Pell Baylo Pell Baylo was a male human who operated the " Defiance " Flight Training Institute for nearly fifty years , both under the Galactic Republic and its successor state , the Galactic Empire . Baylo ' s life ended when he tried to assassinate Emperor Palpatine by plunging the starship " Defiance " into Christophsis ' s sun . The Emperor ' s enforcer , Darth Vader , managed to foil his plan and strangled the old man to death . Biography . Pell Baylo was born over 84 years before the Battle of Yavin . During the last decades of the Galactic Republic , he created the " Defiance " Flight Training Institute . With the outbreak of the Clone Wars , Baylo ' s institute was brought under the direct authority of the Republic . When that government was reorganized into an authoritarian Galactic Empire at the end of the war , Baylo continued to serve for a time , although reluctantly , with the title of Commandant . Eventually , Baylo plotted against Emperor Palpatine . One day , the Emperor elected to meet several of his naval chief s on the starship " Defiance " , and he brought his personal enforcer , a black - armor ed man called Darth Vader . Baylo programmed the " Defiance " so that it would emerge from hyperspace around the planet Christophsis and plunge into its sun , which would cause the Emperor ' s demise . The Commandant then confronted Palpatine in his office , tendering his resignation . However , Baylo ' s plan had failed , as Darth Vader had seen through his ruse and countermanded the Commandant ' s orders ; when the " Defiance " reverted to realspace , there were still millions of kilometer s between the ship and the star of Christophsis . With his plan thwarted , Baylo expressed his disgust of Palpatine and his methods . When Baylo compared the Emperor ' s minions to mindless robots in front of Vader , the Commandant made his last mistake . Vader , who was a cyborg himself , Force choke d the old man to death . Following Baylo ' s execution , his body was unceremoniously thrown out of the airlock with the ship ' s refuse . His training vessel " Defiance " was renamed " Obedience " . Despite chafing under the harsh discipline of Baylo , years later , one of his former cadets Rae Sloane looked back favorably on his advice to remain stoic and expressionless in the presence of her bridge crew to avoid demoralizing them . This advice served Admiral Sloane well when she commanded the Imperial Star Destroyer " Vigilance " during the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY . Personality and traits . A male human , Baylo had a stumpy body , fair skin , brown eye s , and a long nose . In his old age , his hair had turned gray , and the sequela of a spine injury gave him an exaggerated limp . Although he was cantakerous and sometimes foul - mouthed , Baylo had high ideals . He regarded naval service as a noble calling , thinking that navies should only be used to protect people , never as an offensive force . Baylo had an almost mythical status among his students and other members of the Imperial navy . He had become famous fighting pilots on the " Defiance " , and his constant battle with pain due to injuries sustained in those battles was seen as bravery .