The Emperor's Will signified the Galactic Empire's operation to permanently eliminate the renegade Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin along with his dissident faction. This initiative came about after Zaarin's unsuccessful endeavor to abduct Emperor Palpatine on his C-3 passenger liner, named Excalibur, which ended with Zaarin's failure and subsequent withdrawal. Namuura Din, one of Zaarin's commanders, attempted to betray Zaarin by defecting to the Rebel Alliance to warn them of the impending trap during their planned attack at Endor, and provided them with a prototype Missile Boat known as Sealion. However, Darth Vader intervened, foiling the defection and recovering the prototype. Subsequently, Zaarin traveled to To-phalion Base with the intention of stealing the Vorknkx Project testbed, which was being defended by the loyalist Grand Admiral Thrawn. Zaarin's demise occurred there, largely due to the actions of TIE pilot ace Maarek Stele. Following this campaign, Stele received the Medal of Victory for his role in saving the Emperor's life and quelling the Zaarin uprising.
Stele was awarded the Medal of Victory for his involvement in the chase, but his participation prevented him from being at the Battle of Endor. Zaarin's death marked the first loss within Palpatine's inner circle of Grand Admirals. Furthermore, the insurrection hindered the widespread adoption of the TIE Defender, Zaarin's starfighter initiative, within the Imperial Navy, restricting its use primarily to pilots who had completed multiple tours of duty.