Lit Who is the rightful heir to the Imperial Throne?

Human High Culture is another excellent addition of the EU. Why do the inner core humans and Palpatine closest toadies, servants have few aliens and such an aristocratic posture. It makes sense humans on the heights of Coruscant, Eriadu and the like would harbor prejudices against aliens. Palpatine talks about this in the book of the Sith and Luke Skywalker nearly 40 years later acknowledges such "I can't stand those alien smells, or bizarre foods or mating practices" or whatever still exist and are a problem.

So I can certainly see the human elite of galactic society doing business with aliens, perhaps even going to clubs with Twi'leks and partying with Falleen yet saying gosh I really don't like those creatures.

Ederlathh from a legal standpoint may have had a claim but I doubt even Reborn Palpatine would have even toyed with the idea. Thrawn and the admiralty would have had her killed, and the Imperial security bureau, intelligence agencies and so on. The various dark side organizations, emperor's hands, Sienar Fleet systems and every other power broker or servant with Palpatine would have ensured she wouldn't last a day.

Oxtroe offering peace seems to me to be an acknowledgement of the Empire's weakness around 7 ABY in Legends that Oxtroe saw as a chance to end the conflict and stabilize the situation with I imagine Ederlathh as a figurehead.

 

Ederlathh would've been a figurehead, that much is assured. Should peace have been made, a ruling council of the top power brokers in the Empire would've ruled in her stead. As for the Fels claim, I imagine its a bit like the Baratheons. Maybe they have some distant relation to Palpatine, or one of the early Fels married Ederlathh who'd still be around somewhere by the time of 40s ABY. Or, they had a Senate reconvene and appoint the Fels as the new Imperial dynasty. Said Senate would've dissolved itself right after with that being its only purpose. If you want to stretch it out, could be that since Leia is TECHNICALLY the last active Imperial Senator, she attends the eventual marriage of Jagged and Jaina and proclaims them Emperor and Empress.

As for cloned Palpatine, he definitely had legitimacy. Biologically, he was the same person. I imagine mentally he isn't, because the only way to make a full on replica of a person is those Rakatan mindspears. Somewhere along the way of his resurrection Palpatine went nuts (I mean, could argue he was nuts before) and his clones are a mixture of his insane Sith spirit and unstable cloning procedure. From a legal standpoint though, he is legitimate. Everyone from Pellaeon to Kaine bowed to him.

On that note, I imagine the Empire could've been better off in staving off warlordism if whoever's on Coruscant went 1984 mixed with Warhammer 40k and declared that Palpatine is still alive and even had fake holograms of him doing speeches on Vader's betrayal and so on. Could've even dug out a corpse from the Death Star and sat him on the Imperial Throne...

 

Daala's bodyguards did this sort of thing in the Young Jedi Knights series - but it was much too late.

 

This does leave open the possibility that if the "regional governors" subsumed all the power and function of the Senate when it was dissolved, than it is not inconceivable that a new Emperor could have been named by being chosen by (or accepted by) the majority (or perhaps supermajority) of said regional governors. Of course, in Legends many of those regional governors immediately decided to try carving out their own mini-Empires so....

It's never really clear if Palpatine had any sort of defined succession in mind. In truth, he probably did not, as he likely was either assuming he was going to rule forever, or assuming that one day his sith apprentice would rise up and supplant him, and whether or not his apprentice could hold on to the Empire when he (or she) eventually did Palpatine in is their problem to solve, not his. Ultimately I don't think Palpatine likely cared what might happen after he perished (if the thought of perishing ever seriously entered his mind): Orchestrating a massive power struggle would be quite in keeping with the Sith mindset: Presumably whoever was strongest or most cunning (or the right mix of both) would eventually become the winner.

 

Well, there are problems wit the regional governors assuming the powers of the Senate:

1. While they undoubtedly now have the law legislative and governing abilities that were once the prerogative of the Senate, I doubt Palpatine transfered all the abilities of the Senate to the regional governors. I highly doubt he would have transfered the legal ability to appoint Emperors to men like Tarkin.

2. We do not know if if the Senate even had the ability to appoint emperors anymore. They may have given that up with the amendment to the constitution that made Palpatine Emperor for life and created the Empire.

Most Legends sources make it clear that Palpatine never planned for succession, with the Dark Empire sourcebook even stating that it was clear that Palpaine intended for the Empire to die with him. This idea has continued in the canon post Endor galaxy.

That being said, I do believe that if the Moffs had come together, regardless of the strict legality of the matter, they could have used a "will of the people" claim to grant legitimacy to making Ederlathh Empress. Unfortunately, not only did the governors not have any legal right, but over the years as they allowed the Empire to crumble and further neglect the needs of its citizens, they lost any ability to be able to say they represented the will of the people.

 

Oh, I wasn't even thinking about the Fel controlled Empire. I would agree that has nothing to do with Palpatine. I thought we were talking about the immediate aftermath of Endor.

 

I recall Luke basically gave the moffs an ultimatum accept Jag as head of state or face a Hapan war crimes tribunal(which is really stupid by the way because the Hapan royal family was a legitimate military target).

All major power brokers and factions-the various dark side organizations, intelligence, court, military, and so on would never ever have accepted Ederlathh as more than a figurehead. Heck most of them would have had her dead before entertaining that.

Also recall in Dark Empire Palpatine planned on replacing the secular leadership of the Empire with his own religious officials. The Thrawns, Palleaons, Tarkins, Isards, and so on would have either had to shut up or be removed as Palpatine out in place dark Jedi, hands, prophets, Sith agents. Also with the Sedrisses, Lumiya's, Jades, Cronals, Jerec and so on. As well as automated fleets, world devastate, Imperial battle droids, and so on. I imagine had reborn Palpatine prevailed with either a turned Luke or possessed Anakin or something to that effect perhaps a turned Leia with Jaina and Jacen raised as hands or enforcers. He would have had any challenge from imperial power brokers smashed without pity and gone on to conquer the Hutts, Chiss, Unknown regions and so on. Planning eventually to spread his malovelent hands to other galaxies living and ruling onwards into eternity.

For that reason and others mentioned Palpatine never considered, nor did he want to consider a successor.

 

Bioweapons generally aren't a legitimate military weapon though. The nanoweapon is basically a slightly more "techno" version of a tailored virus.

 

Which is why I think regular Sheev and Dark Empire Sheev were two very separate people mentally. Even if legally and biologically they are the same, DE Sheev is basically the post-Horcrux resurrection Voldemort. Originally he was a charismatic figure that managed to charm people to his side, now he's just a dark entity and doesn't really care about convincing people to follow him, he just forces them to do it. A bit off-topic, but this would explain why Shadow of Revan Revan and KoTE/KotET Vitiate appear to be very different from who they were originally.

 

Well, in Legends it was probably always his intent to go that way. World Devastators and Galaxy Guns just allow him to drop the facade he had been putting on for so long.

 

Maybe his whole plan with the election was to play private Imperial citizen for awhile and get a good rep? Better than appearing like someone appointed by the Jedi Grandmaster, anyway.

 

Jag in Apocalypsr gave it up didn't he? Also I recall someone from Del Rey saying they wanted to make the path for Jag as emperor "interesting". So I imagine in post Crucible novels had Legends not been rebooted there would have been twists and turns and hints and what not before Jag became emperor.

 

rae sloane

 

Different but somewhat related question would a Vader ruled empire look like?

 

Nasty, brutish, violent, and short.

 

Crushed tracheas all the way from Coruscant to the Outer Rim!

 

How would the Moffs react to Vader taking the throne? What about the Crimson Guard? Or the Emperor's Hands?

 

You mean "Enlightened and Just", surely.

 

Say Vader kills Obi-Wan on Mustafar then kills Palpatine how would it look then?

 

In Legends? Potentially pretty good for Anakin. Anakin and Obi Wan were well liked war heroes. From the RotS novelization you get the impression that they were the Batman and Robin of Star Wa

Would there be civil war? Possibly. Probably, but I think the younger people in the military would be on Anakin's side. Tarkin would initially support him.,

Anakin would have enormous good will. He would have just lost his pregnant wife, and two of his closest mentors to Separatist herati...er traitors.

Anakin was no slouch when it came to scheming. He followed along with Palpatine in his office after Mace's murder without a hitch.

The fact that he was already talking about replacing Palpatine as Emperor indicates to me he was already laying out how he would go about gaining the support. The military is a natural place to start.

Is Anakin the legal heir to the throne? Heck no, but at that point legality would hardly matter. Anakin would create a military dictatorship, and the tragic yet dashing young war hero may even be supported by the people.


I've always described Palpatine's Legends Empire and Fel's Empire as Warhammer 40,000 lite.
Well, Aanakin would be total Warhammer 40,000 and you'd better believe he'd happily sit on the golden thronbe guiding people through the warp.

Funny enough, now that I say that, it does seem that the Mortis episodes imply that was to be his fate.

Anakin's fate as Emperor of the Empire of Man :

 

Based on Anakin's talk of politics in AotC, it's safe to assume Vader would be quite the dictator. I imagine the Empire would be more stable/practical, under Vader. Also the Death Star plans would have probably been forgotten. Other than that I really don't know.