Treis Sinde

"Treis Sinde, like my uncle&mdash;like my people!&mdash;was willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good."

- Monia Gahan on Treis Sinde

Master Treis Sinde was a Human male Imperial Knight who served Emperor Roan Fel and his Empire-in-exile in 137 ABY. Partnered with Master Sigel Dare, he was assigned to sabotage the new Advanced Star Destroyer Imperious nearing completion in the shipyard over Dac in order to keep it out of the hands of Darth Krayt's Sith Empire. After successfully planting explosives on board, they discovered that the vessel had been stolen by Admiral Gar Stazi of the Galactic Alliance. Deciding to inform Stazi of the explosives, Sinde and Dare rescued Monia Gahan, a Mon Calamari pilot from Rogue Squadron. Together, they rescued other Alliance captives from the recent battle, and sought to steal a shuttle to escape the planet and join up with the Alliance fleet. As they prepared to depart, the Quarren Sith Lord Darth Azard tried to stop them. Sinde engaged the Sith Lord in combat, giving Dare, Gahan and the Alliance pilots time to escape. Using an explosion caused by Dare during the shuttle's escape, Sinde retreated from his fight with Azard, going underground and joining a Mon Calamari resistance group that had formed in the wake of Krayt's proclaimed genocide against them.

Allying with the Mon Calamari Rangers, Sinde assisted them by advising them on military tactics and strategies, and helping them defend the Mon Calamari refugees who had taken refuge on the planet's ocean floor. Devising a mission to capture the Acklay Battle Fortress Sea Lion, Sinde was forced to drive it off instead after the Rangers prematurely launched their attack on it when the Sea Lion began assaulting a refugee camp. At Ranger Grotto, the hidden base operated by the Rangers, Sinde reminded them that they needed to prioritize their missions, and that they were not going to be able to beat the Sith or the Empire. Rather, they were fighting for the time the rest of the galaxy needed to pull together and liberate the planet. After several months, Sinde was able to contact Emperor Fel on Bastion, and was ordered to return as soon as possible to train new Imperial Knights. Despite feeling that his work on Dac was crucial, he was prepared to obey his Liege's orders. However, at the same time, the Sith scientist Vul Isen created a Sea Leviathan to hunt down the Mon Calamari refugees and suck them dry of their life-energies. When word of its existence reached Sinde, he initially counseled the Rangers to leave it alone and sacrifice the refugees to safeguard the few Ranger units operated on the planet. When Captain Tanquar, leader of the Rangers, made it clear that would not happen, Sinde devised a plan to destroy the Leviathan. While the Rangers attacked Isen's AT-AT Swimmer that was riding herd on the creature, Sinde took command of a number of Devilsquids, vicious six tentacled creatures that hunted Mon Calamari. Sinde directed them to attack the Leviathan, and they dragged it into the depths of the Devil's Crevasse, where the Devilsquids made their home. Returning to base, Sinde reported to Fel that obtaining transport off the planet was impossible. Fel, who knew of Sinde's stubborn streak, told the Knight to return when the situation was merely difficult, not impossible.

Early service
Master Treis Sinde was a fully trained Imperial Knight, and serving the Fel Empire under both Emperor Fel II, and his son, Roan Fel. Prior to 130 ABY, the year that the Sith Lord Darth Krayt usurped control of the Empire and reorganized it into the Sith Empire, Sinde commanded a mission to the Unknown Regions on board the Intrepid. Under his command was the Sluissi technician Chief Bor Alsek. When Emperor Fel was forcibly deposed by Darth Krayt, Sinde remained loyal to him, and joined his Empire-in-exile, which, by 137 ABY, was based on the planet Bastion.

Sabotaging the Imperious
"We were unaware of Stazi's plan to "liberate" the vessel. The device is set to go off when the ship's weapons come online -- when we believed the ship would be far enough from Dac that the Mon Cals wouldn't be blamed."

- Treis Sinde to Monia Gahan

With the Advanced Star Destroyer Imperious nearing completion at the shipyards at Dac, Emperor Fel authorized a mission to sabotage the vessel, denying its usage to Darth Krayt's Sith Empire. Master Sinde, along with Master Sigel Dare, were dispatched to Dac to perform the mission to destroy the vessel. Infiltrating the vessel, they planted three sets of explosives&mdash;they fully expected the first two sets to be found, but were confident the third set would remain undiscovered. They primed the explosives to go off when the ship's weapon systems came online during the vessel's shakedown cruise, reasoning that the ship would be far away enough from Dac at the time so that the Mon Calamari would not be blamed for the sabotage.

However, Admiral Gar Stazi of the Galactic Alliance executed a bold mission to steal the Imperious for his own forces. Stazi succeeded in his plan, spiriting away the ship from Dac, although it cost him his own flagship, the Indomitable, in the process. Sinde, realizing that the explosives would not be discovered by the Alliance, decided that they had to warn Stazi of the sabotage. Although Dare did not see the point&mdash;believing that the Alliance admiral was as much their enemy as the Sith&mdash;Sinde knew that Fel hoped to ally with Stazi and that, by warning the admiral, they might be able to convince him of their good intentions and convince him to enter into negotiations for an alliance with Emperor Fel.

Escape from Dac
"Come. We're going to try to get you off-planet." "Why&hellip;?" "You have to carry a warning to Stazi. The Imperious is sabotaged."

- Treis Sinde and Monia Gahan

To do this, they needed to contact a member of the Alliance and get their assistance in contacting Stazi. Tracking down Monia Gahan&mdash;niece of former Senator and Galactic Alliance Triumvirate member Gial Gahan&mdash;Sinde and Dare saved her from execution at the hands of a squad of stormtroopers and informed her of the situation. Gahan was a member of Rogue Squadron, and had been assigned to slice into the Dac planetary defenses during Stazi's assault, co-opting them for use by the Alliance. Gahan agreed to help them reach Stazi, but only if they assisted in the rescue of Alliance pilots captured during the battle. While Dare disagreed with risking themselves unnecessarily, Gahan convinced Sinde to participate in the rescue, pointing out that the successful liberation of the pilots would go a long way to convince Stazi of their sincerity.

Rescuing the pilots&mdash;which included Rogue Squadron pilot Ronto&mdash;Sinde quickly laid out a plan to get them all off-planet. Instructing three of the pilots to put on stormtrooper armor, with Dare posing as an Imperial lieutenant, the group moved up to the hangar levels where Dare used a mind trick to convince the captain on-duty that they were authorized to load the prisoners aboard the personal shuttle of Darth Azard, a Quarren Sith Lord. Sinde assisted in incapicitating the crew as the Alliance personnel got aboard and prepped the ship for flight. Unfortunately, Azard had sensed a disturbance in the Force, and had tracked it to his shuttle. Sinde, waiting at the aft boarding ramp, saw Azard coming towards the shuttle with his lightsaber lit. Informing Dare of the situation, he ordered her to get the shuttle off the ground and meet up with Stazi, then leapt from the back of the shuttle to engage Azard.

Duel with a Dark Lord
"Jedi! No -- one of Fel's forcelings. Pity. I'd hoped for a match."

- Darth Azard to Treis Sinde

Sinde and Azard dueled on the hangar level, and the Imperial Knight sought to stop the Sith Lord from raising the alarm about his shuttle and the Alliance prisoners. During the duel, Dare used the Force to manoeuvre a fuel tank attached to the shuttle into the path of its rear guns. Dare commanded one of the Alliance pilots to fire on the fuel tank, causing a massive explosion on the hangar level that covered their escape. Sinde used the explosion to cover his own retreat from the duel with Azard, diving off the edge of the hangar level. Surviving the fall, Sinde joined up with one of the many resistance groups forming in the wake of Darth Krayt's genocide against the Mon Calamari for their supposed participation in the theft of the Imperious. His willingness to sacrifice himself allowed Dare, Gahan and the Alliance prisoners to join up with the Alliance fleet, warning him of the explosives planted on the Advanced Star Destroyer, and broaching the subject of an alliance between Stazi's forces and Fel's.

Advising the Rangers
"I do not lead. I only advise."

- Treis Sinde to Tanquar

Sinde allied himself with the Mon Calamari Rangers. Operating out of a hidden base known as Ranger Grotto, Sinde advised the Rangers in battle tactics and assisted them in defending the Mon Calamari refugees hiding in hidden camps on the ocean floor. However, Sinde knew that the Rangers did not have resources to remove the Sith and Imperial presence from Dac&mdash;they were simply fighting for time until the rest of the galaxy got their act together, and united to drive the invaders from the planet. Cut off from the Empire-in-Exile, Emperor Fel wondered if Sinde had survived as they had heard nothing from him in months. Master Dare insisted that Sinde was still alive, however.

A bold plan
"We all should be proud, Master Sinde! We drove away an Acklay Battle Fortress! An Acklay!" "You didn't drive it away, Tanquar. I did. And the reason we were shadowing it in the first place was to capture it. It would have provided a mobile fortress you Rangers badly need!"

- Tanquar and Treis Sinde

Sinde devised a plan to capture an Acklay Battle Fortress&mdash;an Imperial war machine that operated underwater&mdash;by shadowing it with Rangers operating Krakana fighters. Sinde believed that the Acklay would give the Rangers a mobile battle platform that they badly needed. However, when the Acklay that they were tracking&mdash;named the Sea Lion&mdash;came across a refugee camp and began attacking it with Shark fighters, the Rangers abandoned the plan and launched a premature attack to protect their people. Sinde, clad in an underwater battle suit and wielding his lightsaber, joined the battle just as the Sea Lion dispatched seatroopers from Alpha Squadron. Using an inkbomb to blind the squad, Sinde engaged the seatroopers in combat, swiftly dispatching them by using the Force and his lightsaber.

Using the Force, Sinde propelled himself into the Acklay's fight/flight deck, and began engaging Imperial forces within the battle fortress itself. During the fighting, blaster bolts hit one of the Acklay's fuel tanks, triggering an explosion on the deck that cracked the hull and allowed water to begin seeping in. Sinde was caught in the explosion and thrown across the deck; as he recovered, he came face to face with Chief Alsek, the Sluissi he had served with on the Intrepid years before. Alsek had a blaster rifle trained on the Imperial Knight, and demanded to know why he had attacked fellow Imperials. Sinde told him he served the rightful Emperor, while Alsek countered that he served the throne, not a single man. He followed the orders of his lawful superiors, and it was his duty to follow orders. Sinde replied that he had his own duty, and asked Alsek not to make him kill the Sluissi. Alsek, already mortally wounded by the explosion on the fight/flight deck, fired. Sinde deflected the bolt, sending it arcing back into Alsek, killing him.

Returning to the Ranger Grotto, Sinde rebuked the leader of the Rangers, Captain Tanquar, when the Mon Calamari claimed they should be proud of their efforts in driving off an Acklay Battle Fortress. When Tanquar countered that they could not stand by while the fortress slaughtered their people, Sinde reminded the Mon Calamari that they needed to prioritize. He told them that they could not beat the Empire, and that their true goal was to hold on long enough for outside forces to come to their assistance. In a private conversation, Tanquar told Sinde that&mdash;despite their differing opinions&mdash;they were not ungrateful for his help. Sinde told the Mon Calamari about being forced to kill Alsek, a being who had served under him. Discussing loyalties and obedience to duty, Tanquar asked the Imperial Knight what would happen if Emperor Fel ordered Sinde to betray or abandon the Rangers. Sinde told him that he was glad to be where he was, able to help those in need. He held a deep respect for the Mon Calamari, and told Tanquar that he would never choose to betray him.

New threats
"So we wimply sacrifice those who need us! Is that the Imperial way?!" "When it's necessary for the greater good&mdash;yes!"

- Tanquar and Sinde

To further the genocide on Dac, the Givin Sith scientist Vul Isen created a Sea Leviathan which could suck dry the life energy of any Mon Calamari it came into proximity of, instantly killing them. After testing it on the Mon Calamari incarcerated at Imperial Extermination Camp 28, Darth Azard&mdash;the Sith in charge of the extermination of the Mon Calamari population&mdash;ordered it to proceed to the location of the refugee camp that the Sea Lion had attacked in the hopes of drawing out the Rangers. Isen and Azard accompanied the Leviathan in an AT-AT Swimmer to an area near the Devil's Crevasse. There, it encountered a pair of Krakana fighters piloted by the Rangers Shonmai and Adriphar. The two Mon Calamari managed to gather intelligence data on the beast, but Adriphar's fighter was shot down by the Swimmer. While attempting to escape, the Leviathan sucked Adriphar's life energy straight out of the Mon Calamari, killing the Ranger. Shonmai managed to escape, and headed back to Ranger's Grotto.

In return for Sinde's assistance, the Rangers managed to build a communications unit that allowed the Knight to contact Emperor Fel on Bastion. Fel ordered Sinde to return as soon as possible, as he needed the veteran to train more Imperial Knights. Sinde told him that he was doing essential work on Dac, and that his actions might lead to an alliance between the Empire-in-Exile and the Mon Calamari. Fel told him that the Mon Calamari had traditionally supported the Rebellion or the New Republic, and that they would never ally with the Empire. He expected the Knight to return at his earliest opportunity.

The conversation had been overheard by Captain Tanquar, and a brief argument between the Mon Calamari and Sinde ensued. Tanquar appealed to Sinde, believing that his service to the Force meant that he should remain on Dac where he could make a difference. Sinde countered this, stating that Imperial Knights believed that they served the Force by serving an Empire that stood for order and stability. They were interrupted by the news that Shonmai had returned from patrol alone, and the pair went to hear his report. Shonmai relayed her encounter with the Leviathan, and that it was heading towards a refugee camp. Tanquar immediately ordered the Rangers to their Krakanas so that they could engage the beast.

However, Sinde recognized that the creature was a Leviathan, and that any attack by the Rangers on it was doomed to failure. He told the Rangers of the creature's origins&mdash;that it was a product of Sith science&mdash;and that it would folly to throw away their lives on an assault on the beast. Incensed, Tanquar demanded to know whether or not Sinde was saying that they should sacrifice the refugees; Sinde replied that was the case, when it was necessary for the greater good. He pointed out that the Mon Calamari had precious few Ranger units, and needed every single one of the them. The Ranger captain told the Knight that his way&mdash;the Imperial way&mdash;was not the way of the Mon Calamari. Seeing that the Rangers were committed to the assault, Sinde relented and devised a possible plan to destroy the Leviathan. Although the Krakana the Rangers used would do nothing to the Leviathan, he surmised that they might be able to turn the beast if they attacked the AT-AT Swimmer riding shotgun with it. At the same time, two or three Rangers would lead the refugees to the Devil's Crevasse. The Rangers initially baulked at this idea, since the Crevasse was so named as it was inhabited by Devilsquids, vicious six tentacled creatures that preyed on Mon Calamari. Sinde intended to use the Devilsquids to attack the Leviathan, using the Force to take control of the creatures. Tanquar asked the Knight why he was now willing to help them, to which Sinde replied that it was because the Ranger captain was his friend.

Confronting the Leviathan
"Is that the best you can do, Sithspawn maggot?! I am Treis Sinde, Knight to his Imperial Highness, Roan Fel, the true Emperor, and I am your bane!"

- Treis Sinde

As Tanquar led the Rangers in an assault on the AT-AT Swimmer&mdash;which was carrying both Vul Isen and Darth Azard&mdash;Sinde donned his underwater armor and took control of a large number of Devilsquid. Directing them towards the Leviathan, the Devilsquids used their tentacles to attack the creature&mdash;pulling at its flesh and scales&mdash;and dragging it towards the Devil's Crevasse. Sinde attacked the creature himself with his lightsaber, although the Leviathan attempted to drain his life energy. However, as the Leviathan had been bred to kill Mon Calamari only, the energy tendril from the creature did little injury to Sinde, although it did damage his armor. As the Devilsquid dragged the Leviathan down into the depths of the Devil's Crevasse, Sinde&mdash;his armor malfunctioning&mdash;was rescued by Tanquar. The Rangers had successfully destroyed the AT-AT Swimmer when Shonmai had sacrificed herself to ram the vessel as its shields were lowered to launch Shark fighters.

Back at the Ranger's Grotto, Sinde again contacted Emperor Fel to warn him that the Sith had resurrected the Leviathan, and that Bastion should be put on alert. Fel noted this, then inquired as to Sinde's return to Bastion. The Knight asked when a transport would be sent for him. Fel was unable to spare any to pick him up, and Sinde noted that acquiring a transport off the planet was impossible at the time. Fel, noting that his father had warned him of Sinde's stubborn streak, told him to return when it was simply difficult, and not impossible. Following his report, Sinde met with Tanquar. He noted that their accomplishment over the Leviathan was not really a victory, and that they had simply won the right to fight for one more day. Tanquar, relieved that Sinde was staying with them, noted that, even if they did not have an ally in the Empire, they at least had a friend in Sinde.

Personality and traits
"Was our enemy, Master Dare. You need to see the larger picture, Sigel."

- Treis Sinde

Pledged to serve the Emperor and the Empire-in-exile like all Imperial Knights, Sinde was a level-headed and pragmatic man, able to see the larger picture of galactic affairs. When sabotaging the Imperious, Sinde planned for the explosives to go off away from Dac, so that the native Mon Calamari would hopefully not be blamed for their act. He did not share Sigel Dare's views that all non-Imperial's were technically their enemies, and often counseled the younger Knight that she needed to look at the bigger picture. While Dare did not always agree with him, she respected Sinde's wisdom and decisions. He was also fully aware that the Mon Calamari Rangers could not defeat the Empire and the Sith, and instead counseled them to focus on surviving long enough for outside assistance to arrive.

Sinde also had no compunctions about sacrificing others to achieve the greater good, as shown when he informed Captain Tanquar of the Rangers that they should forget about protecting Mon Calamari refugees from the Leviathan, as it was clearly a Sith scheme to draw the Rangers out of hiding. However, the Knight was also willing to sacrifice himself if it would help the completion of his mission, such as engaging Darth Azard in combat rather than seek to escape Dac himself since he knew that informing Stazi of the explosives on board the Imperious was important as he saw the wisdom in a possible alliance between the Galactic Alliance and Fel's Empire-in-exile.

Sinde was unafraid of speaking his mind, even if what he said threatened to make him unpopular to those he was speaking to. Emperor Fel II regarded Sinde to be stubborn, and informed his son, Roan Fel, of this fact. However, despite this, he was deferential towards his Master, Emperor Fel, even when he felt that his Liege's orders went against what Sinde thought to be morally right.

A capable warrior, Sinde could fight as effectively underwater as he could on the ground. Sinde also had a talent for command, as he had previously commanded an Imperial mission to the Unknown Regions, and was given the responsibility of leading the team of himself and Master Dare to Dac. He was also a shrewd strategist and tactician, able to devise plans to achieve objectives such as planting multiple explosive charges on the Imperious, capturing an Acklay battle fortress,, as well as devising an ad hoc strategy to defeat the Leviathan shortly after learning of its existence. He was also an effective teacher in the ways of the Force, and was required by Emperor Fel to train new Imperial Knights even though Fel had other Knights available, and Sinde was assisting the Mon Calamari resistance at the time.

Powers and abilities


"Impressive--for one of your kind." "Rudimentary. You should get out more. Meet more of my kind."

- Darth Azard and Treis Sinde during their duel

Sinde was a fully trained Imperial Knight, and was skilled in employing the Force to repel attackers. He was also skilled with the use of a lightsaber&mdash;wielding one of the same design as every other Knight&mdash;and could use it to both effectively deflect incoming blaster bolts and duel a Sith Lord. His lightsaber was also capable of functioning underwater. Sinde could project a Protection Bubble to safeguard himself from harm, as he did when caught in a fuel tank explosion on the Sea Lion, and could use the power of Beast Control to take command of a large number of Devilsquids and direct them to attack the Leviathan.

Behind the scenes
Treis Sinde was introduced in Star Wars Legacy 22: The Wrath of the Dragon, written by John Ostrander and illustrated by Alan Robinson. His story was continued in the Fight Another Day story arc, which was again written by Ostrander; this time, however, Sinde was illustrated by Omar Francia.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Legacy 22: The Wrath of the Dragon
 * Star Wars Legacy 32: Fight Another Day, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy 33: Fight Another Day, Part 2

Notes and references
Treis Sinde