Alexsandr Kallus

"&hellip;in the course of my duties, I have encountered a rebel cell."

- Agent Kallus, to the Inquisitor

Kallus was a Human male Agent of the Imperial Security Bureau, operating number: ISB-021, in the years prior to the Battle of Yavin. Kallus, a firm believer in the Imperial cause and bringing order to the galaxy, was tasked with suppressing resistance against the Galactic Empire before such acts could spark a full-scale rebellion. He was also involved in the cleansing of the planet Lasan and the near-extinction of the native Lasat species.

Kallus was later assigned to the Outer Rim planet of Lothal, where he pursued the rebels who operated there in an attempt to stop them from fomenting a larger rebel movement. His frequent efforts, along with those of the Inquisitor and government officials, were unsuccessful in stopping the rebellious activities, drawing the attention and ire of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin.

Early life
"I was there when Lasan fell. I know why you fear those disruptors. I gave the order to use them!"

- Agent Kallus, to Garazeb Orrelios

Kallus, a Human male, was born on Coruscant several years prior to the Invasion of Naboo, during the final years of the Galactic Republic. After Darth Sidious, publicly known as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, declared himself Emperor and transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire, Kallus joined the Imperial Security Bureau, a secret task force that pursued and destroyed rebellious activity throughout the galaxy. Kallus was codenamed ISB-021 and became a high-ranked ISB Agent.

As an ISB Agent, Kallus took part in the cleansing of the planet Lasan, in which the planet's species, the Lasat, was all but destroyed and completely driven away from their homeworld. Kallus gave the order for Imperial troops to use T-7 ion disruptors against the population. These rifles were powerful enough to disable starships and had gruesome results when used against sentient beings. These weapons were ultimately banned by the Imperial Senate as a result of their destructive power. Before the cleansing of Lasan ended, Kallus took an AB-75 bo-rifle from a member of the Lasan Honor Guard that he had killed.

Trapping the Ghost
"The Imperial Security Bureau pays attention to patterns. When the Empire's operations are targeted on an ongoing basis, it could signify something more than the theft of a few crates. It could signify the spark of rebellion. Next time they make a move, we'll be waiting for them to snuff out that spark before it catches fire."

- Kallus, to Commandant Cumberlayne Aresko

Five years before the Battle of Yavin, a rebel cell operated on Lothal, where they hit a number of Imperial targets. These attacks drew the attention of the Imperial Security Bureau, who sent Kallus to Lothal to handle the situation. He arrived aboard a shuttle and requested permission to dock aboard the Lawbringer, an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer that orbited the planet. Kallus was given permission to dock by Captain Hiram Zataire, with whom he later had dinner aboard the Lawbringer; Kallus' goal with the meal was to determine if he could trust Zataire as a loyal Imperial officer. The two discussed Zataire's son, an outspoken critic of the Empire, after Kallus deduced that the wine the captain served him was from Alderaan&mdash;a planet deemed to be rebellious by the Empire&mdash;and that it had been given to the captain as a gift by his son. This allowed Kallus to realize that Zataire's son was on Alderaan, giving the ISB a chance to arrest him, and Zataire pleaded with Kallus not to hurt him. The ISB Agent said that the law could allow him to be flexible so long as Captain Zataire fully cooperated with Kallus' operations on Lothal, a request that the captain agreed to. Kallus' first order to the captain was to have the Lawbringer descend from orbit and hover over Capital City, where the citizens of Lothal would be able to witness the Empire's might.

As the Lawbringer hovered over the capital, the rebels carried out an operation against the Empire where they stole crates full of blasters and food. That night, Kallus inspected the damage caused by the Empire. He was briefed by Commandant Cumberlayne Aresko, one of the leading military officers on Lothal, about the attack, and Kallus explained that it was part of a pattern&mdash;one that, if not stopped, could lead to a larger rebel movement.

In an effort to destroy the rebels, Kallus prepared a trap to lure them in by making the rebels believe they had learned the location of Wookiee slaves being held by the Empire. Although the Empire was holding Wookiee prisoners, the rebels were fed false information as to their location, and the Ghost docked with a Gozanti-class cruiser that the rebels believed held the slaves. Jedi survivor Kanan Jarrus, Lasan Honor Guardsman Garazeb Orrelios, Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren, and the droid C1-10P boarded the ship, while the Lawbringer dropped out of hyperspace and captured the Gozanti-class cruiser and the Ghost. With the ships captured, Kallus and his stormtroopers also boarded the cruiser and attacked the rebels. Wren and the droid shut down the gravity generator on the ship, taking the Imperials by surprise and giving the rebels an opportunity to escape. As they did, Kallus was able to capture Ezra Bridger, a new member of the Ghost crew who had boarded to warn the rebels that the Lawbringer had arrived.

With Bridger in custody, Kallus intended to use the boy in order to lure the rebels back, believing that they would mount a rescue attempt. Kallus spoke to Bridger in his cell and told the young rebel of the plan, but Bridger did not believe that the Ghost would return, as he had never seen anyone risk their lives for other people before. Despite Bridger's insistence, the rebels did ultimately return, though the boy escaped from his holding cell on his own. The Ghost landed in the lower hangar, which the Imperials detected. Kallus ordered all stormtroopers to converge on the lower hangar, where he would meet them, though he diverted some to the upper hangar; Bridger, who was listening to Imperial communications through a stolen stormtrooper helmet, posed as a stormtrooper and suggested that the lower hangar could be a diversion.

Kallus led his stormtroopers to the lower hangar, where he found that Bridger had already met back up with the rebels. The rebels fled at the sight of the Imperial troops, who pursued them and fired on the Ghost. As the rebel ship was preparing to depart, Kallus noticed graffiti art on the hangar floor, which had been drawn by Wren, and realized it was an explosive. He ordered his men to take cover, but the explosion ripped through the hangar and some of his men. Kallus, however, survived, and was thrown forward by the explosion. The damage caused a hull breach, and many stormtroopers were sucked into space. Kallus himself was nearly pulled into space as well, but he held onto the hangar deck long enough for a force field to cover the damage to the hull. He remained in the hangar as the Imperials recovered from the rebel attack, and was brought the helmet that Bridger stole and left behind&mdash;prompting the ISB Agent to realize that Bridger had overheard that the true location of the Wookiee prisoners was the spice mines of the planet Kessel.

Knowing that the rebels would not pass up the opportunity to rescue the Wookiees, Kallus allowed the rebels to reach Kessel, where they freed the Wookiee slaves from the Imperial forces stationed in spice mine K76. Before the rebels could leave, however, Kallus and additional Imperial forces arrived, firing on the Ghost and forcing it to flee while the rest of the rebels remained in the mine. Kallus and a squadron of stormtroopers landed at the mine and advanced on the rebels, forcing them to take cover. With the rebels pinned down, the rebel leader, Jarrus, stepped forward and ignited a lightsaber, revealing himself as a Jedi who had survived the destruction of the Jedi Order. Kallus ordered all of his soldiers to focus their fire on Jarrus, which gave the rest of the rebels and the Wookiees a chance to enter a cargo container, which would be picked up by the Ghost when it returned.

While the stormtroopers focused on the rebels, Kallus followed Bridger to a walkway overlooking the mine, where the boy had gone to rescue Kitwarr, a young Wookiee who had escaped and was chased by a stormtrooper. Kallus arrived to see Bridger attack the stormtrooper with an energy slingshot, knocking the trooper over the railing. Kallus believed that Bridger was Jarrus' apprentice and prepared to kill the boy, but the Ghost arrived to rescue Bridger. Jarrus, who stood atop the ship, deflected Kallus' fire back at the ISB Agent. Kallus was struck with blaster fire, knocking him over the railing, which he held onto as the Ghost escaped. The stormtrooper, who had also fallen over, clung to the railing as well and asked if Jarrus was the first Jedi that Kallus had ever seen. In response, Kallus kicked the trooper off the railing, sending him falling into the mines.

Kallus left the spice mines and returned to the Lawbringer, which remained in orbit over Kessel. From the ship, Kallus contacted the Inquisitor, a dark side warrior tasked with hunting down Jedi survivors. Kallus told the Inquisitor, who appeared via hologram, about what happened on Kessel and that the leader of the rebel cell was a Jedi, to which the Inquisitor said Kallus had done well to inform him of.

Droid distress call
"Have no fear. Help is on the way."

- Kallus, to C-3PO

After their successful rescue of the Wookiees, the rebels engaged in a mission to steal T-7 ion disruptors from the planet Garel. It was there that Minister Maketh Tua of Lothal was attempting to procure the illegal weapons from Amda Wabo, an Aqualish weapons manufacturer. The rebels were able to reach the disruptors before the Imperials could and stopped the arms deal, taking the weapons for themselves&mdash;as well as two droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO, who were part of the arms deal on orders of Governor Arihnda Pryce of Lothal and who were covertly working for the secretly rebellious Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan. After the rebels stole the weapons, Tua contacted Agent Kallus and informed him of what had transpired on Garel, and Kallus recognized it as the work of the Ghost crew. C-3PO, believing himself to be the prisoner of criminals, attempted to send a distress signal to Governor Pryce, but the signal was rerouted and intercepted by Kallus aboard the Lawbringer. C-3PO provided Kallus with the location of the Ghost, and Kallus lied by telling the droid that help was on the way.

The rebels returned to Lothal, where they intended to sell the disruptors to the Devaronian crime lord Cikatro Vizago. Before the deal could be completed, Kallus and his forces arrived in Imperial Troop Transports, bringing All Terrain Defense Pods with them. While the stormtroopers and AT-DPs fought most of the rebels, Kallus challenged Orrelios to single combat with bo-rifles. The enraged Lasat met the ISB Agent in battle, and the two fought while the rebels took on the Imperial forces and destroyed the disruptors. By the end of their duel, in which Kallus taunted Orrelios about the fall of Lasan, Orrelios was nearly beaten. Kallus attempted to make a fatal blow, but he was stopped by Bridger, who used the Force to push Kallus away. This gave the rebels a chance to escape, leaving Kallus behind to watch the Ghost fly away.

Incident at the Academy
"Sir, your podracer parts have been delivered. If you'll just sign off here, I'll bring them up." "Obviously there's been a mistake. What would I want with podracer parts?"

- Zare Leonis and Agent Kallus

Some time later, the rebels put together a plan to infiltrate the Imperial Academy on Lothal and steal a decoder from Kallus' office, located within the Academy; this decoder would allow them to find the location of a giant kyber crystal of massive power, which the rebels wanted to destroy. Bridger was the one who infiltrated the Academy, posing as a cadet named Dev Morgan. After several weeks in the facility, Bridger made his move to sneak into Kallus' office. Once he arrived, he found Kallus leaving his office. Bridger, who had won a cadet tournament to serve as an aide in the Imperial headquarters, arrived&mdash;wearing a helmet to disguise himself&mdash;with a datapad that he was sent to deliver. The rebel offered to leave it on the ISB Agent's desk, but Kallus took it himself and left the area. Once Kallus was gone, Bridger entered the office but was stopped by fellow cadet Zare Leonis, who knew that the theft would set off an alarm. The two joined forces, as Leonis also harbored anti-Imperial sentiments, and resolved to steal the decoder together.

The two rebels executed their plan the next day. Bridger snuck through a ventilation shaft in order to reach Kallus' office from above. Leonis, meanwhile, requested permission to enter Kallus' office. The cadet told Kallus that the Agent's podracer parts had arrived, and Kallus questioned the order, as he had not requested nor did he have need of any podracer parts. Leonis insisted that the parts were for Kallus, stalling the Agent so as to buy Bridger time to steal the decoder. Bridger used the Force to levitate the decoder, and it floated up to the opening of the ventilation shaft. Kallus noticed Leonis' surprised reaction to the use of the Force and turned around, but Bridger had completed the theft before the Agent could see him. Leonis asked him one more time if he would be signing for the podracer parts, but Kallus refused, insisting it was a mistake.

As he was making his way back through the vents, Bridger learned that he and a fellow cadet, Jai Kell, had shown skills that were of interest to the Inquisitor, who planned to arrive on Lothal the next day to test them. As a result, Bridger, Leonis, and Kell mounted an escape from the Academy. Leonis reminded behind, however, as he had unfinished business at the Academy; he pretended to try to stop the rebels from escaping so as to avoid suspicion. When the Inquisitor arrived, Kallus was present when the Inquisitor arrived and was informed about the escape. The Inquisitor recognized "Cadet Morgan" as Bridger, as he had encountered him on Stygeon Prime, indicating that Bridger's presence was an infiltration.

Empire Day
"These rebels have ruined Empire Day! They must be punished!" "We all want that, Minister, but our priority is still the Rodian."

- Minister Maketh Tua and Agent Kallus

The Imperial regime on Lothal planned a series of celebrations for Empire Day, marking the fifteenth anniversary of the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire. On Empire Day, the local government also began looking for a Rodian named Tseebo, who stole critical information from the Imperial Information Office where he was employed. Kallus participated in the search for the Rodian, doing so even at the Empire Day parade in Capital City. During the parade, the rebels destroyed an experimental TIE Advanced v1 starfighter. After they fled from the scene, Kallus took charge of the investigation into finding them and requested schematics of the city's ventilation systems, sewers, and anywhere else that the rebels could have been hiding. Minister Maketh Tua demanded that the rebels be punished for disrupting Empire Day, and Kallus assured her that he wanted them punished as well, but their priority was still to find Tseebo.

Having escaped from the scene of the attack, the rebels hid at the childhood home of Ezra Bridger, where they found Tseebo hiding; Tseebo had been a friend of Bridger's parents before they disappeared several years earlier. The rebels discovered the information that Tseebo had stolen and resolved to get him off of the planet in order to study the secrets he had stolen. To get him out of the city, the rebels hijacked an Imperial Troop Transport. Kallus learned of the hijacking and contacted Commandant Aresko, who had set up a blockade at the edge of the city, to warn him of the incoming rebels. The rebels nonetheless blasted their way through the blockade and escaped to the outskirts of the city.

Kallus arrived in his own ITT and pursued the rebels out of the city. While in pursuit, Kallus contacted the Inquisitor to inform him that the rebels had broken through the main city gate and were headed south. The Inquisitor, who was boarding his own TIE Advanced fighter, suspected that the Ghost would be waiting and ordered Kallus to slow their escape. Kallus' men blew a hole in the hijacked ITT and attempted to board, while Kallus' ITT continued firing. Kallus made his way to the roof of his ITT and jumped onto the rebels', just as the Ghost arrived. Orrelios fired at Kallus, wanting to end his vendetta against the Agent once and for all, as Kallus ordered his ITT to fire on the Ghost. The Ghost, in turn, destroyed Kallus' ITT. Orrelios, having missed the first time, once again fired on Kallus, knocking him from the side of the rebels' ITT&mdash;though he was able to hold on to the back of the vehicle.

The rebels began their escape onto the Ghost, heading to the top of the stolen ITT in order to quickly board the ship. Kallus climbed back atop the ITT in time to witness Tseebo stepping onto the ramp that the Ghost had lowered. He fired towards the rebels, prompting Jarrus to ignite his lightsaber and confront the ISB Agent. The Jedi deflected Kallus' blasts before jumping aboard the Ghost, which flew away to escape Lothal. As it was departing, Kallus contacted the Inquisitor to confirm that Tseebo was aboard the rebel ship. The Inquisitor and his fighters pursued the rebels off of Lothal, but was ultimately unsuccessful in stopping them or capturing Tseebo.

Trap in the Senate Building
"If you won't talk, then my troopers will become a firing squad."

- Kallus, to the rebels

Having failed to stop the rebels on Empire Day, Kallus put together a plan to lure the rebels into a trap and eliminate them. The plan utilized Senator Gall Trayvis, who worked for the Empire by posing as a voice of dissent in order to monitor and lure rebel forces across the galaxy into traps. Trayvis sent out a message via a hacked HoloNet News transmission where he said he would meet the rebels in the Old Republic Senate Building on Lothal. The rebels took the bait and Kallus prepared the trap, though Minister Tua questioned whether it would work. The plan looked to be succeeding when the rebels arrived in the Senate Building, as Kallus and his forces were able to corner Jarrus, Bridger, Hera Syndulla, and Trayvis; the rebels had arrived believing that Trayvis was in danger and that the Empire intended to capture him. Kallus identified Jarrus and Bridger, calling the latter "Jabba" as a nod to their first encounter, and encountered Syndulla for the first time. He demanded that they reveal where Orrelios and Wren were or else face a firing squad. The Imperials were thrown off when Orrelios and Wren, who had entered the building from the roof, through smoke bombs between the rebels and Imperials, allowing the rebels to fight their way out and escape.

The rebels were able to escape from being cornered and made their way into the sewers beneath the Senate Building, and Kallus and his troopers pursued them. The rebels split up, with Bridger and Syndulla taking Trayvis while the others fled in a different direction. Trayvis revealed his true allegiance to Syndulla and Bridger, but they were able to knock him unconscious just before they reunited with the other rebels. Kallus and his forces arrived as Jarrus used the Force to stop a large fan that stood between the rebels and their freedom, and the ISB Agent ordered his forces to open fire on Jarrus. The Imperials were too late, however, as the rebels were able to successfully escape.

Personality and traits
"There is no imminent threat of invasion anywhere in the galaxy. Like never before, space itself is at peace, because of the Empire's might. The one and only danger to our beloved Empire, my dear captain, lies not from without, but from within."

- Agent Kallus, to Captain Zataire

As an Agent of the Imperial Security Bureau, Kallus was a firm believer in the Imperial cause and held a fierce loyalty towards the Emperor. Kallus hated disorder and rebellious activity, and made it his life's work to ensure stability within the Empire. He had a sense of superiority over others, which inflated his disdain of lawlessness in the Outer Rim Territories. Through his position as an ISB Agent, Kallus hoped to achieve greater prominence within the Empire. Any time he could defeat rebel insurgents, he would consider it a prize that he achieved for the Empire, a prize that could help him move onto something bigger.

Kallus, a skilled fighter, did not command soldiers from afar, but rather fought alongside them on the front lines, including against the crew of the Ghost. Kallus even took pride in his role in the destruction of the Lasat species, and he showed an eagerness to fight Orrelios on Lothal in bo-rifle combat. Kallus saw his actions as necessary in order to do his job and ensure stability and efficiency within the Empire.

Kallus demonstrated his ruthlessness once by kicking one of his men into a chasm to his death for asking an innocent question. Despite this he appeared genuinely disturbed by the sudden and brutal execution of Cumberlayne Aresko and Myles Grint on the orders of Grand Moff Tarkin.

Skills and abilities
"Only the Honor Guard of Lasan may carry a bo-rifle." "I know! I removed it from a guardsman myself!"

- Garazeb Orrelios and Kallus

Kallus was trained in both riot control and heavy combat, and he wore an ISB helmet designed for such situations. He underwent extensive training to become proficient in fighting and was a dangerous foe in hand-to-hand combat. After the fall of Lasan, he learned to use a bo-rifle and kept his as a trophy of his actions during the cleansing. He was able to successfully use this weapon against Orrelios, a trained Honor Guardsman, during a fight on Lothal.

Equipment
Agent Kallus wore a gray Imperial uniform with a pair of black boots, gauntlet gloves over his hands, and a fleximetal cuirass. His distinctive ISB combat helmet had blast-proof cheek pieces. His belt was fitted with an identity disk. The metallic rank insignia on the left breast of his armor comprized one row of four tiles, two blue, one silver, and one red.

Behind the scenes
"So Kallus, definitely an interesting character, and one to watch out for&mdash;especially if you're a rebel."

- Dave Filoni

Agent Kallus is one of the primary antagonists of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels, in which he is voiced by British actor David Oyelowo. Kallus was created as a rebel hunter and a recurring antagonist for the rebel crew, one who would be on the front lines of conflicts between the rebels and the Empire. Kallus went through a number of different designs, including one in which he was depicted as a Chiss; in Star Wars Legends stories, the Chiss were prominently featured in such works as the Thrawn Trilogy, in which the villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn, was a Chiss. The production team settled on a Human character, and Oyelowo was cast to the play the part. The show's co-creator, Carrie Beck, said that Oyelowo was able to bring "a voice that is very authoritative, and very commanding, and very cool without betraying any sense of insecurity or weakness."

The character was first revealed at the 2014 Hasbro Toy Fair. He appeared in multiple trailers, including the full trailer released on May 4, 2014, before becoming the subject of his own introductory video. He made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion, the show's premiere television movie that debuted on October 3, 2014.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion
 * The Rebellion Begins
 * Droids in Distress book
 * Ezra's Wookiee Rescue

Non-canon appearances

 * Angry Birds Star Wars II