Admiral Daala
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Star Wars character | |
Daala | |
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Position | Imperial Admiral, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet |
Homeworld | Carida |
Species | Human |
Gender | Female |
Height | 1.8 meters |
Affiliation | Galactic Empire |
Portrayed by | N/A |
Admiral Daala is a fictional character in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, who first appeared in the Jedi Academy Trilogy. Admiral Daala was a beautiful woman with a cold face and a dark smile.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] In the Navy
Daala first canonical appearance was in Jedi Search, in which she was already in charge of the Maw Installation; Jedi Search also related her backstory: Admiral Daala is one of the very few high-ranking females in the Imperial Navy. Though she was a talented student and officer at the Imperial Academy, she was continually passed over for promotion simply because of her gender.
To take out her frustrations toward the male-dominated military, she made herself a false computer identity. Daala was able to defeat many a high level officer and more than a few of her own instructors. This gained her the attention of Moff Tarkin. He investigated the talented young officer and was pleasantly surprised to discover not only her identity, but that she was female.
Tarkin took her on as his protégé, helping her to ascend to the rank of Admiral. Many quietly complained that she was sleeping her way to the top. When one of those remarks made its way back to Tarkin, he searched out the offending officer and ejected him into space over Carida, with his suit mike on so that all of Tarkin's subordinates were forced to listen to his slow demise.
[edit] Assigned to the Maw Installation
As his most trusted officer, Daala was tasked with overseeing and protecting the Maw Installation, birthplace of the Death Stars, World Devastators and the Sun Crusher. This facility was hidden away even from the rest of the Empire, and no less than four Imperial Star Destroyers were stationed there (Basilisk, Gorgon, Hydra, and Manticore). Tarkin ordered Daala never to abandon her post or to break communication silence unless he returned. So after his death aboard the first Death Star, Daala stayed isolated in the Maw with no news of the Galaxy outside and no one in the Empire aware of her existence.
When Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Kyp Durron escaped from the mining planet of Kessel in Jedi Search and accidentally discovered the Maw Installation, Daala captured and interrogated them, learning for the first time about the destruction of the Death Stars and the death of Tarkin. Daala knew that her orders were obsolete and it was time to strike back at the "Rebels".
When Han, Chewie, and Kyp escaped, they destroyed one of Admiral Daala's Star Destroyers by ramming it with their vehicle, the Sun Crusher; this loss greatly decreased her firepower.
[edit] Attacks on the Republic
Though the female admiral made a valiant attempt at running a guerilla war against the New Republic in Dark Apprentice and was armed with "the power to turn planets into slag," Daala was ultimately foiled by Admiral Ackbar and Kyp Durron, armed with up-to-date military tactics and the Sun Crusher (respectively). She fled back to the core to join the warlords, with only the Gorgon remaining of a once impressive battlegroup.
Furious, she wrathfully attacked the proving grounds of Dantooine, slaying a colony of civilians. The AT-ST and Imperial walkers commanded by Commander Kratas destroyed the colonists easily.
Eventually, she unleashed her hate against the Mon Calamari for their fleet support and troops to the Alliance. But her campaign was foiled and one of her high officers was killed by Admiral Ackbar.
At the end of Dark Apprentice, after planning a suicidal kamikaze ramming attack on Coruscant using the Basilisk, Daala's final mission was foiled when Kyp Durron (now a Sith apprentice to Exar Kun) using the Sun Crusher, caused the Cauldron Nebula that the Basilisk and the Gorgon were resting in to go nova; this resulted in the destruction of the Basilisk and the crippling of the Gorgon.
Daala and the Gorgon spent most of Champions of the Force limping back to the Maw Installation to protect it against the Rebels who would no doubt eventually try to seize it. But they arrived after the Rebels had already captured the Installation. Daala immediately attacked the Rebel fleet, but was outmatched; the Installation was indefensible, and Daala was forced to destroy it after making backups of the data stored therewithin. The explosion of the Installation's reactors concealed her escape from the Maw, convincing the Rebels that she had finally died.
[edit] Reuniting the Empire
When next Daala resurfaced in Darksaber, she had joined Supreme Warlord Harrsk's forces. Under his incompetent command, Daala realized what shambles the Empire was in. Feuding over what was left of a formerly galaxy-spanning government, the various warlords were destroying everything they had left. Daala sought to change that by forcing the most powerful warlords to meet, finding only Warlord Teradoc's subordinate, Vice Admiral Pellaeon a worthy enough commander among them to live. Together they murdered the warlords, sealing them in a room and poisoning their air, the two conspirators wearing the only rebreathers. The Admiral would have been willing to accept any leadership from any warlord but none could hold the line.
Daala took command of all their forces, consolidating the scattered fleets of Victory-Star Destroyers, Skipray Blastboats, and even a single Executor-class Super Star Destroyer, the Knight Hammer. Her glorious fleet lasted just long enough for a poorly planned and even more poorly executed attack against the New Republic and Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy. It was once again Kyp Durron and Admiral Ackbar who were responsible for her defeat, with the assistance of another: on the Knight Hammer, Daala confronted the former Jedi Knight Callista, who had effectively sabotaged the vessel. Callista intended to kill Daala as well, but she hadn't reckoned on Daala's skill with a blaster - instead of firing a normal bolt (blockable with a lightsaber), Daala instead fired a stun bolt, consisting of unblockable rings, rendering Callista unconscious. Despite the damage Callista had done to her plans, Tarkin's former student let her live because her aggressiveness impressed her. Defeated for good, Daala promoted Pellaeon to the rank of Admiral, handing her rank insignia and remaining fleet to him, and resigning from Imperial service, seemingly for good.
[edit] After Darksaber
She settled temporarily on Pedducis Chorios. She settled into civilian life, leading a group of settlers on the distant world. Daala would return to service during the events of Planet of Twilight, when she learned of Moff Getelles plan to use the Death Seed plague to take over the Meridian sector.
After this, she returned once more to the Deep Core looking to establish another fleet. Though she did make an attack against the Republic a short time later, General Garm Bel Iblis defeated her soundly and she has yet to return.
[edit] References
- The Essential guide to Characters (Star Wars), 1st edition, 1995. Andy Mangels, ISBN 0-345-39535-2
- Darksaber, 1st edition, 1995. Kevin J. Anderson, ISBN 0-553-57611-9
- Jedi Search, 1994. Kevin J. Anderson, ISBN 0-553-29798-8
- Dark Apprentice, 1st edition paperback, 1994. Kevin J. Anderson, ISBN 0-553-29799-6
- Champions of the Force, 1st edition paperback, 1994. Kevin J. Anderson, ISBN 0-553-29802-X
- Planet of Twilight, 1st hardcover printing, 1997. Barbara Hambly, ISBN 0-553-09540-4