Gilad Pellaeon

"This is Captain Gilad Pellaeon, commanding the ISD Harbinger."

- Gilad Pellaeon

Gilad Pellaeon served as a captain in the naval forces of the Galactic Empire as part of Grand Admiral Balanhai Savit's Third Fleet. Under the Third Fleet, Pellaeon served as the commanding officer of the ISD Harbinger and was later dispatched to assist Grand Admiral Thrawn's Seventh Fleet. He participated in the Imperial blockade of the planet Lothal until it was liberated by the rebel Spectres and their allies in 0 BBY. During the liberation, all Imperial starships present were destroyed by flocks of the space-faring purrgil, and Pellaeon's communication with the Grand Admiral was quickly cut off.

Serving the Third Fleet
"I've reviewed the data sent by the Chimaera, and have concluded that the evidence is sufficient to justify an official inquiry. Accordingly, I am placing the Harbinger under the authority of Commodore Faro and calling on Grand Admiral Savit to surrender his command. I also call on Captains Lochry and Rasdel to join me."

- Captain Pellaeon turns against Admiral Savit

During the early rebellion against the Galactic Empire, Pellaeon served as the captain of the Imperial Star Destroyer Harbinger in Grand Admiral Balanhai Savit's Third Fleet. After being sent evidence against Savit from the Star Destroyer Chimaera, he later turned against the grand admiral and called for him to surrender his command, as well as calling on Captains Lochry and Rasdel to join him. Pellaeon further placed the Harbinger under the command of Commodore Karyn Faro.

Serving the Seventh Fleet
"Get Captain Pellaeon.''" "''Sir, they came out of hyperspace! I've never seen&hellip;"

- Grand Admiral Thrawn and Pellaeon encounter the purrgil over Lothal

In the year 0 BBY, Pellaeon took part in the Galactic Empire's orbital blockade around the planet Lothal as part of Grand Admiral Thrawn's Seventh Fleet. However, the blockade failed to stop a band of rebels, led by Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger of the Spectres, from launching an attack that liberated the planet from its occupation.

While Thrawn was dealing with the rebels on the planet surface, he learned that the entire blockade was destroyed by several objects not identifiable to the Imperials. The Grand Admiral subsequently contacted Pellaeon to inquire about the situation, only to hear that the attackers came out of hyperspace before their communication was quickly severed. Moments later, Thrawn discovered that the Imperial vessels were destroyed by flocks of purrgil &mdash;massive, whale-like creatures that were naturally capable of traveling through hyperspace &mdash;as part of Bridger's attack. Having lost the liberated planet to the rebels, the Empire never again returned to Lothal.

Personality and traits
"Captain Pellaeon's not a blind follower, and Savit knows it."

- Commodore Karyn Faro

Captain Pellaeon was known for being loyal to the empire at large rather than any individual commander, a trait demonstrated during the confrontation between Grand Admirals Thrawn and Savit.

During the Liberation of Lothal, Captain Pellaeon was astonished upon witnessing the purrgil swarm coming out of hyperspace and attacking the blockade of Imperial starships over the planet. The Imperial captain spoke Basic.

Reintroduction into Star Wars canon
"I just wanted to mention the name so it gets in there, so it's something people can use. And sometimes that's what I can do for things that come out of Legends. I could create just another Captain with some name there or I could put someone like Pellaeon in play. And then maybe he gets picked up in comics or novels, I don't know. But I think that would be kind of fun to do, and it's a way to get that idea rolling."

- Dave Filoni on the inclusion of Pellaeon in Star Wars Rebels

Gilad Pellaeon was reintroduced into Star Wars canon in the Star Wars Rebels television series finale, "Family Reunion – and Farewell," which was written by executive producer Dave Filoni and his team, and first aired on March 5, 2018. The character was voiced by Jim Cummings, who was also the voice of Hondo Ohnaka in the series.

Filoni described bringing back Star Wars Legends characters like Pellaeon into canon as being one of his favorite parts of the job. He said that bringing in Pellaeon serves as an opportunity for other authors to explore new stories for the character in canon, which creating a new character with a new name would not necessarily allow for. Filoni also indicated that, in his opinion, Pellaeon survived the events of the Star Wars Rebels finale and expressed hope that other authors would continue the character's story.

Although author Timothy Zahn, the character's original creator in Star Wars Legends, was not informed of Pellaeon's inclusion in Star Wars Rebels beforehand, the writer later used the character in his 2019 novel Thrawn: Treason, where he reintroduced the character's first name "Gilad" into canon.

Stories in Star Wars Legends
"Pellaeon, by the way, was named after Pelleas, an idealistic young knight in the King Arthur mythos."

- Timothy Zahn

The character of Gilad Pellaeon originally appeared in the 1991 Star Wars Legends novel, Heir to the Empire, the first volume in The Thrawn Trilogy by author Timothy Zahn. While Zahn named the character after Pelleas, a knight from the King Arthur legend, the 1995 reference book The Essential Guide to Characters, written by Andy Mangels, introduced his first name "Gilad."

In these stories, Captain Pellaeon was depicted as an elderly Human with a bushy mustache, and he was a prominent military officer who served as Grand Admiral Thrawn's right-hand man during the latter's campaign against the New Republic following the Battle of Endor. Pellaeon also played a significant role in numerous other Legends stories&mdash;he acted as the founding leader of the Imperial Remnant and signed a peace treaty with the New Republic that ended the Galactic Civil War. Through his many appearances over two decades, Pellaeon became a fan-favorite Legends character.

Appearances

 * Thrawn: Treason
 * Thrawn: Treason audiobook