AN: ...do I look like I own Star Wars in any capacity? As much as I wish I did...

5 ABY

Kamino System, 12 Parsec from the Rishi Maze

The Emperor was dead, and the Empire was dying. As much as Imperial High Command tried to cover this fact up, as well as the fact that he was slain by - if Rebel intelligence was to be believed - Darth Vader himself before his death as well, the simple fact was is the house of cards that Emperor Palpatine has been building for the last 24 years was finally beginning to collapse. Jakku was the final nail in the coffin for most of the Empire - with such a huge portion of the Imperial navy utterly trashed and left to scrap on that planet. The few remaining Imperial officials had either surrendered, or descended into warlordism.

The war was over - even with the odds stacked against them, the Rebel Alliance still managed to win. However, while victory was theirs… not all of the Empire was lost to the winds just yet.

Over the world of Kamino, a fleet of Imperial warships orbited the planet - made of Imperial Star Destroyers, but also smaller, older yet reliable Venator-class Star Destroyers, Victory-class Star Destroyers and other vessels from as far back as the Clone Wars. All of the ships maintaining a holding pattern, as if waiting for something.

Suddenly dropping out of hyperspace emerged several more Star Destroyers and support ships - but along with it were two gargantuan vessels in the middle of the formation. Leading the fleet was the oh-so familiar form of an Executor-class Star Dreadnought - just like vessels such as the Executor and Ravager. She was a vessel that once sparked fear in the rebellion, and adoration among loyal Imperial citizens. But now, one could make the very real argument that this ship - with its name H.I.M.S Redemption present for all to see - may very well be the last of her kind.

However, it was not alone - as it appeared to be towing something behind it - with help from several support craft. It too was a colossal Super Star Destroyer - but its design was radically different from that of the Executor-class. The former was sleek, slim and shaped like a sword… this one was shaped almost like a scythe, with a bow segment that dipped down. ANd while shorter by a few hundred meters, it clearly possessed more mass than the Executor… yet it looked incomplete, as signs of construction could be found across it - with open access to the inner-workings of the vessel could be seen.

Aboard the Executor-class, an older woman stood on the bridge of the dreadnought - wearing the grey uniform of that of a Grand Moff. Her black hair tied into a loose ponytail draped around her left shoulder, the only figure which deceived her otherwise human appearance being her pointed ears. Her emerald eyes looked at monitor images of the vessel they towed behind them. "Are you sure the Rebellion will buy it?" She asked, glancing at the second figure on the bridge.

He appeared to be a man, however not wearing the standard Imperial uniform - rather a set of form-fitting armor similar to that worn by Inquisitors of the Inquisitrus, only with a black cape joining it. The man himself had tanned skin, and ritualistic tattoos adorn on his face and head - being completely bald. His black eyes opened as he looked at the Grand Moff. "With the debris of the Vengeance, we were able to make it appear as if she destroyed herself while in hyperspace transit." he answered. "Given the damage we forced upon it, I believe the Republic will believe the Eclipse was lost… we got away, Moff Sutura."

Sutura Takeo nodded, turning her gaze back outside towards the form. "Are we certain the Zann Consortium hadn't put any tracking software in it?" She asked. "We know they took the Vault data, but could they have done anything else?"

"We've checked and found nothing, but I do not believe we have much to worry about." The Inquisitor informed. "Tyber Zann solely wanted the data on the Emperor's Vaults - the tactical data, priceless works of art and billions of credits… he is exceptionally smart, but he is still a criminal with… predictable goals." He let out a short chuckle. "If anything, he will likely want to own a senator in the New Republic."

"Just like the Hutts…" Sutura rolled her eyes, before turning to one of the officers in the 'pits' of the bridge. "Send word to the fleet - as soon as we resecure the Eclipse, we make the next series of jumps to Sector 151."

"Yes Ma'am," The officer saluted, "Also, a message from Prime Minister Lama Su of Kamino."

"Yes?" Sutura asked, waiting for a response.

"He says: 'Transfer of cloning personnel & training staff complete as requested - thank you for your continued patronage and support, Grand Moff Takeo."

The Grand Moff allowed a bit of a smile "Send a reply saying: always a pleasure to do business with Kamino." She said, before adjusting her gaze back out the window - as the Imperial ships all formed up around them.

"...we were told the Empire would last a thousand years…" The Inquisitor muttered, "...and it could barely last 24…"

Sutura let out a tired sigh "Emperor Palpatine miscalculated the danger of the Rebellion," She said, "So did Vader… and Tarkin…" she rolled her eyes mentioning the former Grand Moff. "Blasted Alderaan…" In Sutura's mind, Alderaan was the single, greatest mistake the Galactic Empire ever made - and is one of the main reasons (among many others) that the Empire lost control of the war. When Tarkin blew up Alderaan - it sent a message across the galaxy - but not the one Tarkin wanted to send.

He had hoped showing the raw, destructive firepower of the Death Star would frighten the galaxy so much, they would never dare rise up against the Empire for fear of being obliterated. And perhaps it would have worked… if it were virtually any other planet in the outer rim. Tatooine, Dantooine, Geonosis, Hypori… there was a massive list of notable worlds with little inhabitants to send the message that the Empire was not 'fooling around'.

Instead… he chose Alderaan. A core world. It would have been one thing if he had blown up some nowhere outer rim world that barely had anyone living on it. But destroying Alderaan - regardless of their sympathetic standpoint for the Rebellion - sent a message that Imperial High Command didn't care if they had to kill their own citizens. No one was safe from being destroyed… and combine that with the Rebel's victory over Yavin IV?

It was the single greatest Propaganda tool the Rebellion could have ever asked for - and Tarkin gave it right to them on a silver platter. Oh the Emperor tried to disavor Tarkin - saying he destroyed Alderaan without his authorization… which was bullshit - since in order to gain the firing codes, you need to have authorization from the Office of the Emperor to do it. But it didn't help that he himself tried to build a bigger, meaner version of the Death Star over Endor… and promptly got himself killed in his own trap.

"The Death Stars were a waste of credits," Sutura stated, "And a waste of lives… Thrawn knew that better than anyone."

"And the Eclipse?" The Inquisitor asked.

"The Eclipse is everything the Death Stars could never be, Inquisitor Malakin." She said, "A fraction of the cost, not nearly as obvious and most importantly… no damn thermal exhaust port."

Malakin nodded "Fair enough…" he said. "...what if the New Republic finds us?"

Sutura chuckled "How could they?" She asked, "Sector 151 was an enigma to them all… as far as they're concerned, no one's been in the Rishi Maze for over a thousand years."

"Let's hope it works…" Malakim nodded, crossing his arms.

"The Empire may be dying, but the Rishi Maze will survive." Sutura said. "When a limb is infected and can't be cured, you amputate it. Sacrifices must be made to ensure survival… losing the wider Empire is a tremendous loss… but we will ensure that the good the Empire brought the galaxy won't be buried by the evils propagated by Palpatine."

"It won't be easy…" Malakim muttered, "What good is an Empire without an Emperor?"

"Well, its a good thing we have a candidate to replace him now," Sutura smiled, as Malakim looked at her oddly, before his eyes widened.

"...we found him?"

"Let's just say I caught two birds with one stone," She chuckled a bit. "At least now, our Emperor won't be a scrotum-faced old bastard." Several officers and crewmen stifled their chuckles at the statement.

"Ma'am, preparations for the next jump are complete." Another officer reported. "We are ready to head out."

"Good." Sutura nodded, "Initialize Hyperspace jump… take us home, ensign."

The fleet of Starships moved in formation - as one after another the Imperial warships leaped into Hyperspace - with the Redemption being the last, carrying the form of the Eclipse into hyperspace together as they vanished from the orbit of Kamino.

117Jorn: So… yeah… started writing this after the whole "Rise of Skywalker" B.S and I decided… screw it, I'm doing a Canon story. We're gonna show the First Order, New Republic and Resistance what a REAL Galactic Empire could be! FOR THE EMPIRE!