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Description
Introduction

The Battle of Endor was a turning point in galactic history. Not because of the restoration of the Republic and not from the formation of a new Jedi Order to guide the galaxy, but because for the first time in millennia, galactic power would not be centralized. The galaxy was no longer under the domination of one or two major powers, and was instead shattered into multiple powers entangled in a complex web of ever-shifting alliances; dozens of powers and hundreds of smaller entities all vying for power as they stabbing one to climb and fall. The fall of the Empire at Endor was not the end of the turmoil. The great correction had come. Balance had arrived and suffering would follow.

It has been over six hundred years since the destruction of the second Death Star, and the Star Wars show no sign of ending.

The Fractured Empire

The Galactic Empire was the greatest power the galaxy had ever seen, dwarfing the Sith empires, the Old Republic, and even the Rakatan Infinite Empire in sheer size and military grandeur. Palpatine’s darkness brought the light of technology and culture to the Outer Rim. But Palpatine’s empire would not outlast him.

After the death of Paplatine and the destruction of the second Death Star, the Empire fell into chaos. One by one admirals, Moffs, and governors broke away, forming their own warlord states, or renting themselves out like whores to the crime syndicates. Star destroyer fought star destroyer, TIE fought TIE, and all the while rebels from across the galaxy began to grow in strength and influence. Five years after Endor, when it seemed like the Empire was in full collapse, Imperial forces were able to unite and reconsolidate under three banners.

The mightiest of these banners was the Imperial Council. As the Imperial emergency government in the Core regions collapsed, many admirals and Moffs fled or turn to piracy the Mid Rim as more of the planetary defenses of the core worlds turned against them. But one admiral would stand firm against the tide of chaos: Thrawn. After the death of Palpatine the few non-human officers were expelled and sometimes killed to serve as a scapegoat for the fall of the Empire. One of these scapegoats was Thrawn, the only non-human Moff in the Empire.

With Coruscant contested, and both the Department of Military Research and Imperial Intelligence operating independently of the military, the remaining Moffs and admirals called an emergency meeting on Corellia. They would form a plan to reconsolidate the core regions and rally their generals, and vote to replace those they viewed too incompetent to command. Thrawn’s enemies expected he would not go quietly and planned on immediately shooting him when he would inevitably refuse to relinquish command at the conference at Corellia. But, to their surprise Thrawn relinquished his command.

However, Thrawn’s greatest strength was his ability to gain the favor of the majority of the Imperial spy network and the Force sensitive operatives of Emperor’s Hand. Using this network, Thrawn sent the Rebel Alliance into disarray through the use of sabotage and misinformation campaigns. This distrust created within the fragile Rebellion set the stage for the schism to come. He used this same network to maneuver against his Imperial rivals, becoming the dominant force in the Imperial Council.

Thrawn and his Council became the premier Imperial successor state in the security zone of the Core and colonial regions. For two years, Thrawn engaged in forty victorious battles, defending the Core of the empire from warlords, the Imperial Coalition, and the Rebel Alliance. This brought countless Imperials commanders and fleet assets back into the fold, but more importantly elements of the Core aristocracy and civilian assets.

After building up the largest naval force in the Core and colonies, Thrawn launched a massive offensive into Rebel space. While few permanent territorial gains were made, many of the Alliance’s holdings in the industrial center in the Mid Rim and colonies were devastated. At the battle of Kuat, the Alliance Fifth Fleet was completely obliterated.

Thrawn’s campaign reached its climax at the battle for Coruscant. The planet was almost unrecognizable, the highest of skyscrapers and the lowest sewers had been scarred by blaster fire. Billions had fled and trillions were still trapped on the surface. Almost all major factions of the galaxy fought upon the world: the Imperial Coalition was locked in battle with the splintering Rebel Alliance, the Non-Human Revolutionary Front, Rebels backed by the syndicates, Hutt mercenaries, the Order of the White Paladins, and mobs of desperate inhabitant looking only for food fought in bitter stalemate that only ground world to ruin. All the sides had grown weaker from constant battle and dwindling supplies from Thrawn’s campaign. After the initial offensive by the Rebels and extensive losses from planetary defenses and enemy space assets, fleets by all sides were minimized to skeleton crews of supply freighters, troop carriers, and escort ships.

The inevitable finally came. Thrawn emerged from hyperspace with a massive 2,000-ship fleet, quickly eradicating the enemy’s space assets. Instead of sending down naval commandos to establish a beachhead, or beginning orbital bombardment, Thrawn issued an ultimatum: his fleet would maintain a blockade around the besieged world until peace was made between the opponents. With several key figures of each faction on the planet, including Princess Leia, and the population already restless from food shortages, the Treaty of Coruscant was signed. The treaty formalized most of the modern borders of the galaxy, and divided both Coruscant and the galaxy’s hyperspace lanes.

Thrawn proceeded to turn inward, rather than building up his military to campaign against the Rebels or rival Imperials. Instead he began the arduous process of rebuilding infrastructure, and created a nationalized shipping and transportation service from commandeered ships. However, his most important act established a line of succession, so his Empire would not suffer the same fate as Palpatine’s. Soon after, he went missing, presumable killed after his shuttle’s wreckage was found in an asteroid field.

Due to the military genius of the Daala and Pellaeon families, combined with a dense population and Imperial infrastructure, the Imperial Council is one of the most stable states in the galaxy. It is an oligarchy, and its highest principle is the separation of civilian and military authority. The council itself is an Imperial Court of Senators, primarily comprised of the descendants of the civilian governors, high level bureaucrats, and aristocrats that pledged loyalty to the military council. The Senatorial court is responsible for creating laws, managing funding, and law enforcement. While there are the trappings of democracy in the court with voting, most worlds are controlled by dynasties where votes matter little.

The second house is the Military Concord, hosting representatives from all military units. The Military Concord meets to discuss changes to military doctrine, plans infrastructure projects, and plans expansion. The Court and Concord appoint a Supreme Arbiter and Grand Admiral, allowed to serve as executive for one year unless in an active war or other emergency situation is ongoing. This, and many other rotating offices prevent the same power struggle and backstabbing that was common in the Galactic Empire.

Separation of authority is maintained using checks and balances that make both the civilian and military to dependent on one another, so one would not try and subsume authority. The civil service has its own quasi-military in the form of the Imperial Peacekeepers, which enforce laws planetside. Imperial Army and Navy personnel are allowed to operate on planets, but in non-military roles such as working on infrastructure projects, and must be given permission by the civil authorities to act in combat roles. The Imperial Peacekeeper garrisons serve as a deterrent against military takeover; while the military would inevitably win in a fight, the civilian Arbiters control the Imperial Merchant and Transport Authority, allowing them to effectively starve out any rogue admiral attempting to secede, and all merchant freighters are equipped with a self-destruct system primarily to prevent piracy and takeover by the military. Likewise, the military is instrumental in infrastructure construction and repair. It would be impossible for civil authority on the planet to secede or build a fleet to transport its own garrison, since shipyards are built by the Imperial Navy’s Engineering Corps.

If an Admiral or Grand Arbiter successfully gathers enough resources to become a threat, there is the third council: the Imperial Intelligence Network. Before even the smallest of planetary coups could succeed, Imperial Intelligence would be able to discover the conspiracy and place the once mighty dignitaries and commanders on trial.

Imperial Intelligence is very inactive on a local level, and does not focusing on busting smugglers or minor dissidence directly. The creation of the Imperial Merchant Authority has an added side effect of destroying the smuggling industry. With such great economics of scale and subsidies, they effectively out compete any private shipping organizations or individuals for all but the most taboo and illegal goods.

Surprisingly enough, the Philosophers of Skywalker and other post-Jedi Force users are accepted and allowed to practice in the territories of the Imperial Council. Thrawn’s successors saw the benefits of post-Jedi philosophies in addition to the more secular Imperial ideology through the action of Admiral Tzu Jade the Quiet.

Tzu was adopted daughter of Imperial Hand officer Mara Jade, and thrown into harsh realities of war at a young age during War of the Two Empires from 39 to 45 After Endor. After the battle of Anaxes, Tzu was orphaned once again by the infamous Purge Troopers. In her despair she secretly turned to the written teachings of Skywalker, who she thought was her bastard father at the time. After a small string of victories, she experienced crushing defeat at Datar, in which much of the Imperial ground forces and her cruisers crew was obliterated by Dark Troopers in the Eternal Empire’s counter attack. It was then she did the unthinkable: seeking out Skywalker for guidance.

Upon her return, her tactics inspired by philosophies Skywalker’s and other grey Force scholars, along with her specialized Force Commandos – Imperial Hand agents taught in the ways of the grey Force – were vital in secured to the victories at Corisin, Ord Mantle, and turning the tide of war. This, combined with her later victory in snatching Hosnian and expelling the Restored Republic from the Core during the Mon Calamari secession war in 62 ABE, earned Tzu Jade her rightful place among the greats of Thrawn and Daala. Tzu’s teachings became the foundation for the Quiet Sentinels, the largest Force academy in the Empire, and her book Inner Storms is second only to Thrawn’s The Prose of Battle for officer’s reading.

Force users from Imperial academies, apart from Tzu Jade’s Sentinels, are allowed into the military after proper vetting. They are place in specialized segregated units such as the Force Commandos to utilize their abilities to the fullest potential, and be more easily monitored by Intelligence and the Imperial Wards – successor to the Emperor’s Hand. Lightsabers are uncommon for these units; instead most utilize blasters and more easily producible shock staffs. The imprisonment of radical leaders and Force users suspected of being too powerful is common.

Besides force units such as the Wards and Commandos, the Empire has many other methods to counter act the Imperial Knights and many light and grey side cults within the Restored Republic. The most obvious are the personal shielding systems Naval Commando Assault Teams. These are similar to those utilized by the droideka of the ancient Clone Wars, allowing them to temporarily absorb over a hundred blaster bolts and maintain fire on any Force user reflecting their shots. These systems are unfortunately plagued with similar issues as their Clone War counterparts: they are very expensive and must be timed carefully due to their limited power. Less well known are pygmy Ysalamir raised in secret by the Thrawn and his allies in Imperial Intelligence. This creature, no larger than a porg, can produce Force nullification fields nearly a half-kilometer in radius. This will stop even the abilities of all but the most experienced Force user, but often disorient and confuse the Force user to the life forms around them. As the situation in Outer Rim grows dire, many Council Scientists work feverishly studying and testing the lifeforms for ways to understand the mechanism behind the field and possibly turn them into Force amplifiers.

Combat doctrine for the Imperial Council is heavily dependent upon the fleet and capital ships. Star destroyers are no longer used as liberally, instead the Empire uses smaller space craft – such as the Razor Star Frigates – as first response ships. When a situation requires star destroyers and heavy cruisers, they are complemented with two or three smaller light cruisers or frigates used to harass the enemy and defend star destroyer blind spots. In addition looking at the failures in the Galactic Empire’s navy there has been a greater emphasis placed on and improvements made to fighters; the TIE Avenger and Mark VII TIE Bomber are equipped with hyperdrives. Additionally, improvements on ion drives and more aerodynamic solar paneling configurations improve the capabilities of Ties in atmospheric combat.

Imperial ground doctrine has changed drastically. Gone are the days of large AT-ATs, turbotanks, and massive swarms of stormtroopers. The day of the gunship has returned. Gunships ferry small teams of Naval Commandos to secure drop sites and conduct sabotage. Gunships cover heavy shuttles to land Imperial Army infantry and light APCs with variable legs that can shift from a four-legged walker to tanks.

Imperial Intelligence plans out eventual annexation of a system decades in advance, before the first Imperial troops land, or an Imperial ship enters a sector. Imperial Intelligence slowly destabilizing border worlds until the local interstellar government abandons it out of frustration. With this progress the Empire has advanced into the Mid Rim and even gained a few outposts in the Outer Rim, despite the efforts of their rivals. The Empire is every growing, ever calculating, and ever stable.

Humans and other species are treated for the most part equally under the law, though non-humans tend to still be poorer. Humans are preferred for many positions in the civilian government, and non-humans discriminated against by many local administrations. The Imperial Army and Navy are a melting pot for aliens and one of the places where an alien commander can rise to power. Almost a quarter of command in the Army is now composed of non-human species.

The Council is not as outright draconian as the Empire, but it is still authoritarian and elitist. While nothing in the law limits someone from the low class rising through the ranks of planetary bureaucracy into the courts of law, it is incredibly rare and unlikely for an outsider to become a representative of a planetary court. The original families of the first Arbiters have created entire dynasties, and most of the few not originally part of the Arbiter class were the children of wealthy Imperial citizens able to use their influence to their child into a lofty position bureaucratic position to climb their way to Arbiter.

While a safety net exists, many government service organizations and Imperial-backed companies have made it difficult for someone to advance in society. High crime and violence exists in the underbelly of these worlds, but large interplanetary syndicates like Crimson Dawn or subversive organizations like the Black Hand have difficulty taking root within the Empire. Quality of life may be slightly improved from the Palpatine era but life is much more stagnant.

Being less heavy handed then the Galactic Empire is a pretty low bar for the planetary security forces. Patrolmen are always looking for ways to advance in rank with deathstick and weapons busts. People no longer disappear when they are caught; people are no longer dragged away to be tortured into confessing. Instead they are dragged through public shame trials, guilty until proven innocent. The courts and Intelligence agencies can easily portray a simple gathering for card games as something far more sinister, condemning countless innocents to years or decades of labor.

To make matters worse, Imperial Intelligence is lurking in the darkened undercity and seemingly tranquil rural forests, searching for Black Hand cells and other underground movements that could threaten stability in the border regions. Originally, the Imperial Intelligence were unable to operate legally within the boundary of the Empire. However, with conspiracy after conspiracy revealed that could weaken the Empire and the Black Hand at large, their presence has continued to grow deeper into civilian administered territory of the Empire and fleets of the Imperial military. While they are unable to make arrests, it is clear they have no restrictions on what they can investigate.

Even the upper echelons of the courts and Concord are growing more concerned with the Intelligence network becoming a deep state, especially looking at the True Republic. Some speak of Imperial agents corrupted by the Black Hand or the more insidious threat encroaching from the Outer Rim. Some even speak of a secret cabal of men and women with blue skin giving orders to the upper echelons of Imperial Intelligence.

Still even with its problems the Imperial Council is far from being the worst state to live in.

The Eternal Empire is what formed from the Imperial forces that allied with the Department of Military Research. On paper they function as a single empire, a monarchy directed by Supreme Imperial Governor: Palpatine’s successor chosen by the Imperial Security Bureau. In practice they are four separate empires ruled by the four dominant factions of the government: the Department of Military Research, the People’s Militia, the Commission for Preservation of the New Order, and the Imperial Security Bureau. The Eternal Empire mostly controls territory in the galactic north of the Expansion Region and the Inner/Mid Rim, with a few worlds in the Core regions.

Worlds directly controlled by the People’s Militia are highly authoritarian, apartheid states, where non-militia members are treated as second-class citizens and all aliens are enslaved and reduced to a status lower than most droids. Throughout their systems, the tyranny of stormtroopers is replaced with the Militia cosplaying as Imperial Officers of the Palpatine era. Occupied peoples have almost no rights in the court of law detained and even executed by the without a trial. The Militia worlds are quite decrepit, with dilapidated buildings and barely passable infrastructure. On Coruscant, their territory is inundated with bombed out skyscrapers and collapsed city layers.

The cornerstone of the Militia is the belief that Palpatine ushered in a golden age for mankind against the barbarian and degenerate non-humans. They are particularly racist toward Mon Calamari who they still teach were tribal upon first contact with the Empire instead of a moderately influential race within the Republic. They have added to this myth saying the Mon Calamari stole Imperial ships with which to plunder the Outer Rim and cannibalize their inhabitants. Races such as the savage Mon Calamari and deviant tail heads are to be executed on site to pay for their crimes against humanity. Most other alien species fare little better with combatants being executed and non-combatants enslaved.

On the battlefield the Militia is deployed with outdated equipment from the Palpatine and Clone Wars era, many refuse to dress in the Imperial Army gear but use their patrol uniforms out of pride. Despite this they are highly motivated and will fight to the death to subjugate the false Imperial Council and the Rebels who they believe almost brought the galaxy to total collapse.

The Commission for Preservation of the New Order has morphed from a propaganda machine into a strange cult, worshiping Palpatine as a god. A core tenet of their propaganda-turned-religion is that Palpatine is not truly dead, and his absence is just a test to see who will remain loyal to him. One day he will return to reclaim his throne, bestow the power of the Force upon the subjects of Eternal Empire, reconquer the galaxy, and grant immortality to his followers using the tragically lost knowledge of Plagueis the Wise.

On the surface, COMPNOR allows the Imperial Moffs and governors in their sectors rule, but blackmails them so they follow their vision. The massive unofficial network of spies has put COMPNOR at odds with the Imperial Security Bureau, who are growing increasingly paranoid that the COMPNOR is blackmailing governors throughout the other regions of the Eternal Empire.

The worlds under the greatest COMPNOR influence in the Eternal Empire use standard Imperial tactics and equipment from the Palpatine era, with slight improvements, trying their best to keep their section of the Empire the way the Emperor intended it. Their troops are much better equipped then their Militia counterparts, but apart from their stormtroopers their troops lack in training. The idolization and preferential treatment the stormtroopers enjoy prevent them from being effectively used. In some instances vital garrisons remain nearly idle, only being used to act as bodyguards used for photo ops after the real fighting is over.

COMPNOR has attempted to create its own branch of Force users, originally as a misguided attempt to get Palpatine a new body. Unfortunately, most of their members are unable to use the Force effectively, and the program relies on long-debunked theories. Their testing is unscientific and inaccurate, and is mainly used as a cover to accept the wealthy into their ranks. The few Force users they have are constantly being conditioned using pseudoscientific methods such as electro shock therapy to enhance their power, and little actual Force training is given besides the “teachings” of Palpatine. Only a fraction of COMPNOR Force users are deployed in combat, most are used to preform propaganda stunts for COMPNOR or are set to work solving “the Plagueis life equation.”

The Imperial Security Bureau was originally a tool Lord Fel used in the initial chaos to assassinate and blackmail other governors into submission and declare himself High Governor. He ruled his portion of the Eternal Empire with an iron fist, hoping that the Militia and Department of Military Research would submit to his rule or be easily conquered after fighting against the Rebels. Two hundred years later, the dynasty of Fel is all but a figurehead for the Imperial Security Bureau and the once-dominant faction in the Eternal Empire is being slowly eaten away at by the fanaticism of the Militia and the subversive COMPNOR.

The Imperial Security Bureau and the High Governor maintains direct control of most worlds in the Eternal Empire. Unlike the Militia and COMPNOR, they maintain a cordial relationship with the Imperial Council, though it becomes increasing difficult with the Militia’s saber rattling. They have the largest fleet and detachment of stormtroopers and the second largest army loyal to them in the Eternal Empire.

The Bureau also has the advantage of inheriting much of Palpatine’s Inquisition. Their Force users like the Imperial Knights are surprisingly secular; they receive special Force training, but none of the philosophy that went along with the teachings of the Jedi, Sith, or even the Chiss-inspired doctrine of Council’s Imperial Knights. They only believe in preserving the Eternal Empire at all costs. They are pragmatic and cold in a way far different than any Force user, taught to silence the feelings of the Force only to use it as a tool of war. They fight on the battlefield as with ruthless machine-like efficiency, assassinating targets in the Republics and beyond with such precision and zero remorse.

The Bureau shares this coldness in every facet of its society. The regions under its control are the most similar to Palpatine’s Empire. Enforcers patrol the streets and stormtroopers stand at guard near Imperial structures just as in the Palpatine era. But, there is no blaring propaganda, Militia drills, or Miracles of Palpatine being displayed. There are no beatings in the street or triumphant military parades.

People disappear from the highest of Moffs to the lowest of dregs, and the worst part is no one knows why. Sometimes one may see Enforcers show up to take the neighbors away never to return. Sometimes kids come home from school to find their parents gone. It happens so frequently that it can be argued life under the ISB is more terrifying then even the Militia’s region. Rumors are whispered in the alleyways. Some talk about massive industrial prison camps, some say there are killing fields. Some say people are used for forced labor, others that they are being reprogramed, and yet others say people being experimented on. Some say there is secret police of Force users lurking in shadows, reading minds to separate the guilty from the innocent. Some whisper tales of dozens of worlds being conquered by creatures from another galaxy. Some say these same creatures are sending agents that can mimic any person and replace them. What rumors are more fact then fiction may never be truly known.

The Department of Military Research is by far the least totalitarian of the branches, mainly due to the fact they have the smallest populations of their section of the Empire. They are happy to let local leaders run the show as long as they get a few planetoids and the occasional unruly civilians to experiment on. Initially their goal was build a third Death Star; however, it was destroyed in its earliest stages of construction by a combined armed forces of the Alliance and the Imperial Council, killing almost all Imperial personnel with knowledge of the Death Star plans. Later, the Treaty of Coruscant forbade any power from constructing such a destructive weapon. The Death Star plans would be lost to time as archives were sabotaged, and the White Paladins assassinated most of the surviving scientists. As a result the department has gradually turned their attention to more conventional weapon and improving existing designs with exception of phage weaponry.

Naval assets deployed by the Department are small in number but heavy in tonnage, utilizing massive capital ships such as super star destroyers and siege engines bristling with weapons. A single ship is often designed to battle a full fleet and can turn the tide of battle, making even the most experienced commander of the Imperial Council second guess. Despite this, these ships are not much more advanced then the Executor-class used hundreds of years prior just loaded with more guns and defensive batteries.

The Department uses heavy vehicles, but has double downed on the Empire’s most infamous ground tactics. AT-ATs and AT-STs have been given fully revamped power systems and hydraulics, loaded down with variety of heavy blasters, laser cannons, and rocket pods. Most AT-AT variants have head-mounted, underside, and topside turrets. The Department has also created new designs. The AT-AF – the walking fortress – is the successor to the AT-AT. It is a massive turtle-like monstrosity bristling with artillery and point defense. It has a super heavy laser canon rated for capitals ship engagements mounted on its back, enough incinerators to turn anything unlucky enough to walk under it to ash, and can carry a full battalion of stormtroopers within its cavernous shell.

However, quite possibly the greatest achievement of the Department has been the evolution of the stormtrooper. Almost all infantry are highly trained stormtroopers, utilizing compact repeater rifles and advanced ceramic polymer armor technology. The average Department storm trooper can take a survive a few direct hit from a high powered blaster rifle, and use the energy to recharge power packs. There are dozens of variants specialized for variety of environments but non are more infamous as the Dark Troopers.

The Department was horrified by devastation they suffered at the hands of the White Paladins, and the rapidly growing Force user organizations throughout the galaxy including the Knights of the Imperial Council and the Inquisitors of the Bureau. Instead of joining the arms race they made a counter in the form of the Dark Trooper. Incased in a suit of advanced servos, phrik metal alloy armor, and a bubble shield generator, the Dark Trooper was a match for even the most experienced of Jedi. Armed with heavy weapons such as assault cannons, missile pods, flamers, and plasma mortars they are able to lay waste to vehicles and even a Mark II can hold its own against a platoon of infantry. There are up to five variants ranging from the upgraded Mark II, III, IV to the refined Force user-hunting Purge Troopers.

The main reason the Eternal Empire has lasted so long is despite its flaws of all four parts is that their strengths make them difficult to conquer, even if they have begun to lose territory to the growing Hapes Confederation. However as time wears on and friction grows it becomes increasingly likely the Eternal Empire will split along its fault lines.

When the Empire had expanded into the Outer and Mid Rim, millions of worlds were subject to totalitarianism and oppression unseen before. However, just as many had been liberated from the sinister cabals of crime cartels and syndicates. When the imperial fleets retreated inward, many cheered, but many more would soon cower in terror as the groups like Crimson Dawn and the Hutts flooded the area with their enforcers to fill the power vacuum. Pirates raided, slave traders uprooted entire colonies, and petty smuggler lords tried to carve out their own kingdoms.

However while the fleets of star destroyers and the vast squadrons of TIE fighters and armies within them were gone, many stormtroopers remained behind, following only a single order: maintain the Empire.

While members of the Imperial Army faltered, selling all their equipment to get to civilized space or joining the ranks of the new warlords, the stormtroopers would not. Despite many believing the worst had happened, some even believing they might be the last stormtroopers in the entire galaxy, they stood firm. They defended their outposts from slaver, mercenary, and warlord alike, and with them the other inhabitants. The common pirate and smuggler thug was no match for the stormtroopers’ supreme accuracy and training, and the average mercenary did not share the same fearlessness and dedication in combat.

The locals were far too numerous to conquer and the troopers were far too valuable to overthrow. Without the locals there was no food and without the troopers there was no protection. An understanding was reached, the locals and the troopers became entwined in a symbiotic relationship different then the Empires of the inner galaxy or even the Republics to come. They were one tribe. When one trooper would finally fall a local would eagerly replace them.

The cartels grew infuriated, and lusted after these worlds, until after a generation they grew tired sending third parties of low-end mercenaries and pirates to conquer them, and smugglers to bribe them. The great syndicates made a temporary agreement, turning the Imperial warlords and armies of enforcers they had turned against one another towards the garrison worlds. The new generation of ragtag stormtroopers was overwhelmed. World after world fell and all seemed helpless, until a voice united them.

Captain Phasma was only a newborn during the time of the collapse. She had only heard tall tales of the Imperial golden age when Parnassos had eternally green jungles and crystal blue oceans. A golden age brought to ruin when the world’s fragile geo engineering structures that were irreversibly damaged by the Rebel Alliance’s bombardment; the planet was sent into irreversible ecological collapse. She wanted nothing more to be one of the stormtroopers, the Ivory Guardians who slew the ravenous man-eating creatures emerging from the dying jungle and saving her and her brother from the sky people. At age 16 she joined the garrison after saving a scout trooper from the deadlands. She rose from private, to fireteam leader, and to eventually lieutenant in the span of a year.

Her world was one of the first to be devastated by the syndicate invasion. The majority of the garrison, along with surrounding villages, barely escaped the bombardment. It was only due to Phasma’s leadership and quick thinking that they survived, escaping by blowing a hole through a partially-built sewer tunnel into the dangerous jungle. Once in the dead of night, the survivors choose Phasma as their new leader.

Using the village’s knowledge of survival, stormtrooper training, and old holodecks on the Rebellion, Phasma was able to mount a successful guerrilla warfare campaign against the Hutt mercenaries. The troopers became one with the tribe, able to survive in one of the last remaining jungles on the planet. They sabotaged spice refineries and plantations, hijacked enforcer skiffs, and set up radio communications with other resistance cells. After a year of guerrilla warfare, the Hutts had enough, deciding to pull off their assets off world, but not before bombarding it with the star destroyer of an Imperial Warlord in debt to the cartel. Phasma and all the cells on the planet congregated around the spaceport in the dead of night, and come morning they captured the port and the ships within.

The Imperial resistance, along with a handful of disgruntled pilots – only there to repay their debts to the Hutts – managed to successfully board a star destroyer belonging to one of the Hutt cartel’s many underlings. The original plan was to sabotage the destroyer and return back home, until she heard the captain’s voice. A man pleading over the intercom with one of his oppressors, the once-thunderous voice in the sky reduced to a scared child. Phasma realized that this would not be enough. The offworlders would not tire and leave; they would be enraged, sending more ships to raze the world until all that was left was ash and glass. The only chance they had was to take the ship and use it as a deterrent.

With blasters set to stun, the resistance raided bridge, hopeful that they could convince the crew to teach them how to operate the ship. The stormtroopers battled through the decks swarming with enforcers and warlord crew, losing dozens of their own. And with every step they could hear the captain’s pleas for his life grow more frantic. The weary, ragged stormtroopers finally blasted their way into the warlord’s quarters confronting the ship’s leader and his master.

Upon entering she became enraged. Not because the man was pathetic and fat, or the Imperial uniform he wore was tarnished, but because he was groveling. Not to a proud alien warlord rippling with muscle, or an imposing admiral with hundreds of ships at his disposal, or a powerful Force user choking him through the vast emptiness of space, he was groveling before a fat slug.

What could be described next is a thunderous furry that roared through the ship’s communication system and shouting dozens of tribal curses at the Hutt. After shutting it off she waxed and waned about the Empire of old. The crew, disgruntled and too young to know the tyranny of the Empire, rebelled against the few Hutt enforcers. From the stormtrooper garrisons, Imperial warlords, independent smugglers, and citizens of thousands of worlds resentful of the syndicates, a new nation was born. A nation to uphold the one order to maintain the Empire: The First Order.

Almost two hundred of years after Phasma’s campaign, the First Order remains strong and free, controlling space concentrated in the Mid and Outer Rim, with a small strip of territory wrapping around and into former Hutt space to Kessel. They are cut off from the other empires, besieged by enemies ranging from the waning Hutt cartels, Imperial warlord states, and Restored Republic, to the rising Zann Consortium, the Crimson Dawn Syndicate, the Bothan State, and the True Republic.

Despite the First Order having a Supreme Leader, and a Phasma forever holding the office of Eternal Leader and Captain, it is not as autocratic as one would think. The First Order is a meritocracy and confederation of military juntas which are surprisingly democratic. Every new officer appointed – whether a lowly lieutenant or even a mighty flotilla captain – must be approved by a majority his or her peers and those they originally commanded.

The military doesn’t serve the government, it is the government, and every citizen is the military. Every person and alien within the First Order is required to serve for year in military, whether in a combat or support role, ensuring that the First Order always has a large standing army and civilians with military training acting as another deterrent against would-be invaders. While most leave to go back to farming the ones who stay can rise to great heights.

Military doctrine is heavily based around infantry units being dropped into the thick of battle, are resupplied with up-armored shuttle craft and modified escape pods, and are left for extended periods of time with air support and fleet support. They are armed to the teeth with mines and other explosives, AW and AT launchers, and jammers. Their standard small arms are tried and true T-21, E-15 marksman blasters, and the white spear blaster – a replacement to the E-11s distributed to the First Order and their allies that is far more durable and accurate if having a slower rate of fire.

Unlike most Imperial armies, stormtroopers make up the majority of combat infantry. They are the largest force of well-equipped infantry in the galaxy. Their armor has undergone extensive armor redesign in comparison to their counterparts in the inner galaxy. It uses more durable plating, with areas like the chest being two times as thick. It is also designed to be smoother and more curved to better deflect blasts. Stormtrooper armor is often equipped with paint kits and texture kits to camouflage the standard light grey before going down to the surface. The most noticeable change is to the helmet itself, the frown replaced is stretched out into a wide grin and the eyes made larger to emulate the hunting and ceremonial masks of Phasma’s tribe.

Many elite assault units of stormtroopers, such as Phasma’s Spear, have their armor electroplated with agrinium alloys to blunt heat and radiation, making them able to tank traditional blaster fire without heavy shielding equipment. However, these units are only used for shock and awe, or boarding actions, since the electroplating is highly reflective making them stick out like a cantina ball. There are also elite stormtroopers adept in the Force, although they don’t use lightsabers they are highly trained in hand to hand combat and martial arts, often carrying non-lethal shock staffs in addition to blasters.

Despite its elite ground forces, the First Order Navy is not very advanced. It is mostly made of a hodgepodge of repurposed capital ships and armored freighters emblazoned with the symbol of the First Order. Their fighter rosters are somewhat better, with crudely upgraded TIE fighters and interceptors with a low-grade hyperdrive, along with fighters captured from both the True and Restored Republics. The success to the First Order’s space combat has been due to using overwhelming odds and boarding actions. Their capital ships make heavy use of ion cannons used to temporarily disable shielding and gun emplacements so that modified shuttles can deposit units like Phasma’s Spear to drill and board the ship. These harrowing boarding actions have crippled entire enemy fleets and have become the primary source of ships for the First Order.

However, the strangest aspect of the First Order is its acceptance of the many light and grey teachings of Skywalker. While not as common as they are in the Restored Republic, Force users and their schools are spread throughout the First Order. Most have incorporated the tribal and militaristic honor codes of the First Order in their teachings. Conversely, many of these teachings have been incorporated into First Order’s military doctrine for units, most notably meditation for long-range engagements and ambush.

The First Order has remained a light in the Outer Rim of a struggling galaxy, but whether it will stay that way remains in question. The Bothans play spymaster as always, telling pirates where to strike when the First Order isn’t looking. The True Republic is on a warpath, throwing more ships at the First Order then anyone has before. And with each defeat against the True Republic, the odds are not in the First Order’s favor as the outsiders draw ever closer to their space in the galactic north.

Outside the big three, there are hundreds of Imperial warlord states and pirate kingdoms. Many of these dynasties fluctuate between expansion and total collapse as the sector warlords die.

Warlord military personnel are poor and non-standardized, many are lucky to have old E-11 blasters and even pieces of Palpatine Era Imperial Army armor. Many warlord stormtroopers wear nothing more than white balaclavas, blast-resistant chest plates, and fatigues.

In the immediate aftermath of the Galactic Civil War, these warlord states were slowly being co-opted by various crime syndicates. As the First Order arose, these warlord states have become too unprofitable to manage for many crime syndicates. Major powers such as the Eternal Empire, First Order, and True Republic slowly whittle away at the warlord states. Now with the Outsiders, the final days of the warlords draws near.

Description
Introduction

The Battle of Endor was a turning point in galactic history. Not because of the restoration of the Republic and not from the formation of a new Jedi Order to guide the galaxy, but because for the first time in millennia, galactic power would not be centralized. The galaxy was no longer under the domination of one or two major powers, and was instead shattered into multiple powers entangled in a complex web of ever-shifting alliances; dozens of powers and hundreds of smaller entities all vying for power as they stabbing one to climb and fall. The fall of the Empire at Endor was not the end of the turmoil. The great correction had come. Balance had arrived and suffering would follow.

It has been over six hundred years since the destruction of the second Death Star, and the Star Wars show no sign of ending.

The Fractured Empire

The Galactic Empire was the greatest power the galaxy had ever seen, dwarfing the Sith empires, the Old Republic, and even the Rakatan Infinite Empire in sheer size and military grandeur. Palpatine’s darkness brought the light of technology and culture to the Outer Rim. But Palpatine’s empire would not outlast him.

After the death of Paplatine and the destruction of the second Death Star, the Empire fell into chaos. One by one admirals, Moffs, and governors broke away, forming their own warlord states, or renting themselves out like whores to the crime syndicates. Star destroyer fought star destroyer, TIE fought TIE, and all the while rebels from across the galaxy began to grow in strength and influence. Five years after Endor, when it seemed like the Empire was in full collapse, Imperial forces were able to unite and reconsolidate under three banners.

The mightiest of these banners was the Imperial Council. As the Imperial emergency government in the Core regions collapsed, many admirals and Moffs fled or turn to piracy the Mid Rim as more of the planetary defenses of the core worlds turned against them. But one admiral would stand firm against the tide of chaos: Thrawn. After the death of Palpatine the few non-human officers were expelled and sometimes killed to serve as a scapegoat for the fall of the Empire. One of these scapegoats was Thrawn, the only non-human Moff in the Empire.

With Coruscant contested, and both the Department of Military Research and Imperial Intelligence operating independently of the military, the remaining Moffs and admirals called an emergency meeting on Corellia. They would form a plan to reconsolidate the core regions and rally their generals, and vote to replace those they viewed too incompetent to command. Thrawn’s enemies expected he would not go quietly and planned on immediately shooting him when he would inevitably refuse to relinquish command at the conference at Corellia. But, to their surprise Thrawn relinquished his command.

However, Thrawn’s greatest strength was his ability to gain the favor of the majority of the Imperial spy network and the Force sensitive operatives of Emperor’s Hand. Using this network, Thrawn sent the Rebel Alliance into disarray through the use of sabotage and misinformation campaigns. This distrust created within the fragile Rebellion set the stage for the schism to come. He used this same network to maneuver against his Imperial rivals, becoming the dominant force in the Imperial Council.

Thrawn and his Council became the premier Imperial successor state in the security zone of the Core and colonial regions. For two years, Thrawn engaged in forty victorious battles, defending the Core of the empire from warlords, the Imperial Coalition, and the Rebel Alliance. This brought countless Imperials commanders and fleet assets back into the fold, but more importantly elements of the Core aristocracy and civilian assets.

After building up the largest naval force in the Core and colonies, Thrawn launched a massive offensive into Rebel space. While few permanent territorial gains were made, many of the Alliance’s holdings in the industrial center in the Mid Rim and colonies were devastated. At the battle of Kuat, the Alliance Fifth Fleet was completely obliterated.

Thrawn’s campaign reached its climax at the battle for Coruscant. The planet was almost unrecognizable, the highest of skyscrapers and the lowest sewers had been scarred by blaster fire. Billions had fled and trillions were still trapped on the surface. Almost all major factions of the galaxy fought upon the world: the Imperial Coalition was locked in battle with the splintering Rebel Alliance, the Non-Human Revolutionary Front, Rebels backed by the syndicates, Hutt mercenaries, the Order of the White Paladins, and mobs of desperate inhabitant looking only for food fought in bitter stalemate that only ground world to ruin. All the sides had grown weaker from constant battle and dwindling supplies from Thrawn’s campaign. After the initial offensive by the Rebels and extensive losses from planetary defenses and enemy space assets, fleets by all sides were minimized to skeleton crews of supply freighters, troop carriers, and escort ships.

The inevitable finally came. Thrawn emerged from hyperspace with a massive 2,000-ship fleet, quickly eradicating the enemy’s space assets. Instead of sending down naval commandos to establish a beachhead, or beginning orbital bombardment, Thrawn issued an ultimatum: his fleet would maintain a blockade around the besieged world until peace was made between the opponents. With several key figures of each faction on the planet, including Princess Leia, and the population already restless from food shortages, the Treaty of Coruscant was signed. The treaty formalized most of the modern borders of the galaxy, and divided both Coruscant and the galaxy’s hyperspace lanes.

Thrawn proceeded to turn inward, rather than building up his military to campaign against the Rebels or rival Imperials. Instead he began the arduous process of rebuilding infrastructure, and created a nationalized shipping and transportation service from commandeered ships. However, his most important act established a line of succession, so his Empire would not suffer the same fate as Palpatine’s. Soon after, he went missing, presumable killed after his shuttle’s wreckage was found in an asteroid field.

Due to the military genius of the Daala and Pellaeon families, combined with a dense population and Imperial infrastructure, the Imperial Council is one of the most stable states in the galaxy. It is an oligarchy, and its highest principle is the separation of civilian and military authority. The council itself is an Imperial Court of Senators, primarily comprised of the descendants of the civilian governors, high level bureaucrats, and aristocrats that pledged loyalty to the military council. The Senatorial court is responsible for creating laws, managing funding, and law enforcement. While there are the trappings of democracy in the court with voting, most worlds are controlled by dynasties where votes matter little.

The second house is the Military Concord, hosting representatives from all military units. The Military Concord meets to discuss changes to military doctrine, plans infrastructure projects, and plans expansion. The Court and Concord appoint a Supreme Arbiter and Grand Admiral, allowed to serve as executive for one year unless in an active war or other emergency situation is ongoing. This, and many other rotating offices prevent the same power struggle and backstabbing that was common in the Galactic Empire.

Separation of authority is maintained using checks and balances that make both the civilian and military to dependent on one another, so one would not try and subsume authority. The civil service has its own quasi-military in the form of the Imperial Peacekeepers, which enforce laws planetside. Imperial Army and Navy personnel are allowed to operate on planets, but in non-military roles such as working on infrastructure projects, and must be given permission by the civil authorities to act in combat roles. The Imperial Peacekeeper garrisons serve as a deterrent against military takeover; while the military would inevitably win in a fight, the civilian Arbiters control the Imperial Merchant and Transport Authority, allowing them to effectively starve out any rogue admiral attempting to secede, and all merchant freighters are equipped with a self-destruct system primarily to prevent piracy and takeover by the military. Likewise, the military is instrumental in infrastructure construction and repair. It would be impossible for civil authority on the planet to secede or build a fleet to transport its own garrison, since shipyards are built by the Imperial Navy’s Engineering Corps.

If an Admiral or Grand Arbiter successfully gathers enough resources to become a threat, there is the third council: the Imperial Intelligence Network. Before even the smallest of planetary coups could succeed, Imperial Intelligence would be able to discover the conspiracy and place the once mighty dignitaries and commanders on trial.

Imperial Intelligence is very inactive on a local level, and does not focusing on busting smugglers or minor dissidence directly. The creation of the Imperial Merchant Authority has an added side effect of destroying the smuggling industry. With such great economics of scale and subsidies, they effectively out compete any private shipping organizations or individuals for all but the most taboo and illegal goods.

Surprisingly enough, the Philosophers of Skywalker and other post-Jedi Force users are accepted and allowed to practice in the territories of the Imperial Council. Thrawn’s successors saw the benefits of post-Jedi philosophies in addition to the more secular Imperial ideology through the action of Admiral Tzu Jade the Quiet.

Tzu was adopted daughter of Imperial Hand officer Mara Jade, and thrown into harsh realities of war at a young age during War of the Two Empires from 39 to 45 After Endor. After the battle of Anaxes, Tzu was orphaned once again by the infamous Purge Troopers. In her despair she secretly turned to the written teachings of Skywalker, who she thought was her bastard father at the time. After a small string of victories, she experienced crushing defeat at Datar, in which much of the Imperial ground forces and her cruisers crew was obliterated by Dark Troopers in the Eternal Empire’s counter attack. It was then she did the unthinkable: seeking out Skywalker for guidance.

Upon her return, her tactics inspired by philosophies Skywalker’s and other grey Force scholars, along with her specialized Force Commandos – Imperial Hand agents taught in the ways of the grey Force – were vital in secured to the victories at Corisin, Ord Mantle, and turning the tide of war. This, combined with her later victory in snatching Hosnian and expelling the Restored Republic from the Core during the Mon Calamari secession war in 62 ABE, earned Tzu Jade her rightful place among the greats of Thrawn and Daala. Tzu’s teachings became the foundation for the Quiet Sentinels, the largest Force academy in the Empire, and her book Inner Storms is second only to Thrawn’s The Prose of Battle for officer’s reading.

Force users from Imperial academies, apart from Tzu Jade’s Sentinels, are allowed into the military after proper vetting. They are place in specialized segregated units such as the Force Commandos to utilize their abilities to the fullest potential, and be more easily monitored by Intelligence and the Imperial Wards – successor to the Emperor’s Hand. Lightsabers are uncommon for these units; instead most utilize blasters and more easily producible shock staffs. The imprisonment of radical leaders and Force users suspected of being too powerful is common.

Besides force units such as the Wards and Commandos, the Empire has many other methods to counter act the Imperial Knights and many light and grey side cults within the Restored Republic. The most obvious are the personal shielding systems Naval Commando Assault Teams. These are similar to those utilized by the droideka of the ancient Clone Wars, allowing them to temporarily absorb over a hundred blaster bolts and maintain fire on any Force user reflecting their shots. These systems are unfortunately plagued with similar issues as their Clone War counterparts: they are very expensive and must be timed carefully due to their limited power. Less well known are pygmy Ysalamir raised in secret by the Thrawn and his allies in Imperial Intelligence. This creature, no larger than a porg, can produce Force nullification fields nearly a half-kilometer in radius. This will stop even the abilities of all but the most experienced Force user, but often disorient and confuse the Force user to the life forms around them. As the situation in Outer Rim grows dire, many Council Scientists work feverishly studying and testing the lifeforms for ways to understand the mechanism behind the field and possibly turn them into Force amplifiers.

Combat doctrine for the Imperial Council is heavily dependent upon the fleet and capital ships. Star destroyers are no longer used as liberally, instead the Empire uses smaller space craft – such as the Razor Star Frigates – as first response ships. When a situation requires star destroyers and heavy cruisers, they are complemented with two or three smaller light cruisers or frigates used to harass the enemy and defend star destroyer blind spots. In addition looking at the failures in the Galactic Empire’s navy there has been a greater emphasis placed on and improvements made to fighters; the TIE Avenger and Mark VII TIE Bomber are equipped with hyperdrives. Additionally, improvements on ion drives and more aerodynamic solar paneling configurations improve the capabilities of Ties in atmospheric combat.

Imperial ground doctrine has changed drastically. Gone are the days of large AT-ATs, turbotanks, and massive swarms of stormtroopers. The day of the gunship has returned. Gunships ferry small teams of Naval Commandos to secure drop sites and conduct sabotage. Gunships cover heavy shuttles to land Imperial Army infantry and light APCs with variable legs that can shift from a four-legged walker to tanks.

Imperial Intelligence plans out eventual annexation of a system decades in advance, before the first Imperial troops land, or an Imperial ship enters a sector. Imperial Intelligence slowly destabilizing border worlds until the local interstellar government abandons it out of frustration. With this progress the Empire has advanced into the Mid Rim and even gained a few outposts in the Outer Rim, despite the efforts of their rivals. The Empire is every growing, ever calculating, and ever stable.

Humans and other species are treated for the most part equally under the law, though non-humans tend to still be poorer. Humans are preferred for many positions in the civilian government, and non-humans discriminated against by many local administrations. The Imperial Army and Navy are a melting pot for aliens and one of the places where an alien commander can rise to power. Almost a quarter of command in the Army is now composed of non-human species.

The Council is not as outright draconian as the Empire, but it is still authoritarian and elitist. While nothing in the law limits someone from the low class rising through the ranks of planetary bureaucracy into the courts of law, it is incredibly rare and unlikely for an outsider to become a representative of a planetary court. The original families of the first Arbiters have created entire dynasties, and most of the few not originally part of the Arbiter class were the children of wealthy Imperial citizens able to use their influence to their child into a lofty position bureaucratic position to climb their way to Arbiter.

While a safety net exists, many government service organizations and Imperial-backed companies have made it difficult for someone to advance in society. High crime and violence exists in the underbelly of these worlds, but large interplanetary syndicates like Crimson Dawn or subversive organizations like the Black Hand have difficulty taking root within the Empire. Quality of life may be slightly improved from the Palpatine era but life is much more stagnant.

Being less heavy handed then the Galactic Empire is a pretty low bar for the planetary security forces. Patrolmen are always looking for ways to advance in rank with deathstick and weapons busts. People no longer disappear when they are caught; people are no longer dragged away to be tortured into confessing. Instead they are dragged through public shame trials, guilty until proven innocent. The courts and Intelligence agencies can easily portray a simple gathering for card games as something far more sinister, condemning countless innocents to years or decades of labor.

To make matters worse, Imperial Intelligence is lurking in the darkened undercity and seemingly tranquil rural forests, searching for Black Hand cells and other underground movements that could threaten stability in the border regions. Originally, the Imperial Intelligence were unable to operate legally within the boundary of the Empire. However, with conspiracy after conspiracy revealed that could weaken the Empire and the Black Hand at large, their presence has continued to grow deeper into civilian administered territory of the Empire and fleets of the Imperial military. While they are unable to make arrests, it is clear they have no restrictions on what they can investigate.

Even the upper echelons of the courts and Concord are growing more concerned with the Intelligence network becoming a deep state, especially looking at the True Republic. Some speak of Imperial agents corrupted by the Black Hand or the more insidious threat encroaching from the Outer Rim. Some even speak of a secret cabal of men and women with blue skin giving orders to the upper echelons of Imperial Intelligence.

Still even with its problems the Imperial Council is far from being the worst state to live in.

The Eternal Empire is what formed from the Imperial forces that allied with the Department of Military Research. On paper they function as a single empire, a monarchy directed by Supreme Imperial Governor: Palpatine’s successor chosen by the Imperial Security Bureau. In practice they are four separate empires ruled by the four dominant factions of the government: the Department of Military Research, the People’s Militia, the Commission for Preservation of the New Order, and the Imperial Security Bureau. The Eternal Empire mostly controls territory in the galactic north of the Expansion Region and the Inner/Mid Rim, with a few worlds in the Core regions.

Worlds directly controlled by the People’s Militia are highly authoritarian, apartheid states, where non-militia members are treated as second-class citizens and all aliens are enslaved and reduced to a status lower than most droids. Throughout their systems, the tyranny of stormtroopers is replaced with the Militia cosplaying as Imperial Officers of the Palpatine era. Occupied peoples have almost no rights in the court of law detained and even executed by the without a trial. The Militia worlds are quite decrepit, with dilapidated buildings and barely passable infrastructure. On Coruscant, their territory is inundated with bombed out skyscrapers and collapsed city layers.

The cornerstone of the Militia is the belief that Palpatine ushered in a golden age for mankind against the barbarian and degenerate non-humans. They are particularly racist toward Mon Calamari who they still teach were tribal upon first contact with the Empire instead of a moderately influential race within the Republic. They have added to this myth saying the Mon Calamari stole Imperial ships with which to plunder the Outer Rim and cannibalize their inhabitants. Races such as the savage Mon Calamari and deviant tail heads are to be executed on site to pay for their crimes against humanity. Most other alien species fare little better with combatants being executed and non-combatants enslaved.

On the battlefield the Militia is deployed with outdated equipment from the Palpatine and Clone Wars era, many refuse to dress in the Imperial Army gear but use their patrol uniforms out of pride. Despite this they are highly motivated and will fight to the death to subjugate the false Imperial Council and the Rebels who they believe almost brought the galaxy to total collapse.

The Commission for Preservation of the New Order has morphed from a propaganda machine into a strange cult, worshiping Palpatine as a god. A core tenet of their propaganda-turned-religion is that Palpatine is not truly dead, and his absence is just a test to see who will remain loyal to him. One day he will return to reclaim his throne, bestow the power of the Force upon the subjects of Eternal Empire, reconquer the galaxy, and grant immortality to his followers using the tragically lost knowledge of Plagueis the Wise.

On the surface, COMPNOR allows the Imperial Moffs and governors in their sectors rule, but blackmails them so they follow their vision. The massive unofficial network of spies has put COMPNOR at odds with the Imperial Security Bureau, who are growing increasingly paranoid that the COMPNOR is blackmailing governors throughout the other regions of the Eternal Empire.

The worlds under the greatest COMPNOR influence in the Eternal Empire use standard Imperial tactics and equipment from the Palpatine era, with slight improvements, trying their best to keep their section of the Empire the way the Emperor intended it. Their troops are much better equipped then their Militia counterparts, but apart from their stormtroopers their troops lack in training. The idolization and preferential treatment the stormtroopers enjoy prevent them from being effectively used. In some instances vital garrisons remain nearly idle, only being used to act as bodyguards used for photo ops after the real fighting is over.

COMPNOR has attempted to create its own branch of Force users, originally as a misguided attempt to get Palpatine a new body. Unfortunately, most of their members are unable to use the Force effectively, and the program relies on long-debunked theories. Their testing is unscientific and inaccurate, and is mainly used as a cover to accept the wealthy into their ranks. The few Force users they have are constantly being conditioned using pseudoscientific methods such as electro shock therapy to enhance their power, and little actual Force training is given besides the “teachings” of Palpatine. Only a fraction of COMPNOR Force users are deployed in combat, most are used to preform propaganda stunts for COMPNOR or are set to work solving “the Plagueis life equation.”

The Imperial Security Bureau was originally a tool Lord Fel used in the initial chaos to assassinate and blackmail other governors into submission and declare himself High Governor. He ruled his portion of the Eternal Empire with an iron fist, hoping that the Militia and Department of Military Research would submit to his rule or be easily conquered after fighting against the Rebels. Two hundred years later, the dynasty of Fel is all but a figurehead for the Imperial Security Bureau and the once-dominant faction in the Eternal Empire is being slowly eaten away at by the fanaticism of the Militia and the subversive COMPNOR.

The Imperial Security Bureau and the High Governor maintains direct control of most worlds in the Eternal Empire. Unlike the Militia and COMPNOR, they maintain a cordial relationship with the Imperial Council, though it becomes increasing difficult with the Militia’s saber rattling. They have the largest fleet and detachment of stormtroopers and the second largest army loyal to them in the Eternal Empire.

The Bureau also has the advantage of inheriting much of Palpatine’s Inquisition. Their Force users like the Imperial Knights are surprisingly secular; they receive special Force training, but none of the philosophy that went along with the teachings of the Jedi, Sith, or even the Chiss-inspired doctrine of Council’s Imperial Knights. They only believe in preserving the Eternal Empire at all costs. They are pragmatic and cold in a way far different than any Force user, taught to silence the feelings of the Force only to use it as a tool of war. They fight on the battlefield as with ruthless machine-like efficiency, assassinating targets in the Republics and beyond with such precision and zero remorse.

The Bureau shares this coldness in every facet of its society. The regions under its control are the most similar to Palpatine’s Empire. Enforcers patrol the streets and stormtroopers stand at guard near Imperial structures just as in the Palpatine era. But, there is no blaring propaganda, Militia drills, or Miracles of Palpatine being displayed. There are no beatings in the street or triumphant military parades.

People disappear from the highest of Moffs to the lowest of dregs, and the worst part is no one knows why. Sometimes one may see Enforcers show up to take the neighbors away never to return. Sometimes kids come home from school to find their parents gone. It happens so frequently that it can be argued life under the ISB is more terrifying then even the Militia’s region. Rumors are whispered in the alleyways. Some talk about massive industrial prison camps, some say there are killing fields. Some say people are used for forced labor, others that they are being reprogramed, and yet others say people being experimented on. Some say there is secret police of Force users lurking in shadows, reading minds to separate the guilty from the innocent. Some whisper tales of dozens of worlds being conquered by creatures from another galaxy. Some say these same creatures are sending agents that can mimic any person and replace them. What rumors are more fact then fiction may never be truly known.

The Department of Military Research is by far the least totalitarian of the branches, mainly due to the fact they have the smallest populations of their section of the Empire. They are happy to let local leaders run the show as long as they get a few planetoids and the occasional unruly civilians to experiment on. Initially their goal was build a third Death Star; however, it was destroyed in its earliest stages of construction by a combined armed forces of the Alliance and the Imperial Council, killing almost all Imperial personnel with knowledge of the Death Star plans. Later, the Treaty of Coruscant forbade any power from constructing such a destructive weapon. The Death Star plans would be lost to time as archives were sabotaged, and the White Paladins assassinated most of the surviving scientists. As a result the department has gradually turned their attention to more conventional weapon and improving existing designs with exception of phage weaponry.

Naval assets deployed by the Department are small in number but heavy in tonnage, utilizing massive capital ships such as super star destroyers and siege engines bristling with weapons. A single ship is often designed to battle a full fleet and can turn the tide of battle, making even the most experienced commander of the Imperial Council second guess. Despite this, these ships are not much more advanced then the Executor-class used hundreds of years prior just loaded with more guns and defensive batteries.

The Department uses heavy vehicles, but has double downed on the Empire’s most infamous ground tactics. AT-ATs and AT-STs have been given fully revamped power systems and hydraulics, loaded down with variety of heavy blasters, laser cannons, and rocket pods. Most AT-AT variants have head-mounted, underside, and topside turrets. The Department has also created new designs. The AT-AF – the walking fortress – is the successor to the AT-AT. It is a massive turtle-like monstrosity bristling with artillery and point defense. It has a super heavy laser canon rated for capitals ship engagements mounted on its back, enough incinerators to turn anything unlucky enough to walk under it to ash, and can carry a full battalion of stormtroopers within its cavernous shell.

However, quite possibly the greatest achievement of the Department has been the evolution of the stormtrooper. Almost all infantry are highly trained stormtroopers, utilizing compact repeater rifles and advanced ceramic polymer armor technology. The average Department storm trooper can take a survive a few direct hit from a high powered blaster rifle, and use the energy to recharge power packs. There are dozens of variants specialized for variety of environments but non are more infamous as the Dark Troopers.

The Department was horrified by devastation they suffered at the hands of the White Paladins, and the rapidly growing Force user organizations throughout the galaxy including the Knights of the Imperial Council and the Inquisitors of the Bureau. Instead of joining the arms race they made a counter in the form of the Dark Trooper. Incased in a suit of advanced servos, phrik metal alloy armor, and a bubble shield generator, the Dark Trooper was a match for even the most experienced of Jedi. Armed with heavy weapons such as assault cannons, missile pods, flamers, and plasma mortars they are able to lay waste to vehicles and even a Mark II can hold its own against a platoon of infantry. There are up to five variants ranging from the upgraded Mark II, III, IV to the refined Force user-hunting Purge Troopers.

The main reason the Eternal Empire has lasted so long is despite its flaws of all four parts is that their strengths make them difficult to conquer, even if they have begun to lose territory to the growing Hapes Confederation. However as time wears on and friction grows it becomes increasingly likely the Eternal Empire will split along its fault lines.

When the Empire had expanded into the Outer and Mid Rim, millions of worlds were subject to totalitarianism and oppression unseen before. However, just as many had been liberated from the sinister cabals of crime cartels and syndicates. When the imperial fleets retreated inward, many cheered, but many more would soon cower in terror as the groups like Crimson Dawn and the Hutts flooded the area with their enforcers to fill the power vacuum. Pirates raided, slave traders uprooted entire colonies, and petty smuggler lords tried to carve out their own kingdoms.

However while the fleets of star destroyers and the vast squadrons of TIE fighters and armies within them were gone, many stormtroopers remained behind, following only a single order: maintain the Empire.

While members of the Imperial Army faltered, selling all their equipment to get to civilized space or joining the ranks of the new warlords, the stormtroopers would not. Despite many believing the worst had happened, some even believing they might be the last stormtroopers in the entire galaxy, they stood firm. They defended their outposts from slaver, mercenary, and warlord alike, and with them the other inhabitants. The common pirate and smuggler thug was no match for the stormtroopers’ supreme accuracy and training, and the average mercenary did not share the same fearlessness and dedication in combat.

The locals were far too numerous to conquer and the troopers were far too valuable to overthrow. Without the locals there was no food and without the troopers there was no protection. An understanding was reached, the locals and the troopers became entwined in a symbiotic relationship different then the Empires of the inner galaxy or even the Republics to come. They were one tribe. When one trooper would finally fall a local would eagerly replace them.

The cartels grew infuriated, and lusted after these worlds, until after a generation they grew tired sending third parties of low-end mercenaries and pirates to conquer them, and smugglers to bribe them. The great syndicates made a temporary agreement, turning the Imperial warlords and armies of enforcers they had turned against one another towards the garrison worlds. The new generation of ragtag stormtroopers was overwhelmed. World after world fell and all seemed helpless, until a voice united them.

Captain Phasma was only a newborn during the time of the collapse. She had only heard tall tales of the Imperial golden age when Parnassos had eternally green jungles and crystal blue oceans. A golden age brought to ruin when the world’s fragile geo engineering structures that were irreversibly damaged by the Rebel Alliance’s bombardment; the planet was sent into irreversible ecological collapse. She wanted nothing more to be one of the stormtroopers, the Ivory Guardians who slew the ravenous man-eating creatures emerging from the dying jungle and saving her and her brother from the sky people. At age 16 she joined the garrison after saving a scout trooper from the deadlands. She rose from private, to fireteam leader, and to eventually lieutenant in the span of a year.

Her world was one of the first to be devastated by the syndicate invasion. The majority of the garrison, along with surrounding villages, barely escaped the bombardment. It was only due to Phasma’s leadership and quick thinking that they survived, escaping by blowing a hole through a partially-built sewer tunnel into the dangerous jungle. Once in the dead of night, the survivors choose Phasma as their new leader.

Using the village’s knowledge of survival, stormtrooper training, and old holodecks on the Rebellion, Phasma was able to mount a successful guerrilla warfare campaign against the Hutt mercenaries. The troopers became one with the tribe, able to survive in one of the last remaining jungles on the planet. They sabotaged spice refineries and plantations, hijacked enforcer skiffs, and set up radio communications with other resistance cells. After a year of guerrilla warfare, the Hutts had enough, deciding to pull off their assets off world, but not before bombarding it with the star destroyer of an Imperial Warlord in debt to the cartel. Phasma and all the cells on the planet congregated around the spaceport in the dead of night, and come morning they captured the port and the ships within.

The Imperial resistance, along with a handful of disgruntled pilots – only there to repay their debts to the Hutts – managed to successfully board a star destroyer belonging to one of the Hutt cartel’s many underlings. The original plan was to sabotage the destroyer and return back home, until she heard the captain’s voice. A man pleading over the intercom with one of his oppressors, the once-thunderous voice in the sky reduced to a scared child. Phasma realized that this would not be enough. The offworlders would not tire and leave; they would be enraged, sending more ships to raze the world until all that was left was ash and glass. The only chance they had was to take the ship and use it as a deterrent.

With blasters set to stun, the resistance raided bridge, hopeful that they could convince the crew to teach them how to operate the ship. The stormtroopers battled through the decks swarming with enforcers and warlord crew, losing dozens of their own. And with every step they could hear the captain’s pleas for his life grow more frantic. The weary, ragged stormtroopers finally blasted their way into the warlord’s quarters confronting the ship’s leader and his master.

Upon entering she became enraged. Not because the man was pathetic and fat, or the Imperial uniform he wore was tarnished, but because he was groveling. Not to a proud alien warlord rippling with muscle, or an imposing admiral with hundreds of ships at his disposal, or a powerful Force user choking him through the vast emptiness of space, he was groveling before a fat slug.

What could be described next is a thunderous furry that roared through the ship’s communication system and shouting dozens of tribal curses at the Hutt. After shutting it off she waxed and waned about the Empire of old. The crew, disgruntled and too young to know the tyranny of the Empire, rebelled against the few Hutt enforcers. From the stormtrooper garrisons, Imperial warlords, independent smugglers, and citizens of thousands of worlds resentful of the syndicates, a new nation was born. A nation to uphold the one order to maintain the Empire: The First Order.

Almost two hundred of years after Phasma’s campaign, the First Order remains strong and free, controlling space concentrated in the Mid and Outer Rim, with a small strip of territory wrapping around and into former Hutt space to Kessel. They are cut off from the other empires, besieged by enemies ranging from the waning Hutt cartels, Imperial warlord states, and Restored Republic, to the rising Zann Consortium, the Crimson Dawn Syndicate, the Bothan State, and the True Republic.

Despite the First Order having a Supreme Leader, and a Phasma forever holding the office of Eternal Leader and Captain, it is not as autocratic as one would think. The First Order is a meritocracy and confederation of military juntas which are surprisingly democratic. Every new officer appointed – whether a lowly lieutenant or even a mighty flotilla captain – must be approved by a majority his or her peers and those they originally commanded.

The military doesn’t serve the government, it is the government, and every citizen is the military. Every person and alien within the First Order is required to serve for year in military, whether in a combat or support role, ensuring that the First Order always has a large standing army and civilians with military training acting as another deterrent against would-be invaders. While most leave to go back to farming the ones who stay can rise to great heights.

Military doctrine is heavily based around infantry units being dropped into the thick of battle, are resupplied with up-armored shuttle craft and modified escape pods, and are left for extended periods of time with air support and fleet support. They are armed to the teeth with mines and other explosives, AW and AT launchers, and jammers. Their standard small arms are tried and true T-21, E-15 marksman blasters, and the white spear blaster – a replacement to the E-11s distributed to the First Order and their allies that is far more durable and accurate if having a slower rate of fire.

Unlike most Imperial armies, stormtroopers make up the majority of combat infantry. They are the largest force of well-equipped infantry in the galaxy. Their armor has undergone extensive armor redesign in comparison to their counterparts in the inner galaxy. It uses more durable plating, with areas like the chest being two times as thick. It is also designed to be smoother and more curved to better deflect blasts. Stormtrooper armor is often equipped with paint kits and texture kits to camouflage the standard light grey before going down to the surface. The most noticeable change is to the helmet itself, the frown replaced is stretched out into a wide grin and the eyes made larger to emulate the hunting and ceremonial masks of Phasma’s tribe.

Many elite assault units of stormtroopers, such as Phasma’s Spear, have their armor electroplated with agrinium alloys to blunt heat and radiation, making them able to tank traditional blaster fire without heavy shielding equipment. However, these units are only used for shock and awe, or boarding actions, since the electroplating is highly reflective making them stick out like a cantina ball. There are also elite stormtroopers adept in the Force, although they don’t use lightsabers they are highly trained in hand to hand combat and martial arts, often carrying non-lethal shock staffs in addition to blasters.

Despite its elite ground forces, the First Order Navy is not very advanced. It is mostly made of a hodgepodge of repurposed capital ships and armored freighters emblazoned with the symbol of the First Order. Their fighter rosters are somewhat better, with crudely upgraded TIE fighters and interceptors with a low-grade hyperdrive, along with fighters captured from both the True and Restored Republics. The success to the First Order’s space combat has been due to using overwhelming odds and boarding actions. Their capital ships make heavy use of ion cannons used to temporarily disable shielding and gun emplacements so that modified shuttles can deposit units like Phasma’s Spear to drill and board the ship. These harrowing boarding actions have crippled entire enemy fleets and have become the primary source of ships for the First Order.

However, the strangest aspect of the First Order is its acceptance of the many light and grey teachings of Skywalker. While not as common as they are in the Restored Republic, Force users and their schools are spread throughout the First Order. Most have incorporated the tribal and militaristic honor codes of the First Order in their teachings. Conversely, many of these teachings have been incorporated into First Order’s military doctrine for units, most notably meditation for long-range engagements and ambush.

The First Order has remained a light in the Outer Rim of a struggling galaxy, but whether it will stay that way remains in question. The Bothans play spymaster as always, telling pirates where to strike when the First Order isn’t looking. The True Republic is on a warpath, throwing more ships at the First Order then anyone has before. And with each defeat against the True Republic, the odds are not in the First Order’s favor as the outsiders draw ever closer to their space in the galactic north.

Outside the big three, there are hundreds of Imperial warlord states and pirate kingdoms. Many of these dynasties fluctuate between expansion and total collapse as the sector warlords die.

Warlord military personnel are poor and non-standardized, many are lucky to have old E-11 blasters and even pieces of Palpatine Era Imperial Army armor. Many warlord stormtroopers wear nothing more than white balaclavas, blast-resistant chest plates, and fatigues.

In the immediate aftermath of the Galactic Civil War, these warlord states were slowly being co-opted by various crime syndicates. As the First Order arose, these warlord states have become too unprofitable to manage for many crime syndicates. Major powers such as the Eternal Empire, First Order, and True Republic slowly whittle away at the warlord states. Now with the Outsiders, the final days of the warlords draws near.