Zak

"I must get you to safety, General!"

- Zak to Yoda

Zak was the nickname of a clone naval officer who commanded a Republic frigate during the Clone Wars. During the war, he was tasked with transporting Jedi Master Yoda to the neutral moon of Rugosa, as suggested by King Katuunko, in order to get the nearby planet of Toydaria to side with the Galactic Republic. In orbit of the neutral moon, the Republic ship was ambushed by two Banking Clan frigates, as ordered by the Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress, forcing Yoda to take an escape pod to the surface of Rugosa and leave his ship under the command of Captain Zak to retreat.

Biography
Zak, like all other clone troopers, was born and raised on the planet of Kamino to fight for the Galactic Republic's army. After the outbreak of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, Zak and his brothers joined the fight against the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

During the war, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine attempted to convince the Toydaria system ruled by King Katuunko to side with the Republic. Katuunko wasn't against the proposal, but he didn't want to negotiate "with an army over his head". Katuunko advised the Chancellor to send him a Jedi; as he had heard that a Jedi was worth a hundred battle droids in battle, and wished to meet one. Chancellor Palpatine didn't want to risk the life of a Jedi by sending them near Confederate space, so Katuunko decided that the meeting should be held on neutral ground, on the coral moon Rugosa. Jedi Grand Master Yoda, along with some troops was sent with Zak in command of the ship. Upon arriving on the ground of Rugosa, Katuunko was approched by a Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress, who showed him aholocron of Count Dooku. Dooku asked the king how could the Jedi protect the Toydarians if they could not protect themselves.

Shortly after arriving in the system, Zak's ship was ambushed by two Confederate Munificent-class star frigates. Zak wanted to retreat immediately in order to save General Yoda from the larger and more heavily-armed frigates. Yoda, however, ordered the captain to launch an escape pod to take the Jedi to the surface, in order to continue the mission. Zak was concerned that the pod would be shot down by the frigates, but Yoda ordered the captain to launch all of the pods, so that the Separatists couldn't concentrate on one pod. Once Yoda had escaped in his pod, Zak's ship escaped into hyperspace. Yoda safely reached the moon's surface and successfully completed the mission, bringing Toydaria into the Republic.

Personality and traits
Zak was absolutely loyal to the Republic and his Jedi commanders. As such, he was afraid of allowing Yoda to be killed, and would have aborted his mission in order to save the Jedi. He also was calm during the attack and managed to bring the ship to safety and spoke very respectful with Yoda.

Behind the scenes
Zak first appeared in Ambush, the first episode of The Clone Wars TV series. He was first identified by name in the young reader book Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Ambush.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Ambush
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Ambush