Darth Azard

"I am not one of you! I am Sith!"

- Darth Azard to a Quarren Councilor

Darth Azard was a male Quarren Sith Lord of the One Sith. Azard served under Darth Krayt and his Empire during Krayt's reign as Dark Lord of the Sith. By 137 ABY, Azard was selected to oversee the Imperial Outer Rim Third Fleet, which was tasked with capturing the commander of the Galactic Alliance Core Fleet, Admiral Gar Stazi. Azard executed Kel Dor Admiral Sha Dun, who was commanding the fleet, for failing in his objective, and replaced him with Dru Valan. Azard later participated in the massacre of the Mon Calamari Council, where he killed many of his fellow Quarren. In the aftermath of the massacre, Azard dueled Imperial Knight Master Treis Sinde, which distracted Azard long enough for members of Rogue Squadron and Imperial Knight Sigel Dare to escape.

The Third Fleet
"Admiral Sha Dun, you were charged by our Master, His Majesty Darth Krayt, with ending the attacks by the renegade Gar Stazi. But Gar Stazi still lives."

- Darth Azard before executing Admiral Sha Dun

The Quarren Sith Lord known as Darth Azard was a loyal member of the One Sith, serving Darth Krayt and his Galactic Empire in the time of the Anti-Sith Insurgency, during which he was selected to oversee the Outer Rim Third Fleet. In 137 ABY, the Imperial Outer Rim Third Fleet had been charged with capturing the commander of the Galactic Alliance Core Fleet, Admiral Gar Stazi, as well as destroying the unified fragments of the Alliance military, dubbed the Galactic Alliance Remnant. Emperor Krayt had placed Kel Dor Admiral Sha Dun in charge of the mission, and despite minor victories he had failed to stop Gar Stazi's attacks. On the command deck of the Relentless, Lord Azard executed Admiral Dun for constantly failing to capture Stazi, despite the many minor victories he had secured. Azard lifted Dun and choked him with the Force, before cutting the Admiral down with his double-bladed lightsaber. Azard then replaced Dun with the speciesist Admiral Dru Valan, who had already faced Stazi during the Battle of Caamas, the last major battle between the new Galactic Empire and the Galactic Alliance in the Sith-Imperial War. During the Battle of Caamas, Stazi led a fighting retreat while the rest of the Alliance forces had surrendered, and Valan was blamed for Stazi's escape. Azard told Valan not to underestimate Stazi as Sha Dun had, and warned Valan not to fail him.

Admiral Valan plotted to set up a trap for Stazi by baiting him with the possibility of capturing the Advanced Star Destroyer Imperious, which was under construction at the shipyards at Dac. The Toydarian Niffla informed Valan that she had seen former Galactic Alliance Triumvir Gial Gahan's niece, Rogue Squadron pilot Monia Gahan at the shipyards, showing that Stazi had taken the bait. Several days later, Stazi's fleet jumped into the system to take the Imperious and Valan sprung his trap. Valan believed he had Stazi's fleet trapped between his fleet and the shipyards; however, Stazi had prepared for Valan's trap by setting a trap himself with the aid of the Mon Calamari. The battle resulted in the Alliance capturing the Imperious and destroying a third of the shipyards. Valan's fleet was devastated and Stazi once again escaped, though Stazi was unaware that the Imperious had been sabotaged by Emperor-in-exile Roan Fel's Imperial Knights. Disgraced, Valan gave command to Captain Hoge and retired to his quarters to commit suicide rather than face Darth Azard.

Massacre of Mon Calamari
"Jedi! No&mdash;one of Fel's Forcelings. Pity. I'd hoped for a match."

- Darth Azard, to Imperial Knight Treis Sinde

After the defeat of the Imperials at the Battle of Mon Calamari, Darth Krayt wanted retribution against the Mon Calamari for their betrayal in supporting Gar Stazi. The Emperor traveled to Dac with a number of Sith Lords, including Darth Azard, to exact his revenge. Meeting with the Mon Calamari Council, Krayt presented the recently captured Gial Gahan, explaining that he had long known that the Mon Calamari had been secretly supporting Stazi and that he had had enough. As punishment for their actions, Krayt ordered the execution of ten percent of the Mon Calamari population of Dac&mdash;starting with the members of the Mon Calamari Council. The remainder of Dac’s citizens were to be placed in internment camps.

As soon as Krayt gave the order, Darth Azard, the other Sith Lords, and Krayt’s stormtoopers began to execute all of the Mon Calamari present. Many of the Quarren members of Mon Calamari Council who opposed or questioned the Emperor's will were also executed. One of the Quarren members pleaded with Darth Azard, stating that although the Mon Calamari were not one of their people and he was not overly fond of them, they did not deserve this. Darth Azard replied to the Quarren, that he was not one of their people, he was a Sith, and cut him down with his lightsaber. With the massacre underway, Darth Krayt personally executed Gial Gahan.

As a result of the massacre and the beginning of Krayt's genocide, the Mon Calamari began a resistance movement. To encourage good relations between the Galactic Alliance Remnant and the Empire-in-exile, Emperor Roan Fel ordered Imperial Knights Treis Sinde and Sigel Dare to warn Admiral Gar Stazi that the Star Destroyer had been sabotaged. Both Imperial Knights had placed three explosives within the starship in order to destroy it but were unaware of Stazi's plans. The two Knights contacted Rogue Squadron pilot Monia Gahan and warned her of their potential danger. Gahan convinced them to help her rescue her comrades, fellow Rogues who had been on Dac to help set up Gar Stazi's trap for stealing the Imperious. The Knights were successful in their rescue and while making their escape commandeered Darth Azard's personal shuttle by influencing the mind of the Imperial guarding the shuttle. Darth Azard sensed a disturbance in the Force and tracked it back to his shuttle. The Imperial officer standing outside the shuttle informed Lord Azard that he had put the Alliance prisoners aboard per Azard's orders. Realizing the officer had been mind-tricked; Azard killed him, calling him a weak-minded fool, and rushed to his shuttle.

In order to buy time for their escape, Imperial Knight Treis Sinde jumped out of the shuttle to engage the Sith Lord. The two dueled, with Azard using only a single blade of his lightsaber. Azard was disappointed that he was dueling an Imperial Knight instead of a Jedi, believing an Imperial Knight was no match for him. When several stormtroopers tried to intervene and bring down Sinde, Azard told them that he would handle him and that if they valued their lives they should stop the shuttle. Sinde, however, Force-pushed all of the stormtroopers prompting Azard to comment that it was impressive for an Imperial Knight. As they dueled, Azard stated that Sinde would not be able to defeat him and they both knew it. He was also aware that Sinde was trying to delay him long enough to allow the shuttle to leave. Azard assured Sinde that he had enough time to kill him and destroy his friends, however the duel was abruptly ended by a well-timed explosion set off by blaster fire from the shuttle. The explosion allowed Sinde to escape, and Azard was forced to protect himself from both the explosion and a fall with the Force. Azard was furious that he had failed to stop the escape of the Imperial Knights and the Rogues, growling in his anger.

Personality and traits
"Do not underestimate Stazi as your predecessor did. Do not fail me, Admiral."

- Darth Azard giving Dru Valan an ominous warning

Darth Azard was a loyal member of the One Sith, considering himself a Sith first and not one of his own people. Like most members of the Order, Azard's face and body were fully covered in red and black Sith tattoos. He was aggressive and short-tempered, executing subordinates instantly for failure. He was feared by those under his command, as seen when Admiral Dru Valan would rather commit suicide than face the Sith Lord in light of his failure. He was also arrogant, believing the Imperial Knight Treis Sinde to be beneath his abilities.

Powers and abilities
"I sensed a disturbance in the Force and tracked it here. It's coming from my shuttle."

- Darth Azard sensing the attempt to steal his shuttle

Darth Azard was a skilled wielder of the double-bladed lightsaber in combat, using a unique curved hilt similar to that of Asajj Ventress. He also showed his skill in using his lightsaber with only a single blade during his duel with Imperial Knight Treis Sinde. Despite Sinde being a Master in the Imperial Knights he was not able to defeat Azard and was saved by an explosion set off by Ronto. Apart from his skill with lightsaber, Azard was a proficient wielder of the Force. He was capable of telekinetic uses of the Force such as Force Choke, and like many of the One Sith, was proficient in the use of Force lightning. Darth Azard was also able to sense disturbances in the Force and track them back to their source. Defensively, Azard was able to shield himself from damage by projecting a bubble of Force energy around himself.

Behind the scenes
The character of Darth Azard was created by writer John Ostrander, and first appeared in the twentieth issue of the Star Wars: Legacy series, Indomitable, Part 1. He later appeared in the issue, The Wrath of the Dragon. Lord Azard is the third Quarren Sith Lord portrayed in Star Wars: Legacy after Darth Maleval and the unidentified Quarren Sith. The Sith name Azard is similar to the English word hazard, meaning danger.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Legacy 20: Indomitable, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy 21: Indomitable, Part 2
 * Star Wars Legacy 22: The Wrath of the Dragon

Notes and references
Darth Azard Darth Azard