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Imperial Death Squadron

The personal fleet of Darth Vader, including the Star Destroyers Avenger, Accuser, Devastator, and Tyrant, and led by his flagship, the Super Star Destroyer Executor. It is tasked with hunting down the Rebellion, and Luke Skywalker in particular, following their abandonment of Yavin Base. The Death Squadron is triumphant in the Battle of Hoth and later serves as the core of the Imperial Fleet at the Battle of Endor.

Crew of the Executor

    Kendal Ozzel 

Fleet Admiral Kendal Ozzel

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kendal_ozzel_sw.png
"My Lord, there are so many uncharted settlements."

Species: Human

Homeworld: Carida

Portrayed by: Michael Sheard
Appearances: Tarkin | Lost Stars | Darth Vader | Doctor Aphra | From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back | The Empire Strikes Back

"We have thousands of probe droids searching the galaxy. I want proof, not leads!"

Ozzel was the commander of Darth Vader's flagship, the Super Star Destroyer Executor, as well as a member of the Imperial military's Joint Chiefs. He led the initial attack on the Rebels' Hoth base, but his poor choice of tactics infuriated Vader to the point of a sudden demotion.


  • Asshole Victim: Given his blundering, his arrogance towards even Vader, and him being a bit of a dick, no one on the Executor was mourning him when he's on the receiving end of the trope-naming You Have Failed Me Force-choke after he messes up the invasion of Hoth.
  • The Cameo: He appears in a non-speaking role at a meeting of the Empire's Joint Chiefs during Tarkin.
  • A Day in the Limelight: The short story "Kendal" from the second volume of ''From A Certain Point of View" focuses on him.
  • Death by Irony: He witnessed Vader force-choke to death the previous commander General Cassio Tagge for failure and disrespect, yet failed to learn to avoid making similar mistakes, and so died the same way.
  • Death Glare: Gives one to Captain Piett after Darth Vader orders them to Hoth. However, Piett is completely unfazed by it.
  • Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: It's really not a good idea to act patronizing toward Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader. But he does exactly that, and doesn't even try to hide it.
  • General Failure: Darth Vader considers him to be "as clumsy as he is stupid", and for good reason: he dismisses Captain Piett's ultimately correct lead on where the Rebels could be hiding, and botches an intended surprise bombardment on the Hoth base by mounting a more direct attack, giving the Rebels a chance to put up a defense and escape. Unsurprisingly, that last mistake leads to his death, and Piett is promoted to Admiral in his place.
  • Hidden Depths: The short story "Kendal" reveals how deeply insecure Ozzel is, and that he regrets not joining his fiancée in joining the Rebellion during the early days of the Empire.
  • It's Probably Nothing: Dismisses the clues that were sent by the probe droid that spotted the Rebel base on Hoth, even when it shows a freaking planetary shield generator. Vader then steps in and immediately sends the fleet to the Hoth system.
  • Killed Mid-Sentence: After the Rebels activate their shield (which proves crucial to them escaping Hoth) and Veers reports that to Vader (who then bad-mouths Ozzel to him before ordering him to set up the AT-ATs for a ground strike), Ozzel reports to Vader, and while speaking, he gets Force-choked by Vader.
    Ozzel: Lord Vader, the fleet has moved out of lightspeed and we're preparing to—Augh!
    Vader: You Have Failed Me for the last time, Admiral.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: He belittles Captain Piett's efforts to find the Rebel Base, and gets pissed when Vader follows Piett's lead over his. When Vader executes him for his blunder on Hoth, he ensures that the last sound the former admiral will hear is Piett's promotion to his former job.
  • Mook Lieutenant: To Darth Vader, as commander of Vader's personal fleet, Death Squadron.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: "Kendal" reveals that his last thoughts comprise of regretting all that he's done to help the Empire, saddened by only at the end of his life realizing he had made the wrong choice to dedicate his service to a brutal authoritarian government.
  • Overranked Soldier: Given his incompetence, it is surprising he somehow managed to become an Admiral and commander of Darth Vader's personal fleet. "Kendal" reveals he is aware of having this reputation in the fleet and is desperate to find a way to get rid of it.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: An Admiral who talks down to people (AND Darth Vader, who had none of it) when they actually have good eyes for where the Rebel Alliance can be found, and smug enough to launch a surprise attack meant to wipe out the Rebellion for good without Vader's approval. He pays for this trope with his life when said surprise attack instead alerts the Rebels to get their shield and forces ready before the Death Squadron can do anything.
  • Smug Snake: Is very proud as one of the highest ranking Imperial leaders, but isn't particularly smart at what he does, and Darth Vader makes his disdain for him quite clear.
  • Spanner in the Works: If he hadn't disobeyed Vader out of arrogance/stupidity the Rebellion would have been annihilated. Instead the Imperials are forced to launch a ground campaign which while successful in damaging the Rebellion (it's actually referred to as their biggest defeat) allows a fairly sizable portion to escape with their lives.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: He was engaged to a woman from his homeworld in the early days of the Empire, but she wished to join the Rebellion. Ozzel was too afraid to give up his career and become a Rebel, so the two parted after one last night together.
  • Too Dumb to Live: Sure, directly ignore your superior's order to launch a stealth attack. It will certainly go over without a hitch with Darth Vader, and it's not going give your enemies more of an opportunity to escape.
  • Underestimating Badassery: He underestimates the Rebels' defenses and skills, assuming that the sight of the Death Squadron appearing directly over Hoth would stun them and allow him to commence an immediate orbital bombardment. Instead, they put up their defensive shield and begin evacuating while putting up a ferocious defense, which has the added effect of giving Darth Vader the little bit of motivation and reason he needs to permanently remove Ozzel from command and install Piett in as the new Admiral.
  • Undignified Death: Being Force-choked to death is bad enough but Vader ensures that he won't die until he hears Captain Piett's promotion to Admiral. Even more humiliating is that neither Vader nor Piett pay attention to his dying gasps after Vader gives his infamous You Have Failed Me line.
  • Villain Decay: In early campaigns after becoming Death Squadron's commander after the removal of General Tagge, Ozzel seemed far more professional and competent, and more careful regarding Vader. By the time of Hoth, his abilities had deteriorated dramatically.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: He only has two short scenes before Vader kills him for his incompetence.
  • You Are in Command Now: He is promoted as the commander of the Executor by Darth Vader after the Dark Lord executes Cassio Tagge for failing to foresee Doctor Cylo's attempted coup of the newly christened ship (as well as payback for Tagge belittling Vader). In hindsight, that might have been a poor decision on Vader's part, and Ozzel passes the baton to Piett when HE is executed.
  • You Have Failed Me: He is the "you" in question, particularly when his bumbling prevents a perfect chance to wipe out the Rebellion once and for all on Hoth.

    Firmus Piett 

Fleet Admiral Firmus Piett

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/firmus_piett_sw.png
"Alert all commands. Deploy the fleet."

Species: Human

Homeworld: Axxila

Portrayed by: Kenneth Colley
Voiced by (German dub): Norbert Gescher (Empire Strikes Back), Hans Nitschke (Return of the Jedi)

A captain from Axxila who served aboard the Executor. He was promoted to admiral after Admiral Ozzel failed Vader for the last time. He managed to survive under Vader's command long enough to lead the Imperial fleet in the Battles of Hoth and Endor.


  • Benevolent Boss: We see some of this in Lost Stars. He is kind to Ciena Ree, even politely correcting her when she's still addressing him as "Captain" because she wasn't there for his promotion.
  • Borrowed Catchphrase: Says Tarkin's catchphrase when ordering the Executor to fire upon Corleque's Star Destroyer to destroy the Scourge to prevent any more Imperial droids from being infected.
    Admiral Piett: Yes…you may fire when ready.
  • Breakout Villain: A minor example; he was slated to only appear in The Empire Strikes Back, but proved to be quite popular with audiences and returned in Return of the Jedi to command the Imperial fleet in the Battle of Endor. Despite his quick death, he still remains one of the more popular minor characters.
  • The Captain: When he's introduced, Piett is the commanding officer of the Executor. He's quickly promoted to flag rank, though.
  • Character Death: He dies during the Battle of Endor when a Rebel A-Wing crashes into the bridge of the Executor. Whether or not he survived the initial crash is moot when the Executor crashes into the Death Star and explodes.
  • Cowardly Lion: Just look at that terrified face he has throughout The Empire Strikes Back! He still manages to hold himself together and isn't killed by Vader.
  • A Day in the Limelight: The short story "For The Last Time" in the second volume of From A Certain Point of View focuses on Piett, as well as "To the Last" in the third volume of ''From A Certain Point of View".
  • Deadly Euphemism: His mention of "something special planned" for the Rebels at the Battle of Endor when his subordinate Gherant asks why the Imperial Fleet is not engaging.
  • Disease Bleach: Not mentioned, but the stress of being an Admiral (or more specifically, Vader's Admiral) for just six months ages him horribly. Compare.
  • The Dragon: To Darth Vader, after he replaced Ozzel as commander of Vader's personal fleet, Death Squadron.
  • Dragon Their Feet: Of the "wasn't around when the Big Bad went down" variety. He's the last villain to be defeated in Return of the Jedi, commanding the space battle until an A-Wing crashes into the bridge of the Executor.
  • Everyone Has Standards:
    • He is disgusted that Darth Vader brought in bounty hunters to hunt for the Millennium Falcon.
      Admiral Piett: Bounty hunters! We don't need their scum!
    • He is clearly trying to hide his terror as Ozzel is force choked right next to him.
  • Field Promotion: Piett is made admiral right as Darth Vader strangles the previous admiral behind him, a very tacit reminder of the consequences of messing up.
  • Frontline General: He leads the Imperial fleet during the Battle of Endor, which ultimately results in his death.
  • High Turnover Rate: Averted; he gets his job because his predecessor was an idiot, but he manages to keep it for two whole movies.
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: Upon introduction, Captain Piett is shown to be a much more competent officer than his superior, the clumsy and stupid Admiral Ozzel, when he figures out where the Rebels are hiding. He doesn't remain a sidekick for long when Darth Vader kills Ozzel for his blunders and promotes Piett on the spot.
  • Meaningful Name: While Piett's last name wouldn't look out of place in a Real Life list of English names, his given name is the Latin word for strong/reliable/trustworthy, properties he proves to have in spades.
  • Mook Lieutenant: Once promoted he serves as the commander of the Imperial fleet. He explains to Gherant what the Empire's battle plan is during the battle for Endor.
  • Oh, Crap!:
    • When the Millennium Falcon escapes Bespin, Piett's face shows that he is sure he is about to suffer Ozzel's fate. Luckily for him, Darth Vader is distracted by his recent confrontation with Luke and doesn't punish Piett.
    • He has another moment when the forward shields protecting the Executor's bridge go down with an A-Wing on a collision course for it.
  • Post-Final Boss: In a sense, as he's the last villain to go down in the Original Trilogy, but he's nothing compared to Vader, The Emperor, or even Tarkin.
  • Punch-Clock Villain: As opposed to most Imperials, he comes across as a dutiful and level-headed man just doing his job.
  • You Are in Command Now: He is the "you" in question; it's stated by Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back as he strangles his commanding officer right behind him. Piett's expression shows he's not sure whether he should be grateful or worried. His first order as Admiral is to have his predecessor's body disposed of.
  • You Fool!: Gets called one by Admiral Versio during Battlefront II's storyline after Arvel Crynyd's A-Wing crashes into the Executor's command tower.
  • You Have Failed Me: Subverted; it appears he's about to suffer this fate at the end of The Empire Strikes Back for losing the Millennium Falcon, but Darth Vader is far too preoccupied with losing his son, miraculously allowing Piett to live for another movie.

    Gherant 

Commander Gherant

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gherant_sw.png

Species: Human

Portrayed by: Pip Miller
Appearances: Return of the Jedi | FACPOV: Return of the Jedi

"We're not going to attack?"

Executive officer of the Super Star Destroyer Executor during the Battle of Endor.


  • Character Death: Killed along with Admiral Piett and the Executor bridge crew when Arvel Crynyd rams his out-of-control A-Wing into the command tower. Whether or not he survived the initial crash is moot when the Executor crashes into the Death Star II and explodes.
  • Number Two: Serves as Admiral Piett's executive officer.
  • Oh, Crap!: When an officer reports that the bridge shields are down, he looks reasonably worried. But the real "Oh, Crap!" comes when he sees an out-of-control A-Wing heading for the bridge.
    Imperial Officer: Sir! We've lost the bridge's deflector shields!
    (Cut to Arvel Crynyd's A-Wing being hit by a laser from the Executor and sent spinning out of control towards the Executor's bridge.)
    (Gherant is pointing at the oncoming A-Wing, Piett not noticing.)
    Arvel Crynyd: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
    Gherant: TOO LATE!!!!
    (Gherant runs away, causing Piett to notice the A-Wing spiraling towards the bridge. Both dive for cover as the A-Wing crashes into and destroys the bridge.)
  • The Watson: After being told they are ready to attack the Rebel fleet, Gherant is surprised when Admiral Piett orders them to hold position. Piett then explains that the Emperor has a surprise for the Rebels and they only need to keep them from escaping.

    Berisse Sai 

Lieutenant Berisse Sai

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/berisse_sai_sw.png

Species: Human

Homeworld: Lothal

Appearances: Lost Stars

An officer on the Devastator who befriends Ciena Ree. She is later transferred alongside her to the Executor.


  • Affably Evil: Her cheerful and easygoing demeanor are in sharp contrast to her being glad the Empire built another Death Star so they can show the galaxy that the Rebels' victory at Yavin means nothing.
  • Blind Obedience: Always follows her superiors' orders to the letter, without ever questioning their intent or the morality behind the Empire's actions. The few times Ciena tries to discuss the Empire's actions with her, she just gets confused before getting distracted by something and moving on to another topic of conversation.
  • Character Death: She dies in the Battle of Endor when the Executor is destroyed.
  • Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: The author imagines her being played by America Ferrera.
  • Obliviously Evil: Never seems to give much thought to the morality of the Empire's actions beyond assuming that it is keeping order and that being good enough for her.
  • Punch-Clock Villain: She is utterly indifferent to the actions of the Empire outside of how it affects her job.

    Sheckil 
See Imperial Garrisons under Anoat Sector

    Ronnadam 

Captain Ronnadam

See his entry on the COMPNOR page.

Blizzard Force

    Maximillian Veers 

General Maximillian Veers

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maximilian_veers_sw.png
"Target! Maximum firepower!"

Species: Human

Homeworld: Denon

Portrayed by: Julian Glover
Appearances: Crimson Climb | Doctor Aphra | The Truest Duty | The Empire Strikes Back

"All troops will debark for ground assault. Prepare to target the main generator."

An Imperial Army officer from Denon stationed aboard the Executor. He leads the elite Blizzard Force during the Battle of Hoth.


  • Abled in the Adaptation: In Legends, he survived the kamikaze attack on his AT-AT, but lost his legs. In the new canon, there is no indication that he was crippled.
  • Aerith and Bob: For someone from a Core World like Denon, Veers full name is unusual as it wouldn’t look out of place in Real Life.
  • Cool Helmet: Wears a Nazi-inspired helmet in battle. It's essentially a differently colored version of what the Snowtroopers wear, minus the face mask.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: His AT-ATs (All Terrain Armored Transports) versus the Rebel infantry. Their weapons can't penetrate the armor on his walkers while they rain fire down on their entrenched positions and easily slaughter them. The only two he loses are due to the snowspeeders tripping one up with wires (a tactic that only works once), and Luke using his lightsaber to cut a hole in the bottom of one and toss a grenade in.
  • A Day in the Limelight: The short story "The Truest Duty" from the second volume of From A Certain Point of View focuses on Veers.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The Star Wars Character Encyclopedia mentions that he's married and devoted to his family.
  • Four-Star Badass: He crushes the Rebel soldiers on Hoth with only a few casualties in his forces.
  • Frontline General: He personally heads the Imperial assault against the Rebel base, commanding the lead AT-AT that fires the shots to destroy the Alliance's power generators.
  • Large and in Charge: He's one of the few Imperials who stands at eye-level with Vader.
  • Mook Lieutenant: The commander of Darth Vader's ground forces. He shows the inner workings of the Imperial Army and by winning the battle of Hoth allows Vader to focus on the more important task of finding Skywalker.
  • Nerves of Steel: Not being frightened in the least when Darth Vader himself abruptly turns to face him while raising his voice certainly counts.
  • Punch-Clock Villain: Similar to Piett, he is generally a dutiful and level-headed officer. He even makes a short attempt to try and defend Ozzel's final blunder, seemingly knowing what fate Vader is planning for him.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Darth Vader.
  • Walking Tank: He helms a squadron of massive, four-legged AT-ATs.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: According to Ultimate Star Wars, he survived the decapitation of Blizzard One, and was seen infiltrating Echo Base with a cadre of Stormtroopers, but anything he did afterward is unknown. The actor believes him to have survived, though he is aware of Veers' death in the novelization, and has stated that if Lucasfilm want to bring him back, there is plenty to suggest they can.
    • "The Truest Duty" does show how he survived said incident.
    • In Legends, he also survived, but became a paraplegic and needed a hoverchair to get around.

Crew of the Avenger

    Lorth Needa 

Captain Lorth Needa

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lorth_needa_sw.png
"They're moving to attack position. Shields up!"

Species: Human

Homeworld: Coruscant

Portrayed by: Michael Culver
Dubbed by: Daniel Russo (European French)
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

"Get a shuttle ready. I shall assume full responsibility for losing them, and apologize to Lord Vader."

The commander of the Imperial Star Destroyer Avenger during the Battle of Hoth.


  • Benevolent Boss: When he realizes the Millennium Falcon has escaped, rather than try to shift blame onto someone else and escape punishment, he takes full responsibility and submits himself to Vader for punishment.
  • Character Death: The second Imperial officer in The Empire Strikes Back after Ozzel to receive a You Have Failed Me Force-choke from Vader.
  • Face Death with Dignity: He knows he's a dead man walking after losing the Millennium Falcon, but calmly decides to apologize to Darth Vader in person anyway.
  • Forgiveness Requires Death: He's executed by Vader for his failure, and only afterwards does Vader forgive him.
    Vader: Apology accepted, Captain Needa.
  • Mauve Shirt: Appears twice in the film before the Millennium Falcon disappears. The first, Han is able to outmaneuver Avenger, causing it to collide with another Star Destroyer. Afterwards, Needa reports to Vader that the fleet is sustaining heavy damage from being in the asteroid field.
  • Old Soldier: Has served in the Imperial Navy for over twenty years. He was even a veteran of the Clone Wars and participated in the Battle of Coruscant as a lieutenant commander.note  This is particularly impressive considering that (based on his actor's age) he could have only been about 22.
  • Oh, Crap!:
    • When the Millennium Falcon outmaneuvers Avenger, causing it to collide and scrape along another Star Destroyer.
    • He realizes his fate the moment the Millennium Falcon disappears.
  • Punch-Clock Villain: Compared to many of the other Imperial officers seen in the films, Needa comes off as relatively benign.
  • Sacrificial Lion: Not a good guy, but of all the underlings Vader kills in the Original Trilogy he is the only one who isn't despicable in their own right - instead being fairly sympathetic - and his death indicates to the audience that Vader is still dangerous even to genuinely loyal and honorable allies that might otherwise trust him.
  • Schrödinger's Canon: In Legends, Needa was veteran of the Clone Wars who had private misgivings about the transformation of the Republic into the Empire. He had Rebel sympathies and intentionally let the Falcon go.
  • Shoot the Messenger: Exploited: he went to Vader to apologize in person so no one else on his crew would be punished.
  • Token Good Teammate: The other punch clock officers are not evil, but look after their own well-being and do their jobs as best as they can to avoid being killed by Vader. Needa outright sacrifices himself for his men.
  • You Have Failed Me: Gets choked by Vader when he fails to capture the Millennium Falcon when they try to escape. "Apology accepted", indeed.

Crew of the Tyrant

    Xamuel Lennox 

Captain Xamuel Lennox

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lennox_sw.png

Species: Human

Portrayed by: John Dicks
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

"Our first catch of the day."

Captain of the Imperial Star Destroyer Tyrant during the Battle of Hoth.


  • Smug Snake: When his executive officer reports a Rebel transport heading towards them, he's more than a little overconfident they'll be able to capture or shoot it down.
  • Tempting Fate: Moments after learning a Rebel transport is heading towards them, he says the quote above. Then the ion cannon at Echo Base fires several shots, which disables the Tyrant and allows the Rebel ship to escape.
  • Xtreme Kool Letterz: His name is Samuel, but with an X instead of an S so to look space-exotic.

Crew of the Devastator

    Jhared Montferrat 

Admiral Jhared Montferrat

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jhared_montferrat_sw.png

Species: Human

Appearances: Blade Squadron

"Spare me, commander. After the battle is won I am sure there will be time enough for appropriate congratulations."

Commander of the Star Destroyer Devastator, a vessel in Death Squadron and Vader's former flagship. Montferrat participated in and met his demise at the Battle of Endor.


  • Arc Villain: Of Blade Squadron, with the titular Rebel squadron attempting to destroy his vessel to clear the way for Lando's fighter unit to attack the second Death Star.
  • Bad Boss: He knows all about this trope from serving under Vader when the Devastator was his flagship, and learned how to keep a crew in line from him (although he privately admits to himself how terrified he was of Vader and was relieved when he transferred his flag to the Executor). When the officer monitoring the hyperdrive begins panicking, Montferrat shoots him out of annoyance before going over to his station to see what the fuss was about; turns out Blade Squadron scored a direct hit on the hyperdrive, and it was exploding and causing a chain reaction all across the ship.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: As he listens to the smugglers he is about to space beg for mercy, Montferrat hopes that when his death comes he faces it with more dignity than them. He gets just that chance the next day at the Battle of Endor.
  • Color-Coded Eyes: He has one cold grey eye that reinforces his dispassionate and brutal personality.
  • Comicbook Fantasy Casting: As you can see from the picture above, he is clearly based on Mads Mikkelsen as Bond villain Le Chiffre. As the Force would have it, Mikkelsen would later be cast as Galen Erso in Rogue One (though unlike Montferrat, Le Chiffre, and most of Mikkelson's other roles, Erso is actually a hero).
  • Establishing Character Moment: He is introduced being annoyed by the screams and pleas for mercy coming from the four men he just ordered to be spaced on the mere suspicion they were Rebel spies.
  • Face Death with Dignity: When realizing that his ship is about to be destroyed and that the Empire is losing the Battle of Endor, Montferrat calmly takes off his gloves and waits for the end to come.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has a lot of scarring on the left side of his face, mostly around and across his eye, which he lost the use of in whatever injury he sustained.
  • Smug Snake: He is extremely dismissive of the Rebels and considers it impossible for them to be a true threat to the Empire. Montferrat decides to die with his ship rather than escape when he realizes the Rebels are winning the battle. Interestingly, he considers fellow Smug Snake Commander Gradd to be an arrogant annoying kiss-ass.
  • The Sociopath: The only emotion he feels towards pleas for mercy is annoyance.

    Shaef Corssin 

Captain Shaef Corssin

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shaef_corssin_sw_2.png

Species: Human

Portrayed by: Michael Schaeffer
Appearances: Rogue One

"The rebel flagship is disabled, my Lord. But it has received transmissions from the surface."

Captain of the Devastator during the Battle of Scarif.


    Gradd 

Commander Gradd

Species: Human

Appearances: Blade Squadron

One of the best Imperial pilots in the fleet, Gradd is the commander of the Devastator's TIE squadrons during the Battle of Endor.


  • Ace Pilot: Even Montferrat, who holds an extreme dislike of Gradd, has to admit that he is one of the best pilots he has ever known, and Gradd is described as being close to Darth Vader's skill level.
  • Character Death: He is killed when Adon Fox survives Gradd's shots and fires back.
  • Professional Butt-Kisser: One of the reasons that Montferrat dislikes him is that Gradd has the audacity to compliment Montferrat's plans after just questioning them.
  • Straight for the Commander: His favored tactic, using a comm scanner to determine which Rebel starfighter has the most communications traffic going to and from it, indicating the squadron leader, and then taking them out to break the spirit of the other Rebels. Unfortunately for him, Adon Fox was an even match for his skills.

    Daine Jir 

Commander Daine Jir

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/daine_jir_sw.png

Species: Human

Portrayed by: Al Lampert
Appearances: A New Hope

"Holding her is dangerous. If word of this gets out, it could generate sympathy for the Rebellion in the Senate."

An officer on the Devastator who served under the command of Darth Vader.


  • Brutal Honesty: Material from Legends stated that Daine Jir had always been utterly unafraid of Darth Vader and had no problems speaking his mind to the Dark Lord. The first time he did so was unprecedented and his fellow officers began to suspect that Jir's time with the living was short. Vader, however, found Jir's blunt and honest manner to be a refreshing change from the usual scheming Imperial officers he had to deal with and decided to promote Jir and assign the man as his aide.
  • Commanding Coolness: He started out as an officer in the 501st, and was promoted to the rank of commander after he impressed Vader with his blunt honesty.
  • The Consigliere: In his very first scene he brings up potential issues that might result from Vader's actions to the man himself, which Vader calmly listens to and addresses. Material from the Expanded Universe says his loyalty, honesty, competence, and absolute fearlessness when speaking with Vader earned Jir the Sith Lord's respect, a promotion to the rank of commander, and an assignment as Vader's aide.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness: One possible explanation for why he could be so blunt with Vader and get away with it is because at the time of the original film's release Vader's status as a man who'd assault and kill subordinates for failing him had yet to be established (though considering he was this close to taking back the Death Star plans from the Rebels after Scarif, it's very likely he gave Jir a pass because of his advice of holding Leia hostage). Another explanation - discounting material from the Expanded Universe - is that Jir was doing exactly what any competent subordinate should be doing; bringing up reasonable concerns they might face in the future and never crossing the line into insubordination. Contrast this with Motti, who mouthed off at Vader and got choked for it.
  • Honest Advisor: Jir appears to have this relationship with Darth Vader, who apparently values Jir's input enough that when the commander brings up potential issues Vader's actions might cause mere moments after the Sith Lord had been angrily shouting at Leia, Vader listens to and calmly addresses his subordinate's concerns.
  • Punny Name: His full name is pronounced like "danger".
  • Token Competent Minion: A downplayed example. Daine Jir is one of the few Imperial officers under Darth Vader's command who is respected by the Sith Lord, serving as an Honest Advisor allowed to speak his mind about Vader's actions. Jir warns Vader that holding Princess Leia captive would only increase support for the Rebellion in the Senate, prompting Vader to order the Tantive IV destroyed and cover up the incident by faking a distress signal and sending a message to the Imperial Senate claiming that all aboard were killed. His prediction that Leia would not betray the Rebellion under torture also proves true. The Empire might have won the war if they had more people like Jir on their side.

    Praji 

Commander Praji

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/praji_sw.png

Species: Human

Portrayed by: George Roubicek
Appearances: A New Hope

"Lord Vader, the battle station plans are not aboard this ship, and no transmissions were made. An escape pod was jettisoned during the fighting but no life forms were aboard."

Another Imperial commander serving aboard the Devastator during the skirmish above Tatooine.


  • Honest Advisor: He calmly explains the situation to Vader, including the part about the escape pod being jettisoned. Given Vader killed bearers of bad news for less in later films, Vader must have appreciated the respectfulness involved, like with Daine Jir above. Again, this was before Vader was revealed to be Force Choke happy when dealing with subordinates.
  • Schrödinger's Canon: His first name in Star Wars Legends was Nahdonnis.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: He's the one Vader tasks with capturing the droids on the planet's surface, meaning he is the commander responsible for the deaths of Owen and Beru Lars, and thus turning Luke against the Empire.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Is never seen again after uttering those two sentences quoted above.

    Tion 

Lord Tion

Appearances: Rebelsnote 

A high-ranking officer on the Devastator, five years before the Battle of Yavin.


  • Canon Immigrant: He previously existed in Legends. He is brought back in a mention in Rise of the Rebellion as being the boss of one of Captain Zataire's daughters.
  • One-Steve Limit: Not to be confused with the planet of the same name.

    Former crew on other pages 
  • Captain Ciena Ree on the Imperial Navy page.
  • Commander Nash Windrider on the Imperial Navy page.
  • Lieutenant Berisse Sai — see her entry above in Crew of the Executor.
  • Captain Ronnadam — see his entry above in Crew of the Executor.

Crew of the Ultimatum

    Canonhaus 

Captain Canonhaus

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/canonhaus_sw.jpg

Species: Human

Portrayed by: Jim Veilleux

The second-in-command of the Ultimatum under Commodore Rae Sloane. He held command of the Star Destroyer during the Battle of Hoth due to Sloane being away on assignment.


  • Character Death: He dies in the Hoth asteroid belt when the Ultimatum collides with an asteroid.
  • Heel Realization: He has come to realize that the Empire is corrupt and unworthy of serving after filing a nonsense report about the destruction of Alderaan refugee ships that stated they were Neimodian traders trying to erase records of the Emperor's gambling debts and that Darth Vader was a starship. When no one contacted him about it he knew that it hadn't even been read and was likely just stuck in a vault somewhere, which means that Imperial leaders can literally do whatever they wish and get away with it without any worry of oversight. Canonhaus is terrified of what more decades of Imperial rule will do to the galaxy and believes it won't be a place worth living in.
  • Just Following Orders: How he rationalized the destruction of a Alderaanian refugee convoy to himself, but that excuse eventually was not enough for him to avoid the guilt he felt.
  • Motive Rant: Confronted by a patriotic young commander (who just suggested filing a complaint about Darth Vader for killing Ozzel, because that would be the proper thing to do, even though she thinks he was in the right and knows the complaint would be dropped immediately), Canonhaus delivers a monologue about how the Empire is ideologically hollow and exists only “to give people like Vader the power to do anything they want.” However, his rant turns out to be an Imagine Spot.
  • Named by the Adaptation: The identity of the Imperial captain whose ship was destroyed during their holoconference call with Darth Vader was one of the longest running questions in a franchise that typically gives a name and backstory to even the most minor characters. He was finally identified in From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back.
  • Old Soldier: He has been in the navy for thirty years, first serving as a midshipman in the Republic.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: He suffers from vivid flashbacks to his time on Haruun Kal and the horrors he saw there helping put down an insurrection against the Empire. Participating in the destruction of a convoy of Alderaanian refugees made his trauma worse.

    Nibiru Chamas 

Commander Nibiru Chamas

Species: Human

Appearances: A New Dawn

The Ultimatum's second-in-command during the mission to Gorse.


  • Hidden Depths: Sloane thinks of Chamas as an average officer who gossips too much. Turns out, he is also highly ambitious and has some skill at playing the games of the Imperial Court, allying with Baron Lero Danthe to take down Count Vidian in exchange for a promotion.
  • The Mole: For Baron Danthe, reporting to him all that his happening to curry favor.
  • The Starscream: He was planning to be awarded command of the Ultimatum thanks to Baron Danthe's connections by helping remove Vidian from power. Sloane realizes that she needs to be wary of him in the future since he looked distinctly unhappy about her getting the promotion instead of him.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: He is unmentioned in From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, with Canonhaus being the Ultimatum's executive officer.

    Kanna Deltic 

Lieutenant Kanna Deltic

Species: Human

The chief planetary science officer of the Ultimatum.


  • For Science!: She suggests blowing up Cynda even it doesn't make mining the thorilide easier, just to find out what the effect on Gorse and its population would be.
  • Lack of Empathy: She obviously does not even factor in the fact that people are living on Gorse and what would happen to them into her calculations of what would happen if Cynda was destroyed.
  • Mad Scientist: She is clearly unhinged, to the point that the other Imperials on the Ultimatum are creeped out by her.
  • Sole Survivor: Thanks to being on a mission with Sloane at the time, Deltic is not present when the Ultimatum is destroyed in the Hoth system's asteroid field and is thus the only crewmember who lives.


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