The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Destra Starkellos Zel

"A captain is only as good as his crew and his ship. Crew, captain, ship—all must work together in triune harmony. A captain who can rely on his crew and his ship can stare into hell and smile."

- Destra Starkellos Zel

Destra Starkellos Zel was a Zelosian male born twenty-five years before the destructive fire of the Clone Wars. At first, he was a carefree young man, with little concern for the affairs of the greater galaxy. However, when war did break out, Zel was at first dismissive of the conflict, feeling that it had little bearing on Zelos. When the Republic attempted to recruit Zelosians to their service, Destra Starkellos Zel was outspoken in his opposition.

His mind was changed when a Republic officer named Jan Dodonna asked him why he was outspoken against the Republic's war effort. The young Zelosian replied that he had no desire to participate in the slaughter of other beings. Dodonna replied that he was not merely killing&mdash;he was defending others. He asked Zel to consider coming aboard one of his ships for two weeks and seeing what they did, to give a fair assessment of the situation. Zel agreed reluctantly, and after those two weeks, developed a new appreciation for the Republic military. He joined his sector's defense force and served out the war on a small patrol cruiser, seeing no action but learning many of the lessons needed for running a deep space vessel.

Zel's prior stance against the war and some of the criticisms he had posted prior to his service resurfaced as the Republic was supplanted by the Empire. Zelosians used his speeches as a rallying cry against strict Imperial edicts, leading to the subjugation of the planet. Zel was quietly forced out of the service and he began to suspect he was being watched. He began living a paranoid existence, and it was with great relief in 10 BBY when he was approached by agents of a distant world called Yanibar offering him refuge. He left his homeworld behind, hoping that his disappearance would lead to the easing of Imperial restrictions, and arrived on Yanibar.

As the only Zelosian there, it was initially difficult for him to adapt to life on the new world. When he learned that the Yanibar Guard was looking for experienced officers for its fledgling fleet, he jumped at the opportunity to join, feeling that it would give him that camaraderie he had briefly enjoyed during the Clone Wars.

He finished his training in 8 BBY and was commissioned as an ensign, posted to the flagship of the fleet, the Carrack-class cruiser Plooriod Bodkin. Zel put his experience to good use and learned as much as he could from the other veteran officers on the ship, many of whom had also served in the Clone Wars.

In 4 BBY, Zel was promoted to lieutenant and transferred to the second of the new Niman-class cruiser-carriers, Adi Gallia. A year later, the ship was called upon to strike an Imperial sensor station on Babubib. The ship approached the station using the shadow of a moon while debarking troops and fighters to strike from the ground. Destra Starkellos Zel distinguished himself by providing the tactical coordination that allowed the shuttles and fighters to reach the commandos and also plotted the course for the Adi Gallia that maximized the moon’s gravitational effect to get them to Babubib as quickly as possible. The attack succeeded in capturing the sensor equipment, and a follow-on strike obliterated the installation. Zel was decorated for his contribution to the attack, earning a quick promotion in late 3 BBY to commander and the role as first officer of a new Niman-class cruiser-carrier, the Aayla Secura.

Zel did his best to fill his new role, learning the ship's systems and capabilities as best as he could. As the galaxy was increasingly torn apart by civil war as rebels rose up against the Empire, the Yanibar Guard was content to patrol its sector of space, preferring only to deal with small bands of pirates or other brigands rather than fight in the larger conflict.

Six years later, the first captain of the Aayla Secura accepted a transfer to command the Plooriod Bodkin and recommended Zel for the captain's chair. He accepted, earning his first command after only eleven years in service. His first two years in the captain's chair were fairly uneventful, with routine patrols and convoy escort missions in Yanibar's sector. It allowed him to acquire a feel for command and learn his crew.

In 4 ABY, the Aayla Secura, along with much of the rest of the Yanibar Guard Fleet was called upon to defend Yanibar from an attack by the Zann Consortium. The Zannists brought a sizable battle fleet in for the assault, but the Yanibar Guard was able to launch a surprise attack on them using Force camouflage provided by their most powerful Force-users. They sliced through the hostile fleet, causing significant damage, but decided to withdraw as the Zannists regrouped. As they fell back, the Aayla Secura was at the rear of the formation and took heavy damage to its engines. As they were being pursued by the Zannist flagship, Captain Zel undertook a risky maneuver on his own initiative, defying orders.

He ordered the evacuation of the starboard swing and full reverse engines, side-swiping the Zannist flagshp in a crippling blow that also left the Aayla Secura drifting. The maneuver inflicted heavy casualties on both ships and the surviving crew on the Aayla Secura abandoned ship. To his surprise, Destra Starkellos Zel was one of them, as was Junior Crewmember Asdux Evins, who nearly been killed in the collision, but would eventually become his chief engineer. Their escape pods were recovered and the Battle of Yanibar was eventually won by the Yanibar Guard.

After the battle, the Aayla Secura was salvaged and recovered. Destra Starkellos Zel was summoned to a court-martial hearing for his insubordination and reckless actions, but after thorough review, was exonerated and hailed as a hero. When the Secura was re-launched in 6 ABY, he regained his command.

In 7 ABY, the Aayla Secura was sent to provide an escort for a group of civilian geologists helping establish mining operations on a world called Ta'antos, which Yanibar hoped would yield raw materials for their reconstruction efforts and benefit the hardscrabble colony. A small complement of marines was debarked to guard the scientists, some of whom were local civilians and others were from Yanibar. They had been there three weeks without incident, but old tensions that had long been simmering on Ta'antos soon broke out.

The compound that the Yanibar expedition had established in the city as well as the survey team out in the foothills had come under attack as an old civil war flared up again. Captain Zel ordered a relief force of marines sent under the marine battalion's executive officer, Major Aertijn Tamble. However, Tamble, who was involved with one of the local geologists, defied orders and sent much of his strength to assist the survey team, despite the compound being under greater assault. The result was two Yanibar Guard deaths in the city, along with many more native casualties, while the survey team got away unscathed and the local geologists were given asylum on Yanibar. For his insubordination and selfish actions, Tamble earned himself a court-martial as well as the disgust of Captain Zel, who found the man's placing his own interests above his duty repulsive. Zel had him confined to the brig for the remainder of the mission and took great pleasure in telling him to get off his ship when they returned to Yanibar. Tamble was subsequently drummed out of the military.

Two years later, while the Aayla Secura was on a deep space surveying mission, they were struck by the Cosnollian Comet as they came out of hyperspace. The impact caused mass casualties, killing nearly a tenth of the crew on impact, including the chief medical officer, Commander Bastana. His replacement, Lieutenant Tenelly, began treating casualties as the ship struggled to maintain basic functions without main power. They were crippled and drifting, with no way of communicating and the hangar bay crushed. As such, Captain Zel resorted to drastic measures. He ordered Tenelly to prioritize treating engineers and technicians who might be able to save ship, over her objections at his disregarding of normal triage procedures. She reacted angrily and the two nearly came to blows.

Nevertheless, Zel won out, and the ship managed to struggle through the next two days, though still without main power. Captain Zel worked tirelessly to try and restore the ship's engines, but was unable to do so, working directly alongside Chief Engineer Evins. Again, his ruthlessly pragmatic methods earned him the ire of Doctor Tenelly, and he eventually realized that their measures were insufficient. He used their short-range transceiver to send an open distress signal, which was picked up by a smuggling ship belonging to the Talon Karrde organization. Zel negotiated for use of the ship's transceiver and their silence to contact a Yanibar Guard front organization. Relief arrived within three days, but he was court-martialed for his skirting of regulations regarding Yanibar's secrecy.

Zel again escaped with his career, though he lost many friends over his handling of the situation, as they felt he had compromised Yanibar's secrecy. However, one unexpected defender was Doctor Tenelly, whom Zel apologized to and commended her for her conduct during the crisis. Tenelly agreed to stay on as new chief medical officer and served on the Aayla Secura for many years as she and the captain came to better understanding of each other and their methods.