Point of imperial militaristic ships?
If the rebels never existed, or simply when the time before the rebels, what was the point of Star Destroyers, TIE fighters, and other militaristic ships? Just to intimidate?
Posted May 17, 2020, 7:49 AM UTC
78
Just to intimidate?
While intimidation is naturally a factor, ultimate goal was naturally breaking the will of the galaxy and complete and utter military domination.
Basically, while Empire succeeded a lot of Republican systems, Outer Rim was still a lot of independent systems, and there are states like Hutt Space or Hapan Consortium, which are powerful actors in their own right in the galaxy, so eventually they'd have to be subjugated, and of course there's a massive chunk of the galaxy just listed as Unknown Regions, which also has massive resources to tap and wills to crush.
Murky threat of Vong invasion is more like Empire Did Nothing Wrong justification, Palpatine would've still built up military even if Thrawn didn't tell him that some vague threat lurks in the Unknown Regions.
10
I don't agree with you that the Empire would conquer Hutt Space or the Hapes Consortium.
The one time the Emperor sends a fleet to Hapan space, it's clearly a suicide mission to punish and kill Osvald Teshik, who ironically is the sole survivor. I also seem to recall a paragraph in one book which suggested the Emperor kept the Hapes Consortium around to show the trap of insular decadence, and Imperial officers looked down on the Hapan Royal Navy because despite the Hapan's efficiency and skill, the Hapan Royal Navy is not used in battles commensurate with their ability.
As for the Hutts, I'd say Hutt Space has been the graveyard of empires for tens of thousands of years. Xim the Despot, the Old Republic, and multiple Sith empires have all tried and failed to conquer and subjugate Hutt Space; I don't see the Empire being any different. The Hutts are stable and risk-averse, with the kajidic system ensuring that despite their competitive nature, the Hutts ultimately band together as a whole against outside forces who try to permanently encroach on their territory. All kajidics maintain fleets and armies, with entire species indentured or enslaved, willing to sacrifice themselves in defense of the Hutts.
The Qunalaac kajidic is the most militaristic and best imitator of the Hutts' warrior past; the Jiramma kajidic has proven quite effective at corrupting and suborning Imperial officers; the Besadii kajidic has close ties with Black Sun; the Vanderijar kajidic is the hidden patron behind multiple pirate groups troubling the Empire in the Mid Rim. Additionally, Hutt Space is away from the major hyperspace lanes, with the Hutts possessing secret routes in and out of Hutt space, which would allow them to conduct raiding operations with impunity. If the Empire went to war with the Hutts, it would be a long and bloody affair that sapped far too many resources, with the Hutts using their criminal enterprises to cause trouble throughout all of Imperial space.
1
In Legends, Darth Sidious was aware of the Far Outsiders (Yuuzhan Vong) gathering along the edges of the galaxy. In the novel Outbound Flight, Thrawn confirms to an agent of Darth Sidious that the Chiss have encountered the Far Outsiders, and defeated a Vong reconnaissance force that fought with a savage ferocity before it was finally repulsed. Considering how destructive the Yuuzhan Vong invasion ended up being, there was good reason to have an enormous military. Shame the Empire's military wasn't better-run with more durable, efficient, and cost-effective ships; ISDs are expensive and overcrewed. A Mon Calamari MC80A Home One-type Heavy Cruiser has better shields and carries more starfighters, while costing 38 million fewer credits and requiring less than one-sixth the crew of an ISD.
7
The Empire is an authoritarian dictatorship that rules through fear. Even if there were no rebels, they'd want to keep it that way.
3
The Empire was still fighting former separatists that existed. A lot of the early rebellion was formed of former CIS worlds. Even though the CIS leadership was taken down, many planets were still fighting back like one Mimban.
Also the Empire transformed into an authoritarian and militaristic government that threatens and scares its people into doing what they want them to do
3
I'm confused by the question. How does one rule by force if they don't have any weapons??
3
Everyone builds a navy in case of war, and the empire also had to deal with expansion
1
Protect from external threats (they didn't control the whole galaxy) and impose the Empire's will on planets that may be unruly or have their own military force (Mandalore, Umbara, etc.)