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Imperial Navy
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Emblem of the Imperial Navy | |
Imperial Navy | |
Information | |
Formation | Year -2 |
Government | Galactic Empire |
Headquarters | Kuat |
Motto | "The Protecting Cloak of the Empire" |
Fleets | 1st Fleet, 2nd Fleet, 3rd Fleet |
Commanders | |
CIMS | LGEN Arya Solus |
NCoS | ADM Cihl Rezik |
NSO | CDRE Andrea Walrus |
Insignia | |
Insignia | [FILE NOT FOUND] |
The Imperial Navy (IN) is the space service branch of the Imperial Armed Forces and one of two military services of the Galactic Empire. It is the largest and most powerful Navy in the galaxy, its battlefleet capable of covering the largest standing government domain whilst still providing support to the Empire's Imperial Union allies and bringing aggression to its enemies in their own territories.
The Imperial Navy is led by Navy Command (NCOMD) consisting of the Navy Chief of Staff (NCoS) and Navy Signals Officer (NSO). The NCoS maintains oversight of the three Imperial Fleets and reports directly to the Chief of Imperial Military Staff (CIMS).
Contents
- 1 Mission
- 2 History
- 2.1 Origins - (Year -22)
- 2.2 The Clone Wars - (Year -22 to Year -19)
- 2.3 The New Order - (Year -19 to Year -2)
- 2.4 Drayson’s Military - (Circa Year -2)
- 2.5 Search & Destroy - (Year -1 to Year 0)
- 2.6 The Galactic Civil War - (Year 0)
- 2.7 Veynom’s Reforms - (Year 0 to Year 1)
- 2.8 A History of Treason - (Year 1)
- 2.9 The Imperial Crisis - (Year 1 to Year 2)
- 2.10 The Line of No Return - (Year 2)
- 2.11 Scrambled Messages - (Late Year 2 to Year 3)
- 2.12 One Empire - (Year 3)
- 2.13 The Next Imperial Civil War - (Year 3 to Year 4)
- 2.14 The Naval Schism - (Year 4 to Year 6)
- 2.15 Sleeping Giants - (Year 6 to Year 10)
- 2.16 Murder in the Empire - (Year 10)
- 2.17 The Assault Force Initiative - (Year 10)
- 2.18 United Imperial Front - (Year 11 to Year 13)
- 3 Organization
- 4 Equipment
- 5 Notable Personnel
Mission
The mission of the Imperial Navy is to protect Imperial worlds, Imperial citizens, and the New Order through:
History
Origins - (Year -22)
After a thousand years of growing mismanagement and corruption under the reign of the Republic, the galactic government of the time, various factions decided to jointly secede from the Republic for various political and economic reasons. They decided to call themselves “The Separatists.” Supported by deep pockets and the strength of a vast droid army the Separatists quickly grew to menace the galaxy. The tension soon escalated into a galactic war.
The Clone Wars - (Year -22 to Year -19)
When conflict between the Republic and the Separatists broke out it became known as the “Clone Wars,” earning its name from the clone army the Republic used to combat the separatist’s mechanical soldiers. With their superior skill and intellect, the clone army of the Republic proved itself to be a force to be reckoned with and managed to nearly defeat the Separatists. Despite the victory, though, the war had already damaged the galaxy and left it in need of strong leadership to unite the many warring factions.
The New Order - (Year -19 to Year -2)
In the midst of the chaos, Hiram Drayson, an ambitious and well-respected admiral of particular skill, managed to rise to prominence within the Imperial Navy. Quickly becoming the most obvious candidate for Supreme Chancellor, Drayson surprised the galaxy when he appeared deformed before the Senate. It was then that he informed the galaxy of the Jedi's betrayal and corrupt leadership that had plagued the Republic for years. In a visionary act of passion and purpose, Drayson there declared the birth of the first Galactic Empire and named himself its first Emperor. His declaration was met with thunderous applause. Throughout the galaxy the Republic military became the Imperial military and the clone forces at the Empire’s disposal began bringing the Jedi to justice for their corruption and crimes against the galaxy.
As a final symbolic act of the beginning of the new regime, a powerful Sith Lord and officer of the Imperial Navy finished what was left of the Separatist forces, killing its leaders and deactivating its droid forces in one fell swoop.
Years passed and the Empire continued to eradicate the terrorist Jedi throughout the galaxy and strengthen its military. Free of the flawed Jedi leadership, the Imperial Military began living up to its full potential as the premier fighting force of the galaxy. Slowly, Imperial power and skill became more recognized throughout the galaxy and the greater numbers of humans and aliens that enlisted required the Empire to provide its military with access to more resources.
Drayson’s Military - (Circa Year -2)
Though Drayson’s reign was plagued by a myriad of problems including administrative difficulties, combating warlords, and claimants to the throne, he still managed to make the Imperial military a powerful force in the galaxy.
It was during his reign that the last of the clone soldiers were replaced by the far more effective human and alien soldiers who had been joining the Empire in droves. It was also during his reign that a massive initiative was undertaken in order to ensure that the Imperial Navy would have the resources necessary to live up to being the most effective military force in the galaxy. As a result, an inconceivable number of ships including iconic vessels such as TIE-Fighters and Star Destroyers were produced and quickly dispersed through the galaxy to accommodate the needs and ability of the quickly growing Imperial Military.
Over time much of the Empire lost faith in Drayson and he was eventually betrayed and forced to retreat. His absence left the throne open and Suntzu, Grand Admiral of the Imperial Navy, took it in his place. Many Imperials were still loyal to Drayson, though, and thus the first civil conflict within the Empire left the Imperial Military weakened. Suntzu quickly proved to be an inefficient Emperor and was unable to do anything about the worsening state of the military.
Within two months he was removed from the throne and the Sith Lord Vodo Bonias, a naval captain, took the mantle of Emperor in his place.
Search & Destroy - (Year -1 to Year 0)
After Suntzu’s short reign the Sith Lord Vodo Bonias, who had been involved in much of the growth of the Imperial Navy, took the reigns of the Empire. It was under his rule that the European division, an elite Imperial unit meant to take on the most crucial of tasks, was created. The idea was first brought up to the Emperor by Colonel Rahvin and recognized for its potential, it was quickly approved and brought under the direct command of Defense Minister Spytek.
The European division was made up of two divisions, an Army division led by the aforementioned Colonel, and a Naval division led by the newly-promoted Commander Gorn Veynom. Veynom had served as an Imperial since early adulthood and had risen to prominence under the command of Admiral Piett. However, it was his placement at the head of the European Fleet that gave him his first opportunity to prove himself.
It didn’t take long for his skill to be recognized and he was soon promoted to Commodore. At this time the European Fleet became the 3rd Naval Recon & Strike Fleet. Many officers came to fruition in this fleet and it was quickly recognized for the elite unit it was, gaining both the respect and fear of the Empire’s enemies.
The Galactic Civil War - (Year 0)
Eventually, the Rebel Alliance, which had been started by a few disgruntled senators who did not support the formation of the Galactic Empire, had become more popular with fanatics and radicals. When the Rebel Alliance declared war upon the Empire, the Imperial forces acknowledged the existence of the ragtag group, marking the beginning of the Galactic Civil War.
Veynom’s Reforms - (Year 0 to Year 1)
With the Galactic Civil War going on Thrawn, Grand Admiral of the Imperial Navy, was dismissed, as his gross incompetence could no longer be allowed to handicap the Navy. In his place, Piett was promoted to Grand Admiral and made commander of the Imperial Naval forces. Soon after Piett’s promotion Spytek, the Emperor at the time, resigned leaving the throne once again open. The Grand Admiral quickly seized control of the Empire and promoted Veynom to Grand Admiral in his place.
It was under Grand Admiral Veynom that the Imperial Navy underwent its first wave of changes. The first of these changes was the relocation of the Imperial Navy’s headquarters to Kuat. Following the relocation many positions and departments were created in order to ensure the future success and efficacy of the Empire. The first of these offices was the Imperial Navy Personnel Assignment Office (INPO), a subdivision of the Imperial Assignment Office. This office, headed by a Lieutenant Commander by the name of Jennifer Dreighton, was in charge of assigning all new naval recruits to various fleets and was tasked with not only keeping track of the units, rank, ships, status, and coordinates of each member of each fleet but also the maintenance of the Naval Roster.
The second part of the Navy that was established in this wave of changes was the Imperial Navy Intelligence Services. Directed by Admiral Gunther von Esling the INIS was in charge of all external intelligence of importance to the Navy, revolving mainly around the tracking and identification of enemy ships.
The INIS was followed by the INMD, or Imperial Navy Medical Department, which was directed by Chief Surgeon Admiral Podalire. The INMD made sure to assign medical personnel to each Imperial Naval Unit, increasing the long-term health - and therefore also the efficiency - of Imperial forces at every step in the ladder.
The last two departments of the Navy created during this wave of reform were the Naval Ship Departments and the Imperial Naval Academy. The NSD was formed with Greyson Uebles as its director and was tasked with the naming and allocation of ships at the Navy’s disposal. The Imperial Naval Academy, on the other hand, was created to ensure that all new entrants to the Imperial Navy were of the highest quality and was led by a brilliant Flight Sergeant named Zachary Savk, the only member of the Imperial Navy who had been proclaimed a director and was not an officer.
A History of Treason - (Year 1)
Despite the respect much of the Imperial Navy had for Veynom for the effort he had put into ameliorating the Navy, much controversy had always surrounded him. An Imperial since the day he was eligible to enlist, Veynom first drew unwanted attention when as a Commodore he punished a subordinate lieutenant who had deserted the Empire by having the man’s brain extracted and put into a mouse droid. Some say this marked the beginning of the end of Veynom’s career. From that point on he was frequently accused of treason and other crimes against the Empire. The first recorded accusation of treason was by Commander Fox Spookie, Executive Officer of the 3rd Reconnaissance Fleet. Though nothing came of it, it seemed to establish precedent for accusing Veynom. Not long after his promotion to Grand Admiral, he was accused of plotting against the Emperor by Executor Trey Connel, leader of the Imperial Government. In response, Piett relieved Veynom and the other suspects of their command.
Though pardoned, soon after the event Emperor Piett left spontaneously for the Unknown Regions, leaving a power vacuum behind. A civil war quickly erupted within the Empire, fought mainly between two sides. The first side rallied behind Grand Admiral Veynom while the second supported Executor Connel.
Though it is still not clear exactly how, Connel managed to best Veynom and become Emperor. Soon after the Executor’s ascension, Veynom was again accused of disobedience and high treason under a fallacious pretext.
This seemed to be the last straw for Veynom as after his sentence - temporary suspension from duty and permanent removal from consideration for the position of Vice-Emperor - was revealed to him, he left for the Unknown Regions, like Piett had. In his place, Fleet Admiral Simms became the Naval Commanding Officer.
The Imperial Crisis - (Year 1 to Year 2)
Over time the civil war fought within the Empire and the way the galactic civil war was being handled caused tensions to rise within the Imperial Military. Together these Imperials seceded from the Empire and formed under the Imperial Core united by the common belief that Veynom was the rightful heir to the Imperial throne and in objection to the rule of Emperor Connel.
In the days that followed panic ensued throughout the Empire. With many of the Navy’s most notable members having left in a show of support for Veynom, who was still out of sight, Thomas Cherokee, who had once served as High Inquisitor for the Empire, was made Grand Admiral. He failed to remedy the situation and in an act of desperation Emperor Connel cleared Veynom of all charges. This late announcement, however, failed to solve the Imperial crisis and caused a massive loss of confidence in Connel’s ability to rule. He soon abdicated and was replaced by Emperor Mccarthur, who had served his time in the Empire as a member of the Imperial Army.
Not long after Mccarthur’s ascension, Piett returned from the Unknown Regions and upon witnessing the bureaucratic ways of Mccarthur’s reign voiced his disgust with what the Empire had become and threw his support behind the separatists in the Imperial Core.
The Line of No Return - (Year 2)
The political conflict with the Imperial Core and the rapid cycling of equally inefficient emperors kept the Empire busy while the Rebel Alliance grew. Despite difficulties however the Empire still managed to prove to be more than strong enough to defeat the rebels who, upon realizing that fact, proposed a peace treaty.
The treaty, however, was a ploy and the offer was retracted the following day. Having been insulted and cheated, the Empire proceeded to demand that the Galactic Civil War would only end with the unconditional surrender of the Rebel Alliance.
As the conflict again picked up heat, the Empire demanded a stronger leader and a new emperor, Charon, replaced MccArthur.
Scrambled Messages - (Late Year 2 to Year 3)
In the midst of the rising tensions between the dissident Imperial Core and the Rebel Alliance a mystery came to fruition in the galaxy when a broken transmission was relayed to the holonet from the Outer Rim. The sender seemed to be Grand Admiral Veynom who had apparently encoded the message with a series of puzzles and clues rather than a standard encryption. The message was further distorted by faulty holonet receivers.
In total, there were three transmissions. One arrived every week for three weeks and each time more and more people learned of the transmissions that were being broadcast over old, mostly-forgotten channels. Rumors spread of what the messages could mean but despite the efforts of various groups throughout the galaxy - including rebel and Imperial forces - nobody seemed to make any headway. Eventually, several days after the transmission of the third message, Veynom’s old followers who had defected to the Imperial Core managed to decipher the hidden meaning of the messages.
When taken as one combined message the transmissions revealed the location of an old superweapon hidden in an unexplored region of the Outer Rim. News eventually made it out of the group’s ability to decipher the message and their success in tracking down the weapon, despite it proving to be broken and irreparable.
Still, the Imperial Core’s success in the endeavor earned them a great deal of prestige in the galaxy and more systems flocked to their banner.
One Empire - (Year 3)
Right around the time the Imperial Core was gaining renown it announced a merger with the Sith Empire, a faction led by the Sith Master Vodo Bonias. Together, the two factions became the Dark Empire and discussions commenced regarding a truce between the Imperial Factions and potential reunification. In time Charon, Emperor of the Galactic Empire, reluctantly agreed to the merger and the Empire was again reunited under one banner. Tensions quickly rose, though, as many Dark Empire officers were assigned a variety of important positions.
Vodo even formed a secretive fleet outside the direct Imperial Chain of Command. This fleet would later become known as the Order of the Dark Hand and served as the functional unit for all Sith inside the Empire. He also ensured the continuation of the intelligence branch of the Dark Empire, which had been attributed with much of the faction’s past success.
The Next Imperial Civil War - (Year 3 to Year 4)
Within months, suspicion and in-fighting ran rampant and people labeled their enemies as “Vodoists” and “Charonists” accordingly. When a ‘Charonist’ general of the Imperial Security Bureau arrested a ‘Vodoist’ Vice Admiral for a protocol violation, the dam burst. Vodo’s followers rose up against Charon and his supporters and Executor Grayson Uebles, a staunch Vodoist, took advantage of the opportunity and seized the throne in Vodo’s name.
In the aftermath of the conflict all Imperial personnel loyal to Charon were expelled from the Empire. This action proved to be very unpopular and caused many who had declared no side to also leave the Empire and rally to Charon’s cause.
In what some considered to be an opportunistic act Emperor Uebles here began reorganizing the entire Imperial Government. Once his reforms were finished he moved on to the Empire’s other branches, implemented new policies to try to stabilize the Empire in this time of crisis. Though he wasn’t able to successfully revive the Empire he was able to prevent further decline and succeeded in overseeing several very successful military campaigns.
A year after his ascension, he ceded the throne to Vodo and left the Empire in order to devote the rest of his life to searching for ancient Sith artifacts.
Though Emperor Vodo instituted several reforms that many approved of, much of the Imperial Navy disagreed with his choice of Naval Commanding Officer, Admiral Daelin Zerk. It didn’t take long for the dissatisfied officers of the Navy to petition the Emperor for a change. The Emperor considered their request and complied. Zerk was made a Grand Moff and Vice Admiral Angelus Goth was made the new Naval Commanding Officer. More reforms soon followed and Vice Admiral Goth was removed from his position. In his place Vice Admirals Crog and Slicer were appointed to be the joint leaders of the Imperial Navy.
Despite Zerk’s transfer, however, and the many reforms in the Imperial command structure, he had refused to relinquish his control over certain Imperial policies and continued to exercise his powers aliening his new subordinates in the government and further angering the officers who used to serve under him in the Navy. Most of the people who were angered with his behavior were Charonists and they congregated on Day 303 of Year 6 to discuss possible course of actions.
They came to the conclusion that the root of the problem was not Zerk but Emperor Vodo. The group seized control of an Imperial Holonet transponder and broadcast their message to the Imperial public. Barely more than a week later the disgruntled Imperials formed the New Imperial Order.
Sleeping Giants - (Year 6 to Year 10)
For the next four years the galaxy seemed relatively quietly, at least when compared to the hectic happenings of the years passed. The New Imperial Order was slowly trying to amass wealth and power and the Empire, too, was slowly growing.
During this time the most significant action within the Imperial Navy was the reorganization that resulted in the creation of four Imperial Fleets. Each was assigned to a particular area under Imperial control and meant to operate as a defensive force with the capabilities to handle itself offensively if doing so proved to be necessary.
During this time of relative peace, this rarely proved to be necessary. The galaxy and the Empire seemed relatively quiet.
Murder in the Empire - (Year 10)
The Imperial world was shaken when Admiral Calor Assam, Commanding Officer of the Imperial Navy, was murdered. Two high ranking members of the Imperial Military, one of whom was Fleet Admiral Slicer, were arrested in relation to the incident and put on trial. The Imperial legal system, a system filled with holes, was dusted off and used for the first significant time in many years. The length of the trial led to an initiative to rewrite the entire Imperial legal system.
In time, the murder was revealed to be a much more complicated event than many initially believed. In a story involving clones, loyalty, and confusion it was eventually revealed that Slicer was only following orders given to him by Angelus Goth, a former Navy Admiral, who had actually been cloned. The resulting clone was Admiral Calor Assam. When these details came to light Slicer was still pronounced guilty but his sentencing, announced by Machkhit - an ex-Navy Admiral and the magistrate of the trial - was lessened. Instead of being executed he was demoted to Captain.
Several months later, having been embarrassed by the happenings, Slicer transferred to the Imperial Government.
The Assault Force Initiative - (Year 10)
As the Imperial Military began to change - foreshadowing changes that would take seat in the years to come - an experiment took place testing Imperial capabilities amidst rising tension between the Empire’s Army and Navy. The idea was to combine both a fleet and legion together to create a superior military force. Two groups were selected resulting in the Assault Force.
Quickly completing several important missions and surpassing all expectations, the Assault Force not only raised the bar for Imperial efficiency but helped demonstrate the bonds and camaraderie that could form between members of the Imperial Military’s rival branches.
Without a doubt, a significant portion of the force’s success was due to the capable officers who led the group. Officer Rex Corwyn, of the Imperial Navy, served as its first Commanding Officer with his Army-trained executive officer Graeda L`Annan. Graeda L`Annanwho would go on to first replace Corwyn as the Assault Force’s leader and eventually become the Army Commanding Officer.
United Imperial Front - (Year 11 to Year 13)
At this time, high-powered members of the once dissident New Imperial Order and the Galactic Empire met. They were worried about the state of the galaxy. With Imperial might divided, groups that had been their enemies from the very beginning had been able to amass power and wealth while establishing themselves as greater threats.
In a move that would fundamentally change the Empire and strengthen Imperial dominance throughout the galaxy a collective decision was made by both factions. The New Imperial Order and the Galactic Empire, who had been enemies for many years, would reunite and again become one.
The merger was met uneasily but went more smoothly than most of the other mergers in the Empire’s history. This has been recognized as a time of reform and change in the newly united Empire. The primary military change was the ascension of Lord Admiral Seele to the rank of Military Commanding Officer and the overhaul of the Imperial Military that then took place.
The fleet structure was fundamentally altered and each fleet was broken down into three groups to better define the roles of the various divisions of the Empire’s Navy. An Assault group, a Reconnaissance group, and a Heavy Assault group. The groups would not only influence the allocation of resources but also the sort of training that members of those groups would receive.
With these changes the Assault Force, viewed as an outdated in relation to the new Imperial military, was disbanded, but the movement it spearheaded - that of interaction between both the Imperial Army and Navy - remained and held influence over the restructuring as cohesion and coordination between both military branches became a highly emphasized matter.
The careful restructuring was first discussed for many months by the members of military command. Military command at the time consisted of Lord Admiral Seele, the Military Commanding Officer, Admiral Blackrain, the Naval Commanding Officer, and Brigadier General Graeda L`Annan, the Army Commanding Officer. Once they had come to a mutual understanding the changes were put into into motion, the position of Military Commanding Officer was disbanded, the Navy now solely in the hands of Lord Admiral Blackrain.
After much deliberation, Lord Admiral Blackrain created the new structure. The first reform was to turn all current fleets into groups. Next, he handpicked five officers that stood out to become the new fleet commanders, each one tasked with guarding one of the new Imperial Sectors. The first formed fleets were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th fleets. The 5th which would be located in Deep Core was determined as a reasonable choice to hold off until the other fleets were set. Blackrain decided that the first four fleets would be able to protect Deep Core if needed until he had time to form the last fleet.
Within six months Lord Admiral Blackrain created the 11th group which was also the birth of the 5th fleet. Four months later the 12th group was created and assigned to the 6th fleet. The 12th Group was so assigned due to their location in the Corporate Imperial Sector, far from the Deep Core.
Aside of the completely new structure, one of the major differences was that the Navy significantly increased the amount of time invested in combat training. Freed from the task of assisting in building projects, the shield of the Empire went into a new era of tactical and field maneuvers. A battle simulation program was installed on all Imperial vessels, allowing them to train under real conditions. It was not long before the first two fleets were pitched against each other in a days long battle.
In the time that came the changes proved to be positive as the military’s efficacy increased and the Empire solidified its position as the dominant galactic power.
Organization
Operating Fleets
1st Imperial Fleet
2nd Imperial Fleet
3rd Imperial Fleet
Planetary Establishments
College of Space Warfare
Equipment
Star Dreadnoughts
The pinnacle of the Imperial Navy's battlefleet, the oft-named "Super Star Destroyers" are the penultimate warship of the galaxy and often serve as flagships of the Imperial Task Forces, Fleets, and Agencies.
Star Destroyers
The primary capital warships of the Imperial Navy, Star Destroyers retain the now familiar triangular silhouette that has long been a potent symbol of Imperial power to both friend and foe alike. Fearsome war machines whose intent is keeping peace throughout the Galactic Empire, these vessels are home to tens of thousands of personnel whose populations dwarf that of many cities, and often the presence of just one of these vessels in a system is enough to quell any manner of discontent.
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Heavy Cruisers
Light Cruisers & Frigates
Light Cruisers and Frigates serve as support vessels for the larger capital ships making up an Imperial Battle Group, often serving a specialized role within a Fleet or serving as picket in border sectors of Imperial Space.
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Corvettes
Spacecraft
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