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"I haven't been summoned by ranking officers since that incident with the princess from Alderaan. Oh, that was not a pleasant meeting. I shall endeavor to make a better impression this time."
―Lyste to Alexsandr Kallus[4]

Yogar Lyste, with the operating number LSM-03, was an officer of the Galactic Empire with the rank of lieutenant several years prior to the Battle of Yavin. He was stationed on the planet Lothal, where he served as the Imperial Supply Master of Capital City, keeping track of all weapons and gear shipped in, as well as any produced locally. In 3 BBY, Lyste was placed in charge of a military depot and hosted a relief mission led by Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. The theft of three Sphyrna-class Hammerhead corvettes by the Spectres caused him considerable embarrassment.

Eventually, Lyste was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and made acting captain of an Imperial light cruiser. With his new position, he was responsible for monitoring who and what entered the star system, specifically aimed at defending the planets from rebels. In 2 BBY, Lieutenant Lyste came under the command of Grand Admiral Thrawn, who took an interest in the rebel insurgency in the Lothal sector. During the course of Thrawn's investigation into the identity of the rebel agent Fulcrum, Lyste was framed by his colleague, the Imperial Security Bureau Agent Alexsandr Kallus, who knew Lyste would likely be executed for the crimes he was accused of.

Biography[]

Background[]

Morad Sumar taken prisoner

Yogar Lyste seizing the Sumar family farm

Born on Garel, Yogar Lyste eventually joined the Imperial Military, where at least five years before the Battle of Yavin he would hold the position of Supply Master on the Outer Rim agricultural backwater of Lothal[5] as part of its local garrison.[6] An ambitious young Imperial officer, Lyste was charged with overseeing the planet's imports and exports, as well as regulating, maintaining, and distributing products from local Imperial-controlled industries. This also included the transport of prisoners.[5]

The Lothal insurgency[]

"What's the emergency?"
"Emergency?"
"You called in a code red."
"I…I'm not sure what you mean. My orders are to get these crates to the Imperial Portal."
"Well, get them loaded then!"
―Aresko, Grint, and Lyste[7]

Throughout his career, Lyste was harassed by a group of rebels known by the locals as the Spectres, with each attack infuriating him to further his efforts.[5] Shortly before the orphan Ezra Bridger joined the rebel cell, Lyste was overseeing the transference of several crates of food and blasters to the Imperial Complex on Lothal when the shipment was hijacked by the crew of the Ghost. Lyste and the stormtroopers under his command attempted to stop the theft of the cargo, but were powerless to prevent the rebels from fleeing on speeder bikes with the crates.[7]

Some time later, Lyste was in the town of Kothal, where he attempted to pressure local farmer Morad Sumar into selling his farmland to the Empire. After Sumar expressed disinterest in the prospect, Lyste took his troops to the farm later that day, where he forcibly evicted Sumar, his wife and their Aqualish farmhand, destroying their home with his troop transport's cannons. The farmer, his wife and the farmhand were later freed while in transit by Ezra Bridger and Garazeb Orrelios, who had seen the smoking ruins of the farm from the TIE/ln space superiority starfighter they had recently stolen.[8]

Sometime later, Lyste investigated a report by the Imperial cadet Nazhros Oleg that a warehouse in Lothal's Capital City was taking in barrels of ebla beer without the proper tax stamps. His agents verified that the barrels were being stockpiled in a warehouse for distribution, resulting in Captain Piers Roddance ordering a raid, headed by Oleg, with Zare Leonis and a squad of stormtroopers providing backup.[9]

Hosting Princess Leia[]

"From what I hear, your ships have an unfortunate habit of falling into rebel hands. I assure you, that won't happen on my watch."
"Gravity locks? This is hardly necessary."
"I insist. Plus a trooper detachment, and for extra security… Walkers will guard your ships from the rebel insurgency. All for your safety, miss."
―Lyste and Princess Leia Organa[10]
Yogar Lyste and Princess Leia

Yogar Lyste (far right) hosting Princess Leia

In the aftermath of the Siege of Lothal, a large number of Imperial troops withdrew from Lothal, resulting in Lyste receiving more responsibility, serving as a port commander.[11] Becoming a lieutenant and acting as captain aboard a light cruiser,[12] he became responsible for monitoring ships going to and from the planet, along with ensuring that no dissident forces returned to disrupt Imperial rule. Unknown to Lyste, the same group of rebels that ignited the insurgency on Lothal had secretly returned, slipping past his notice and landing on the planet, in order to rendezvous with the Alderaanian dignitary Princess Leia Organa, of whom Lyste was skeptical of due to rebel activity and a history of Alderaanian vessels being "stolen" by rebels. Hoping to avoid such an incident, he implemented as much security as possible by dispatching a stormtrooper detachment and using gravity locks to secure Organa's three Sphyrna-class Hammerhead corvettes.[10]

As an added security measure, Lyste also brought in two All Terrain Armored Transports to patrol the area. After Organa insisted that Lyste temporarily hand over his own transport for a relief mission, she, along with Kanan Jarrus and Bridger, both disguised as Imperial soldiers, staged a kidnapping of the princess. After falling for the ruse, Lyste immediately ordered a scan of the nearby area to find the rebels that Organa was secretly working with. Hoping to seize Organa's vessels for the rebellion, the rebels launched a raid on Lyste's garrison the following evening, in which they managed to "steal" the Hammerheads. Going along with the rebels' plan, Organa threatened to blackmail Lyste for his inept command of the helpless Imperial presence on Lothal unless she was compensated, and he quickly agreed to do so without any hesitation. After securing a transport for her, he discovered that his own private transport was missing.[10]

Thrawn's crackdown[]

ThrawnStudiesSpectres-AnInsideMan

Yogar Lyste (far left) in Thrawn's Office

In 2 BBY,[13] Lyste was present at the Imperial Armory Complex when Governor Arihnda Pryce and Agent Kallus summoned the workers for a general assembly. The factory was producing a high rate of faulty vehicles that affected the Imperial Military's operations. In response, Imperial High Command dispatched Grand Admiral Thrawn to restore order to the factory and to hunt down subversives. In fact, a small rebel cell led by Ryder Azadi had been sabotaging the vehicles.[14]

Lyste watched as Thrawn chastised the workers for their poor workmanship and forced the worker Morad Sumar, an undercover rebel operative, to demonstrate a faulty 614-AvA speeder bike. The simulation caused an explosion, which claimed Sumar's life. Lyste was shocked by Thrawn's brutal methods, but nevertheless complied with the Grand Admiral's orders. Thrawn then ordered Lyste and his fellow Imperials to detain the workers for questioning and lock down the factory. Under Thrawn's orders, Lyste ordered the factory workers to line up in pairs and submit themselves for questioning. However, the rebel infiltrators, Bridger and Jarrus, managed to escape when their astromech droid Chopper blew up another speeder bike. This ruse worked, and Lyste ordered a disguised Chopper to report for maintenance.[14]

Jarrus, Bridger and Chopper managed to evade the Imperial security forces and steal Thrawn's secret plans from Section A2. Meanwhile, Thrawn summoned Lyste and Kallus to his office for an update on the lockdown. Lyste and Kallus found that the office was decorated with holograms of the Spectres, Sabine Wren's graffiti, and the helmet of a Jedi Temple Guard. When Thrawn asked his subordinates about one of Wren's graffiti artworks, Lyste responded that it was a section of the retaining wall. The more perceptive Kallus recognized it as the starbird, the marking of Phoenix Cell. After Lyste informed Thrawn that two of the workers had disappeared, Thrawn realized that the rebels were after his plans and sent Lyste and Kallus to secure Section A2.[14]

However, the rebels' droid Chopper had already downloaded the plans by the time Lyste and Kallus arrived to order a lockdown. The rebels managed to escape with the help of Kallus, who had become part of a secret rebel network of informants known as Fulcrum. When Azadi's rebel cell launched a diversionary attack on the factory's east gate, Lyste dispatched two AT-AT walkers to deal with the intruders. He reported the incident to Thrawn and requested permission to deploy more reinforcements. Knowing that the rebels would take advantage of the diversion to escape, Thrawn allowed Lyste to send an AT-DP walker that had been stolen by Bridger's team.[14]

Following the rebels' escape, Lyste reported his account of the skirmish to Thrawn. The Grand Admiral was satisfied with Lyste's report and dismissed him before turning to deal with Kallus and Pryce.[14]

Betrayal and frame-up[]

Kallus and Lyste meet Yularen

Lieutenant Lyste and Agent Kallus meet Colonel Yularen

While commanding a Imperial light cruiser, Lyste led a successful operation to capture a stolen shuttle that had fled Lothal's spaceport. When Kallus awoke, Lyste informed him that his ship was responding to a shuttle heist. After the light cruiser's bridge crew had trapped the stolen shuttle with the ship's tractor beam, Lyste remained aboard the bridge while stormtroopers boarded the shuttle. Unbeknownst to Lyste, Kallus discovered that the captured shuttle thief was his rebel contact Ezra Bridger, who had come to rescue him.[4]

When Lyste entered the light cruiser's detention block, Kallus claimed that Bridger was a bounty hunter whom he had succeeded in extracting a confession from. Lyste then informed the ISB agent that Thrawn's Seventh Fleet had arrived in the Lothal system and had invited both of them aboard his flagship Chimaera. Lyste was eager to be summoned for a meeting with a high-ranking Imperial commander, since he wanted to showcase his successful capture of an alleged rebel operative. He also wanted to make up for the embarrassing incident involving the Princess from Alderaan.[4]

Lyste gave orders for his men to bring the rebel prisoner aboard a Sentinel-class landing craft for his meeting with Thrawn. Lyste was also accompanied by the undercover rebel droids AP-5 and Chopper, who claimed to be unwilling passengers aboard Bridger's shuttle and that they had evidence to submit against Bridger. Once aboard the Chimaera, Lyste and Kallus witnessed several Imperial officers of the Sector Command staff, Captains Brunson and Slavin, and Commander Brom Titus, exiting a meeting with Thrawn.[4]

Upon reaching Thrawn's office, a stormtrooper sentry demanded that Lyste and Kallus submit their code cylinders. Lyste reluctantly submitted his after a brief protest, and the two met with Thrawn and the Head of the ISB Colonel Wullf Yularen. During the meeting, Thrawn revealed that there was a traitor in the Imperial ranks who was helping the growing Rebellion, codenamed Fulcrum. When Lyste expressed his enthusiasm in hunting down the Rebel spy, Thrawn told him that nobody was above suspicion and informed them that Yularen would be interrogating them personally.[4]

Kallus frames Lyste

Kallus framing Lyste

While chatting alone with Kallus, Lyste remarked that nobody escaped the eye of Yularen for long. After Pryce complimented Lyste for capturing the shuttle thief, Kallus manipulated Lyste into believing that the ISB was investigating Pryce as a Fulcrum suspect. While Lyste was distracted, Kallus switched their code cylinders. He then convinced Lyste to spy on Pryce. Later, Kallus contacted Lyste by comlink, and was warned by Lyste that Pryce, Thrawn and Yularen were entering the detention block. He told Lyste to trail Pryce, but to remain unseen.[4]

Kallus had already used Lyste's code cylinder to free Bridger from the Chimaera's detention block, thus framing him as the rebel agent Fulcrum. Kallus then obtained a military uniform for Bridger. Pretending to be Lyste, Bridger used a Jedi mind trick to convince one of Thrawn's guards to let him into his office. Once inside the office, Bridger transmitted clearance codes to his rebel comrades Jarrus and Rex. Kallus then had Chopper delete data on the planet Atollon, which housed the rebel base. He also reprogrammed Thrawn's DT-series sentry droids into assassin droids. After Thrawn narrowly escaped an attack by the droids and witnessed a disguised Bridger escaping, he believed that Lyste was the traitor. Playing into Kallus' hands, Lyste continued to spy on Pryce. When he saw her fight two stormtroopers, who were Rex and Jarrus in disguise, he believed that she was actually Fulcrum and stunned her, which Yularen witnessed. When the disguised Rebels fled onto the ship, Lyste recognized Bridger and realized that he had been deceived before being tackled by Kallus, who took the opportunity to switch their code cylinders back.[4]

Lyste had, ultimately, made himself look like Fulcrum. Shortly after he was tackled, Yularen arrived with stormtrooper reinforcements. Kallus publicly accused Lyste of being Fulcrum,[4] knowing that Lyste would face immediate imprisonment and, most likely, execution for such a charge.[15] Despite his protests, Lyste was dragged away by stormtroopers. While Thrawn and Yularen publicly accepted Kallus' explanation that Lyste was Fulcrum, the two privately doubted that Lyste was the traitor, as he was too inexperienced and naive to be capable of masterminding the events that had transpired. Upon seeing Wren's art on Bridger's helmet, Thrawn deduced that Bridger was in fact the mysterious "shuttle thief" and that because Kallus tried to conceal this, he had to be the real Fulcrum. However, he decided not to apprehend Kallus since he wanted Kallus to lead him to the rebels.[4]

Personality and traits[]

"I told you before—we're not selling this farm."
"You misunderstand. We are no longer interested in buying."
―Morad Sumar and Supply Master Lyste[8]
MoradSumarsFarm-FighterFlight

Yogar and his men intimidating the Sumars

Young and ambitious, Lyste exuded confidence in the performance of his duties, exhibiting a great amount of pride. He took his position as Supply Master,[8] and later lieutenant and acting captain of his own Imperial light cruiser, seriously, and cared little for anyone standing in his way.[10] Charged with securing land on Lothal, he attempted to negotiate before resorting to force, as he was not keen on unnecessary violence. However, when forced to use drastic measures, he did not hesitate to use force. One such example was when he was ordered to clear farmers from their land. Despite his confidence, he proved unable to stop rebels Bridger and Garazeb Orrelios from freeing his prisoners,[8] and later failed at ensuring that Organa's vessels were not "stolen" by the same group of dissidents.[10]

Wren had some respect for him, noting that he had started beefing up security and describing him in her personal journal as "not a complete dummy."[16] Unlike many other officers, he was quite understanding of the failures of his subordinates. He also showed concern for the people of Lothal during the presence of the Imperial blockade, telling Organa that he wanted to make sure that her supplies got to the impoverished citizens. Despite his preparations to secure the Hammerhead corvettes with gravity locks, he was outmatched by the bold cunning and ingenuity of his rebel opponents.[10] Lyste felt humiliated by this incident and sought to curry favor with the Imperial military leadership.[4]

Lyste was briefly shocked by Thrawn's killing of the factory worker Sumar during a test demonstration, but nevertheless complied with the Admiral's orders to detain and question the workers. He was outfoxed by the Spectres' escape tactics, including staging diversions. Unlike Thrawn and Kallus, he lacked an appreciation for art and once, when asked for his opinion of one of Wren's graffiti pieces, described it solely as a piece of the retaining wall.[14]

Lyste took pride in his successful efforts to apprehend the rebel Bridger, who was posing as a bounty hunter. However, he was unaware that Bridger had staged the capture in order to rescue Kallus, who was the secret rebel informant Fulcrum. Lyste viewed the capture of Bridger as an opportunity to regain favor with the Imperial High Command following the incident with Organa. He was enthusiastic about helping Thrawn capture the rebel agent. Kallus took advantage of Lyste's woeful lack of experience and naivety to manipulate him into believing that Pryce was Fulcrum in order to frame the lieutenant. Lyste's trust in Kallus and inexperience proved to be his undoing.[4]

Behind the scenes[]

Yogar Lyste first appeared as a secondary character in the television movie Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion, which premiered on September 26, 2014. He was voiced by Liam O'Brien, who had also voiced several other characters, including fellow Star Wars Rebels character Morad Sumar and Commodore Dael Margok in the Legends computer game Star Wars: The Old Republic: Shadow of Revan. O'Brien voiced Lyste in several Star Wars Rebels episodes throughout seasons one, two, and three. He also appeared as a tertiary character in Jason Fry's 2014–2015 junior novel series Servants of the Empire.

In his first appearance, in the scene in Spark of Rebellion where Ezra watches from a rooftop as Lyste is berated by Commandant Aresko and Taskmaster Grint for supposedly reporting a nonexistent emergency, Lyste's hair is white instead of dark brown.[7]

Appearances[]

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Sources[]

Notes and references[]

  1. Facebook icon Star Wars Rebels on Facebook: Yogar Lyste (January 14, 2015): "Lyste is the young Imperial officer seen forcibly removing Morad Sumar from his farm in "Fighter Flight."" (screenshot)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Star Wars Rebels: Head to Head
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 Rebels-mini-logo Star Wars Rebels — "Through Imperial Eyes"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Ultimate Star Wars
  6. Helmet Collection logo small Star Wars Helmet Collection 37 (Databank A-Z: Luggabeast–Malakili)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Rebels-mini-logo Star Wars Rebels — "Fighter Flight"
  9. Servants of the Empire: Imperial Justice
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Rebels-mini-logo Star Wars Rebels — "A Princess on Lothal"
  11. Star Wars: The Rebel Files
  12. StarWars-DatabankII Supply Master Yogar Lyste in the Databank (backup link)
  13. Dawn of Rebellion dates the events of Star Wars Rebels: Steps Into Shadow seventeen years after the end of the Clone Wars, which Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates to 19 BBY; therefore, the events of Steps Into Shadow must have taken place in 2 BBY. Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide establishes that the mission to investigate Geonosis, seen in Ghosts of Geonosis, occurred 2 years before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Star Wars: Galactic Atlas places the events of Rogue One in 0 BBY, the same year it places the Battle of Yavin. Therefore the mission to Geonosis occurred two years before Yavin, so it took place in 2 BBY. As An Inside Man is between Steps Into Shadow and Ghosts of Geonosis, the events seen in the episode must have occurred in 2 BBY as well.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 Rebels-mini-logo Star Wars Rebels — "An Inside Man"
  15. SWInsider "From the Shadows: The Dangerous Life of a Rebel Agent" — Star Wars Insider 212
  16. Sabine My Rebel Sketchbook
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