Gilad Pellaeon

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Star Wars character
Gilad Pellaeon
Portrayed by N/A
Position Imperial Admiral, Grand Admiral, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet, Galactic Alliance Supreme Commander
Homeworld Corellia
Species Human
Gender Male
Affiliation Galactic Empire/Imperial Navy, Imperial Remnant, Galactic Alliance

Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon is a fictional character from the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Pellaeon was created by Timothy Zahn for The Thrawn trilogy of novels, but has appeared in several other Expanded Universe novels since. Because of the evolving nature of Star Wars canon following the publication of the Thrawn trilogy, primarily due to the release of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, some of the information regarding the character has been retconned.

Contents

[edit] Character history

[edit] Early life and pre-Endor career

Gilad Pellaeon was born on the world of Corellia and moved to Coruscant during his youth.[1][2] He applied to join the military at age 15, lying about his age, and was accepted into the academy on Raithal (the Imperial Starfleet is named in fiction written before the prequel trilogy, the Old Republic's Judicial Forces in later fiction).[1]

He served as an ensign without distinction, until he was given command of a convoy escort vessel, which he uses to outwit and destroy a pirate vessel over the world of Gavryn.[3] Following this, he was given command of an Acclamator-class assault ship during the Clone Wars, and was present for the Galactic Republic's defeat at the Battle of Merton.[4]

At some point between the prequel and original trilogies, Pellaeon was transferred to Stalwart, an Imperial Class Star Destroyer under the command of then Vice-Admiral Thrawn. They served together on numerous campaigns including the capture of the traitorous Admiral Harkiss and the execution of Admiral Zaarin after his assassination attempt on Emperor Palpatine. Afterwards, Thrawn was put in charge of the defense of the Emperor's secret cloaking field research base and Pellaeon was promoted to the rank of Captain aboard the Chimaera, an Imperial-class Star Destroyer.[5] Chimera was present at the Battle of Endor, and following the destruction of the Executor and the second Death Star, and the death of his commanding officer, Pellaeon took command of Chimaera and ordered a retreat.[5] Few Imperial vessels followed him, several more deserted after the retreat, and Pellaeon returned to Coruscant with the remainder, placing himself and the fleet under the command of Ysanne Isard.[2]

[edit] Career post-Endor

Pellaeon served under Isard until her defeat by Rogue Squadron in the X-wing novel series. He again took command of the Imperial fleet, but was unable to regain the initiative against the New Republic and was forced to fight a continual rearguard action until Thrawn's arrival from the galactic halo.[6] Thrawn used Pellaeon's Chimaera as his flagship during his campaign against the Republic to restore the Empire. Pellaeon learned from and followed Thrawn until the Battle of Bilbringi where Thrawn was assassinated by his Noghri bodyguard, forcing Pellaeon to again assume command and order a retreat.[7]

Following Thrawn's death, Pellaeon retreated to the Core, with himself and his crew serving under several leaders in the following years; the 'reborn' Palpatine, High Admiral Teradoc, and Admiral Daala.[3] After Daala's defeat, she handed command of the fleet to Pellaeon, who was accepted by the Moffs of the Imperial Remnant as Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces, and who accepted his advice that peace with the New Republic was the only way to survive.[8] The peace treaty was signed by Pellaeon and Chief of State Ponc Gavrisom in 19 ABY, aboard Chimaera.[8] At a point over the next six years, the Council of Moffs promoted Pellaeon from Admiral to Grand Admiral[9]

[edit] Yuuzhan Vong invasion

Early in the extragalactic invasion by the Yuuzhan Vong, the New Republic contacted Pellaeon and requested his assistance in fighting the aliens.[10] He did so, assisting the Republic until the Battle of Ithor, after which he withdrew Imperial forces back to the Remnant[11] Pellaeon did not appear again in the novels until Destiny's Way in which he refused to provide military support to the failing New Republic, but provided hyperspace maps allowing the Republic to plan an ambush at Ebaq 9, resulting in a major defeat for the Yuuzhan Vong.[12] Shortly following this, the Imperial Remnant was attacked by the Yuuzhan Vong, and only through the efforts of Luke Skywalker and Jacen Solo did Pellaeon survive the first battle against the Yuuzhan Vong, heal from his injuries, and prevent a takeover by one of the Moffs.[13] Following this, Pellaeon led a successful campaign against the invaders, and orchestrated the Imperial Remnant's joining of the newly-formed Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. He participated in several major battles up until the end of the war against the Yuuzhan Vong, including the recapture of Coruscant.

[edit] Post-Yuuzhan Vong invasion

Pellaeon retired shortly after the end of the New Jedi Order series, but was asked to temporarily come out of retirement following the death of Galactic Alliance Supreme Commander Sien Sovv.[14] Pellaeon was asked to serve as temporary Supreme Commander until a permanent one was found. He agreed, making "The Old Man Of The Empire" leader of the largest military force in the galaxy. Pellaeon became the permanent commander of the Galactic Alliance military after this, and was still serving at the start of the Legacy of the Force series. He resigned from the military after the first novel, over the establishment of the Galactic Alliance Guard, a secret police organization created following the insurrection on Corellia beginning in this series. Pellaeon is murdered by Darth Caedus' apprentice Tahiri Veila in the novel Revelation.

In the Star Wars: Legacy comic series, set almost 100 years after the Legacy of the Force series, Pellaeon-class Star Destroyers are introduced as the most powerful vessels of the era.[15]

[edit] References

Note: Where one of the references above has not been confirmed, the website The Imperial Grand Admirals has been cited (This mostly concerns dates and small details). This website has annotations concerning the sources and page numbers of information regarding Pellaeon's fictional history.
  1. ^ a b Force Heretic 1. pg. 157
  2. ^ a b The Imperial Grand Admirals
  3. ^ a b StarWars.com Databank
  4. ^ Star Wars Republic Issue 64: Bloodlines. The appearance is brief, and there is fan opinion that this character (whose first name is not given) is a relative, but the author and the artist have both stated that the character is Gilad Pellaeon.
  5. ^ a b Slavicsek, Bill; Trautmann, Bill [June 1996]. "Remnants of the Empire", Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy Sourcebook. West End Games, pp. 64-65. ISBN 0-87431-280-9. 
  6. ^ Heir to the Empire. pp. 7-8
  7. ^ The Last Command. pp. 462-463
  8. ^ a b The Hand of Thrawn duology (More specific cite needed)
  9. ^ Dark Tide II: Ruin. pg. 51 (he is described as wearing a Grand Admiral's uniform, but is referred to as an Admiral in the novel. Later materials such as The New Jedi Order Sourcebook make it clear that Pellaeon was a Grand Admiral at that point)
  10. ^ Dark Tide II: Ruin. pp. 51-53
  11. ^ Dark Tide II: Ruin. pp. 281-283
  12. ^ Destiny's Way. pp. 142-146
  13. ^ Force Heretic I: Remnant
  14. ^ The Swarm War
  15. ^ Star Wars: Legacy comic series

[edit] External links