Chapter Text
In the eyes of Sate Pestage, the Grand Vizier of the Galactic Empire, arguably the second most powerful position within the Empire, second only to the Emperor himself, the current situation the Empire was facing wasn’t good, not good in the slightest. A little over a week ago he had received word regarding the result of the so called “Battle of Endor”, where Emperor Palpatine had planned to draw the Rebellion into a grand trap where they would be utterly destroyed.
It was a truly masterful plan that the Emperor had created. At the Emperor’s direction, Imperial Intelligence had intentionally leaked specific information and details to the Rebellion through the Bothan Spy Network regarding the construction of the second Death Star, including the battle station’s location, it’s seemingly unfinished state and that its weapon systems weren’t yet operational, and most importantly that the Emperor himself would be visiting to oversee the final stages of construction.
At face value, it was an irresistible target, one that the Rebels couldn’t possibly ignore. The information presented led the Rebellion to believe that the Death Star was vulnerable and only had a relatively small Imperial Navy task force protecting the construction site, and the fact that the Emperor himself would be visiting the site? The Rebels wouldn’t be able to resist attacking it.
It had all been a trap, of course. Much of the information that was intentionally leaked was either deliberately false or misleading. In truth the superlaser, the primary weapon of the Death Star was in fact fully operational and a large Imperial Fleet was hidden on the far side of the forest moon of Endor, and there was a powerful ground-based shield generator that protected the station itself and there was a large ground garrison defending the shield generator.
The Imperial battle plan itself was fairly simple but straightforward. Once the Rebel Fleet arrived within the system and moved to engage the Death Star, the Imperial Fleet would reveal itself and approach them from from behind, pinning the Rebels between the fully functional Death Star and the Imperial Fleet, effectively boxing them in and ensuring the Rebels complete and total destruction. With the majority of the Rebel Fleet destroyed, and their most important leaders killed or captured there would be no stopping the Empire.
So when Pestage had received word about the battle, he had expected to hear of the Empire’s ultimate victory, that the Imperial forces had been triumphant and that the Rebels had finally been utterly crushed. But no, instead he was told that the battle had ended in an Imperial defeat, that the second Death Star had been destroyed and that the Imperial Fleet had been decimated. Those facts alone already made the battle a major disaster, especially since the Empire had held all the advantages!
The entire battle was designed from the beginning to be a trap, the Imperial Fleet stationed there alone was made up of over thirty Star Destroyers, several Interdictors as well as other various smaller cruisers and corvettes, and the Executor itself! Some of the Empire’s most elite units were likewise assigned there, such as the infamous 501st Stormtrooper Legion, the personal Legion of Darth Vader himself, as well as the elite Onyx Squadron which was made up of the extremely capable and deadly TIE Defenders, and the elite 181st Imperial Fighter Group. That was not even mentioning the Death Star itself and its superlaser! And the fact that the Imperials forces there were ready for them! By all rights the Empire should have won the battle with ease!
If that were the extent of the bad news, then perhaps this disastrous situation could have been salvaged somewhat. But unfortunately that wasn’t the only bad news. The most crucial and shocking news of all was that… the Emperor was dead.
The Emperor was dead, and so was Darth Vader, and a number of other high ranking Imperial Military officers, including two Grand Admirals; Grand Admiral Nial Declann and Grand Admiral Osvald Teshik had been killed during the battle and even six of his fellow members of the Imperial Ruling Council had been killed when the Death Star itself was destroyed.
Not only that but Death Squadron, the personal fleet of Darth Vader and one of the most elite and feared units within the Empire which had been assigned to defend Endor had been utterly decimated in the battle, most of the fleet had been destroyed or captured in the fighting, with only a relatively small portion of it managing to escape. Even the Executor itself, the flagship of Death Squadron was destroyed, being reported to have literally crashed into the Death Star after its command bridge was destroyed by a Rebel Starfighter which had crashed into it.
The destruction of the Executor, which had resulted in the death of Fleet Admiral Piett who had been the commander of the fleet, and then the subsequent destruction of the Death Star, had practically shattered what remained of the Imperial forces as the entire chain of command was in complete disarray with so many high ranking officers killed. From what he had been told, the remaining Imperial forces, under orders from one Captain Pellaeon of the ISD Chimera who had taken temporary command of the fleet, retreated to Annaj in order to regroup and access their remaining strength and plan a counterattack, and upon reaching there, an Admiral Adye Prittick, the highest ranking officer that was still alive, had assumed command of what remained of Death Squadron.
However upon reaching Annaj, the surviving Imperial flag officers began infighting amongst themselves as they couldn’t agree on what their next course of action should be, with Admiral Prittick turning out to be utterly indecisive and being unable to come to a decision. This indecision led to the surviving Imperial forces to fracture, with an Admiral Blitzer Harrsk and several other officers shockingly departing with their ships, abandoning the field which further reduced Death Squadron to a mere dozen Star Destroyers. As a result, Admiral Prittick decided against launching a counterattack against the Rebels and withdrew from the Sector entirely and was currently heading towards Yag’Dhul, giving the Rebels vital time and space to recover from the battle. This was the least of Pestage’s concerns however as he had learned of a much bigger and more important problem that he had learned of not too long ago.
Unbeknownst to the vast majority of the Empire, Pestage was amongst a select few trusted individuals amongst the Emperor’s inner circle who was aware that the Emperor had a secret contingency plan in place in the event of his untimely death, Project Necromancer.
Project Necromancer was a top secret experimental cloning project on the Emperor’s secret Throne World of Byss in the Deep Core. The purpose of the project was for the Emperor to achieve immortality by using ancient Sith techniques to transfer his spirit essence into an experimental clone body upon his death, effectively becoming immortal as the plan was for him to repeat the process with a continuous supply of clone bodies to act as hosts. The Emperor had in fact told Pestage that in the event of his death he was to take charge of the Empire as his Regent until he was ready to return.
That was what Pestage had been prepared for. He was confident that he would be able to hold the Empire together and keep the Rebels at bay long enough until the Emperor had regained his strength and was ready to return to the Empire and reassume power and take revenge against the Rebels and any ambitious traitors who attempted to take advantage of the power vacuum.
Unfortunately yet again fate had other plans.
When Pestage had opened a secret and private communication channel and got into contact with the Emperor’s Citadel on Byss to receive word on the status of Project Necromancer, and if the Emperor had returned and inhabited one of the experimental clone bodies, he had received truly terrible news which had left him utterly stunned.
He was informed that the project had been sabotaged.
The Clone Lab Complex within the Emperor’s Citadel and all of the Emperor’s clone bodies were destroyed by two of the Emperor’s Dark Side Adepts who had turned traitor, believing that they could take control of the Empire and sought to prevent the Emperor’s resurrection. Naturally those traitors were in turn were killed by the loyal Imperial Royal Guard, Imperial Sentinels and Stormtrooper garrison. However the damage had already been done. The destruction was so complete that nothing could be salvaged amongst the remains. All of the decades worth of research and data had been lost, as well as the numerous scientists and researchers were involved in the project were likewise killed in the Clone Lab’s destruction. With the destruction of the Clone Lab Complex and all of the research, equipment, technology, and personnel within it, the Emperor’s resurrection was now impossible, he was now dead permanently.
When he had been informed of this development, Pestage honestly didn’t know what to do. The Emperor’s contingency plan to cheat death and achieve immortality via clone bodies had been sabotaged by traitors, the last hope for the Empire had been snuffed out.
This was dire news as without the Emperor, the Empire had lost its head, and most crucially of all, the Emperor had left no designated heir to inherit the Imperial Throne in the event of his death. That had always been a critical issue within the Empire, the lack of an official designated Heir to the Imperial Throne had always been a matter of quiet debate and concern within the Empire.
The Emperor had no children of his own, despite having a number of concubines over the years, and the Emperor had never shown any interest in discussing the matter of Imperial succession, because he naturally had planned to live forever and had no need for a succession plan, and because of that there was no natural successor, no Heir to inherit the throne.
The closest to a potential successor that the Emperor had was in fact Darth Vader. As the right hand and personal enforcer of the Emperor as well as Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military, Darth Vader was seen by many as the likeliest candidate to claim the Imperial Throne in the event of the Emperor’s death. Even then, most Imperials were naturally very wary and uncomfortable of the idea of Lord Vader potentially becoming the next Galactic Emperor, given the Sith Lord’s infamous reputation.
However the Emperor was now dead, which left the Imperial Throne vacant, and with the death of Darth Vader the Empire had lost its most fierce Enforcer who had kept much of the Imperial Officer Corps in line and obedient in fear of incurring his wrath. That was dire news as the Grand Vizier was well aware that there were many opportunistic and ambitious individuals within the Imperial Government and Military who would very much be eager to take advantage of the power vacuum and would almost certainly tear the Empire apart in the power struggle that was certain to come, especially once word of the Emperor’s death became more widespread, which was quickly becoming the case.
The initial efforts of keeping the news of the Empire’s defeat and Endor and more importantly word of the Emperor’s death a secret from the general public until he and the rest of the Imperial Ruling Council could figure out their next course of action, proved futile as word had already quickly spread all across the Galaxy. The Rebellion had proudly announced their victory at Endor and transmitted the footage of the destruction of the second Death Star and the death of the Emperor all over the HoloNet.
This had massive consequences as he was already receiving reports that dissent and riots were quickly spreading across the Empire in reaction to this news. Dozens, if not hundreds of planets, mostly those with small or minimal Imperial garrisons were completely overwhelmed by these uprisings and Imperial control was effectively lost. On other worlds with a more substantial Imperial presence, the Imperial Military had to expend considerable resources to put down the uprisings. Even on Coruscant itself, the capital of the Empire, there were massive riots and uprisings that needed to be put down, which fortunately they were with brutal efficiency. And more worryingly a number of Moffs, Admirals and Governors, mostly those in the distant Outer Rim were beginning to ignore orders from Coruscant and even started fighting amongst themselves over ships, resources and territory.
That couldn’t be allowed to continue, Pestage knew that he needed to quickly get the situation under control, otherwise the Empire would tear itself apart.
He and the rest of the Ruling Council had already agreed to shift the Imperial Military’s stance from pursuing Rebel forces to the defensive Fortress World Strategy, fortifying key systems of the Empire to prevent further attacks, and they were doing their best to tighten control over the Imperial Military, especially the officers, though this had mixed results. They had also appointed an Admiral Uther Kermen in command of the Imperial Navy to lead the defense of the Empire and handle the reorganization of various Imperial Naval Forces as he saw fit.
As for the matter of who should now lead the Empire, in Pestage’s opinion the answer was rather obvious. With the Imperial Throne now vacant, the duty and responsibility of taking control of the Empire and assuming the title of Galactic Emperor should naturally and obviously fall to HIM.
After all, he was the Grand Vizier, the highest ranking official within the Empire, second only to the Emperor himself. He was the Head of the Imperial Ruling Council and in fact controlled the day to day operations of the Empire. It was he who managed the bureaucracy of the Empire on behalf of the Emperor. In fact the Emperor had been withdrawing from matters of state more and more as he began focusing his attention on the growing Rebellion and searching for Skywalker, leaving Pestage to fill the roles and duties the Emperor had left and was the one for the most part deciding Imperial Policy with minimal instruction from the Emperor. He had also been one of the Emperor’s most faithful and loyal servants since before he even became the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, having always carried out his will to the very best of his abilities. So if anyone was to claim the Imperial Throne, by all rights it should be him, as he knew that, unlike those opportunistic traitors, only he would continue to faithfully carry out the Emperor’s vision and maintain his legacy.
However despite this, Pestage of course wasn’t stupid. Despite being the highest ranking official within the Empire and had been the Emperor’s oldest and closest friend and advisor, he was well aware of the fact that he wouldn’t be accepted as Galactic Emperor. He simply lacked the natural charisma and influence of his predecessor, and he just didn’t command the same respect or fear like the Emperor or Darth Vader were able to. To many within the Imperial Military for example, he was viewed as just a bureaucrat, a very high level and important bureaucrat for sure, but a simple bureaucrat and politician just the same and Pestage likewise had made many rivals and enemies within the Imperial Government over the years, whom were jealous and envious of his position and power.
Not only that but his own personal power base wasn’t the largest or most imposing. He did have the Ciutric Hegemony as his own personal domain that his family had ruled for generations, and while it was certainly wealthy and had since become a model Imperial state, and he had cultivated a number of agents who were loyal to him and even had prepared a secret safe house should the worse come to pass, it wouldn’t nearly be enough to prop up and sustain his rule over the Empire.
With the Emperor now dead, Pestage had effectively lost his patron. Pestage having the backing of the Emperor was the main reason why his position was secure and respected in the Empire. To move or plot against him was to plot against the Emperor. Now that he didn’t have the Emperor’s protection and backing, Pestage was aware that sooner or later most within the Empire would lose their respect for his position and might try to oust him from power and take the Throne for themselves. With the Emperor dead, Pestage’s position within the Empire was for the first time, truly threatened.
So because of that, Pestage knew that he couldn’t directly claim the Imperial Throne for himself, no matter how much he wanted to. While technically his position gave him a legitimate claim to the throne, especially considering he had essentially already been ruling the Empire for years, there would no doubt be many who would seek to challenge his claim or view it as a mere power grab. No, he needed a puppet, someone that he could place on the throne with little pushback from the Imperial Government and Military, someone that would be easily influenced and controlled by him.
But who could fill that role? As already mentioned, the Emperor had no children, well technically there was Triclops but it was best to forget about him, and Pestage was aware of the fact that most of the Emperor’s family was dead. He was aware that there were a few distant and relatively unimportant cousins and other relatives of the Emperor that were still around, but who to pick?
It was then as Pestage was going over the various known members of the Emperor’s family that were still alive, he suddenly remembered one particular relative that would suit his purposes perfectly: Ederlathh Pallopides.
Ederlathh Pallopides was the young eleven year old great-niece of the Emperor. From what he remembered, the Emperor’s father, Cosinga Palpatine had a mistress whom he had a son with, the Emperor’s half brother whose name Pestage couldn’t bother to remember. That half brother wasn’t with the rest of the family when they were killed on their personal starship, and so continued to live and went on to have a family of his own, and Ederlathh was the man’s granddaughter.
The girl had actually been brought to the Imperial Court some years ago on a whim of the Emperor… after the Emperor had her family assassinated, which had naturally been disguised to look like it was done by insurgents and she was the sole survivor. Pestage wasn’t completely sure why the Emperor had the girl’s family assassinated, or why she was then brought to the Imperial Palace but it seemed to bring some amusement to the Emperor who also wanted to tie up some loose ends, and the orphaned girl was hardly a threat to the Emperor’s rule and her presence likewise amused him.
She wasn’t even an obscure figure within the Empire. Though she was mostly still in the background of the Imperial Court and was in truth of minor importance and had no important role, she was still fairly well known within the Imperial Court as the Emperor had openly acknowledged her existence multiple times and the that she was his great-niece.
When she was brought to court, the Emperor had seen fit to officially declare her his ward, ensured she was given a proper education worthy of her status as a relative of the Imperial Family, and had even granted her the title of “Imperial Princess”. By now she had become something of a fixture of the court, and had made several public appearances at various special occasions hosted by the Emperor, such as the Imperial Ball on Empire Day, and various charity events, especially Imperial Youth events. Pestage was aware that her hand was fairly well sought after and was seen as a prize, especially considering she was the only Imperial Princess. There had been more than a few nobles, Moffs and Admirals who wished to betroth the her to one of their sons in order to gain a direct connection with the Imperial Family, though the Emperor hadn’t seen fit to agree to any of them.
Admittedly Pestage knew that this was all done mostly to garner some sympathy and further support for the Emperor as taking in his orphaned great niece made for fairly simple but quite effective propaganda, and that the Emperor in truth didn’t really care for the girl all that much except for how she could be used to boost his public image and reputation as a kind and benevolent Emperor. Not only that but she could always serve as a useful and expendable pawn by marrying her off at some point.
However the most important thing about her was the fact that since she was one of the few known direct blood relatives of the Emperor, that meant that she held a legitimate claim to the Imperial Throne. While her status as a potential heir of the Emperor has never been made official, the Emperor’s acknowledgement of her, as well him granting her the title of Imperial Princess had led to a growing number of Imperial officials and military officers who viewed the young girl as a natural choice as an heir to the Emperor. And considering that the only other alternative candidate had been Darth Vader, many Imperial officers and officials preferred the young girl as opposed to the Sith Lord.
Because of that, Ederlathh was the perfect candidate as a puppet for him. Since she was still young, being only eleven years old she would be the ideal puppet ruler for him and the Imperial Ruling Council, as due to her young age, she would quite obviously couldn’t rule on her own and would require a Regent to rule on her behalf until she came of age, and naturally Pestage as the Grand Vizier and the Imperial Ruling Council would fill that role.
The more Pestage thought on the idea, the more appealing it became. There were many benefits to this plan, both for him and the Empire.
Installing the young Ederlathh as Galactic Empress would grant the Empire a new figurehead to rally around, one who had legitimacy and the backing of the Grand Vizier and the Imperial Ruling Council. She also would make for perfect Imperial propaganda films. He could already see her calling on the Imperial Military to fight on to defend the Empire, praising them for their courage and honor and noble sacrifice. And then there could be propaganda posters with face her on them, calling on them to defend their young Empress. They could portray her as a symbol of a new era for the Empire, the face of a new generation of Imperials. He would have to get the propagandists at COMPNOR working on that right away.
As for him, the benefits were obvious. As her Imperial Regent, Pestage would be able to continue ruling the Empire on her behalf. He could claim the temporary title of “Interim-Emperor” until she came of age and in the meantime would declare Ederlathh the rightful Heiress of the Imperial Throne and of course grant her the title of “Imperial Crown Princess” and would take her under his protection. During the Regency both he and the Ruling Council would be the ones actually responsible for ruling the Empire.
Ederlathh would mostly be a mere ceremonial figurehead for the Empire. While she would of course hold the title of Galactic Empress and Pestage and the Ruling Council would make a show of carrying out her wishes in public, advising her and perhaps allowing her to make minor decisions for the sake of appearances, in truth he would be the one in charge.
Even once the regency was officially over and she began “ruling”, it wouldn’t matter as by then he would have fully secured his position and power, placing those loyal to him in various important positions of power in the Imperial Government, and ensuring that he remained Grand Vizier and her most important advisor, the one she turned to for guidance and advice, and thus he would be the one who was truly in control of the Empire.
Pestage could also cement his rule by marrying her off to one of his relatives when she was older. He had a few nephews and cousins around Ederlathh’s age, he was certain he could find one that she would find agreeable to marry when the time came. Binding Ederlathh to House Pestage would grant him even more legitimacy and bring the Pestage Family to even more prominence, effectively becoming the new ruling Dynasty of the Empire. Yes, that would be perfect.
With those thoughts and plans in mind, the Grand Vizier began getting ready to set them into motion, he needed to act quickly if he was to pull this off. Firstly he would need to ensure that the girl was secure and then he would need to meet with the rest of the Ruling Council and discuss his plans with them. Soon enough, the Empire would be his.