Always displayed on one's uniform in full, the Order of the Empire may only be awarded by the Supreme Commander. It is beyond what any officer may reasonably hope to achieve in their Imperial career, and bestows an honour of the highest order onto those rare individuals who obtain it...

Recipients of this award must have personally improved the quality of the entire GE by their direct actions, to a degree that earns the approval of the Supreme Commander... Being responsible for saving the Empire from an otherwise–fatal peril would also qualify under this definition.

AWARDED BY: Supreme Commander

The Legion of Palpatine may only be awarded by full Admirals (or equivalent) and above. It may only be received once, and is the highest award an officer may reasonably expect to achieve in Imperial service... It is almost always achieved by those who already wear a Gold Seal – whereas the GS is most commonly obtained for "consistent and exemplary service to the awarding officer and/or actions which resulted in overall improvement of large sections of the fleet under his control", the Legion of Palpatine is awarded to those who have proceeded to significantly expand or improve multiple large facets of The Galactic Empire.

Former Grand Admiral Daemon's proposed design for the Legion of Palpatine medal aimed to represent the Empire's founding monarch, and was approved by the Emperor himself... The body of the medal is a heavy gold & silver cross, below a gold crown, a symbol associated with royalty on many worlds. The white centre of the cross is encircled with a blue band carrying the name of Palpatine; upon it is layered the Emperor's representative eagle over a blue Imperial seal. The ribbon also carries the name of Palpatine – adorned by gold, silver, & blue – and is cut to represent an eagle's wings.

AWARDED BY: Naval Admiral, Army General (or Equivalent) and above

The Gold Seal may only be awarded by an officer of the admiralty (Rear Admiral or equivalent and above), and must be awarded for consistent and exemplary service to the awarding officer and/or actions which resulted in overall improvement of large sections of the fleet under his control, "above and beyond the call of duty" ... it cannot be awarded for general activity.

AWARDED BY: Naval Rear Admiral, Army Major General (or Equivalent) and above

The Silver Seal is a medal of high prestige, and may be awarded when an officer has performed consistent or exemplary services to the awarding officer (or sections of the fleet under his command) which were highly notable and influential, but not profound enough to earn a Gold Seal.

Projects undertaken for superiors requiring significant numbers of man–hours are also typically credited with this medal.

AWARDED BY: Naval Captain, Army Lieutenant Colonel (or Equivalent) and above

The Bronze Seal is the first level of three "seals" awarded for services which are not only notable, but substantial... It may be awarded when an officer has performed a service that (while not being influential or difficult enough to warrant a Gold Seal or Silver Seal) is of a high quality and deserves more recognition than the Medal of Merit provides.

In the initial stages of the GE and for some time after, the Bronze Seal was commonly used as a first place award in larger competitions. While this usage technically remains valid, it is being deprecated in favour of newer competition–specific medals such as the Imperial Victory Cross, leaving the Bronze Seal to be awarded more purely for reasons of "service above & beyond the call of duty".

AWARDED BY: Naval Lieutenant Commander, Army Major (or Equivalent) and above

The Imperial Star is a unique Merit Medal ranking marginally lower than the Bronze Seal. Originally issued only by Captains of the Imperial fleet, expansions to the Empire made this medal available to all Imperial officers on 2001–11–03.

Although no longer defined as a competition award (this usage is being deprecated in favour of the Imperial Victory Cross), the Imperial Star retains the original restriction that it must be awarded on the grounds "that the recipient has done honour to their entire vessel (unit) in battle". To preserve the integrity of this unique medal, it may only be awarded to an officer in one's own Division, and also carries a low awarding limit: it may be bestowed a maximum of three times upon a single officer.

This medal's battle usage is reflected within its design; it possesses a celestial body (star), contains the colours of Imperial warships in the dead of space (white on black), and displays a prominent green stripe representative of an Imperial laser blast.

The Imperial Star is unique in that is is both a Merit Medal and a Service Medal... For information on the service medal variant, see the Service Medals chapter of this guide.

AWARDED BY: Naval Captain, Army Lieutenant Colonel (or Equivalent) and above

The Medal of Merit is frequently issued at all levels of command, and is the "basic merit medal" of the Empire.

It may be awarded for a highly notable service or services. Said service needn't have been profound, but one that required a show of effort "above and beyond the call of duty" from the medal's recipient, and which the awarding officer deemed worthy of formal recognition.

In the initial stages of the GE and for some time after, the Medal of Merit was frequently used as a first place award in small–scale competitions, and a second place award in large–scale competitions. While this usage technically remains valid, it is being deprecated in favour of newer competition–specific medals such as the Imperial Victory Cross, leaving the Medal of Merit to be awarded more purely for reasons of "service above & beyond the call of duty".

AWARDED BY: Naval Lieutenant, Army Lieutenant (or Equivalent) and above.