Terrinald Screed/Legends

"I do not want my child to grow up knowing war. But I do want my child to know the Republic, and I fear that our current course will not allow for it."

- Terrinald Screed

Terrinald Screed was an officer of the Judicial Department during the waning years of the Galactic Republic, and an early political ally of Senator Palpatine. During the Clone Wars, he served in the Republic Navy and, along with Captain Jan Dodonna, commanded the Victory Fleet that defeated the Confederate forces of Dua Ningo. Their victory saw Screed promoted to vice admiral and command of the Coruscant Home Fleet.

After the rise of the Galactic Empire, Screed became one of the first admirals in the Imperial Navy. His mission to seek out new opportunities for the now Emperor Palpatine in the Outer Rim led him to form alliances with the Great Heep, establishing a mining operation on Biitu, and with Governor Koong of Roon, in search of the valuable Roonstones. Both operations ended in disaster after the intervention of the merchant Mungo Baobab, along with his droids C-3PO and R2-D2.

Screed's career declined in the following years and, after Palpatine's death at the Battle of Endor, Screed became one of the many warlords fighting for control of the Empire. He was eventually executed by his rival Warlord Zsinj.

Early service in the Old Republic
"If the Separatists consolidate their military might, then what would we have to protect us? It takes an army to fight an army."

- Terrinald Screed

Terrinald Screed was born during the final decades of the Galactic Republic. He studied at the Caridan Military Academy, and after graduating pursued a career as a Judicial, achieving the rank of commander some time before 32 BBY. Screed became convinced that the Republic was decaying from within, but discovered a like mind in Palpatine, then senator for Naboo. Believing that Palpatine could save the galaxy, Screed became one of the senator's early allies.

By the end of the Separatist Crisis, he had become a father and was an established figure in the Republic’s Judicial Department, often acting as a spokesman for the body. Screed became increasingly concerned about the growing threat of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, believing that the Jedi and various planetary forces were insufficient to protect the Republic, and that a unified military force was needed. Therefore, when the Military Creation Act, proposing the creation of a Grand Army of the Republic, was put before the Galactic Senate, Screed became one of its most outspoken supporters, and spoke passionately on the subject to HoloNet News. When the tension between the Republic and the Separatists eventually led to the outbreak of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, Screed saw the conflict as an opportunity for "house-cleaning" to put an end to the decadence of the Galactic Republic.

Clone Wars
During the war, Screed played an active role in the Republic's war effort and. By early 20 BBY, Screed had been promoted to captain and was given command of one of the two task forces that made up the first fleet of Victory I-class Star Destroyers, the other being commanded by another rising commander, Captain Jan Dodonna. The Victory Fleet's first assignment was far from a casual shakedown cruise, as they were dispatched to stop a Confederate fleet under Dua Ningo, which had recently broke through the Republic's blockade of the Foerost Shipyards and launched a series of attacks throughout the Galactic Core. In a campaign which would decide which side controlled the Core Worlds, Screed and Dodonna's fleet clashed with Ningo's forces in battles at Ixtlar, Alsakan and Basilisk, before a final confrontation above Anaxes. Dodonna took his task force into battle against Ningo, suffering heavy losses but drawing the enemy commander's flagship into position for Screed to launch an ambush. Screed's forces emerged from hyperspace and launched a broadside fusillade which destroyed Ningo's command ship. Screed sustained major injuries during the final battle of the campaign, requiring urgent cybernetic surgery, but the Republic forces were successful.

Screed and Dodonna returned to Coruscant as heroes. Shortly afterwards, Screed was promoted to vice admiral and given command of the Coruscant Home Fleet by the now Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, with complete authority over the capital world's defenses.

Imperial era
With the death of the Separatist leaders shortly after the Battle of Coruscant, the Clone Wars came to an end. In a speech shortly after the end of the war, Palpatine announced that the Republic was to be reorganized into a Galactic Empire with him as its Emperor, and blamed many of the Republic's troubles on the Jedi, who were declared enemies of the Empire. Screed became one of the first officers appointed to the upper echelons of the new Imperial Navy, becoming the Emperor's right-hand man, and was charged with seeking out new opportunities for the Empire in the Outer Rim Territories.

The New Order saw the rise of Human High Culture and an increase in non-Human slavery. For a short time Screed took the Twi'lek Boc Aseca as his manservant, until Inquisitor Jerec discovered the slave was Force-sensitive and demanded that Screed hand him over for execution. He is also known to have owned at least two more Twi'lek slaves in his lifetime, and recommended the species as good slaves in a report on slavery for the Imperial Security Bureau years later. By 15 BBY, Screed had been promoted to admiral and was an important figure within the Empire. That year, he traveled to Boonta to represent the Empire at the Boonta Speeder Race, watching Thall Joben's victory from a private viewing box.

Biitu mining operation
"Screed, you incompetent fool!" "Me? You lumbering junk heap. If you weren't so wrapped up with your droid harem, none of this would have happened." "Tiny minded Imperial twit!" "It was your useless droids that let out the R2 units. You're finished!"

- The Great Heep and Screed exchange insults as their scheme falls apart

Later that year, Screed formed a partnership with the giant Abominor droid the Great Heep, to establish a droid-operated mine to exploit a newly discovered source of fuel ore on the agriworld of Biitu. The Empire, however, was not the only interested party, and Mungo Baobab had traveled to the world to establish his own mining operation for the Baobab Merchant Fleet. While Baobab saw the mine as a source of income for the native Biituian population, Screed and the Great Heep planned to drive them away from their homeworld, and seize the planet for the Empire. To this end, Imperial forces, led by the Heep, went to Biitu and constructed the "moisture eater", a tower which drained all moisture from the atmosphere, causing a drought which threatened to kill the natives.

The Imperials soon had control over Biitu and established the mine under the Heep's supervision. Mungo Baobab was captured during the invasion, along with his droids C-3PO and R2-D2. While Baobab was imprisoned, C-3PO was set to work in the mine and R2-D2 was sent to the Heep's droid harem, along with numerous other astromech droids, which the Heep planned to drain of power in order to recharge himself. Eventually, Screed arrived aboard a cargo ship to take possession of the first shipment of fuel ore. Screed was met by the Great Heep and was taken to Baobab's cell where he informed the prisoner that he would be taking him to the Emperor the following day&mdash;to ensure that his valuable prisoner was not harmed, Screed planned to have him put into hibernation for the journey.

The following morning, Screed, along with two stormtroopers and an interrogation droid, went to Baobab's cell to give him the injection that would put him in hibernation for the trip. Unknown to the Imperials, Baobab had acquired a saw from Biituian Fidge and had spent the night sawing through one of the cell bars. Screed's arrival initially stopped Baobab from making his escape, but when Fidge arrived outside and began throwing rocks at the Imperials, Screed ordered his stormtroopers to capture the young Biituian and Baobab used the distraction to kick away the weakened bar and escape his cell. Screed pulled his blaster and fired after Baobab, but both the merchant and Fidge were able to escape down a nearby pipe into the tunnel system below the Imperial installation, sealing the entrance behind them.

Despite the setback, Screed proceeded with the loading operation. Knowing that Baobab may attempt to get aboard his vessel, the admiral his stormtroopers to watch for Baobab, and to only allow droids aboard the ship. C-3PO, meanwhile, had assisted R2-D2 in escaping from the droid harem and the two rendezvoused with their master. After disguising himself in old droid parts, Baobab and the two droids were able to sneak aboard Screed's ship, posing as part of the loading crew. Baobab's plan was to use the ship against the moisture eater, but as R2-D2 attempted to access the ship's computer, the droid activated a silent alarm which alerted Screed to the intruders. Screed returned to his ship with a squad of stormtroopers to apprehend Baobab but they were delayed at the entrance ramp by an apparently disgruntled droid. Only when the droid's hand fell off, revealing the Human hand below, did Screed realize that the droid was Baobab in disguise, attempting to delay them while R2-D2 took control of the ship. As Screed's stormtroopers moved to capture Baobab, R2-D2 succeeded in raising the ship off the ground, leaving both Baobab and C-3PO behind.

Screed quickly responded to the new threat, ordering his troops to man the mine's laser turrets and shoot down the captured vessel. However, the situation deteriorated further when Fidge arrived in a stolen vehicle which he used to disable the turrets. The Biituian was also joined by dozens of astromech droids from the harem, which began attacking the stormtroopers. Screed was attempting to get the situation under control when the Great Heep arrived. The Abominor blamed the apparent chaos on Screed, who in turn accused the Great Heep of failing to keep control of his droids. However, their bickering was soon ended when R2-D2 opened the ship's cargo doors and dropped its cargo of ore containers, forcing Screed to take cover. Seeing the danger above, the Great Heep attempted desperately to stop the ship before it could destroy the moisture eater, but R2-D2 sent it on a collision course with the tower before abandoning ship. As the cargo ship collided with the tower, Screed could only watch helplessly as the stored moisture was released in a torrent of rain which extinguished the Heep's furnace and left the giant droid deactivated. With the Heep gone, Screed and the other Imperials were easily rounded up by the natives and forced to help them restore their destroyed crops. Screed was humiliated by the incident and vowed revenge on Baobab.

Search for the Roonstones
Screed eventually left Biitu and returned to his duties with the Empire. While searching for new opportunities for Imperial expansion, Screed dispatched a probe droid to the distant Cloak of the Sith region to look for planets ripe for conquest. When the droid returned to his Star Destroyer, it brought a holographic message from Koong, the governor of Tawntoom province on the planet Roon. In his message, Koong explained that he was seeking an alliance with the Empire. Though Screed viewed Koong's proposal with disdain, the governor's gift of a valuable Roonstone, the source of which was of great interest to Palpatine, was enough to convince the admiral to meet with him.

After arriving in the system, Screed took a Lambda-class shuttle to Koong's Umboo Lightstation to meet with the admiral. He was surprised to learn that Koong had already received what he believed to be the Imperial emissaries&mdash;Screed's old adversary Mungo Baobab, along with the droids C-3PO and R2-D2. Baobab had arrived earlier, seeking to establish the first trade route between the Empire and the Roon system, only to be mistaken for an Imperial representative by Koong. His true identity revealed, Baobab attempted to flee, but was soon caught by Koong's aide Gaff while Screed's stormtrooper guards captured the droids. Screed was pleased to once more have Baobab in custody and had him locked in one of Koong's cells. The admiral had need of C-3PO's services and ordered the protocol droid reprogrammed, while R2-D2 would be turned over to Koong.

With the intruders caught, Koong began to show Screed around the lightstation. The governor had had the original lighstation shut down and was using his lightstation to cause unsuspecting ships to in order to scavenge their cargo&mdash;a process which Screed saw as little more than piracy. Their negotiations were cut short by a sudden explosion&mdash;Baobab and the droids were attempting to escape with the assistance of fellow prisoner Noop Yeldarb and several crates of Nergon-14 had exploded in the ensuing chaos, damaging the ship's engines. As the lightstation began to drift into the nearby asteroid belt, Koong ordered an evacuation. Screed led the Imperials aboard Baobab's ship, the Caravel, joined by Koong and Gaff, escaping shortly before the lightstation was destroyed. Baobab was also able to escape, stealing Koong's personal shuttle. Screed was not impressed by the incident and ordered his stormtroopers to lock Koong and Gaff in the ship's brig.

Alliance with Koong
Koong's protests that only he could lead Screed to the source of the Roonstones initially fell on deaf ears, but the admiral's desire to acquire the Roonstones ultimately led him to give Koong another chance. In exchange for providing the Empire with the precious gems, Screed promised Koong an alliance and access to Imperial resources including stomtroopers and a Star Destroyer. In truth, however, the admiral had no intention of making an alliance and only sought the Roonstones to present to the Emperor. Proceeding to Roon, Koong attempted to show Screed that his world had more to offer than just the Roonstones. Screed was unconvinced but agreed to accompany the Tawntoom governor to the Roon Colonial Games after hearing that Koong's forces had intercepted and destroyed Baobab's ship. If Tawntoom's team could defeat the team from Umboo at the games, the governor expected the last province resisting his rule to lose moral and fall under his control.

Screed watched the Roon Colonial Games from Koong's private box, but was shocked to see Baobab arrive with Umboo's champion Drainsweeper team. Seeing that the admiral's patience was waning, Koong ordered Gaff to ensure that Baobab and the Umboo team were eliminated before the final, and deciding, event of the games. Gaff's efforts met with mixed success&mdash;the Umboo Drainsweeper riders Gee Long and Bix were incapacitated before the race, but Baobab was able to survive an attempt to eliminate him. After Baobab and C-3PO agreed to join Auren Yomm in place of the missing riders, the Umboo team were once again able to win the Drainsweeper event, and take overall victory in the games. With Koong's plans once more foiled by Baobab, Screed was not willing to tolerate any further delays and demanded that the governor deliver the promised Roonstones to him.

However, Koong was unable to deliver on his promise, having failed to locate the source of the Roonstones. Knowing that his only hope was for Baobab to lead him to the Roonstones, Koong dispatched probe droids to locate the merchant. Koong's efforts eventually paid off, and Screed was watching the surveillance feed with the governor when Auren and Nilz Yomm arrived at Baobab's vessel. Baobab had also been unable to locate the source of the Roonstones and was preparing to leave, but when his visitors presented him with one, saying that it had come from an old prospector known as "Old Ogger", he decided to pay the hermit a visit. Koong promptly dispatched Gaff to follow Baobab and Screed ordered his stormtroopers to assist the Kobok, reminding the governor that any Roonstones he found were the property of the Galactic Empire.

"Old Ogger" was able to give Baobab a lead and the merchant headed for the port of Nime, along with Auren Yomm and the droids. There the group was apprehended by Koong's forces and taken to the governor's ship for the journey across the Roon Sea to Koong Island, where Screed was waiting to take them to Tawntoom for interrogation. The admiral eventually received word from Koong that the prisoners had escaped en route and, though Koong begged another chance, Screed made it clear that his report to the Emperor would indicate his displeasure.

Showdown with Baobab
Other than the Roonstones, the only thing on Roon which was of interest to Screed was the wealthy Umboo province which still resisted Koong's control. The increasingly desperate Koong planned a show of force to impress Screed and the two departed for Umboo aboard one of Koong's ship's. Koong's plan was to poison Umboo's population by releasing the deadly rooze germ over the province. Screed, however, saw the plan as foolhardy&mdash;the Empire's previous use of rooze had caused as many deaths among its own forces as the enemy. The admiral's concerns were proved well-founded when a leak in the rooze containers allowed the deadly germ to enter circulation on Koong's ship. While Screed's stormtroopers were protected by their armor, the admiral used a breath mask to keep from breathing the germ. Koong, however, was not so fortunate and was infected by the germ as he attempted to shut down the ventilation system.

Koong's only hope of survival was to enlist the help of the Nilz Yomm in finding a cure, and Screed allowed his stormtroopers to accompany Gaff in capturing the doctor. They returned with both Nilz and Auren, but Screed's patience was exhausted and he informed the ailing governor that he would be withdrawing his forces from Roon that afternoon. Meanwhile, Mungo Baobab traced his captured friends to Koong's Fortress of Tawntoom, built atop a volcano in an otherwise frozen wasteland, and mounted a rescue effort. During the rescue, Baobab discovered that the volcano itself was the source of the Roonstones he and Screed had sought. The admiral was leading his troops aboard their shuttle as the stricken Koong made one final attempt to persuade him to stay, when Gaff arrived in pursuit of Baobab and the escaping Yomms. Screed's stormtroopers moved to attack Baobab but were stopped by Koong when the governor saw that Baobab carried the cure for his illness. While the Yomms attempted to start the engines on Baobab's captured Caravel, the merchant proposed a deal to the Imperials&mdash;he would provide both the cure and the source of the Roonstones in exchange for safe passage and peace with Umboo. Upon discovering that the Roonstones were in the surrounding volcano, Screed turned on Koong, declaring the fortress Imperial property and ordering his troops to impound it.

Seeing Screed's betrayal, Koong used the drilling laser to blast the surrounding Roonstones free from the rock, sending them plummeting into the lava below in an effort to keep them out of the admiral's hands. However, the Roonstones caused the lava to freeze, depriving the fortress of its only source of heat and leaving it vulnerable to the harsh climate. With the situation having once more turned against him, Screed ordered his troops to their shuttle and evacuated the fortress before it froze. Baobab's ship was also able to escape but Koong succumbed to his disease shortly before the fortress froze around him.

Later career
In the years following the debacle on Roon, Screed's position in the Imperial hierarchy faltered, with him falling behind the various Moffs and Grand Admirals in the Emperor's favor, though he continued to serve as an admiral in the Imperial Navy. By 0 ABY, just months after the Rebel Alliance destroyed the Death Star at the Battle of Yavin, Screed was working with the Imperial Security Bureau on Imperial Center.

After the Emperor's death at the Battle of Endor, Screed became one of many warlords who used the subsequent power vacuum to attempt to carve a personal empire out of former Imperial space. This eventually led him into conflict with Warlord Zsinj, who executed the admiral at some point during his rise to power.

Years later, during the Yuuzhan Vong Invasion, Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon asked if Screed was still serving in the Empire. Pellaeon's aide, Arien Yage, reminded him that Screed had been executed by Zsinj, and Pellaeon reminisced that he had always had a soft spot for "the old Hawk-bat."

Personality and traits
During his time as a Judicial, Screed respected the Jedi and their long-standing duty to protect the Republic. However, he felt that times had changed and that the Jedi were no longer sufficient and that a stronger force was needed. Part of his motivation for so vehemently supporting the Military Creation Act was his desire to see his child grow up in a strong Republic. Screed was also a loyal officer of the Judicial Department&mdash;when Captain Zozridor Slayke and the crew of the CR90 corvette Scarlet Thranta defected from the Republic to begin a private war against the Separatists shortly before the Clone Wars, Screed spoke out against their vigilante actions, even though he understood their motivations. Screed went on to keep the public informed of his department's efforts to reign in the vigilantes, though there were suggestions that they privately supported the renegades' actions, and may have even helped orchestrate them.

Eventually he came to see the Republic as ineffective and hypocritical and, by the rise of the Empire, Screed was a firm believer in the New Order and its tenets, regarding non-Humans as inferior. By this time he was a no nonsense military man and had little tolerance for either those who opposed the Empire or those who failed him. Governor Koong in particular was frequently on the receiving end of the admiral's disappointment. Despite his short temper and occasionally eccentric behaviour, Screed was an accomplished military commander with a talent for space combat.

During the early years of the Empire, Screed was an easily recognizable figure due to his above average height, angular features and the electronic eye patch he wore in place of his left eye.

Behind the scenes
Admiral Screed was created as the primary Imperial antagonist of the 1985 Nelvana cartoon series Star Wars: Droids and first appeared briefly in "A Race to the Finish", the fourth and final episode of the first story arc. The character returned to play a larger role in the last four episodes of the series, along with the two-part special "The Great Heep". His first name was not revealed until the character appeared in a series of articles on HoloNet News prior to the release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

The New Essential Chronology establishes the Screed was a captain at the time of the Battle of Anaxes. Republic HoloNet News Core Edition 15:3:02 in Star Wars Insider 75, set shortly afterwards, refers to him as an admiral, yet The Dark Forces Saga calls him a vice admiral at the time he owned Boc after the Clone Wars. Therefore it is assumed that his promotion during the Clone Wars was only to vice admiral, with his full promotion to admiral coming at some point prior to the Star Wars: Droids cartoons.

The origin of Screed's electronic eye patch appears to be explained in The New Essential Chronology, which describes his cybernetic surgery following the Battle of Anaxes. However, HoloNet News Vol. 531 47 features a Joe Corroney illustration of Screed, complete with eye patch, before the outbreak of the Clone Wars. This article therefore leaves the origin of the eye patch ambiguous.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Droids
 * "A Race to the Finish"
 * "The Great Heep (part 1)"
 * "The Great Heep (part 2)"
 * "Tail of the Roon Comets"
 * "The Roon Games"
 * "Across the Roon Sea"
 * "The Frozen Citadel"
 * Star Wars: Rebellion
 * Force Heretic I: Remnant
 * "Tail of the Roon Comets"
 * "The Roon Games"
 * "Across the Roon Sea"
 * "The Frozen Citadel"
 * Star Wars: Rebellion
 * Force Heretic I: Remnant