Arquitens-class command cruiser

The Imperial light cruiser was a variant of the Arquitens-class light cruiser used by the Galactic Empire during the Age of the Empire. It was a reworking of the Jedi light cruiser, an earlier Arquitens variant that was used by the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars.

Characteristics
The Imperial light cruiser was a variant of the Arquitens-class light cruiser manufactured by Kuat Drive Yards for the Galactic Empire. It had the same overall shape as its Clone Wars-era predecessor, the Jedi light cruiser: it was a triangular ship with three cylindrical engine units, and a bow that was cleaved into two prongs. Although it might have looked like a simple repaint of the Jedi light cruiser, the Imperial Arquitens had subtle updates in its design, such as an enclosed triangular plating on the engines and the shape of its bridge tower. It was armed with several quad laser turrets, double-barreled turbolaser batteries, and concussion missile launchers. It also housed eight escape pods. A Sentinel-class landing craft, three TIE/ln space superiority starfighters or three TIE/IN interceptors could dock with the vessel inside its forward prongs. Changes that were made to the Imperial variant also included the removal of the side-mounted turbolaser batteries, along with the retractable feature of the dorsal and ventral-mounted laser turrets that were present in the Jedi variant.

History
The Imperial light cruiser was derived from the Clone Wars-era Jedi light cruiser, which had been used by the Galactic Republic against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Following the conclusion of the Clone Wars and the birth of the Galactic Empire, the Jedi-variant of the Arquitens-class was phased out of production in favor of the newer model. The new variant saw continued use throughout the Age of the Empire. About four years before the Battle of Yavin, after Grand Moff Tarkin ordered the destruction of Lothal's Imperial Communications Center, the local Imperial forces used a light cruiser relay information from surface courier droids brought aboard. The said ship was infiltrated by a set of rebels as part of the preparations for the rescue of their leader. Several of them also responded to attacks by Phoenix Squadron.

Later on, during the blockade of Ibaar, at least three Imperial light cruisers worked alongside a pair of Gozanti-class cruisers under the command of Imperial Security Bureau Agent Kallus in preventing Phoenix Squadron from delivering relief supplies to the starving Ibaarans. The Imperial blockade was successful in driving off the first run of Phoenix Squadron, but was broken in the second run when the rebel fleet was joined by the prototype B-wing fighter, which possessed a beam cannon strong enough to pierce the shielding and armored plating of one of the blockades' three light cruisers. The light cruiser's destruction allowed the rebel cell to make their run and drop the relief supplies before jumping into hyperspace once again.

Above the planet Garel, an Imperial light cruiser was on patrol in the system until they received word of a theft of a shuttle from Garel City Spaceport and were deployed to investigate. Arriving in orbit above Garel the imperials found the aforementioned transport docked with the Shadow Caster; opening a channel with the ships, the Imperials demanded them to surrender and prepare for boarding. Unknown to the Imperials, the shuttle was taken by Lothal rebel operative Sabine Wren who specialized in explosives and was working alongside her old friend, the bounty hunter Ketsu Onyo, Sabine devised a plan to escape by overloading the shuttles' hyperdrive while escaping aboard the Shadow Caster. Sabine alerted the Imperial cruiser that their ships were damaged and their hyperdrive was in danger of self-destructing; buying the rebels time to plan for an escape on the Shadow Caster. Sabine then planted explosive charges on the shuttles' control panel and re-activated the shuttles' droid pilot, telling him that his ship was going to come under attack by the Imperial light cruiser, and suggesting for it to enact emergency protocols to escape destruction. Sabine evacuated aboard the Shadow Caster with Ketsu, Chopper and EG-86 while the GX1 Shuttle was caught in a tractor beam and dragged towards the light cruiser before exploding. The resulting explosion severely crippled the light cruiser's tractor beam, allowing the Shadow Caster to break free and escape into hyperspace.

Two Imperial light cruisers were assigned as an escort detail for the prototype Interdictor-class Heavy Cruiser under the command of Admiral Brom Titus while it was undergoing trial runs in the Del Zennis system. During the trial runs, the Interdictor managed to capture the flagship of the Phoenix rebel cell: the Liberator, along with Ezra Bridger and the cells' commanding officer Jun Sato. The victory was short-lived however, as the rebels managed to escape capture and sabotage the Interdictors' gravity wells before escaping back aboard the Liberator. Brom Titus, in a last ditch effort, activated the ship's gravity well to pull the rebels flagship back; but due to Chopper's sabotage to the gravity well generators, the Imperial light cruisers were also dragged in towards the Interdictor, crashing into the ship and allowing the Liberator to jump to hyperspace before the Interdictor itself collapsed in on itself and imploded. Agent Kallus arrived shortly afterwards to find Brom Titus in an escape pod, and proceeded to chastise the admiral for not heeding his advice earlier regarding Ezra.

Following the revelation of the rebel forces being stationed on Garel, the entirety of the Imperial Fleet that was stationed over Lothal departed, leaving behind a minimal garrison, including at least one Imperial light cruiser under the command of Lieutenant Yogar Lyste to oversee the planet in case of another insurgency. Lystes' Imperial cruiser would later encounter Princess Leia Organa as she flew in with relief supplies for Lothal on her hammerhead cruisers (secretly it was to deliver new ships to aid the rebellion); after checking her codes, the Princess was allowed to land on Lothal.

Later, Agent Kallus received word of the Spectres' activity on the planet Nixus and departed with Admiral Kassius Konstantine aboard Kallus' personal Imperial light cruiser to intercept the Rebels, only arriving into the system mere moments before the Ghost jumped into hyperspace past them. Using the hidden tracker built into Hondo Onaka's communicator he gave to Ezra, Agent Kallus pursued after the Ghost through hyperspace until reaching Wild Space, where he re-encountered the Ghost heading towards an imploded star cluster. Kallus hailed the Ghost offering a chance for the Rebels to turn themselves in or be pulled in by the star cluster, only for the Ghost to fly ahead towards the cluster. Kallus ordered the launch of a pair of TIE Fighters to try and slow the Ghost down long enough to get them in range of a tractor beam. Due to the Ghost being placed under the influence of Zeb's Bo-rifle, however, the ship remained intact while the TIE Fighters were both torn to pieces. Seeing the freighter's success in navigating the cluster prompted Kallus to begin a bombardment with the light cruisers' quad laser turrets, only to have the blasts get pulled into the gravity wells of the stars ahead of them. Kallus then ordered for the light cruiser to pull back when he began to see dorsal sections of the hull get torn off and pulled into the stars.

Two years before the Battle of Yavin, an Imperial light cruiser intercepted a rebel convoy near Teralov. The cruiser launched three TIE Interceptors which wiped out the convoy. Later, Grand Admiral Thrawn observed Cham Syndulla and the Spectres escape from a trap set by Captain Slavin. He allowed the Ghost to escape because he believed the rebels deserved their victory. Later, Admiral Konstatine commanded a single light cruiser, two Gozanti-cruisers, and several TIE fighters and bombers during a skirmish over Mykapo. The light cruiser was badly damaged when the Spectres and Iron Squadron dropped a magno-mine over the cruiser's forward compartment.

Years later, after the Battle of Hoth, three light cruisers ambushed a Rebel Alliance convoy protecting Leia Organa.