On "versus" fanfics

[darth_timon]

One way I could Empire wanting to do "subtle conquest" instead of just throwing their weight around (Palpatine and co don't seem to care about long term problems in either legends or current canon) is if there's a clear bottleneck that could cut local imperial forces from the rest of the Empire. After all a bottleneck might cause said imperial forces to "go native" and cause issues once contact is re-established and Milky Way is far too large a place to risk that.

In essence I don't think Empire would care much about upsetting the locals unless that could cause Empire to prevented from exploiting the region short term, by for example blocking a bottleneck in the supply lines.

I sort of had that. The link was the Bajoran wormhole, and the Empire had a lot of internal focus (I set this story during the ANH era, and the Death Star had just been destroyed), so the Empire would have felt vulnerable, even if compared to the Feds they were invincible.

[Solauren]

Also, I can see the Empire playing it for propaganda in the the GFFA.

i.e First they do the diplomacy. 'New races and Organizations' meet.
Then, they do the opposite of the Federation - Species that they meet, they offer membership and uplifting.
Species fighting each other, they forcibly interced to create peace

I imagine the EMpire would quickly have a 'member state' in the GFFA that by size, would raise eyebrows, then be a minor, then major, and then rival the Federation in size, and then surpass it.

Imagine the holonet news - interviews, videos of the Empire protecting planets from raiders, installing defenses, and making their lives better.
Combine that with 'this is what the Empire wants to do for it's people, where the governments co-operate! This is what we do, when the Rebellion doesn't interfer.

Carefully done, it could cause alot of backlash against the rebels.

Then, the Empire let's slip the co-ordinates of a few vulnerable colonies with Rebel tendencies to say, the Borg.
The Borg attack, and become known to the GFFA.

Then the Empire uses the Borg as the new enemy to replace the Confederacy. Pehaps making it look like that certain members of the Rebellion invited the Borg here to help them in their fight against the Empire. (Instantly making the Rebellion hated in the Milky Way galaxy).

In the Milkyway - I'd have species that were joining the Empire denouncing the Federation for leaving them to suffer.
I'd have a few worlds like Bajor going 'we could have helped us, but you barely did, the Empire is going to undo all the damage our world suffered from the Cardassians', and then the Empire actually does it. I can imagine a few hundred thousand repurposes Confederacy battle droids would make excellent laborers. (And it's not like the Empire would have a code to suddenly turn them into an garrison, honest)

Then you'd have Palpatine doing the 'Kindly Grandfatherly Statesmen' routine he used to do, but also backed by not having to worry about the Jedi noticing him using the Force. He'd play all the major powers in the Milky Way like fiddles.

Darth Vader portrayed as a tragic warhero, his body ruined by traitors, but his will keeping him serving his people.

Imagine the Founders reactions to finding out their are shapeshifters in the GFFA, and everyone is pretty cool with it.

For someone with the chops to do it as a political style peace, it could be a very enjoyable work to read.

And during all that, you'd see the Empire building up infrastructure that the Rebellion wouldn't get anywhere near.
Infrastructure they could say to build another Death Star, while the Rebellion is distracted going after the one at Endor....