When it's 4 in the afternoon on Hosnian Prime, it's still 4 ABY on Takodana.
—Popular saying regarding the New Republic and the GEWR
The Galactic Empire of the Western Reaches, also known as the Imperial Western Reaches Remnant, was a successor state of the First Galactic Empire, created by Grand Moff Maximian Tranner and his moderate allies in the aftermath of the Battle of Endor.
The GEWR fought alongside the New Republic during the last days of the Galactic Civil War and maintained a shaky peace with the new government in the years that followed. The GEWR was dissolved in 10 ABY by popular referendum, its worlds absorbed into the New Republic.
History[]
Formation[]
The death of the Emperor over Endor in 4 ABY inspired many Moffs and governors to rise up and stake claims to the Imperial throne. Though by rights the title of Grand Moff was Tranner's alone by the Emperor's decree, several Moffs, including Valco Pandion and Randd, laid claim to the title themselves.
Rather than return to the Imperial capital world of Coruscant and contend with upstarts, Tranner elected to remain in the Western Reaches, the oversector he had governed to great success since 14 BBY. With the assistance of his moderate allies and the support of the region's constituents, he declared the sector independent of the faltering Empire and renamed it the Galactic Empire of the Western Reaches, with its capital located on Takodana.
Tranner, a respected figure known for his preference for diplomacy over threat of force, implemented parts of his Tranner Doctrine, removing power from the more hardline elements in the political establishment and introducing political reform that hearkened back to the ways of the old Republic. The Imperial Senate, dissolved by Palpatine three years prior, was reinstated and empowered with many of the same powers of checks and balances it enjoyed during the height of the Republic.
Galactic Civil War[]
Though it claimed rightful rule over the entire Western Reaches, in actuality the GEWR only ruled about a third of the oversector in addition to a handful of worlds technically in the Outer Rim. The New Republic held outer worlds like Bespin and Endor, and Gallius Rax's Galactic Empire laid claim to several worlds closer to the Colonies, such as Jakku. Unable to counter attacks from north and south, the GEWR elected to throw its support behind the New Republic during the last days of the Galactic Civil War, entering into a shaky alliance with the Republic.
As such, GEWR and New Republic forces often fought in concert against Imperial loyalist remnants during the last days of the Galactic Civil War. Differentiated from loyalist Imperial forces by their new blue uniforms, which called to mind the blue of the Judicial Forces of old, GEWR personnel assisted the New Republic in its attempts to pacify and demilitarize loyal Imperial worlds.
Later years[]
The next half decade was marked by shaky peace between the nascent Republic and Western Reaches remnant. Though Grand Moff Tranner introduced a number of popular reforms during the intervening years, many of the region's citizens desired to enjoy the freedoms exercised by New Republic citizens. In 10 ABY, bowing to public pressure, Tranner organized a public referendum to decide the fate of the GEWR and the issue of absorption into the New Republic. With popular support leaning towards GEWR dissolution, Tranner officially surrendered to the New Republic and ordered the demilitarization of his forces.
Organization[]
Politics[]
The Galactic Empire of the Western Reaches was essentially the brainchild of its supreme leader, Maximian Tranner, the former Moff of the region who had turned it from the hotbed of Separatist sympathy into a wealthy Imperial province in a decade's time. Putting into play his Tranner Doctrine which advocated rule through positive change, he instituted a number of popular reforms that hearkened back to the days of the Old Republic, making a reality of his visions for the perfect government.
He reinstituted the Imperial Senate, giving it sizable mitigating powers over the executive. He privatized many of the formerly nationalized businesses that existed in the Western Reaches in an effort to boost the economy in the aftermath of the Empire's fracture, removing government regulations and restrictions governing interplanetary trade and encouraging the emergence of smaller businesses.
In support of freedom of the press, he dissolved COMPNOR, imprisoning its political officers and prosecuting them for crimes against the citizenry of the Empire. The Imperial Security Bureau was downsized and returned to the form it took under Tranner's administration in 14 BBY, serving as a legitimate law enforcement agency and stripped of its extra-judicial powers of investigation.
Tranner permitted unrestricted freedom of speech and assembly in the Empire, passing several motions through the Senate that labelled the Empire's sedition and censorship laws unconstitutional and permitting citizens to publicly protest the actions of the GEWR leadership.
Defense[]
As a former Imperial oversector whose leader was ranked among the most powerful members in the Imperial leadership, the Western Reaches were home to a large contingent of the Imperial military. Many Imperial personnel assigned here remained loyal to Tranner after the fall of the Empire, preferring to remain under the command of a confident, seasoned administrator rather than serve any one of the number of Imperial contenders in the Core Worlds.
A GEWR officer in standard uniform, 5 ABY
As such, the GEWR had access to a significant defense force and equally sizable defense budget. Though this fact worried the leadership of the New Republic, much of this force remained unused during the duration of the GEWR's existence, and those forces that were committed to the defense of the Empire's sovereignty were dispatched to the Western Reaches' northern frontier to counter incursions from the Core Worlds.
In order to differentiate their forces from Imperial loyalists, GEWR officers wore blue colored variants of the Imperial uniform that called to mind the uniforms of the old Judicial Forces. Stormtroopers continued the use of their order's infamous white armor, but augmented its design with blue paint design patterns made in reference to the unit markings that adorned Grand Army of the Republic armor during the Clone Wars. GEWR Imperial I-class Star Destroyers and TIE fighters bore similar markings to aid New Republic forces in ease of recognition.
Society and culture[]
The Western Reaches, in part due to their isolated location in relation to the rest of the galaxy and their small general population, were largely unaffected by the splinter of the Empire. The regional governor Grand Moff Maximian Tranner was a known quantity, having successfully governed the region in one form or another for close to 15 years, and was a widely respected figure for his use of diplomacy rather than force.
As such, the region remained largely peaceful in the months following the Emperor's death, in contrast to other regions where worldwide rioting and civil unrest proved a problem for Imperial peacekeepers. The transition from Imperial province to breakaway state was relatively smooth, and in most places in the GEWR, life continued unabated.
The GEWR society was characterized by the signature Western Reaches rough-and-tumble attitude of "semi-restrained lawlessness," a place where criminal activity and legitimate business often occurred under the same roof and where scoundrels and cutthroats were expected to act by unspoken codes of honor and proper conduct.
Tranner had long since learned to adjust his governing style to complement rather than correct this fact of life in the Reaches, and Imperial forces were often conveniently lax in the enforcement of certain laws. In exchange for the Imperial leadership occasionally turning a blind eye to certain actions and not overstepping unspoken bounds, local organized crime groups policed their constituents themselves and made an effort to restrain their actions to their usual activities and malpractices for the sake of the greater peace.
Astrography[]
Though it laid claim to the entire Western Reaches province, the GEWR in reality only controlled around a third of the occupied worlds in the region. Gallius Rax's Galactic Empire laid claim to a number of worlds closer to the Colonies, including Jakku, and quickly swallowed up several more due to the GEWR's slow mobilization efforts in the last days of the Galactic Civil War.
Other worlds were claimed by the New Republic, including Bespin and Endor, and Tranner forbid the GEWR from contesting such claims for fear of provoking further violence and endangering the shaky alliance that existed between the two powers.
The Imperial capital was located on Takodana, but most high-ranking Imperial personnel resided on Eriadu, which remained under joint occupation by both GEWR and Republic forces.