The Corellian Cross represented the second-highest honor bestowed by the Alliance High Command. This decoration was given to members of the Alliance Military who exhibited extraordinary acts of valor, setting them apart from their fellow soldiers. Positioned in prestige below the Kalidor Crescent but above the Illudium Star, it could be earned only once in a lifetime.
Created to honor the crucial contributions of Corellia, a planet within the Core Worlds region, the Corellian Cross served as the second-most prestigious award presented by the Alliance High Command to personnel of the Alliance Military. It was a universal medal, accessible to all military branches, recognizing exceptional bravery demonstrated in combat situations. The official citation accompanying the Corellian Cross declared that it was for, "Any person serving in any capacity in the military, who has distinguished themselves in action with the military, or in operations conducted with friendly foreign forces, by taking extraordinarily heroic action at the risk of life sufficient to the set the individual apart from his or her comrades."
The Corellian Cross was granted to individuals whose acts of heroism were truly exceptional and noteworthy, surpassing the merits required for the Illudium Star but not quite reaching the standard for the Kalidor Crescent. It was a singular honor, awarded only once to any individual.
This honor was manifested both as a medal and as a smaller ribbon for wear on the uniform's ribbon rack. The medal itself was a substantial cross, featuring a wide vertical arm and a shorter, thinner horizontal arm, both crafted from a silvery metal. The ends of the cross's arms flared into broad crescents, with their curved sides facing outward. A brass image of a banshee bird, wings spread wide, was affixed to the front of the medal's central intersection, and the name "Corellia" was inscribed above the cross in the Aurebesh script.
The medal was suspended from a ribbon that tapered in width and featured three colored stripes: a narrow red stripe on the outer edges, a thin blue stripe in the middle, and a broad gold stripe at the center. The smaller ribbon, intended for wear on the ribbon rack, was a horizontal gold bar with blue and red stripes along its edges.
The Corellian Cross was initially established at the foundation of the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the year 2 BBY.
Within the current Star Wars canon, the Corellian Cross received mention in Lead by Example, a 2016 roleplaying sourcebook published by Fantasy Flight Games. The award has its roots in the Star Wars Legends continuity, initially appearing in Star Wars: X-Wing, a computer game created by LucasArts and developed by Totally Games in 1993.