Chimaera / Legends The Chimaera was an " Imperial II " - class Star Destroyer of the Imperial Navy that served for over 40 years and fought during the Galactic Civil War , the Yuuzhan Vong War and the Second Galactic Civil War . Under command of the famous Grand Admiral Thrawn , it led the Chiss admiral ' s fleet during his brilliant campaign against the New Republic . In the following years , it became the flagship of the Imperial Remnant under Gilad Pellaeon . The Empire lost the " Chimaera " following the Yuuzhan Vong War when it was severely damaged . The starship was eventually recovered by former Imperial Admiral Natasi Daala , who made it the flagship of her private fleet , the Maw Irregular Fleet . History . Galactic Civil War . Early in its service , an officer by the name of Gilad Pellaeon was transferred to her command crew ; he eventually became the ship ' s second in command . During this time , the " Chimaera " was upgraded to the new " Imperial II " standard , increasing its shielding and armament . At some point prior to the Battle of Endor , the " Chimaera " was seen undergoing weapons testing along with the " Inexorable " , the " Nemesis " and the " Stormhawk " in the Carida system . Ace Azzameen ' s " Otana " mistakenly emerged from hyperspace near the Star Destroyers but managed to escape . Later , it was recalled to Endor as part of Death Squadron , the fleet protecting the second Death Star , under Admiral Horst Strage . It was next in the chain of command after the command ships " Executor " and " Pride of Tarlandia " , and with the destruction of both , became acting command ship . After several hours of fighting and the loss of Admiral Strage , Captain Gilad Pellaeon became acting commanding officer of the fleet and ordered a retreat to the nearest sector capital , Cannij Barr , in the Annaj system . A quarrel broke out between the new commander of Death Squadron who wanted to counterattack the Rebels and two higher ranking officers : Admirals Harrsk and Adye Prittick . Harrsk quickly deserted to create his own warlord fief and Pellaeon accepted to transfer command to Admiral Prittick who ordered a retreat to the Yag ' Dhul system , in order to protect the Core Worlds . Admiral Prittick briefly commanded the fleet while at Annaj but did not remain in command for reasons still unknown ; this was presumably at least in part due to the authority vested in " Chimaera " itself . " Chimaera " remained under Pellaeon ' s command during the tumultuous years that followed , and under Pellaeon ' s leadership , she came to be regarded as one of the Empire ' s most efficiently run Star Destroyers . Thrawn ' s flagship . This record for efficiency may have been what made Grand Admiral Thrawn choose the " Chimaera " to be his flagship . Thrawn immediately left his mark on the ship , having a luxury entertainment suite once used by Pellaeon ' s predecessor turned into a meditation chamber / command room . Thrawn ' s reorganization of the fleet placed the " Chimaera " at the center of his personal armada , along with the Star Destroyers " Death ' s Head " , " Judicator " , " Inexorable " , " Stormhawk " , and " Nemesis " . Thrawn soon began training the crew to his own specifications , and when he ordered the " Chimaera " to Tatooine to obtain the Alderaanian moss painting Killik Twilight , they were put to the test by the unexpected complications caused by Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo . Soon afterward , Thrawn began his campaign on the New Republic in earnest , starting with an information raid on Obroa - skai . The " Chimaera " remained his flagship throughout this devastating campaign , up until his death at Bilbringi at the hands of his Noghri bodyguard , Rukh . Pellaeon was forced to call a full retreat of the Imperial Starfleet , which regrouped near the Unknown Regions . New Republic capture . Soon after , he was summoned to the Deep Core to serve the clone of Palpatine . During Operation Shadow Hand , Pellaeon was forced to abandon the " Chimaera " in the midst of the capture of Duro , losing most of his senior staff in the process and nearly dying himself . Her burnt hulk was taken in by the New Republic . The " Chimaera " , now in New Republic hands , was nearly scrapped on several occasions . Finally , some years later , slicers working for the Empire created a false disassembly order for the ship , sending it to the shipyards of Gravlex Med , former homeworld of the Anx . Upon its arrival , its skeleton crew was overcome by Imperial commandos , who then blasted their way through New Republic pickets . Admiral Ackbar himself commanded the forces that attempted to recapture the " Chimaera " , but Pellaeon , now an Admiral in command of the entire Imperial Starfleet , nonetheless recovered his flagship . Pellaeon assigned Captain Ardiff to command the ship . Flagship of the Remnant . The fortunes of the Empire soon took a turn for the worse . In a last ditch effort , Pellaeon had a cloaking device and a Computerized Combat Predictor installed aboard the " Chimaera " for trials . Ultimately , the trials proved unpromising , and Pellaeon began seeking a treaty with the New Republic . Despite the scheming of recalcitrant elements within the Empire , Pellaeon succeeded in convincing the New Republic to declare peace , and Pellaeon and Acting Chief of State Ponc Gavrisom of the New Republic signed the peace accords aboard the " Chimaera " , finally ending the decades - long war between the two governments . Yuuzhan Vong War . A fairly long period of peace was punctuated by the Yuuzhan Vong War . The " Chimaera " served valiantly at the Battle of Ithor , then was recalled along with the rest of the fleet to defend the Imperial Remnant itself . Eventually , Yuuzhan Vong forces , under Commander B ' shith Vorrik , appeared in the Bastion system , destroying planetary defense systems with ease and catching the Imperial Navy off guard , as they were expecting the force to attack the Hand of Thrawn base at Nirauan . Only the " Chimaera " responded to the attack with suitable efficiency . Despite this , the Navy was able to hold its own , or so it appeared , until the Yuuzhan Vong pulled back to make way for swarms of thousands of grutchin s . The Navy responded to the grutchins with what Pellaeon considered to be appalling disorganization . The Empire took serious losses from Vorrik ' s forces , and Pellaeon ordered the evacuation of Bastion . " Chimaera " and another " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer , the " Superior " , were harried by the Yuuzhan Vong all the way to a gas giant planet further out in the Bastion system , where the " Chimaera " took considerable damage before a coralskipper rammed the bridge of the ship . Pellaeon was nearly killed , but a junior officer pulled him from the bridge and took him to a medical frigate . " Chimaera " was later able to limp into the Yaga system , where it began undergoing repairs . For the remaining duration of the war against the Yuuzhan Vong , Pellaeon commanded the fleet from the bridge of a different Star Destroyer , " Right to Rule " . As Supreme Commander of the Galactic Alliance Defense Force , Pellaeon ' s flagship was the " Megador " . It is possible that it was decided that the Alliance ' s flagship should not be one with such a distinguished history of Imperial service , especially with its commander being an Imperial as well . Second Galactic Civil War . The " Chimaera " was later used by Admiral Natasi Daala as the flagship of her Maw Irregular Fleet during the Second Galactic Civil War . The ship had been refitted with unique weaponry , Metal - Crystal Phase Shifter s , remaining from Daala ' s command of the Maw Cluster where the Empire had developed new weapon technologies . These weapons made Chimaera a serious threat to all enemy vessels as that their shields could not repel the attacks . Daala made a theatrical arrival at the Second Battle of Fondor where the " Chimaera " enabled a decisive victory of the Imperial Remnant and the Alliance - in - exile against Darth Caedus ' s Galactic Alliance . The ship later supported the Jedi Coalition at the Second Battle of Roche . Later history . In the years following the Second Galactic Civil War , Daala became Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance but was quickly deposed by the New Jedi Order in order to end her increasingly tyrannical rule . She eventually developed a plot to seize control of the Imperial Remnant . With his position threatened by Daala ' s ambition to become Empress , Head of State Jagged Fel mobilized a fleet of loyal supporters , including some Empire of the Hand forces , and moved to destroy Daala and her subversives with a pre emptive strike in 44 ABY . At Exodo II , he engaged the Maw Irregular Fleet , once again led by the " Chimaera " . Tors Remal served as the ship captain during the battle . Behind the scenes . The " Chimaera " was created by Timothy Zahn for his seminal 1991 novel " Heir to the Empire " . As the flagship of the famous Grand Admiral Thrawn and later the Imperial Remnant , it has became one of the most emblematic starships of the Expanded Universe and its history now extends over 40 years . In 2000 , Decipher ' s " Star Wars Customizable Card Game – Death Star II Limited " retcon ed the " Chimaera " as one of the Star Destroyers seen in " " . The vessel shares its name with the of ; later books established other Star Destroyers named after monsters of Earth mythology , such as the " Gorgon " , " Basilisk " , " Hydra " , and " Manticore " , which composed the fleet protecting Maw Installation in " the Jedi Academy Trilogy " . Excepting the manticore , no reason was given for these creatures being mentioned in the " Star Wars " galaxy . " Chimaera " was also the name of a server — or " Galaxy " — in " Star Wars Galaxies " .