The Kilji picket cruiser represented a picket cruiser design utilized by the Kilji Illumine, the nation of the Kilji species. These cruisers possessed a shorter length compared to Kilji war cruisers and were deployed in ship-to-ship naval warfare engagements. The Hammer, a Kilji picket cruiser under the command of Illumine Colonel Tildnis, was one of two cruisers in the task force led by Illumine General Crofyp; the other was Crofyp's war cruiser, Anvil.
In the year 18 BBY, the [task force](/article/task_force] journeyed to the Unknown Regions Rapacc system with the objective of rescuing a group of refugees as instructed by the Grysk operative known as "Jixtus," who had formed an alliance with the Illumine's leader, Generalirius Nakirre. Upon their arrival at Rapacc, the Kiljis encountered the Paccosh-commandeered Nikardun blockade frigate Aelos. Crofyp then directed his vessels to initiate a cross-fire attack targeting the blockade frigate; however, the Chiss heavy cruiser Springhawk appeared and used ship-disabling plasma sphere weaponry to cripple the general's cruiser before destroying it.
The Hammer then escaped into the Unknown Regions "Sunrise" system, where it maintained a stationary position alongside a Grysk vessel. The crew of the Aelos pursued the Kilji cruiser and boarded it, acquiring Kilji data before departing. Subsequently, the Grysk vessel destroyed the Hammer and fled.
The picket cruiser of the Kilji was smaller in size than a Kilji war cruiser. These picket cruisers were equipped with weaponry, notably spectrum lasers, which were comparable to those found on a Chiss heavy cruiser. The Kilji cruisers included engines—both directional thrusters and a primary drive—as well as a hyperdrive. The vessels' equipment also incorporated a tractor beam. Their hulls featured weapons clusters that housed their tractor beam projectors and a docking port leading to a vestibule. Within the Kilji picket cruisers' bridge, there was a weapons station, a helm, and the pilot's seat. The spectrum lasers could be operated from two stations situated on the starboard and port sides, respectively. The control boards at the bridge stations were designed with a high degree of simplicity.
Kilji picket cruisers were deployed in naval warfare between starships. Their design was based around the concept of a preemptive strike.
The Kilji Illumine, the nation of the Kilji species, utilized the Kilji picket cruisers. The task force of Illumine General Crofyp consisted of the picket cruiser Hammer, commanded by Colonel Tildnis, and Crofyp's war cruiser, Anvil. In 18 BBY, the Grysk operative "Jixtus," who had allied with Generalirius Nakirre, the Illumine's leader, dispatched Crofyp's task force to the Unknown Regions Rapacc system. The Grysk hired two Pathfinder navigators to guide the Kilji cruisers, with Sarsh and Qilori navigating the Hammer and the Anvil, respectively. Upon arriving at Rapacc, Crofyp attempted to capture a group of refugees that Jixtus had charged him with retrieving; however, Uingali foar Marocsaa, the commander of the Paccosh-commandeered Nikardun blockade frigate Aelos, intervened. He refused to permit the Kiljis to take the refugees they had arrived to collect.
The refusal of the Paccosh commander prompted the Kilji general to set up a cross-fire attack on the blockade frigate, instructing Tildnis to move his picket cruiser along the port side of the Aelos, while the Anvil mirrored this maneuver on the frigate's starboard side. As the Kilji warships reached their designated positions, the Chiss heavy cruiser Springhawk appeared and disabled Crofyp's flagship with ship-disabling plasma sphere weapons. While his heavy cruiser destroyed the Anvil, the senior captain allowed the Hammer to escape to the Unknown Regions Sunrise system. Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo, core name "Thrawn," the Springhawk's commander, captured Qilori, who had survived the Anvil's destruction using an escape pod, and tasked him with using the Force to locate the Hammer.
The navigator found the Kilji vessel and guided the Aelos to the Sunrise system, where the Hammer was stationed alongside one of Jixtus's Grysk warships. Marocsaa stated that the Chiss were chasing him and asked the picket cruiser for protection and a sanctuary. The Grysk commander of the Grysk vessel agreed to give the Aelos sanctuary, telling its commander to move the frigate to the port side of the Hammer. The Kiljis tried to position Marocsaa's frigate below the weapons cluster on the port side of their vessel; however, the Paccosh used a Crippler net weapon to disable the Hammer's tractor beam and boarded the Kilji cruiser.
Marocsaa, Thrawn, Qilori, and a squad of Paccian commandos eliminated the Kiljis on board and spared Pathfinder Sarsh, whom Thrawn tasked with stealing data on the Illumine's battle fleet, the Illumine Kilhorde. After Sarsh gave Thrawn a Kilji data rectangle containing the data he had requested, the commandos took control of the Hammer's weapons and used them to attack the Grysk vessel. Shortly after, the group left the Hammer, and the Grysk warship destroyed the picket cruiser before jumping to hyperspace.
A Kilji picket cruiser made an appearance in the 2021 novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil, which was the final book in Star Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy by Timothy Zahn.