The Fall of the Empire - The Creation of the Emperor's Hammer

During the difficult weeks immediately following the debacle at Endor, the problem of succession was all too apparent to the Imperials themselves.  In an absolutist state, power must be wielded absolutely.  But by whom?  It became increasingly apparent that succession to the throne was something the Emperor, so circumspect in everything else, had never seriously prepared for.  When the Emperor was killed during the Battle of Endor, the speed with which the Empire's structure disintegrated amazed even some Alliance strategists.  Obviously something was going very wrong in the Empire.

Of course, the rule in the individual sectors had not changed significantly in the inner portions of the galaxy, but as Mon Calamari cruisers, Corellian Corvettes and the rest of the Republic fleet drove Star Destroyers from planet after planet, there was a growing sense that the "Imperial juggernaut" would face defeat.  Soon, when many spoke of Palpatine, it was as an emperor, no longer as the emperor. Sheer arrogance led them to blame Palpatine for the failings of the Empire, rather than look to their own weaknesses and folly.

Of the remaining "Circle of Twelve" Grand Admirals, only a few remained.  One such Grand Admiral was Stephan Ronin.  Ronin had established himself as a military genius while serving the Emperor in the Minos Cluster and surrounding sectors.  As a gift the Emperor had bestowed Grand Admiral Ronin with the Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet; a Fleet large enough to subdue the Minos Cluster and establish a base of operations on the industrial gold mine of Aurora Prime.  Grand Admiral Ronin's flagship was the newly christened SSSD Sovereign, one the Empire's most deadly warships.  With his fleet and territories, Ronin stood as a Bastion of Imperial Might against the New Republic Forces.

With Political Conflict upon political conflict, the Empire withered and weakened.  Rather than betray the Emperor and the Empire, Grand Admiral Stephan Ronin pulled his Strike Fleet from the Imperial Remnant’s control and declared his Task Force Independent of the corrupt leaders who betrayed Palpatine.  Fortifying their positions in the Minos Cluster the Emperor's Hammer began to solidify their operations as an Independent faction. 

Since the Battle of Endor, the Empire's Hammer remained a secluded force.  Her only ventures out of the Minos Cluster were coordinated hit and run operations with the military coup of Grand Admiral Thrawn.  With the death of Thrawn, the Emperor's Hammer once again returned to her isolationist policies, building her forces and waiting for an opportune time to strike in the name of the Emperor.

After several years of quiet build-up, reports eventually reached EH Command of a new force in the Core systems – a self appointed Emperor named Zaccarascrow, and escalation of the core Remnant forces against the New Republic. Ronin decided the time was right for the EH to begin its journey back to the Core and help re-establish Imperial prominence.

But Ronin, above all else, was a cautious, thoughtful man. Rather than rushing to the Core with the entire Strike Fleet, he decided to be prudent. The newly commissioned ISD Predator was sent, under the command of a veteran Officer, the former TIE Corps Commander, High Admiral Priyum, although few would be told his real identity. To the majority of people, he would simply be the ship’s Commodore, Rear Admiral Solar Macharius. His mission mandate was to establish communications and possible links with this so-called Emperor and determine the opportunities for the EH to return and take its rightful place in the existing Imperial hierarchy. To accomplish this, he and his crew were granted considerable leeway outside of usual Imperial protocol, to establish alliances and trade links as he saw fit.

The Predator Task Force left the Minos Cluster with a hardy crew. Upon arriving at Bilbringi, communications were quickly opened with the Imperial Command there, and the EH quickly integrated itself into Zaccarascrow’s military. Cracks soon began to appear. To EH troops who had grown up knowing the Emperor had died at Endor, Zaccarascrow’s claim seemed almost like heresy. For the EH Command, the attitude of some of the old school Imperial Commanders towards these “strangers” strained their relationship.

Eventually, with approval from the Grand Admiral, still an unknown authority to Imperial Command, the Predator Task Force left the company of the Imperial Remnant, to continue its mission without their involvement. For now, the EH would find its own way in this new Core.