Stevan Makintay

Stevan Makintay, also known as "Mak," was a Human male born on the planet of Hargeeva. The son of the world's High King, Makintay was raised in wealth and privilege. Despite his heritage, Lord Makintay, as he was known, held the view that all beings were equal. When the Galactic Empire annexed Hargeeva in 7 BBY, Makintay used the opportunity to attend the Imperial Academy and learn how to pilot starfighters. Upon his return, he fell in love with a lowborn commoner, Ketrian Altronel, and announced his intention to marry her. This action, along with his critical opposition of his father's oppression of the lower classes of Hargeevan society, led his father to disinherit Makintay. He also arranged for his son's kidnapping and incarceration at the Imperial penal colony on Garen IV. Makintay escaped with the aid of his friend, the Sullustan Merinda Niemeh, and the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Returning to Hargeeva, Makintay established a small Rebel cell on the planet. The movement snowballed, erupting into an uprising that was violently subjugated by Imperial forces under the command of Major Nial Pedrin. Makintay escaped Hargeeva, eventually joining the Alliance proper.
Makintay flew T-65 X-wing starfighters for the Alliance, and was stationed at Echo Base on the planet of Hoth as part of the fighter complement. During the evacuation of the base necessitated by its discovery by Imperial forces, Makintay was a member of Rogue Squadron, flying snowspeeders. Flying as Rogue Nine with his gunner, Barlon Hightower, the pair survived the battle and escaped Hoth. Makintay was transferred to Eyrie Base on the planet of Karatha, where he commanded Green Squadron. A shortage of supplies and critical parts for the Alliance forced Makintay to undergo a risky mission to Hargeeva to contact his former fiancée, Ketrian Altronel, and convince her to join the Alliance. Altronel, however, believed that Makintay had abandoned her for a life in space, unaware of his father's machinations. During their meeting, Imperial forces captured them, bounding them over for transport to the Imperial capital of Coruscant. During the transfer, the pair were rescued by friends of Makintay's from Eyrie Base. Altronel agreed to join the Alliance after discovering the truth about Makintay's disappearance and discovering that the Empire had killed her friend, Alikka Nolan.
However, Altronel had been intentionally poisoned with Xebonica during the intended trip to Coruscant, and was regularly being dosed with the antidote, Trypanid. Standard Imperial procedure for Class A Security Risks such as Altronel—whose metallurgical work had created a new alloy with impressive heat-absorption capabilities—was to poison them during transport from secure areas and keep the effects at bay to prevent them from defecting or becoming a liability as prisoners. Although the Alliance was aware of the treatment for such poisonings, the standard treatment was not working. Makintay and Merinda Niemeh traveled back to Hargeeva to capture Major Pedrin, who had infected Altronel in the first place, as they believed that she had been poisoned with a new compound only he could cure. While their mission was successful, upon their return to Eyrie Base Makintay discovered that Altronel's condition was not caused by Pedrin, but by a fellow Hargeevan, Assistant Medic Astina Griek, who blamed Altronel's work for the deaths of her husband and son at the hands of the Empire. Makintay confronted Griek, who was also in possession of an antidote to cure Altronel. Subsequently, a struggle with Pedrin ensued as he sought to escape Alliance custody. Makintay was stabbed in the back, and Griek was killed by a blaster fired by Pedrin. The Major was then stunned and captured by Alliance forces, Altronel was cured with Griek's antidote, and Makintay recovered from his injuries.
==Biography==
===The man who would be king===
Stevan Makintay—who was often referred to simply as "Mak"—was born in 25 BBY on the planet of Hargeeva in the Expansion Region. A feudal world, Hargeeva was ruled by a royal family, and Makintay's father was the planet's High King. Raised in the palace in Arginall City, Makintay—known by his title of "Lord"—grew up surrounded by wealth, received an extensive education and studied noble pursuits. In 17 BBY, on his eighth birthday, Makintay was taken for the customary training with his father's Palace Guard, where he learned to become an excellent swordsman.
In 7 BBY, Hargeeva was annexed by the Galactic Empire when it was discovered that the planet's mountain ranges had extensive mineral deposits. Makintay's father was promoted to the rank of Imperial governor, and at first the population welcomed the influx of wealth and technology to Hargeeva. However, the benefits were restricted to the elite of Hargeeva's society, and the impoverished lower classes saw little change. The Empire established a garrison and refinery on the planet under the command of Major Nial Pedrin, a former AT-AT platoon commander whose cross-training in geology made him the perfect candidate for the assignment. Makintay, meanwhile, used the Imperial interest in the planet to attend the Imperial Academy, where he trained as a starfighter pilot and gained a love of flying. After graduating, he returned to Hargeeva, joining his father's court. There, he witnessed his father oppressing the masses and saw the injustices present within Hargeevan society. He was vocally critical of his father and his policies. During this time, Makintay met Merinda Niemeh, a Sullustan technician employed by the High King to upgrade the equipment in his palace. The two became friends, and the middle-aged Niemeh acted as a mentor of sorts to the young noble.
At a fencing class, Makintay met Ketrian Altronel, a lowborn young woman training in the metallurgical sciences. The pair fell in love, but Altronel grew jealous when a fellow student began making advances towards Makintay, and she challenged her rival to a duel. Makintay stepped in to break it up, but Altronel used her sword to cut Makintay, scarring his face from the corner of his right eye to his earlobe. Despite this, in 2 BBY Makintay announced his intention to marry Altronel. His father was shocked; he had arranged a marriage with a highborn noblewoman for Makintay, and refused to allow his son to marry Altronel because she was lowborn. Makintay insisted, and was subsequently disinherited by his father. Makintay and Altronel began to plan their wedding, but Makintay's father arranged for his son to be kidnapped by the Empire and sent to a penal colony on the planet of Garen IV under a false identity. The High King told Altronel that Makintay had abandoned her to pursue his first love—flying.
After a year in the penal colony, Makintay escaped with several members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic during a raid. His friend, Merinda Niemeh, had doggedly uncovered the truth about Makintay's incarceration and played a major part in his rescue. Indebted to the Rebels for freeing him, he returned to Hargeeva in secret and began to organize a rebel cell. The population became enthusiastic, however, and the movement grew too quickly. Spiraling out of control, an uprising took place, which was put down by Imperial forces commanded by Major Pedrin. Makintay and a few of his friends barely escaped off-planet, but his involvement was well-known. He was considered to be an escaped felon on Hargeeva, and was given the death mark for his actions.
===If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything===
After leaving Hargeeva, Makintay found work as a tramp freighter pilot and smuggler and occasionally dealt with a pirate group commanded by an individual named Uskgarv. Eventually, he was contacted by the Alliance, and joined up with them, along with Merinda Niemeh. Assigned to the Starfighter Corps, Makintay put his flight skills to good use by piloting T-65 X-wing starfighters. At some point, he attained command of a fighter squadron, but was demoted from the position. In 3 ABY,The New Essential Chronology dates the Battle of Hoth to 3 ABY. Makintay was stationed at the Alliance's Echo Base, on the ice planet of Hoth, as part of the starfighter complement. Shortly after being declared operational, the base was discovered by Imperial forces, necessitating an immediate evacuation. Makintay was part of Rogue Squadron—hastily cobbled together from pilots assigned to Rogue Group, Green and Blue Squadrons—that was sent to delay a force of incoming AT-AT walkers. Flying as Rogue Nine, he was partnered with Barlon Hightower as his gunner. Makintay and Hightower's snowspeeder survived the battle, and the pair escaped off-planet.The Essential Guide to Warfare
Following the defeat on Hoth, Makintay, now a commander, was transferred to Eyrie Base, located on the planet of Karatha in the Expansion Region. There, he was placed in command of Green Squadron. With Echo Base lost, Eyrie Base was one of the Alliance installations to provide aid to Alliance High Command and assisted them to establish a new base. However, due to this, Eyrie Base found itself critically short of supplies, including food and spare parts to keep its X-wings flying. To try and alleviate the situation, Commander Biros Baran, the base's intelligence officer, had passed word to Fighter Command that a stray Imperial supply carrier had been located. Makintay and his fellow squadron leaders requested extra fighter support to ensure the success of the mission, but were refused. Fighter Command could not spare the time necessary to repair the grounded X-wings, and Intelligence promised that the opposition would be light.
Green and Blue Squadrons, assisted by a Corellian CR90 corvette, attacked the supply carrier, jamming communications to its TIE/LN starfighter escort. The Alliance X-wings swarmed the carrier, and had almost disabled the vessel when the TIE escort returned to the carrier, having bypassed the Alliance's jamming signals. Makintay ordered a retreat, but one of his pilots, Dru Gifford, attempted one last attack on the ventral engine. Blue Squadron and the corvette followed Makintay's orders, but the remaining fighters of Green Squadron delayed their retreat. Gifford's actions had picked up a TIE tail, and Makintay attempted to save the young pilot. He managed to divert two of Gifford's pursuers, but was unable to prevent the death of the pilot. In the process, Makintay lost one of his fighter's port-side laser cannons and barely avoided crashing into the carrier's underbelly. Repeating his orders to Green Squadron to pull out, Makintay evaded pursuit himself and leapt to hyperspace.
Makintay intended to delay being debriefed by Fighter Command upon his return, and directly confront Commander Baran to swear that he would never again go out on a mission unprepared. However, he met Merinda Niemeh—now serving as Eyrie Base's Chief Technician—in the hangar and she convinced him to calm down lest he be demoted again. Makintay, realizing that not being in command of the squadron would place someone with lesser skills in charge of his pilots, thereby endangering their safety, relented. Niemeh informed him that she had been working on a plan to obtain the parts Eyrie Base needed without resorting to raiding missions by securing experts who could manufacture the replacement parts and supplies they needed. Makintay immediately thought of contacting Ketrian Altronel for her expertise in geology and metallurgy, and the plan was approved by Alliance High Command. A contact team was put together to meet her on Hargeeva, led by the Alderaanian Merak. Although he knew that Merak could handle the initial contact, Makintay maneuvered himself onto the team so that he could meet with Altronel. Aware of the lies perpetrated by his father and Empire about his disappearance from Hargeeva, Makintay felt the need to explain everything to Altronel.
===You can't go home again===
The team contacted a friend of Altronel's, a Rebel sympathizer by the name of Alikka Nolan who was also the Arginall refinery's personnel supervisor. Nolan arranged with an antiques dealer by the name of Grathal for the pair to be taken to the warehouse where the team was based in Arginall City. Grathal met them at the Lantern Inn, and then escorted them out of the rear entrance to avoid the guards that Major Pedrin insisted accompany Altronel at all times as she was considered to be a strategic asset to the Empire. At the warehouse, Makintay and the team met with Altronel, where he attempted to explain the reasons for his disappearance. Altronel was furious at him, believing that he had ran from his father's threats and had abandoned her to be in space. Makintay revealed the truth behind his disappearance, and told her the reason he had not contacted her during his previous return to Hargeeva was to protect her as he was a wanted criminal, and she was secure in her position working for the Empire. He convinced her to at least listen to what the Rebel contact team had to say, but after an hour Altronel proclaimed that the Alliance was no better than the Empire; all they cared about was what Altronel could do for them, and felt that all Makintay cared about was repairing his X-wings. Reluctantly, Makintay agreed to escort Altronel and Nolan back home. Upon exiting the warehouse, the Rebels inside were attacked by Imperial troops; Altronel's guards had discovered that she was missing from the inn and had learned of their location after questioning Grathal upon his return to the establishment after delivering Altronel and Nolan to the warehouse. Makintay attempted to protect both women from Imperial reprisals by claiming that they were his hostages before all three were stunned into unconsciousness.
Taken to the Imperial garrison, Makintay shared a cell with Nolan. Major Pedrin attempted to get Makintay to reveal the location of Eyrie Base, but his efforts proved to be in vain. Makintay's father—who had sworn to never speak to his son again—was ordered by Imperial High Command to offer his son full reinstatement to his birthright if he cooperated with the Empire, but Makintay refused. Pedrin turned to drugs, but Makintay had been well conditioned to resist Imperial interrogation. Traditional methods of torture were employed, leaving Makintay with bruises and blood-stained clothing. Drugs were also used on Nolan, but their effects overloaded her heart, killing her; Makintay held her as she died. With Makintay still refusing to break and reveal the location of Eyrie Base, Imperial High Command ordered him to be transferred to the Imperial capital, Coruscant, where experts in interrogation and torture would take over. Bruised, bloodied and chained, Makintay was dragged to a waiting shuttle that would transfer him to a transport for travel to Coruscant, and discovered that Altronel would be boarding the same shuttle.
===Poisons, and pirates, and lies! Oh, my!===
A day into the journey, Makintay was taken from his tiny cell aboard the transport to a small room where he was strapped into a chair. Altronel had gained permission to speak to Makintay by Pedrin in an attempt to coax him into revealing the location of his Rebel base. She had agreed to help Pedrin in return for the Major freeing Nolan; Altronel was unaware her friend was dead as Pedrin claimed she was still being questioned. Makintay and Altronel talked, and he told her of Nolan's death, which upset and angered her. During the conversation, Makintay noticed that Altronel was unwell; her skin was tinged greenish-yellow, and her eyes appeared feverish. She claimed that the constant hyperspace jumps the transport was making were the cause, despite never being space sick in the past. Makintay wondered if being stunned were to blame, but she told him that a medical droid had given her an injection to counteract the blast. The pilot realized that Altronel had been poisoned by Pedrin; he had seen similar cases of poisoning amongst Imperial defectors who had arrived at Eyrie Base. It was the Empire's way of ensuring that personnel classified as a Class A Security Risk would not end up as useful defectors or healthy prisoners if they were captured during transport from secure areas. Regular injections of the proscribed antidote would keep the drug's lethal effect at bay until a full treatment regime could be implemented once the individual was secure. Knowing there was an antidote, Makintay decided not to worry her with the details.
The transport was attacked by pirates, and a naval ensign entered the room to escort Altronel back to her cabin while the troopers aboard fought the enemy. Pretending to have hurt her ankle during the initial attack, Altronel lured the ensign close, and then struck him with a heavy object in her pocket, knocking him unconscious. Altronel showed it to Makintay and revealed that it was her new alloy, a modified form of ostrine that had heat-absorption properties. It was the reason that she was being transferred to Coruscant, as Imperial High Command saw great potential in the discovery. Taking the ensign's uniform and weapon, Makintay kissed Altronel and reaffirmed his love for her before they left the room to find an escape pod to leave the ship. It quickly became apparent that the Empire was losing ground to the pirates, and that the pair would have to find a less public route to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Makintay also realized that the attacking pirates were led by Uskgarv, and consisted of methane-breathing Ghawems, who generally flooded the decks with methane gas after they had captured them. They worked in tandem with a slave species, the Myills, who were oxygen-breathers. Both species wore breathers with their respective atmosphere during boarding operations, and Makintay hoped to procure some oxygen breathers off the Myills. Despite her protests, Makintay insisted that Altronel hide in the ship's internal conduits while he procured the needed supplies. She was constantly shivering, and Makintay feared for her health.
Makintay obtained two oxygen breathers and several emergency survival packs, along with a few more bruises and a shallow cut to his forehead. He discovered that the pirates had driven the Imperials off of the ship, and that all the escape pods had been launched. Gathering supplies, he returned to the conduit where he had left Altronel. Relaying the bad news concerning the escape pods to her, Makintay revealed he had a new plan: stay hidden on the ship until the ship made port, then sneak off. Altronel disliked the idea of being taken to a pirate base, but Makintay told her that the chances of them taking the ship straight to a buyer were equally as good. Altronel's condition continued to worsen, and she complained of being freezing. Makintay's worry for her condition deepened, and he intended to seek help from the pirates if she got worse, knowing that the transport's sick bay carried a supply of the antidote. Altronel eventually realized that Makintay knew what was wrong with her, and demanded the truth from him. He told her, then resolved to get her help from Uskgarv, intending to rely on the fact that he had traded with the pirate in the past.
Makintay left the conduit, and found that the majority of the pirates, including Uskgarv, had left the ship, leaving only a few Myills and their bosses to strip the vessel. Attack ships were inbound to the vessel, and the pirates intended to leave before they arrived. Returning to Altronel, Makintay told her about the incoming ships, which he presumed to be an Imperial rescue force. Knowing that they would be able to administer the antidote the Altronel, Makintay intended to continue hiding in the conduits and hope that the Empire believed that he had died in the attack before jumping ship. Altronel refused to leave Makintay's side again, not wanting to return to the Empire. She realized the ship's doctor had been giving her the antidote to keep the poison under control during the voyage, and she intended to raid the transport's sick bay, bring the medicine back to the conduit and hide out with Makintay until they could both escape. She also resolved to join the Alliance and give them the secret of her new alloy to honor Alikka Nolan's death. Makintay insisted on joining her in the attempt, and as they traveled through the corridors they were attacked by the new boarders. Makintay soon realized that they were not pirates or stormtroopers, but Rebels led by his subordinate, Hal Dallin. Identifying himself, Makintay stepped into the corridor and confronted his friends, who had been actively searching for him since hearing of his capture. Taken aboard the Alliance corvette that had rescued them, a doctor administered the antidote to Altronel.
===Lock your door, call the law, Makintay's back in town===
Upon returning to Eyrie Base, Makintay was treated for his injuries by Doctor Tarrek, who placed him in a hypno-trance and used anti-trauma de-programming in an attempt to help him over the psychological trauma of his torture and interrogation. Despite the antidote seeming to fight off the poison at first after being administered, Altronel took a turn for the worse and fell into a coma. She was looked after by Doctor Tarrek, who tried a series of antidotes in an attempt to cure her. Makintay stayed by her bedside, blaming himself for her condition. While he knew, logically, that they would have doped her with the poison during any transfer operation due to her security classification, he believed that without his presence, she would have been safe and sound on Coruscant. Believing that Pedrin must have created a new poison for Altronel, Makintay decided to return to Hargeeva and force the answers from him. As he left, he accidentally bumped into Assistant Medic Astina Griek, a lowborn Hargeevan with whom he had been friends since they joined the Alliance. Despite that, Griek was still cowed by Hargeevan nobility, and initially refused his apology, blaming herself for the accident until Makintay insisted otherwise.
The base commander, Colonel Farland, was away at Sector Command, forcing Makintay to seek approval for his mission from Commander Baran. The Intelligence Officer, however, refused his request, believing that it was an unacceptable security risk for Makintay to return to Hargeeva. Believing that the Hargeevan was too personally involved in the matter, he told Makintay that he should never have been allowed to return to his homeworld at all, and that Altronel's condition was his fault. Enraged, Makintay grabbed Baran by the collar, hauled him across the desk and punched him, knocking him unconsciousness. In the hangar, Makintay realized that taking his X-wing to Hargeeva was impossible unless he wanted to announce his presence to the Empire. Chief Technician Niemeh, who had been aware of Makintay's plan in its original form—which called for his entire squadron to undertake the mission—had made sure all their starfighters were in optimal condition. However, when Makintay revealed he had punched Commander Baran and that he was undertaking the mission alone and without authorization, Niemeh revealed that she had been working on an alternative plan that included utilizing a small, two-person freighter that Red Team had acquired on the planet Ongella in the Inner Rim. The Sullustan had stashed all the supplies they needed on board, including an R2-series astromech droid. Despite Makintay's efforts to get Niemeh to stay behind, she told him that she would travel to Hargeeva alone if necessary.
Arriving in Arginall City, the pair posed as off-world traders delivering technical equipment to the city's industrial sector. Infiltrating a communicator factory that supplied the Imperial garrison with repairs and replacements, Niemeh instructed the R2 unit she called Brain-Barrel to slice into Pedrin's personal files in an attempt to find a file detailing the poison the Major had used. The droid failed to locate the information, but did discover that Pedrin was being demoted for losing Makintay and Altronel, and was due to be shipped out the next day. Makintay enacted his back-up plan, which was to confront Pedrin and make him talk. Altronel had provided Makintay with information on Pedrin's habits before falling into a coma, including the fact that he had a local mistress and that he never took a guard with him out of embarrassment. Makintay told Niemeh to wait at the ship for him.
At the apartment of Pedrin's mistress—one Thera Capens—Makintay avoided a stormtrooper patrol before ascending a safety exit ladder. Inside the apartment, Pedrin was beating Capens; Makintay pried the window open, then stunned the Major with his blaster. Capens was grateful for the rescue, but Makintay realized that stunning Pedrin meant he would be unconscious for at least an hour and unable to answer questions. Makintay and Capens traded stories; he explaining about Altronel, her relaying how Pedrin had threatened her friends and forced her to be his mistress. When told about Pedrin's impending transfer, Capens pointed out that Makintay's actions would delay his departure due to the need to investigate the incident. Capens realized that Makintay did not have the time to properly interrogate the Major before his guards returned at dawn, and offered to help the Rebel move Pedrin elsewhere by calling a friend with a motor-sled. Once Makintay revealed he had a ship, Capens asked to be taken off-world to avoid reprisals, which Makintay agreed to.
===Confusion, it's such a terrible shame===
Makintay and Capens took Pedrin to the freighter, leaving Hargeeva and jumping to hyperspace. Makintay waited for Pedrin to regain consciousness, then hit and threatened the Major, demanding to know what poison had been used, and what the antidote was. On the assumption that Alliance might be unable to cure Altronel's symptoms to the security drug, Pedrin concluded that Makintay would return to confront him. In preparation, he had had a transponder micro-beacon implanted under his skin that could track him through hyperspace. Pedrin had only intended to use it to capture Makintay while on Hargeeva, but his superiors had decided to overrule him and track Pedrin to Eyrie Base itself. In an effort to buy time for the Imperial Fleet to track him, Pedrin revealed that the poison used was a standard one, treated with Trypanid. Makintay countered that their doctor had tried the drug and it had not worked. Pedrin insisted he was telling the truth.
Admitting that he did not have the stomach for a full interrogation, Makintay intended to call Colonel Farland at Sector Command and request a full interrogation team meet them away from Eyrie Base in case the Empire was tracking the vessel. Makintay was convinced that Pedrin had something up his sleeve, as he was unruffled to see Makintay and did not bat an eyelid upon learning that Altronel was with the Alliance. Capens, listening to the conversation regarding tracking devices, asked how big they needed to be. Niemeh indicated a small size, and Capens revealed that when Pedrin had visited her, she had touched his left arm and felt a small, hard bump under the skin. The touch had hurt Pedrin, who claimed to have had surgery. Retrieving a medkit, Makintay removed the transponder in Pedrin's arm, then bluffed the Major into thinking he was going to allow Capens to have revenge on him for all the beatings she had suffered at his hands. Pedrin, realizing that he would have to find a way to escape and could no longer rely on the Empire rescuing him, bargained his freedom for helping Altronel, saying that he had lied before and needed to administer the antidote in time. In truth, Pedrin had no idea why Altronel was ill.
Makintay smuggled Pedrin into Eyrie Base in disguise, then directed him to the sick bay where Doctor Tarrek was tending Altronel. Pedrin insisted he and the doctor had to work together, stating that the Rebels were unable to detect any change in Altronel's bloodwork when administering counteragents because their computers were not calibrated to scan for new substances created by the Empire. In an effort to increase the sick bay's computing power, Tarrek went off to fetch more datachips. While waiting for Tarrek to return, Assistant Medic Griek entered the sick bay, forcing Makintay and Pedrin to hide. While hidden, Makintay watched as Griek talked to Altronel, revealing that it was her who had administered the poison in revenge for the husband and son she had lost when the Empire came to Hargeeva. She blamed Altronel's work for attracting Imperial interest to the planet. Holding a hypo containing the antidote, Griek promised that she would not kill Altronel as her new alloy would save Rebel lives. But once the war was over, she would have justice.
Furious, Makintay revealed himself, causing Griek to drop the hypo. As he did so, Pedrin took a scalpel and stabbed Makintay in the back, causing him to collapse to the floor. Taking Makintay's blaster, Pedrin ordered Griek to get bandages; when she returned with pressure bandages for Makintay's wound, Pedrin clarified that he meant something to tie him up with. Griek attempted to help Makintay anyway, but Pedrin pushed her away although the pilot was able to get hold of a pressure bandage, stemming the flow of blood. Hearing footfalls in the corridor outside, Pedrin attempted to crush the hypo containing the antidote for Altronel. Makintay grabbed at Pedrin's leg, earning a kick to the ribs, but his actions allowed Griek to recover the hypo. Doctor Tarrek, accompanied by two guards and Niemeh, entered the sick bay; Pedrin threatened to kill Altronel unless they stood back. Griek, taking advantage of the distraction, dropped the hypo onto the bed and made a grab for the blaster. Pedrin fired directly into Griek's chest, killing her. In the confusion, Makintay kicked Pedrin in the shin, unbalancing him long enough for Niemeh to stun him. Makintay indicated the hypo was the cure, and Niemeh administered it to Altronel before Makintay passed out.
Two days later, Makintay awoke in sick bay to discover that Altronel had recovered. Learning that Commander Baran had intended to punish the pilot for striking him and disobeying orders, he was relieved that Colonel Farland had returned and countermanded the orders, somehow having Baran reassigned to a safe world in the process. Despite this, there was still talk of demoting Makintay along with temporary confinement to base. However, Altronel was in the process of getting command to change their minds, indicating that she was happy to provide her new alloy for the X-wings—which, when used to replace laser cannon tips, would increase their firepower due to its heat absorption properties—as long as Makintay was the one to lead them into battle.
==Personality and traits==
Stevan Makintay was a lean and agile Human with long hair that almost reached his shoulders and green eyes. His most distinctive feature was a scar on the right side of his face that ran from just below his eye to his earlobe, the result of attempting to defuse a situation between his lover, Katrian Altronel, and an admirer. Despite being born into royalty, Makintay believed in equality for all people, regardless of their social status, and was considered an idealist. He befriended Merinda Niemeh, an alien, as well as lowborn commoners such as his intended fiancée, Ketrian Altronel, and Astina Griek.
Gentle and genial by nature, Makintay detested injustice and cruelty, and was known for being practical and resourceful. A stern commander, he was extremely protective and loyal to those under his command, and was concerned for their well-being. He was exceptionally proud of his low casualty rate. Makintay learned the value of patience and proper planning after his well-intentioned attempt to formulate a Rebel cell on Hargeeva ended in a peasant revolt that was brutally subjugated. However, he was still impulsive when action needed to be taken, such as punching his base's Intelligence Officer when he refused to allow Makintay to return to Hargeeva. While possessed of strong convictions and loyalty towards those he loved, Makintay willingly admitted that he had no will to carry out sustained interrogations beyond simple beatings even with lives at stake.
He believed that he could change Hargeeva's social structure, replacing the current feudal structure, through the use of political power, and his skills and attributes were considered to be good enough to place him in the Alliance command structure if he chose to pursue it. During his time with the Rebellion, Makintay was often teased about his background and his expertise with the sword, which many considered an archaic weapon. However, Makintay believed that the lessons he learned while training with the sword could be applied to starfighter combat tactics.
Ketrian Altronel was the love of Makintay's life. He cared not that she was considered a lowborn commoner, and willingly accepted disinheritance from his family for the chance to marry her. He felt a large amount for being forced to leave Altronel when his father arranged for him to be shipped off to an Imperial prison, despite him not being at fault. Makintay did not contact her upon his return to Hargeeva to start a Rebel cell, since he wanted her to remain safe and not be suspected of Rebel activity through her involvement with him. He knew that his father had lied to her and told Altronel that he had willingly abandoned her to live among the stars. However, he never stopped loving her. He was willing to risk his own life to save hers when she was poisoned and on the brink of death.
Makintay was trained to use a blaster, and generally carried a heavy blaster pistol. He was also proficient in unarmed and melee combat, especially swords, and carried a combat knife. An excellent pilot, Makintay was trained to fly starfighters—with a specialization in X-wings—and space transports. He could also plot courses through hyperspace, and operate starship systems such as weapons and shields. He was also trained to repair starfighters and operate security systems, as well as pilot repulsorlift vehicles. The product of a well-rounded education, Makintay was knowledgeable about planetary systems and other languages, and was well versed in the inner workings of bureaucracies. As a starfighter squadron leader, he was trained in starfighter tactics and operations. An able commanding officer, Makintay was a persuasive individual who was also conditioned to resist standard Imperial interrogation and torture methods. Schooled in the art of survival, he could be stealthy when the need arose. Makintay usually dressed in a flight suit and carried a comlink.
==Behind the scenes==
Stevan Makintay first appeared in "Firepower," a short story written by Carolyn Golledge for the eighth issue of the Star Wars Adventure Journal, which was published in November 1995. Golledge wrote a sequel to the story, "Desperate Measures," which was included in the tenth issue, released in May 1996. The art accompanying both stories was by Doug Shuler. "Firepower" was subsequently reprinted on Hyperspace, where the original black-and-white images accompanying the story were colorized. Despite Makintay's eyes being described as green in the "Desperate Measures," the Hyperspace image depicts him with blue eyes.
In 2012, authors Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart included Makintay in a roster of Rogue Squadron pilots who participated in the Battle of Hoth from Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. In 2013, The Essential Reader's Companion mentioned Makintay in relation to the stories he appeared in, although errors were included in the text. The Companion stated that, in "Firepower," Makintay was the one to propose the idea of securing experts for the Alliance, when it was Merinda Niemeh in-story. It also states he went on the mission solo, with no mention of the contact team led by Merak. It also describes Ketrian Altronel as agreeing to help the Alliance before being captured by the Empire, when in the original story, she does so after her capture. In the description for "Desperate Measures," he is referred to as "Mak Makintay" on one occasion.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars Manga: The Empire Strikes Back 1 
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==Sources==
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*The Essential Guide to Warfare
*The Essential Reader's Companion
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==Notes and references==
Category:Green Squadron personnel
Category:Hargeevan royal family
Category:Humans
Category:Males
Category:Pilots
Category:Rogue Squadron personnel
Category:Smugglers