Shepherd

"So he sent me to Hapes aboard the Pursuit light cruiser Shepherd, carrying two squadrons of TIE fighters and accompanied by eight gunships. My men thought we were on a recon patrol and that our purpose was to keep the Hapans honest. But I knew better&mdash;I knew we were going to a place from which we'd never return."

- Osvald Teshik remembers the events prior to the Battle of Andalia

The Shepherd was a Pursuit-class light cruiser that served in the Galactic Empire's Navy as of 0 ABY. That year, it traveled to the Inner Rim Hapes Cluster under the command of Admiral Osvald Teshik, accompanied by eight gunships, and the Imperial force then proceded to the planet Andalia where the force was ordered to engage the Hapan forces there. However, due to the larger and more heavily armed opposition, the attack force was soundly beaten, with the Sheperd being obliterated after its forward deflector shields were taken down and its main reactor core destroyed.

Description
A Kuat Drive Yards manufactured Pursuit-class light cruiser, the Shepherd was 500 meters and equiped with hyperdrive and deflector shields, as well as a main reactor core. The bridge tower was also able to accomadate multiple officers, and had enviro-suits stored near to it. At the time of its last mission, the Shepherd carried two squadrons of TIE/In starfighters.

History
"We were the last survivors...by then our shields were failing."

- Osvald Teshik remembers the Battle of Andalia

The Shepherd was part of the Galactic Empire's Navy as of 0 ABY, at the time of the Galactic Civil War between the Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Around 0 ABY, Rebels kidnapped Imperial Advisor Coh Veshiv from the world of Esseles, in the oversector commanded by Admiral Osvald Teshik. Imperial Emperor Palpatine was angry at this turn of events, and took out his anger on Teshik, sending him to the Inner Rim Hapes Cluster aboard the Shepherd, carrying two squadrons of TIEs and accompanied by eight gunships supposedly as a recon patrol, where the military force was then commanded to engage the Hapan forces at the planet Andalia.

The Shepherd faced heavy opposition that had been tipped off about their arrival, with five Hapan Battle Dragons and eight Nova-class battle cruisers as the enemy. Even though the crew of the Shepherd thought they would flee, Teshik had the TIEs launch to attack the opposition as he knew this was the Emperor's way of getting back at Teshik. The Shepherd was the last surviving Imperial craft, with all the gunships and TIE fighters destroyed, and once its forward deflector shields failed, the lead Battle Dragon launched a salvo of torpedoes that hit the Shepherd main reactor, causing the Pursuit-class cruiser to blow apart. The explosian took with it all hands but Teshik, who was pulled out of the Shepherd by a hull breach while wearing an enviro-suit, before being picked up by the snoopship sent by Palpatine to ensure that the Emperor's wrath was recorded. Teshik later recounted the tale of the Shepherd to his Rebel captors in 4 ABY.

Commanders and crew
"Some of my officers were still barking orders&mdash;dead men clacking their jaws in a dumb show of honour. Others were begging me for new instructions. A few were sitting catatonic at their posts while alarms flashed around them."

- Osvald Teshik remembers the Battle of Andalia

Admiral Osvald Teshik helmed the Shepherd during its trip to the fateful trip to the Hapes Cluster, with multiple officers crewing the bridge tower, including a deck officer. When the crew of the bridge tower realized they would die, they showed reactions ranging from begging Teshik for new orders to sitting catonic at their stations. The entire crew save Teshik was killed when the Shepherd was destroyed.

Behind the scenes
The Shepherd was first mentioned in 2012's The Essential Guide to Warfare, an extensive guide dedicated to the conflicts in the galaxy, written by Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart.