Empire

From the bloated carcass of the Old Republic, an ambitious politician carved the Galactic Empire, a New Order of government meant to sweep away the injustices and inefficiencies of its predecessor. Rather than offer the people of the galaxy newfound hope, the Empire instead became a tyrannical regime, presided over by a shadowy and detached despot steeped in the dark side of the Force. Personal liberties were crushed, and the governance of everyday affairs was pulled away from the senate, and instead given to unscrupulous regional governors.

Accompanying the growth of the Empire was an unprecedented military buildup. The many shipyards in the Emperor's domain churned out immense fleets of Star Destroyers and TIE fighters. The Imperial starfleet maintained order in the galaxy, a role previously undertaken by the Jedi Knights, an august order of protectors wiped out during the Emperor's ascent.

It was through fear that the Empire ruled. Its power hungry lieutenants and technocrats developed greater and greater instruments of destruction to cow a rebellious populace.

Despite such shows of strength -- indeed, because of them -- the flames of rebellion fanned higher. Small pockets of resistance banded together to form the Alliance to Restore the Republic. At first, the pitiable number of freedom fighters seemed no match for the oppressive Empire. Nonetheless, they managed to score small victories throughout the Imperial territory. Enough to sting and irritate the Empire into declaring them outlaws and devote resources into hunting them down.

The galaxy has known empires in the past: systems and fiefdoms of space controlled by ambitious autocrats. All pale in comparison to the New Order that was built from the Republic's rotted foundations. During his ascent, some spoke of the remembered glories of empires pastThese wistful recollections never foretold the despotic turn the Empire took The senate was disbanded during the Galactic Civil War, citing the Rebellion as an emergency situation that required direct intervention. The emperor formally handed over power to regional governors and sector moffs -- roles these power-hungry officials had already been enjoying for years under his rule.

To ensure control over the populace, the Empire dismantled the galaxy-spanning HoloNet. With this public forum of information exchange now in the hands of the military, the Emperor was able to funnel the immense taxation revenue required to keep the HoloNet active into building his war machine. Furthermore, Imperial control of free information ensured that only the New Order agenda propagated throughout the galaxy, and dissenting voices were all but silenced.

Immense corporations aided and abetted the Empire's rise, in exchange for unprecedented freedom of operation. Many of these companies were nationalized -- Imperialized -- in the process, resulting in a huge influx of capital resources for the Empire.

The results of the military buildup soon became apparent, as the first Imperial-class Star Destroyers lumbered out of the Kuat Drive Yards. This was just the start, as new and more potent weapons of war and subjugation were developed by the Emperor's cronies. The Empire adopted its "doctrine of fear." Rather than expend the resources required to subjugate every planet in the galaxy, the Empire would instead make visible its power in one potent display that could be targeted towards any treasonous world. Fear would keep the systems in line.

The Empire's structure was a bewildering array of crossed authorities, all ultimately answerable to the Emporer. This ensured that only the Emporer could speak with absolute authority, while his underlings carefully watched their words and actions. The Imperial advisors and COMPNOR (the Coalition for the Preservation of the New Order) effectively controlled the massive Imperial bureaucracy. The Imperial moffs and grand moffs wielded authority over their sectors and regions, including control of the military in their various areas of influence. The local systems governors reported directly to their moffs, and had control o f all Imperial forces garrisoned within their system. Imperial Intelligence reported directly to the Emperor, as well as to specific sector moffs.

The Emperor had devised his perfect vision of government with himself as Supreme Ruler of the galaxy. However, he also designed a system that could not function effectively without him. Through the Force, his dark will drove the Imperial starfleet, unifying it in combat, and through his political machinations, he created a system that left no obvious heir to the Empire.