Comrades. Brothers in arms. What the Sith have been ordering us to do throughout the Deep Core is considered a crime against humanity. I refuse to carry out these crimes for the scum any longer. I have realized, that Darth Krayt, the Sith usurper, really has no right, or experience, to rule this galaxy. Roan Fel is the only one worthy of holding the title of Galactic Emperor, as the Sith have shown us. I am joining Fel's forces. I ask you, my brothers, to do the same.
—Grand Admiral Zaarin giving a speech to his men during his defection to Fel
Sarek Zaarin, nicknamed "Defender of the Deep Core", was a Human male who served in the Imperial Navy as a Grand Admiral during the times of the Fel Empire, later serving Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire before defecting to the Empire-in-exile. Zaarin was a descendent of Demetrius Zaarin, a Grand Admiral who served the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War before betraying Emperor Palpatine. Zaarin proved to be a brilliant tactician, and first came to prominence during the Imperial-Sith War. In it, he led the Imperial forces during the final push on Coruscant, routing the Galactic Alliance Navy. Zaarin was then promoted to Grand Admiral by the Sith and naval staff, shortly after Emperor Roan Fel was overthrown in the One Sith coup d'état. He was given command of the Advanced Star Destroyer Phalanx.
For the first years of the Second Imperial Civil War, Zaarin remained loyal to Darth Krayt, believing that he was loyal to the throne, not a dynasty. However, as he witnessed his Sith commanders commit various atrocities, and ordering him to do so as well, Zaarin's beliefs began to change. As the Empire-in-exile gained prominence, Zaarin led the entire Deep Core Reserve Fleet on defection to Fel, whom he referred to as the "true Emperor" in a speech to his men. The grand admiral had respect of his crews, and thus, the majority defected with him. It was a demoralizing blow to Darth Krayt's regime. He was made the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Navy by Fel. Zaarin took over the Deep Core in the name of Fel, making his headquarters the planet of Byss. The Imperial Navy loyal to Krayt launched several attempted offensives into the territory, but were pushed back by Zaarin's forces. He was finally overrun in 137 ABY, though before retreating, he left Imperial Army commandos on the most important planets to train pro-Fel partisan movements.
In 138 ABY, Zaarin was not able to take part in the liberation of Coruscant, as he was leading an offensive in the Inner Rim Territories. He agreed to serve the new regime proclaimed by Fel's daughter, Marasiah Fel, the Galactic Federation Triumvirate. Zaarin continued serving the Triumvirate as the chief of staff of the Triumvirate Navy, as Admiral Gar Stazi of the Galactic Alliance Core Fleet had instead took up a political position as a Triumvir, representing the former Galactic Alliance. He continued serving until 165 ABY, when he retired due to age, and was replaced by Gunn Yage, another Second Imperial Civil War veteran and ace TIE pilot.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Not much information was known about his early life. Zaarin was born in 95 ABY on the Imperial capitol world of Bastion. A fortress world, Bastion had been the capitol of the Imperial Remnant since the Galactic Civil War ended in 19 ABY. The Remnant had been reformed into the Fel Empire under Jagged Fel, the first Emperor since the death of Palpatine. Zaarin was born during the late rule of Fel II, Jagged's son. He was raised in an Imperial military school, as his unidentified parents did not want to keep him, for unknown reasons. There, young Zaarin learned military history, tactics, and combat, though his instructors noticed that he excelled especially in tactics. Naval tactics were Zaarin's favorite, and so he decided to join the Imperial Navy. After graduating the school upon turning eighteen, Zaarin was accepted into the Fel navy as a senior lieutenant, in 113 ABY.
Rising through the ranks[]
Captain Zaarin's flotilla is among the most combat ready and competent formations in the fleet. Would recommend him for a higher promotion.
—Unidentified admiral, c. 121 ABY
As a senior lieutenant, Zaarin began service about a corvette in the Outer Rim Territories. His early duties mainly involved protecting local shipping from pirates, something which they were able to do successfully. For showing initiative in one battle when his captain was killed, in which he took command of the ship and successfully repelled the pirate attack by taking advantage of a nearby black hole, he was promoted to lieutenant captain. Zaarin was given command of the corvette, and personally trained the crew by taking them on a series of missions against threats such as pirates. He did this to have a crew he knew he could rely on, and handpicked crewmen from the rest of the Navy to replace those that were lost, though usually the casualties were low. The crew of the corvette became very competent, and they proved to be successful in quelling many pirate groups throughout their assigned sector.
Zaarin and his crew's efforts did not go unnoticed by the Admiralty. In 120 ABY, he was promoted to captain and given full command of a small flotilla of support vessels and corvettes. Zaarin drilled them as well, and soon the flotilla cleared a total of two sectors from pirates. They were in the process of eradicating pirates and arresting smugglers in their third sector when an admiral from the naval staff visited the flotilla for an inspection. During the inspection, the admiral also presented a test; mock pirate ships attacked them at a random time during his visit, and the flotilla reacted accordingly. They destroyed the mock attackers without sustaining any damage, in several minutes. The admiral determined that Zaarin's flotilla was among the most combat ready units in the Navy, and had the captain placed on a list of candidates for further promotions to higher command positions.
War against the Alliance[]
We have subjugated the remaining Alliance forces near Botajef.
—Zaarin reporting sometime during the war
Up until 127 ABY, Zaarin had continued serving as a captain of a small flotilla, consisting of just two corvettes and about seven support ships (transports, tankers, and communications ships). When war broke out that year with the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, Zaarin's flotilla was upgraded with a cruiser and four more corvettes. The small flotilla was not far from the front lines, preforming mop-ups of surviving Alliance forces behind the main fleet. Around that time, Zaarin began to focus on his tactics, and had used the weakened Alliance fleets he faced as sort of tests. His tactics worked fairly well, and his flotilla gained more successes. This once again gained the attention of the Admiralty, which still had him on their watchlist as a potential higher officer. After Zaarin defeated a greater force of Alliance ships near Angeria, the staff promoted him to rear admiral and gave him the command of a larger force, actually on the front lines. Zaarin actually got to command a Star Destroyer, something which made him proud.
During the final year of the war, Rear Admiral Zaarin led the force that pushed into the Core Worlds. Since much of the Galactic Alliance Navy was in ruins by that point, it was not much of an accomplishment, as they met little resistance. Nonetheless, Zaarin grew fame in the Empire's upper echelons as the first Imperial commander to arrive at Coruscant as a conqueror. He personally disliked that turn of events, instead having preferred to take Grand Admiral Morlish Veed's role, who was the one who gave the Alliance a devastating blow at Caamas, routing their fleet. Zaarin was promoted to admiral for his efforts, and met with Roan Fel, the Emperor, on Coruscant, where they discussed the Empire's next actions. However, days later, the One Sith preformed a coup against Emperor Fel. Darth Krayt announced himself as the new Emperor.
Service under Krayt[]
Darth Krayt: “Welcome to the New Order, Admiral. The naval staff decided to make you the head of the Deep Core fleet we have in reserve.”
— Darth Krayt and Grand Admiral Zaarin
Admiral Zaarin: “Very well, my lord. I live to serve.”
At the start of Krayt's Sith regime, many officers defected to Fel on Bastion. The resulting power vacuum caused many open spaces that needed to be filled in the Imperial Military, otherwise demoralizing it. Zaarin was promoted by naval command to Grand Admiral, with the approval of Krayt, who viewed Zaarin to be a good tactician. He was given command of the Phalanx, an Advanced Star Destroyer, one of the first. Zaarin pledged allegiance to the new self-proclaimed Emperor, who then assigned him to lead the Deep Core Reserve Fleet, a particularly large fleet that was to be held in reserve and provide reinforcements if the Imperial Navy's other fleets had sustained heavy losses. Zaarin knew that the post would offer him no serious tactical challenge, as there were a few minor planetary uprisings going on in the Deep Core. However, he liked having the large fleet under his command, and accepted it. He also knew he did not have much of a choice.
Throughout his time in the Deep Core, Zaarin successfully subjugated various star systems whose populations rebelled against the new Imperial/Sith rule. However, he did so with minimal force, making the quelling of the revolts as bloodless as possible. He felt that the use of force was unwarranted against Imperial civilians, even if they were acting rebellious. Zaarin also thought the Empire had to maintain face and make an example to other systems, that it had tolerance and that minor protests were allowed. However, the Sith had other ideas and did not agree with Zaarin's opinion. A delegation of One Sith officers was sent, led by Darth Azard. The Sith took direct command of the Imperial Army force he had in his disposal, putting the uprisings down with brutality and inhumane massacres. Even civilians who were peacefully protesting were rounded up and killed. These acts deeply disturbed Zaarin, who, though was able of taking a firm stance when needed, generally thought at least some morality needed to be maintained by the state to ensure that it was a legitimate government, not a tyranny.
The Sith, at one point on Prakith, ordered Zaarin to commence an orbital bombardment of a city which saw almost half the population come to the Imperial governor's palace and protest. However, as they were not attacking anyone or destroying property, Zaarin thought that it was unnecessary, and did not comply with the order, instead having TIE fighters fly above and fire a few warning shots nearby. The protest dispersed, but the Sith were still angry for him not following orders. The rest of naval command stood up for Zaarin, due to his tactical abilities which the navy needed. He was given a "slap on the wrist" by the One Sith, though he informed his naval superiors that he had jurisdiction over the Deep Core, and it was his decision of how to quell any protests or uprisings. The staff agreed, though he was told by several other senior admirals to next time follow the orders of the Sith, in order to not be executed. Zaarin reluctantly agreed.
Disillusioned[]
Even as the naval command was talking to the Sith about his actions, Zaarin began making contacts within the opposition to Krayt. He made contact with Admiral Gar Stazi, former commander of the Galactic Alliance Core Fleet and now the leader of the Galactic Alliance Remnant. Zaarin said he might start aiding Stazi, along with the Empire-in-exile faction of Roan Fel, covertly, by dropping off supplies in lightly guarded or completely unguarded facilities for them to confiscate, and providing them information on enemy troop movements. Stazi thanked him, and the two admirals kept in contact. The Deep Core Reserve Fleet's personnel also showed signs of disillusionment with the Krayt regime, such as General Kaltor Tann, the commander of the Reserve Fleet's ground forces, and Senior Captain Markos Taskeen, the captain of the Phalanx and Zaarin's close adviser. Zaarin took advantage of this, and informed the two leaders of his recent actions; communications with Stazi and the Fel resistance. They both agreed that what he did was right, and Taskeen even brought up the idea of completely defecting to Fel.
Zaarin liked Taskeen's idea, but was unable to act it out immediately, as he needed to plan it out, and because he suspected that Imperial Intelligence was still monitoring him. Zaarin spread out his forces after determining which would be more likely to remain loyal, placing the ones he trusted the least close to his position. His core fleet consisted of fourteen Advanced Star Destroyers, with their loyal crews. The outer forces, positioned near the only entry points into the Deep Core, were some of his more seasoned men, and their total fleet composed of ten Advanced Star Destroyers and more than twenty Pellaeon-class Star Destroyers, along with countless support ships. The ground troops of the Imperial Army assigned to him were talked to by General Tann, and he determined the same thing for them; which were the most loyal. Using this information, Zaarin assigned them to different planets, and Admiral Stazi prepared raids on Imperial storehouses that would be weakened without the Deep Core Fleet's defense.
Defecting to Fel[]
In 134 ABY, Zaarin felt that the time came. Giving a speech to the entire fleet, he announced that the Deep Core Reserve Fleet was now the Deep Core Fleet of the Empire-in-exile's Imperial Navy. Zaarin himself, who had contacted Roan Fel earlier about the defection plans, was given the position of commander-in-chief of the Imperial Navy of Fel. To his surprise, the vast majority of the men stayed loyal, with only minor uprisings from Krayt loyalists, that were put down without his intervention. His crews had a lot of respect for him, and his tactical skills. Zaarin immediately began a campaign against the pro-Krayt forces that were sent in response. The One Sith were outraged, and Darth Krayt called Zaarin a criminal and a traitor. The Grand Admiral's defection marked a major blow to Sith-Imperial morale, and marked one of the first of many defections to Fel's side. Krayt wanted to kill Zaarin and destroy his forces quickly, to make sure other Fel sympathizers did not get any ideas.
Krayt also used propaganda to get his point across, saying that Zaarin betrayed his "true Emperor" like his grandfather, Demetrius Zaarin, did almost 131 years ago. Grand Admiral Morlish Veed, who viewed Zaarin as a rival, was personally glad, and volunteered to lead the attack on his forces in the Deep Core. However, the Sith attack took a long time to plan out, as Zaarin held most of the information regarding the hyperspace routes in the region, and even mapped several secret routes that he did not report to the Empire, intending to use them later to either escape or carry out surprise attacks. By the time Veed's force did attack, Zaarin's forces in the outskirts of the Deep Core were strong enough to repulse the Sith attack, prompting more propaganda to be made by Fel's government, encouraging others to defect. Zaarin's defection had shaken the morale of the whole Imperial military loyal to Krayt, as he was one of it's most well known commanders. The Fel faction used this to their advantage.
Fighting against Sith[]
Zaarin's fleet remained loyal to him, and thus he was able to carry out operations against the Sith forces. He initially thought that the fleet would use a secret hyperspace route to get to the Outer Rim, but Roan Fel ordered him to remain in the Deep Core. Fel ordered Zaarin to take control of the Deep Core for the Empire-in-exile, and he did so. Securing the key planets he deemed necessary to hold the Deep Core over the years, Zaarin and his fleet prepared for an anticipated Sith offensive. Veed had led his second fleet to another attack, in an attempt to penetrate Zaarin's defenses. However, Veed's force was again defeated, largely because at least ten Advanced Star Destroyers were present for the attack. After Zaarin finished inspecting a fortress world and finalized his planning, he arrived at the front aboard the Phalanx, which received heavy modifications, including a large superlaser scavenged from one of Palpatine's old warehouses.
From the Phalanx, Zaarin led an attack on a planet near the border of the Deep Core and Core Worlds. His fleet ambushed an awaiting Imperial fleet, destroying much of it's defenses. The commander of the fleet surrendered his vessel, joining Zaarin's flotilla. Many other vessels followed in the defection, though some continued to fight for the Sith. The fleet was also defending a minor shipyard over the planet, which Zaarin destroyed. He couldn't use it, but did not want it to fall back into Sith hands. The combined fleet retreated from the system, before enemy reinforcements could arrive. News of the attack soon reached Krayt, and he ordered a task force to be sent there, though did not let Veed lead it, as he already failed the Sith Lord once. Instead, he appointed Grand Moff and Grand Admiral Rulf Yage, who was a hardline supporter of the Sith regime at the time. His fleet tracked Zaarin's attack force back into the Deep Core, but lost him after entering a Deep Core system. Zaarin purposely led him through a rough hyperspace lane charted days earlier, and escaped using a different one, also mapped days earlier. The tactic got Yage's fleet lost, and he did not know how to leave the system, as the hyperlane he used to get there quickly was destroyed as a star in a different system moved into the way.
The victories were heavily propagandized by Fel's government, though Yage's forces were soon helped out by another fleet, arriving under Darth Azard. The two plugged up the hyperspace lane that Zaarin had been using to get into the Core Worlds, but positioning a blockade there. However, Zaarin did not care too much about that, as it was his primary goal to hold the Deep Core as part of the Empire-in-exile. The blockade did not effect his little part of the galaxy, which could function and communicate with the Fel government on Bastion easily nonetheless. He spent a few weeks touring stronghold worlds, overseeing the construction of defenses, as well as new ships being built in a shipyard over Byss, his Deep Core regional capitol. Byss was his main fortress world, which he had heavily fortified. In the meantime, Zaarin also had bands of local partisan fighters trained by the Imperial Army troops. He knew that eventually the Deep Core would be overrun, but when he retreated using a secret hyperspace lane his scouts have mapped, the partisans would continue to fight against the Sith occupiers. The number of volunteers was high, and many simply joined his fleet as servicemen.
Personality and traits[]
Hopefully I cleared my grandfather's name.
—Zaarin's last words
Talents and abilities[]
Behind the scenes[]
The author wanted to make a character who was living in the Legacy era, and being a fan of the Empire, made him an Imperial, a Grand Admiral. He had a bit of trouble trying to fit him into canon, but cleared it up. The author used this article as a test of his writing skills, intending to later write an article to submit as a good or featured article.