Waffle

Waffle was a human male Imperial death trooper who served Grand Admiral Thrawn of the Imperial Navy's Seventh Fleet. In 1 BBY, he and fellow death trooper Pik accompanied Assistant Director Colonel Brierly Ronan of the Empire's Project Stardust and Lieutenant Eli Vanto of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet to the city Tiquwe on the Mid Rim Territories planet of Aloxor to investigate a series of thefts from the Project Stardust. The objective of their mission was to locate a freighter and find conclusive proof of sabotage against Stardust.
As Tiquwe was a hotspot for criminal and pirate activity, Waffle was sent as protection for the two officers, although he and Pik were dispatched undercover, without their armor and heavy weaponry. Upon arrival at the Tiquwe spaceport, the group was attacked by a gang led by the pirate Sisay—who flagged the group for being "bad for business." While being interrogated, Vanto claimed that he had been hired by the Hutt Clan to kill Grand Admiral Balanhai Savit, who had undertaken an anti-piracy campaign in the Esaga sector—the sector Aloxor lay in. After further inspection, Sisay came across the Imperial data cards the group carried, and had the local slicer known as "Mole" to verify if they had indeed come from the Hutts as Vanto claimed. Despite the datacards being genuine, Mole assured the woman they were a forgery. The slicer then led Waffle and the group to a backdoor in the Imperial section of the spaceport where they could bypass Imperial checkpoints and stormtroopers.
After their arrival, Sisay and her gang leveled their blasters at Waffle and the group, claiming that Vanto's story did not add up. Before Waffle could act, Mole quickly incapacicated the pirates and killed Sisay, revealing himself to be Imperial Security Bureau "ISB" Major Dayja Collerand. He led them to the freighter they sought, the Brylan Ross, where Ronan and Vanto quickly found proof of sabotage. However, Ronan and Collerand double-crossed the group and hijacked the freighter, leaving Waffle, Pik, and Vanto stranded on Aloxor. They returned to their ship and journeyed to the Chiss heavy cruiser Steadfast—the warship where Vanto was stationed.
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==Biography==
===Arrival on Aloxor===
Waffle was the name of a human male death trooper who served in the personal guard of Grand Admiral Thrawn of the Imperial Navy's Seventh Fleet, during the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic. In 1 BBYStar Wars: Timelines Waffle's Primary, Thrawn, was tasked with identifying the party responsible for a series of thefts from the Empire's Project Stardust—which oversaw the construction of the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station. Thrawn had identified the Mid Rim Territories planet Aloxor as one of the worlds that received and distributed resources for the the project, and that it was one of the worlds where the stolen components originated. As such, he sent his former aide, Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet Lieutenant Eli Vanto, and Colonel Brierly Ronan of the Imperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research, who also served as the Assistant Director on the Death Star Project, to the city of Tiquwe to investigate the thefts and find conclusive proof of sabotage against Stardust.
As Tiquwe was a hotspot for criminal and pirate activity, Waffle and fellow death trooper Pik were sent alongside the two officers as a protection detail. However, the troopers were dispatched without their death trooper armor and heavy weaponry, as they were undercover. Additionally, Vanto was made aware Waffle and Pik were death troopers prior to the mission, while Ronan was not. The Grand Admiral wished for the two men to retain their anonymity if the Colonel brought charges of treason against Thrawn, as he believed the Chiss' partnership with Vanto's commanding officer, Expansionary Defense Fleet Admiral Ar'alani, went against the best interests of the Empire. While en route to Aloxor, Waffle coldly interrupted Vanto while the latter informed him of their destination, leading the lieutenant to believe that since he had defected from the Empire, the death trooper did not like him, and only offered his barest level of courtesy out of respect for Thrawn.
As Waffle set the coordinates for Tiquwe, he explained that the entire city was a "scum town"—there was a small section of the spaceport that was decent, a smaller section operated by the Imperials, and the largest section belonging to smugglers and pirates. He added that the the general populace either assisted the pirates or stayed out of their way, and that there was no one they could call on for assistance. The death trooper warned Ronan to leave his "fancy whites"—his Assistant Director uniform—aboard the shuttle, but Ronan insisted on putting it into his carrybag. After landing and exiting their vessel, Waffle stressed to the two officers that if there was any killing or talking to be done, it would be carried out by the death troopers, and that Vanto and Ronan needed to stay out of their way.
===Finding a Mole===
Immediately after leaving the spaceport, the group was attacked by a group of pirates. After a short skirmish, the death troopers were able subdue the attackers, at one point using a comlink to knock a blaster out of an assailants hand. As Waffle explained that his comlink was specially reinforced, a new assailant named Skulk raised his blaster at Vanto, with a number of reinforcements by his side. The gang's leader, Sisay, explained that they had flagged the group as being "bad for business," and that she believed they were in league with Grand Admiral Balanhai Savit, who had undertaken an anti-piracy campaign in Aloxor's sector, the Esaga sector. Waffle questioned if she really believed Savit had any interest in Aloxor, which he called a "dirtball." Skulk added that while the group had the ship and clothes to blend into the city, they didn't have the faces or attitude. He stated that they would take the group for interrogation and to conduct a search of their gear, but before Waffle and Pik could make a move against the pirates, Vanto agreed to their interrogation—under some of his own conditions.
Skulk led them inside a chocolate shop after telling the owner, Jeffrie, to vacate the premises. Vanto fabricated a story stating that he was the replacement of the smuggler known as Nightswan, and as a result he had inherited Nightswan's debts—including one from the Hutt Clan that tasked him with killing Savit. He explained that Ronan, who he had introduced as "Snick," would impersonate "Assistant Director Ronan," allowing them to board a freighter bound for Savit's flagship, the Imperial Star Destroyer Firedrake. Temporarily convinced, Sisay assured the group that she would lead them to the Imperial part of the port, but instead led them to her stronghold, in order to inspect their gear and carrybags. Sisay revealed that the guard shift change was the best time to move on the port, and that was not for another three hours. She offered the group a drink, prompting Waffle to state that they did not want alcohol and wanted to get on with their job. While inspecting their gear, a member of Sisay's gang, Brackis, handed the woman the four data cards they planned to use to board the ship bound for Savit's star destroyer, which she claimed were too good to be a forgery. She stated that Vanto's story did not add up, as the Hutts never hired "nobodies." However, before she could have her crew torture Waffle and the group for their true intentions, a local slicer named "Mole" arrived at the stronghold.
As she was about to send the slicer away, Sisay realized she could ask him to verify if Waffle and the groups datacards were infact forgeries, and paid Mole one-hundred credits to do so. Despite them being the genuine article, the slicer assured Sisay that they were forgeries. Before he left, Mole asked if the group had the new entry passes needed to enter the Imperial port, put in to effect by the Governor of the Esaga sector, Moff Haveland. As they did not, Mole offered to forge them for Waffle and the group, but after learning they had no cargo and simply wanted to enter the port, he stated he could take them to the backdoor of the Imperial port—to which Vanto and Sisay agreed. As they neared the backdoor, however, Sisay and her gang leveled their blasters at Waffle and the group, claiming that Vanto's story regarding the Hutts was false. After Sisay assured him she was not going to kill him, Mole asked for the one-hundred credits he had been promised. As Brackis handed the slicer the credits, Mole attacked the man, quickly incapacitated the other members, and shot and killed Sisay.
===Sabotage===
Mole revealed himself to be Major Dayja Collerand of the Imperial Security Bureau "ISB," and stated that he had been sent by ISB Colonel Wullf Yularen, a close associate of Thrawn's, to keep an eye on the group. Collerand quickly figured out that Waffle and Pik were death troopers, which finally let Ronan in on the secret. After the assistant director assured the troopers that he had no qualms regarding their identities, Collerand led them to the freighter they sought—the Brylan Ross. Collerand and Ronan entered the vessel where they quickly found proof of sabotage, while Waffle, Vanto, and Pik examined the hull for signs of tampering. After finding out that the compressed argon gas needed for the maneuvring jets had been replaced with Clouzon-36 gas, Vanto had Waffle summon the assistant director, and shared his discovery with him.
Having found conclusive proof of sabotage, Ronan claimed he was going to take holo's of the contraband he had found inside, but in truth planned to hijack the freighter and take it to his superior, Director Orson Callan Krennic, as he believed it was the only way to keep the evidence safe. However, Collerand had quickly worked out the assistant director's plan, but chose to assist him on his quest. Abandoning Waffle, Vanto, and Pik at the spaceport, they planned to take the freighter to the planetStar Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide Scarif—Project Stardust's base of operations—but were quickly apprehended by the ISD Stormbird, a part of Savit's Third Fleet. Stranded at the Imperial port the death troopers and Vanto made their way back to the shuttle they came to Aloxor on, and eventually traveled back to Thrawn's flagship, the ISD Chimaera.
However, only the ship Vanto served on, the Chiss heavy cruiser Steadfast was present. Vanto asked the troopers to board the heavy cruiser, but Waffle stated that as death troopers, they did not board non-Imperial ships unless their Primary did. However, Vanto stated that they were under orders from Thrawn to protect him, and again ordered them to board the Steadfast which they reluctantly did. Eventually, Thrawn had deduced that Savit was behind the sabotage and thefts of Project Stardust's shipping line, and confronted his fellow grand admiral, leading to Savit's arrest for treason against the Empire.
==Personality and traits==
Waffle was a human male death trooper who, according to Vanto, had been "specially trained to deal death and destruction and leave nothing but scorched ground behind them." He was bigger than the average human, had a symmetrical face, neatly trimmed hair, and had lean but well-defined musculature. The death trooper had "cold and piercing" eyes that held a touch of passion, a touch of pride, and a touch of muted craziness. Vanto believed that he had a body and face that would be ideal for Imperial recruitment displays. Like all death troopers, Waffle had undergone medical augmentation that made him "somewhat beyond human." During his service aboard the Chimaera, Vanto had heard stories that death troopers had been medically augmented that made them less human—which he no longer doubted after meeting Waffle. Despite serving as a commanding officer to only stormtroopers, the death trooper had a tone and boldness that came with authority.
Fiercely loyal to the Empire and his Primary, Waffle did not like Vanto as the latter had defected from the Empire to join the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet—living as a traitor in the eyes of many. However, he offered his barest level of courtesy and followed Vanto's orders during the mission to Tiquwe out of respect for Thrawn. As he was sent to Aloxor without his death trooper armor, Waffle wore civilian clothes that matched with the atmosphere in Tiquwe. He was a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, holding his own against Sisay's pirates despite being outnumbered. At one point, he was able to use a comlink to nearly disarm an attacker, later revealing that the item was specially reinforced. When Vanto agreed to be interrogated by Sisay and her gang, Waffle gave the lieutenant a look of half-annoyance and half-thoughtful speculation.
==Equipment==
While serving as a member of Thrawn's guard, Waffle wore black death trooper armor, and carried a BlasTech E11D rifle. While on the mission to Tiquwe, he wore civilian clothes that matched the environment of the scum-town, and carried weapons that fit into the location. The death trooper also carried a reinforced comlink that he used nearly disarm Sisay.
==Behind the scenes==
Waffle appeared in the 2019 novel Thrawn: Treason, the final installment in Timothy Zahn's canon Star Wars: Thrawn trilogy.
==Appearances==
*Thrawn: Treason 
==Notes and references==
Category:7th Fleet personnel
Category:Death troopers
Category:Guards
Category:Humans
Category:Males