Dagon Niriz Dagon Niriz was a fourth - generation navy officer , a captain in the Imperial Navy , and the commanding officer of the " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyer " Admonitor " in the years leading up to the Battle of Endor . A stalwart supporter of order and obedience in naval service , he took his position seriously . When he was assigned to Grand Admiral Thrawn ' s mapping expedition in the Unknown Regions , he initially saw it as a blow to his career . However , after a test of Niriz ' s loyalty which caused the officer to doubt Thrawn ' s fitness for command but during which Niriz refused to participate in mutiny , Thrawn revealed the true nature of his mission . Thrawn , with Niriz and Voss Parck at his side , was in fact assigned to conquer the Unknown Regions for the Galactic Empire and secure it against the vast array of hidden threats within . Niriz took great pride in this cause , and continued to serve in the Unknown Regions , where Thrawn ' s holdings became the Empire of the Hand , even after Thrawn returned to the Empire after Emperor Palpatine ' s death . Biography . Early career . A Human male born into a Core World family , the young Dagon Niriz was put under pressure to become the fourth generation of his family to enter naval service . Joining the Academy , Niriz trained as a naval officer and devoted himself to succeeding in his career and living up to his lineage . Entering service in the Imperial Navy , Niriz was posted aboard a Star Destroyer where he gained practical experience to supplement the command and tactical knowledge he had already gained from studying manuals . After only a few months as a Star Destroyer captain , Niriz ' s diligent service was rewarded with a transfer to a military affairs bureau on the galactic capital Coruscant , where he was tasked with analyzing situation reports from around the Empire and making recommendations to senior officers . Niriz ' s assignment on Coruscant saw him caught up in Imperial Court politics ; when enemies of Admiral Thrawn united against him , Thrawn was exiled by Emperor Palpatine on a mapping expedition to the Unknown Regions , along with any other officer believed to be linked to the alien admiral , including Niriz . Assignment to Thrawn . Niriz was assigned as commanding officer of Thrawn ' s flagship , the " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyer " Admonitor " , with Thrawn ' s long - time ally Commander Voss Parck as his executive officer . Although Niriz was pleased to be back on the bridge of a Star Destroyer , he was ashamed to find his career effectively ended through his association with the scandal and considered the mission to be a waste of resources at a time when resistance to Imperial rule was growing throughout the Empire . Niriz was also initially uneasy with Thrawn , who continually countermanded his orders and assigned the captain to what he considered to be menial tasks . After several hyperspace jumps that took the " Admonitor " through the Outer Rim Territories and Wild Space , the ship arrived in the Unknown Regions and began scouting star systems . In the fifteenth system , the Imperials encountered several ships commanded by the Ebruchi pirate Creysis . Niriz was wary of the Ebruchi and ordered a squadron of TIE fighters to warn them back , only to have his order overruled by Thrawn . The admiral instead contacted Creysis and announced the " Admonitor " as an Alderaanian colony ship , accepting Creysis ' s offer to assist in finding a suitable planet for the colonists and arranging to meet the Ebruchi aboard the " Admonitor " . Niriz and Thrawn met Creysis in the " Admonitor " hangar . Thrawn agreed to send the fictional " Council of Colonists " to Creysis ' s command ship to conduct negotiations . In return Creysis requested a TIE fighter in return for his help , but Thrawn instead offered a golden sculpture , which Creysis accepted . When Creysis left , Niriz cautioned against sending a delegation to the Ebruchi ship and suggested a show of strength . Thrawn , however , insisted that they should take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about the Ebruchi and instructed Niriz to select three TIE pilot s who could remain cool under fire to escort the mission . Parck and six stormtroopers , posing as the Council of Colonists , set out in a " Zeta " - class shuttle for Creysis ' s vessel . After the shuttle entered the hangar , the Ebruchi ' s escort starfighters opened fire on its TIE escorts . Niriz immediately ordered the " Admonitor " to intercept , but Thrawn countermanded him , ordering a slow approach to maintain the illusion that the Star Destroyer was a colony ship , resulting in the capture of one of the TIEs . With Thrawn ' s orders putting men in the hands of Creysis , Niriz became more and more convinced his commander was incompetent . The commander of the ship ' s infantry complement , General Larr Haverel , approached Niriz , suggesting that Thrawn was in league with Creysis and had to be removed from command . Though he found the implication frighteningly easy to believe , Niriz ' s pride in his service in the fleet and respect for authority caused him to reject Haverel ' s idea as mutiny . Niriz intended to inform Thrawn of the issue , but was preempted when Haverel returned with six troopers and demanded Thrawn return to his quarters and hand over command to Niriz . However , Niriz stood with his commander , telling Haverel he would find no support in Niriz or the crew . As Haverel prepared to act anyway , Thrawn received the key he had been waiting for . The admiral had allowed the TIE fighter to be captured , having already modified the fighter to disguise its capabilities . Having examined the captured fighter and determined that the Imperials were no threat , Creysis had dispatched a courier to his superiors , taking the sculpture as a sign of the " Admonitor " wealth . As Niriz began to grasp the depth of Thrawn ' s strategy and the reason for his delays and seeming inaction , the admiral sprang into action , handily defeating Creysis and rescuing Parck ' s team . Following a homing beacon hidden in the sculpture , Thrawn proceeded to take the " Admonitor " to Creysis ' s home base , ending the Ebruchi threat . Following the defeat of the Ebruchi , Niriz offered Thrawn his resignation as captain of the " Admonitor " and expected to be sent back to Coruscant with Haverel for court - martial . However , Parck approached Niriz and informed him that the admiral had rejected his resignation ; Thrawn had been testing Niriz ' s loyalty and , by standing with Thrawn against Haverel , Niriz had passed . Parck revealed to him that the mission was not punishment at all , but instead a secret mission to subdue the myriad threats of the Unknown Regions and provide a foothold for future Imperial expansion . Niriz would be key to this vital mission . Infused with a sense of purpose , Niriz experienced a new commitment to Thrawn and the mission . Return to known space . Niriz continued to serve Thrawn loyally , completing numerous campaigns in the Unknown Regions under the Grand Admiral ' s leadership . In 2 ABY , Thrawn returned to the Empire proper in order to assist Darth Vader in his efforts to undermine Prince Xizor , the head of the Black Sun crime syndicate and a personal enemy of the Dark Lord of the Sith . To this end , Thrawn planned to create a distraction for Xizor by removing Black Sun vigo Zekka Thyne from Corellia , putting an effective end to Black Sun ' s operations on the planet . Niriz and the " Admonitor " returned with him . Since intervention by Imperial forces would implicate Vader , Thrawn sought a civilian vessel on which to travel to Corellia . Niriz played a critical role in shanghaiing the crew of the YT - 1300 light freighter " Hopskip " into aiding Thrawn by capturing their freighter and revealing the extremely sudden imposition of a licensing requirement for their cargo — which he was prepared to waive if the crew would deliver a cargo for him . Niriz also introduced them to the bounty hunter Jodo Kast , who he claimed would serve as their guide for the mission and with whom he put on a convincing argument to demonstrate their mutual disliking and hide the fact that Kast was actually Thrawn disguised in Mandalorian armor . Once out of sight of the smugglers , Niriz — who was unaware of Vader ' s involvement and the need for Thrawn to get personally involved — felt free to voice his reservations about the plan to the Grand Admiral , displaying great concern for his safety . The " Hopskip " departed once their cargo was unloaded and the new cargo loaded aboard . Niriz and Thrawn knew that among the " Hopskip " cargo of Pashkin sausage s were numerous crates of blasters being smuggled to the Rebel Alliance . While waiting for the " Hopskip " to return , Niriz had the crates opened and homing beacons installed inside each of the hidden blasters to enable the Empire to locate the Rebels . When Thrawn returned after having successfully brought down Thyne , Niriz expressed his relief at the Grand Admiral ' s safe return and informed him that the plan to track the " Hopskip " cargo was in place — a plan that would eventually lead to the Empire ' s critical victory at the Battle of Derra IV . When Vader arrived aboard the " Admonitor " , Niriz was privy to conversations between Thrawn and Vader detailing their plot against Xizor . Once this high - level discussion was carried out , Vader departed and the " Admonitor " set course for the Unknown Regions once more , but not before Thrawn revealed his payment for the assistance : control of the Noghri commandos . The Empire of the Hand . In 4 ABY , Emperor Palpatine was killed at the Battle of Endor . While the New Republic battled the Empire and numerous rogue Imperials for control of the known galaxy , Thrawn initially remained in the Unknown Regions , where his holdings transformed into the Empire of the Hand . In 9 ABY , Thrawn returned to the Empire to lead a renewed push against the New Republic , leaving Parck in command of the Empire of the Hand . No mention of Niriz was made at any point after the Empire of the Hand ' s existence was revealed to the New Republic in 19 ABY , but Niriz never returned to official duty with the Empire . Personality and traits . Initially pressured by his family into joining the Academy , Dagon Niriz devoted himself to his studies and allowed his passion for the Empire to motivate him to succeed in his career . Niriz quickly gained a reputation as a diligent officer , who adhered strictly to the chain of command — even when he did not care for his commanding officer — and was quick to assess a situation and apply the appropriate action as dictated by regulations . If death was part of his duty , he would accept it as necessary . Niriz took great pride in his family ' s tradition of naval service and was ashamed to find himself linked to Thrawn and an Imperial Court scandal . Though he initially resented his assignment to Thrawn as a career - ending exile which he did not deserve , he did not allow it to impact his performance as an officer . Thrawn ' s unorthodox tactics left Niriz torn between loyalty to his commander and his dedication to Imperial procedures . When forced to choose , Niriz sided with Thrawn and refused to be involved in Haverel ' s attempted mutiny . When he discovered that the mission held vital importance , though not public recognition , Niriz was inspired to continue and became extremely dedicated to it , showing that it was not praise and promotions which he sought , but the ability to make a difference in important work . Niriz also came to greatly admire Thrawn , whom he had initially looked down on as a fool and even an incompetent . Upon fully understanding Thrawn ' s tactics , he became wholly committed to his superior officer , and was extremely protective and supportive of the admiral , who he believed could teach him more than any other mentor . Behind the scenes . The character of Dagon Niriz was created by Timothy Zahn for the 1996 " Star Wars Adventure Journal 11 " short story " Command Decision " . The character has only been written or referenced in stories by Zahn , with the exception of a brief mention by other characters in the middle chapters of " Side Trip " , written by frequent Zahn collaborator Michael A . Stackpole . Niriz ' s actual appearances in " Side Trip " were in the two chapters written by Zahn . This lack of references has left Niriz ' s fate open - ended . Even in " Vision of the Future " , written by Zahn and dealing heavily with the Empire of the Hand , Niriz ' s fate is not resolved beyond the fact that he never returned to the Empire from the Unknown Regions . In " Command Decision " , Niriz fills the same role in relation to Thrawn as does Gilad Pellaeon in the . Both characters are the captains of Thrawn ' s flagships and frequently observe his tactics without understanding them until Thrawn explains them in the end . Their questioning of Thrawn allows Zahn to provide expository dialogue on Thrawn ' s tactics and thought processes without revealing the plot to the reader in advance of the surprise conclusion . In addition , both Niriz and Pellaeon played similar roles within the " Star Wars " galaxy as protégés of Thrawn who observed his tactics at work and learned from his side . Niriz went on to carry on Thrawn ' s legacy in the Empire of the Hand , while Pellaeon became Grand Admiral and supreme commander of the Imperial Remnant , carrying on Thrawn ' s legacy in the mainstream Empire as well .