Aeon Conford

Aeon Conford was the chief commanding officer of the Zyle twins' Imperial faction following the Battle of Endor. Serving as a Grand Admiral, he held one of the highest positions of authority within the faction, answering only to Gidius Zyle and Cylla Narami.

Early Life (56-22 BBY)
Aeon Conford served as an officer in the Republic prior to the Clone Wars. A student of history, he came up through the ranks dreaming of commanding epic battles. As a master strategist, he was an excellent officer and became captain of his own Dreadnaught at an early age. By the time of the Separatist Crisis, he was already an admiral.

Clone Wars (22-19 BBY)
As the Separatist Crisis came to a head, Conford's career stalled. He had become increasingly vocal about the need to take military action against the Confederacy and began criticizing Chancellor Palpatine's soft-handed approach to the situation. By the time of the first open battle on Geonosis, Conford had already made an enemy of the Chancellor and, by extension, stiffled his own military advancement.

Nonetheless, Conford continued to serve alongside Jedi and Clone forces. While he enjoyed working with the clones, seeing them as mindless battle drones to use as pawns in the war, he was openly hostile to the Jedi, whom he believed held no legitimate authority in the defense of the Republic when compared to an actual military. When Palpatine announced the Jedi had revolted and attempted to take over the Republic, Conford felt fully justified in his skepticism of them.

Unfortunately for Conford, the outcome of the Clone Wars held a mixed bag. Though he finally found the battles he had sought and was a part of the military machine he had dreampt of, his criticism of the Emperor made him a dangerous enemy. Indeed, Conford's deep knowledge of history made him one of the few to realize Palpatine had been consolidating power he had no intention of relinquishing. When the Supreme Chancellor announced the formation of the Galactic Empire and declared himself Emperor, Aeon Conford retired from active service and took a position as an instructor at the Anaxes Naval Academy.

Teacher (19 BBY-4 ABY)
Emperor Palpatine sought swift and brutal revenge on most who had crossed him as soon as he had the opportunity, but never enacted retribution on Conford. The former admiral believed this was because he had retreated quietly enough that Palpatine had forgotten about him, but it truth it was because Conford proved to be a remarkable military instructor. During his years at Anaxes, Conford produced some of the most talented and ruthless officers to serve the Empire. In this fashion, he more than repaid any damage he had caused Palpatine, and was apparently forgiven, although still largely overlooked on the galactic stage.

The single most important encounted Conford had at Anaxes was with a young student by the name of Gidius Zyle. Though Conford considered Zyle to be largely typical of the lazy aristocracy of the Core Worlds, he also recognized the brilliance and potential of his student. Conford's attempts to nudge Zyle into true military service were rebuffed by the young man, but Zyle did remember his teacher years later when he made his bid for leadership of the Imperial Remnant.

Grand Admiral of the Empire (4 ABY-)
Following the Empire's defeat at Endor, the death of the Emperor, and the aftermath of both, Conford saw his second chance at greatness after a quarter century spent on the sidelines. He reasserted his position as admiral and joined the first faction of the splintered Imperial forces to recognize his rank.

By 6 ABY, Conford was reunited with Gidius Zyle, who had not forgotten his former teacher. Desperately in need of someone he could trust to take tactical command of the forces he had accumulated, Warlord Zyle promoted Conford to Grand Admiral and placed him in command of his Super Star Destroyer.

Personality and Traits
Aeon Conford was one of the most talented military officers ever recorded in the history of the galaxy. While his promotion to Grand Admiral was largely political, so was the longtime stall in his climb through the ranks preceding it. He was unquestionably brilliant, able to see both the big picture and also micromanage every aspect of a battle.

Conford's greatest weakness through his career was his personal ambition, which caused him to make a great deal of enemies he could not afford, including Emperor Palpatine himself. However, he was able to learn from this and managed to put his ego in check when allowed a second chance. After Gidius Zyle inducted him as Grand Admiral, Conford established himself as a shrewd but loyal officer in service to his new Emperor.

Throughout his life, Conford continually dedicated himself to the study and practice of the art of war, seeing diplomacy and peace as dull and unimportant. He was openly disdainful of the Jedi, with whom his beliefs ran in direct conflict, as well as any other individuals who held pacifist beliefs. He especially enjoyed working with clones, and later stormtroopers, due to their mechanical obedience and willingness to play the pawns in his war games.

Behind the Scenes
Admiral Conford first appeared as an action figure just a few short years following the release of Return of the Jedi. Originally a generic Imperial officer, he was casually referenced by another character during dialogue and the name stuck. From that point on, as one of the few named villains to appear alive "in action figure form" after the original trilogy, Conford's role began to expand. He remained one of several characters vying for leadership of the Imperial Remnant up until the end of that storyline. Ironically, the figure named "Admiral Conford" was a simple Death Star Trooper.

After nearly two decades of inactivity, Conford was brought back in an Imperial-focused campaign using Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Roleplaying Game. When Gidius Zyle declared himself Warlord and used the Followers option to name his own naval commander, Conford was updated and recreated to suit the campaign. This marked the first time his first name, Aeon, was mentioned, and Conford's pre-Endor background was also fleshed out. His age was increased, ironically aging him almost exactly in real-time since his creation, and he was named Grand Admiral and redesigned to match his new role, complete with white hair and the trademark white uniform of his rank.