Baz

"Nothing to say for yourself, Ensign?" "Nothing at this time, sir." "I thought not."

- Tarkin accuses Baz of spice use

Baz was a male Human who served the Galactic Empire during the early years of its reign. He was assigned to served on Sentinel Base, a construction project under the command of Governor Wilhuff Tarkin on a moon in the Outer Rim Territories. While there he used spice, which affected his performance. While traveling on board the Carrion Spike, Tarkin's personal ship, during a journey it made to the planet Coruscant from Sentinel Base, Tarkin noticed signs indicating Baz's spice use and had him confined to his quarters.

Biography
"Perhaps. But nausea doesn't account for the fact that the thumb and index finger of your right hand bear yellow-ocher stains, which are often the result of pinching plugs of spice that hasn't been sufficiently processed. I observe, too, that your left eyetooth reveals what appears to be a nascent cavity, such as might be caused by dipping spice."

- Tarkin points out the signs indicating Baz uses spice

The male Human Baz served the Galactic Empire during the early years of its reign over the galaxy, and by the fifth year after the organization's creation held the junior officer rank of ensign. During that year, he was stationed on Sentinel Base, an Imperial project on a moon in an unnamed system in the Outer Rim Territories, where construction of a superweapon was secretly taking place under the command of Governor Wilhuff Tarkin. While at the base, Baz would take spice while hidden in an area of Sentinel's motor pool repair bay outside the auxiliary dome, which was not covered by security cameras. One on such occasion he stood near a T-44 landspeeder in a section of the bay close to a landing platform undergoing repairs, which left a circular lubricant stain impregnated with grit on his left boot. The spice use caused Baz to arrive late to his duties several times and act inattentively when he did, which was included in his record.

Following a brief attack on Sentinel Base by a Rebel cell lead by former Republic Intelligence agent Berch Teller, Tarkin was summoned to the Imperial capital Coruscant, and Baz was selected to serve as a midshipman on board the governor's personal starship, the Carrion Spike. Once the vessel left Sentinel Base and entered hyperspace, Tarkin summoned eighteen members of the ship's crew, including Baz, to the ship's conference room for an impromptu inspection. While he looked over the crew, Tarkin's attention was drawn to the stain on Baz's boot, which the ensign claimed was hair gel. Tarkin recognised the stain as lubricant however, and revealed that he knew about the areas of the repair bay used by spice users. After pointing out several other pieces of evidence that Baz indulged in spice, Tarkin ordered a petty officer to confine Baz to his quarters for the rest of the journey, claiming he would deal with the ensign once they reached Coruscant.

Personality and traits
"You're sweating, Ensign. Are you certain you're fit for duty?"

- Tarkin questions Baz

Baz had unruly brown hair cut to Imperial regulation length, which he attempted to tame with hair gel in preparation for inspections. His dipping of spice left a nascent cavity in his left eyetooth, and pinching unprocessed plugs of the substance left yellow-ochre stains on the index finger and thumb of his right hand. The spice also caused him to be unpunctual and inattentive, and during Tarkin's inspection Baz's eyes were bloodshot, his gaze unsteady and he sweated noticeably, which he blamed on hyperspace nausea.

Equipment
"Remove your cap."

- Tarkin inspects Baz's hair for hair gel

Baz wore the Imperial uniform standard for all officers, which had a slightly longer tunic, slimmer trousers and a lower thread count than the uniform made personally for Tarkin.

Behind the scenes
Baz first appeared in Tarkin, a novel written by James Luceno and released in 2014.

Appearances

 * Tarkin