The Batch has been repeatedly reminding Rampart that he should be on their side. The Empire betrayed and imprisoned him, but they set him free. You were an Imperial, they said. You can pretend to be one again.
But the thing is, Rampart isn’t pretending. He never let go of his old life. He is Imperial.
“Oh, I’ve missed this.”
He's never shown any remorse or rejection or disillusionment towards the Empire. Rampart is in his element as he pulls rank and gives orders. He is still obscenely proud of holding the Vice Admiral rank, and he admits that he didn't obtain it on his looks alone. Since we know now that it certainly wasn't his military competence that won him such a high position, we need to remember how Rampart became who he was at the beginning:
The horrors.
Destroying Kamino. Executing Wilco.
Those are just the things that we saw, but clearly, Rampart is willing to do just about anything out of self-preservation or promotion. In Flash Strike, he admitted to Crosshair that he's only looking out for himself.
As enjoyable as Rampart's comedy has been for these past two episodes, he's not on any kind of redemption track. He's Imperial through and through. With the Batch, he's only making moves that will ensure his survival until his next best opportunity comes along.
He doesn't just work the system, he is the system. Rampart has already succeeded in rising to highest echelon of the Empire, and he knows he could and how to do it again. In the hands of the Imperials on Tantiss, he's going to make the deal that's best for him in order to return himself to his former glory, whatever the cost may be.
THE END!! I can't believe I finally completed this. When I first started this comic, I had no idea that it would end up being this long. A little over 3 years and over 200 parts, so around 2000 panels. (My folder that holds all my files relating to this comic is 3 GB with 2,017 items....). I honestly can't believe that I managed to stick around to the end of this. Thank you all so much for the support, I never imagined that so many people would care about this comic when I started it!
Of course, there are still some loose threads. The kwamis and Nathalie for example, but the core of this series has always been about the emotional conflict between Marinette and Adrien, and that has been resolved. I have some epilogue ideas to cover those loose ends, but this comic has already taken so much of my time and I'm not sure I want to promise that I'll get around to it. ... But who knows. Maybe!
For now, Adrien and Marinette will get some long-deserved rest.