Do not believe for a moment, Captain, that Coruscant will be our final battle. There are things in this galaxy that lurk beyond the shadows that could destroy us in the blink of an eye.
—Warlord Val Trallus to Captain Arntel before the Battle of Coruscant, 9 ABY
Val Trallus (45 BBY – ) was a Human male from the planet Commenor who served as a general, admiral, politician, diplomat, Grand Moff, and Warlord of the Empire throughout his career. He played a pivotal role in galactic politics after the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, serving first as one of Warlord Balmus Cail's principal opponents before switching sides and serving as one of his most trusted and skilled lieutenants during the last years of the Imperial Civil War.
Trallus was born to a middle-class family on Commenor in the city of Munto. Trallus was strongly instilled with the values of public service and, to a larger extent, the Republic. He was sent to the Republic Navy War College on Anaxes at the age of 19 in 26 BBY, graduating close to the top of his class. He entered service in the Republic Navy in 23 BBY but, due to the demilitarization the Republic experienced almost 1,000 years prior, only served minor roles as a logistics and organizational officer on various planets and stations. Following the outbreak of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, he was promoted to the rank of Senior Commander and played a critical role at several battles in the Mid and Outer Rims. When his commanding officer went rogue in 20 BBY (though his subordinates were unaware of the fact until later), Trallus took part in the bombardment of Togoria, killing tens of millions on the planet's surface.
Trallus transitioned smoothly into the newly-established Imperial Navy at the end of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY. He served with distinction in helping to put down several rebellions across the galaxy, working several times with Captain (later Admiral) Balmus Cail in the campaigns. He was appointed to the command of the Kessel Oversector in 6 BBY, thereby making him the youngest of the Grand Moffs. He was widely regarded as a tactical and even strategic genius by many colleagues, and was commended by both Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader on several occasions, oftentimes publicly. To that end, he was made Warlord of the Empire in 2 ABY, shortly before Grand Moff Cail. Following Palpatine's death at Endor, he assumed direct independent control of his Oversector, instituting martial law and claiming the territory of weak nearby states. As the Imperial Civil War flared up, he sided with the Imperial Ruling Council, thus establishing himself as one of the important parties of the Grand Imperial Alliance (though he would later strike out on his own and declare total independence). He contributed a substantial amount of time and resources to the planning of the Loronar Campaign – regarded as its chief architect and proponent – though this ended in defeat for him and the Alliance, which soon afterward collapsed. Trallus' Empire persisted for several years afterward until he brokered a ceasefire with Cail and joined him in his quest to conquer the galaxy.