Pong Krell/Legends

"We need to throw everything we have at them now."

- Pong Krell

Pong Krell was a male Besalisk Dark Jedi Master who served as a Jedi General in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. A powerful Jedi and a recognized war hero, he was relentless in his tactics on the battlefield, and sought success at all costs. As a combatant, he was an especially ferocious lightsaber duelist; the advantage of four arms allowed him to wield two double-bladed lightsabers at the same time. As a general, Krell found insubordination intolerable and required strict adherence to command from all of his soldiers.

Clone Wars
"Time and rest are luxuries the Republic can't afford."

- Pong Krell

A Besalisk male, Pong Krell ascended to the rank of Master in the Jedi Order by the time of the Clone Wars. As the Jedi were called into service by the Galactic Republic, Krell joined the war effort as a Jedi General in the newly-commissioned Grand Army of the Republic, composed mainly of clone troopers grown and trained on Kamino. Although his record for clone casualties was the highest of any Jedi officer, Krell established a reputation as a highly successful military strategist with many key victories credited to his name.

Battle of Umbara
"We are the key to this invasion. The other battalions are counting on our support. If we fail, everyone fails."

- Pong Krell By 21 BBY, General Pong Krell was dispatched by the Jedi High Council to Umbara, a former member-world of the Republic that joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems. By the time he arrived on the planet, Republic forces had already begun their invasion of Umbara with Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker's 501st Legion leading the way to the planetary capital city. After sustaining some casualties during the initial engagement with the Umbaran natives, Krell arrived on the battlefield via a LAAT/i gunship and reported the Council's orders; Skywalker was to immediately disengage from the battle and return to Coruscant. Although Skywalker was shocked by this order, Krell stated that it was at the direct request of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. With Skywalker away, Krell was assigned as the 501st Legion's mission commander.

Once he assumed command of the 501st Legion, General Krell immediately dismissed Skywalker's original plan for the capture of the Umbaran capital. Due to the strategic importance of the capital, as well as the fact that victory or defeat depended on the 501st, Krell decided that Skywalker's guerrilla warfare tactics were too slow and ultimately a waste of time. Hence, he concluded that unhindered military force would win the battle, and thus he ordered the 501st on a direct path to the capital city.

During the long march, Krell was exasperated by the clone troopers, particularly Clone Captain CC-7567 (nicknamed "Rex") who repeatedly questioned the orders of a superior officer. Before they reached their destination, however, Krell and the 501st were attacked by two flying banshees, neither of which CC-7567 or the other troopers were able to exterminate on their own. Krell swiftly killed both creatures so that the group could continue the march without further distraction. Due to Krell's orders, CC-7567 and his troopers marched into a minefield, and were ambushed and nearly overwhelmed by a group of Umbaran soldiers, while attempting to navigate it. Though Krell was frustrated by the clones' inability to achieve success without his support, he ultimately chose to save their lives by dispatching extra troopers and AT-RT drivers to assist them. CC-7567 and his troops sustained heavy casualties, but managed to repel the Umbarans with the aid of Krell's reinforcements.

Krell made no effort to conceal his disappointment in CC-7567 for retreating from the enemy. In an act of insubordination, Advanced Recon Commando CT-27-5555 (nicknamed "Fives") criticized his superior officer's strategy in front of the other troopers, but then stood down when Krell ordered him to do so at the point of a lightsaber. CC-7567 intervened and stressed how he understood the importance of the mission, but not without emphasizing his need to safeguard the lives of the clones under his command. Krell found CC-7567 to be unusual, because most clones never expressed their opinions to the point of questioning orders. He admitted the unorthodox style in his leadership, but nevertheless defended the efficiency of his strategies. After dubiously complimenting CC-7567, Krell left the shocked clones to contemplate his words. Before they could do so, however, the 501st troopers were forced back into combat by another group of Umbaran ambushers.

Taking the airbase
Following this setback in the overall operation, Krell received a message from Obi-Wan Kenobi during a firefight between the 501st Legion and Umbaran soldiers. Kenobi reported how the capital city had become a virtually impregnable fortress due to the supplies it received from a nearby airbase. In order to weaken the capital's unassailable defense grid, Kenobi charged Krell and the 501st with the mission of destroying the airbase, and thus its supply lines to the capital city as well. Before cutting the link on the holocomm, Kenobi reminded his fellow Jedi Master that the entire operation depended on the success of Krell and his 501st Legion.

Due to the high priority of his new assignment, Krell ordered Captain Rex to mobilize the clones for their deployment to the Umbaran airbase. Upon viewing their targeted location from a distance, Krell instructed Rex to lead a contingent of clone troopers through a gorge and destroy the airbase with brute force, in a full frontal assault. The clone captain suggested reconnaissance as an alternate approach, but Krell responded that the rest of the invasion force depended on the haste of a 501st victory, and judged that they did not have the time for a scouting operation. Rex kept his misgivings to himself and loyally carried out his general's will.

By this time, General Krell's influence on the 501st created animosity not just between himself and some of the clones, but also between the clones themselves. After their failed attempt to take the capital, Rex paid more respect to Krell, and took extra care to offer alternative options as opposed to outright questioning the general's orders. Fives grew increasingly bitter and resentful of Krell to the point where Rex had to remind him about Krell's reputation as an effective leader. He also reminded the ARC trooper that a clone's duty was to faithfully support his superior officer without question or hesitation. Dogma strongly supported Krell's strategy and even stood up for him against Fives on more than one occasion. Hardcase, a hyperactive trigger-happy clone trooper, also favored the General's direct approach and paid little attention to the misgivings of his other comrades.

When the clone troopers encountered heavy resistance from the Umbaran assault tanks, Rex instructed Fives and Hardcase to infiltrate the airbase and commandeer their starfighters. When Rex informed Krell of his deviation from the original plan, the General was displeased at what he saw as an action that countermanded his orders. He commanded the Clone Captain to proceed with the forward assault and left him with an ultimatum&mdash;either obey the order or be relieved of duty. Although Rex and his troopers were unable to overcome the Umbaran assault tanks, the Captain ordered the clones to hold their ground as long as possible until Fives and Hardcase completed their task. Sergeant 1119 (nicknamed "Appo") offered to reinforce Captain Rex's position with the rest of the battalion, but Krell ordered them to remain behind until he gave the order, and not before. Both plans ultimately succeeded in the end, with Rex's ingenuity ensuring that Krell's overall plan succeeded. With the support of the enemy's commandeered starfighters, piloted by Fives and Hardcase, Rex and his clone troopers were able to proceed with their forward assault on the airbase. While watching the burning airbase with satisfaction, Krell ordered Sergeant Appo and the rest of the 501st to converge on the fallen base. The General commended Rex, attributing his success to luck. Rex added that many clone troopers were killed while trying to take the airbase, to which Krell asserted how death was often the price for victory.

Personality and traits
"There's a reason my command is so effective, and it's because I do things by the book, and that includes protocol."

- Pong Krell

In war, Pong Krell was a relentless Jedi Master who settled for nothing less than absolute victory on the battlefield. Committed to both the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic, Krell became a successful general through his unorthodox&mdash;but efficient&mdash;strategies. He was supremely confident in his command style, and thus he expected complete obedience to the chain-of-command from his subordinates.

During the Battle of Umbara, Pong Krell displayed a low opinion of clone troopers, but he was especially antagonized by Clone Captain 7567. He was extremely irritated by the captain's suggestion to let the troopers rest before completing their objective, as well as their failure to defeat Umbaran soldiers without the assistance of his reinforcements. Krell was also not afraid to use the threat of deadly force to put insubordinate troopers back in their place, as ARC 5555 discovered when his outspoken criticism of the general's leadership was silenced with an order at the point of a lightsaber blade.

In terms of military strategy, Krell was keenly aware of Umbara's significance to the Republic's war effort, including the fact that the chances of victory depended primarily on himself and the 501st Legion. Though viewed by some clones as a gruff and uncompromising tactician, the fiercely focused Krell was unshakably determined to achieve the best results in battle so that the outcome would be nothing short of a Republic victory. Consequently, however, this record for success also produced a record for the highest casualties as well, which Krell rationalized as a natural consequence of war. Krell had also been noted that he does not lead from the front but from the rear, taking away credence with the troops who would follow his orders more readily if he did so.

Powers and abilities
Krell was Master in the ranks of the Jedi Order. His Besalisk physiology allowed him to wield two double-bladed lightsabers at the same time. These lightsabers both folded in the middle, making them easier to carry on his person.