The Kilji picket cruiser was a type of picket cruiser used by the Kilji Illumine, the nation of the Kilji species. The cruisers were shorter than Kilji war cruisers and used in ship-to-ship naval warfare. The Hammer, a Kilji picket cruiser commanded by Illumine Colonel Tildnis, was one of the two cruisers of Illumine General Crofyp's task force, the other being Crofyp's war cruiser Anvil.
In 18 BBY, the task force traveled to the Unknown Regions Rapacc system in an attempt to retrieve a group of refugees on the orders of the Grysk operative known as "Jixtus," who had allied himself with the Illumine's ruler, Generalirius Nakirre. After they arrived at Rapacc, the Kiljis were confronted by the Paccosh-commandeered Nikardun blockade frigate Aelos. In response, Crofyp had his ships prepare a cross-fire attack on the blockade frigate; however, the Chiss heavy cruiser Springhawk arrived and disabled the general's cruiser with ship-disabling plasma sphere weapons before destroying it.
The Hammer fled to the Unknown Regions "Sunrise" system, where it kept station with a Grysk vessel. The Aeloss crew followed the Kilji cruiser and boarded it, stealing Kilji data before leaving. The Grysk vessel destroyed the Hammer and fled.
The Kilji picket cruiser was shorter than a Kilji war cruiser. The picket cruisers featured weaponry, which included spectrum lasers, comparable to that of a Chiss heavy cruiser. The Kilji cruisers were equipped with engines—directional thrusters and a main drive—and a hyperdrive. The vessels' equipment also included a tractor beam. Their hulls boasted weapons clusters that contained their tractor beam projectors and a docking port that led to a vestibule. The Kilji picket cruisers' bridge housed a weapons station, a helm, and the pilot's chair. The spectrum lasers could be controlled from two stations located to starboard and portside respectively. The bridge stations' control boards were laid out with extreme simplicity.
The Kilji picket cruisers were used in ship-to-ship naval warfare. They were designed around a first-strike strategy.
Senior Captain Thrawn spared the Kilji picket cruiser Hammer.
The Kilji picket cruisers were used by the Kilji Illumine, the nation of the Kilji species. Illumine General Crofyp's task force was formed by Colonel Tildnis's picket cruiser Hammer and Crofyp's war cruiser, Anvil. In 18 BBY, Crofyp's task force was dispatched to the Unknown Regions Rapacc system by the Grysk operative known as "Jixtus," who had allied himself with Generalirius Nakirre, the ruler of the Illumine. The Grysk hired two Pathfinder navigators to navigate for the Kilji cruisers, with Sarsh and Qilori navigating the Hammer and the Anvil, respectively. After arriving at Rapacc, Crofyp attempted to capture a group of refugees Jixtus had tasked him with retrieving; however, the Paccosh-commandeered Nikardun blockade frigate Aeloss commander, Uingali foar Marocsaa, intervened. He refused to allow the Kiljis to retrieve the refugees they had come for.
The Paccosh commander's refusal prompted the Kilji general to prepare a cross-fire attack on the blockade frigate, signaling Tildnis to move his picket cruiser along the Aeloss portside while the Anvil did likewise along the frigate's starboard. Once the Kilji warships were in position, the Chiss heavy cruiser Springhawk arrived and disabled Crofyp's flagship with vessel-disabling plasma sphere weapons. While his heavy cruiser destroyed the Anvil, the senior captain let the Hammer flee to the Unknown Regions Sunrise system. The Springhawks commander, Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo, core name "Thrawn," captured Qilori, who used an escape pod to survive the Anvils destruction, and tasked him with using the Force to track down the Hammer.
The navigator located the Kilji vessel and brought the Aelos to the Sunrise system, where the Hammer was keeping station with one of Jixtus's Grysk warships. Marocsaa claimed that the Chiss were pursuing him and asked the picket cruiser for protection and a safe haven. The Grysk vessel's Grysk commander agreed to provide a safe haven to the Aelos, instructing its commander to move the frigate to the Hammers portside. The Kiljis attempted to position Marocsaa's frigate below their vessel's portside weapons cluster; however, the Paccosh disabled the Hammers tractor beam with a Crippler net weapon and boarded the Kilji cruiser.
Marocsaa, Thrawn, Qilori, and a squad of Paccian commandos eliminated the Kiljis aboard and spared Pathfinder Sarsh, whom Thrawn tasked with stealing data on the Illumine's battle fleet, the Illumine Kilhorde. The commandos commandeered the Hammers weapons and used them to attack the Grysk vessel after Sarsh gave Thrawn a Kilji data rectangle with the data he had requested. Shortly afterward, the group left the Hammer while the Grysk warship destroyed the picket cruiser before escaping to hyperspace.
A Kilji picket cruiser appeared in the 2021 novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil, the final volume in Star Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy written by Timothy Zahn.