User:Evir Daal

Hello, and welcome to my user page. For a time, I used to write as Custodes.

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"He is neither a Palpatine nor a Thrawn. He is Evir Daal. It's all a game to him. Fighter duels, politics, strategy. Turning to the dark side."

- Satale, Sith sorceress

Evir Daal was a pilot and fighter ace in the Imperial Navy who later defected and would eventually become an Imperial Warlord.

Early life and enlistment (28 BBY–10 BBY)
Evir Daal, who claimed to be a descendant of the Daal Jedi family of ancient Ossus, was born in 28 BBY on Hapes Throneworld, under another name (as in Hapan society, he could not legally inherit his father's last name). Being of mixed heritage, as his father was Shawkenese, he did not inherit the typical Hapan handsomeness, although he later in life showed signs of their long lifespan.

Perhaps due to his father's influence, he never adjusted well to the oppressive and matriarchal Hapan society. At fifteen, he left the Hapes Cluster for the Empire in order to escape an arranged marriage. Three years later, he enlisted at the Imperial Academy at Carida, under the alias Evir Daal (his given name remains unknown). Placed in a different class than Han Solo and Soontir Fel, he nevertheless met and occasionally competed with these later more famous characters. Although he was by any standards a great pilot, Daal could not match their skill, however close he came at some points of his training, but still graduated as number one in his own class.

Imperial service (10 BBY–0 ABY)
During his years in the Empire’s service, Daal showed great promise as a fighter pilot and quickly rose through the ranks until, at 4 BBY, he was a full colonel. The increasing activity of various anti-Imperial rebel groups at this time assured that he and his squadron, and then wing, saw frequent combat, in which he distinguished himself further. Among his decorations were the Purple Heart, the Imperial Medal, 1st Class, and the Senate’s Medal of Honour. After one particular stunt, in which he saved the life of a very senior Imperial official, he was promoted to the rank of commander and given the command of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer with supporting vessels, an assignment which taught him much about leadership and fleet-scale tactics, knowledge he would later find very useful. In this capacity, he served in Grand Admiral Thrawn’s fleet, and despite Daal’s general prejudice against aliens, he came to respect and admire the Chiss for his vision and competence, an honour given very few others.

Eventually, Daal was summoned to the Imperial Court; the Emperor claimed him to be Force-sensitive and enrolled him into the ranks of a secretive Dark Side organisation (most likely the Dark Side Elite or the Inquisitorius, although it has been speculated that the group was actually the Emperor’s Hands). In any case, Daal received great authority within the Imperial military and bureaucracy. It was not long before he left the group, as well as the Empire, however; himself, he always claimed it had been a mistake to take him in in the first place, that he lacked any Force talent and would probably be killed when his “masters” realised this, but there might have been other reasons for his defection as well. He used his new “rank” to steal a prototype Executor-class Super Star Destroyer, naming it the Thrawn after the Chiss officer he had served under. But as he had only a skeleton crew of twelve and supplies were running low, with a substantial part of the Imperial Navy looking for the ship, he was forced to abandon it at an uncharted world in the Outer Rim, which he code-named Ultima. The party was scattered, and Daal himself went into hiding. At about the same time, however, the Empire got graver things to worry about, as a Tatooine farmboy destroyed the first Death Star.

Fugitive and Rebel (0 ABY–4 ABY)
After a time on the run, Daal approached the Rebel Alliance and offered them his services. Although a great pilot, he did not get along well with his fellow Rebel pilots and was before long dishonourably discharged for insubordination and other offences. Undaunted, he formed the independent mercenary company of Daal's Brigade (an odd name, since it was at first a fighter squadron), enlisting many of his former comrades and soon drawing volunteers. Throughout the Galactic Civil War, the unit fought on both sides and occasionally engaged in piracy and other ventures, and developed both an extensive intelligence network and a renowned commando unit for ground operations as it grew in size. The height of his achievements was the acquisition of an old Dreadnought to serve as his command ship, although he retained his personal shuttle Horizon.

At war with the Galaxy (4 ABY–8 ABY)
After Endor, all the major established powers were at Daal's throat, Alliance and Empire alike. Consequently, he allied with the various Imperial warlords, serving in a number of capacities. His exact actions during this rather chaotic period remain unknown.

Lord Admiral Imperial (8 ABY–c.13 ABY)
In 8 ABY, Daal succeeded in deposing Lady Valsceur, an Imperial Warlord who claimed 124 systems in the Kyros Sector of the then recently killed Warlord Zsinj's territory, with the help of the reformed Daal's Brigade, the Thrawn, and a rigged sabacc deck. He also received support from New Republic Intelligence, who believed that the weakening of the warlords would benefit their government. Then, with his forces in command of Valsceur's territory, Daal double-crossed the New Republic and took over as the ruler of the sector. He declared himself Lord Admiral Imperial and could soon (thanks to a little intimidation) accept the surrender of the surrounding systems, making him the undisputed master of almost the entire Kyros Sector (some 200 systems). Of course, the New Republic leadership was furious, but with the sector fleet safely in his hands and the Thrawn in reserve, there was little they could do to him except to condemn his actions.

Although Daal's rule was certainly autocratic, he proved a more benevolent ruler than the military warlords who had previously subjected the sector to their misrule. While penalties were harsh, laws and regulations tended to be relatively few and unbureaucratic, and citizens (including aliens) were afforded basic rights. In the beginning, he emphasised the sector's economic independence, but later turned more to free trade, and the Kyros Sector became a major weapons manufacturer for the various Imperial factions. Secure in his power base, Daal refused to become entangled in the political struggles for power over the Remnant, instead consolidating his gains. At all times, he kept a competent staff of other former Imperials to assist him in the various aspects of rule, one of whom was rumoured to be a Force-user.

At Grand Admiral Thrawn’s return, Daal met with his former superior and negotiated a deal with him. He formally rejoined the Empire under guarantees that his power and position would not be questioned. Under Thrawn, he received the assimilated rank of Fleet Admiral, as well as that of the Moff of Kyros. He did not, however, commit the bulk of his forces in the Battle of Bilbringi, instead launching a diversionary attack at the shipyards of Fondor to delay New Republic reinforcements. In the following battle, he was defeated and forced to withdraw back to Kyros. Later, during Palpatine’s resurgence, Daal once again switched sides and formed a temporary truce with the Alliance against the reborn Emperor, and was marked for destruction by the Byss regime, whereupon an armada was dispatched to pacify the Kyros Sector. Daal then challenged the Imperial fleet’s greatest remaining fighter ace for a duel over the leadership of Kyros, which he won with considerable difficulty, but the Imperials decided not to respect the result and engaged the Kyros fleet anyway. The battle hung in the balance when an Alliance task force intervened and tipped the scales, and Daal grudgingly had to accept the indignity of having been saved by the New Republic, something he would be reminded of for years to come. He also agreed to coordinate his actions with those of the New Republic Navy, and a joint Kyros/Republic battle group was created. Although several friendships were formed during these months of co-operation, the truce itself did not last longer than the Emperor’s reign, when Daal evicted all Alliance ships and personnel from the sector. He also hurried to annex a few dozen more border systems before the New Republic could reorganise, which enraged the Senate even further.

During the years to come, Daal kept Kyros largely to itself, engaging in battle only to defend his holdings from other warlords while rearming his depleted fleets. This did not stop him from carrying out a number of intelligence operation and small-scale raids against his various enemies, Imperial and otherwise. There was talk about an alliance between him and another notorious warlord, planning to eventually reunite the Empire together, but nothing substantial came out of it. At the same time, he secretly set aside funds and technicians to begin work on a major weapons project. When Admiral Daala reunited the Imperial Remnants and requested his co-operation, he declined, something that led the equally proud woman to schedule both Kyros in general and Daal in particular for termination. Even against the massive Imperial invasion fleet arrayed against him, Daal might still have snatched a victory, especially after he revealed his secret weapon, the Super Star Destroyer Kors, named for a renowned Shawkenese Jedi Master, but he was betrayed by one of his advisors, who was in the pay of an unknown third party, and forced to flee the sector, although he managed to escape with both his Super Star Destroyers. Now deposed, he once more found himself unable to support the gargantuan ships while on the run, and once more had to hide them at the world code-named Ultima.

Mercenary (13 ABY–23 ABY)
For the following years, Daal himself went into hiding as well, making his way through various short-term jobs for the warlords and other agencies under a number of identities. Eventually, he returned to smuggling and espionage. Therefore, when sinister agents were looking for him some 15 years after Yavin, they found him difficult to catch. He was eventually apprehended and brought before their master, Zardoc Ptar, a Darksider of great power who wanted to use Daal’s hidden ships as the focal point of a new fleet he was assembling. To this end, he had captured and questioned several members of Daal’s original group of loyalists from BBY, and now Daal himself. Thanks to the intervention of the remaining members of Daal’s crew, he was later rescued, and while the New Republic decimated the Darksider’s fleet, Daal faced Ptar himself and (with some assistance) defeated him.

During the First Jedi Crisis 21 ABY, when insane Jedi Master Nerim Kors invaded the galaxy with an army of Nagai and Dark Jedi, Daal was first captured by the advance party (ironically enough in his former capital on Kyros Prime). After escaping with Kyp Durron and Miko Reglia, he reformed the defunct mercenary team Daal's Brigade and, again using the SSD's hidden away years earlier, engaged this new enemy. During a raid on Kors' Dark Citadel on Nabassu, Daal captured the female Nagai captain Lilit Kavras who, unbeknowst to him, was actually the Fleet Marshal of the Nagai Second Republic. They fell in love and eventually married, and Daal was made a Nagai citizen and Vice-Marshal of the fleets. Soon after the Nagai rose up against Kors and his human cohorts, which made it possible for the New Republic, Imperial Remnant, and the other allies to defeat him.

Pardoned and reinstated (23 ABY–26 ABY)
Thanks in great part to his actions during the Jedi Crisis, Daal received an official pardon from Grand Admiral Pellaeon and was admitted into the navy of the Imperial Remnant at the rank of Vice-Admiral, given the command of the single Imperial-class Star Destroyer Crusader, in addition to his position as Vice-Marshal of the Second Republic, the duties of which he was rarely able to fulfil. Peace had at last come to him, or so he thought.

The Yuuzhan Vong invasion changed that. In vain, Daal advocated an Imperial commitment to the war, but worse was to come. The Second Republic was hit fast and hard, with Lilit being killed by a high-ranking Vong named Sharrim Orn. Daal swore vengeance.

Crusader (26 ABY–30 ABY)
Once again, the survivors of Daal's Brigade were remobilised. The Kors had been destroyed in the war, but the Thrawn, which had been administered by the Nagai, was soon returned to him, and together with the Star Destroyer he already commanded it made up a force to be reckoned with. His mission was unofficial, but had Pellaeon's support, if not that of the Moffs. For several years he carried out raids against the Vong, sometimes deep behind enemy lines, always hounding Orn, but his fleet suffered severe losses and was scattered in a Yuuzhan Vong trap at the Sixth Battle of Kyros. Left only with the modified shuttle Shard (the former Horizon), Daal went to Coruscant just in time to partake in the defence against the Vong there, where he was presumed to have died.

He had actually survived, however, and eventually escaped the then hellishly transformed Coruscant, whereafter he immediately rejoined the war with doubled effort, reuniting with the Thrawn. Under circumstances unknown, he finally killed Orn at the end of the war, or right after it.

Retirement (30 BBY–? ABY)
After the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong and the death of Lilit's murderer by his hand, Daal left fighting, this time probably for good, and disbanded Daal's Brigade. He resigned from the Imperial Navy and once again hid the Thrawn at Ultima, and turned over all other ships and matériel still in his possession to the Remnant. He did, however, keep the Shard. Evir Daal then disappeared into anonymity to live out the last years of his life on his father's home planet, Shawken, in peace and contemplation. There are at present no indications that he took any part in further galactic conflicts. He was reportedly still alive at 40 ABY.

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Behind the scenes
Evir Daal was originally the name I put on my Tie Fighter pilot account when I first played that game, a long time ago but in our galaxy. Later, he became my principle Star Wars RPG character. When he eventually levelled out, he had almost come alive from the many playing sessions, and in my gaming group's version of the EU, he had become something of a major character. In nearly all subsequent adventures, he has at least been mentioned, and even made appearances as a GM character. He is also the main character starring in a number of fanon short stories and an unofficial novel-in-progress.

Although the name may sound like a mix of Evir Derricote and Admiral Daala, the truth is that I knew of neither when I invented it. The Force does work in mysterious ways.

My Star Wars favorites
{|align=center=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4 !align=center bgcolor=#99B3FF|Personal Info




 * Favorite all-time character: Emperor Palpatine (Possibly the greatest villain ever)
 * Favorite prequel trilogy character: Darth Vader (Not for his job here, but for the character as a whole.)
 * Favorite original trilogy character: Luke Skywalker (The young hero, not the old Jedi pacifist.)
 * Favorite all-time starship: Eclipse (Can't believe they now say Executor is bigger!)
 * Favorite Expanded universe starship: Eclipse (As I said...)
 * Favorite original trilogy starship: Executor (Mighty. And it's a Super Star Destroyer, not a Star Dreadnaught...)
 * Favorite all-time superweapon: Death Star ('Nuff said!)
 * Favorite Expanded Universe superweapon: Galaxy Gun (A pity it's never been rebuilt...)
 * Favorite all-time faction: Galactic Empire. (They aren't Evil. No, really.)
 * Favorite prequel trilogy faction: Galactic Republic (Anything beats a faction that employs "buzz droids"...)
 * Favorite original trilogy faction: Galactic Empire ("For a safe and secure society...")
 * Favorite Expanded Universe faction: The Brotherhood of the Sith (Ulic and Exar, not Lumiya and Vergere...)


 * Most hated all-time character: Vergere (First, I thought of Jar Jar. Then I read Traitor. This creature and its teachings is the single greatest mistake Lucascompanies ever made, all categories (And that's saying something...). At least it's dead now, but it appears to have managed to destroyed the entire after-NJO EU anyway, through Jacen. He comes as a close second on this list for listening to what it said.)
 * Most hated prequel character: Jar Jar Binks (A most irritating pest, but even he is harmless compared to the above.)
 * Most hated original trilogy character: The bumblebeelike singer in Jabba's palace (I've repressed his name...)
 * Most hated EU character: Vergere (A Jedi?! No. That's not true. That's impossible! [Lets go and falls crying into the abyss])


 * Will update later with more favorites.

General opinions
Knights of the Old Republic computer games: Sure, the games are great, but they don't work well with Tales of the Jedi.

Marvel Star Wars: Some issues really good, but to try to fit this series into the EU is begging for trouble.

New Jedi Order series: Star by Star was truly great, the rest mediocre. And Vergere was introduced here (Noooo!!), which isn't exactly helping.

New Republic era: Most of it good stuff, with some notable exceptions.

Original trilogy remastered: Big mistake. Period.

Prequel trilogy: Would be better off if the first two films were cut and the third expanded into its own trilogy. The music in Episode I made it worth watching, though.

Tales of the Jedi: Much of the best material published in the SW franchise.

Films
Original and prequel trilogies, both original and remastered on the former.

Best film: Return of the Jedi, closely followed by The Empire Strikes back.

Worst film: Ep II, closely followed by the Phantom Menace. These aren't that awful, but for SW, you expect better. I was first going to award this dubious honour to Ep I, but it is saved by the music.

Books
Best book: Tie between I, Jedi and Star by Star (Yes, really), although there are plenty of candidates.

Worst book: Traitor. Vergere managed to destroy both all the rest of NJO and all of Legacy (thus far, at least) all by herself. To be fair, there were some lousy books in the Bantam run, too... "But this... this!"

Comics
Dark Horse:


 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: The Rebel Opposition
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: The Phantom Affair
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: Battleground Tatooine (first issue only)
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: The Warrior Princess (1st & 3rd issues only)
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: Requiem for a Rogue
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: In the Empire's Service
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: Family Ties
 * Dark Empire
 * Dark Empire II
 * Crimson Empire
 * Union
 * Star Wars Handbook: Dark Empire
 * Star Wars Handbook: Rogue Squadron


 * Various issues of Clone Wars, Empire, Tales, and Knights of the Old Republic.


 * The Star Wars Comics Companion

(I've read more, but these are the ones I own)

Best comic: Dark Empire for the story, but the art really is awful. Close second comes the "Battle for Jabiim" Clone Wars series tied with The Sith War.

Worst comic: Union. I know the Empire are supposed to be the bad guys, but this is just too much. Straight out of the Rebel propaganda factory, or what?

Marvel:

(All of the Marvel run in a poor translation, so I can't quote from them...)

Best comic: I think I'd say The Third Law; it has an unexpected twist and an interesting storyline, though the details are not very impressive.

Worst comic: I'll See You in the Throne Room. The only thing missing here is Jacen and Vergere...

Computer Games

 * Super Star Wars
 * Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
 * TIE Fighter: Collector's CD-ROM
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
 * Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
 * Star Wars: X-Wing Collector Series
 * Star Wars: X-wing Alliance
 * Star Wars: Force Commander
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II

Best game: Knights of the Old Republic. While I've heard many like the sequel better, this game manages to capture the epic and heroic Star Wars feeling better than any other. Some continuity glitches can be forgiven because of that. I don't like what they've done to the Jedi here, though, comparing it with Tales of the Jedi. It's too... George-Lucasy.

Worst game: Battlefront. Both of them.