Nil Spaar

"Tell them that beginning today, their lives depend on their being useful to us."

- Nil Spaar

Nil Spaar was a male Yevetha and the darama of N'zoth, the Yevetha homeworld, as well as head of the Duskhan League during the Black Fleet Crisis. Years earlier, Spaar led a rebellion shortly after the Battle of Endor in which the Yevetha overthrew their Imperial masters from the Koornacht Cluster. As the leader of the insurrection, Spaar gained popular acclaim among the Yevetha and was widely supported after replacing the previous regime in a bloody coup.

In 16 ABY, Spaar extended his ambitions into the galaxy at large, meeting New Republic Chief of State Leia Organa Solo, ostensibly for trade negotiations. However, Spaar's visit was a pretense to gather intelligence and sow distrust among the New Republic to hide the planned Yevethan takeover of the Koornacht Cluster. Though the Yevetha managed to cause much turmoil and conflict in the New Republic Senate, the plan ultimately failed, largely due to the actions of Organa Solo. When she refused to turn a blind eye to the obliteration of the populations of worlds in the Koornacht Cluster, Spaar led a military effort against the New Republic's fleet in Koornacht. The Yevetha were initially successful and even captured Commodore Han Solo, whom Spaar physically assaulted after the New Republic attacked a Yevethan shipyard, transmitting the feed to the New Republic. Though horrified, Spaar's brutality only stiffened the New Republic's resolve, and they launched the Battle of N'zoth as an all-out attack on the Yevethan homeworld. As the Yevethan fleet, led by Spaar, was preparing for battle, the captured Imperials who served as slaves on the Yevethan ships struck and seized control of the vessels that once had belonged to the Empire. Spaar was captured and ejected into hyperspace by Sil Sorannan, and he was left for dead.

Imperial discovery
"You are vermin."

- Nil Spaar, to Paret, before killing him

During the reign of Palpatine, the Galactic Empire invaded the Koornacht Cluster and took control of the planet N'zoth, after much fighting. The Yevetha were taken as slaves by the Imperials and whose Black Sword Command was housed in the cluster, along with several shipyards. However, many Yevetha used their enslavement to learn much about the art of shipbuilding. After several years of Imperial rule, they began plotting a rebellion, of which Nil Spaar was one of the leaders. In his tenure, he put an end to quiet acts of sabotage, encouraging the Yevetha to cultivate the trust of the Empire so they could turn on them later. Eventually, after the Yevetha had the virtual run of the shipyards, Spaar had his chance. Eight months after the Battle of Endor, in which Palpatine was killed and the Empire began a slow decline, the Yevetha, led by Nil Spaar, seized the moment. The Imperial fleet at the shipyards was undermanned and poorly defended, with many of the ships incomplete or damaged&mdash;a perfect opportunity for a surprise insurrection. Imperial forces in the Koornacht Cluster were being withdrawn to assist in the defense of the Core Worlds, and security was lax, to the point where Spaar knew the details of the supposedly sudden Imperial departure.

As the Black Fleet prepared to leave the N'zoth system and the Yevetha behind to aid Ysanne Isard in the defense of Coruscant, Spaar and his followers put their plan in motion. The Imperial commander, Paret, had ordered an evacuation, sending all Yevetha off the Imperial ships and facilities. He found the aliens despicable, and was happy to leave the Koornacht Cluster. Paret had kept this a secret from the Yevetha, knowing the aliens would interfere if they learned of their upcoming escape. However, Spaar was aware of this, and his engineers had altered the sensors on the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Intimidator, flagship of the fleet, so some hatches would appear to be closed when they were not. A Yevethan task force then invaded the ship and made their way to the bridge, slaying or capturing any Imperials in their path. Spaar had numerous other contingency plans in effect, including a series of bombs that would destroy Intimidator if it activated its shields.

Spaar personally led one of the two commando teams to penetrate the Intimidator, working his way across the ship with cold efficiency. They easily reached the bridge of the ship and took control of the vessel, as Paret and his men were completely surprised by the Yevethan attack. As the Imperial troops rose from the surface of N'zoth in transports per the evacuation plan, Spaar ordered the batteries on the Intimidator to destroy them. The Yevethan commandos complied, to the horror of Paret, whom Spaar executed thereafter.

The Yevetha repeated their operation across the Black Fleet and took command of the fleet entirely. The largest of the ships they captured was the Intimidator, which they renamed the Pride of Yevetha. More importantly, they also brought the Koornacht Cluster fully under Yevethan control. Spaar became very popular for his actions, and not long afterwards, he killed Viceroy Kiv Truun of the Duskhan League, becoming viceroy himself.

Some time after the Yevetha took control of the Imperial vessels, Spaar toured the outer regions of the Koornacht Cluster in the Beauty, a captured Imperial CR90 corvette. The trip was enlightening to Spaar, who realized how close outsiders were to Yevethan settlements, as well as the extent of galactic development near Koornacht.

Revealed to the galaxy
"I don't think there's any question but that Nil Spaar represents more worlds, a larger population, greater material riches, and a more advanced industrial-technological base than anyone who's come to Imperial City in the last twelve years. And he probably knows it, too."

- Leia Organa Solo

Thirteen years later, Spaar opened talks with the New Republic, but it was in truth a ruse to cause mistrust of Chief of State Leia Organa Solo in the New Republic Senate and to gather intelligence on the New Republic. Spaar's entrance was carefully choreographed, and his appearance and demeanor were carefully rehearsed to appear cordial and friendly towards Organa Solo, as part of his plan. Entering into private talks with her, Spaar rejected membership into the New Republic, instead proposing a sort of alliance, despite all of Organa Solo's attempts to persuade him of the benefits of full membership. He was able to use stories of Imperial brutality against the Yevetha to justify their wariness and desire for independence.

Breaking for lunch in the midst of their first meeting, Spaar returned to his ship, the Aramadia, where he washed all traces of the New Republic world from his body and ensured that a recording of his conversation with Organa Solo was secured. Unlike Organa Solo, who adhered to her word to keep the meetings private, the duplicitous Spaar was already compromising the conditions of his conferences with the Chief of State. Consulting with his aides, Spaar already felt that the dialog with the "vermin" was going well and prolonged the meetings for a month, purposefully failing to reach any agreement or alliance with Organa Solo.

When Organa Solo asked him about the status of Imperial ships and shipyards once located in Koornacht, Spaar fed her a tale of Yevethan slavery to Imperial rule under the shipyards, which was true enough; Spaar falsely agreed to consult his historians about the fate of the ships on the list that she gave him. At their next session, Spaar told her that all of the warships had been destroyed or withdrawn&mdash;an outright lie&mdash;but also gave her the names of the 6,405 Yevetha who had died on the day the Empire withdrew to provide an emotional weight to the information. Upon his return to his ship, he instructed his aides to prepare for the Yevethan Purge, realizing that the New Republic's knowledge of the Black Fleet's existence required his plans to be accelerated.

Tiring of his meetings with Organa Solo and feeling that his negotiations were over, Spaar finally canceled their sessions for three days straight while spending time at the diplomatic hostel and receiving Senators Tig Peramis, Cian Marook, and Hodidiji aboard the Aramandia, much to the consternation of the New Republic government. His last preparations on Coruscant complete, Spaar ordered the Aramandia to make a sudden liftoff from Eastport, which caused numerous casualties on the ground. The ship then hovered inside the planetary shield barrier for several hours, shadowed by the New Republic warship Brilliant.

In a session of the New Republic Senate, Spaar's accomplice, Senator Tig Peramis, was able to gain permission to display a broadcast from the Aramandia to the Senate and from there across the New Republic. By now, Spaar was sure of himself and his knowledge of the weaknesses of the New Republic, particularly what he saw as their ineffective and disunited form of government. He had successfully strung along the negotiations with Organa Solo for weeks and was now prepared to sow dissent in the Senate&mdash;dissent that was unheard of among the Yevetha.

Spaar began his address apologizing for his evacuation and the casualties it caused, but rationalized the action by saying that he sought to avoid a confrontation. In addition to claiming that Organa Solo planned on attacking his ship, he claimed that the New Republic intended to take control of the Koornacht Cluster, and had already sent spies into the area. To back up his point, he showed a piece of wreckage from a ship that bore the New Republic insignia. This wreckage had come from a scout ship, not a threatening spy ship as Spaar claimed, although fewer than half a dozen individuals knew this. The scout ship was part of a survey team that was sent to the system to explore the area under the order of Kiles L'toth, director of the Astrographic Survey Institute. L'toth had sent the team at a request from his friend Etahn A'baht, commander of the Fifth Fleet, who had been given the order from Hiram Drayson, leader of Alpha Blue. Spaar insisted that all the Yevetha desired was to return to their homeworld, and Organa Solo capitulated in the midst of the public relations disaster, lowering the shields and allowing the Aramandia to leave Coruscant. Furthermore, the fallout from the alleged spy ship incident caused Organa Solo to immediately recall the Fifth Fleet, ensuring that no New Republic warships were anywhere near the Koornacht Cluster.

Once the Republic was paralyzed by political infighting, Spaar ordered the Yevetha to begin the purge of the Koornacht Cluster upon his return, killing or enslaving most remaining non-Yevethans in the Cluster. For his own part, Spaar directed several bombardments from his flagship, the Pride of Yevetha, accompanied by his darna, breeding mates, and loyal second, Dar Bille. Spaar also had eyes and ears on Coruscant, in the form of Belezaboth Ourn, a consul for the Paqwepori, who informed him of the redeployment of the Fifth Fleet to Koornacht and gave Spaar information regarding the state of the divided New Republic Senate. Spaar's thrustship had damaged the Paqwepori's diplomatic vessel, the Mother's Valkyrie, and Spaar had promised Ourn a new ship in return for his information. Meanwhile, Spaar's counterparts in the New Republic, such as Admiral Ackbar and Hiram Drayson, had only a few scattered reports with which to operate.

To foment even more dissonance in the New Republic's public opinion of their leadership, Spaar and his agents hijacked the official holofeed of Channel 1, allowing him to address the entire New Republic at once. Spaar told the citizenry that the Yevetha had fallen under attack and even claimed that attacks on all non-Yevetha in the cluster, which had killed millions, had been orchestrated by the New Republic against the Duskhan League. In truth, the Yevetha, who viewed all other species as vermin, had begun to eliminate all others in the Koornacht Cluster. Only one being escaped, a Grannan named Plat Mallar, who managed to make his way to Coruscant, and informed the New Republic of these events.

Many believed Spaar, and the New Republic Senate was divided as a result. Immense pressure was placed on Organa Solo, who knew Spaar's allegations were false, and that the Yevetha were aiming for dominance of Koornacht. This was made worse by the fact that she blamed herself for speaking with Spaar for many hours and never seeing his true intent.

Following the purge, Spaar and the Aramadia returned home. Spaar was greeted by thousands of adoring Yevetha, who now viewed him as god-like. His return was nothing short of triumphant, and the general populace of the Yevetha adored Spaar. Once on N'zoth, Spaar traveled to Giat Nor, capital of N'zoth. As the ruler of the Yevetha and their hero, he was free to choose anyone whom he wished with which to mate. In addition to his darna, he chose fifteen females to be his mates and accepted the blood sacrifice of several nitakka, who willingly gave their lives for the viceroy.

Escalating conflicts
"Because you would become our obsession, for as many years as it took to destroy you."

- Nil Spaar

Following the failure of the previous mission, the Fifth Battle Group was sent to the Koornacht Cluster. Organa Solo issued an ultimatum to the Yevetha, giving them three days to surrender or risk war. The Yevetha ignored her order, and so she told General A'baht to bring the fleet into the cluster. As a trivial matter to Spaar, his spy, Ourn, kept him apprised of these details, but Spaar told the Paqwepori consul that the impending threat of war kept him from sending a replacement ship.

Inside Koornacht, the Fifth Fleet was suddenly attacked by a number of Star Destroyers and thrustships at Doornik-319. Caught out of position and hesitant to engage ships carrying hostages, the New Republic fleet suffered a defeat. Later, a reconnaissance X-wing pilot blew himself and his ship up near a Yevethan corvette after they attempted to capture him, destroying the ship. In response, Spaar sent the officer in charge home in disgrace, refusing to soil his hands with what he viewed as an incompetent fool.

After this, Organa Solo decided to send her husband, Han Solo, into the Koornacht Cluster. He would pilot a spy shuttle to the fleet. However, the Yevetha were ready for this move. Tig Peramis, a former senator who felt Organa Solo had overstepped her bounds, had learned of her plan. Peramis also happened to be one of the senators to whom Nil Spaar had given a special communications box, with which he could send the viceroy a message. Peramis feared Organa Solo was making a bid for absolute power, and so contacted Spaar in secret, informing him where Solo's shuttle would be. The Yevetha used an interdictor to pull his shuttle out of hyperspace. Escorted by only a few fighters, the shuttle was easily taken captive.

Solo was taken before Spaar and interrogated, then beaten by the darama. As advised by Tal Fraan, he sent Organa Solo a message informing her that her husband was a captive of the Yevetha, and that he would die if she did not call the Fifth Fleet off. Organa Solo was already under pressure from the Ministry Council. Some members, such as Borsk Fey'lya, called for her to step down, believing that she would be influenced by the Yevetha's ultimatum and make a decision that would harm the New Republic. The Council eventually released a Vote of No Confidence, an event that further divided the government and even threatened the survival of the New Republic.

After being imprisoned for days, Solo and fellow hostage Barth were once again taken before Spaar. He showed Solo the Yevethan fleet&mdash;dozens of thrustships in addition to the Star Destroyers from Black Sword Command. Spaar gave Solo a choice: tell his wife to call off the New Republic fleet and leave the Yevetha alone in control of the Koornacht, or suffer the pain of war. Spaar warned Solo that the Yevetha were not like other species: they did not surrender until they were completely and totally crushed. Solo boldly told the Yevethan leader that the New Republic would fight in order to prevent the Yevetha from keeping the bloodstained worlds they had taken. Angered, Spaar killed Barth before Solo's eyes.

Organa Solo, faced with one of the tougher decisions of her life, chose not to order a surrender. Solo would later be freed by a group of Wookiees led by Chewbacca, who boarded the Pride of Yevetha and made their way to the cells. The Wookiees received the aid of a Fallanassi prisoner onboard, who used her illusions to mask the group. Spaar's breederies were damaged in the escape, infuriating the darama. Spaar was angered even more when he learned that Organa Solo had chose to fight.



The New Republic then prepared for a pivotal confrontation, and sent the Fifth Battle Group to engage the Yevetha fleet. Luke Skywalker, who had been missing throughout the whole conflict to search for his mother with a Force-user named Akanah, had finally reappeared, accompanied by the Fallanassi. The New Republic was aided by the Fallanassi, who used their Force powers to craft illusions of cruisers fighting the Yevetha. The Yevetha eventually penetrated the illusion when Wialu, who was creating the illusions, could not hold up under the strain. The battle raged on until the Yevetha were hit from a blow that no one suspected.

The surviving Imperials, now serving as slaves, had been planning a rebellion for the past decade. Now, they put their plan into motion, invading the ships of Black Sword Command. The Yevetha were caught by surprise, and the Imperials were able to take control of the ships, in much the same fashion that the Yevetha did thirteen years earlier. The Imperials then announced to the New Republic that they were leaving, headed for Byss in the Deep Core. Sil Sorannan, the highest ranking survivor, crammed Spaar into an escape pod and ejected him out of the Intimidator while still in hyperspace. As the escape pod lacked a hyperdrive, Nil Spaar was trapped in hyperspace until he eventually died. The Yevetha fleet continued to fight, although without Spaar and the Black Fleet, they were unable to best the New Republic.

Personality and traits
"You have never faced an adversary like us. Your wars are decided by the death of a tenth of a population, a third of an army. Then the defeated surrender their honor and the victors surrender their advantage. This is called being civilized. The Yevetha are not civilized, General. It would be a mistake to deal with us as though we were."

- Nil Spaar

Like all of his race, Nil Spaar was very arrogant, believing the Yevetha to be superior to all other species. He considered all non-Yevetha vermin, and believed they should be killed. His hatred of other species, as well as his bloodthirstiness, was demonstrated when he ordered the Great Purge. Spaar demanded complete obedience from his subjects, and would frequently test their loyalty. He would sometimes kill his subordinates if they failed in battle or swayed in their loyalty, a trait common among the Yevetha and likely enhanced from his involvement with the Empire, where many officers practiced similar tactics. As the darama of his people, all other Yevetha were not allowed to question him, or faced death. As such, he did not understand why the New Republic allowed senators and the media to question their leader. Due to this, he found the leader of the New Republic, Leia Organa Solo, weak, and believed she would choke under pressure.

Spaar was skilled in the arts of public speaking and diplomacy, able to lie and deceive even practiced diplomats such as Organa Solo. His abilities in manipulation and public image contributed in large part to his ascension to viceroy and the adulation he received from the Yevethan populace. However, to those whom he saw as inferior, Spaar was nothing more than cold, if not outright hostile. When needed, he could disguise his ruthless streak and seem genial, even as he plotted the destruction of all other inhabitants of the Koornacht Cluster.

Behind the scenes
Nil Spaar was first created by author Michael P. Kube-McDowell as the primary antagonist of the The Black Fleet Crisis. Spaar has also appeared in a number of reference materials that discuss the events of the Black Fleet Crisis, such as The New Essential Chronology, Cracken's Threat Dossier, and The New Essential Guide to Characters.

Appearances

 * Before the Storm
 * Shield of Lies
 * Tyrant's Test
 * The New Rebellion