Wyan Wyan was a male individual who served as a major in the Imperial Army . He was the right hand of Colonel Mosh Barris who investigated a planet for smuggler s when they came across an alien settlement . When the team was attacked by the resident of the settlement , Barris evacuated his forces back to the " Venator " - class Star Destroyer " Strikefast " . Biography . The alien settlement . Major Wyan was an Imperial Army officer stationed aboard the " Venator " - class Star Destroyer " Strikefast " during the early Imperial Era . While escorting Imperial cadet s back to the Myomar Academy , the " Strikefast " was diverted to pursue smugglers . During the pursuit , the " Strikefast " stumbled upon an uncharted planet . Major Wyan was part of an Imperial landing party led by Colonel Mosh Barris that discovered an alien settlement in the middle of a forest clearing with several container stacks . Per the Unknown Alien protocols , the Imperials were required to study the site and search for alien life . While Colonel Barris briefed Captain Voss Parck , Majoy Wyan and several Imperial troops went to the crash site of one of an Imperial V - wing starfighter , which had been scouting the site . Wyan found that the pilot was missing and that his flight suit had been stuffed with grass , leaves , and red pyussh berries . In addition , the pilot ' s blaster , spare power pack s , and concussion grenades were missing . Wyan informed his commanding officer Barris about the disturbing find before searching for the missing pilot . Their search turned up empty - handed and Wyan and his men returned to the Imperial encampment at dusk . Before Wyan and Barris could examine the flight suit in further detail , they were startled by two explosives along the perimeter of the Imperial camp . These explosions had been caused by the alien resident of the hut , the Chiss warrior Thrawn . Thrawn had been sent by the Chiss Ascendancy to establish contact with the Empire in order to forge an alliance to combat unknown " evil threats " lurking in the Unknown Regions . Thrawn had strapped two of the pilot ' s power packs to small animals with the intent of testing the Imperials . While Imperial Navy trooper s searched the perimeter , Wyan chatted with Cadet Eli Vanto , who had been assigned by Captain Parck to study the mysterious inscriptions on the cargo containers . Wyan rightfully speculated that the explosions were caused by blaster power backs with the sturm dowels pulled out . When Eli suggested that the attacker was not a " savage " , Wyan complimented Vanto and asked if the Cadet had found anything in the hut or storage crates that would give clues about their attacker ' s appearance or tech level . Eli suggested that the assailant was a humanoid based on the shape of the bed and design of the eating utensils . When Wyan asked about the power generators , Vanto added that the power generators were automated . When Wyan wondered about the motives of the attacker , Eli suggested that the attacker was trying to drive them away without wrecking his home . After asking how the attacker managed to infiltrate the camp , Wyan instructed Vanto to get back to work and find something useful . Asymmetrical warfare . By then , Colonel Barris had contacted Captain Parck to request some V - wings for a grid search . He instructed Major Wyan to take a squad and set up floodlights in the perimeter and to fine - mesh the hemisphere sensor screen . The major reminded the colonel that the perimeter was full of birds and small ground animals , which had almost caused him to fall a minute ago . Wyan warned that fine - meshing the screen too far would trigger alarms all night . Barris accepted Wyan ' s reasoning and ordered him to set up the lights . Before they could do so , a second V - wing fighter crashed into a monofilament line that had been set up by Thrawn . Major Wyan and his men managed to recover the pilot ' s body but found that his blaster , power packs , and concussion grenades had been stolen . Cadet Vanto then informed Colonel Barris and Major Wyan that he had found Clone Wars – era coins in the inner and outer shells of one of the crates . This led Wyan to speculate that the attacker had been stranded on the planet for several years . However , Barris was perplexed at why the hut ' s inhabitant would attack them instead of asking them for a ride back to civilization . Wyan suggested the attackers was on the run when he crashed or that he had come to the location voluntarily and wanted the Imperials to leave . Barris vowed to capture the mysterious attacker . By dawn , Colonel Barris ' landing party had lost five navy troopers ; three of whom had been incapacitated by concussion grenades and two others who had been killed in a friendly fire incident . In response , Barris requested the deployment of eighteen stormtrooper s from the " Strikefast " . Shortly later , Thrawn began jamming their comlink channels . Fearing that the attacker was going to launch a major attack , Barris panicked and announced they were leaving . When Wyan reminded him that the Unknown Alien protocols required them to study the site , Barris ordered the landing party to bring the settlement and cargo crates aboard the " Strikefast " . Wyan reluctantly obliged . When the stormtroopers returned , Barris and Wyan noticed that one of them was missing . This spooked the Major and he agreed that it was best to leave . Per Barris ' orders , Major Wyan brought the technicians and their " loot " aboard the shuttle first with the Imperial Navy troopers following in standard rearguard formation . When Wyan asked about the stormtroopers , Barris responded that they had their own troop carrier . At that point , one of the stormtroopers standing close to the hatchway of the transport exploded , leaving behind bits and pieces of armor . Shortly later , the stormtrooper ' s comrades retrieved their fallen comrade from the forest . Return to the " Strikefast " . Back aboard the transport , Captain Parck ordered Major Wyan and the rest of the landing party to report for debriefing while he brought Colonel Barris and Cadet Vanto to the hangar bay control tower . After dimming the lights , they waited for the attacker to emerge . Imperial stormtroopers then apprehended the attacker , who identified himself as the Chiss warrior Thrawn . During interrogation , Thrawn freely admitted attacking the Imperial landing party in order to test their combat capabilities . He convinced Captain Parck that he could serve as an adviser to the Emperor on the Unknown Regions . The Emperor accepted Thrawn ' s offer of service , setting the stage for Thrawn ' s career progression in the Imperial Navy . Thrawn ultimately was promoted to the rank of Grand Admiral due to his role in suppressing the Batonn sector insurgency . Personality and traits . Wyan was a human man who served as a Major in the Imperial Military . While coming under fire from Thrawn during an unscheduled exploratory mission , Wyan remained calm and level - headed unlike his commanding officer , Colonel Barris . Wyan was familiar with Imperial military technology and protocols . He advised Colonel Barris not to fine - mesh the hemisphere sensor screen due to the large number of small animals in the forests who would trigger the alarms . Wyan also gained a respect for Cadet Eli Vanto , whose examination of the crates and hut shed light on the identity and motives of Thrawn , who wanted to test the capabilities of the Imperials . Wyan was initially reluctant to abandon the Imperial camp and alien settlement due to the Unidentified Alien protocols . However , he relented after Thrawn detonated a suit of stormtrooper armor as a distraction to infiltrate the transport and reach the " Strikefast " . Behind the scenes . Major Wyan first appeared in Timothy Zahn ' s short story " Mist Encounter " , which was published in " Star Wars Adventure Journal 7 " in August 1995 . " Mist Encounter " explored Thrawn ' s first contact with members of the Galactic Empire in the Star Wars Legends continuity . Wyan subsequently appeared in Zahn ' s 2017 novel " Thrawn " , a rebooted Canon ical origins story of the titular character which incorporated elements of the " Mist Encounter " story . His lines are told through the point of view of Eli Vanto , the novel ' s .