Gilad Pellaeon/Legends

"It isn't the killing, you know. It's the beauty of the battles that I love&mdash;the choreography and the challenge of executing everything just right&mdash;and the challenge of matching your wits against a capable opponent. I guess I have a little more Thrawn with me than I'd like to believe."

- Gilad Pellaeon to Luke Skywalker

Gilad Pellaeon was a military officer in the Imperial Navy who later became Head of State of the Imperial Remnant and achieved the rank of Grand Admiral.

As the captain of Chimaera, Pellaeon was Grand Admiral Thrawn's flag captain during the latter's campaign against the New Republic. Pellaeon often questioned Thrawn's tactics, but he learned much from the Chiss Grand Admiral and regarded him as a mentor.

In later years, Pellaeon had become the head of the Imperial Remnant and signed the Pellaeon-Gavrisom Treaty that brought peace between the Remnant and the New Republic. He was promoted to Grand Admiral, and years later he helped participate in some New Republic/Galactic Alliance offensives against the Yuuzhan Vong. After the Yuuzhan Vong War, he went into retirement, but took up the post of Supreme Commander of the Galactic Alliance Defense Force in 36 ABY. His continued service despite his advanced age led to his popular nickname "The Old Man of the Empire."

Early career (57 BBY–9 ABY)
"I'll bet the Grand Admiral sleeps in his uniform."

- Cal Omas

Pellaeon was a native of Corellia, but at a young age, his family moved to Coruscant, which was his home until his early teens.

At the age of fifteen, Pellaeon lied about his age to enter the Raithal Academy. After graduating, he entered service in the Judicial Department Starfleet and was considered one of its most promising officers. After brilliantly stopping a pirate raid at Gavryn, Pellaeon quickly rose through the ranks. As early as 27 BBY, he was apparently highly-placed enough to have heard rumors of Outbound Flight and the disappearance of Jorus C'baoth, and around the same time, he seemed to have fought against mentally unstable fast-grown clones in campaigns that could be considered as the first of the Clone Wars.

Pellaeon served with distinction in the military during the subsequent conflict with the Separatists. At the Battle of Merson, Pellaeon served as the captain of a Galactic Republic Acclamator-class assault ship. He commanded the Republic battle fleet at Merson, ordering a tactical retreat in the face of unexpectedly overwhelming Separatist opposition. This resulted in the deaths of Jedi Master Ronhar Kim and his Padawan, Tap-Nar-Pal, on the planet below.



As the New Order came to power, Pellaeon continued to serve in the Imperial Navy. He may have been involved in the Imperial repression of Kashyyyk and the enslavement of its Wookiee population. Eventually, he was assigned to the Star Destroyer Chimaera as a member of its command crew, and worked his way up to promotion to the rank of captain and appointment as the ship's second in command. Chimaera participated in the fleet action during the Battle of Endor, with Pellaeon taking charge when the vessel's commander was killed. Eventually, following the deaths of Emperor Palpatine, Executor Darth Vader, and his second in command, Admiral Piett, as well as the capture of Grand Admiral Osvald Teshik, Pellaeon ordered the remaining elements of the Imperial fleet to retreat and regroup at Annaj. Once at the rendezvous, Pellaeon could not keep the fleet intact, as Admiral Harrsk, furious at being ordered about by a Captain and with sights set on his own power base, took his task force to the Deep Core and became the Empire's first breakaway warlord. Pellaeon handed command of the fleet over to Annaj's Admiral Prittick, but for reasons unknown Prittick did not remain in command of the fleet, which wound up again under Pellaeon's command. For his own part, Pellaeon remained loyal to the structured command of the Galactic Empire, first under the command of Grand Vizier Sate Pestage, then, after Pestage's murder, to Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard.

Thrawn (9 ABY)
"I was overjoyed when he returned and I finally found a commander I could follow with a genuine hope of victory, rather than an endless string of defeats."

- Vice Admiral Gilad Pellaeon



In the years following the defeat at Endor, Pellaeon attempted to direct the remaining resources of the starfleet in order to maintain a united front against the Rebel Alliance and its successor, the New Republic. However, he lacked the legitimacy as commander to do so successfully; it was not until the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn from his tour of duty in the Unknown Regions that the Empire ended its string of defeats. When the Chiss Grand Admiral chose Chimaera as his flagship, Pellaeon became Thrawn's chief of staff and flag captain, but not without reservation. In middle age, Pellaeon was known to find many of Thrawn's decisions and habits to be a bit outside of traditional protocol, most especially Thrawn's redesign of the admiral's luxury entertainment suite aboard Chimaera into a command room, as well as the Grand Admiral's habit of meditating for long periods of time concerning various pieces of art. Despite Pellaeon's misgivings, it was these sorts of habits and traits that would most affect the captain, especially years later when he himself came to be a Grand Admiral. One of the most important traits Pellaeon learned from Thrawn was to punish only those who deserved punishment, put aside pride and withdraw from an obvious defeat, and reward rather than punish subordinates' opinions.

Pellaeon played an important role in the war, occasionally helping to smooth over differences between Thrawn and the average soldier. Perhaps most importantly, when Thrawn and the mad Dark Jedi Master Joruus C'baoth had reached a seemingly irresolvable difference, Pellaeon was able to find a compromise both of them found suitable when they themselves had failed to do so, earning him one of Thrawn's highest compliments.

Any dreams Pellaeon may have had of re-establishing the Galactic Empire were crudely shattered, though, at the Battle of Bilbringi where, in a twisted parallel to the Battle of Endor, Grand Admiral Thrawn was assassinated at the height of combat by one of his Noghri bodyguards. Without Thrawn in command, Pellaeon felt he could not win the battle; he chose to abandon the shipyards at Bilbringi and ordered a retreat, regrouping on the border of the Unknown Regions.

Rise of the Imperial Remnant (9–25 ABY)
"In light of this disaster, I hereby resign my rank and hand over command of all Imperial forces to you&hellip; You are in command of the Empire now, Pellaeon."

- Daala



Following the retreat and regrouping near the Unknown Regions, Pellaeon's forces made their way to the Deep Core, where he joined the massing forces at Byss. Though unaware of the clone of Palpatine, he fought under the same banner as warlords privy to the Emperor's return such as Harrsk, Delvardus, and Teradoc. From Byss, he participated in the campaigns of Palpatine's forces against the New Republic, eventually losing Chimaera during the capture of Duro amidst Operation Shadow Hand. With the "reborn" Emperor vanquished, Pellaeon&mdash;now a Vice Admiral&mdash;was once again forced to retreat to the Deep Core, this time joining the forces of High Admiral Teradoc, one of many warlords fighting for control of the Empire. He was assigned command a flotilla of red-hulled Victory-class Star Destroyers, which he led from 13X. When Admiral Daala suddenly betrayed Supreme Warlord Harrsk in exchange for talks between the warring factions, Pellaeon agreed to assist her; Daala would eventually execute both Harrsk and Teradoc, along with eleven other warlords. Daala, now effectively in control of the Empire, made Pellaeon her second-in-command, placing him in command of an armada of seventeen Star Destroyers tasked with attacking the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV as a vanguard for both the Super Star Destroyer Knight Hammer's assault on the forest moon and their planned campaign against the New Republic. Their plans were foiled, though, when the adept Jedi students managed to cripple Pellaeon's fleet and destroy Knight Hammer.

Defeated, Daala resigned her commission and relinquished her command, in the process promoting Pellaeon to the rank of Admiral and the post of Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet. Not a man to squander or abuse power, Pellaeon took the now-reunified fleet and regrouped. Realizing that the Deep Core was no longer of any use, he led his forces out on a series of relatively successful offensives against the New Republic with the intention of fully stabilizing the remains of the Empire in early 13 ABY, eventually working his way to the resource-rich Mid and Outer Rims, including the sectors of space now known as the Imperial Remnant. During this offensive campaign, Pellaeon successfully absorbed the Pentastar Alignment into the Imperial Remnant and gained the late Grand Moff Ardus Kaine's Executor-class Star Dreadnought Reaper, making it his flagship. The most famous battle of this campaign was the Battle of Orinda where Pellaeon, Reaper, and the Imperial fleet engaged General Wedge Antilles, the Star Dreadnought Lusankya, and Rogue Squadron. Like most of Pellaeon's career, however, the victories would come to an end, and though he succeeded in stablizing the remains of the Galactic Empire into the modern Imperial Remnant, he lost a good portion of his forces, including Reaper. By 19 ABY, only seven years since Daala's unification of the warlord factions, the New Republic regained the initiative and drove Pellaeon and the Imperial Remnant to a mere eight sectors in the Outer Rim.



During his campaigns, Pellaeon was successful in reaquisitioning Chimaera at the Battle of Gravlex Med, which he had repaired and made it his flagship. Around that same time, the Council of Moffs recognized his merits and successes, promoting him to the rank of Fleet Admiral and making him chair of the council. Now an aged and rather wise commander, Pellaeon at last showed that he was indeed Thrawn's pupil when he decided to withdraw from an obvious defeat and proposed an to end to all hostilities between the Galactic Empire and the New Republic. He further showed the knowledge he had acquired from Thrawn when he allowed subordinates, such as Captain Ardiff, Chimaera's commanding officer, to question his judgment without punishment, much as he had to the Chiss Grand Admiral. Despite his position, however, there were those who did not want peace. Among them was Vilim Disra, Moff of the Braxant Sector, who devised a plot to have a con-man play the part of Thrawn in order to take control from Pellaeon. The plot, though well planned, was quickly foiled by agents on both sides of the conflict, eventually ending in Pellaeon signing a treaty of peace with the New Republic's acting Chief of State Ponc Gavrisom aboard Chimaera in 19 ABY, bringing an end to the Galactic Civil War fifteen years after the Battle of Endor. Sometime afterward, in recognition for his duty and loyalty to the Empire, the Moffs elevated him again, this time to the rank of Grand Admiral.

Yuuzhan Vong War (25–30 ABY)
"I don't need your agreement, Kurlen. When I say that I am advising the council, I am only following a formality. This is the way it will be, because this is the way it has to be. I am simply saving you the need to think it through for yourselves."

- Grand Admiral Pellaeon



In the years following the cessation of hostilities between the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic, Pellaeon remained the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Starfleet. As the highest military authority in the Empire, he was a chief advisor to the Moffs, the governing body of the remaining Empire. During the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the Galaxy in 25 ABY, he drew upon his decades of experience as well as the lessons he learned from Thrawn to lead the Starfleet into battle alongside its former enemies, convincing the Moffs that he would do so with or without their support and that the Imperial Fleet would follow him wherever he went. However, after the Battle of Ithor, Pellaeon was forced to withdraw to Imperial Space, to prevent the populace (and the Moffs) from rebelling. When Leia Organa Solo arrived at Bastion after the Battle of Borleias, Pellaeon agreed to give them hyperspace maps in exchange for information on the yammosks. While he realized the threat the Yuuzhan Vong represented, the Moffs would not agree to join the New Republic unless they made it worth their while.

That changed after the Battle of Bastion. The Yuuzhan Vong sent a small but significant task force to wipe out the Imperials. Pellaeon nearly died when a coralskipper rammed the bridge of Chimaera, and was only saved due to the actions of the Jedi Healer Tekli, although he would carry a slight limp for the rest of his life. Pellaeon recovered enough to lead the Imperial Navy during the Battle of Borosk from inside a bacta tank, humiliating the Yuuzhan Vong. After the Battle of Borosk, Pellaeon told the Moff Council that they would be joining the Galactic Alliance (formerly the New Republic) to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong, and that the council would support his decision, or he would take the Imperial Navy out of Imperial Space. Grand Admiral Pellaeon proved to be a worthy successor to his mentor Thrawn. He managed to score victory after victory against the Yuuzhan Vong commander assigned to the invasion of the Empire, B'shith Vorrik, and went on to personally command the Imperial fleets dispatched to reinforce the Galactic Alliance, eventually commanding the Imperial forces that assisted the Galactic Alliance in retaking enemy-occupied Coruscant. Together, the Empire and Galactic Alliance managed to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong invaders and bring a period of peace back to the war-torn Galaxy.

Following the end of organized resistance by the Yuuzhan Vong, Gilad Pellaeon presented Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo with one of the few remaining pieces of art from Grand Admiral Thrawn's private collection, Killik Twilight, an Alderaanian painting that the Solos had once attempted to acquire prior to Thrawn's nearly victorious offensive.

Later life (30 ABY&mdash;)
"It's sneaky. I like it."

- Grand Admiral Pellaeon



While "The Old Man of the Empire" remained the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces as of 30 ABY, there was some question as to how much longer he would remain in command. By allying with the "Rebels", he became unpopular with a sizeable faction of the Moffs, though it was not known how the general population felt about him, and there was some evidence that the Imperial Military was extremely loyal to him. That being said, sometime after the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War he retired from all military and political responsibilities.

However, following the death of Sien Sovv in 36 ABY, he was asked by the Galactic Alliance Chief of State, Cal Omas, to come out of retirement and serve as the temporary Supreme Commander of the Galactic Alliance Defense Force until he could appoint a permanent one. Pellaeon agreed, and led the forces of the Galactic Alliance during the Swarm War. Pellaeon led the Defense Force so well that Cal Omas appointed him the permanent Supreme Commander.

While negotiating with Aidel Saxan in 40 ABY, he survived an assassination attempt orchestrated by Thrackan Sal-Solo. Saxan was not so lucky, nor was Pellaeon's double who was attending the meeting in his place. Not long after, he resigned, disgusted by the idea of the Galactic Alliance Guard. His post was assumed by Cha Niathal. Though he retired from the Galactic Alliance and lived on Bastion, he openly supported the Alliance when several Moffs believed the Imperial Remnant should ally themselves with Corellia.

In addition, there was a lingering question regarding whether or not Pellaeon may have sired a family out of wedlock, as it was intimated that the late Commander Mynar Devis may have been Pellaeon's son. However, Pellaeon once stated that he had never devoted the time to have children.

Legacy
Some 130 years after the Battle of Yavin, Pellaeon had been honored by having a class of Imperial capital ship, the Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer, named after him.

Behind the scenes

 * Gilad Pellaeon was created by Timothy Zahn.


 * The Essential Guide to Characters lists Pellaeon's homeworld as Coruscant. This was at odds with other sources, which listed his homeworld as Corellia. Force Heretic I: Remnant reconciled these two views, indicating he was born on Corellia but spent his youth on Coruscant, as described in "Early Career" sub-section.




 * Pellaeon's appearance at the Battle of Merson in Star Wars Republic 64: Bloodlines has raised questions among fans about whether the Pellaeon there is the Gilad Pellaeon. It has been suggested that the rank of this character conflicts with Gilad Pellaeon's reported promotion to captaincy after the Battle of Endor, though it has also been suggested that his promotion to captaincy may be a confusion between rank and billet as commanding officer of Chimaera; this confusion between post and rank apparently also applies to the Pellaeon in Bloodlines, who, though called a captain, has what appears to be a lower rank depicted on his rank badge. Although his appearance and actions suggest the same person, some regard his depiction as being too old to be Gilad Pellaeon of Imperial Remnant fame; however, both the writer and artist of the comic have said that it was indeed Gilad Pellaeon.


 * The RPG scenario Nightsaber refers to Pellaeon as a Grand Admiral during the buildup to the Battle of Orinda in 12/13 ABY; while no other source explicitly gives him this rank so early, there seems to be no explicit evidence that actually excludes it, and the handful of representations depicting Pellaeon as Supreme Commander in a khaki uniform could be related to the previous months subsequent to Darksaber. However, in 19 ABY, he is referred to as a Fleet Admiral in Specter of the Past (released previously to the RPG); it is possible the Nightsaber writers simply made an error.


 * There is an Imperial officer in Crimson Empire II who resembles Pellaeon, and is addressed as "admiral." However, he has the wrong eye color of Pellaeon, and is later addressed as "general." When asked if it was supposed to be Pellaeon, author Randy Stradley answered that it was for the reader to decide.


 * Gilad is a Hebrew word and name with more than one meaning.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Republic 64: Bloodlines
 * Star Wars: Rebellion
 * Star Wars: Galaxies
 * Tatooine Ghost
 * Heir to the Empire
 * Dark Force Rising
 * The Last Command
 * Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood
 * Darksaber
 * Jedi Academy: Leviathan
 * Nightsaber
 * Specter of the Past
 * Vision of the Future
 * Survivor's Quest
 * Dark Tide II: Ruin
 * Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial
 * Destiny's Way
 * Force Heretic I: Remnant
 * Force Heretic III: Reunion
 * The Final Prophecy
 * The Unifying Force
 * Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen
 * Dark Nest III: The Swarm War
 * Betrayal
 * Bloodlines
 * Tempest
 * Exile