Daala, Admiral Natasi

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Species:
  Human

• Gender:
  Female

• Size:
  1.73 meters

• Weapon:
  Blaster

• Vehicle:
  Imperial Star Destroyer

• Affiliation:
  Empire

• 

From the Expanded Universe

Though lacking the strategic grace of other Imperial commanders, Admiral Natasi Daala nonetheless posed a real and dangerous threat to the young New Republic in the months following the resurrected Emperor's campaign of terror.

Daala's rank is an anomaly in the predominantly male Imperial military. Despite her promising successes as a student and later, young officer, she was constantly passed over for promotion on the basis of gender alone. Graduating from the Imperial Academy, Daala's career was foundering. In frustration, she crafted a false computer identity and entered contests of strategy against battle-hardened veterans. She bested some of Carida's best instructors in these virtual engagements.

Moff Tarkin of the Outer Rim Territories took notice of young Daala's determination and skill. He uncovered her true identity, and began to school her as his personal military prot?g?. It was Tarkin's influence that allowed Daala to ascend to the rank of Admiral, and he placed her in command of a quartet of Imperial Star Destroyers patrolling the Outer Rim Territories.

Tarkin entrusted the protection of a top-secret military think-tank installation to Daala. Maw Installation, as it was called, was a weapons research facility like no other, sunken into a stable patch of space amidst the churning black holes of the Maw Cluster. In this remote base, some of the Empire's brightest scientific minds created designs for new Imperial weaponry, including the first in a series of Death Stars.

Daala was given express orders to never abandon her post, to stay at Maw Installation, and to maintain communication silence until Tarkin returned. Tarkin never returned, having died in the explosion that consumed the Death Star.

For over a decade Daala and her task force stood watch over Maw Installation. As it was Tarkin's most closely guarded secret, no other Imperials ever knew of it. The concentration of treacherous black holes made accidental discovery of the base an impossibility. For 11 years Daala's fighting forces atrophied.

The sudden arrival of an Imperial shuttle was a shock to everyone at the station. It carried fugitives from the nearby Kessel prison complex: Han Solo, Chewbacca and Kyp Durron. From this group, Daala received a much needed update on the state of the galaxy. The trio broke free of the installation, and managed to capture one of the most powerful test-phase weapons platforms, the Sun Crusher. Daala, seeking revenge and a chance to finally make an impression, emerged from the Maw Cluster with her task force, eager to wage war with the New Republic.

The decade of inactivity had its price. Though Daala was schooled in many strategic theories, her practical inexperience hampered her efforts. Using ten-year old tactics at a battle on Mon Calamari, Daala was easily thwarted by Admiral Ackbar. Before long, her task force of four destroyers was reduced to her flagship, the Gorgon. Bested, she joined the squabbling Imperial warlords holed up in the Deep Core Worlds.

Seeing the inefficiencies of the Emperor's heirs in person again gave fuel to Daala's fiery temper. In disgust, she murdered most of the warlords, and consolidated command over the remaining Imperial military. With Gilad Pellaeon at her side, Daala took command of the Super Star Destroyer Knight Hammer and engaged in an ill-advised strike against Luke Skywalker's Jedi academy on Yavin 4.

The battle ended poorly for Daala, with the Knight Hammer falling victim to sabotage. Broken, Daala abandoned her command to Pellaeon and then fled to the remote world of Pedducis Chorios. She settled into civilian life, leading a group of settlers on the distant world.

A year later, the inhumane tactics of Moff Getelles brought Daala out of retirement. When she learned that Getelles had used an outbreak of the Death Seed plague to gain control of the Meridian sector, Daala threw in her lot with the forces that opposed him.

Once the dust of that conflict had settled, Daala was not content to return to retired civilian life. She again journeyed to the Deep Core, amassing troops and war vessels in a bid to again challenge the New Republic.

She attempted such a strike just prior to the Corellian insurrection. Her forces were repulsed by General Garm Bel Iblis. At great cost, Daala escaped the battle, and she has not seen until her return at the height of the conflict between the Confederation and the Galactic Alliance.

Behind the Scenes

Admiral Daala was the primary Imperial foe in the Jedi Academy Trilogy, a series of paperback novels written by Kevin J. Anderson in 1994. Daala survived the Trilogy, and returned to plague our heroes in Darksaber, a hardcover book also by Anderson. The last Daala was ever seen was in the final chapters of Planet of Twilight, a 1997 hardcover novel by Barbara Hambly.