Josef Grunger

Josef Grunger, a male Human, held the position of admiral within the Galactic Empire's navy. Throughout his service, he gained recognition as a highly skilled strategist. During the New Year's Fete Week celebration on Coruscant in 2 BBY, he was one of a dozen naval officers promoted to the rank of Grand Admiral by Emperor Palpatine. In 4 ABY, while Grand Admiral Miltin Takel traveled to the second Death Star to witness the planned destruction of the Rebel Alliance, Grunger was assisting Takel's second-in-command with patrols in the Mandalore sector—specifically the space surrounding the spice-producing planet Gargon—due to reports of "albino-skinned marauders." Upon receiving news of the Imperial defeat at Endor and the Emperor's death, the Grand Admiral ordered his ship to open fire on the vessel of Takel's lieutenant, rendering it inoperable. Grunger then seized Gargon and quickly established himself as one of the first Imperial warlords, soon declaring himself the new Emperor.

Leveraging his rank to coerce Imperial officers in the Outer Rim into submission, the Grand Admiral swiftly amassed a considerable armada of warships. By 5 ABY, Grunger commanded thirty Imperial-class and Victory-class Star Destroyers, one hundred Carrack-class cruisers, and sixty Strike-class cruisers, among other vessels. Grunger commanded this fleet from the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Aggressor](/article/aggressor_(executor-class)), his flagship.

Having been ousted from his homeworld of Gargon, Grand Admiral Takel eventually sought an alliance with the Central Committee of Grand Moffs, hoping they could deal with Grunger. Meanwhile, a member of the Imperial Royal Guard, who had visited Gargon, informed the Central Committee on Kessel about Grunger's claim to the throne. During an assembly in Kessendra Stadium where Grand Moff Bertroff Hissa proclaimed the mutant Slavelord Trioculus as Palpatine's son and heir, the Royal Guard questioned the validity of Trioculus' claim, highlighting Grunger's significant force of Star Destroyers. The slavelord asserted that he would address Grunger in due course. In a subsequent committee meeting, Trioculus demanded the acquisition of the glove of Darth Vader, which would entitle him to the dark blessing of Supreme Prophet Kadann, a necessity for securing the vacant throne. Takel feared Grunger would obtain the glove first and legitimize his claim, but Hissa swiftly executed Takel for questioning Trioculus' plans. Hissa later informed Trioculus that Grunger, skeptical of the mutant's claim as Palpatine's son, would only support Trioculus after he received the dark blessing from Kadann, who was, in reality, an imposter masquerading as the true Supreme Prophet. Grunger promised to cede command of his fleet to Trioculus upon receiving the blessing.

Although Trioculus did receive the dark blessing from the false Supreme Prophet, his reign as Emperor was short-lived, ending with his death soon after assuming the title. Grunger, however, had avoided any lasting ties with the Central Committee and maintained control of his armada. In 5 ABY, following the New Republic's execution of Grand Admiral Osvald Teshik a year prior, Grunger prepared to strike at Imperial Center. To achieve this, Grunger moved his armada into the Corellian sector. However, Grand Admiral Danetta Pitta had bribed the Corellian leader into relinquishing control of the sector, and Pitta quickly assumed command. When Grunger's fleet, led by the Aggressor, emerged from hyperspace in the Corellian system near the planet Tralus, Pitta took control of a Torpedo Sphere and began to annihilate his rival's forces. Faced with defeat and the loss of his pride, Grunger ordered his command ship to ram the Torpedo Sphere. The resulting collision destroyed both vessels, and both Grunger and his opponent perished.

Grunger possessed neither unwavering loyalty nor subtlety, swiftly transitioning into a warlord upon hearing of the Emperor's demise at the Battle of Endor. Rapidly seizing Gargon, Grunger aimed to amass a formidable armada, effectively employing deception and direct assaults on fellow Imperials to achieve this objective. He soon acquired a substantial fleet of Star Destroyers and declared himself the new Emperor.

Despite his claim to the throne, Grunger declared his full support for the Slavelord Trioculus, backed by the Central Committee of Grand Moffs, if the mutant obtained both the glove of Darth Vader and the dark blessing of the Supreme Prophet Kadann. Trioculus secured both, but Grunger avoided any permanent alliance with the Central Committee, retaining command of his fleet after the mutant's death. Ultimately, Grunger's pride led to his demise; facing defeat at the Battle of Tralus, he chose to ram Pitta's Torpedo Sphere—a move that resulted in both their deaths—rather than concede to his opponent.

Grand Admiral Josef Grunger was first mentioned in the 1992 young adult novel The Glove of Darth Vader, authored by Paul and Hollace Davids. Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals was initially intended for inclusion in the now-canceled Star Wars Gamer magazine, under the title "Dirty Dozen: The Imperial Grand Admirals." When the article was repurposed for Star Wars Insider, several details regarding the Grand Admirals were omitted. Grunger's section of the article remained relatively intact, although some specific details were removed.

Prior to the Galactic Republic's transition into the Galactic Empire, Josef Grunger, originally from Alderaan, served as a Republic marine and weapons expert. Consequently, he demonstrated proficiency with various handheld weapons, ranging from blaster rifles to vibroblades. He carried a riot gun, a code cylinder, and a comlink. Following the Battle of Endor, and before Captain Gilad Pellaeon had fully transmitted news of the Emperor's death, Grunger had already instructed his weapons officer to disable the ship of Grand Admiral Takel's subordinate using ion cannons. Grunger quickly amassed a large armada, initially exploiting the communications disruption in the Outer Rim to deceive Imperial commanders into surrendering their vessels to him. After establishing his reputation as a warlord, Grunger no longer needed such deceptive tactics to seize ships, simply taking what he desired.