The Imperial Star Destroyer Glory remained in the service of the Galactic Empire through luck, forgery and plenty of payoffs. Based off of an old, Victory-II class Star Destroyer, the Glory had been virtually redesigned for planetary scanning. Designed more as a research vessel than as an attack cruiser, the Glory’s stated purpose in the Imperial starship registry was “a forward reconnaissance Star Destroyer, capable of scanning planets while still in Hyperspace.” However, a Corellian ex-Republic colonel, Moff Hawn, had taken an active interest in the Glory even as the ship was completed and sent into service. Scanning some of the most barren planets in the Outer Rim, the Glory was responsible for more planetary culture discoveries during the course of the Galactic Empire’s reign than any other ship in the fleet. Soon, it became Hawn’s personal flagship and he and the crew of the Glory became a tight- knit group of officers. Additionally, the Glory became a testbed for all sorts of heavy cruiser experiments– the ship was mounted with some of the most powerful hyperspace engines known to galactic research, it had extensive laboratories and particle test chambers, as well as a devoted, multi-story horticultural arboretum. Using his own pay and his family’s name, Hawn spared no expense making sure the research teams and crew of the Glory received everything they needed. The engineers of Kuat Drive Yards spoke of Hawn and the Glory in the same reverence they reserved for the Emperor himself. Two days after the fall of the Empire, Imperial Command on Coruscant received a message from the Glory. The message was as follows:

“This is Moff Hawn of the Star Destroyer Glory. The death of the Emperor will doubtlessly leave the Empire in some form of disarray for the next several years. This is unavoidable fact.

As the leader of the Outer Rim Exploratory Fleet, I feel that my abilities as a Moff and as a scientist will not be useful to the Empire in the coming years. As a result, the Star Destroyer Glory will continue its mission unabated, regardless of any further imperial commands. We will be traveling towards the rim of the galaxy – and further, should the Glory and her fleet be capable of surviving the rigors of intergalactic travel. We will brave a path for the Empire into the rest of the universe and will make routine transmissions back to Imperial city regarding our findings, should anyone plan to follow in our footsteps. For now and always, may the force be with us all.”

For the next five years, the transmissions from the Glory were routine – one every four months – and they detailed the ship’s progress towards the farthest rim of the galaxy. There was even talk in the New Republic of putting together an expeditionary force to track the Glory’s path. During the conflict with Thrawn, the Glory’s transmissions were lost and it was two years before contact was re-established. Only one message was received from the Glory during this period of time, one which spoke of wild energies and fantastic creatures – the message was broken and poorly composed. Since then, the Glory hasn’t been heard from. Republic scientists wonder if the ship suffered the same fate as the Outbound Flight project or if the Glory actually made it out of the galaxy.

Image: Dorsal view

Image: Bow on port

Image: Forward port quarter

Image: Starboard side high

Image: Forward dorsal

Image: Bow on starboard

Image: Forward starboard quarter

Image: Stern view

Image: Forward port quarter

Image: Dorsal view

Image: Bow on

Image: In orbit

Image: Cruisin' a nebula