Moradmin Bast/Legends

Chief Bast (–0 BBY) was the personal aide to Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin aboard the first Death Star.

Youth
Bast learned cunning and patience by hunting big game as a youth, earning him the ability to accurately estimate his enemies.

Time in the Galactic Empire
He used his estimation skills that he learned in his youth to ascertain the threat that starfighters posed to the Death Star, concerns that were brushed aside by Tarkin. It is unknown whether Bast died on the Death Star or escaped on his own, but either he, or another officer who greatly resembled him later ordered the blockade and curfew of Kashyyyk.

Behind the Scenes
Chief Bast was portrayed by Leslie Schofield in A New Hope. Cut footage from A New Hope featuring Schofield was used in The Star Wars Holiday Special, though this has now been identified as a different character.

Canon explanation regarding his survival
Though scenes of Chief Bast talking with Darth Vader cut from A New Hope were included in The Star Wars Holiday Special, it is unknown whether or not Bast actually survived the explosion of the first Death Star. On the StarWars.com message boards, Leland Chee notes two opposing C-canon sources. In this thread, and inanother thread, he cites the Star Wars Encyclopedia as a source giving that bast died. This idea would lead one to believe that the officer seen in the Holiday Special must be another officer with an uncanny resemblance to Bast, perhaps even a relative. However, Bast's card in the Star Wars Customizable Card Game leads one to believe that he would have escaped the death star before its destruction. Chee goes on in this thread to explain that the issue cannot be settled in the holocron until an author writes a story focusing on his death or survival.

The idea that Bast may have died on the death star is disputed among fans, since his death appears to some to be an illogical end for him. In A New Hope, Bast was involved with analyzing the Rebel attack on the Death Star, and was the officer who raised the possibility of evacuation. It is conceivable that he escaped on his own, despite Tarkin's refusal.

There is also the question of Bast's lookalike in the Holiday Special. This officer has not yet been identified, and his connection, if any, with Bast has not been explained.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * The Star Wars Holiday Special (disputed)