What if the Empire under (blank) succeeded against the NR?

[MawDrallin]

Hello all, I am not a member of these forums, but I have been a long-time lurker here. Today while I was playing ICW 2.0, a thought came to me and I'd figure I'd post it here.

Anyways to the point, What do you think would happen if the Empire under (Blank) managed to defeat the New Republic and rebuilt the Empire? I want your opinion's on what would happen if the Empire, under the leadership of either Isard, Thrawn, the Reborn Palpatine, Daala, or Pellaeon, managed to defeat the Republic and restored the Galactic Empire to its former glory. Here are my answers:

Ysanne Isard: If in 7 ABY Madam Director Ysanne Isard had repelled the New Republic attack on Coruscant and subsequently launched an offensive against the Republic, I believe that the Galactic Empire would be in a similar state as they were in around 2 BBY. With the New Republic defeated, Isard would undoubtably proclaim herself Empress and would run the Empire similar to how Palpatine ran it. While the Rebellion would have been defeated, there would probably still be resistance forces on many planets, especially in the Outer Rim. As for the Warlords, people like Delvardus, Harrsk, and Teradoc would more than likely rejoin the Empire, as their forces would be no match for Isard's strength. As for Zsinj and his Empire and Grand Moff Kaine and the Pentastar Alignment, they would probably maintain their holdings apart from the Empire, with Moff Kaine potentially declaring an allegiance with Isard to halt any military action against him.

Grand Admiral Thrawn: In 9 ABY, if Grand Admiral Thrawn had defeated the New Republic Fleet at Bilbringi and Ruhk's traitorous thoughts been exposed, I believe the Empire would have triumphed over the Republic. After Bilbringi with the bulk of the New Republic Defense Forces destroyed, Thrawn would have advanced to cripple their facilities capable of  rejuvinating their fleet, with strikes at Fonder and Mon Calamari. Afterwards he would've continued on, taking more valuable targets with few casualties, until finally launching an assault to recapture Coruscant. After he captured Imperial Center, he would continue on his war against the NR, until eventually they were all either destroyed or captured. With Thrawn successful in reestablishing the Galactic Empire, Warlords like Moff Kaine and Prince-Admiral Krennel would've pledged full support to Thrawn, while Deep Core Warlords like Harrsk, Teradoc, and Delvardus would've continued to ignore Thrawn, as they did when he established his confederacy. Now with the Empire rebuilt, he probably would've spent the following years preparring the Imperial Fleet to confront the Yuuzhan Vong.

Reborn Palpatine: In 10 ABY, if Palpatine's Operation Shadow Hand had been successful in decimating the Rebellion, his Empire would be similar to the previous Galactic Empire, except it would be a Dark Empire, as in it would be controlled (and possibly governed) by Dark Side Force-Users. The Dark Empire would rule under fear and oppression, this time instead of non-humans being oppressed, non-force sensatives would most likely be oppressed. In his clones' madness, he may or may not have continued to prepare the Imperial Navy for the looming-threat of a Yuuzhan Vong invasion, but I can pretty much say for certain he would've built a Third Death Star.

Admiral Daala: In 12 ABY, if Natasi Daala had been successful in bringing the Deep Core Warlords to her side (as in not having to kill them all and take their forces), she may have been able to push the New Republic from the Core Worlds, and if she had managed to retake Coruscant and Kuat, it would be a likely outcome that she could defeat the Republic. After defeating them, I wouldn't expect Daala to proclaim herself Empress, so more than likely would've given Command of the Empire to someone she could expect to do the job and do it well (Pellaeon comes to mind). The Empire would probably have continued on as it did before A New Hope, with possibly a second large-scale Rebellion materializing, and I doubt the Imperial Fleet would be preparred to fight the Yuuzhan Vong when they showed up.

Gilad Pellaeon: In 17 ABY, if Grand Admiral Pellaeon's final push had been successful in driving back the New Republic and pushed them out of the Core, I believe it wouldn't take long for the Empire to come out on top. With Pellaeon in charge of the Empire's military, he probably would've restructured the Empire's chain of command, where instead of an Emperor in-charge, the Ruling Council of Moffs would've have been the top authority within the Galactic Empire. Because of the short time-span between then and the Yuuzhan Vong War, the Empire would probably have lost many of their holdings relatively quickly, and possibly could even lose the Core Worlds, but in the end it would be 50/50 whether or not they could come out the victors in the War.

[Mike]

You raise some interesting points.

In my opinion, if Isard managed to defeat the NR the imperial civil war would simply continue with one less combatant. She was without doubt the most divisive and unpopular leader of post-endor Empire, and if she dared declare herself Empress she would probably antagonize a lot of imperial leaders and only stoke the flames higher.

I think Thrawn, Palpatine and Daala had the best shot at actually ruling a united galaxy after besting the Republic. I leave Pellaeon out because realistically, by that time his situation was kind of hopeless.

[Lord Xizer]

Isard had NO military sense, having her in charge would have been a disaster. The Navy, Army and Warlords despised her and would have taken any attempt to overthrow her. The government actually supported many attempted usurpers of hers so she could not have held power for too long.

Thrawn would have been a master at the job of bringing the Empire together and would have styled it more of a confederacy with Kaine and the other Warlords following him for his genius and power. That Empire would have had the best shot I think.

Palpatine would have just reinstated rule by terror giving rise to more rebellion and dissent and his ever growing madness would have made him an unstable ruler at best, he eventually would have been usurped or murdered by his underlings.

Daala...WITH the Deep core Warlords ALIVE would have been like a bad humor skit of an Empire. With them Dead and HER in charge it would have been only slightly less chaotic and self defeating.

Pellaeon...well by the time he gained power the Empire was no longer capable of controlling the entire galaxy even if he DID miraculously win. They had far too few resources to hold things together. When the Vong came they would have been overwhelmed.

[Thuellai]

Pellaeon's situation was completely hopeless, but I do wonder about Thrawn.  He's not an administrator, so I wonder who would've ended up appointed to the top seat by then.  Another, slightly less insane Joruus due to his similarities to the Emperor?  Pellaeon?  Moreover, what would his reaction be to Shadow Hand had he claimed victory?  Palpatine's still coming back whether Thrawn is victorious or not.  Would he be willing to submit to the Emperor even knowing the threat of the Vong is approaching, or would he view these clones as an unnecessary instability, leading to another Imperial civil war?

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Empire fold into the Hand in the end in any case, resulting in a Fel Empire in the end.