Jae Akura

"Would have liked to bag a Skywalker though, Crasher."

- Jae Akura, to Tev Rimon

Jae &quot;Storm&quot; Akura, a Human male, was a starfighter pilot in the service of Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Krayt's Empire during the Second Imperial Civil War. He flew in Captain Gunn Yage's Skull Squadron, a Predator-class fighter unit. In 137 ABY, Skull Squadron was stationed on the galactic capital of Coruscant when bounty hunter and former Jedi Cade Skywalker attempted to rescue the Bothan Jedi Knight Hosk Trey'lis from the Temple of the Sith. Given orders to capture Skywalker alive, Akura and the Skulls engaged the former Jedi's starship, the Mynock, in the skies of the planet until Skywalker managed to lose his pursuers in Coruscant's undercity.

Approximately a week later, Akura flew against the Mynock once again when a group of Skywalker's allies, including his mother, Moff Nyna Calixte&mdash;acting in disguise so she would not be recognized&mdash;piloted the ship as they attempted to rescue Skywalker from the Sith Temple, where he was being held captive. Just as the Skulls started to wear down the Mynock, they were given orders to abort the mission by Captain Yage's father, Moff Rulf Yage. Akura was disappointed by the orders, since he would have liked to capture a Skywalker. After the death of Emperor Darth Krayt, Akura and the Skulls were stationed aboard the Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer War Hammer as part of a mission to capture Emperor-in-exile Roan Fel while he attempted to meet with members of the Jedi Order on the planet Agamar to discuss a possible alliance against the Sith. The operation failed, however, and Fel was able to escape the ambush.

Pursuing Skywalker
"Hey, Gunner! It's that ship&mdash;the Mynock&mdash;over there! You think maybe they just trashed the Sith Temple?''" "''I've got eyes, Akura. Attack vector, Skulls. Looks like we're getting another shot."

- Jae Akura and Gunn Yage

A Human male pilot, Jae &quot;Storm&quot; Akura served Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Krayt's Empire seven years after the Sith Lord overthrew Galactic Emperor Roan Fel at the end of the Empire's war with the Galactic Alliance. Serving during the Second Imperial Civil War, Akura flew in the Predator-class fighter unit Skull Squadron, which was under the command of Captain Gunn Yage.

In 137 ABY, Akura and Skull Squadron were stationed on the galactic capital of Coruscant when bounty hunter and former Jedi Cade Skywalker traveled to the planet to rescue the Bothan Jedi Knight Hosk Trey'lis, whom Skywalker had previously given over to the Sith for their bounty cast upon living Jedi. Under strict orders to capture Skywalker alive, Akura and the Skulls pursued Skywalker's starship, the Helot-class transport Mynock, through the skies of Coruscant. Skywalker was able to outmaneuver the Skulls, and they lost sight of the starship in the Coruscant undercity. Yage ordered the squadron to spread out and search the area for the Mynock, displeased with the Skulls' performance.

Failing to find the Mynock, Akura returned to his squadron's hangar within the new Imperial Palace along with the pilots. While Yage berated the Skulls for their performance, the Captain's father, Moff Rulf Yage, approached the group and stated that the loss of the Mynock was unacceptable. Defending her pilots, Captain Yage pointed out that the ship's identification hadn't been confirmed, and it was an unavoidable outcome due to the Moff's order to bring in Skywalker alive. This prompted the Moff Yage to scold his daughter for making excuses before he dismissed the squadron. Akura was astonished that the Captain had been able to survive her childhood, but she stood up for her father, noting that he had wanted a boy.

Approximately a week later, Akura and Skull Squadron were given another chance to capture the Mynock, which this time was piloted by some of Skywalker's allies, who were planning to rescue the former Jedi from the Sith Temple, where he was being held captive. Skywalker's allies, along with the former Jedi's mother, Imperial Moff Nyna Calixte&mdash;who was acting under the guise of her alter ego, Morrigan Corde, in order to hide her true identity&mdash;detonated explosive devices around the Temple. Skull Squadron was flying in the area in response to the explosions when Akura spotted the Mynock. The squadron soon engaged the transport, inflicting damage on the vessel. However, just as the Skulls had the Mynock locked in their sights, an order came in from Moff Yage commanding Skull Squadron to abort their mission. The order had been arranged by Calixte to allow her to rescue her son instead. The Skulls were displeased with the directives, and Akura commented that he would have liked to have captured a Skywalker; however, the squadron obeyed the Moff's command and disengaged the Mynock.

Operation: Thunderstroke
"Look at 'em, Cannon&hellip;Snarky, red-tattooed gornts. I don't like 'em and I don't trust 'em."

- Jae Akura, to Brodie "Cannon" Coburn

Later that year, following the death of Darth Krayt at the hands of Skywalker, Akura and the Skulls were stationed aboard the Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer War Hammer as part of Operation: Thunderstroke, a mission ordered by the newly appointed Regent of the Empire, Grand Admiral Morlish Veed. The mission's goal was to capture Emperor-in-exile Roan Fel while he attempted to meet with members of the Jedi Order to discuss a possible alliance against the Sith. Akura was not happy with the Imperial fleet being made up of mostly Sith, commenting to fellow pilot Brodie Coburn that he didn't didn't trust the Sith.

Akura and the Skulls were placed under the command of the Sith Lady Darth Rauder, who replaced their Predator-class starfighters with the Sith Empire's latest-designed fighter. The Sith-Imperial fleet arrived over the planet Agamar, the location of Fel's rendezvous with the Jedi, and the Skulls, along with the rest of the strikeforce, engaged Fel's Star Destroyer, the Dauntless, and its starfighters. Despite the heavy losses suffered by Fel's forces, the operation was ultimately a failure, with Fel managing to escape in his shuttle.

Personality and traits
"Anyway, these guys change their codes more often than Akura changes girlfriends!''" "''Or than Crasher smashes his ship!"

- Tev Rimon and Jae Akura

As a pilot, Jae Akura was a loyal member of Gunn Yage's Skull Squadron, flying a Predator-class fighter in combat. Akura engaged in friendly taunting with the other members of Skull Squadron, both on the ground and while flying, often making jibes directed at his fellow pilots. One of Akura's colleagues, Tev &quot;Crasher&quot; Rimon, once made a comment that criminals changed their ships' ID codes more than Akura changed girlfriends. After the Skulls failed to capture Skywalker, Akura was shocked at the way Moff Rulf Yage reprimanded his daughter. Akura was disappointed when Skull Squadron was ordered to abort their mission to capture the Mynock, stating that he would have liked to have captured a Skywalker. Akura was also unhappy when the Skulls were sent on Operation: Thunderstroke, due to the majority of the task force being made up of Sith, whom he did not trust.

Behind the scenes
Jae Akura was first mentioned in the introductory supplement to the Star Wars: Legacy comic series, Star Wars: Legacy 0, released June 7, 2006. He made his first appearance in the fourteenth issue of the series, Claws of the Dragon, Part 1, released July 11, 2007. Akura later appeared in the nineteenth issue, Claws of the Dragon, Part 6, released February 6, 2008. Both issues were written by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, the latter of whom also penciled the issues. Akura also garnered an entry on StarWars.com's Databank, as well as in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Legacy 14: Claws of the Dragon, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy 19: Claws of the Dragon, Part 6
 * Star Wars Legacy 44: Monster, Part 2