The Imperial Board of Moffs

The Imperial Board of Moffs is officially and legally a civil bureaucratic advisory committee that gives advice on the economic needs and functions of the Empire, that also meets yearly so all Moffs can properly coordinate economic matters given the usually coordinating official, the seat of Emperor, is currently empty. In reality, the Board of Moffs is a public conspiracy that exists for the Moffs to do whatever they can to hold onto power in the face of not having an Emperor to protect them from the military. As such, while the Imperial Board of Moffs officially has no power, in actuality it has the unified power of what remains of the Imperial economic agencies. As part of restructuring the Imperial Bureaucracy in its bid to retain power, the following notable things have been done.

Democratic Reforms

To further protect themselves from the military, the Board brought the civilian population deeper into the political process of the Empire by implementing a semi-Democratic process for the selecting of Moffs. First, any candidate who wishes to run for the office of Moff must have membership in Naboo Economic Assemble. Second, citizens do not vote for the Moff directly but rather a Representative Advisor. The Representative Advisors will then form a council and the council votes who is to be the next Moff. On some planets, this has created a system that is actually a government that resembles the will of the people, but for most it is unfortunately mostly theater.

Civil Rights

To further prevent popular uprisings, the Board has implemented some civil rights. Generally, the amount is exactly the amount needed to keep the loyal population large enough to remain in power without military intervention.

Republic Relations

The Republic, needing to recover as much of the bureaucracy as possible in the aftermath of the Sack of Coruscant, has mostly pardoned any Moff whose crimes were deemed forgivable or at least redeemable. This has left the Empire with Moffs who are loyal to the Empire and/or Moffs who would definitely face punishment, and a very severe one at that. As such, the Board has no interest in rejoining the Republic. But, if a war with the Republic were to break out, then the military would be calling all the shots. And if total peace were to be achieved with the Republic, the military will be able to turn its focus to domestic affairs. As such, much of the Board’s time is spent maintaining the cold war between the Empire and the Republic.

Rellocation (aka Gutting) Of The Imperal Army's Funds

A major initiative started under the claim that the Empire needed to better organize local military responses in the aftermath of the Galactic Civil War, the Board of Imperial Moffs have redirect a significant amount of the Imperial Army’s funding into a program that allows Moffs to use Imperial funds to hire contractors to act as Imperial Militias. This has left the Imperial Army in a place where they can barely function on the galactic scale and are rarely seen in force outside the Pact worlds (which lack enough local Moff interference to have their budgets stolen). The Imperial Navy remains well (some might say over) funded.

Normally, Imperial planetary defense falls under the Imperial Army, but thanks to the Board’s manipulations, the army has been left in a state of functional non-function. Instead, planetary defense is mostly managed by the Eclipse Legion.

Eclipse Legion

Founded as the ‘Outland Regions Security Force’, the Eclipse Legion is a private military contractor founded by the Tarkin family during early colonization of Eriadu to fight off pirates. Originally a local force, it saw a large expansion under Wilhuff Tarkin, seeing combat in the late Clone Wars and much of the Galactic Civil War, maintaining a record of military victories throughout both conflicts while under the continued stewardship of the Tarkin family.

Thanks to a massive influx of funding, the Eclipse Legion has expanded massively to give the Moffs a military force that operates under the command of the local Moff, and remains overall cheaper than a standing army. Meanwhile, the Tarkin family maintains influence and power in the Empire even with the loss of Wilhuff. Eclipse also still operates as a mercenary company for clients outside the Board, though the Board of Moffs is given priority as a client per the agreement. All together, this has left the Eclipse Legion among the most influential mercenary groups in the galaxy with a galactic sized army.

The Board of Imperial Moffs relationship with the rest of the Empire is what the Imperial civilian bureaucracy’s relationship has always been with the rest of the Empire; seen completely without respect and too vital to ignore. There is one important exception; Domain of Anaxes.

The dictator of Anaxes is perhaps the primary reason the Board of Imperial Moffs exists. While being absorbed by the military is a loss of power, every Moff fears the Sack of Coruscant; an event that not only economically devastated the Empire (All but a notable subfaction within the Empire), but left a massive amount of the Imperial bureaucracy on Coruscant dead with it.

Alternatively, the relationship between the Board of Imperial Moffs and the New Republic is complicated. Most of the Moffs will face a punishment of some sort if they join the Republic, so they do not want relations with the Republic to get too good. But they need the Republic to remain friendly enough to keep trade open as loss of access to Core World markets would destroy the Imperial economy (at least the parts that can’t rely on loot and pillaging). And they need the Republic to be hostile enough that the Imperial military is focused on intimidating the Republic and being ready to repeal (or launch) an attack. But if an actual war breaks out, the military will probably use that as grounds to seize more power, so relations can’t get too hostile.

Because they are surrounded by threats on all sides, the Board has managed to maintain a stable internal politics, its members knowing that they’re all tied to this ship and if it sinks, they all go down with it. That being said, the Moffs know that internal politicking has to occur somewhere, so the unspoken rule is all internal plotting is reserved for the yearly assembly. During the Naboo Economic Assembly, the Board of Imperial Moffs becomes a whirlwind of alliances, competing factions, schemes for power, and long-standing political grudges. And then the assembly ends and the Board goes back to being a united front.

One internal issue has been causing problems, though; the Tarkin family continue to act under their own initiative. The family not only has significant control over the Board’s military, but also grants the Board legitimacy with other Imperial factions. But the Tarkins have their own agenda. In particular, Ranulph Tarkin is insistent that the issue of who is the Grand Moff should be addressed. This is an issue because the dictator of Anaxus had declared himself the Grand Moff and the Board of Imperial Moffs elected to simply ignore that, treating the title as at most symbolic. This planted rumors that either the Tarkin family wishes to see the Board back the Anaxus power grab, or the Tarkin family wishes the title be returned to them. Neither possibility is well liked amongst the Moffs. 

The Naboo Assembly is meant to be representative of a civilian ran imperial government. In practice it is the most willing imperial faction to compromise however it is always from a utilitarian/pragmatic perspective, ultimately they are in it for themselves and their own skin.  They are closer to a dark republic than a good empire in design. You want diplomacy with the Imperials type session? Here you go.