The missions that Emperor's Hammer run will typically include VIP escort, Facility/capital ship interception, strike and defense missions. Although the Emperor's Hammer is still being formed, it is anticipated that its members will be seeing active duty following upcoming release of a mission editor. If any squadron members have knowledge of such a file, you are asked to notify the recently assigned Wing Commander General Ronin (W Call@AOL.com) for upgrade to mission control.

It should be noted that since the Wing Commander has flown all missions in the original TIE Fighter and Defender of the Empire expansion disk, the time and story line pickup following their completion. However, as missions dictate, some will be flown utilizing the standard fighter complement in the original TIE fighter.

In keeping with the strict dictates of Emperor Palpatine and the Inner Circle of the Secret Order, certain minimum skill levels will be required to maintain the Wing Structure. However, once the Squadron Commander positions are filled, the composition of their unit is at their discretion. Palpatine wishes to retain an uncharacteristic individuality and flexibility in the Emperor's Hammer to meet the upcoming rebel encounters.

Consequently, Squadron Commanders will have to meet the following minimum skill levels:

     Training Patches in ALL fighter craft
        Gold Combat Medallions in ALL fighter craft
        Rank of Colonel
        Medals for completed Battle Nos. 1 through 7
        Member of Inner Circle of Emperor's Secret Order
        500,000 points
        250 kills

Please submit *.trf files by AOL E-Mail to the Wing Commander (W Call @ AOL.com) for verification. Please note that since this unit is comprised of volunteer forces, the Squadron Commander positions will be filled upon first request. In a case of two applicants of equal ability requesting the same position, the Wing Commander will arbitrate the decision following petition by both candidates.

As stated above, Squadron Commanders will form their own units. However, since this is an elite unit, the following are recommended guidelines:

Flight Leader
Training Patches in ALL fighter craft
Gold Combat Medallions in all fighter craft but the TIE Defender
and Missile Boat (Bronze or Silver)
Rank of Commander
Medals for completed Battle Nos. 1 through 7
Member of 3rd Circle of Emperor's Secret Order
250,000 points
150 kills

Flight Member
Training Patches in all fighter craft but Missile Boat
Silver or Gold Combat Medallions in all fighter craft but the TIE Defender
and Missile Boat
Rank of Lieutenant
Medals for completed Battle Nos. 1 through 7
Member of 1st Circle of Emperor's Secret Order
100,000 points
50 kills

Unloading Emperor's Hammer during
training exercises in Outer Rim
(photo: TIE Fighter - LucasArts, 1994)

WING STRUCTURE

The following presents the standard command structure for the Emperor's
Hammer of the Imperial Class Star Destroyer Avenger:

        EMPEROR'S HAMMER (72 TIE Fighter complement)

                COMMANDER:  General William "Ronin" Call

                        ALPHA SQUADRON - Command Squadron (3 flights = 12 TIEs)

                                COMMANDER: General William "Ronin" Call (TIE Defender)

                                SHIP TYPES:  TIE Defender, TIE Missile Boat, TIE Advanced

                                PURPOSE:  Command/Strike

                        BETA SQUADRON - Elite Strike Squadron (3 flights = 12 TIEs)

                                COMMANDER: To be assigned

                                SHIP TYPES:  (2) TIE Defender and TIE Missile Boat

                                PURPOSE:  Deep Strike,  Interdiction and Special Operations

                        GAMMA SQUADRON - Close Support Squadron (3 flights = 12 TIEs)

                                COMMANDER: To be assigned

                                SHIP TYPES:  (3) TIE Missile Boat

                                PURPOSE:  Close Support, Long Range/Capital Ship Interdiction

                        DELTA SQUADRON - Recon Squadron (3 flights = 12 TIEs)

                                COMMANDER: To be assigned

                                SHIP TYPES:  (3) TIE Defender

                                PURPOSE:  Deep Recon/Strike

                        EPSILON SQUADRON - Strike Squadron (3 flights = 12 TIEs)

                                COMMANDER: To be assigned

                                SHIP TYPES:  TIE Defender, TIE Advanced, TIE Bomber

                                PURPOSE:  Strike, Defense and Interdiction

                        LAMBDA SQUADRON - Strike Squadron (3 flights = 12 TIEs)

                                COMMANDER: To be assigned

                                SHIP TYPES:  TIE Defender, TIE Advanced, TIE Bomber

                                PURPOSE:  Strike, Defense and Interdiction

Imperial Star Destroyer
launching a TIE fighter
(photo: RYPERSON, 10/94)

IMPERIAL STAR DESTROYER AVENGER

The Avenger is a member of the Imperial Class Star Destroyers. The Imperial Class has been developed as a replacement for the obsolete Victory Class which was produced during the Clone Wars. Unlike the Victory Class, which was designed for planetary defense, assault and ground troop support, the Imperial class is designed for primarily ship to ship combat. The Imperial Class Star Destroyer possesses enough firepower to reduce entire fleets and planets to their knees. Although the Empire wields a great weapon with the Imperials, their presence alone is generally sufficient to accomplish the assigned task. The costs to build and maintain these behemoths rival the GNP of most star systems.

The Avenger has had a long and valorous history. It has been involved in more than 450 missions since its commissioning. The Avenger is currently assigned to Lord Vader's personal Strike Force consisting of the Executor, Devastator and two classified vessels. It is commonly rumored that these two vessels are Imperial Class Star Destroyers in appearance, but they are not so by design. Following destruction of the Rebel TIE Defender manufacturing facility and the retreat of Admiral Zaarin, newly promoted Grand Admiral Thrawn has ordered that the Avenger undero retrofit and retraining. The Emperor, Lord Vader and Grand Admiral Thrawn have ordered the commissioning of the Emperor's Hammer as an elite rapid strike and interdiction force to counter expected assaults by former Admiral Zaarin and his remaining forces. As an interesting side note, the Avenger has apparently had eight captains over the last two years.

The following presents the statistics for the Avenger, as published in the Stele Chronicles released with TIE Fighter (1994):

AVENGER STAR DESTROYER

Name/Model #: Imperial-1 Class
Designer/Manufacturer: KDY
Combat Designation: Capital Starship
Length: 1,600 meters
Crew: 37,085 (4,520 officers and 32,565 enlisted)
Power System: SFS I-a2b solar ionization reactor
Weapons:
60 Taim & Bak XX-9 heavy turbolasers
60 Borstel NK-7 Ion Cannons
10 Phylon Q7 tractor beam projectors
Starfighter Squadrons: Emperor's Hammer (one wing)
Planetary Assault Troops:
Full standard stormtrooper division
12 landing barges
20 AT-AT walkers
30 AT-ST walkers
Other Craft:
8 Lambda Class Imperial Shuttles
15 Stormtrooper Transports
5 Assault Gunboats

AT-AT Walkers during
Battle of Hoth
(photo: SnowLance, 3/94)

WING COMMANDER'S NOTES

I hope that you have enjoyed this newsletter and will join the Emperor's Hammer in cleansing the Galaxy of the upstart Rebel Alliance and its allies. Since I'm relatively new at AOL forums, please forward any suggestions to W Call @ AOL.com. In addition, I'll hopefully be issuing future newsletters in Microsoft Word format. Shoot straight and be true to the Empire...Long live Emperor Palpatine...

Wing Commander General William "Ronin" Call
Emperor's Hammer
Imperial Star Destroyer Avenger