Merno Sardonis was the most famous of the reptilian Veroci. He also was the 13th man given the rank of Grand Admiral. Even more importantly was the fact that he was the second and last alien given the rank.
Birth and Childhood[]
Born in 70 BBY, he was part of Clan Barkhis, the ruling body of the Veroci. At the age of ten, his older brother died, and he rose to become the Veroci Prince, the most powerful person besides the Veroci King. He had many friends, as it was his duty to befriend the weak and helpless.
His race did not have a period of adolescence, but, at the age of thirty, he became betrothed to Zarven Gildor, Clan Belloll. But, according to their laws, they could not wed for twenty years after their initial meeting.
Clone Wars[]
The Clone Wars erupted in 23 BBY, and the homeworld of the Veroci, Verocinighi, became a very high priority for the CIS. The CIS found the uranium mines of Verocinighi to be very valuable. Count Duckoo gain permission from the Veroci King to mine, but in no way would the Veroci form an alliance with an illegitimate government.
Two years later, the Republic came across records of the mining, and Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi was sent to stop all activities there. The CIS refused to give up the rare mines, and the rain of fire destroyed the planet to the point that barely a thousand Veroci survived the battle, which was a Republic blunder.
The Galactic Empire[]
Sardonis knew that the Veroci would not last if they did not petition the government for aid. But he ended up trying to persuade Palpatine to help. Palpatine allowed 300 of the Veroci to come to Coruscant, but these were killed upon landing. Palpatine said simply, "Aliens require no help."
Sardonis decided to try something very different. He somehow joined the Imperial military, and quickly advanced to the rank of Captain, and was able to secretly transplant the remainder of his people to the Unknown Regions, where they would be safe.
Sardonis came into his own during the Battle of Quarter, when he defeated two combined Rebel fleets with a single Star Destroyer. This was such a massive victory, that Palpatine had no choice but to award an Admiralship to Sardonis. Later, after the glorious victory at the Battle of Mul, Sardonis advanced to the rank of Grand Admiral.
Sardonis' Empire[]
With Palpatine's death, the Empire went through a succession of leaders. Incredibly, the most successful was Thrawn, an alien. Seeing such a victory for his type, Sardonis decided to wait for a few years to come unto his own.
After the destruction of the resurrected Emperor, Sardonis leaped at the chance, and after the stunning victory of the Barbis Skirmish, he declared a complete takeover of the Galactic Empire. Most people, seeing another alien, hoped he would be as good as Thrawn, and allowed him to take charge.
Sardonis instigated the the Betrayed which he considered the ultimate weapon, and Agent Mobile, and hoped to tumble the Republic from the inside. He failed at both accounts; the Betrayed failed to accomplish it's primary objective, to kill Luke Skywalker and knock out the Jedi, and Agent Mobile was killed before he could topple the Republic.
Death of Sardonis[]
The campaign escalated at the Fourth Battle of Coruscant, when Sardonis tried to take Coruscant. At first things went smooth. But, he barely failed.
Then, the Republic Fleet attacked him at Fondor. He could have won the battle, had it not been for the last moment arrival of the Super Star Destroyer Executor, which destroyed the Rebel's Death. Sardonis tried to escape, but Luke Skywalker captured him.
Andos Picckel, his second in command, tried to breakout the Grand Admiral. But, he failed when a Republic trooper shot Sardonis in the back. Sardonis' last words were: "The Empire must be saved."
Behind the Scenes[]
Merno Sardonis was the main villain of the Grand Admiral Crises Trilogy. It is interesting to note that he is one of the few aliens that is given such a prestige ranking in the Star Wars universe.