The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Jack Nebulax

Jack Nebulax was born in 56 BBY on Zhar, the moon of Gall, to Senator Zaxdis Nebulax and his wife, Sonitha Baral-Nebulax. His father wanted his son to enter into the world of politics, but Jack, realizing that an ancient ancestor had been an admiral in the Republic Navy centuries earlier, wanted to enter into a career in the Judicial Forces, particularly the navy. In 41 BBY, on his 15th birthday, he revealed his intentions to his parents, but they wouldn’t hear of it. They wanted to see their son become a politician, possible even Supreme Chancellor one day.

A year later, a pirate fleet ambushed the family while on a trip to Coruscant in their unarmed shuttle. Acting on limited simulator experience he’d been able to scrounge out of sympathetic pilots for his parents, Jack took the controls, successfully maneuvered away from the pirates, and sent the shuttle into hyperspace. Realizing their son’s potential, Zaxdis and Sonitha agreed to enroll their son into the Academy on Carida on his sixteenth birthday. Recalling the excitement he had experienced at the controls of the shuttle, Jack decided to become a starfighter pilot. But as the weeks of training turned into months, he found himself less and less interested in it. An instructor suggested the capital ship command course, and Jack never regretted the change. Upon graduation, Second Lieutenant Nebulax was assigned to the Dreadnaught cruiser Prominence. Nebulax saw very little action in the first two years, dealing with minor pirate groups that posed no real threat. It was around this time that Jack’s father was assassinated during a Senate meeting when his repulsorpod malfunctioned and sent him plummeting to his death at the bottom of the rotunda. Jack had the misfortune of watching the death of his father live on the HoloNet, and the memory haunted him for the rest of his life.

In 32 BBY, the Prominence was assigned alongside other vessels to ensure that the Trade Federation complied in disbanding its forces after the Naboo fiasco. Two years later, the identity of Senator Nebulax’s father’s assassin was uncovered. His replacement in the Senate, Za’deius Chranell, had ordered the assassination. Senator Chranell was arrested and, eventually, executed by a bounty hunter hired by a vengeful Nebulax. After the execution, Nebulax met with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, and the two became friends. Palpatine would later use Nebulax as his eyes in the Navy during the Clone Wars. In 27 BBY, Nebulax was made captain of the Prominence. He chose a young officer named Jason Xzine as his second in command. Xzine would serve alongside Nebulax for the majority of their careers.

When the Clone Wars began in 22 BBY, Nebulax and his crew were transferred to the Acclamator-class assault ship Quasar Fire, and they participated in the Battle of Geonosis. Nebulax’s next major battle was the Battle of Atraken, a disaster that had no real victor, though the Republic claimed victory. Captain Nebulax watched in horror as the Separatists’ biochemical agents swept across the planet, killing thousands of residents. To make matters worse for him, he had been placed under the command of Jedi General Darius Chranell – the son of the man who killed Senator Nebulax. For a long time after Atraken, the Quasar Fire was assigned to patrol the various hyperlanes, constantly on the lookout for Separatist activity. When they came up with nothing after dozens of patrols, the ship’s command crew was reassigned to the new Venator-class Star Destroyer Quasar Flame of the Republic Seventh Fleet and sent to Humbarine to provide cover for the escaping remnants of the Humbarine defense fleet, which had just lost Humbarine to the guns of a Separatist fleet under the command of General Grievous. Quasar Flame also saw action at Agamar, but the Republic was forced to withdraw from the world. Next came Neimoidia, where Nebulax’s forces devastated the Separatist forces and helped successfully take the world, earning Nebulax the label of “Hero of Neimoidia” for his accomplishments. He later commanded a Carrack-class cruiser in the Second Battle of Coruscant.

The Republic Seventh Fleet was stationed over Nubia when Order 66 came in, but some of Nebulax’s forces refused to execute General Chranell, resulting in his escape. When Nebulax’s forces caught up with Chranell, a vicious civil war erupted within the Seventh Fleet over mixed allegiances, but Chranell’s forces were decimated. At last, Nebulax could avenge his father and he personally helped execute Chranell.

When Nebulax returned to Coruscant victorious, things had changed. The Emperor had taken full control of the government, but Nebulax had few objections, especially as he remained in the confidence of the Emperor. Vague rumors abounded that Nebulax might have been somewhat Force-sensitive, but at any rate, he remained in the Imperial Navy. If he was Force-sensitive, then perhaps he operated in a similar role to Grand Admiral Nial Declann, whom archaeologists have revealed was Force-sensitive but not part of Palpatine’s group of Emperor’s Hands or Inquisitors.

In 16 BBY, Nebulax was reassigned for a short time to the Victory-class Star Destroyer Corrupter while the Quasar Flame was being refitted, which also saw the transfer of Xzine to temporary duties at a training academy. During his captaincy of the Corrupter, Nebulax came into conflict with Ajaur, a foul-tempered Inquisitor who was stationed on the Corrupter and theoretically in charge of her mission. Furthermore, Nebulax had to contend with Ait Convarion, a talented and ambitious first officer who took numerous opportunities to challenge Nebulax’s prowess and authority, but always subtly, in order to keep himself from trouble. Nebulax was far from happy about this arrangement, particularly as the Corrupter’s mission dragged on for months.

While the ship was technically assigned to hunting down renegade Jedi, Nebulax found his mission was more often conducting anti-smuggler and anti-piracy patrols while fending off Ajaur. On one such patrol, Nebulax nearly destroyed the freighter Hawk-bat, which it had tried to intercept, but the ship escaped by making a blind jump into hyperspace. In the first eight months of the cruise, only one Jedi settlement was discovered on Susefvi, which Ajaur and Nebulax’s forces wiped out. He also came into conflict with a pirate named Sulan’bask and Nebulax destroyed Sulan’bask’s base and flagship, but the pirate leader himself managed to escape with a small flotilla of ships.

The next major engagement for Nebulax was when he was ordered to take the Corrupter to Darlyn Boda by Ajaur, who had once again heard reports of Jedi activity on the planet. After Ajaur located the Jedi compound, Nebulax advocated use of orbital bombardment, but Ajaur overruled him and insisted on a full-scale ground assault. The resulting engagement was bloody, with the Jedi inflicting heavy casualties on his troops. Furthermore, a ship full of Jedi escaped the planet despite all of Nebulax’s efforts.

However, there was little time to harp on these failures, as the Corrupter received a priority distress signal from the Hoth system from an Imperial transport, the Griffin, which was under pirate attack. Nebulax brought Corrupter to the nearby Hoth system at flank speed and managed to destroy the pirates, who turned out to be led by none other than his old enemy Sulan’bask. However, the vengeful pirate managed to inflict severe damage on the Corrupter and the Griffin was captured by the renegade Jedi, who escaped the system with their prize. The only thing Nebulax saw positive out of the entire engagement was that Ajaur left his ship to pursue the Jedi and he was transferred back to a command more of his liking.

Further records regarding Jack Nebulax are still being uncovered.

Appearances

 * Force Exile III: Liberator