Kessendra Coronation

Following the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, the Galactic Empire was defeated by the Rebel Alliance after the Galactic Civil War, a year-long conflict. The Empire suffered not only the destruction of its second Death Star battle station, but also the deaths of its leaders, Galactic Emperor Palpatine and Supreme Commander Darth Vader. Although Grand Vizier Sate Pestage officially assumed control, his claim was almost immediately challenged, with numerous Imperials declaring their independence. After ruling for six months, Pestage's authority was undermined by Ysanne Isard, the Director of Imperial Intelligence. While Isard managed to maintain the Empire and resist aggressive warlords for a period, the majority of the Empire's Grand Moffs united under the Central Committee of Grand Moffs, seeking to usurp her claim to the Imperial throne.

Rumors had long persisted that Palpatine had fathered a three-eyed mutant son, and Bertroff Hissa, the de facto leader of the Central Committee, aimed to exploit these beliefs. The Grand Moffs conspired with Trioculus, Hissa's longtime protégé and the Supreme Slavelord of Kessel, presenting him as Palpatine's alleged lost heir. Simultaneously, the self-proclaimed Supreme Prophet Kadann—actually a Bimm con artist named Rajah Ubooki—revealed the existence of Darth Vader's indestructible right-hand glove, claiming that only the one who could find and wear it would rule the Empire. Despite Ubooki and his Prophets being frauds, their Church of the Dark Side was established to attract the Imperial populace, and the Bimm's "prophecies" wielded significant influence.

Shortly after the glove of Darth Vader became public knowledge, the Central Committee decided to organize a massive gathering at the stadium of Kessendra, the capital city of the planet Kessel, with the intention of using the venue to promote their candidate for the Imperial throne. The Central Committee invited thousands of individuals from every level of the Imperial hierarchy, ranging from decorated warlords and grand admirals to stormtroopers and lower-ranking officers. Even slaves and droids were invited, along with their supervisors. Unbeknownst to the Imperials, the opposing New Republic learned of the planned gathering through its Senate Planetary Intelligence Network. Consequently, the New Republic dispatched the droid team of C-3PO and R2-D2 to the Kessendra Stadium, disguised as Kessel mining units, to monitor the event.

Grand Moff Hissa revealed the existence of Palpatine's rumored son, claiming he had resided on Kessel for years. The audience reacted with collective awe, and a grand admiral inquired about the identity of the supposed Imperial heir. Supreme Slavelord Trioculus then made a dramatic entrance, which instilled silent terror in the ceremony's attendees. Trioculus delivered a brief speech, emphasizing the continuity between his "father's" reign and his own future rule. When Hissa commanded the assembled Imperials to bow and accept their new Emperor, a certain Royal Guard stood up in the crowd. The Guard argued that there were other claimants to the Imperial throne, including Grand Admiral Josef Grunger. Almost immediately, a grand admiral rose and expressed concern that Trioculus was not wearing the Glove of Darth Vader, as required by prophecy. In response, the Supreme Slavelord invoked his alleged lightning power from the Dark Side to torture the two dissenters. This display of mystic force had an immediate effect on the attendees, who rushed to pledge their allegiance to him. Unbeknownst to the audience, their new Emperor was not Force-sensitive and used an implanted device to generate lightning bolts.

While the majority of the fragmented Imperial Navy—including Captain Gilad Pellaeon and his Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Chimaera—remained loyal to Isard, a significant number of Imperials aligned themselves with Trioculus. Following the successful Coronation, the new Emperor met with the Grand Moffs and Grand Admiral Miltin Takel in his palace. Given the faith many pro-Imperial citizens had in the false Kadann's prophecy, the new Emperor ordered the Moffs to initiate a galaxy-wide search for Vader's lost glove to gain the support of the self-proclaimed Prophet. Concurrently, he tasked the Moffs with finding a location for his new headquarters and began campaigning against the growing New Republic. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to even the Central Committee, Palpatine had returned to life in a clone body on the Deep Core world of Byss. Using the Church of the Dark Side and Sate Pestage, he manipulated Trioculus, filling him with delusions of grandeur. In reality, the mutant slavelord was merely a distraction to divert the New Republic while the original Galactic Emperor remained hidden in a secret citadel, preparing for the rise of a new Dark Empire.