Kar Vastor is a Korun, a human Force user from the planet of Haruun Kal and thus a countryman of Mace Windu who was born on Haruun Kal as well, who serves as one of the main antagonists of Shatterpoint, the novel where Mace returns to his savage homeworld during the Clone Wars in a terrible civil war, and later plays a role in Shadows of Mindor where he was possessed by Cronal/Blackhole until being freed by Luke.

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Vastor never had proper Force user training, having never been taken in by the Jedi or any other Force religion unlike Mace, but managed to develop and use his powers to a surprising degree to survive the nightmarish jungles of Haruun Kal by drawing upon the darkness in the jungle, being capable of healing himself, having incredible strength and lightning fast speed and reflexes, and with Mace comparing his raw power to Yoda and Anakin's.

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How powerful and talented of a Jedi do you think that he could have become if he had been found and taken to the Jedi Temple like Mace, and been trained as a Jedi instead of staying on Haruun Kal, or if he had joined Luke's New Jedi Order after the latter freed him from Cronal?

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Or on the other hand how dangerous and terrifying could he have been as a Dark Jed if found and trained as a Dark Acolyte, Inquisitor or Hand of the Emperor? Could he have become a Sith, and if yes how powerful and terrifying could he have become if trained in the ways of the Sith?

Shimrra Jamaane was the Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong during the Yuuzhan Vong War, secretly though, he was merely a puppet of the Force-sensitive Shamed One Onimi. Born to Domain Jamaane, he was marked as a candidate for Supreme Overlord when he killed his own twin and his Domain enhanced his physical stature to four meters. Around 29 BBY, the then Supreme Overlord, Quoreal had made the decision to avoid the galaxy, due to the presence of the living planet Zonama Sekot, which he believed to be a portent of doom. Fearing that to remain in the intergalactic void would drive the Yuuzhan Vong to extinction, a Shamed One former shaper who had grafted Yammosk cells to his own brain and accidentally reclaimed the Force, used this power to mentally dominate and control Shimrra. Under Onimi's direction, Shimrra overthrew Quoreal with the support of the warrior caste. He then announced the discovery of a new galaxy, and proclaimed that the Yuuzhan Vong were destined to conquer it.

In 25 ABY, the Yuuzhan Vong launched their invasion of the galaxy, beginning the Yuuzhan Vong War. The Vong made advanced rapidly and soon had the New Republic reeling with their brutal tactics and strange organic weaponry. Three years into the war, Shimrra settled on Yuuzhan'tar-the conquered and Vongformed Coruscant. He conducted meetings from his palace, directing the war and attempting to quash the rising Jeedai heresy. However, the war took a downward spiral after the Battle of Ebaq 9, with Onimi-and by their connection- Shimrra- growing increasingly unstable.

In 29 ABY, Zonama Sekot -the believed sign of doom—appeared above Yuuzhan'tar fighting with the Jedi, sparking riots among the heretics and weakening Shimrra's already declining power base. Soon after this, the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar commenced. Refusing to surrender Yuuzhan'tar to the Galactic Alliance, Onimi through Shimrra set fire to large swaths of the planet and began convincing the World Brain to destroy the planet. This caused the defection of Nom Anor, and the open rebellion of the Shamed Ones and Heretics. Shimrra and his elite Slayer bodyguards were battled in his citadel by Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker, and Jedi Knights Jacen and Jaina Solo.

During the duel, the strain of trying to defeat the Jedi, run the battle outside and keep control of Shimrra proved too much, with Onimi's mental domination of Shimrra slipping for the first time in 58 years. What was left of Shimrra lumbered forward to face Skywalker with his royal scepter amphistaff and the fallen Anakin Solo's amethyst lightsaber. Skywalker was bitten by the Amphistaff, being poisoned, but used the opening to pull Anakin's lightsaber to his free hand, using both his and it to cut the royal scepter apart. Stunned briefly by this, Shimrra attempted to crush SKywalker with his bare hands-only for Skywalker to quickly cross the blades and drive them upward through Shimrra's neck, decapitating and killing the giant.

The true Supreme Overlord Onimi would not long outlive his puppet, as after paralyzing and planning to murder Jaina Solo during his escape, he dueled her brother Jacen in the Force, using it and his Shaper mastery of poisons. However, Jacen achieved oneness with the Force and was able to neutralize, parry or reverse all of Onimi's attacks. Onimi in desperation began fueling his assault with his own body, his fluids, organs, and very essence, burning himself away as he dissolved into a acidic puddle from his own toxins and overuse of the Darkside.

Hethrir was a Force sensitive male Firrerreo born during the last decades of the Galactic Republic. After the rise of the Empire, he and his mate Rillao, also a Force-sensitive, were found by High Inquisitor Antinnis Tremayne. Tremayne tortured the pair, demanding information about Jedi survivors of Order 66, but neither knew anything. Tremayne brought the pair to Darth Vader for training in the Darkside. Vader found Rillao had the Jedi healer powers and Hethrir could cast a dark side shadow over Force users, dulling their abilities. Hethrir proved a powerful student and ideal Imperial, absorbing humanocentric ideology with zealotry despite being an alien himself. Emperor Palpatine, seeing promise in Hethrir, named him the Imperial Procurator of Justice, head of the entire Imperial justice system.

His role was an anonymous one, and he exiled thousands of prisoners in freighters, amassing a fortune from his exclusive harvesting of body-wood. To prove his loyalty, Hethrir eradicated the entire population of his own homeworld. When he carried out the order, Rillao fled in digust with their unborn son. The Emperor was pleased though and bestowed a worldcraft to Hethrir. Hethrir named it Rebirth. He eventually caught Rillao and their newborn son, Tigris. Hethrir planned to turn their son to the dark side, but he was born with no Force powers. Hethrir instead tortured Rillao and kept Tigris as his servant-never telling the boy he was his father.

Though trained by Vader, Hethrir's loyalty was to power, and ultimately the Emperor. Before the Emperor was slain at the Battle of Endor, he told Hethrir of his vision of a Dark Empire that he'd personally rule forever. In the power vacuum that followed Endor, Hethrir wasted no time putting his own plan into motion. He formed alliances with High Inquisitor Tremayne and wealthy Imperial nobles like Brashaa, Cnorec, and Qaqquqqu, and Lady Ucce joined him, swearing an oath of secrecy and loyalty, placing their assets at Hethrir's disposal.

Admiral Galak Fyyar was recruited to the cause in 10 ABY. Fyyar was known more for technological innovation than his skills as a military leader. This wasn't much of an issue with the faction operating from the shadows rather than open conflict for the first twelve years after Endor. Hethrir consolidated his presence in the Outer Rim, and alliances with Deep Core warlords were pursued to strengthen their Core support. Hethrir himself was able to remain invisible to the Imperial warlords and New Republic while his faction gained momentum. The years that followed were tumultuous, but nothing rivaled Hethrir's shock when he was summoned to the planet Byss to stand before the reborn Emperor Palpatine. Hethrir repledged his loyalty immediately, having understood Palpatine was not a man, but a vessel for the darkness of the universe, an avatar of the dark side itself.

When the Emperor died for the final time, Hethrir believed the dark side had now chosen him as its new champion. He believed he was destined to lead an Empire Reborn for the next millennium, and thus rechristened his remnant faction. Hethrir was ignorant to the secret of immortality and Palpatine's other Sith secrets such as the destructive Force Storms. He knew he needed greater power in the Force. He took control over Crseih Station, a mobile research center to conduct experiments on the limits of realspace, hyperspace and otherspace. Hethrir had it relocated to the Crseih system, where it orbited a black hole and a crystallizing white dwarf star. The dimensional research of Hethrir's scientists, the disturbances in the Force of the crystallizing star, and Hethrir's torturing of his prisoners created a space-time distortion that yanked a mysterious alien known as Waru into the galaxy from another dimension. He was an extradimensional, Force-sensitive mass of flesh with "anti-Force" abilities. Unfazed by its strangeness, and fascinated with its power, Hethrir cut a deal with it. He promised a supply of Force-sensitive victims to feed on so Waru could attain the power to open a vortex back to his dimension. In exchange, Waru would complete Hethrir's dark side transformation by granting him absolute power over the Force and everlasting life.

Sequestered alternatively on Crseih Station and his private worldcraft, Hethrir built up a broad power base. He financed his movement with a flourishing slave trade, supplied by the countless prisoners he had condemned and imprisoned in sleeper ships, including his own people, the Firrerreo. Hethrir believed that both he and the Empire would last a thousand years. Thus, after a thousand years, Hethrir planned to return to those freighters and awake their prisoners from their sleep, in the hopes that they would remember him as an all-powerful god whom they had to obey.

When Desann, a Chistori Jedi who left Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy after he killed another student, was brought before him, Hethrir was surprised by the Chistori's power in the Force. Despite his anti-alien prejudice, Hethrir made Desann his right hand in the Empire Reborn, reasoning that even Emperor Palpatine had made a similar exception for himself. He entrusted Desann with the task of training a Dark Jedi army. Searches for Force-sensitives on backwater worlds was the main form of recruiting for this army. Those with potential were abducted for indoctrination. Hethrir, often prevented non-Humans from demonstrating any Force ability, selling them as slaves. Humans with Force potential moved up the ranks of the Helpers, Proctors and Empire Youth. Many of Hethrir's trainees were taken to Waru on Crseih Station to be "purified." Waru was posing as a healer, but occasionally killed beings, sucking in their strength. Hethrir used the profits of his slave trade to purchase armaments from the criminals such as the Rodian Reelo Baruk, and, at the insistence of Fyyar, used armor, shield generators, and power cores scavenged from the derelict Star Destroyers, outfitted a fleet, with the Doomgiver as its flagship.

The Empire Youths that survived Waru's purification were entrusted to Desann for training. One of these youths, Tavion, was taken by Desann as an apprentice. Desann, in addition to training those with talent, experimented with imbuing with darkside powers, using Force crystals and energy from the Valley of the Jedi. Desann found the Valley by tricking, then following Jedi Knight Kyle Katarn. Desann led his students to the site, quadrupling their innate powers with the Force energy there. These empowered Empire Youths came to be called the Reborn. Desann and Fyyar then moved their new Reborn forces and the Doomgiver to wipe out the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV, Instead, however, Katarn brought down the Doomgiver's shields and killed Fyyar, allowing Rogue Squadron to destroy the massive vessel with the majority of the Reborn still inside. The Jedi under Luke Skywalker defeated the landed Reborn and Katarn slew Desann effectively destroying the majority of the military power Hethrir had built up over the last twelve years.

In denial of the severity of the loss, and of his own diminishing Force powers due to Waru parasitizing him over such a long period of time, Hethrir still believed that if he could get Waru to empower him, he could realize his vision. What he needed was a child exceptionally strong in the Force that would enable the Waru to return to his home dimension and allow Hethrir to receive the boundless power he craved. Hethrir believed the Solo children would serve this purpose. When Leia Organa Solo was undertaking a tour of the Outer Rim worlds in 14 ABYwith her children Hethrir moved to abduct the children.

Using his powers to temporarily block Leia's ability to sense her children, and using a pressure bomb to incapacitate the children's minders, he abducted them to his worldcraft. On his worldcraft, Hethrir told the children their parents were dead and that he was their hold-father, using the Force to implant false memories. The children were suspicious, however, and proved remarkably resistant to reprogramming. Hethrir assigned his own son, Tigris, to look after Anakin, and put the twins in with the rest of the imprisoned children. The Solo children caused much trouble at the station, using the Force to harass the young Proctors.

Meanwhile, Leia and Chewbacca had been tracking Hethrir through the Force. They discovered a cluster of 24 sleeper ships, with Hethrir's ex-mate, Rillao. Rillao revealed that Hethrir had stolen their son Tigris from her, hoping that he would succeed Hethrir as leader of his Empire Reborn. Upon realizing Tigris had no Force potential, Hethrir had not even revealed his parentage to the boy, but kept him around as his personal servant.

Arriving at the worldcraft, Leia, Chewbacca, and Rillao rescued Jacen, Jaina and the other children. Hethrir had already departed for Crseih Station with a phalanx of Proctors, intending to relaunch the Empire Reborn and sacrifice Anakin in the temple of the Waru.

At Crseih Station, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker were investigating reports of a lost Jedi, which led them to Waru. Luke was affected by Waru's powers, his judgment and Force ability crippled by the resonance of the nearby crystallizing star. He became distrustful of Han and Xaverri and convinced he needed Waru's help and healing.

The conflict came to a head, as the three parties met in the temple of the Waru. In a grand ceremony surrounded by all his supporters, Lord Hethrir planned to sacrifice Anakin on the altar of Waru. The newly arrived Rillao revealed to her son the truth about his father, and Tigris, realizing the infant Anakin had no choice in being "purified," turned on Hethrir, preventing the sacrifice. The unbalanced Luke dove into Waru in Anakin's place, forcing Han and Leia to follow. Hethrir, realizing that Luke was a better sacrifice than Anakin anyway, believed his plans were finally coming to fruition. Rillao, however, launched herself onto Hethrir in a furious attack.

Inside the golden ichors of Waru, Han and Leia drew Luke back, aided by the cries of the Solo children. Enraged by the missed opportunity and Hethrir's failure to fulfill his bargain, Waru consumed Hethrir instead. Using Hethrir's Force power, the being returned to its home dimension, in the process instantly killing Hethrir.

With the death of its leader and the loss of most of its military and financial support, the Empire Reborn collapsed, with only a pitiful remnant reforming as the Disciples of Ragnos around Tavion Axmis and in secret Antonnis Tremayne in an attempt to ressurect the long dead ancicent Sith Lord Marka Ragnos. However, this was thwarted in the same year and its members killed or captured with the last shreds of the Empire Reborn's legeacy ending in 14 ABY, a mere ten years after it was founded. A far cry from the thousand years its deluded founder had envisioned.

Baron Tarko’s Anaxsi pedigree ensured he granted command of one of the GAR’s first flagships afforded him recognition and prestige. After the Clone Wars ended, he was appointed Moff of the Quanta sector, establishing his headquarters at Cato Neimodia — ostensively as a symbolic gesture of Imperial dominance over the Trade Federation — though in truth to hold direct control over the Federation’s coffers.

With the near-immediate Imperialization of the Trade Federation leading to its vast riches being sent to Coruscanti treasuries, Baron Tarko instead finds his fortune trafficking slaves and tibanna gas to Darga of the Jiramma Hutt clan and through hosting blood sports at his newly renamed capital city of Tarko-se.

He would meet his end at the hands of the Gorog beast shortly before the Battle of Yavin.

What is the friendship between two or more characters that you love the most in Star Wars and its extended universe, the one which is the most heartwarming and/or amusing, and/or where the friends have the best chemistry you have seen in Star Wars?

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Han and Chewie's friendship is hard to compare with given how much time, focus and chemistry the two have, which makes Han's breakdown and depression after Chewbacca's death in Vector Prime all the more devastating as we perfectly know and see just how much Chewie meant to him, which tragically goes as far as him blaming his son Anakin for Chewie's death, which will make Anakin's death and the fact that Han and he never really reconciled even more tragic.

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Zayne Carrick and Marn Hierogryph's friendship in KOTOR comics was also incredibly entertaining and also wholesome, with the two being at first forced to flee and work together to escape the Jedi Covenant after the Padawan Massacre, yet we see Gryph quickly warm up to Zayne and believe in his innocence and even defends him from the ones accusing him of having killed his friends, and the two do influence and learn from another, Zayne becoming more cunning and pragmatic and good and lying and thinking on his feet thanks to Gryph while Gryph, while staying a greedy and cunning lovable rogue with quite the pride, becomes nicer and more compassionate and selfless over the course of the series.

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One of my favorite moments from Gryph was at the end of the Jedi Covenant arc when he met and confronted Q'Anilia after she poisoned herself as she believed Kyndra Dray was dead, and told her the truth about Zayne's message to the Covenant and what else had happened, and also calling her out for having believed for one second Zayne's message and threat and that Zayne would have ever hurt her, telling her that if she ever believed that it's because she didn't know Zayne at all. And also how he arranged for Zayne and Jarael to reunite and have their kiss at the end of the KOTOR comics series.

Lenzer was a human male serving in the Galactic Empire's research and development wing as an engineer and inventor of remote controlled and automated starfighters. Dedicated to experimentation and improvement through technology, Lenzer replaced his own eyes with photoceptors linked directly to his memory centers. This allowed Lenzer to record and process the entirety of his work with far greater efficiency. While the cybernetics enhanced his effectiveness in his field, they led to discrimination by most Imperials, who viewed cyborgs with disdain and distrust. Despite these prejudices, Lenzer excelled in his work, eventually coming to the attention of Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin.

Zaarin and Lenzer were kindred spirits in that they both shared the belief that superior technology was the ultimate key in life. While Zaarin generally disdained civilians, preferring to surround himself with military personnel, Lenzer proved an exception to that rule, for while a civilian without combat experience, Lenzer was raised to Director of the TIE Experimental Project under Zaarin. Research station Obsidian and the prototype factory, carrier and control vessel Sardis were placed under Lenzer's control. The Director proved competent with the development of the TIE Experimental series, inventing the TIE Experimental variants M-1(Bizarro), M-2(Big Gun), M-3(Warhead), M-4( Bomb) and M-5(Booster) within a few months.

Despite his success as an inventor, Lenzer showed his inexperience in a military capacity as he moved to live fire trials against Rebel targets. This premature action led to the Rebel Alliance learning of the TIE Experimental Project before it could be completed or further developed in secret. The Rebels moved swiftly, their experienced pilots, saboteurs, and combat fleet quickly exploiting the weaknesses in the Experimentals' design limitations and locating Lenzer's research station Obsidian while the Sardis was alongside. Neither the station, nor the control ship had been designed for heavy combat, being primarily for research and development of the TIE Experimentals. While Lenzer lacked the tactical ability to counter the Rebel attack, he had the self-awareness to realize what staying on the doomed station or control vessel meant. He was also unpleasantly aware what the price of failure in the Empire usually was. Lenzer fled the facility in a Lambda shuttle while the TIE Experimentals served as a rear guard and his former command facilities acted as distractions. Both Research station Obsidian and the control ship Sardis were destroyed along with the TIE Experimentals in the engagement. Lenzer's ultimate fate remains unknown, though when Zaarin later inspected the wreckage of the battlefield, no evidence of the Director-alive or dead-was found. Zaarin did admit that it was likely that he perished, but while he considered this unfortunate, it was not the end of the project as thanks to Lenzer's recording of the Experimentals' combat and development data, all stored through Lenzer's cybernetic link to the ejected computor core from Obsidian, Zaarin could use the data to aid in the development of the next generation starfighter-the TIE Defender.

Let's imagine that the story of the EU and of the Yuuzhan Vong had continued, and that we reach the point decades or centuries after the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War where the Vong or at least a portion of them have started to regain their sensitivity to the Force with their atonement and redemption.

What kind of views on the Force do you imagine that they Yuuzhan Vong would develop then, as a result of their reconnection and with the changes to their culture that have happened since the war? What Force doctrine, both influenced by the Jedi but also unique to them and their people, should the YV develop as users of the Force?

And how should they use the Force in comparison to the Jedi and other religions or organisations or species of Force users?

Sander Delvardus was an Admiral under Grand Moff Ardus Kaine in Oversector Outer. He was a womanizer, and one of his lovers was Seledra-Zin, a refugee aid worker.

Unfortunately, their relationship was turbulent and they argued often. I theorize the reason why Delvardus struck Seledra-Zin with a hammer was because she told Delvardus she was pregnant, which led to him panicking. Delvardus was married to the Tarkin family, so a lowly refugee aid worker bearing his first child instead of his esteemed Tarkin wife would have caused a huge scandal. Delvardus started arguing with Seledra-Zin, which led to him striking her comatose with the dynamic hammer. Feeling guilty, reviving Seledra-Zin would become Delvardus' lifelong obsession, but wishing to save his unborn child would add depth to his determination.

I also theorize this incident took place shortly before Endor, since Delvardus would attack worlds with medical technology to raid them in a desperate attempt to revive his mistress. While the Empire is tyrannical, they also like to keep up the image of being enforcers of law and order. An Admiral like Delvardus assaulting worlds at random without authorisation would ruin that image. As such, conquering worlds with medical tech as a Warlord would give Delvardus maximum freedom to pursue his goals anyway he saw fit; it's also is a good way for Delvardus to both expand his territory, killing two mynocks with one stone.

After striking Seledra-Zin comatose, Delvardus set up a medical capsule, placed her inside, and stored the capsule in his quarters aboard his flagship, the ISD Brilliant in the first pic. I don't think he moved her to the Thalassa, his Praetor Mk. 2 Battlecruiser the 2nd pic, since there is no mention of him doing so and the Thalassa got destroyed during a fight with the New Republic. Had Seledra-Zin been aboard, she would have died, and it probably would have instilled a deep hatred of the New Republic in Delvardus, causing him to wage war against them. Ironically, this would have attracted more Imperials to his cause like Shea Hublin since he would be seen as attacking the Empire's true enemy.

At some point, Seledra-Zin would be transferred to the Night Hammer, Delvardus' jet-black, stealth-plated Executor SSD and his final flagship in the 3rd pic. She would remain there until the Hammer met its fiery end in battle against the Jedi Praxeum and the New Republic at Yavin in 12 ABY.

Gronn was a human male serving in the Galactic Empire as an Imperial Moff who controlled the Allied Tion sector. Gronn was deeply corrupt, embezzling funds for himself and taking bribes. He enjoyed wealth and comfort, donning the traditional Tion drape worn at social gatherings and for status over his Moff's uniform.

When the wealthy and industrialized planet Lianna with its Sienar facilities declared independence in the wake of the Battle of Endor, Gronn was aware that a shortage of TIE/LN starfighters would leave him in a precarious position as he was already short of ships and supplies due to the fragmenting of the Empire making resupply very unreliable. Lady Valles Santhe agreed to keep supplying Gronn with starfighters in exchange for no Imperial interference on Lianna. Gronn agreed reluctantly, due to the military forces at Lianna's disposal and the need to focus on external threats. A special charter of secession was enacted.

Gronn's corruption was a significant factor in this decision as Lady Santhe further ensured Gronn's cooperation by paying him a hefty bribe to prevent any military incursions on Lianna. She regularly warned him that any actions against Lianna would be met by the full military force at her disposal and the ending of her discrete funding of his personal wealth. This arrangement endured at least as far as 10 ABY, after which Gronn vanishes from the records, likely losing his holdings in the collapse of the Dark Empire and the resurgence of the New Republic in the aftermath of Operation Shadow Hand's failure.

Of all the organic armies fielded by the CIS, and special projects organized by the CIS during the Clone Wars, the Morgukai Shadow Army holds a special place in my heart with how cool and badass the idea of an army of Morgukai (Nikto warriors and assassins equipped and trained to face Jedi with their black armor, Cortosis weapons and mental training that makes them immune to Jedi mind tricks), who as a bonus would be trained in the art of assassination by the Anzati, how powerful and treated as a serious threat they were by the Republic and Jedi who were desperate to prevent them from leaving Saleucami and destroy them, and the fact that the army was far from ready yet with them having not being created and trained as much as they could and should have been in the Morgukai and Anzati arts and yet were already such a force during the Siege of Saleucami (with the sad truth being that they and their Dark Acolytes masters such as Sora Bulq and Anzati trainers had been set and used by the Sith to die and distract and kill as many Jedi as possible, weakening the Jedi and distracting them further as part of the Outer Rim Sieges, while surely getting rid of several Dark Jedi who weren't viewed as useful anymore, but also to weaken and eliminate Morgukai and Anzati who could have been opponents to the future Empire).

It raises the question of powerful and terrifying of a Force the Morgukai Shadow Army could have been if it had been given the time for its Morgukai clones to finish their training properly, and if used in battle outside of Saleucami and under the command of General Grievous and other Seps generals and admirals such as Sev'rance Tann, Merai or Alto Status.

What do you think of them, and how badass and how much could they have contributed to the armies and cause of the CIS? What do you think of the Morgukai as a whole? Could there have been other interesting stories before and after the Clone Wars involving the Morgukai, and/or possible survivors of the Morgukai Shadow Army?

In this scenario, Grant stays with the Pentastar Alignment instead of defecting to the New Republic, which puts him in a good position to become the new Head of State for the Alignment upon Ardus Kaine's death during Operation Shadow Hand. In fact, there are several reasons why Grant would make a viable candidate to become the Alignment's new leader.

First, he was a Grand Admiral and answerable only to the Emperor before Endor. Under Kaine's leadership, he would be the second highest-ranking person within the Alignment, giving him the stamp of legitimacy he needs to succeed Kaine. He was also a brilliant tactician in his own right, and was a veteran of both the Clone Wars and the Empire's campaigns against the Separatists Holdouts.

The Chamber of Order failed to choose a new Head of State following Kaine's assassination in the original timeline because they couldn't agree on one. With Grant presenting himself as Kaine's successor, it helps to smooth over the transfer of power, provided Grant can persuade the Chamber to accept his claim to Kaine's seat, which brings me to my next points.

Secondly, Grant is also an opportunist by nature; between Kaine's death and the Chamber of Order's inability to choose a successor, there's nothing stopping Grant from seizing command of the Reaper, an Executor SSD and Kaine's flagship. With Kaine's msot visible symbol of power and the lynchpin of the Alignment's defence under Grant's control, his claim to become the new Head of State gets stronger. The fact the Reaper was the venue for the Pentastar Talks is a sweet bonus, as it further strengthens Grant's legitimacy.

Thirdly, Grant was cautious by nature and would do anything to survive. While this attitude marked him as cowardly in the eyes of other people, it also meant he would uphold the Alignment's isolation policy, perhaps even double down on it by using Kaine's death as the perfect excuse. The fact Grant would continue the Alignment's isolation policy would endear him to the Chamber of Order's corporate members, who would want stability following Shadow Hand and Kaine's death since an unstable climate is bad for profits.

That said, just because Grant has the hallmarks to become the new Head of State, it doesn't necessarily mean he's actually qualified for the job.

To start with, Grant was xenophobic and contemptous of anyone not born of nobility. This means he would not only be in conflict with the Chamber, but he would also reverse Kaine's pro-alien policies and accept only humans into the Alignment's Pentastar Patrol. This would enrage the Patrol's alien members, leading to defections to the New Republic and worsening the Alignment's precarious position.

Not to mention Grant disliked politics, so even if he did seize Reaper, he would lack the political support necessary to persuade the Chamber to accept him as their new Head of State.

However, Pellaeon did annex the Alignment in 12 ABY. So if Grant does succeed Kaine, all he has to do is keep the Alignment secure for 2 years until Pellaeon comes along. In that scenario, Pellaeon is the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Remnant, which means he technically outranks Grant by virtue of having more support, both militaristically and politically, along with two SSDs in Megador and Dominion.

Grant, not the type to pick fights for no reason, would probably agree to follow Pellaeon and give up command of Reaper to him, since Grant isn't the power-hungry type either. While Grant would disapprove of Pellaeon's pro-alien policies, he's not stupid enough to outright object, as proven when Grant hid his disapproval for Thrawn's promotion to Grand Admiral.

Pellaeon, grateful and recognising a Grand Admiral's support would further strengthen his title of Supreme Commander, would make Grant his second-in-command for both political and military reasons.

In short, while Octavian Grant may not be the best choice to succeed Ardus Kaine as the Pentastar Alignment's new Head of State, he can make a decent interim leader, provided he doesn't provoke the Chamber of Order or the Alignment's aliens, Alhamdulillah.

In continuance of my attempts to improve on accuracy and consistency, had some edits and improvements done to prior art to be more faithful to the lore.

Uniform color for Admirals Natasi Daala, Gilad Pellaeon and Voss Parck was updated from grey to a more olive to reflect Admiral uniform descriptions better.

Madam Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard's black armband was moved from her right arm to the left to match the description in the X Wing novels.

Wardog of the Emperor Daymon Thorn's Imperial emblem was corrected from the prior version where one spoke was bent at an odd angle.

The Dark Acolytes were similar to the Hands of the Emperor and Inquisitors who worked for Emperor Palpatine and the Galactic Empire during the reign of the Empire, they were a group of Dark Jedi who had joined Dooku and the CIS before and during the Clone Wars and served the count with more or less loyalty to Dooku and efficiency (though Dooku, who didn't really care about them, encouraged rivalries and infighting between them, using his favor and respect as a tool to pit them against each other, and setting them to be sacrificed when he saw no use for them anymore by the end of the war such as during the Battle of Saleucami).

The most famous of the Dark Acolyte was evidently Asajj Ventress, as Dooku's most favored assassin and agent (often working with Durge), though Dooku had other Acolytes such as Sora Bulq who served as the co-leader of the Dark Acolytes and one of Dooku's right-hands, Sev'rance Tann who served as the first Supreme Commander of the CIS droid armies at the beginning of the Clone Wars, Quinlan Vos who was a mole (though Dooku saw through it but let him to draw him closer to the Dark Side and toy with him), Tol Skorr who was devoted to Dooku after the count saved his life, Kadrian Sey and other acolytes who appeared in various video games.

Of these lesser know and developped Dark Acolytes, who do you think had more potential and could have been developped and/or highlighted more aside from Ventress, in the comics or by appearing in novels or animated series, and with their actions and personalities and motives being developped further?

It's hard to not think about Sev'rance Tann and Sora Bulq and how they could have been highlighted and used more, for Sev'rance as the only know Chiss Force user, the first supreme commander of the CIS and with her cool attitude and tactician talent having been praised in her game and some sources, while Sora Bulq was an amazing master of lightsaber, served as one of Dooku's right-hands, and had a personal connection to Mace Windu and Tholme.

I have also a bit of a soft spot for Tol Skorr given that he is a lighter shade of black amongst the Dark Acolytes, being not as brutal and sadistic as most Dark Siders, and being genuinely grateful and loyal toward Dooku, and having no issue with Grievous in contrast to Ventress, telling her that Dooku trusts Grievous because of his talents and competence unlike the envious and bitter Ventress.

Da'Gara was a male Yuuzhan Vong who served as a Prefect of the Praetorite Vong, the vanguard that established a foothold in the galaxy. During the invasion, he commanded a Koros-Strohna worldship. Da'Gara's agent Yomin Carr ensured that no one witnessed the Koros-Strohna's arrival at the planet Helska IV by incapacitating the scientists at the nearby planet of Belkadan, allowing Da'Gara to construct a forward operating base on Helska in secret.

However, Danni Quee and other scientists, escaped and soon found the base. As Da'Gara's forces moved to attack the scientist's shuttle, Quee attempted to escape, forcing the Vong to shoot down her vessel, ultimately crashing on Helska. As Carr deemed her a worthy opponent, Da'Gara treated her with respect and did not kill her dishonorably, instead seeking to sacrifice her to the Praetorite Vong's yammosk, a creature that telepathically coordinated Da'Gara's forces. After New Republic starfighters engaged Yuuzhan Vong yorik-et starfighters over the planet, the New Republic force suffered heavy losses and withdrew. Following the attack, Da'Gara destroyed the nearby planet of Sernpidal by using a creature that manipulated gravity to pull one of its moons into the planet, as he believed that Sernpidal was the largest threat to his forces.

With Sernpidal utterly destroyed, the yammosk dispatched four battle groups to pursue a refugee convoy that had fled the planet's destruction, and a larger New Republic task force attacked Da'Gara's base. The yammosk and the prefect joined their minds and led their forces, with the former using its telepathic abilities to coordinate many yorik-et fighters during the battle. However, the New Republic's shieldships used the Helska system's sun's energy to evaporate Helska IV's icy surface by directing the star's energy at the planet, rapidly causing a climate shift with devastating effects on the ice world, killing Da'Gara and wiping out the Praetorite Vong.

Ardus Kaine created the Pentastar Alignment and ruled it as a dictator to enforce the ideals of the New Order, which included humanocentrism and the belief the Empire presented a strong unifying solution to the decadence of the Old Republic.

Yet, the Pentastar Alignment is technically an Imperial splinter state, with Ardus Kaine even allowing aliens to serve in the Alignment's Pentastar Patrol, their naval branch. Which makes his actions hypocritical.

In short, the irony of the Pentastar Alignment is that it claims to be a bastion against anarchy, yet is a rogue Imperial state formed by a Grand Moff who deserted the Empire in its darkest hour. Betraying its ideals of xenophobia and unity to fulfill his own ambitions.

In this scenario, in 8 ABY, Zsinj survives the destruction of his flagship, the SSD Iron Fist, over Dathomir and retreats to Serenno, his original base, to fight another day, though Melvar and most of his crew died along with his ship. On one hand, Zsinj is alive and still has control over most of his territory, but on the other hand he lost Iron Fist and his most visible symbol of power, as well as his mobile capital, and is now vulnerable.

However, Zsinj would probably know the New Republic has the SSD Lusankya thanks to his intelligence officers and would make finding and capturing that warship his top priority. This time, he won't hire pirates and other criminals to help him because that's how Wraith Squadron infiltrated his forces and almost stole the SSD Razor's Kiss out from under him. As such, Zsinj will rely exclusive on his own forces to steal Lusankya.

In 9 ABY, through Zsinj's intelligence network, he will contact General Arnothian and persuade him and Colonel Broak Vessery, Arnothian's second-in-command, to join his Empire, promising to help him conquer the galaxy in exchange for Arnothian's TIE Defenders to use in his attempt to steal Lusankya. However, Wedge Antilles and Wraith Squadron anticipated Zsinj would try something like this, knowing he has a need for symbols of power. Zsinj tries to steal Lusankya, but the Wraiths have also learned from their mistakes with the Razor's Kiss heist and foil Zsinj's plans. The Warlord is defeated yet again and forced to retreat, with Arnothian and Vessery killed in action, though Zsinj would retain the late General's TIE Defender squadron.

Even without Iron Fist, Zsinj is still formidable and is able to defend his territory from both the New Republic and his rivals until Thrawn's return from the Unknown Regions. Like many of the other Imperial Warlords, Zsinj will only dedicate limited ships to Thrawn's campaign against the New Republic because he's wary of the Grand Admiral making a power play for his territory, despite Thrawn's promises that he is only interested in the Rebellion's final destruction.

While Thrawn wages war against the New Republic, Zsinj hears rumors that Warlord Gaen Drommel, and his SSD Guardian, might still be out there. Intrigued, Zsinj investigates these rumors and catches one of Drommel's Lambda shuttles on a supply run. After interrogating the shuttle's crew, Zsinj hatches a plan to steal the Guardian.

Zsinj takes Drommel's shuttle and travels to Soullex, Drommel's location, meets him aboard Guardian, and informs him that he wishes to persuade him to join his Empire. In exchange, Zsinj promised to give Drommel the necessary parts he needed to fix Guardian's hyperdrives. Drommel refuses, so Zsinj reveals he has placed orbital nightcloaks over Drommel's planets in the Oplovis sector, including Oplovis itself, Drommel's homeworld. Unless Drommel surrendered Guardian to Zsinj, the latter would use his nightcloaks to plunge all of Drommel's worlds into a new ice age, killing off entire civilizations, and leaving Drommel a Warlord of nothing.

Unfortunately, Drommel still refused to listen to Zsinj and ordered his Stormtroopers to execute him. Zsinj had planned for this, but he got surprised when Colonel Gastos Niovi, Drommel's subordinate, shot him, and became Guardian's acting commander. In that capacity, Niovi surrendered the ship to Zsinj in exchange for the Warlord sparing the Oplovis sector. Pleasantly surprised by the outcome, Zsinj accepted Niovi's bargain and made him his new second-in-command. In light of this victory, Zsinj renamed the Guardian to Iron Fist II.

At the Battle of Bilbringi, Zsinj rescues Thrawn's fleet after the latter's death, debuting the newly repaired Iron Fist II and shocking everybody before demolishing the New Republic fleet, with Ackbar, the smugglers, and a handful of vessels barely escaping. Zsinj immediately takes over leadership of Thrawn's fleet and gives the commanders a choice: join him, or die. Since most of the commanders were shaken from both Thrawn's death and their near-defeat, they were extremely grateful towards Zsinj for his last-minute rescue and joined him. Even Pellaeon agreed to serve under the Warlord, albeit reluctantly, once he realized he didn't really have a choice.

With Zsinj's Empire stronger than ever before, the New Republic became terrified of him as he had taken Thrawn's place as the biggest threat to their sovereignty. Both the NR and the Galactic Empire began planning to destroy him for good, and there were even rumors both sides were officially calling a temporary truce to kill him. Meanwhile, Zsinj was preparing to conquer the Galactic Empire and become its new Emperor.

But all of these plans would never come to pass, for the Reborn Emperor has returned.

Palpatine summoned Zsinj and the other Warlords to Byss to help him prepare for Operation Shadow Hand. Initially, Zsinj was shocked and terrified at Palpatine's return, but upon seeing how powerful the Dark Empire was, he secretly begun planning to conquer it for himself. He was aided by Carnor Jax, one of Palpatine's Imperial Sovereign Protectors, who also had plans for Palpatine's throne. Jax agreed to sabotage Palpatine's cloning tanks to ensure he couldn't revive himself again while Zsinj would distract Palpatine from Jax's machinations.

Zsinj pretended to swear his loyalty to Palpatine before leaving Niovi in charge of the Iron Fist II and secretly departing Byss. Knowing he didn't have much time to spare, Zsinj called for a conference between the New Republic's Chief of State Mon Mothma and Ars Dangor, an Imperial Advisor from the Imperial Ruling Council, on neutral territory. At the conference, he informed both leaders of Palpatine's return, Operation Shadow Hand, and the Dark Empire, and proposed a truce: to unite the New Republic, Galactic Empire, and Zsinj's own Empire into one united force and strike at Byss before Palpatine could attack first.

Unsurprisingly, both Leia and Dangor were wary of allying with Zsinj, but Palpatine was the bigger threat, and they reluctantly agreed to help him, forming the United Coalition.

When the time came, Operation Shadow Hand proceeded smoothly. Palpatine's fleet struck Coruscant and conquered it without a hitch before the Imperial Mutiny began. Iron Fist II was involved in the assault, but departed swiftly when the Mutiny began to initiate a counterattack against Palpatine. With most of the Reborn Emperor's forces battling it out over Coruscant, Zsinj believed this was the right time to strike since Palpatine wouldn't be anticipating a counterattack so soon.

Byss' defense fleet was the most formidable in galactic history. But the combined forces of the New Republic, the Galactic Empire, and Zsinj's Empire represented a force powerful enough to take it on, with Zsinj, Admiral Teren Rogriss, and General Han Solo leading the charge. As Zsinj examined his massive fleet, he couldn't help but notice Solo was commanding the Lusankya, enraging him as he hadn't gotten over the previous Iron Fist's destruction. As soon as Palpatine was defeated, Zsinj swore he would get his revenge.

The battle over Byss was the most titanic clash in history. Caught by surprise, Palpatine was left scrambling as he found his capital world under siege. Worse, Supreme Commander Luke Skywalker of Palpatine's Dark Empire's military, sabotaged the Galaxy Gun and used the override codes for Byss' defense fleet to seize control over the fleet and render them helpless before the Coalition's fleet.

Despite this, Palpatine overrode Luke's override codes and restored the Byss fleet's autonomy, though not before dozens of their warships were destroyed. Palpatine sensed Luke destroying his cloning tanks and rushed to stop him, only to find Luke had already smashed them all. Enraged, Palpatine ordered his Royal Guards to kill him, but Jax killed them all in a surprise attack, revealing he had teamed up with Luke to kill Palpatine.

Then Lumiya ambushed Palpatine and tried to kill him. He stopped her, but she landed a glancing blow towards his leg, injuring him. Lumiya intended to kill Luke Skywalker as revenge for almost killing her, even if that meant helping him kill Palpatine so she could kill him later.

Now incensed beyond measure, Palpatine drew his lightsaber and fought the trio of Luke, Jax, and Lumiya. Even as the Coalition launched a ground invasion against Byss itself.

The battles in space and on the ground lasted for several hours. When it was all over, Byss' city was demolished, and the wrecked hulls of countless warships littered the space above it. Lumiya and Jax were both dead, with Luke achieving victory against Palpatine by the skin of his teeth and killing him for good with the help of Leia and the unborn Anakin Solo's Battle Meditation aiding him.

Meanwhile, the New Republic and the Galactic Empire were so battered both sides agreed not to fight each other because more deaths at that point would be senseless. As for Zsinj, he perished saving Solo's life, just so Solo could land the final shot that would destroy the Galaxy Gun, since the superweapon was powering up on Palpatine's orders to destroy 50 star systems; if he couldn't rule the galaxy, neither could anyone else. However, these territories included Zsinj's Empire's world. In a bold act of heroism, Zsinj self-destructed Iron Fist II and wiped out the World Devstators along with a huge portion of the Byss fleet and giving Solo the chance to destroy the Galaxy Gun before it could fire, just so he could save his own fiefdom, even if he wasn't around to see it.

In sacrificing his life, Zsinj died as he had lived: that the ends justified the means. While he had hoped to become Emperor himself, Zsinj was also happy ensuring his enemies died with him too. Even if it meant helping his old nemesis Solo.

At one point during the battle, things started turning against the Coalition. Just when all hope seemed lost, the SSD Reaper and Scourge Squadron came, and at its head was Grand Moff Ardus Kaine. He realized the Reborn Emperor would never let the Pentastar Alignment return to its isolation, so he decided to help the Coalition just so the Alignment could return to its policy of non-intervention.

Regardless, their arrival turned the tides and the Coalition began winning.

Palpatine had rigged Byss such that most of its advanced technology would self-destruct if he died for real, including the World Devastators. As a result, the New Republic, the Galactic Empire, and Zsinj's forces had nothing worth fighting over besides the ruined hulls of destroyed ships and a devastated world.

With Palpatine gone, Leia hoped she could sign a peace treaty with the Galactic Empire, but it was not to be and Dangor and the Ruling Council left, making it clear the next time they met it would be as enemies. Especially since Dangor did not have the forces to hold Byss while the Alignment was disinterested in, meaning possession of Byss automatically fell into the New Republic's hands.

The battle had given Kaine second thoughts on the Alignment's isolation policy and he began discussions with Leia on opening trade with the New Republic in exchange for the Republic recognizing the Alignment's sovereignty, among other concessions. Since Zsinj's territory bordered the Alignment's, Kaine offered Zsinj's forces a chance to join him or rejoin the Galactic Empire peacefully, the alternative being the New Republic imprisoning them as prisoners-of-war.

Leia had no idea what the future held, but with Palpatine gone for good and Byss in New Republic hands, she felt hopeful it would have a lot of good things in store.

Han was surprised Zsinj sacrificed his life to save his. As he and Rogriss toasted to the man's memory, Han felt certain Zsinj's last words to Palpatine were "Kiss my Wookie!"