Lord St Vincent takes command of the Imperial Navy

What would happen if Emperor Palpatine appointed Lord St Vincent to command the Imperial Navy and crush the Rebellion?

He would likely purge corrupt administration, promote commanders on merit, seek a decisive battle with the Rebel Alliance, improve equipment pragmatically, and enforce discipline before larger failures developed.

St Vincent would treat Palpatine's order to crush the Rebel Alliance as an administrative and political problem as well as a fleet campaign. He would attack corruption and try to draw the rebels into the open, where the Imperial Navy's greater mass could force a decisive battle. The Trafalgar comparison asks whether an apparent gap could induce hostile forces to combine, although the speakers are unsure who arranged the historical deployment. His record of judging officers by ability suggests he would recall Thrawn from the Outer Rim despite prejudice within the Imperial hierarchy. He might use an already-built Death Star but question further production and challenge the exposed exhaust port. For TIE fighters, the choice is between modest survivability improvements that slow production and doubling down on speed, firepower, and maneuverability through the TIE Interceptor. His close enforcement of small rules also made severe punishments less necessary because sailors were less willing to risk major offenses.