Household Phalanx

A Household Phalanx (or sometimes House Phalanx) was a type of military or paramilitary unit among the Chiss, possibly the private warrior retinue of a leading public figure. The only such unit of which any detail is known was that loyal to Syndic Mitth'raw'nuruodo, better known to the Galaxy at large as the Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn.

It is unknown whether the House Phalanx originated as a hereditary bodyguard, some sort of guard du corps formed by Thrawn in his career in the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, or if it was raised following his exile from Chiss space. What is certain is that it was formed around a core of Chiss warriors who shared his ideals and were prepared to joined him in his crusade beyond the frontiers of the Chiss Ascendancy. It was a "rogue phalanx", independant of the Expansionary Fleet and the Chiss political leadership, although for at least part of its existence, it operated under the aegis of the Empire of the Hand.

Operational History
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, and its scout pilots were probing Imperial and New Republic space, using powerful long-range ships which combined TIE Fighter cockpits and wing pannels into with alien spaceframes. 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 red jumpsuits with Imperial rank insignia.

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 &mdash; and by now, 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 its component units.

Household Phalanx forces were next encountered by the Galaxy at large during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion: in 26 ABY, Colonel Jagged Fel, the Baron's son, deployed with three squadrons of Nssis-class 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 guerilla war against the Yuuzhan Vong. By 28 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 this was subsequently converted into a Clawcraft unit, and augmented by an unknown number of further squadrons.

At the same time, mysterious political manoeuvres 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 29 ABY, Baron Fel was apparently Assistant Syndic of the CEDF, and in 30 ABY, Colonel Fel was appointed as the Chiss Ascendany's Ambassador to the Galactic Alliance. The Household Phalanx is 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 Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, the line military of the Ascendancy, and subsequently commissioned into a Colonial Phalanx of the DEDF. But, with his Chiss wing guard Shawnkyr Nuruodo, he subsequently joined the House Phalanx, probably by defecting, and in approximately 24 ABY, he was chosen as commander of a starfighter squadron by his Chiss comrades. By 26 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 29 ABY, but both Baron Fel and his son later appeared as senior officers of the CEDF, and the House Phalanx's distinctive Nssis-class Clawcraft subsequently appeared in large numbers in CEDF service.

Appearances

 * Specter of the Past
 * Vision of the Future
 * Survivor's Quest
 * Dark Tide II: Ruin
 * Balance Point
 * Dark Journey
 * Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream
 * Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand
 * Destiny's Way
 * Ylesia
 * Force Heretic I: Remnant
 * Force Heretic II: Refugee
 * Force Heretic III: Reunion
 * The Final Prophecy
 * The Unifying Force
 * The Joiner King
 * The Unseen Queen