Ubrik Adelhard

Ubrik Adelhard was a human male officer for the Galactic Empire who served as the governor of the Anoat sector with the rank of Grand Moff during the late Imperial Era. During the late Galactic Civil War following the Battle of Endor, Adelhard controlled an Imperial remnant that quarantined the Anoat sector, as Adelhard believed himself to be the next in line for the Imperial throne. As such, Adelhard refused to work with the remaining Imperial Remnants lead by Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax while pushing against the newly formed New Republic, instead allying himself with the Acolytes of the Beyond and the Spice Runners of Kijimi in his play for power. Yet Adelhard was eventually betrayed by the hired assassin from the Acolytes Reyna Oskure, before finding himself left to rot on the backwater Anoat sector planet Gallowyss. Eventually, Adelhard returned to his fleet a changed man, vowing to destroy those who had seen lesser of him and had seen him as nothing but a pawn; the New Republic and the Galactic Empire. During the Battle of Jakku Adelhard made his final move, but was betrayed by the Spice Runners of Kijimi in his moment of victory before being shot and killed by the New Republic pilot Rynn Zenat.

Born to a poor family on the lifeless Anoat sector mining planet Ripurni, Ubrik worked various mining jobs on the planet to survive until he witnessed the shooting of one of his coworkers at the hands of the Newly-formed Galactic Empire's TK stormtroopers. Amazed by the order, structure, and power that the troopers brought, Adelhard soon enlisted in the Imperial Army, himself becoming a TK trooper and later a Stormtrooper in the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps. Serving in the Storming of Abartolom and helping crush the Moraysi rebellion, Ubrik rose the ranks of the Imperial Military before eventually serving as an Imperial officer under Grand Admiral Thrawn's 7th Fleet by the time of the Battle of Atollon. Around 0 ABY, Adelhard, in command of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, was dispatched back home to the Anoat sector to deal with a group of insurgents who had taken up a base in the sector's capital planet of Anoat. Having observed how those in the highest levels of command in the Empire held power an maintained order, Adelhard gave the order to gas the Ecumenopolis, turning the planet into a toxic waste dump, which was later framed as an industrial accident. Following the gassing, Darth Vader promoted Ubrik to the position of governor of the Anoat sector, telling the new Moff that the Empire had great plans for him, words which stuck with Adelhard long after.

Hours after the death of the Galactic Emperor at the Battle of Endor, Adelhard quarantined the Anoat sector by imposing the sector-wide Iron Blockade and instead announced the Emperor was alive, the Alliance to Restore the Republic had been defeated at the Battle of Endor, and declared that those who dared challenge the status quo or spread rumors of the Emperor's death as traitors to be marked for death, forcing the sector into a state of living in the past. Simultaneously, Adelhard began consolidating the remaining forces at his disposal a the newly formed New Republic began to learn of Adelhard's blockade. Following several skirmishes with the New Republic Fleet including a brief encounter with Luke Skywalker, Adelhard, believing himself to be the heir to the Imperial throne, refused to work with remaining Imperial Remnants under the control of Counselor to the Empire Gallius Rax and the Shadow Council before allying himself with the Acolytes of the Beyond and the Spice Runners of Kijimi as well as forming a secret alliance with Grand General Kenner Loring and his forces. With his newly formed coalition at his disposal, Adelhard began pushing his territory outwards as the New Republic and remaining Imperial forces plotted Adelhards downfall as the Grand Moff became less a distraction and more a threat to the plans of both sides.

Soon after, Adelhard discovered the betrayal of his partner and personal assassin Reyna Oskure from the Acolytes of the Beyond, who had secretly allied themselves with Imperial forces under the command of Rax. As New Republic forces launched an attack on his blockade, Adelhard confronted Oskure alongside Commander Bragh and Lieutenant Kith Alaytia. However, the situation quickly turned on Adelhard and the officers under his command as the spice runner bounty hunter Kranor broke into Adelhard's flagship Scepter to aid Oskure. Believing herself to have won, Oskure left Adelhard to die as she disbanded the Iron Blockade in front of New Republic forces. However, Adelhard was allowed to escape by Kranor, and the Grand Moff escaped the Star Destroyer via Escape pod to the planet Gallowyss with his most loyal troops. Within two days however, Adelhard was able to return from his exile with help from his loyal forces, and promptly retook his flagship and captured Oskure in the process. Having realized during his near-death experience aboard the escape pod that he was not next in line and instead was a mere pawn and distraction to the New Republic and Imperial forces, Adelhard, knowing that Imperial victory under his command was impossible, vowed revenge to destroy the Imperial remnants and New Republic as he began attacking Imperial forces en-route to Jakku for an upcoming battle and last stand against the New Republic. As Battle of Jakku began, Adelhard assembled a fleet from his coalition in the Anoat sector as he awaited the perfect moment to strike. However, as Adelhard waited, his fleet came under attack by an assault force made up of combined forces from the New Republic and the Sovereign Latitudes of Maracavanya, which included the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Liberty's Misrule. Despite this, Adelhard managed to get his fleet to jump to the Jakku system where the fleet then charged at the battling New Republic and Imperial forces, before being betrayed in his moment of victory by the Spice Runners of Kijimi, who had realized that Adelhard no longer created chaos that they could benefit from. As Adelhard's coalition collapsed and his revenge plan failed, Adelhard engaged in a duel with Luke Skywalker using a Vibro-ax, before the New Republic pilot Rynn Zenat arrived to the bridge of the Scepter and shot and killed Adelhard as the mad Grand Moff dueled Skywalker. Shortly after, the Scepter blew up, leaving Adelhard's body vaporized.

Biography

Early life

A male human,^[3] Ubrik^[8] Adelhard was born to a poor family on the remote mining planet Ripurni in the Anoat sector. As his family was poor, Adelhard would work many harsh jobs to survive. During one such job at a mine during the Imperial Era, a co-worker of Ubrik's spoke ill of the Galactic Empire upon noticing an approaching TK stormtrooper patrol, prompting a trooper in the patrol to execute the co-worker on the spot. Despite the rest of the workers being horrified, Adelhard was impressed and found purpose in the structure, order, power the Stormtroopers brought, and soon enlisted in the Stormtrooper Corps as a result.^[9]

Imperial service

Starting from the bottom

Having found purpose in the Stormtrooper Corps as a TK stormtrooper, Adelhard began his career in the Galactic Empire's armed forces. He scored his first kill as a stormtrooper during the storming of Abartolom, killing a Lasat who was attacking a fellow trooper.^[9] A true believer in the need for a strong Empire to keep the galaxy from descending into chaos, he gradually rose up the ranks of the Imperial Military,^[5] soon becoming a Junior Advisor in Imperial Military,^[3] during which time he helped crush the Moraysi rebellion.^[9]

As Adelhard continued to climb the ranks of the Imperial Military, he watched and absorbed every detail of his superior commanders on how to wield and control power.^[9] Soon after, Adelhard, now an Imperial officer with the rank of Commander, stood alongside several other Imperial officers as the group watched the Emperor's Fist, the Sith warlord Darth Vader, briefly choked another officer through the Force before departing, leaving the officer on their knees before Ubrik.^[10]

By 2 BBY,^[11] Adelhard attained the rank of Commodore in the Imperial Navy, serving in the 7th Fleet as an officer on the flagship Chimaera under Grand Admiral Thrawn. During this time, Adelhard was present at the Battle of Atollon, during which he witnessed Kassius Konstantine's Interdictor collide with the rebel-controlled Quasar Fire-class cruiser-carrier Phoenix Nest from the bridge of the Chimaera.^[9]

Order over Chaos

By around 0 ABY, Adelhard had risen to the rank of captain and was in command of the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Scepter. Around that time, Adelhard returned to the Anoat sector, having been dispatched to the sector capital of Anoat to deal with a camp of dissidents.^[9] Upon his arrival however, Adelhard was unable to locate the dissidents' base of operations, and as such, was left with the option to either deploy a Battalion for a prolonged trench battle or face the dissidents in ship-to-ship combat. However, as two Imperial officers stood behind Adelhard debated sending a battalion to the planet, Adelhard gave the order to gas the planet,^[1] which was promptly done, transforming the once prosperous city-world into a toxic waste dump,^[3] resulting in vast swaths of natural resources and millions of lives being lost.^[9]

In the wake of Anoat's gassing, the Imperial Communications Machine blamed the incident on an industrial accident, and Adelhard was called to Executor, the flagship of the supreme commander of the Imperial fleet^[12] Lord Vader. Upon his arrival to the Executor-class Star Dreadnought, Adelhard made his way to the ship's bridge, where Darth Vader approached the captain. As Vader approached, Adelhard began speaking formalities, but was quickly told by Vader to stop. Vader the continued that Adelhard's decision to gas Anoat was welcome and decisive, before revealing to Adelhard that he would now be the Governor of the Anoat sector, before adding that the Empire valued a leader's tight fist, and that the Empire had great plans for the new Moff, and not to make them regret it. Vader then walked away accompanied by a squad of Stormtroopers, leaving the new Governor Adelhard alone on the bridge.^[9]

Not long after, Adelhard married a woman, who was ultimately killed by the Kouhun, a secretive order of assassins.^[3] Eventually, Adelhard was additionally appointed to the rank of general,^[5] becoming one of few stormtroopers who became a general. Following this, Adelhard was ultimately appointed to the position of Grand Moff, with the Grand Moff visiting the Imperial Throne Room following his appointment, where he witnessed Emperor Palpatine punish Administrator Sly Moore for her previous mistakes by electrocuting the Umbaran with Force lightning.^[10] In 3 ABY^[13] production of gas from the planet Bespin, which Governor Adelhard oversaw, had listed off projections by seventeen percent, reaching that point where reports concerning the issue were mentioned to have still been a problem. When brought to the attention of the prescreen department on Coruscant, an Imperial officer recommended that Adelhard tie rations to productivity while reading off various items to the recently-demoted Sub-Administrator Moore, who agreed to the proposal.^[14]

Iron Blockade

Main article: Iron Blockade

Cutting the line

In the hours^[1][15] after the Alliance to Restore the Republic's victory over Galactic Empire at the Battle of Endor^[16] 4 ABY,^[17] rumors of the the Galactic Emperor's death began to swirl around the Anoat sector as the rebel leader Leia Skywalker Organa sent out a holographic message sharing the news of the Emperor's death^[18] and the destruction of the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station^[15] the same day as battle in which it occurred.^[18] Upon hearing of the news of the Emperor's death himself the same day, Adelhard immediately^[1] had the sector fleet form the blockade across the sector, leaving it effectively quarantined^[3] and cutting off the Rebel Alliance's tibanna supply.^[19] Around this time, the fleet began picking up fleeing Imperials from the Battle of Endor.^[20]

The same day, a rebel squadron arrived to the Anoat sector to scout it, but were quickly found upon their arrival by Adelhard's Flagship Scepter, which disabled all rebel ships except for a lone A/SF-01 B-wing starfighter piloted by Rynn Zenat, which was quickly hunted down by a squadron of TIE strikers. Despite her ship nearly being destroyed and the TIE strikers reporting that they had shot her ship down, Rynn managed to return to Endor and report Adelhard's blockade to rebel leadership. Simultaneously, an Imperial officer reported the disabling of the rebel squadron to Adelhard on the bridge of the Scepter, who then promptly ordered the Imperial-class Star Destroyer to fire on the squadron despite Lieutenant Kith Alaytia's protests, promptly destroying the ships in the squad. Once the Star Destroyer had fired on the squadron, Adelhard acknowledged the Lieutenant, asking her if she dared question his orders. Alaytia responded that she was not, but she felt they could have captured and interrogated the survivors as only a skirmish had occurred, to which Adelhard responded that skirmishes did not win wars, while vengeance did. Alaytia then pointed out that they were in desperate need of information, as their intel was pointing to the Emperor was dead, but was cut off before she could finish as Adelhard advised Alaytia not to finish her sentence if she valued her life. After Commander Bragh briefly joined in the coversation, Adelhard then continued that Alaytia's concerns were not without merits, and that they would need to look through the rubble that the galaxy was quickly becoming to find allies if they were to survive, before requesting that Reyna Oskure be brought before him.^[1]

Soon after, Bragh accompanied Alaytia, who had urgent news for Adelhard, to Adelhard's quarters aboard the Scepter. Upon the pair entering, Adelhard greeted the two, calling the pair his two pillars of Imperial order and reason while he sat. Adelhard the continued that the galaxy had seemed to be tearing itself apart recently, and it was up to them to keep it steady. Adelhard then asked what brought the pair to his quarters, to Alaytia attempted to respond to before me cut off by the Grand Moff, who yelled at her to just speak the information and not to hedge, to which Alaytia then explained to Adelhard that the pilot of the A/SF-01 B-wing starfighter they thought had been shot down during the earlier skirmish had actually survived.^[1]

Later, Adelhard found himself looking out a viewport of the Scepter while Alaytia and Bragh stood at to his sides. As he did so, Adelhard turned to face Bragh, and asked the commander to open a sector-wide comm to speak to allow him to speak to his people as reassure them that the Empire had not failed.^[9] Being broadcast as hologram^[15] across the sector, Adelhard announced a false narrative that the Rebellion had been destroyed at the Battle of Endor, and those who spread rumors of the Emperor's death were treasonous traitors who would be met with the Death penalty. Continuing, Adelhard stated that the citizens should stand tall and united against rebellious propaganda, and that citizen should not fear as the Empire was thriving. Adelhard then ended his speech, before returning to watching realspace from the same viewport while remembering his past.^[9] Soon after, the Anoat sector's comms were flooded with propaganda from the Galactic Empire, with Adelhard giving another speech where he repeated the false narrative that the Emperor was still alive, before using a threat of rebellion as justification for the Iron blockade, stating that the blockade would cease one the threat was delt with.^[3]

Holding the line

In the days following the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance declared themselves the "New Republic" while across the galaxy, a select group of Imperial warlords, of which Adelhard was not a part of, received a posthumous message from Emperor Palpatine to begin Operation: Cinder, the first phase of Palpatine's contingency plan, a plan which Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax had been personally chosen by the Emperor to lead.^[21] As a result, as the New Republic leaders Leia Organa, Mon Mothma, Landonis Balthazar Calrissian, and Han Solo debated how to deal with Adelhard to regain the flow of fuel from the Anoat sector,^[19] Grand Admiral Rae Sloane contacted Rax to inquire about if he was aware of Adelhard and what he planned to do about the situation. Rax responded that he was aware of Adelhard's choice to live in the past which the Empire would have applauded prior to the Battle of Endor, and that that he had contacted Yupe Tashu about the situation and as such Sloane needed not worry. Not long after, Leia Organa, Mon Mothma, and Calder Behrens debated their intelligence and how to proceed on Adelhard and the Iron Blockade from the nascent New Republic's capital of Chandrila.^[21]

Simultaneously, Adelhard's Iron Blockade continued to hold across the Anoat sector, with a group of New Republic pilots being attacked by the blockade before escaping with the intent to hide within the Anoat sector. However, Adelhard's forces quickly tracked down the pilots to the planet Darlyn Boda and were captured by a squad of Stormtroopers. Soon after, Adelhard made his way down to Darlyn Boda's surface to inspect the prisoners himself, flanked by several stormtrooper, Commander Bragh, and Lieutenant Alaytia. Upon approaching the prisoners, Adelhard remarked that the presumptuousness of the New Republic amused him, to which a New Republic pilot named Eiro responded that Adelhard was fighting a useless battle. In response, Adelhard asked Eiro if he had really thought escape was possible and they could hide in his sector, to which Eiro responded that the Empire had fallen, and that the New Republic was the new power now, adding that Adelhard's days in power were over as another pilot asked Eiro to be careful. In response, Adelhard snarkily asked that if that was the case, the should pilot educate him, before rhetorically asking who had defeated his squadron in the skies above and who had held Eiro's life in their very palm. Adelhard then shot the pilot, before answering his own question by stating it was his power, and the pilots should recognize it, before stating as he sweat that as long as he lived, the Empire did, and as long as he wielded power, the Empire's flame continued to burn. Adelhard then turned to leave as Alaytia requested if she could take some of the pilots prisoner, to which Adelhard agreed, stating that he understood the need for intelligence, before asking the Lieutenant to extract as much information as possible, including the New Republic's plans and dreams so that he could crush them.^[21]

Searching for support

Accompanied by Purge trooper Commander Bragh, Adelhard insisted on any mention of the Emperor's death being silenced, and began a search for like-minded Imperials who would help him retain control of the Anoat sector. One of the first to be contacted was Anzati mystic Reyna Oskure, who reported on Adelhard's call to the Acolytes of the Beyond, at the time led by former Emperor's adviser Yupe Tashu. Tashu encouraged Oskure to accept Adelhard's call and give him the support of the dark side of the Force,^[1] leading to Oskure taking up the role of Adelhard's advisor^[22] and Force-sensitive enforcer.^[23] Adelhard also allied with the Spice Runners of Kijimi, who provided mercenary protection to his fleet.^[22]

First skirmishes with the New Republic

Following the arrest of the New Republic pilots on Darlyn Boda, the New Republic command dispatched its most elite agents on board a Barloz-class freighter to scout the Anoat sector. They were, however, intercepted by the Spice Runners who engaged the vessel, leading to a battle and the intentional detonation of the freighter by the New Republic agents. Despite the spice runners suffering severe damage, the agents were captured by Adelhard's forces and brought on board his flagship Star Destroyer, the Scepter. There, Alaytia, secretly a New Republic spy, released them from their cells, only for them to encounter and be stopped by Bragh and Oskure.^[22] The agents were rescued by Luke Skywalker, who overpowered Bragh and Oskure, then proceeded to confront Adelhard while the agents secured an escape ship. Skywalker encountered Adelhard, who was backed by a platoon of stormtroopers, in a control room. The ensuing confrontation resulted in Adelhard falling off a catwalk, though Skywalker suspected this was not the end of him. He would be proven correct as Adelhard emerged from the wreckage of the control room swearing vengeance. Concluding that he was wrong to be so dismissive of the Force, Adelhard mused that perhaps it was time to tap into some darkness of his own.^[23]

Adelhard's fall

The Iron Blockade led to the Uprising resistance against the Empire, one carried out by a collection of resistance fighters, bounty hunters, smugglers, and more. To combat the Uprising, the Empire used Purge Troopers led by Commander Bragh,^[25] who reported to Adelhard.^[3] Adelhard had a chamber within the prime tower on the Tibanna gas mining colony of Cloud City, located on the planet Bespin. In the months following the Battle of Endor, Lobot hired the pirate Kars Tal-Korla and his companions to capture the Imperial collaborator Borgin Kaa in order to extract an access code needed to open an access hatch leading to Adelhard's personal quarters. Once the hatch was open, Lobot and an intrusion team planned to capture the Governor.^[26] Though Adelhard escaped, the planet was soon liberated by the Uprising.^[3]

While Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax initially grudgingly tolerated Adelhard for his potential to divert the New Republic's attention away from the Contingency, he eventually decided that Adelhard needed to be eliminated.^[27] Grand Moff Randd contacted Rax's spy aboard the Scepter, eventually revealed to be Reyna Oskure, and relayed Rax's command to terminate Adelhard.^[4] Aided by Alaytia and Kranor, a Trandoshan bounty hunter the Spice Runners kept on retainer, Oskure staged a mutiny against Adelhard. Adelhard, Bragh, and stormtroopers loyal to Adelhard were placed in a sabotaged escape pod and launched into space. As the pod plummeted to the planet Gallowyss, Adelhard came to the realization that the Empire he devoted his life to was truly dead, and that something stronger and deadlier would need to rise in its place.^[28]

In the aftermath of the mutiny, most of the New Republic leadership believed Adelhard to be dead. However, Skywalker sensed through the Force that Adelhard was still alive, and still a threat, and Calrissian and Beilert Valance agreed with him. Using a shuttle loaned to them by Valance, Skywalker and Rynn Zenat landed on Gallowyss in search of Adelhard. Adelhard and his troops quickly spotted Skywalker and Zenat on the planet, and Adelhard plotted revenge on the Jedi.^[7]

By the time of the Battle of Jakku, Adelhard's Imperial forces in the Anoat sector had crumbled under Calrissian's siege^[29] while the governor remained focused on joining the Battle of Jakku itself.^[30] Calrissian and Lobot led a joint force of Bespin Wing Guards and New Republic soldiers as they mopped up the remaining Imperial holdouts in Cloud City. Calrissian managed to convince a dozen Imperials holed up in the Bolo Tanga room to surrender by telling them that Adelhard's story about Palpatine was a lie.^[29]

Personality and traits

A human male, Ubrik Adelhard had black hair, a full beard, and fair skin.^[3] He was a strong supporter of the Galactic Empire and was willing to lock off his entire sector^[25] in order to punish those who reported the truth about the Battle of Endor.^[3] A man of humble beginnings, he was opposed to luxury and pomp.^[5] Han Solo described Adelhard as being both a "maniac" and a "power-hungry Vader disciple",^[6] while the Grand Moff himself interpreted claims that the Dark Lord of the Sith had made about the Galactic Empire having plans for him as evidence of his vital role to the survival of the Imperial state, once claiming that he was the Contingency.^[28]

Equipment

Uniforms

As a TK stormtrooper, Adelhard wore standard-issue TK stormtrooper armor. While serving as an Imperial officer during the Battle of Atollon, Adelhard wore a green-grey Imperial officer's uniform along with an Imperial kepi and a a Code cylinder on his left breast as well as a rank insignia plaque with 1 blue tile and 2 red tiles.^[1] During an encounter with Darth Vader, Adelhard wore a green-grey Imperial officer's uniform with no code cylinders, a kepi of the same color as the uniform, and a rank insignia plaque with 4 blue tiles.^[31] While serving as a captain, Adelhard continued to wear a green-grey Imperial officer's uniform and Imperial kepi, though he had three code cylinders, two on his left and one on his right, as well as a double-row rank insignia plaque with 6 red tiles on the top and 6 blue tiles on the bottom. As a Grand Moff, Adelhard no longer wore an Imperial Kepi nor did he bear any code cylinders, instead donning a unique Imperial officer's uniform that was black from the new down to the chest, and white below the chest. Additionally, Adelhard wore a black^[1] or white^[31] epaulette on each shoulder, a pair of black gloves, a pair of black boots, and a either a black^[1] or white^[7] belt. Adelhard also bore a rank insignia plaque on his left breast that denoted his rank as Grand Moff with 6 blue tiles on the top, and 3 red tiles and 3 yellow tiles on the bottom on the right and left of the plaque respectively.^[1] While on the surface of the planet Darlyn Boda, Adelhard carried a Holster on his right leg in which he carried his blaster.^[1] While crashed on Gallowyss, Adelhard further wore a brown cloak on top of his Grand Moff uniform.^[7]

Weapons

While serving as a TK stormtrooper, Adelhard carried a standard issue DC-15A blaster carbine^[1] and later carried an E-10.5 rifle.^[7] While on the surface of the planet Darlyn Boda, Adelhard carried and used an RK-3 blaster, which he kept in a holster on his right leg.^[1] During a confrontation Luke Skywalker, Adelhard carried a SE-14r light repeating blaster, which he aimed at the jedi.^[7] During the Battle of Jakku, Adelhard utilized a Vibro-ax while in combat with Luke Skywalker and Reyna Oskure.^[24]

Ships

During the Gassing of Anoat and the later Iron Blockade^[1] and Battle of Jakku, Adelhard commanded an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer known as the Scepter,^[30] which served as the flagship of his fleet.^[1]

Behind the scenes

Adelhard is a character who appears in the mobile game Star Wars: Uprising,^[3] which was released by Kabam on September 10, 2015.^[25] His first name was revealed in the 2018 reference book Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious, written by Pablo Hidalgo.^[8]

The governor was designed by Brian Matyas. One of Matyas' first designs had Adelhard wearing a long cape and an armored chest plate similar to Darth Vader's, but this did not pass the approval process.^[32]

Appearances

Sources

Notes and references