THE GRAND ADMIRALS
Thrawn
One of a very small number of aliens to hold a high position in the Galactic Empire, Mitth'raw'nuruodo -- better known by his core name Thrawn -- hailed from the Unknown Regions, on a icy world known as Csilla. Distinguished by his blue skin and glowing red eyes, Thrawn struck an intimidating figure, which was backed by a calculating mind, making him a valuable asset to the Empire.
Exiled from the Chiss Ascendancy, Thrawn was admitted into the Empire by the Emperor himself, having met Thrawn before the Clone Wars as Darth Sidious. Thrawn quickly ascended through the ranks and was soon made the thirteenth Grand Admiral, although his status as such remained a secret for a time. At some point, he was assigned to the Unknown Regions, where he remained until receiving word of the Emperor's demise at Endor.
While Grand Vizier Pestage struggled to keep his hold on the Empire, Thrawn emerged from the Unknown Regions and gradually made his presence known. Taking control of the forces that had formerly been under Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax's control, the Grand Admiral soon had control over a large majority of the Imperial forces, effectively making him ruler of the Empire.
While Pestage, Isard, Trioculus, and others vied for control, Thrawn served as the primary threat for the New Republic. In time, as more warlords fell, more Imperials ended up flocking to Thrawn and joining his growing Empire. In 6 ABY, the Grand Admiral was prepared for an invasion on the Core Worlds, which the New Republic had recently gained control of.
However, little did Thrawn know, he was not the only warlord out for conquest. The Sith Lord Darth Vorath had recently reemerged from his slumber and was preparing a galactic takeover himself. As such, he could not afford Thrawn getting in the way. But rather than be rid of the Chiss, Vorath instead saw the Grand Admiral as a potential asset. Through the clone Palpatine he had created, Vorath dissuaded Thrawn from undertaking the invasion and instead drew his forces to Byss, where they joined the Dark Empire under the reborn Emperor.
Just as Vorath had anticipated, Thrawn quickly saw through the deception that was the Dark Empire and, on the eve for a planned assault on the New Republic, led a secession from the Dark Empire, taking those who were not loyal to the clone Palpatine. While the Dark Empire fell apart, Thrawn and his forces were led to Dromund Kaas, where they were greeted by the Crimson Emperor, representative of the Sith that were now their masters.
For the next fourteen years, the Crimson Empire remained in hiding in the Sith Worlds. Thrawn was rarely seen after this, preferring to remain in his study. The Sith offered several times to promote him to Supreme Commander, but Thrawn declined them each time. Beginning to doubt Thrawn's loyalty, Vorath sent his Shadow Hand Darth Nemesis to kill Thrawn lest he become a threat to his Empire. Upon being confronted by Nemesis, Thrawn committed suicide via thermal detonator, destroying his study and preventing the Sith from learning of the secret he had been harboring for over forty years: the Empire of the Hand.
During his early days with the Empire, Thrawn had been tasked by the Emperor to chart out the Unknown Regions, an area of the galaxy he understood better than anyone in the Empire. During this time, he made contact with the Chiss Ascendancy, who had been dealing with a number of mysterious threats since exiling him. Realizing the wisdom in Thrawn's strategies, several Chiss ended up joining Thrawn and from this union -- between Chiss and Imperial -- a new Empire was formed, dedicated to bringing order to the Unknown Regions and eliminating any threats that arose from it.
Darth Vorath and his Sith were oblivious to the existence of this Empire -- indeed, they had little knowledge of who Thrawn was or where he had come from. Vorath had simply regarded him as little more than an asset for his own empire. When Thrawn perished, the Empire of the Hand lost its leader and guidance and most of its forces ended up being absorbed by the Chiss Ascendancy. However, some of its numbers managed to join the Imperial Remnant, which was at the time led by Thrawn's longtime follower Gilad Pellaeon.
Despite its premature collapse, the Empire of the Hand still lived on through its ideals, which gradually bled into both the Imperial Remnant and the Chiss Ascendancy. With the decrease of xenophobia, more non-humans were recruited by the Remnant and a healthy relationship was maintained Chiss Ascendancy, with Chiss liaison Kras'ori'kallv even being appointed to the Moff Council.
In 41 ABY, the Moff Council was executed by the dark warrior Kylo Ren, who took control of most of the Imperial Remnant forces and brought them to the Unknown Regions, where they were folded into the First Order. What this means for Imperial ties with the Chiss remain uncertain, as does the true purpose of the First Order and its goal.
Martio Batch
Nial Declann
Octavian Grant
Josef Grunger
Ishin-Il-Raz
Afsheen Makati
Danetta Pitta
Peccati Syn
Miltin Takel
Osvald Teshik
Rufaan Tigellinus
Demetrius Zaarin
Hailing from Coruscant, Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin headed the Empire's development and research of starfighter technology. From Zaarin's think tank came such vehicles as the TIE Advanced and the TIE Defender. As time went on however, he became dissatisfied with the way Emperor Palpatine was running the Empire and saw himself as a more effective and suiting candidate for Emperor.
Following the death of Prince Xizor and the collapse of Black Sun in 3 ABY, Zaarin seized on the opportunity this presented him and made his move against the Emperor. He attempted to abduct Palpatine from Imperial Center only to be defeated by Darth Vader and Vice Admiral Thrawn. After a series of attacks against TIE production facilities, Zaarin was ultimately defeated by Thrawn and met his end when his corvette, the Vorknkx, malfunctioned.
Rae Sloane
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