After the events ofStar Wars: Return of the Jedi,pre-recorded messages from Emperor Palpatine were sent out using sentinel droids, depicting his contingency plan for the Empire.Operation: Cinder was relayedto some of the Empire’s top officers, including Admiral Garrick Versio, withthe stated goal of punishing the Empire for failing to prevent the Emperor’s death, then rebuilding it with only the strongest Imperials that remained. In the process, Palpatine ensured that during his recuperation, the Empire couldn’t simply continue without him with a new leader. However, it turns out his plans weren’t perfect.
InThe Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rising #2by the creative team of Alex Segura, Leonard Kirk, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Joe Caramagna, the Emperor’s orders are delivered to Gallius Rax’s star destroyer theRavager, and the recently promoted Grand Admiral Rae Sloane reports the success of Operation: Cinder’s bombardments. However, it’s confirmed there’s a holdout to Palpatine’s grand plan.
Admiral Sloane expresses concern about Moff Adelhard going rogue, broadcasting propaganda that claims the Empire remains as strong as ever and attempting to use Palpatine’s name to shore up his own power base.
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Emperor Palpatine’s Plan to Destroy the Empire Wasn’t Perfect
Not All Imperial Forces Were Willing to Follow His Orders
Operation: Cinder wasEmperor Palpatine’s contingency planif he were to ever die, so that the Empire would not outlive the Emperor himself. The targets of Operation: Cinder were planets that were enemies of the Empire, but also the most loyal. Planets such as Burnin Konn, Candovant, Abednedo, Commenor, Nacronis, Vardos, and Naboo, four of which are mentioned by Rae Sloane inInsurgency Rising #2.
The main goal of Operation: Cinder was to destroy worlds that were open enemies of the empire, as well as loyal Imperial worlds, but also to destroy any planets with sensitive Imperial information, wealthy worlds, and worlds that had fallen out of influence, all while rooting out the most ruthless to carry on with a new Empire. After Operation: Cinder, a group of Imperial remnants, including Admiral Sloane and Brendol Hux, gathered in the Unknown Regions as per Palpatine’s orders, to create a new Empire which would eventuallycome to be known as the First Order.
Moff Adelhard’s Loyalty Poses the Biggest Threat to Palpatine’s Contingency Plan
The Empire Was Bigger Than Its Sith Leaders
Grand Moff Adelhard’s Iron Blockade - blocking off the Anoat sector from the rest of the galaxy and continuing his crusade for the Empire - is technically a greater show of loyalty to the Empire than following Operation: Cinder. Palpatine expected the Empire’s most capable members to enact his plans and for the weak and disloyal to perish, but Adelhard chose a third path, fighting to keep the Empire alive.
It’s notable that if Palpatine had been defeated just a few months earlier, Adelhard would have been able tocount on support from the Schism Imperial- asecret group within the Empire who supported its fascist takeover of the galaxy but not its leader’s Sith religion. Sadly, Vader broke the Schism Imperial during his final rebellion against Palpatine, but the fact shows that for all his genius planning, Palpatine didn’t foresee every eventuality. Operation: Cinder was far from a foregone conclusion, specifically because some of his most competent underlings were more loyal to the Empire than to the Emperor himself.
Moff Adelhard was a major threat to both the Rebellion and the fractured Empire, presentinga major issue with Palpatine’s Operation: Cinder that came from within his own ranks. Had he succeeded in keeping the Empire intact, the Empire could have risen again before Palpatine was ready to retake control. The era following the original trilogy’s greatest battle is revealing pivotalStar Warsmoments that fans have never seen before, and which evenPalpatinedidn’t predict.
The Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rising #2is available now from Marvel Comics.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
