Syndic Mitth'raw'nuruodo's Household Phalanx

Syndic Mitth'raw'nuruodo's Household Phalanx, also known as Syndic Mitth'raw'nuruodo's household phalanx, Mitth'raw'nuruodo's household phalanx, Grand Admiral Thrawn's Household Phalanx, Thrawn's Household Phalanx,The Unknown Regions or simply Thrawn's Phalanx, was a Household Phalanx loyal to Syndic Mitth'raw'nuruodo, better known to the galaxy at large as the Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn. In the words of one of its officers, it was a "renegade phalanx." although for at least part of its existence, it operated under the aegis of the Empire of the Hand.
Although a study prepared by the University of Sanbra in the final years of the New Republic described Thrawn's House Phalanx as a "portion of the CEDF," this seems to be a self-consciously euphemistic reference to the number of Chiss military personnel who had left their posts to join it, perhaps compounded by a lack of certainty on the author's part as to the true status of the phalanx. The scant available evidence suggests that a unit wearing the House colors of a Ruling Family should be operationally distinct from the black-clad troops of the CEDF, and the Sanbra study dryly notes that the personnel in the House Phalanx had "taken an extended leave" to deal with threats outside the borders of the Ascendancy, action that would have been regarded as "treason" and "secession" had the Ascendancy's leadership been capable of publicly admitting that it was occurring.
==History==
During his tenure as Syndic, Mitth'raw'nuruodo, core name "Thrawn," of the Eighth Ruling Family commanded his own personal Household Phalanx. With his fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers, the Imperial forces worked alongside the native forces of his loyal Household Phalanx. The territory conquered in these campaigns became the basis of a new power, the Empire of the Hand. This new government formed an uneasy relationship with the Chiss Ascendancy. Though his people considered Thrawn a renegade, many Aristocras secretly supported his actions, believing his proactive stance ultimately kept the Chiss people safe.
In 19 ABY, the Household Phalanx was under the leadership of the Chiss Commander Kres'ten'tarthi, who answered in turn to Imperial General Baron Soontir Fel. While the Ruling Families feigned obliviousness to the alliance between the Household Phalanx and the Empire of the Hand, the average citizen was well aware of it. The Household Phalanx scout pilots were probing Imperial and New Republic space, using powerful long-range ships which combined elements of the TIE/LN starfighter design with alien technology. Lured into following these ships, Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker discovered the command post known as the Hand of Thrawn on Nirauan, where the Household Phalanx was represented by an impressive starfighter force of a hundred scouts, and a garrison of Chiss warriors wearing burgundy family uniforms with Imperial rank insignia plaque.
In spite of damage done by the Jedi, and a subsequent pirate attack, House Phalanx forces were apparently still headquartered at Nirauan three years later, by which time they were explicitly claiming to represent the Empire of the Hand. It is not beyond possibility that the Clawcraft unit led by Commander Chak Fel was one of the Phalanx's component units at this time.
Household Phalanx forces were next encountered by the galaxy at large during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion: in 25 ABY, Colonel Jagged Fel, the Baron's son, deployed with three squadrons of Clawcraft alongside Imperial forces at the battles of Garqi and Ithor. Although Jag subsequently sent one of his squadrons to report back to his father, the others remained to resist the Yuuzhan Vong in cooperation with the New Republic, and part of the force was still fighting alongside Rogue Squadron at least as late as the Battle of Kalarba.
Nevertheless, Colonel Fel's two remaining squadrons were eventually recalled, while his father seems to have busied himself founding a number of remote bases in the anticipation of a guerrilla war against the Yuuzhan Vong. By 27 ABY, Jag had been removed from his command position, but he and his wing guard were sent back to scout former New Republic space following the fall of Coruscant. On Hapes, he defied his orders and raised a bush-pilot snubfighter force, Vanguard Squadron, but within a few months, he was once again in command of a full Clawcraft squadron, sometimes referred to as "Chiss Squadron."
At the same time, mysterious political maneuvers seem to have been occurring in the Unknown Regions. The precise fate of the Empire of the Hand and the Household Phalanx is unknown, but by 28 ABY, Baron Fel was apparently Assistant Syndic of the CEDF, and in 30 ABY, Colonel Fel was appointed as the Chiss Ascendancy's Ambassador to the Galactic Alliance. The Household Phalanx was not apparently heard of again after the conclusion of the war.
==Organization==
Most of the Household Phalanx personnel encountered by outsiders have been crack fighter pilots flying Chiss hybrid variants of the Empire's TIE Series starfighters, and operating from hidden fortresses on remote worlds. It is known that the composition of the force was almost entirely Chiss, and that squadron commanders were chosen by the pilots they led, although they could also be reassigned by superior officers. Overall numbers of personnel are unknown; at least a hundred scouts were based at Nirauan in 19 ABY, and 36 Clawcraft deployed at Garqi and Ithor seven years later, but the full total may have been much, much larger. Training facilities and combat bases were scattered in remote locations around the galaxy, and it appears that, although some recruitment took place among the children of serving personnel, the ranks of the Phalanx were swelled by volunteers and defectors drawn directly from the Ascendancy.
One of the most unusual such recruits was Jagged Fel. For political reasons, he was enrolled in a military academy operated by the line military of the Ascendancy, and subsequently commissioned into a Colonial Phalanx guarding one of the Chiss colony worlds. But, with his Chiss wing guard Shawnkyr Nuruodo, he joined the House Phalanx, probably by defection, and in approximately 24 ABY, he was chosen as commander of a starfighter squadron by his Chiss comrades. By 25 ABY, as noted above, he was a colonel with several squadrons under his command—the Phalanx seems to have preserved the Imperial system in which colonels commanded larger formations than single squadrons.
It is unknown what happened to the Household Phalanx subsequent to the confusing political events of 28 ABY, but both Baron Fel and his son later appeared as senior officers of the CEDF, and the House Phalanx's distinctive burgundy uniforms and Clawcraft subsequently appeared in association with Chiss warriors claiming to be soldiers of the CEDF.
Lastly, it should be mentioned that the House Phalanx pilots who accompanied Colonel Fel to the grand reception for the allied forces before the Battle of Ithor wore white uniforms, rather than burgundy—a color that was perhaps more appropriate for troops assigned to an Admiral of the Defense Hierarchy than a unit associated with one of the a Ruling Families.
==Behind the scenes==
The sources are unclear whether this phalanx is under the control of the Mitth family or the Nuruodo family. Since Outbound Flight established burgundy as the color of the Mitth family, this article assumes the former is correct.
==Appearances==
==Sources==
* 
*Alien Anthology
* 
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*Starships of the Galaxy, Saga Edition
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
*The Essential Atlas
*The Unknown Regions 
==Notes and references==
Category:Empire of the Hand military units