's End
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 According to
SWCC 2019: 9 Things We Learned from The Mandalorian Panel on StarWars.com (backup link), The Mandalorian is set five years after Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates the events of Return of the Jedi to 4 ABY, meaning that The Mandalorian is set in 9 ABY.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ahsoka — "Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord"
- ↑ Lost Stars
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ The Star Wars Book
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Ahsoka — "Part Seven: Dreams and Madness"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 The Mandalorian — "Chapter 19: The Convert"
- ↑ The Mandalorian — "Chapter 21: The Pirate"
- ↑ Star Wars: The Bad Batch — "The Cavalry Has Arrived"
- ↑ The Mandalorian — "Chapter 24: The Return"
