Tyber Zann

"I am Tyber Zann. Corruption is my weapon. And while the Galaxy is distracted by civil war, I will strike."

- Tyber Zann

Tyber Zann was a Human crimelord who rose to prominence sometime after the Battle of Yavin during the Galactic Civil War and led his own faction, known as the Zann Consortium.

Early life
"Everyone has a price."

- Tyber Zann



Zann was born on Anaxes, making him an Anaxsi, in 34 BBY, and first worked in the family firm, Zann Remanufacturing. He became bored and entered into running crooked sabacc games. As his reputation grew, he attracted the notice of rival local crimelords.

In order to protect himself, he tried to arm his gang with weapons stolen from his father's warehouses. Zann's father caught him, and as punishment, arranged for him to be enrolled as a cadet in the Academy of Carida.

Imperial service
"I was rapidly working my up through the Imperial academy. But some took exception to my creative solutions for advancement and had me expelled. I vowed to make them pay for this indignity."

- Tyber Zann

A top ranker at the Academy, he used his Imperial service to make underworld connections, including with Jabba the Hutt. Just prior to Zann's graduation, he ran a smuggling racket that was actually a trap laid by the suspicious Imperials. However, his associate Urai Fen got word of the trap and warned Zann. He was suspected of weapons theft by Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo, who could only dismiss him from service, having found no firm evidence to connect him to the crime.

Life as a crimelord
"Time is money."

- Tyber Zann



Using the Imperial connections he made while in the military, Zann began to build up an extensive criminal organization known as the Zann Consortium. He collaborated with Jabba the Hutt until he stole a valuable and strange artifact from the Hutt on Felucia. However, while Urai Fen escaped with the artifact, Zann was arrested, for "crimes against the Empire".

While Zann rotted away in the spice mines of Kessel, his loyal servant, Urai Fen, planned his escape. By starting an insurrection on Kessel and hiring the crew of Millennium Falcon to pick him up, Zann made his escape.

After his return to freedom, Zann, along with his closest companion Urai Fen, reestablished the Consortium as a power to reckon with. Among other things, the criminal organization would offer protection to worlds affected by the Galactic Civil War, having built up a sizable military force.

Lieutenant Izbela Saarrj of the Imperial Security Bureau wrote a report on his activities around 0 ABY, mentioning his use of spies to study the Star Dreadnought Eclipse, the first Eclipse-class Star Dreadnought, while it underwent construction.



He used his extensive crime network to influence the warring factions of the Galactic Civil War, siphon their credits, and sabotage their operations when necessary. During the course of his ascent to power, his forces fought against both factions of the war. He had his own flagship, an Aggressor-class destroyer named Merciless, for his navy.

He also had a slight rivalry with employed Nightsister Silri, whom he freed on Dathomir in order to have her decipher the Sith artifact stolen from Jabba the Hutt on Felucia. Most of the time their quarrelling was over the importance of the Sith artifact itself; however, although they did quarrel verbally, there was no actual fight that took place.



If there was, however, any kind of "misunderstanding", Tyber promised to have every Nightsister on Dathomir annhiliated. He also made clear that his associate and friend, Urai Fen, would kill Silri if any attempt was made on Zann's life (as he mentioned to Tyber quite frequently).

Zann wielded a modified Rawk chopped special, a blaster later favored by Cade Skywalker around 130 ABY.

What eventually happened to Zann and his Consortium is unknown, but their last known action involved sneaking on board the Eclipse in 4 ABY in order to gain information, during the Second Battle of Kuat.

Personality
"I am in complete control, and that is how I like it."

- Tyber Zann

Zann was cold, methodical, ambitious, and ruthless. He liked to be in complete control of things, he was also quite cunning. He could hold a grudge on people and would not let it go until he made them pay. He also seemed quite confident in his abilities.

Behind the scenes

 * It is possible that his name was taken from author Timothy Zahn.
 * It is also likely that the name Tyber is a nod towards the fact that many of the people at Petroglyph used to work on the Command & Conquer series, in which Tiberium was first discovered along the Tiber River.




 * Zann was included in Star Wars Insider 89 at the request of LucasArts, who wished additional publicity for him. For his illustration in Insider 89, due to a lack of reference photos of the character, artist Joe Corroney followed a suggestion and based him on British actor Jason Isaacs.
 * Zann was voiced by Steven Blum in the Forces of Corruption trailer, and by Jake Eberie in the actual game.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption