- "Introductions! I am Commander Alecia Beck. You are now prisoners of the highest-ranking bureau of Imperial security."
- ―Alecia Beck, to Han Solo, Chewbacca and Caluan Ematt
Alecia Beck was a female human who served as a senior commander in the Imperial Security Bureau. In the aftermath of the Battle of Yavin, she was tasked with hunting down Lieutenant Caluan Ematt, a member of the enemy Alliance to Restore the Republic.
Biography[]
Alecia Beck was a female human who came to serve in the Imperial Security Bureau, the largest of the two intelligence agencies of the Galactic Empire. During her first tour with the ISB, Beck, then a mere lieutenant, caught her training officer selling secrets for credits. Although he was a full captain, Beck confronted him in the maintenance bay aboard the Star Destroyer Vehement. The captain attempted to kill her, using a laser cutter he had found on a nearby workbench. The two then engaged in a fight. Beck managed to get the upper hand, although she lost her left eye in the confrontation. Consequently, Beck received a promotion and a commendation.[1]
At some point, Beck attempted to request a meeting with Senator Mon Mothma. Hendri Underholt, Mon Mothma's aide, lied and claimed to Beck that the senator had already left on a fact-finding mission to Goroth. Underholt earned praise from Mon Mothma for her reply.[4]
Around the time of the Battle of Yavin, Beck had been made a Senior Commander in the ISB, making her one of the few women holding high ranks in the Empire. She was tasked with hunting down the Shrikes, a special recon unit of the enemy Alliance to Restore the Republic. When word came out that the Empire's Death Star battle station had been destroyed by the Alliance in the Yavin system, all senior commanders of the ISB were ordered to move on their current targets immediately.[1]
Alecia Beck encountered Han Solo when he attempted to rescue Caluan Ematt.
Beck and her men ambushed the Shrikes on Taanab. All Shrikes were killed, with the exception of their leader, Caluan Ematt, who managed to escape. Ematt got a burst transmission to the Alliance, letting his allies know of the Tanaab incident. Eventually, Beck and the ISB discovered that Ematt had made his way to Cyrkon, in Hutt Space. By capturing Ematt, Commander Beck hoped she would learn where the Alliance had relocated after the Battle of Yavin. The Vehement was positioned to block all flight traffic to and from Cyrkon, while Beck herself deployed to the surface, accompanied by four squads of white-clad stormtroopers. Upon searching the planetary starport, Beck identified the Millennium Falcon, a battered freighter that belonged to Corellian smuggler Han Solo, a known member of the Alliance. When Solo, Ematt and the Wookiee Chewbacca entered the docking bay that housed the Falcon, Beck and her men were waiting for them. However, Beck had underestimated the sheer audacity of Han Solo. The Corellian smuggler destroyed the magnetic shield that protected the docking bay from Cyrkon's polluted air. In the ensuing chaos, Solo, Chewbacca and Ematt managed to board the Falcon and escape.[1] Commander Beck gave a report on the situation to Admiral J. Ras-Teker, and immediately began to calculate their possible destinations, determined not to let Ematt escape her a third time.[2] As a result of her failure during the mission, Beck lost a promotion.[5]
Around the same time as the annexation of Cloud City, which brought a major supplier of tibanna gas under Imperial control, Beck was dispatched as an ambassador to the moon of Madurs, where the Empire hoped to secure carnium. However, Beck told the local government to prepare for an art expo to hide the regime's true intentions. As she encouraged Prime Minister Dreand Yens and company to build up a small city of visitor apartments, the Empire prepared for the coming mining operation, with a space station in orbit scanning for the best place to mine and settling on a spot next to a populated city. When negotiations came, Beck revealed the Empire's true desire for the carnium, but Yens rejected the Empire's offer to buy it for much less than it was worth. Beck departed on a shuttle, and, before the day had even turned to night, the Empire attacked by dropping its space station down from orbit into the ice. The impact killed over two thousand people and destroyed the city.[5]
Beck oversaw the mining effort even as it began to destabilize Madurs, with Yens as her reluctant puppet leader. After the Battle of Endor, which Beck believed to be rebel propaganda, she received orders to finish up. The Imperials gave promises that they would pay reparations before leaving, but, even if true, they would have come too late for Madurs anyway. However, the operation began to unravel when Solo and Leia Organa arrived on Madurs during their honeymoon, as Organa hoped to begin talks with Yens about joining the New Republic. Beck was eager for a chance to kill Solo, but both rebels managed to escape her grasp. As both joined the local resistance movement under Yens and attacked the mining operation, Beck and the other officers attempted to escape Madurs, leaving their stormtroopers and drill behind, on someone's orders. However, the arrival of Green Squadron under Shara Bey cut off Beck's escape, leaving her to fall into rebel custody. Organa was particularly interested to learn who had been giving Beck orders, and the defeat of the Imperial force on Madurs allowed the local government and New Republic a chance to begin stabilizing the water moon.[5]
During a mission to Vetine with Luke Skywalker, Bey impersonated Commander Beck in an attempt to infiltrate the secret Imperial labs there. However, the two overlooked the fact that Beck was missing her left eye, thus blowing their cover and forcing them to fight their way out.[6]
Personality and traits[]
Alecia Beck was a human woman who was incredibly loyal to Emperor Palpatine. She possessed a cybernetic eye and wore her blond hair tied back in a bun, which appeared to be so tight Leia Organa almost thought she was bald. As Organa also observed, she walked with a confidence seen only in those with a deadly type of experience. While some people began to claim the Empire had fallen with the Battle of Endor, Beck regarded the incident as rebel propaganda. Beck had a particular hate for Han Solo, blaming him for a lost promotion and hoping for a chance to kill him. Upon her capture, she ranted about the man. Beck was smarter than the average Imperial stormtrooper. She was willing to abandon her forces on Madurs, but Organa and Solo suspected that was only because someone ordered her to.[5]
Appearances[]
Concept art of Commander Beck by Dave Seeley
- Smuggler's Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure (First appearance, simultaneous with audiobook)
- Smuggler's Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure audiobook
- Smuggler's Run animated comic
- Star Wars Adventures: Smuggler's Run 1
- "Smuggler's Run, Part 1" — Star Wars Universe 1
- Star Wars Adventures: Smuggler's Run 2
- The Princess and the Scoundrel
- The Princess and the Scoundrel audiobook
- Shattered Empire 4 (Impersonated)
Sources[]
Much to Learn You Still Have: 7 Things You Might Not Know About Twi'leks on StarWars.com (backup link)- Star Wars: The Rebel Files
- Star Wars: Armada — Onager-class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack (Card: Commander Beck)
- Star Wars: Armada — Upgrade Card Collection (Card: Commander Beck)
