SWd6 Star Wars Imperial Sourcebook

Introduction

Introduction

The EmpireThe Galactic Empire consists of a thousand-

thousand worlds caught in the iron grip of tyr-anny. Using overwhelming armies and vast navies,the Empire instituted a reign of terror among thedisheartened and enslaved planets. No world, nosystem, no species was immune to the terriblemachinations of the New Order.

But the galaxy was not always such a dark andforeboding place. Once there was a good and puregovernment called the Old Republic, protectedby the shining light of the Jedi Knights. Into thisUtopia, however, there appeared unscrupulousindividuals who thirsted for wealth, power, anddomination. Slowly, cunningly, they destroyedthe Republic from within, creating the evil andcorrupt Empire.

An ambitious senator named Palpatine, propo-nent of the New Order, declared himself Emperorand consolidated his power by destroying theJedi Knights and disbanding the Imperial Senate.

But some worlds resisted. At first this rebellionwas disorganized and ill-equipped, but as moreplanets joined against the tyranny the new Alli-ance became a force to be reckoned with.

In response, the Emperor ordered a militarybuild-up unprecedented in galactic history. A ter-rible weapon was designed, a weapon powerfulenough to destroy whole planets - the Death Starbattle station. It became the cornerstone of theNew Order's governing doctrine.

With the Senate dissolved, the Emperor gavehis regional governors direct control and a freehand in administering their territories. From thispoint on, the Empire would be ruled by fear. Fearwould keep local governments in line. Fear of theImperial Fleet — and fear of the Death Star.

Recently, the Rebel Alliance has won a signifi-cant battle at Yavin by destroying the Death Star.Enraged by this action, the Emperor has orderedthe might of the Empire to crush the hated Alli-ance and its dream of a New Republic. Now thewar has really begun ...

The Imperial SourcebookPerhaps nothing permeates the Star Wars

galaxy more than the notion of the evil GalacticEmpire. Ruled by the mysterious EmperorPalpatine and built upon the ruins of the fabledOld Republic, the Empire is the villain of thestory. Even when the Alliance isn't directly fight-ing against the might of the Empire, the over-whelming presence of Darth Vader and the Im-perial stormtroopers is never completely out ofmind.

The Imperial Sourcebook is set in that turbu-lent time that begins with the destruction of thefirst Death Star. This is a period that begins withhigh expectations and hope among the Alliancebecause of the stunning victory at the Battle ofYavin. But that hope must be quickly dealt withby the Empire or the New Order is lost.

What changes occurred in Imperial thinkingwhen the Death Star exploded? What policiesand tactics had to undergo drastic revisions tofill the void the battle station left behind? TheImperial Sourcebook looks at the might of theEmpire after Star Wars IV: A New Hope andpresents exciting new aspects of the galacticstruggle for both players of the roleplaying gameand fans of the movie mythos.

So come with us into the dark abyss that isthe Imperial bureaucracy. Follow us as we ex-amine the rumors concerning the very top of theImperial power base, as we explore the innerworkings of COMPNOR and Imperial Intelligence.Prepare to view the power of the Empire's mili-tary machine, from vast fleets to the order ofbattle of an entire sector.

The Imperial Sourcebook is packed full ofdescriptions, explanations, histories, photo-graphs, illustrations and diagrams. It is an ex-tensive look at many of the things that contrib-ute to the unyielding might of the Galactic Em-pire, the greatest armed force ever detailed infiction.

It is a dark time for the Rebel Alliance indeed.

Imperial Sourcebook 5

Prologue

PrologueThe Might of theEmpireTo: Mon Mothma, Alliance Supreme Commander;other Alliance officers.From: Major Arhul Hextrophon, Executive Sec-retary and Master Historian, Alliance High Com-mand.Regarding: The following Imperial data.

The research you have had my staff and Iundertake concerning the events surroundingthe Battle of Yavin has uncovered some star-tling information. I have compiled all of theintercepted communiques, technical readouts,holochips and datapacks into one report.

Sources for this material include high-levelcommunications, reports by various Imperialagencies, personal datalogs, top-secret perfor-mance records and other similar material.

While the information reveals much aboutthe tactics and inner workings of our enemy, Imust caution you about reading too much intothis report at this time. None of the informationcontained herein has been confirmed or docu-mented outside of the data presented here.Unlikely though it is, this could be an elaborateruse to pass along false information to the Alli-ance.

I urge you and the rest of Alliance High Com-mand to view this report in the proper perspec-tive. Until collaborated, this report should beconsidered high level rumor at best. At worst,the Alliance is being fed half-truths and lies forsome unknown purpose, although I do not be-lieve this to be the case.

No matter, for even in falsehoods can truthsbe found. And once you have studied this re-port, I believe that even if you read only betweenthe lines you will uncover much to show you thenature of the Empire and its methods.

Consider this report a companion to ourwork in progress, Official History of the Rebel-lion, Volume One. We have thus far interviewedand documented the heroes of the Battle ofYavin, including Commander Luke Skywalkerand Princess Leia Organa. But unlike that otherwork, this one—for obvious reasons — is not aswell researched and established. The Empirejust isn't as cooperative about revealing certaininformation. Be that as it may, I have included allof the data we have uncovered for the sake ofcompleteness and further study.

When you read through the accompanyingdatafiles, you will see the Empire in its glory, itsvictories and its failures. You will see its mightand its power. You will see its deep, dark shad-ows that are quickly spreading throughout thegalaxy. And that is why, in the final analysis, Ihave sent this report to you. If the actual figuresand divisions of forces are wrong, the spiritbehind them rings true. This report shows theevil that has grown from the rotted corpse of theOld Republic, and that, we have already seen,cannot be exaggerated.

I remain your humble servant,Major Arhul Hextrophon

Imperial Sourcebook6

Chapter One: A Primer on Imperial Power

Chapter OneA Primer on ImperialPower

There is a darkness in the galaxy. There is theGalactic Empire.

Where once peace held dominion over thecountless planets of the Old Republic, now fearand terror hold sway. Planets set to defendthemselves against any external menace were illprepared to deal with threats from within. Andso a galaxy was enslaved.

The idea of empire was old throughout thegalaxy long before Palpatine ascended the throneand created his New Order. Hundreds uponhundreds of thousands of worlds have a historyof empire, of rule by a single central authority, intheir past.

Look at the Atrisi system, for example. Theprincipal planet still recalls the Kitel Phard Dy-nasty with pride. These rulers unified the entirehomeworld, eliminating opposition and estab-lishing a golden age.

This tale is typical of imperial legends andhistories throughout the galaxy, containingthose elements that are common to intergalac-tic memory. Few recall the negative aspects ofimperial rule, preferring to remember the powerand glory that comes from an overarching codeof law and a common tongue.

None of these historical empires still stand.But their memories lingered, lying dormant inthe minds of billions of beings who longed for asimpler galaxy, who sought certainty and order,who wanted to belong to the most powerfulempire of all. These seeds of ideas were waitingfor a more fertile time, for an ambitious leader tocultivate them once again.

The Old Republic WanesThe galaxy was onceagreatRepublicof stars.

The thousand-thousand member worlds weregoverned fairly and efficiently by the Senate,and cared for and protected by the Jedi Knights.Inevitably, as the number of worlds increased,the Republic found itself saddled with too mas-sive a bureaucracy. It had grown too large,gotten too old, and corruption had set in.

A few unscrupulous, greedy senators hadstarted the destructive chain reaction of mal-aise. They saw the first lingering problems ascracks in the system of government which couldbe exploited for personal gain. These beingsfound that their colleagues were far too occu-pied by the day-to-day running of the Republicto monitor their activities adequately.

The corruption was too small to be noticed atfirst. But as the opportunities grew, so did thenumber of senators who were seduced by thelure of illegitimate power and wealth. Thesesenators found an easy alliance with some of themammoth corporate interests which constantlywere on the lookout for easier ways to make aprofit. A few arrogant, self-serving bureaucratsfell to seduction, and suddenly a virus was in thestars.

Every instance of instability, each uncertaintyin government action, every wrinkle in senato-rial policy and procedure became a means tofoster larger opportunities. Senator turned onsenator, values eroded, trusts were broken, andfear gripped the Republic. What was oncethought to be immortal suddenly saw the ap-proach of its own destruction, and the Old Re-public was afraid.

Corruption and fear spread like a mutantdisease, quickly reaching epidemic proportionswithout any visible cause. The Old Republic'stroubles multiplied, and no one seemed to knowwhat was happening — or why.

At last the Senate could no longer blind itselfto the fact that the Old Republic was beingdevoured from within by those who had beenentrusted with its care. During this time, thelegitimate business of the Republic was ne-glected. Small, previously routine matters be-came insurmountable difficulties. The govern-ment became remote, unfathomable, often auseless burden to tens of thousands of thegoverned species. The Republic was disinte-grating, and it appeared that no one could holdit together.



The Rise of SenatorPalpatine

Palpatine, an unassuming senator, began hisroad to power during this time of social injusticeand rampant corruption. Palpatine was self-effacing and, despite a record showing promise,was mostly ineffective in the Senate. His plod-ding, methodical way seemed at odds with themercurial shifts of power and agendas whichwere the reality of the collapsing Senate.

Palpatine failed to take advantage of opportu-nities for placement on important advisoryboards and powerful committees. He was notedas a keen observer, but he was reluctant topresent his observations unless pressed by hiscolleagues. The senator rose slowly, hamperedby an apparent lack of ambition. His only no-table achievement was a remarkable absence ofenemies, attributed as much to his weaknesswithin the Senate as to his unimposing person-ality.

But it was all a ruse, for Palpatine was morethan he appeared to be. Much more.

The disintegration of the Senate continued,exhausting the entire Republic. On the constitu-ent worlds, civil unrest was now commonplaceand crime blossomed. Some worlds threatenedsecession. Others pledged their loyalty over thehypermedia while doing what they pleased. Theuncorrupt senators realized the danger to theRepublic and all it stood for. The corrupt sena-tors could see the need for stability, if only topreserve as much of the Republic as possible forfuture plundering. A void existed, and it de-manded to be filled.

Senator Palpatine seized the moment.Through fraud, clever promises, and astutepolitical maneuvering, Palpatine had himselfelected head of the Senatorial Council — Presi-dent of the Republic.

The loyalists were encouraged that Palpatinehad not fallen in with the corrupt senators dur-ing his tenure, while the fallen senators tookheart from Palpatine's apparent docility. Eachside believed Palpatine would serve their needs.Each side could not have been more wrong.

The New OrderThe new President exceeded everyone's ex-

pectations. In the midst of chaos, the previouslyunderrated senator began the wheels of govern-ment turning again after too long a delay. Heproved to be an efficient leader, restoring manyof the policies which had lapsed during thewaning years. His power supplanted that of theSenate — in these policies only. But as theSenate turned a greater portion of its attention

to its internecine struggle, more and more gov-ernment functions were given over to Palpatine.

The senators of each faction found them-selves establishing political debts to Palpatine.The President was the only being in the Repub-lic who seemed capable of getting anythingdone. Palpatine's power grew. An ever greaternumber of worlds accepted the President as thevoice of the Republic.

It was in this climate of trust that Palpatinedeclared his New Order and named himselfEmperor. Skillfully evoking images of the gloriesof empires past, as well as promising to lead theRepublic to a height unparalleled in galactichistory, Palpatine gained ultimate power with-out any real opposition. When the senatorsrealized what had transpired, they were tooweak from their own in-fighting to mount aneffective challenge. Those too vocal were si-lenced. Those considered dangerous were ren-dered harmless by whatever means were con-venient. Darkness and tyranny spread slowlybut continuously, entrenching itself across moreand more worlds before anyone realized thedanger.

The Empire was born.Palpatine promised to eradicate the corrup-

tion and social injustice of the previous galacticgovernment. Instead, he gave the people a pro-gram thats main goal was to subjugate as manyplanetary governments in the galaxy as possiblefor the personal benefit and glory of the Em-peror. He reneged on his promises to the peopleand instituted a reign of terror and even greatersocial injustice.

The Old Republic was consumed, and out ofthat rotted body rose the New Order.

The Structure of the EmpireThe Empire is still growing. Policies of expan-

sion established by the Old Republic were neverrescinded, and exploration — and now con-quest — continues. The Imperial Survey Corps,scientists and scouts charged with exploringthe galaxy, has seen its funds cut sharply overthe years. Still, a new system is being cataloguedfor the Empire every 207 minutes by the under-staffed ISC.

Most of the recently surveyed worlds haveremained untouched by Imperial colonization.The Empire has little use for an expanding fron-tier. Frontier settlements offer greater freedomto Imperial citizens and stretch Imperial forceseven further. That is not in the best interests ofthe Empire.

However, an ISC team occasionally turns upan inhabited world in the process of cataloging.Inhabited worlds mean taxes and other valuable

8 Imperial Sourcebook

By His Own HandLook at the stars. They have been out

there forever, hanging like diamonds uponthe ebony velvet of space.

The stars were there when the Old Repub-lic reached for glory. They waited, turningtheir sparkling lights inward when the Re-public reached too far and collapsed from itsown sanctimonious weight. They cheeredwhen the Senate practically begged Palpatineto take control of the Council. Then the starswatched admiringly as the President usedsubterfuge, bribery and terror to name him-self Emperor.

And I watched, too.My name is not important, as all that I am

is dwarfed by the bright darkness that is theEmperor. But I have always been near him, aservant, a happy slave. It is sufficient enoughfor me to be close to his power, to feel it reachout to me.

That is all I ask for. That is all I am granted.The stars. I stare beyond the porthole and

view their glory. They are all his. More glori-ous still, they are his by his own hand.

The Emperor.It has a certain ring to it, that majestic title.

Emperor! The weak Republic had crumbled,but the Empire burns with a fire that willnever be quenched. Nothing can destroy theEmperor's glory or his glorious reign.

The Emperor has taught me what othersrefuse to believe: the dark forces are stron-gest. He knew it all along, even back in thosedays when he was a lowly senator. And he hasshared that knowledge with me.

Have you seen ambitious officers betraytheir superiors for inconsequential favors?Have you heard the secrets of local govern-ments and how to bypass their defenses fromthe lips of weak-principled functionaries?Have you known sadistic gangsters, power-hungry politicians, greedy landlords? Thenyou know the truth, too — everyone cravesthe darkness.

The Emperor has simply recognized thistruth. And with recognition comes utilizationfor his own aggrandizement. For he is theblack center of the Empire.

He is the Emperor. He is the galaxy.And I, like so many others, are content to

serve in the shadow of his dark fire.


resources for the Empire. These worlds areinitially offered a place in the New Order, pro-vided they agree to fall in line with the will of theEmperor. If a world refuses or reneges on itsoath of allegiance, then the Empire resorts tomilitary conquest.

Usually the threat implied by the massiveImperial war machine is enough to inspire un-swerving fealty in even the most independentworlds.

Citizenry and LawsAH sapient inhabitants of the Empire — ex-

cept droids — are considered full citizens. Fullcitizens are accorded certain rights under Impe-rial law, namely, the right to follow the preceptsof the New Order fully and without question.Other rights include certain freedoms that in noway interfere with Imperial doctrines and goals.

Where in the galaxy a citizen is determinesthe amount of prohibitions and restrictions gov-erning his or her daily life. The least restrictiveareas in the galaxy tend to be in the GalacticCore and in the Outer Rim Territories. Thoseareas in between find themselves under thegreatest amount of scrutiny and, therefore, facethe brunt of Imperial authority.

AH citizens are subject to the laws of the

Empire, and all must pay some form of tribute tothe New Order. Laws vary from system to sys-tem, but the most uniform are the ImperialRevenue Codes. Under these laws, the burden ofproof is upon the citizen to show that he has metall of his fiscal obligations to the Empire. Failureto provide adequate proof is considered anadmission of guilt, penalties for which rangefrom confiscation of goods to the increasinglycommon sentence to labor camps.

Planetary GovernmentsThe Empire has not completely altered the

governments of hundreds of thousands ofworlds. Such a task would be impractical. TheEmperor has left it to his advisors to modify theportions of a planetary government, be it gov-ernment procedure or members of the rulingbody, to conform to the will of the Empire. Lessthan one planet in 80 has been so modified.

The preferred option is to let a planet runitself much as it has for years, but maintaining avisible Imperial presence so that the rulers knowwho their ultimate master is. The Empire alsoencourages the constituent planets to reformtheir own governments to conform to the Impe-rial method. In this way, individual worlds elimi-nate laws and freedoms, replacing them with


Chapter One: A_Primer on Imperial Power

doctrines and statutes more in line with Impe-rial edicts.

The GovernorsPlanetary governors are Imperial agents who

represent the Empire's authority on a singleworld. Usually that representation extends toan entire system, giving him jurisdiction of allthe planets orbiting a single star. Agovernor hascommand of all Imperial troops garrisoned onhis planets.

This command extends only nominally to thepolitical and intelligence arms of the military,which operate as if a governor's orders werewell-intentioned suggestions. The Imperial Navyis supposed to consult with a governor when-ever they are on maneuvers or engaging hos-tiles in his system, and to carefully consider theadvice the governor can provide. The Navyroutinely ignores this and most other forms ofprotocol when dealing with planetary gover-nors, unless the governor is well supported bya Moff. The Navy considers governors to be tooconcerned with the welfare of their planet to beof much use in a crisis.

Governors are appointed by the Emperor'sadvisors, although a few are just holo-approvalsof candidates the Emperor has chosen. Gover-nors are rarely native to the planet or systemwhich they govern. Rash appointments withoutregard for local sentiment can generate resent-ment. Instead, an outsider is appointed to gov-ern a world, thus bypassing local sentimentcompletely.

Governors are expected to let a planetarygovernment run its own affairs unless the localcourse of action puts the planet in conflict withImperial goals. The governor is then expected tostep in and maneuver the policy back toward adirection more acceptable to the Empire.

Imperial policy exists in two different formsfor a governor. There are the generally statedpolicy goals which are distributed by the Diplo-matic Service, and there are direct orders re-ceived from the Moff. In case of a conflict, theMoff's orders are to be followed, as a Moffpresumably has superior knowledge of the spe-cific Imperial policy currently being employedin a particular sector.

Sectors and RegionsA sector is an economic and political division

which originated in the early days of the OldRepublic. Originally a cluster of star systemswith approximately 50 inhabited planets, thedefinition of a sector became vague and theaverage sector grew in size during the latterdays of the Republic. Now unimaginably large

sectors contain vast numbers of inhabitedworlds with no regard to limiting factors. Sec-tors are governed by Moffs.

Sectors are grouped together into larger terri-torial entities called regions. The Empire has count-less regions, which can contain from as few asthree to upwards of thousands of sectors. Theestablishment of a region depends not only upongalactic geography, but also upon wealth, influ-ence, historic "sentimentalities," economic diver-sity and the level of direct control exerted by theEmpire. Regions are governed by Grand Moffs(the title "regional governor" is commonly used).Some well known regions include the Outer RimTerritories (a vast expanse of space with manyfrontier colonies), the Galactic Core (historic"birthplace" of theRepublic,containingCoruscant,the capital of the Empire, as well as several othervital systems), the Deep Core (a restricted area ofspace—essentially a giant "preserve" in the heartof the Empire), the Colonies, and the Inner Rim.

Under the New Order, the Galactic Empirecontinues to grow and expand, and new sectorsand regions are being formed all the time.

The Empire also maintains a number of "clientstates" — regions of space almost entirely con-trolled by another economic or political entity,yet ultimately loyal and subservient to the Em-pire. The Corporate Sector, under the control ofthe Corporate Sector Authority, is one such clientstate, as is the infamous area of the galaxy knownasHuttSpace.

The MoffsA Moff is the being in charge of an entire sector.

The planetary governors of a sector are under aMoff's control, and a Moff reports to an advisor,with duplicate reports being sent directly to theEmperor. A Moff has command over a militarySector Group, and is responsible for the securityof the entire sector.

Being responsible for hundreds of systems,Moffs take a personal interest only in a handful ofworlds. For the rest, they first rely upon commu-nications with their subordinate governors, andthen upon reports from intelligence units withintheir Sector Group.

It is not unusual for a Moff to also serve as agovernor of a particularly favored world withinhis sector.

Grand MoffsThere are planets in every sector in the Empire

which cause more than their share of problemsfor the Emperor. Controlling these worlds is diffi-cult, and the Moffs have found that the troublesare infectious, spreading from system to systemfrom the source. The situation is made moredifficult by the fact that the infection of freedom



has no respect for sector boundaries; coordinat-ing efforts between sectors is often impossible toaccomplish in time to stop the spread of unrest.The Moffs have the resources to handle crises ona dozen or more worlds, but if the trouble cannotbe contained to those planets, the Empire's graspon an entire sector may be weakened.

Taking the advice of one of his Moffs, Tarkin,the Emperor formed priority sectors. A prioritysector is a sector consisting of systems on whichsigns of unrest have recently been detected, orsystems which are in regular contact with sys-tems in which unrest is chronic. A priority sectoroften crosses the boundaries of standard sectors,containing the worlds from a dozen or moresectors. The title of Grand Moff is also granted tothe being in charge of a priority sector.

The theory behind priority sectors, codified inthe Tarkin Doctrine, is that Grand Moffs will beable to react quickly to problems when they aresmall, eliminating them before they have a chanceto grow and spread. Grand Moffs are thereforegiven complete freedom to act as they see fit,without giving advance warning to the Moffs orplanetary governors of their actions.

The number of Grand Moffs is growing, and theresources given to each Grand Moff is also in-creasing. The Emperor personally appoints eachGrand Moff, and they report directly to him. EachGrand Moff commands at least two Sector Groups,or the equivalent in other military resources.Some Grand Moffs are given even greater militarystrength if their priority sector is of crucial impor-tance to the Empire.

Priority sectors are the first to receive experi-mental equipment, and theirs are the first to havelosses replaced. Priority sectors are sometimesgiven special missions in which the Emperor has

a personal interest. The Death StarProject is an example of a prioritysector into which the Empire pouredresources enough to have formedperhaps a score of Sector Groups.

The Moffs and planetary gover-nors have politely complained aboutthe favoritism shown Grand Moffs,arguing that the Grand Moffs are of-ten completely unfamiliar with thesystems in their jurisdiction and takeactions which only work in the shortrun. The governors and the Moffsclaim that they are then stuck withthe problems caused by the GrandMoffs, yet get fewer resources thanthey ought to have to implement asolution. The Moffs point specificallyto the situation at Yavin as the primeexample of a Grand Moffs failure.

The Emperor, however, will hear none of it.

Servants of the EmperorAdvisors

The Emperor acknowledges that he alone can-not run the galaxy. He needs advisors. Secure inthe knowledge that an Empire founded throughtreachery cannot be run through trust, he hassurrounded himself with advisors who owe all oftheir political gains to the Emperor. He has madesure that each advisor has more enemies thanallies among the other advisors. Fear and greedserve to bind each advisor to the Emperor. Palpa-tine finds this arrangement more satisfying thanmere loyalty, an emotion on which he will dependonly in the case of lower subordinates.

While there are hundreds of advisors, the Em-peror rarely travels or consults with more than afew dozen at a time. He sends the others onmissions to gather information or spreaddisinformation through appropriate channels.These missions serve a dual purpose; they pro-vide the Emperor with useful information. Theyalso keep the advisors isolated from each other, acondition which assures their continued depen-dence on the Emperor.

Advisors perform many administrative func-tions for the Emperor. They usually appoint theplanetary governors, as well as some of the Moffs,and oversee the political machinery of the Em-pire. To ensure that no advisor builds too large anenclave of political power, the Emperor hasdevised a system of adversarial administrationfor advisors.

An advisor is granted oversight of the admin-istration of systems which are strongholds forone of his rivals. This makes possible deals be-

Imperial Sourcebook 1 1


tween advisors more difficult by ensuring that nopowerful rivals have oversight of each other'ssystems. Advisors with weaker political bases aregranted a greater degree of oversight than arestrong advisors. This system of checks and bal-ances virtually guarantees the Emperor's hold onpolitical power within the Empire, but the admin-istration of the myriad worlds is not as efficient asit was during the better days of the Old Republic.This inefficiency is of no concern to the Emperor.

Advisors have taken to dressing in costumesderived from the histories of their home systems,drawn from the greatest empires of their pasts.Unlike the Emperor, many of the advisors wearlavish costumes as conspicuous badges of theirstatus. Palpatine subtly encourages this form ofrivalry, giving his advisors a sense of individualityand power which make them aware of their differ-ences from the other advisors.

These displays are muted when in theEmperor's presence.

Imperial Royal GuardThe Imperial Royal Guard is a special detach-

ment of hand-picked Imperial stormtroopers whoserve as the Emperor's personal guards. Each ofthese soldiers is specially scrutinized to fit selectsize, strength, intelligence and loyalty require-ments, and equipment and training is lavishedupon them.

No firm figures are available on the exact num-ber of Royal Guards serving the Emperor, butspeculation ranges from fewer than 50 to the tensof thousands. Whatever the case, the Royal Guardhas become a formidable military sub-unit whichis directly under the control of the Emperor.

The entire Royal Guard is never sent on com-bat missions. A few small elements of the guardare sent into combat on a rotating basis to keepthem in fightingtrim. On such missions, guard

members usually dispense with their cer-emonial uniform and don the armor wornby other stormtroopers in the operation.In such instances, the guard members arealways part of the same unit. They arenever dispersed among the ordinary Armyunits.

Rumors abound about this fierce fight-ing force. The legend is that no RoyalGuard member has yet been killed incombat. Stories tell of their invinciblefighting prowess — always in the ser-vice of the Emperor.

Royal Guards wear garb consistingof flowing red robes, red battle armor,and red helmets. Although ceremonial,the red armor does not hamper guards-men in regards to movement or fight-

ing. This armor is derived from a pair of similardesigns, the uniforms of the Death Watch of theMandalore system and the Sun Guards of theThyrsus system. That the armor resembles thoseof units with such ferocious reputations is noaccident, and the red glint of the Imperial RoyalGuard armor inspires fear in the hardest of men.• Imperial Royal Guard

Type: Royal GuardDEXTERITY 5DBlaster 7D, blaster artillery 6D, brawling parry 6D, dodge7D, melee combat 6D, melee combat: force pike 8D+2,melee parry 5DKNOWLEDGE 2D+1Streetwise 3D+1, survival 6DMECHANICAL 2D+2PERCEPTION 2D+2Bargain 3D+2, command 5D+2, hide 6D+2, search 6D+2,sneak 6D+2STRENGTH 3DBrawling 6D, climbing/jumping 6D, lifting 5D, stamina 6DTECHNICAL 2D+1Demolition 5D+1, first aid 3D, security 4D+1Character Points: Varies, typically 1-5Move: 10Equipment: Heavy blaster pistol (5D), armor (+2D physi-cal, + ID energy, -ID Dexterity), force pike (STR+3D)Note: The above are "typical" game statistics for a RoyalGuard member, but certain individual guard memberswill have vastly improved skills.

The EmperorThe Emperor is a small man, clothed in robes

intentionally reminiscent of harmless ascetics onscores of worlds. He walks with the aid of agnarled walking stick. He appears old, fragile,entirely incapable of running the most ruthlessEmpire in the history of the galaxy. This appear-ance is one of the Emperor's many masterfuldeceptions.

The Emperor's genius and strength with theForce give him unique insight into the governedspecies. He knows that the Old Republic was asmuch a symbol as a reality to many, just as heknows that the Jedi Knights were the remaininguntarnished incarnation of that symbol. Workingas he had in the Senate, he carefully cultivated thedestruction of the Jedi. With the Jedi gone, allpretense for restoring the Republic was aban-doned. The Emperor's true ambition has finallybeen revealed — to be sole master of more than athousand thousand worlds.

Under his guidance, the Empire continues togrow in power, despite the momentary setbacksuffered at the Battle of Yavin.

The EmperorType: Jedi MasterDEXTERITY 2D+1Dodge 7DKNOWLEDGE 4D+1Alien species 10D, bureaucracy: Empire 12D, cultures 9D,intimidation 13D, languages 8D, law enforcement: Empire6D, military history 10D+2, planetary systems TD.scholar:



archaic library systems 8D, scholar: arcane technologies7D, scholar: clone vat systems 7D+2, scholar: dark sidelore 11D, scholar: Jedi lore 12D+1, scholar: lightsaberhistories 12D, tactics: fleets 10D, tactics: ground assault5D, willpower 12D+1MECHANICAL 2DPERCEPTION 4D+1Bargain 10D, command 10D, command: Imperial forces12D+1, con 8D, hide 5D+2, investigation 7D, persuasion11D, persuasion: oration 13D+2, search 7DSTRENGTH 3DStamina 6DTECHNICAL 2DLightsaber repair 8DSpecial Abilities:Force Skills: Control I3D, sense 15D, alter 14DForce Powers (these are the known powers Palpatinepossessed and it is believed that he had access to manyother powers):Control: Absorb/dissipate energy, accelerate healing,concentrate*, control pain, detoxify poison**, enhanceattribute**, hibernation trance, ragetT. reduce injury,remain conscious, resist stun, short-term memory en-hancement* *Sense: Combat sense**, danger sense**, instinctiveastrogationf, life detection, life sense, magnify senses,receptive telepathy, sense ForceAlter: Injure/kill, telekinesisControl and Sense: Farseeing* *, lightsaber combat, pro-jective telepathyControl and Alter: Accelerate another's healing, controlanother's pain**, feed on dark sidet, Force lightning**,inflict pain**, return another to consciousness, transferForceControl, Sense and Alter: Affect mind, control mind**,doppelgangerft, drain life essence"!"!", enhanced coordi-nation**, telekinetic kill**, transfer lifettSense and Alter: Dim other's senses'Described in the Star Wars Movie Trilogy Sourcebook.* *Described in the Dark Force Rising Sourcebook.•("Described in Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim.

Described in the Dark Empire Sourcebook,This character is Force-sensitive.Force Points: 35Dark Side Points: 43Character Points: 60Move: 10

The Grasp of the EmpireThe Empire has changed the ways systems

interact with one another. It has taken a greaterdegree of control over information than the OldRepublic ever did, and it intervenes in the politicsof a single world with an arrogance new to thegoverned peoples. These changes have createdresentment on some worlds, but the resentmentis rarely cause enough for significant support ofthe Rebellion.

Control of InformationThere was a free flow of information during the

time of the Old Republic, an exchange of ideas andcultures which promoted rapid growth in almostevery facet of the Republic. This flow of informa-tion also helped to hasten the decline of the

Republic, as the constituent worlds were con-stantly and quickly updated on the state of theconflict in the Senate.

The environment of uncertainty was self-pro-moting. The Emperor and his advisors choose toavoid this consequence and forego the benefitsthe system had given the early Republic.

During the time of the Old Republic, there wasaHoloNet which transmitted information through-out the constituent worlds. The HoloNet wasextremely expensive to maintain, but it providedthe Republic with a sophisticated, flexible meansof communication. Consisting of hundreds of thou-sands of non-mass transceivers connectedthrough a vast matrix of coordinated hyperspaceS-threads (popularly known as Simu-Tunnels), aswel! as the computing power to sort and decodeall of the information, the HoloNet was the onlymethod available for real-time holographic trans-missions between worlds.

It was horrendously expensive to maintain,costing many thousands of credits per full-chan-nel transmission second per transceiver. TheHoloNet was used almost exclusively by the gov-ernment and the larger commercial houses of theOld Republic. But it did connect the constituentworlds, giving a sense of belonging to the averagecitizen.

Smaller commercial concerns and individualsnever used the HoloNet directly; they relied onthe literally millions of traders who traveled thecommerce corridors of the Old Republic.

Soon after Palpatine assumed the throne hedismantled the HoloNet, achieving two objec-tives. First, he made it difficult for any foes not inthe Senate to coordinate any resistance to hisdesigns. Any individual system, no matter howwealthy or influential, could easily be crushed bythe Empire. Second, the constituent worlds wereused to absorbing the cost of the HoloNet, eventhough most worlds received little benefit fromthe system during the final days of the Republic'scollapse. This gave the Emperor an enormousflow of credits with which to initiate the rapidbuild up of Imperial forces, manning and outfittingmore troops in the first six months of his reignthan the Republic had ever mobilized at any onetime.

Governor Tarkin urged the Emperor to reinsti-tute HoloNet technology on a much smaller scale,for use by the Imperial Navy only, and then only atthe level of the Sector Group. This proposal wasmade in a transmission to the Emperor whichoutlined a plan for ruling the Empire with aneconomy of force. The Emperor approved of theplan, awarding Tarkin Grand Moff status for hisefforts. The plan soon became known, unoffi-cially, as the Tarkin Doctrine.




Imperial Communique #001044.92v(This is the secret communique that began the policies

adopted by the Empire and was later called the TarkinDoctrine. While the official stance of the Empire presentsitself as an enforcer of law and order, unofficially thedoctrine of fear held sway. Even though the realization ofthis doctrine — the Death Star—has been destroyed, thepolicies are still in effect and are being modified in thewake of the Rebellion's apparent victory.)To: His Imperial Majesty, Emperor PalpatineFrom: Governor Tarkin, Seswenna Sector; EriaduRegarding: Increasing the Security of the Empire

Your Majesty:It has recently come to my attention that what had

previously been the quiet grumbling of malcontents onbackwater worlds has become dissidence in morecivilized systems. Your Majesty will forgive me if I amrepeating foundless rumors, but I have heard there iseven armed defiance is some sectors.

Coupled with increased resistance to your plansfrom hot-headed young senators, this has given mepause to think about our security arrangements. Imyself have been frustrated chasing pirate bands in mysector, only to have them leap deep into another sectorwhere my forces cannot follow without running intoconflict with another Moff and the advisor who sup-ports him. If the scattered armed resistance shouldbecome organized, they will doubtless learn from theexample of other criminal brethren. Granting any rebelsthe advantage of elusiveness is foolhardy.

I have also noticed that even the excellent pace withwhich Your Majesty is strengthening his fleets canscarcely provide security for the Empire should asignificant number of planets begin to defy your will.We are many years away from a force vast enough tosecure every system simultaneously.

I therefore wish that you would consider my recom-mendations on the following points:• To provide a swift, systematic response to rebellionas it appears, rather than waiting until it is entrenched,I suggest the formation of Oversectors — sectors con-sisting of systems in which rebellion is newly born, orsystems which maintain frequent contact with sys-tems in chronic unrest. These Oversectors would beformed without regard for the boundaries of standardsectors. The forces of an Oversector would be able torespond to threats quickly, while the threats are small.

Liquidating a dozen small threats is easier thanrooting out one well established center of defiance. Asan Oversector is created only from problem worlds,they should be given a greater quantity of forces thanan ordinary sector. I would think that three SectorGroups should be the average.• Give the command of an Oversector to a singleindividual who reports directly to you. This will bypassany delays created by political opportunism in your

advisors.• Cannibalize existing HoloNet transceivers, modifythem for use and put them in the flagship of every SectorGroup in an Oversector command. Place similar facili-ties within His Majesty's command ship and withinImperial City. This will enable your forces to respond tothreats in minutes rather than hours or days after thefact. Imperial forces will be able to coordinate to adegree impossible among an enemy, whose fastestmeans of communication is a rendezvous at a commonsystem.• Rule through the fear of force rather than force itself.If we use our strength wisely, we shall cow thousands ofworlds which might otherwise consider rebellion tosome degree. We can do this through superior coordi-nation and manipulation of information. For example,Oversector groups could coordinate to make a series ofdevastating attacks upon known planets of resistance,taking care to eliminate any fleeing vessels capable ofmaking hyperspace. The operation would take severaldays in order to jump to all suspect planets in the areaof operation.

After the operation, we could report to the media thata single Oversector group conducted a single day opera-tion (without specifying the day) which was successful,eliminating resistance on each of the worlds included inthe operation. Granting the citizens the impression ofan overwhelming force, one against which resistancewould be futile, would certainly reduce the chance of acitizen fostering such resistance.• Your Majesty, it has long been my contention that theaverage citizen has no grasp of numbers nor a head forcalculation. I maintain that one of the reasons for theeffectiveness of the Star Destroyer is its size. Whencitizens look at a Star Destroyer and then look at thecraft which might be made available to attack it, eventhe best mind among them wishes to reject the notionrather than approach the problem tactically.

I think this effect could be exploited to a far greaterdegree. The average citizen deals in symbols, not ratio-nal analysis. If we present the citizen with a weapon sopowerful, so immense as to defy all conceivable attackagainst it, a weapon invulnerable and invincible inbattle, that shall become the symbol for the Empire. Wemay need only a handful, perhaps only one of theseweapons, tosubjugatethousands of thousands of worlds,each containing millions upon millions of beings

This single weapon must have force great enough todispatch an entire system, and the fear it shall inspirewill be great enough for you to rule the galaxy unchal-lenged. What do you need with the senatorial councilwhen you can give direct control of territories to theregional governors? Sweep away the last remnants ofthe Old Republic and let fear keep the local systems inline — fear of our ultimate weapon.

» Chapter One: A Primer on Imperial Power

Imperial Sourcebook

The Structure of the EmpireThe Emperor maintains power through a

bewildering array of crossed authorities. Byusing this convoluted structure, Palpatineinsures that only he can speak with completeauthority, while all of the advisors, militaryofficials and bureaucrats below him must care-fully guard their words and justify their ac-tions.

The Emperor's advisors and COMPNOReffectively control the massive Imperial bu-reaucracy — and the advisors are allowed toplay their competing interests off each other,often resulting in the bureaucracy's variousagencies working at cross-purposes.

The Imperial bureaucracy runs each Impe-rial agency, which has authority over a spe-cific subject matter throughout the galaxy.The Moffs have authority over their sectors,and are responsible for administering the sec-tor-wide bureaucracy, which must answerboth to the local Moff and the Imperial bu-reaucracy. The Moffs are known to frequentlyremold the local bureaucracies, including thesector-wide government, planetary govern-

ments (through governors) and even morelocalized governments, making them more"agreeable" to the Moffs personal objectiveswhile still adhering to Imperial standards.

Moffs also have authority over the militarysector group in their sector, yet realize thatadvisors, Imperial military high command,and, of course, the Emperor, can seize con-trol of sector group fleets at any time.

The local system governors have only theauthority to run their own systems, and arerequired to appeal to their sector Moff formilitary assistance.

Imperial Intelligence reports directly tothe Emperor, as well as to sector Moffs.

In effect, almost every individual withinthe Empire has multiple agencies or individu-als to answer to, keeping every petty andambitious bureaucrat and soldier off-balance.The Emperor knows that no Empire seizedthrough deceit can be managed by trust in his"supporters" — he insures his continuedposition by making sure that no one belowhim truly knows their position within theImperial bureaucracy.

Chapter Two: COMPNOR

Chapter TwoCOMPNOR

Crueya Vandron gave COMPNOR the re-sources to grow, but the Emperor took a hand inthe shaping of the organization. His methodswere patient, defeating his opponents withinCOMPNOR not through violence or threats, butwith a hidden, gentle, consistent pressure whichwore the opposition down. Those who opposedthe change in COMPNOR never even knew theEmperor had done anything to instigate thechanges. Most could not even explain how thenature of their organization differed from whatthey had envisioned.

Key members of the group were approved forthe Select Committee, that part of COMPNORthat would oversee the rest of the organization,with implicit approval of the Emperor. Then thechanges became more sweeping. The Emperor'speculiar genius was again demonstrated — hehad succeeded in having his enemies unknow-ingly choose exactly the course of action hedesired them to choose.

COMPNOR is no longer an innocuous socialclub. It has become a powerful tool for the NewOrder. COMPNOR actively attempts to build theethic of the New Order into the life of the aver-age galactic citizen. COMPNOR is also recruitingyoung beings in huge numbers in order to as-sure that future citizens will consider the OldRepublic a relic of the past, committing theirlives totally to the New Order.

COMPNORs Role in theEmpire

COMPNOR is more than a vocal and enthusi-astic group committed to raisingyoung Imperialcitizens to be totally loyal to the Empire.COMPNOR has made great pains to recruit fromor insert members into the massive Imperialbureaucracy. In time, COMPNOR's influencebecame so pervasive that the Imperial bureau-cracy was under its complete control, and thusabsolutely dedicated to the whims of the Em-peror. During that era, the bureaucracy an-

(A report from Imperial Intelligence to an un-named Grand Moff, prepared shortly after theBattle of Yavin.)

COMPNOR, the Commission for the Preser-vation of the New Order, was formed in ImperialCity months after Palpatine assumed power.Initially COMPNOR was little more than a socialgathering for idealistic young beings who saw inthe New Order a deliverance from the chaos ofthe dying days of the Old Republic.

One of the Emperor's advisors, one CrueyaVandron, saw the potential worth of a populistmovement which could be molded into a usefulpolitical tool. Overt encouragement and dis-crete funding were provided, giving COMPNORthe appearance of a spontaneous organizationenjoying phenomenal growth.

1 6 Imperial Sourcebook


swered to the Imperial Senate (in theory).COMPNOR also took great pains to insert itsmembers into local bureaucracies, on the sec-tor, system, planetary, and even city level.

After Palpatine dissolved the Senate ("for theduration of the emergency"), COMPNOR's Se-lect Committee was more than adequately pre-pared to fill the void, directing virtually everypolicy decision made by the bureaucracy. Theregional Moffs and governors had control overtheir systems, but also know that they will beobserved by countless COMPNOR loyalists belowthem. With COMPNOR at his command, there isno way to resist the will of the Emperor ...

Select CommitteeThe Select Committee is the ruling body for

COMPNOR. The Select Committee has a vari-able number of members, and the COMPNORcharter provides for electoral and honorarymeans of being named a member of the SelectCommittee, but these are seldom invoked anymore. At its height, the Select Committee con-tained over 25,000 members. The shadow of theEmperor then fell across the Committee, andmembership declined precipitously.

No one knows exactly how many membersthere are now. Those in the lower echelons ofCOMPNOR believe there are still 15,000 or moremembers. Those who are higher up quietly guessthat there are perhaps one hundredth that num-ber. The Select Committee declines to dispel theconfusion.

Sub-Adult Group (SAGroup)SAGroup is acontraction for Sub-Adult Group.

SAGroup is the largest branch of COMPNOR.SAGroup has recently exceeded two trillionmembers, and it is still growing. SAGroup head-quarters most resembles theoriginal COMPNOR,an enthusiastic group who firmly believes theNew Order is the best regime for the galaxy.

Other branches of COMPNOR often recruitfrom SAGroup, but most other communicationwith the other branches is carefully screened bythe Internal Affairs division of the Imperial Secu-rity Bureau (ISB). SAGroup is intentionally keptignorant of most of the darker aspects of theEmpire.

Those assigned to SAGroup headquarters(SAGroupHQ) coordinate all of the communica-tions for the divisions under them. They do thejob but not very efficiently. There is a traditionof mishandled communications which arepassed along as folklore to new members ofSAGroup.

SAGEducation (SAGEd)The program which gained COMPNOR a posi-

tive reputation on thousands of worlds,SAGEducation succeeds in bringing learning tobillions of young beings who had fallen into thecracks during the breakup of the Old Republic.It is largely unaffected by the changes in the restof the organization, and continues to be popularon almost every world served by SAGroups.

The personnel of SAGEducation are as dedi-cated as those in SAGroupHQ, but they arebetter organized. They believe in the future ofthe New Order, and they believe in teachingtheir charges to become as well educated asthey can in order to be better galactic citizens.Many of the educators have been surprised thatthis attitude has caused the occasional confron-tation with the ISB. The continued popularity ofSAGEducation has moderated the ISB reaction,but some of the educators are emboldened tosurreptitiously question the New Order. The ISBwill no doubt respond ...

SAGRecreation (SAGRec)SAGRecreation was created to provide whole-

some activities for member beings. Wegsphereis their one real triumph, a competitive sportwhich has caught on in thousands of systems.Everything else suggested by SAGroupHQ isoften ignored by the SAGRec personnel.

Some branches of SAGRec have been filledwith future CompForce hopefuls. These SAGRecsengage in harsh physical training and wargamesas an introduction to military training. Somehave been reputed to hold exercises with blast-ers, casually ignoring the removal of thestunsafes which prevent lethal fire.

MotivationSome of the SAGroup members fail to live up

to the ideals of the New Order. If such behavioris persistent, they are sent here to learn how tobecome useful citizens supportive of the NewOrder. The reported success rate of the motiva-tion section at reforming recalcitrantSAGroupers is nearly a five-fold exaggeration.The Motivation section's reputation for makingsure no troublemakers are released before theircompliance with the New Order is assuredly notan exaggeration.

RecruitmentThis group is gently wriggling from the con-

trol of SAGroupHQ, goaded by support from theISB. Their activities are at an all-time high, some-times offering impressive incentives to parentsto have their offspring join SAGroup. The goalsover the next five standard years is to havemembership in SAGroup swell to 10 trillion.

1 8 Imperial Sourcebook


The Coalition for ProgressThe Coalition for Progress is the central au-

thority and clearinghouse for the reports of allof the Sector Monitors. COMPNOR membersinside and outside of the coalition simply referto it as "Progress." Progress has grown from anunderstaffed and underwhelming authority onculture in the Empire to a large bureaucracywith surprising efficiency at gathering and ana-lyzing the information which pours in from theSector Monitors.

Recent events, however, have tied Progressmuch closer to the Imperial Security Bureau.They now gather low-level intelligence for the ISB,sifting through literally millions of reports on thechance of uncovering an as yet undiscoveredactivity of the Rebellion. Any pattern of activitywhich strikes Progress as suspicious is analyzed,and the findings are passed on to the ISB.

Sector MonitorA Sector Monitor is a collection of agencies

which theoretically report on the culturalprogress within a sector toward the perfectionof the New Order. The Sector Monitor doesrough sorting of data, largely by division type. IfProgress considers data sensitive, they handlethe encoding of the reports and update theCOMPNOR members as to the security level oftheir reports to the Sector Monitor.

Below the Sector Monitor are collections ofCOMPNOR members dispersed throughout thesystems of the sector. These collections areloosely grouped by the type of social activity onwhich they are reporting.

ArtThe Art group is easily the most despised

group within Progress by most of the citizens ofthe Empire. The Art group reports on the suit-ability of art forms within their sector, trying toapply the same austere tenets of the New Orderto every art form within the galaxy; sand-castingofTatooine,transnovelsofCadomai,participlaysof Besn, the dynamic holosculptures of Ediorung— all are judged by the same inflexible criteria.

To the thousands of sophisticated specieswho have developed their cultures over millen-nia, the Art group has as much right to passjudgment on art as an uneducated native has.Most would accept the native's view as moreaccurate.

When Art has something particularly scath-ing to say about a work, they attach a holopanelnear the site which continuously replays theirreview. The intense red of the wavelength giventhe text in these holopanels has given the name"scarlet" to any particularly unfavorable review.

"Drawing a scarlet" is now a guarantee of suc-cess on scores of worlds.

ScienceThe Science groups were originally their own

group within COMPNOR. A political reshufflinglanded them under the wing of Progress. Sci-ence does much more than report on the politi-cal acceptability of scientific research withintheir sector. They actively coordinate researchand development efforts geared toward enhanc-ing scientific progress in the New Order. Manyof its members are scientists of firm consciencewho have resisted COMPNOR's pressure to con-centrate on projects with direct military appli-cations.

While the ISB keeps a close watch on theScience group, COMPNOR takes few reprisalsagainst those scientists who continue to dobasic research within their fields at the expenseof weapons programs.

CommerceIn the early days, COMPNOR used the Com-

merce agencies to work in conjunction with thelarge commercial houses to design programsfor economic improvement on worlds withinthe Empire. Successes included the CorporateSector System Development Programs, knownas D-Progs. D-Progs gave crucial and effectiveaid to frontier worlds which had been neglectedduring the collapse of the Old Republic, makingthem economically self-sufficient. In return, theCorporate Sector Authority secured profitablenew markets.

Other programs were less worthwhile, in-cluding the well-publicized disaster of the Na-tive Management and Industrialization Service


• Members of COMPNOR can be found all over the galaxyproclaiming the virtues of the New Order.


(NAMIS) on Gamorr.Now Commerce is an organ for industrial

espionage against large commercial houses andpolitical strong-arming of those smaller com-mercial interests which might have sympathiesfor the Rebellion.

Commerce wants to make certain that theEmpire loses no more valuable technology tothe Rebels. Commerce does pass on break-throughs produced in the Science group to thosecorporations which have served the Empirewell in the past.

EducationThe Education agencies were given the man-

date to homogenize the level of educationthroughout the Empire, to place emphasis onthe values cherished by the New Order. UnlikeSAGEducation, the Education agencies actuallydo no teaching. Instead, they generate datareports on how individual worlds should trans-form their educational system in order to con-form with the dictates of the New Order. TheEducation agencies are now the subject of deri-sion in a great majority of sectors in the Empire.

Consequently, the Select Committee uses theEducation agencies as dumping grounds forincompetents who are politically useful to re-tain somewhere in COMPNOR. With the excep-tion of SAGroup, the rest of COMPNOR knowsthis is the case. Being reassigned to an Educa-tion agency is called being "sent to the ideadusters."

JusticeThe Senatorial struggle in the Old Republic

left a legal legacy full of complications, prob-lems of precedence and reflexivity, and inequi-ties under the law. Justice agencies were giventhe job to produce a uniform legal code whichwould apply to the entire Empire. Unlike theEducation agencies, the members of Justicerealized that they would have to implementtheir ideas as well as present legal theories tothe local systems. The legal system improvedgreatly with the fervent efforts of the membersof Justice.

Recently, Crueya Vandron has been trying towork the idea of "Imperial infallibility" into thecode. His efforts have been resisted almost to abeing within Justice. As a result, the ISB hasbeen harassing individual members, occasion-ally trumping up charges against less promi-nent members in order to intimidate the morepolitically powerful. Progress has been assign-ing new members to Justice who see things theway the Emperor would like them seen.

The Coalition forImprovements

Originally the Improvement Division of theCommerce agencies, Improvements became itsown group when the Select Committee beganreorganizing COMPNOR along the designs "sug-gested" by the Emperor. Improvements receivescopies of Progress reports as forwarded by theISB. Progress reports cases of system deviancefrom the ideals of the New Order to the ISB. TheImperial Security Bureau assigns Improvementsthose cases which will require long term solu-tions, especially when those solutions are bestnot associated with the Empire.

Sector DevelopmentResources available to each Sector Develop-

ment agency vary greatly. While the Emperorpersonally approves of the methods of SectorDevelopment, there are other short termprojects which are given funding priority. MostSector Development agencies have adapted byinitiating low cost strategies, then pouring inprecious funds to whichever strategies demon-strate the greatest promise.

Sector Development contains two depart-ments, the Department of Modification and theDepartment of Redesign.

ModificationTo the public, Modification is an association

of technologists and system specialists whohelp local systems modify their technology toImperial standards. While they do perform someof that, their primary and secret purpose is toslowly modify social conditions and institutionsto cement a system's loyalty to the New Order.

Modification covertly promotes the careersof beings whose politics match the Empire'smore closely than their rivals. They create smallperturbations which can interact to form socialproblems of bewildering complexity, and thenhelp their chosen agents solve the problems.Their methods take a great deal of time andpatience.

The Rebellion is, in the parlance of the mem-bers of Modification, a "site specific cause ofnegative feedback." Modification sees the Re-bellion as too specific to regions within theEmpire to ever have a lasting effect on theEmpire as a whole, especially given that theRebellion spends much of its time reacting tothe activities of the Imperial military. Modifica-tion is content to wait the Rebellion out.

RedesignThere are times when Improvements decides

that a local system is virtually unsalvageable in



its current form — no degree of small modifica-tions will suffice to move it securely into the foldof the New Order. If a planet is deemed to be ofmarginal value, the problem is handed over tothe Imperial military. If a planet is considered tobe of some value, Redesign will often augmentthe military's actions.

Redesign describes its works with the murkyvocabulary of "state changes," "shock vectors"and "bifurcation manifolds." These neutral termsmask some of the most evil actions taken onbehalf of the Empire. Redesign agencies rarelyhave the resources to handle more than oneworld in a sector at a time — a small mercy forthe citizens of the Empire.

CompForceCompForce is the military arm of COMPNOR.

They were created to give the Emperor largeforces other than stormtroopers on whose loy-alty he could absolutely rely. They are carefullyselected volunteers from SAGroup. Assault vol-unteers are given rigorous training, and thenput nominally under the command of a SectorGroup. Observation personnel are selected froma different pool of beings than Assault person-nel.

Regular Army and Navy personnel have nolove for CompForce. Regular troopers anddeckmen feel that CompForcers are given prior-ity when it comes to new equipment or theallocation of valuable resources, such as medi-

cal attention. In sectors where COMPNOR has aparticularly strong influence, this is true. Mostof the dislike stems from CompForcers' rabidadherence to the principles of the New Order.While the average deckman or trooper believesin the basics of the New Order, they believe theyhave better things to do with their spare timethan self-examine their lives in excruciating de-tail to see how they might better serve the NewOrder. CompForcers are treated cooly through-out the military.

ObservationObservation units are despised almost to a

being by the regular military. Observation unitsare members of SAGroup selected for their po-litical loyalty. In theory, they are then sent toobserve the Imperial military in action so theymight learn how the Imperial war machine works.In practice, they are spies who insure that theofficers and enlisted folk of the Imperial militaryare acting with the proper respect for the NewOrder.

Everyone serving knows they are spies (withthe possible exception of CompForce assaultteams, who are pretty blind to the shortcomingsof the New Order), and officers and enlistedpersonnel alike detest having to pretend other-wise. Acting in an insulting manner to an Obser-vation officer is a good way to have a promisingcareer cut short, and Observation knows thisvery well.

When their stint with Observation is up, mostvolunteers forego joining the military but optfor the ISB or another COMPNOR group instead.

AssaultThere is no branch of service which takes

higher casualties in training than the Assaultarm of CompForce. SAGroup has such a largesupply of primed volunteers that the Assaultarm can afford to train by attrition — if you makeit through training you are combat ready. Of the88 percent who fail to make it through training,nearly one quarter of these are combat fatali-ties. There is little exaggeration and a lot ofperverse pride in Assault's claim that "two diefor every one that gets through."

The ferocious training and indoctrination ofAssault arm does provide strong unit cohesionfor its troops, as well as instill a willingness tofight on despite heavy casualties. Training-by-attrition does have a serious defect in that itselects those who have been merely lucky, aswell as those who have natural combat skills,and it processes so many volunteers throughtraining that it does a mediocre job of teachingvital combat skills to its soldiers.

In the field, this lack of training shows in

• CompForce troopers receive priority treatment inthe allocation of equipment, resources and medicalattention.



higher than necessary casualties and failure tosucceed in objectives against well-trainedtroops. This deficiency is not seen as importantfor these reasons; the supply of volunteers isnot large, but it is certainly larger than the poolfor the Rebellion, and training an Assault armvolunteer is cheaper than training an equivalenttrooper in the regular Army.

Additionally, the Assault arm is a recent addi-tion to COMPNOR. Some of the units are lastinglong enough to train themselves and pass onskills to the volunteers who replace casualties.These veteran units are gaining a fearsome repu-tation which is deserved.

Imperial Security Bureau(ISB)

The ISB was created to increase the Emperor'sknowledge of political events, and as an inten-tional rival to Imperial Intelligence. While theISB does not have the quality of intelligenceoperatives that Imperial Intelligence does, it isnow the larger organization and is staffed solelyby those loyal to the New Order. The competi-tion has also served to put a little fire under bothorganizations as they try to insure that theirintelligence is as good or better than the rival's.

The ISB Central Office is a mammoth complexin Imperial City which handles all of the commu-nications and coordination tasks for the wholeof the ISB.

The ISB serves more of a police function thandoes the Ubiqtorate in Intelligence. The ISB hasa more public presence. Its operatives, espe-cially in Surveillance, will often identify them-selves as members of ISB, the intimidation valuebeing worth the loss of secrecy.

Commission of OperationsThe Commission of Operations transmits

assignments through the Central Office directlyto the Sector Officer for the branch in question:Surveillance, Investigations, Internal Affairs, In-terrogation, Re-Education, or Enforcement. Anycoordinated actions between the differentbranches within a sector, or between ISB re-sources in separate sectors, is dictated by theCommission and directed by the Central Office.Independent coordination by sector resourcesis strongly discouraged.

SurveillanceSurveillance is the largest branch of the ISB,

containing nearly 35 percent of all personnel.The quality of recruit varies greatly within Sur-veillance. The spectrum includes promising,eager, but poorly trained candidates straightfrom SAGroup, CompForce Observers with bet-

ter training, veteran officials from Progress'sSector Monitors or Improvement's Sector De-velopment, to local contacts with an interest insubverting other local powers.

Surveillance's main purpose is to uncoverbeings or activities which might be helpful to theRebellion or otherwise obstruct the Empire'splans. If Surveillance has enough suspicions,they will turn the case over to Investigations somore thorough action can be taken.

The second purpose of Surveillance is put-ting the fear of the Empire into citizens who canbe scared out of helping the Rebellion.

This is the use to which the rawer recruitsand less skillful veterans are employed,

InvestigationsInvestigations draws its talent from proven

agents in Surveillance, also drawing a substan-tial number from the Modification operativeswho are looking to put their expertise to use ina new direction. Their professionalism and ex-pertise is considerably higher than that of Sur-veillance.

Investigations agents have direct communi-cation links to military forces in the area. Theselinks are pre-approved by the Select Committeeand the appropriate Moff or Grand Moff. Inves-tigations individuals or teams may thereforecall on a considerable degree of firepower ifthings become rough. This action was taken asa way of cutting down response times to legiti-mate Rebel threats which are too large to behandled even by a team of competent agents.

It is worth noting that this tactic works onboth heavily developed and largely rural worlds,albeit for different reasons. On urban planets,ISB agents can operate unnoticed, and then callin the military to "swarm" the unfortunate Rebelbase. On rural planets, the ISB agent cannotexpect to devise a convincing cover identity,but ISB's reputation alone is normally enough togain the agent the cooperation of fearful locals.In either scenario, Rebel operatives are flushedout and eliminated.

Investigations has developed a grudging re-spect for the Rebel Alliance and its agents. Abody of lore surrounding the story of the hunterand hunted, and how quickly the distinction canturn, has grown quickly. A few, such as MarBarezz's continuing struggle against the Rebelspy Tiree, and Huorne and Parl's series of gam-bits against the Rebel Mon Cal Ackbar, havebecome legend.

Internal AffairsInternal Affairs watches the rest of COMPNOR,

Closely. Their agents pay special attention to


commit a crime. Internal Affairs then promisesto forgive the crime if the suspect does a fewfavors. Doing these favors inevitably causes thesuspect to commit some other crime, which willbe forgiven if the suspect does these few otherfavors. There are over a hundred terms for thefine shadings of operations which Internal Af-fairs conducts.

InterrogationThose beings caught by Investigations who

are suspected of knowing more than they havebeen willing to divulge are sent to Interrogation.The information uncovered is sent back to In-vestigations. No one really knows what thenhappens to the suspects. No one really wants toknow.

Re-EducationWhen Internal Affairs convicts a COMPNOR

member of a crime, the member is sent to Re-Education. Many of these people actually doreturn to COMPNOR, although they are alwayssent to a post of lower importance. Co-workersreport that it is eerie working with the return-ees. The returnees react strangely to the otherworkers, their conversation seems disjointed,their emotions out of phase with the situation.Officially, returnees are called "Graduates of Re-Education" or "Re-educated." Most COMPNORmembers say the graduates have been "Re-brained."

EnforcementEnforcement provides specialized muscle for

the ISB, occasionally for Internal Affairs, butmost often they lend their expertise to Investi-gations. Enforcement is the only division withinall of COMPNOR which hires beings who are notCOMPNOR members. Not only does this in-crease the amount of available talent, but En-forcement often has to take actions which theSelect Committee would rather not be done byCOMPNOR members.

Hiring outsiders causes Internal Affairs totake a keen interest in Enforcement. InternalAffairs considers the use of unindoctrinatedpersonnel to be a bad risk, especially given thedelicate nature of many of their missions. En-forcement tries to protect its operatives fromunwarranted interference from Internal Affairs.The result has been a tension within the ISB asno one can avoid the conflict completely.

Science, Commerce and Justice groups withinProgress, and Enforcements in the ISB. Whetheror not Internal Affairs has the authority to moni-tor the Select Committee is not clear; it is clearthat Internal Affairs does not consider the SelectCommittee to be above suspicion.

COMPNOR rules and procedures have al-ways been pretty sloppy on the point of internalpolicing of their members. Internal Affairs takesadvantage of every ambiguity and gray area toexpand their power.

The agents of Internal Affairs are isolatedfrom the rest of COMPNOR. They have devel-oped their own jargon, their own interpretationof the New Order, and have recently reorga-nized the agency to give lone agents greaterauthority to act on their own initiative. Otherbranches of COMPNOR have complained aboutthe unusual autonomy of Internal Affairs. CrueyaVandron or the Emperor, perhaps both, mustsupport this mode of operation, for nothing hasbeen done to stop it.

Internal Affairs calls their field agents "keyns,"after a renown tracking carnivore of the Gontzolsystem, while members of the investigative staffwho go over all the information retrieved by thekeyns are called "dirtbugs," a term they con-sider to be complimentary.

Internal Affairs has an amazing collection ofterms to differentiate between the ways theyconduct an investigation. To "audit" is to con-duct an investigation in which the target andeveryone around him knows the investigation isbeing conducted. "Finesse" is a way of investi-gating a person by asking their help in rootingout other traitors in the hopes they will giveaway incriminating evidence in their eagernessto finger others. "Scattering" is the technique ofgrabbing someone against whom you have noevidence, then watching the behavior of hisassociates to see if any react in suspicious ways.

"Crustbusting" is harassing a suspect in thehopes he will do something criminal. "Cultiva-tion" is allowing a suspect against whom youhave evidence of minor wrongdoing to proceedunhindered so agents can catch the suspect andany associates in a larger crime, while "irriga-tion" is covertly staging events so a cultivatedsuspect has a greater opportunity to commit alarger crime.

To "Jabba" is to set a suspect up in a no-winsituation in which he must, at least technically,


23Imperial Sourcebook

Chapter Three: Imperial Intelligence

Chapter T h r e eImperial Intelligence

(A report from the Imperial Security Bureau tothe ISB Central Office, prepared shortly after theBattle of Yavin.)

Imperial Intelligence is one of the few NewOrder organizations which has remained largelyunchanged since the days of the Old Republic.There were four organizations which gatheredand analyzed intelligence for the Senate andother agencies of the Old Republic—the Repub-lican Security Organization, the Senate Bureauof Intelligence, the Interstellar Consortium onTechnology, and the euphemistically labeledSpecial Acquisitions Branch of the Library ofthe Republic.

As the Old Republic began to rot from within,the directors of the four agencies discoveredthat they were routinely being used by unscru-pulous Senators who bribed lower level func-tionaries within the agencies to pass along mis-information through agency channels, in orderto influence important intelligence reports whichwere presented to the Senate. The Senators'greed caught up with them; they often were toocheap to bribe operatives of all four agencies,relying on the innate distrust of the intelligenceagencies toward each other to prevent themfrom comparing scandocs.

A number of directors met during the lastdays of the struggle for the Senate. The negotia-tions were unprecedented in their opennessand willingness to compromise personal powerin order to maintain an effective intelligenceorganization for the government. But whichgovernment? The directors felt the Republic tobe unsalvageable. In their opinion, the rot hadgone too far, and there were too many constitu-ent worlds to install an effective new govern-ment based on elected representation. A strongcentral government was needed — exactly thesort of government which Palpatine and hisNew Order promised.

Next they agreed to quietly and unofficiallymerge their four organizations. Informationwould be shared and compared among the

branches of the organizations in order to de-crease the odds that the information was "con-taminated." To oversee this process and thenew intelligence organization, the Ubiqtoratewas created. This was a governing body for allparts of the organization.

Once Palpatine was in power and the Empirewas formed, the Ubiqtorate could operate withthe Emperor's blessing, and the pretense of fourdistinct organizations was discarded. ImperialIntelligence was born.

There are indications that the efficiency, pro-fessionalism, and speed with which ImperialIntelligence was reorganized frightened some ofthe Emperor's advisors, quite a few of whomhad used the Republican versions as theywished. Imperial Intelligence believes the flaw-less transition and expansion of capabilities arethe reasons the advisors — through CrueyaVandron — created COMPNOR and the ISB.

The Ubiqtorate considers COMPNOR (espe-cially the ISB) to be, at best, a misuse of valuableresources. At worst, COMPNOR is a case ofarming and authorizing talented but untestedamateurs to defend the Empire, the entire basisof their strategies and tactics being a few holosof political aphorisms on the New Order. Impe-rial Intelligence has cautiously presented evi-dence to the Moffs and Grand Moffs to whomthey report, as well as the Emperor himself, thatCOMPNOR has often incited as much rebellionas COMPNOR has been able to squelch. TheGrand Moffs are the only ones who give thisinformation a positive reception, and even thenit is mild. Imperial Intelligence is therefore reso-lutely determined to do the whole job them-selves, even if it means cleaning up "the muckleft behind by COMPNOR."

UbiqtorateOn many worlds, "Ubiqtorate" has come to

be the name for the whole of Imperial Intelli-gence. The name came to light in severalCOMPNOR scandocs which were accidentally



transmitted to a media beamcast in the Qeimatsystem. The scandocs themselves indicated thatthe authors were not aware of the real role of theUbiqtorate, and Imperial Intelligence saw noreason to correct their error. From the beamcastthe name caught on, as the Ubiqtorate soundedmore mysterious, omnipresent and threateningthan "Imperial Intelligence."

The Ubiqtorate oversees all of the activitiesof Imperial Intelligence at the highest levels.Details and tactical considerations are decidedby the appropriate bureau or branch of ImperialIntelligence. The Ubiqtorate never concerns it-self with those. The Ubiqtorate formulates strat-egies for the bureaus of Imperial Intelligence or,as has recently become common, presents thebureaus with a set of goals and very broad grandstrategic considerations and asks them to planan effective strategy. With the exception of Ad-justments, members of the Ubiqtorate neverhave any communication with personnel at thesector or system level. They would certainlynever deal with an individual field agent.

The members of the Ubiqtorate are anony-mous. They are unknown to their subordinates;a member of the Ubiqtorate is likely to be ac-quainted with the identities of perhaps a third ofthe members, and to have personal contact with

• IntSec personnel provide security for ImperialIntelligence.

only a handful. When communicating to the restof Imperial Intelligence, the members of theUbiqtorate ident i fy the originator as"Ubiqtorate," never an individual. This practicehas been imitated by other organizations, mostnotably the Select Committee of COMPNOR.

Created through a compromise, theUbiqtorate has become an organization of sur-prising thoroughness and effectiveness. It con-tinues to improve.

AdjustmentsAdjustments is the most elite branch of Impe-

rial Intelligence. It consists of agents who re-ceive their orders directly and in person fromthe Ubiqtorate. No record of their orders is everkept, and no mission files exist within SectorPlexus for these agents.

Whenever the Ubiqtorate feels a critical situ-ation has slipped from the control of ImperialIntelligence, and that the situation is beyond thenormal capabilities of the bureaus but not yetcompletely hopeless, Adjustments is called into restore order. The Ubiqtorate briefs the Ad-justment agent or team on the problem andwhat resources are available to solve it. Adjust-ments then solves the problem.

Internal OrganizationBureau (IntOrg)

Called "IntOrg" by those within Imperial Intel-ligence, this bureau's mandate is to protectImperial Intelligence's security from outsidethreats and those which might be generatedfrom within. As IntOrg must deal with the rest ofImperial Intelligence, its agents have cultivateda highly civil manner and a strong sense ofpolitical etiquette, and then combined thosewith complete ruthlessness when the stakes arehigh and the threat is real.

IntOrg is committed to the security of Impe-rial Intelligence, but rarely abuses its authorityor conducts political witch-hunts. As a result,IntOrg enjoys a good reputation among theagents of other bureaus.

Internal Security Branch (IntSec)Internal Security Branch (IntSec) is respon-

sible for the physical security of the personnel,materiel and facilities of Imperial Intelligence.Originally considered a branch for the unambi-tious (especially by members of IntCon), IntSechas upgraded its personnel and procedures inresponse to bolder attacks by forces of theRebellion. Their abilities have improved fasterthan their image; there is still a huge body ofIntSec jokes making the rounds of the bureausand branches.



IntSec officers are the only Imperial Intelli-gence personnel to obviously carry weaponswhile within intelligence facilities. They have agreat many plainclothes agents who will oper-ate outside the facilities, trying to spot and stoppotential trouble before it is realized.

Internal Counter-intelligence Bureau(IntCon)

Internal Counterintelligence Branch (IntCon)looks for enemy agents or spy rings which mayhave been implanted in Imperial Intelligence bythe Rebellion or other forces inimical to the NewOrder. Through Sector Plexus, they have anextraordinary freedom to access any data theymay consider useful, in many cases obtainingthe information more readily than would a mem-ber of the Ubiqtorate. IntCon deals with alllevels of Imperial Intelligence, but recently theyhave begun to devote a greater proportion oftheir resources to personnel at the bureau levelof Imperial Intelligence.

IntCon almost resembles Imperial Intelligencein miniature, with its own sections for Analysis,Operations and Intelligence. The boundariesbetween these sections often blur, and IntOrg isrenown for its loose structure and the informalenvironment in which its agents work. Informa-tion inside IntOrg is heavily secured againstaccess by parties outside IntOrg, but there isliterally no information security from othermembers of IntOrg. This openness is how IntOrgmonitors itself — every decision, action, orpiece of data generated by a member of IntOrgis available to any other member of IntOrg whochooses to examine it. This lack of secrecy, andoften privacy, makes it almost impossible for anenemy spy to operate within IntCon.

Analysis BureauThis bureau handles gargantuan amounts of

data from tens of millions of sources. In additionto looking for enemy activity, it looks for patternsor trends in social data which might be useful tothe agents over in Intelligence. Analysis alsohandles, examines and copies useful technolo-gies, even developing a few of their own.

MediaMedia branch pores over public scandocs,

newsdocs, holos, comlinks, beamcasts, everyform of media in the Empire, looking for pat-terns or hidden meanings which might betray aclue as to an enemy's plans and operations.Media can, with substantial assistance fromSector Plexus and the Imperial CompLink, giveat least a cursory examination of all media in the


• Analysis Bureau checks sources from all over the Empire in itssearch for enemy activity.

Empire simultaneously. While they regularlyconcentrate on a significantly smaller portion ofthe Empire, they do cast their net wide oftenenough to make a professional judgment as towhether or not a new media source should bemonitored on a more regular basis.

SignalSignal has a saying: "Media examines every

media message in the galaxy. We handle every-thing else so they can have the easy stuff." Thisis probably an exaggeration, but the job done bySignal is indeed enormous. While Media moni-tors the intended message, Signal examines thechannel through which the information wastransmitted.

Signal samples and checks carrierwave codesand CompLink protocols, scan rates on scandocsand imagepacks on holos to see if any informa-tion is being squeezed into the space betweenwhat a citizen would ordinarily sense. Signalexamines line noise to see if it might contain apattern rather than random error. Broadcastsand beamcasts are examined to see if the backupinformation sent with the primary informationactually matches and, if not, how they differ.

The agents in Media sarcastically refer toSignal as "a group of beings who sort throughthe garbage in order to discover what a familysaid to each other at breakfast." Signal doesoccasionally overreach itself, applying blindinglysophisticated mathematical techniques tosqueeze nonexistent meanings from chaotic


• Intelligence uses various interrogator droids togather information.

data. However, it was Signal which discoveredthat Leia Organa had the plans to the Death Starthrough the analysis of un-shielded ELEL (Ex-tremely Low Energy Level) transmissions fromher ship.

Cryptanalysis (Crypt)When Media or Signal finds evidence of coded

communication, they give it to the Crypt. Thosewho work in Cryptanalysis call themselves"lignyots." Why they call themselves lignyots,and if the word has any meaning independent ofCryptanalysis, is not known by anyone in theother branches. This is as intended.

Lignyots have gone out of their way to createa bizarre reputation for Crypt. They have sentscandocs to other branches in simple codes,which mutate into an unflattering holo if notbroken quickly enough. They try to break thesecurity of the communications betweenbranches, forging inflammatory messages on asecure channel when they succeed.

They will often move the entrance to theiroffices or relocate their facilities entirely, leav-ing only a puzzling scandoc as to their newlocation. All communications to the SectorPlexus from the new branch office have invari-ably been relayed through thousands of pointsbefore reaching Sector Plexus, making success-ful tracing almost impossible.

The bureaus have complained to theUbiqtorate about the unprofessional behaviorof Crypt. Lignyots have always defended them-selves by saying the relentless, time-criticalnature of their responsibilities entitles them tobe a bit crazy. The Ubiqtorate decided thatCrypt's behavior was an opportunity rather thana problem. Whenever a Crypt office does some-thing off-beat, another branch is assigned todeal with the problem as if it were an example ofenemy-generated activity. The lignyots have


calmed down quite a bit since the time one oftheir branch offices relocated, and within eightdays Assassination had found and liquidated it.

TechTech has two jobs — to figure out how an

enemy's hardware works, and to provide Impe-rial Intelligence with hardware which is supe-rior to that. Tech has a lavish budget and anumber of highly skilled personnel whose mo-ments of brilliant inspiration can translate intoinnovative technology. Unfortunately, the ad-ministration, chosen from scientists and tech-nologists within the branch, is often lost whenhaving to decide upon the proper priorities forprojects which lie outside their area of exper-tise.

Consequently, Tech does a better job analyz-ing enemy gear than in producing its own. Withthe hardware in front of them and orders tofigure out how it works, Tech scientists do thejob better than anyone else in the galaxy. It iswhen they must set their own goals and criteriafor project success that the process goes offkilter.

InterrogationWhen Rebels or other enemy agents are cap-

tured by Imperial Intelligence, they are usuallysent to Interrogation. Interrogation is not asbloodthirsty as its counterpart in COMPNOR,and it is slightly less effective in cracking Rebels.Interrogation often has a larger purpose, work-ing on the assumption that the Rebellion willwork as hard as possible to render any divulgedinformation useless. Unless the Rebel is be-lieved to hold vital information, interrogationwill be light.

However, a larger number of psychologicalprobes will be made of the prisoner, and directneuroprogramming of susceptible prisoners willresult. The results of their novel techniques areundetectable by everything but the most ad-vanced medical probes, of which there are veryfew and every one of which is under Imperialcontrol. While expensive, reprogrammed Rebelshave a high reliability as double-agents, andhave provided Infiltration with some of theirbest agents.

As the Rebellion is slowly becoming aware ofthis tactic, Interrogation has modified its ap-proach to stay one step ahead of the Rebels.They now release more Rebels than they oncedid, including some fairly valuable to the Rebel-lion. They only reprogram a few. As suspicionfalls on all of the released prisoners, the Rebel-lion is torn whether or not to accept any, all ornone of the prisoners. The doubt and debate


has been enough to significantly lower the mo-rale at some Rebel bases.

The second modification is to use image sur-gery on a reprogrammed agent, have Infiltrationbrief him, and then have him join the RebelAlliance as an unknown recruit. While thismethod takes considerable time, no agent whohas been infiltrated in this way has yet beendiscovered.

Bureau of OperationsOf all the bureaus in Imperial Intelligence,

this is the one which is called the "Bureau"; noone in Imperial Intelligence for more than a fewdays would call it anything else. The Bureauhandles the covert operations which are be-yond the scope or require greater resourcesthan those of the average system cell. The Bu-reau may send in a team of specialists to asector, in effect creating an at-large system cell,or they may send a few agents to augment anexisting system cell for a single mission.

SurveillanceA point of pride with Surveillance is their

small size, especially in comparison with thehuge organization maintained by COMPNORthrough the ISB. Imperial Intelligence has lessthe one agent in Surveillance for every 70 sodedicated in the ISB, yet Surveillance success-fully keeps watch on more serious threats to theEmpire than does the ISB.

Intelligence gives Surveillance megascandocsof material on potential enemies of the New


Order; the genius of Surveillance is the ability tosort through the information and unerringlyselect suspects who are currently involved inanti-Imperial activity. Surveillance agents arethoroughly briefed on everything which is knownabout the suspect. Often more than one agent isselected for an important case, and Surveillanceactively solicits the help of any available systemcells.

Surveillance agents are well trained in a broadvariety of skills, including combat skills. Theyare expected to handle situations by themselvesin the field — there is not likely to be enoughtime to call in backups. Surveillance agents areexpected to make arrests if the suspects will getaway with a critical crime, and if arrest looksuntenable, stop the suspects in any way theagent can.

Infiltration"There are three ways to defeat your enemy.

The first, and most obvious, is to better him in atrial of force. The best way is to have him destroyhimself; few enemies are so obliging. The middleway is to destroy your enemy from within. Judi-cious application of the middle way shall makeyour blows more effective if you later take the wayof force. From the middle way it is also possible topush your enemy onto the path of self-destruc-tion. "

— Uueg Tching of Kitel Phard,54th Emperor of Atrisia

When they join Infiltration, every agent istold the legends of Uueg Tching. The ancient

From: Dr. Tobias, Analysis: TechTo: Hyndis Kogler, Bureau: InfiltrationSubject: Superior Utilization of 3PO Human-Cyborg Relations Droids

Confirmed: SEND; TRAN9/9; RECVContext: 4E16; AOPT; ASYS; ROPT;Phasecycle: PSEG388893131;ICON;

02.00BMUT;01.00RMUTHyndis,

I am dismayed that you have not seen fit toreply to my request of an evaluation of ourscheme for using 3PO Human-Cyborg Rela-tions Droids for infiltration of enemy facilities.In order to refresh your memory of my previ-ous communication, I herein summarize myimportant points:

1. 3PO droids are nearly universal. Theycould be inserted virtually unnoticed into anyRebel camp, having unquestioned access tomost areas. The Rebels would never suspect

such a low-cost piece of hardware as being anintegral part of Imperial Intelligence.

2. Dr. Lucien guarantees me that only mi-nor modifications are necessary to a 3PO'salready impressive array of sensors in orderto make it a first-class intelligence-gatheringdroid,costingthousands less than the AkraydViper Probe Droid.

3. A 3PO unit has built-in hardware, theTranLang III Communications module, whichallows it to speak millions of languages. Giventhat the Rebellion recruits scum from any-where they can find it, a facile ability with agreat many tongues could be a significantadvantage, allowing a few 3POs to replacehundreds of less linguistically adept agents.Just think of the savings to the New Order!

4. I can arrange for an impressive demon-stration for you if you would like. I am sure theresults would surprise you.

Chapter Three. Imperial Intelligence

emperor's success against the peoples and na-tions of the newly-discovered continents on hisworld was spectacular; of greater interest toInfiltration is the manner in which Uueg Tchingmanaged to subvert no fewer than 30 separaterebellions against his tyrannical rule.

After indoctrination, Infiltration agents areoften reassigned to Intelligence, assigned asassistants to a few sector branches, and thenassigned to Sedition (Intelligence Bureau). Theagents learn vast amounts during this period.Many agents have to be released because ofoveruse of the mnemiotic drugs given agents toenhance their learning. Those who survive withtheir minds intact know a great deal.

Once they have finished their stint with Intel-

ligence, agents are then tested to see for whatsort of missions they are best suited — double-agents, moles, or "polwocz."

Double-agents are active operatives, takingpart in enemy actions against the Empire. Theirjob is to give Imperial Intelligence good enoughinformation to allow the Empire to do greaterdamage to the Rebellion than the double-agent'soperations do to the Empire.

A mole is inserted behind the lines, to trans-fer important intelligence about enemy activi-ties when the opportunities arise.

A polwocz is a type of creature located in theSpinward sector. Their spawn lay underground,undetected for years or even decades. Oncehatched, the larvae initiate a feeding frenzy


From: Hyndis Kogler, Bureau: InfiltrationTo: Dr. Tobias, Analysis: TechSubject: Your Droid SchemeConfirmed: SEND; TRAN9/9; RECVContext: 5E13; AOPT; DSYS; ROPT;Phasecycle: PSEG 7519285763950326; LINE;00.06BMUT; 00.15RMUT

Dr. Tobias,I have received all of your communications on

the use of 3PO droids for infiltration. We have givenit a great deal of consideration. I am responding insufficient detail to each of your points that youmight understand our point of view.

1. 3PO droids are indeed nearly universal through-out the galaxy, being one of the 20 most populardroid models of all time, with more still being pro-duced. This means that if the Rebels have any needfor a 3PO, they could have easily picked up what-ever quantity they need. We suspect their need isminimal. As for the ease of infiltration, the mostdifficult thing about infiltrating the Rebels is findingsome Rebels to infiltrate. Our agents have to be inplace for months or years before getting a chance tojoin the Rebel Alliance. We cannot just ship 3POs tothem.

Additionally, it is easier to scan droids than livingbeings, as droids are still simpler constructs andthey are far more uniform than any single species inthe Empire.

2. I have seen Dr. Lucien's modifications. Thededicated energy receptor (DER) is covered with atranslucent membrane which from certain anglesgives the 3PO the appearance of a third eye, some-thing which will undoubtedly raise suspicions amongobservant Rebels.

3. I am sure the Ubiqtorate appreciates yourefforts to save the New Order a few credits byreplacing agents with droids. I certainly do notappreciate the prospect of being replaced by some

mobile garbage compactor from Astromech or CybotGalactica. I feel Infiltration is best staffed by beingsrather than droids; we are still more effective thanany droid yet invented.

4. All of this can be summed up by our responseto your last point.

Read this part carefully, Tobias. I am extremelyangry over your demonstration. On Stensen's Colonythere are Ghothian slime pools which display agreater degree of intelligence than you did when youinitiated this project.

I was scanning by my terminal when the securitysystem notified me that a droid with an improperlycoded ID chip had entered the perimeter office asplit second before. I notified IntSec personnel andthen grabbed a few men from Infiltration to try andhead it off before it reached any sensitive areaswithin the office. As I rounded the corner I spotted a3PO waddling casually toward a sector office. It wasthen that I spotted Dr. Lucien's modification. Yourdroid had time to say, "Oh dear, there must be somemistake," before we blasted its legs off. Satisfied thatthe droid had no weaponry, we interrogated it. I havehad no more than the standard course on interroga-tion given by your bureau, but I had the 3PO spillingits chips before I had bolstered my blaster.

Cute idea, trying to insert a 3PO into Infiltration. Itwas a stupid idea having the 3PO transmit its find-ings directly to your office for two reasons. First, anyunsecured transmissions in our office will be de-tected — not might be, will be. Second, for directtransmission you had to give the droid exact coordi-nates to your office. If we hadn't known where youroffice was, we would now.

So Tobias, it was a stupid idea to send those eightother 3POs out to find Rebel bases to infiltrate. TheBureau has managed to recover seven of them, butone of them is still out there. If we don't find that lastdroid before the Rebels do, you may get a close upopportunity to see how Rebel equipment works.


• While technically illegal, assassin droids are stillused for certain choice assignments by Intelligence.

which is reputed to destroy entire cities. Apolwocz is therefore an agent who is to be usedjust once, at a critical moment when his use canbe devastating to the enemy.

RenikRenik is the branch in charge of counterintel-

ligence, which is the art of identifying and dis-mantling enemy spy operations. If a particularspy operation is considered to be potentiallyuseful, Renik hands over all information on theenemy operation to Infiltration, which takes itfrom there. If the enemy group is consideredinsignificant or too dangerous to allow contin-ued operations, Renik destroys it.

The branch has built a considerable mythabout where the name Renik came from. Theynow claim an ancient species existed in the Galac-tic Core called the Delorf. The Delorf were apastoral species, one which never aspired totechnological achievements. But many amongthem had an innate sense which allowed them tofeel treachery and animosity in another being,Deiorf or not. Upon sensing animosity in another,the Delorf sensitives would gather and pool theirenergies into a ritual called "Renik." Renik wouldcleanse the hostility and treachery from the tar-get being, making him one of the Delorf in mind ifnot in body.

It is far more likely that the term Renik isderived from the last respected counterintelli-gence officer in the Old Republic, Admiral Kiner.Being counterintelligence, the name was reversed.

Diplomatic Services (DiploSer)Diplomatic Services is the catch-all branch of

the Bureau. It provides a sizable portion of thepersonnel for trade and diplomatic missionsfound in Imperial garrisons, as well as politicalexperts for planetary governments and Moffs.Many of these personnel are well trained andexpected to perform only their overt duties,with the exception of reporting their action toImperial Intelligence. Others are more clandes-tine agents, some sent on specific anti-Rebelmissions, but most sent to establish and orga-nize system cells within their area of influence.

Destabilization (Destab)Referred to as "the quiet branch," no one

hears much about Destabilization. Part of thereason is that Destab keeps its operations veryquiet. The rest of it is the fact that Destaboperations make a large number of ImperialIntelligence agents queasy. Destab has beenknown to move from what agents consider le-gitimate intelligence operations into full-fledgedatrocities. Given the shadowy ethics of Imperial

Intelligence, this says quite a bit about Destab.Officially, Destabilization is the branch which

specializes in "taking the fabric which holds apeople, society or government together andunraveling it." Agents from other branches sug-gest Destab's methods more closely resembleshredding.

AssassinationUnlike Destabilization, Assassination is a

branch which is wholeheartedly embraced bythe agents of other branches; assassination haslong been a legitimate means of removal of keymembers of the opposition for intelligence agen-cies. The ban on assassin droids has enhancedthe image of assassination being a fair contestbetween the hunter and the hunted. While As-sassination is careful not to unnecessarily di-lute this image, its agents are trained to takeevery advantage, to use every trick and subter-fuge possible; in short, to weight the contest asmuch in the favor of the assassin as possible.

Assassination has been careful to select onlythose targets for which mission success is prob-able. It is a tribute to their highly trained agentsthat the actual success ratio is higher than thetheoretical one. This has only served to en-hance the mystique of Assassination withinImperial Intelligence.



sector in the Empire, and each sector branchhas scores or hundreds of experts within it.Sedition and Crisis draw from the sectorbranches as is appropriate for the situationcurrently under consideration.

Sector PlexusSector Plexus is the heart of the information

system for Imperial Intelligence. While none ofthe bureaus are completely centralized, SectorPlexus is the most dispersed. Equipped with themost advanced communication computers andequipment in the galaxy, Sector Plexus conduitshandle better than 99.95 percent of all ImperialIntelligence communications. The Plexus en-codes, categorizes, transmits, stores, receivesand decodes more messages in a single stan-dard day than most planetary communicationsnets will transmit in over 800 standard years.

Sector Plexus assigns each agent or branchoffice its code number and sequence, and Plexuscomputers compute and send agents the PSEGsthey are most likely to need (see "How to Readan Imperial Intelligence Scandoc"). There aretypically half a dozen PSEGs for a field agent,5,000 for a typical branch office agent, and bet-ter than a million for a high ranking official of abureau. Sector Plexus records and updates allPSEGs according to a complicated security algo-rithm. If a transmitting agent's PSEG is suffi-ciently out of date, even if the message is en-coded properly, the computers will transfer themessage to a Plexus officer who decides whetheror not to authorize the sending of the message.These officers will often route copies of mes-sages which are the slightest bit suspicious toIntCon, Renik and the Ubiqtorate.

When a message is sent through the Plexus, itis copied and transmitted to at least two differ-ent conduits at each link along the way. EachSector Plexus station is a surprisingly smallaffair, and while they are well hidden, theirsecurity is far from guaranteed. If enemy forcesdestroy a few Plexus conduits, parallel trans-mission will allow the message to get throughdespite the loss. Lower priority messages aresent on less secure channels, and only twocopies of each message are transmitted fromeach conduit. But there are five or more linksalong the message path before transmission tothe final destination, and the message is trans-mitted to additional conduits even after themessage has been received at the final destina-tion. This means the message is routed to thou-sands of places, only one of which is the actualdestination. Even if a message is intercepted,enemy agents have a slim chance of discoveringthe location of the initial sender or the recipient;

IntelligenceWhen Analysis finishes sorting, cleaning, de-

coding, or otherwise manipulating the data sentto them, they pass it on to Intelligence. Intelli-gence has culled experts from all over the Em-pire. They have recruited military experts, cul-tural experts, experts in politics, economics,science and technology, experts in almost everypossible field of endeavor, intelligence hasplucked experts from universities, corporations,planetary governments, artistic movements,religious movements, the media, the underworld— they have pulled in experts from nearly everyconceivable place or organization, includingsome turncoats from the Rebellion.

Intelligence combines the vast knowledge ofits agents with the most sophisticated com-puter models in the galaxy to predict trends orfuture actions of the enemies of the New Order.These predictions are refined into reports trans-mitted to the Ubiqtorate. From these reports,the Ubiqtorate establishes priorities and setsstrategies for the whole of Imperial Intelligence.

External Communications (ExComm)Sector Plexus has the normal conduits for

information between the Bureaus and the sys-tem cells. ExComm is a branch with its owncommunications equipment. While muchsmaller than Sector Plexus, ExComm is used foremergency communication with system cells,or for priority communications with the militaryforces of the Empire. ExComm is used for thoserare times when the labyrinthine communica-tion works of Sector Plexus are just not quickenough.

SeditionSedition is a branch of Intelligence which

specializes in knowledge and predictions onorganized opposition to the Empire. Seditionhas been growing rapidly in the past few years,keeping pace with the increased resentment tothe Emperor's rule.

CrisisCrisis is not a permanent branch of Intelli-

gence. It is created as need arises, a Crisisbranch for each active hot spot within the Em-pire. A Crisis branch is in constant contact withthe Ubiqtorate, and ExComm facilities are attheir disposal for direct contacts with GrandMoffs, and even the Emperor if the situation isdire enough.

Sector BranchesThe sector branches are the basic divisions

of Intelligence. There is a sector branch for each

Chapter Three. Imperial Intelligence


the chain is too long.Sending messages over many links takes time,

so higher priority messages are sent over moresecure channels and fewer links, but three cop-ies of each message is sent from a single conduitto better protect against the destruction ofPlexus conduits.

When copies of a message are transmitted,there can be many reasons for errors — powerfluctuations during transmission, signal degra-dation over long range, interference from otherbeamcasts or star activity. The message mayhave been interrupted by a message of higherpriority. The computer may receive readingswhich indicate enemy sensors are sweeping thearea for evidence of transmissions, and quicklystop transmissions.

When the message reaches its final conduit,the Plexus computer assembles and comparesall received versions of the message, synthesiz-ing them into the message most likely to be anexact copy of the original. The computer thengenerates the authenticity code for the message— the more secure the channel and the fewerthe deviations between copies of the message,the higher the authenticity code.

Plexus Droid Vessels (PDV)Sector Plexus has access to portions of the

HoloNet, but most of their information is carriedfrom system to system on droid vessels. Theseare small, extremely fast starships run strictlyby CNLinked droids and computers. The shiphas a nav computer, a storage/transceiving 12-CG droid (based on Cybot Galactica's ED4model), a "ship's captain" R2-M3 droid (basedon the R2 astromech droid), and an analysis/encoding computer equipped with a TranLangIII Communication module. These ships containno accommodations or space for living beings,nor do they have life support systems.

Essentially the PDV is a fuel source and en-gine, with supporting electronics and droidsattached. It is built strictly to send and receivePlexus conduit transmissions within a systemand then jump to the next system on its route. Acombination of PDV speed, programmed skillsand efficient route algorithms guarantee that aPDV never has a jump duration greater than onestandard day, except in extreme emergencies.

The PDV has the ability to avoid detection bylong range sensors. PDV's are often given minimalcamouflage to make them look like mining probesor scavenger droids to casual observers.• Plexus Droid Vessel

Craft: Imperial Intelligence Tech 4 PDVType: Unmanned Messenger PodScale: Starfighter


Length: 9 metersSkill: Plexus droid vessel pilotingCrew: 12-CG (storage/receiving), I2AM ("captain"/astrogator), A/E Computer (analysis/encoding/transla-tion)Cost: Not available for saleHyperdrive Multiplier: xl/2Nav Computer: YesManeuverability: 5DSpace: 15Hull: 2DSpecial Abilities:Droid Package: Plexus droid vessels have a linked droid/computer system with the following skills: Languages9D, planetary systems 5D, astrogation 3D, plexus droidvessel piloting 4D, search 5D, sneak 7D, computer program-ming/repair 7D, and plexus droid vessel repair 7D.

Imperial CompLinkWhen the New Order was declared, there

arose an ambitious group of scientists eager tofree research from the parochial power struggleswhich typified the latter days of the Old Repub-lic. They proposed a vast computer networkconnected to the HoloNets, giving scientists onany of millions of worlds instant access to infor-mation vital to their research. These scientistsdesigned and wrote much of the software neces-sary to support such a system, presenting theentire package to Palpatine and his advisors.

The idea was rejected, ostensibly for thetremendous additional funds needed to upgradethe HoloNet to handle the increased flow ofinformation. The costs were real, and Palpatineneeded the tens of trillions of credits elsewhere,but he also feared a system which would allowsuch an instantaneous and complete exchangeof information between citizens of the New Or-der.

Imperial Intelligence managed to retrieve al-most all of the documentation and software, andrecruited a number of the scientists who pro-posed the Imperial CompLink. Using the PDVsand Plexus conduits to link the computers, ratherthan HoloNet technology, reduced the costsmore than ten thousandfold. The prospect ofhaving access to every computer bank in thegalaxy, with the nearly inconceivable wealth ofinformation such a system would provide, wastoo tempting to ignore.

With the help of system cells throughout thegalaxy, as well as a massive effort by virtuallyevery talented individual within Tech, the nec-essary software was installed in computer net-works in hundreds of sectors. Still, less than sixpercent of the planetary networks had beentapped; many of the rest had security which wastoo difficult to penetrate to make it worth therisk.

The Ubiqtorate considered cancelling theproject as too expensive for the benefits it ac-



How to Read an Imperial Intelligence ScandocImperial Intelligence is famous for the secu-

rity of its scandocs, as well the structure (whichoften baffles new recruits). To help test thesecurity of its communications, Imperial Intel-ligence often sends sample communications tothe Navy or to COMPNOR, challenging them tobreak the security of the scandoc. No one hasyet broken a completely encoded communica-tion.

A fully secured scandoc will look like thiswhen decoded:From: Pouquor Elegin, Intelligence: SeditionTo: Murtan Andes, Tatooine/3Subject: Reallocation of EffortsConfirmed: SEND; TRAN59/64; RECVContext: 6E6; AMAN; IMMD; ROPTPhasecycle: PSEG14451356 7390290; ICON;

00.12BMUT;00.30RMUTMurtan,

Now that the Rebels have fled their base onTatooine, we feel you should dismantle theTatooine/3 operation and take any essentialpersonnel with you to the Al'Nasrlsector. Thereare strong indications that there is a nascentRebel movement in that sector.

Murtan, we must deny you permission tocontinue your contacts with the underworldlord, Jabba the Hutt. The Bureau has had deal-ings with him before, and despite Jabba's an-tipathy toward certain Rebel Alliance person-nel, he can scarcely be said to have any interestin the New Order other than as a new source ofrevenue.

To explainFrom: The sender is from the headquarters

of a certain branch of Imperial Intelligence(Internal Organization, Analysis, Operations,or Intelligence).

The sender's name is always a pseudonym.Each sender will have better than a dozenpersonal code names, as well as several hun-dred "pool" names which may be used by anymember of the sender's branch. Once a codename is used in a particular transmission, Sec-tor Plexus will keep the names and destinationsstraight for future use.

Next is the bureau of the sender, followed bythe sender's branch within the bureau. If thesender is from a system cell, the cell designa-tion is the only information given.

To: If the recipient is not in a system cell, therecipient's name is also a pseudonym. In asystem cell, the recipient's name is often a

pseudonym, but Imperial Intelligence choosesthese names with particular care. A randompercentage of a system cell's agents are as-signed their own names. The remaining agentsare given a pseudonym which is the name ofsome poor citizen who is not connected withImperial Intelligence in any way.

Murtan is a member of the system cell "Ta-tooine/3." If he had been a member of a bureau,the designation would be his bureau and branchnames.

Subject: When transmitting to system cells,the subject is usually plaintext. When transmit-ting to other branches, code phrases are oftensubstituted for plaintext, just in case. In suchcases, the majority of the message is embed-ded in the subject, and the main body of the textwill make no sense without the necessary con-text of the encoded subject.

Confirmed: This status line tells the recipi-ent which send and receive codes were ac-knowledged and matched without any error.

"SEND" indicates the send code was con-firmed and matched.

"RECV" means the receive code was alsoconfirmed. If either code is not confirmed, themessage is aborted or altered.

"TRAN" indicates how many of the informa-tion conduits in Sector Plexus have transmit-ted the message with all the appropriate codesand the content completely intact and errorfree. There are several reasons why these num-bers rarely match (see "Sector Plexus"). In thisscandoc, 59 of 64 information conduits havetransmitted perfectly.

Context: The first item in this status line isthe authenticity of the message. "6E6" is stan-dard notation for 6,000,000; the odds that themessage has been faked or tampered with are6,000,000 to 1 against. 100,000 to 1, or E5 isusually the lowest acceptable security level forfield agents. Levels of secrecy in Imperial Intel-ligence directly correspond to the authenticitylevel necessary to act upon the information.Bureau-to-branch communications has a mini-mum authenticity of E8, often rising to E18,while branch-to-branch or bureau-to-bureaucommunications have a minimum authenticityof E25. Ubiqtorate communications can havean authenticity no lower than E50.

The next item is the action code:"AOPT" tells the agent that the action de-

scribed in the text is optional, and the sender



expects the recipient to use his best judgmentin deciding whether or not to undertake thetask.

"AADV" says the actions are "advised," whichis an Imperial Intelligence euphemism; thesender believes the action should be optionalbut there is considerable political pressurefrom above for this operation. An agent mustfactor these risks in addition to the risks inher-ent in the mission.

"AMAN" means the actions described in thetext are mandatory. In case of contradictions,the more recent mandatory action takes prece-dence.

"AEXC" is an exclusive action. The agent isexpected to execute this action to the exclusionof everything else.

The security item is next."PERS" indicates the information is restricted

to the recipient. He may inform no one of themessage.

"IMMD" security means the information isrestricted to the immediate peers of the agentand necessary subordinates. This can meandifferent things to different agents, dependingon how Imperial Intelligence is structuredaround them.

"USYS" means the message may be relayedby the agent to any of his superiors in ImperialIntelligence.

"DSYS" means he may inform any subordi-nates.

"ASYS" tells an agent he may contact anylevel of Imperial Intelligence which needs thisinformation.

The "SYS" levels are generally reserved forbureau and branch level communications, asfield agents have little use for those classifica-tions.

The response item lets the agent know if hemust acknowledge receiving the message.

"ROPT" indicates an optional response."RMAN" means the agent must acknowledge

receipt of the message as soon as possible.Phasecycle: The messages which Imperial

Intelligence sends are dynamic, which meanssoftware which modifies the scandoc is embed-ded within the scandoc itself. The scandoc iscontinually regenerating itself, receding itselfaccording to a deterministic sequence. Thiscoding will change word order, sentence order,paragraph structure, as well as individual ci-phers for words or characters. This technique

makes breaking the code of an Intelligencescandoc nearly impossible.

The "PSEG" item is a contraction for "prod-uct segment." When Imperial Intelligence codesmessages, it uses "prime product matching" inwhich the coding sequence is related to theproduct of two huge prime numbers (200 to5,000 digits long), one assigned to the senderand one to the recipient. The actual numbersare kept in Sector Plexus and are unknown toboth the sending and receiving agent.

The recipient is given a list of PSEGs, digitswhich come from some segment of the productof the primes. PSEGs are from five to 25 digits inlength. If an agent's PSEG matches the PSEG ofthe message, the agent knows that his securityand operations file (SOF) is current with SectorPlexus. If there is a discrepancy, then the agentis out of date. The greater the discrepancy, themore out of date his SOF. The agent mustcontact Sector Plexus for an update.

The next item is the message packet. "ICON"means the smallest message packet with whichthe scandoc works is a single graphic icon ortext character. The other possible choices are"WORD," "LINE" and "SCAN." The size of amessage packet relates to the sensitivity of themessage as well as the size of the main body ofthe message; a very large, very sensitive mes-sage will almost always be set at SCAN.

An Imperial Intelligence scandoc is constantlyregenerating itself. Initially this reproduction isabsolutely accurate. After a time, the messagewill mutate, changing about one of every 1,000of the individual message packets. When thesemutant packets are reproduced, some of themessage packets sequenced after them willmutate as well. After a while the message isaltered to incomprehensible gibberish.

As the mutations are basically random andthere is no record of any intermediate scans,there is no hope of reconstructing the originalmessage fromsufficientlymutateddescendents.

The numbers before "BMUT" tells the agenthow long before the mutations begin, given inthe form days, hours and minutes.

The number before "RMUT" tells the agentapproximately how often a mutation occurs,given in hours and minutes. For every minute ofRMUT, an agent has one hour of time before themessage degrades significantly; if a day haspassed for every two minutes of RMUT, theagent can forget about retrieving any usefulinformation from the message.


crued. It was then that a Plexus technician,Geothray Camber, sent Dr. Lindu Sencker aseries of scandocs with preliminary specifica-tions for a new eavesdropping device whichwould circumvent the security systems in virtu-ally every computer system in existence.Sencker's team conquered the formidable theo-retical and technical problems poised byCamber's plan. A prototype of the device wasbuilt in time for an effective demonstration forthe Ubiqtorate — by stealing several files fromthe computers of the Imperial Security Bureau.

With this device, the Hyperspace OrbitingScanner (HOS), Imperial Intelligence has beenable to tap into the computer networks on morethan 470,000 worlds, and the number is increas-ing every day.

Left in hyperspace orbit around a planet, theHOS sensors do not pick up the signals from thecomputer directly. They monitor the hyper-space shadows left by streaking particles insidea computer.

Careful and systematic matching of the shad-ows of known computer languages to the shad-ows produced by the target system have pro-duced data which is better than 78 percentreliable. Imperial science is not likely to pro-duce an improvement over this phenomenalperformance any time in the near future.

An HOS is placed and serviced by modifiedPDVs. PDVs enter hyperspace and then cyclethrough various triangulations on possible po-sitions of the HOS (whose hyperspace shadowis lost against the shadow of the planet andother, larger space vehicles) until the orbiter islocated. This process can take hours. It wouldbe virtually impossible if the searching craft didnot already have an idea of where the HOS was.The PDV then links with the HOS in orbit.

To transfer large amounts of data, or to effectany repairs on the HOS, the PDV must tempo-rarily pull out of hyperspace. It is vulnerableduring this period, and so stays in realspaceonly for the minimum possible time. Once re-pairs are made or the information is transferred,


the PDV and HOS return to hyperspace — theHOS to its orbit and the PDV to its rendezvouswith the local Plexus conduit.

System CellImperial Intelligence has placed millions of

system cells throughout the galaxy. They existon every inhabited world, and even on a fewuninhabited ones which prove to be convenientjump sites or listening posts. While a system cellcan theoretically be of any size from a singlebeing to hundreds, they usually range from fourto 20 beings. Imperial Intelligence often recruitsagents from the worlds on which they are goingto serve, training them off-world only if abso-lutely necessary. Once a cell has proven itself, itmay be given additional training and possibleplacement on other systems.

A system cell is the basic unit of ImperialIntelligence. When the Ubiqtorate plans strat-egy, it thinks in terms of operations which couldbe conducted independently by system cells,with all coordination coming from the bureaus.System cells are aware of the command struc-ture immediately above them, but are allowedto know very little else about Imperial Intelli-gence. They are most emphatically not allowedto know of the existence or operations of othersystem cells.

Imperial Intelligence gives system cells rudi-mentary logistic support. The only standardpiece of equipment is the RWStar A/P Trans-ceiver, with expanded memory and processingcapabilities, which communicates with Plexusdroid vehicles or Plexus conduits. Other equip-ment is to be obtained by the system cell itself,or is provided on a mission basis only. This lackof equipment occasionally hampers a cell, butthe ingenuity of cell agents usually makes up forthe lack of sophisticated gear.

A cell can increase its status within ImperialIntelligence by equipping itself from hostilesources. This includes not only the Rebellion,but often the underworld and sometimes evenCOMPNOR.

Chapter Four: The Military

Chapter FourThe Military

(Compiled from various sources, includingscandocs, datareports, and communiques.)

The might of the Empire has not arisen over-night, although years of planning and prepara-tion by the Emperor allowed the military toexpand at a nearly inconceivable rate. From thetime of the Old Republic to the opening years ofthe New Order was a period of rapid change andexpansion for the Imperial forces. With theEmpire's loss at the Battle of Yavin, even morechanges have taken place — some not even yetannounced to the various branches.

The NavyThe Navy has grown enormously since the

decline of the Old Republic, but its mission haslargely stayed the same: to free the systemspace of member worlds from hazards to profit-able commerce, to assure the safety of memberworlds from attack from outside forces, and tobolster the planetary governments in times ofcrisis. This last mission has grown more difficultsince the rise of the New Order.

Under the Republic, the Navy could move inand put down unrest in a system, secure in theknowledge that the majority of the governedspecies welcomed their intervention. The NewOrder has changed the attitudes on many of theconstituent worlds. While the vastly increasedfirepower available to the Navy has so far beenmore than adequate to compensate for anyincrease in hostilities, the willingness of mem-ber worlds to resist the New Order is expectedto be a greater problem in the future.

Changes in CivilianCommand Structure

Planetary governments had the right to callupon the Navy of the Old Republic in emergen-cies. They would simultaneously petition theSenate if the forces were to be engaged for morethan seven standard days (most actions couldbe concluded within that time). The only lengthy

campaigns were against the pirates located onthe fringe worlds, and these were the concertedefforts of several hundred worlds who at onetime or another had found themselves prey forpirates.

Since the disbanding of the Senate, the Navyis no longer required to respond to requestsfrom planetary governments, including the plan-etary governors appointed by the Empire. Un-der new doctrine, individual planets are tooinsignificant to allow them direct control overan asset as important as the Imperial Navy, evenfor short periods of time.

Civilian orders are now transmitted at thelevel of the Sector Group, from regional Moffs,Grand Moffs, or the Emperor himself. Smallerunits are to receive their orders only from offic-ers in the proper chain of command. This is adefinite change from the Republican Navy, whenSenators or other politically powerful beingscould directly commandeer naval vessels —sometimes entire squadrons — for missionswithout having the order come down throughthe chain of command.

This change has greatly boosted the moraleof naval personnel. The officers now know thatthe strategy is being set at a level of authoritywhich is best suited for seeing the whole pic-



ture. Naval commanders have the authority andresponsibility to execute their orders in thebest manner possible, and they know they shallbe free from political interference while doingso.

Naval Command StructureThe Navy has responded to its rapid growth

by changing its command structure, introduc-ing intermediate levels of command which didnot exist in the Republican Navy. Most of thejunior level officers were promoted to theseintermediate levels, while the senior officerskept their ranks but had the scope of theircommand enlarged. An admiral in the ImperialNavy commands forces over 10 times as great asan admiral did during the Old Republic.

Naval PersonnelAll vessels serving in the Imperial fleets have

varying numbers of the following personnel. Itmust be noted that all game statistics are for"typical" individuals in that category—specificskill levels may vary dramatically from indi-vidual to individual or ship to ship, dependingupon training level, mission profile and count-less other factors.

PilotsFrom the men who fly the

capital ships to the men wholeap into the cockpits of theTIE fighters, Imperial pilotsare the mainstay of the Im-perial Navy. They are thenecessary element in themilitary branch chargedwith protecting thespace lanes from pi-rates, smugglers, alieninvaders, and Rebels.

The top pilots in thegalaxy are found in theImperial Navy. Thesepilots, following theglorious and time-hon-ored allure establishedduring the Republic, at-tend the premier academiesthroughout the Empire.Within these fine institu-tions, the Empire teachesthese men duty and pro-motes the idea of maintain-ing order, as opposed todefending against aggres-sion.

TIE pilots form an elite


corps within the Imperial Navy. Each candidatefor admission into the rigorous TIE trainingprogram must undergo a strenuous screeningand testing process. After all, they are beingprepared to fly the best starfighters the Empirehas to offer.• Typical Imperial Pilot

Type: Imperial PilotDEXTERITY 2D+1Blaster 3D+1, dodge 3D+1KNOWLEDGE 1D+1Planetary systems 2D+1, survival 2D+1, value 2D+1MECHANICAL 3DAstrogation 4D, capital ship gunnery 4D, capital shippiloting 5D, capital ship shields 4D, communications3D+1, sensors 3D+1, space transports 4DPERCEPTION 2DHide 3D, investigation 3D, sneak 3DSTRENGTH 2DClimbing/jumping 3D, stamina 3D+1TECHNICAL 1D+1Capital ship repair 3D+1, capital ship weapon repair2D+1, computer programming/repair 2D+1Character Points: Varies, typically 0-3Move: 10Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D), flight suit, navigationalcomputer linkup helmet (internal comlink, +1D to sen-sors), survival gear

• Typical TIE Fighter PilotType: TIE PilotDEXTERITY 3D+1Blaster 4D+1, dodge 4D+1KNOWLEDGE 2DPlanetary systems 3DMECHANICAL 4DSensors 4D+2, starfighter piloting 6D, starship gunnery5DPERCEPTION 3DCommand 4D, search 4DSTRENGTH 3DStamina 4DTECHNICAL 2DComputer programming/repair 3D+1, starfighter repair5DCharacter Points: Varies, typically 0-3Move: 10Equipment: Navigational computer linkup helmet (in-ternal comlink, + ID to sensors), high gravity stress flightsuit with life support equipment, one week emergencyrations, blaster pistol (4D), survival gear

GunnersGunners are a special sub-unit of the Imperial

pilot corp. Any Imperial military vessel largerthan a one-man TIE starfighter makes use ofthese trained weapons masters to handle thehigh-tech arms employed by the Empire.

Most gunners are either pilots in training orpilots who failed to make the grade in all theskills necessary to fly a vessel. Nonetheless, agunner must have a keen eye, superior reflexes,and a rapport with the specialized equipment.

Gunners are trained to handle everythingfrom a single light laser cannon up to turbolaserbattery emplacements and even the now-de-


stroyed superlaser that wasthe main weapon of theDeath Star battle station.In addition to their hands-on training, gunners learnto work with specializedcomputer helmets that notonly offer protection but areequipped with macro-binocular viewplates andsensor arrays to assistwith targeting fast-mov-ing fighter craft.• Typical Imperial

GunnerType: Imperial GunnerDEXTERITY 2D+2Blaster 3D+2, blaster artillery4D+2, dodge 3D+2, thrown weap-ons 3D+2, vehicle blasters 4D+2KNOWLEDGE 1D+1Value 2D+1MECHANICAL 3DCapital ship gunnery 5D, capitalship shields 4D, communications4D, sensors 4D, starship gunnery4D, starship shields 3D+2PERCEPTION 1D+1Bargain 2D+1, con 2D+2STRENGTH 1D+1Climbing/jumping 2D+1, lifting 3D+1, stamina2D+1TECHNICAL 2D+1Capital starship weapon repair 4D+1, computer pro-gramming/repair 3D+1, starship weapon repair 4D+1Character Points: Varies, typically 0-2Move: 10Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D), computerized gunneryhelmet (+ ID to capital ship gunnery or starship gunnery;tongue operated comlink, +1D to sensors), protectivearmor (+2 physical and energy)Note: Some gunners receive more specialized training,accounting for varying skill levels. Gunners aboard theDeath Star utilized a more expensive and sophisticatedhelmet tracking system for better fire control assitance.

Naval TroopersTo protect its vast number of capital ships

without relying on the help of the Army, theNavy has created a corps of troopers to act assoldiers. These men, trained in traditional com-bat skills, also learn skills needed to surviveaboard the mighty vessels that patrol the galaxyin the name of the Emperor.

These troopers wear the distinctive uniformand helmet once only the province of the DeathStar troopers. These soldiers dressed in all blackare deadly warriors, but they all serve otherfunctions aboard Imperial ships. They act assecurity, handle hangar traffic control, monitorsensor arrays, and other duties when their com-bat skills aren't required.

• Typical Imperial Naval TrooperType: Imperial Navy TrooperDEXTERITY 2D+1Blaster 3D+1, blaster: blaster rifle 4D+2, brawling parry3D+1, dodge 3D+1, grenade 3D+1, melee combat 3D+1,melee parry 3D+1, running 3D+2KNOWLEDGE 1D+1Intimidation 2D+1, streetwise 2D+1MECHANICAL 1D+2Repulsorlift operation 2D+2, capital ship shields2D+2PERCEPTION 3DCommand 4D, search 4DSTRENGTH 2D+2Brawling 4D+2, stamina 3D+2TECHNICAL IDSecurity 2 D 'Character Points: Varies, typically 0-3Move: 10Equipment: Blast helmet (+1D physical,+ 1 energy), blaster pistol (4D), comlink

EquipmentEquipment designs proliferated

under the Old Republic to the extentthat the odds of a cadet training onequipment and serving with unitswhich used anything which bore apassing resemblance to said equipmentwas often remote.

With the New Order, and especiallysince the massive build-up orders is-sued after the Battle of Yavin, the Navyhas received top-of-the-line equipmentthroughout the upper ranks of the Impe-rial fleet. Only in the lower, system-levelunits does the older, less-standardizedequipment appear in large quantities.

The ArmyIf the Navy was rejuvenated since the rise of

the New Order, the Army was revived from thedead. During the days of the Old Republic theArmy degenerated into a poorly trained policeforce with fancy uniforms. They performed gar-rison duty on member worlds, often as a barrierbetween squabbling locals. The Navy was re-sponsible for getting the Army to its destinationand for picking up what was left. There was lipservice paid to the concept of orbital support,but the Navy was stretched too thinly to affordsitting in stationary orbit for the duration of asurface campaign. The Navy jealously guardedits starfighters, so the Army was denied anyeffective means of maintaining an orbit free ofenemy spacecraft once the Navy departed.Morale was often low and the quality of Armypersonnel bordered on non-existent.

With the New Order, the Army was com-pletely overhauled. Rigorous training and re-cruitment programs were re-established, and



the missions of the Army were expanded. Dropmissions into hostile territory were consideredto be routine for normal troopers rather thanthe province of a few elite units. Training forcomplex assaults was the norm, and Imperialdoctrine specified the Navy's mission to besupport for surface forces during critical phasesof an operation.

Doctrine further specified that permanentgarrisons or units expecting surface campaignsof significant duration would have significantNaval assets, such as TIE fighters, attached tothe Army units for the whole of the mission.These assets were determined well in advanceof the mission and soon standardized so anArmy officer could know what he had to workwith for a particular type of mission.

Changes in the CivilianCommand Structure

The Army used to be almost exclusively un-der the command of the planetary governmentsof the worlds on which they served. This wasdue to necessity more than anything else; mostworlds had an arrangement whereby they paidhalf the expenses and provided half the materielof any Army unit engaged in operations on theirworld, unlike the Navy whose expenses werepaid for by the Republic as a whole. This onedifference was perhaps the major cause for thedecline of the Army. The worlds which neededhelp from the Republic and were not among thewealthiest continually complained about thecost of surface forces deployed on their planets.The average amount spent on the Army plum-

meted while the Navy's expenditures remainedconstant.

With the New Order, and especially since theabolishment of the Senate, the Army has be-come the physical manifestation of the Empirethroughout the galaxy. Whether black-clad Im-perial soldiers or white-armored stormtroopers,the Imperial Army has grown into the mailed fistthat pounds the thousand-thousand worlds ofthe Galactic Empire into submission.

The Army Command StructureThe Army took a different tack from the Navy

when it experienced its phenomenal growth,The army kept its ranks the same, but increasedthe number of subordinate officers for eachrank above. This decreased the ratio of officers


During This Time of Crisis ...(A holomessage to the citizens of the Galactic Empire

from Ars Dangor, advisor to the Emperor.)Loyal subjects,

These are dangerous times. Our grand Empire of unitedstar systems now faces a threat that could destroy us ifaction is not taken quickly.

As always, we shall act quickly.The rebellion against the Emperor's fair and just rule

has flared into a flame greater than we anticipate'd. Itthreatens to become a civil war, and as such we havedeclared it an emergency situation.

To better protect our citizens and our member worlds,the Emperor has superseded and suspended the ImperialSenate for the duration of this emergency. The Moffs andGrand Moffs will now have direct control of their systemsuntil such time as the danger has passed.

We are sure you shall all do everything in your powerto assist us during this time of crisis.

Your servant,Ars Dangor, Imperial Advisor

Admiral Jerjerrod's Testimony(From the days of the Old Republic, a

holorecording of Senate Security Hearings,Naval Subcommittee, Procurement Panel:Document #RS.SS. 225863a.NS. 1771.PP.24)

Senator Gopple: Admiral Jerjerrod, youhave indicated to this panel that you havecertain misgivings concerning the procure-ment procedure of our fair Republic. Couldyou explain why you insist on undermin-ing the Republic's confidence in her Navywith your public statements, rather thangoing through the chain of command as isproper for a military officer?

Admiral Jerjerrod: The Senator fromErigorm has not scanned my reports verythoroughly. I have reported to the properpeople above me and to my peers withinthe Naval Command. My public statements,as you choose to call them Senator, weretaken from those reports I so filed. I hadnothing to do with their dissemination.

Senator V'troren: But if you did not leakthese reports to the media, who did? Whoelse would have had the motivation topromulgate your particular point of view?

Admiral Jerjerrod: Senator V'troren,every being serving knows that the weap-ons he uses, the ships on which he serves,the droids and computers on which his lifedepends—every pieceof equipment whichhe will expect to use — was designed as aresult of a Senate compromise to keepeach constituent commercial interesthappy. Upon entering combat with suchequipment a crewman's sole consolationis a grim satisfaction that our enemiesprobably stole their equipment from us.


(5D), helmet comlink, survival gear, utility belt withsupplies

Army Assault CrewsThe Imperial Army uses surface attack ve-

hicles such as AT-AT and AT-ST walkers to equalthe fury of their assault troopers. These ve-hicles are all heavily armed and armored toprovide maximum fire power and protection tothe units they are assigned to.

The crews that service these war machinesare soldiers with training in the operation of avariety of ground assault vehicles. Most of thesemachines are crewed by a pilot, a gunner, and acombat coordinator (or commander). Depend-ing on the size and type of vehicle, there may beadditional crew members or fewer crew han-dling multiple roles.

Like the normal Army trooper, assault crew-men wear gray uniforms and partial body armor.They receive all the combat training given thetrooper, as well as the training needed to operatethe ground assault vehicles. They also learn howto best apply the Imperial mindset of rule by fearthrough the use of their war machines.• Imperial Army Assault Trooper

Type: Imperial Assault TrooperDEXTERITY 2D+2Blaster 4D+2, blaster artillery 3D+2, vehicle blasters5D+2

to troops and gave the Imperial Army a very leanfighting force.

The establishment of the New Order gave theArmy the opportunity to clear out its deadwoodas well as remove those officers who might beideologically opposed to the new regime. Overthree-quarters of the Army's officers were weededout during the first days of the New Order.

Since the Battle of Yavin, the two forces havebeen moved closer together as regular Armydetachments have been assigned to Navy vesselsto create more complete combat units.

Army PersonnelThe personnel that make up the Imperial Army

includemanyspecialized soldiers. However, mostof these men can be classified under the followingtypes.

Army TroopersArmy troopers make up a vast number of the

Empire's planet-bound fighting forces. Thesesoldiers wear similar uniforms to the Navaltrooper, complete with helmet. But the Armywears a gray-colored uniform and partial armorfor protection.

These soldiers are trained only to fight, andthey do it very well. They are taught all mannerof combat techniques. Hand-to-hand, blasterpistol, grenade, and heavy weapons training arejust some of the areas these soldiers are ex-pected to excel in.• Typical Imperial Army Trooper

Type: Imperial Army TrooperDEXTERITY 3DBlaster 4D+1, dodge 4D+1, grenade 3D+2,, vehicle blast-ers 3D* 2KNOWLEDGE 1D+ISurvival 2D+lMECHANICAL 1D+1Repulsorlift operation 2D+1PERCEPTION 2DSTRENGTH 3D+1Brawling 4D+1TECHNICAL IDCharacter Points: Varies, typically 0-3Move: 10Equipment: Blaster rifle (5D), field armor and helmet(+1D physical, +2 energy), grenades (5D), helmet com-link, survival gear, utility belt with supplies

• (Veteran Imperial Army Trooper)Blaster: heavy blaster pistol 5D+1, blaster artillery 3D+2,brawling parry 3D+1, melee combat 4D, melee parry3D+2, missile weapons 4DIntimidation 2D+1, law enforcement 2D+1, law enforce-ment: Imperial law 3D+2, streetwise 2D+1Ground vehicle operation 2D+1, hover vehicle operation2D+1Command 3D, hide 2D+2, search 3D, sneak 2D+2Stamina 4D+1Blaster repair 2D, first aid 2DEquipment: Blaster rifle (5D), blaster pistol (4D), fieldarmor and helmet (+1D physical, +2 energy), grenades


No Longer of Any Concern ...(A holomessage to the Grand Moffs of the Galactic

Empire from Ars Dangor, advisor to the Emperor.)Loyal subjects,

We understand that you have been concerned of lateabout this "growing" rebellion. I have even heard concernabout the support this rebellion has been gaining in theImperial Senate.

Listen well. The Imperial Senate will no longer be of anyconcern to us. The Emperor has permanently dissolvedthat misguided body. The last remnants of the Old Repub-lic have now been swept away.

Senatorial representation has not been formally abol-ished, you must understand. It has merely been super-seded "for the duration of the emergency." If that dura-tion remains a permanent fixture, so be it. You, theEmperor's regional governors, will now have direct con-trol and a free hand in administering your territories. Thismeans that the Imperial presence can at last be broughtto bear properly on the vacillating worlds of the Empire.

From now on, fear will keep potentially traitorous localgovernments in line. Fear of the Imperial fleet — and fearof the new Death Star battle station.

Have I made myself clear?For the Emperor,Imperial Advisor Ars Dangor

Chapter Four. The Military

KNOWLEDGE 1DSurvival 2DMECHANICAL 3D+2Ground vehicle operation 5D+2PERCEPTION 2D+1Search 3D+1STRENGTH 1D+1Brawling3DTECHNICAL 1DGround vehicle repair 2DCharacter Points: Varies, typically 0-5Move: 10Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D+2), helmet comlink, shocksuit and helmet (+ ID physical, +1 energy), survival gear,utility belt with supplies

• (Veteran Imperial Army AssaultTrooper)Blaster 5D+2, blaster: blaster rifle 7D+1, blaster: repeat-ing blaster 6D+2, blaster artillery 4D+2, brawling parry3D+2, dodge 4D+2, grenade 4D+2, melee combat 3D+2,melee parry 3D+2, running 3D+2Intimidation 3D, streetwise 2D, survival 3DCommunications 4D+2, hover vehicle operation 4D+2,repulsorlift operation 4D+2Command 3D+1, hide 3D+1, sneak 3D+1Brawling 3D+1, climbing/jumping 2D+1, stamina 3D+1Armor repair 2D, blaster repair 2D, first aid 2D+2, hovervehicle repair 2D, repulsorlift repair 2DEquipment: Blaster rifle (5D), helmet comlink, shocksuit and helmet (+ID physical,+1 energy), survival gear,utility belt with supplies

EquipmentWhile the Army suffered financially under the

Old Republic, one benefit to less money was lessof a squabble in the Senate over procurement ofequipment; the contracts were less lucrativeand therefore subject to fewer predations bygreedy commercial interests. This is particu-larly true of the personal weapons and equip-ment of the average trooper, which was built tolast with a minimum of maintenance. The bud-getary wrangle over more expensive pieces ofequipment, such as surface war vehicles, wassufficient to ensure that the Army suffered prob-lems similar to those of the Navy, only on asmaller scale.

Since the disbanding of the Senate and theBattle of Yavin, no expense has been too greatfor the Empire. The Emperor has ordered thepace of military build up — already staggeringsince the start of the New Order — increasedeven more. He does not want his forces foundlacking when the next battle takes place.

StormtroopersEncased in protective armor and wielding the

most powerful personal weapons available, Im-perial Stormtroopers form the Empire's eliteshock troops and are feared throughout thegalaxy. Stormtroopers support the two arms ofthe military — assisting the ground forces and

the Imperial fleets — but remain apart andseparate from these organizations.

Imperial command assigns Stormtrooperswherever they are needed to crush resistanceand neutralize opposition to the will of theEmperor. They are totally loyal and cannot bebribed, seduced or blackmailed into betrayingthe New Order. They live in a totally disciplinedmilitaristic world where obedience is paramountand the will of the Empire is unquestioned.

Where the men who wear the armor of theStormtroopers are recruited from is unknown,just another part of the mystery that adds to theaura of fear and secrecy that surrounds thesesoldiers.

Some say the Stormtroopers were created toprovide the Emperor with an obedient forcethat was loyal to no one save him. Others notethat these specialized warriors were designedto provide adequate protection to the variedworlds of the Galactic Empire with little prepa-ration time. Whether one or both of these aretrue, it remains that the Stormtroopers fit thedoctrine of rule through fear very well indeed.

In addition to the core stormtrooper forces(which some reports indicate is greater than thenumber of regular Army and Naval forces com-bined), a number of elite divisions have beenestablished to move into a specialized environ-ment at a moment's notice. These units areequipped with particularly designed armor,weapons, and gear created for use in specificenvironments.• Standard Stormtrooper

Type: StormtrooperDEXTERITY 2DBlaster 4D, brawling parry 4D, dodge 4DKNOWLEDGE 2DMECHANICAL 2DPERCEPTION 2DSTRENGTH 2DBrawling3DTECHNICAL 2DCharacter Points: Varies, typically 0-5Move: 10Equipment: Stormtrooper armor (+2D physical, +1Denergy, -ID to Dexterity and related skills), blaster rifle(5D), blaster pistol (4D)

Cold Assault StormtroopersThe polar regions of most worlds remain

frozen, inaccessible wastelands — the perfecthiding place for rebel outposts, smuggler portsand pirate coves. In response, the Empire hasestablished a special corps of eliteStormtroopers trained and equipped to operatein these environs. These are the cold assaultStormtroopers, or "snowtroopers."

Snowtroopers work in tandem with AT-ATwalkers. These vehicles are ideally suited forthe extreme temperatures and icy terrain where



snowtroopers are deployed.There is no stealth involved in snowtrooper

combat tactics. They hit planets fast and hard,crushing opposition quickly and completely.Efficient, fast and deadly, snowtroopers are oneof the most feared combat units in the Imperialmilitary.• Cold Assault Stormtrooper

Type: SnowtrooperDEXTERITY 2DBlaster 5D, blaster artillery 4D, brawling parry 4D, dodge3DKNOWLEDGE 2DSurvival: arctic 4DMECHANICAL 2DPERCEPTION2DSearch 3D+1STRENGTH3DBrawling 4DTECHNICAL 2DCharacter Points: Varies, typically 0-3Move: 10Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D), blaster rifle (5D), con-cussion grenades (5D/4D/3D/2D), food and water packs,ion flares, snowtrooper armor (+ ID physical and energy;-ID Dexterity and related skills), terrain grip boots (+1Dto climbing), survival kit

Aquatic Assault StormtroopersAnother special unit of Stormtroopers has

been established to handle another prominentenvironment throughout the Empire. Aquaticassault Stormtroopers — or "seatroopers" —are trained and equipped to operate below theseas of the thousand-thousand worlds.

Seatroopers can be deployed quickly viadropships, but are most often assigned to aquaticgarrisons where they enjoy the support of a fullyloaded base, special water craft (including modi-fied TIE fighters), and powerful AT-AT swim-mers.• Aquatic Assault Stormtrooper

Type: SeatrooperDEXTERITY 2DBlaster 4D, brawling parry 4DKNOWLEDGE 2DMECHANICAL 3DWaveskimmer operation 3D+2PERCEPTION 2DSTRENGTH2D+2Brawling 3D+2, swimming 4D+2TECHNICAL 2DCharacter Points: Varies, typically 0-3Move: 10 (walking)/12 (swimming)Equipment: Blaster speargun (Blaster: 5D, 0-10/50/100(air), 0-5/25/35 (underwater), speargun: 4D, 0-5/15/25(underwater)), concussion grenades (5D/4D/3D/2D),seatrooper armor (+1D physical and energy, increasesswimming skill by +2D)

Zero-G Assault StormtroopersWhile all Stormtrooper armor provides lim-

ited protection against hard vacuum, one elitedivision has been trained to operate exclusively


in outer space. Zero-G Assault Stormtroopers —or "spacetroopers" — are deadly commandosof the highest order, second only to the ImperialRoyal Guard in training, loyalty, and destructivecapability. When it is necessary to capture afreighter, space station, or other spacefaringvehicle, spacetroopers are deployed to handlethe job.

A spacetrooper platoon uses a refitted andheavily armored assault shuttle to stage itsoperations from. A five-man command crewpilots the shuttle. All communication devicesare patched through the platoon commander'sstation so that the commander can monitor theentire team's activities. He issues orders fromon board the shuttle, directing his troopersfrom within the flying fortress.

The assault shuttle is a formidable attackvehicle in its own right, but the 40 spacetroopersit carries are walking arsenals. Each trooperwears a standard Stormtrooper shell, but thenplugs into a full body armor encasing that per-forms as a personal spacecraft and attack ve-hicle. Spacetroopers are limited by the amountof power their armor can store, but they aretrained to employ their armament effectivelyand complete their specified mission within alimited period of time. If unable to completetheir mission within the time limit, spacetroopers

The Empire Strikes Back(A holomessage to the military hierarchy and Grand

Moffs of the Galactic Empire from the Emperor's advisor, ArsDangor.)Loyal subjects,

The recent setback at the Battle of Yavin has resultedin a few changes to Imperial doctrine. As you are aware,we have lost both the Death Star and its commander,Grand Moff Tarkin. But the doctrine of fear has not beenrescinded because of this minor victory for the insignifi-cant rebellion.

Instead, the doctrine of fear must be broadened andupgraded. It is time to let that fear spread, time for theEmpire to strike back at its enemies and destroy themonce and for all. That is why the Emperor has placed hisservant, Lord Darth Vader, in command of a specialImperial fleet. This fleet, led by Lord Vader's new Super-class Star Destroyer Executor, has been charged with themission to hunt down the rebel command base and thoserebels that escaped us at Yavin.

You are to bow to Lord Vader's wishes as though theywere the Emperor's own, extending him every possibleassistance he may require in the completion of his task.Soon, nothing will remain to threaten the Emperor's rule.

For the Emperor,Imperial Advisor Ars Dangor


have standing orders to return to their shuttlefor recharging.

Because of their fearsome yet bulky outfits,spacetroopers perform best in no-gravity envi-ronments such as deep space and non-atmo-sphere worlds.• Zero-G Assault Stormtrooper

Type: SpacetrooperDEXTERITY3DBlaster 4D, brawling parry 5D, dodge 4D, grenade 5D,missile weapons 5DKNOWLEDGE 2DSurvival 5D+1MECHANICAL 3DAstrogation 4D+2, powersuit operation: spacetrooperarmor 6D, repulsorlift operation 5D+2, space transports5D+2, starship gunnery 4D, starship gunnery: protontorpedo launcher 5D+2PERCEPTION 2D+2Search 5D+2STRENGTH 2DBrawling 3D, stamina 4DTECHNICAL 2DDemolitions 3D+1, security 4D+1, powersuit repair 4D+1Character Points: Varies, typically 0-3Move: 11Equipment: Spacetrooper armor (see below)

• Spacetrooper ArmorModel: Imperail Zero-G Assault Stormtrooper ArmorMark IType: Personal battlesuitScale: CharacterSkill: Powersuit operation: spacetrooper armorCost: Not available for saleAvailability: XGame Notes:Basic Suit: Provides +4D physical, +3D energy to resistdamage, but reduces Dexterity and all related skills by -1D. Has four hours of power and 10 hours of oxygen. Hasa Space Move of 1; in normal gravity, Move is only 8.Magnetic couplers allow spacetroopers to attach them-selves to any metal surface.Grenade Launcher Uses missile weapons skill, ranges: 5-50/100/200 (in space: 0/1/2).Concussion Grenades: Ammo: 30, 5D/4D/3D/2D, blast ra-dius: 0-2/4/6/10.Gas/Stun Grenades: Ammo; 30,5D/4D/3D/2D (stun), blastradius: 0-2/4/6/8.Mini-Proton Torpedo Launcher: Uses starship gunnery skill,6D damage, ammo: 6, ranges: 25-100/300/700 (1/3/7 inspace).Blaster Cannon: 6D damage, uses blaster skill, ranges 10-50/100/150.Laser Cutters: 0.3 meter range, 3D damage (starfighterscale).


Stormtrooper ScoutsStormtrooper scouts are assigned to garri-

son posts. At a typical garrison, scout speederbike squadrons perform reconnaissance andpatrol missions in cooperation with AT-ST walk-ers. Imperial doctrine dictates that garrisonsremain active and aggressive, performing con-tinuous patrols to establish a tangible presence,even on "pacified" worlds.

Scouts use the explosively fast Aratech 74-Zspeeder bike to perform their missions. Be-cause speeder bikes require sensitive handling,Imperial scouts wear highly specialized light-weight armor. This armor includes macro-binocular viewplates and full sensor array, aswell as a built-in computer to analyze incomingdata quickly. Without such aid, even the bestscouts would be hard pressed to operate speederbikes at full speed.• Stormtrooper Scout

Type: Stormtrooper ScoutDEXTERITY 2DBlaster 4D, brawling parry 4D, dodge 4DKNOWLEDGE 2DMECHANICAL 3DRepulsorlift operation: speeder bike 3D+2PERCEPTION 2DSTRENGTH 2DBrawling 3DTECHNICAL 2DCharacter Points: Varies, typically 0-3Move: 10Equipment: Hold-out blaster (3D+2), scout armor (+2physical and energy), blaster pistol (4D)T blaster rifle(5D), concussion grenades (5D/4D/3D/2D), survival gear

The Effect of StormtroopersWhen Stormtroopers were first assigned to

Army and Navy units everyone questioned whothey were and where they had come from.Stormtroopers stayed to themselves and al-ways referred to themselves by number or rankrather than by name.

The early successes of the Stormtroopers,combined with their fearsome appearance, soonmade the Stormtrooper a symbol of the NewOrder. Their fearless dedication set an examplewhich was enthusiastically followed by manytroops and junior officers eager to move up inthe Army and Navy. The elite attitude of theStormtroopers has now firmly entrenched itselfthroughout the Imperial forces.

Chapter Five: Capital Ships

Chapter FiveCapital Ships

(From a report by the Imperial Navy to theEmperor's advisors on budgetary affairs.)

While starfighters took a premier role in therecent Battle of Yavin, capital ships remain theheart of the Imperial Navy. Capital ships con-duct battles on a grand scale. They do notengage in common dogfights — that is the prov-ince of small one- and two-man starfighters.When capital ships meet, they engage in a warbetween spacefaring cities and the outcomecould result in thousands of deaths.

These combat starships measure over 100meters, require large crews to operate, usemassive power cells and generators, and areheavily armed and armored. Under the NewOrder, many of these vessels have been com-missioned. But since the emphasis of Imperialdoctrine has again turned toward the use of theImperial fleet, even more of these ships of theline are needed.

Examine the following reports. You will find avariety of vessels currently in at least limiteduse. Any or all of them can be put into massproduction with a simple word from your office.Remember, we will not crush this rebellion bytying our hands in bureaucratic datatape. Weneed resources made available to increase ourgalactic might a thousandfold. With such re-sources, nothing will be beyond the reach of ourEmperor.

Assault ShuttleNot technically a capital ship, Imperial as-

sault shuttles regularly engage capital ships incombat or are used to ferry Zero G stormtroop-ers (or "spacetroopers") aboard an engagedvessel. These heavily-armored vehicles comecomplete with tractor beam generators, full sen-sor suites, power harpoon guns, concussionmissile launchers, and automatic blaster can-nons.

Assault shuttles are divided into three sec-tions. The first section contains the command

crew cockpit. Here the five-man crew can moni-tor the actions of the spacetroopers as well ashandle the operation of the shuttle and all itssystems. The second section of the craft is themain body. In this section, 40 spacetrooperarmor shells are stored until the troopers pluginto them. The armor is constantly being re-charged and powered up while in its place in theshuttle. This compartment is lined with fold-away launch doors that swing open to disgorgethe spacetroopers. The rear portion of the crafthouses the engines and power generators.

In a standard operation, an assault shuttlewill hold a given target in a tractor beam or withmagnetic harpoons. Sometimes it will alsocripple the target with a few well-placed blastercannon shots. Then it will open up and let itsspacetrooper platoon loose.

Assault shuttles are among the most-heavilyshielded vessels in the Imperial fleet. Most com-bat starships funnel approximately 25 percentof their total power through the shield genera-tors. An assault shuttle uses up to 62 percentpower on shields, and over half of that power ischanneled into the front arc. This allows theshuttle to withstand even the most concen-trated barrage of fire for at least a short time.

These craft are both atmospheric and spacecapable, and have limited capacity for hyper-space travel (their onboard nav computers canhold up to three jumps). Most Imperial-classStar Destroyers carry an assault shuttle, alongwith thenecessary spacetrooper platoon. Other



ships are supplied with these units as neededand available.• Assault Shuttle

Craft: Telgorn Corp Assault ShuttleType: Comma-class assault shuttleScale: Capital (due to power output)Length: 30 metersSkill: Capital ship piloting: Gamma-class assault shuttleCrew: 2, gunners: 3, skeleton: 1/+10Crew Skill: Capital ship gunnery 3D+2, capital ship pilot-ing 5D, capital ship shields 4DPassengers: 40 (spacetroopers)Cargo Capacity: 5 metric tonsConsumables: 1 weekCost: Not available for saleHyperdrive Multiplier: x2Hyperdrive Backup: x!8Nav Computer: Limited to 3 jumpsManeuverability: 2DSpace: 8Hull: 3D+2Shields:4D+2Sensors:

Passive: 40/ID5can;80/lD+2Search: 130/2Drocus;4/3D

Weapons:4 Laser Cannons

Fire Arc: TurretCrew: Two guns are handled by "gunner 1," two

guns are handled by "gunner 2"Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 3DSpace Range: 1-3/12/25Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2/2.5 kmDamage: 2D

Tractor Beam ProjectorFire Arc: FrontCrew: 1 (Gunner 3)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 4DSpace Range: 1-5/15/30Atmosphere Range: 100-500/1.5/3 kmDamage: 5D+2

Concussion Missilesfire Arc:FrontCrew: 1 (Gunner 3)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 2D+1Space Range: 1-2/8/15Atmosphere Range: 100-200/800/1.5 kmDamage: 4D

Skipray BlastboatsBlastboats fill the gap between speedy, ma-

neuverable starfighter designs and the slower,more heavily-armed capital ships. They are swiftenough to overhaul most system intruders, andstrong enough to deliver—and survive—blowsfrom powerful weapons. They operate equallywell in atmosphere, on patrol in the far reachesof a star system, or performing fleet point dutieswith or without starfighter support.

Sienar's GAT Blastboat series is the Empire'sstandard gunship for demanding point missions

• Skipray BlastboatCraft: Sienar Fleet Systems'GAT-12hType: Defense and patrol blastboatScale: Capital (due to power output)Length: 25 metersSkill: Starfighter piloting: Skipray BlastboatCrew: 2 (1 can coordinate), gunners: 2, skeleton: 1/+5Crew Skill: Astrogation 4D, capital ship gunnery 5D,Starfighter piloting 4D, starship gunnery 5D+1, starshipshields 4D+1Cargo Capacity: 20 metric tonsConsumables: 1 monthCost: 285,000 (new), 150,000 (used)Hyperdrive Multiplier: x2Nav Computer: Limited to four jumpsManeuverability: 1D+2 (2D+2 in atmosphere)Space: SAtmosphere: 415; 1,200 kmhHull:2D+lShields: 2D


and patrol assignments. To take advantage of itsexceptional armament, it is deployed in troublespots where conflict is likely and the combatrisk is high. The GAT is the smallest ImperialNaval vessel to be equipped with hyperdriveengines. Although these craft are usually planet-or space station-based, they routinely patrolentire sectors.

Different configurations have been employedas ground support or missile launch platforms,but the most popular version is the GAT-12h"Skipray," a power-boosted refinement overslower, less combat oriented models. As withthe assault shuttle, blastboats are lumped inwith capital ships because of the missions theyundertake and the firepower they are able todeliver. In addition to patrol duties, the Skiprayis commonly used for planetary defense andinterdictive actions.

The aerodynamic Skipray performs excep-tionally well in atmospheric flight, easily execut-ing maneuvers normally possible only by high-performance airspeeders. In space combat, theGAT-12h is not especially maneuverable. It re-lies instead on its speed to approach with sur-prise and get in a devastating first attack. Whenengaged in extended combat, the Skipray coor-dinates its attack with TIE fighters wheneverpossible, or uses wingman tactics if there aremore blastboats in the area.


• System Patrol CraftCraft: Sienar Fleet Systems IPV 1Type: Inter-system patrol/customs craftScale: CapitalLength: 120 metersSkill: Capital ship piloting: IPV 1Crew: 4, gunners: 8, skeleton: 3/+5Crew Skill: Capital ship gunnery 4D, capital ship piloting5D, capital ship shields 4D, sensors 3DPassengers: 10 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 200 metric tonsConsumables: 3 monthsCost: Not available for saleManeuverability: 2D+1Space: 7Atmosphere: 350; 1,000 kmhHull: 3D+1Shields: 3DSensors:

Passive.40/1DScan;80/lD+2Search: 130/2DFocus: 4/3D

Weapons:4 Turbolaser Cannons

fire Arc: TurretCrew: 2Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 2DSpace Range. 3-15/35/75Atmosphere Range: 300-1.5/3.5/7.5 kmDamage: 4D

Strike CruisersLoronar's strike-class cruiser has been called

the fleet's best kept secret. While every smug-gler and Rebel knows to avoid Star Destroyers,the fighting capacity of the strike cruiser comesas quite a surprise to many.

Loronar has designed a vessel that can bemass produced in a limited amount of time, dueto the prefabricated nature of its componentsections. Not only does this procedure reduceconstruction time, it also dramatically lowersthe cost of each vessel.

Each strike cruiser can carry a company oftroops, two AT-STs, and one AT-AT walker forground assault missions. Its small but func-tional hangar bay houses one squadron of TIEfighters.

Because of its modular design, a strike cruisercan be easily modified for specific missions.Those specialized vessels currently in service

system with stolen or smuggled goods, so thecrews must be constantly on watch for threatsfrom within their system as well as those frombeyond.


Sensors:Passive: 35/1D5can:60/lD+2Search: 100/2DFocus. 3/2D+2

Weapons:3 Medium Ion Cannons (fire-linked)

Fire Arc: FrontCrew: 1Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 3DSpace Range.1-3/12/25Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2/2.5 kmDamage: 4D

Proton Torpedo LauncherFire Arc: FrontCrew: 1 (same gunner as ion cannon)Skill: Starship gunneryScale: StarfighterFire Control: 2DSpace Range: 1/3/7Atmosphere Range: 50-100/300/700Damage:9D

2 Laser Cannons (fire-linked)Fire Arc: TurretCrew: ISkill: Starship gunneryScale.StarfighterFire Control: IDSpace Range. 1-3/12/25Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2/2.5 kmDamage. 5D

Concussion Missile LauncherFire Arc: FrontCrew: 1 (same gunner as ion cannon)Skill: Starship gunneryScale: StarfighterFire Control: IDSpace Range: 1/3/7Atmosphere Range: 1-50/100/250Damage: 6D

System Patrol CraftSystem patrol craft are any of a number of

capital ship designs that fall between the 100meter minimum and 250 meters, although somelarger ships are relegated to this duty due tolack of available vessels. System patrol craftfollow the primary directive to apprehend smug-gling vessels, but they also serve as a starsystem's first line of defense against pirates,rebels, and hostile aliens as well.

Most of the vessels that fall into this class are .either designed or modified for speed and firepower. Built to engage in "pre-jump" combat,patrol craft make maximum use of speed andmaneuverability to catch fleeing vessels beforethey can escape to hyperspace. System patrolcraft typically contain no hyperdrive engines,instead relying on powerful sublight engines tomake their way within a system.

Often, the crew of asystem patrol craft spendslong periods off-world in their vessel, patrollingthe borders of their star system. They are calledupon to respond quickly to any ships leaving the

TELGORN CORPTaim & Bak KT6Heavy Blaster Cannon

NordoxiconWavefront-activeTractor Beam Projector

Zero-G stormtrooperboarding hatch

Telgorn CorpIA/4 FusialThrustReactors

Novaldex Deflector ShieldGenerators ;

,- . 1 J i ,

Access hatch(to engineering level)

Fabritech UL.2Power Modulator Kel-Mar Steady-state

Power Coupler(Zero-G Stormtrooper armorstored here under activepower supply)

Gamma-Class

Assault Shuttle

Zero-G stormtrooperlaunch ports(10 port, 10 starboard, 20overhead) Zero-G stormtrooper

boarding hatch

Command crewboarding hatch

Armoredtransparisteelviewport

Telgorn CorpTwin-tandemFlight Computers

Flight crew stations (4)Command console

Taim & Bak KT6Heavy Blaster Cannon

Note: For other equipment not shown in planeof this readout refer to appropriate plans.


• Escort CarrierCraft: Kuat Drive Yards' Escort CarrierType: Heavy star fighter/shuttle carrierScale: CapitalLength: 500 metersSkill: Capital ship piloting: KDY Escort CarrierCrew: 3,485, gunners: 20, skeleton: 1.500/+10Crew Skill: Astrogation 3D+2, capital ship gunnery 4D,capital ship piloting 4D+1, capital ship shields 3D+2,sensors 3D+2Passengers: 800 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 500 metric tonsConsumables: 9 monthsCost: Not available for sale

Crew: 3Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 4DSpace Range: 1-5/15/30Atmosphere Range: 2-10/30/60 kmDamage: 4D

Escort CarrierThe need for a TIE escort carrier became

apparent after the Battle of Ton-Falk. In thatbattle, two Imperial frigates and a Dreadnaughtwere lost due to, as Naval Command reported,"inadequate TIE support." So the Navy commis-sioned Kuat Drive Yards to construct a vesselthat would serve the specific function of carry-ing TIE fighters into battle.

The main duties of escort carriers are toaugment the starfighter strength of the fleetthey are attached to, and to transport non-hyperspace support shuttles from system tosystem. Box-like and inelegant in appearance,KDY's escort carrier performs these missionsadmirably.

Each carrier bases an entire TIE wing in itscavernous bays. Imperial policy mandates thatat least one squadron of TIE Interceptors beincluded in the mix. Additional bays can carryup to six shuttles.

While carriers are equipped with protectiveweaponry, they are not considered combat ves-sels. They do not engage enemy targets and tryto stay as far from the actual battle as possible.

Other missions that carriers regularly per-form include augmenting the power of Imperialgarrison bases. While the garrison quells plan-etary problems, the carrier assumes a station-ary position in orbit over the planet. From thisposition, the carrier's TIEs can blanket the worldto provide support from above.

Chapter Five. Capital Ships

include prefab garrison deployers, troop trans-ports, TIE launch platforms, heavy vehicle re-covery, and planet assault vessels that can carryup to five walkers.

While the benefits of its design are obvious,the strike cruiser has some glaring weaknesses.The modular design means that entire systemsor weapons batteries can be knocked out by asingle, well-placed hit.

• Strike CruiserCraft: Loronar Strike CruiserType: Strike-class medium cruiserScale: CapitalLength: 450metersSkill: Capital ship piloting: Strike-class cruiserCrew: 1,972, gunners: 140, skeleton: 800/+10Crew Skill: Capital ship gunnery 4D+2, capital ship pilot-ing 5D, capital ship shields 3D+2Passengers: 340 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 6.000 metric tonsConsumables: 1.5 yearsCost: Not available for saleHyperdrive Multiplier x2Hyperdrlve Backup: xl2Nav Computer: YesManeuverability: 2DSpace: 6Hull:6DShields: 2D+2Sensors:

Passive: 30/0DSow; 50/1DSearch: 100/2DFocus: 4/3D

Weapons:20 Turbolasers

Fire Arc: 5 front, 5 left, 5 right, 5 backCrew: 2Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 2DSpace Range: 3-15/35/75Atmosphere Range: 6-30/70/150 kmDamage: 5D

10 Turbolaser BatteriesFire Arc: 4 front, 3 left, 3 rightCrew: 4Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: IDSpace Range: 3-15/35/75Atmosphere Range: 6-30/70/150 kmDamage: 7D

10 Tractor Beam ProjectorsFire Arc: 2 front, 3 left, 3 right, 2 backCrew: 3Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 2DSpace Range: 1-5/15/30Atmosphere Range: 1-5/15/30 kmDamage: 4D

10 Ion CannonsFire Arc: 4 front, 3 left, 3 right


Hyperdrive Multiplier xlHyperdrive Backup: x12Nav Computer: YesManeuverability: 1DSpace: 4Hull: 7D+1Shields: 2DSensors:

Passive: 30/0DScan:50/1DSearch: 100/2DFocus: 4/3D

Weapons:10 Twin Laser Cannons

Fire Arc: 2 front, 3 left, 3 right, 2 backCrew: 2Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 3DSpaceKange.1-3/12/25Atmosphere Range: 2-6/25/50 kmDamage. 3D

Lancer-Class FrigatesFollowing the Battle of Yavin, Naval Com-

mand experienced an exaggerated but under-standable case of phobia concerning Rebelstarfighters. One group of senior admirals, ledby the vocal Admiral Drez, argued that theDeath Star's destruction was due to the lack ofanti-starfighter screening vessels. Drez statedthat "until an anti-starfighter screening vessel isbrought into service, every capital ship in thefleet is in imminent danger." Naval Commandauthorized the construction of Kuat Drive Yard'sLancer-class frigate—but only a limited numberto serve as test vessels.

Gun for gun, Lancers are the best anti-starfighter ships currently in service — at leastaccording to their initial tests. The main andonly armament the ship carries is 20 quad-firinglaser cannons. Each cannon is equipped with atargeting mechanism adapted from the one usedin Sienar Fleet Systems' TIE bomber craft. Thisproduces multi-fire cover with superb fire con-trol. In addition, each gun is mounted on its owntower to provide an increased fire arc.

For all its fire power, the Lancer-class frigatecould be shaping up as a failure. The Lancer iscomparable in price to a cruiser, without theadded benefits of the larger vessel. Also, thepredicted starfighter attacks on capital shipsnever materialized — at least not at the levelfeared. Admiral Drez and others claim that thisis due to the appearance of the Lancer, butothers point out that there are not enough Lanc-ers in service to make so bold an assumption.

Those Lancers currently in use have not livedup to expectations. While they perform excep-tionally when engaging starfighters, Lancershave done very poorly in the few fleet engage-ments they have participated in. To function asscreening vessels, Lancers must be placed on


• Lancer FrigateCraft: KDY's lancer-class FrigateType: Anti-starfighter screening vesselScale: CapitalLength: 250 metersSkill: Capital ship piloting: LancerCrew: 810, gunners: 40, skeleton: 375/+10Crew Skill: Astrogation 3D+2, capital ship piloting 3D+2,capital ship shields 4D, starship gunnery 4DPassengers: 40 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 300 metric tonsConsumables: 1 weekCost: Not available for saleHyperdrive Multiplier: x2Hyperdrive Backup: x15Nav Computer: YesManeuverability: 1DSpace: 4Hull:4DShields: 2D+2Sensors:

Passive: 35/1DScan:60/lDSearch: 100/2DFocus: 3/2D+1

Weapons:20 Quad Laser Cannons

Fire Arc: 5 front, 5 left, 5 right, 5 backCrew: I (5), 2 (10), 3 (5)Scale: StarfighterSkill: Starship gunneryFire Control: 4DSpace Range: 1-3/12/25Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2/2.5 kmDamage: 4D

Interdictor CruisersWhen the Empire developed a working grav-

ity well projector, it was determined that aspecial vessel would need to be constructed toprovide the necessary power output the devicerequired. So the Interdictor-class heavy cruiserwas designed by Sienar Fleet Systems.

The gravity well generator works on a simpleprinciple. When focused, it sends out waves ofenergy that disrupt mass lines in space, thereby

the outer perimeter of the fleet, but withoutturbolasers these ships are easy prey for Rebelcruisers. In addition, the modified targeting sys-tems still need work, resulting in less than half ofeach Lancer's weapons operating perfectly onany given day.

Intended as stationary screening ships, Lanc-ers cannot match starfighters for speed or ma-neuverability. But when their weapons are op-erational, they are more than a match for Rebelstarfighters.


• Imperial Star GalleonCraft: Kuat Drive Yards' Star GalleonType: Cargo/escort frigateScale: CapitalLength: 300 metersSkill: Capital ship piloting: Star Galleon

4 Gravity Well ProjectorsFire Arc: TurretCrew: 1Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 6DSpace Range: 1-5/75/150Damage: Blocks hyperspace travel

Imperial Star GalleonAs more and more cargo freighters suffer

capture and destruction at the hands of piratesand rebels, the Empire decided to experimentwith a new class of capital ship. This new vesselcontains enough storage capacity to make itfunction as a transport ship, but also has theadded benefit of sophisticated weaponry andshielding. In essence, this vessel can serve asboth transport and escort — simultaneously.

The Star Galleon-class frigate takes the placeof two ships, thus saving the Empire credits.Previous Imperial transports were unarmed orlightly armed cargo ships that could not com-pete against starfighters or powerful capitalships. They needed the protection of escortfrigates or some other type of combat craft.

However, the new Star Galleons can carryequivalent amounts of goods while protectingthemselves from the ravagers of the space lanes.A combination of concussion missiles andturbolasers creates a decent fire perimeter. Inaddition, the vessels are designed to repel in-vaders intent on capturing their store of goods.

Up to 300 troopers are stationed aboard aStar Galleon. The interior of these ships bristlewith anti-intruder defenses. The troopers, forexample, can make use of fortress-like emplace-ments that line the inner hallways and corridorsfrom which to defend their ship. Individual sec-tions can be sealed and held by the defenders,creating pockets within a Star Galleon.

One of the more interesting features of a StarGalleon is the cargo hold. Placed in the verycenter of the craft, the hold is actually a sepa-rate vessel that can detach and be jettisonedinto hyperspace for collection at a later time. Abuilt-in homing device allows Imperial agents totrack the hold as it randomly jumps across thehyperlanes.


simulating the presence of a large stellar bodysuch as an asteroid or planetoid. The presenceof so much mass prevents ships in the area fromengaging their hyperdrives, and it also dropsships already in hyperspace back into realspace.

The Interdictor cruiser serves as an escapecut-off, strategically stationed out of direct com-bat but in a position that provides a maximumfire arc. It projects fields of gravity throughouta battle zone, rendering all hyperdrives inoper-able. This greatly reduces the chances of Rebelships, which normally survive by using quickhit-and-run tactics and then escape intolightspeed.

These heavy cruisers also perform as am-bush vessels, hiding along a known hyperspacelane and projecting gravity fields that producemass shadows. Any ships traveling along thehyper route must slip back into realspace whenconfronted with gravity projections. Once inrealspace, other Imperial vessels can engagethem in direct combat or board them for cus-toms inspection.

• Interdictor CruiserCraft: Sienar Fleet Systems' Immobilizer 418Type: Interdictor-c\ass heavy cruiserScale: CapitalLength: 600 metersSkill: Capital ship piloting: Interdictor cruiserCrew: 2,783, gunners: 24, skeleton 1.500/+10Crew Skill: Astrogation 5D, capital ship gunnery 5D,capital ship piloting 5D, capital ship shields 4DPassengers: 80 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 5,500 metric tonsConsumables: 1.2 yearsCost: Not available for saleHyperdrive Multiplier: x2Hyperdrive Backup: x8Nav Computer: YesManeuverability: 1DSpace: 6Hull:5DShields: 3DSensors:

Passive: 30/1DScan: 75/2DSearch: 150/3DFocus: 5/4D

Weapons:20 Quad Laser Cannons

FireArc: lOfront, 5 left, 5 rightCrew: 1Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 2DSpace Range: 1-3/12/25Atmosphere Range: 2-6/24/50 kmDamage: 4D


Skill: Capital ship piloting: Star GalleonCrew: 130, gunners: 20, skeleton 50/+10Crew Skill: Astrogation 3D, capital ship gunnery 4D,capital ship piloting 5D, capital ship shields 5D, sensors3DPassengers: 300 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 100,000 metric tonsConsumables: 6 monthsCost: Not available for saleHyperdriveMultiplier:x2Hyperdrive Backup: x15Nav Computer: YesManeuverability: 1DSpace: 3Hnll:5D+2Shields:2DSensors:

Passive: I5/1DSnw?:45/lD+lSearch: 90/2DFocus- 3/2D+1

Weapons:10 Turbolasers

Fire Arc: 5 left, 5 rightCrew: 1 (6), 2 (2), 3 (2)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 3DSpace Range: 3-15/35/75Atmosphere Range: 6-30/70/150 kmDamage:4D

Concussion Missile LauncherFire Arc: FrontCrew: 4Skill: Capital ship gunneryfire Control: 5DSpace ffange. 2-12/30/60Atmosphere Range: 200-1.2/3/6 kmDamage: 5D

DreadnaughtsIntroduced to the galaxy before the Clone

Wars, the Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser wasthe largest vessel of its time. In fact, these areamong the oldest ships still seeing active ser-vice in some parts of the Empire.

Originally, the Navy had planned to phaseout the Dreadnaught. Critics pointed out suchflaws as slow speeds, weak shielding, inefficientpower generators, low fire power, and highcrew needs. Economics has won out though, sofar, as the Navy has found it more cost-effectiveto refit these ships than to build totally newvessels.

Because of their slower speeds, these shipswere originally equipped with an enormousamount of cargo space for food and suppliesduring long missions. As technology improved,faster hyperdrive engines made most of thisspace unnecessary. Now these areas have beenconverted into TIE hangar bays. Dreadnaughtstypically carry a full squadron of TIE starfighters.

Dreadnaughts perform a number of dutieswithin the Empire. They are used to maintain anImperial presence in the Outer Rim Territories,as convoy escort vessels, and in the pacification


• Dreadnaught CruiserCraft: Rendili StarDrive's DreadnaughtType: Heavy cruiserScale: CapitalLength: 600 metersSkill: Capital ship piloting: DreadnaughtCrew: 16,113, gunners: 97, skeleton: 9.000/+15Crew Skill: Astrogation 4D+1, capital ship gunnery 4D+2,capital ship piloting 4D+2, capital ship shields 4D+2,sensors 4DPassengers: 3,000 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 9,000 metric tonsConsumables: 2 yearsCost: Not available for saleHyperdrive Multiplier: x2Hyperdrive Backup: x18Nav Computer YesManeuverability: 1DSpace: 4Hull:5D+2Shields:2D+lSensors:

Passive: 30/0DScan:50/lDSearch: 100/2DFocus: 4/3D

Weapons:10 Turbolaser Cannons

Fire Arc: 5 left, 5 rightCrew: 1 (5), 2 (5)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 3DSpace Range: 3-15/35/75Damage: 2D

20 Quad Turbolaser CannonsFire Arc: 6 from, 7 left, 7 rightCrew: 3Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 2DSpace Range: 3-20/40/80Damage: 4D

10 Turbolaser BatteriesFire Arc: 5 front, 5 backCrew: 1 (2), 2 (4), 3 (4)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 1DSpaceRange: 3-10/30/60Damage: 7D

Carrack-Class Light CruiserAn old yet reliable ship in the Imperial fleet is

the Damorian Manufacturing Corporation's

of low technology worlds.The biggest drawback for this class of heavy

cruiser is its reliance on manual technology.While the newer vessels have minimal crewssupported by a heavy concentration of droidtechnology, even the refitted Dreadnaughts needmore actual crewmen than any other vesselcurrently in Imperial service.


• Carrack Light CruiserCraft: Damorlan Manufacturing's Corrack-class lightcruiserType: Light cruiserScale: CapitalLength: 350 metersSkill: Capital ship piloting: CarrackCrew: 1,007, gunners: 85, skeleton: 500/+10Crew Skill: Astrogation3D+2, capital ship gunnery 4D+2,capital ship piloting 4D+1, capital ship shields 4D, sen-sors 4D+1Passengers: 142 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 3,500 metric tonsConsumables: 1 yearCost: Not available for saleHyperdrive Multiplier xlHyperdrive Backup: x12Nav Computer: YesManeuverability: 2DSpace:8

Carrack-class light cruiser. This vessel's 10turbolaser batteries allow the Carrack to en-gage larger opponents with a reasonable chanceof success. Backing up the heavy guns are anumber of smaller laser cannons for point de-fense against starfighters and missiles. Refittedvessels have also been equipped with tractorbeam projectors.

Layered bulkheads and compartmentaliza-tion, combined with a unique modular life sup-port system, assures maximum crew survival incase of hull breachings. On numerous occa-sions, Imperial salvage craft have retrievedCarrack debris and found live crew members onboard. These bulkheads also lend strength tothe hull, allowing a Carrack to survive an attackthat would destroy a similarly-sized vessel.

Compartmentalization does have one majordrawback, though. Such a defense system takesup an inordinate amount of space. As a result,the Carrack-class is one of the largest light cruis-ers not equipped with internal hangar bays.Instead, each Carrack carries four TIE reconstarfighters docked on an external rack. Thesesmall ships are used for courier missions andscouting duty.

To compensate for the lack of starfightersupport, Carrack cruisers are equipped withpowerful engines that make them among thefastest of the Empire's capital ships.

Current doctrine teams these cruisers withsmaller vessels and assigns them to patrol dutyin pacified or semi-pacified sectors. They alsoserve as personal transports for important plan-etary governors and Moffs.


Hull:5DShields: 2D+2Sensors:

Passive: 30/0D5con:50/lDSearch: 100/2DFocus: 4/3D

Weapons:10 Heavy Turbolasers

Fire Arc: 2 front, 3 right, 3 left, 3 backCrew: 3Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: IDSpace Range: 3-15/35/75Atmosphere Range: 3-15/35/75 kmDamage: 7D

20 Laser CannonsFire Arc: 4 front, 4 left, 4 right, 4 backCrew: 2Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 3DSpace Range: 1-3/12/25Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2/2.5 kmDamage: 2D

5 Tractor Beam ProjectorsFire Arc: 1 front, 2 left, 2 rightCrew: 3Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 2DSpace Range: 1-5/15/30Atmosphere Range: 1-5/15/30 kmDamage: 4D

Torpedo SpheresThe Torpedo Sphere, a dedicated siege plat-

form, is designed to accomplish one mission —to knockout a planet's shields. Planetary shields,whether full or partial, protect a world fromorbital bombardment. It takes a lot of troops toassault a planet. It is easier and far less expen-sive to simply pound a planet into submissionwith the weapons of a Star Destroyer. But plan-etary shields prevent this.

The Torpedo Sphere is a miniature DeathStar, covered with thousands of dedicated en-ergy receptors (DERs) designed to analyze shieldemissions. Planetary shields are never uniformlyeven. They experience power anomalies andenergy fluctuations just like other mechanicaldevices. The Torpedo Sphere parks in orbitaround a planet and trains its DERs upon theworld to search for weak points in the shielding.These weak points rarely exceed more than a 20percent power drop, but this is enough for theTorpedo Sphere to bring down the shields.

The Sphere contains 500 proton torpedo tubesarranged in an inverted conical formation. Sur-rounding these tubes are 10 heavy turbolaserbatteries. The actual destruction of a planet'sshields is simple. The Torpedo Sphere arrivesand analyzes the shields. It finds both the weakpoints and the location of the planet-boundshield generators. The Sphere then fires a salvoof torpedoes that knock a hole in the shield (at


a weak point), followed by blasts from theturbolasers to destroy the generators. Then thebombardment of the planet can begin.

That is the quick version. In reality, it takesalmost a hundred heavy weapons techniciansto coordinate the tube launches. The target areararely exceeds a six meter square. The hole thisproduces is actually a power surge that onlylasts a few microseconds. If the turbolasershave not made their shots in this time, theprocess must start all over again.

The most difficult part of the entire process isdetermining exactly where the shield genera-tors lie. Sensors cannot penetrate full planetaryshields, so the crew of the Sphere must studythe power waves within the shield to determinewhere the initial power is coming from.

There are only six Torpedo Spheres currentlyin service. They perform only one function, butit is an important one in these times of openrebellion.

• Torpedo SphereCraft: Loronar's Torpedo SphereType: Dedicated siege platformScale: CapitalLength: 1,900 metersSkill: Capital ship piloting: Torpedo SphereCrew: 61,245, gunners: 2,030, skeleton: 20.415/+15Crew Skill: Astrogation 3D+2, capital ship gunnery 4D+2,capital ship piloting 3D+2, capital ship shields 4D, sen-sors 4D+1Passengers: 8,540 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 3.8 million metric tonsConsumables: 4 yearsCost: Not available for saleHyperdrive Multiplier. x3Hyperdrive Backup: xl8Nav Computer YesSpeed: 2Hull: 9D+2Shields: 2DSensors:

Passive.50/1DScan: 75/3DSearch: 150/4DFocus. 5/4D+2

Weapons:10 Turbolaser Batteries

Fire Arc: Front


Crew: 3Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 0DSpaceRange: 3-15/35/75Atmosphere Range: 6-30/70/150 kmDamage: 9D

500 Proton Torpedo TubesFire Arc: FrontCrew: 4Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 2DSpace Range: 2-12/30/60Atmosphere Range: 4-24/60/120 kmDamage: 9D (Specially calibrated to affect plan-

etary shields; do only 4D damage to other vessels)

Victory-Class DestroyersTechnological advancement is a byproduc

of war. The battle-marred era marked by thiClone Wars saw the creation of bigger, fastermore heavily armed and armored combat vessets. The best of this bumper crop was thiVictory-class Star Destroyer.

Designed by Republic engineer Walex Blissexthe Victory was commissioned into service asthe wars were drawing to a close. Consequentlythough these ships saw little action during thewars, they formed the bulk of the Republic Navyfor years following. For a time it seemed thesevessels would be replaced by the larger, newerImperial-class Destroyers, but since the Rebel-lion moved into full swing the Victory has servedin the defense of the Empire.

The Victory Star Destroyer carries out threrestandard mission types: planetary defense, plan-etary assault and troop support, and ship-to-ship combat. It is much better at the first twothan at the latter. One of this vessel's mostpowerful advantages is its ability to enter theupper levels of a planet's atmosphere — some-thing the newer Star Destroyers cannot do. Thispermits precision ground attacks and the pur-suit of smaller craft hoping to escape by divinigtoward planet.

The Victory-class vessel's main deficiency isits slow sublight speed. However, it does haverapid hyperspace capabilities and can makejumps quickly. To augment its slow speed, theVictory carries two TIE fighter squadrons.• Victory-class Star Destroyer

Craft: Rendili Star Drive's Victory IType: Wctory-class Star DestroyerScale: CapitalLength: 900 meters


Skill: Capital ship piloting: Star DestroyerCrew: 4,798, gunners: 402, skeleton: 1785/+15Crew Skill: Astrogation3D+2, capital ship gunnery 4D+2,capital ship piloting 5D, capital ship shields 4D, sensors3D+2Passengers: 2,040 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 8,100 metric tonsConsumables: 4 yearsCost: Not available for saleHyperdrive Multiplier: xlHyperdrive Backup: x15Nav Computer YesManeuverability: 1DSpace: 4Atmosphere: 280; 800 kmhHull: 4DShields: 3D+1Sensors:

Passive: 40/1DScan. 70/2DSearch: 150/3DFocus: 4/3D+2

Weapons:10 Quad Turbolaser Batteries

Fire Arc. 5 left, 5 rightCrew; 5Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 4DSpace Range. 3-15/35/75Atmosphere Range: 6-30/70/150 kmDamage: 5D

40 Double Turbolaser BatteriesFire Arc.10 front, 15 left, 15 rightCrew: 3Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 3DSpace Range.3-15/35/75Atmosphere Range: 6-30/70/150 kmDamage: 2D+2

80 Concussion Missile Tube LaunchersFire Arc: 20 front, 20 left, 20 right, 20 rearCrew: 2Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 2DSpaceKange: 2-12/30/60Atmosphere Range: 4-24/60/120 kmDamage: 9D

10 Tractor Beam ProjectorsFire Arc. 6 front, 2 left, 2 rightCrew: 2 (2), 4 (2), 10(6)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control:4DSpaceRange: 1-5/15/30Atmosphere Range: 2-10/30/60 kmDamage: 5D

Victory IIIt did not come off the production line until

after the Clone Wars had ended, and conse-quently only a handful ever saw completion. YetRendili StarDrive's Victory II Star Destroyer hasmade an impact in this age of Imperial- andSuper-class Star Destroyers. While the Victory Iis primarily a planetary assault vessel, the Vic-tory II was designed with space combat in mind.

The Victory II is fitted with powerful Hoersch-Kessel engines that add significantly to theDestroyer's sublight speed and maneuverabil-


ity. In addition to its normal armament, theVictory II is equipped with ion cannons andenhanced tractor beam projectors. In combina-tion, these weapons regularly disrupt the usualperformance of an enemy ship, leaving it vulner-able to the Victory II's destructive weaponry.

Victory II Destroyers are designed with han-gar bays large enough for two squadrons of TIEfighters. A recent shortage and high demand forthe starfighters has seen the mothballing ofseveral hangars, or the use of non-combat craftas battle platforms.

The main duty of the small number of theseStar Destroyers is sector patrol. In pairs, or withother ships, Victory IIs regularly move into sus-pected hot spots and areas of Rebel or pirateactivity with orders to pacify the sector.• Victory II Star Destroyer

Craft: Rendili StarDrive's Victory IIType: Victory-class Star DestroyerScale: CapitalLength: 900 metersSkill: Capital ship piloting: Star DestroyerCrew; 5,881, gunners: 226, skeleton: 2,100/+10Crew Skill: Astrogation3D+2, capital ship gunnery 4D+2,capital ship piloting 5D, capital ship shields 4D, sensors3D+2Passengers: 1,600 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 8,100 metric tonsConsumables: 4 yearsCost: Not available for saleHyperdrive Multiplier xlHyperdrive Backup: x15Nav Computer YesManeuverability: 1DSpace: 6Hull:4D+2Shields: 3DSensors:

Passive:40/lDScan: 70/2DSearch.150/3DFocus: 4/3D+2


Fire Arc: 10 front, 5 left, 5 rightCrew: 3Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: IDSpace Range: 3-15/35/75Atmosphere Range: 6-30/70/150 kmDamage: 7D

20 Double Turbolaser CannonsFire Arc: 5 front, 5 left, 5 right, 5 backCrew:3Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 2DSpace Range: 3-15/35/75Atmosphere Range: 6-30/70/150 kmDamage: 5D

10 Ion CannonsFire Arc: 2 front, 3 left, 3 right, 2 backCrew.-2 (2), 3 (2), 4 (6)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control. 4DSpace Range: 1-10/25/50Atmosphere Range; 2-20/50/100 km


ries combat craft, shuttles, repair and recoveryvehicles, landing barges, drop ships, groundassault vehicles, and pre-fabricated garrisonbases for immediate deployment.

Since its introduction, an improved versionof the Star Destroyer has begun to see action.The Imperial II is an upgraded model featuringincreased hull shielding and heavier firepower.• Imperial Star Destroyer

Craft: Kuat Drive Yards' Imperial I Star DestroyerType: Star DestroyerScale: CapitalLength: 1,600 metersSkill: Capital ship piloting: Star DestroyerCrew: 36,810, gunners: 275, skeleton: 5,000/+20Crew Skill: Astrogation 4D, capital ship gunnery 4D+2,capital ship piloting 5D+1, capital ship shields 4D+1,sensors 4DPassengers: 9,700 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 36,000 metric tonsConsumables: 6 yearsCost: Not available for saleHyperdrive Multiplier: x2Hyperdrive Backup: x8Nav Computer YesManeuverability: 1DSpace: 6Hull: 7DShields: 3DSensors:

Passive: 50/1D5can: 100/3DSearch.200/4DFocus. 6/4D+2


Fire Arc: 20 front, 20 left, 20 rightCrew: 1 (20), 2 (40)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 4DSpace Range: 3-15/36/75Atmosphere Range: 6-30/72/150 kmDamage: 5D

60 Ion CannonsFire Arc: 20 front, 15 left, 15 right, 10 backCrew: 1(15), 2(45)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 2D+2Space Range: 1-10/25/50Atmosphere Range: 2-20/50/100 kmDamage: 3D

10 Tractor Beam ProjectorsFire Arc: 6 front, 2 left, 2 rightCrew: 1 (2), 4 (2), 10(6)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 4DSpace Range: 1-5/15/30


Damage: 4D10 Tractor Beam Projectors

Fire Arc: 6 front, 2 left, 2 rightCrew: 2(2), 4(2), 10(6)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 2DSpace Range: 1-5/15/30Atmosphere Range. 2-10/30/60 kmDamage: 6D

Imperial Star DestroyersDesigned by Lira Wessex, daughter of the

man who designed the Victory-class Star De-stroyer, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer wasan engineering and budget-planning nightmare.But the Navy pushed for it and the Emperordemanded it, so the standard Star Destroyerwas built.

The Imperial Star Destroyer has enough fire-power to reduce a civilized world to slag or takeon a fleet of lesser enemy vessels. Each carriesa full stormtrooper division, complete with as-sault craft and ablative heat shields for orbitaldrops, 20 AT-AT and 30 AT-ST walkers for groundassault, and six TIE fighter squadrons for escortand patrol.

There are whole star systems whose grossdomestic product is less than the cost of a singleImperial Star Destroyer. There are whole na-tions which, throughout their entire history, donot use as much energy as an Imperial expendsto make a single hyperspace jump.

To carry out the Emperor's mandate of rulethrough fear and the swift destruction of oppo-sition, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer is theweapon of choice. By deploying a Star Destroyerand support ships to a system, the Empire candestroy virtually any foe.

It is impossible to garrison every world inevery system in the Empire, but the ImperialStar Destroyers give the Emperor the ability toproject his power anywhere he wishes in a shortperiod of time. These vessels are more thanweapons platforms. They also act as space sta-

tions, repair docks, andheavy transports for

smaller craft.An Imperial-class

vessel usually car-


Atmosphere Range: 2-10/30/60 kmDamage:6D

• Imperial II Star DestroyerCraft: Kuat Drive Yards' Imperial II Star DestroyerType: Star DestroyerScale: CapitalLength: 1,600 metersSkill: Capital ship piloting: Star DestroyerCrew: 36,755, gunners: 330, skeleton 5.000/+10Crew Skill: Astrogation 4D, capital ship gunnery 4D+2,capital ship piloting 5D+1, capital ship shields 4D+1,sensors 4DPassengers: 9,700 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 36,000 metric tonsConsumables: 6 yearsCost: Not available for saleHyperdrive Multiplier: xlHyperdrive Backup: x8Nav Computer: YesManeuverability: 1DSpace: 6Hull:7D+lShields: 2D+2Sensors:

Passiv: 50/1D5con:100/3DSearch: 200/4DFocus: 6/4D+2

Weapons:50 Heavy Turbolaser Batteries

Fire Arc: 20 front, 15 left, 15 rightCrew:\ (20), 2 (30)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 0DSpace Range. 3-15/35/75Atmosphere Range: 6-30/70/150 kmDamage: 10D

50 Heavy Turbolaser CannonsFire Arc: 20 front, 10 left, 10 right, 10 backCrew: 3Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 1DSpace Range: 3-15/35/75Atmosphere Range: 6-30/70/150 kmDamage: 7D

20 Ion CannonsFire Arc: 10 front, 5 left, 5 rightCreuj;l(10),2(10)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 4DSpace Range: 1-10/25/50Atmosphere Range: 2-20/50/100 kmDamage: 4D

10 Tractor Beam ProjectorsFire Arc: 6 front, 2 left, 2 rightCrew;: 1(2), 4 (2), 10(6)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 4DSpace Range: 1-5/15/30Atmosphere Range: 2-10/30/60 kmDamage: 6D

Super Star DestroyersExcept for the Death Star battle station, the

Super-class Star Destroyer is the largest war-ship ever constructed. Five times the length ofan Imperial Star Destroyer, each carries morethan a quarter million troops and crew.


Over 1,000 turbolaser batteries, ion cannons,and tractor beam emplacements dot the eightkilometer long ship. These vessels are like afleet unto themselves. Twelve squadrons of TIEfighters await within the huge confines of themassive ship, including two squadrons made upof the new TIE Interceptor model. Other carriedvessels bring the total aboard the Super StarDestroyer to over 200 ships.

Even more weapons of destruction are withinthe Super Star Destroyer, including a full corp ofstormtroopers and other soldiers, 25 AT-ATwalkers, 50 AT-STs, and various other groundassault vehicles. In addition, the ship carriesthree pre-fabricated garrison bases for immedi-ate deployment.

The Super-class Star Destroyer is the dreamof the Emperor and the epitome of his new navy.It represents the best and newest vessel avail-able in the Imperial inventory. It is a commandship, a spacegoing headquarters from which toguide planetary invasions, space battles, andthe like.

Four of these massive vessels are now inservice. The first, Executor, was presented toLord Darth Vader by the Emperor to serve as hispersonal flagship from which to lead the fleetcharged with the eradication of the Rebel Alli-ance.• Super Star Destroyer

Craft: Kuat Drive Yards' Super Star DestroyerType: Super-class Star DestroyerScale:CapitaLength: 8,000 metersSkill: Capital ship piloting: Super Star DestroyerCrew: 279,144, gunners: 1,590, skeleton: 50,000/+10Crew Skill: Astrogation 4D, capital ship gunnery 6D,capital ship piloting 6D+2, capital ship shields 5D+2,sensors 5DPassengers: 38,000 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 250,000 metric tonsConsumables: 6 yearsCost: Not available for saleHyperdrive Multiplier: x2Hyperdrive Backup: xlONav Computer YesSpace: 4Hull: 10DShields: 8DSensors:

Passive. 75/1D+2Scan: 150/3D+2Search: 300/5DFocus: 8/6D+2


Fire Arc: 100 front, 75 left, 75 rightCrew: I (100), 2(150)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: IDSpace Range: 3-15/35/75Atmosphere Range: 6-30/70/150 kmDamage: 7D


Damage: 9D250 Ion Cannons

Fire Arc: 100 front, 50 left, 50 right, 50 backCrew: I (100), 2(150)Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 4DSpace Range: 1-10/25/50Atmosphere Range: 2-20/50/100 kmDamage: 4D

40 Tractor Beam ProjectorsFire Arc: 20 front, 10 left, 10 rightCrew: 1Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 4DSpace Range: 1-5/15/30Atmosphere Range: 2-10/30/60 kmDamage: 9D

250 Heavy Turbolaser BatteriesFire Arc: 100 front, 50 left, 50 right, 50 backCrew: 2Skill: Capital ship gunnerySpace Range: 5-20/40/60Atmosphere Range: 10-20/80/120 kmDamage: 10D

250 Concussion Missile TubesFire Arc: 50 front, 75 left, 75 right, 50 backCrew: 1Skill: Capital ship gunneryFire Control: 2DSpace Range: 2-12/30/60Atmosphere Range: 4-24/60/120 km


Carrack Cruiser

Lancer Frigate

Imperial Star Destroyer

Dreadnaught

Escort Carrier

Note: All vessels are shown to scale.

Victory Star Destroyer

Torpedo Sphere

Strike Cruiser

Assault Shuttle Blastboat

Interdictor Cruiser

Super Star DestroyerSystem Patrol Craft

Star Galleon

Imperial Capital ShipRecognition Guide

Chapter Six; Custom Ordnance

Chapter SixCustom Ordnance

(The following report was presented to theEmperor's Advisory Committee on Military Affairsby the senior officers of the Department of MilitaryResearch.)

Some military missions require special weap-ons. The following report outlines some of thenewest innovations to come out of the Depart-ment of Military Research (DMR). Many of thesecustom ordnance are still in the planning stages,but these few are the closest to operationaldeployment.

Cloaking FieldsA fully-operational cloaking device has al-

ways been the ultimate dream of Naval com-manders since before the most primitive sen-sors were developed. The idea of cloaking orhiding a vessel from either visual or sensorpickup has been a goal of everyone who designsspace vehicles. Unfortunately, as newer andmore sophisticated sensor systems were devel-oped, true "cloaking" became more difficult.

Recently, the Empire's highly funded andvery controversial research into sensor cloak-ing paid off. A multi-talented team of scientistsand engineers were collected to begin final con-struction on a working cloaking device.

Many rumors have been circulated concern-ing cloaking fields and their existence. Somehave come from the Empire in an attempt tofrighten and confuse those who would test itsabilities. Others have come from those so fright-ened, permitting the disinformation to expand.In fact, it was determined that a singular break-through in cloaking technology was highly un-likely, and the Empire has pursued a combinedapproach ever since.

The current test model is a device comprisedof a number of inter-related systems and tech-nologies, specifically designed to provide totalprotection. The "cape," as the complete systemis referred to, is a double-blind device. This

demeans the protection from sensor transmis-sions works both ways.

The cloaking field obscures all types of elec-tromagnetic sensors by absorbing the beamsinstead of reflecting them. Since most sensorradiation never returns to the originating sourcebut usually disappears into the void of space,the protected vessel is effectively cloaked. Thefield protects against highly limited EPRs(electrophoto receptors), insensitive FSTs (full-spectrum transceivers), and computerized LFIs(lifeform indicators).

A cloaked vessel is virtually immune to DER(dedicated energy receptor) scanning by all butthe most powerful systems manned by the mostexpert technicians. DERs can only locate cloakedvessels by picking up ion engine heat. The Em-pire has developed a method for successfullybaffling this heat via another phase of thisproject, and this phase is currently being stud-ied for other military applications.

Cloaking fields, as they are developing now,cannot protect against CGTs (crystal gravita-tional traps) since the mass of the protectedvessel is not affected by the field. As most ofthese expensive sensors are Imperial property,the need for mass baffling seems unnecessary.

The main drawback to the cloaking fieldproject is that the cloak works both ways. Acloaked vessel cannot use its sensors either, asthe field absorbs the beams before they canregister any information. These ships would beblind in space, as well as invisible.

With these problems in mind, DMR decidedto narrow the cloaking project's goals. Underthe new scheme, a vessel with a specific search-and-destroy or deep-space patrol mission wouldbe equipped with the new technology. This shipwould use visual navigation in realspace andminimum sensors when in hyperspace. As com-bat would remain a low priority of this type ofmission, the need for extensive computerizedweapons systems which rely on sensor feed-back would be eliminated.

As more details and reports are forthcoming,they will be passed along to the Advisory Com-mittee.


Chapter Six: Custom Ordnance

Hyperspace Pulsemass GeneratorsCertain leaders within the DMR have a ten-

dency to overlabel everything. The hyperspacepulsemass generator is an example of this, astheordnance is simply ahuge"pebblespreader"in space. The generator produces tiny spheresof hyperenergy that are shot out into an area ofspace. When ships traveling through hyper-space cross the equivalent area of realspace,they come in contact with the hyperenergyspheres. These spheres overwhelm the block-ing capacity of the ship's shields and shred thecraft.

These hyperenergy spheres do not affectships in realspace, but if a ship enters a field ofspheres and then jumps to lightspeed it comesin contact with the deadly pulses. A regionmined with hyperenergy spheres is dangerousfor only a few minutes, for then the energydissipates.

This weapon can be devastating to large fleets,but the luck involved in successfully employingthe pulsemass generator is enormous. You liter-ally have to catch your opponent napping tomine aregion of space and have him hyperspacethrough it before the energy spheres fade.

Now in experimental and limited use, theEmpire is working to make this form of attackmore profitable and more exacting. If it doessucceed in improving the versatility of the hy-perspace pulsemass generator, then fleets ofenemy ships quickly escaping into hyperspaeewill become a threat of the past.

Magnetic BombardsHigh tech worlds where the new magnepulse

custom ordnance have been tested showed animmediate cessation of hostile and rebelliousactivity. A magnetic bombard delivered abovecities or technological installations can send acivilization literally back into its dark ages.

These weapons take two forms, both deliver-ing a magnetic pulse that shorts out most tech-nological equipment, computers, communica-tion units, and droids. The first method deliversthe pulse via a cannon blast delivered by a shipof medium cruiser level or above. This blast,however, can be reflected back on the firer,causing the attacking vessel to "blink out" andbecome a desolate, powerless hulk. The secondmethod delivers its pulse via a cluster bomb,but these bombs can be destroyed before theyreach detonation.

Now being designed to include shields andevasive computers, the magnepulse bomb isgaining acceptance within the Empire. It is aclean weapon that simply prevents a world from

retaliating with modern weaponry. The bombscan be carried by any vessel capable of support-ing TIE bays, as these weapons are approxi-mately the size of a fighter when the thrusters,evasive computers, shield generator, and powercells are in place.

The sophisticated technology that goes intocreating a magnepulse bomb, and its one-shotdelivery, make this ordnance very mission ex-pensive. For now, DMR has chosen to spend theextra credits to obtain maximum flexibility. Butnew technologies, like interchangeable cannon-mounted weapons, might see this change in thenear future.

Remember, these weapons do nothing againstplanets without a level of technology that in-cludes computers and electromagnetic commu-nications. But as most worlds the Empire wishesto pacify fall into this category, the use ofmagnepulse ordnance may increase as the civilwar rages on.

Orbital Nightcloaks andVisual Electromagnetic

IntensifiersThe experimental orbital nightcloak and vi-

sual electromagnetic intensifier are simply hugenets of linked satellites which intercept energytraveling to or from a planetary body.

The orbital nightcloak satellites prevent vis-ible light from reaching a pianet, immersingsections of the world in utter night. The visualelectromagnetic intensifier net enhances andfocus visible light onto a planet, effectively cook-ing the world.

Obviously, time is a drawback when usingthese ordnances. Time is needed to deploy andset up the satellite network, and because of thelarge amount of satellites needed to blanket aworld nothing smaller than a Star Destroyer canbe used to deliver them. As the network issusceptible to linkage detachment, a prolongedsiege with these weapons can be cut short byfighter craft or anti-orbital defenses.

To combat some of these failings, techni-cians are working to introduce "dummy" satel-lites into the net that can be removed withouthalting the rest of the process. They are alsoworking to design modular nets that can con-tinue to work even though a section has beendestroyed.

Two-Wave Gravshock DevicesHoused within the shell of a Torpedo Sphere,

the two-wave gravshock—or planetbuster — isdesigned to do terrible damage on a near-plan-etary scale.


Chapter Six: Custom Ordnance

By localizinga planet's gravity, the gravshockwaves can simulate earthquakes, floods, andother natural disasters. Unfortunately, time andpower make this weapon somewhat impracticalon the everyday scale. The Super-class StarDestroyer, for example, is the only ship withengines powerful enough to pump the massiveamounts of energy necessary for a full planetarydisruption, but it has no need of such a weaponconsidering the armaments it packs.

The localization effect of the gravwave is notwithout problems either. As a planet's gravita-tional field is altered, any vessels navigating innear-space (including the attacker) are subjectto rapid and unpredictable orbital shifts.

However, successful tests make this ordnance

worth exploring. Crushing cities in upon them-selves, shaking them to pieces, redirecting wa-terways to make the most of their destructivepower, the gravshock device is worthy of Impe-rial thinking and use.

One new concept for the gravshock technol-ogy involves asteroid mining and surveying.Imperial engineers theorize that by studying theeffects of a weak gravwave attack on a smallbody, like a moon or asteroid, they can learninformation about its interior. Thus, the weaponcan be used to find important ores and metalsfor making even more weapons.

•I If deemed necessary to enforce galactic law and order, the Empire can use custom ordnance includingmagnetic bombards, gravshocks, orbital nightcloaks and visual electomagnetic intensifies to bring planets inline with the New Order.


Chapter Seven: Land Vehicles

Chapter SevenLand Vehicles

(Various reports from Army Command to GrandMoffSelit in response to the Grand Moff's requestfor suggestions on dealing with rebellious ele-ments entrenched upon worlds in his sector ofinfluence.)

The Empire consists of land, an incalculableamount of rock and soil and varied terrain. Thespace lanes are merely the paths between theland. The Navy has the massive Imperial fleet tocontrol the space lanes, but the Army has a fleetof its own to control the land — a fleet of groundassault vehicles.

The Imperial fleet has been called "theEmpire's long arm," but the Army and its assaultvehicles are its crushing fist. Here are thosemembers of the GAV (ground assault vehicle)fleet best suited to the subjugation of rebelliousworlds. These craft, along with the mighty AT-AT and AT-ST walkers, make up some of themost powerful GAVs currently available to theEmpire.

JuggernautWhile newer, sleeker GAVs can be found in

service throughout the Galactic Core, older,less than perfect vehicles still see action through-out the Outer Rim Territories. The Juggernaut,called "rolling slabs" by troopers the galaxyover, is a hulking, cumbersome assault vehiclethat nevertheless inspires fear in its opponents.

Dangerous and powerful looking, the Jugger-naut has some design problems that make It lessthan perfect. But it is available and does servean adequate function. Moving across terrain onmassive wheels, these huge vehicles can beawkward to operate. The wheels on both ends ofthe Juggernaut turn independently to navigateunusual terrain, and either end may serve as thefront. The coordination between the pilots inboth cockpits must be precise in order to keepthe wheels from taking contradictory angles. Ifthis occurs, the vehicle can "lock up" and be-come immobile. This has been known to happen


• The Juggernaut heavy assault vehicle.

during the confusion of battle.The reason for the dual steering stems from

the amount of time needed to turn the hugevehicle around. The Juggernaut can reach re-spectable speeds when moving in a straightline, but it is extremely slow to turn. Although abit faster than the newer AT-AT walker (whichdrew some design elements from the earlierJuggernaut), the Juggernaut has little of thewalker's flexibility. Its huge bump flexors pro-vide adequate shock support for the wheels, buta lack of traction and independent drive unitsleave the Juggernaut without maneuverabilityor momentum enough to manage certain terraintypes.

The most unenviable assignment aboard aJuggernaut is the lookout post. A trooper muststand atop the huge machine in a scanningtower, operating the sensor array that needsthe added height to be effective. While highlyimportant to the pilots within the main body,the scanning tower is the most vulnerable spoton the "rolling slab." Without the informationrelayed from the tower, the Juggernaut mustrely on only the information and scanning it canperform from .ground level, leaving it suscep-


tible to air strikes and forces hidden behind hiltsand other terrain obstacles.

A Juggernaut's armor is its strongest point,along with the weapons that jut from its surface.It has firepower equivalent to a walker, andarmor nearly as impenetrable.

While this vehicle is the predecessor to theAT-AT, it was not commissioned by the Empire.These ground craft were originally purchasedby planetary governments and crimelords dur-ing the waning days of the Republic to providethe protection that was lacking at the time. Theyhave since been commandeered by the Empirefor use in the Outer Rim Territories.• Juggernaut

Craft: Kuat Drive Yards' HAVw A5 JuggernautType: Heavy assault vehicleScale: WalkerLength: 21.8 metersSkill: Ground vehicle operation: JuggernautCrew: 2, gunners: 6Crew Skill: Ground vehicle operation 4D+2, missile weap-ons 4D, vehicle blasters 4D+1Passengers: 50 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 1 metric tonCover: FullCost: Not available for saleManeuverability: ODMove: 70; 200 kmh, slows to 8; 25 kmh when turningBody Strength: 5DWeapons:

3 Heavy Laser CannonsFire Arc: 1 turret*, 1 left, 1 rightCrew: 2Skill: Vehicle blastersFire Control: 2DRange: 50-500/1/2 kmDamage:6D

1 Medium Blaster CannonFire Arc: TurretCrew: 1Skill: Vehicle blastersFire Control. IDRange: 50-250/750/1.5 kmDamage: 4D

2 Concussion Grenade LaunchersFire Arc: TurretCrew: 1Skitt: Missile weaponsFire Control: IDRange: 50-100/250/500Damage: 8D+1

*Note: The Juggernaut's heavy laser cannon turret canturn to face the left, front and right fire arcs only. It maymove the turret one fire arc per turn (from left to front,right to front, front to right or front to left).

Compact Assault VehicleThe compact assault vehicle, or CAV, trans-

forms a single trooper into a formidable assaultforce. This valuable piece of equipment ad-dresses the problem of spreading the Empire'sforces too thin throughout the vast expanse ofthe galaxy. With it, a single trooper can generatethe firepower of an entire squad.


• Compact Assault VehicleCraft: Nen-Carvon CAVw PX-10Type: Compact assault vehicleScale: SpeederLength: 5.1 metersSkill: Ground vehicle operation: CAVw PX-10Crew: 1Crew Skill: Ground vehicleoperation4D+2, vehicle blast-ers 4D+1Cargo Capacity: 100 kilogramsCover:FullCost: Not available for saleManeuverability: IDMove: 90; 260 kmhBody Strength: 3D+2Weapons:

Medium Blaster CannonFire Arc: TurretSkill: Vehicle blasters

• Single trooper compact assault vehicle (CAV).

There are worlds scattered throughout thegalaxy that are too remote to warrant a full-scaleoccupational force, and yet demand a substan-tial Imperial presence because of their value tothe Empire. The CAV was created for preciselythis situation. Asmall force, equipped with CAVs,can hold and control an impressive amount ofterritory — provided the opposition does nothave extensive firepower of its own to call on.

Controlled entirely by one trooper, a CAVcombines sophisticated transportation, com-munications, and combat equipment into onecompact unit. Fast, well armored, and equippedwith sensors that allow the CAV to drive itself sothat the trooper can concentrate on combat,this vehicle also has surprisingly powerful weap-ons for such a small machine.

The primary rule for CAV operators is never,under any circumstances, get out of the vehicle.The CAV is their weapon, their fort. If separatedfrom the unit, the solitary trooper is probablydoomed.

Opponents have discovered that the intricatecomputer technology that assists the CAV soldiercan be jammed. This causes a breakdown insensory input, confusing the pilot and renderingthe CAV assistance programs inoperable. Thismakes the CAV less useful against high-tech foes,but more than adequate for dealing with theprimitive worlds throughout the Empire.


• Nen-Carvon PX-4 Mobile Command Base.Fire Control: 2DRange: 50-250/750/1.5 kmDamage: 5D

Mobile Command BaseThe PX-4 Mobile Command Base provides

field combat commanders with transportation,protection, and a mobile headquarters that canmove as their troops do. The heavily armed andarmored vehicle permits safe passage to hostilebattle sites for on the spot observation — acondition where commanders were once notpermitted to enter.

These vehicles are also used by some plan-etary prefects and governors upon openly hos-tile worlds. Some of these leaders have come torely so heavily upon the PX-4 that they rarelytravel without it. There are even a few who liveinside these vehicles, never leaving the protec-tion offered by the armored confines.

Designed for protection, the PX-4 Mobile Com-mand Base is built within a protective metallicshell almost a half a meter thick. The commandpod at the center of the vehicle is encasedwithin a shell of its own, adding to the protectivethickness. Reflective shielding covers the outerhull, giving a final touch to this security cocoon.

Sophisticated sensors and computers moni-tor and analyze an entire battle as it progresses,giving the commander and his advisors up-to-the-minute data and suggestions. The sensorsalso monitor enemy communications, and in-coming Imperial communications.

One heavy laser cannon provides offensivepunch for the command vehicle, but in normaloperation it does not engage in actual battle. Itis an observer and command post, designed toprovide security to important individuals. It isnot, in the strictest sense, a weapon of war, butwars are fought more effectively because oftheir presence.


• Mobile Command BaseCraft: Nen-Carvon PX-4 Mobile Command BaseType: Mobile command baseScale: SpeederLength: 21.8 metersSkill: Ground vehicle operation: PX-4Crew: 2, gunners: 1Crew Skill: Ground vehicle operation 4D+2, vehicle blast-ers 5DPassengers: 7Cargo Capacity: 1 metric tonCoven FullCost: Not available for saleManeuverability: 0DMove:35; lOOkmhBody Strength: 7DWeapons:

Heavy Laser CannonFire Arc: Turret*Crew:Skill: Vehicle blastersFire Control: 2DRange: 50-500/1/2 kmDamage: 4D+2

*Note: The PX-4 Mobile Command Base's heavy lasercannon turret can turn to face the left, front and right firearcs only. It may move the turret one fire arc per turn(from left to front, right to front, front to right or front toleft)

Repulsorlift SledThe swoop gangs of the Outer Rim Territo-

ries have long been trouble for the Empire.Planetary governments have petitioned for pro-tection from these roving pirates. Initially, Impe-rial scout troopers were deployed, but the morepowerful swoops easily outmatched the scouts'speeder bikes.

Frustrated by these outlaws and angered bytheir increasing boldness, Army Command com-missioned a new vehicle to deal with the men-ace. The Swift 3 Repulsor Sled is fast, light, andis capable of out-racing anything short of anairspeeder when it comes to sheer surface speed.

But catching the outlaws is only the first step.Stopping them is another matter. To accom-


Skill: Vehicle blastersFire Control: 2DRange: 50-100/250/500Damage: 3D

Drop NetFire Arc: FrontSkill: Missile weaponsFire Control: 1DRange: 0-1/3/5 (horizontal), 0-10/20/30 (vertical)Damage: 6D (ionization)

Floating FortressThe scourge of any Imperial occupation force,

the Floating Fortress repulsorlift vehicle has areputation for being mercilessly thorough. Pri-marily used to extinguish uprisings in occupiedurban areas, the Floating Fortress addressessome of the logistic problems faced by thecumbersome AT-AT walker. This vehicle is com-pact enough to glide easily between the build-ings of a crowded inner-core city, yet it gener-ates as much fear and terror as its four-leggedcounterpart.

The Floating Fortress is roughly cylindrical inshape, with a distinctive twin-turret blaster can-non resting atop its well-armored body. Theseformidable guns move independently of eachother, swinging in a slow and determined arc,until finally "locking in" on an intended target. Inthe dark of night, the cannon follows the path oftwo piercing search beams, targeting whateverthe beams focus upon.

The armored shell of the Floating Fortressallows the vehicle to go through obstacles asopposed to around them, obliterating all in theirpath with a casual effortlessness. Whole citieshave been leveled by Floating Fortresses insearch of Rebels or other enemies of the Empire.

Many of the psychological weapons of warnecessary for urban suppression are also em-ployed by the Floating Fortress. Chief amongthese is a highly sophisticated audio-visual sur-veillance system. Projecting out in a 30 meter


• Aratech's Swift 3 Repulsorlift Sled.

plish this, the repulsor sled is equipped withtangle nets that drop from bottom compart-ments. These nets, in addition to tangling arounda swoop, give off short pulses that disrupt therepulsor fields that carry the craft. Once inplace, the net draws off the field and causes thecraft to plummet toward the surface.

Other features include a clamping hooklauncher, a front-mounted blaster cannon, andthe newest scanning and communications jam-ming equipment. A modular design allows engi-neers to refit a repulsor sled according to amission or particular situation.

The basic "engine with a seat" approach thatgoes into the swoop is employed for this craft.But updated engineering has eliminated theneed for protruding directional vanes that markthe older swoops. Handlebar and foot pedalcontrols are still required, but with more com-fortable body positioning.

As the success rate of the repulsor sled in-creases, these vehicles will see more and moreservice. They have already begun to appear intandem with speeder bike and AT-ST teams,rounding out effective ground assault units.• Repulsorlift Sled

Craft: Aratech 64-Y Swift 3 Repulsorlift SledType: Repulsorlift sledScale: SpeederLength: 4.1 metersSkill: Repulsorlift operation: speeder bikeCrew: 1Crew Skill: Repulsorlift operation 4D+1, vehicle blasters4D+2Cargo Capacity: 4 kilogramsCover: 1/4Altitude Range: Ground-25 metersCost: Not available for saleManeuverability: 1D+2Move: 280; 800 kmhBody Strength: 1D+2Weapons:

Medium Blaster CannonFire Arc: Front


Range: 50-500/1/2 kmDamage: 5D

Command SpeederThe Chariot light assault vehicle is a modified

military landspeeder used by Imperial commandpersonnel during routine occupations and as-signments where proximity to actual combat isnot a threat. It is more heavily armored than theusual military landspeeder, but it is slower andmore lightly armed. This reflects the need toprotect important supervising command per-sonnel rather than to lead attacking forces.

The command speeder has only one forward-mounted laser cannon that can fire only in thedirection the vehicle is facing. As these craft arerarely unescorted, the cannon rarely fires ashot.

Like the Mobile Command Base, the com-mand speeder possesses superior on-boardcomputer battle-assistance programs, as wellas complete up-link communications facilities.These critical units are shielded and back upsystems exist in case of failure.

A little-known feature of this speeder is theself-destruct timer, activated by throwing aswitch beneath the command chair. It can be setto destruct as long as 10 minutes from the timeit is thrown. This provides a last-ditch fail-safe ifa command team is captured or in risk of immi-nent capture. The computer monitors thatrecord and analyze battles are not to fall intoRebel hands.

The vessel is outfitted for three men: thecommander, his driver, and a guard who alsoserves as aide to the senior officer.• Command Speeder

Craft: Uulshos LAVr QH-7 ChariotType: Command speederScale: Speeder

bubble around the vehicle, this system com-bines a sensitive listening device with a heatsensing probe to create an intensive "TargetIdentification Network," or TIN. This system ismodeled after a sensor package once employedby assassin droids.

The TIN system is not used exclusively tolocate enemies, however. Often a mission willcall for a simple display of power with a mini-mum of actual destruction. In these cases, theTIN system can be used to pinpoint an exacttarget without causing undo havoc.

A crew for the Floating Fortress consists of apilot, two gunners, and a sensor coordinatorwho monitor the TIN. The repulsorlift craft alsocarries a small number of troops if deploymentis needed. A rivalry of sorts exists between thecrews of these vehicles and the AT-AT walkers.While Army command prefers the walker, occu-pational commanders constantly demand Float-ing Fortresses when garrisoning a world.• Floating Fortress

Craft: Ubrikkian HAVr A9 Floating FortressType: Floating fortressScale: WalkerLength: 17.4 metersSkill: Repulsorlift operation: Floating FortressCrew: 2, gunners: 2Crew Skill: Repulsorlift operation 4D+2, vehicle blasters5DPassengers: 10 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 1 metric tonCover: FullAltitude Range: Ground—2 metersCost: Not available for saleManeuverability: ODMove: 70; 200 kmhBody Strength: 5DWeapons:

2 Heavy Blaster CannonsFire Arc: TurretCrew:\Skill: Vehicle blastersFire Control. 2D


• Ubrikkian's HAVr A9 Floating Fortress.


• Uulshos LAVr QH-7 Chariot Command Speeder.Length: 11.8 metersSkill: Repulsorlift operation: LAVr QH-7 ChariotCrew: 3Crew Skill: Repulsorlift operation 5D, vehicle blasters4D+1Cargo Capacity: 10 kilogramsCover: FullAltitude Range: Ground-8 metersCost: Not available for saleManeuverability: 1D+1Move: 35; 100 kmhBody Strength: 4DWeapons:

1 Laser CannonFire Arc: FrontCrew: 1 (co-pilot)Skill: Vehicle blastersFire Control: IDRange: 3-50/100/200Damage: 3D

HoverscoutThe Mekuun Hoverscout has proven itself on

a number of worlds in a variety of ground forcesand combat conditions. Intended for use in smallunit reconnaissance and offensive point opera-tions, the craft works well independently orwith infantry or armor support. It is often de-ployed with several other hoverscouts in raidsor rearguard actions.

Although its speed and maneuverability can-not compete with those of repulsor-driven scoutcraft, there are many points in favor of theMekuun design. It boasts a maintenance andfailure rate better than most competitive floaterscouts. It is easier and cheaper to maintain.Hovercraft require less training to operate thando repulsorlift vehicles. Finally, there are someworlds and terrain type that make repulsorliftsbehave erratically. On these planets thehoverscout is the vehicle of choice.

The hoverscout uses a Gurian S87 "perpetualcharge" power plant dynamo. A power capaci-tor initiates blower rotation, then back-blastimpellers recycle energy from the vehicle's aircushion to supplement power generation. Thisefficient use of energy gives, the hoverscout alonger range than most vehicles of its size andtype.

The standard hovercraft ground effects de-sign has been modified to meet the demands ofmilitary use in rigorous terrain. The vehicle's aircushion is generated by four three-cycle Kasminturbopumps, the most refined heavy-dutyblower unit of its type. The Kasmin pump per-mits extra elevation and float when needed,easily surmounting minor blocking terrain.

Several military specifications were designedinto the hoverscout. It is armored enough towithstand a direct hit, but is not so heavy that itsmaneuverability is impaired. Sealed doors andweapon ports support a closed and recycleableenvironment.

A minimum crew of one is required to operatethe hoverscout. The ceraglass windscreens,made from a ceramic alloy that is transparentand tough as armor, offer an exceptionally widefield of vision. With an optimal crew of four, allof the weapons systems can be operated whilethe vehicle is moving.

A variety of sensors and communicationspackages can be installed as custom-ordereddevices, particular to a given mission. Standardequipment consists of weapon-linked EPR sen-sors at each crew position, and long-range com-munications.• Hoverscout

Craft: Mekuun HoverscoutType: Hoverscout




Scale: SpeederLength: 15.9 metersSkill: Hover vehicle operation: HoverscoutCrew: 1, gunners: 3Crew Skill: Hover vehicle operation 4D+1, missile weap-ons 4D+2, vehicle blasters 4D+2Passengers: 6Cargo Capacity: 50 kilogramsCover: FullCost: Not available tor saleManeuverability: 1DMove: 70; 200 kmhBody Strength: 3DWeapons:

1 Heavy Blaster CannonFire Arc: TurretCrew: 1Skill: Vehicle blastersFire Control: ID

Range: 50-250/750/1.5 kmDamage: 6D

1 Laser CannonFire Arc: Turret*Crew:1Skill: Vehicle blastersFire Control: IDRange: 50-100/200/500Damage: 2D

Concussion Missile LauncherFire Arc: TurretCrew: 15ft///: Missile weaponsFire Control: 2D^onge: 50-500/1.5/3 kmDamage: 4D

* Note: The Hoverscout's laser cannon turret can turn toface the left, front and right fire arcs only. It may movethe turret one fire arc per turn (from left to front, right tofront, front to right or front to left).

• Mekuun's Hoverscout is designed for reconnaissance missions and offensive point operations.

Imperial Land VehicleRecognition Guide

Mobile Command Base

Hoverscout

Command Speeder

Juggernaut

Compact AssaultVehicle

AT-ST

AT-AT

Repulsorlift Sled

Floating Fortress

Note: All vehicles are shown to scale.

Chapter Eight: Sector Group Organization

Chapter EightSector GroupOrganization

The Empire's military might is organized atthe sector level, and thus is called a SectorGroup: all of the military forces assigned to agiven sector of space. A Sector Group is a hugegathering of Imperial military might. It is a flex-ible organization, one which is readily rein-forced to many times its original strength whileretaining essentially the same command struc-ture at all times. This flexibility is an integralpart of the Emperor's plan to fully arm theEmpire.

While the organization and Order of Battle ofa Sector Group has been outlined according tothe numbers in these reports, these numberscan at best be considered averages. And in thewake of the Emperor's command to mobilize theImperial war machine, they may even be consid-ered minimum levels of force. Also, the forcesdeployed in a given sector will depend upon theimportance, size, and location of that sector.

The Roles of the Army andNavy within a Sector Group

One of the Emperor's first actions was torefurbish the structure and personnel of theArmy, establishing it as a branch equal to theNavy. This equality is still part theory, as theNavy is reluctant to give up its position of pre-eminence. Old line officers fought bitterly againstdesigning Star Destroyers to carry and deploydrop-qualified combat elements under the com-mand of the Army. The officers correctly sawthis as a sign of an increase in support activitiesfor the Navy — they incorrectly believed navalprestige could slow the will of the Emperor. Themilitary was transformed according to theEmperor's wishes.

One of the results of this transformation wasthe creation of the Sector Group, an organiza-tion with greater flexibility and accountabilitythan the military of the Old Republic. The rolesof the Army and Navy were meshed more closely.No longer is the Navy able to ignore the Army


because it is "groundstuck ... and proud of it,"and the Army is no longer able to neglect eventsin nearby systems as "the Navy's problem."Each branch is expected to pool its resources inorder to achieve a common goal, maintainingImperial rule within a sector.

The Role of the ArmyThe Army's mandate is to eliminate military

threats to the established Imperial political or-der on the planetary surface (or other inhabitedcomplex). If the planet is not under Imperialcontrol, the Army is to engage and defeat anylocal military force capable of resistance inorder to facilitate the transition of control of theplanet to the Empire.

When engaged in operations, the Army canexpect support from the Navy during the initialdrop phase. During this phase, the Navy willprovide suppressing fire against particularlyhard and/or well armed targets, and "force re-duction attacks" to destroy enemy assets ca-pable of interfering with reorganization afterthe drop. The Army is also allowed to pre-planfor from-orbit fire on specific targets duringlater stages of the operation. If the operation isimportant enough, naval units may be dedi-cated to certain ground elements to provide firesupport whenever they are called upon.

When on garrison duty, the Army's mission isessentially unchanged, except they are expectedto provide firepower and backup to COMPNORand Intelligence operatives when such actionshave been cleared with the garrison commander.

When aboard a naval vessel, their primaryduty is to stay clear of naval personnel who aredoing their duty, and to see that their equip-ment is properly maintained. However, the Armyis responsible for the defense of the vesselshould enemy units attempt to board her. In thisevent, Army officers have authority to coordi-nate the crew of the vessel with their own menin order to defeat the enemy. With an increasingnumber of daring raids by Rebel elements, Army


units are now more active in maintaining day-to-day security. This causes friction between thecrew of the vessel and army troops.

The Role of the NavyThe Navy's mandate is to secure orbital space

around inhabited planets, to investigate anyvessels which in the opinion of the commandingofficer appear capable of disrupting the secu-rity of orbital space, and to engage hostile ves-sels, destroying or seizing them as deemed nec-essary. In addition, the Navy is to establishpatrols within a sector to locate known enemiesor for the early detection of patterns of spaceactivity which could indicate a hostile pres-ence. Space superiority is clearly the Navy'smost important mission, and the one whichgenerates the most enthusiasm from crew andofficers.

A mission which has been de-emphasized isthe protection of scientific missions, as well asacting as the official clearinghouse for informa-tion on new worlds. As the Empire has practi-cally ceased to sponsor exploration, this mis-sion has atrophied to the point that many of the

newer commanders are not even aware thatsuch missions are part of the Navy doctrine.

If the Army is to be deployed on the surface ofa world, the Navy is to provide combat supportas soon as the orbital space is secured. Supportfor Army operations is to take precedence overestablishing patrols until such time as the com-mander of surface operations indicates he hasthe situation under control, although such sup-port operations are not expected to be exclu-sive of patrol activities.

If Army commanders deem the surface situa-tion to be beyond hope of victory, or if theproper political authorities directly commandit, the Navy is to execute a series of punitiveattacks upon the target. The attacks are givencode names which vary according to the mis-sion and change frequently. The only code namewhich has not yet changed is "Base Delta Zero,"the code for complete destruction of all "assetsof production," including factories, arable land,mines, fisheries, and all sentient beings anddroids. The code name has not yet changed sothere can be no possibility of confusion when aBase Delta Zero is ordered.

Organization ofthe Army

There was a clear-cut distinction in the armyof the Old Republic between troops (those whocould be expected to see combat) and supportpersonnel and command elements, who usuallystayed as far away from the action as they couldand still stand a reasonable chance of perform-ing their duty. In the twilight of the Old Republic,the probability of anyone over the rank of lieu-tenant landing in a blasterblaze was virtuallyzero. This distinction still remains in the NewOrder, even though support personnel are moreclosely integrated with their units, are givencombat training, and are expected to (and do)fight when confronted with the enemy.

Even though it is no longer unusual for cap-tains and other ranking officers to participatedirectly in combat, they are still consideredcommand elements rather than troopers. Whena typical Imperial source lists a number of troops,they are counting traditional combat personnelonly and not including the support or commandelements.

Information on all the elements in the Army'sorder of battle is included below.


SquadThe eight-man line squad is the basic unit of

the Imperial Army. The Imperial squad is smallerthan the old 10- and 12-man squads common inthe Old Republic, but superior training andmore thorough use of coordinated small-unittactics have resulted in no reduction in squadfirepower. Additionally, a large number of newsquads were created from the available man-power. The Empire has been experimenting withstill smaller squads, particularly with elite orstormtrooper units, but these are still rare. Theeight-man squad remains the backbone of theImperial Army.

A squad is commanded by a sergeant. Thesergeant makes recommendations to his supe-riors for a brevet list — a list of the order ofsuccession of chain of command. The first manon the list (once approved) is automaticallygiven the rank of corporal. While the othertroopers are not given ranks, each man knowswhat his number in the line of command succes-sion is. While not a really accurate indicator ofa man's value to his squad, succession numbers



three sectors where better than half of the linesquads have been re-equipped: Shwuy, Harronand Nembus. On heavily populated worlds inthose sectors, such as Uviuy Exen in Shwuy andTrammen in Harron, every single line squad has

are often taken as a measure of a trooper'sworth. This belief has led to the expressions"Lower than the eight-man" and "Certain as theone-man's mind."

The Empire spends a great deal of time select-ing and training its sergeants. The sergeant isthe man who has to train, evaluate, and com-mand the recruits. The sergeants build thesquads, and the squad is what the Army is builtupon. The common wisdom is that it is moredifficult to make it to sergeant than to lieutenantor even captain.

Recent setbacks against the Rebellion haveprompted the Empire to see how they mightincrease the firepower of a basic squad as costeffectively as possible. A leading effort is to giveeach squad a light repeating blaster. The repeat-ing blaster is carried and operated by one man.Light repeating blasters have been added tosquads in almost every sector, but the rearmingeffort has been sporadic everywhere but in

Army Organization in BriefTo get a quick understanding of the

organization of the Army, use the follow-ing reference.

Squad. Has eight combat soldiers, inaddition to and commanded by a sergeant;corporal is second-in-command, chosenfrom the regular soldiers. The basic com-bat unit in the Imperial Army.

Platoon. A platoon is composed of foursquads. Commanded by lieutenant (pla-toon commander) and sergeant major (sec-ond-in-command).

Company. Composed of four platoons.Commanded by a captain.

Battalion. A battalion is composed offour companies, commanded by a major.This is the normally the minimum size unitfor surface operations.

Regiment. A regiment is generally madeup of four battalions, commanded by alieutenant colonel.

Battlegroup. A battlegroup is generallycomposed of four regiments, commandedby a high colonel. A battlegroup is used formajor offensives against known concen-trations of resistance.

Corps. Corps are generally composedof four battlegroups, commanded by amajor general. This organization often cov-ers all troops in a planetary invasion force.

Army. Generally composed of fourcorps, this organization covers multiplecorps engaged in multiple actions, and iscommanded by a general.

Systems Army. Generally composed ofone army, but sometimes containing up tothree armies. Commanded by a high gen-eral. This organization is more of a book-keeping unit, and the systems army head-quarters is responsbile for keeping trackof all military forces in the system.

Sector Army. Generally composed oftwo to four systems armies, commandedby a surface marshall. This organizationcovers all troops in a given sector.

Stormtroopers and the Order ofBattle

Stormtroopers technically do fit intothe Order of Battle. But these elite troopscontinue to be a source of mystery to theregular Army, even at the level of theirorganization. The major difference seemsto be the complete lack of support person-nel. It is known that the Stormtroopers dosiphon off some supplies from the normalchain of logistics, but not nearly enough tosupport a force as large as the Stormtroop-ers appear to be. Whether they can some-how "live off the land," have a shadownetwork which resupplies them in order toenhance their mystery, or really not be inneed of resupply is simply not known.

The end result is that a stormtrooperunit is a pure combat unit.

A stormtrooper battalion has 820 men,just like any other battalion. But everysingle individual is either combat com-mand or a trooper — there is even a com-plete absence of staff officers.

Other differences, although minor, doappear. Stormtrooper squads vary in num-ber of men to a greater degree than in theregular Army. The level of organizationcorresponding to a battlegroup is called alegion. While there is no larger unit ofstormtrooper organization than the legion,legions have been known to appear fromother sectors to join in a major offensivewith legions which belong to the SectorGroup.

been completely armed with light repeatingblasters.

Sharpshooter squads are indeed filled withtroopers whose accuracy with blasters is greaterthan the standard trooper. Sharpshooter squadsalso differ in that the brevet list is largely dis-carded. While every elite trooper is given atleast the basics of demolitions, each man istrained in several different skills, and beforeeach mission the sergeant appoints the trooperwith the most pertinent skills as brevet corpo-ral. Each trooper is briefed as to what is ex-pected of him during the mission, and thesesoldiers are expected to be good enough todecide how best to improvise should the ser-geant and corporal be eliminated from the mis-sion profile.

While not officially on the order of battle,light repeating blasters have found their wayinto just about every sharpshooter squad. Thetroopers' belief that these weapons greatly in-crease the effectiveness of their units is a primefactor in issuing the weapons to line squads.

Engineering squads scontain specialists in non-

combat skills who have some combat training,mixed with combat experts who have been givenintensive training in other useful skills.

Engineering squads are designed to get into,go through, go around, or go over just aboutanything. They are also expected to be able tooperate, repair or dismantle any piece of equip-ment they come across. Each squad contains ademolitions expert who has proven his ability inthe field with sharpshooter squads. His mixtureof skills often makes him the most dangerousman in the engineering squad.

There is no such thing as standard equip-ment for an engineering squad. They usuallyhave an ample supply of explosives and thermaldetonators, as well as medpacs and an variety ofSAPs (Sensor Array, Portable units). In terms ofweaponry, an engineering squad has standard-issue blasters and as much interesting hard-ware as they have been able to build, requisitionor steal in the field and still carry.

Standard repulsorliftsquads have eight troop-ers, a sergeant, and two light transport vehicles.Each vehicle has a four-man crew, including atrooper mechanic, a driver, a tech/sensor of-



The Order of Battle and Future Growth of the ArmyWhen viewing the Order of Battle, it is

important to realize that this represents abaseline, a starting point for Imperial militaryambitions. Only eight percent of Army unitsare below their OB strength for reasons otherthan combat attrition, while nearly 15 per-cent are above the baseline as given by theOB.

The OB is built upon the assumption ofcontinued explosive growth in the military.Every unit from a platoon up is expected toundergo an "upgrade" to its full strength. Theexception to this rule are the scouts, whichare difficult to man with qualified troops evenat current levels.

This buildup will filter up through the ranks— larger platoons joining larger companieswhich are a part of larger battalions. Theprocess is exponential.

For example, a baseline armoredbattlegroup has 10,090 troopers out of a unitstrength of 16,346, with 1,132 repulsorlift ve-hicles and 318 tanks. If every unit were aug-mented in accordance with the plannedgrowth of the OB, a full strength battlegroupwould have 318,062 troops in a unit total324,318, as many support droids as troops,36,084 repulsorcraft and 14,480 heavy tanks.

The limiting factor is not a lack of re-sources in the Army, but limited expansion of

the Navy. The Army cannot expand fasterthan the fleets which are designed to carry it,and the fleets cannot be built any faster thanthey are now. For the present, expansion willbe limited to those sectors with heavy recur-rent fighting where the need for a large land-based force, regardless of naval support ortransport, is evident. Such forces can be built,but are then bound to the planet.

Another point to be made is that the OBrepresents the ideal organization of the Army.Mistakes and inaccuracies in upper level HQscan result in a skewed organization of theactual unit in the field. As the war against theRebellion heats up, a substantial part of theorganization is improvised by field command-ers who are trying to combat a foe who gainsstrength with each encounter. Old line com-manders and COMPNOR officials do not ap-prove of such initiative on the parts of localcommanders, and these officers are oftenpunished even if the results prove success-ful. It is not unknown for a commander to besummarily executed for his violation of Sur-face Operations Training Doctrine, and thenhave his methods evaluated and subsequentlyadopted as new doctrine.

Such pioneers are obviously a rarity in theEmpire.


ficer, and a commander, who usually doubles asthe gunner. Most sergeants' vehicles have adedicated energy receptor (DER) built into thetransport compartment, where a second tech/sensor officer sits. This officer looks for signs ofhostile communications in an attempt to gain ajump of the enemy.

Heavy weapons repulsorlift squads are thosewhich have additional armaments built intotheir vehicles, most often dismount weaponssuch as a heavy repeating blaster, a Merr-Sonn4.4 grenade launcher or even a light laser can-non, which may be dismounted by infantry andused when really heavy firepower is needed.

Scout trooper squads are organized differently.This is due to two factors; the difficulty of train-ing the scouts against their high rate of loss, andtheir heritage. Most scout troopers come fromsystems which have a strong tradition ofmounted warriors, cavalry or knights of somekind. The Empire culled what was useful fromthe varied doctrines, and left as much of thetraditions intact as possible in order to fosteresprit de corps. One of the useful parts of thistradition is caring for ones own mount; scouttroopers are trained to maintain and repairtheir own vehicles, greatly reducing the supportpersonnel necessary to run such a mobile unit.Fierce unit pride and high standards have fil-tered through to manufacturers, and Aratechand Mobquet military bikes are the most reli-able repulsor craft built.

A scout trooper squad is called a lance. Eachlance contains five scouts (including the ser-geant) and their vehicles. Most scout lances usespeeder bikes with one scout per bike, althougha few use a speeder bike and a pair of two-manvehicles.

Heavy weapons squads are essentially infan-try squads that are equipped with two- or three-man medium or three-man heavy repeating blast-ers.

Artillery sections are made up of one eight-man heavy or medium artillery piece or twofour-man light artillery pieces. Artillery piecesrange from laser and ion cannons to indirect fireprojectile weapons.

Armor sections are almost never deployed,but are included as part of the Order of Battle forarmor platoons. An armor section has eithertwo three-man medium or light repulsortanks(or their equivalent) or one heavy four- or five-man repulsor tank (or its equivalent). A lightarmor section has only six men, while a heavyarmor section has four or five men.


Augmenting SquadsLine squads are not often augmented, but

when they are up to a second full squad isassigned to the squad to be augmented. Thesergeant of the first squad is given a brevet rankof "lead sergeant," while command of his squadis directed by the corporal in his absence. Morecommonly, squads are augmented by the addi-tion of a heavy weapons detail, usually a three-man detail with a medium repeating blaster.

PlatoonThere are four squads in a line platoon, a

lieutenant in command and a sergeant major asplatoon adjutant, for a total of 38 troops in abasic platoon. A platoon is the smallest unitwhich can request fire support from other units.Fire requests are made of the battalion head-quarters, which then assigns an appropriateunit to respond or screens and relays appropri-ate requests to a higher command if it lackssupport resources within the battalion.

If Imperial commanders have time to developa plan of attack, they often assign an artillerysection to a platoon. Troopers refer to thispractice as "grafting." Sometimes battalion com-manders will graft a large number of platoons toa single artillery or armor company, letting thecompany captain allocate fire support requestsas the battlefield situation dictates.

Before entering a combat situation, a lieuten-ant usually sends his sergeant major to thesquad which he believes will come under themost pressure. If possible the lieutenant doesnot stay with any one squad but tries to gowhere he is most needed on the battlefield. Thistends to give lieutenants a very short life span.Those lieutenants who survive their first en-counter are one of two types.

The first type is a pragmatic individual whorealizes the limitation of the doctrine and stickswith one squad when the blaster bolts get thick.They maintain command control through theheadcomm connection to their sergeant major,waving of hands, and occasionally screaming atthe top of their lungs.

The second type is one tough trooper.An assault platoon (also called a heavy weap-

ons platoon) contains two line squads and twoheavy weapons squads. The heavy weaponssquads are usually armed with heavy repeatingblasters. Additional heavy weapons details areoften assigned, usually one three-man mediumrepeating blaster detail, but sometimes up tothree medium repeating blaster details or twoheavy repeating blaster details. The standardassault platoon can have from 38 to 47 men, 41being the most common.


Staying in TouchThe need for reliable, lightweight communications

gear to keep platoon commanders in touch with otherunits provides work for a number of companies' R&Dsections. SoroSuub's initial success with the DH77headcomm led to issuing hundreds of thousands of setsbefore a serious flaw was discovered: the sets are easilyjammed by high energy particle emissions. Such emis-sions could result from normal battlefield conditions;near misses from artillery could create dead zones throughwhich DH77 transmissions were lost. The ionic contrailfrom a single TIE fighter attack run could temporarilyknock out DH77s up to three kilometers away!

The Herzfall Corporation, a little known company fromthe Senex sector, developed the DH107, which rectifiedthis mistake and was less susceptible to signal intercep-tion. DH107s have been issued to every platoon formedsince the Battle of Yavin, and most platoons have beenretrofitted. Still, thousands of platoons are using the oldDH77s, a situation which does not look likely to change asthe Empire finds more crucial uses for its resources.

major can be assigned to another vehicle oreven the support element if defense of thatelement is in question.

These vehicles are usually repulsorlift tanksortheirequivalent. Additionally, armor platoonscan be made up of walkers or other heavilyarmored combat vehicles.

Armor platoons are accompanied by twoheavy transport vehicles (HTVs), which carrythe necessary spare parts and resupply compo-nents for the unit. These HTV have three crew-men each, doubling as general mechanics forthe armored vehicles, and four additional tech-nicians. Every technician is familiar with all theoperating systems of a tank, but each special-izes in one of four areas: weapons systems,armor maintenance, control circuits, or engine/power transmission.

Special missions platoons have the standard38 men, but that is the only thing standard aboutthem. They have four squads: two sharpshootersquads, a heavy weapons squad, and a squad ofengineers. These squads cross-attach, oftenbreaking up into about three more equal groupseach containing engineers and/or a heavy weap-ons detail.

The platoon is the basic unit of operation forspecial missions. When the Imperial militarythinks of special missions, it thinks in terms ofthe number of platoons needed to accomplishthe mission. As this indicates, special missionsare those operations which a few elite men canaccomplish, rather than standard military ma-neuvers.

Special missions forces have been pressedinto "political gain operations" (PGOs) with in-creasing frequency. Special mission trooperscall them "straw man" operations. PGOs areterrorist missions held on worlds where nativesympathies vacillate between the Empire andthe Rebellion. In a typical PGO, the special mis-sions troops stage several terrorist attacks, ex-ecuted in a manner which would suggest thatpolitical factions native to the world could haveproduced the attacks.

Eventually some political faction will appealto the planetary governor for help. The gover-nor will declare martial law, asking for help fromthe fleet. The help arrives in the form of hun-dreds or thousands of additional troops. Thesetroops operate on "new intelligence," roundingup scores of suspected or known Rebel sympa-thizers for imprisonment or execution. Oncethe Rebels are out of the way the attacks cease,reinforcing the impression that the Rebellionindeed sponsored the attacks. The special mis-sions force then moves on to another world.

An artillery platoon is called a line, and containsfour artillery sections, with the standard comple-ment of 38 men. An artillery line has either fourheavy or medium artillery tubes, or eight lightartillery pieces.

A repulsorlift platoon contains 56 men in fourrepulsorlift squads (heavy weapons repulsorliftsquads if the platoon is a heavy weaponsrepulsorlift platoon) and a command element.The command element contains two light trans-port vehicles modified with heavier armor andgreater repulsor power to compensate. In com-bat, the lieutenant's command vehicle usuallyoperates from a point where he can effectivelydirect the actions of his entire platoon, while hissergeant major is assigned to one of the squads,most often the lead squad. There is also a sup-port vehicle, with a crew of four (who double asmechanics) and eight technicians. The supportvehicle also carries a limited number of spareparts for repairing damaged or otherwise dis-abled repulsorcraft.

A standard armor platoon has from 34 to 42men, with either four heavy vehicles, each withfour- or five-man crews, or eight medium or lightvehicles with three-man crews. The heavy-ve-hicle platoons are the more common. Armorplatoons also have a fifth vehicle, the commandvehicle, which is usually a medium vehicle (modi-fied to carry an extra man in a secondary guncupola mounting a heavy repeating blaster)with superior visibility to that of the heavyvehicles. The lieutenant is always in the com-mand vehicle in combat, while the sergeant


company can be orbit-loaded for missions of up tosix weeks duration, although two weeks is theImperial standard. Support staff are trained forsurvival in a variety of environments, and they inturn instruct individual platoons on what they canexpect when they reach the surface — what theatmosphere is like, what the environment can beexpected to do to the troopers equipment, whatbiological hazards they face, what they might beable to eat if rations get low, and so forth.

Ideally a support staff can keep a companyfunctioning independently until all of the blasterpacks have given out. Realistically a support staffhas done well if they have kept every unwoundedtrooper and piece of equipment not damaged byenemy fire fit for combat after a month on thesurface.

Artillery companies, known as batteries, have152 troops, 23 support personnel and either 16heavy or medium artillery tubes, or 32 light artil-lery pieces. They have fewer droids than othercompanies, about 70 droids with the supportpersonnel. ;

Assault companies (also known as heavy weap-ons companies) have two assault platoons, twoline platoons and the usual command and sup-port elements for a total of from 152 to 170 troop-ers, depending on the configuration of the assaultplatoons, giving the company from 180 to 198men. In the standard assault platoon, the lineplatoons equip their squads with light repeatingblasters. Recent upgrades in many companieshave substituted a medium repeating blaster fora light repeater in each platoon, giving assaultcompanies an extremely flexible mix of firepower.

An attack armor company has either 200 men(for a heavy tank company) or 232 men (for acompany with light tanks). There are four pla-toons, three tank platoons and a heavy weaponsrepulsorlift platoon, as well as the command andsupport element, containing 16 tanks if a heavytank company or 28 light tanks if a light tankcompany, and nine heavy weapons repulsorlifts.The captain commands from a modified heavytank. This tank is noticeable because of the largenumber of heat extractors necessary to deal withthe waste heat from all of the extra power thecommand tank consumes. Unlike the mediumcommand tank, a heavy command tank is ex-pected to perform all functions simultaneously,and uses power accordingly.

A breakthrough armor company (also knownas a heavy a armor company) is the leanest of thearmor companies. Its support element is at-tached to battalion headquarters and does nottravel with the company. A breakthrough com-pany is nothing but four tank platoons and a


A scout platoon has 29 men with two linesquads commanded by a sergeant major and ascout squadron commanded by a lieutenant.

A scout squadron consists of two lances offive scouts each, a lieutenant replacing the ser-geant in the command lance. While the lieuten-ant is officially in charge of the entire platoon,tradition leaves the "grunts" almost exclusivelyto the sergeant major, while the lieutenanthandles the squadron.

Augmenting PlatoonsPlatoons are the most flexible units in the

Army. This is not true in doctrine, but it iscertainly true in practice. The organizationalchart tells commanders that platoons may beaugmented by adding complete squads, andthis is done whenever possible.

But commanders of infantry platoons alsoswap equipment and personnel with heavy weap-ons platoons, repulsorcraft platoons, even ar-mor platoons. Equipment is over-ordered at thecompany level; many platoons are walkingaround with an extra light repeating blaster oreven a medium repeating blaster. Reinforce-ments occasionally are assigned to the wrongunits, who decide to keep the extra men andmateriel. The platoon is the least standardizedof all the Army units, occasionally packing asmuch firepower as a line company.

CompanyA line company is the smallest unit which is

capable of extended operations on its own. Ithas four platoons for 152 troops, with commandelements and support personnel raising thetotal to 180 men. A company is commanded bya captain who is served by four staff officers, allof whom are the equivalent of a lieutenant inrank. SC1 is the company lieutenant, the captain'ssecond-in-command. SC2 is the logistics officer,SC3 is the medical officer, and SC4 is the techni-cal officer. In addition, there are 23 supportpersonnel; eight in logistics, 11 in technical, andfour in medical. Each support person is aided bytwo (in medical) to 11 (in logistics) droids, for anaverage of 118 droids per company.

If the mission is to be of a longer than usualduration, or if the company is to be completelyisolated from all other support, the supportpersonnel will be augmented with additionaldroids. Droids are almost never accounted forin Imperial scandocs on organization and equip-ment, forming an almost invisible support net-work within the military.

A drop company is essentially a line companywith expanded support. As such, it is listed inthe Order of Battle as a line company. A drop


command tank, a total of 21 or 37 tanks depend-ing on tank types. Breakthrough armor compa-nies are designed to bust through enemy linesand to wreak havoc. Their missions are to de-stroy enemy assets or seize lightly contestedassets and holding them until more balancedforces arrive. The lack of a support element putsa great deal of pressure on the company.

These units are equipped for short combatoperations. But "short combat operations" area training document fiction. Supplies are neverused up at average rates and parts neglect tobreak down in average ways; after 72 hours abreakthrough company usually has developedsome problem which hampers its combat effec-tiveness. Commanders know this, and conse-quently breakthrough operations are rarelyplanned to be more the 72 hours in duration.

A repulsorlift company has 188 troops, 220men total including the command element andsupport personnel. There are a total of 31repulsorlift vehicles in the company, eight dedi-cated to the support element and the commandvehicle, in addition to 22 combat vehicles di-vided into two platoons. Each repulsorlift pla-toon carries a line platoon for deployment incombat.

Special missions companies consist of threespecial missions platoons and an augmentedscout platoon, plus the command and supportelement — 136 troopers out of a total of 164 men.If the mission is to be of short duration thesupport element is omitted. An augmented scoutplatoon is actually smaller than a normal scoutplatoon, having 22 men. However all of them arespeeder bike scouts, having four lances, a lieu-tenant and a sergeant major. The 22 scout bikesare often modified to carry additional spareparts and munitions as special missions compa-nies often operate in "zones of increased hostil-ity density." They are involved in far more com-bats than a scout platoon is designed to be;special missions scouts greatly enjoy the in-creased action.

When operating on a planet considered hos-tile to the Empire (including hundreds of plan-ets nominally part of the Empire), special mis-sions companies are drop-supplied directly fromnaval vessels. A force of at least line size flashesin from hyperspace, launching scores of con-tainers varying in size from a probe droid to alife pod. These take erratic paths to the surface,impacting all over the planet. No more than fiveof these are genuine resupply pods; the rest aredecoys to dilute the effectiveness of enemytracking measures. Frequently, the appearanceof naval vessels is enough to occupy the atten-


tion of the enemy. Once the resupply effort iscomplete, the starships jump into hyperspaceunless they have been ordered on a surfacesupport mission for ground forces. Naval sup-port missions for special missions companiesare rare as such elite units are expected to dowithout them.

Scout companies are called troops. They con-tain four scout platoons and the command andsupport elements — a total of 116 troopers and40 speeder bikes. The command element trav-els in a high powered command speeder ratherthan a speeder bike, and the support element ismobile as well. Scout companies are assignedfar fewer droids than usual units because theplatoons are expected to operate independentlyfrom the support element, and because of thescout doctrine of "fast and lean," but largely dueto the lack of room in the support vehicles.

Augmenting Companies and Larger UnitsAny unit from company size on up is almost

always augmented in the manner dictated bydoctrine; adding whole subordinate units to thebase unit, usually in the order outlined by theOrder of Battle (OB). For example, if a linecompany were to be augmented, the first unitadded would ordinarily be a heavy weaponsplatoon, the next unit added would be anotherheavy weapons platoon, and the third and fourthunits which could be added would be line pla-toons. Units which augment a base company orlarger unit are to be commanded by the unit'ssecond in command. This rule is violated byparticularly strong-willed commanders, or com-manders of above average ability. The Empireseems to overlook these violations.

There are a few times when a large unit maybe augmented in ways other than as dictated bythe Order of Battle (OB). The most common iswhen a commander forms groups from the sur-vivors of a battle, attaching these units to hisown. These units rarely conform to anythingresembling the OB.

The second is when Imperial troops are work-ing with auxiliaries local to the planet of opera-tion. The Imperial commander is expected toallow the native units to operate in unit sizesmost closely matching the Imperial Army equiva-lent, but not completely force the Imperialmethod of operation upon allies. As fewer plan-ets are currently providing auxiliaries, thismethod is rapidly decreasing in importance.

A third method is when a unit commanderdecides special augmentation is crucial to anoperation. If he succeeds, his superiors will tryto quietly cover up the violation. If he fails, hefaces the harsh justice of the Imperial military.

Army Order of Battle (OB)

Squad Level

Line Squad (Infantry)

Sharpshooter Squad

Engineering Squad

Repulsorllft Squad

Heavy Weapons Repulsorlift Squad

Scout Trooper Squad (Lance)

Heavy Weapons Squad

Artillery Section

Armor Section

Organizational Size Symbol

Squad

Platoon

Company

Battalion

Regiment

Battlegroup

Corps

Army

Systems Army

Sector Army

Platoon Level

Light Platoon

Assault Platoon (Heavy Weapons Platoon)

* Note: All units shown in a gray panel represent expanded designations

Line Company

Company Level

Scout Platoon

Special Missions Platoon

Armor Platoon

Heavy Weapons Repulsorlift Platoon

Repulsorlift Platoon

Artillery Platoon

Army Order of Battle

Platoon Level (continued)


Drop Company

Artillery Company (Battery)

Assault Company (Heavy Weapons Company)

Attack Armor Company

Breakthrough Armor Company (Heavy Armor Company)

Repulsorlift Company

Special Missions Company

Scout Company (Troop)

(AugmentedScout Platoon)


BattalionOn the battalion level, the organization makes

a large change at the level of the command andsupport elements, which are now pooled to-gether into the battalion headquarters (HQs).Unlike company command elements, which areexpected to be close to and often involved withthe combat actions, battalion HQs are expectedto be relatively secure.

Battalion HQ is headed by a major, with fivestaff officers whose ranks are the equivalents ofcaptains. SB1 is the battalion captain. In addi-tion to duties as the second in command, SB1 isresponsible for gathering and assimilating intel-ligence for the unit. SB2 is the logistics officer,SB3 the medical officer, and SB4 is the technicalofficer. A staff officer without a counterpart atthe company level is SB5, the headquartersofficer, responsible for the coordination of allthe support elements, headquarters security,and to a lesser extent order within the battalion.

The number of support personnel is 47 (whichincludes the SB5). There is an additional secu-rity platoon of 38 men commanded by the SB5under normal circumstances, and by the majorin the event of an attack upon the headquarters.A security platoon is listed as a support uniteven though it consists of troopers. This isbecause security platoons are not consideredcombat units; they maintain order within theirunit. Ranking Imperial commanders have beenable to pull themselves out of some tricky situ-ations by creating combat units from the secu-rity platoons available to them. This is not acommon enough practice that security platoonsare considered troopers in the OB count.

The standard complement of droids is 145,over two thirds of them MSE-6 droids. The restvary from sector to sector, depending on whichdroids are locally popular. The standard battal-ion HQ therefore has 90 men and 145 droids.

Line battalions have four companies includ-ing an assault company (heavy weapons com-pany) and an HQ, for a total of 608 troopers out


"For every problem a solution must befound. It is the commander's duty to see thatthe objectives of the mission are obtainedHe is personally responsible should the mis-sion fail. If the objective is of importance, heis to succeed regardless of (he method neededto obtain success. It is the commander's dutyto see that success is obtained in accordancewith the directives of the New Order."

— First axiom from Surface OperationTraining Document 89, Officers' Section.

of 810 men. A fully equipped assault companyraises these totals to 626 and 828. Line battal-ions are committed to more ground combatsthan any other type of unit in the galaxy, as abattalion is the usual minimum Imperial com-manders will consider dropping for a surfaceoperation, and line battalions are more com-mon than any other type.

Assault battalions consist of one line com-pany, two assault (heavy weapons) companies,a repulsorlift company and the HQ. One of theassault companies is always fully equipped,giving the average assault battalion 662 troop-ers of 868 men, and 31 repulsorlift vehicles. Therepulsorlift company is occasionally reorganizedso that it carries units from the fully equippedheavy weapons company. Assault battalionsare most often used in urban areas or for attack-ing a single enemy stronghold. Assault battal-ions are given priority over line battalions whenrequesting fire support from artillery or navalunits. Assault battalions are the most commonbattalion to bust dirt first as the vanguard bat-talion for large surface operations.

Repulsorlift battalions are made up of threerepulsorlift companies, one scout company andthe HQ. Repulsorlift HQ has 18 repulsorlifts tomove everyone in HQ, one of which is crewed bythe major and staff officers, another by thebattalion captain and staff officers plus a ser-geant driver. The rest have three-man crewswhich add to the size of HQ. A repulsorliftbattalion has 680 troopers from a total strengthof 952 men, with 115 repulsorcraft and 40 speederbikes. Repulsorlift battalions are most commonlyused to gather information on the enemy's move-ments, cut off enemy retreats, disrupt supplylines, harass enemy movement, and take lightlydefended resources away from the main theaterof operations. They are committed to a frontalassault only if the Imperial commander needs touse every single trooper he has, a piece ofdoctrine which makes repulsorlift battalions apopular assignment.

Artillery battalions have three batteries plus anormal assault (heavy weapons) company to pro-vide protection, giving the artillery an opportu-nity to retreat and set up elsewhere if necessary.Artillery battalions have 608 troopers out of 810men, and either 48 heavy or medium artillerytubes, or 96 light tubes, plus the attendant ve-hicles necessary to move the artillery.

Consisting of a breakthrough company, twoattack armor companies, and a repulsorlift com-pany, an armor battalion represents a near opti-mum combination of combined arms firepowerand mobility. What they lack is staying power—


they have too few troops to set up adequatedefensive positions. Armor battalions are usedprimarily for attacks or mobile defenses.

The HQ has 23 additional support personnelto help maintain all of the equipment, and theHQ is mobilized to travel in 24 HTVs, one ofwhich is crewed by the major and staff officers,another by the battalion captain and staff offic-ers plus a sergeant driver; the rest have three-man crews which are part of HQ. The total HQsize for an armor battalion is 180 men plusdroids. An armor battalion of heavy tanks has601 troopers out of 1,000 men, 53 tanks, and 55repulsorlift vehicles.

An armor battalion of light tanks has 695troops out of a total of 1,096 men, 93 light tanksand 55 repulsorlift vehicles. Light tank battal-ions are ideal for situations where the opponentis not heavily armed, nor has time to constructfortified defenses — situations which the Em-pire often confronts when fighting the Rebel-lion. The Empire designed light armor battal-ions as a response to Rebel actions on dozens ofbackwater planets. But light armor battalionshave a drawback — the entire unit does not fitinto an Imperial landing barge.

Special missions battalions are the largestspecial missions units recognized in the OB ofthe Imperial Army. They consist of four specialmissions companies and an HQ element, a totalof 544 troops out of 746 men, and a total of 88speeder bikes, more than in many Army corps!Special missions HQ is an exception to the rule— they are expected to be directly involvedwith the combat operation. In place of the stan-dard support personnel are engineers whodouble as support when things calm down; thesecurity platoon is made of the absolutely finesttroopers the Army can find, and the major andhis staff are hardened combat veterans.

A special missions HQ is used to action. Thisapproach leads to high morale among troopers,knowing that they are not being asked to dosomething which the major isn't actually doinghimself. It also leads to ample opportunity forpromotion into the HQ unit as attrition wearsthe HQ down.

RegimentRegiments are commanded by a lieutenant

colonel who runs an HQ identical in structure tothat of a battalion with the exception of a largercompliment of droids, usually upwards of 200.Regimental HQ is where the most extensiverepairs are performed, and some HQs even havea capacity to machine or nanomanufacture pre-cise spare parts from very basic components.


Regimental HQs often stay aboard the mothervessel, as orbital command control is as good inmost instances as control on the ground. Iforbital command is disrupted, the HQ can bequickly dropped (there is a record of at leastone conflict where the regimental HQ wasdropped in life pods as landing barges wereunavailable). If regimental HQ is dropped withthe attacking forces, it is an indication that theEmpire expects to maintain a ground force for atleast a month and that the naval presence willbe not be continual.

A line regiment contains two line battalions,one assault (heavy weapons) battalion, and onerepulsorlift battalion. The unit contains 2,558troopers in a total force size of 3,530 men, with130 repulsorlift vehicles. A line regiment is mostcommonly deployed on worlds with low levelresistance. A line regiment is capable of massingtroops (usually by combining the repulsorliftand assault battalions) for a major battle with-out having to commit the entire unit to theconflict.

Assault regiments (heavy weapons regiments)are deployed when intelligence sources candefine areas of limited size on the surface thatare under the control of Rebels or Rebel sympa-thizers. The assault regiment is dropped toretake those areas. Assault regiments are notusually deployed for any length of time. OnceRebel strongholds have been cleared, a lineregiment replaces the assault regiment. Theassault regiment is then dropped into anotherhot zone. An assault regiment comprises 2,545troopers in a force of 3,546 men, with 121repulsorlift vehicles and 53 heavy tanks.

Repulsorlift regiments are put down on worldswhere Rebel activity is light but spread outacross a vast area. The repulsorlift regimentalHQ is dropped more frequently with the regi-ment than other regimental HQs. This is not forany command control reason, but for a bit ofpsychological warfare. By dropping the HQ, theArmy provides the Rebels with a tempting tar-get — destroy the HQ and the unit fails tofunction effectively, if at all. But the HQ is mo-bile, and competent Imperial commanders canlay traps with the regiment, engaging and de-stroying Rebel units which attempt to strike atthe HQ.

An artillery regiment is an anomaly. The Impe-rial military has been slow to recognize thatartillery still has a useful role to play on thebattlefield, and the doctrine and support givento the artillery arm has been lacking. The gen-eral buildup of Imperial might has largely passedthe artillery arm by. A hasty attempt to revital-


division, replacing it with the battlegroup. Asusual, the Empire kept a few elite divisionswhere unit identification was strong and useful,both from a military and a propaganda stand-point.

Battlegroups are commanded by a high colo-nel, five staff officers (SG1 through SG5), foursubstaff officers with the rank of major whoserve the SG5 (SG51 to SG54), 188 support per-sonnel, and 76 troopers in two security platoonsfor a total of 274 men in HQ.

Battlegroups are committed to majoroffensives against known concentrations of re-sistance. The Empire doesn't drop a battlegroupon a world just to take a look around — abattlegroup drops when the Empire knows ithas a tough fight on its hands.

Line battlegroups have 10,219 troopers in aforce of 14,410, with 511 repulsorlift vehiclesand 53 heavy tanks. Line battlegroups are nowconsidered to be underpowered given the in-crease in Rebel strength. The military is debat-ing trying to upgrade all line battlegroups toreinforced battlegroups, but the required re-sources and the reorganizational difficulties haveprevented the idea from taking hold.

A reinforced battlegroup (or assaultbattlegroup) has 10,210 troopers from a totalstrength of 14,890, with 676 repulsorlift vehiclesand 212 heavy tanks. They are considered themost versatile battlegroup, with a good mix offirepower and staying power.

Armored battlegroups are dropped into mis-sions where the enemy has several concentra-tions of strength in an area of moderate size. Thearmored battlegroup is designed to quickly hitthese concentrations in succession, one or twoenemy strongholds at a time. An armoredbattlegroup has 10,090 troopers out of a unitstrength of 16,346, with 1,132 repulsorlift ve-hicles and 318 tanks.

Mobile battlegroups are deployed on worldswhere there are Rebel held or sympathetic ar-eas adjacent to areas loyal to the Empire. Mobilebattlegroups are used to shift quickly in re-sponse to Rebel incursions, and to make light-ning strikes into enemy territory.

1,342 repulsorlift vehicles make sure thebattlegroup get where it is going quickly, while265 heavy tanks give it some punch. 10,248troopers form the fighting force for the unit of16,106 men.

Auxiliary battlegroups are not at all traditionalbattlegroups. They have no commander, andnever operate as a battlegroup. They are merelyan organizational convenience for grouping re-


ize this arm is now being made after belatedrecognition that artillery has been an effectivetool for the Rebellion.

Artillery regiments are being formed asquickly as possible and then attached tobattlegroups which use them as a single unit.Junior officers are making official complaintsabout this policy despite the risks of thosecomplaints. The response has been lukewarm,and some Sector Groups are assigning smallerartillery units at the regimental or battalionlevel. There are unofficial reports, nowhere re-flected in the official OB, of assigning batteriesto line battalions. The most frequent deploy-ment of artillery remains a massed regimentcontaining either 144 or 288 artillery tubes, withattendant vehicles for a minimum of 199repulsorlift vehicles and 53 tanks. The regimenthas 2,425 troopers out of a regimental total of3,520.

Armor regiments are not to be deployed alone.They are to be deployed only as part of abattlegroup. The Imperial military considers anarmor regiment to have too much firepower forthe normal regimental engagement. They do nothave enough infantry to hold any ground theymight take which would justify using an armorregiment. There are no official records of thedeployment of a lone armor regiment. A linearmor regiment contains 2,562 troopers out of atotal of 3,994 men, with 304 repulsorlift vehiclesand 106 heavy tanks.

A vanguard armor regiment has 2,483 troop-ers out of 4,042 men, with 262 repulsorlift ve-hicles.

A COMPNOR Regiment (CompForce) has astructure like a line regiment with the exceptionof the lack of security platoons. COMPNOR vol-unteers are fanatical, and their loyalty isunshakeable under every condition yet faced.CompForce commanders have dispensed withthe security platoons as unnecessary to a wellrun unit, a notion which does not endear themto commanders in the regular army. Very littleabout CompForce endears itself to the regulararmy.

BattlegroupBattlegroups are a recent addition to the

Army, replacing divisions, which were commonin the Old Republic. The change was madebecause divisions were commonly commandedby planetary governors or used as honor guardsfor ambitious senators. Divisions were associ-ated with a particular planet or being, a detri-mental attribute that was hard to shake. Armyplanners reorganized the OB and eliminated the


sources available to a corps commander. Anauxiliary battlegroup has three CompForce regi-ments, and a ground support wing of TIE fight-ers. In the continuing struggle between the Army 'and the Navy, the ground support wing is one ofthe casualties. The Navy wanted to retain con-trol of the TIEs, but the Army insisted upon itsown starfighters so they could primarily bededicated to ground support missions. The re-sulting wing has 40 TIE fighters rather than the72 as is standard in the Navy.

The ground support wing has 40 TIE fightersorganized into 10 flights. Three flights are orga-nized into a TIE bomber squadron, six flightsinto two squadrons of TIE/In, and one flight ofTIE/fc for use as spotters. A ground supportwing has 40 pilots, 25 sensor techs, 25 control-lers, and 60 ground crew personnel for a total of110 men. An auxiliary battlegroup has a total of7,674 troopers from a total of 10,130. There arealso 390 repulsorlift attached to the unit.


Picutorion Viewed From the TopCommodore Bevven and High Colonel

Drost were viewing the progress of the battleon Picutorion, engaged in a strained discus-sion about whether to deploy TIE fighters insupport of the surface action. Elements of thearmor battalion of Tensiger's 6th regimenthad penetrated the perimeter of a trackingstation, but the Rebels were still giving heatedresistance, and nearly every Y-wing flyingwas attacking in support of the tracking sta-tion.

Bewen, fearing that the Y-wings mightdecide to attack the fleet, wanted to send theTIEs in waves which would engage a few Y-wings quickly and then return, holding themajority of the TIEs in reserve. Drost knewthat picking off just a few Y-wings at a timewould doom the troopers making the assault,probably causing the failure of the attack.

Bewen turned away from Drost, facing hislead controller squarely. "Lieutenant, orderall squadrons to attack along the parabolaprogrammed in. They are to stay in tightformation during the initial attack, and toreturn to the fleet as soon we have pulledwithin four arc seconds of the return path.Release on my mark."

"Yes sir!""May I interrupt for a moment, Commo-

dore?" Bewen turned to face the man whohad been watching him on the bridge. Bewencould not remember his name. Barezz, per-haps? The one from ISB.

"If you must," said the Commodore."This is for your ears also, Colonel," said

the man. "We have been monitoring theprogress of the offensive and have noted theelements which have actually penetrated thetracking station include two tagged as sensi-

tive."Colonel Drost moved closer, stepping

within a polite distance. He eyed the ISB mancautiously.

"The two, a Captain Ganig and a SergeantStecker, are both inside the station.COMPNOR made each famous after the Battleof Sagma, but since then their casual obser-vation of doctrine has come to light. If theytake this station, COMPNOR will again makethem heroes."

"What is your point, Barezz?" asked thecolonel. The ISB man snapped his eyes to-ward him. The colonel met the gaze.

"My point, colonel, is that for propagandapurposes, dead heroes are nearly as goodlive ones. And dead heroes cannot defect tothe Rebellion."

"Do your sources indicate that they arethinking of defecting?"

"No," admitted Barezz, "but we are certainthat a trooper named Linds is a Rebel sympa-thizer. He has been in contact with each man.I do not know if we can take such a risk. Delaythe starfighter support until the Rebels havekilled Ganig and Stecker. Then send in thesupport needed to dispose of the Y-wings."

Bewen looked at Drost. They were his TIEfighters, but they were Drost's men. Thecolonel nodded curtly.

"How long could your men hold out intheir present position, colonel?" Bewenasked.

"Normally I would say less than three min-utes. They are good. I would guess seven,"said Drost.

"Controller, widen the parabola for 10 min-utes to target. On my mark."

"Yes sir!"


Battalion Level

Line Battalion

Assault Battalion (Heavy Weapons Battalion)

Repulsorlift Battalion

Artillery Battalion

Armor Battalion

Special Missions Battalion

COMPNOR Regiment (CompForce)

Vanguard Armor Regiment (Heavy Armor Regiment)

Armor Regiment

Artillery Regiment

Repulsorlift Regiments

Assault Regiment (Heavy Weapons Regiment)

Line Regiment


Regiment Level


Battlegroup Level

Line Battlegroup

Reinforced Battlegroup (Assault Battlegroup)

Armored Battlegroup

Mobile Battlegroup

Auxiliary Battlegroup

(GroundSupport

TIE Wing)

corps can keep the complex producing, it canoperate without Imperial resupply indefinitely.

Line corps have 48,541 troopers in a unit of69,199 men. It comes equipped with 2,599repulsorlift vehicles and at least 371 heavyrepulsortanks.

Atrisian corps (essentially assault corps) have48,403 troops; with 3,385 repulsorlifts and 795heavy tanks.

Mobile corps have 48,508 troops from 71,615men, with 5,548 repulsorlift vehicles and 1,113heavy tanks.

Armor corps have 48,192 troops from 74,794men, 5,128 repulsorlifts and 1,219 heavy tanks.The distinction is important in Surface Opera-tions Training Documents, and mobile corpsare organized for maneuver operations betterthan armor corps. However, the average Rebelis not going to care what sort of corps justoverran his position.


CorpsThe corps is one of the few instances of real

cooperation between the Army and the Navy.Imperial military planners from each branchdesigned the transport ship to hold all corpstypes, building in the possibility for expansioninto both the starship and the unit. The fact thatthe corps transport ships are among the newermodel of ships in the fleet is perhaps a sign thatthe two branches are ready to cooperate moreclosely so that the New Order may expand.

When the Empire deploys a corps onto aworld, it is retaking that world, regardless of thepropaganda beamcasts. The military considersa corps to be a sufficient force to retake a worldwhich has only recently slipped from the graspof the Empire. Such a world would still containa significant number of loyalists, and the Rebelswould not have had time to build up an orga-nized defense. This does not mean that thecorps outnumbers its opponents; usually theopposite is true by a factor of at least four toone. What is true is that the opposition is notorganized enough to coordinate all of the mili-tary power available to it. Moving quickly, theEmpire can destroy each opposition element inturn.

A corps is led by a major general who has fivestaff officers (SP1 through SP5), each staff of-ficer having two staff officers of their own (SP11through SP52). There is a company of 152 troop-ers to provide security for the HQ, and there aresix perimeter platoons which are under directcommand of the general or his SP1. Fifty ISBagents are assigned to a corps, to help withintelligence and to assure loyalty. There arealso 388 support personnel and 114 CompForcesupport personnel organized into three pla-toons whose job it is to support the CompForceregiments assigned to the auxiliary battlegroup.The CompForce support is usually inadequate.

There is also a single officer from ImperialIntelligence (the Ubiqtorate, not the ISB) whoprovides supplementary aid to that providedby the ISB. Typically this officer provides 15 to20 percent of the intelligence used by the corps.

Corps HQ is often augmented with a hugenumber of MSE-6, I2F-5 and I2F-73 industrialdroids — as many as 2,000 in some instances.These droids serve as a mobile processing andmanufacturing plant, particularly with the in-troduction of repulsorlift-enabled models of theI2F-73 which acts as transport for most of theother droids. Such a complex can manufactureeverything from glow rods to blaster packs torepulsorlift engines upon demand, using thecrudest and most impure raw materials. If the


Major Generals Are EverywhereThere are far more corps HQs than there

are corps. This represents an abundanceof more than pleasant jobs for less thanbrilliant offers — the corps HQ is the basisfor the Imperial garrison. The Empire wantsgarrisons to be organizing points for rapidmobilization. Realizing that in a crisis unitsmay have to be sent from many parts ofsector, the Army wanted HQs in placewhich could take command of all the parts.

As Imperial doctrine currently holdsthat a corps is a sufficient force to retakeany planet, corps HQs are set up as thebasis of Imperial garrisons. As the garri-sons also have diplomatic, trade and medi-cal functions, additional tech, medical,science and diplomatic service personnelare assigned. These are nominally outsideof the major generals' command, but real-ity often puts the general in charge.

The typical military contingent is at thebattalion level, most often four battalionsmixed in a way which is optimum for theworld on which the base is situated ratherthan following the OB and construction aregiment. A battalion of stormtroopers,one of AT-STs, and two battalions of AT-ATs is a popular configuration. In addition,the ground support wing of the auxiliarybattlegroup is almost always present. TIEfighters are a rare enough resource thatany wise commander will take all he isentitled to as soon as he can get them.

Sector Army Level

Systems Army Level

Army Level

Mobile Corps

Armor Corps

Atrisian Corps (Assault Corps)

Line Corps


Corps Level


ArmyAn army is commanded by a general. An army

HQ is larger than two full battalions, containingfive staff officers (SA1 through SA5) and their 10subordinate officers (SA11 through SA52), asecurity company of 152 troops, six perimeterpatrol platoons of 228 troops who report di-rectly to the general or the SB 1, 200ISB agents,784 support personnel, three COMPNOR ob-server companies of 152 plus a command ele-ment of five (captain and staff) each for a total of471 men.

Four Ubiqtorate agents are available to pro-vide additional intelligence to the general, shouldhe so desire. The total number of people in HQis 1,855. There are at least twice as many droids.

An army consists of one each of the fourdifferent corps: line, atrisian, armor and mobile.This gives an army 193,644 troops, 293,686 totalpersonnel, 16,660 repulsorlift vehicles and atleast 3,498 heavy tanks. An army is built to betransported by a naval troop squadron.

Armies rarely see action in the field as acoordinated unit. Increased success by the Re-bellion has led to a revival and redevelopmentof doctrine concerning the use of an entire armyin the field.

Systems ArmyThe systems army is more of a bookkeeping

level of organization rather than a unit that eversees action in the field. The HQ is the same sizeas that of the army. It is commanded by a highgeneral. The primary function of the HQ is tomake sure that all of the subordinate command-ers know where all of the other military re-sources in the sector are — if a major generalneeds naval support for his unit greater thanwhat is available in his drop line, system HQ willtry to find the nearest naval support units andrelay the information to the major general.

Sector ArmyA surface marshal commands the sector army,

although more often than not this is merely anadditional title bestowed onto the Moff or GrandMoff who commands the Sector Group. Thesector army includes every single army trooperin an assault fleet. This is 774, 576 troops and1,180,309 personnel in total. 66,640 repulsorcraftare in service with the sector army, as well as13,992 heavy tanks.

1 0 1Imperial Sourcebook


Organization ofthe Navy

The ship is the building block of Navy organi-zation, much as the squad is for the Army. Theproblems each branch has in organizing thesebuilding blocks is quite different. The Army hasmillions upon tens of millions of squads, and itschief difficulty is in organizing these parts intoan effective whole. The Navy has far fewer shipsthan the Army has squads, but the differencebetween ships is enormous. There is a greaterdifference in overall effectiveness between aStar Destroyer and a system patrol craft thanthere is between a squad and a regiment.

Organize 300 squads with a command and asupport element and you have a regiment. Orga-nize 300 system patrol craft and you still do nothave the equal of a Star Destroyer. In someinstances the 300 system patrol craft might bebetter than a single Star Destroyer. Usually theywould not be.

Compounding the problem is the plethora ofship types, the variations by model within asingle type, and the customization or modifica-tions of individual ships throughout a standardyear. Again in comparison, a squad is composedlargely of young adults who have been trainedso as to become more uniform, while a navalsquadron may be composed of ships two years,60 years, and 210 years old.

Military FolkloreThere is a bit of military folklore about the difference

between the structure of the Army and the Navy. Anadmiral had just finished listening to a general explain theOB for a Sector Group, including virtually every conceiv-able configuration by mission type. This general con-cluded proudly by calling up numerics which showedthat every unit deviated less than two percent from theprojected strength on the OB.

The admiral took the podium and holoviewed thenaval plan for a Sector Group. After a brief explanation ofthe theory, the admiral then used his Sector Group as anexample of how the naval theory was modified in prac-tice. The general became increasingly impatient as theadmiral listed exception after exception. Finally the gen-eral interrupted the admiral.

"You don't have an organization, admiral! What youhave is nothing like the Army!"

"Yes, general, the Army has its organization. We in theNavy must content ourselves with the control of allknown space."


The key organizational problem for the Navythen is to create units which are consistentenough from fleet to fleet that general tacticaltheories can be applied, while recognizing thegreat difference in ship type and quality through-out the Empire.

The Mission DetailThe heart of Navy doctrine is the mission

detail. The commander at every level can createtemporary organizations called "mission details"which violate the standard OB.

The concept behind the mission detail issimple for a commander to carry through:1. Evaluate the mission.2. Assign a detail which would best accomplishthe mission.3. Retain sufficient ship strength to meet otherexpected obligations.

There is a saying among Navy staff officersand commanders: "The first step leads to work,the second to promotion, the third to courtmartial." While extensive training docs exist toteach commanders how to perform these threesteps, the third step remains as much a productof instinct as training. With increased Rebelactivity, those officers who act in strictaccordance with doctrine often fall short ofexpectations. Naval discipline is such thatofficers rarely repeat their mistakes.

Ship CommandAttaining the rank of ship's captain is consid-

ered the culmination of a naval career. When aperson earns command of a ship, he has at-tained a position of honor, regardless of the sizeof the ship. There is a certain amount of chau-vinism on the basis of ship size and power, butbeing the captain of a KDY Lancer often carriesmore prestige than being a staff officer of anyrank. For this reason the Navy often under-stands if a ship's captain will turn down a pro-motion to a staff position, or even turn down atransfer to the command of a more modern ormore capable ship.

The Navy honors these men rather than view-ing them with suspicion. It benefits the Navy tohave men who intimately understand their shipand crew in order to gain the greatest possibleperformance from them.


LineCommanded by a captain of the line, the line

is the most amorphous level of organization inthe Navy. In theory a line should have four ships,but the percentage of lines which actually havefour ships is about seven percent. Lines varyfrom as few as one ship to 20 or even more ifcircumstances warrant.

An attack line has from three to six ships;fewer ships if the line consists of heavy cruisersor larger ships, six if the line consists of lightcruisers or frigates. An attack line's purpose isto engage enemy combat starships of equiva-lent size. If Star Destroyers or other top capitalships are present, the attack line is to engage theenemy within range of the Star Destroyer, mak-ing sure that the Star Destroyer is out of effec-tive range of the enemy ships. If a Star Destroyerdoes not have to concentrate on its own defenseit can make short work of virtually any enemystarship.

A heavy attack line has from four to eightships, none smaller than a light cruiser. A heavyattack line is designed to come out even againstany like number of enemy combat starships.The heavy attack line is an independent elementof maneuver, one which an Imperial commanderwould be unafraid to commit to a conflict whichwas out of range of his sensors.

A pursuit line has four to 10 ships, usuallylight cruisers or occasionally lighter ships suchas corvettes. Their mission is to maintain con-

tact with a retreating enemy. As virtually everycombat starship has hyperdrive, pursuit linesare most often employed against starfighterswhich are not hyperspace capable, or to followescaping craft long enough to calculate theirjump coordinates.

Pursuit lines are also commonly used onmissions which the crews call "beambaiting."Pursuit lines track Rebel starships to a base ora planet known to house well-organized Rebelsympathizers. They engage the starships andsee if any Rebel units come to their aid. Thenthey employ a fighting retreat to a point wherea heavier element of the fleet can jump in fromhyperspace. The Empire enhances this tactic bysending pursuit lines on such missions withoutany backup, so the Rebels can never be surewhether or not the line is part of a trap.

Recon lines contain two to four ships, operat-ing in pairs or individually. Reconnaissance shipsare usually light cruisers modified for evengreater sublight speed, trading in about half oftheir laser cannons for a full complement ofsensors with greater range and sensitivity thanthe Imperial average. Recon lines are to find theenemy, retreat without engaging in combat, andreturn to report on the disposition of the enemy.

Recon lines are more common now as theEmpire equips more of its large capital shipswith improved hyperwave signal interceptors(HSIs) capable of detecting flux shift. This tech-nology allows the Imperial Navy to actuallyproject a ship's destination once it jumps to

Chapter Eight. Sector Group Organization

Navy Organization in BriefTo get a quick understanding of the organi-

zation of the Navy, use the following refer-ence. Navy organization is completely differ-ent than the Army's method — while theImperial Army has a "baseline" Order of Battle(OB), with carefully classified exceptions tothis OB, Navy command simply assigns themost appropriate force to the most appropri-ate mission. Therefore, while the listings be-low are "theory," Naval mission assignmentsin practice often bear little resemblence tothe OB.

Command. A single ship command, com-manded by a captain.

Line. Theoretically a unit of four ships,commanded by a captain of the line. In prac-tice, lines vary from as few as one ship to asmany as 20. A line is normally the smallestunit used in space battles.

Squadron. Normally has 14 to 60 ships,commanded by an admiral. Normally the larg-est force of ships assigned to a single system.

Systems Force. Strength varies by missionprofile: force superiority units have threebattle squadrons and a light squadron, for upto 90 ships. Commanded by a systems admi-ral (also known as a commodore). A systemsforce is responsible for several systems.

Fleet. The force deployed to an entiresector. These also vary immensely: a superi-ority fleet has four system forces, two forcesuperiority units and two force escort units,with six Star Destroyers and 390 other com-bat starships. Commanded by a fleet admiral.

Sector Group. The total of Naval strengthin a sector. Commanded by a high admiral.Can contain at least 2,400 ships (of which,1,600 are combat starships, including 24 StarDestroyers).


Kanda Farral watched through the viewscreen asthe last of the Imperial warships made the jump tolightspeed. Captain Sreethyn had The Lucky Find'sengines at full as the ship pulled away from Jerijador.Kanda absent-mindedly checked a few of the sensorbanks. She glanced again when she saw indicatorpulsons approximating the locations of better than adozen ships, all on roughly the same vector as TheLucky Find. All were making like the last bolt from abusted blaster toward the Imperial jump point.

"Suit up woman! I didn't hire you to look at coloredlights all day," growled Sreethyn, "and it looks likesome of the left-goods are larger than usual. Adjustthe programming on the retrieval droids."

Kanda deftly reprogrammed each of the fourdroids, but had more difficulty than she would haveliked getting into her suit. She checked to see ifSreethyn had noticed. His forced grin and slightlyshaking head said he had. Okay, now he knew forcertain that she had lied about her zero-G experi-ence. The droids were going to do most of the work,so taking care of them was more important.

"Remember to lock in before you lock out." Kandafound herself nodding, a clumsy motion inside of awork suit, in response to the thin-sounding voiceover her comlink. She stepped into the airlock, mak-ing sure the frequency of the T-beam actuator andher tractor beacons were the same. She then by-the-booked the depressurization sequence, and vaccedwith the droids. Kanda was pleased to see the droidsscan and maneuver immediately in an optimumsearch pattern. She began inspecting the refuse fromthe Imperial fleet.

"There is a Treson cluster, a third full, of KDY

Servo Circuit surfaces, OP configuration ... they justjettisoned them!"

"That's the kind of stuff we're after Farral."Sreethyn's voice carried excitement over her comlink.Kanda began to tag containers and activate the bea-cons. Immediately the containers lurched toward thehull of The Lucky Find.

"Why would they just throw the good out with thebad?" Kanda asked as she slowburst to avoid a com-pacted piece of trash.

"Because they're the Empire. They got more moneythan ships, see? So when it comes to allocating cargospace before a jump, they fill themselves to thegunnels. If they rush they just replace half-emptycontainers with full ones."

"But you can't sell a lot of this stuff on the market,Sreethyn. It's illegal tech ..." Kanda stopped herself,realizing that Sreethyn could very well sell that sortof hardware as long as no one knew about it. AndSreethyn was inside the ship, Kanda outside.Sreethyn's laugh was unreadable through the comlink.

"I'm no smuggler, Farral. I'm a licensed salvager. Ipick the stuff up, sell what's legal on the open market,and sell the rest back to the Navy."

"The Navy buys back its garbage?""If I package all the partials into standard units

they do. They pay full price. I like to think of it asgetting some of my taxes back."

Kanda tagged another container. She laughed asshe watched two of the droids struggle with a WDcondenser pod, as the entire unit and the droidsslowly tumbled toward The Lucky Find. This wasabsurd, but it paid well. She could come to like this.

A Salvager's Run

hyperspace with greater accuracy than the oldmethod. Enemy ships can no longer just jumpout of trouble; the odds that the fleet will followare getting better. So enemy ships often try to liequietly in the sensor penumbra of an asteroid orsimilar body in order to avoid detection. Reconlines are sent into the dark places of a system tosee what they can find.

Skirmish lines contain four to 20 small com-bat starships, corvettes being the most com-mon sort of ship. Skirmish lines are meant toharass larger starships or else engage in a coor-dinated action against enemy starfighters. Theemergence and prevalence of TIE fighters tem-porarily diminished the role of skirmish lines,but they have regained favor as the Rebellionhas become better armed. TIE fighters often useavailable skirmish lines as mobile cover, andskirmish lines try to provide cover fire for theTIEs.


Torpedo lines usually have two torpedospheres. The cumbersome nature of the spheresmakes them useful only for their primary mis-sion of planet bombardment. The dream of amore mobile platform with even greater fire-power has tantalized Imperial planners for years,but the torpedo line remains a staple of theNavy.

A troop line consists of two Evakmar-KDYtransport vessels and two escort vessels —frequently two strike cruisers. As a troop line'sfunction is intimately connected with that of theArmy, troops lines vary less than other lines.The Army considers consistency a virtue. Asingle transport is designed to carry a corps,but often carries less than a full corps as subor-dinate elements are assigned to other vessels. Itis not unusual for a ranking admiral to overseean important surface operation, as captains ofthe line are accused by Army officers of being fartoo concerned with just the safety of their line


rather than with the success of the mission.There are other types of transports, most ofthem left over from the days of the Old Republic.Some, such as the Delta-class troop transport,have been converted from true transports toglorified attack shuttles, but many remain inservice as intersystem transports as the Armygrows.

A Star Destroyer is considered a line in itself.A naval staff study concluded that a Star De-stroyer was the equivalent of at least the squad-rons of the time, and would be more properlycategorized as such. The Admiralty agreed withthe analysis, but disagreed with the conclusion.The Admiralty felt that as there were more linesthan squadrons, designating the Star Destroyeras a line unit would get them more Star Destroy-ers. The Admiralty's thinking prevailed.

SquadronAn admiral runs a squadron, which has from

14 to 60 ships on average, depending upon thecomposition of the lines in the squadron. Theadmiral is served by an adjutant who holds therank of captain of the line. The adjutant acts asliaison with the other staff officers and is theadmiral's second-in-command. A squadron isthe largest concentration of ships which is nor-mally assigned to a single system. A direct orderfrom a Moff, Grand Moff or the Emperor isnecessary to gather more ships in a single sys-tem.

A measure of the extent of Imperial militarygrowth is the squadron. Under the Old Repub-lic, units of identical configuration were calledfleets, and were sometimes the total Naval pres-ence in a sector. The usage "fleet" is still com-mon among senior officers for ship groups ofsquadron size and up. Recent recruits and jun-ior officers are more likely to use the termslisted in the OB.

A full troop or battle squadron packs enoughfirepower to subjugate any system not pro-tected by a equivalent fleet; no ground defenseyet devised is sufficient to hold off a determinedattack from these elements of the Navy.

The average sizes below assume the averagesize for the lines which make up the squadron.Larger than normal lines or more lines thannormal can easily double the size of a squadron.

Light squadrons consist of at least two attacklines, a skirmish line and a recon line, averaging20 to 30 vessels of all types. A second commonconfiguration of a light squadron is two reconlines, a skirmish line and a pursuit line, averag-ing 25 to 35 vessels. Both are deployed in areaswhere it is believed there are no enemy capital


ships. With the first squadron configuration theNavy is playing it safe; such a light squadron cansurvive more punishment should the intelli-gence estimates prove to be wrong.

Heavy squadrons are made up of at least twoheavy lines, an attack line, and a recon line for anaverage of 18 to 24 ships. Alternate configura-tions include at least three heavy lines and askirmish line for an average of 28 to 36 ships.The first type of heavy squadron is employedwhen the enemy is known to be in a system, buthis exact location and force composition is un-known. The second is employed when enemyships are in a system defending an asset, so afight is expected rather than Rebel flight. It iscommon to assign Victory-class Star Destroyersto the latter type of heavy squadron.

Battle squadrons contain an Imperial-class StarDestroyer. There are other ships, but they mat-ter little in the configuration. In addition to theStar Destroyer there are at least three lines, twoattack and one pursuit line, for an average of 18ships. If there is some system in the Empire thatmust be repressed, some force which must berun down, a battle squadron is the force ofchoice. Sending a battle squadron on a missionis the Navy's way of showing that the job is ofutmost importance.

Troop squadrons have two troop lines, anattack line, and a skirmish line for an average of25 to 30 vessels. A troop squadron is most oftenused as a transfer point for Army units, reinforc-ing or reorganizing the Army complement ofother squadrons. These transfers are usuallyconducted in deep space where there is littlechance of interference. If a troop squadron showsup within a system, there is certainly somethingbig happening.

Bombard squadrons have two torpedo lines, askirmish line, and a pursuit line, for an averageof 20 to 28 vessels. Bombard squadrons areassigned to worlds which have rebelled suc-cessfully and have organized a large surfacemilitary which would take far too long to defeat.Imperial commanders, pressed on so many plan-ets, often deploy bombard squadrons in lesssevere circumstances.

The vessels which escort the bombard squad-ron are considered sufficient to deal with anystarships which might resist. Any force largerthan what a bombard squadron can handlewould draw the attention of the Imperial Navy,who would deal with it prior to the appearanceof the bombard squadron.

Navy Order of Battle (OB)

Navy OB: Line Level

Attack Line Troop Line

Heavy Attack Line Pursuit Line

Skirmish LineRecon Line

Star Destroyer Torpedo(or Bombard Line)

Squadron Level

Light Squadron

Light Squadron

* Expanded unit designationNote: All units shown in a gray panel represent expanded designations


Squadron Level (Continued)

Heavy Squadron

Heavy Squadron

Battle Squadron

Troop Squadron

Bombard Squadron


Systems ForceA systems force is commanded by a systems

admiral, also known as a commodore. A sys-tems force is responsible for several systems,the admiral being in charge of organizing andcoordinating all of his ships throughout a sphereof command spanning hundreds of light yearsand dozens of worlds, the normal method ofcommunications being no faster than the shipsthemselves. It requires extensive planning andpreparation. It often goes wrong.

It is atribute to the staff officers that things donot go wrong more often. The commodore is leftto manage by exception, to handle those situa-tions which have gone wrong or which have thegreatest potential for going wrong.

Asystems force is organized along force pools,available resources categorized by general mis-sion type. While they have a set organization onthe OB, a commodore is expected to reform theconstituent elements of a pool to tailor thedetail to the mission.

Force superiority contains ships expected toperform space superiority missions, which theNavy still considers to be its primary objective.Space superiority is defined as "the completeabsence of hostile craft within the orbital spaceof controlled worlds, and no chronic enemyship activity within the entire system." TheNavy has striven for that goal ever since theinception of the Empire. The goal is even fartheraway now than it was at the beginning, but thegigantic increase in Naval resources is expectedto reverse the trend. Force superiority, at aminimum, has three battle squadrons and a full-strength light squadron, with total ship strengtharound 90 (three of which are Imperial StarDestroyers). A commodore will make some at-tempt to use force superiority in squadron in-crements as these missions assume stiff resis-tance or urgent importance.

Force escort always has at least two heavysquadrons and two light squadrons, for an aver-age of 108 ships. Force escort has the job ofprotecting commercially valuable orbital spacesor installations, as well as tracking down piratesor small bands of renegades. The Navy consid-ers force escort to be a malleable organization,and the admiral and his staff create missiondetails which fit the known mission as preciselyas possible. Force superiority is given the maxim"always send enough." Force escort is given themaxim "never send too much."

Transport force contains two troop squad-rons, a heavy and a light squadron, for an aver-age of 80 ships. Troops and ships are assignedto mission details as needed, the troop squad-


rons being used as a command center for coor-dinating ongoing surface operations.

System bombard contains an average of 100ships divided between three bombard squad-rons and a light squadron. If an admiral feelsthat force superiority has done less than a thor-ough job of removing hostile craft from thesystem, a system bombard squadron will beaugmented with ships from the light squadron.The new unit will still be called a bombardsquadron to avoid the need to consult with aMoff or higher authority. Such actions are notapproved of when they are discovered.

Force technical services (FTS) contains tech-nical and mechanical specialists who are orga-nized by single ships. FTS has eight vessels(often Evakmar-KDY transports) devoted togetting the techs where they are needed themost. Two escort frigates accompany each FTSship. While Naval vessels have a large number ofcompetent specialists aboard, these are trainedand equipped to maintain existing ships' sys-tems. If a system needs to be completely re-placed, or asignificant modification needs to bedone, FTS is called in.

FTS cannot repair hulks which are dead inspace, but they are equipped with tractor beamsto return such vessels to deepdocks where theycan be repaired. If the techs believe the vessel tobe a complete wreck, FTS has salvaging equip-ment on most vessels.

Each force support has over 100 vessels of allsizes, and maintains depots on a handful ofworlds. Munitions, consumables, spare partsand equipment for FTS, medical ships, and droidservices are all handled by force support. UnlikeFTS, force support has no escort vessels dedi-cated to it. If the vessel is traveling into a combatzone it is given an escort, otherwise it usuallymust go it alone. As the Rebels have gottenbolder, the Navy has gone to elaborate rancor-and-sath games in which force support vesselsare the bait.

Fleet"Fleet admirals have it made. They only have

to worry about the success of their subordinates,their Moff, and guys whose name begins withLord."

— Captain Seledrood (deceased)A fleet is designated as a "sector resource,"

which means it should be available for actionanywhere within the sector. A fleet is the small-est unit transferred between sectors. All fleetshave a force technical service and force supportunder their command.


Superiority fleets comprise as least four sys-tem forces, two force superiority and two forceescort. With six Star Destroyers and an averageof 390 other combat starships, a superiorityfleet is presumed to be a sufficient force tomaintain space superiority in calm sectors(those with four or fewer worlds confirmedhostile to the New Order, with no more than 16additional worlds with confirmed significanthostile elements).

Assault fleets comprise at least two transportforces and two force escorts, an average of 376ships. Assault fleets are built to sustain what iscalled the " 1/4/16/64 Plan." The fleet is expectedto be coordinating and sustaining four types ofefforts: one corps-level continuous mission on asurface, four continuous operations at thebattlegroup level (occasionally shifting troopsfrom other theaters to temporarily reinforceone mission to corps level), 16 continuous mis-sions of regimental level (with potential forshifting troops to temporarily reinforce onearea to a battlegroup), and 64 missions of irregu-lar duration at the battalion level or lower. Theability to sustain these missions is predicatedupon absolute space superiority. If superiorityis contested in many systems within the sector,the number of missions for which an assaultfleet is responsible is reduced in direct propor-tion to the percentage of contested systems.

Bombard fleets contain an average of 416ships, allocated between two system bombardsand two force escorts. Bombard fleets are as-signed to sectors where the Empire has deter-mined the probability of repressing the Rebel-lion in the sector to be less than even. Systembombards are used when the Empire wouldrather completely destroy a world rather thansee it fall into Rebel hands.

Deepdock fleet has a average of 280 supportvessels, plus a force escort to protect thedeepdock assets. Deepdock contains twodeepdock complexes, the engineering corps,plus two force technical services.

Deepdock complexes are huge structures,and the ones planned are becoming larger allthe time. Deepdocks are floating shipyards, ableto make extensive repairs and modifications.When not repairing vessels they are buildingnew ones to join the fleet. The smallest deepdockcomplex still in service has three work bays, thelargest of which can hold a Victory Star De-stroyer with the other two able to accommo-date any ship smaller than a carrier. Suchdeepdocks have huge tractor beam generatorswhich put up to eight damaged ships on holdwhile waiting for a work bay to open.


The largest deepdock now in operation is theRendili R/M Facility Number Four, currently inthe Mahrusha sector. It has 125 work bays, eachof which is large enough to hold a strike cruiser.These work bays are modular, each segmentjoined to theother by attraction-variable Akineticfields produced by Voorson generators largerthan the drives on most combat starships.

This allows the work bays to be combined toform larger work bays; four work bays can bejoined to repair or manufacture a Victory-classStar Destroyer, 15 can be combined to work onan Imperial Star Destroyer, and 18 can bereconfigured to produce a torpedo sphere. Workbays are being added as quickly as Rendili canmanufacture them.

Deepdock facilities, while not as efficient asthe shipyards of the major starship manufactur-ers, have the advantage of being hyperspacecapable. This not only shortens the time re-quired to get damaged combat starships re-paired, but makes deepdocks more difficult tar-gets for Rebel attacks.

Engineering corps is the research and devel-opment arm of the fleet, as well as the branchcontaining the most esoteric technical special-ists. Engineering works on construction projectsinvolving unproven technology, develops andrefines new manufacturing processes (such asdeepdocks), and works feverishly to keep Impe-rial starship technology on par with or ahead ofthat of the Rebellion.

Support fleet has at least 500 vessels, a quar-ter of which are corvette class or smaller, whilea quarter of them are the huge Loronar FSCVs(Field Secured Container Vessels). FSCVs al-ways travel is pairs, their main ion engines facedin opposite directions. On the side opposite theion engines are gargantuan Prexton doublefieldgenerators; these create force fields which arethen surrounded by a hyperspace field whenthe ships make the jump to lightspeed. Eachforce field sphere is about 800 meters in diam-eter for over 250 million cubic meters of cargospace. Cargo containers are held in place by theforce f ie lds . The force f ie lds may bebubblechained if enough power is available,and 20 or more field spheres are not uncommon.

As the vast majority of an FSCVs power isgoing through the Prexton, it is no surprise thatthe ion engines are underpowered. FSCVs at fullthrottle can take 35 hours and over 600,000,000kilometers to come to a stop from normalsublight speed, and a like time to accelerate theships again. FSCVs are therefore flown on pathstangent to the orbits of planets whose depotsare being resupplied. Smaller ships unload andreload the cargo as the FSCV flies by, never

Imperial Sourcebook1 1 0

losing more than a third of their sublight veloc-ity.

Fleet ordnance is responsible for equippingall Navy and Army units with needed weaponsand ammunition. Ordnance will use a ship asdangerously insecure as the FSCV only if a hugeoperation has been ordered suddenly by HighCommand, not giving ordnance sufficient timeto resupply ships and depots. Ordnance usuallyconducts resupply operations by using avail-able cargo space on more secure vessels, andhas priority of the use of such space.

Biological section does medical research forthe Navy and Army. Maintaining a presence ontens of thousands of different ecosystems ex-poses troops and crews to millions of microbesto which their bodies are not accustomed. Bio-logical tries to assess the danger, prevent thetransmission, cure or remedy the symptoms ofall of these. In addition they experiment withnew methods of wound treatment and rehabili-tation. They are directly responsible for thehealth of stormtrooper units.

Every starship in the fleet has navigational

computers which plot coordinates for a safejump to lightspeed. Astrogation's job is to coor-dinate these jumps in as advantageous a way aspossible, plotting arrival times in myriad sys-tems for strategic advantage, and even plottingthe arrival of mission details for tactical advan-tage. Astrogation does as close to a flawless jobas possible with fleets so large.

Sector GroupA Sector Group is the sum total of Naval

strength which the Empire expects to commit toa normal sector. A Sector Group is commandedby a high admiral, usually a title granted to theMoff who heads the sector. If the sector isinvolved in constant and severe naval actions,the high admiral is a man distinct from the Moff,so the Moff does not have devote all of his timeto the naval conflict.

A Sector Group HQ always has a squadronunder the personal command of the Moff. If theMoff is particularly competent or politically wellconnected, they can have many more squad-rons at their disposal. Men such as Grand Moff


The Full Might of the EmpireCaptain Oweg marched smartly to the head

of the bridge. A few of the pit crew smirked ashe went by, noticing the captain's distinctivewalk. Oweg's gait meant he had good news forwhich he personally wished to take credit.Moff Vensell, standing at the viewport, waslooking at nothing in particular. He acknowl-edged Oweg's crisp salute with a desultorynod, continuing to look at nothing in particu-lar.

"We have an update from astrogation,"said the captain. "Hypersignal sensor dataand recalculation indicates that all ships shallemerge from hyperspace in formation. Onlythe strike cruiser Shador is anticipated tohave deviated more than an arc second sincewe left Jerijador,"

The captain waited, standing at attention.Vensell did not dismiss him. Oweg began tolook uncomfortable. The pit crew looked up,aware of the silence. Oweg glanced at the pitcrew. Vensell made a slow quarter turn, ex-amining the comp centers. Oweg stiffened tofull attention again as he inferred Vensell'smeaning.

"Astrogation assured me that the data hasless than a fourth factor expected delta," thecaptain called out. Vensell nodded as Owegsnapped another salute. He made anotherslight change in facing as the captain grate-

fully withdrew.The pit crew, alert to the Moff's posture,

began running test charges through all of theValiant's weapons systems. As the gaze of theMoff meandered over parts of the bridge thecrew leapt to life. The comm-pit began pre-programming fire command messages to theother ships for all of the exigencies for whichthey had planned. Controllers began thelaunch drill with the TIE pilots. Sensor crewsbegan zero basing their instruments, fine tun-ing them to squelch any noise. Shield loadswere tested, compared with standard energydraws on the engines. The helm workedthrough all of the emergency simulationswith techs in the engine room. All sectionsreported to the staff lieutenant. When therow went green, the lieutenant looked up atthe Moff.

"We are set to exit in 45. We shall proceedon the attack vectors unless you alter theplan, sir." Vensell nodded, turned and facedthe helm.

"Lieutenant ..."Pit Lieutenant Hast saluted faster than he

ever had at the Academy when he heardVensell's voice.

"Yes, sir?""Let us show these Rebels what we mean

when we say 'the full might of the Empire'."

IllImperial Sourcebook


Tarkin and Moff Carlinson could easily have 15additional squadrons attached to their SectorGroup HQ.

A Sector Group can be expected to contain at

least 2,400 ships, 24 of which are Star Destroy-ers, and another 1,600 combat starships. Thou-sands of Sector Groups are at the Emperor'scommand as he seeks to bring the galaxy firmlyunder his control.

This droid was introduced as a low costcommercial model with a 400-sector promo-tional support campaign with 85 percentmedia saturation. Trillions were sold. Hun-dreds of billions were returned. While beingextremely versatile, the MSE-6 had motileand audiocast patterns which reminded doz-ens of separate sentient species of some na-tive pest; and it was certainly nothing to lookat.

To stave off bankruptcy, Rebaxan turnedto the military, offering a great deal on a fewhundred billion slightly used droids. Themilitary purchased them as a temporary stop-gap to accommodate the huge increased needfor droids occasioned by the spectaculargrowth of the Army and Navy.

In the military the droids were as detestedas they had been in civilian life. But they wereeffective, reliable, and cheap. Nicknamed"mouse droids," they became a fixture inImperial installations from the most make-shift company camp to the most secretproject.

Mouse droids are class three droids withmodular knowledge C-matrices. Each matrixholds one skill, and each droid can only holdone matrix. But the matrices are cheap andvery compact, and are easily emplaced andremoved from the droid. Imperial technicalofficers no longer emplace the matrices them-selves; they issue orders to mouse droidswith the droid programming matrix, and thedroids then make all the necessary changes.

Rebaxan Colmuni MSE-6 General Purpose Droid


Systems Force

Force Superiority

Force Escort

Transport Force

Systems Bombard

Force Technical Services

Force Support

Superiority Fleet

Fleet Level

Navy Order of Battle (OB)Fleet Level (continued)

Assault Fleet

Bombard Fleet

Deepdock Fleet

EngineeringDeepdockComplex

Support Fleet

Fleet Ordnance Biological Astrogation

Sector Group Headquaters

Chapter Nine: Combat Artillery

Chapter NineCombat Artillery

To survive on the modern battlefield, artillerymust either be very mobile, or have heavy enoughFPR (Fire Position Relative) shielding to protect itagainst orbital bombardment and fighter attack.Hence, because of this vulnerability problem,actual use of artillery formations in the Empire ison the decline. Most modern guns are nowmounted on vehicles of one sort or another andare classified as armored fighting vehicles (AFV).

The artillery units currently in service prima-rily work in conjunction with fixed defensive points,or to protect static strategic points. A profusion ofartillery rankings exists within the Imperial mili-tary, a situation resulting from the deemphasis ofthis arm within the inner circles of Imperial strat-egists. The three most common ways of categoriz-ing artillery are by FD, v-, and Df. Below are briefdescriptions what these systems represent.1. FD number. The FD (Fire/Disable) number is aratio of the amount of time during which anartillery tube fires over the amount of time a tubeis disabled for cooling and recharging. A morepowerful weapon usually has a lower FD. The FDnumber system rose to prominence in the Artisian

system and is used by both Atgar Corp. andCoMar Combat Systems.2. v-. "v-" is a measure of deliverable energy in asingle artillery tube charge, an approximation ofa single shot. The units are obscure, developedby Republic Sienar Systems (now Sienar FleetSystems) based on the amount of energy re-quired to excite a double-packed particle emis-sion of approximately 10^24 g2-ions in a coher-ent beam from a 400 cm. by 8.5 cm. rod ofvacierite (standard purity).3. Df. "Df" is the range, in kilometers, over whicha single tube-charge loses eight percent of itsenergy. At eight times this range the charge haslost about half its punch. The eight-base mea-sure was developed by the Sumrias of the Lolsystem; members of the Sumrian thought-castehave four digits on each hand.

All three of these systems are in wide usage atthis time, and translation between them is liter-ally impossible. Each measures the relativestrength of an artillery piece in its own manner.



dard artillery units, and on occasion have takendown vehicles as large as AT-ST walkers. Inaddition, these are true all-terrain weapons,capable of functioning in temperatures fromminus 100 degrees Standard to plus 120 degreesStandard. Finally, and most importantly, theAtgar 1.4 is inexpensive by any standards, cost-ing less than half as much as similar poweredweapons. Hence, even though the Atgar 1.4 hasall but vanished from standard issue, its contin-ued use by mere units and Rebel units is as-sured. For this reason, Army Command is re-viewing this weapon for inclusion on the up-dated standard issue list.• Anti-Vehicle Laser Cannon

Model: Atgar 1.4 FD P-TowerType: Light anti-vehicle laser cannonScale: Speeder ,Skill: Blaster artillery: anti-vehicleCrew: 4, skeleton 2/+10Cost: 10,000 (new), 2,000 (used)Availability: 2, R or XBody:2DFire Rate: 1/2Fire Control: 1DRange: 10-500/2,000/10,000Damage: 2D+2

CoMar Tri-TrackerMilitary crafts designed for atmospheric at-

tacks are swift and deadly, capable of bypassingcommon air defense systems. To meet the anti-atmospheric needs of today's Imperial military,CoMar has combined their most innovativetracking system with proven Star Destroyer

Light Anti-Vehicle LaserCannon

The Atgar 1.4 FD P-Tower, a light laser can-non, was first introduced in the Clone Wars asan anti-vehicle weapon. Primarily used by theRebellion now, a few ancient Atgar 1.4 FD P-Towers still see service on the Empire's lower-tech Outer Rim worlds. The main problem withthe Atgar 1.4 is its low fire rate. This is due to theweapon's power system.

The Atgar 1.4 uses an energy dish with micro-power routers spaced evenly along the dish'souter edge. When firing, energy is fed directly toall 16 power-routers. These hold their chargeuntil the computer registers that the ECP (En-ergy Conversion Point) has been reached. Atthat instant, the firing computer simultaneouslychannels the energy from all 16 routers into themain power converter in the center of the dish.This fires the laser cannon.

This system has a number of drawbacks be-sides the low fire rate. First, the main converterhas very precise energy needs. If even a singlepower router malfunctions the entire systemgoes down. Second, the high-profile 2.8 meterenergy dish provides attackers with an easytarget. Third, the battery which feeds the powerrouters is fairly bulky and must be replacedafter just eight shots. Even with these draw-backs, though, the Atgar 1.4 is considered aviable (if not preferable) weapon by the militaryestablishment.

Atgar 1.4s pack a punch equal to many stan-


Using Artillery in the Roleplaying GameArtillery is designed to function against

targets at a particular range. To representthis in Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, allartillery units have three ranges listed: short,medium, and long. As with all combat, hittinga target at short range requires an Easy skillroll, medium is a Moderate skill roll, and longis Difficult. Characters add the weapon's firecontrol to their skill roll.

Skill codes for Imperial artillery gunnersrange from 4D to 7D for the pertinent skill,normally blaster artillery.

All guns have a fire rate. If the listing is anumber, the weapon may fire that many timesin a single round. If the listing is a fraction, theweapon may only fire once for the number ofrounds listed as the second half of the frac-tion. For example, the 1.4 PD P-Tower has afire rate of 1/2. This translates to one shotevery two combat rounds.

A few artillery units can fire more thanonce per round. As with all actions, for eachshot above the first, subtract a die from thefiring crew's roll.

Each gun has a crew number listed. Thisnumber is the number of people needed tofully man the gun. When firing a fully-mannedgun, designate one of the crew as chief gun-ner. Use the chief gunner's skills when firingthe gun.

Some weapons have a skeleton crew list-ing: the first number is the minimum numberof individuals necessary to operate the gun,while the second number is a penalty modi-fier if firing the weapon with less than the fullcrew. When firing a gun with less than the fullcrew, but equal to or more than the skeletoncrew, add the modifier listed to the gunner'sdifficulty. An artillery piece cannot be firedwith a crew smaller than the skeleton listing.


weapons technology. The result is the CoMarTri-Tracker, one of the most accurate surface-to-air defense systems used in the Empire.

The Tri-Tracker's advanced Target Acquisi-tion and Tracking (TAT) system uses a triple-array sensor and computing package to accom-plish three essential tasks.

First, the Tri-Tracker acquires a signaturelock on targets registering in the operator-des-ignated vector of interest. The weapons com-puter or the operator then selects a primarytarget of interest, while the signature library ofsuitable alternate targets continues to be up-dated.

A second sensor system records and tracksrelative position and physical evasive maneu-vers of the target. It feeds this data to theCountermeasures Compensation Computer (C3)unit, the heart of the Tri-Tracker.

The C3 unit is a unique sensor/brain combina-tion. The C3 unit analyses and tracks target coun-termeasures — such as jamming, dropping chaff,or flying with drones, as well as evasive flightmaneuvers — extrapolates and predicts thetarget's continuing true flight path, and compen-sates for this when the Tri-Tracker is fired.

The Tri-Tracker continues to extrapolate theposition of receding targets even at long range.The fire control operator can shoot at a depart-

• Atgar 1 . 4 FD P-Tower.


ing target even when at extreme ranges withexceptional accuracy. This long-distance "part-ing shot" has accounted for many downed craftwhose pilots thought they were safely out ofrange.

Firing accuracy is improved by the use of atri-beam burst which brackets the target's pre-dicted location. The C3 unit handles minor ad-justments in beam angle up to the microsecondbefore firing. The destructive power deliveredby the Tri-Tracker is comparable to that of manyturbolasers.

Specially programmed droids are capable ofoperating a Tri-Tracker in lieu of a qualifiedcrewmember.

Because of the complexity of the Tri-Trackersystem, the weapon's rate of fire is relativelyslow. The weapon needs three times longer toreset than it does to fire. With this in mind, it isespecially easy for a concentrated air attack tooverwhelm isolated Tri-Trackers. Therefore, theTri-Tracker is commonly used as an interlinkedseries of air defense emplacements. An optionalnetwork fire control unit is available to coordi-nate TAT activities for optimum target cover-age.

A two-man crew is needed for the most accu-rate weapon performance. One fires the weapon,while the other selects priorities among TATfunctions. When one man operates the Tri-Tracker, its target acquisition process is 40percent less accurate.

Due to design limitations, the complex andvery accurate Tri-Tracker sensors also have arelatively short range of operation. Unlike othersensor-assisted artillery, the sensor range fallsshort of the effective firing range of the weapon.This is compensated for by the Tri-Tracker'sability to extrapolate a flight path beyond sen-sor limits.

The Tri-Tracker runs with land-line power, agenerator or a battery reserve option. The bat-tery option looks appealing for portable opera-tions, but it is seldom employed since it isinadequate for the immense power requirementsof a turbolaser weapons system. Land-basedpower lines and high-demand generators aremore popular.

The Tri-Tracker is designed for use in perma-nent emplacements, or for mobile deploymentwith a heavy-duty repulsor sled. However, along set-up and calibration time is needed toready the Tri-Tracker for operation when it isnewly installed. For this reason, it is not verypopular as a portable air defense system. It isused on mobile platforms and field emplace-ments only when these occupy long-term defen-sive positions.


• CoMar Tri-TrackerModel: CoMar G-003 Tri-TrackerType: Medium surface-to-air defense, anti-atmosphericgunScale: StarfighterSkill: Blaster artillery: Comar G-003Crew: 2, skeleton: 1/+10Cover: FullAmmo: 40 (battery)Cost: 50,000 (new), 25,000 (used)Availability: 3, XBody: IDFire Rate: 1/3Fire Control: 4DRange: 20-600/3/16 kmBlast Radius: 10 metersDamage: 5D

Speizoc "Grandfather Gun"When shield technology was less refined than

it is today, siege warfare and bombardmentremained effective strategies to use against cit-ies. At that time, Speizoc Arms created the"ultimate answer" in siege warfare: the C-136,perhaps the largest land-based ion cannon everbuilt. Popularly called the "Grandfather Gun," itwas a refinement of ion cannon technology builtto penetrate the primitive urban shields of thetime.

Massive and unwieldy, the C-136 was designedfor line-of-sight attack against large scale tar-gets. It was used predominantly against cities,but has also been applied creatively to bridges,dams, other engineered structures, and station-ary low-orbit targets. With its extremely longrange, it can be deployed well behind friendlylines, where it delivers devastating blows to thetarget seemingly out of nowhere.

"Grandfather Guns" quickly became obso-lete with improvements in shield and laser weap-ons systems. However, the C-136 remains in useon former frontier worlds and less advancedplanets where ground-based bombardment re-mains a practical tactic. It is most popular be-cause of the psychological appeal of pin-pointlong-range destruction. This is especially true ofworlds where atmospherics, gravity, or othercircumstances limit the use of air-borne or or-bital bombardment systems.

The C-136 is difficult to transport and takessix to 12 hours to set up or disassemble. Aforward observer is required for accurate me-dium- and long-range fire. The weapon is nolonger in production, so spare and replacementparts are increasingly difficult to locate or pro-duce. Its power drain is enormous, and a reli-able power supply is always a critical issuewhen a "Grandfather Gun" is used. The energyblast from the cannon is of such magnitude thatunusual atmospheric effects are commonly re-ported all along the path of energy discharge, • KDY v-150 Planet Defender.

and sometimes create ionization hazards forfriendly troops.• Speizoc "Grandfather Gun"

Model: Speizoc C-136Type: Heavy surface-to-surface bombardment cannonScale: CapitalSkill: Blaster artillery: surface-to-surfaceCrew: 7Cover: FullAmmo: 40 (power generator)Cost: 100,000 (used only)Availability: 4, XBody: 3DFire Rate: 1/10Fire Control: 3DRange: 50-600/5/25 kmBlast Radius: 100 metersDamage: 9D (ionization damage)

Anti-Orbital Ion CannonFirst proposed by Can Lar, a Gathi working

for CoMar Weapons, the v-150 planet defenderwas initially rejected by CoMar as "militarilyuseless and an engineering impossibility." Not tobe deterred, Can Lar quit CoMar and took hisdesign to Kuat Drive Yards. There he found a morereceptive audience.

The v-150 is a massive independently poweredion cannon, specifically designed for use againstorbital and super-orbital space craft. V-150s arestrictly fixed-placement guns, typically mountedon a rotating base covered by a semi-circular,reinforced permacite shell. These emplacementsare modular, designed to be installed within amatter of hours. Each gun comes with its ownreactor, which is then buried 40 meters beneaththe actual emplacement. Between the reactor andthe gun are three levels of crew quarters andstorage space. A v-150 emplacement holds aboutthree months of supplies.

1 1 7lmperial Sourcebook


V-150s are often used in conjunction withplanetary shields. These shields are extremelyexpensive to maintain, so systems typically leavethem down until hostiles arrive. To further com-plicate matters, most large shields take severalminutes to reach full power. It is during thesecritical minutes, between an attacker comingout of hyperspace and the shields reaching fullstrength, that the v-150 is expected to perform.

Shield generators are always the first targetof orbital bombardments. V-150s are designedto disrupt attackers until the shields reach fullstrength. The v-150 is well designed for thismission. Superb fire control allows the v-150 tohit orbital ships almost at will, and a single ionbolt from the gun can disrupt even Imperial StarDestroyers for short periods.

The biggest draw back to the v-150 is itsextremely high price, nearly one-quarter theprice of a full planet shield. Still, many Imperialplanets have elected to buy 150s as an alterna-tive to keeping shields on full power.• Heavy Ion Cannon

Model: KDY v-150 Planet DefenderType: Heavy ion surface-to-space cannonScale: CapitalSkill: Blaster artillery: surf ace-to-spaceCrew: 27, skeleton: 12/+10Cover: FullAmmo: Unlimited (power generator)Cost: 500,000 (new), 100,000 (used)Availability: 3, XBody:5DFire Rate: 1Fire Control: 5DRange: Atmosphere/Low Orbit (l*)/Hlgh Orbit (3*)Damage: 12D (ionization)* This refers to the number of "units" from the planet ifconducting a space battle.

Anti-Infantry BatteryOriginally designed for the suppression of

native populations on low-tech worlds, the ColonDF .9 (also called the SP .9, designating self-propelled units) is standard issue to Imperialgarrison units. A common variant is the Twin DF.9, which has a smaller blast radius, but alsofeatures a much higher rate. Based on the suc-cessful SoroSuub Corporation heavy repeatingblaster, the twin guns on the Twin DF .9 weaponcan fire extremely fast and, when turret-mounted, has a 180 degree arc of fire. The self-propelled version of the Twin DF .9 is the TwinSP.9.

Powering the guns is a specially designedlight ion unit, which also feeds energy to therepulsorlift chassis the guns are mounted upon.Surrounding the entire unit is a 2.5 centimeterthick hull.

The main role of the SP .9 is long range anti-

personnel support, although it also performsvery well against medium and even heavy fight-ing vehicles. The rapid fire capability gives SP .9a considerable edge on the battlefield, and itsinternal engine can supply its guns with virtu-ally unlimited power. Critics of the SP.9 point toits vulnerability in close combat (the SP .9 hasan open-top gun turret), and its awkward me-chanics (to do engine repairs the entire gunturret must be removed). Proponents arguethat the SP .9 was never intended for closecombat against modern opponents, and thatthe gun has the lowest mechanical failure rate ofany self-propelled gun in service.

A fixed-installation version, called the DF .9/B, is also in production. Mounted atop a heavilyarmored four-meter tower, ,9/B features a ful l360 degree firing arc, and comes equipped witha closed canopy. The fixed version only re-quires two crew to operate, both of whom areencased in the four-meter tower. The ,9/B israpidly gaining in popularity with Imperial gov-ernors, particularly for defense against dissatis-fied (and unarmed) civilian populations.

The DF.9's forerunner, the C/AF.9, can still befound in planetary militias as well as ImperialArmy units that must rely on older equipment.• Anti-Infantry Battery

Model: Golan Arms DF .9Type: Medium anti-infantry batteryScale: SpeederSkill: Blaster artillery: anti-infantryCrew:3Cover: FullAmmo: Unlimited (power generator)Cost: 15,000 (new), 9,500 (used)Availability: 2, R or XBody: 3DFire Rate: 2Fire Control: 2DRange: 20-600/3/16 kmBlast Radius: 8 metersDamage: 4D

• Golan Arms C/AF.9



the massive size and excessive energy require-ments, most of these weapons are placed insidefixed fortifications. There, hooked directly intoa power converter, a single gun can dominate anentire battlefield.

On today's battlefield, these guns are mountedatop Aratech's 440 Super-Heavy Armored Chas-sis. These chassis' give the v-188 some mobilityand offer a limited amount of protection againstenemy fire. For power, mounted guns eithercarry their own energy cell, which gives themsix shots before recharging, or tow along anenergy trailer. Guns towing a trailer can fire asmany as 50 times before stopping to recharge.

The biggest drawback to the v-188 is its lowDF ratio. Shots from a Penetrator disintegraterapidly, falling below 50 percent power at longrange. Still, even with the rapid energy dis-persal, few vehicles can withstand the punish-ing power of the Penetrator.

The arrival of the longer ranged turbolasersmay doom the Penetrator to extinction. But forthe time being, these monstrous weapons arestill used by Imperial ground assault forces.

Rumors persist that some Rebel units areequipped with v-188s mounted atop modernrepulsorlift vehicles. If true, these guns couldpose a serious threat to even the heaviest ofImperial vehicles, including AT-AT walkers.• Heavy Anti-Vehicle Gun

Model: Speizoc v-188 PenetratorType: Heavy anti-vehicle gunScale: SpeederSkill: Blaster artillery: anti-vehicle gunCrew: 8Cover: FullAmmo: 6 (energy cells), 50 (power trailer), unlimited(power generator)Cost: 120,000 (new), 60,000 (used)Availability: 3, XBody:3D+lFire Rate: 1/3Fire Control: IDRange: 50-600/5/25 kmBlast Radius: 20 metersDamage: 7D (short range), 5D+2 (medium range), 3D+2(long range)

Turbolaser EmplacementsTurbolasers are the queen of the modern

battlefield, with more range, more firepower,and better fire control than any other gun inservice. Turbolasers are typically classified aseither medium or heavy. The Turbolaser Sys-tem I is actually a single heavy turbolaser withindependent range gear and fire control.

Ground installed System Is are usually en-cased in pure permacite and powered by aboron fission reactor. Each reactor is capable ofpowering a number of guns, so a single reactor


Note: The Twin DF .9 is identical except for a fire rate of6, a blast radius of five meters and a body of 4D. The costis 18,000 credits, and it is "officially" only available to theEmpire or Imperial allied military forces. SP .9 units havea fire rate of 6, a blast radius of five meters, a body of 3D,with a Move of 21; 60 kmh. They cost 20,000 credits, andare likewise restricted. The C/AF.9 has a fire rate of 1, firecontrol on 2D, range of 20-600/3/6 km, blast radius of 5meters, damage of 3D and a cost of only 7,500 credits(because the weapon is so out of date).

Field Missile LauncherThe Leveler I self-propelled concussion mis-

sile launcher was developed by Brynand Gweith,a subdivision of CoMar, as a hardened fortifica-tion and long range siege weapon. Each LevelerI carries 28 concussion missile tubes mountedatop a heavy-track chassis in a four tube byseven tube formation. These tubes can be firedindividually, in salvos of seven, or all 28 at oncefor maximum effect.

Reloading time is two combat rounds pertube, during which no firing can be conducted.Leveler Is carry no additional ammo themselves,and are instead usually accompanied by arepulsorlift ammo wagon. These vehicles arestrictly designed for artillery support, beingequipped with only the lightest shielding and nodefensive weapons.

For spotting over-the-horizon targets, Level-ers are equipped with DER (dedicated energyreceptors). These receptors feed target infor-mation to the gunner's holo-display who thenprograms what salvo pattern to fire — narrow,medium, or wide.

Presently, the Leveler 1 is standard issue toImperial assault forces, although there havebeen some complaints about their tracked chas-sis' inability to deal with weather extremes.• Field Missile Launcher

Model: Bryn & Gweigth Leveler IType: Medium concussion missile launcherScale: SpeederSkill: Missile weapons: concussion missile launcherCrew: 6Cover: 1/4Ammo: 28Cost: 55,000 (new), 25,000 (used)Availability: 2, R or XBody: 2DFire Rate: Up to 28Fire Control: 2DRange: 20-600/3/16 kmBlast Radius: 20 metersDamage: 7D

Heavy Anti-Vehicle WeaponThe Speizoc v-188 Penetrator, a heavy anti-

vehicle weapon, was first introduced during theClone Wars. These are among the heaviest en-ergy cannons ever to see field combat. Due to


• Turbolaser BatteryModel: Loronar Turbolaser System IType: Heavy fixed turbolaser emplacementScale: StarfighterSkill: Blaster artilleryCrew: 5Cover: FullAmmo: Unlimited (power generator)Cost: 250,000 (new), 125,000 (used)Availability: 3, XBody: 4DFire Rate: 2Fire Control: 1DRange: 50-600/5/25 kmBlast Radius: 10 metersDamage: 6DNote: If the gun is fired for more than five rounds con-secutively, there is a chance it may overheat. At the endof five rounds of consecutive fire, roll ID each round; ifthe roll is 3 or higher, the gun overheats and shuts down.At the end of nine rounds, if the roll is 2 or higher, the gunoverheats and shuts down. At the end of 15 rounds, theweapon automatically overheats. When the gun over-heats, roll ID; if the roll is 1-3, the gun simply needsrepairs; a Difficulty/aster repair and one hour of work isneeded to repair a damaged System I. If the roll is 4-6, thegun is damaged beyond repair and must be completelyreplaced.

is usually connected to multiple turbolaseremplacements. These multiple emplacements,called "hives," often share an underground sys-tem of living quarters or at the very least have atunnel network leading back to the main base orcity they are protecting.

The biggest drawback to the System I is itstendency to overheat. Poor coolant restrictorcircuits allow gunners to fire up to 20 rapidshots using sustained fire. However, at this ratemost gun batteries experience emergency shut-down after just five or six shots. Green gunners,in battle for the first time, often lose sight oftheir thermal monitors with predictable butoften tragic results. A gun which experiencesemergency shutdown can be out of service in-definitely, depending on the external weatherconditions.


Chapter Ten: Infantry Support Weapons

Chapter TenInfantry SupportWeapons

In addition to blaster rifles and pistols, thou-sands of other infantry weapons exist. Some ofthese, such as repeating blasters, are commonand carried by the majority of Imperial trooperand stormtrooper formations. Others are onlyissued to specially trained trooper units. All ofthese weapons, classified as Infantry SupportWeapons (ISW), are designed to be carried,emplaced, and fired by four or fewer men.

Three companies, Merr-Sonn Munition, Inc.,BlasTech Industries and SoroSuub Corporation,supply the vast majority ISWs for the Imperialmilitary. The competition between these threehas led to an expensive game of one-upmanshipand a proliferation of exotic weaponry. Severalother corporate manufacturers also produceISWs. However their market is generally limitedto territorial militia forces, independent merce-nary formations, and, rumor has it, the Rebel-lion.

Shoulder-Launched IonCannons

While the modern Imperial trooper is thebest equipped soldier the galaxy has ever seen,he still needs help when facing enemy armoredfighting vehicles (AFVs), particularly those thatare shield equipped. To immobilize shieldedopponents, SoroSuub created the shoulder-launched Equalizer.

This disposable weapon system, designed tobe carried by an individual soldier, holds fourion bolts, each in its own two-meter tube. To-gether, the entire system (four bolts in fourtubes) weighs just 12 kilograms. When firing,the Equalizer is held on the shoulder and thetargeting gear, located on its side, is aligned onthe target vehicle. The Equalizer's sensors thencompute the target's range, speed and angle ofdeflection, and feed this data into a microcom-puter which adjusts each bolt's flight angle ac-cordingly.

Each ion bolt is launched individually. Onceall four tubes have fired the empty casing is

Imperial Sourcebook 1 2 1

discarded. Vehicles struck by the Equalizer'shighly charged ion bolts experience power short-ages (particularly to their shield power convert-ers), leaving them vulnerable to attack by morestandard weapons, like blasters. Smaller ve-hicles may have their entire electronic systemfused by a single Equalizer bolt.

While the primary mission of the Equalizer isanti-vehicle duty, it also proves to be highlyeffective against low-flying ground assault craft.More than one Rebel fighter has crashed afterhaving its flight controls shorted.

Use of theEqualizer is widespread, especiallyamong garrison forces. Garrison soldiers areoften more concerned with repelling attackersthan in launching massive offensives.• Shoulder-Launched Ion Cannon

Model: SoroSuub EqualizerType: Personal, disposable ion cannonScale: SpeederSkill: Blaster artillery: EqualizerAmmo: 4Cost: 5,000Availability: 2, XRange: 3-50/120/300Damage: 3D (ionization damage)

Portable Missile LauncherThe PLX-2, or "Plex," combination missile

and rocket launcher is the newest standard-issue weapon for rapid, high-powered projectileresponse. It is used against vehicles, fortifica-tions, atmospheric craft and other projectiles. Itis especially suitable as an anti-repulsorcraftweapon.

The launcher is an over-the-shoulder deviceoperated by one person. It fires "dumb" rocketsin a line-of-sight attack, or can program and firethe smart Gravity-Activated Mode (GAM) guidedmissile designed for use with this weapon. ThePlex chambers one projectile and holds a sec-ond in reserve.

Guided missile tracking modes are selectedwith the push of a firing stud on the launcherhousing. Two different modes are supported. InEPR mode, the GAM homes on intense infrared


sources, such as vehicle or missile exhaust. In theGravity-Activated Mode for which the missile isnamed, its onboard computer first records thetarget's silhouette. It pursues that image until itis close enough to lock onto the gravity-waveanomalies that are the signature of repulsorliftpropulsion. The GAM missile can pursue a tar-get for 40 kilometers before its fuel expires.• Portable Missile Launcher

Model: Merr-Sonn PLX2 "Plex"Type: Portable anti-vehicle missile launcherScale: CharacterSkill: Missile weapons: PlexAmmo: 2Cost: 4,000Availability: 2. XRange: 25-100/300/500 ("dumb" rocket mode; GAM modegives the missile a "target" lock range of 25-500/1/2 km;if roll to hit the target fails but is within five of thedifficulty number, the missile has achieved a "targetlock" on the target. The missile has a "tracking" ability of4D, moves 550 meters per move and may roll once perround to hit the target, with a maximum range of 40kilometers. If tracking rolls miss the difficulty number bya total of 10 or more, the missile has lost its target)Damage: 60

Merr-Sonn DEMP GunSometimes it is desirable to neutralize droids

without permanently damaging or destroyingthem. These constructs are vulnerable to theeffects of an electromagnetic pulse, a burst ofenergy which destroys critical electromagneticpathways in mechanical and computerized de-vices.

Internal components are hardened againstEMP effects as a matter of course in manufactur-ing, to enable devices to withstand the rigors ofspace and unpredictable alien environments.However, a modified-frequency pulse effect de-veloped by Merr-Sonn weapons is capable ofpenetrating shielding and hardened circuitry.The DEMP gun incorporates this technology. Itis a weapon capable of "stunning" a droid as analternative to damaging it.

The DEMP gun is available in a handgun orcarbine configuration with adjustable powersettings. Setting one does one-half the normalstun damage of a blaster pistol. Setting twoinflicts the stun damage indicated in the weaponspecifications. Setting three inflicts physicaldamage to internal components. A droid dam-aged with setting three cannot be repaired, butmust have its components completely replaced.


Comments by Imperial Trooper Kosk"The Plex is lightweight, a nice change from other

systems. But it can't take rough handling or the targetingsystem falls apart. Oh, you can fix it all right with regularmaintenance tools, but that takes about an hour. Andthere's no time for that if you're in the middle of action.

"You can override a broken targeting system and fire itanyway, but there's no guarantee you'll hit anything. Ifyou fire a rocket, you're all right — that's line of sight. Butif it's a GAM, one or the other of the tracking systems kicksin and there's no telling which.

"A small problem for careless troopers is the firingstud. You have to tap it twice — once to set the guidancesystem and a second time to fire. I've seen troopers in ahurry press it only once, then wonder why the missiledidn't fire.

"Aside from those things, a Plex-fired GAM is the bestseek-and-destroy weapon I've seen for use againstrepulsorcraft. It's fast, and almost impossible to shakeonce it locks onto a target. I admit the GAM's visualtracking system can be confused by other images in the sky.Good evasive maneuvers can lose the missile, too. But onceit's caught a repulsor signature, that craft is gone."

Comments on the DEMP Gunfrom Imperial Trooper Dokus"We were on Tatooine during a routine

shakedown. In one place out in the desert,some moisture farmer's work droidswouldn't let us in to search his evaporationstation. Our senior officer didn't take thattoo well. The droids wouldn't move aside, sohe turned to me — I'm the DEMP gunner —and told me to juice 'em.

"The first setting ionizes a droid's sys-tems. It sparks a bit, but the droid canoperate normally in a moment. We neveruse that setting. If you need to stop a droid,that doesn't put him out of the action. Itonly makes him pause for a bit.

"The second setting's more useful. Itstuns a droid, like a blaster set on stundoes to a Human. Knocks 'em out for quitesome time — long enough to do whateverwe came for.

"The third setting is the fun one. It blows'em completely. Not only does it shorttheir power plant, but it gets the motivatorand usually burns the memory too. It'ssupposed to be used to stun heavily-ar-mored droids, and stop ones that are obvi-ously threatening.

"Well, I felt so threatened by those workdroids I set the DEMP on 'fry' and let themhave it. It stopped them, all right, andsomething burned out so badly in one itactually caught fire.

"I'd never seen that happen before. Aburning droid is pretty spectacular, I foundout."


• DEMP GunModel: Merr-Sonn DEMP GunType: Personal anti-droid electromagnetic pulse weaponScale: CharacterSkill: BlasterAmmo: 10Cost: 500 (handgun), 750 (carbine)Availability: 2, RRange: 3-10/30/120 (handgun), 3-25/60/250 (carbine)Damage: 2D/setting 1, 3D/setting 2, 4D/setting 3 (hand-gun), 3D/setting 1, 4D/setting 2, 50/setting 3 (carbine)

Projectile LauncherThe CSPL ("Caspel") Projectile Launcher fires

canister projectiles containing smoke, gas, andchemical agents as needed in tactical combatsituations. Canisters containing the desiredagent are mounted in the projectile launcher orstored in the weapon's four-canister magazine.An adapter for launching grenades, the PL/1G, isavailable as optional equipment.

Canister effects vary depending on the loadfired. When undisturbed by wind, gas cloudsaffect all within a 30-meter radius after impact.• Projectile Launcher

Model: BlasTech CSPL-12 "Caspel"Type: Personal disposable projectile launcherScale: CharacterSkill: Missile weapons: CSPLAmmo: 4 (magazine)Cost: 3,000Availability: 2, XRange: 5-50/100/250Damage: Variable, see "Standard Canister Effects"

Thermal DetonatorsThermal detonators are small grenade-sized

explosives; the Empire's combat engineers usesones manufactured by Merr-Sonn Munitions.These bombs produce an extremely powerfulbut tightly contained explosion capable of blast-ing through two meters of pure permacite. Op-


eration of one of these thermal detonators isfairly simple; slide the thumb guard out of theway and activate the detonator. From that point,there are six seconds to either clear the area orswitch the detonator off.

Thermal detonators are packed withbaradium, a powerful but unstable syntheticelement. Once detonated, baradium generates aparticle field which contains the "exploding"baradium inside it. As the baradium reactioncontinues, internal pressure causes the particlefield to rapidly expand until the energy beingconsumed by the field surpasses the energywithin the sphere. At that point the spherecollapses in upon itself, consuming the last ofthe baradium. The end result is that anythingoutside the sphere is undamaged, anything in-side is exposed to a concentrated baradiumexplosion (consisting mainly of heat).

Generally, thermal detonators carry enoughbaradium to create a five-meter sphere. Onedisadvantage to thermal detonators is the insta-bility of baradium. Detonators have been known

Standard Canister EffectsLoad Effects DamageDye Marks terrain,

10-meter radius —Smoke Marks terrain,

obscures vision —T-238 Nausea, incapacity 1DCryoBan Freeze damage,

incapacity 2DPlank Gas Corrosive,

incapacity 3DSpore/B Bothan stun spores,

unconsciousness 4D (stun)Fex-M3 Nerve gas, death 5D

Comments on the CSPL from Lt.Harburjk

"The Caspel has a bad reputation in cer-tain circles, but only among troops that don'tkeep their weapons clean. They claim that itjams and ignites the canister while it's in thelauncher.

True, that's happened once or twice. Themost notorious time was the accident thatkilled Imperial General Azarin on Lafra. Butthe investigation proved it was a trooper'snegligence, not his weapon, that was at fault.

"No, the Caspel isn't such a sensitive pieceof equipment. Just watch out for dirt caughtaround the canister priming pin, and makesure it's kept clean. That's what can cause thelauncher to jam. Then, sure, the canister'sbeen primed and it'll go off if it's jarred.

"Basically, though, the weapon is simpleand reliable. It's not as flashy as a blaster, butit fills a big need in small unit tactics. And theCaspel doesn't have as many quirks as otherprojectile launchers I've seen. It seems like ittakes forever to affix the grenade adapter, butit always feels that way when you need gre-nade fire quick. Of course, when a fire teamtakes a Caspel on a mission, you have to plansmoke or chemical support ahead of time. Ittakes only the special canisters designed forit, and standard-issue grenades — nothingelse. So if you didn't bring the CSPL load youneed, you can't substitute ammo from otherweapons."


to explode after being dropped or, occasionally,for no reason at all. Thermal detonators rarelyfunction as grenades or projectiles, since theharsh motion could activate the baradium. In-stead, Imperial engineers use thermal detona-tors to destroy fixed targets, attaching a bombwith magnetic couplers and then detonating itvia remote control or with the six second delay.

Distribution of thermal detonators is ex-tremely limited, although some stolen detona-tors are available on the black market. Illegalpossession of a thermal detonator is a capitaloffense in many systems.

Thermal DetonatorModel: Merr-Sonn Thermal DetonatorType: Personal concentrated heat explosiveScale: CharacterSkill: Grenade (for throwing)Cost: 2,000

Availability: XRange: 3-4/7/12Blast Radius: 0-2/8/12/20Damage: 10D/8D/5D/2D

Heavy Repeating BlasterThe "E-Web" heavy repeating blaster takes

its name from "Emplacement Weapon, HeavyBlaster." As indicated by its name, the E-Webwas designed for use in small- and medium-sized unit gun emplacements. Heavy enough toprovide devastating fire, the EWHB-10 can alsobe carried on maneuvers by its two-man crew. Itcan be set-up as needed in temporary emplace-ments by an experienced crew in 15 minutes. Ifnecessary, it can be moved already assembledon its tripod mount, although this is not recom-mended procedure.

The weapon comes with a high-demand por-table Eksoan power unit and is fitted with theGk3 Cryocooler for continuous fire capability.The limited f ire control system includesStarvision and IR sensing for night targeting andunusual environments. A built-in com unit en-ables the crew to coordinate fire with other E-Web emplacements if command communica-tion channels should become disabled.

The original E-Web was a joint venture byBias-Tech and Merr-Sonn and both companies'versions of the weapon received wide distribu-tion throughout the Imperial military, as well asless "official" military groups. Both companiesare beginning to develop variants on this popu-lar weapon.• Heavy Repeating Blaster

Model: Merr-Sonn EWHB-10 "E-Web"Type: Two-man heavy repeating blasterScale: CharacterSkill: Blaster: repeating blasterAmmo: Power generator onlyCost: 5,000Availability: 2, XRange: 3-75/200/500Damage: 8D

Force PikesForce pikes are two-meter long poles topped

with power tips and made of very strong spungraphite which bends, rather than breaks, whenput under pressure. A two-setting power-outputpanel is located on the base of each pike. Thesettings available are "stun" and "lethal."

First introduced during the Begali Uprising,force pikes are primarily used by planetarypatrols and local military units to stun oppo-nents or disperse crowds. However, they arealso used by Imperial troops to eliminate oppo-nents in situations where blaster fire is inappro-priate or unavailable. Personal bodyguards to


Comments on the E-Web byImperial Trooper Reydon

"The E-Web's a good gun, but it's notbuilt to be fired by one man. Oh, you can doit. But you'll wish you could do it better.

"That happened to me when we were atKeskin. We fell back after our last firefightand took up a position outside of town.Ohvan and I set up the E-Web and settledin for the night. We were waiting for ourscouts to report back, until a nightfirewent off and lit us up. Ohvan was hit andfell against the Eksoan. I dived for thepower unit to keep it from tumbling downthe hill. That power pack is heavy, and if itgoes, it rips the power couplers out with it.

"A few shots winged the E-Web, butcouldn't knock it out. The Rebels ran past

/and saw me down over the power pack.They thought I was hit, and kept going. Theother E-Web, somewhere off to my right,exploded a minute later. It's real danger-ous when the cryocooler gets hit. Rebelswere pouring out of the jungle by the timeI got the power couplings straightened outand opened fire.

"Without a second man it's very hard toshoot an E-Web. There's no fire control,you can't nurseyour power supply or watchthe cooler, and the gun is awkward to aim.My shooting accuracy was cut in half, andI barely took out enough Rebels to chase'em under cover.

"I never want to try to fire an E-Web bymyself again if I can help it. Especially notin a firefight."


high officials also carry force pikes, althoughthese pikes are primarily ceremonial (except inthe case of the Royal Guard, in whose hands apike is more dangerous than anyone would careto find out).• Force Pike

Model: SoroSuub Controller FPType: Personal force pikeScale: CharacterSkill: Melee combat: force pikeCost: 500Availability: 2, RDifficulty: ModerateDamage: STR+2D

Proton MinesThe main purpose of a proton mine is to

establish a defensive perimeter. To do this ef-fectively, a mine must be deadly against bothenemy soldiers and vehicles. Such a weapon isMerr-Sonn Munition's LX-4 Proton Mine.

Typically buried about half-a-meter beneaththe surface, the LX-4 is actually a refitted protontorpedo warhead attached to two sensors. Thefirst, a gravity-sensitive sensor, scans for mag-netic disturbances (such as those created by alarge vehicle). The second, a thermal sensor,searches for body heat. Both sensors are pro-grammed to detonate the LX-4 if they detect anintruder within five meters.

The biggest drawback to the LX-4 is it cannotbe disarmed. Once implanted, an LX-4 can onlybe removed via detonation. The reasoning be-hind this traces back to the old LX-2 comlinkmines. Originally thought of as impregnable, aspot inspection on Calonica found that fewerthan 10 percent of the 50,000 LX-2 mines, buriedaround the Imperial capital, contained explo-sive charges. A follow-up investigation revealedthat Rebel spies had somehow discovered themine's secret com code, and were using it todeactivate the mines. Once deactivated, theRebels dug them up, stole their charges, andthen buried the mines back in the ground.


• Proton MineModel: Merr-Sonn LX-4Type: Self-detonating perimeter mineScale: CharacterSkill: DemolitionCost: 750Availability: 2, XBlast Radius: (M/8/12/20Damage: 6D/5D/4D/3D

Sharpshooter's BlasterBlasTech's Sharpshooter V is actually a modi-

fied blaster carbine fitted with a multi-spectrumtargeting sight for increased accuracy. This sight,equipped with infrared enhancers for nightbattles, magnifies the target image while itsmicro-computer clears the scene of any haze orsmoke. The Sharpshooter V fires a smaller,tighter energy bolt than other blasters, whichdissipates less rapidly, giving the SharpshooterV a range advantage over most other light weap-ons. But this sacrifices some of the power.

Imperial orders for the Sharpshooter V arekept at a modest level because of the weapon'shigh price tag. Instead of being standard equip-ment, these blasters are issued to special com-mando units. They are assigned to regular for-mations sparingly.

Surprisingly, the military establishment al-lows BlasTech to manufacture a weaker (andless expensive) civilian model for commercialdistribution, called the Hunter V. Marketed as asporting blaster, this weapon is widely used byurban security forces who often need the higheraccuracy for inner-city fighting.• Sharpshooter V

Model: BlasTech Sharpshooter VType: Blaster carbineScale: CharacterSkill: Blaster: blaster carbineAmmo: 100Cost: 1,200Availability: 2, XRange: 3-30/80/350Damage: 4D+1

Chapter Eleven: Special Military Forces

Chapter ElevenSpecial MilitaryForces

The Empire employs a number of specialmilitary units throughout the various branchesthat perform specialized tasks. Stormtroopersfall into this category by their very nature, as doothers. The following reports describe what hasbeen documented concerning some of theseunits.

Standard Stormtrooper UnitStormtroopers are the elite of the Empire's

military machine. Trained in a wide variety ofroles, Stormtroopers carry out any task quicklyand effectively. They provide support for thetwo arms of the Empire's military establishment— the ground forces and the Imperial Fleet.

Stormtroopers are highly trained and highlymotivated. Knowing no fear, they surrenderonly when faced with impossible odds, and thenonly once they have secured their primary ob-jective. If ordered to hold at all costs, Stormtroop-ers will willingly give their lives rather than failin their task. And yet they are not suicidal,because they know that to die without duecause is to betray the Empire. A deadStormtrooper is of no use to the Empire, unlesshe dies in furthering the Emperor's wishes.

While members of the Imperial Army andNavy have been known to accept bribes, or evendefect to the Rebel Alliance, no Stormtrooperhas ever done so. They live only to serve, andnothing can ever cause them to do otherwise. Itis no wonder that the Emperor trusts hisStormtroopers implicitly, and that they lookonly to their superiors for direction. To die forthe Empire is the highest honor they seek, andthey do so without hesitation.

The white and black armored forms of Impe-rial Stormtroopers strike fear into all who facethem. Stormtroopers lie at the core of theEmperor's aggressive policies. Without his le-gions of Stormtroopers, the Emperor would notbe able to maintain his firm grip on the Empire.While Stormtroopers continue to do his bid-ding, no decree passed by the Emperor will ever


f a i l to be implemented. Contingents ofStormtroopers aboard Imperial Navy vesselsensure that no Navy captain or admiral willactively disobey the Emperor's wishes.

DeploymentStormtroopers are the Empire's calling card.

Wherever the Empire goes, Stormtroopers willbe found, acting as ship's troops aboard StarDestroyers, accompanying visiting dignitariesto outlying worlds, and maintaining garrisonson trouble-torn worlds. Working in conjunctionwith the Imperial fleets, Stormtroopers enforcethe Emperor's will in an effective and brutalmanner.

Unlike the Imperial Army, which is entirelygeared toward ground operations, Stormtroop-ers function equally well in space and on theground. Trained to quickly seize ground instal-lations during planetary assaults and to act assecurity troops on starships and battle stations,Stormtroopers are far more flexible than regulararmy units.

As assault troops working in conjunction withImperial Navy and Imperial Army armored units,Stormtroopers are second to none. Their abilityto rapidly overwhelm and capture enemy posi-tions makes them the first choice for leadingassaults on important worlds. Often Stormtroop-ers are used to clear away the enemy's first lineof defense and establish a ground base to allowthe unopposed landing of transports carryingregular Army units. The Army, in these situa-tions, is used to mop up resistance and maintainan Imperial presence.

Except in systems where prolonged strugglesthreaten to disrupt the Empire's industrial ca-pacity or weaken its strategic positions,Stormtroopers will be withdrawn once they havesecured a landing zone. The complete subjuga-tion of a world is left to the Imperial Army.Where a quick victory is essential, large num-bers of Stormtroopers will be deployed to crushthe opposition as quickly as possible. On worlds


where the Empire has established importantmilitary bases or research establishments, unitsof stormtroopers are used to stiffen regularArmy units.

Stormtroopers can be transported and de-ployed far more rapidly than regular Army units,who rely on large transport ships or the Navy forinterplanetary travel. Huge Imperial Star De-stroyers can carry battle ready stormtroopersinto even the most heavily defended planetarysystem. The sheer size and f irepower of the StarDestroyers allows them to brave planetary de-fense fires and land stormtroopers from orbit ina matter of minutes.

Every Star Destroyer carries a full division ofcombat-ready stormtroopers. On arriving in asystem, stormtroopers and their vehicles arecarried to a world's surface in heavily armedand armored assault craft. Stormtroopers hithard and fast, and the presence of an orbitingStar Destroyer and its TIE fighters protects thelanding stormtroopers from attacks by enemystarships. Once on a planet, stormtroopers moverapidly into the attack.

In situations where Imperial Command ex-pects heavy opposition, task forces of three StarDestroyers, accompanied by huge transportscarrying extra stormtrooper divisions, are dis-patched. This is, of course, on worlds the Em-pire wishes to preserve either as forward bases,for their natural resources, or for their indus-trial capacity. On worlds of no strategic impor-tance to the Empire, stormtroopers are rarelylanded. Imperial command will instead landArmy units, or even resort to reducing the plan-ets to piles of smoking rubble using the devas-tating power of the Star Destroyers.

In addition to being used as ground assaultand garrison forces, stormtroopers are used bythe Imperial Navy to enter and secure starshipswhich have been captured by an Imperial ship'stractor beams. Even when pulled into the expan-sive landing bays of a Star Destroyer, manyRebel and pirate crews refuse to surrender.

Stormtroopers use high energy blasters tocut through a captured vessel's airlocks or hull,and then storm the interior of the vessel. Mov-ing quickly and laying down devastating fieldsof fire, stormtroopers move steadily into theinterior of a ship.

Caring little for their own losses, stormtroop-ers advance relentlessly through enemy ships.Stepping over fallen comrades, stormtrooperscut down the defenders and drive them back tothe inner reaches of the vessel. No matter howmany stormtroopers the defenders kill, thereare always more ready to step in and take theirplace. Stormtroopers are well drilled in this

Chapter Eleven. Special Military Forces

style of combat and, unless instructed other-wise, they are likely to kill any who do notsurrender immediately.

Units of stormtroopers are also used as honorguards to protect influential Imperial person-ages. No Imperial Ambassador, Grand Mof f, Moff,Admiral or Governor General goes anywhere inpublic without an honor guard of at least 10stormtroopers. While Rebels, bellicose natives,smugglers, pirates and assorted lowlifes mayhave no respect for Imperial officials, it is hardnot to show some respect for the armed andarmored forms which constantly surround them.It is always wise to be polite when you arelooking down the muzzle of a stormtrooper'sblaster rifle.

Stormtroopers are deployed in areas vital tothe Imperial war machine. Industrial plants andmining facilities, which have been identified ashigh risk attack points by Rebels or pirates, areconstantly manned and patrolled by stormtroop-ers. Their very presence often acts as sufficientdeterrent to all but the most motivated of sabo-teurs and aggressors.

Elite Armor Unit:Hell's Hammers

Formed during the closing stages of theCloneWars from armor units of the Old Republic,Hell's Hammers have served the Empire in alarge number of actions in the Outer Rim Terri-tories. Used initially to crush opposition to theNew Order, Hell's Hammers are now engaged ineradicating Rebel outposts, subjugating planetswith Rebel sympathies, and in forcibly bringingreluctant worlds into the Empire.

Originally created as a regiment, losses suf-fered in countless campaigns have reduced theunit's strength to little more than a battalion.Even so, Hell's Hammers continues to strike fearinto all who oppose the Emperor's will.

Often working in tandem with stormtrooperstrike teams, the Hammers are frequently de-ployed to crack open the outer defenses ofRebel outposts. They clear a path into a base bybrushing aside Rebel ground troops, eradicat-ing gun emplacements, and shooting down en-emy airspeeders and low flying starfighters.Stormtroopers or regular Army troops are thenable to enter the confines of a base directly fromtheir transports.

The Hammers have also seen action in moretraditional armor engagements, where they areused to spearhead assaults into enemy-heldterritory. Equipped with the most powerfulrepulsortanks in the Empire, the Hammers arecapable of destroying or overpowering most of



Death of a Rebel BaseThe armored compartment swayed rhythmically

from side to side as the AT-AT walker crashedthrough the bushes and scrub surrounding theRebel base. Inside, the stormtroopers clutched theirblaster rifles and calmly waited for the walker toreach its position. Outside, blaster fire filled the air.Occasionally, a bolt found its mark, sending echoesthrough the giant mechanical beast before bounc-ing heavily off its armored sides.

The giant walker shuddered, the rhythm of itsstride momentarily broken as its huge leg crashedthrough a low lying building. Abandoning theirmedium repeating blaster, a group of Rebel defend-ers desperately flung themselves out of the way asthe walker continued its advance. Most didn't getvery far as the walker's head spat brilliant orangeand yellow death onto them.

From the cockpit of the Imperial walker, Com-mander Hayvlin surveyed the fleeing Rebels andthumbed open the comlink. "Commence groundassault."

Slowly the walker came to a halt, its head turningfrom side to side as it continued to fire at the Rebeltroops. With a grating of gears, it lurched slightly asits legs bent, lowering its huge body onto the ground.Its rear hatch shot open and a ramp sped down tothe ground.

Armored feet clattered against the metal ramp asstormtroopers rushed out of the walker.

Rebel blaster fire lifted the first three stormtroop-ers into the air and flung them against the sides ofthe walker. But it did nothing to slow the stormtroop-ers behind them. They charged down the ramp,their blaster fire scattering the Rebels before moreshots could be exchanged. One Rebel attempted totoss a grenade into the advancing armored figures.Before he could throw it, his body lay smoking onthe ground.

The stormtroopers spread out. Groups moved tothe front of the walker to form a perimeter withother stormtroopers dismounting from nearby walk-ers. Other groups moved toward the entrance to theunderground base. Using destroyed blaster can-nons, rocks and brush for cover, the stormtroopersadvanced, driving the Rebels before them.

Before long, no Rebels remained alive above theground. Only white and black armored figures movednext to the base's metal doors. "They've closed theblast doors. Send in a cutting team," ordered theassault commander.

Inside the base, Rebels crouched nervously inthe corridor, their blasters held ready to fire. Lights

blazed over the armored doors as the stormtroop-ers cut their way in. A loud clang echoed throughthe corridor as the blast doors fell inward. Si-lence, and then searing beams of light sped downthe corridor.

Chunks of rock and metal shot through the airas blaster bolts hit walls and machinery. Sixstormtroopers were cut down as they rushedthrough the freshly-sliced opening. But their bod-ies were crushed underfoot as more stormtroop-ers poured into the base. They began to inexora-bly move down the corridor. Rebel blaster boltsfound their marks, scattering stormtroopers rightand left, but the Rebel defenders were not escap-ing unscathed.

Even though their dead were beginning to pilehigh in the corridors, the stormtroopers rapidlypushed the defenders back. The Rebels moveddeeper into the base's tunnels, heading for theironly hope of escape — a concealed hangar exit atthe rear of the base.

The stormtroopers followed, spreading quicklythrough the base, taking no prisoners. The Em-pire was involved in a punitive strike, and thestormtroopers had their orders: reach the shieldgenerator and destroy it, then form a perimeteraround the area to contain Rebel troops while theStar Destroyer Avenger obliterates the base fromthe face of the planet.

A heavy repeating blaster fired down the corri-dor, pinning the crouching stormtroopers andbuying the Rebel technicians time to maneuverthe remaining airspeeders into position. The blastdoors opened as the Rebels abandoned the heavyblaster and ran for the rising speeders. The firstairspeeder shot out of the base, only to instantlyexplode. The other airspeeders were already ontheir way out. Unable to stop in the confines of theexit, they ran right into the combined firepower ofthe four AT-ATs and their stormtrooper contin-gents waiting outside. As the last speeder eruptedinto flame, the stormtroopers rushed into thebase and joined with those inside.

High above the planet, the Star DestroyerAvenger was turning the Rebel base into slagmetal. Blasts of high powered laser energy leaptfrom the vessel to the planet's surface. As thebombardment subsided, a gray-uniformed figurestrode confidently onto Avenger's bridge. CaptainFerdas looked up from his instruments and ac-knowledged the newcomer's presence. "You havedone well, Commander Hayvlin. Lord Vader willbe pleased.


Imperial command's strategy in the Outer RimTerritories. This position has been attained at ahigh price, as the blood of the unit's tankers hasoften been spilt unnecessarily by incompetentImperial officers.

The unit's commander, Colonel "Rancor"Johans, is using the growing prominence of theHammers to further increase his standing in theImperial Army. Colonel Johans's proven tacticalability, and the complete devotion of his troops,has enabled him to persuade Imperial com-mand that the Hammers should be allowed morefreedom when it comes to campaigns.

Following the successful subjugation of theYatir, a humanoid species indigenous to Absitand sympathetic to the Rebel Alliance, Johanshas been able to convince Imperial commandthat the Hammers would be of far more use tothe Empire if they were again restored to regi-mental strength. To this end, intensive trainingof recruits is now taking place on Brintooin tobuild the Hammers back up to regimentalstrength.

Hell's Hammers are destined to play a majorrole in the Empire's war against the Rebel Alli-ance.

OrganizationHell's Hammers form an elite force within the

Imperial Army. When at full strength, the regi-ment consists of three battalions and a regimen-tal command group. Two battalions are used tospearhead assaults, with the third battalionbeing held in reserve to reinforce the front lineunits as required, or be deployed as the situa-tion warrants.

As the unit is currently under strength, itoperates without a reserve, relying on the abili-ties of its troopers to gain its objectives quicklyand effectively. This self-reliance and the grow-ing autonomy of the unit within the Imperialcommand structure has helped maintain theunit's already high morale. The troopers look toeach other and to Colonel "Rancor" Johans,rather than to other Imperial units, for supportin times of need.

The experience on Turak IV has led the unit toact independently whenever possible, prefer-ring to plan its own actions rather than cateringto the logistical concerns of Imperial command.If the Hammers were not so successful, thisattitude would not be tolerated. But Johans'inspired leadership has led the unit to victoryafter victory, a state of affairs which Imperialcommand is only too happy to accept.

Battalion OrganizationThe battalion consists of the battalion com-

mand and three armor troops, backed up by a

Chapter Eleven. Special Military Forces

the ground-based opposition they encounter.Being able to travel fast, the Hammers are a

hard-hitting assault force with a reputation forgetting results at any cost — a reputation thatthey well deserve, for their long history is notfree from the taste of defeat.

On more than one occasion the Hammershave been thrown against superior forces with-out effective backup. In all of these cases theHammers achieved their initial objective, butthe lack of adequate infantry support made itimpossible for them to maintain their position.

The action on Turak IV, while being markedas the Hammers' worst defeat, is also a greatsource of pride to the unit. Here, two battalionsof the Hammers' tanks swept across the lavaplains to capture the Rebel Army's forwardpositions. But, because of the incompetence ofGeneral Maltaz, commander of the Imperial Armyon Turak IV, they were cut off by Rebel forcescounter-attacking from hidden bases high in thevolcanic Hitak Mountains.

General Maltaz ordered the Hammers to holdtheir position, and attempted to halt the Rebeladvance with the remainder of his command.Heavily outnumbered and subject to concen-trated attacks by armored Rebel speedersstarfighters and ground forces, the Hammerssuffered heavy losses. Even though their tankswere soon burning fiercely in the hot sulphur-ous air, the Hammers refused to give ground. Bythe time the order came to withdraw, there werefew Hammers left to receive it. All that remainedwere three tanks. The rest of the once-mightyforce had been turned into smoldering hulks.The two battalions had almost ceased to exist.

Even though two battalions were effectivelydestroyed, their tank crews did not die in vain.TIE fighter patrols, which flew over the area inthe closing stages of the campaign, reportedlarge numbers of Rebel vehicles and starfighterslying strewn across the plains in front of theHammers' position. The Hammers had paid ahigh price, but the cost to the Rebel Alliance waseven higher. The Hammers had indeed lived upto their motto of "Strike To Kill."

Since that fateful day, the Hammers haveoperated under-strength, with only one battal-ion able to take the field. While this has reducedthe fighting ability of the unit, it has also servedto increase its morale. The remaining troops ofthe unit have an uncanny knack for survivingengagement after engagement.. Always bearingthe brunt of the assaults, the Hammers havesurprised Imperial command with their abilityto keep on going in the face of overwhelmingodds.

Once considered an expendable force, theHammers are now viewed as an essential part of


reconnaissance troop. The three armor troopsare employed to break through and captureenemy positions, relying on the mightyrepulsorlift tanks to achieve their objectives.The reconnaissance troop serves a dual role: toprobe enemy positions, and to protect the flanksof the armor troops during advances.

Each armor troop is led by a captain andconsists of four squadrons. A squadron con-tains four repulsortanks led by a lieutenant andis the smallest unit employed by the Hammers.Depending on the situation, squadrons mayoperate independently of their troops or bemassed together with other troops to literally"hammer" through enemy defenses.

The tanks are crewed by highly-trained troop-ers led by a sergeant. The crew is equipped withhelmets containing wide-spectrum viewfinders,passive infrared sensors, and computer-linkedfire control targeting sensors. Although the tankcrews are not expected to fight outside of theirtanks, they are equipped with blaster carbinesand pistols for defense in the event of a break-down or being knocked out by enemy fire.

The reconnaissance troop comprises threesquadrons of heavily armored airspeeders, andone squadron of fast moving but lightly ar-mored speeder bikes. The reconnaissancesquadrons operate independently of each other,allowing them to cover a wider area. Therepulsorlift bikes are equipped with a single


• A heavy recovery vehicle attached to Hell's Hammers

laser cannon for defense purposes. Their ridersare expected to retreat in the face of enemy fire.

Before the armor advances, the reconnais-sance troop explores the area ahead, reportingon the difficulty of the terrain to be traversed bythe tanks, probing enemy positions, and notingthe strengths and weaknesses of the enemy.The reconnaissance units are not designed tocapture and hold ground. In the event of con-certed opposition they are instructed to reporton enemy positions and return to the main unit.

When the armor advances, the reconnais-sance unit is positioned on the flanks and slightlyto the rear of the attack force. In this formationthe reconnaissance squadrons are able to keepthe armored attack force informed of any enemytroop movements which threaten to cut off theunit or otherwise endanger its advance. In theevent of an enemy attack on the flanks, thereconnaissance troop's airspeeder squadronsfight to protect the exposed tanks, but fall backas soon as the armor is able to bring its heavyweapons to bear.

Until the unit is returned to full regimentalstrength, "Rancor" Johans personally commandsthe battalion. His command group is thereforelarger than would be normally found in a tankbattalion. It consists of his personal tank squad-ron of four vehicles, a communications wagon,and a gun battery.

The gun battery contains four Colon Arms DF.9 Mobile Emplacement Guns,and two Colon Arms DF .1Spray Blasters. The batteryprovides fire support and airdefense fire for the battalion.The mobile repulsor l i f t -mounted guns can be rapidlymoved into position to pro-tect the battalion during en-emy counterattacks, or toadd their firepower to thebattalion's tanks during ad-vances. The gun battery is arecent addition to the unit,and is indicative of the moreindependent role that the unithas gained under Johans'leadership.

In addition to the combattroops, the battalion contains40 support personnel respon-sible for supplying the unit inthe field and for maintainingits equipment. Thirty techni-cians work on the unit's ve-hicles, keeping them func-tioning and repairing battle



The Assault on ProtazkThe mighty repulsortank slid down the

ramp of the landing barge, sending dustplumes high into the air.

Gortz peered through his viewport andcursed. "Another dirt-ball world. Hey, sarge!How come we get all the good jobs?"

Sergeant Arbmab flicked a few switcheson the command console and leaned overthe turret to speak to his driver. "We're ex-pendable, that's why. You don't think they'dsend in the white armor boys while they'vegot us do ya? Besides, it'll be a push over,Rancor's leading us himself. Okay, let's roll,we've got a job to do."

The huge metal tank thrummed as Gortzcut in the repulsorlift drives. The tank hungthere, momentarily suspended above the flatlandscape before shooting forward in forma-tion with the other tanks in the squadron."Keep your eyes peeled, this place is crawl-ing with Rebel scum."

Sergeant Arbmab powered up the mainblaster cannon and kicked his panic bar,dropping him into the body of the tank.Around him holo screens flickered to life,providing a view of the surrounding terrain.

The comlink crackled as the calm, com-manding voice of Colonel Johans came onthe air. "Welcome to Spuma Flats. I trust youenjoyed the ride. The Rebel forces are at gridreference 678/446. You all know what youhave to do. Good luck and good hunting."

The battalion raced across the flat, dustyplain. Ahead, heavy blaster bolts began to fillthe air as the Rebel defenders opened upfrom their hidden positions. "Left 12 degrees,Gortz, full speed." Sergeant Arbmab barkedout his orders and spun the blaster cannononto a now visible Rebel gun tower. Sprayingthe area, he watched with satisfaction as thetower erupted into searing, blue flames.

The command comlink again came to life."Rebel airspeeders approaching in attackformation. Squad three, peel off and inter-cept."

As one, four huge tanks spun round andheaded toward the Rebel speeders. Blasterbolts impacted on the lead tanks, causingArbmab's vehicle to lurch sickeningly to theleft.

Clutching onto the gun's controls, Arbmabdemanded a damage report. Gortz glancedbriefly at the monitor on his left and flicked aswitch. "Slight damage to the port repulsorliftunits. Nothing I can't compensate for."

"Okay, hold us steady." Arbmab studied thesky through his targeting computer and rap-idly traversed the turret. A blip on the screenindicated the speeder was in his sights. Hethumbed the firing switch and blue blasterbolts shot out from the tank to explode againstthe lead speeder. It lifted into the air and thenhurtled toward the ground. Around it, otherspeeders were suffering the same fate as therest of the squadron's guns found their marks.

The remaining two speeders attempted tofly over the tanks' positions, but were cutdown by concentrated fire from the tanks'rapidly traversing turrets.

"Squad three, rejoin main attack formation.Recon 1, resume flanking patrol."

"You heard the man, Gortz. Take us in."The repulsortanks rapidly approached the

Rebels' main positions. Heavy repeat blasterfire spattered against the hull as Gortz zoomedup on the first trench. Sergeant Arbmab firedblast after blast at the Rebel defenders. Withinseconds the trench was clear. As the heavyarmored vehicles crossed the trench one ofthe tanks erupted in flame as a laser towerscored a direct hit.

As one, the three remaining tanks of thesquadron turned their weapons on the offend-ing tower, blowing it and its crew across thedusty plain.

As the Rebels fled in disorder, armoredImperial transports brought up infantry whopoured into the trenches to begin mopping uphidden Rebels.

Sergeant Arbmab removed his helmet, wipedthe sweat from his brow and opened up thecomlink to base. "This is Hammer 3:2. Werequire a tech team up here as quickly aspossible. Nothing major, but our port repulsorsneed looking at." He acknowledged the re-sponse and turned to Gortz. "You can rely onRancor. Those Rebel scum didn't even knowwhat hit 'em. They'll be looking forward tofacing stormtroopers after this!"


DatamemoFrom: Commander, Scimitar WingTo: Squadron CommandersRe: New TIE bomber pilots

Heavy losses sustained in the ongoing assault of U'Drayhave put us understrength. We are receiving a replace-ment complement of new TIE pilots from the trainingsquadron of the Victorious.

These pilots will complete their bomber training exclu-sively on actual combat mission. Since they will not havetime to undergo standard wing indoctrination, it is im-perative to brief them on the requirements of service withthe Scimitar assault wing. Include these points:• Mission timing is always critical; some are planneddown to the second. Each element, flight and squadron isrelied upon by others to be in its designated place at aprecise time.• Mission success and personal survival hinge on eachmember of the wing doing as expected when it is expectedof him. Failure to do so through negligence, poor timing,or exercise of personal initiative is inexcusable.• Missions are carried out exactly as planned. Individualswho deviate consistently from mission assignments willbe demoted to drop-ships.

The Qeimet fleet is tasked not only with elimi-nating the Rebel presence in the Hook Nebula,but with punishing the resource worlds thatallowed them free reign there. The Scimitarassault wing, aboard the Star Destroyer Retribu-tion, plays a vital role in this mission. Before amilitary presence moves in on the ground toreassert Imperial control, the "White Death"wing subjects worlds to extensive bombard-ment and retaliatory measures — taking care, ofcourse, not to harm manufacturing facilitiesthat will be of use to the Empire.

Scimitar and other assault wings have seenplenty of action in the Hook, but only Scimitarhas the record of excellence which others try tobeat.

Scimitar HistoryThe Scimitar assault wing was formed when

TIE bombers were initially released to the Impe-rial Navy. Captain Tomax Bren was placed incharge of this, the first bomber-assault wing inthe Qeimet fleet. Bren set the unit on its ear withradical alterations in tactics, deployment, andassault priorities.

Unpopular among the older pilots, thecommander's changes first proved their effec-tiveness at the siege of Nulan VI, where Scimitar'sdeep-atmospheric precision bombing forced thecapitulation of the rebellious capital. His tacti-cal innovation has continued ever since. Mostrecently, Scimitar's new "vertical swoop" tac-tics proved especially useful in the assault of theAturi Cluster, where Rebels had set up powerfulanti-atmospheric defenses.

Since the wing's inception, "White Death"bombers have continually set the fleet standardfor performance in planetary assaults and or-bital support. Though much of this success isowed to their commander's brilliance, the Scimi-tar wing has become the shock unit of choice fordifficult assaults by the Qeimet fleet. Not onlyare their tactics and performance superior, butthe officers of the wing, following Bren's lead,seem more politically trustworthy as a whole."White Death" officers are more dedicated tothe higher ideals of the New Order than most oftheir peers.

A high degree of discipline is demanded from"White Death" pilots. Precisely-coordinatedmaneuvers and split-second timing are essen-tial for successful bombing runs. Working underunpredictable atmospheric conditions increasesthe difficulty of this considerably, yet "WhiteDeath" pilots do so often, and are constantlystriving to better their already outstanding per-formance.

The Scimitar wing consists of three squad-


damage. Agroup of 10 engineers, equipped withheavy repulsorlift barges, recover disabled anddamaged tanks and carry out any field fortifica-tions required.

The unit relies on Imperial starships to carryit from world to world. On arriving in a system,the unit is transported to the planet's surface inarmored and shielded landing barges. After land-ing, the unit quickly moves out to begin itsattacks. Usually one of the first units in, theHammers are also one of the first units to bewithdrawn once victory has been assured. Thisunit, however, gets little rest as it is soon enroute to its next assignment.

Scimitar Assault WingThe Scimitar assault wing, "White Death," is

the best-known wing of the Qeimet fleet. Itsbattle name refers to the light-colored bodies oftheir TIE bombers, difficult to spot by groundobservers until death and devastation strike thetarget.

The Qeimet fleet, led by the flagship Victori-ous, is based near the Hook Nebula, a strategicrimward sector. In spite of its distance frommore famous areas of rebellion, the region isvital for the resource worlds located there. Al-ready Rebel factions have gained control ofmanufacturing centers and have resupplied theirforces through these means.


rons of TIE bombers, and two squadrons of TIEstarfighters for escort and interception duties.The sixth squadron is a specialty unit, com-prised of recon vessels and drop-ships. Pilots ineach squadron complete 50 combat missions,and then are rotated to training duties, missionplanning staff, and other critical support posi-tions. Officers freed from support duties by thisrotation return to combat.

The primary mission of the "White Death"wing is planetary assault and low-level atmo-sphere bombing strikes. Although bombard-ment is often done in support of ground troops,the Scimitar wing is also capable of independentassault bombardment. Such attacks enforcepsychological intimidation and neutralize stra-tegic targets. The TIE's precision bombing capa-bilities are used in pin-point strikes to achievetactical or strategic effects: bombing a singlehouse where Rebel leaders are believed to re-side, or destroying a recalcitrant governing bodyas they convene in their regular place of govern-ment business.

Such extensive work in atmosphere requirestechniques different from those utilized in space.Bomber pilots in an assault wing like "WhiteDeath" become more skilled in atmosphericflight than any other type of TIE pilot.

The Scimitar assault wing routinely sendsone or more squadrons to lay down strategic ortactical bombing, either from orbit or atmo-sphere, in support of ground operations. Singlebomber elements and flights tackle smaller tar-gets of importance in the battle zone itself.When not needed as bomber escorts, TIE fight-ers are deployed for ground strafing in an effortto harass convoys or enemy troops.

Recon FlightOne flight in the Special Unit squadron con-

sists of equal numbers of TIE fighter escorts andTIE/rc reconnaissance craft. The recon shipscontain specialized equipment packages withextra-sensitive sensors and long-range commu-nication gear. They gather intelligence for thefleet, going where ship-board sensor arrays can-not go.

Not all recon vessels need escort protectionon every mission, but those that do usually needit badly. The starfighters in this flight protectthe slower recon TIEs as necessary, and some-times perform detached duty with one of theescort squadrons.


Drop-Ship FlightsThe Special Unit squadron includes two flights

of MT/I91 drop-ships. The ships are used forrapid transport of ground troops from ship toplanet during combined assaults. They servedouble duty as cargo vessels and shuttlecraftwhen not in service as transports for assaulttroops.

Because drop-ships participate directly inassault support under combat conditions, theyare part of the Scimitar wing's combat squad-rons, and are not counted among shuttles,launches and other utility craft in the wing.

Although the MT/191 can approach a planetnormally, it is designed to drop in a rapidpowerdive to a planet's surface, landing in acontrolled manner at the end of the fall. Beforedrop, the ship is covered with VACX, an ablativecoating which raises the hull's temperature re-sistance rating. By planetfall, the VACX hasburned off.

The laser cannon is located directly abovethe cockpit. It is functional only when extrudedfrom the ship's body. The cannon is intendedonly to be a mild deterrent if needed duringshuttle runs in combat zones, and is never in aready position during drops.• Drop-Ship

Craft: Meller & Dax MT/191 Drop-ShipType: Special-purpose shuttle and troop transportScale: StarfighterLength: 52.5 metersSkill: Space transports: 191 Drop-ShipCrew: 1Crew Skill: Sensors 3D+2, space transports 4D+2, starshlpgunnery 4D+1, starship shields 3D+2Passengers: 160 (troops)Cargo Capacity: 200 metric tonsConsumables: 1 dayCost: Not available for saleSpace: 10 (during drop); 2 (on return flight)Atmosphere: 415; 1,200 kmh (during drop); 225; 650 kmh(on return flight)Hull:4DShields: 1DSensors:

Passive: W/QDScan: 20/'IDSearch: 30/10*2Focus: 1/2D+2

Weapons:Light Laser Cannon

Fire Arc: FrontSkill: Starship gunneryFire Control: 1DSpace Range: 1-5/10/17Atmosphere Range: 100-500/1/1.7 kmDamage: 1D

Chapter Twelve: Recruitment, Training and Indoctrination

Chapter TwelveRecruitment, Trainingand IndoctrinationTo: Ail Sector CommandersFrom: General Nasda, ISBSubject: Imperial Recruitment

Following the defection of the Imperial Armyinfantry units of Wazta (see Imperial Communi-que #2734.19g), an unspecified number of Impe-rial Navy vessels and their crews have deserted.This spate of defections to the Rebellion muststop. We cannot continue to allow Rebel sympa-thizers to enter Imperial service for the sole pur-pose of undermining morale.

At the same time, unexpected losses sufferedby Imperial forces engaged against Rebels in theYavin system have highlighted the need to in-crease the rate of Imperial recruitment. You willpersonally ensure that your recruitment and train-ing procedures are brought into line with thefollowing directives.

Recruiting: Recruits for any section of the Impe-rial services must have a high level of loyalty tothe Empire. In light of recent desertions, we can nolonger rely on troops or officers whose loyalty isin any way questionable.

You will therefore cease to recruit on worldswhich have been subject to Imperial bombard-ment or planetary assault in the last 10 standardyears. Worlds which have a history of liberal orindependent traditions are also to be avoided asthese worlds are known to be breeding groundsfor the Rebellion.

Recruiting drives shall be directed on worldsknown to be loyal to our glorious Emperor. Theworlds forming the Imperial Core still provide thebest and most able recruits. These shall continueto form the majority of our officer pool, theirbeliefs in genetic superiority making them ideallysuited for command.

The next recruiting area is those worlds whichborder the Imperial Core, and which are notproscribed under thedirectives above. Here, alifein the Imperial services can be presented as glam-orous and exciting. Recruiters should representthe military as a chance for candidates to improve


themselves and develop long and full careers inthe Imperial forces. Emphasis will continue to beplaced on the benefits to be gained from theservices: travel and adventure, learning valuableskills, opportunities for promotion and command,and the respect to be gained from serving theEmpire.

Other valid areas for recruitment drives are thefrontier worlds. These worlds should be carefullyscrutinized prior to recruitment, as a small num-ber of them are known to be sympathetic to theRebel cause. Do not overlook these systems as asource of officer cadets.

Primitive worlds should continue to be scouredfor recruits as these people make excellent as-sault soldiers. Their lack of technological knowl-edge is more than offset by the ease with whichthey can be indoctrinated. These troops are highlyexpendable, and this should color your recruit-ment accordingly.

Screening: In order to ensure that only the bestare recruited, you shall continue to maintain strin-gent entry requirements. The need to find morerecruits is not an acceptable reason for loweringthe quality of those recruited. Recruits must bephysically fit, brave, intelligent (may be waived inthe case of certain infantry regiments), and loyal.

Initial screening will continue to be carried outby Screening Officers at Imperial RecruitmentOffices. Checks will be conducted into potentialrecruits' background, school reports and homelife. Screening Officers should determine whycandidates wish to join, and if they wish to applyfor officer training.

Instruct your personnel to watch for any Rebelconnections or family members with known Rebelsympathies. Candidates who fail to match thepreliminary requirements should be rejected.However, suspected Rebel infiltrators should beencouraged to join and the ISB informed immedi-ately.

Those candidates who pass initial screening(including suspected Rebels) will be sent to Train-ing Centers where the candidates will be given


further medical examinations and assessed fortheir intellectual capacity. Retina scans will becarried out and matched against available records.

Policy of Assignment: Initial procedures willhave determined which services and branchesapplicants wish to join. Where possible, recruitsshould be posted to their chosen positions. Wherescreening tests show that recruits would be bet-ter suited to another branch, this should be imple-mented as soon as possible. Remember that per-sonnel cannot leave the service before their con-tract is fulfilled, but dissatisfaction with an assign-ment has been shown to have a detrimental effectupon morale.

To the less intelligent recruits, the infantrydivisions should appear to be glamorous, makingtheir transfer to the infantry seem a logical andbeneficial progression.

Stormtrooper units will continue to be formedin the standard manner, and therefore fall outsideof your jurisdiction. However, the Empire is al-ways looking for people with high aptitudes andinitiatives to undergo specialist training. The filesof any recruits who match this criteria should beforwarded to Imperial Command.

Indoctrination: While the loyalty of our recruitsshould be high, initial training shall serve to fur-ther increase this loyalty. The anarchic viewpointof the Rebel Alliance shall be stressed along withthe Rebels' disregard for law and order. TheEmpire is the only force in the galaxy whichactively promotes stability and peace. Our troopsare engaged in a noble crusade against the forcesof disorder, and every trooper should be aware ofthis. By the end of basic training, recruits shouldwillingly die for the Empire.

The great size and strength of the Imperial warmachine should also be stressed, along with thebelief that each recruit has an important contribu-tion to make. Unit morale is very important, andpersonnel should feel that their individual unit isthe best there is.

Any inquires regarding this communiqueshould be addressed to the ISB.

The Imperial Army(The following is extracted from "The Imperial

Army — A Guide to Army Training for New Re-cruits. ")

The Imperial Army is vast. It is the largest armythat the galaxy has ever seen. Our forces can befound protecting law and order and rightingwrongs on thousands of planets. We maintainpeace and a relaxed environment on countlessworlds threatened by Rebel terrorists. No matterwhat branch of the Imperial Army you join, youwill be serving the many and diverse sentient life-


forms of our glorious Empire. You'll be in theforefront of the New Order. You can be proud toserve the Emperor and make the Empire a safeplace to live.

Basic TrainingWhen you join the Imperial Army you'll find it

hard to begin with. You most likely won't be usedto sharing your room with six or seven otherpeople. You won't be used to taking orders, andyou'll probably find that drill is something youhate.

You may find it a pain to look after your equip-ment and weapons. The effort you have to spendmaintaining your blaster may seem like a waste oftime. But the discipline you undergo now willprove to be very beneficial in the long term.

It will help you to rememberthat everything weteach you during basic training is done for areason. Drill builds up team spirit, and trains youto act quickly and effectively in times of need. Andwhen you're on active service, you'll be glad of thetime you spent learning to maintain your equip-ment.

We'll make you fitter and healthier than you'veever been. You'll spend hours building up yourstamina and strength. We'll take you on longmarches to ensure that you are up to the rigors ofarmy life. By the end of it you'll be tired, but fit:ready for anything the galaxy can throw againstyou.

The Imperial Army is the best in the galaxy, andthat means that every soldier is highly trained tocarry out the various jobs demanded of him. In theImperial Army we don't send you into battle half-trained. That would cost us and you dearly. Wehave a galaxy to protect and dead soldiers are ofno use to us. That's why we take the time to teachyou how to handle your blaster and yourself.

We also show you how the Imperial Army isorganized and your role within it. So, whetheryou're a member of an armored unit, an infantryregiment, the artillery, the engineers, or the com-munications corp, we ensure that your basic train-ing is second to none.

When you're on active service with your unitoperating thousands of kilometers from base, lifecan be very hard. At drop camp we aim to prepareyou for every situation that you're likely to face.

Your basic training is conducted at one of thethousands of drop camps throughout the Empire.Drop camps vary greatly, depending on your unitand its intended sphere of operations. The Impe-rial Army operates all around the galaxy, and itssoldiers must be prepared to operate under manydifferent conditions.

We train you in the types of environments thatyou will be seeing the most action in. For most


regiments, this will be on standard worlds with awide mix of terrain types. We'll teach you tosurvive and operate in jungles, deserts, swamps,arctic regions, forests, and how to handle yourselfunder different planetary gravities.

There are many specialist units within theImperial Army, units which are trained to dealwith specific terrain and atmosphere types. Whilewe normally rely on recruits who come fromexotic worlds to form the main bulk of our specialoperations forces, you may find yourself postedto one of these units. If that's the case, we'll ensurethat you can handle yourself, so there's nothing toworry about. Every soldier needs to have somefamiliarity with the diverse worlds of the Empirebecause, in times of need, you may find yourselfposted to some very strange places indeed. Atdrop camp we can't guarantee to give you first-hand experience of these worlds, but we'll do ourbest to prepare you.

The NavyWhile the Imperial Navy provides us with inter-

planetary transport and ground support in theform of TIE fighters, bombers, and the massedbatteries of the fleets, it is the Army which reallywins the wars. We are the ones who go in andcapture ground, garrison troublesome systems,and deal with the Rebels face to face. The Armyforms the cutting edge of the Imperial services,and we do so by getting results.

The Army is for beings who seek excitementand travel. The Navy rarely sets foot upon theworlds which it patrols. For them, warfare is anexercise in logistics and computer programming.How many Navy personnel ever get to see thepeople they fight? Very few. Only the TIE fighterpilots ever see any real action, and they make upa very small fraction of the Imperial Navy's per-sonnel. While the Navy is not composed entirelyof "vacheads," it is often remote from the worldsand peoples of the Empire.

Raithal AcademyOf all the Imperial Army Officer Training Acad-

emies, Raithal Academy is renowned for produc-ing the best officers in the Army. Here, younghopefuls receive a year's training designed to turnthem into the competent officers that the ImperialArmy needs for its regiments. The training is hardand intense, aimed at turning out officers who canconfidently lead troops even under the most gru-elling of conditions.

At this academy, young officers undergo rigor-ous psychological examinations designed to testtheir mettle and turn them into hardened sol-diers. Loyalty to the Empire is deeply instilled,ensuring that the young officers always place the


Empire before their personal safety. The need tobalance self-sacrifice with self-preservation is anessential part of this training, as the Empire re-quires officers who know when to fight to the end,and when to surrender in the hopes of serving theEmperor another day.

The training is hard and intensive, involvinggrueling physical and military exercises. EveryImperial Army officer is expected to be able tosurvive in the field along with the men under hiscommand, and to gain their respect by doing so.There is no room for students who have taken thearmy life in hopes of a cushy career.

Survival forms an important part of eachofficer's training, as does the ability to resistinterrogation. Every officer spends a week ormore in an interrogation center which simulatesthe type of treatment they will receive at thehands of the enemy. While not all officers survivethis training, those who do emerge with a greatlystrengthened character and a healthy hatred ofthe Rebel Alliance.

Great emphasis is placed on an officer's abilityto lead men in the most adverse of conditions.Officers are taught the two-fold method of leader-ship — fear and respect. They are trained to drawon common soldiers' fear of disobeying orders,which is disciplined into all troops. While harddiscipline and fear of their officers forms an inte-gral part of every soldier's outlook, the academyalso aims to teach its officers to lead by respectand example.

Officers from Raithal Academy are strong, con-fident, capable and loyal, making them a valuableasset in the Empire's struggle to maintain law,order and peace in these times of bloody rebel-lion.

See your local recruiter today to find out moreabout the Imperial Army.

The Imperial Navy"... You are part of the greatest navy ever as-

sembled. The might of the Empire rests on themilitary — and the Imperial Navy embodies themost elite and trusted segment of that power. Onlythe best, the most disciplined, are admitted to ourranks. We who serve the Emperor in the ImperialNavy have made this Empire the irresistible, galaxy-spanning force it is today."

— Excerpt from Academy cadet indoctrina-tion speech delivered by Fleet Admiral Holt.

The Imperial Navy has grown from a peace-keeping and defensive force under the old Repub-lic into an aggressive tool for the unification andcontrol of the Empire. Although the Army pro-vides the Empire's obvious physical presence onsubject worlds, theyreach their objective through


the Navy's ships, often maintaining position onlywith naval interdiction and ground support. It isthe Navy which has mastery of Imperial space,giving the Emperor the means with which to bindhis vast realm into one whole. And it is the Navy,with its mighty vessels and valiant TIE starfighterpilots, which offers the most awe-inspiring andappealing image of military prowess under theNew Order.

"Very often mission requirements compel us towork closely with the Army. It is counterproductiveto let a negative attitude toward ground troopsinterfere with the accomplishment of mission objec-tives. "

— from a lecture on inter-service coopera-tion by Training Lieutenant Danos.

"I don 'ttake any smart talk from treads, ff they getin my way, I offer them a quick trip out the nearestairlock. They have to back off. They got no thrust onshipboard, and no vector to use it in."

— unofficial comments on soldiers byTraining Lieutenant Danos.

The demands of service in the Imperial Navyare unique and not always appreciated by outsid-ers. This lack of appreciation comes to a head inthe rivalry between Army and Navy. Most Navymen regard soldiering as an uninspired profes-sion, a physically taxing occupation requiringonly brainless obedience at most levels. Groundstrategy and tactics are simple two-dimensionalproblems using predictable formulae.

Army troops can never maintain close unit-level teamwork for extended periods in the heat ofa battle, when individual initiative becomes para-mount for survival. And even in the worst ofsituations, a trooper knows the odds are with him;a soldier in combat is far more likely to be injuredthan killed.

In contrast, naval crewmen know that, in theworst situation, not only will one die, but everyone in his section or ship is likely to die along withhim. Exposure to vacuum is a very real conse-quence of battle; there are very few injured crew-men in space, only dead ones. Yet even under themost stressful circumstances of combat, crew-men live, eat and breathe teamwork. A ship's crewmust function as a single entity in order to accom-plish its mission, and this frictionless interactionis a high ideal among crews. Any cretin can sweaton the ground and shoot a blaster rifle, but it takesa large degree of discipline, intelligence and train-ing to execute the technical specialities demandedof Navy crews. Even naval strategy and tactics arefar more challenging and exiting than their ground-based parallel, for naval problems take place in athree-dimensional arena where it is commonplace

Imperial Sourcebook 1 4 1

and necessary to cope with tens or hundreds ofcomplicating factors.

Joining the Imperial NavyNaval service attracts a different sort of per-

sonality type than does the Army. Qualified re-cruits with the right personality profile are ea-gerly accepted into its ranks. Many with officerpotential come from regional or sector militaryschools, where the best of a world's inhabitantsare groomed for local and Imperial military ca-reers. Highly-rated recruits who already havetheir pilot's certification are of special interest aspotential candidates for starfighter training.

Naval training is decentralized and conductedat designated sector locations called fleet camps.After completion of fleet camp, trainees attendadvanced schools for further education in thetechnical specialties of their assigned branches.

Beings chosen for officer training are selectedboth from recruits new to the military and fromactive duty crewmen recommended by their su-periors. These crewmen-cadets attend one of manynaval academies located throughout the Empire.Although often called an "Imperial Naval Acad-emy," such institutions are more properly termedSector Naval Academies, to differentiate themfrom the original Imperial Naval Academy afterwhich they are modeled.

Each Sector Naval Academy is an Imperialinstitution which shares a uniform training pro-gram and curriculum with others of its kind.Officer training occupies one standard year. Itincludes military indoctrination, education in tech-nical specialties, and training cruises. When acrewman-cadet graduates he is commissioned asa lieutenant, and often goes on to advanced tech-nical training.

Officer candidates who rate in the top twopercent of their qualifying tests have the opportu-nity to attend the Imperial Naval Academy, theoriginal and oldest of the academies. An applicantmust receive the endorsement of his Moff, andundergo a more thorough background investiga-tion than other officer candidates. If accepted, heis inducted as a cadet and boards a transportbound for the Academy.

"The time you spend at this Academy is thelongest period of officer training in the Empire. Atthe end of 30 months of rigorous physical andacademic training, you will receive a commissionas a lieutenant in the Imperial Navy. You will knowmore than your peers, and have greater responsi-bilities than your peers. If you perform your dutieswell, they will not remain your equals for long.Officers from this Academy — and only this Acad-emy — are recogn ized as the very best the Emperorhas to command.


"You will serve the Emperor best by masteringeverything you have come here to learn: the behav-ior and standards expected of an officer of theImperial Navy. If you are selected for flight school,you have even more demanding training aheadafter your graduation. You are expected to completeit with the same degree of excellence you will showin your Academy studies.

"Our credo is 'Service. Fealty. Fidelity.' This maybe the first time you have heard it. By the time yougraduate, it is one you will never forget."

— Excerpt from Academy cadet indoctrina-tion speech delivered by Fleet Admiral Holt.

The epitome of officer training is the ImperialNaval Academy. Its academic standards are strin-gent and its training methods are the most ad-vanced of their kind. The Academy system isdesigned to instill loyalty, build discipline, anddevelop team interdependence. The greatest ofnaval commanders and fighter pilots have comefrom the Academy. Graduation from it is almostessential for promotion to the very highest ech-elons of naval command.

The exact location of the Imperial Naval Acad-emy is unknown to most who study there. Cadetsboard a transport and disembark on the groundsof the institution ignorant of which world they areon. Only in this way can the wealth of highlyclassified information and equipment at the Acad-emy be protected from Rebels, other insurgents,and the politically questionable who cannot betrusted with the secrets of the Empire.


Flight TrainingThe highest aspiration of most young naval

officers is to become a starfighter pilot. It is thesingle most dangerous, demanding, and presti-gious job in the Imperial Navy. Only officers whograduate in the top five percent of their classqualify for flight training. The remaining top thirdof their class qualifies for flight-related specialtiessuch as astrogation, weapons systems, and othersupport skills. Because of the tough entrancerequirements and extensive training offered atthe Imperial Naval Academy, all officers in the topthird of the Academy qualify for flight.

Before instruction is half over, pilots begin tofly training missions under actual combat condi-tions. This trial by combat policy swiftly adaptsthe trainee to combat, culling those who are unfitand teaching the rest things they could neverlearn under peaceful training conditions. By thetime a pilot is certified for combat, he flies mis-sions as regularly as other starfighter pilots. Thenew pilots are then transfered to the wing whichis their permanent duty station.

BranchesThe Imperial Navy is divided into four branches.Line Branch handles strategy, tactics, and ad-

ministrative functions primarily through its Deck,Logistics and Administration Divisions, its threelargest specialties.

Flight Branch oversees flight operations of com-bat vessels. It consists of Flight Division, and

First FlightThe cockpit wraps around you, snug like the

bodysuit you wear. Your feet slip into the con-trol yokes automatically as techs fasten yourflight webbing. Polyweave presses you into theshock couch. It molds against your back with afamiliar grip.

The hatch snicks shut, and you are alone inthe cockpit of your TIE. Comlink checks are anunnoticed routine, for your mind already clicksaway — out there, where the skirmish hasalready begun. Your hands locked on the con-trol rods are your only sign of battle nerves. Youbreathe deeply and relax them, trying for thegentle grip the TIE demands.

You're not a combat-rated pilot. Yet. There'sonly one way to get that square: by flying train-ing missions under combat conditions. Andthis is your first time.

Your flight swoops from the Victorious, as ithas on every other training run. But this time it's

different. Outside, starfighters swirl near a yel-low-green planet. Lasers flash and blossomingexplosions litter your flight path with flying de-bris. There's no time to move into a reserveposition like the training officer had planned.Your TIE fighters are needed now. Your flightdescends into the chaos of battle.

You snap-roll to stay with your leader, thenslide right to bracket an X-wing with crossfire.You shoot and miss, rolling left to stay with theevading Rebel. The third salvo does it. You smiletightly as you evade the X-wing's debris.

Then, as suddenly as it started, the skirmishis over, Rebels escaping back to atmosphere.There are no orders to pursue, not this time. Asyou turn back to Victorious, you once again forceyourself to relax an over-tense grip. There's noneed for nerves, now. Your first combat trainingmission is over.

You survived.


several smaller support specialties. The NavyOrder of Battle (see Chapter Eight) falls under thisbranch.

Fleet Support Branch maintains vessels in oper-ating condition. Its Engineering Division handlesstructural and drive-related matters, while Tech-nical Services deals with power distribution, envi-ronment, and other specialties that do not fallunder the Engineering Division's purview.

The Support Service Branch provides serviceswhich help the men and machines of the Navyaccomplish their mission. Its major divisions areOrdnance, which installs and maintains arma-ment; Gunnery, which uses the armament; Com-munications, which handles information systemsand traffic; Biological, which performs medicalservices and research; and Astrogation, whichhandles hyperspaceand navigation-related tasks.

"... In this time of rebellion and turmoil, most ofyou can expect to be stationed aboard vessels whichwill see action, or at bases which assist those ships.Others will be placed on picket in remote starsystems, or be assigned planet-side to ordnancedumps, research stations, or other support duties.

"I cannot disguise the fact that some of these areunexciting missions, galling to the crewman anx-ious to prove himself in service to the Empire. I canencourage you to take heart, for your duty assign-ment is re-evaluated biannually. If there is need, andyour performance warrants it, you will be trans-ferred to a more vital assignment. In the same way,those who have seen combat for more than twostandard years are rotated out to less taxing duties,allowing fresh vessels and crew to take their place.At least, that is the ideal the Navy strives for."

— Excerpt from crew graduation speech atPrefsbelt Fleet Camp, delivered by Moff Gaaqu.


SWd6 Star Wars Imperial Sourcebook

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Transcript of SWd6 Star Wars Imperial Sourcebook