Despite the fear he had felt after being threatened by perhaps the most powerful Sith Lord in the Star Wars Universe, the boy was confident that he had managed to competently fulfil the task set before him, and thus ensure that he would never get to experience what it felt like to be on the end of a lightening blast.

Unable to sleep for fear of disappointing the emperor, the fan boy had stayed up for hours wracking his brain to come up with various names that would either in future pose a threat to the Empire itself, or those who would benefit the Empire's quest for total domination.

Since he was pressed for time, and sincerely doubted that the Sith Master would grant him more time in order to make a more comprehensive list, the boy had decided to present candidates for both options in addition to providing names that would hinder the Empire due to gross incompetence.

The boy believed that this would be enough to appease the Emperor, for not only would he know which of his cronies to promote, he would also know which ones to get rid of when the inevtiable purge came along.

Thinking about the upcoming deaths of countless people surprisingly brought no remorse to the boy. For in his mind he was simply helping the duly elected government deal with a terrorist threat that had yet to unify. And while he appreciated the core values of democracy, the Republic had shown that those values had become lost in endless mires of corruption, and that those who weren't corrupt believed that everyone could get IF one was to use peaceful means. Of course after Palpatine became Emperor, a lot of these so called 'uncorruptable' senators abandoned their beliefs in order to wage war against the government, all so they could restore a political system that preached equality but in fact only benefited a few.

And though he was not blind to the lack of morals of the Emperor, Palpatine only cared about his personal power after all, the boy knew that the Sith Lord did not care how his aims were achieved, just as long as they were completed. So with that logic, the fan boy had introduced a series of ideas that would allow him to put a more benevolent face on his rule while he consolidated power, while ensuring that the Empire would be far stronger than it had ever been in the cannon.

He was particularly happy that his ideas for new world destroying weapons had been well received. The World Devastators were something he was determined to make sure escaped the fate of most things of the legends universe, but what he truly wished to see come into being was the creation of perhaps the ONLY thing that trumped the Death Star in terms of pure awesomeness.

Star Killer Base had proven that it was possible to turn a large planet into a world destroying weapon, so why couldnt the Empire, which had far greater resources than the First Order, build a metallic planet that can consume worlds courtesy of a giant claw?

Lost in his thoughts of seeing the Beast Planet brought to life, and idly wondering how the Yuuzhan Vong would deal with a fully armed Empire if this was indeed the Legends Universe, not to mention how the Rebels would react when they saw a whole planet consumed by a sphere of black metal, the boy entered the near empty throne room of the most powerful man in the galaxy.

"Ahh my boy. Its good to see that last nights activities have not affected your ability to be punctual. I trust that you have completed the task that I had set before you"?

Nodding his head at the most successful Sith Lord in Star Wars history, the boy addressed his powerful patron.

"Yes your majesty. With the time that had been granted to me, I've managed to come up with a list of names that will help to not only secure the power of the Empire, but will also ensure that fewer mistakes are made during the consolidation period".

Pleased with this response, and curious to see just which names the boy had planned to list, the Emperor motioned for his newest follower to begin.

"Then by all means, proceed".

Taking a moment to compose his thoughts and steady his breathing, the boy began.

"Well the first person that can, and will prove useful to the growth of the Empire is a Chiss military officer by the name Mitth'raw'nuruodo, otherwise known as Thrawn. Not only is he a competent military officer who can best an opponent even while he grievously outnumbered, but he was the only one after your first death who could unite the fracturing remnants of the Empire and nearly achieve victory. The only reason why he was unsuccessful is because the Rebels were able to either reveal, or plant information that caused his elite body guards to turn on him when he least expected it".

Pleased at the boys first choice, not the least because he had already foreseen a great career in his service for that blue skinned officer and enjoyed having his theory reaffirmed, Palpatine couldn't help but be curious about Thrawn's brief moment of supremacy. For if he was going to accelerate the already promising careers of those who could benefit the Empire, he wanted to know the methods they had used to achieve power while free of his service, as well as learning more about what caused them to fail.

"I must admit my boy, your first candidate intrigues me, for I had already foreseen the Chiss officer accomplishing great things in my service, and it is always satisfying to discover that ones choices are proven correct. And though Thrawn has yet to join the Empire, my spies tell me that he is already planning to seek assylum in my Empire. But that is inconsequential. What I want to know is how Thrawn went about trying to reestablish my Empire, and how it was he failed in his endeavour. Also, I would like to learn where Thrawn was during the course of the Second Death Star's destruction. For I perceive that victory would have been within our grasp if an officer of his capabilities was in charge of the fleet".

Happy to discover that his first choice had been met with approval by the yellow eyed monarch, the boy wracked his brain for the releveant information regarding the future Grand Admiral.

"Well lets see, I believe the reason why he wasn't present at the Battle of Endor was because you had stationed him in the Unknown Regions to halt any incursions made by some outer galactic enemy. But after your..temporary defeat, and knowing that the only plausible option of defeating the Far Outsiders was to have the support of the vast military industrial complex that the Empire was famous for, he returned to the core in order to wrest control of the galaxy back from the surging Rebels. At first the odds where heavily stacked against him since the Rebels were not only united by a central leadership, but they also possessed far greater resources. But through the use of deception, the example that springs to mind is how he uses cloaked ships to pass through an energy shield and made his enemy believe that his orbiting ships possessed super weapons {Got this information from Star Wars Essential Guide to Warfare}, and framing the Rebels' most decorated admiral for treason, Thrawn was able to push the Rebels to the brink of defeat".

Impressed by the level of ingenuity possessed by his future servant, and contemplating on using the threat of the Vong to ensure wider support for his planned military expansion, Palpatine listened with interest as the boy described the causes of Thrawn's fall.

"His defeat however was more due to the fact that he believed in the continued loyalty in his elite troops, when in fact they had been turned thanks to some knowledge provided by the Rebels. I forget the specifics...but some time in the future, Darth Vader manages to win the loyalty of a group of a warrior species called the Noghri, but this loyalty is based upon their planet receiving aid from some environmental damage, which the Empire is secretly responsible for. And since you saw the merit of keeping this species in your service, you continued the process of poisoning their planet, just so you could appear to be doing all you could do to combat it, thus ensuring their loyalty. Of course since its Lord Vader who is regular contact with them, he is the one who holds their loyalty, and this extends to his blood line as well. His daughter is able to utilze this in order to expose the Empire's crimes, thus ensuring that the Noghri transfer their allegiance to the New Republic, and thus killing the Grand Admiral".

Narrowing his eyes at this piece of information, for he wasn't sure if he should feel disgust at the usually competent Chiss for failing to recognise this fact, or pride at how Vader's growing skills in the art of deception, the Emperor waved his hand in dismissal before prompting the boy to pick out another name for consideration.

"I see. Well you may be assured my boy that your first choice for consideration meets my approval. And I will ensure that Thrawn's rise through the ranks will happen much quicker then it might have been the case before your ringing endorsement. Now, since you've already provided me an example of a competent military officer, why dont we change the direction of our conversation and discuss someone who will prove to be a hindrance to the longevity of my rule".

Since he suspected that the Emperor was asking for the name of an incompetent military officer instead of a full blown traitor, the boy quickly provided the name of of the man who had best exemplified the rules of promotion when your commanding officer is a moody Sith Lord.

"Well, in that case I would have name Kendal Ozzel as a worthwhile candidate for gross incompetence. After the destruction of the first Death Star and the scattering of the Rebels once they realize they need a new primary base, you task Vader with hunting them down, and for some reason, the person in charge of his fleet is an officer who clearly only got his position because of office politics rather than by personal merit. Lord Vader of course is displeased with having such a person as his second in command, but puts up with it only because he figures that killing him would displease you. Of course Ozzel makes one mistake too many, for just as Vader finally learns the location of the Rebel base, Ozzel decides to assert some of his authority as Admiral of the Fleet, and completely messes up Vader's plan. Your apprentice is of course not too happy with this outcome, and decides to force choke the hapless Admiral at the same time he promotes a more capable course with the resources at his disposal, the battle is still a victory for the Empire, but the Rebel leadership and a large portion of their ships are able to escape, and Luke Skywalker, instead of being captured, travels to Dagobah and receives Jedi training from Yoda. All because one man decided to disobey orders".

Unsure of what would be a more fitting punishment for the incompetent officer, somehow electrocuting him with force lightning seemed to be too light a punishment for setting up the conditions for his Empire's fall, Palpatine reluctantly decided to consider Ozzel's fate at a later time as the boy hesitantly interrupted his thoughts.

"Do you wish for me to list another military officer whose failures compromise the security of the Empire? Or do you want the names of a traitor who will obtain a high rank in the Rebellion Hierarchy"?

Taking a moment to consider the question, the Emperor quickly made his decision as he all but hissed his answer at the boy.

"Treason is a cancer my boy. Something that must be cut away if the body is to flourish as a whole. I trust you have prepared a substantial list of names and their crimes against me"?

Receiving a slightly shaky nod from the boy, the Sith Lord smirked evilly as he gestured for him to start.

"Then by all means my boy, proceed".

Taking a deep breath as he knew that he would have to use all his persuasive power to ensure the survival of perhaps the only light sided character who he wanted to survive, the boy listed the name of perhaps the most bad ass rebel of the Star Wars Universe.

"Well the first name that I have for you is...Han Solo".

...

ANNNNND I think I'll leave it here :).

I Apologize for the long wait... other stories had taken up my time.

Hopefully this chapter makes up for it since it has everything. A endorsement for perhaps the only character who could make Star Wars Rebels worth watching, punishment for the guy who best exemplifies Vader's promotion style...AND..because I think it could generate more interest with this cliff hanger...our favorite Smuggler. This story has already seen an attempt to save the Wookies from enslavement, now I'm going to try and see if their is any way to have Han stay in the Imperial Military.

Next chapter will have more traitors...and the NEW poll on my profile will tell see what you want to happen to various Rebel Leaders.

Your continued support for this story is GREATLY appreciated.

And til next time :)