u/GrandMoffKaine2026

My basis for his headcanon is when he yelled "Surik's Blade!" As such, a cool easter egg would be Sskeer teaching Keeve about that era and mentioning Qyzen Fess, a legendary Trandoshan hunter, and his Jedi partner, the Third Barsen'thor.

Though unlike Qyzen, I doubt Sskeer worships the Scorekeeper, the Trandoshan deity, and keeps Jagannath points because he is a Jedi. Not only do Jedi not hunt people, but Sskeer has anger issues and is afraid of hurting those he loves, so hunting people would only worsen his issues. Though I can see him being respectful of his people's culture.

After the Yevethans were defeated, Black Sword Command travelled to Byss, only to discover it was destroyed. The Black Fleet then dispersed; some defected to the New Republic while others joined the Imperial Remnant.

At some point between 17 - 21 ABY, the SSD Intimidator was discovered destroyed near the Unknown Regions. As such, why didn't the SSD Intimidator join the Remnant, and who or what destroyed the ship?

Since the Ruusan Reformations limited the armaments a Mandator 1 could have, KDY outfitting them with the best turbolasers they had to compensate makes sense. Especially since they had slow hyperdrives and were used mainly as showpieces to attract wealthy clients.

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Instead of sending Thrawn to the Unknown Regions, Palpatine uses his exile from the Imperial Court to hide Thrawn's reassignment to the Imdaar Alpha research station to develop a cloaking device for use to crush the Rebels for good.

Since Thrawn is supposed to be in exile, I doubt he would be able to gain the Executor SSD Terror as his flagship because it would look suspicious. Especially since his secret promotion to the rank of Grand Admiral is still, well, a secret.

Like his fellow Grand Admiral Martio Batch, Thrawn would probably come up with hundreds of different stealth designs, with the hibridium cloak being the most promising design. Unlike Batch, who abandoned the hibridium cloaking design because it prevented the pilot from seeing out of his ship, I think Thrawn would still find ways to make good use of it since he is a tactical genius. A good example would be the Siege of Coruscant in 9 ABY in the original timeline, where I theorize he used the hibridium cloaking tech for his cloaked asteroids during the Siege of Coruscant.

As for whether Thrawn would use the Tarkin superweapon to destroy Aeten II to get instant access to the stygium crystals for his cloaking experiments is a good question. On one hand, Thrawn is ruthless and will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals, having no problem bombarding whole worlds into submission. On the other hand, he did believe in restraint, to an extent, so I think he would only destroy Aeten II as a last resort, but he would do so without hesitation.

Especially since the Aeten II mines were all tapped out, so it was virtually impossible to obtain new stygium crystals. As such, I believe Thrawn uses the Tarkin to destroy Aeten II and acquires millions of the stygium crystals for the TIE Phantoms. Since Thrawn's rank as Grand Admiral is still a secret, he probably contacts Palpatine for authorisation to use the Tarkin and receives his approval. Fortunately for Thrawn, there are enough crystals for him to refit his flagship, the ISD Admonitor, and the Imdaar Alpha research station with the stygium cloak too.

The Rebels still learn of the TIE Phantoms and try to steal one, but Thrawn foils the plot. Curiously enough, the Rebels destroyed the station in 3 ABY, the same year Zaarin launched his coup. The TIE Phantom project was top-secret, so only the Imperial top brass would have known about it. One theory I heard is that Zaarin leaked the project to the Rebels to deprive the Empire of a counter to his TIE Avengers, which would also function as a distraction and lessen the resources the Empire could devote towards stopping him.

In this timeline, Thrawn still fights Zaarin, but with a stealth Admonitor and a fleet of TIE Phantoms, Thrawn will have an easier time defeating Zaarin. Maybe even beating him before he destroys the TIE Avenger factories and giving the Empire an extra weapon to use against the Rebellion.

As a reward for defeating Zaarin, Palpatine rewards Thrawn by ending his exile, publicly appointing him to Grand Admiral and giving him the Terror, ordering him to refit it with the stygium cloak. Thrawn accepts the reward and gains the Terror as his new flagship, along with Admiral Sarn, Batch's protege who was loyal to Admiral Blitzer Harrsk, as his second-in-command.

After the Empire loses the Battle of Endor, Thrawn wouldn't have to worry about a mutiny because he can command genuine respect from his subordinates. On that note, Batch's distinterest in Imperial politics and low profile led to him being called "the invisible Admiral", but it also meant he lacked strong allies. This, combined with his lack of any notable military achievements, and his failure to stop the TIE Phantoms from being destroyed, leads me to believe he was a terrible leader, which is probably half the reason why his own crew mutinied and assassinated him.

Especially since Sarn's crew were loyal to Sarn, though Thrawn can easily earn their respect too. After Endor, Thrawn can either return to Coruscant to rally the Empire or go to the Empire of the Hand to deal with Nuso Esva and the other threats of the Unknown Regions. I believe he would do the latter, since Pestage and Isard are there to keep the Empire together, and Thrawn knows they wouldn't appreciate an alien Grand Admiral usurping their authority.

With the Terror and a fleet of TIE Phantoms, combined with his strategic ingenuity, Thrawn would be virtually unstoppable.

1. Munificent frigate: bridge at the front.

2. Venator Star Destroyer: bridge at the back.

For context, the Rebels destroyed it shortly before the Battle of Endor in 3 ABY, though Palpatine allowed them to win to make them overconfident so they would walk into his Endor trap. Like the

1. 4x Enforcer-class Picket Cruisers.

2. 3x Vindicator-class Heavy Cruisers.

3. 6x Munificent-class Star Frigates.

Note: the Pentastar Alignment is located in the Velcar Free Commerce Zone in the Outer Rim, so keep that in mind when picking your options. Plus, Grand Moff Ardus Kaine is keeping most of his Star Destroyers close to Entralla, Muunilinst, and key worlds to protect them from his enemies, especially since his neighbour is Warlord Zsinj. So as a lowly Captain the ships you're given are the best you're gonna get.

1. Leida Mothma and her parents.

2. Kell Bircher, Mon Mothma's nephew, a.k.a. Leida's cousin.

1. Leida Mothma

2. Kell Bircher. Mon Mothma's nephew, which would make him Leida's cousin.

Pentastar Alignment: uses a philosophy of starfighter superiority centered around carriers like the Venator and Praetor carrier. This doctrine can be seen as Grand Moff Ardus Kaine learning form the Empire's mistakes and adapting Rebel tactics to counter them.

Eriadu Authority: uses huge warships as the centerpieces like the Allegiance Battlecruiser and Torpedo Spheres for fleets to smash their way through the enemy. A perfect reflection of Superior General Sander Delvardus's taste for symbols of power.

Greater Maldrood: relies on Crimson Command, a fleet of red Victory Star Destroyers, and small, yet flexible fleets centered around frigates and corvettes to emerge victorious. A smart move from the Teradoc brothers in an age of Super Star Destroyers.

Zsinj's Empire: has a balanced roster of ships and access to experimental vessels like the SSD Vengeance and Dragon Heavy Cruiser. Can also recruit pirates and even ally with the Zann Consortium, gaining access to the Aggressor Star Destroyer.

Galactic Empire: has access to virtually every Imperial ship the Empire has ever produced, from the humble Tartan cruiser to the might Executor SSD. Granting maximum creativity in how one wishes to build their fleets. Exactly how Grand Admiral Thrawn would like it.

Pictured above is Grand Admiral Ishin-Il-Raz, a COMPNOR propagandist who was one of Palpatine's most devoted servants and who earned the Emperor's personal favor. After the Emperor's death at Endor, Raz became depressed at the loss of his idol and eventually committed suicide by plunging his Star Destroyer into the Denarii Nova.

Had Ishin-Il-Raz not committed suicide, he probably would have joined Trioculus, Slavelord of the Central Committee of Grand Moffs, because he was the Emperor's son, and seeing him would have revitalised Raz.

While Raz's promotion to Grand Admiral was purely political, since he was a COMPNOR propagandist and had no military experience, he is still useful to the Committee thanks to his COMPNOR ties and can use his connections to gain more political support for Trioculus.

Also, the original *Dirty Dozen: The Grand Admirals* article established Raz as studying naval tactics after he realized he was loathed among his peers, so I respect the man for at least trying to get qualified for his job. That said, Trioculus had more military experience than Raz, so I can definitely see him happily offering up his ISD *Emperor's Disciple* as the Slavelord's flagship and taking a figurehead role and mouthpiece for Trioculus since that's what he is best at.

In addition, Raz would make a good replacement for the late Grand Admiral Miltin Takel, whom Trioculus executed for questioning his decisions. Unlike Takel, Raz would be fanatically devoted to Trioculus just because he is Palpatine's son, and would follow his orders without question.

In short, had Grand Admiral Ishin-Il-Raz not committed suicide, he would have made a good addition to the Central Committee of Grand Moffs.