Shadow Council

The late stages of the Galactic Civil War saw the creation of the Shadow Council by Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax. This body served as a military advisory group, stepping in after the failure of the Imperial Ruling Council. Its formation aimed to govern the remaining loyal elements of the Galactic Empire to the late Emperor, operating as a concealed governing force.

During the Galactic Civil War era, Grand Admiral Rae Sloane was the public face of the Shadow Council, but Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax wielded the true power. Following Sloane's departure, Rax assumed the title of Counselor to the Empire, becoming the de facto leader of both the Shadow Council and the loyalist forces of the Galactic Empire. Other members of the Shadow Council included Grand Moff Randd, who was appointed leader of the Imperial Navy, General Hodnar Borrum as commander of the Imperial Army, Commandant [Brendol Hux](/article/brendol_hux], and chief informational officer Ferric Obdur as the Shadow Council's propagandist. Furthermore, at a conference of the Shadow Council above the planet Souwecer, a number of high-ranking Imperial officers were in attendance including Grand General Kenner Loring and Commodore Visler Korda, both of whom were leaders of their own breakaway factions of the Empire. After the decisive Battle of Jakku, Grand Admiral Sloane returned and survived the Shadow Council along with Commandant Hux, relocating to the Unknown Regions, where she established a significant Imperial remnant that later evolved into the First Order. Randd retreated to the Queluhan Nebula and established his own holdout faction, while General Borrum was stationed on Jakku's surface.

Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax established the Shadow Council in 5 ABY as an advisory body to govern the Galactic Empire from behind the scenes. This occurred one year after the devastating Battle of Endor, which resulted in the deaths of both Emperor Palpatine and his lieutenant, Darth Vader - the acting Commander-in-Chief - leading to the Empire's fragmentation. The Council consisted of the most skilled Imperial minds within the Imperial Military and bureaucracy, which had been weakened by the Galactic Civil War. Rax intended for it to succeed the more egalitarian Imperial Ruling Council as the primary directorate of the Empire, and for it to be far more covert, serving more as an advisory board rather than an actual oligarchal body.

Fleet Admiral Rax revealed his plan to create the Shadow Council during a meeting with Grand Admiral Rae Sloane to discuss rescuing Brendol Hux, the Commandant of the Arkanis Academy. Rax identified Sloane and Hux as potential candidates for the Shadow Council. Following the rescue of Hux and his son Armitage Hux by bounty hunter Mercurial Swift, Rax convened the Shadow Council's inaugural meeting aboard the Super Star Destroyer Ravager, which served as the flagship for Imperial forces in the Vulpinus Nebula. Grand Admiral Sloane and Commandant Hux were joined by the chief informational officer Ferric Obdur, Grand Moff Randd, and General Hodnar Borrum.

During their dinner conversation, Sloane and Obdur advocated for promoting the idea that the Empire was the underdog in its struggle against the New Republic, the successor to the Rebel Alliance. Pleased with the delegates' dynamic exchange of ideas, Rax introduced himself and then informed the Shadow Council about his plan to retake the galaxy from the New Republic. Rax secretly commanded other Imperial forces in the Almagest, the Recluse's Nebula, the Queluhan Nebula, the Ro-Loo Triangle, and the Inamorata.

Later, Rax informed Sloane of his plans to attack the New Republic capital on Chandrila. To maintain the illusion of a weakened Galactic Empire, Fleet Admiral Rax instructed Grand Admiral Sloane to begin peace talks with Chancellor Mon Mothma. Rax's attack on the New Republic was ultimately an assassination attempt on the New Republic leadership, using former rebel prisoners from Ashmead's Lock as unwilling assassins. When Sloane voiced her objections to Rax's methods, Rax's agent Adea Rite attempted to assassinate the Grand Admiral, but Sloane managed to escape.

With Sloane absent, Rax convened the Shadow Council for a second time. He claimed Sloane had been captured by the New Republic and assumed the position of Counselor to the Empire. Borrum opposed Rax's decision, arguing that Rax was failing to provide the Empire with a figurehead leader. Nevertheless, Rax managed to advise the Shadow Council to gather the remaining Imperial forces above the planet Jakku for a showdown with the New Republic. Secretly, Rax planned to eliminate the Shadow Council, except for General Hux, whom he considered essential for rebuilding the Empire. Rax was the executor of the Emperor's posthumous Contingency plan to dismantle the Empire should the Emperor die and to bring a chosen few into the Unknown Regions to rebuild the Empire.

Under Rax's guidance, the Shadow Council led the Empire to Jakku. They waited there for several months for the New Republic to attack. During this time, Rax used the harsh desert conditions to transform the Imperial forces into a more brutal force. While Rax claimed he was strengthening the Empire, his true intention was to eliminate what he considered the weak elements of the Empire. Meanwhile, Rax planned to take the worthy elect into the Unknown Regions to start anew. Grand Moff Randd supported Rax's toughening policy, but Borrum expressed concern that keeping the Imperial forces on alert for so long would exhaust his men. Propagandist Obdur found himself sidelined because Rax had little need for propaganda.

Under Rax's orders, Brendol Hux trained twenty-four local Jakku children into a praetorian force of child soldiers who answered only to Counselor Rax. Rax used these assassins to assassinate Obdur, considering him to have outlived his usefulness. He intended them to become the first of a new generation of stormtroopers. After the New Republic's Galactic Senate sent its fleet to Jakku, Counselor Rax briefed his Shadow Council. Grand Moff Randd was placed in command of the Imperial fleet, while General Borrum commanded the Imperial ground forces. Rax and Adviser Yupe Tashu then traveled with Hux, his son Armitage, and the child soldiers to the Jakku Observatory.

While the Huxes and the child soldiers waited aboard a replica of the Emperor's yacht Imperialis, Rax and Tashu entered the Jakku Observatory to activate a self destruction mechanism that would destroy the planet Jakku and the orbiting Imperial and New Republic forces. This was part of the late Emperor's Contingency plan to destroy the belligerents and start anew. Rax killed Tashu after initiating the planet's destruction. However, he was thwarted by Grand Admiral Sloane with the help of the New Republic operatives Norra Wexley and Brentin Lore Wexley. Sloane then stopped the self-destruct mechanism before fleeing into the Unknown Regions with Brendol, Armitage, and the child soldiers at the urge of a dying Rax.

Following the Battle of Jakku, the Shadow Council seemingly dissolved along with the Old Empire. With the deaths of Rax, Obdur, and Tashu, the only known surviving members were Sloane, Hux, Randd, and Borrum. Randd escaped the destruction of the Ravager and led his own Imperial forces in the Queluhan Nebula. Sloane and Hux commanded the Imperial fleet and officials that regrouped as an Imperial remnant in the Unknown Regions and would go on to reform as the First Order.

Around 9 ABY, the Shadow Council had been reorganized under the apparent leadership of Grand Admiral Thrawn and expanded to include delegations from other remnants of the Old Empire. These new members included Moff Gideon, Captain Gilad Pellaeon, Commandant Brendol Hux, and at least six other Imperial warlords. Sometime after the pirate siege on Nevarro, Moff Gideon attended a meeting of the Shadow Council to discuss the Mandalorian threat on his operations. He requested three Imperial Praetorian Guards and a squadron of TIE/IN interceptors and TIE/sa bombers to deal with them, which Commandant Hux reluctantly agreed to, under Captain Pellaeon's approval. During that same meeting, Moff Gideon questioned Captain Pellaeon on the absence of Grand Admiral Thrawn, mockingly pointing out the lack of any concrete evidence of the Chiss commander's "imminent return." The warlord then suggested the council needed new leadership, implying his own ambition to assume that mantle. Moff Gideon also discussed Project Necromancer with Commandant Hux, who accused him of using Doctor Penn Pershing to advance his own cloning experiments on Nevarro.

The Shadow Council made its debut in Chuck Wendig's 2016 novel Aftermath: Life Debt, the second book in the Aftermath trilogy.