Ardus Kaine

Ardus Kaine, a Human male, was born on the Outer Rim planet of Sartinaynian in the Braxant sector. He was the son of Vilardo Kaine, a successful trader and speciesist. Vilardo Kaine placed all his unrealized aspirations onto Ardus, even though Ardus was not particularly prejudiced against non-humans and preferred cooperation over command. Ardus witnessed his father rise through the ranks of political society. Despite some disagreements with his father's views, he strove to please him, eventually becoming involved in politics himself.

Kaine, a charismatic and skilled orator, became involved in the governance of the Galactic Republic. He quickly became a strong supporter of Naboo Senator Palpatine, fully embracing Palpatine's ideology after his father died in a pirate attack. Kaine remained by Palpatine's side as he was elected Supreme Chancellor. When Palpatine transformed the Republic into the first Galactic Empire, Kaine fanatically adopted the principles of the New Order. During the Imperial Period, his leadership and organizational capabilities became evident, and he played a vital role in administrative reforms. Immediately following the Declaration of a New Order, he was crucial in securing the Grand Army of the Republic's support for the new regime. Kaine collaborated with figures like Crueya Vandron, Ishin-Il-Raz and Janus Greejatus to form the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order after concerns arose regarding the administration of Imperial Intelligence, seeing it as something his father would have been proud of. However, Kaine soon became disillusioned with the COMPNOR project, viewing its constant conflicts with Imperial Intelligence as a waste of Imperial resources. Around this time, he began a lifelong feud with Ennix Devian, whom he saw as a cruel and brutal thug. Devian, in turn, viewed Kaine as arrogant and not truly committed to Human High Culture - which, ironically, was true.

Because of his loyal and productive service to the Empire, Kaine was appointed as governor of several planets, and later as a moff. Kaine, who was extremely wealthy, at some point became a corporate sponsor of the Imperial Inquisitor Jerec. After Wilhuff Tarkin's death at the Battle of Yavin, he was promoted to Grand Moff of Oversector Outer. Although this gave him a prestigious title and authority over a large area of the Outer Rim Territories, Kaine viewed his promotion as a personal insult. He desired to be close to Palpatine on Imperial Center, contributing to crucial Imperial policies, rather than being isolated in the distant reaches of the Empire, attempting to repair the damage caused by Tarkin's passing. Even his enemy Devian had managed to be closer to the halls of power. With Kaine's new position came command of the Outer Rim Imperial Fleet and the elite Scourge Squadron, a significant force of Star Destroyers tasked with eliminating Rebel Alliance activity in the Outer Rim. Kaine's flagship, the Reaper, was one of the few Imperial Executor-class Star Dreadnoughts still in service. Around the time of the Battle of Endor, Kaine was to receive one of the two worldcraft orbiting Coruscant as a reward for his service to the Empire, but it was later stolen by Ennix Devian.

In 4 ABY, Palpatine was killed during a Rebel attack on the second Death Star at Endor, which threw the Empire into chaos. News of the Emperor's death reached Oversector Outer slowly, but Kaine was eventually informed while aboard the Reaper. In the past, Kaine would have been deeply saddened by the loss of his hero, but, still resentful about being stationed in the Outer Rim, he saw it as an opportunity. Kaine still believed in the ideals of the New Order, but now he had the chance to establish a new Imperial state with himself as its leader. While other Imperials in the Outer Rim engaged in destructive internal conflicts, Kaine acted quickly to consolidate his power and create a new Imperial faction. Knowing that many corporations would struggle without Imperial support, Kaine organized a meeting of corporation leaders from the Velcar Free Commerce Zone and Imperial governors aboard the Reaper.

The "conciliatory meeting" included Imperial Governor Ib Dekeet, Commerce Master Commissioner Gregor Raquoran, Dynamic Automata Corporate Head Elta Besk, Galentro Heavy Works Representative Wyrn Otro, and Kaine himself. Kaine proposed a treaty that would unite the Imperials and corporate interests to form an isolationist political conglomerate. This conglomerate would uphold the ideals of the New Order and allow the allied businesses to continue trading as they had under the Empire, free from interference by the newly formed New Republic. Kaine was aware that if the Velcar Free Commerce Zone fell under New Republic jurisdiction, the local syndicates' use of slavery and corruption would be quickly stopped. He used this fact as leverage during the talks, emphasizing it several times. The discussions were filled with paranoia and confrontation, and Kaine had to work hard to prevent the participants from turning on each other. None of Kaine's colleagues particularly cared for his political theory, and Otro openly questioned Kaine's ambitions. The Grand Moff denied claims that he would install himself as Emperor, emphasizing the need for unity and cooperation to ensure the project's success. Ultimately, the Pentastar Alignment Treaty was signed by all parties, creating the Pentastar Alignment and marking the first official state to become independent from the Empire. Kaine named it the Pentastar Alignment because there were five plenipotentiaries present on his flagship. Despite minor objections from Governor Dekeet, all Pentastar vessels and soldiers were adorned with a badge, which Kaine hoped would symbolize both unity and fear.

With newfound corporate backing and significant forces of capital ships and soldiers at his disposal, Kaine established the Alignment in a large number of systems, conquering areas by force and installing planetary overseers to carry out the will of Kaine and his allies. Many Imperial forces in Oversector Outer voluntarily joined the cause, drawn by Kaine's strong leadership and fervent Imperialism. The Grand Moff kept his growing quasi-Empire largely separate from the wider galaxy, avoiding conflict with the New Republic or rival warlords. As a result, Kaine's business allies were able to continue operating without interference, despite the New Republic's moral opposition to their Humanocentric, oppressive modi operandorum. Ironically, Kaine was quite willing to use large numbers of non-humans in his Pentastar Patrol. His Human High Culture beliefs were largely a facade, and he was pragmatic enough to use non-humans to strengthen his military. Ultimately, aside from dissident pirate groups, the Alignment was most at risk from internal threats. Differences between various Pentastar departments and leaders threatened to destabilize the alliance. Although rarely confronted, Kaine was unpopular among many of his colleagues, such as Raquoran.

The declining Galactic Empire continued to operate on Coruscant, initially under former Grand Vizier Sate Pestage, until he was overthrown by Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard, but Kaine ignored them. During this time, the Pentastar Alignment helped fund Jerec's search for and expedition to the Valley of the Jedi, which ultimately failed, and the former Inquisitor died in 5 ABY. The Alignment also provided temporary refuge for Grand Admiral Octavian Grant, who wanted to avoid the attention of the New Republic and old Imperial enemies until he defected to the New Republic in 6 ABY. During this period, the Alignment came under increasing pressure from various pirate groups. One such group, the Red Moons, proved to be a particular problem for Kaine and the Alignment. Led by Andrephan Stormcaller, a former Rebel Alliance and New Republic officer who had resigned his commission after the New Republic refused to intervene against Kaine, the Red Moons incessantly raided Alignment worlds and assassinated numerous officials. Kaine's government claimed that the Red Moons were operating with the tacit support of the New Republic, but this was denied.

In 9 ABY, Grand Admiral Thrawn returned from a mission in the Unknown Regions in a final attempt to reunite and strengthen the failing Empire. The Alignment contributed some forces to Thrawn's efforts but did not formally join him, preferring to continue its militarization in anticipation of conflict with the New Republic. One year later, the resurrected Emperor Palpatine began to secretly reunite various Imperial splinter factions as part of Operation Shadow Hand, an attempt to overthrow the New Republic. The reborn Emperor was more successful than Thrawn in recruiting individuals like Kaine, with warlords such as Treuten Teradoc and Blitzer Harrsk joining the movement. Ultimately, however, it failed, and Palpatine was defeated for the last time on Onderon. Kaine was killed during the campaign over the planet Palanhi when his shuttle was ambushed and destroyed by several New Republic E-wing fighters. Some accounts suggest that his old enemy Ennix Devian was involved, but it was actually Octavian Grant, who deceived Kaine into thinking he wanted to rejoin the Alignment, that sealed the Grand Moff's fate.

The Pentastar Alignment was annexed by Gilad Pellaeon in 12 ABY, becoming part of the Imperial Remnant. The Reaper became Pellaeon's flagship until it was destroyed at the Battle of Celanon in 13 ABY. Before 19 ABY, Kaine's homeworld, Sartinaynian—renamed Bastion—became the Imperial Remnant's capital, remaining so for over a century.

Ardus Kaine was known for his ambition and desire for power. He valued actual power more than titles or prestige. The position of Grand Moff did not appeal to him, nor did the title of Emperor of the Pentastar Alignment. He wanted to be at the center of the Empire, making important decisions and being involved in the daily operations of the Imperial machine. He was also opportunistic, seizing opportunities as soon as they arose. He quickly moved to establish his Imperial faction after learning of the Imperial defeat at Endor, and after its creation, he structured the power dynamic so that Kaine was a de facto autocrat.

As one of Palpatine's earliest followers of the New Order's ideals, Kaine was fiercely loyal to the Empire and everything it represented. He genuinely believed in the principles of the New Order and felt that enforcing them on conquered worlds was justified. Kaine believed that the core Imperial principles and mandates were somewhat neglected and under enforced, and in his own Empire, they were strictly adhered to and given greater importance.

Few realized that much of this was a carefully constructed and maintained facade. Kaine was largely indifferent to the Human High Culture that many of his contemporaries believed in, and he did not seek power for its own sake. Kaine was motivated by the memory of his father, who had instilled these ideals in him, and he sought to impress him, even though his father was now dead. He wanted to rule not because he genuinely desired it, but because his father had ingrained it in him from a young age. However, this also created a deep inferiority complex in Kaine. With his father gone, Kaine felt genuine fear at the prospect of power. When he established the Alignment, one of his main, yet secret, reasons for isolating it from the ongoing Galactic Civil War was that Kaine preferred to rule successfully over a smaller kingdom like the Alignment than to risk losing everything in a foolish attempt to become the new Galactic Emperor. The irony was that some, such as Grand Admiral Octavian Grant, genuinely believed that Kaine had the leadership skills necessary to rule successfully.

The Grand Moff's rhetorical skills were well-known and used by the Empire. His subtle, persuasive oratory was convincing. He moved between aggression, tacit intimidation, and logical reasoning, and he was rarely dissuaded. These skills were useful after the Declaration of the New Order, when Kaine helped garner military support for Palpatine's fledgling regime. Later, during the Pentastar Talks, Kaine used this ability in his role as arbiter to hold together the failing negotiations and subtly influence the proceedings in his favor. He was not a man who accepted failure easily, and his determination ensured that he often succeeded against odds that others would have given up on, as was the case during the talks aboard the Reaper. During the Pentastar Alignment's existence, Kaine's ability to persuade his colleagues ensured that he was rarely opposed on any decision.