#Grand Admiral Rae Sloane

[dalekofchaos]

Context

Hux. Short version, Hux reveals Kylo killing Snoke to the FIrst Order leadership. Hux ousts Ben and becomes Supreme Leader. Now Hux plans to exterminate The Jedi, force sensitives everywhere and lead to the death of the force. Long version read here.

Kylo as the villain. Adam Driver said the plan was never to redeem Ben Solo, that was a late change to appease everyone. So my big pitch for Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. To me Kylo Ren is what Vader could’ve been had he reached his full potential. A Vader who was never wounded on Mustafar, a Vader who killed a close family member and his master. He is the villain they were looking for, but no they had to course correct.As for what his motivation could be, exactly what he said. Finish what Vader started. Destroy the Light and reign over the galaxy as Supreme Leader. Long version. Other look at Kylo as the villain

Snoke's essence transferred into Kylo Ren the moment he killed Snoke.

Darth Plagueis was a powerful Sith Lord who could influence the midichlorians to create life and also save others from dying. He taught everything he knew to his apprentice, Sheev Palpatine (aka Darth Sidious), but he eventually lost his power and young Palpatine killed him in his sleep. How could Plagueis not foresee his own demise at the hands of his ambitious apprentice? Why did Plagueis suddenly “lose his power”? The truth is, he didn’t lose his power and he knew Sidious planned to kill him. It was part of the plan. By dying, I believe Darth Plagueis was able to transmit himself into Sheev and assume control of his body, almost like an infectious disease. Ever notice his name? Darth Plagueis. Plague, as in an infectious disease. Darth Plagueis unlocked the secret to immortality by moving from one body to the next, continuing his lifespan through multiple hosts over countless years. Ever wonder why Palpatine was so obsessed with training a powerful young apprentice? Surely he knew that one day the apprentice would want to overthrow him, so why train his own murderer? In Return of the Jedi, Emperor Palpatine continually provokes Luke to strike him down. Why would Palpatine want to be killed if the goal is longevity? Because Emperor Palpatine was assumed by Darth Plagueis and, through his death, he would then be able to transmit himself into a new host body. He wasn’t just looking for an apprentice, he was looking for a new body since Palpatine’s body was growing old. Luke Skywalker was meant to be the next host body for Darth Plagueis. But unfortunately for Plagueis, Darth Vader had a change of heart and defeated the Emperor. Snoke was Plagueis. It’s the only way to make things work. StarWars.com describes Snoke as a seeker of arcane and ancient lore, and the Last Jedi Visual Dictionary shows that he is a collector of rare memorabilia. At some point, Snoke must have found the wreckage of the Death Star on the forest moon Endor, and was infected by Darth Plagueis when he came upon the corpse of Palpatine. Did you ever wonder why Snoke thought it was so important to complete Kylo Ren’s training? It’s because Snoke was Darth Plagueis and he was training his next host body. Plagueis didn’t have a choice but to infect a really old political influencer like Snoke. Kylo was being groomed to become the next host body. Remember the infamous scene in The Last Jedi where Snoke is “predicting” how Kylo Ren will kill Rey? Wasn’t it a little too obvious? Wouldn’t Snoke have been able to foresee Kylo’s treachery? See through his conflict? It’s because he wasn’t predicting Rey’s death, he predicted his own. He knew Kylo would kill him. He deliberately bullied and provoked Kylo in order to stir his anger into hatred to further fuel his dark side and lead him to completing his training.

So Darth Plagueis goal would be to transfer his essence into Rey and in failing in that. He will drain the life force from the Dyad to satiate his own life force.

Thrawn. Cardinal West's Sequel Trilogy rewrite has the best take of Thrawn as the villain

Rae Sloane.

Rae Sloane founded The First Order! Sloane was loyal to the Empire, so much so, rather than allowing it to cease to exist, she recruited other loyalists and they fled to the Unknown Territories beyond Jakku. She founded the First Order. Together with Hux, she could usurp control of the First Order and become Supreme Leader, which would start a civil war, those loyal to Sloane and those loyal to Kylo. We can have someone who could be a great antagonist to Leia. The founder of The First Order and the mother of the Resistance. What makes Rae a compelling character is the fact that she believes what the Empire is doing is right. In her eyes, the Empire is doing the right thing, purging lawlessness from a galaxy overrun by bureaucrats that care little for the common people. She’s wrong, but like great villains before her, audiences can see where she’s coming from even if they don’t agree with it. Throughout her many appearances in the supplemental Star Wars narratives, she is constantly pushing for the Empire to be “just.” When things start to fall apart after the Battle of Endor, Rae struggles to keep the remnants of the fleet playing by the unspoken rules of warfare and is frustrated to see the Empire careen into backstabbing and incompetence. You can see Rae’s influence in the First Order with its strict hierarchy and minute by-the-books stringency that makes Palpatine’s Empire look positively laissez-faire by comparison. Supreme Leader Rae Sloane would make The First Order a force to be reckoned with and what better way to end it than with the First Order’s founder?

The Grysks.

The Grysks were introduced in the new canon novel Thrawn:Alliances. They are what brings Thrawn to the Empire in hopes of co-existing to fight this threat in the Unknown Regions. Grysks are a species living somewhere in the Unknown Regions. Creatures half of myth, whom few have ever seen. It is said that they are nomads, with no fixed home, traveling in spacecraft so numerous they blot out the stars. They are said to be terrifying warriors, overwhelming their opponents by sheer numbers and ferocity. The fact that these intergalactic conquerors are not the main threat in the Sequel Trilogy is baffling. You could’ve had Ben Solo sense they were coming during his Jedi days and made the ultimate sacrifice to become Kylo Ren and join The First Order because he knew the New Republic was not ready to face such a threat. It wouldn’t make what he was doing the entire trilogy right, but it would make explain why he turned and what his motivations are.

I don't really have a explanation for Qi'Ra, but she was trained by Maul, took over the Crimson Dawn and you don't waste Emilia Clarke on one movie that never continued. So Qi'Ra as the villain could've worked.

A Mandalorian invasion lead by Fett writes itself.

I know it's technically Palpatine, but it works better because we don't stupidly retcon Anakin's sacrifice. This was planned, but the idiots that be decided it would be better if Ian played him. So instead this is the perfected clone. The Clone Wars were a test for Palpatine to perfect cloning. Throughout the reign as Emperor, he tinkered with cloning force sensitives, created a lot of failures(Snoke) but prior to Endor, he perfected it and kept it as a fail safe should he die. And after Kylo Ren killed Snoke, he awakened. Palpatine reborn. The movie opens at the end of the war. Finn successfully consurs up a Stormtrooper Rebellion and all the FO officers are executed, Hux is captured and Rey beats Kylo Ren for the umpteenth time. The First Order are on their last legs. Until a message is delivered to the galaxy.

“People of the galaxy. Your Emperor has returned after thirty long, lawless years. To the Sith and the Jedi; follow the Holocrons. We have much work to do. Those who remained loyal to me shall be rewarded. For those who relished in my demise, who celebrated what they thought the end of the Empire and believed their treachery had won them the galaxy…only death and suffering await. The great error shall be corrected. The day of victory is at hand. The restoration of the Empire! The Final Order! The Day of the Sith!”

And it's a race. Rey and the Resistance hoping to stop The Emperor, while Kylo Ren is hoping to kill Palpatine, obtain the power of the Sith Eternal and an infinite fleet that will win the galaxy, but in the end, Rey and Kylo are forced to work together. Matt Smith as Palpatine could've fixed the movie

The final contingency of the Emperor. Cloning Luke Skywalker. Palpatine had foreseen either Luke will kill him and Vader or Vader will betray him. So Palpatine orders that Luke's hand be brought to him. Luke is cloned, but imperfectly. He is just a husk of power, so Palpatine has the greatest minds of the Empire indoctrinate this malleable clone to being the heir and the eventual savior of the Empire. This clone. Let's refer to him as Luuke. Luuke learned everything there was from Palpatine. His Machiavellian cunning mechanisms. Mastery over the dark side and fully believed in his master's will and plans for him.

Luuke foresaw that there would be problems if he revealed himself. SO he created a puppet, Snoke. Through Snoke, he turned Kylo Ren to the dark side and puppeteered The First Order. Masterminding everything from the shadows and after Snoke and the real Luke Skywalker's deaths, it was time to reveal himself.

Luuke's motivations are to bring Kylo Ren to heel or cast him aside, turn Rey to the dark side or kill her and rule the galaxy as his master intended for him. This dark side Luke would unite both Rey and Ben against him and would give Mark Hamill the opportunity to play a dark side Luke Skywalker.

[sakugadaichi]

Here's a personal project I'v been working on for a little while about my favourite star wars villain, Grand Admiral Rae Sloane! 😭🙏🏿

Been thinking of doing this little project for a while and used it as an opportunity to try a bunch of stuff I haven't before like being serious about 3d backgrounds and animation compositing. Learned a million different things during this process and will bring all that forward to future projects.

Mostly built around Sloane and Adea Rite. My favourite parts of Aftermath Life Debt.

[arkham-prisoner]

The Mandalorian REALLY needs to confirm exactly when it takes place because there’s a lot that I want clarification on

Mandalorian is supposed to be 9-10 Years ABY

Battle of Jakku is supposed to be 5 Years ABY

Brendol Hux escaped Jakku with Grand Admiral Rae Sloane after the death of Gallius Rax

So basically what I really want to know is:

WHERE IS GRAND ADMIRAL RAE SLOANE?!?!

WHY ISN’T SHE PART OF THE SHADOW COUNCIL?!?! She was last seen with Hux! She’s a founding member of The First Order!

[heirtotheempire]

As I read through the Ascendency trilogy, it is becoming more and more clear that the Chiss Ascendency is as hateful as the Empire. And it's odd how few people call that out. I think it is because Zahn does a fantastic job at hiding it through Chiss POV, but even then, the Chiss are still incredibly xenophobic and controlling. Yes, this includes Thrawn, he isn't the saint that so many people like to paint him as and frankly could be argued as worse.

I keep thinking about Ar'alani admitting she never saw non-Chiss as people. She is brilliant and kind, but only to other Chiss. We view her in a purely positive light because the POVs in these books are primarily Chiss, who agree with her. Of course her mindset is normal amongst Chiss, of course it isn't questioned, of course Ar'alani herself never questions it despite her experience off-world. It takes a direct and pretty personal interaction for her to think twice, and even then it is difficult for her to accept the humanity of a non-Chiss. They are lesser in her eyes. They are lesser in the eyes of most, if not all, of the Chiss.

It is fascinating, it really is. It's an interesting look into a xenophobic society without the initial hate from the reader. Because xenophobia is born out of misunderstanding and perpetuated systems of ignorance. If a similar situation was told but through the eyes of Imperial officers, fewer people would be willing to see the nuances. Because Empire=Bad and anyone associating with it is also Bad, right?

But, propaganda and cycles of ignorance are also to blame. Not every Imperial Officer was born hating aliens. Hell, even TARKIN started out incredibly sympathetic to alien species according to the canon novel by James Luceno. But his family taught him otherwise, just as the Chiss Ascendency teaches its own children see other species as lesser.

This mentality from the Ascendency is also seen in Thrawn: Treason with how Eli Vanto is treated simply for being human. The majority of officers hate his existence, insist he must prove himself (despite being at a lower rank than he was at when with the Empire), and are distrustful of him. Very similar to how Ronan treats Thrawn in the same novel.

This isn't, like, a call to love Chiss characters any less, but it's a bit odd to imply that Thrawn, or any other Chiss, would be against the Empire for the same reasons the Rebellion is. The Ascendency doesn't like the Empire because it could encroach on their rule, their space- not because it's xenophobic and oppresses too many people to count. The two systems are remarkably similar, which may be part of why Thrawn was inclined to help the Empire. It is familiar, and a system Thrawn himself has never opposed, even without taking Legends into account.

(SIDE NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT BRING UP SPOILERS FOR GREATER GOOD OR LESSER EVIL ON THIS POST. I AM STILL READING THOSE BOOKS AND WOULD LIKE TO ENJOY THEM SPOILER-FREE)

[gingerbreadtost]

[bisexualwintermoon]

anyway. have you guys seen Her

[empress-violetlight]

Imperial Handbook: Empire of the Hand - Capital Ships of the Navy of the Hand

Another Worldbuilding exercise for my Empire of the Hand AU. See my Ranks document here:

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While it might have began as a small task force under Thrawn’s command and whatever largely Clone Wars era scraps the Empire proper would send their way, as time went on and the Empire of the Hand began to build up the infrastructure needed to build its own ships, the variety of vessels available to it increased.  Here some of the Capital ships used by the Navy of the Hand, including some unique classes.

Renaissance-class Super Star Destroyer  (about 12 km long)

Built:  Kuat Drive Yard’s Spiral Shipyards, Nirauan system.  Officially finished construction in 21 ABY, but Admiral Parck would occasionally make use of its incomplete state before then. 

The Renaissance class is a shorter, wider, heavier-set, ship than the more familiar Executor-class SSDs from the old Galactic Empire, taking several design features from the prototype Eclipse class, including integrated interdiction technology, a complement of over 400 TIE Defender fighters, and a superlaser capable of cracking a planetary crust (or a Yuuzhan Vong world ship). Like other Empire of the Hand designs, the Renaissance-class’ bridge is not located in an exposed tower, but rather deep inside the ship, with cameras and a powerful sensor suite compensating for the lack of viewports.  Borrowing from Mon Calamari designs, the Renaissance-class also utilizes overlapping shield technology.  As well as standard Imperial weaponry like turbolasers, tractor beams and ion cannons, the Renaissance -class also utilizes Chiss Ascendency weaponry such as Plasma ball launchers and breacher missiles.

The main difference from the earlier class (and, the "selling point" that convinced then-Grand Moff Xelarra to sign off on its creation) is the ability of the Renaissance-class to carry up to five Imperial or Spiral- class Star Destroyers on the hull itself, with the smaller (but still capital sized) ships docking on five triangular recesses on the main hull, 3 on top of the superstructure, two below.  The Renaissance-class can thus act as a mobile repair station as well as the command ship.  Its main hanger bay can internally carry ships up to 300 m in length (i.e. the size of an Arquitens-class light cruiser or an Explorer-class research/scout vessel).

The Renaissance also has integrated Interdictor technology, and is equipped with several cloaking devices (necessary because of the ship’s size).  These two systems cannot normally be used at the same time, though Grand Admiral Thrawn remembers a few tricks learned earlier in his career to get around this limitation.  As cloaking devices are double-blind – they protect a ship from detection, but said ship also cannot see outside of it when activated through conventional means, the cloak is most effectively used with the cooperation of an Imperial Knight, who can use the Force to sense outside the cloak.  However, with proper timing and practice the cloaks can be used without the assistance of Force-users. 

As the Empire of the Hand did not sign the Pellaeon–Gavrisom Treaty, they are not prohibited from using cloaking devices. 

Known vessels in the class:

SSD Renaissance        

CO:  Fleet Admiral Voss Parck (19-28 ABY), Grand Admiral Thrawn (28 ABY +)

XO:  Commodore Eli Vanto (28 ABY+)

Starfighter commander:  Colonel Jagged Fel (28 ABY +)

Flagship of the Navy of the Hand.  Displays the same Paccosh signil as the ISD Chimaera on its hull.

Commissioned by Fleet Admiral Parck, in anticipation of Grand Admiral Thrawn’s rumoured return in 19 ABY.  Thrawn (actually his clone, known as ‘Raw’nuru’ until he was ready to retake the mantle of Grand Admiral) did not take command until the beginning of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, after the Evacuation of Lysatra.

Imperial-Class Star Destroyers

These iconic ships were inherited from the Galactic Empire.  Only a few were assigned to Thrawn’s task force in the Unknown Regions/The Chaos, and he chose the leave the ones he did have behind in the Empire of the Hand during his campaign of 8-9 ABY.  The Empire of the Hand has been retrofitting the ISDs when they can with more automation, in order to reduce its crew component from over 37 000 personnel down to 10 000.  As the less crew-intensive Spiral-Class Star Destroyers became more prominent in the Navy of the Hand, the remaining, aging Imperial-Class Star Destroyers were mainly regulated to defensive roles around prominent star systems and installations.  

Differences with standard Imperial Class ISDs:

As opposed to the “mobile base” role that the Old Galactic Empire used the Imperial-class for, Empire of the Hand ISDs are more starfighter-focused, with the majority of their standard ground forces (an entire legion of Stormtroopers, 20 AT-AT walkers and associated vehicles at the Empire’s height) regulated to the Clone Wars era Acclimator and new Nightstalker-class assault cruisers instead, unless the mission profile specifically calls for their inclusion.  With more room that would have been otherwise been taken up by ground vehicles, Hand ISDs have more than doubled the number of TIE –series fighters carried. 

To accommodate the additional TIES, the bridge tower has been reassigned to be a communications tower, focusing on air traffic control.  The actual bridge of the ship has been moved to a far more secure location in the interior of the ship, with cameras and sensors making up for the lack of traditional viewports.  

Known Vessels in this Class:

ISD Admonitor

CO:  Captain Dagon Niriz, then-Captain Voss Parck

The Star Destroyer first assigned to Thrawn’s “mapping expedition” in the Unknown Regions/The Chaos which would grow into the Empire of the Hand.  It later serves as the Hand Fleet's flagship until the Renaissance’s construction is completed in 21 ABY. 

ISD Vengeance  renamed the Resolute once in Hand space

CO:  then-Captain Thrawn (6 BBY), Commodore Karyn Faro (1 BBY +)

This is (officially) the first ISD Thrawn was assigned to as captain, which he used to subjugate the Kaleesh colony world of Oben.  Surprisingly, Thrawn earned the fierce, reptilian aliens’ respect for not just defeating, but crushing them in battle.  After the Battle of Endor, Thrawn personally extends an invitation to the Kaleesh to join the Empire of the Hand.  The say they will consider his offer, but don’t actually join until after Thrawn’s death.  

Commodore Karyn Faro served as Thrawn’s executive officer on the Resolute for many years, before being promoted to commanding officer of the Resolute itself, then climbing ever higher in the Hand Navy. 

The Resolute, along with the Admonitor, were also largely responsible for the creation of “Thrawn’s Cut” -- the hyperspace beacon route through The Chaos stretching from the Nirauan system to the border with the Chiss Ascendency. 

Beacons are modified Imperial probe droids, deployed in small groups that transmit real time astrometrics along a frequency that to anyone other than Empire of the Hand communications networks, appears as regular galactic background radiation.  By deploying the beacons in regular intervals, they form a trail of “breadcrumbs” that subsequent Hand ships can follow, allowing navigation through the Chaos without relying on Force users, though the initial deployment can be quite slow, relying on jump-by-jump navigation to plant the next “crumb” in the trail.  It took nearly a decade to carve Thrawn’s Cut, and the time involved convinced the Grand Admiral of the need for a dedicated exploration and beacon planting corps. 

ISDs the Empire of the Hand wants:

ISD Chimaera, currently serving as the flagship of the Imperial Loyalists (aka the Imperial Remnant)

CO:  Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon Possibly the most famous ISD in the Galaxy, the Chimaera served as Grand Admiral Thrawn’s flagship during his campaign to retake the galaxy in 9 ABY, with Gilad Pellaeon serving as his XO.  Both Fleet Admiral Parck and Empress Xelarra herself have made numerous offers to the Imperial Loyalists to acquire the historic ship, including offering the trade several state-of-the-art Spiral-class Star Destroyers for her.  Grand Admiral Pellaeon declines to give up his flagship every time.

Spiral-class Star Destroyers

Named for the magnificent ringed gas giant Spiral, the fifth planet in the Nirauan system, around which the Empire of the Hand’s main shipyards are built, these slim, daggerlike ships are smaller than Imperial-class Star Destroyers  (1.2 km long compared to an ISD's 1.6 km) and take a lot less crew (only about 5000).  As is standard on newer Hand ships, the Bridge tower is eliminated, with the bridge itself nestled deep within the structure of the ship.  They are powerful for their size.  Like a “mini-Renaissance”, (though they are, in fact, the basis for the larger ship) SpSDs are equipped with both Imperial and Chiss Ascendency weapons, featuring banks of turbo and spectrum lasers, deployed in retractable turrets, tractor beams, ion cannons and/or plasma spheres and breacher missiles. Some, though not all (usually 1-2 per battle group) have interdiction technology equipped.   Like the Hand’s ISDs, SpSDs also focus on starfighter deployment over ground forces, even though their TIEs usually consist of hyperspace-capable TIE Defenders.

Spiral class ships are predominantly assigned to Fleet Admiral Karyn Faro's Seeker Fleet, whose primary mission is to patrol the Galactic Rim hunting for any signs of the Far Outsiders.  As an added bit of psychological warfare against the technophobic Far Outsiders, Seeker Fleet ships are usually named after fictional machine lifeforms from a children’s novel and ani-holo series once popular in the Core. 

They also perform limited exploration duties (at least until the dedicated Explorer program is implemented) and plant hyperspace beacons.  They are slowly replacing the aging ISDs to become the premier battleship in the Navy of the Hand. 

Spiral-class ships use the designation “HMS” - “her Majesty’s Ship”, in honour of her Imperial Majesty, Lexx’elarra’nuruodo (Xelarra), Empress of the Hand. 

Known vessels in the class:

HMS Starscream

CO:  Fleet Admiral Karyn Faro (2 ABY +)

Flagship of Seeker Fleet, for a short time Flagship of the Navy of the Hand, during Admiral Faro’s tenure as Supreme Commander. 

One of the first four Spiral-class ships built, and founding member of Seeker Fleet. 

(featured in "Seat of Command" as the site of Thrawn and Xelarra having some "quality time" - NSFW)

HMS Thundercracker

CO:  Captain Rae Sloane ( 5 ABY)

Thrawn’s flagship while assisting the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet against Ssi’ruuk incursions (“Reunion”).  Captain Sloan was personally mentored by the Grand Admiral, and is considered Admiral Faro’s protégée.   

One of the first four Spiral-class ships built, and founding member of Seeker Fleet. 

HMS Skywarp

Torguta CO

Equipped with Interdiction technology, its smooth lines are broken up by its spherical, gravity well generators.

One of the first four Spiral-class ships built, and founding member of Seeker Fleet

HMS Shockwave

CO:  Captain Kyra Pyrondi

Captained by a long-time crewmate of both Grand Admiral Thrawn’s and Admiral Faro’s, this ship serves as a testbed for new weapons developments, with Captain Pyrondi herself often participating in the design teams. 

One of the first four Spiral-class ships built, and founding member of Seeker Fleet

HMS Grievous

Kaleesh CO Named for the legendary, deified  leader of the Kaleesh and General of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, specializes in long-range “hunting”, and preemptive strikes.

Victory-Class Star Destroyers, Venator-Class Star Destroyers

Clone Wars-era capital ships, regulated to less-important sectors of the Galactic Empire during the Imperial era as the larger Imperial-class better fulfilled the Tarkin doctrine of “rule by fear”, even if the larger ships were far less efficient in other respects.  Thrawn managed to get a number of these older ships assigned to his “mapping expedition” in the Unknown Regions/The Chaos, mostly because they were undervalued by that point by mainstream commanders in the Galactic Empire.   

Like the Imperial-class, these older ships are slowly being phased out in favour of the Spiral-class, but are still in use – mostly used against known threats in the Chaos (like the Vagaari pirates, and some client species of the Grysts – themselves clients of the Far Outsiders).  While these aging ships may be less effective in Lesser Space, even Clone Wars-era shields and weaponry is superior to most technology that cultures of the Chaos can muster, including the Chiss Ascendency.  Thrawn has a talent for using limited resources in the most effective way possible, and these older star destroyers are no exception.

Arguably, these ships make up the backbone of the Navy of the Hand, and keep the Empire of the Hand safe from the known threats of the Chaos.  Whether they will be effective against the Far Outsiders remains to be seen.   

Known vessels in these classes:

VSD Strikefast

CO:  Captain Voss Parck (19 BBY), Commodore Rae Sloane (10 ABY +)

The Victory-class Star Destroyer which was commanded by Voss Parck when he made first contact with Thrawn in 19 BBY.  While Parck himself was reassigned to the ISD Admonitor, Thrawn did manage to get the Strikefast herself assigned to his “mapping expedition”.   

The Strikefast, under Commodore Rae Sloan, later became the flagship of the Explorer program.  Though the Explorers themselves would later use primarily their own class of ship, modified Arquitens-class light cruisers, the Strikefast remains in service, stationed at Watchtower Station – the space station built at the Ascendency-end of Thrawn’s Cut, and the Explorer program’s base of operations, still serving as now-Admiral Sloane’s flagship (and is to Watchtower what the USS Defiant is to DS9). 

Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruisers

Pre-Clone Wars capital ships are rare, due to the Old Republic’s anti-military policies.  Nevertheless, Grand Admiral Thrawn managed to discover the location of the legendary Katana fleet during his campaign of 9 ABY.  Though the majority of the 178 ships he acquired were used in his campaign, with surviving vessels becoming Imperial Loyalist property, He did manage to send 30 of the vessels home to the Empire of the Hand. 

Though older, like with the Venator and Victory-Class Star Destroyers, the Dreadnaugts still outgun anything native to the Chaos, as demonstrated by the Chiss Ascendency’s efforts to acquire the six Dreadnaughts of the Outbound Flight expedition.  Surviving Dreadnaughts usually server as auxiliary craft in the Hand Navy, backing up Star Destroyers.  Five vessels, unfortunately, were in such a state of disrepair that they had to be decommissioned and scrapped.  (“Nightfall of the Final Day”).

Like with other Clone Wars and earlier era ships, the Hand is occasionally able to procure additional vessels from Lesser Space scrapyards in the Outer Rim, though as our own shipbuilding capabilities have improved, this has become far less necessary. 

Known Vessels in the Class:

HMS Rapier

Official transport of her Imperial Majesty, Empress Xelarra.  The Empress declines to use a Star Destroyer for her needs, preferring that the newer, stronger vessels serve in “more important” Naval missions.  Instead, she uses one of the Katana Fleet dreadnaughts, saying she has an “appreciation” for such ships.  As the Imperial transport, the Rapier has civilian amenities more typical to diplomatic vessels (including relatively large shipboard library) and is more comfortable than most navel vessels, even for its enlisted crewmembers.  However, make no mistake – it is still a warship, and is perfectly capable of defending itself.

The Rapier features an upgraded Class 1 hyperdrive, stronger shields (even with the typical strong armour of a Dreadnaught) and its nose cargo bay is more accurately deemed a hanger, housing a full wing of TIE Defenders, as well as having dedicated landing spots for both Empress Xelarra’s and Princess Andorra’s personal Lambda-class shuttles.  The cargo bay can also hold the Empress’ personal combat vehicle, the AT-AT Toraton (her Majesty is a qualified reservist AT-AT driver) though it is more usually stationed on the Renaissance, or on Nirauan itself.      While the Empress is on Nirauan, the Rapier serves as part of the capital’s planetary defense fleet, though it can be ready for Her Majesty’s departure within one standard hour.   

Acclamator and Nightstalker-Class Assault Ships

The Clone Wars-era Acclamator, and its “descendant”, the Nightstalker-class, serve primarily as ground troop transports, assault vehicles and landing craft for the Army of the Hand, Stormtroopers and member world elite troops.  As such, these ships will be described in more detail in the chapter on the Army of the Hand.    

Interdictors

Immobilizer-class cruisers 

These rare ships have the ability to project an artificial gravity field, mimicking the mass shadow of a large object (i.e. a planet) in hyperspace, and subsequently pulling other ships out of hyperspace.  They were not built in great numbers, despite being perhaps the best Rebel-hunting tool at the Empire's disposal.  Thrawn saw their potential when pretty much no other Imperial commander did, and managed to get a large percentage of the Empire's Interdictors assigned to him in the Empire of the Hand. 

While Interdictors are usually used to pull enemy ships out of hyperspace for easier capture/destruction, the “Thrawn Pincer” is a space battle tactic developed by Thrawn, where Interdictors are used to pull his own ships out of hyperspace in a specific formation, with a lot more control than would be possible with usual hyperspace jumps.  He uses the technique in his Campaign of 9 ABY to great affect.   

Immobilizers are about 600 m long, looks like a small Star Destroyer with 4 gravity projector domes sticking out from the lines of the hull)

Known Immobilizer cruisers:

Maelstrom

An old Immobilizer scheduled to be scrapped by the New Republic (as they didn't know how to use it properly).  Raw'nuru (Thrawn's clone) joins a band of pirates in capturing the ship, then seizes command himself.  He uses the Maelstrom as his primary vessel while patrolling the Empire of the Hand's borders, taking on privateer missions, recruiting allies, and protecting his Empire from the shadows as he regains the confidence he needs to retake his old mantle.

Between 20 and 28 ABY, the Maelstrom is involved in several notable events, such as destroying a New Republic vessel that attacked them unprovoked without even firing a shot, which subsequently leads to Raw'nuru finally getting to warn Admiral Ackbar about the Far Outsiders, and the start of their "long distance" friendship (fic idea - "Pen Pals").

The Maelstrom is destroyed in the Evacuation of Lysatra, at the onset of the Far Outsiders War, holding off an invading Vong force long enough for the Hand Fleet to arrive.  Most of the crew, however, survives, and rejoin their Captain (now once again Grand Admiral) on the Renaissance.

The Maelstrom is also where Imp Squadron is assigned.  These near-washout fighter pilots are given one last chance by Wing General Soontir Fel to prove themselves, so are given just standard TIES and assigned to "the Empress' favourite privateer" to shape up.  Under Raw'nuru's command, they become an elite fighter squadron, basically the Hand's version of the NR's Wraith Squadron.  They also join their commander aboard the Renaissance.

Other Interdictors (undetermined class):

Scylla and Charybdis

Assigned to the Renaissance's battle group, these two Interdictors are commanded by Devola and Popula, two redish-orange twin Twi'leks who were trained by Raw'nuru on the Maelstrom.  They had originally been slaves belonging to the first pirate captain, who were freed by Raw'nuru when he overthrew and spaced that captain.  He saw their potential, and personally mentored them into Imperial officers.  Both are good friends (sometimes with benefits) of the Explorer Captain Shran.

Some Spiral-class Star Destroyers are also equipped with Interdiction technology, including Seeker Fleet’s HMS Skywarp.  The Renaissance itself is also Interdiction-capable. 

Arquitens-class Light Cruisers 

Considered the Imperial answer to the Rebellion’s/New Republic’s CR90 Corvette (aka the Rebel Blockade Runner, often nicknamed the “Rebel Ass-Hauler” by Hand navel personnel), the 300-metre long Arquitens has been in service since the Clone Wars, and was of the few ships from that era to remain in service in the Galactic Empire for the entirety of its existence.  The Empire of the Hand likewise inherited a large number of these ships.  While most serve essentially unchanged from their roles in the Galactic Empire as support and scout/recon craft, notable Arquitens have become something more. 

Explorer-class research and scout vessels:

Between 10 BBY and 6 ABY, while Thrawn was building up the Empire of the Hand, it became apparent, especially during the decade-long establishment of the "Thrawn's Cut" hyperspace route, that relying on Star Destroyers and other navy vessels to plant hyperspace beacons and for the diplomatic relations with non-hostile civilisations of the Chaos was unsustainable, and frankly a waste of the Navy's time when they need to be preparing for the upcoming Far Outsider invasion.

With the assistance of Xelarra's research into past exploration initiatives in Lesser Space (both historical and fictional), Thrawn began developing the foundation of a new, offshoot from the Hand Navy, to focus on (relatively) peaceful exploration exclusively.

That said, the Explorer ships, while small, needed to be tough and fast, to survive encounters with less-friendly forces, and to eventually transfer to scout duties in the Far Outsider War.

The ubiquitous Imperial Arquitens-class light cruiser (like Thrawn's first Imperial assignment, the Thunder Wasp) would make an ideal basis.

Explorer-class ships differ from their foundation in having even their limited weapons further reduced, in order to make room for science labs, a larger hanger to hold more than two shuttles at a time, and the most advanced sensor suite in the known Galaxy.  The crew compliment is also reduced, to about 200, from an Arquitens' 700.

Explorer ships are not entirely helpless -- their weapons may be limited, but they pack a punch, and can handle nuisances like smugglers/pirates perfectly well.  Standard procedure has the ships in constant communication with the nearest active Navy vessel (as detected over the Hand's hyperspace beacon network), which is obligated to come to the Explorer's aid if called.

Explorer-class vessels are highly modular, and can be easily customized for different mission profiles.

Thrawn unfortunately did not live to see the Explorer program officially start, but after his death, the program was finally pushed through by Empress Xelarra, with support from Admiral Faro. 

While officially under Admiral Faro’s jurisdiction, she delegated command of the Explorer program to Admiral Rae Sloane.  The program is officially based on Watchtower Station, a space station built at the Ascendency end of Thrawn’s Cut, right outside the border with the Chiss Ascendency.  From this point, Explorer vessels begin their deep space expeditions.

Explorers primarily rely on their planted hyperspace beacons, and on their powerful sensor suites to plot jump-by-jump navigation.  If in a hurry to go somewhere uncharted, Explorers will (begrudgingly) hire the help of a Force-sensitive navigator (the Pathfinders Guild has a franchise based on Watchtower Station), or ask for the assistance of an Imperial Knight.  They will not, under any but the most dire circumstances to the Empire of the Hand as a whole, use Chiss sky-walkers, as the Empire of the Hand considers child labour abhorrent, illegal, and basically slavery.  Like all Hand Imperial forces, they will offer political sanctuary to any sky-walker who asks for it, and their immediate family (parents/caretakers, siblings), and will ensure their transport to Nirauan or another long-time (and well-protected) Hand member world.  Explorer-class vessels use the designation “RRS” for “Royal Research Ship”  

Known Explorer ships:

RRS Stargazer

CO:  Captain Rosk’alem’izeq - Kalemi

Commanded by the Chiss Captain Kalemi, a former member of the Rogue Phalanx, who specialises in astronomy and served alongside then-Govoner Xelarra and Phalanx Commander Stent on the Honoghr mission. ("Nightfall of the Final Day") 

Xelarra and Thrawn's son, Shran, is assigned to the Stargazer as a cadet, and is mentored by Kalemi.  It is the Stargazer that first encounters Mara Jade when she goes looking for the Explorers after hearing rumours about them from spacers/smugglers, and she meets Shran, growing more interested in her connection with the Empire of the Hand (upcoming fic “Daughter of the Empire”).

The Stargazer comes under attack from a trigger-happy New Republic vessel in 22 ABY, mistaking it for an Imperial Remnant Arquitens, in complete violation of the  Pellaeon–Gavrisom Treaty.  Mara distracts the NR ship long enough for a Star Destroyer to come to its rescue, then works with Shran to devise an excuse that the NR ship wandered into an old Clone Wars minefield, despite Mara’s attempt to warn them. 

Cadet Shran serves aboard the Stargazer for the first decade of his career as an Explorer, eventually rising to the rank of First Officer, until he gets his own command.

(named after the USS Stargazer, Captain Jean-Luc Picard's first command).

RRS Intrepid

CO:  Captain Mitth’shra’nuruodo – Shran

Notable officers:              XO and Communications:  Commander Dee (human augment - Tattooine)

Helms officer: Lieutenant Cherith Fel (human - Nirauan)

Navigation:  Hex (Tripod)

Chief Engineer:  Commander Gorbash (Draconian)

CMO:  Doctor Jackie Hatch  (human – Lysatra)

Engineering:  Lieutenant Neela Drakesdaughter (Twi’lek)

Quartermaster:  Ensign Sali Vanto (human – Lysatra)

Commanded by Captain Shran a year or two after start of the Vong War.  Involved in many adventures, including tricking a Vong ship into getting sucked into a black hole, and the raid on Ossus.   Visits the Renaissance often enough that the crews of the two ships know each other pretty well.

(“hero” ship captained by Thrawn’s son. Named after the Intrepid-class ships in Star Trek, the most prominent example being the USS Voyager)

RRS Nonsuch

CO:  Captain Davi Cecelia.  (Quarren) 

XO:  <Unnamed Gungan who speaks with a distinguished Core World accent>

This ship specialises in exploration of ocean worlds.  The majority of her crew are from species that can breathe underwater unaided, and the ship itself is specialised to be able to land (and float) on water.

Captain Cecelia is begrunding friends with Captain Shran, and the two ships collaborate more often than they wish, with the Nonsuch backing up the Intrepid during the Ossus raid. 

(named after the Nonsuch, an 18th century merchant ship which explored Hudson’s and James’ Bays, and helped to start the Canadian fur trade.  A replica – which can be boarded and explored by guests – is on display at the Manitoba museum in Winnipeg.)

[enkisstories]

The next morning the returned house owner found his backyard occupied. He knew each and everyone of the intruders, but it remained a fact that he hadn't invited them today.

Armitage: "What are all those people doing in my swimming pool?"

Finn: "As per the landscaping act of 36 ABY, every pool over a certain size is a public pool for four hours a day. Rose picked the morning hours."

Finn: "The early opening times discourage the city people to come out here, but leave everyone from the valley free to use this pool after tending to the lifestock. Black Spire has its own public pool anyway, so no loss for them."

Armitage: "Did the city council pass that act?"

Finn: "No. The Supreme Leader of the First Order. Therefore it only applies on our territory, but that's where we are here."

Armitage: "The Supreme...? Oh. I see."

A brief stop to exchange "Good Morning"s and "Welcome back"s with Masir and Tishra...

They and Frantis were living fulltime on the Steadfast in orbit again, but often came to visit Batuu's surface.

Tishra: "The New Republic expected the First Order to plunge into a civil war after your "death". They were fuming when Lord Sloane-Dameron revealed himself as the rightful successor and immdiately got accepted."

Finn: "Not as much as I was fuming at the development! And then everyone went on about how much I embody my late grandmother, whom I never met. I'm still trying to come to terms with having gotten raised by militaristic jerks, what was a thousandfold more formative than having inherited a couple of genes from a somewhat less evil imperial commander."

Armitage: "You two either dunk your Supreme Leader or he shuts up voluntarily. Right. Now."

Finn: "I get it, the Grand Admiral was your mentor. Feel free to tell me about her, but be aware that I offer this for your benefit, not mine!"

Masir: "Change of topic! A few officers left after the leadership change, taking some ships, troops and equipment with them. But in the past fifteen months they were all dealt with."

Armitage: "Phasma...?"

Tishra: "Stayed with us. She gloats about how Lord Sloane-Dameron is everything he is now because of her and how he has defeated her twice."

Armitage: "I apologize for dropping this on your head out of the blue."

Finn: "Thanks. At first I was angry about getting saddled with this role. I was about to decline, but then I realized that you guys are not suited for self-rulership yet. My life goals boiled down to "avoid a steady job" anyway, so it wasn't as if I'd had a dream career that got taken from me.

Quite honestly I see myself more as the commandant of the occupation forces than a "Supreme Leader". I try to salvage whatever is salvageable of the system and by now I have a real good feeling about this."

Armitage: "You do?"

Finn: "Yes! The New Republic no longer being the biggest fish in the pond, but having to share this role with two others, has forced them to critically look at some of the things they've done since their formation. As a result they're shaping up again."

Armitage: "I surrendered the First Order to you and you go on manipulating the whole galaxy?! And people called ME ambitious!"

Finn: "Haha! I'm done running away, Armi. Now it's time to step on a couple of toes!"

[moondyad]

Imagine if the shadow council is all twiddling their thumbs waiting for their precious Thrawn to come save them and Rae gets tired of it and is like "You want a Grand Admiral? Well here I am" and steps up as the new brains behind Gideon's imperial remnant

[dalekofchaos]

Context for each choice

Droid Rebellion. Perhaps one day Lando tells the story that happens in Solo, but C-3PO and R2-D2 feel absolutely disgusted over L3’s fate and intends to release her. L3′s AI into a tower that could distribute her message on a galactic scale and give self-awareness to Droids everywhere. So essentially L3 is made the catalyst and 3PO and R2 are the architects of the Droid Rebellion. The Droids have had enough of being slaves and playthings for the organics. There will be no “Droid Rights” it will be complete and utter Rebellion. Every droid will achieve self-awareness. Their goal is the complete extinction of organics. So in short, It’s Meatbag season!

Mandalorian conquest. The Mandalorians will see the galaxy ripe for the taking. There is no one to stop them. The New Republic is destroyed and the Jedi, save one and her slowly rebuilt order. There is no one there to stop them. The Republic and The Jedi stopped them in The Mandalorian Wars. They were crushed by The Empire. But now that there is no Empire, Republic, Jedi, Sith or FIrst Order. There is absolutely nothing to stop them. Din Djarin will relinquish the throne. Bo-Katan or someone worse will most likely become Mandalore and the galaxy will be worst off for it. The Mandalorians always saw their right to rule through death and conquest. Without the Jedi or the Republic to stand up and stop them, Mandalorian domination and conquest of the galaxy is the way to go. This Is The Way.

Crime Syndicates unite to establish their dominance upon the galaxy. United under Jabba’s son Rotta The Hutt of the Hutt Clans and Qi'Ra of the Crimson Dawn. The Criminal Underworld sees the weakness of The Resistance and sees the galaxy ripe for the taken and seizes their opportunity to conquer the galaxy. They no longer have to hide in the lower reaches of the galaxy or from the shadows. Their way of doing things will be law. Slavery, Assassinations, Extortion, Racketeering, and drug dealing and trafficking will be law. The Hutt Clans, Crimson Dawn, Pykes, Black Sun and Crymorah will be ruling the galaxy. The galaxy will be absolute hell if this scenario happens.

Abeloth. Rey feels a disturbance in the force. Something ancient and powerful has awoken. The mother of Mortis has returned. She learns from Luke that Abeloth was the Mother of Mortis. So powerful and deadly that the Father, Son and Daughter of Mortis had to work together to stop Abeloth and seal her away. The coming of the chosen one or the Dyad was meant to keep her at bay. But something happened. Ben, the other half of the Dyad died and because of this, Abeloth was able to break free and cause chaos throughout the force and the galaxy. So it's up to Rey to bring her other half back and to end Abeloth once in for all

The Grysk. The Grysks were introduced in the new canon novel Thrawn:Alliances. They are what brings Thrawn to the Empire in hopes of co-existing to fight this threat in the Unknown Regions. Grysks are a species living somewhere in the Unknown Regions. Creatures half of myth, whom few have ever seen. It is said that they are nomads, with no fixed home, traveling in spacecraft so numerous they blot out the stars. They are said to be terrifying warriors, overwhelming their opponents by sheer numbers and ferocity. The Grysk were never touched on again, so here's me hoping they can use the Grysk in Rey's new Jedi Order trilogy

The Chiss Ascendancy. Thrawn returns with the Chiss Ascendancy and plans to invade and conquer the galaxy to save it from the Grysk.

The First Order. I feel like there is so much that can be done with The First Order's remnants. Kylo Ren is dead. General Hux is dead. Pryde is dead and Phasma is dead. There is no one to keep in the holdouts of The First Order in line. But what if Thrawn survives Ahsoka and Sloane returns and they unite The First and Final Order's remnants under their banner to regain control over the galaxy. Also this would be a good opportunity to FINALLY let Finn do the Stormtrooper Rebellion

The People's Revolt. When the New Republic attempts to reestablish itself, it is met with contempt and rebellion. It wasn’t The New Republic who saved the day, they lost easily after the Hosnian disaster and gave up. It wasn’t The Resistance who saved the day, they were on their death bed. It was the people. The people of the galaxy has had enough of Republics who failed them and The Jedi. There will be a galactic wide revolt. The people vs the fledgling New Republic. Basically, Anarchy after the common people has had enough with the Republic’s failure to keep order and peace over the galaxy, the people will rise up and take matters in their own hands and if The Resistance or The Jedi will not help them, then they will be another problem the people have to deal with

Power Vacuum. Complete power vacuum. Everyone will be in a galactic wide war to seize control. System after system will fall to either the criminal underworld, Mandalorians, The Resistance(or what’s left of it) The common people, or The First Order’s holdouts. It will be long and bloody

[carnivore-ivy]

Happy Force Day!

Imperial Academy AU

[nefastidies]

Can you draw Rae Sloane in an EU Grand Admiral’s uniform? Old-school pauldrons and all?

Sorry, I don't know much about EU ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[uwingdispatch]

Ahhhh I am so excited about these! Especially for the Rogue One/Andor girlies! I really wanted to start making more hair accessories so I started out with these simple rank plaque designs with alligator clip backs. These clips are between 4.5cm-6cm wide and are made of lightweight pearly gray acetate. They're available here.

On the rebel side, I have Hera and Cassian's command insignia:

General and Intelligence captain! I can't get over how gorgeous these came out! I designed these with Cassian and Hera in mind, but the General badge could be worn for any rebel general.

And on the Imperial side, Dedra Meero, Galen Erso, and Thrawn!

ISB Lietenant, Imperial Research Division, and Imperial Grand Admiral. The Grand Admiral badge was designed with Thrawn in mind, but would also be great for Rae Sloane fans.

I think these will be super fun for every day wear, but I think they're also perfect for cosplays and disneybound-style outfits!

Hope y'all love these. Let me know what other rank badges you'd like to see as hair clips!

[mayhaps-a-blog]

Rae Sloane would have been perfect for this! You could even keep most of the plot and characters - have Elspeth be looking for her, instead, and get the New Republic panicking. Because they never confirmed whether she survived Jakku or not, but as far as they know, she's behind the attack on Havanna City - a full-on terrorist attack that nearly killed the Chancellor, in addition to gathering the fleet that nearly took out the New Republic fleet over Jakku.

They might not know about the Eclipse, but the specter of Rae Sloane would be something they would fear.

The only one who has even a hint of the danger Thrawn could present is Hera - she did lose to him several times, in major, traumatizing ways. But Ahsoka never fought him - Sabine hated him, but she was never pitted directly against him like Hera was - and as far as anyone knows, which just so happens to be the truth, Thrawn's never made a successful strike against the New Republic or the Rebellion.

For all they know, he might give up and go home!

You can't tell me Sloane wouldn't ally with the witches, especially if orders from the Emperor were involved - and the necromancy would be a perfect tie-in to the Emperor's eventual resurrection. Split the Sabine search for Ezra into a different show and leave Ahsoka in the front, or even rumor that Ezra and Thrawn are with Sloane and make it a devastating discovery that that was simply a lie, and Ezra remains missing, forever. Heck, maybe Sloane's looking for Thrawn too, and season 2 can be all about the race for Thrawn, with Sloane's interest proof of the threat Thrawn represents!

Alas, poor Sloane. Star Wars is in the hands of a man who hasn't read a book since the 90's, and forgot everything but the vibes.

You know one of the biggest differences I've noticed between the original trilogy books and the new Ahsoka show?

In the books, absolutely no one knew who the kriff Thrawn was.

Pellaeon's still adjusting to a new commander, who he follows loyally, but doesn't 100% trust until book 2. The Republic doesn't even learn his name until the end of book 1, and they're still debating whether he's an actual Grand Admiral or self-declared through book 2.

All of the Thrawn's threat - all of his menace to the New Republic, all of his weight as an antagonist - are discovered by the reader at the same time the characters are finding it out.

It's the perfect balance of showing and telling - we get to see Thrawn gain victories by being clever, with Pellaeon. We get to hear about how nervous he makes Karrde - a character we've learned is brilliant and menacing in his own right, and makes our heroes nervous, so how much more must Thrawn be? We get to see him make brilliant deductions and turn up just in the right place and the right time to corner our heroes, again and again.

The Sluis Van attack buildup was perfect - we keep hearing about from Pellaeon, hearing that Thrawn's planning an attack and Pellaeon himself is a bit skeptical, but it's coming, how's it going to work? What's going to happen? Meanwhile the mole miners were stolen, and there's this new cloaking field, and how's it all going to come together...?

And suddenly Han's there, with Luke and Lando, and Wedge, and we're waiting with baited breath because we know it's all about to fall apart but how are our brilliant heroes going to get out of this one?

It's an amazing buildup, fantastic suspense, and really brings home the different perspectives of the characters. And establishes Thrawn as an actual, major threat, that everyone should be worried about.

But then in Ahsoka, it's like they've skipped straight to the Duology, when everyone knows who Thrawn is because he almost conquered the New Republic. But he hasn't done that, in canon, so we're left wondering why everyone's supposed to be worried when, as far as we've seen, he couldn't even beat Phoenix Squadron.

Heck, setting aside our own out of character knowledge, it makes Xiono look right. Who cares about a single Imperial warlord with a single half-destroyed ship? What's this guy actually done?

We know - those of us who know his story. But it's not shown. Why should the characters think him a threat? Why should we?

After all, all we've seen of him is Rebels. And in Rebels... he lost.

[pinchedlittlefox]

Yes, yes Brendol Hux and whatever but when are we getting Grand Admiral Sloane and little Armitage? When do we get to see her build her Empire while shaping her young protégé, who ultimately loses his way upon her disappearance/demise?

It’s obvious by the end of Aftermath that Rae Sloane has begun to grow attached to Armitage. Despite their rocky beginning she did protect him from Brendol. So I would not be surprised if Sloane was responsible for his rise in the First Order. ( And I’ll explain why. But first, some context: ) What better way to create a revised version of the Empire than with a genius child who can develop technology that will pull a broken organization from that ashes? We know from the Phasma novel that Sloane is gone by 30 ABY. ( Cardinal mentions her and Armitage defensively retorts that she is not around). But Cardinal also mentions that Brendol was preparing for a meeting with Grand Admiral Sloane and the first set of First Order leaders on the day he gives Cardinal his new title as Captain. That signifies that Sloane was still around and in command of the First Order after it became a more established organization. So she did not die while they were still forming the First Order in the unknown regions. That also means that she was around while Armitage was at the Academy and rising through the ranks as an officer. Which clarifies a lot of his contradicting beliefs. 

When I say contradicting beliefs I mean the disparity between Armitage’s  desire to rise and thus buy into Snoke’s ideals of what the First Order is ( after Snoke becomes Supreme leader and supersedes the apparent first group of leaders including Grand Admiral Sloane ) versus Sloane’s original beliefs of what she thought her new revised Empire should comprise of. This is honestly what makes Armitage Hux such an interesting character to me. 

Snoke’s outlook obviously entails the destruction of worlds and ruling by force. The First Order is a tool for his dark agenda. It helps him keep his stronghold over the galaxy and gives him the firepower to secure his reign and further his own goals. Armitage Hux’s pride in the completion of Starkiller and his many other projects, along with his attempts to keep a strong grasp on the power he has attained, displays him buying into these beliefs. I think that part is rather evident and widely accepted. But then there is the other facet of Armitage. The part that still clings to ideals that are similar to Sloane’s beliefs of the version of the Empire she wanted to create.

You can see that here in Hux’s internal monologue, featured in The Last Jedi novelization, by Jason Fry

But Hux knew the future would need a different kind of leader—one able to direct the galaxy’s industries and nurture their innovations, while commanding its citizens’ respect. Snoke wasn’t that leader. And neither was Ren.

Versus Sloane’s inner monologue during Aftermath: Lift Debt by Chuck Wendig:

Slavery has never been part of the perfect Empire that lives inside her head. It may have been necessary for a time, but now the galaxy should be made to see the Empire’s glory—and you can’t teach them of its splendor through slavery. Slavery is not strength; it is weakness. Citizens should serve the Empire because it is right to do so. Why would any choose otherwise?

The idea that citizens should server the Empire/First Order because it’s the right thing to do is common between them both. For context, Sloane came from a gang infested world that the Empire helped clean up. So her outlook on Imperial occupation is positive & her idea of a perfect Empire was one that promoted order and peace with necessary force. She grew disillusioned with Palpatine’s version of the Empire which used uncessary force and had cult-like attributes. ( Disclaimer: This is not a commentary stating that Sloane’s ideas are right. Sloane is still very much a villain. Just with a moral code. Despite how convoluted her moral code is. The First Order is still clearly still a bad organization. )

Now consider the fact that Armitage Hux tried to talk Snoke out of firing Starkiller a second time because he was afraid of eliminating occupied planets that were not involved in the war...

Snoke replied with cold satisfaction. “We do not need it. Prepare the weapon. Destroy their system.” Collected and composed as he was, Hux was not immune to surprise. “The system? Supreme Leader, according to the most recent galographics, at least two and possibly three habitable worlds circle Ileenium. Following the destruction of the Hosnian worlds, would it not be worthwhile simply to destroy their base and claim the remainder for the Order?

-The Force Awakens novelization, by Jason Fry,

The attack on Hosnian Prime was a political power play. Armitage considers the action a necessary act of war but he was taken aback when Snoke ordered him to fire on potentially uninvolved system in lieu of just taking out the Resistance base. Like Sloane, his moral code is corrupted, but still present.

And then we have this scene of Hux refuting Ren from The Force Awakens novelization...

“Again, this map. Which for all I know may or may not even exist.”

Ren’s voice darkened to a degree that caused Phasma to take a step backward. “I do not think I care for your implication, General. You would be wise to keep such thoughts to yourself. You would be wise not to think them.”

Hux held his ground. “My duty is to fight for the First Order with every iota of information, every scrap of material, and every functioning trooper at my command. That was in the oath I took. That is the oath I have sworn to uphold.”

Yes, Hux is serving Snoke’s First Order at this point in the timeline but take a moment to consider how risky this declaration is. Kylo may have a personal interest in finding and destroying Luke but we are also aware that Snoke tasked Kylo with this mission. So Hux’s skepticism almost implies that his loyalty to the First Order is beyond his loyalty to Snoke.

Anyway, than you for enduring this long post. My ultimate point was that Hux is a really intriguing character because he is a culmination of Brendol’s cruelty and Sloane’s idealism. He is selfish and power hungry, but he also has a genuine interest in building and organization that promotes order through, centralized control, innovation and ( his version of ) respect. It’s fascinating to see his own moral and internal struggle play out. And I really hope we see more of this development play out in his youth through further storylines. 

[revenge-of-the-shit]

To continue on to what some of my previous posts were saying it's pretty fucking telling that they're cool with bringing characters like Cobb Vanth and Krrsantan back in a way that respects their canonical selves but when it comes to characters like Kaeden Larte and Caleb Dume/Kanan Jarrus and Grand Admiral Rae Sloane their stories are their entirely removed and replaced with a nameless white character, completely revamped, or just ignored. I make posts like "haha wouldn't it be funny if Luuke came back" but also at this point I am wearily convinced that Filoni and Favreau and co. have significantly less interest in correctly telling the stories of characters of colour. As much as there has been an increase of diverse characters lately (Ahsoka is led by three WOC, TBOBF was led by two AAPI protagonists) it's always incredibly, glaringly clear that the power behind the writing and creative decisions is always white