Afsheen Makati

"I was on an information raid once, back when we were trying to get data on Grand Admiral Makati out of the Boudolayz library&hellip;"

- Wedge Antilles

Afsheen Makati was a Grand Admiral in the Imperial Navy who commanded the Imperial Star Destroyer Steadfast in the final years of the New Order. A cryptic group known as The Secret Order led the Grand Admiral to a Rebel base on the planet Thila, where he was attacked by the Order's Supreme Prophet, Kadann, after his first officer ridiculed the dress of the Order's members. Makati developed a deep hatred for the Supreme Prophet in the following years. The Grand Admiral escaped the destruction of the second Death Star and retreated to Coruscant, swearing his allegiance to whomever controlled Imperial City. Makati seemingly received a chance at revenge against Kadann when an impostor of the Supreme Prophet claimed the Imperial throne. Believing him to be genuine, Makati tracked down the impostor and trapped him on Scardia Station with the help of Azrakel, a former apprentice of the real Kadann. The Grand Admiral wiped out the rest of the false Prophets and killed the impostor in a hail of turbolaser fire. Makati himself died a short time later.

Biography
"Learn to reign in your subordinates, dear Admiral."

- Kadann

Afsheen Makati was a Human male and one of twelve members of the Imperial Navy elevated to the rank of Grand Admiral by Emperor Palpatine during the New Year's Fete Week ceremony in 2 BBY. In the final years of the New Order, Makati commanded the Imperial Star Destroyer Steadfast. During his service to the Empire, a shadowy Imperial group known as The Secret Order led Makati to a Rebel base on the planet Thila. After Makati's first officer made a snide remark about the dress of the Order's members, the Order's leader, Supreme Prophet Kadann, lashed out at Makati with Force lightning and ordered him to control his subordinates, leaving the Grand Admiral badly injured. Makati went on to harbor a great deal of hatred for Kadann after the incident. Along with Grand Admirals Nial Declann, Miltin Takel, and Osvald Teshik, Makati was present on the second Death Star during the Battle of Endor. He was able to escape the battlestation before it was destroyed by the Alliance and retreated from the ensuing chaos back to Coruscant. After Palpatine's death above Endor, Makati remained loyal to whomever controlled Imperial City. He was the subject of a New Republic information raid on an Imperial library on Boudolayz during the nascent government's hunt for the surviving Grand Admirals.

When Kadann's impostor claimed the Imperial throne for himself, Makati believed him to be the real Kadann, and his feelings of hatred resurfaced. Makati refused the impostor's call to return to Coruscant to help him take over the planet and requested permission from Imperial Intelligence Director Ysanne Isard, the current head of the Empire in opposition to the impostor, to hunt him down. Makati searched through Imperial Intelligence files and located Kadann's embittered former pupil, Azrakel, who also believed the impostor to be genuine. At Makati's command, Azrakel provided details on the Lost City of the Jedi, where the impostor had been trapped, and Scardia Station, headquarters of the false Prophets. Using this information, Makati was able to wipe out the false Prophets and trap the false Kadann, who had recently escaped the Lost City with the help of the mutant Triclops, on Scardia Station. Makati announced his victory over the impostor on the station's comm system, mocking his sparkling robe. Using every turbolaser at his disposal, Makati destroyed the station and killed the impostor, fulfilling his revenge. Makati met his own end soon after and was able to gain some measure of true vengeance post-mortem, as Azrakel was later able to track down and kill the real Kadann on Bosthirda.

Personality and traits
"Your 'subordinate' Azrakel was kind enough to help me find you, my Emperor. He doesn't care for your sparkly dress either."

- Makati, to Kadann's impostor

Rather than turning warlord, as several of his colleagues did, Afsheen Makati remained loyal to whomever controlled Imperial Center under the banner of the Empire. He was persistent in his vendetta against Kadann and his intense hatred for the Supreme Prophet after the incident at Thila nearly consumed the rest of his life. He began his quest for vengeance once the false Kadann laid claim to the Imperial throne, believing him to be the real Kadann. Makati was relentless in his search for the impostor's whereabouts, and once he located Azrakel, he was ruthless in disposing of the impostor and the other false Prophets, mocking the impostor just as the real Kadann had mocked him on Thila.

Behind the scenes
"Makati's fate was intentionally left ambiguous. Makati was the only other GA besides Thrawn that Tim Zahn had referenced himself, and therefore Dan and I thought it was only fair to allow the inventor of the Grand Admirals tell the tale of Makati taking the Final Jump if he so chose."

- Abel G. Peña on the StarWars.com Message Boards

Makati was first mentioned in a throwaway line in Timothy Zahn's novel, Vision of the Future, published in 1998. He was later mentioned under Kadann's entry in The New Essential Guide to Characters and was eventually given a full back-story and a first name in the Star Wars Insider 66 article Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals, by Abel G. Peña and Daniel Wallace. He was given a further expansion in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

Initially cut from Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals, Daniel Wallace indicated that Makati's Star Destroyer was named Steadfast, a ship from the Crimson Empire comic book series. This was later canonized in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. According to Abel G. Peña, the circumstances of Makati's death were deliberately left ambiguous in case Timothy Zahn, who created the character, wished to describe Makati's death himself.

Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals was originally intended to be published in an issue of the Star Wars Gamer magazine under the name Dirty Dozen: The Imperial Grand Admirals. However, the magazine was discontinued, and the article was instead published in Star Wars Insider, albeit containing less information than the original and lacking any roleplaying game stats. Makati's entry in the original article was intended to tie in with the fall of the false Kadann, and it identified Makati's subordinate as Commander Vivant from Crimson Empire. The original article also contained an adventure seed titled "Raid on Boudolayz" that described the New Republic's hunt for Makati, an event that was first referenced in Vision of the Future.

Cut content
Makati disciplined Vivant after Kadann punished the Grand Admiral for his subordinate's comment concerning the The Secret Order's sparkling regalia, though Makati's disgust at being humiliated in front of his crew remained with him for years. Makati was one of many Grand Admirals targeted by the New Republic after the Empire's fragmentation at Endor. Lieutenant Judder Page and Commander Wedge Antilles led an information raid on a special information storehouse on Boudolayz in the Corporate Sector to gain data crucial to the Makati campaign. However, Makati was slowly reasserting his control over the Corporate Sector, which the Empire lost a year after Endor. He began his conquest of the Corporate Sector with Boudolayz and entered into conflict with the New Republic forces. When Makati died, he held no regrets, at peace with the knowledge that Imperial City still remained in the Empire's control.

Appearances

 * Vision of the Future