[lpsqitml] Emperor as civil engineer

Tell a story, ignoring the Star Wars prequel movies, of the Emperor's rise to power not as a politician but as an engineer.

Inspired by the Emperor visiting the second Death Star to personally oversee its final construction: he does this not to be a micromanaging bureaucrat but because he is the best in the galaxy at construction.

Mechanical engineers build bombs; civil engineers build targets.  Which is the Death Star?