Nial Declann

Nial Declann was a Force-sensitive Grand Admiral in the Imperial Navy. He was also one of Emperor Palpatine's Dark Side Adepts.

Biography
Declann was a volatile but quick-witted veteran of the Clone Wars, where he served aboard a Republic Acclamator-class assault ship; later, after the rise of the Empire, he became a TIE Fighter pilot, and his success in the starfighter corps brought him to the attention of Emperor Palpatine's agents.



They discovered that Declann was Force-sensitive, though for reasons unknown (it could just be that if he was discovered, he was too old to begin training) the Jedi Order had never identified him as such. He was given training in the dark side of the Force on the ancient Sith planet Dromund Kaas, where he showed great prowess at telepathic suggestion and mind control, and mastered the ability of battle meditation.

After completing his training on Dromund Kaas, Declann was given a "graduation exercise" consisting of executing a captured Rebel using the Force. Afterwards, he returned to the Imperial Starfleet and rose through the ranks. Two years before the Battle of Yavin, Declann was among the twelve officers at the New Year's Fete celebrations whom the Emperor promoted to the newly created rank of Grand Admiral. Declann became known throughout the fleet for his unpredictable, moody nature, and the practiced organization of his troops that few knew was due to his Force abilities. For an unknown reason, sometime after his promotion to Grand Admiral, he was situated in the Royal Palace of Theed on the planet Naboo where he assisted in the training of elite Imperial pilots.

Declann accompanied the Emperor aboard the second Death Star to help coordinate the Battle of Endor. Although concerned about the destruction of the deflector shield generator on Endor, Declann continued to influence the Imperial fleet through the Force. When he felt the Emperor's death, he rushed from his post to the throne room, but was killed en route when the Death Star was destroyed by Lando Calrissian and his fighters. He was the only one of the four Grand Admirals aboard the second Death Star who did not escape its destruction.

Behind the scenes
Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals co-author Daniel Wallace has unofficially suggested that Declann's personal Star Destroyer was named Recondite.

Declann's appearance in Star Wars Galaxies differs greatly from his more canonical appearance in the Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals article. In Galaxies, he can be seen to be a lighter-skinned man with Asian features who, for unknown reasons, does not wear his Grand Admiral uniform, whereas he appears as a much darker black man in the white Grand Admiral uniform in the Who's Who article.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Galaxies