Seventh Fleet

"The Seventh Fleet carries a lot of firepower. It's sent to major conflicts, where there are powerful and desperate enemies. If you don't command it, someone else will."

- Arihnda Pryce, to Mitth'raw'nuruodo

The Seventh Fleet was a fleet of the Imperial Navy during the reign of the Galactic Empire. Years before the outbreak of the Galactic Civil War, the fleet was considered an effective and powerful force as it had resolved major conflicts on the behalf of the Empire. The fleet was commanded by Fleet Admiral Sartan, until Sartan was replaced with Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo in 2 BBY. At this time, Governor Arihnda Pryce of Lothal requested the aid of the Seventh Fleet to deal with the rebel Phoenix Squadron. The fleet's emblem was a stylized depiction of a chimaera. The flagship of the fleet was named after the same creature, and the ship's belly bore a stylized version of it.

Early campaigns
"My sources tell me that Fleet Admiral Sartan of the Seventh Fleet is going to be replaced soon. Batonn is just the kind of victory that could put you in line for that command."

- Arihnda Pryce, to Mitth'raw'nuruodo

The Seventh Fleet of the Imperial Navy carried a superior firepower against its enemies and participated in several major conflicts. Fleet Admiral Sartan acted as the fleet's commanding officer until the year 2 BBY. Sartan was replaced by Grand Admiral Thrawn, after Governor Arihnda Pryce's advice to Mitth'raw'nuruodo to volunteer for the position using his victory at Batonn. At this time, the fleet was headed by the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Chimaera, named after a creature with same name. Both the ship's belly and the fleet's emblem bore a stylized version of the chimaera.

Tasked with eliminating the Phoenix Squadron
"I want the Seventh Fleet."

- Arihnda Pryce, to Wilhuff Tarkin

Some time after the battle of Batonn, Governor Arihnda Pryce of Lothal requested the aid of the Seventh Fleet to deal with the growing rebellion against the Empire, which was granted by Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. After a group of rebels traveled to Mykapo in order to extract another rebel cell, the Chimaera traveled to the planet to support Admiral Kassius Konstantine, although the rebels were able to escape the battle.

As Thrawn continued the hunt, he sent out E-XD infiltrator droids to search for the rebel base. One of the droids infiltrated the base, but was reprogrammed by the rebels to self destruct upon returning to the fleet. After Imperial weapons technicians discovered it had been hijacked, the droid self-destructed its proton bomb, destroying the Imperial-class Star Destroyer it had docked with. The Chimaera was present for this, and as a result, Agent Kallus boarded the ship to inform Thrawn of this development. The Grand Admiral was relatively unconcerned by it, as the sabotage only narrowed his search from a thousand systems to just ninety-four.

As the Seventh Fleet continued to blockade Lothal, Grand Admiral Thrawn called many Imperial officers to the fleet to try and uncover the identity of the Rebel spy Fulcrum. The spy, Agent Kallus, attempted to be rescued by Ezra Bridger. However, Kallus eventually declined, as he understood that he could frame Lieutenant Yogar Lyste, who was already suspected as the rebel spy, and continue feeding the rebellion information. However, Thrawn caught onto the carefully orchestrated deception Kallus put in place and finally confirmed who he really was.

After capturing Agent Kallus in the act of warning the rebels, Thrawn was able to deduce the location of Chopper Base by calculating the trajectories of both General Jan Dodonna's Massassi group and Fulcrum's transmission. Thrawn ordered Admiral Kassius Konstantine to deploy the Seventh Fleet to the planet Atollon. During the Battle of Atollon, Thrawn's fleet inflicted heavy casualties on the Phoenix Squadron and the Massassi group, destroying numerous ships and starfighters. This allowed Imperial ground forces to storm Chopper Base. However, the Imperials also lost two interdictor cruisers, which allowed the surviving rebel forces to flee into hyperspace.

Complement
The fleet consisted of Imperial I-class Star Destroyers, led by the Chimaera, several Arquitens-class command cruisers, Gozanti-class cruisers, and Interdictor cruisers during its campaign against the rebellion. On a smaller scale, the fleet also had numerous TIE/ln space superiority starfighters, TIE/sa bombers, and Sentinel-class landing crafts.

Appearances

 * Thrawn
 * Star Wars Rebels: Steps Into Shadow