- "Captain. Resistance bombers approaching."
"Of course they are." - ―Suday Bascus and Moden Canady
Suday Bascus was a human who served in the the naval forces of the First Order during its war against the Resistance. He acted as Warrant Officer under Captain Moden Canady aboard the Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought Fulminatrix during the Battle of D'Qar in 34 ABY. During the battle, Bascus watched in ecstasy as the Siege Dreadnought's orbital autocannons targeted the Resistance base on the planet D'Qar.
After the Fulminatrix destroyed the base, Bascus reported the approach of Resistance bombers, but remainded focused on the impressive destruction on D'Qar rather than the ongoing battle. He later informed Canady that the autocannons were aimed at the Resistance fleet's flagship, the MC85 Star Cruiser Raddus, but before the Fulminatrix could fire, it was destroyed by the last remaining bomber, killing Bascus along with the rest of the crew.
Biography[]
A moment of ectasy[]
- "Reorient the topside batteries to target the Resistance fleet, and prep our fighter squadrons for launch."
"General Hux ordered no fighter deployment. He feels a demonstration—"
"Do I need to explain the difference between 'prep for launch' and 'launch'?" - ―Canady gives orders to Bascus
Suday Bascus was a human who served as a Warrant Officer in the navy of the First Order during its war against the Resistance.[2] He was stationed onboard the Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought Fulminatrix under the command of Captain Moden Canady, a veteran officer twice his age.[3] In 34 ABY,[1] the Fulminatrix was part of a fleet deployed to the Ileenium system to destroy the base of the Resistance on the planet D'Qar. The Resistance, who had recently defeated the First Order in the Battle of Starkiller Base, were nearly finished evacuating when the First Order arrived. Despite this, General Armitage Hux, who commanded the First Order fleet, sent orders for Canady to destroy the base, then Resistance's transports and fleet.[3]
On Canady's command, the two orbital autocannons beneath the Siege Dreadnought began to swivel into position to fire on the base. On the Fulminatrix's bridge,[3] Bascus was acting as a monitor[4] and watched their progress on a holographic screen with something akin to ectasy on his face, which caused Canady to scowl. The captain then ordered Bascus to have the dreadnought's topside cannons reoriented to target the enemy fleet and tasked the officer with preparing their contingent of starfighters to launch. Bascus objected to the latter order, as Hux had given orders that no fighters be deployed as a show of strength, but Canady reminded him that he had only ordered for the fighters to be prepared.[3]
The final fire[]
- Bascus: "Autocannons aimed."
- Goneril: "Forty seconds to full charge."
- Cannady: "Destroy that last bomber!"
- ―The bridge crew of the Fulminatrix[4]
Canady then received a report that a lone Resistance starfighter was approaching the First Order fleet. Its pilot, Resistance Wing Commander Poe Dameron, then tooled with Hux over comms to stall for time. Hux eventually realized this and ordered that his forces fire upon Dameron's T-70 X-wing starfighter, at which point the Resistance pilot began an attack run on the Fulminatrix, targeting its topside cannons. Hux demanded to know why Canady was unable to destroy the fighter, prompting the captain to irritably command that the starfighters that Bascus had prepared be scrambled. As the TIE/fo fighters and TIE/sf fighters began attacking the X-wing, the captain gave the order for the now primed autocannons to fire on the base; however, Dameron had bought enough time for the final Resistance transport to escape before the base was obliterated.[3]
After Dameron destroyed the dreadnought's final top-side turret, Bascus stepped away from a viewer he'd been using and reported to Canady that a group of Resistance bombers were approaching the Fulminatrix.[4] As the bombers closed on the now defenseless dreadnought, the captain was disgusted to see that Bascus was still monitoring the destruction of the base on D'Qar's surface, which was impressive to behold but no longer relevant to the battle. Canady then gave orders for the auto-cannons to recharge and target the enemy fleet as First Order TIEs managed to destroy all but one of the bombers attacking them.[3]
Bascus reported from his viewer that the weapons were aimed at the enemy flagship, the MC85 Star Cruiser Raddus, as adjutant Goneril called out forty seconds left until the autocannons were recharged. Canady responded by ordering the final bomber destroyed, but it was to no avail. Leaning forward, Bascus then eagerly reported that the cannons were charged, but even as the captain order the autocannon's to fire, the final bomber released its payload, obliterating the Fulminatrix[3] and engulfing the bridge in flames.[4] Bascus perished[1] in the blast along with Canady and the entirety of the dreadnought's crew of over two-hundred thousand personnel.[5] Safe from the Fulminatrix's cannons, the Resistance fleet jumped to hyperspace.[4]
Personality and traits[]
By the Battle of D'Qar, Bascus and the rest of the Fulminatrix's crew bar Canady had scant experience in battle outside of simulations. The captain did not hold the fact that they were untested against them, but did hold them accountable for their arrogance and lack of discipline, which Canady thought about when witnessing Bascus' ectasy at watching the cannons rotate. The warrant officer later focused on the destruction on D'Qar rather than the ongoing battle, disgusting Canady, although the captain later caught himself thinking as he believed that Bascus or Hux would when he dismissed the idea of finding the enemy vessel's weak point in the belief that they would make short work of it anyway.[3] Bascus had tan skin, black hair, and brown eyes.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
- "He's just a rank and file member of the First Order. Suday is in one of the biggest battles of the film just trying to do what he believes in and manage the highly stressful wartime environment. He's confident but also aware that he and the crew could die in this battle"
- ―Orion Lee
Suday Bascus was portrayed by Orion Lee in the 2017 sequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi. The character was credited only as "Cannady's First Order Monitor,"[4] but his name was revealed in Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary, a reference book written by Pablo Hidalgo and released alongside the film.[2] Lee was offered the role without audition by casting director Nina Gold after he had auditioned for the 2015 film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens but not gotten a part. The actor portrayed the character as an everyman, considering him a confident rank and file member of the First Order who is trying to do what he believes is right while trying to manage a stressful environment in which he knows he might perish. Lee has described the role as surreal at times and compared it to the character he played in Fury,[6] a 2014 film in which Lee portrayed an American soldier.[7]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi (First appearance)
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition (and audiobook)
Sources[]
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary (First identified as Suday Bascus)
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy states that the entire crew of the Fulminatrix perished during the Battle of D'Qar, which Star Wars: Timelines dates to 34 ABY. As Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition establishes Suday Bascus to be part of that crew, he must be among those fatalities.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
- ↑ Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Orion Lee is Suday Bascus in Star Wars: The Last Jedi on www.frontlineviews.com (February 17, 2018) (archived from the original)
- ↑ Orion Lee at the British Film Institute (backup link)