New Republic Amnesty Program

As a network of facilities and services, the New Republic Amnesty Program focused on the rehabilitation, support, and gradual reintegration of former Imperial personnel into the New Republic society following the war. The program also aimed to leverage the expertise of former Imperials in the New Republic's struggle against the remaining Imperial forces. Under the direction of Amnesty Affairs Commissioners, several groups of former Imperials, including officers and scientists, underwent intensive therapy at the Re-Integration Institute. This therapy was designed to help them reject Imperial propaganda and brainwashing. Subsequently, they were invited to the capital planet of Coruscant and housed in apartments within the Amnesty Housing complex. They were then offered new positions within the New Republic's services, based on their previous skills. For instance, Penn Pershing, a scientist from the Imperial cloning program, was tasked with cataloging and dismantling outdated Imperial science technology.

To facilitate their reintegration, Amnesty Program participants were assigned new codenames, which consisted of their former occupation followed by an alphanumeric designation (e.g., Amnesty Officer G27). However, they were not prohibited from revealing their original names if they chose to do so. Participants were also required to attend daily sessions with a parole droid at the Amnesty Program skyscraper. During these sessions, they were questioned about their progress on new tasks and any psychological challenges they faced. The droids were also available to answer any questions the Amnesty members had regarding their rights and responsibilities to the new government.

Despite these measures, the daily lives of Amnesty members were initially subject to strict regulation. They were restricted to their designated living area in the center of Galactic City, around Amnesty Housing and Monument Plaza, except under specific circumstances, such as giving speeches at the Galaxies Opera House about their experiences under the Empire. Police droids from the Coruscant Security Force actively monitored Amnesty members for any deviations from their designated zone and would promptly notify New Republic Defense Force soldiers to apprehend them. Amnesty members who violated their reintegration rules were considered to have relapsed and were sent back to the Re-Integration Institute for non-invasive psychological treatment using a Six-O-Two Mitigator under the supervision of their Commissioner.

The Battle of Endor dealt a significant blow to the Galactic Empire, resulting in the deaths of key Imperial figures, including the Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine himself. The Empire also lost its flagship, the Executor, the Death Star II space station was destroyed, and numerous other starships from the Imperial Navy were lost. Besides Palpatine, other notable Imperials who perished in the battle included the Emperor's enforcer and de facto Commander-in-Chief Darth Vader, Admiral Firmus Piett of Imperial Navy High Command, and Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod. Following the battle at Endor, the Galactic Empire fragmented, its forces dispersed throughout the galaxy and lacking central leadership. Subsequently, the Alliance to Restore the Republic was reformed into the New Republic, finally achieving its primary objective from the Civil War.

In the weeks and months following the victory at Endor, although an official amnesty program was not yet in place, Imperial troops and other personnel, such as the pilot Yrica Quell, who deserted the Empire to switch sides were detained in repurposed rebel bases for questioning. One such base, known as Traitor's Remorse, housed Quell and approximately twelve thousand other potential Imperial defectors for debriefing, scrutiny, and medical evaluations until the New Republic determined their fate. Official policy allowed defectors at Traitor's Remorse to leave at any time, but the former Imperials feared that doing so would provoke the New Republic, which they believed might hold a grudge. Unless awaiting a pardon, Imperials considering desertion believed they faced a perilous future.

However, most individuals remained at Traitor's Remorse only briefly. Defectors deemed high value but low risk, including former Imperials such as infantry, aides to admirals, comm/scan officers, and engineers, received leniency if they agreed to join the New Republic. Within a week, these Imperials were redeployed on missions such as orbital minesweeping or joining the crew of a captured Star Destroyer. Conversely, defectors classified as low value and high risk did not receive such leniency and were required to prove their character. Quell believed that those with this designation had simply irritated their New Republic interviewer. She also thought that their mission was to avoid going insane from boredom while trying to prove themselves. Quell herself was classified as low value and high risk.

The initial group of defectors brought to Traitor's Remorse consisted of those who abandoned their posts after the Battle of Endor, whose foresight Quell respected. Whether motivated by cowardice or bravery, they all recognized that the Imperial regime was doomed without Palpatine. Quell herself deserted the Empire after Operation: Cinder—a posthumous order from Palpatine to attack both rebellious and Imperial worlds as punishment for his death and as part of his post-death Contingency—and entered Traitor's Remorse as part of the second wave of post-Endor deserters. These were individuals who could not stomach the seemingly pointless slaughter of Operation: Cinder. Consequently, Quell held a low opinion of those who only abandoned the Empire after the second wave had passed. She reasoned that anyone who remained with the crumbling Empire after Operation: Cinder had consciously chosen to disregard the cost the Empire had inflicted on the galaxy.

During the early months of the New Republic Era, it was uncertain whether the New Republic's amnesty policies and programs would succeed. Quell once expressed her views on post-Operation: Cinder surrenders to Caern Adan of New Republic Intelligence. Hating each new group of arrivals more than the last, Quell believed that those who stayed with the Empire after Operation: Cinder had failed too many tests and questioned why the New Republic would allow such people to walk free. Adan, however, assured her that the New Republic could manage its own security. In reality, the loyalty of those who joined the New Republic late would pose a challenge for the formal amnesty program. Quell had occasionally found rank insignia plaques at Traitor's Remorse swap meets, indicating that some Imperial officers still cherished mementos of their service instead of completely rejecting their past. When a new group of arrivals came to Traitor's Remorse, the group whose arrival sparked the discussion between Quell and Adan, she noticed that everyone in the group had superficially tried to remove any identifying gear they had once worn. Nevertheless, considering her encounters with rank plaques at Traitor's Remorse, she suspected that some secretly carried their plaques in sleeves or pockets.

At that time, the Galactic Civil War continued despite the Empire's seemingly inevitable collapse. In secret, to fulfill Palpatine's Contingency, the Empire gathered its forces—including the last Executor-class Star Dreadnought, the Ravager—on the planet Jakku under the command of Gallius Rax. Rax intended to destroy the Empire and lead a select few to rebuild it in the Unknown Regions, as dictated by the Contingency. At Jakku, they engaged in an all-out battle against the New Republic's united forces in a desperate attempt to defend the Observatory. Their defeat marked the end of the once-dominant Empire, with all remaining forces permanently retreating into the Unknown Regions under Rae Sloane, never to directly confront the New Republic again. De jure Emperor Mas Amedda signed the Galactic Concordance, formally surrendering the Galactic Empire and its forces and disarming any remaining armies and fleets.

The loyalists in the Unknown Regions secretly reorganized into the First Order, while other Imperials surrendered or were captured by the New Republic and placed in the Re-Integration Institute. There, they underwent reconditioning to overcome the psychological indoctrination of the Imperial military and become loyal, law-abiding citizens. After completing their therapy, they were returned to Coruscant, provided with apartments in Amnesty Housing, given new identities, and assigned to various services within the New Republic to help them transition to a peaceful life.

Penn Pershing, a scientist who had been working for Moff Gideon, one of the remaining Imperial warlords operating within New Republic territory, and his army, was captured by New Republic marshal Carasynthia Dune, Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin, and loyalist Bo-Katan Kryze. He was apprehended while being transported to Gideon's light cruiser to oversee Gideon's cloning experiments and subsequently handed over to the New Republic. His ship, Shuttle 2743, was then used for a raid on the cruiser. During his capture, Pershing disclosed sensitive information about Gideon's fleet to his captors, leading the New Republic to recognize him as a potentially unwilling collaborator of the Empire and enroll him in the Amnesty Program as Amnesty Scientist L52.

During the raid, communications officer Elia Kane, a member of Gideon's crew, was seriously injured, while Gideon himself was captured by the Mandalorians and Dune. Although Gideon was sent to a New Republic Tribunal for knowingly violating the terms of the Concordance, Kane was recruited into the Amnesty Program as Amnesty Officer G68. She portrayed herself as a loyal New Republic citizen who had been rescued from the Empire but secretly remained loyal to Gideon and continued to advance his goals from within the New Republic. While residing in Amnesty Housing on Coruscant, she encountered Pershing (L52), who confided in her his frustration at not being allowed to continue his cloning experiments under the New Republic because cloning research was prohibited by the Coruscant Accords. Kane offered him emotional support by giving him a stolen box of travel biscuits, one of his favorite foods, and inviting him to join her group of Amnesty Officers G27, M40, and M34.

She later assisted Pershing in escaping the Amnesty Program's perimeter and visiting Shipyard Depot, where old Imperial-class Star Destroyers were being dismantled, so that he could steal a mobile lab and resume his research. Although the mission was successful, Kane had betrayed him to the New Republic, leading to his capture and readmission to the Institute. Continuing to feign loyalty, Kane secretly furthered Imperial objectives when alone with Pershing, who was connected to a Six-O-Two Mitigator, a type of Mind Flayer, by New Republic officials who believed he was suffering from Imperial indoctrination. However, Kane increased the device's power to its maximum setting.