Natasi Daala

Natasi Daala was a Human female who became the first woman to reach the rank of admiral in the Imperial Navy, a founder of the Imperial Remnant, and later was named Chief of State of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. Born on Irmenu but raised on Botajef, Daala enlisted in the Imperial Navy on Carida, but was discriminated against due to her gender. However, she achieved success thanks to Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, who discovered her after she defeated many skilled Imperial opponents in simulated battles, using an alias to hide her true identity. Tarkin took her under his wing, and as he rose in the ranks, so did she. She became his lover and was eventually promoted to admiral by him. Shortly thereafter, she was sent to oversee the top-secret Imperial research facility known as the Maw Installation. There, some of the best scientists in the galaxy worked on new concepts, designing superweapons for the Empire. She resided there with four Imperial I-class Star Destroyers for eleven years, unaware of what was happening in the galaxy.

In 11 ABY, Kyp Durron, Han Solo, and Chewbacca stumbled upon the facility after making an emergency escape from Kessel. She interrogated them, and was stunned to learn that Tarkin and Emperor Palpatine were dead and the Empire was on the verge of collapse, having been defeated by the Rebel Alliance. She decided to launch her campaign to wreak havoc on the galaxy and gain revenge for Tarkin's death, with her four Star Destroyers and the Sun Crusher superweapon. However, the Sun Crusher was stolen from her by Solo and his two companions, who were also able to warn the New Republic of Daala's existence. Ultimately, Daala accomplished little, and with three of her Star Destroyers destroyed, headed back to the Maw to try to protect it from the New Republic. There, she found New Republic forces, who attacked her fleet. Though she managed to destroy the Installation, preventing the New Republic from gaining new weapons, her Star Destroyer was damaged and she made an emergency hyperspace jump.

In 12 ABY, Daala attempted to unify the Imperial warlords, but found little success. She executed them, then took command of their forces. She once again attempted to destroy the New Republic, this time with the aid of Vice Admiral Gilad Pellaeon. However, she was defeated, and relinquished command to Pellaeon, resigning from the military. A year later, she re-appeared to aid the New Republic against the corrupt Moff Tol Getelles, then disappeared, swearing she was done with military service. It was at this time that Daala was reunited with her former lover Liegeus Vorn; the two married and later had a son. In 17 ABY she once again attacked the New Republic, but was defeated.

The New Republic believed she was dead, but Daala stunned them when, in 40 ABY, she revealed herself to the galaxy once more. Commander of the Maw Irregular Fleet, she split from the Imperial Remnant to join the Mandalorians and fight against Darth Caedus, the despotic leader of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. Following the death of Caedus, she became the new Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance. After attempting to fix what Caedus had done, she displayed a strong anti-Jedi sentiment, exiling Luke Skywalker as part of a backlash against the Jedi. However, after she ordered a siege of the Jedi Temple and entered a severe dispute with the acting Grand Master, Kenth Hamner, her actions caused her to be perceived more negatively by the public and viewed as a tyrant by the Jedi. Unable to handle her increasingly extreme policies, a group of Jedi led a coup to depose her. Sent to prison, Daala was able to escape from confinement with the help of the bounty hunter Boba Fett and began to plan her revenge on those who had removed her from power.

Thanks to Boba Fett's intelligence, Daala blackmailed several members of the Council of Moffs to join her in overthrowing Head of State Jagged Fel and taking control of the Imperial Remnant. However, the betrayal of Moff Tol Getelles and the arrival of Empire of the Hand ships to support Fel forced Daala into a siege at Exodo II. As Daala and Fel faced off, political instability erupted in the Remnant and, under the advice of Lieutenant Lydea Pagorski, Daala offered to compete with Fel in a general election for Head of State. Daala campaigned against Fel and Admiral Vitor Reige. Despite Fel's withdrawal, Reige defeated Daala, ending her ambitions.

Text and facts from the “Natasi Daala” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.