Imperial Academy's Hall of Fame

Emperor Palpatine

Once a brilliant senator for the Old Republic, he realized soon the need for a stronger, united form of leadership backed up by military power. Exulting patriotism among his followers, he soon took over command and declared himself Emperor. The corrupted politicians of the Old Republic opposed him forming a band of mercenaries and traitors known as the Rebel Alliance. Palpatine ignore them and declared the New Order for the Galaxy. However, as the new era of prosperity began, the Rebels armed themselves and declared war against the New Order. Securing all systems under military power, Palpatine dissolved the Senate and begun a campaign to eliminate the Rebel insurgence.

It hurts us to say that in the last years, the Emperor's decisions became tainted by blind fanatism. His final trap for the Rebels, the ambush at Endor, failed miserably. The resulting battle and destruction of most of the Imperial forces was to become the fall of the Empire.

War stories after the fall of the empire depicted Emperor Palpatine resucitating via clone technology. This stories have little meritory value, but they are evidence of the joined wish of the galaxy for the return of the Imperial New Order.

Lord Vader achieved the highest rank in the Emperor's Dark Order: The Emperor's Envoy. He was also a follower of the mysterious Dark Side cult known as the Sith, holding the title of Dark Lord. He was given the command of the Imperial Fleet after the Battle of Yavin.

For many, Vader remains a very controversial figure due to the infamous Jedi Skywalker who claims it was Vader himself who killed Emperor Palpatine. Skywalker has gone so far as to ascertain that Vader was once his father, a Jedi by the name of Anakin Skywalker.

At the Academy, we still feel the Battle of Endor would have turned somewhat different if Lord Vader had been on the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Executor.

Lord Vader

Grand Moff Tarkin

If we had to choose one imperial officer for our students to emulate, we could ask for no better example than Tarkin. Formerly known as Governor Tarkin, he was promoted to Grand Moff by personal word of Emperor Palpatine himself. Tarkin redefined imperial excellence with his famous quote: "Do not rule by force but by fear of force itself".

Tarkin was assigned to one of Emperor Palpatine's predilect and ill-fated projects: the Death Star Battle Station. Knowing Tarkin's cunning abilities, the Emperor send Darth Vader to observe and inspect the deployment and operation of the massive battle station, as well as to learn from the Grand Moff. Tarkin is one of the few officers that ever earned the admiration of the Dark Lord.

However, the Rebels soon managed to steal the Death Star plans and transmit them to the Tantive IV in what is now known as Operation Skyhook. Vader captured the Tantive IV and its passenger, Leia Organa, rebel sympathizer and member of the Senate. It was this revelation that provokes the Emperor into dissolving the Senate permanently. Tarkin destroyed Alderaan with the Death Star's Superlaser in a vain attempt to coerce the Princess to reveal the location of the Rebel Base.

Hesitantly, Tarkin lets a band of clumsy rebels escape with the plans and the Princess following a plan by Vader to find the Rebel Alliance Headquarters. The plan gave Tarkin the location of the Rebel Base, but it also gave the Rebels the plans to the imperial station who staged an attack. Although the rebel attack was analized and the possibility was detected by imperial strategists, Grand Moff Tarkin decided the odds in favor of the rebels were too small. He died in the explosion of the Death Star.

Putting Thrawn on the Hall of Fame was a very discussed topic in the Academy. The figure of Thrawn became very known due to one of the many war stories that have been told of the battles against the last imperial warlords after the fall of the Empire on the Battle of Endor. There is little evidence of the existence of this Grand Admiral.

However, there is some evidence of a Vice Admiral Thrawn during the times of the Empire. Considered a brilliant strategist, he was instrumental to bring down the traitor Admiral Zaarin and putting an end to the deadly imperial conflict he produced. Vice Admiral Thrawn is also credited with the first tests of the Cloaking Device, a design that was never actually used.

Stories say that Thrawn achieved the rank of Grand Admiral during the last days of the Empire. He was commissioned to the Unknown Regions, reason why he did not participate in the Battle of Endor. Nine years later, he attacked the New Republic with the intention of destroying it completely.

According to legend, his strategy was based on the study of the art of his enemy's culture. The story ends when he is assassinated by his own bodyguard, a noghri assassin. The story is a bit far-fetched on many aspects, reason why many at the Academy doubt its veracity. However, we are inclined to believe Thrawn indeed was part of the inner circle of Grand Admirals.

Grand Admiral Thrawn

An Imperial Officer

Various Officers

General Veers
Surface Assault Leader. Veers is known for his excellent service to Lord Vader. During the approach to Hoth, Veers was the first one to notice the error in Admiral Ozzel's tactic. His act of bringing the matter to Lord Vader's attention was not an act of pettyness but one of concern. Veers knew if the fleet was detected a surface assault would be necessary. Vader sent Veers in command of the assault team with complete confidence in the competent general. Veers attacked the base and brought down the power generator himself in his AT-AT, giving Lord Vader the ability to descend upon the base in full force. Although some war stories feature him as a background character, there is no actual record of his activities after Hoth.

Moff Jerjerrod
Death Star II Commander. He supervised the construction of the new battle station. During the final stages construction, he was pressed into making the battle station operational. As he raced to meet the deadline, he had to receive the unexpected visit of Lord Vader. Vader convinced him of finishing the weapons systems of the battle station (the Superlaser, specifically) rather than concerning with the rest of the structure. Vader also announced the imminent visit of the Emperor, which motivated Jerjerrod to set up the imperial throne in one of the battle station's command towers. He died in the Death Star II during the Battle of Endor.

Coronel Tagge
Imperial Weapons Specialist. Tagge was assigned to the service of Grand Moff Tarkin in the Death Star battle station. He personally supervised the emplacement of most of the Death Star's weaponry and was confident in the effectivity of the array of firepower he had help built. Tagge harbored resentments against Lord Vader for past encounters in which the Dark Lord had proven himself more effective in his methods that him. Tagge's disregard for caution won him the Dark Lord's force grip more than once. He supposedly perished on the explosion of the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin.

Admiral Piett
Imperial Fleet First Officer. Serving as a captain in Lord Vader's Super Star Destroyer Executor, he found an unchartered settlement recorder by a probe droid in the Hoth system. Judging it important, he notified his discovery to Admiral Ozzel. Although Ozzel dismissed it as a dead-end, Lord Vader didn't. This won him the envy of Admiral Ozzel. Later, Ozzel would make a fatal mistake by bringing the fleet out of lightspeed too close to the system, making the rebels aware of their presence. Vader eliminated Ozzel and promoted Piett as the new Admiral.
Admiral Piett's fame is tainted by his last appearance. During the Battle of Endor, he was given command of the Executor. Lacking vision, Piett failed to guard the Executor's twin shield generator domes, which were taken out. With the massive fortress left unprotected, a single a-wing fighter crashed directly onto the bridge, initiating a series of chain reactions that instantly shut down the ship's reactor. The Executor was soon drawn to the Death Star's gravitational field and exploded upon impact with its surface.