Theol Drost

"Drost is a good enough man in his way. His chief weakness is a tendency to become complacent. For the immediate future, at least, he should be cured of that."

- Grand Admiral Thrawn to Captain Gilad Pellaeon

Theol Drost was a Human male Imperial Army officer serving the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War. As a high colonel, Drost commanded the Army detachment committed to the assault on Picutorion, an engagement that was part of the Kwymar Suppressions, alongside his Imperial Navy counterpart, Commodore Bevven. During the battle, Drost deferred to the judgment of Imperial Security Bureau officer Mar Barezz in allowing two of his men, Captain Ganig and Sergeant Stecker, to be killed in action to prevent the possibility of two decorated heroes of the Empire defecting to the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Drost spent the next decade commanding various space installations until receiving a promotion to general and command of the security of the Bilbringi Shipyards.

In 9 ABY, Bilbringi fell under the aegis of Thrawn's confederation, and was responsible for building new Star Destroyers. A raid on the facility conducted by the smugglers Mazzic and Ellor resulted in the destruction of a nearly-completed Star Destroyer and showed up flaws in General Drost's security set-up. Rather than punish the general, Grand Admiral Thrawn gave Drost thirty hours to revise Bilbringi's security system. Drost's revisions did not, however, stand up to an assault on the Bilbringi system by a New Republic fleet, and he was removed from command shortly after.

Picutorion
"How long could your men hold out in their present position, colonel?''" "''Normally I would say less than three minutes. They are good. I would guess seven."

- Commodore Bevven and High Colonel Theol Drost

Theol Drost was a male Human who served the Galactic Empire in the Imperial Army during the Galactic Civil War. He commanded the Imperial Army element committed to the assault on the planet Picutorion, which was part of the Kwymar Suppressions, while holding the rank of High Colonel, alongside Commodore Bevven who headed the Imperial Navy contingent. Both commanded the battle from the bridge of Bevven's flagship in orbit of Picutorion. During the battle, elements of the armor battalion assigned to Tensiger's 6th regiment penetrated the defences of an Alliance to Restore the Republic-held tracking station, but Alliance resistance was fierce with BTL Y-wing starfighters flying in support of the defensive action. Drost and Bevven discussed the possibility of air support for the ground assault; Drost knew the attack would falter without Imperial air cover, but Bevven was afraid that the Y-wings would chose to attack the fleet and wanted to send TIE/LN starfighters in a wave attack while keeping the bulk of the fighters in reserve. Drost believed that a piecemeal effort, one that only eliminated a handful of fighters with every pass, would effectively doom the soldiers on the ground. The TIEs, however, were solely under Bevven's command.

As Bevven began to order the TIEs to launch on attack runs, the pair were interrupted by Mar Barezz, an officer of the Imperial Security Bureau. He relayed information to the pair that two of the soldiers attacking the tracking station&mdash;Captain Ganig and Sergeant Stecker&mdash;had been tagged as "sensitive" by the Bureau. Both had been decorated by the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order for their actions at the Battle of Sagma, but their lax attitude towards Imperial doctrine had been highlighted. In addition, they had been in contact with another soldier named Linds, whom the Bureau were confident was an Alliance sympathizer. Barezz suggested that any air support for the soldiers be delayed until both Ganig and Stecker were dead; although there was no proof that either man planned to defect to the Rebellion, Barezz felt the risk was too high. Both would be decorated by COMPNOR again if they captured the tracking station, and the officer believed that dead heroes were just as good as live ones for propaganda purposes. Bevven looked to Drost for assent; while Bevven commanded the fighters, the soldiers on the ground were Drost's. The high colonel agreed with the plan, and the starfighter assault was delayed by ten minutes.

Later career
"Have you anything to add to this report, General Drost?''" "No, sir." "Can you offer me any reason why you should not be relieved of command?" "No, sir." "Return to your headquarters, General. The Chimaera will be leaving here in approximately thirty hours. You have until then to design and implement a new security system for the shipyards. At that point I'll make my decision about your future." "''Understood, sir. I won't fail you again, Admiral."

- Grand Admiral Thrawn and General Theol Drost

Drost proved to be an adept tactician in matters surrounding space-based Imperial installations, and served as commander of various outposts including fueling centers, ammo dumps, and space station-based garrisons. Eventually, Drost received a promotion to General, and assigned as security chief of the Bilbringi Shipyards. Drost's headquarters were located on Bilbringi VII, a planetoid with no atmosphere that was covered in signal relays and observation towers. Drost knew that his assignment was important, and defended the Bilbringi system with four Golan II Space Defense SpaceGuns and network of shield barriers that prevented unauthorized travel into restricted areas. All incoming freighters were thoroughly checked before being allowed to proceed.

In 9 ABY, the Bilbringi Shipyards were part of Grand Admiral Thrawn's confederation of Imperial forces, which included the Empire-proper, the Pentastar Alignment, and the Ciutric Hegemony. During Thrawn's campaign against the New Republic&mdash;successor state to the Alliance to Restore the Republic and the new dominant political government in the galaxy following the fragmentation of the Empire in the wake of the Battle of Endor&mdash;the Bilbringi Shipyards were raided by the smugglers Mazzic and Ellor in retribution for an Imperial assault on a smuggler meeting held at the Whistler's Whirlpool Tapcafe on the planet Trogan. The raid resulted in the destruction of an almost complete Star Destroyer. Thrawn arrived at Bilbringi and questioned Drost over the incident on board his flagship, the Chimaera, and the General was unable to provide any reasons as to why his failure to ensure the shipyards' security should not result in his removal from command. Thrawn, however, did not immediately punish Drost, giving him thirty hours to draft and implement a new security system for the installation before deciding his fate. Drost's efforts satisfied Thrawn, but a later assault by the New Republic in an effort to capture a crystal gravfield trap array showed that the General's revisions for the installation's security had been inadequate. The battle was won by the New Republic after Thrawn was assassinated by his own Noghri bodyguard, Rukh, and the withdrawal of his fleet, now under the command of Captain Gilad Pellaeon. Drost was removed from command, and the shipyards were effectively abandoned, falling into the hands of the New Republic shortly after.

Personality and traits
"What is your point, Barezz?''" "My point, colonel, is that for propaganda purposes, dead heroes are nearly as good [sic] live ones. And dead heroes cannot defect to the Rebellion." "Do your sources indicate that they are thinking of defecting?" "''No, but we are certain that a trooper named Linds is a Rebel sympathiser. He has been in contact with each man."

- High Colonel Drost and Mar Barezz

Theol Drost was a light-skinned, blue-eyed man with a barrel-chest and a short, stocky build. Physically fit and capable, Drost was a formidable looking man who reminded his fellows of a commando. An able commander, Drost respected the abilities of the soldiers under his command. In dealings with the Imperial Security Bureau officer Mar Barezz, he was cautious around the man and held the officer's gaze, but did not go against his suggestion to delay starfighter support to allow possible defectors to perish in battle. Drost was not one for excuses; when faced by Grand Admiral Thrawn over his failure to secure the Bilbringi Shipyards, Drost did not attempt to excuse his actions and was prepared to face any fate the Grand Admiral deemed appropriate.

Skills and abilities
Drost was a capable Army commander, knowledgeable in ground assault tactics and space installation security procedures and perimeter defense. During the Battle of Picutorion, he held the rank of High Colonel, a rank that was commonly associated with command of an Army battlegroup. Drost was trained in the use of a blaster and unarmed combat, and had training in first aid. He was also skilled in the operation of walkers, and beast riding. His years of working as an installation commander gave Drost knowledge about the internal workings a procedures of a bureaucracy.

Equipment
Drost wore a standard Imperial Army uniform, and carried a heavy blaster pistol and comlink.

Behind the scenes
Drost first appeared in "Picutorion Viewed From the Top," a short narrative story that first appeared in 1989's first edition of the Imperial Sourcebook published by West End Games. The story was reprinted in the second edition of the book released in 1994. Drost appeared in The Last Command, the third novel of Timothy Zahn's The Thrawn Trilogy, in 1993, and was given his first visual depiction in The Last Command 3, a comic adaptation of the novel by Dark Horse Comics released on February 4, 1998. The illustration was provided by Edvin Biukovic.

West End Games released The Last Command Sourcebook in 1994 which expanded on Drost's backstory and gave him the first name of "Theol." The information was reprinted in The Thrawn Trilogy Sourcebook in 1996. He received a mention and second visual depiction in 1998's The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons under the entry for Bilbringi, as well as an entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia released in 2008.

Appearances

 * The Last Command
 * The Last Command 3
 * The Last Command
 * The Last Command 3