Grand Admiral Ronin,

I received a letter from the Sci-Fi Expo that I attended last year in Dallas where I had the opportunity to meet Ray Park and get some autographs from him. It was really AWESOME! Anyways, the letter reads:

**********************************************************************
Meet the bad boys of Sci-Fi!
July 29-30, 2000
Crockett Center: Austin, TX

Over 150 exhibitors loaded with your favorite Star Wars, Star Trek, Superhero, Hotwheels, GI Joe, Pokemon, Posters, & more.

Mark your calendars now! For up to date info, guest additions, & other details, check out http://www.scifiexpo.com/ !

Meet Ray Park who portrayed the evil Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and who also appears as Toad in this summer's blockbuster movie X-Men! Don't miss this opportunity to meet this fan favorite villain in person! Also appearing...

- JG Hertzlet (Martok) & Robert O'Reilly (Gowron)
- Jerome Blake (Star Wars E1: Rune Haako)
- Richard LeParmentier (Star Wars Admiral Motti)

Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 10am-4pm
General Admission into the big toy show $6.00
VIP Admission to meet the celebrity stars $15.00
(VIP ticket good into the toy show both days)

All guests subject to professional commitments.
For more info check out: http://www.scifiexpo.com/

**********************************************************************

I encourage anyone who is able to attend to do so!!! As I said, I've been to this Scifi Expo before, and it's really fun... especially getting to meet Ray Park! Needless to say that I'll be there both days, so I hope to see you there as well! :)

Chancellor Valek Maulore
(Aurora Prime)/HC-1 [M-CRV:Pluto][CORT YT-2400:Charon]
[ESHU:Cerberus][LXY:Magnus Deus Mortis][Estate]
[BSS/BR][CoDx2][CoKx5][CoC]{IWATS-M-M/2}

Project Phoenix Completed:  07.17.00
As Emailed From:  CA:TAC/AD Striker/CA-3/SSSD Sovereign

Greetings,

It is my pleasure to report that Project Phoenix has just completed the goals originally fixed when it was approved. After a little more than nine months of hard work, Project Phoenix has given a new birth to 154 Battles and 97 Free Missions. All battles of the Emperor's Hammer released before the appointment of High Admiral Kawolski as Tactical Officer have been upgraded with briefings questions, animated briefings/briefing maps, readme and lfd files. Bug reported or discovered during our play-testing phase have been corrected as well.

The battles which have been corrected are:

TC-TIE Battles 1 to 116
DB-TIE Battles 1 to 13
IW-TIE and IW-XW Battles 1 to 23
ID Battles 1 to 4
CAB Battles 1 to 4
FCHG Battle 1
TIE Free Missions 1 to 97

Over 30 people have been working during all these months, and I would like to publicly thank all of them for their work and dedication, for participating in either the evaluation phase, the correction phase or the final play-testing phase, sometimes in all of them. Please cheer the following officers for their participation in this huge project:

Phase One - Evaluation

Admiral Striker
Lieutenant-Colonel Wet Willy
Major Jedgar
Major Monaghan
Captain Astin
Captain Chei-Ras
Captain Demon Yoda
Commander Killer

Phase Two - Correction

Admiral Danrik
Admiral Striker
Vice-Admiral Sauron
Lieutenant-Colonel Corran Horn
Lieutenant-Colonel Harkonnen
Lieutenant-Colonel Wet Willy
Major Jeff 'Tiger' Lourss
Major Monaghan
Captain Astin
Captain Chei-Ras
Captain Ravnos Nottingham
Captain Wedge (ret.)
Captain Wlodek
Commander Killer
Commander Rover
Lieutenant-Commander RAF
Lieutenant Stele Pellaeon

Phase Three - Playtesting

Vice-Admiral Corran Force
Vice-Admiral Sauron
Lieutenant-Colonel Calias
Major Monaghan
Major Reaper
Captain Atrus (ret.)
Captain Dagger
Captain Halcyon
Captain Mini Minkus
Captain Todbringer
Commander Ixion Deathbringer
Commander Dodger
Commander Juve
Commander Killer
Lieutenant-Commander RAF
Lieutenant-Commander Thrak Stener (ret.)
Lieutenant Warchild

I would like to highlight some names from this list; first of all, Captain Wlodek, who has been an invaluable member of the correction phase, but also Lieutenant-Colonel Harkonnen, Captain Astin, Commander Killer and Lieutenant-Commander RAF who have been other key elements of the correction work. I don't forget the playtesters, and among them I would like to give a special mention to Lieutenant-Colonel Calias and Commander Ixion Deathbringer, without forgetting the great work done too by Major Reaper, Captain Halcyon and Commander Dodger.

It has been a pleasure to work with all these people in the service of the Emperor's Hammer and its Mission Compendium. Bringing all these battles to the current standards on custom missions has been a long and painful task, and a lot of people spent a lot of hours on them; I personally even had to resign from my DB Consul Position to focus on the project, but I guess it was worth it. My only hope is that people will enjoy these old/new battles and missions; I do not guarantee we got rid of all the existing bugs, but at least most of them, and all corrected battles should now have somewhat as briefing. Feel free to use the EH Battle Center to report bugs and keep the Tactical Office busy :-)

Anyway, fixing the Compendium is an ongoing task, and there are already new bugs reported which only ask to be taken care of... that will be my new task ;)... After this summer, Project Phoenix should be back in an other form, more like a permanent Phoenix Team, the way the Beta Team operates for playtesting new battles, in order to check the battles released since HA Kawolski was appointed TAC and all the new ones, but the details are yet to be settled and approved :)

This will conclude what must have been the more important and successful project launched by the Tactical Office, and my final words will be for the people who allow this project to be completed, for the members of the project team: once again, thank you all for your participation.

Sith Battlelord, Admiral John 'Eagle' Striker
Command Attaché to the Tactical Officer, Creator/Director of Project Phoenix

o)[x<>x<>x||:[>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
CA:TAC/AD Striker/CA-3/SSSD Sovereign
GoE/GS/SS/BS/PC/ISMx5/MoI/MoT-9rh-2gh/LoC-ISx11/MoC-23B-13S-8G/CoL/OV-2E
{IWATS-SM/1/2-ICQ-RPG-XTT-XTM-TM-M/1/2-IIC/1/2/3} [KNGT], SBL(Sith)

EH Picture Archive Moved:  07.16.00
As Emailed From:  CA:IO/VA Absolutek/CA-5/SSSD Sovereign

<SALUTE>

With his resignation as Grand Master of the Dark Brotherhood, FA Thedek graciously donated the EH Picture Archive to the Internet Office. The EH Picture Archive holds real life pictures of EH members (supposedly).

While the look is still the same (for now), I have ripped out all the ASP code, and replaced it with my own code in PHP so that it will work on my server. So if you see anything that doesn't work, please let me know right away by sending me an email to: absolute@squadron.org. I already know that some of the text is out of place in Netscape 4.xx and lower, and I will fix this when i get some more free time.

The new location of the EH Picture Archive is: http://www.ehnet.org/pa. So please update your links.

I would very much appreciate it if more EH'ers sent in their real life pictures to be posted! :-)

CA:IO/VA Absolutek/CA-5/SSSD Sovereign
{IWATS-M1/2-IIC1/2/3-VBS-GFX}
GS/SS/PC/ISMx7/MoI/LoC-[LANC]

GMF Armus Stepping Down...Karva Appointed as Grand Moff:  07.10.00
As Submitted From:  Fleet Commander (GA Ronin) and Executive Officer (SA Compton)

Ronin, in the last 6+ months, I've enjoyed my job more than I care to say. But at this point, I've decided I've done all I can. I simply ran out of Nifty Cool Ideas, and because of that, I think the Directorate has suffered from "Running in place" syndrome. I know I have. I think its best for the Directorate if somebody with more energy and ideas would take over.. Its been a good run, and I regret very little. I know I've  butted heads with you on more than one occasion, but I hope you don't think it was personal. I just tend to be very stubborn. :)

I'm more than willing to keep watch until you choose a successor, and to that effect, I have several names that I'd like you to consider.

Prime Minister Karva - allansmarkowitz@prodigy.net
Minister of State Lammoth - alduin@jps.net
Minister of Indoctrination Zsinj - slookabill@aol.com
High Moff of Alpha Territory Jeffery - Domm w_bolinger@hotmail.com

Any of these people would make a fine Grand Moff.

To all the Directorate members, its been a blast, and I foresee only good things for you all. Best wishes.

**** Da Grand Moff has left the building ****

<SALUTE>

Grand Moff Kessian Armus
Sith Battle Lord Armus(Sith)CON/Clan Satal Keto
[GS][SS][BS][PC][ISM][IS][LoCx2][OV]/[TCx2][SoD]/[DC-KC][WR][SC][GC][CoL][LSS]
[IWATS-M]
"A dagger in the dark is somtimes more effective than a thousand swords
at dawn"
- Tacitus Imperia

GA Ronin and SA Compton,

I am currently an applicant for the position of Grand Moff the EH Directorate. And I realize you both do not know much about me and my career. It is for this reason I would like to give you an application so you know the basic gist of what I have done and what I plan to do. If this seems selfish or unsatisfactory, I apologize and I just wanted you to know a little bit about me. :-)

Directorate History: I joined the EH Directorate about 14 months ago. And I have been in it ever since. I have been at every rank and every position, so I have a grasp on every section of responsibility. During my tenure as Moff of the Phare system I helped create the Aurora-Phare Consortium with my colleague, Attom. This consortium proved very useful. And while I was in my tenure as High Moff of the Beta Territory I created the RG Corps...which is still around today and it's purpose is to help out the newer members of the Directorate and to get them adjusted to the SG's surroundings. For my whole career I always cared about the newest members...I realize they are the future of this Sub Group and the EH as a whole. It is my belief that if we can make the new members well-to-do and knowledgeable of all points of the EH and this Sub Group, than its future is safe. I have been Prime Minister and 2nd in Command of the Directorate for 2 months now and I have gotten to the bottom of the DIR structure and worked my way up. Most RG's and/or Planetary Governors know my name and know I help out whenever necessary. I want them to have confidence in my ability and my fellow Ministry Council members.

Other EH History: I am a Krath Priest in the Dark Brotherhood and QUA of House Acclivis Draco. While there I have learned other strategies for leadership and created an APP Training program which worked out well. I received 2 medals in my tenure in the DB. I am also in the Imperial Senate and have been there since it's creation. I am a well respected individual and am always there to lend a hand. I served as a Chairman for about 3 months in the Senate as well.

Comments: I feel it is necessary for me to send you an email which takes 10 min. to download in an attempt to cram my whole history in a single email. So I created a domain for myself a while ago which details all my ranks and past accomplishments. It can be reviewed at http://www.geocities.com/nomispg/record.htm. I hope you review it for further analysis of my background.

I thank both of you for my time and I leave you with the following section:

What I plan to do: I can't tell you what will happen but I can tell you I will expand the Directorate to as far as it can go and introduce new and exciting methods for members to occupy themselves. My main goal is to make the Directorate a better place for EH members, and frankly, I believe I've got the methods, energy, and ideas to do it.

Thank you for your time.

<SALUTE>

Prime Minister Karva Dronaal
PM/CZ Karva/Gondor Base, [LoA][SoD(2)][MoS-cm]
KP (Krath)/QUA/Acclivis Draco of Scholae Palatinae, SC/DC

New Grand Master of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood Appointed:  07.15.00
As Submitted From:  Fleet Commander (GA Ronin) and Executive Officer (SA Compton)

Following the review of several qualified Applicants, the Fleet Commander (GA Ronin) and Executive Officer (SA Compton) have selected FA Zoraan to be the new Grand Master.

The other Applicants reviewed and considered included:

• Training Officer/HA Astatine
• Tribune/Fleet Admiral Faethor

Chairman Valek Maulore Appointed Chancellor of the Senate:  07.03.00
As Emailed From:  Former Chancellor of the Senate (WhiteTiger)

<Bow>

Greetings, Sirs:

It is with regret that I announce that I must resign from my position as Chancellor of the Imperial Senate. My real life has become very busy lately and I no longer have the time necessary to properly run the Senate. Rather then cause my Senators to suffer from my lack of time, I am stepping down to allow some new blood in, someone with more time and new ideas.

The Senate is full of wonderful people with incredible talents. Two of these people I feel I must recommend for the position of Chancellor. DCH Creon Redwing (cyborrea@hotmail.com) has been my leaning post and my right arm since I took position as Chancellor in January. He is full of great ideas and wonderful web making skills. Given that he is at Cornell University for the summer, it might be necessary to ask him if the position of CHS is something he wants. I know that if it is a position he wants, it's a position he will do well.

I also put my full recommendation into CCN Valek Maulore (almaraz@arlut.utexas.edu). Valek is currently Chairman of the Debate Committee, one of the largest and most active within the Senate. He has shown unbelievable leadership skills as well as imagination and integrity. I have very much enjoyed working with him and know that he has the respect of his peers in the Senate. I have watched him over the last few weeks and know that he too could do the hard job of being CHS well.

Due to my hectic schedule, it will be necessary for me to step down from this position effective Saturday, July 15, 2000. I have not informed the Senate of my need to step down, and would like to not announce it until a replacement has been chosen.

Regards,

White Tiger
Chancellor of the Imperial Senate
(Aurora Prime)/HC-1[M-CRV: Oeil du Tigre][CORT YT-2400: Leader of the Pack][SHU:Sher Khan][LXY:Tiger Eyes][Estate][BU][BST][CoD][CoK][CoL][GOE][GS]

Grand Admiral Ronin and Sector Admiral Compton,

I am Valek Maulore, chairman of the Imperial Senate Debate Committee and recently appointed FCA. I am truly honored that Chancellor White Tiger has recommended me to succeed her as Chancellor of the Imperial Senate. CHS White Tiger has done an amazing job in her six months in office, and I am truly ennobled and touched by her confidence in me! I was surprised and exalted by CHS White Tiger's news to me. I understand her wish to keep her resignation under wraps and secret to maintain order and prevent an uproar in the Senate, and possibly the EH. She is a great leader in the truest sense of the word!

I am a 3rd year pre-med student at the University of Texas at Austin. How does this affect the application? Well, at first glance it doesn't. This does show you that I am a dedicated and hard worker for choosing this life altering career. My enemies are laziness and apathy. I've also worked at the Applied Research Laboratories since I graduated from high school a few years ago. I work as a Quality Assurance Engineer for Army software, specifically US Army Fire Support (kind of like back up gunnery). It's a great job. It allows me to use my brain! It's my job to find both technical and usability problems with software and communications. :)

I am a member of the Imperial Senate. Upon joining the Senate, I joined the Debate Committee, the largest of all the committees in the Senate. I was so excited! I love debating! I was a State-ranked debater in high school but haven't had time to do much debating in college. So I was absolutely ecstatic about Debating in the Debate Committee. The only problem was that the committee was literally dead. It was inactive beyond belief! Nothing happened in the committee, ever!

After awhile, CHS White Tiger dismissed the AWOL and completely inactive Chairman for the Debate Committee and appointed me as the new Chairman. I was pumped up and ready to get things moving! The first week I was Chairman, activity in the committee went from 0% to about 75%. I set up many new policies that have helped the committee thrive, even through today as I am still the Debate Committee Chairman. The Debate Committee is by far the most active committee in the Senate!

I believe that I have done an excellent job as Chairman. I have revived a dead committee. I have never once missed a weekly report to CHS on the activities occurring the Debate Committee. I also believe that I have earned the respect of my fellow Senators as a leader. I am firmly and absolutely devoted to the Imperial Senate.

Some of my methods were a bit extreme on raising activity... for example, I first emailed every single person in the committee with a separate and unique email letting them know what I knew about them and what more I wanted to know. I had to write individual emails because the information I had on each person was different from the rest. Needless to say, I received a HUGE response. Nearly everyone replied and was excited about a new Chairman who cared about getting the job done.

There are many important things I'd like to accomplish as Chancellor of the Senate:

1. I want to set up a point system similar to one I devised for the Debate Committee. This has significantly helped maintain the committee's high activity level. This point system awards Senators who remain active, and it has worked very well.

2. Though I wouldn't consider the Senate as a whole to be inactive, I would say that activity has been low in the Senate for a few months. I believe that the Senate HC could easily help solve this problem :) I would propose that the Senate HC play a slightly more active and public role within the Senate. Most of the Senators in the Senate don't know the High Councilors or what they do. I want that to change by having the High Councilors' weekly reports to the CHS be sent to the Senate (or at least have it posted on the internet).

3. The Imperial Senate website has been in the designing phases for quite awhile now. As CHS, I will try to accelerate the process and have the new site up quicker. The SG Site can make or break a SG, and I want to make sure that our site won't break the Imperial Senate!

4. The Imperial Senate University has been in the making for awhile now as well. I have a Debate Course written for the Senate, but the University as a whole is still incomplete. It is my intention to see the completion of the Imperial Senate University ASAP!

5. The Senate Manual has been under going some changes over the last few months. I want to make sure that the updated manual is more flexible for change in the future so that a rewrite is not necessary.

6. For the last few months, a large majority of the activities that went on within a committee was set up and run within that same committee. I would like to see the development of more Senate-wide competitions. This should help bring the activity level up in committees that don't have a high activity level.

I thank you very much Grand Admiral Ronin and Sector Admiral Compton for taking the time to read through my application. I appreciate your time and consideration greatly! :)

FCA/Chairman Valek Maulore
(Alzoc III)/Debate {ICS:NEO}
[ESHU:Cerberus][LXY:Magnus Deus Mortis]
[Office][BSS/BR][CoDx2][CoKx5][CoC]{IWATS-M-M/2}

Order of the Renegade (OoR) Medal Recommendation for AD Striker:  07.18.00
As Recommended By:  Tactical Officer (HA Kawolski)

<SALUTE>

Admiral Striker has diligently worked on Project Phoenix longer than I have been Tactical Officer, which in two months will mark my own anniversary as EH Tactical Officer, so I imagine it has been for a year's time. He has been a dedicated member and even now continues to work on making other corrections that were acknowledged on the bug pages. After the successful completion of the project with extraordinary results, I would like to formally recommend Admiral Striker with the Order of the Renegade. :) (He's currently already a GOE recipient)
 

= High Admiral Kawolski, Tactical Officer and Fleet Systems Engineer =
- TAC-FSE/HA Kawolski/CS-3/SSSD Sovereign
- MoH/ICx2/OoR/GOE/GSx4/SSx3/BSx2/PCx6/ISMx5 [IMPR]
- MoI-DC/MoT-7rh-1gh-1bh/LoCx3/MoC-1BoC
- CoSx3/CoE/CoL/CoB/LoAx3/OV-3E {IWATS-SM/1/2}
- http://www.tiecorps.org

CPT Wlodek Awarded the Grand Order of the Emperor (gOE) Medal:  07.20.00
As Recommended By:  Admiral John 'Eagle' Striker

With Project Phoenix coming soon to an end, at least in the way it was approved nine months ago, time has come to highlight the great work done by the people who helped me fixing briefings and stuff in all our old battles. Among them, Captain Wlodek of Pi Squadron has been by far my most reliable element, and has accomplished a work far beyond any expectation, being responsible of the correction of dozens of battles himself. For his extraordinary dedication to this Project and to the fleet, for his service "above and beyond the call of duty", I would like to recommend him for the Grand Order of the Emperor; he is more than deserving it.

Sith Battlelord, Admiral John 'Eagle' Striker
Command Attaché to the Tactical Officer, Creator/Director of Project Phoenix

o)[x<>x<>x||:[>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
CA:TAC/AD Striker/CA-3/SSSD Sovereign
GoE/GS/SS/BS/PC/ISMx5/MoI/MoT-9rh-2gh/LoC-ISx11/MoC-23B-13S-8G/CoL/OV-2E
{IWATS-SM/1/2-ICQ-RPG-XTT-XTM-TM-M/1/2-IIC/1/2/3} [KNGT], SBL(Sith)

Featured EH Star System:  Pirath
As Copied From:  EH Systems Manual

The Hier System was the isolated base of the Smugglers' Guild of the Emperor's Hammer. Now after it's merger with the Bounty Hunter's Guild, the Heir System still is home to many smuggling operations, and still has many of the remnants of the old organization. Here, traders and merchants from all across the Outer Rim visit to conduct business and indulge in the extravagances of the planet Dar and the PLT Sern...
 

System Statistics

Planet Name	Cinad	Hiran	Lien (moon)	Pirath III
Function	Mining	Trading	Sanctuary Moon	Gas Mining
Type	Terrestrial	Terrestrial	Class M Moon	Gas Giant
Radius	10,000 km	7,300 km	2,500 km	19,900 km
Distance from Star	0.2 AUs	0.9 AUs	0.9 AUs	4 AUs
Axial Tilt	14°	0° (Vertical)	0.5°	14°
Seasonal Changes	N/A	Extreme	Little	Mild, Heavy storms
Orbit	Elliptical	Elliptical	Satellite	Elliptical
Planetary Weather	None	Extreme	Subtropical	Mild (occasional storms)
Temperature	Inferno (300° to 550° C)	Warm (-60°- 40°C)	Warm (28°-39°C)	Moderate (5°- 10°C)
Atmosphere	None	Type I (Breathable)	Type I (Breathable)	Type III (Unbreathable)
Hydrosphere	None	Wet (81% Free Water)	Very Wet (94% Free Water)	Dense (99% Gas)
Gravity	Standard (1.09 standard)	Standard (0.8 Standard)	Standard (1.1 Standard)	Heavy (3.5 standard)
Length of Day	9 Standard Hours	22 Standard hours	22 Standard hours	89 Standard Hours
Length of Year	198 Local Days	312 Local Days	312 Local Days	679 Local Days
Terrain	Cratered	Archipelago/Rain forest	Rain forest	None
Moons	None	Lien	None	None
Sapient Species	None	Hirani (Humans)	Exiled Dark Jedi	None
Starport	Standard Class	Galactic Class	None known.	Standard Class
Population	500 Miners	50,000,000	156	50,000
Government	None	Democratic Parliament	Leadership	Imperial Governor
Tech Level	Hyperspace/Imperial	Hyperspace/Imperial	Hyperspace	Hyperspace
Major Exports	Precious Ores	Wood, Plant Products	None	Tibanna gas.
Major Imports	necessities	Luxuries, Technology	None	Food, luxuries

 

System Facilities

• Kratum Galactic Starport (Kratum City/Hiran)
• Stellar Anomaly Wha-23s (Stable Wormhole)
• Cathedral of Darkness (Lien)
• Tibanna Gas Collection Complex- "Shelob" (Under Construction- Pirath III)
• Dirigar Ore Inc. Mining Outpost (Cinad)
• PLT/4 Kraken (Hiran Orbit)
• PLT/3 Paradise (Cinad Orbit)
• Bounty Hunter`s Guild Outpost (Hiran)
• Credit Overload Casino (Hiran)

Located only 180 light-years core-ward of the Minos Cluster, Pirath is an archetype Outer Rim system. The star has only recently entered its red dwarf phase, creating spectacular sunsets for those who can see it from an atmospheric body. Pirath has a rather small complement of three planets all orbiting in an elliptical fashion. The only habitable bodies in the system are the oceanic planet Hiran and its singular forest-moon of Lien.

Hiran

While Lien has only developed herbivore mammals and reptilian predators, Hiran is inhabited by a race of humans no different from a Corellian or Alderaanian. Discovered by an exploration vessel just before the Clone Wars, the friendly Hirani welcomed the immigrants from across the galaxy. The industrial race who lived on the archipelagos of large islands that were the only land-masses on the planet readily adapted to Republic technology, and the capital of Kratum City became a bustling port that completely covered the world's largest island. The Republic maintained a garrison and small fleet during the Clone Wars, although all recruits and officers were Hirani. The planet escaped any of the wrath of the wars, and subsequently welcomed Imperial rule. The people are very business-like in their attitude and daily affairs, and wisely chose not to resist the Empire. Their lack of quarrels with the Empire meant that they escaped the horrors many other resistant worlds suffered and developed a tense friendship with the Imperials stationed in their system.

The small Imperial fleet in the Pirath system was called away to Endor late in the Civil War, and was completely destroyed by the Rebel Alliance. The Hirani did not particularly miss the Empire, and still kept the Old Republic ships which they had salvaged from the time before the Emperor. The New Republic donated a Platform to the Hirani and three squadrons of fighters. The Hirani, keeping business in mind, decided it was profitable not to swear allegiance to either the Empire or New Republic, although most strongly favor the Republic. Allegiance though, was forced upon them. The Emperor's Hammer sent a small fleet of Imperial warships to invade the Pirath system. Although fairly well-armed, the inexperienced PDF could not hold back the invaders. Early strikes destroyed the PDF Dreadnaught Resistance and forced the Hirani back to their home world. Amazingly, the Empire decreed that the Hirani Parliament could still govern the system, the only link to the Empire being emplacement of an Imperial Moff and Planetary Governors, standard Imperial taxation and two Imperial garrisons stationed in Kratum City. To prevent an uprising, the Emperor's Hammer left the Smuggler's Guild on PLT Kraken, and constructed an Outpost for the Bounty Hunters on Hiran. Allowing the loyal, native PDF to defend the system against the New Republic and pirates will save valuable resources for the Empire, and the Hirani have now found trading runs into once forbidden Emperor's Hammer space (i.e. Aurora) extremely profitable, increasing their contentment with Imperial rule. This silk-glove approach rather than the old Empire's iron fist shows that to gain support, the Imperials will have to change their attitude. The success of these policies in the Pirath system has proved a bench mark for future conquests. The Hirani Parliament recently allowed a Corporate Division mining corporation to set up an outpost on Cinad, an ore-rich planet, and construction on a Tibanna gas mine in the clouds of the gas-giant Pirath III is nearly complete. But the Pirath system's most interesting aspect is not its business-like people, or its rare Tibanna-rich clouds, but the strange stellar anomaly between the orbits of Hiran and Pirath III, an anomaly which may hold strategic importance for the Empire...

Cinad

Cinad is the second-largest planet in the Pirath system, and is the closest to the sun. It holds no atmosphere, and its surface is similar to a Class A moon. Cinad is the youngest of the three planets, being formed from the asteroid belt approximately 3.1 billion years ago. The ore-rich asteroids provide a wealth of minerals deep within Cinad's surface. The heat from the sun has acted as a natural refinery for the ores, cutting down the cost of production after mining. Most of the ore can be found in a liquid state in vast caverns deep below the planet's surface, with groups of minerals are usually isolated in large quantities.

With the Emperor's Hammer recent take-over of the Pirath System, the Hirani have allowed a small mining company, Dirigar Ore Inc. to set up a mining outpost on Cinad. Three groups have made money from the outpost - the Hirani from receiving Imperial mining contract dividends to allow the company to mine in-system, Dirigar from the massive amounts of valuable ores mined, and the EH Smuggler's Guild Platform Paradise, which provides accommodations for the 500 miners who work on Cinad at a price, the planet itself being too hot for to remain for long periods of time. The venture thus far been extremely profitable for all parties involved. Dirigar Ore Inc. Has also maximized their profits through the extremely efficient use of mining and processing droids in their ore lines.

In orbit around Cinad is the PLT Paradise. Owned and protected by the EH Smugglers` Guild, Paradise holds a casino rivaling those on Hiran. The PLT offers ample trading opportunities and welcomes characters from all walks of life. The "No questions asked" policy on-station has made Paradise a haven for criminals, mercenaries, bounty hunters and, of course, smugglers.

During the summer months, Hiran is an oceanic world, the only land-mass being archipelagoes of massive island chains. The world's largest island, Kratum, holds the planetary capital. The 400 square-kilometer island is completely covered by Kratum City, a bustling starport on the equator of the world. However, due to its extreme elliptical orbit, Hiran becomes a frigid wasteland during its winter months. The vast oceans become mostly frozen, requiring transport companies and agencies to convert from large ocean going convoys to smaller, faster "Icesail Barges". These 300 to 500 meter Icesail barges carry the latest environmental, navigation and communication equipment and are equipped for the worst icestorms Hiran offers. These Icestorms often rage for days across the wide open topography of the planet, with no significant mountain ranges of continents, these storms can be deadly to the unprotected.

The inhabitants are a short, stocky breed of humans (Old Republic colonists) who will do nearly anything to make a credit. Although the standard of living on Hiran is one of the highest in the Outer Rim Territories, its prices are equally as extravagant. It is rumored that the docking fee for Kratum Galactic Starport (The largest in the sector) for one night would feed a Tatooine family of four for a month. However, the steep prices do not scare away traders, though, as the variety of exports provides a wide opportunity for profit. Smugglers often deal with the Hirani, but they prefer the PLT Paradise to Hiran's exorbitant prices.

Kratum City also holds the headquarters of the Pirath Defense Force (PDF) and the spectacular Parliament House. In the space above Hiran is the PLT Kraken, the PDF Operations Center and in the interests of money making, The Majesty StarHotel. The Hammer's Fist, the ground forces contingent of the Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet, has two permanent garrisons stationed in Kratum City. The garrison consists primarily of stormtroopers, with the hustle and bustle of the City being too awkward for AT-ATs so only several AT-STs are stationed in the major population centers. The aquatroopers and snowtroopers garrisoned in Kratum City also find variations between the surrounding oceans and iceseas to be perfect for low-cost training facilities. However, there are also several detachments of Scout Troopers stationed planetside outfitted with their speeder bikes, they more than make up for the lack of larger AT-ATs and AT-STs.

The PLT Paradise is generally condemned by the native Hirani, as it has drawn away many traders, smugglers and tourists. The Hirani would destroy the Platform if it were not owned by the Smuggler's Guild and manned by elements of the Imperial garrison. Protection for the Paradise is provided by rotated squadrons of Imperial Starfighters of the Emperor's Hammer and a company of stormtroopers. Soon after its arrival in-system, the Emperor's Hammer forces destroyed and scuttled the remaining Hirani PDF R-41s, T-Wings, Z-95 Headhunters and Y-Wings, allowing only a modest number of atmospheric fighters and planet-based defense units.

The Paradise is sometimes frequented by three notable craft: The YT-1300 Corellian Queen, Muurian Transport Guild's Glory and the Modified Corvette Last Nova. These craft are used only for private smuggling, with the Corellian Corvette frequents the Core systems while the other two craft make shorter runs. Occasionally, an Imperial Star Destroyer may frequent the Platform, but the Smuggler's Guild has recently requested a permanent ISD to be stationed there and awaits a response from Fleet Command.

Apart from the Hirani, and despite the unusual extremes in climate, there is plenty of life. In the few short weeks of "spring", the planet literally explodes with life almost overnight. Stunted jungle-like vegetation covers any exposed land masses within days. Life in the oceans likewise goes into overtime. During the winter, most aquatic life dives to the great depths of the planetary oceans to escape the extremely cold surface temperatures and freezing oceanic ice caps. These varied and unusually adapted creatures quickly rise to shallow depths to spend the few summer months gorging and feasting on the abundant life widely available.

In the jungles, on the islands, many predators prey on peaceful Pouds, small, quick bipedal herbivores. In the air, giant Aithers swarm in groups. Their size (~10 to 20 meters wingspan) poses a threat to small vessels, and for this reason a sonic agitator has been set up on Kratum to scare away the Aithers. A large variety of fish are present in the oceans, and the equatorial Hirani reefs, which have shown a remarkable resistance to the temperature extremes, are some of the most spectacular in known space. The most deadly creature in the oceans is the Giant Kraken, a massive squid over 150 feet long with deadly, poisoned tentacles capable of easily disabling its intended prey. In early Hirani history, many fishing vessels were destroyed by the Kraken. These giant predators were hunted to the verge of extinction by the Hirani during their Industrial period, and sightings of this monster are now few and far in-between.

The Credit Overload Casino attracts many wealthy gamblers to Hiran, with the casino complex and hotel covering an entire island on one of the more remote, tranquil equatorial archipelagos. The Credit Overload boasts every type of gambling in known space, and the owner has promised to put a blaster to his head if he's missed out just one. Overload seeks to be on par with the great casinos of Rodia, where the best in the galaxy reside, and Overload is apparently even more unfair, with more than one man losing all his money at the tables, although this doesn't scare away potential gamblers. What does the owner have to say about these claims? "There's only one winner at the Overload - the bank!"

Lien

Perhaps one of the more mysterious places in the galaxy, Lien is reveled in ancient Hirani religion. Due to its almost perfectly circular orbit of Hiran, Lien has the advantage of receiving great amounts of reflected light/heat energy from its host planet during the cold winter months. This allows Lien to remain relatively humid and warm year-round and support a wide variety of life. Although the most exciting events in Lien's history took place over 8,000 years ago during the early days of the Old Republic and the Sith, the Hirani still hold the moon as a very evil influence in their religion.

The "Scrolls of Licarna" (A Hirani prophet living about 8,000 years ago) speak of the "Sorcerers of Darkness" who "Came from the sky to fall upon the forest-globe". The Scrolls (written by Licarna throughout his life) go on to describe how the Sorcerers occasionally came to Hiran, taking back with them the strongest and most intelligent people that the planet had to offer. The Sorcerers apparently wielded "Blades of Light" and one of them, known as Xuin Carat, could "project the wrath of the gods from his fingertips". Licarna explained that the Sorcerers represented all that was evil within the universe, and to resist them was to resist the darkness within one's soul. The Sorcerers` often violent visits to Hiran ended only a half-century after they had begun. However, these legends live today in the Hirani mythos and such stories are often told to children by their parents to make them behave.

Imperial Geologic Surveys of Lien show only one artificial structure on the planet - a large marble "Cathedral" as the original Old Republic surveyors described it. Old Republic Historians quickly dispelled the myth of the Sorcerers- 8,000 years ago, during the early days of space travel, a group of Dark Jedi led by the exiled Sith Lord Xuin Carat, attempted a takeover of Coruscant. The Dark Jedi coup was quickly defeated and the participants exiled to a distant star - Pirath. The Dark Jedi transport ship crashed on Lien, and that was the last heard from them. It is now plainly obvious that the ruins of the Cathedral of Darkness present on the moon.  were housing and religious centers for the people living there, and rather magnificent at that. Although Xuin and his followers died thousands of years ago, the ruins of his cathedral remain proudly and ominously standing, a testament to their dark powers. This apparently explains the kidnappings of the Hirani and their legends. Imperial archaeologists estimate that approximately 150 Dark Jedi once lived in the Cathedral, an unbelievingly thin spire measuring a half of a kilometer in height, with a strongly gothic influence. The building is constructed almost entirely of Gelinen Marble - a glassy, obsidian-like rock which, according to ancient Sith legend, attracts and absorbs the Dark Side of the Force. Gelinen Marble is thought to be the material used in the construction of the Temple of the Blueleaf Cluster and the Temple of the Dark Lord of the Sith on Endor amongst the Massassi Ruins on Yavin 4. It is rumored that the Fleet Commander is personally interested in studying these ancient ruins.

Pirath III

The only aspect of Pirath III which differentiates it from any other gas-giant in the galaxy is the fact that its atmosphere contains the rare Tibanna gas - vital in the efficient operation of modern high-powered blasters, lasers, ion cannons, superlasers and turbolasers.

Just after the Battle of Endor in the galaxy-wide scramble to find more sources for the rare Tibanna gas, SoroSuub Corporation, the once exclusively Imperial weapons manufacturer, laid down plans to build a city in the clouds of Pirath III, very much like the Tibanna Collection center on Bespin. Construction began on the unofficially dubbed "Shelob Complex" only a year after the Battle of Endor, and now the Complex is almost complete apart from a few technical glitches in the computer core. Already, a population of approximately 50,000 have moved to their new quarters in the Complex, with another 100,000 to 200,000 yet to arrive. Currently, SoroSuub has said that it will no longer only sell blasters to Imperials, but like BlasTech Industries, sell to anyone with enough credits, although this is expected to change with the anticipated arrival of an Imperial Star Destroyer to be permanently stationed there.

Apart from the Shelob Complex, there is nothing significant about Pirath III.

The most interesting aspect of the Pirath system and the single object that makes it strategically important is WHa-23s.

Retirement of the Grand Master [Special Edition]:  07.15.00
As Emailed From:  Former Grand Master of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood (FA Thedek)

Greetings to all,

As many of you know from conversations online, due to a restriction in my current schedule of time I have had to make the painful decision to step down from the role as Grand Master. I wanted deeply to hold on to this postion. I realized, however, that doing so would only inhibit the Dark Brotherhood from continuing to grow.

As such, I have seen to the appointment of previous Consul Zoraan. His experience in the field of command not only in the Brotherhood as a Consul for more than a year, but also as Command Staff in the Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet will be invaluable to his reign on the Iron Throne. I know that he will be a great leader, much greater than I, and hope that you will all support him and the goals and ideas he will be bringing to the Brotherhood.

As his first official act as Grand Master, Lord Zoraan has granted me the honour of staying a part of things and continuing to serve as part of the Dark Council. He has appointed me to the position of Lord Chamberlain of the Brotherhood. As such, the Dark Side Compendium will be updated for a more exact description of my duties in that role. My job will be to act as an advisor on the current state of the Brotherhood to Lord Zoraan and to continue to maintain and upgrade the Brotherhood's domain.

I deeply appreciate all the messages and notes of sadness expressed over my retirement. I have to say that I've enjoyed very much working with you all and that you'll hopefully still see me online from time to time. I won't completely disappear and intend to remain an important part of the Brotherhood. Thanks again for making my reign enjoyable

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Fleet Admiral Darth Thedek
Lord Chamberlain of the Dark Brotherhood
Dark Lord of the Sith
Grand Master Emeritus