Star Wars Is Ready to Confess: Emperor Palpatine's Biggest Enemy Isn't Actually the New Republic

Marvel's Star Wars comics are fully in their post-Return of the Jedi era, but despite Emperor Palpatine's death aboard the second Death Star at the Battle of Endor, his presence still looms large over the final days of the Galactic Civil War –and the franchise has just made it clear that one Imperial faction is more troublesome to Palpatine's post-demise contingency plan, even more than the emerging New Republic.

In Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku - Republic Under Siege (2024) #2 – written by Alex Segura, with art by Stefano Raffaele – it becomes increasingly clear that Grand Moff Ubrik Adelhard's renegade Imperial faction is a threat to Palpatine's schemes, as they are being carried out by Counselor Gallius Rax.

Emperor Palpatine's contingency plan ends on Jakku, but Adelhard threatens those plans. Adelhard has refused all Rax's entreaties and has goals that no longer align with what Palpatine wanted for the Empire. Counselor Rax reveals he has a spy within Adelhard's ranks, and he is ready to take Adelhard down.

Palpatine's Loyalists Are Committed To Preserving His Plans After The Emperor's Death – But Not All Imperials Are On Board

Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku - Republic Under Siege (2024) #2 – Written By Alex Segura; Art By Stefano Raffaele; Color By Alex Sinclair; Lettering By Joe Caramagna

Palpatine planned to take over the galaxy since before the Clone Wars, and each meticulous step was played out to perfection. The creation of the clones, the purge of the Jedi, the recruitment of Anakin Skywalker, Palpatine had a plan for everything, even for after he died. Palpatine never wanted to die, but he knew there was a chance, so he made a contingency plan – one that leads directly to the Battle of Jakku. However, now that that contingency has come to pass, Moff Adelhard has become a wrench in the works.

Palpatine's new plan started at the beginning of the Empire with attempts to clone himself. If he was ever to be killed, Operation: Cinder, the devastation of loyal Imperial worlds, was to be carried out by Imperial officers to punish them for failing to protect their Emperor. The next phase was to gather the Empire and the New Republic at Jakku, and blow up the planet, taking them all out in one strike. The most ruthless surviving Imperials were to gather in the Unknown Regions, where the clone of Palpatine was building a new Empire.

Moff Adelhard's Expansion Into the Galaxy is Bad News For The New Republic, But Even Worse For The Empire

Battle Of Jakku - Last Stand #3 – Available January 15, 2023 From Marvel Comics

When the Rebel Alliance defeated the Emperor at the Battle of Endor, and news started spreading quickly throughout the galaxy, Ubrik Adelhard, the Governor of the Anoat sector, panicked, worried that he would lose all his power he had with the Empire, so he made an announcement to his entire sector that the Rebels had lost the Battle of Endor, and the Emperor was alive and well, stating that anyone who spoke otherwise was guilty of treason and would be executed immediately. Adelhard then shut down the Anoat sector and started the infamous Iron Blockade.

Though the blockade created a fuel shortage by blocking the galaxy off from Tibanna gas supply planets like Bespin, Adelhard was quite passive. Adelhard believed the future of the Empire was with him and was ready to do something about that. He believed Counselor Rax and his Shadow Council were focusing their efforts in the wrong direction. Now, Adelhard is expanding his faction outwards, creating a problem for the New Republic as they don't have the numbers to defend themselves, and a problem for Rax because he's not joining the rest of the Empire at Jakku.

The New Republic is No Longer the Empire's Top Concern, As The Battle Of Jakku Looms

Palpatine's Master Plan Is In Jeopardy

The number one priority of Counselor Rax was to fulfill his Emperor's contingency plan. Gallius Rax was mentored by the Emperor as his protégé, and was specifically tasked with making sure the contingency was carried out to fruition. In Republic Under Siege #2, when Rax and Grand Admiral Rae Sloane are discussing with the Shadow Council about defeating Adelhard. Grand General Keener Loring asks why they aren't focusing their attention on the Rebels forming the New Republic instead of Adelhard, but Rax makes sure Loring knows his place.

Adelhard's expansion his forces by recruiting members of the underworld and dark side masters, and building his own empire, strictly goes against Palpatine's contingency. The New Republic is currently too distracted getting their footing and dealing with Moff Adelhard to put their focus on the Shadow Council at the moment. If Adelhard continues his actions, he will not be present at the Empire's destruction at Jakku and Palpatine's contingency will fail, making Rax's current objective to destroy Adelhard first, and deal with the New Republic second.

Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku - Republic Under Siege #2 is available now from Marvel Comics.