Empire of the Hand The Empire of the Hand was an autocratic government secretly established in the Unknown Regions by Grand Admiral Thrawn of the Galactic Empire . With the support of Emperor Palpatine , Thrawn organized an expedition to explore and pacify the Unknown Regions while the Empire consolidated its rule over the known galaxy . Though the Hand was created as an extension of the Empire , its ideology was an amalgamation of Imperial ideals and Chiss principles . As a result , non - Human aliens were permitted to enter military service . The main objective of the Hand was to defend the galaxy from various threats within the Unknown Regions , including extra - galactic invaders . Government and politics . The Empire of the Hand was a faction that Grand Admiral Thrawn founded in the Unknown Regions by combining Chiss and Imperial ideologies and weaponry into a new military and political force . Thrawn ' s empire was intended to establish the order and efficiency of Emperor Palpatine ' s New Order , but without the Emperor ' s megalomania , the Tarkin Doctrine , and the institutionalized xenophobia . The Empire of the Hand drew its name from the Hand of Thrawn , the Grand Admiral ' s main fortress based on Nirauan . Though largely based on the authoritarian structure of the Galactic Empire , the government of the Empire of the Hand operated more like a confederation than a true empire . The Hand worked to form alliances with the native governments within the Unknown Regions as opposed to conquering them through brute force . Also unlike the Empire , the Hand accepted the alien races that lived in the Unknown Regions of space into the ranks of their military . The connection between the Galactic Empire and the Empire of the Hand was kept mainly for historical aspects , but also for the psychological value as well . The Empire of the Hand ' s military ethics were based on Thrawn ' s vision of war . It was an original combination of Chiss and Imperial tactics personally arranged by the Grand Admiral , such as respect of the enemies , careful consideration of soldiers ' lives , surgical strikes , demonstrative invasions , preventive strikes and the significant use of intelligence gathering . Despite the premature collapse of the Empire of the Hand , many of its political and social values gradually infiltrated the Imperial Remnant , thanks in part to the leadership of Gilad Pellaeon , a former follower of Thrawn . The recruitment of aliens and female Humans into the Imperial Military ' s ranks , as well as the decrease in xenophobic behavior , continued as the Remnant steadily reemerged as a resurgent Empire by 130 ABY . History . Formation . Thrawn made his first contact with the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious — the Sith persona of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine of the Galactic Republic — in 27 BBY , at the time of the destruction of the " Outbound Flight " . The Sith Lord and the Chiss Commander agreed with the idea that an unknown and powerful threat was rising in the Unknown Regions . Soon after the Declaration of a New Order , Captain Voss Parck of the " Victory " - class Star Destroyer " Strikefast " discovered Thrawn in exile on a remote planetoid in the Unknown Regions . Thrawn insisted he return to his people to protect them , but was convinced by Parck that by offering his service to the Galactic Empire , he would be better equipped to do so . Thrawn was convinced by Parck ' s reasoning and accompanied him to Coruscant . Upon reaching the Imperial Capital , Thrawn formally met Emperor Palpatine in person . Impressed by the Chiss , Palpatine decided to have Thrawn trained as an Imperial officer . After rising through ranks of the Imperial Military and sharing many ideas with the Emperor about the Unknown Regions , Thrawn was tasked with a mission to explore and pacify those as yet unexplored territories . However , in order to keep the true purpose of the mission secret , and because there was still resentment among the Imperial hierarchy about the heights to which the non - human Thrawn had risen , his assignment was disguised as an undermanned cartography mission , a seeming exile as punishment for his involvement with the losing side in one of the Imperial Court ' s petty feuds . In truth , the Emperor provided Thrawn with an enormous supply of ships and manpower . Expansion . Using the vast resources of the Imperial Navy , Thrawn mapped great swaths of territory . Voss Parck and Dagon Niriz , the commanders of his flagship , the " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyer " Admonitor " , were assigned to serve under Thrawn during his mission of exploration and conquest . Both men eventually became Thrawn ' s greatest supporters and were the first Imperial officers to join the Empire of the Hand . Thrawn also reestablished contact with the Chiss . Much of Thrawn ' s own people flocked to his banner because they had been battling many dark threats from the Unknown Regions , and looked to Thrawn as a new source of hope for the Chiss . However , the Empire of the Hand was viewed with distrust by the Ruling Families of the Chiss Ascendancy , who still considered Thrawn an outcast from Chiss society , especially after his infamous campaign . But agreeing with Thrawn ' s vision , many Chiss aristocrats unofficially supported Thrawn ' s renegade actions . In 10 BBY , Thrawn built a vast information complex on Nirauan , the Hand of Thrawn , and made it his base of operations . Peacekeeper of the Unknown Regions . In 2 ABY , Thrawn defeated a group of Ebruchi pirates and captured their leader Creysis . Though he went through great lengths to avoid capture , Creysis ultimately underestimated Thrawn . Creysis was captured when a tracking device led the Chiss Admiral to his base , where Imperial forces easily overwhelmed the pirates and apprehended its leader . Two years later , just after the Battle of Endor , the Ssi - ruu k launched a series of incursions into the known galaxy , as well as near Chiss Space . Thrawn responded with preventive strikes on the Ssi - ruuvi Imperium . Nevertheless , the Ssi - ruuk attacked several minor Chiss worlds , capturing several Chiss as entechment subjects . Ultimately , their aggressive actions incurred the wrath of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force , which retaliated with a devastating counter - attack on Ssi - ruuvi space . As a result of the Chiss ' s military strikes against the aggressors , the Alliance to Restore the Republic was able to defeat the Ssi - ruuk more easily . Thrawn ' s final campaign . In 9 ABY , Grand Admiral Thrawn returned to the known galaxy and launched a massive and brilliant campaign against the New Republic . But despite his genius , Thrawn was betrayed and killed at the Battle of Bilbringi . Thrawn had left his Empire behind under the leadership of Admiral Voss Parck . Parck , a select group of top Imperial officers , including General Soontir Fel and Commander Stent , and a cadre of Thrawn - loyal Chiss were given the responsibility of upholding Thrawn ' s vision and expanding his empire . None of them believed in the Grand Admiral was truly dead , having been told it was another of Thrawn ' s strategies , as he said he would return to them ten years after his announced death . Post - Thrawn . During the Caamas Document Crisis , the Empire of the Hand was discovered by Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade when they were searching for the source of the clones and mysterious starfighters that had suddenly appeared . They found the Hand of Thrawn and met Parck , Fel and Stent , still waiting for Grand Admiral Thrawn ' s return . Luke and Mara informed them of Thrawn ' s death . The Jedi refused to join them but accepted to not reveal the existence of this shadow empire . They found an almost mature clone of Thrawn and a map of the Empire of the Hand . They decided that the clone had done nothing wrong yet so they wouldn ' t destroy it , but when two defense droids attacked them , they were forced to involuntarily destroy the clone to escape . Before they did , R2 - D2 managed to download an unaltered copy of the Caamas Document . In 22 ABY , the Empire of the Hand was involved in a local conflict on the planet Kariek . Stormtroopers of the 501st Legion were dispatched to overthrow a warlord who had invaded and conquered Kariek , where he established a tyrannical regime . In the same year , the Empire assisted the Chiss Ascendancy and the New Republic against a third Vagaari invasion . The Vagaari were defeated in the Chiss Redoubt by the Chiss , the Jedi and the Empire . In the aftermath of the battle , many of the surviving colonists from Outbound Flight chose to join the Empire of the Hand . Disappearance . After the death of Thrawn ' s clone , the Empire of the Hand lost its designated heir and consequently its legitimacy . The Chiss Ascendancy took advantage of it to begin to absorb the Empire . The Empire of the Hand disappeared sometime during the Yuuzhan Vong War . The Jedi believed that the Killik s destroyed it , while the Chiss claimed that it was merely absorbed either by the Imperial Remnant or the Chiss Ascendancy itself . However , remarks made by Aristocra Chaf ' orm ' bintrano shortly before the Swarm War suggested that the Empire of the Hand was simply disbanded . Return . Despite their absence in the years following the Yuuzhan Vong War , the Empire of the Hand ultimately survived in deep space , far from the notice of the galaxy at large . Although rumors persisted that the Hand had either collapsed or been absorbed by the Chiss Ascendancy , Jagged Fel discovered that the Hand was still an active state . As Head of State of the Imperial Remnant , Fel kept the secret of the Hand ' s survival to himself for security purposes . Natasi Daala , the deposed Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance and admiral of the Maw Irregular Fleet developed a plot to seize control of the Remnant . With his position threatened by Daala ' s ambition to become Empress , Fel mobilized a fleet of loyal supporters and moved to destroy Daala and her subversives with a preemptive strike at Exodo II . At the same time , he requested aid from the Empire of the Hand , which dispatched a vanguard of its forces to aid the Remnant and its leader . After converging on Daala ' s position , a battle commenced to determine the future of the Imperial Remnant . Military . The Empire of the Hand maintained many visual connections to the Galactic Empire through its warships ( including Star Destroyers ) , vehicles , use of stormtrooper armor and Imperial uniforms . Many regular soldiers were given stormtrooper armor to promote order amongst the Empire of the Hand ' s citizenry . Traditional , elite stormtroopers remained , but were relatively rare . Unlike the Galactic Empire , the Empire of the Hand allowed and encouraged aliens of all its worlds to join their ranks either as pilots , soldiers or as stormtroopers . Despite the disdain of the Ruling Families for Thrawn , the Chiss constituted the bulk of the Empire of the Hand forces . The " Nssis " - class Clawcraft was the better example of successful collaboration between Chiss and Imperial engineers . During the rule of Palpatine ' s Empire on the galaxy , Thrawn also tried to attract the best elements of the Empire to the Empire of the Hand . One of them was Baron Soontir Fel . At some point , Thrawn became a Syndic within Chiss society . With his new - found title , he created his own House Phalanx , a typical Chiss paramilitary organization . Although the creation of a personal warrior retinue did not make Thrawn more respectable amongst his own people , it enabled him to recruit many Chiss sympathizers who could publicly voice their support for him . Astrography . Thrawn explored the Unknown Regions more than anyone else before him . In 19 ABY , the Empire of the Hand stretched across the equivalent of 250 sectors , as opposed to the Imperial Remnant ' s 8 sectors . Its capital was Nirauan . In 22 ABY , the Wild Space system Kariek joined the Empire of the Hand .