M'Kae

"Captain, Lord Vader demands an update on the pursuit."

- M'Kae to Captain Lorth Needa

M'Kae was a human male who served as an Imperial officer in the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War against the Alliance to Restore the Republic. He was stationed on board the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Avenger and served in the crew pit on the starship's bridge.

In 3 ABY, the Avenger was a part of Death Squadron and was charged with destroying the rebel YT-1300 light freighter known as the Millennium Falcon as it attempted to escape from the rebel defeat at the Battle of Hoth. After the Falcon disappeared from the Avengers scanners, M'Kae informed Admiral Lorth Needa, captain of the Avenger, that the Sith Lord Darth Vader wanted a report on their progress.

Chasing a Falcon
The human male M'Kae served as an officer in the Imperial Navy of the Galactic Empire and was stationed in the crew pit on the bridge of the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Avenger. During the Galactic Civil War against the Alliance to Restore the Republic in 3 ABY, the Avenger traveled to the planet Hoth as part of the Sith Lord Darth Vader's Death Squadron in order to destroy the rebel forces stationed in the Alliance's headquarters at Echo Base on the world.

The Empire successfully defeated the Alliance but could not prevent many of the enemy forces from fleeing. Under orders from Vader, the Avenger and several other Star Destroyers specifically pursued the rebel YT-1300 light freighter known as the Millennium Falcon. The Falcon evaded capture by hiding out in the Hoth asteroid field, but eventually left the cover of the asteroids to try and jump to hyperspace, encountering the Avenger as it did so.

Losing a Falcon
After the Falcon's hyperdrive failed to function, the ship's captain Han Solo turned the vessel round and started flying directly toward the Avenger. The Star Destroyer's commander, Captain Lorth Needa, gave orders for the ship's shields to be raised, after which M'Kae flipped a switch on his console. The Falcon then flew in close past the bridge's viewport, causing the officer to look up from what he was doing while Needa and others closer to the viewport ducked for cover.

Needa immediately ordered that the Falcon be tracked, but was informed that it had disappeared from the Avenger's scanners. M'Kae then informed the captain that Lord Vader wanted an update on their progress in capturing the Falcon. Needa chose to report the failure to Vader in person, and was executed for his failure. The Falcon meanwhile had landed on the surface of the Avenger in order to escape its scanners, and was able to escape undetected by the Imperials, although not unnoticed by the bounty hunter Boba Fett.

Personality and traits
M'Kae had fair skin, brown eyes and dark blond hair.

Equipment
M'Kae wore a light gray Imperial uniform with a darker gray cap and a communications headset.

Behind the scenes
M'Kae was created for the 1980 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back in which he was portrayed by Mark Capri. The character was not identified in the film, but refereed to as a "communications officer" in the script. The character was first named in the current canon on a card in the 2019 Star Wars Black & White: The Empire Strikes Back set of trading cards released by The Topps Company, Inc..

In the Star Wars Legends continuity, M'Kae appeared prior to the release of The Empire Strikes Back in the novelization of the film written by Donald F. Glut. The character's name originated on a card in the Dagobah Limited expansion set of the Legends Star Wars Customizable Card Game in 1997. According to a Star Wars CCG fan site, M'Kae was named as a tuckerization of Mark McKay, the stage name of radio personality Mark Tuttle.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back