#chiss worldbuilding

[mayhaps-a-blog]

Next chapter is up!

Summary:

Trapped in the Unknown Regions, Thrawn and the Chimaera stumble upon a secret, one with the power to destroy their enemies – or themselves. Searching for an answer to her nightmares, Che’ri sets off across the stars, discovering long-forgotten mysteries of the Chiss sky-walkers – and that those mysteries were not lost, but stolen. Once more, their paths will cross, and the path of the galaxy will be changed forever.

[contentment-of-cats]

Head canon for little Chiss

1: Chiss babies comparative to an adult sized (average 6'4") are very small, and labor is very short. A six-hour labor is considered long, four hours is about average.

2: A Chiss neonate can't regulate their body temperature and needs to put on thermogenic fat. They will nurse almost constantly for their first six months, usually in a sling that holds them close to their mother. Milk-packs are often employed when Mom needs a break.

3: Chiss babies are fat and almost round if they are healthy. The thermogenic fat is packed on during their first year of life. They look like a blueberry. They become more independent between the ages of two and three.

4: At about the age of three, Chiss toddlers develop 'meat teeth.' This makes regular teething look like a tea party. Teething toys and gum rubs are common. Teething centers are popular with parents who are at the end of their tethers.

5:The first premolars and cuspids are replaced by the meat teeth. The adult central and lateral incisors are also extremely sharp and the central incisors will have an almost chisel-like appearance.

6: Adult Chiss have scent glands on their neck and chest, not obvious to the eye. Chiss to about age five will snuffle these spots to be calmed and comforted.

7: About the age of five, little Chiss start learning to use the halves of their brain independently. It's considered a major milestone in child development. This is also the age at which Sky-walkers are taken from their families.

8: Chiss will never refuse to feed a child or a parent with children or an elder. It is considered dishonorable.

9: The Chiss birthrate is low, but they have stipends for each child, extensive parental leave, nutrition vouchers, and free childcare whether the child is from a Common, Lesser, Great, or Ruling family. A woman who has three children gets a stipend for life. A woman from the Lesser and Common families who has five children often is adopted into a higher ranked family as a ranking distant along with her family unit. Any more children and she gets medals and honor chains.

10: Though modern deaths in childbirth are low, a woman who dies as the result of childbirth is given the same funeral as someone of the highest rank. She will have a place of honor in the ossuary, an honor chain and medal, while her surviving family is given a pension.

[grand-admiral-thrawn]

oops! got too invested in chiss world buildling and some women got invented

Top left -> Ufsa’brae’lyn (Sabrael), a famous opera singer and recent merit adoptive of the Ufsa family

Top right -> Irizi’lys’aradan (Zilysara), former skywalker, famous socialite and blood member of the Irizi family

More info below the cut bc i got carried away

Ufsa’brae’lyn (Core name: Sabrael, often called Brae) was born an orphan, as far as she knows. She spent much of her time on the streets of Pomprey on Ool, struggling for survival with a band of other various street urchins. One day, while begging on a common street corner, she began to sing in the hopes of increasing her earnings. This caught the attention of a passing member of a minor Chiss household. She was adopted into said family and trained to improve her voice. Throughout her youth she changed families several times, often without her consent, while she attended school, as both her talent and tragic backstory proved useful bargaining chips for families trying desperately to improve their status. During her teenage years, Brae, who was still in connection with many of the children she had grown up with, would often work with them to commit petty crimes, acting as a distraction, while the others would rob various middle to upper-class people. Eventually, the small gang was caught and all but Brae were imprisoned. Brae was sent to an extremely strict, but prestigious university on Csilla which specialized in opera. During this period, she formed new underground connections and continued to commit petty crime, in an attempt to gain financial independence.

After completing her education at the age of 23, Brae began her musical career as an understudy for the lead in a new performance of the ‘Divine Lady of the Bridge’, a popular, ancient tale of doomed lovers in which the titular maiden freezes to death while singing at the moon, awaiting a lover who has tragically been killed in a convoluted case of mistaken identity. Following excellent reviews of her performance and several popular bootleg clips, she became one of the most in demand singers on Csilla. At the age of 26, after a series of sold out performances where Brae stared as the Warrior-Patriarch Stybal’ryi’ara in ‘The Battle of the 42nd Paralax’, am opera covering the tragic end of a recently rediscovered ancient battle, she was adopted into the Ufsa family as a merit adoptive.

Despite her new status as a member of one of the Nine Great Houses, Sabrael’s status is currently contingent on maintaining her status as one of the preeminent singers of her day. No longer engaging in the same sorts of petty crime she performed in her youth, Sabreal feels the instability of her position keenly. After long days of practicing for a new opera, and performing at various society parties, Sabreal works to expand her network of friends and associates as well as diversifiy her sources of income. She resents the social systems that keep her ‘singing for her supper’ and longs for permanent stability and an escape from the politics of the various great families.

-----

Irizi’lys’aradan (core name: Zilysara, as a skywalker: Lysa) was born into the Iziri family as a Ranking Distant. She was incorporated into the skywalker program at the age of 3 when the third sight began to manifest. She was active in the CEDF aboard the heavy cruiser Paramount from the age of 8 until nearly 16, when her powers abruptly faded during a month long shore leave, without her knowledge. Upon attempting to leave the Naporar system, she failed to correctly calculate the jump coordinates, resulting in an accient that nearly cost the crew their lives. Following this she was immediately removed from active duty.

Lysa was re-adopted into the Iziri family and renamed Zyilsara and was promoted to blood member, due to her service as a Skywalker. After spending 6 months with a private tutor, she was sent to an elite boarding school until she came of age. Zilysarra was debuted into high society immediately at the age of 18 and was married at 19 to Mid Captain Irizi’lan’dasam (Zilandas). His family line had produced a skywalker in the previous generation, and there were hopes that the two would produce additional children with the third sight. Zilysarra complied with the marriage and goal of the family, feeling it was her duty to the family that had adopted her. By the age of 25, Zilysarra was known as a perfect member of the Aristocra high society, where she played the role of socialite and hostess, while producing 5 children with her husband. One of her children was known to have the third sight as well.

Despite her status in Chiss society and her reputation as a witty and subtle conversation partner and her particularly good poetry, Zilysara harbours deep trauma from her time in the skywalker program and her abrupt exit from said program. Following her reintegration into the civilian world, she failed to find a skill or occupation with which she felt she could continue to contribute. As such, her gratitude to the Iziri family for adopting her, and placing her at such a high status, led her to accept whatever the Patriarch laid out as a plan for her future (Since she remains unaware of her previous parentage). Her days are largely spent attending and organizing events while maintaining a politically advantageous affair with a member of the Syndicure, Ufsa’meri’esso (Samerin). At night, she dreams of the stars and wakes up with tears on her cheeks.

[hydr0phius-art]

Sageza sketches.

Going to redraw her later, but this is her og portrait if anyone wants to see.

Here's a link to the fic as well, I suppose. It hasn't been updated since 2021 though and I'm going to rewrite it when exams are done and I've written some of my other WIPs (you know how it is with old writing).

[thegrievousone]

Notes on Sev'rance Tann

Though she was a character exclusive to Legends. I though it would be nice to reference her, since Grievous took her job.

She had and uncanny ability to predict her enemy's movement. However, it is unclear if this was because she was force sensitive or because she was a Chiss.

She does not tolerate insubordination and will kill you on the spot in front of everyone to get her point across.

She was able to control the Yresilini, which were a species considered to be untrainable by the Chiss.

She was a talented military tactician.

[mayxthexforce]

⭐️ ― convincing portrayal of a canon character

💻 ― excellent writing

🌼 ― creative headcanons

🎙️ ― great to talk to

📚 ― nice threads to read

🎀 ― all-around kind person

🥇 ― well-developed oc

😍 ― admiring from afar

📌 ― a staple on the dash

🏆 ― 10/10 blog, would recommend

🧡 ― sender's choice ( sender can add whatever category they want ) - MICA I LOVE YOUUUUUUUU ❤️ you're the best mwah thanks for being such an awesome and cool friend ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ having you in my life has been PHENOMENAL!!! Thanks tons for the awesome joyride

💜 ― receiver's choice ( simply shout out whoever

🐝  *  ―  𝑺𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑻-𝑶𝑼𝑻𝑺 𝑶𝑭 𝑨𝑾𝑬𝑺𝑶𝑴𝑬𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑺. 

*-cracks knuckles-* alright, let's do this!

⭐️ ― convincing portrayal of a canon character

Shout-out goes to @prodijedi. I love Callie's Dooku, he has so much depth and layers and cares so much about the people he loves deep down but is too deep in the mess he made and doesn't know how to show it, but Callie doesn't erase the fact that he has done terrible things.

💻 ― excellent writing

Shouting at @tacticalvalor for this one. So far, I've only interacted with Paz but I love him, and I love how well he's written. Jay has a way of making Paz so expressive despite the fact he's covered head to toe in armor and -understandably- unwilling to take it off. His inner thoughts are always a delight to read and the things he says always manage to crack me up.

🌼 ― creative headcanons

I think there isn't a single person in this fandom that's not creative when it comes to headcanons because we're all pretty big brained with them. But if I have to name just one, I'm gonna go with @thrawnur I LOVE YOUR HEADCANONS PJ! And I love the HCs and worldbuilding we've worked on together for Chiss. Our blueberries deserve more lore!!

🎙️ ― great to talk to

Shout-out to @corruptedforce/@crowsandmurder because Tanya is that one person you can always count on to be up to talk about literally anything. Everything I know about baseball, I learned from her. I also always love yelling with her about the stupid Star Wars questions people ask on Quora (still not over the person who had the audacity to ask why Obi-Wan didn't just kill Anakin, I'm outside their house with a baseball bat).

📚 ― nice threads to read

To this day, I still go into @d4gangera's blog just to read the stuff KT writes, and not just the threads I'm in, but everything she writes. I love how she writes Dagan, his inner monologues, his trauma after spending decades in bacta, his issues with the Jedi Order and the Empire and this new era he got yeeted into. I love it all.

🎀 ― all-around kind person

@vendettavalor IS THE KINDEST BEAN EVER!! I'm still absorbing all the analogical horror stuff that you recommended me and you bet I'm going to be yelling in your DMs once I'm caught up.

🥇 ― well-developed oc

Shout-out to @gwiazdowe for Cirz. HE'S BABEY!! I love him and how kind he is and how he sees good in people that nobody else would see good in. But he's not dumb. He's a smart boy and he deserved the world, I'm protecting him at all costs.

😍 ― admiring from afar

Not really from that far because we've actually talked but I have yet to start a thread with @alootus and that is a crime I should be in jail for. But I'm admiring because the blog theme is just so PRETTY, I love the color palette and the graphics.

📌 ― a staple on the dash

I love seeing @kylo-wrecked's posts on the dash. From the aesthetic stuff to replies to answers to ask memes, it's always god tier content!

🏆 ― 10/10 blog, would recommend

@ofthestcrs AMAZING MUN, AMAZING CHARACTERS, AMAZING BLOG! Gee is one of the first people I interacted with in this fandom and honestly, I'm holding on like an orphaned monkey. 10/10 will not be letting go anytime soon.

💜 ― receiver's choice ( simply shout out whoever you want )

[empress-violetlight]

Imperial Handbook: Empire of the Hand - Capital Ships of the Navy of the Hand

Another Worldbuilding exercise for my Empire of the Hand AU. See my Ranks document here:

-----------

While it might have began as a small task force under Thrawn’s command and whatever largely Clone Wars era scraps the Empire proper would send their way, as time went on and the Empire of the Hand began to build up the infrastructure needed to build its own ships, the variety of vessels available to it increased.  Here some of the Capital ships used by the Navy of the Hand, including some unique classes.

Renaissance-class Super Star Destroyer  (about 12 km long)

Built:  Kuat Drive Yard’s Spiral Shipyards, Nirauan system.  Officially finished construction in 21 ABY, but Admiral Parck would occasionally make use of its incomplete state before then. 

The Renaissance class is a shorter, wider, heavier-set, ship than the more familiar Executor-class SSDs from the old Galactic Empire, taking several design features from the prototype Eclipse class, including integrated interdiction technology, a complement of over 400 TIE Defender fighters, and a superlaser capable of cracking a planetary crust (or a Yuuzhan Vong world ship). Like other Empire of the Hand designs, the Renaissance-class’ bridge is not located in an exposed tower, but rather deep inside the ship, with cameras and a powerful sensor suite compensating for the lack of viewports.  Borrowing from Mon Calamari designs, the Renaissance-class also utilizes overlapping shield technology.  As well as standard Imperial weaponry like turbolasers, tractor beams and ion cannons, the Renaissance -class also utilizes Chiss Ascendency weaponry such as Plasma ball launchers and breacher missiles.

The main difference from the earlier class (and, the "selling point" that convinced then-Grand Moff Xelarra to sign off on its creation) is the ability of the Renaissance-class to carry up to five Imperial or Spiral- class Star Destroyers on the hull itself, with the smaller (but still capital sized) ships docking on five triangular recesses on the main hull, 3 on top of the superstructure, two below.  The Renaissance-class can thus act as a mobile repair station as well as the command ship.  Its main hanger bay can internally carry ships up to 300 m in length (i.e. the size of an Arquitens-class light cruiser or an Explorer-class research/scout vessel).

The Renaissance also has integrated Interdictor technology, and is equipped with several cloaking devices (necessary because of the ship’s size).  These two systems cannot normally be used at the same time, though Grand Admiral Thrawn remembers a few tricks learned earlier in his career to get around this limitation.  As cloaking devices are double-blind – they protect a ship from detection, but said ship also cannot see outside of it when activated through conventional means, the cloak is most effectively used with the cooperation of an Imperial Knight, who can use the Force to sense outside the cloak.  However, with proper timing and practice the cloaks can be used without the assistance of Force-users. 

As the Empire of the Hand did not sign the Pellaeon–Gavrisom Treaty, they are not prohibited from using cloaking devices. 

Known vessels in the class:

SSD Renaissance        

CO:  Fleet Admiral Voss Parck (19-28 ABY), Grand Admiral Thrawn (28 ABY +)

XO:  Commodore Eli Vanto (28 ABY+)

Starfighter commander:  Colonel Jagged Fel (28 ABY +)

Flagship of the Navy of the Hand.  Displays the same Paccosh signil as the ISD Chimaera on its hull.

Commissioned by Fleet Admiral Parck, in anticipation of Grand Admiral Thrawn’s rumoured return in 19 ABY.  Thrawn (actually his clone, known as ‘Raw’nuru’ until he was ready to retake the mantle of Grand Admiral) did not take command until the beginning of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, after the Evacuation of Lysatra.

Imperial-Class Star Destroyers

These iconic ships were inherited from the Galactic Empire.  Only a few were assigned to Thrawn’s task force in the Unknown Regions/The Chaos, and he chose the leave the ones he did have behind in the Empire of the Hand during his campaign of 8-9 ABY.  The Empire of the Hand has been retrofitting the ISDs when they can with more automation, in order to reduce its crew component from over 37 000 personnel down to 10 000.  As the less crew-intensive Spiral-Class Star Destroyers became more prominent in the Navy of the Hand, the remaining, aging Imperial-Class Star Destroyers were mainly regulated to defensive roles around prominent star systems and installations.  

Differences with standard Imperial Class ISDs:

As opposed to the “mobile base” role that the Old Galactic Empire used the Imperial-class for, Empire of the Hand ISDs are more starfighter-focused, with the majority of their standard ground forces (an entire legion of Stormtroopers, 20 AT-AT walkers and associated vehicles at the Empire’s height) regulated to the Clone Wars era Acclimator and new Nightstalker-class assault cruisers instead, unless the mission profile specifically calls for their inclusion.  With more room that would have been otherwise been taken up by ground vehicles, Hand ISDs have more than doubled the number of TIE –series fighters carried. 

To accommodate the additional TIES, the bridge tower has been reassigned to be a communications tower, focusing on air traffic control.  The actual bridge of the ship has been moved to a far more secure location in the interior of the ship, with cameras and sensors making up for the lack of traditional viewports.  

Known Vessels in this Class:

ISD Admonitor

CO:  Captain Dagon Niriz, then-Captain Voss Parck

The Star Destroyer first assigned to Thrawn’s “mapping expedition” in the Unknown Regions/The Chaos which would grow into the Empire of the Hand.  It later serves as the Hand Fleet's flagship until the Renaissance’s construction is completed in 21 ABY. 

ISD Vengeance  renamed the Resolute once in Hand space

CO:  then-Captain Thrawn (6 BBY), Commodore Karyn Faro (1 BBY +)

This is (officially) the first ISD Thrawn was assigned to as captain, which he used to subjugate the Kaleesh colony world of Oben.  Surprisingly, Thrawn earned the fierce, reptilian aliens’ respect for not just defeating, but crushing them in battle.  After the Battle of Endor, Thrawn personally extends an invitation to the Kaleesh to join the Empire of the Hand.  The say they will consider his offer, but don’t actually join until after Thrawn’s death.  

Commodore Karyn Faro served as Thrawn’s executive officer on the Resolute for many years, before being promoted to commanding officer of the Resolute itself, then climbing ever higher in the Hand Navy. 

The Resolute, along with the Admonitor, were also largely responsible for the creation of “Thrawn’s Cut” -- the hyperspace beacon route through The Chaos stretching from the Nirauan system to the border with the Chiss Ascendency. 

Beacons are modified Imperial probe droids, deployed in small groups that transmit real time astrometrics along a frequency that to anyone other than Empire of the Hand communications networks, appears as regular galactic background radiation.  By deploying the beacons in regular intervals, they form a trail of “breadcrumbs” that subsequent Hand ships can follow, allowing navigation through the Chaos without relying on Force users, though the initial deployment can be quite slow, relying on jump-by-jump navigation to plant the next “crumb” in the trail.  It took nearly a decade to carve Thrawn’s Cut, and the time involved convinced the Grand Admiral of the need for a dedicated exploration and beacon planting corps. 

ISDs the Empire of the Hand wants:

ISD Chimaera, currently serving as the flagship of the Imperial Loyalists (aka the Imperial Remnant)

CO:  Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon Possibly the most famous ISD in the Galaxy, the Chimaera served as Grand Admiral Thrawn’s flagship during his campaign to retake the galaxy in 9 ABY, with Gilad Pellaeon serving as his XO.  Both Fleet Admiral Parck and Empress Xelarra herself have made numerous offers to the Imperial Loyalists to acquire the historic ship, including offering the trade several state-of-the-art Spiral-class Star Destroyers for her.  Grand Admiral Pellaeon declines to give up his flagship every time.

Spiral-class Star Destroyers

Named for the magnificent ringed gas giant Spiral, the fifth planet in the Nirauan system, around which the Empire of the Hand’s main shipyards are built, these slim, daggerlike ships are smaller than Imperial-class Star Destroyers  (1.2 km long compared to an ISD's 1.6 km) and take a lot less crew (only about 5000).  As is standard on newer Hand ships, the Bridge tower is eliminated, with the bridge itself nestled deep within the structure of the ship.  They are powerful for their size.  Like a “mini-Renaissance”, (though they are, in fact, the basis for the larger ship) SpSDs are equipped with both Imperial and Chiss Ascendency weapons, featuring banks of turbo and spectrum lasers, deployed in retractable turrets, tractor beams, ion cannons and/or plasma spheres and breacher missiles. Some, though not all (usually 1-2 per battle group) have interdiction technology equipped.   Like the Hand’s ISDs, SpSDs also focus on starfighter deployment over ground forces, even though their TIEs usually consist of hyperspace-capable TIE Defenders.

Spiral class ships are predominantly assigned to Fleet Admiral Karyn Faro's Seeker Fleet, whose primary mission is to patrol the Galactic Rim hunting for any signs of the Far Outsiders.  As an added bit of psychological warfare against the technophobic Far Outsiders, Seeker Fleet ships are usually named after fictional machine lifeforms from a children’s novel and ani-holo series once popular in the Core. 

They also perform limited exploration duties (at least until the dedicated Explorer program is implemented) and plant hyperspace beacons.  They are slowly replacing the aging ISDs to become the premier battleship in the Navy of the Hand. 

Spiral-class ships use the designation “HMS” - “her Majesty’s Ship”, in honour of her Imperial Majesty, Lexx’elarra’nuruodo (Xelarra), Empress of the Hand. 

Known vessels in the class:

HMS Starscream

CO:  Fleet Admiral Karyn Faro (2 ABY +)

Flagship of Seeker Fleet, for a short time Flagship of the Navy of the Hand, during Admiral Faro’s tenure as Supreme Commander. 

One of the first four Spiral-class ships built, and founding member of Seeker Fleet. 

(featured in "Seat of Command" as the site of Thrawn and Xelarra having some "quality time" - NSFW)

HMS Thundercracker

CO:  Captain Rae Sloane ( 5 ABY)

Thrawn’s flagship while assisting the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet against Ssi’ruuk incursions (“Reunion”).  Captain Sloan was personally mentored by the Grand Admiral, and is considered Admiral Faro’s protégée.   

One of the first four Spiral-class ships built, and founding member of Seeker Fleet. 

HMS Skywarp

Torguta CO

Equipped with Interdiction technology, its smooth lines are broken up by its spherical, gravity well generators.

One of the first four Spiral-class ships built, and founding member of Seeker Fleet

HMS Shockwave

CO:  Captain Kyra Pyrondi

Captained by a long-time crewmate of both Grand Admiral Thrawn’s and Admiral Faro’s, this ship serves as a testbed for new weapons developments, with Captain Pyrondi herself often participating in the design teams. 

One of the first four Spiral-class ships built, and founding member of Seeker Fleet

HMS Grievous

Kaleesh CO Named for the legendary, deified  leader of the Kaleesh and General of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, specializes in long-range “hunting”, and preemptive strikes.

Victory-Class Star Destroyers, Venator-Class Star Destroyers

Clone Wars-era capital ships, regulated to less-important sectors of the Galactic Empire during the Imperial era as the larger Imperial-class better fulfilled the Tarkin doctrine of “rule by fear”, even if the larger ships were far less efficient in other respects.  Thrawn managed to get a number of these older ships assigned to his “mapping expedition” in the Unknown Regions/The Chaos, mostly because they were undervalued by that point by mainstream commanders in the Galactic Empire.   

Like the Imperial-class, these older ships are slowly being phased out in favour of the Spiral-class, but are still in use – mostly used against known threats in the Chaos (like the Vagaari pirates, and some client species of the Grysts – themselves clients of the Far Outsiders).  While these aging ships may be less effective in Lesser Space, even Clone Wars-era shields and weaponry is superior to most technology that cultures of the Chaos can muster, including the Chiss Ascendency.  Thrawn has a talent for using limited resources in the most effective way possible, and these older star destroyers are no exception.

Arguably, these ships make up the backbone of the Navy of the Hand, and keep the Empire of the Hand safe from the known threats of the Chaos.  Whether they will be effective against the Far Outsiders remains to be seen.   

Known vessels in these classes:

VSD Strikefast

CO:  Captain Voss Parck (19 BBY), Commodore Rae Sloane (10 ABY +)

The Victory-class Star Destroyer which was commanded by Voss Parck when he made first contact with Thrawn in 19 BBY.  While Parck himself was reassigned to the ISD Admonitor, Thrawn did manage to get the Strikefast herself assigned to his “mapping expedition”.   

The Strikefast, under Commodore Rae Sloan, later became the flagship of the Explorer program.  Though the Explorers themselves would later use primarily their own class of ship, modified Arquitens-class light cruisers, the Strikefast remains in service, stationed at Watchtower Station – the space station built at the Ascendency-end of Thrawn’s Cut, and the Explorer program’s base of operations, still serving as now-Admiral Sloane’s flagship (and is to Watchtower what the USS Defiant is to DS9). 

Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruisers

Pre-Clone Wars capital ships are rare, due to the Old Republic’s anti-military policies.  Nevertheless, Grand Admiral Thrawn managed to discover the location of the legendary Katana fleet during his campaign of 9 ABY.  Though the majority of the 178 ships he acquired were used in his campaign, with surviving vessels becoming Imperial Loyalist property, He did manage to send 30 of the vessels home to the Empire of the Hand. 

Though older, like with the Venator and Victory-Class Star Destroyers, the Dreadnaugts still outgun anything native to the Chaos, as demonstrated by the Chiss Ascendency’s efforts to acquire the six Dreadnaughts of the Outbound Flight expedition.  Surviving Dreadnaughts usually server as auxiliary craft in the Hand Navy, backing up Star Destroyers.  Five vessels, unfortunately, were in such a state of disrepair that they had to be decommissioned and scrapped.  (“Nightfall of the Final Day”).

Like with other Clone Wars and earlier era ships, the Hand is occasionally able to procure additional vessels from Lesser Space scrapyards in the Outer Rim, though as our own shipbuilding capabilities have improved, this has become far less necessary. 

Known Vessels in the Class:

HMS Rapier

Official transport of her Imperial Majesty, Empress Xelarra.  The Empress declines to use a Star Destroyer for her needs, preferring that the newer, stronger vessels serve in “more important” Naval missions.  Instead, she uses one of the Katana Fleet dreadnaughts, saying she has an “appreciation” for such ships.  As the Imperial transport, the Rapier has civilian amenities more typical to diplomatic vessels (including relatively large shipboard library) and is more comfortable than most navel vessels, even for its enlisted crewmembers.  However, make no mistake – it is still a warship, and is perfectly capable of defending itself.

The Rapier features an upgraded Class 1 hyperdrive, stronger shields (even with the typical strong armour of a Dreadnaught) and its nose cargo bay is more accurately deemed a hanger, housing a full wing of TIE Defenders, as well as having dedicated landing spots for both Empress Xelarra’s and Princess Andorra’s personal Lambda-class shuttles.  The cargo bay can also hold the Empress’ personal combat vehicle, the AT-AT Toraton (her Majesty is a qualified reservist AT-AT driver) though it is more usually stationed on the Renaissance, or on Nirauan itself.      While the Empress is on Nirauan, the Rapier serves as part of the capital’s planetary defense fleet, though it can be ready for Her Majesty’s departure within one standard hour.   

Acclamator and Nightstalker-Class Assault Ships

The Clone Wars-era Acclamator, and its “descendant”, the Nightstalker-class, serve primarily as ground troop transports, assault vehicles and landing craft for the Army of the Hand, Stormtroopers and member world elite troops.  As such, these ships will be described in more detail in the chapter on the Army of the Hand.    

Interdictors

Immobilizer-class cruisers 

These rare ships have the ability to project an artificial gravity field, mimicking the mass shadow of a large object (i.e. a planet) in hyperspace, and subsequently pulling other ships out of hyperspace.  They were not built in great numbers, despite being perhaps the best Rebel-hunting tool at the Empire's disposal.  Thrawn saw their potential when pretty much no other Imperial commander did, and managed to get a large percentage of the Empire's Interdictors assigned to him in the Empire of the Hand. 

While Interdictors are usually used to pull enemy ships out of hyperspace for easier capture/destruction, the “Thrawn Pincer” is a space battle tactic developed by Thrawn, where Interdictors are used to pull his own ships out of hyperspace in a specific formation, with a lot more control than would be possible with usual hyperspace jumps.  He uses the technique in his Campaign of 9 ABY to great affect.   

Immobilizers are about 600 m long, looks like a small Star Destroyer with 4 gravity projector domes sticking out from the lines of the hull)

Known Immobilizer cruisers:

Maelstrom

An old Immobilizer scheduled to be scrapped by the New Republic (as they didn't know how to use it properly).  Raw'nuru (Thrawn's clone) joins a band of pirates in capturing the ship, then seizes command himself.  He uses the Maelstrom as his primary vessel while patrolling the Empire of the Hand's borders, taking on privateer missions, recruiting allies, and protecting his Empire from the shadows as he regains the confidence he needs to retake his old mantle.

Between 20 and 28 ABY, the Maelstrom is involved in several notable events, such as destroying a New Republic vessel that attacked them unprovoked without even firing a shot, which subsequently leads to Raw'nuru finally getting to warn Admiral Ackbar about the Far Outsiders, and the start of their "long distance" friendship (fic idea - "Pen Pals").

The Maelstrom is destroyed in the Evacuation of Lysatra, at the onset of the Far Outsiders War, holding off an invading Vong force long enough for the Hand Fleet to arrive.  Most of the crew, however, survives, and rejoin their Captain (now once again Grand Admiral) on the Renaissance.

The Maelstrom is also where Imp Squadron is assigned.  These near-washout fighter pilots are given one last chance by Wing General Soontir Fel to prove themselves, so are given just standard TIES and assigned to "the Empress' favourite privateer" to shape up.  Under Raw'nuru's command, they become an elite fighter squadron, basically the Hand's version of the NR's Wraith Squadron.  They also join their commander aboard the Renaissance.

Other Interdictors (undetermined class):

Scylla and Charybdis

Assigned to the Renaissance's battle group, these two Interdictors are commanded by Devola and Popula, two redish-orange twin Twi'leks who were trained by Raw'nuru on the Maelstrom.  They had originally been slaves belonging to the first pirate captain, who were freed by Raw'nuru when he overthrew and spaced that captain.  He saw their potential, and personally mentored them into Imperial officers.  Both are good friends (sometimes with benefits) of the Explorer Captain Shran.

Some Spiral-class Star Destroyers are also equipped with Interdiction technology, including Seeker Fleet’s HMS Skywarp.  The Renaissance itself is also Interdiction-capable. 

Arquitens-class Light Cruisers 

Considered the Imperial answer to the Rebellion’s/New Republic’s CR90 Corvette (aka the Rebel Blockade Runner, often nicknamed the “Rebel Ass-Hauler” by Hand navel personnel), the 300-metre long Arquitens has been in service since the Clone Wars, and was of the few ships from that era to remain in service in the Galactic Empire for the entirety of its existence.  The Empire of the Hand likewise inherited a large number of these ships.  While most serve essentially unchanged from their roles in the Galactic Empire as support and scout/recon craft, notable Arquitens have become something more. 

Explorer-class research and scout vessels:

Between 10 BBY and 6 ABY, while Thrawn was building up the Empire of the Hand, it became apparent, especially during the decade-long establishment of the "Thrawn's Cut" hyperspace route, that relying on Star Destroyers and other navy vessels to plant hyperspace beacons and for the diplomatic relations with non-hostile civilisations of the Chaos was unsustainable, and frankly a waste of the Navy's time when they need to be preparing for the upcoming Far Outsider invasion.

With the assistance of Xelarra's research into past exploration initiatives in Lesser Space (both historical and fictional), Thrawn began developing the foundation of a new, offshoot from the Hand Navy, to focus on (relatively) peaceful exploration exclusively.

That said, the Explorer ships, while small, needed to be tough and fast, to survive encounters with less-friendly forces, and to eventually transfer to scout duties in the Far Outsider War.

The ubiquitous Imperial Arquitens-class light cruiser (like Thrawn's first Imperial assignment, the Thunder Wasp) would make an ideal basis.

Explorer-class ships differ from their foundation in having even their limited weapons further reduced, in order to make room for science labs, a larger hanger to hold more than two shuttles at a time, and the most advanced sensor suite in the known Galaxy.  The crew compliment is also reduced, to about 200, from an Arquitens' 700.

Explorer ships are not entirely helpless -- their weapons may be limited, but they pack a punch, and can handle nuisances like smugglers/pirates perfectly well.  Standard procedure has the ships in constant communication with the nearest active Navy vessel (as detected over the Hand's hyperspace beacon network), which is obligated to come to the Explorer's aid if called.

Explorer-class vessels are highly modular, and can be easily customized for different mission profiles.

Thrawn unfortunately did not live to see the Explorer program officially start, but after his death, the program was finally pushed through by Empress Xelarra, with support from Admiral Faro. 

While officially under Admiral Faro’s jurisdiction, she delegated command of the Explorer program to Admiral Rae Sloane.  The program is officially based on Watchtower Station, a space station built at the Ascendency end of Thrawn’s Cut, right outside the border with the Chiss Ascendency.  From this point, Explorer vessels begin their deep space expeditions.

Explorers primarily rely on their planted hyperspace beacons, and on their powerful sensor suites to plot jump-by-jump navigation.  If in a hurry to go somewhere uncharted, Explorers will (begrudgingly) hire the help of a Force-sensitive navigator (the Pathfinders Guild has a franchise based on Watchtower Station), or ask for the assistance of an Imperial Knight.  They will not, under any but the most dire circumstances to the Empire of the Hand as a whole, use Chiss sky-walkers, as the Empire of the Hand considers child labour abhorrent, illegal, and basically slavery.  Like all Hand Imperial forces, they will offer political sanctuary to any sky-walker who asks for it, and their immediate family (parents/caretakers, siblings), and will ensure their transport to Nirauan or another long-time (and well-protected) Hand member world.  Explorer-class vessels use the designation “RRS” for “Royal Research Ship”  

Known Explorer ships:

RRS Stargazer

CO:  Captain Rosk’alem’izeq - Kalemi

Commanded by the Chiss Captain Kalemi, a former member of the Rogue Phalanx, who specialises in astronomy and served alongside then-Govoner Xelarra and Phalanx Commander Stent on the Honoghr mission. ("Nightfall of the Final Day") 

Xelarra and Thrawn's son, Shran, is assigned to the Stargazer as a cadet, and is mentored by Kalemi.  It is the Stargazer that first encounters Mara Jade when she goes looking for the Explorers after hearing rumours about them from spacers/smugglers, and she meets Shran, growing more interested in her connection with the Empire of the Hand (upcoming fic “Daughter of the Empire”).

The Stargazer comes under attack from a trigger-happy New Republic vessel in 22 ABY, mistaking it for an Imperial Remnant Arquitens, in complete violation of the  Pellaeon–Gavrisom Treaty.  Mara distracts the NR ship long enough for a Star Destroyer to come to its rescue, then works with Shran to devise an excuse that the NR ship wandered into an old Clone Wars minefield, despite Mara’s attempt to warn them. 

Cadet Shran serves aboard the Stargazer for the first decade of his career as an Explorer, eventually rising to the rank of First Officer, until he gets his own command.

(named after the USS Stargazer, Captain Jean-Luc Picard's first command).

RRS Intrepid

CO:  Captain Mitth’shra’nuruodo – Shran

Notable officers:              XO and Communications:  Commander Dee (human augment - Tattooine)

Helms officer: Lieutenant Cherith Fel (human - Nirauan)

Navigation:  Hex (Tripod)

Chief Engineer:  Commander Gorbash (Draconian)

CMO:  Doctor Jackie Hatch  (human – Lysatra)

Engineering:  Lieutenant Neela Drakesdaughter (Twi’lek)

Quartermaster:  Ensign Sali Vanto (human – Lysatra)

Commanded by Captain Shran a year or two after start of the Vong War.  Involved in many adventures, including tricking a Vong ship into getting sucked into a black hole, and the raid on Ossus.   Visits the Renaissance often enough that the crews of the two ships know each other pretty well.

(“hero” ship captained by Thrawn’s son. Named after the Intrepid-class ships in Star Trek, the most prominent example being the USS Voyager)

RRS Nonsuch

CO:  Captain Davi Cecelia.  (Quarren) 

XO:  <Unnamed Gungan who speaks with a distinguished Core World accent>

This ship specialises in exploration of ocean worlds.  The majority of her crew are from species that can breathe underwater unaided, and the ship itself is specialised to be able to land (and float) on water.

Captain Cecelia is begrunding friends with Captain Shran, and the two ships collaborate more often than they wish, with the Nonsuch backing up the Intrepid during the Ossus raid. 

(named after the Nonsuch, an 18th century merchant ship which explored Hudson’s and James’ Bays, and helped to start the Canadian fur trade.  A replica – which can be boarded and explored by guests – is on display at the Manitoba museum in Winnipeg.)

[certified-anakinfucker]

ah, a pinned post

hi im cheeri! | african american | in my 20s (18+) | it/its

whats up yall. back at it again. it seems i changed my major so i may as well finally make a pinned post about it!

im a former clone wars major (minoring in a whole lot of cultural lore and worldbuilding) - ive since moved to the old republic, but my minors are pretty much the same, just new subjects and focuses. minors include togruta biology and cultural lore, twi'lek cultural lore, and mandalorian cultural lore! ive added minors on the sith purebloods on top of both the sith religion and imperial culture. sometimes i poke the chiss with a stick. more often than not im poking the jedi with many sticks.

dni: master/padawan shippers, cl*necest / twincest or incest otherwise, rexs*ka / mauls*ka, anything that’d get you put on a federal list irl || if you openly send / encourage death threats or otherwise make excuses for those that do .. scram. this is not a safe space for you :3

sideblog directory under the cut!

⊹ @cinematic-cheeriverse || for my main au-posting, world/lorebuilding, all that fun stuff

⊹ @milf-anakinfucker || writing blog… one can dream

⊹ @certified-hunterfucker || SWTOR blog. lmao. i should actually use it

⊹ @forceblessed || was a silly blog specifically for my main au anakin + his shenanigans. might use it for that exact purpose

⊹ @cheeri-wine || nsft [does my funny dance]

⊹ @ncis-hyperspace || an au blog that's sorta perpetually under wip

⊹ @historicallyblackmando || i need to get back on my mando'a :]

[zhakyria]

WIP

Tried to clean up this section of the fic where Kahl and Zahkiel first meet. It has kinda been a struggle. My brain isn't all with it right now, but I wanted to get something worked on for Arclight beyond just worldbuilding.

Kahl’ryn left Megasecurity Ward 23 with few answers and many more questions than when he entered, but at least he knew the name of their enemy now, the Star Cabal, and he now had a lead on more information. The Shining Man had hidden a repository of knowledge somewhere on Voss. He only hoped the Voss would prove more amenable to his investigation than they were to the overtures of the Empire or Dominion. 

The stifling heat of the caldera burned his lungs and distorted the air outside the ward. Through the smoke and steam, a Chiss waited for them on the other side of the rocky bridge, their red eyes glowing in the dim light. They wore combat gear, not unlike that of Sith Apprentices he’d seen on Dromund Kaas. 

Kahl tapped his fingers against his blaster. Chiss were rarely seen outside of the Unknown Regions. Nearly all of them had returned to the Ascendancy nearly 500 hundred years previous, shortly after the last Great Galactic War. Even those that lived or worked at the edges of the Unknown Regions considered them to be a myth and most could go their whole life without meeting one. He’d only ever met one other, his oldest sister, who had been found wandering a backwater town by their father when she was 7.  

He and Vector walked across the bridge, stopping just before the Chiss. There were three faded scars around the Chiss’s left eye, and his near black hair was pulled back in a short tail. He carried a helmet under his right arm. 

“Killing you will be a shame. You have such pretty eyes.” 

Kahl mentally sighed. “Thanks, but dying isn’t on my schedule.”

“Then this should be fun.” The Chiss smirked. “I’d very much like to dance with you alone. How about you send your Joiner friend away. He can pick up the pieces once I’m finished with you.” 

“You shouldn’t get your hopes up; I’m not easy to kill,” Kahl replied.

“Oh, I don’t expect someone like you to be an easy kill. You destroyed SCORPIO, after all. But where are my manners? I am Mahz’ahki’elhn, though you may call me Zahkiel. I greet you on behalf of the Star Cabal.” They bowed, never breaking eye contact. Their smile didn’t reach their eyes. 

Kahl pulled out his blaster pistol and checked the power pack. “Let’s get this over with. Vector, head back to the ship and await my call.”

Vector nodded and looked over at the Chiss. “Beware of this one, Agent. Their aura is…strange.” He left Kahl with the assassin and headed back to the speeders.

Zahkiel’s smile widened. “Now with him out of the way, I would very much like to know, whose life am I ending today?” 

Kahl shrugged and fired his blaster, aiming for the assassin’s upper chest. Zahkiel lifted their left hand and motioned to the right. The blaster bolt went wide. 

“Tsk tsk, Agent, no need to be rude.” They slid their helmet on; it sealed into place with a soft hiss. “However, since you seem quite impatient to die….” They pulled out a double bladed lightsaber from where they had it sheathed at the small of their back and ignited the pale red and yellow blades, “...let's see just how well you dance.”

@swtorpadawan here is more progress.

[electricnik]

A little bit of worldbuilding from Lesser Evil. The Chiss like their energy food snacks., what sounds like a version of meat and fruit biltong. They are also like cheese, and go to great efforts to find and trade exotic foods, farming a lot of it on terraformed worlds, which are also sanctuaries for endangered wildlife. They have a more baseline predatory nature than Humans, are persistance and ambush predators which explains their tactical abilities.

[mayhaps-a-blog]

Got the epilogue posted! Just a quick little chapter, a bit late but better late than never :) Enjoy!

Trapped in the Unknown Regions, Thrawn and the Chimaera stumble upon a secret, one with the power to destroy their enemies – or themselves. Searching for an answer to her nightmares, Che’ri sets off across the stars, discovering long-forgotten mysteries of the Chiss sky-walkers – and that those mysteries were not lost, but stolen. Once more, their paths will cross, and the path of the galaxy will be changed forever.

[contentment-of-cats]

Chiss/Human hybrids

1: Chiss are diverged from their Human ancestry. The Chiss hate to admit that Humans are the root of their family tree.

2: Chiss DNA has differences from that of standard Humans, but the remains of the symbiont adapt to hybridization with near-human species. While viable pregnancies are unusual, they are not rare outside of the Ascendancy.

3: However, where there is a Chiss father, those are some big babies. Chiss babies weigh an average of 9 pounds at a full-term birth. This is small when the average Chiss woman is about 6'4" tall. Tell an average 5'6" Human woman that she's having a 9 pound baby and she's probably going to kill you.

4: Chiss women with Human partners get to deliver a average 7 pound baby. Also as far as male Human/female Chiss pairings - "Smaller works harder."

5: Chiss can tell a lot about Humans from infrared (it's called 'getting hot' for a reason) and scent. They can also see the standard Human Blaschko's lines - like tabby stripes - when most humans/near-humans can't. They like the stripes and think we're cute - like tookas.

6: A hybrid child will have the outward appearance of the Chiss parent, but the hair color/texture of the Human parent. The insult 'moactan teel' means 'light-haired' and is also a term for 'impure' ancestry. It also speaks to previous Chiss/Human pairings and thus Human DNA in the vaunted Chiss genome. Likewise, there is Chiss DNA in Human populations from the time of the Sith Wars.

7: A hybrid child will be taller than average for a Human, shorter than average for a Chiss.

8: One reason that the Ascendancy wants diaspora Chiss back in is because they have higher birthrates, but also they do not want Chiss straying to the inner systems. Diaspora Chiss populations are mostly in Wild Space or at the very edges of the Chaos - far out of the normal CEDF patrols. They have orders to bring back any moactan teel as well.

9: Hybrids show a stronger tendency - whether male or female - to have Sight and to have it last into adulthood. This leads to those with the talent for navigation into the Navigators' Guild. The guild will never assign an outlander Chiss or a Chiss hybrid to a Chiss vessel. Hybrids also have talents other than telepathy or navigation.

10: Hybrids are mostly smaller than average for Chiss, taller than average for Humans and have a more slender build. Their bones are lighter, and break more easily than Chiss bones. They are prone to detached retinas and ectopia lentis.

[serenofroses]

some musings for my legacy's worldbuilding (?) lore under readmore! may contain canon divergence, Jadus, the cyborg guardians, mention of blood but not explicitly graphic etc.

Was doing double xp event on Ania clone and playing through agent story got me wondering about whether the cyborgs, or Dark Guardians, have artifical blood or not.

The thought came to me regarding about the cyborg guards serving Jadus as each of them all had their real blood drained and replaced with artificial blood.

So my twist to this was that these "Dark Guardians" weren't remade into Jadus' image as the vessel, iirc the dialogue lines right...

But these implication in my version that they unfortunate victims had opposed, defied or antagonise Jadus since they took over the Sphere of Intelligence around Treaty of Coruscant took place (rather a coincidence timing). Some of those were officers or agents who were loyal to Jadus' predecessor (aka the spouse and/or Zhorrid's father).

The chiss agent Cipher Nine, was one of the unfortunate victims due to being the Hand (and favourable agent) to the predecessor.

Ania was left to assume that some well known agents had gone missing as few whispered they were never seen after meeting with Jadus.

It may took some time for Ania to find out that her Boss-turned-secret-lover is a Force Vampire after she became their Hand.

[on-noon]

Summer Reading/Writing Tag

thanks for the tag @another-white-hole

Open Tag! for whoever wants to

1) Describe one creative WIP project you're planning to work on over the summer:

Umm. Countdown to Magic, continuing that. I've got 17,000 words on that, and I think I knoe where I want to go, but also I don't have as much of a drive to work on that anymore

Also plotting Life Friends & Friendship Ends (version 3). i love that story, but i have to figure out how to make it work. Maybe this summer, I'll just plot & plan for it (as well as worldbuuild. that world has so much worldbuilding. but it can have more!)

2) Recommend a book:

Flatland: a Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott. It's a great book about math (but not too much math, barely any numbers), and its also a satire of Victorian England's gender roles & class systems. It has amazing worldbuilding. (There is not a romance, despite the title)

3) Recommend a fic:

There's the first fanfic i read; a star wars rebels one about Ezra ending up with Eli Vanto & living in Chiss society, Last Known Trajectory

4) Recommend music!

Curiosity! it's about the rover just wanting to come home

5) Share one piece of advice!

If you've got nothing to do, take a walk in a forest (or whatever the nature is like in your area) walking is a great time to work out story ideas

[queen-scribbles]

You get a chance to meet an author of your choice, (if they have passed away they will come back to life just for this occasion,) and you get a chance to ask them as many questions as you like and talk to them about anything. Which author will you choose and why? What will you ask them?

I'm so sorry it took so long to answer this. It was easy to come up with an answer, I just clean forgot bc of the inbox out of sight out of mind feature. 😅

--

Gonna skip the blatantly obvious low-hanging fruit of saying JRR Tolkien to go with Timothy Zahn. I would love to talk with him about both his Star Wars books(Chiss worldbuilding, how'd he make a diehard Rebel girl like me fall in love with a stormtrooper squad, why he KILLED who he killed at the end of Outbound Flight yes I'm still sore about that it was GUTTING) and some of the original works. I haven't read all of them but I love the Quadrail books and Icarus Hunt/Plot (THERE'S ANOTHER ONE COMING I'M EXCITED) and would like to ask about how he comes up with the non-human races/cultures how much he outlines vs filling in as he goes, that sort of thing. Fangirl a little over the plot twist(s) in the Quadrail books. And ofc he's responsible for several of the books that made me love Wedge so much(he's gold in the Thrawn trilogy even before you get to Rogue Squadron), have to thank him for that.

Also would like to thank him for Fayr bc that badass chipmunk(esque) dude is one of my fave fictional characters of ever.

[c0rpseductor]

have spent 14 hours doing conlang shit. kept trying to take breaks but they’d only last for a few minutes bc i’d keep thinking about conlanging. i’m still thinking about it.

let this set the stage for you. i’ve been awash in phonemes and syntax and lexical bullshit all damn night, okay. i’m no linguist, but i’m doing what i can here. for fourteen hours — Four Teen Earth Hours — i work on developing an alphabet representing a distinct set of phonemes, how loan words are altered to fit that linguistic schema, how loan words taken out of the language are frequently mangled, a set of TWENTY ONE!!! pronouns that indicate social standing and how they’re additionally used as modifiers, i am bragging a little but mostly i want you to understand i barely know the terminology for what i’m doing here and i’m working my ass off to get down something interesting.

such is the work i have been doing on zygerrian. nobody cares about zygerria; it’s a bit planet in clone wars and all the worldbuilding sucks. i’ve done a bunch of shit with it from the ground up purely to honor my catboy OC and give some texture to his backstory.

i think, man, thrawn has a lot going on, right? certainly more people are interested in the chiss. it’s a shame there’s just not any significant cheunh in canon. what if i did a conlang of cheunh as well? While I’m Taking A Break From 14 Hours Of Zygerrian, Why Don’t I See If Anyone Else Has Done Some Work On Cheunh? (i think i may need to get tested for adhd)

so i google cheunh. first real result is from wattpad. sigh. ok. open it up.

it’s a poorly constructed cipher of english with no underlying logic