I kanon är detta en komplicerad fråga. Officiellt är Palpatines Vizier Mas Amedda den nya kejsaren, men han har ingen verklig kraft i sin position:
[E]verything else is out of [Amedda's] hands. Everything but minor administrative details.
It is lonely being the head of a dying Empire.
He is a figurehead. Or worse than one. They don't even trot him out for appearances.
Aftermath: Life Debt Chapter 10
Det är inte omedelbart klart vem faktiskt har någon kraft efter Palpatines död; Det är uppenbart att det finns en hel del skvaller mellan fraktioner, och den stora admiralen Rae Sloane sägs styra den kejserliga flottan, vilket ger henne mycket inflytande:
"Grand Admiral Sloane," [Amedda] says.
She stands up.
Here, before him, is the leader of one of those Imperial fragments — a rather considerable one. Perhaps the fragment of note. She controls what remains of the Imperial Navy, and their navy is dominant, so it is clear that whoever controls the navy controls the Empire. More or less. Still, it leaves her without the bulk of the ground forces, but rumor already has it that she's begun to bridge that gap and complete the deficit in her military presence.
Aftermath: Life Debt Chapter 10
Den mest inflytelserika är förmodligen Gallius Rax, en Imperial Fleet Admiral som monterar ett skuggråd för att styra det som återstår av imperiet. Sloane själv, ett stramt politiskt sinne, noterar sitt inflytande (betonar min):
Sloane bristles at being interrupted. Hux1 undercuts her because he thinks she's not important. It is vital she make a show of countermanding that — honestly, her greatest desire right now is to slam her fork through the back of his hand and chastise him for the intrusion. But that would defy Rax, and she's aware suddenly of the keen and delicate balance of power.
Aftermath: Life Debt Chapter 12
Rax sätter slutligen Sloane upp som en marionettledare, med sig själv att dra sina strängar:
Sloane narrows her eyes. "You're pulling strings, Admiral. I don't know what they're connected to or why you're pulling them. I don't even know who you are or where you come from. You are little more than a shadow — and yet you lead the Empire."
"Secretly. You're the grand admiral here, I'll remind you."
Aftermath: Life Debt Chapter 18
Och efter att Sloane försvinner antar Rax själv (teoretiskt tillfälligt) kontroll över det återstående imperiet, men under en annan titel:
"Are you claiming the mantle of Emperor?" Borrum asks.
Rax hms. "I think not. I am not worthy."
"Grand Admiral, then."
"No. I am far too humble for such mighty titles. As I am the adviser to this group and to the Empire at large, I shall take for myself the title of Counselor to the Empire, serving as an interstitial leader only until Grand Admiral Sloane returns to us."
Aftermath: Life Debt Chapter 40
Raxs imperium skulle slutligen sönderfalla, och de mest framgångsrika av de resulterande fraktionerna skulle bli första orden, under ledning av Supreme Leader Snoke.
1 Nej, inte den där