It depends heavily on the continuity, but I've been wondering about what AH looks like within the
Star Wars universe? I have a short list of some likely counterfactuals, though it's a far cry from comprehensive. Something else worth noting is that different people will have different takes on each of these scenarios, with no two people's executions of the general premises offered above looking quite the same (as is true in real life).
Alderaan Lives: Debatable PoD here, but the premise is exactly as it says in the title. How the timeline would diverge down the line, I don't know.
Darth Vader's Trial: Don't have a perfect analogy for this one, but I've a feeling that if it went down, it'd be more or less the in-universe equivalent to having Heinrich Himmler captured and tried alongside the other high-ranking Nazis (trying Hitler would be synonymous with trying Palpatine). Granted, the New Republic may have hosted their own version of the Nuremberg Trials, but having the Emperor's Enforcer himself there to face justice would make it even
more sensational than it must've been canonically.
Lasting Galactic Empire: Probably the in-universe equivalent of a "victorious Third Reich" scenario, and a similarly done-to-death premise, at that. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to find a
Man in the High Castle equivalent or few that becomes a hit series, once the Empire is no more and liberal democracy has returned to the Galaxy.
No Blockade of Naboo: The Trade Federation leaves Naboo alone, so perhaps Palpatine pursues a different route to seizing power. Not sure why he'd do it, but from the perspective of in-universe AH fans who don't know about the long-running Sith scheming, it may be a topic that comes up periodically.
Surviving CIS: The Confederacy survives as more than a few Separatist holdouts, allowing it to maintain its Droid Army and keep fighting the newly formed Galactic Empire, leading to a prolonged Clone Wars. For this to happen, I'd think that having the Separatist Council avoid being slaughtered is key. Or at least, ensuring the Separatists have a viable backup plan, in case their leadership is decapitated (both figuratively
and literally).
Twilight of the Dark Lord: An in-universe equivalent to AH.com's
Twilight of the Red Tsar TL, in which Emperor Palpatine endures a sudden bout of madness--whether it's the Dark Side clouding his senses, a vision of how the Rebels won IOTL, or something else--that throws pretty much all his restraint into a black hole as he goes full Khmer Rouge mode onto the Galaxy. Which only incites larger rebellions across Imperial space, with the
Operation: Cinder-esque responses from the Imperial Military only fanning the flames further. In any case, I think that once it's all over, any admiration for Palpatine or the New Order that survived canonically is completely dashed here (save for a tiny fringe of nihilistic stupids who'd get blasted full of laser bolts, if they ever went public with their views).
The last one, of course, is more of a specific TL idea than a scenario that's open to discussion and "collaborative" insights from various thread participants. However, I think it was worth mentioning, since it's an idea that strikes me as obviously characteristic of at least
Canon Palpatine, if he got a glimpse of his OTL fate a few years early. I'd write it myself, but I have neither the time nor the wherewithal to. However, anyone else is more than welcome to take a stab at it (though I also request they credit me and link to this post, should they do so).
