Lit The EU Apocrypha - Using New Material to Expand the Expanded Universe

The new canon stuff from the novel side of things are a bit bland compared to what came before. The comic books have been decent, but no earth shattering series that changes things. Just character driven contained stories that could happen at any time of the day. Dr. Aphra being an exception. That series is ground breaking as two women kiss and what not. I still rate the Marvel comics higher than the novels in the new canon era. They have been bolder in story telling, but still fall a bit flat to Dark Horse.

 

I think the time travel and Loth-Wolf teleportation in Rebels was a big shift

 

I'm going to give the comics a miss for now (unless the trades are available at the library, which isn't completely impossible).

 

So, to tackle the overall plotline of Aftermath itself.
Admiral Gallius Rax
Rax apparently never held the title of Grand Admiral, which makes things easy. He's also head of Naval Intelligence, with the death of Yularen at Yavin. So, right there we have a connection between Isard and Rax. While they (naturally) wouldn't trust each other, they would agree on 'purging' the ranks of the disloyal.
In the EU, the actual leadership of the remaining loyal Imperial forces is vague, with Pellaeon hinted at being the de facto head initially, but complicated by the various Admirals and Grand Admirals. I would assume that the Naval military leadership would fall to a cabal of the top military personnel. Rax portrays himself in the book as a 'man behind the scenes' and that would fit in with the EUA - a shadowy figure who declines a leading role, but manipulates people.
Rax is something additional, though; his personal recruitment by Palpatine himself as a child screams one thing - Emperor's Hand; and there, things begin to fall into place. The main difference between the EU and the NewCanon post-Endor is, of course, Palpatine's rebirth in the former. Instead of being guided by his 'last command', Rax is still getting communications from the Dark Empire in the Deep Core.
The Battle of Akiva
A collabrative effort between Isard and Rax to manipulate the NR into eliminating their enemies. Instead of assuming that the tepid assembly of Imperial leaders was the whole thing, the "Imperial Future Council" consists of representatives from various factions - the Imperial Navy, the Imperial Army, the Imperial Advisors, the Moffs, and the non-government/military backers of the Empire.
"Grand Admiral" Sloane
Pellaeon led the retreat from Endor in the EU, but in the EUA Admiral Sloane backed his decision in the arguments between the Naval commanders and stayed with the Loyalist Imperial forces. Rax uses his influence to get her to become the official 'head' of the Imperial Navy (with the understanding with the other Admirals that it's mainly for show) with a public declaration following the Battle of Brentaal. The title of "Grand Admiral" is never truly recognized, as it wasn't bestowed by a 'head of Empire' nor did she carry the title for long - only about a month.
The 'month of peace'
From the declaration of a temporary truce following the fall of Kuat in NewCanon (Brentaal in the EUA) for one month (until the assault on NR leadership), with all the warlord fragments in the Rim, the NR would've just concentrated on their forces in the meantime.
The rebirth of the Galactic Senate and the NR capitol
There would have been incredible pressure to make the NR a 'legitimate' government, that I can see the NR trying to establish itself in the Core Worlds with a new Senate as soon as possible. With the disastrous events caused by the sleeper agents wreaking havoc at the NR capitol, the experiment probably ended before it really began; Mon Mothma would (with acceptance from the member worlds, given the circumstances) put the reestablishment of the Senate on hold until the Empire had been more decisively defeated.
As I mentioned earlier, the initial government would've been at Mon Calamari; then moved to Brentaal briefly, then to a more secure location. I would also surmise that they would've reestablished at a better fortified and accessible location when they had an opportunity - like Denon, after its fall - before finally moving to Coruscant.
The non-aligned states
One of the more enjoyable tidbits coming out of the series is the list of regions that weren't part of the NR or the Empire - the New Separatist Union, the Confederacy of Corporate Systems, and the 'pirates and their so-called Sovereign Latitudes'.
I've always put forth the notion that former Separatist worlds would try to go their own way with the fall of the Empire, not being interested in joining the NR; that would be "the New Separatist Union".
The "Confederacy of Corporate Systems" sounds like the con that Zsinj tried to pull - a non-aligned group of worlds, especially since the Corporate Sector was part of his territory.
The Sovereign Latitudes appear to be linked with the pirates that take the SSD Aggressor in NewCanon; in the EUA, I would surmise that it would be a lawless territory carved out by Tyber Zann's forces, following the Battle of Kuat.

 

A side piece on Grand Moffs (as a new Grand Moff shows up):

A Grand Moff was defined as any Moff that controlled one or more sectors as part of a 'priority sector' or 'Oversector' - however, I believe that there were twelve primary Grand Moff positions, corresponding to the twelve divisions of the Republic fleet during the Clone Wars - this appears to be confirmed by the territories of the various 'proto-Grand Moffs' ruling 'greater [name] sector' at the birth of the Empire. It's interesting to note that in at least three cases, a Grand Admiral was also a Grand Moff.
The only true riddle was Oversector Outer, as Tarkin was (originally) the Moff of greater Seswenna Sector... yet when Kaine took command, he moved the HQ to Entralla. What I think happened is that this was not an extension of the original Seswenna Sector, but rather a new Grand Moff title granted to Tarkin - who continued to be Grand Moff of his original Oversector as well. When Tarkin died, Kaine inherited Oversector Outer but the other Grand Moff title went to someone else.
Greater Quelii Sector [Cerulean Spear Oversector] - Originally under Grand Moff Tanniel all the way to the Rebellion Era; however, by the Battle of Endor, Zsinj is the Grand Moff
Bright Jewel Oversector - Grand Moff Vanko was the original ruler, although he likely had his career (and life) short after the Emperor discovered he had been hiding significant losses to piracy from him. Nox Vellam was next, and his 'priority sector' was extended into other Grand Moff's territories - they must've loved that! - but presumably his reign was cut short by butting heads with Vader.
Greater Seswenna Sector [Night Hammer Oversector] - Tarkin was the ruler all the way until his death at the Battle of Yavin. After Endor, Grand Moff Wilkadon ruled from his base on Askaj, one of the holdouts on that part of the Outer Rim.
Greater Coruscant Sector [Azure Hammer Oversector] - Grand Moff Trachta ruled it from its creation until his death shortly before Yavin during his attempted coup. Grand Admiral Tigellinius most likely took over in his place, and stayed until he fell in the Committee of Grand Moffs debacle a year after Endor.
Shadow Hand Oversector - Grand Moff Gann was probably the longest-lived Grand Moff, as he was around at the Empire's birth, and survived well into the warlord era after the Empire disintegrated.
Emerald Banner Oversector - Originally ruled by Grand Moff Grant, later a Grand Admiral. Since he had 'lost his power base' after Endor and fled to join the Pentastar Alignment, I would assume that he no longer retained the position.
Steel Blade Oversector - Ruled by Grand Moff Seerdon from the birth of the Empire, until Rogue Squadron defeated him shortly after Yavin.
Green Mantle Oversector - Ruled by Grand Moff Vorru, until he was betrayed by Prince Xizor and sent to prison.
Greater Relgim Sector (Brazen Petard Oversector) - Ruled by Grand Moff Wessex well into the Rebellion Era at least.
Greater Maldrood Sector (Cerulean Spear Oversector) - Originally ruled by Grand Moff Therbon, by Endor it was ruled by Grand Moff Selit. Admiral Teradoc had him placed under house arrest and took direct command of the oversector.
Greater Tolonda Sector (Red Tails Command) - Grand Moff Ravik from the beginning; after Yavin, he was captured by the Alliance and then by extradimensional invaders.
Greater Sarin Sector (Hook Nebula Command) - Grand Moff Kintaro ruled from the beginning, although it is implied that he met his end prior to Endor for treason.
Greater Trans-Nebular Sector (Iron Lance Command) - Grand Moff Hissa, by the Battle of Endor; controlled it until killed during the Committee of Grand Moffs debacle.

Now, Aftermath introduces Grand Moff Randd, who is a loyalist that joins Rax's Shadow Council. His territory is known as "The Exterior", the only portion of the Outer Rim controlled by the Empire, otherwise not located. I surmise that he became the ruler of Bright Jewel Oversector after Vellam's death, but found his control limited to only the Mid Rim portion, as Grand Moff Kaine had essentially taken complete command of the Outer Rim portion of the oversector. Not coincidentally, his territory formed the core of the rump Empire following the fall of Coruscant, relocating to Orinda, within the oversector.

 

So, everyone always says Dark Disciple overwrites Vos's story in the comics. I took this as fact and never read it, lol. But today I skimmed the plot summary and don't really see what it overwrites. Yes, I suppose it would be unwise for the Council to assign Vos to assassinate Dooku considering their history together, but trying to assassinate Dooku is a dumb move for them regardless.

And Ventress was killed off like three times in the comics, anyway.

 

Read it if you can. It's not reconcilable at all. Ventress knew Vos in Legends. She doesn't recognize him in DD.

Other way around, Ventress and Vos get into a relationship in DD then she dies. How could she know him in the Legends comics and still be alive?

Tholme's death in DD is also a key part of the plot, whereas he survived till ROTS in Legends.

Dooku infiltrates Vos in DD and in Legends. I even made a joke about this here on these boards back when the novel came out, along the lines of Dooku asking "You look familiar, didn't you already defect and join me before?" and Vos answering "No of course not."

 

I had thought the death of Ventress to be one of NewCanon's biggest early missteps. Fortunately for this thread, the EU overrides it.
I think the best bet is to pull elements from Dark Disciple and merge it with the Vos undercover storyline.

 

Tholme dying in Dark Disciple at least can be put down to one of his several fake deaths, and/or mixed with one of Quin's amnesia storylines.

 

Not only would Quin need amnesia, but Dooku and Ventress too and probably the Jedi Council...

Honestly the entire novel just clashes with ROTS. They won't make Anakin a master? But Master Vos is commanding armies to Boz Pity! The old story was so much better, because the Jedi knew less about Quin's wrongdoings.

 

I’ve actually had a similar sort of write-up/Notes to myself on some of the same as above. I do wish this particular section of the Warfare Guide had been run by a few more of us, as a few bits of it could have been better done. Here’s a few of my notes on the matter:

• Moffs did exist during the Clone Wars, though only towards the end. How else can we account for the prior military exploits of Tarkin, Wessex, and Wessel, yet also have them being Moffs by the end of the war? Given the timing of the Battle of Boz Pity in particular (Wessex’s heroism there) and the enactment of the Sector Governance Decree, the Moffs could not have been around any earlier.
  
  
• There were no Grand Moffs during the Clone Wars, and Tarkin was the only one for some time thereafter, until the aftermath of the Gentis coup attempt.
  
  
• Not all of the first Moffs became Grand Moffs. Some even seem to have been demoted or given reduced Sectors to govern. Wessel was relegated to governing Yinchorr, and Vanko seems to have ended up under the authority of Grand Moff Wessex, per his efforts to hide his piracy losses from both the Emperor AND his superior Wessex.
  
  
• Oversectors seem to have come and gone, and been reorganized over time.
  

There’s a great quote from Survivor’s Quest that almost nobody has realized the significance of. Mara Jade happens to be wondering how she alone of most of her Imperial contemporaries is still alive:

This quote, directly from her own thoughts, confirms that by the time of the events of Survivor’s Quest all of the Grand Moffs were dead! This also means the Grand Moff Disra (he has been called that) might have been executed for his scheme with the fake Thrawn, and that Grand Moff Gann might finally have died or been overthrown, or at least rendered inaccessible in the Deep Core. Gann was the last known surviving of the original Moffs, and would have had to have been old and prominent enough in the late Republic to have been entrusted by Palpatine with ruling Sector 5. Given the unstable nature of the Deep Core hyperlanes, his survival could easily be due to his power base of Odik II being rendered inaccessible following the destruction of Byss. The quote also could be taken to indicate that Moff Vorru never actually became a Grand Moff, or if he did he had died by the time of Survivor’s Quest. It would also seem to indicate that the “Moff Grant” was NOT the same person as Octavian Grant, the future Grand Admiral, which in turn makes much more sense in general.

• When noting that Grand Admirals could also be Grand Moffs (thanks, Adventure Journal 14!) it should be remembered that Grand Admirals actually outranked Grand Moffs. Furthermore, both the original Zahn books and the Sourcebooks indicate that the Grand Admirals were meant to be integrated both militarily AND politically over time, and that they were eventually to take direct control of entire Regions.
  
  
• The system of Moffs and Grand Moffs, along with the Oversectors, was going to be replaced in the long run by a hierarchy of Dark Siders once the Empire was fully transitioned into the Dark Empire, all of whom were in turn subsumed into the will of the Emperor via the Force.
  
  
• Regarding Oversector Outer, it is usually said to encompass most of the Outer Rim, but only rarely all of it. Thus, it isn’t a real contradiction to assume that it co-existed alongside the Bright Jewel, Greater Maldrood and Queli Oversectors. Assuming that Tarkin had authority over the entire Region that was Outer Rim Territories (which Galaxy Guide 1 actually says) he could even have had multiple Oversectors answering to him. Kaine would have merely become the head of Oversector Outer, but not the entire galactic Region that it, Bright Jewel, Maldrood and Queli were in.
  
  
• Regarding the rulership of the Imperial Center Oversector, Trachta was made Moff of it towards the end of the Clone Wars, became the second Grand Moff for his role in the Gentis affair, and continued to rule it until just before the battle of Yavin. He was replaced by Grand Admiral Teshik for a short time (Teshik explicitly says he was in charge of the Oversector in his account at the start of the Warfare Guide), which fits with pre-existing descriptions of Grand Admirals being intended to rule entire Regions (the Core Worlds Region, in this case), and he in turn was replaced in this role by Tigellinus.
  
  
• Moff Vanko ruled one of the two Sectors near the Maelstrom, nowhere near Yavin, and certainly not within Bright Jewel Oversector. He was also likely never a Grand Moff, as he seems to have remained a Moff ruling a Sector that shrunk and shifted over time. His superior Grand Moff, per Riders, was Denn Wessex. An outstanding choice for one of the original 20 Moffs, given his age, military background, and friendship with Palpatine.
  
  
• Grand Moff Ravik was said to have risen through Imperial service, and his description as brutal and tyrannical is not something that would mesh well with somebody who had originally been a very prominent Republic official. Having him being one of the first 20 Moffs clashes with his original descriptions from Otherspace.
  
  
• Octavian Grant was never a Grand Moff. The “Moff Grant” is likely to be a relative of prominence, given Octavian’s known noble background, as was the case with “Moff Praji”. Just another person from a prominent family. Warfare elsewhere has Octavian Grant leading a fleet, and later indicates that many Admirals had records similar to his, and that he was considered an unlikely pick to be a Grand Admiral. He is also described in the Grand Admirals article from Insider 66 has never having his own power base, which further indicates he was never a Moff or Grand Moff. Keep in mind that it is never actually said that the Moff Grant and Octavian Grant are actually the same.
  

 

In my personal notes, people like Vanko aren't actually listed as Grand Moffs - that derives solely from the proto-Grand Moff ranking of being Moffs of "greater [blank] sector" - that they never were included in the rankings of the Grand Moffs as you indicate is also a reasonable assumption.

As for Teshik, I know EGW indicated he had 'command of the oversector', but I've assumed that it was just a reference to his command of the Azure Hammer forces as indicated in Coruscant and the Core Worlds, not actually being the ruler of the oversector; if he was, his fall from grace with Palpatine probably cost him the position shortly after Yavin anyways.

 

On this line of topic, I believe the original Imperial Sourcebook refers to Tarkin as Admiral, not Moff. Or at least at one point it uses that as his title.

 

Wasn't Moff thought to be his name for a time? When did it become a rank?

 

There's a few interesting and possibly contradictory tidbits about Teshik in the Warfare Guide: He mentions childhood on the planet Kallistas in the Outer Rim, yet is also said to have "dwelled for centuries" in the Sirpar Hills of Anaxes as a Generational.

As for whether or not he merely was in charge of the Imperial Center Oversector or the entire Core Worlds Region, well, it comes down to just how one wants to interpret every reference to it. Same for Tigellinus after him- all the more odd that he would take on a lower rank of Grand Moff, unless it is assumed that Tigellinus actually took a huge step up and became the ruler of the entire Core Worlds REGION. And as the sources confirm, the Grand Admirals were being primed to take control of entire Regions...

 

I thought it was the ANH novelization that made it a rank? I know that the ROTJ novelization is how we knew Jerjerrod was a Moff, at least.

 

Some of the WEG accounts of the Ghorman Massacre, and also the early Essential Guide to Characters, indicate that a "Captain Tarkin" was the commander of the ship that ended the protests by landing directly on top of them, and that this was intended to be the same man who later became Moff Tarkin. Given later timeline shifts, this had to be disregarded or explained away as Tarkin merely being in charge of the ship and thus technically referred to as its Captain, or that it was another Tarkin, as Wilhuff was already a Moff by the time of the Massacre.

There's been other Moffs since 1983...

 

She could be running it day to day, and allow him to be the figurehead...at least until she gets rid of Sate Pestage, then she abandons even that illusion.