Herron Dade

General Herron Dade was the head of Gandle Ott's planetary militia during the early years of the New Republic.

Biography
Herron Dade was born on Gandle Ott, a planet in the Kathol sector of the Outer Rim Territories. When Gandle Ott was under the control of the Galactic Empire &mdash;and later, under Warlord Moff Kentor Sarne after he withdrew the sector from the Empire following Emperor Palpatine's death at the Battle of Endor &mdash;Dade was the highest-ranking native in government, serving as commander of the planetary militia. Although he served the Imperial government, he had no love for the Empire but never made his feelings public.

In 8 ABY, Moff Sarne was ousted from his capital on Kal'Shebbol by the New Republic. Sarne retreated with the majority of his forces, and fell back to Gandle Ott where he claimed to be organizing a massive fleet to purge the sector of pirates and Rebels. He made no mention of his defeat at Kal'Shebbol, and began uplifting supplies from Crimler Naval Base. After Sarne's departure, it was discovered that he had transferred the majority of the Imperial personnel stationed on the planet to his fleet&mdash;including the governor&mdash;and left with most of the defense force.

With the loss of Imperial command authority on the planet, the Bank parliament&mdash;the civilian authority that had been relegated to an advisory capacity under Imperial control&mdash;re-established control over Gandle Ott. The Imperial Vice-Governor, Marja Lang, had been left behind by Sarne due to her fervent loyally to the Empire over Sarne, and she began to consolidate her power base among her fellow abandoned Imperials. Dade, relieved that Sarne had gone and determined that Gandle Ott would not fall under outside control again, began to gather his own power base and work to displace Lang as the Acting-Governor. His plan was to re-establish the dormant position of President of the Bank parliament, which had been abolished when the Empire had assumed control of Gandle Ott, and maneuver himself to be the prime candidate. Despite his feelings, Dade was extremely worried that the planet no longer had the means to defend itself from the pirates that plagued the sector.

Several days after Sarne's departure, the New Republic CR90 corvette FarStar arrived in orbit in pursuit of the rogue Moff. Dade was unable to join the governmental delegation, led by Acting-Governor Lang, that met the FarStar crew at Montrol Spaceport due to work commitments. While Dade had no intention of letting outside forces once again control Gandle Ott, he welcomed the presence of the New Republic and hoped to gain their endorse as Gandle Ott's "native son". The following day, despite his hectic schedule, Dade presided over a Mushroom Cutting ceremony that he used to symbolically declare Gandle Ott's independence from the Empire. He met the New Republic delegation for the first time, and used their presence at the ceremony to legitimize his stance. Dade spoke of the need for Gandle Ott to take control of its own affairs in the wake of the Imperial departure, and was the center of attention for the media during the event while Lang, who had been maneuvered into the attending the ceremony, was bored throughout the proceedings.

During the following days, Dade was kept busy consolidating the military and security forces still on the planet, and was only available to meet with the FarStar delegation during the evenings. Through information bulled from CUTH-BRT-92-X3, the BRT supercomputer that controlled Gandle Ott's capital city, Montrol City, he learned that the Rodian First Officer of the FarStar, Gorak Khzam, was a former member of the Sabiador Slavers. Dade used this leverage over Khzam to influence him into encouraging the FarStar delegation to support the General. Dade hosted a private dinner for the FarStar delegation and another ninety-five guests at his private estates in the evening on the same day as the Mushroom Cutting ceremony. On the fourth day of their visit, Dade and other military officials met with the FarStar delegation to discuss potential military aid that the New Republic could provide to Gandle Ott.

Personality and traits
Herron Dade was a thin, gaunt man with iron-gray hair and mustache who chain-smoked chak-root. A military man, Dade was not particularly subtle or versed in the art of diplomacy. He would say something inappropriate or awkward at times, but was popular with the citizens of the planet. Dade believed he could use his popularity to ascend to the position of President of Gandle Ott. Like many of his fellow natives, Dade had no love for Sarne or the Empire, but wisely kept that fact to himself. Following the departure of the Empire, Dade was welcoming of the New Republic, but was adamant that Gandle Ott should be able to rule itself and saw Lang and her Imperial faction as a threat to that goal. Dade had a talent for reading people, and had access to vast amounts of data gathered by CUTH-BRT-92-X3, the BRT supercomputer that controlled Montrol City.