Demetrius Zaarin

"Once again we have evaded Thrawn's grasp. I knew I could beat that&hellip; AHHH!"

- Zaarin's final words

Demetrius Zaarin was an ambitious Imperial officer who reached the rank of Grand Admiral. Zaarin's lust for power and prestige was unsatisfied even by his appointment to Grand Admiral at New Year Fete Week two years before the Battle of Yavin.

Projects
Demetrius Zaarin, and admiral in the Imperial Navy, was the head of research and development for the Empire's starfighter technology. He utilized the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Glory as his flagship, and in the Parmic system, Zaarin had a research and development space station, dubbed "Research."

A brilliant strategist and a gifted scientist, Zaarin was appointed head of Starfighter Research and Development, and soon began work on a new model of TIE starfighter, the TIE Advanced. Once the TIE Advanced was tested and in production, it was soon followed by an even more capable starfighter, the TIE/D Defender.

With such advanced technology and vast resources at his disposal, Zaarin was one of Emperor Palpatine's most powerful vassals, of whom complete loyalty was expected.

TIE Advanced development
Following the Battle of Hoth, Zaarin was tasked by Emperor Palpatine and Lord Darth Vader with the continued development of the TIE series of starfighters. At Research the production model of the TIE Advanced, based on Vader's TIE Advanced x1 prototype, was developed. Zaarin and his technicians however, hoped to install a hyperdrive system on the starfighter, but a unit small enough to fit inside the starfighter's fuselage had not yet been developed by Imperial technicians.

Scientists working for the Habeen and the Nharwaak had made a breakthrough, however. They had designed a suitable unit for use in the TIE Advanced, but their world, Mylok IV, was not a part of the Galactic Empire. Nevertheless, Zaarin sought a demonstration of the unit, and traveled to the system in his frigate, the Shamus. Before he arrived, TIE Fighter squadrons Alpha, Beta, and Gamma were dispatched to cover for the Habeen freighters carrying the technology to the rendezvous with Zaarin. The Nharwaak, however, were clearly not happy with the Habeen's new association with the Empire, and dispatched fighters to destroy the freighters from Verack and Stimner Groups. Scores of Nharwaak BTL Y-wing starfighters from squadrons such as Striker, Yellow, and Scarlet attacked the freighters while Zaarin's TIE pilots fended them off. The Nharwaak corvettes Charger 1 and Charger 2 also entered the fray.

Zaarin eventually arrived on the Shamus, in the middle of the engagement. He launched TIE Bombers from Eta Squadron to deal with the corvettes, as well as TIE/In interceptors from Zeta Squadron to aid the existing fighters in combating the Y-wings. The battle was eventually won, and the freighters were free to dock with the Shamus, transferring over their technology into Imperial hands. As soon as he had possession of the hyperdrive technology, Zaarin sent it to his technicians and scientists, who immediately began analyzing it. It was discovered afterwards that the Nharwaak were livid, since the technology they had co-developed with the Habeen had been given to Zaarin without their permission. The Nharwaak subsequently threatened to sell the technology to the Alliance to Restore the Republic. This prompted Zaarin to dispatch the Shamus to a nearby Nharwaak base, in the hopes of destroying it. The operation was a success, but whether or not the Nharwaak still possessed the technology, perhaps hidden at another location, was yet to be seen.

The Nharwaak subsequently attacked one of the Habeen's research facilities, but the Imperial Navy was able to successfully defend it. The Imperial aid helped convince the Habeen to surrender their technology into the possession of their saviors. Zaarin finalized the business terms with the Habeen, and planned a formal signing during a rendezvous over Mylok IV. In addition to gaining the new hyperspace technology, Zaarin had convinced the Habeen to join the Galactic Empire. He took the Shamus to the rendezvous point, and the Habeen frigate Lendova arrived soon afterwards. Imperial diplomats were dispatched aboard the shuttle Nexus, while Habeen diplomats set out in the Fairfax. The shuttles docked, and the signing began, but Nharwaak raiders entered the area, hoping to disrupt the rendezvous. The corvettes Phazer 1 and Phazer 2 moved to attack the frigates, while Nharwaak Y-wings attempted to destroy the shuttles, as well as Zaarin's TIE Interceptors from Alpha Squadron. The attackers were fended off, and the signing was a success. Shortly afterwards, transports from Ferry Group were transferred to the Shamus from the Lendova, carrying the finished hyperdrive technology. With business concluded, Zaarin was free to complete his development of the TIE Advanced.

The Nharwaak, however, had not been totally stopped. They still possessed the coveted hyperspace technology, and had dispatched one of their corvettes, the Coffey, to rendezvous with the Alliance frigate Xerxes. In order to prevent the Rebellion gaining the technology for themselves, Zaarin rushed to the rendezvous in the Shamus, and dispatched his bombers to destroy the Xerxes. The battle was won by the admiral, and the threat of the Alliance gaining the technology was eliminated. Following the destruction of the Xerxes, installation of hyperdrive units on TIE Advanced prototypes was completed, and Zaarin simultaneously began development on the next generation of TIE craft, the TIE Defender, at the platform R&D Lab. He summoned Vader to Research for a demonstration, and the Dark Lord was suitably impressed. Zaarin then informed Vader that he was working on the successor to the Advanced, and the Dark Lord speculated that Palpatine would want a prototype post-haste.

The TIE Defender
With the TIE Advanced project complete, Zaarin dedicated his resources to creating a successor to the starfighter model. His scientists and technicians drastically redesigned the standard TIE, and were able to create prototypes of the new TIE Defender. As Vader had predicted, Palpatine did want prototypes shipped to Imperial Center for inspection. Cargo ferries from Sela Group arrived to pick up the prototypes, but the transfer suffered a raid from the Rebel Alliance. The attackers were fought off however, and the ferries moved on to their rendezvous over Vinzen Neela 5 with the Escort carrier Hininbirg. There, they would transfer the prototypes to the Hininbirg, but the meeting was disrupted by Rebel ambushers, including the corvettes Mar Duun and Vop Hui. Imperial fighters once again staved off the attack, allowing the transfer to be completed. The Hininbirg then successfully delivered the prototypes to Palpatine.

Beam weaponry
With the TIE Defender designed, and prototypes completed, Zaarin moved onto yet another project. This time, he was refining beam weapon technology for use within starfighters. However, in order to continue development, he required fresh supplies from the freighters Anterab and Degathem. The freighter Docking Plt was moved into position over Research to receive the supplies, but during the transfer the station fell under attack once more. Alliance starfighters harried both of the incoming freighters with the new mag pulse warheads, which had the ability to knock out the weapons system of any craft that it hit. The freighters' escort, shuttle Omicron 5, was unable to properly fend off the Alliance craft, but Zaarin's pilots, particularly Maarek Stele, were able to do so. Stele was even able to disable one of the attacking craft for capture, so Zaarin's scientists could study the mag pulse weapon. The supplies were then delivered with a minimum of fuss, so that the admiral could continue his work.

The mag pulse technology was traced back to Galactic Electronics, a company based in the Corporate Sector. Zaarin, hoping to seize their factory and prevent their further dealings with the Alliance, dispatched Alpha-class Xg-1 Star Wings, as well as Gamma-class ATR-6 assault transports from Omega Group to capture the Galactic Electronics platform Pondut. The company scrambled Z-95 Headhunters to defend the platform while their employees and executives fled on the transports Lucky Day, Kalree, and GEC U47. By the time that Zaarin had arrived in the Glory, the station had been disabled and captured, as had the fleeing craft. Alliance starfighters from Blue Squadron arrived in-systems shortly afterwards, escorting the cargo ferry Bujiboi, but they were far too late to collect more of the mag pulse warheads from Galactic Electronics. The Pujiboi was destroyed, and the starfighters captured, since they carried mag pulse weaponry.

With the threat of the mag pulse warhead eliminated, Zaarin's technicians were free to complete work on the beam weapon. When it was finished, the admiral oversaw installation of the device into his TIE Advanced squadrons, and ordered that the modified craft be prepared for combat as soon as possible.

TIE Experimental Project
With the TIE Defender development complete, Zaarin moved onto alternate forms of arms progression. He commissioned Lenzer to create the TIE Experimental Project, resulting in a new series of modified TIE craft, piloted remotely from a Beta-class ETR-3 escort transport. From research station Obsidian, Lenzer had the fighters ravage shipping an Alliance operations in the Vilonis Sector, while Zaarin deployed Shadow Squadron to protect development facilities such as Bretie Facility. Admiral Yamarus' Liberty Task Force soon got the better of Lenzer, and with Bretie destroyed, they moved onto Obsidian. The research station was demolished, and Lenzer failed to survive, but upon surveying the wreckage, Zaarin was confident that the project could continue in another form.

Coup
Meanwhile, Vader had cornered the late Admiral Harkov's forces in the Parmel system. However, his forces were struggling there, as his interdictor, the Harpax, had been cornered by the Alliance cruiser Warhawk, as well as the former Imperial ships, frigate Akaga, and destroyer Protector. Vader had arrived in his ship, the Star Destroyer Garrett, but the Harpax was still in trouble, and so the Dark Lord requested the aid of Zaarin's forces.

The admiral, however, had other ideas. With Vader so far away from Imperial Center, Zaarin decided to make his move against Emperor Palpatine, in an attempt to install himself as ruler of the galaxy. He agreed to send aid to Vader, but had in fact given his men orders to attack the Garrett upon arrival. Nine of his corvettes from Arditi, Falcon, and BaKaar Groups, as well as transports from Upsilon Group sped to the Parmel system, while Zaarin moved the Glory to the Coruscant system, in preparation for his planned coup d'état.

Vader's forces, however, had been able to overcome Zaarin's corvettes and transports, but the Garrett was severely damaged in the fray. The Dark Lord had realized Zaarin's intent, though, and the Garrett had been carrying a few TIE Defenders, which possessed exceptionally powerful hyperdrive units. Vader, along with five other pilots including Maarek Stele, raced from the Parmel system towards Imperial Center. To stop them, Zaarin dispatched the interdictor Harpago, as well as gunboats from Z-Mu and Z-Tau Squadrons. The fighters and the interdictor were fought off by Vader and his pilots, and the Dark Lord continued his race to the capital.

Nevertheless, Zaarin continued in his coup. Over Imperial Center, his forces boarded Palpatine's flagship, the destroyer Majestic, and captured the Emperor. As he was being brought back to the Glory aboard a Delta-class JV-7 escort shuttle from Haven Group, the TIE Defenders piloted by Vader and his wingmen entered the system, just off the aft of the beleaguered Majestic. Zaarin's plan fell apart before him as Stele disabled the shuttle carrying the Emperor, which was then boarded by the corvette Mescue. Making matters worse for Zaarin was the arrival of Vice Admiral Thrawn in the Star Destroyer Vanguard. Although he scrambled TIE Advanced fighters to reverse the situation, the battle was lost, and Zaarin's coup had failed. Now a traitor to the Empire, Zaarin was left with little choice but to flee the Coruscant system in the Glory, although he was pursued doggedly by Thrawn.

The Omar bombings
Although his attempt to capture Palpatine and install himself as ruler of the galaxy had failed, Zaarin was not defeated. Since he had been head of research and development for the navy's starfighter technology, he had an intricate knowledge of the Empire's inner workings, making him a significant threat to Palpatine's New Order. With a considerable fleet at his disposal, Zaarin formed his own faction, and began harassing the Empire to much the same extent that the Alliance had been doing for years, although the admiral had no ties to that particular group. Zaarin sought to gain a technological advantage over the Empire, and although his fleet was on the run from loyalists such as Thrawn, he was not entirely hamstrung. It was his plan to begin raiding Imperial facilities, stealing valuable technology, and then destroying said facilities, rendering them useless to Palpatine.

Zaarin's first target was the Sienar Fleet Systems TIE Advanced factories at Omar. Three Deep Space Manufacturing Facilitys, Omar 1, Omar 2, and Omar 3 were to be destroyed by one of Zaarin's frigates, the Raptor. The Emperor's forces were unable to reach the Omar system in time to stop Zaarin's attacks, but Palpatine ordered that the plants be evacuated. TIE Defenders of Alpha Squadron, launched from Thrawn's new flagship, the Sceltor, were dispatched to cover the evacuation while Zaarin's TIE Bombers from the Raptor laid waste to the stations. To further the attack, Zaarin sent in Delta-class DX-9 stormtrooper transports from Z-Omega, Z-Sigma, Z-Lambda, and Z-Epsilon Groups, but they were fended off by Alpha Squadron. While the stations were effectively rendered useless, Palpatine's forces were eventually able to evacuate all personnel.

While the goal with the three Omar stations had been to destroy the installations, Zaarin took a different approach with ZA-13, a hyperdrive manufacturing plant that he had once supervised. The plant was one of the few of its kind left in the Empire, and the hyperdrive units made there were for use with TIE Advanced models, although the admiral would be able to modify them for use in his TIE Defenders. The Assassin-class corvettes Z-Oz 1 and Z-Oz 2, the YT-1300 light freighter Z-Coral, and the Modular Conveyors Z-Cod 1 and Z-Cod 2 were dispatched to ZA-13 to board and loot the factory. Their escorts from Z-Delta and Z-Beta Squadrons, however, had to contend with Thrawn's TIE Defenders. Thrawn's fighters were able to stop the looting and destroy the recovery craft, thwarting Zaarin's initial plans.

ZA-13 had been captured by Zaarin's forces, but the Imperials would not relent. An assault force was dispatched to the station with the intent of recapturing it for the Empire. Zaarin responded by sending three CR90 corvettes, Z-Caplure 1, Z-Caplure 2, and Z-Caplure 3, to ZA-13, as well as gunboats from Z-Tau Squadron. They were fought off by the Imperial fighters, and so Zaarin sent in the cruiser Z-Jumimi, fighters from Z-Gamma and Z-Zeta Squadrons, and transports from Z-Omega Group to destroy ZA-13, rather than have it fall back under Imperial control. His forces failed, and ZA-13 was recaptured.

The Imperial refurbished the plant, and converted it into a TIE Advanced factory. During the resupply of ZA-13, the facility was attacked by a Rebel force utilizing mag pulse warheads. Leaving two EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigates to defend ZA-13, Thrawn defeated the Rebel attackers, and pursued them back to their base, RS-32. While Thrawn was attempting to take RS-32 for himself, Zaarin's forces returned to ZA-13, destroying both the plant and one of the frigates in the process. At the same time, Zaarin had his forces destroy most of the other TIE Advanced factories that remained across the Empire.

Although Thrawn had managed to capture RS-32, he was vulnerable. To put an end to the Chiss admiral, Zaarin dispatched the interdictor Grappler, as well as the cruiser Serpent, and the frigate Shadow. Thrawn had, however, been able to fit his starfighters with the mag pulse technology, and with pilots such as Maarek Stele aiding him, he was able to escape the trap at RS-32 by destroying the Grappler. Shortly afterwards, the last Sienar TIE Advanced plant in the Omar system was bombed and destroyed. Zaarin was pleased, but insisted that his harassment of the New Order continue. He then ordered Commander Raveen to take his fleet to the Outer Rim Territories, and from there the admiral planned to launch new assaults against Palpatine's regime.

"New attacks"
With the Empire's ability to produced TIE Advanced craft effectively eradicated, Zaarin set his sights on the TIE Defender. He hoped that by crippling Palpatine's starfighter supplies, he would distract the Navy's focus away from the Alliance and onto him, which would allow the Rebels to do considerable damage to the New Order. Zaarin then planned to make full advantage of the ensuing chaos. He moved against R&D Lab, the facility at which he had developed the Defender. His men began to loot the platform, but were stopped by the arrival of Imperial forces. Zaarin sent the Escort carrier Jitte, which was bearing TIE Fighters with built-in shield generators to reinforce the station, but the battle was lost, and the admiral's forces were left with little alternative but to retreat.

Zaarin would not give up control of R&D Lab easily, though. The destroyer Adarga had been moved in to defend the platform while it was repaired, but apart from a few TIE Defenders from Delta Squadron and the destroyer, lightly defended. Assault transports from Z-Omega, Z-Sigma, and Z-Lambda Groups were sent in by Zaarin to destroy the Adarga and the platform, but they were defeated by the pilots of Delta Squadron. Although the attack had failed, Zaarin's forces had been able to cripple the Adarga, forcing the evacuation of R&D Lab.

Zaarin was not satisfied with the result however, and resolved to have the platform destroyed, as well as its personnel and any TIE Defender prototypes stored away on it. Sending in Alpha-class Xg-1 Star Wings from Z-Mu Squadron initially, Zaarin himself arrived in-system on the Glory. The Imperials were trying to evacuate the platform's staff, including the chief engineer on the TIE Defender project, aboard the shuttle G'nabgib, while transferring prototypes to the BFF-1 bulk freighter Mharsup. For defense, the Imperials only had several escort shuttles and one TIE Defender, piloted by Maarek Stele. Despite having the odds on his side, the fighters Zaarin launched from the Glory were destroyed by Stele and his comrades, allowing the G'nabgib and the Mharsup to escape to hyperspace, along with several of the TIE Defender prototypes.

While in transit, the prototypes were transferred to corvettes from Hashim Group. The corvettes were in turn attacked by Rneekii pirates. Although pilot Stele was able to drive off the attackers, the corvettes and by extension the prototypes, were vulnerable. The Alliance, as well as Nami pirates under the command of Ali Tarrak tried to take advantage of this vulnerability while the Imperials were waiting for reinforcements, and so Zaarin decided to send his own TIE Defenders into the fray as well. While the Nami were able to steal one of the prototypes, the Rebels and Zaarin were forced to leave empty-handed. The remaining TIE Defender prototypes later found their way into Admiral Thrawn's possession.

During the earlier ambush by the Rneekii, the chief TIE Defender scientist had been captured. Thrawn's forces subsequently set up a trap over Kiilimaar, and were able to regain custody over the scientist from the Rneekii. However, during the engagement, the Imperial capital ship present, interdictor Red Claw, was severely damaged by Ali Tarrak's intervening forces. As the Red Claw waited for replacement parts from corvette Chemeti 2, Zaarin and his forces set up a ruse of their own. They were able to disguise one of their own craft as the Chemeti 1, which was to retrieve the scientist from the waylaid Red Claw. The false Chemeti 1 rendezvoused with the Red Claw successfully, as Zaarin's TIE Defenders entered the system and began harassing the Imperial forces. Due to the distraction from Zaarin's fighters, the crew of the false Chemeti 1 were able to spirit away the scientist without the Red Claw ' s captain detecting them. To further the ruse, Zaarin sent in the cruiser Z-Kopsh to assault the real corvettes of Chemeti Group, although it was fought off by the pilots of the Red Claw.

Sparring with the alien Grand Admiral


His plans to install himself as dictator foiled, Zaarin retreated to the Outer Rim, having his forces loot and destroy any Imperial facilities they came by. One of these facilities was TIE Avenger factory station ZA-13. Eventually, Zaarin stalemated Thrawn, though losing increasing numbers of his ships in the process. Zaarin and his traitors remained at large for months. Finally, his technophilia proved to be his undoing, as he could not resist stealing the modified cloak-capable CR90 corvette Vorknkx during the Battle of To-phalion Base. Unbeknownst to Zaarin, Thrawn had allowed him to capture the corvette as part of his scheme, knowing that the hyperdrive became unstable when the cloaking device was activated. Following a defeat by Thrawn, Zaarin attempted to flee into hyperspace with the corvette, ignorant of the dangers. When the hyperdrive was engaged, it exploded, destroying the ship and killing Zaarin instantly.

Behind the scenes



 * In all of his computer game appearances, Grand Admiral Zaarin was voiced by Denny Delk.

Audio clips
[[Media:Zaa03.ogg|Hear Grand Admiral Zaarin]] (TIE Fighter Collector's CD-ROM)

Appearances

 * Star Wars: X-wing Alliance
 * Star Wars: TIE Fighter
 * Defender of the Empire
 * Star Wars: TIE Fighter Collector's CD-ROM

Notes and references
Demetrius Zaarin