Imperial Coalition

After his resurrection on Byss, Palpatine began to recruit Deep Core warlords such as Blitzer Harrsk, Treuten Teradoc and Sander Delvardus to his cause. The surviving members of the Ruling Circle joined after, bringing the Moffs and the fleet commanders who had control of the former Empire proper to form the Imperial Coalition. Most of these disparate factions hated each other, and only agreed to form the Coalition for fear of not getting a share of the spoils. The Ruling Circle was populated by the late Emperor Palpatine with his Dark Side Adepts, and was planned by Palpatine to eventually replace the system of Moffs and governors in the Galactic Empire to establish a dark side theocracy. Meanwhile, the fleet commanders held power over the remnants of the Imperial Military, wielding Star Destroyers and their accompaniments as forces of destruction. Many members of the Coalition did not know Palpatine's hand behind the unification, including the mainline Imperial forces under Gilad Pellaeon, who also joined the Coaliton. During this time, the New Republic received many strange reports about Imperial personnel and warships that had disappeared, including Inos Fonada and his armada, designers and schematics form the fortress world of Keleda, and Admiral Feyet Kiez and his Star Dreadnought Whelm. In addition, reports came that warlords Harrsk, Teradoc, Delvardus and Foga Brill stopped scheming and skirmishing. The New Republic Intelligence initially believed that one warlord had taken control. In reality, the forces had joined together under Palpatines banner and where preparing to make a devasting strike on the galaxy. However, these reports where initially dismissed during the chaos that ensued following Thrawn's death, and the New Republic sent it's forces back to the Outer Rim.

In addition to maintaining a hold over the Deep Galactic Core as well as many regions of high industry beyond the Core Worlds, the Coalition assaulted the New Republic after Thrawn's defeat at Bilbringi, in a stunningly violent campaign, which caught the New Republic by surprise. Three massive task forces emerged from the Deep Core, including four Executor-class Star Dreadnoughts, including the Whelm, five Mandator IIIs, and three Vengeance-class dreadnoughts. With the Republic's forces in disarray in the Outer Rim, the Coalition was able to capture several key planets and star systems in the Core within days. The New Republic tried to halt the advance at Metellos, but a fleet of raiders sent to Coruscant, surprised them. The Coalition captured Coruscant, in a battle led by General Alix Balan in 10 ABY. However, the former galactic capital was not used as the prime base of operations.

Nevertheless, Imperial Advisors such as Ars Dangor suggested that they convene in the old Senate building on Coruscant so that a new ruler be elected from amongst themselves, and that they establish themselves as the legislative body of the Empire there to oversee the newly-crowned ruler's decisions. Although Moffs and governors opposed and brought down the plan, the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order leadership was uneasy with what they saw as treasonous plotting in making decisions based on political convenience. Individual ministers, munitions tycoons, and functionaries immediately returned to their plotting, with the Inquisitorius doing likewise, exercising their power by staging show trials in their resentment of the Military's independence.

The Military itself, both army and navy, gave themselves the power to appoint the new Emperor. The navy demanded the right to appoint a new Grand Admiral from their chain of command to resume the Thrawn campaign in addition, with the army wanting their say in the matter as well. The bureaucracy dismissed the military in response to the navy, claiming that Thrawn failed the Empire, and turned to regional militias and the CompForces instead.

Violence ultimately erupted after months of political maneuvering within the Empire, as Thrawn's unfinished victory fueled internal conflict to the extent of a full-scale Imperial Civil War. The Emperor's Ruling Circle came to blows against the military, instigating brutal fights of attrition involving a dozen loyalties where navy fought navy, orders of sieges and orbital bombardments were issued, terror troops destroyed planetary defense equipment, and anarchy reigned throughout cities. The presence of counter-insurgents and scavengers was rampant on the former Imperial capital.

The war rendered Coruscant a disaster world, and though Palpatine returned with the Dark Empire in 10 ABY, the Emperor and his dark forces fell within a year, once again leaving Imperial forces to be consumed by greed. Despite this, New Republic planners had high hopes of remaking and rededicating Coruscant to the ideals of civilization as Imperials desperately clung onto what remained of their holdings.

• Dark Empire Sourcebook
• The Essential Chronology
• The New Essential Chronology
• The Essential Atlas
• The Essential Guide to Warfare