Kilji war cruiser

The Kilji war cruiser or Kilji battle cruiser was a type of war cruiser used by the nation of the Kilji species, the Kilji Illumine. Longer than Kilji picket cruisers and larger than Chiss heavy cruisers, the Kilji cruisers were armed with spectrum lasers and missiles covered by peace-sealing. Used in ship-to-ship naval warfare, the Illumine's war cruisers were outfitted with an engine, a hyperdrive, and escape pods. Generalirius Nakirre, the ruler of the Illumine, commanded a Kilji war cruiser, the Whetstone. Illumine General Crofyp commanded the Anvil, another war cruiser, which served as the flagship of the general's task force, which also included the picket cruiser Hammer.

In 18 BBY, Nakirre allied himself with the Grysk operative "Jixtus," who promised to guide the Illumine's conquests of enlightenment in the Unknown Regions. The generalirius allowed the operative to travel aboard the Whetstone while they sowed discord among the families of the Unknown Regions Chiss Ascendancy, visiting several Chiss worlds and meeting with Ascendancy officials. Jixtus dispatched Crofyp's task force to the Unknown Regions' Rapacc system, where the Kiljis attempted to capture a group of refugees hiding on the planet Rapacc; however, confronted by the Paccosh-commandeered Nikardun blockade frigate Aelos and the Chiss heavy cruiser Springhawk, the task force was unable to retrieve the refugees, as the Anvil was destroyed by the Springhawk and the Hammer was forced to flee.

After the Illumine's battle fleet, the Illumine Kilhorde, was destroyed by the Paataatus Hiveborn nation, the Whetstone traveled to the Unknown Regions' "Sunrise" system, where Jixtus killed Nakirre, as he considered the generalirius useless without the Kilhorde. Following Nakirre's murder, the war cruiser's crew fired the Whetstone's weaponry at Jixtus's flagship, the FateSpinner, prompting its commander to destroy his own warship and kill himself.

Characteristics

Systems and armament

The Kilji war cruiser, also known as the Kilji battle cruiser to members of the Chiss species, was a type of midsized warship of war cruiser class. The Kilji cruisers were propelled by engines and a hyperdrive and could dock with shuttles. They were outfitted with at least two Kilji escape pods located on the bridge, to starboard and portside respectively, and peace-sealing that covered their weaponry—spectrum lasers and missiles. The sealing, which could be removed by detonating a number of explosive bolts, covered the lasers and several missile tubes on the vessels' nyix-alloy hull. The hull featured shoulder and bow weapon clusters and electrostatic barrier nodes that produced electrostatic barriers that protected the warships' hull. The starships featured a comm system.^[1]

The war cruisers were longer than the Kilji picket cruisers and two-thirds the size of a Chiss heavy cruiser and three or four times smaller than a Shatter-class WarMaster of the warlike Grysk species. As Kilji vessels, the cruisers were designed around a first-strike strategy.^[1]

Interior

The cruisers contained a docking bay that led to a vestibule that featured a hatch leading to a thirty meter utilitarian corridor of cold metal and ceramic followed by a hatch, followed by a compartment that looked like a child's playhouse. Decorated with patterns of pinpricks of colored chase-pattern lights, a thick and brush-topped carpet, it featured a round table that housed a modern multiscreen—a device consisting of several screens that displayed recordings—and six chairs. The war cruisers' corridors were illuminated by light globes.^[1]

The vessels' bridge, which featured a viewport, housed several stations—a helm; the pilot's chair; the navigator's station; the commander's station and command chair; and a chair and a table. The crew was protected by restraints. The bridge featured speakers. Orange-rimmed doors to starboard and portside led to the escape pods.^[1]

Role

The Kilji war cruisers could be used in ship-to-ship naval warfare or as a transport.^[1]

History

Nakirre's journey

The Kilji Illumine, nation of the Unknown Regions Kilji species, used the Kilji war cruisers. Illumine General Crofyp commanded a war cruiser, the Anvil, the flagship of the general's task force, which also included the picket cruiser Hammer. Generalirius Nakirre, the Illumine's ruler, commanded the Illumine Kilhorde battle fleet and the war cruiser Whetstone, the Illumine and the Kilhorde's flagship.^[1] Around 18 BBY,^[2] Nakirre allied himself with the coordinator of the Grysks, an operative known as "Jixtus." He promised to guide a series of conquests of enlightenment in the Unknown Regions the Kilji battle fleet would carry out while Nakirre allowed him to travel aboard the Whetstone as they instigated a civil war in the Chiss Ascendancy nation.^[1]

The Whetstone visited several Unknown Regions worlds and systems. In the Zyzek system, it encountered the Chiss heavy cruiser Springhawk and its commander, Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo, core name "Thrawn." Nakirre engaged in a brief confrontation with Thrawn over the planet Zyzek. While Nakirre prepared his vessel for combat, Zyzek System Defense shut down the confrontation, prompting the generalirius to leave Zyzek for the Ascendancy's planet Avidich.^[1]

There, the Whetstone was ordered away by Mitth family Patriel Thistrian. Jixtus complied, frustrating Nakirre, who believed that they should have had the war cruiser orbitally bombard Avidich. The Grysk instructed the generalirius to bring the Whetstone to an Unknown Regions star system. After their arrival at the star system, Jixtus summoned his Shatter-class WarMaster, the FateSpinner, threatening Nakirre with using it to eradicate the Kilhorde and destroy the Whetstone, forcing the generalirius to follow his every command. Securing Nakirre's obedience, Jixtus had the Whetstone visit the Chiss planet Rhigar. The Grysk told Captain Clarr'os'culry "Roscu" that her family, the Clarr family, was in danger, inviting her to board the Whetstone so that they could discuss it at ease. The captain, Nakirre, and Jixtus spoke in a meeting room and discussed the threat posed by the Dasklo ruling family. Roscu purchase d a recording of several Chiss vessels attacking a freighter and left.^[1]

Crofyp's gambit

Shortly afterward, Jixtus dispatched General Crofyp's task force to the Unknown Regions' Rapacc system, where the general's forces were to capture a group of refugees on the planet Rapacc. After traveling through hyperspace, the two cruisers under Crofyp's command arrived at Rapacc. Confronted by the Nikardun blockade frigate Aelos, commandeered by the Paccosh species of the Rapacc system, the general issued a directive to the blockade frigate's commander, Commander Uingali foar Marocsaa, to move aside and let his forces retrieve the refugees they had come for; the Paccosh refused. Marocsaa's refusal prompted the Kilji general to move his ships for a cross-fire attack on the Aelos.^[1]

The Anvil moved past the frigate along its starboard and the Hammer did likewise along its portside. Once the Kilji ships were in position, however, the Springhawk arrived in the outer system, firing two ship-disabling plasma sphere weapons at Crofyp's flagship before executing a microjump and joining the confrontation in the inner system. Thrawn commanded the Kilji commander to move clear of the Aelos, which he classified as his prey, prompting the Kilji to launch spectrum laser salvos from his war cruiser and picket cruiser in a fit of rage. However, the Kilji vessels did not damage the Chiss heavy cruiser, whose plasma spheres soon disabled the Anvil while it shielded the Hammer so that the smaller cruiser could escape. As Tildnis's vessel escaped, Chiss breacher missiles destroyed the Kilji flagship, whose navigator, Pathfinder Qilori, escaped aboard an escape pod.^[1]

Capturing Qilori, Thrawn brought the navigator aboard the Aelos and tasked him with using the Force to track down the remaining vessel. The blockade frigate's crew located the Hammer and boarded it, stealing Kilji data on the Kilhorde before leaving. One of Jixtus's Grysk warships destroyed the picket cruiser.^[1]

Downfall and revenge

As the Kilhorde conquered several small nations to the south and southeast of the Ascendancy and obliterated by the Paataatus Hiveborn nation after Thrawn shared the data from the Hammer with them, Nakirre and Jixtus continued their travels. Shortly afterward, the Whetstone traveled to the Unknown Regions' "Sunrise" system, where it encountered a fleet of Kilji vessels under Thrawn's command. The senior captain confronted Nakirre through comm and revealed that his battle fleet had been destroyed by the Hiveborn, prompting Jixtus to kill the generalirius, for he considered him useless without the Kilhorde.^[1]

As a battle between the Chiss's fleet and Jixtus's fleet erupted, Qilori, who Jixtus had tasked with navigating the Whetstone, realized that while the FateSpinner fled the battle, it would pass in front of Nakirre's war cruiser, allowing the Grysk vessel to kill the Kiljis aboard. Qilori then promised to guide the Whetstone's crew, which consisted of Kilji vassals, Kilji followers of the Kilji way of order and enlightenment religion, until he could return them to their home, commanding them to fire all of the Whetstone's weaponry at Jixtus's flagship. The Kilji attack disintegrated the FateSpinner's starboard aft flank, inducing Jixtus to use a self-destruct mechanism to destroy his vessel and kill himself. Thrawn tasked Qilori with bringing Sarsh, another navigator who was navigating a Paccian troop transport part of Thrawn's fleet, and the Kiljis to their respective home after the senior captain disarmed the Whetstone.^[1]

Behind the scenes

Two Kilji war cruisers appeared in the 2021 novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil, the second volume in the Star Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy written by Timothy Zahn.^[1]

Appearances

• Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil (and audiobook) (First appearance)

Notes and references