The Whelm was an Executor-class Star Dreadnought in service with the Galactic Empire. During the Galactic Civil War, it was stationed at the planet Anaxes and led the Azure Hammer Command until shortly before the Thrawn campaign, when it disappeared into the Deep Core to join the Dark Empire, a new iteration of the Empire headed by Emperor Palpatine. The Whelm then participated in the Dark Empire's 10 ABY invasion of the New Republic–controlled Core Worlds and was destroyed later that year over the planet Alsakan when Imperial forces turned on each other in the Imperial Mutiny.
Description[]
The Whelm was an Executor-class Star Dreadnought and as such was designed to be powerful enough that it could control multiple sectors through its mere presence.[1]
History[]
The Whelm was the flagship of the Azure Hammer Command on Anaxes (planet pictured).
During the Galactic Civil War, the Whelm served as the flagship of Azure Hammer Command,[3] an Imperial unit that was based on the planet Anaxes and responsible for defending Sector Zero, the region in the center of the galaxy that included the galactic capital of Coruscant.[2]
Sometime during the months before Grand Admiral Thrawn led Imperial remnants in a 9 ABY campaign against the New Republic, the Whelm was taken from Anaxes by Imperial Admiral Feyet Kiez and his command crew. Osted Wermis, the commandant of Anaxes, was unsure of where the ship had gone or why it had been taken, a fact that he admitted upon surrendering to the New Republic shortly thereafter. The disappearance of the Whelm was just one of many similar reports from around the galaxy, although the Whelm was most worrying to New Republic leaders. None of the missing ships or Imperial leaders, including the Whelm, had participated in Thrawn's campaign, deepening the mystery.[1]
In actuality, the Whelm, alongside numerous other warships and Imperial leaders, had been summoned to[1] the planet[5] Byss in the galaxy's Deep Core by the reborn Emperor Palpatine to form his new Dark Empire. Despite the earlier concern over the disappearances, the ships were largely forgotten by the New Republic as it focused on defeating threats such as Prince-Admiral Delak Krennel.[1] In 10 ABY,[4] with New Republic forces largely deployed outside the Core Worlds, Imperial forces launched a massive attack on the poorly defended region, with their fleet centered around twelve Dreadnoughts—one of which was the Whelm.[1]
The Imperial attack was enormously successful, forcing the New Republic to retreat from the Core. However, in the wake of their victory, Imperial forces began to turn on one another in a mad scramble known as the Imperial Mutiny. The Whelm was not spared from the violence; it engaged the Mandator III-class dreadnought Panthac over the Core World of Alsakan, and both warships were destroyed.[1]
Commanders and crew[]
When the Whelm traveled to the Deep Core to join the Dark Empire, it did so under the command of Admiral Feyet Kiez. Kiez led a command crew, which was also present on the ship.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
- "Someone proposed that it was a corruption of 'Wilhelm,' which is a very smart guess…but that's not it. The Whelm dates back to Coruscant and the Core Worlds, and was another tip of the cap to Jack Vance. In Vance's loosely connected Alastor novels, the Whelm is the military force that answers to the ruler known as the Connatic. You don't mess with the Connatic, and you don't mess with the Whelm."
- ―Jason Fry
The Whelm was first mentioned in Coruscant and the Core Worlds.
The Whelm was created by Jason Fry for[6] the 2003 Star Wars Roleplaying Game sourcebook Coruscant and the Core Worlds, published by Wizards of the Coast.[2] The verb "whelm" can mean a person being overcome in thought or feeling or something being covered or engulfed, typically in a disastrous manner.[7]
In his endnotes for the reference book The Essential Guide to Warfare, Fry explained that the name Whelm was not derived from "Wilhelm" as some fans had speculated, although he did describe the theory as a "very smart guess." He stated that the name Whelm was a reference to Jack Vance's Alastor Cluster novels, more specifically to the military force that answered to the ruler, the Connatic. Fry also noted that because the Whelm had fairly few appearances in Star Wars media, it had become a subject of interest for many fans, and resolved to be less "cavalier" about creating new Super Star Destroyers in future projects.[6]
Sources[]
- Coruscant and the Core Worlds (First mentioned)
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- The Essential Atlas
- The Essential Guide to Warfare
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 The Essential Guide to Warfare
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Coruscant and the Core Worlds
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. III, p. 328 ("Whelm")
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The New Essential Chronology dates both the Dark Empire's invasion of the New Republic and the Imperial Mutiny, during which the Whelm was destroyed over Alsakan according to The Essential Guide to Warfare, to 10 ABY.
- ↑ The Essential Atlas
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2
Jason Fry's Dorkery — EG to Warfare: Endnotes Pt. 14 on Tumblr (backup link)
- ↑ Whelm on Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary (archived from the original on December 16, 2022)
