Imperial Remnant is a New Republic nickname for the Galactic Empire that came about following the Bastion Accords that ended the Galactic Civil War. The name initially seems to have a derogatory connotation, but Imperials have been known to use the terminology in addition to New Republic citizens. It is led by Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon and the Imperial Council of Moffs, and consists of 8 backwater sectors in the Outer Rim. Its capital world is Bastion. It is possible that the 'Remnant' has increased its size following the war with the Yuuzhan Vong, but this is as yet unconfirmed.
The 'Remnant' terminology is an overt reference to the vastly diminished size of the Galactic Empire, and the fact that the majority of formerly Imperial systems and sectors have since gone over to the Galactic Alliance or smaller, independent governments. Use of the term 'Imperial Remnant' seems to have lessened somewhat following the Empire's joining the war against the Yuuzhan Vong following the failed alien invasion of Imperial space, it has not, however, ceased. It is likely that even the enlarged and revitalized Empire that exists in the post-war galaxy will still be called the Imperial Remnant.
While the ‘Remnant’ moniker is generally thought of as referring to the post-treaty Empire, the terminology occasionally popped up in New Republic slang a handful of years prior to the end of the Galactic Civil War. For example, the Jedi Knight Kyle Katarn and even Mon Mothma herself were known to have referred to the Empire as the Imperial Remnant prior to the Empire’s suing for peace. So while usage of the term is generally used to describe the Galactic Empire following the Bastion Accords, it is not necessarily used exclusively in that context. That all said, these instances are erratic and inconsistent, and it is most useful to reserve usage of the ‘Imperial Remnant’ terminology to refer to the Galactic Empire following the signing of the Bastion Accords and the end of the Galactic Civil War.
Within that context of the term, it is possible to compare the ‘Imperial Remnant’ to the original Galactic Empire under Emperor Palpatine and see numerous important differences between the two. A possible (albeit somewhat superficial) real-world comparison could be made between the Imperial Remnant as it related to the original Galactic Empire and the Byzantine Empire as it compared to the Roman Empire from which it descended.
Organization
The government of the ‘Imperial Remnant’ is headed by the Imperial Council of Moffs, which generally seems to act like a light fascist oligarchy with overtones of confederation. Each Moff represents a component sector of the Empire and governs that sector with few apparent checks or balances to their authority from within that sector. Moffs also act as military commanders in a similar fashion to the governors of U.S. states, wherein the Moff is the commander-in-chief of his or her Sector Fleet, but the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces can command all Imperial military and naval assets including Sector Fleets during times of emergency or at the Supreme Commander’s convenience.
The authority of the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces to commandeer the Moffs’ regional units seems to be the only (or at least, the only explicitly demonstrated) direct political check to the Council of Moffs’ powers. The Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces acts much like a chief of state in a democratic or republican state, and the current Supreme Commander, Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, is regarded by the general populace of the galaxy writ large as the leader of the Empire. It is still partially unclear exactly how the Council of Moffs appoints or elects a new Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces, and completely unknown how Moffs arrive at their stations. Given the limited venues of public expression and general disdain for republican or democratic ideology, open elections seem highly unlikely.
Economically, the ‘Imperial Remnant’ suffered tremendously following the signing of the peace treaty between the Empire and the New Republic. Cheaper goods manufactured in the Republic flooded Imperial markets, and the Imperial credit’s value plummeted rapidly and remained weaker that the New Republic’s for several years.
In social terms, the ‘Imperial Remnant’ is drastically different place from the Palpatine-era Empire. Blatant anti-alien and anti-female bias is mostly now a thing of the past. So much so now that one of the Moffs during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion was a woman. Life in the Empire is currently said to be much like life in the New Republic in terms of basic rights.
Militarily, the Remnant maintains a Sector Fleet centered around a dozen or so Star Destroyers for each component sector, and a strategic force of ships under the command of the regular Imperial Starfleet. At the time of the Bastion Accords, the number of Star Destroyers in the Starfleet was said to be approximately two hundred, with some thousands of smaller capital ships. Given the poor economic condition of the Empire following the end of the Galactic Civil War, it seems unlikely that the Remnant would have expanded its forces to any great degree. The primary ships of the line in the Imperial Starfleet remain the venerable Imperator/Imperial- and Victory-class Star Destroyers that it has relied on for decades — a testament to the sturdiness and prowess of the designs. In addition, the Imperial Remnant was in possession of one last "Super Star Destroyer" of unspecified class just prior to the Yuuzhan Vong attack on Bastion. At that time, the Imperial Starfleet was mainly fielding aging frigates of unspecified numbers and types, including the neigh-ancient Dreadnaught-class which had originally been commissioned as heavy cruisers decades before the Clone Wars.
The main Imperial starfighters seen in action against the Yuuzhan Vong were the TIE interceptor and the TIE Defender, and although they acquitted themselves well enough against Yuuzhan Vong Coralskipper fighters, they were never quite as effective against Yuuzhan Vong craft as “stutterfire”-capable Galactic Alliance craft. Curiously, the SoroSuub Preybird and Incom I-7 Holwrunner fighters that were increasingly becoming the backbone of the Imperial fighter force prior to the Galactic Civil War’s conclusion seem to have taken a backseat to TIE fighter designs. This could perhaps be at the behest of Grand Admiral Pellaeon himself, who was known to have criticized the Preybird design shortly before the signing of the Bastion Accords.
The Imperial Army seems to have remained in fighting trim, given the fact that Imperial ground forces assisted in the liberation and occupation of Coruscant at the end of the war against the Yuuzhan Vong, and the AT-AT walker was apparently still in use. In addition, the Imperial Stormtroopers remain in existence, at one point assisting Jedi Knight Jacen Solo to expose traitors and infiltrators inside the Imperial ranks.
War against the Yuuzhan Vong
The Empire adopted a position of galactic neutrality and an isolationist stance until the New Republic’s former chief of state, Leia Organa Solo, went on a diplomatic mission to the Remnant in order to seek an alliance against the Yuuzhan Vong, a short time after the Battle of Dantooine. Seeing the potential threat that the Yuuzhan Vong posed to the galaxy, Grand Admiral Pellaeon strong-armed the Council of Moffs into agreeing to send a fleet to assist the New Republic.
The Imperials managed to rescue a New Republic task force and aid in the eventually futile defense of the planet Ithor, but when the planet was devastated by Yuuzhan Vong biological weapons of mass destruction, the Council of Moffs ordered Grand Admiral Pellaeon to return to Imperial space and ready defenses against a possible attack by the extragalactic aliens. Grudgingly, Pellaeon obeyed. Curiously, Pellaeon did not withdraw the entirety of Imperial forces from Republic space, as a small Imperial task force centered around the Star Destroyer Erinnic continued assisting New Republic forces at least until the Battle of Ord Mantell.
As the war between the New Republic and the Yuuzhan Vong continued, the Imperial government and general populace grew increasingly convinced that the Yuuzhan Vong would simply bypass the Remnant, and for a number of years, they were correct. Even though Gilad Pellaeon was personally in favor of a military campaign against the Yuuzhan Vong, the political leadership of the Empire remained officially neutral. Despite yet another attempt on Leia Organa Solo’s part to forge a military alliance between the two states, the Remnant continued to stay out of the fighting. Grand Admiral Pellaeon, however, supplied the New Republic with the Empire’s highly classified star charts of the Deep Core regions as a gesture of good faith. The New Republic would later use these state secrets to plan a highly successful trap at Ebaq 9.
Perhaps in retaliation for the Empire’s hand in the preparation of the Battle of Ebaq, the Yuuzhan Vong launched an invasion of the Imperial Remnant. Despite achieving the element of surprise and burning the capitol city of the Empire to the ground from orbit, the attack would prove disastrous for the Yuuzhan Vong.
Grand Admiral Pellaeon, although critically wounded in the initial assault on Bastion, was able to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong at the Battle of Borosk, forcing the alien invasion force to retreat and abandon its attempts to knock the Imperial Remnant out of the war. Following the victory at Borosk, Grand Admiral Pellaeon was once again able to ram an alliance down the collective throat of the Imperial Council of Moffs, despite extreme resistance from old guard Imperial politicians such as Moff Flennic, who came close to an assassination attempt on the “Old Man of the Empire”.
While the Empire lent its fleets to assisting the Galactic Alliance, Grand Admiral Pellaeon personally commanded a squadron chasing down the surviving vessels from the Yuuzhan Vong fleet that had invaded the Empire. After a string of indecisive victories, Pellaeon was able to rout the Yuuzhan Vong fleet in detail at the Battle of Esfandia.
The Imperial Remnant was to take part in the operation to retake the Bilbringi system, but only a handful of Imperials wound up taking part in the near-disasterous battle. Those that did find their way into the system were TIE Defender pilots from the interdictor Wrack, including the ship’s captain, Mynar Devis. All of the Imperials, including Devis, were killed while attempting to disable a Yuuzhan Vong picket ship. It is Gilad Pellaeon’s reaction to learning of Captain Devis’ death that led Jaina Solo to believe Devis was somehow Pellaeon’s son.
The Empire participated in numerous other battles near the end of the war against the Yuuzhan Vong, most notably the defense of the Galactic Alliance’s provisional capitol on Mon Calamari and the invasion and subsequent liberation of occupied Coruscant. In a private ceremony following the surrender of the Yuuzhan Vong, Grand Admiral Pellaeon presented Han and Leia Organa Solo with a piece of art from Pellaeon’s personal collection—Killik Twilight, a painting that Pellaeon had inherited from his mentor, Grand Admiral Thrawn.