Imsatad

"I was at Dantooine, with the military. I saw what they can do. We can't stop them. We can't."

- Imsatad

Imsatad was an officer in the Imperial military who later fought for the New Republic, and afterwards defected to the Peace Brigade.

Imperial and New Republic service
Imsatad served under Grand Admiral Thrawn in his campaign against the New Republic in 9 ABY, and he was part of the garrison on Wayland when Luke Skywalker and Talon Karrde infiltrated the Mount Tantiss base and defeated Joruus C'baoth. This experience may have accounted for his later hostility towards the Jedi, but it also gave him an appreciation of the capabilities of vornskrs and ysalamiri in tracking down and nullifying Force-sensitives.

By the start of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, Imsatad was serving with the New Republic military&mdash;a rough-looking man whose hair was by now turning grey. He participated in the Battle of Dantooine, but his experiences here convinced him that the Yuuzhan Vong could not be beaten, and he also persuaded himself that the war was the fault of the Jedi Order.

Imsatad decided to switch sides, and when Warmaster Tsavong Lah claimed that the war would end if the Republic surrendered the Jedi Knights, he organized a force to attack the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4, hoping to capture the Jedi students there and hand them over to the Yuuzhan Vong.

Raid on Yavin 4
"I do what I do for the good of the galaxy"

- Imsatad to Talon Karrde

Imsatad's squadron for this raid consisted of thirteen combat-capable starships, including corvettes, armed light freighters, E-wing starfighters, and a frigate which served as his command ship. He claimed to be an officer of the Peace Brigade, with the rank of Captain, and one of his subordinates, Kot Murno, identified himself as a Lieutenant, but some of their men and ships, such as Remis Vehn and his freighter, were apparently hired specifically for the attack, and it is not clear whether the attack took place on Imsatad's own initiative or at the behest of the Alliance of Twelve, or indeed how much real connection these pirates had with the formal hierarchy of the organization they claimed to serve.

Imsatad sent one ship ahead to scout out Yavin 4, which lurked in orbit for several days before he brought his main group in. The near-similtaneous arrival of Anakin Solo alerted the Jedi to the attack, however, and the Academy quickly went into hiding. The Jedi were still trapped on the surface, but Imsatad's initial plans had been frustrated, and he was unable to track the Jedi down in the dense jungle and the caverns and chambers of the Temple complex.

Next, Talon Karrde arrived, dispatched by Luke Skywalker to evacuate the Academy. The Wild Karrde was outgunned by Imsatad's squadron, and the ex-Imperial distrusted this "traitor to the Empire", but Karrde was able to lure him with a promise of vornskrs and ysalamiri to help him in his search. The Brigader decided to take the risk, and Karrde was allowed to land, albeit under heavy guard. In spite of these precautions Karrde was able to trick the Brigaders, and evacuated Kam Solusar, Tionne and most of the young Jedi aboard the Wild Karrde. Only Tahiri Veila was captured, although Jedi Master Ikrit was killed, and Anakin, Valin Horn, and Sannah remained trapped on the jungle moon.

Aftermath and execution
Shortly afterwards, a large Yuuzhan Vong squadron arrived in-system, ostensibly to tap water from Stroiketcy, but also apparently to raid the Jedi Academy and in preparation for the establishment of a damutek on the jungle moon. They were surprised to find the Peace Brigade there, and angered to discover that the Jedi had gone, but it was a week before a senior officer, Commander Tsaak Vootuh, arrived to meet with the Peace Brigade Captain. Imsatad initially hesitated to reveal that he had Tahiri prisoner, but sensing the Yuuzhan Vong's irritation he offered to hand her over, insisting that only his intervention had prevented Karrde from rescuing all the Jedi. He did not reveal that some of the Jedi were still trapped on the moon, however&mdash;perhaps, as Anakin had predicted, he didn't want to reval his own failure to capture them.

But Imsatad had miscalculated. Karrde's ships had remained at the edge of the system, and Tsaak Vootuh had guessed that there must be more than one Jedi left to rescue on Yavin 4. Realizing his mistake, the Brigader attempted to show his continuing usefulness by offering the information that Anakin Solo was among the trapped group, but the Yuuzhan Vong commander could no longer disguise his contempt for the infidel. As he had probably planned all along, Tsaak Vootuh signalled for Subaltern Vo Lian to impale the Brigader with his amphistaff. Subsequently, the Yuuzhan Vong ships seem to have destroyed the Peace Brigade vessels, while the warriors captured most of Imsatad's men for ritual execution.

Behind the scenes
In his discussion with Karrde in Edge of Victory I: Conquest, Imsatad says that he was "at Dantooine with the military", which probably means that he was one of the New Republic troopers from Ralroost commanded by Colonel Bril'nilim. The only other regular military forces known to have participated in the battle were Rogue Squadron, among whom Gavin Darklighter was the only male human pilot still in the air at the end of the battle, but it is just possible that Imsatad was another Rogue Squadron pilot who survived being shot down: the identities of Rogue Three, Rogue Four, Rogue Six, Rogue Eight and Rogue Ten are unknown.

Alternatively, a number of ex-Imperials among the civilians were armed to participate in the defense, and some of the surviving pilots of Savage Squadron flew Imperial-style fighters such as Clutches. It is possible that Imsatad was one of these irregulars, but if he was, he would have also fought against the Yuuzhan Vong in the earlier running campaign at Dubrillion, and would have been less likely to have cited Dantooine specifically.

It is also unclear why Tsaak Vootuh should have waited a week until he met with Imsatad. It is possible that the Yuuzhan Vong commander was a more senior officer who arrived some time after the initial Yuuzhan Vong taskforce (which already included two Miid Ro'ik warships), or else that this chapter is placed out of its exact chronological sequence in the novel: note for example that chapters eight and ten take place immediately after one another, without enough time for chapter nine (which follows different characters) to occur in between.

Also, although Tsaak Vootuh's words to Imsatad suggest that the Yuuzhan Vong were already aware of the existence of the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4, it may be that the initial taskforce's mission really was just to draw ice from Stroiketcy, as they claimed to the New Republic. Discovering the standoff between Karrde and Imsatad, they might have learned about the Jedi Adacemy as they attempted to understand the situation, and only subsequently sent a senior commander and a damutek to the system.

Appearances

 * Edge of Victory I: Conquest