The Imperial Army are the overarching antagonists of the Ratchet & Clank franchise.
They are a tyrannical and hegemonic army led by Emperor Tachyon with the main goals of succeeding the original Cragmite Empire and seeking to conquer the entire Polaris Galaxy and to wipe out the Lombaxes as vengeance for the Cragmites' defeat, destroying any individual that gets in their way.
History[]
Before Tools of Destruction[]
Upon learning about the history between the Lombaxes and the Cragmites, his own species, Tachyon had grown a massive hatred against the Lombaxes for defeating his species, despite raising them, and seeked to form an army that would wipe them out. Tachyon then hired a species known as the Drophyds to act as troops for his future army and using the materials collected by the Space Pirates, he managed to create dozens of equipment for him and his fleet by manipulating the Lombaxes into creating his suggested technology, thus starting the Imperial Army. After the formation, the Army then arrives at Fastoon to ravage the planet and managed to get most of the Lombaxes killed, which caused the rest to get displaced in other dimensions.
After the genocide mostly succeeded, the Imperial Army started to conquer a majority of the Polaris Galaxy with the intent of extending to the entire universe and other dimensions to hunt down the Lombaxes. During the conquest, many planets have been ravaged, whilst fighting the rebellion group known as Free Polaris. Several victimized planets include Viceron, where the Zordoom Prison in the planet got transformed into a place of torture, executions and slavery where prisoners got arrested for even the pettiest crimes such as making fun of Tachyon's height and name, Cobalia, which allowed the empire to control the gelatonium supply, Kortog, which contained the Hall of Knowledge that was shut down and rendered illegal to learn from, and Mukow, where combatants would fight to death for the Imperial Army's amusement.
During their mass invasion, the Imperial Army also hunted down several remaining lombaxes such as Alister Azimuth, Angela Cross and Kaden, whom Tachyon successfully killed. At some point, when the Kaden's son Ratchet and his robotic companion Clank where going through many heroic journeys, the Imperial Army managed to track him down with the goal of killing him much like his parents.
Tools of Destruction[]
Upon tracking down Ratchet in Kerwan, the Imperial Army invaded the planet's capital city, Metropolis, and planned to completely devastate the city to support their search for Ratchet. Several Drophyd troopers such as Sentries and Enforcers were used to barricade Ratchet from completing his goals, whilst destroying several parts of the city, before he and Clank are confronted by the Emperor Tachyon and several Drophyds, with the threat of destroying the city if the duo doesn't surrender, to which the two escape.
Asides fighting Ratchet in several locations such as Cobalia, the Imperial Army also searched for the Dimensionator, which the Lombaxes used to banish the past Cragmite Empire, with aims of using it to return the Cragmites and track down the Lombax refugees. They used Captain Qwark, who surrendered and unwillingly joined their faction, as a pawn in the empire's recruitment propaganda to boost the army's strength, with Apogee Space Station exposed as the potential location where the Dimensionator is stored, with demands of no opposing life to be spared. Amidst the search, Rykan V got devastated by the army's brute force.
Ratchet and Clank later confront the army's leader again in Mukow, where Ratchet disguised himself in the Imperial Fight Festival whilst being introduced to Tachyon. When Qwark introduced Tachyon as a "friend" of his, the army's troopers showed no reaction, before several of them were aiming their guns at the audience to cheer for Tachyon, much to his anger. The empire was also revealed at that point to have Qwark be unethically forced into working on activities one would call undesirable, as emphasized by his nervous language.
After Qwark obtained the Dimensionator from the Space Pirates, he gave it up to the army in Reepor, which Tachyon equipped and successfully returned the banished Cragmites to work for the strengthened Imperial Army. The army then gloated about the return of the hostile species in the news, whilst assaulting Meridian City in the planet of Igliak, Polaris' capital.
The final confrontation of Ratchet and Clank against the Imperial Army was at Fastoon, the former homeworld of the Lombaxes, where Tachyon would taunt Ratchet about the supposed "weakness" and "cowardice" during the battle. The emperor of the Imperial Army then confronted Ratchet, Clank, Talwyn Apogee, Cronk and Zephyr, before threatening to kill Ratchet if he does not seek to reunite with his refuged Lombaxes, with Ratchet staying as nobody would be safe in the galaxy under the Imperial Army's authoritarian pillage. Tachyon then battles Ratchet and Clank before getting banished and defeated, ultimately sealing the end of the Imperial Army and freeing Polaris and re-banishing the vicious Cragmites. However, the fate of the Drophyds was unknown after the empire went defunct.
Legacy[]
Despite the Imperial Army's dissolution, they still had a massive reach of influence on later games, especially A Crack in Time. In said game, Alister Azimuth, one of the remaining Lombaxes in the game's universe, had been searching for ways to return the Lombaxes after Tachyon and his fleet had devastated the race. He also revealed how he supplied Tachyon with the advanced technology which inadvertedly strengthened the empire to cause said genocide, ultimately regretting his decisions. The Imperial Army also played a role in his descent in his villainy, as his attempt to bring back the Lomabxes had extremist causes such as temporarily killing Ratchet to get to the Great Clock, which would've had heavy consequences for the universe. Furthermore, the Army ultimately succeeded, albeit indirectly, in Alister Azimuth's death as he sacrificed himself to stop the malfunctioning Great Clock upon learning of his wrongs.
Members[]
Emperor Tachyon[]
Emperor Tachyon
Emperor Percival Tachyon was the founder and leader of the Imperial Army before his banishment in the end of Tools of Destruction. Tachyon had founded the Empire to succeed the empire of his species and return them to their glory, also leading a xenophobic crusade against the Lombaxes, while controlling many planets with a total authoritarian rule.
Due to his massive ego and Napoleon complex, he implements extremely strict laws where any comment about his name, height, etc. that is deemed insulting will get that person imprisoned and even executed. In fact, he even created a day called Tachyon Appreciation Day which he made last indefinitely. He also spews massive propaganda across the occupied segments of the Polaris Galaxy where he forces complete devotion towards him and demonizes the Lombaxes as a monstrous species that commits genocide, as well as considering many places contraband such as the Hall of Knowledge. He also forces several people, including prisoners, to fight to death in the Imperial Fight Festival for his and the Drophyd army's amusement.
Apart from his massively tyrannical complex, he is also seen piloting a walking throne to assert dominance and also pilots a personal cruiser, which he used to taunt and attack Ratchet throughout the game.
Drophyds[]
A Drophyd Trooper
The Drophyds are a fish-like species from the planet Zaurik who were hired by Tachyon as loyal mercenaries for the Imperial Army using raritanium, aiding Tachyon in conquering most of the Polaris Galaxy and causing mass-genocidal campaigns. While physically unable to efficiently attack and defend, they are equipped with powerful nanotech armor that they pilot, collected from the Space Pirates. There is only one specific Drophyd (albeit only implied) in the Imperial Army, being The Soldier, who acted as a commander for the Drophyd troopers through radio and was heavily loyal to Emperor Tachyon and too had a massive hatred against the Lombaxes, despite not having any personal conflict with them.
The following types of Drophyd mercenaries were seen in the Imperial Army:
- Drophyd Sentries - Drophyd infantry units that use their mechanical arms as a form of melee attack against enemies. They can sometimes come with shields as a form of defending against weapon attacks and can sneak up against their targets.
- Drophyd Troopers - Other Drophyd infantry units that instead of using melee attacks, use long-range laser attacks from a singular cannon hand. Much like Sentries, they too come with shields and can use stealth against their enemies, but also have advanced and elite units that have more durable armor. They also occasionally use jetpacks as a form of transporting themselves.
- Tachyon Gunships - Drophyd vehicle units that move through floating and use twin blasters as a form of attacking opponents through firing lasers or launching explosives.
- Enforcers - The strongest of all the vehicle units due to their size and durability. They move through four mechanical legs and can jump in long distances and cling onto walls whilst using their twin cannons as forms of attack by firing lasers, similar to Tachyon Gunships. They also come in Obsidian forms.
- Drophyd Cyclocannons - Vehicle units that act as tanks with a massive pair of wheels used to help them move and fire lasers at a rapid rate.
- Tachyon Transport ships - Vehicle units that while also capable of attacking through blasters, primarily serve as a way of transporting Drophyd infantry units in a battle.
Cragmites[]
A Cragmite Hunter
The Cragmites are a reptilian-insectoid species from the planet Reepor that Tachyon is a part of and appeared as mercenaries for the Imperial Army through the second half of the game. Before the Imperial Army's formation, the Cragmites had their own empire that similarly had a militaristic and violent approach to other species and planets, before being defeated by the Lombaxes. They serve as the sole cause of the Imperial Army's existence due to Tachyon wanting to bring them back to their former glory after being defeated by the Lombaxes.
Unlike the Drophyds, there was no implied individual Cragmite apart from Tachyon, although Bagogg was a Cragmite mentioned in All 4 One. The Cragmites also each took on varying appearances as well as having different types of mobility due to that, unlike Drophyds which all shared the same appearance.
The following types of Cragmites were seen in the Imperial Army:
- Cragpoles - Infant Cragmites that come from alien spawn pods and can attack by either spewing out acid at a medium range or biting. They usually spawn in several groups, especially after other Cragmites die. Unless in outnumbering groups, they pose low threats.
- Cragmite Hunters - Adult Cragmites that are equipped with a gun in their left arm that they can use their claws for firing long-range energy blasts at opponents. They move by demolecularizing and warping short distances.
- Cragmite Warriors - Larger adult Cragmites that much like the Hunters, also move by demolecularizing and warping short distances. However, they are more durable and can fire green, slower energy blasts at medium range and can make dangerous swipes in close-combat. This overall makes them the most powerful type of Cragmite in the Imperial Army.
Robots[]
A Tesladrone
Robots can be seen throughout the Imperial Army as minions who serve several purposes for the empire, but mainly to use for attacking opponents and assisting on invasions. However, these robots are the weakest of the three main mercenary types as their attacks consist of melees, which makes them useless for any long-range attacks compared to the Drophyds and Cragmites.
Emperor Tachyon has his own personal robot, referred to as the Tachyon Robot. This specific robot is programmed with a female voice and is primarily used to give announcements to the civilians of the Imperial Army's territories, such as announcing about the Tachyon Appreciation Day, which the intelligence states lasts indefinitely. The intelligence also helps with managing the computer systems for the Imperial Army, which is used for communications and strategies.
Asides the Tachyon Robot, there are two other robot types:
- Tesladrones - Small robots that serve in the Imperial Defense Force and are generally assistants for raids on other planets. However, they are rather weak assistants due to being limited to melee attacks, which aren't effective either, as well as their small durability levels.
- Hug-Me-Tight-Nanny Bots - Larger and stronger robots that are used specifically in the Imperial Fight Festival as combatants, as well as guards for the stadium. Despite also being limited to melee attacks such as Tesladrones, they are more effective with their attacks, due to being electrified. As of such, when their large arms collide, they can electrocute any nearby entity. The electricity also helps them resist the Shock Ravager.
Relations[]
The Imperial Army was shown to have extremely hostile relations with the rest of the Polaris Galaxy, which make up the Free Polaris movement. This is due to the empire's war-mongering nature that has caused most of the galaxy to fall under their hands, with aims to put all of the galaxy under control, as well as the conquest of Gelatonium-rich planets, due to the galaxy having to gain dependence on said resources, which was used to help supply the galaxy and develop their cities. As of such, the two factions had been in a war over authority in the galaxy that lasted for years, with the Imperial Army struggling to defeat all of the free planets' forces.
Another enemy of the Imperial Army is the Space Pirates, because while they were once allies of Emperor Tachyon, they had vowed revenge after he banished them to Praxus VII after being superfluous to the emperor once had enough materials to be used for the Imperial Army's equipment. A prime goal the Space Pirates had for their quest for revenge was to steal the Dimensionator, solely to spite Tachyon, whom was dedicated to using it to return the Cragmites and conquer many more dimensions.
There are many more implied enemies of the Imperial Army, such as the Kerchu, a species native to Jasindu, whom despite having migrants working for the Imperial Army, were still focused on controlling the mines of the remaining planets that had Gelatonium. It's also likely that most of the Breegus System that was controlled by Dr. Nefarious had opposed Tachyon likely because they too seeked control of their territory, which went against the Imperial Army's hegemony, despite the two factions never having any on-screen interactions.
Gallery[]
