With histories upheld by tradition. Integrity. Honor.
They are revered by their allies, feared by their enemies. Respected by all.
You know their origins. You know the legacy. And you think you know the story.
But there's one you haven't heard. And it's told by those with the best damn job in the galaxy.
Teaser Trailer, and cue the epic music.''
An ongoing Fan Film series set in the Star Wars universe, Imperial Military Personnel Stories: The Relentless (abbreviated I.M.P.S: The Relentless) acts as an epic documentary of the careers of the men and women serving aboard the titular Revenge Class Battle Carrier, Relentless. Portrays The Empire in a positive light. And when we say epic, we mean epic.
The first part of the series was released in 2005 by some of the makers of TROOPS, and was a groundbreaking short film noted for its visuals, narration, and soundtrack. However, following the initial release, the series suddenly dropped off the map, and the series was presumed dead. However, in 2009, the second episode was released with a vengeance, and production has taken an upswing, with the third installment due in 2011. The third stalled out when it was mostly done except for sound editing and was not released until 2018.
The series, as noted, follows the careers of soldiers serving aboard the Relentless, with each episode focusing on a different division of soldiers. The first episode focused on the street patrols of the Rail Runners stormtrooper squadron, while the second episode is based off the exploits of the Snowtroopers and their armored assault brigades. The series structure plays as a fictional documentary style video taking inspiration from real world naval carrier documentaries, except with Star Wars.
You can start watching the series here, or download the episodes here.
I.M.P.S: The Relentless contains examples of:
- Cool Starship: The Relentless herself counts.◊
- From a Certain Point of View: The Narrator repeatedly emphasises that the Empire is merely maintaining peace, protecting precious civilian lives, and aiding local law enforcement with problems that they can't handle with their limited resources. If these actions help spread the influence of the Empire, that's merely an added benefit.
- The Gadfly: Sentry Patrol 735. "Could you test your self-destruct sequence for me? I want to make sure it works. (Imperial probe droid squarks indignantly) All right, take it easy! One of these days that's going to work..."
- Interservice Rivalry: The Scout Troopers don't think much of the Railrunners or the Sandtroopers, and vice versa.
- Like an Old Married Couple: "Comms" and "Gater" are told to Get a Room! during their Snark-to-Snark Combat.
- Mood Whiplash: Between The Narrator harping on about the high-trained and well-equipped stormtroopers of the Empire to the Punch-Clock Villains who gripe constantly about their job.Narrator: The success of the Assault Trooper Division, combined with their fearsome reputation, has made the standard assault trooper a symbol of the new order.Assault Trooper: I'm freezing my ass off!
- Mythology Gag: We see that if the Railrunners had been on Tatooine, the Millenium Falcon would never have gotten off the ground.
- Ominous Latin Chanting: Starts at 5:17, here.
- Red Shirt Army: The Narrator says that fresh troops and equipment are regularly required, and we find out why when Sergeant Kaletka says her five-man unit (which is at the end of its rotation) used to have 20 men and she's been field promoted twice. Surprisingly however they survive this One Last Job.
- Schedule Slip: It took until August of 2018 for Episode 3 to come out.
- Sergeant Rock: Sgt. Xalin Kaletka of the Railrunners.
- Shout-Out
- The Railrunners break up a gun battle between a Mandolorian bounty hunter and a couple of Predators. Sgt. Kaletka is not impressed by the small size of the xenomorph trophy they've (literally) bagged.
- The Scout Troopers open the smuggler's crate and get a Pulp Fiction-style glow. Ironically the illicit cargo is kids toys which don't glow.
- So Much for Stealth: In Chapter 2, an AT-ST malfunctions just before they are about to attack a rebel base, emitting a large cloud of black smoke."You think they heard that?"
"Are you kidding? I can still hear that."
"I don't know, maybe they're—"(rebel base starts blasting away) - Technology Porn: Around half of each episode is loving closeups of Imperial hardware in operation.
- Wretched Hive: The Davenport Gateway is an entire planet of this.