Maximian Tranner

"A fruitful peace does a quiet people make."

- Quote attributed to Moff Tranner encapsulating the central tenant of Tranner Doctrine

Maximian "Ximian" Tranner was a   who served in the militaries of the  and.

A career officer in the, he served in the Republic Security Bureau during the and , and spearheaded the agency's expansion and reorganization as its Director following the. His loyalty to the Emperor was rewarded with a promotion to the rank of several years later.

Promoted to following the death of his mentor, he revitalized the faltering Empire in the aftermath of the , reorganizing it as the Galactic Empire of the Core Worlds and Colonies and instituting a number of popular reforms that drew parallels to the old Republic.

His unsuccessful attempt to hold the Empire against the nascent and various Imperial warlords led to his defeat in the Republic-Imperial War, and rather than surrender to the  and face justice for his crimes, he quietly took his life on.

Early life
Born to a wealthy family on, Maximian Tranner elected to pursue a military career upon coming of age. After receiving a number of refusals, he gained Senatorial sponsorship to attend the on. He graduated and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Judicial Forces Army in, and enjoyed a lengthy if uneventful career as a peacekeeper until the outbreak of the.

He was included in a Judicial task force accompanying the new  to Naboo following the end of the   in, assisting in the peaceful decommission and removal of Federation droid forces from the planet. It was during this mission that the young lieutenant first encountered Palpatine in person, and came to admire the Chancellor as a man of action.

Separatist Crisis
The onset of the gave   ample reason to expand the powers of the  in an attempt to combat the threat of Separatist subversion. These circumstances led to the creation of the Republic Security Bureau, a secret police in all but name, whose agents were decorated members of the Judicial Forces with proven loyalty to the Chancellor. Tranner, then a newly promoted captain, was one of the first agents selected for inclusion, and served in the agency until its reorganization into the.

Clone Wars
The granted Palpatine sweeping emergency powers with which to more effectively deal with Separatist threats from without and within. As such, with the start of the, the authority of the RSB was further expanded to include the vast majority of the greater Republic citizenry. RSB agents were dispatched throughout the galaxy to newly occupied Republic worlds, charged with eliminating key elements of the Separatist resistance and keeping an eye on potential "subversive" elements within the.



Along with fellow Judicial Forces alumnus and mentor, Tranner developed a distinct dislike for his Jedi Generals during this time, whom he believed were prone to rash and thoughtless military strategies on account of their inexperience in battle. As such, he frequently relied upon his sweeping legal authority as an RSB agent to commandeer GAR units for his own purposes to leave the Jedi without the use of their best units.

The and the execution of  left the Grand Army forces with significantly fewer non-clone field-grade officers to direct the war effort. As such, RSB agents and Judicial Forces personnel, including Tranner, quickly stepped in to fill the gaps in the hierarchy and ensure that GAR units remained under the direct control of the Emperor.

RSB reorganization
The war had claimed the lives of many of the best elements in the RSB. Holding the rank of, Tranner was among the most senior members of the Bureau still in action, and in the absence of more qualified individuals, he was named to the post of Director of the newly rechristened in  and charged with expanding the agency.

The title was little more than a symbolic post at that point, as the RSB had been notorious for its poorly-defined chain of command and lack of clear leadership. Many of the remaining agents, blinded by the near-absolute power they had wielded during the war, believed themselves to be above the dictates of anyone save the Emperor.

Director Tranner spent the next few years reining in the more rebellious members of the Bureau and expanding upon its member base, building a strong, clear hierarchy and demarcating boundaries between new departments. He recruited much new blood into the agency and ordered the construction of new in the.

However, though his tenure as Director turned the Bureau into a legitimate law enforcement agency, it was largely out of line with Palpatine and Tarkins' vision of the agency as a weapon of fear. Tranner's ISB was composed of professional intelligence operators who primarily relied upon quiet surveillance rather than threat of force or fear. In Tranner's conception of the agency, an ISB agent was be an invisible operative working to prevent subversion from the shadows rather than an outright personification of Imperial rule. "Felt, not seen" summarized Tranner's view of an ideal ISB agent.

The Emperor, however, desired the agency to serve as a tool of fear and intimidation rather than a legitimate enforcement entity. As such, he removed Tranner from the post of Director and replaced him with a number of personnel, who went about reverting many of Tranner's improvements to the agency in favor of casting the ISB in the role a state police force.

Western Reaches pacification operations
Despite his failure to provide the agency the Emperor desired, Tranner's natural administrative ability did not go unnoticed. Tranner was named to the post of at Tarkin's recommendation less than a year after his removal from the position of Director. His appointment to the Moffs' Council was generally well-received, as his moderate political bent and talent in negotiation made him the perfect buffer between hardline conservatives like Tarkin and more free-thinking liberals like.

He assisted Tarkin in the last days of the, wherein sympathy for the CIS cause still ran strong in the scattered throughout the region.

Though Tranner remained a trusted adviser, he and Tarkin disagreed about the best approach to the Imperial occupation of those worlds. While Tarkin advocated a policy of towards the former Separatist worlds, a policy which came to be known as, Tranner emphasized the importance of winning over the greater population through positive actions, such as revitalizing planetary economies and rebuilding infrastructure. In a quote that came to summarize Tranner Doctrine, "a fruitful peace does a quiet people make."

As Moff of the, Tranner was given the responsibility of calming the fearful populations of occupied worlds, many of whom were still wary of Imperial occupation in the aftermath of the. Tranner's talents in administration and diplomacy were instrumental in solidifying Imperial hold over these regions, and his use of armed force only as a last resort made him popular throughout the Empire as a fair governor and force for positive change.

Galactic Civil War
Moff Tranner was present for the inaugural weapons test of the first, which saw the destruction of. Though Tranner privately expressed his reservations about the test to Tarkin, stating that the destruction of an occupied Imperial settlement for no justifiable reason would only serve to destabilize the Empire and undermine its legitimacy, Tarkin disregarded his concerns and proceeded with the test.

Tranner similarly disapproved of the destruction of several days later, believing it fatal blow to the view of the Empire as the legitimate spiritual successor of the Republic. He departed the Death Star for Coruscant soon thereafter to engage in public relations damage control.

Named to the vacant post of following Tarkin's death several days later, Tranner did what he could to maintain control over the more troublesome Imperial systems for the next few years, pumping credits into the economies of worlds decimated by the Clone Wars and Western Reaches operations and holding Imperial forces responsible for abuses inflicted upon occupied worlds. Though public opinion for Tranner ran high, the damage had already been done, and with the destruction of the second Death Star and death of the Emperor, the Empire fractured.

Republic-Imperial War
With the death of the Emperor, Tranner found himself stuck in the serving a nation that technically no longer existed. Faced with the prospect of holding down region-wide revolts with a handful of unpaid soldiers and minimal supplies, he evacuated what military forces remained loyal to him and retreated to Coruscant. With ranks buoyed with more loyal soldiers from the Core Worlds, he personally overthrew the attempted successor government of  and the  in a bloodless coup.

At his allies' insistence, the Grand Moff claimed control over the remaining loyal elements of the Empire. He refused to claim the title of Emperor, as he still had difficulty believing that Palpatine had perished over Endor. Instead, he stated that he intended to serve as an interim governor until the Emperor returned. The only ceremonial title he took was that of the Steward of the Empire, retaining his rank of Grand Moff. In reorganizing the government as the Galactic Empire of the Core Worlds and Colonies, he reestablished the, previously dissolved by Palpatine several years prior, and instituted a number of legal reforms to more closely emulate the government structure of the old Republic. He believed these changes would enable the leadership to more easily keep important systems in the Empire, many of which were eyeing the newfound freedoms enjoyed by worlds eagerly.

The birth of the brought the greater galaxy into conflict with the Empire in a seven-year war known as the Republic-Imperial War. Though both powers were weakened by the attacks of rogue Imperial warlords, the Empire was increasingly less able to repel incursions into its sovereign territory, and the war came to an end with the invasion of Coruscant by the New Republic.

Rather than surrender to the Republic and risk trial for his crimes, he transferred his legal executive authority to the Senate and permitted them to surrender and offer terms to the Republic. He dressed himself in his Judicial Forces uniform, and after bidding farewell to his allies and friends, retired to his apartments and quietly took his life.

Legacy
As one of the more restrained Imperial governors, with an long military career and political pedigree to boot, Tranner was generally respected throughout the Empire, despite his contributions to the sordid reputation of the Republic Security Bureau and its successor agency. Many Imperial sympathizers continued to revere his name alongside the likes of Tarkin long into the era of the New Republic.

Skills and abilities
Though by his own admission a middling military tactician, Maximian Tranner was a talented administrator, as evidenced by his overhaul of the Imperial Security Bureau in four years' time and his transformation of the Western Reaches from the war-torn epicenter of Separatist sympathy to a loyal Imperial province.

A natural negotiator, Maximian Tranner often played the voice of reason in the Moffs' Council, offering counsel and insight divorced from the political maneuvering of his fellow Moffs. As he had little interest in personal advancement, he was often relied upon by his direct superior Grand Moff Tarkin, who benefited much from Tranner's thoughtful advice and diplomatic talent.

In his private life, Tranner was fond of history, and would often regale his dinner guests with stories of heroes from ancient Republic history. He also appreciated the study of linguistics, and was fluent in both and  and conversational in.

Ranks and titles
Maximian Tranner held many ceremonial titles and ranks as a member of several different agencies and governments.

Ranks

 * Major,
 * Tranner was incredibly proud of his tenure as a member of the Judicial Forces, and continued the use of his Judicial uniform even into the days of the Empire. The highest rank he held in the Forces was that of a, granted in early.


 * Lieutenant Colonel,
 * The absorption of the Judicial Forces into the new meant Judicial Forces commissions were carried over into the new hierarchy. Tranner merited his final military promotion to  in, several weeks prior to the.


 * Director,
 * Tranner was named to the largely symbolic post of of the ISB in, a posting he held for four years until . Upon gaining the promotion, he resigned his lieutenant colonel's commission in the.


 * Moff,
 * At 's recommendation, and as a reward for his successful expansion and reorganization of the ISB, Tranner was named to the post of Moff around and added to the . He remained in this capacity until Tarkin's death in.


 * Grand Moff,
 * Tarkin's death in opened up a vacancy in the post of, and the Emperor selected Tranner as Tarkin's replacement. Tranner held this post for the remainder of his life and retained it after the fall of the First Galactic Empire.

Ceremonial titles

 * Steward of the Empire, Galactic Empire of the Core Worlds and Colonies
 * Originally a courtesy title held by, the title of Steward of the Empire was claimed by Tranner as a means of symbolizing the position he intended to fill in the Galactic Empire of the Core Worlds and Colonies hierarchy.

Equipment
As a member of the, Tranner frequently dressed in the dark blue uniform of that order, augmented during the Clone Wars through the inclusion of a cuirass and distinctive RSB helmet. Even into the days of the Empire, he refused to don an Imperial officer's grey uniform, continuing the use of his dark blue uniform.

Tranner wielded a  he picked up on Naboo while stationed there in 32 BBY. The blaster was among his most treasured possessions and remained his weapon of choice throughout the Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War. Additionally, during the Clone Wars, he carried a standard-issue strapped to his back along with a knife for close-quarters combat.

Behind the scenes
The author created Maximian Tranner to serve as a slight deviance from the norm of non-Force-sensitive fanon characters, many of whom are poorly disguised Thrawn expies. Instead, Tranner was created to appear more as a product of lucky circumstances than as a Mary Sue character whose rise to power was inevitable.