I serve the Emperor, as always.
—Zelen Yorr
Zelen Yorr was a Human male ace TIE pilot in the Imperial Navy of the Galactic Empire, and later various Imperial factions. A skilled pilot and loyal Imperial, Yorr was also a Force-sensitive, though his sensitivity was not very strong and he did not receive any training. Born to an impoverished family on the jungle planet of Vestar in the Outer Rim Territories, he began swoop racing to earn credits. He became a good swoop driver, preforming many dangerous stunts. That caught attention of the local Imperial garrison commander, Admiral Klavisar. The admiral recruited him into the Navy in 3 BBY.
Yorr was described as being a patriot of the New Order. That, combined with his Force-sensitivity and piloting skill, caused Emperor Palpatine to send him a message in his dreams, telling him to seek the Secret Order of the Emperor, a Dark Side organization that worked for him. Yorr did missions for them, being trailed by an agent of the Order. He was to be given full membership shortly before the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, and was given the rank of Emperor's Reach.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Zelen Yorr was born on the jungle planet of Vestar in the Outer Rim Territories, to an impoverished family living in Port Esta, the capitol and only civilized settlement on the world. His father was a former transport pilot and his mother died when he was aged two from a disease. Yorr grew up in poverty, barely having enough credits to afford food. As he got older, Yorr tried to look for other ways of earning money. His father told him the basics of piloting before, and once in a while he would spend credits he found at a flight simulator, so he decided to become a swoop racer.
Swoop racing[]
He began illegally swoop racing with underground organizations that set up the events, unknown to his father. Initially thought of to be too young and inexperienced by other racers, Yorr had several successful races and his reputation grew. It seemed he was a naturally talented racer, and won several competitions, earning many more credits. Him and his father moved from their shack into a small house, and he, thankful for the credits his son was earning, never asked where he got them. Yorr then began preforming stunts rather than races, doing them successfully and earning more credits.
However, several Imperial Office of Criminal Investigation informants were present at one of the rallies and tipped off the local garrison. One of the presentations Yorr was at was raided by stormtroopers, leading to mass arrests. He was detained and brought back to the garrison base. The garrison commander, a Human admiral named Klavisar, witnessed his stunts and races, and was impressed. While at the base, Yorr was told that his record in taking part in the illegal races would be erased if he joined the Imperial Navy. He agreed. His father did not understand why, but liked his decision simply because it would get him off of the impoverished world.
Entering the fleet[]
The Empire can always use another recruit.
—Admiral Klavisar to Yorr
The Garret.
Yorr was assigned to Admiral Klavisar's vessel, an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer called the Garret. His first job was to work as a starfighter technician, repairing craft that were damaged in combat. He was taught the basics of TIE series fighters during that time by the senior mechanics, and got experience in fixing TIEs when the Garret was assigned to an anti-piracy campaign in the Mid Rim. Another part of his job was to test TIE fighters after working on them, to make sure there were no problems. That gave him experience in flying the craft, which he enjoyed doing.
During one test run of a TIE/In interceptor, he picked up a distress call from a Lambda-class shuttle en route to the Garret. The shuttle was transporting Admiral Klavisar, and and was under attack by several Alliance to Restore the Republic Y-wing fighters. With the Garret being too far away to deploy TIE fighters in time, Yorr responded and attacked the Y-wings. During the ensuing dogfight, the shuttle managed to get away, behind a defensive screen of TIEs launched from the Garret, while Yorr defeated all of the six attacking Y-wings with his interceptor.
Return returning to the Garret, he was told by Klavisar that he was impressed with his actions and was grateful for saving his life and those in the shuttle. He then stated that Yorr should become a pilot, and Yorr gladly agreed, getting a bit bored with the maintenance work. Klavisar said he would watch Yorr's career with great interest and agreed to send the young pilot off to a training center for Imperial pilots.
Admiral's protege[]
Admiral Klavisar, his mentor.
Yorr was sent on a shuttle to the pilot training centre on Lipetsk, a nearby planet. The flight there was made slower and Yorr was kept in bad conditions while on board; he assumed that it was part of his training. After arrival, he trained with other cadets, all of whom were from backwater planets throughout the Outer Rim Territories, as that was the purpose of the training center: for those cadets who were too far away from any other academy. There, he took part in the grueling training, having noticeably more skill than the other cadets in his class.
After several weeks, he was made a TIE pilot and sent back to serve under Admiral Klavisar aboard the Garret. As they mopped up what remained of a group of pirates in the Mid Rim, Yorr spent a lot of time talking with Admiral Klavisar about piloting, galactic events, and politics, in a garden that the admiral had built in aboard the Garret. He acted as Yorr's mentor, and advised the young pilot to seek out the Secret Order of the Emperor, which would speed up his advancement up the ranks of the Navy.
Clearing the Rim[]
To hell with the Rebels.
—Yorr during battle
Yorr engaging a Y-wing in his interceptor.
As the Galactic Civil War progressed, Yorr and the Garret were assigned to a task force commanded by Admiral Tarrak. They were deployed to the Sprizen sector of the Outer Rim, where some Rebel fleet elements were making small staging areas following their disastrous defeat at the Battle of Hoth. During the campaign, Yorr flew a TIE interceptor against Rebel forces. They entered the Salin system first, where Yorr took part in action against several Corellian Corvettes and their X-wing escorts, scoring several kills and allowing TIE bombers to destroy the corvettes.
They proceeded to the Ramoa system, where several Corellian Corvettes were guarding a rally of transports escaping from Hoth, with Assassin-class corvettes. In the attack, Yorr engaged several enemy X-, Y-, and M-wings, getting a large amount of kills. In mid battle, he returned to the Garret and was given a TIE bomber, in which he helped Gamma Squadron destroy the corvettes, taking down two himself by hitting critical points on the ships. Afterwards, the transports were easy pickings for the batteries of the Star Destroyers. Following the battle, Yorr was promoted to lieutenant.
The task force's next target was the Asher system, where the final survivors of the Rebel fleet presence in the sector were located. While Yorr was sleeping, he had a vision of Emperor Palpatine, who told him to seek a Secret Order. The following day, Yorr ran into a cloaked individual in one of the Garret's hallways. The individual introduced himself as a member of the Secret Order of the Emperor, a secret service of Palpatine. He said it that the Emperor noted his piloting skill and wished Yorr to work directly for him. The young pilot obliged, and the cloaked agent, code named "Priest", told him to finish the mission in the sector first.
However, Admiral Tarrak postponed the attack, and said he had to first meet someone aboard his Star Destroyer, the Red Claw. The Star Destroyer oddly moved away from the rest of the fleet while he met whoever it was. Yorr's commander, Klavisar, grew suspicious. Nonetheless, the attack proceeded shortly after. Yorr piloted an interceptor and engaged the enemy fighters, scoring a high number of kills, earning the title of ace. He also personally defeated the Rebel squadron leader. As the TIE bombers began to attack the remaining transports, however, another Rebel fleet exited hyperspace and engaged the Imperials. Yorr fought on with his squad-mates against the newcomers. They destroyed most of their fighters, but as a result, the majority of the transports escaped.
True colors[]
After the battle, Klavisar voiced his suspicions to Yorr that Admiral Tarrak was collaborating with the Rebels, and thought that the person he was meeting with was a Rebel Alliance Intelligence agent. Yorr initially had no opinion on the matter, but agreed with the admiral that Tarrak was acting strangely. Afterwards, he was presented with the Medal of Horror for his service. However, hours later, Klavisar was found dead in his garden. His death hit Yorr deeply, and he felt depressed for a little while afterwards. Priest told him that the Secret Order was onto Tarrak for treachery, and he was being transferred to be away from him.
Behind the scenes[]
This character is heavily based on Maarek Stele, an Imperial ace pilot from the game Star Wars: TIE Fighter, one of the author's favorite computer games. He was inspired by the game to make a similar character. He is partially named after another Star Wars character, Captain Yorr, another skilled pilot of the Empire.