It was... absurd. There was no doubt that the First Galactic Empire was not perfect. Thrawn himself had made documents and holos detailing the extent of the atrocities to the public, apologising on behalf of the Empire, and taking responsibility. This alone, however, should have been proof of the new direction that the Empire was going in!
Veers shook his head. How could a rebellion still exist? Thrawn had been working day and night to combat the problems of the past. He had ended slavery across the galaxy, transformed the ISB from secret police to an anti-corruption organisation, proclaimed ethical working conditions. Hell, Thrawn was an alien himself - his inner circle was far more diverse than Palpatine's had ever been. Veers' question was why. Why was the rebellion so bent on destroying all the good that had been done?
He shook his head; it was a conundrum for another time. The General turned to his aide and nodded; "Signal the troops. It's time."
Turning his attention back to the holos in front of him, he watched as the red dots slowly disappeared as the blue dots executed his plan to perfection. The rebel approach was typical. Move between buildings, hide as civilians, attack when least expected. How pedestrian. It was simple to counter; he oversaw the careful deployment of the Tatooine Volunteer Army in key positions, utilising their knowledge of the cultural norms and local terrain to locate hidden rebels. From there, small squadrons of stormtroopers could deal with them easily.
More red dots vanished off his map. Perhaps soon he could turn his attention from these pests and to the real enemy. He would march on Jabba's palace soon enough.
Sol scowled as another of his friends went silent. They were being picked off by the Imps, and he was not happy about it. The intelligence they had received about this operation was wrong. They were under the impression that this was a small-scale assault. Yet several AT-STs and the presence of General Veers himself proved otherwise.
This mission was lost, but this wasn't the end. Damn Imps. Surely there would be a ship somewhere nearby he could steal. His fight against the Empire wasn't over yet.
"B-Bib! You said the Empire wouldn't move against us!"
"Multiple shuttles inbound!"
"Slaves all over the planet are in open rebellion against us!"
"The Imperial Navy is blockading us!"
Idiots. He was surrounded by idiots. It didn't take a genius to understand that this Galactic Empire was willing to follow through on its promises about eliminating corruption. Admittedly he too thought otherwise initially, but Bib Fortuna - the new Crime Lord of Tatooine - did not get to where he is without learning to adapt. Standing up, Fortuna gazed around. Clearly his men were utterly incapable of handling anything themselves.
"The outer defenses should hold for now," he barked, "Jabba turned this into a fortress, remember? Lockdown all external areas of the palace, recall all troops to-"
Fortuna was cut off as the palace shook.
"Sir, the shuttles have broken off! They're leaving!"
The palace shook again. As his men struggled to stand up straight Fortuna began running. He entered his private chambers and punched in a series of numbers into a hidden keypad. He was smart enough to know when there was no hope and entered his private ship, the Grand Vice.
Taking off, he got a good look at the AT-ST walkers.
Just as they shot him down.