Terisa Kerrill

Terisa Kerrill was a human female Imperial officer who served as captain of the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Overseer during the Galactic Civil War. A young officer native to Coruscant, Kerrill was mentored by Captain Lindon Javes. She was a lieutenant and member of Helix Squadron at the time of Javes' defection to the Alliance to Restore the Republic.
Kerrill continued to serve the Galactic Empire after the death of Galactic Emperor Darth Sidious. Admiral Rae Sloane ordered her to investigate the New Republic's Project Starhawk, pitting Kerrill's Star Destroyer against the MC75 Star Cruiser Temperance captained by Javes. Over the course of the mission, Kerrill grew to rely on the pilots of Titan Squadron, including her former squadmate in Helix Squadron.
==Biography==
===Early life===
====Joining the Empire====
Terisa Kerrill grew up as a street orphan on her homeworld of Coruscant. After joining the Galactic Empire in the Imperial Starfighter Corps as a TIE fighter pilot, she was assigned to Helix Squadron, and became a Lieutenant and second-in-command under Captain Lindon Javes. A disciplined pilot, during her time flying with Helix Squadron, she encountered a handful of daredevil pilots who found out the hard way that Star Destroyer engines could vaporize a TIE fighter.
====Hunting refugees and dealing with defection====
Following the destruction of Alderaan, Kerrill and Helix Squadron were dispatched to Fostar Haven to locate and destroy a convoy of Alderaanian refugees by order of Darth Vader via Admiral Rae Sloane.
Before embarking on the mission, Kerrill confessed her excitement at fulfilling Lord Vader's command to Javes, who questioned her attitude towards hunting refugees. She reminded him that during the Iskalon uprising, he taught her to ignore propaganda and that the Alderaan survivors were traitors who should be dealt with accordingly. Javes then overruled her usual Sigma-Nine loadout preparation and instructed her that the squadron would fly standard TIE Fighters. Kerrill thought there was something forthright about a TIE Fighter and thought it felt good to fly a classic vehicle.
Arriving at Fostar Haven, Helix was joined by reinforcements that had arrived from Malastare, something that pleased Kerrill as she sought to deal with the band of rebel sympathizers. She saw the trading post as a haven for pirates and thieves and stated that if the refugees were hiding there, they were not as innocent as they had claimed.
The squadron scanned and inspected the convoys that were present until a fleet of rebel X-wings attacked. Upon dispatching the wave of fighters, Kerrill led Helix into the space station's tunnel to chase and destroy the fleeing Alderaanian refugee convoy that had attempted to escape during the skirmish. Before she could deal with the transport, Javes immobilized her TIE Fighter using ion missiles. He told her that he would not kill innocent refugees and could not follow the Empire anymore. Kerrill sent a message to the nearby Imperial-class Star Destroyer Vigilance to inform them that Javes had aided the Rebellion and called for immediate assistance. Before they could apprehend Javes, he fired a missile into the tunnel foundations, caving it in and preventing Kerrill and Helix Squadron from pursuing.
Kerrill eventually made it out of the tunnel and resumed her pursuit of the convoy and Javes. Echo Squadron had been called to reinforce the rebels, and the Vigilance had sent a Raider-class corvette to intercept the fleeing transport. The Raider was destroyed in the battle and the Vigilance targeting system was disabled, ensuring the refugee convoy's hyperspace vector could not be tracked as it escaped.
Following Javes’ defection to the Rebel Alliance, Kerrill was reassigned in disgrace to the Meram sector to protect fuel shipments from petty scoundrels and pirates. She thought of it as a posting designed to end careers.
===Hunt for Project Starhawk===
====A traitor resurfaces====
After the Battle of Endor, Admiral Rae Sloane assumed command of the remnant Imperial forces, and placed Kerrill, now a captain in the Imperial Navy, in command of the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer the Overseer. Whilst in the Talcene System, Sloane informed her via hologram that an old enemy had resurfaced. One of Sloane's spies, Agent Thorn, had linked the Rebellion's theft of the Victorum with the New Republic's secret Project Starhawk with the common factor being Lindon Javes. Sloane believed Kerrill knew Javes better than anyone, though Kerrill told the Admiral that if she had, she would have destroyed him before he betrayed them. Sloane told her this was her second chance and ordered Kerrill to instruct Titan Squadron to hunt down and eliminate the Starhawk. Kerrill requisitioned a pilot she once flew with, who took the mantle of Titan Three, to aid with the mission.
====Locating the Starhawk====
Kerrill briefed Titan Squadron on the mission to extract Thorn from an orbital outpost above Hosnian Prime, and, due to the vital intelligence the spy had obtained, warned Titan not to lose Thorn under any circumstances. She knew that the Empire needed reliable soldiers like Agent Thorn more than ever and that unity was the only path to progress. She saw the mission as a vital step towards dismantling the Rebellion and was not fooled by their new name as she was confident the New Republic would fall just like the previous iteration.
After Titan Squadron completed the mission, Kerrill identified that Thorn's intel contained details of the route a convoy of New Republic engineers would be taking from Hosnian Prime en route to Project Starhawk's secret base. The path would lead the transport through the contested territory of Desevro where the convoy would conceal its presence in a local debris field. Kerrill briefed Titan that they would follow the convoy and allow it to jump to hyperspace so they could calculate all possible destinations along their trajectory. She insisted that they must not be detected as they could not lose the convoy, and that local Imperial forces had been advised not to interfere. Before the mission, Kerrill had contacted Captain Amos, who protected Desevro aboard his flagship ISD Tormentor. When Imperial controller LT-514 inquired whether she was certain Amos would not interfere due to his reputation, Kerrill stated that whilst Amos was enthusiastic, she hoped he was not a fool. She was fully aware that the Empire could not afford to lose assets at this stage of the war.
Kerrill monitored Titan's progress from aboard the Overseer and commented on the large volume of ship wreckage around Desevro. She branded Amos as bloodthirsty, telling Titan that he baited rebels into pointless fleet battles over the planet and had lost several Star Destroyers in the process. She reminded them to be patient, asking that they remembered what they had learned at the Battle of Var-Shaa: to strike when the moment was right, not simply because they could.
Unexpectedly, the Tormentor emerged from hyperspace as Titan were tracking the convoys. Amos fired missiles at the now-alert New Republic transports, but Kerrill ordered the missiles to be shot down and told Amos he was compromising a delicate mission. She told Amos his presence was foolish as the Tormentor was severely damaged, but Amos would not relent. The convoys were eventually prevented from jumping to hyperspace using ion lasers and the data on Project Starhawk was physically retrieved from the vessels. Kerrill implored Amos to retreat as he was losing the battle but when Amos refused to retreat, she told her counterpart she had washed her hands of the battle. Once the data had been decrypted on the Overseer, Kerrill sent Titan to the Tormentor to cover their retreat but it was too late. Having refused to take evasive maneuvers, the Tormentor was destroyed by Rebel fighters, killing Amos. The sector coordinates for Project Starhawk's location were recovered but the rest of the databanks had been wiped. Kerrill knew that identifying the sector at least narrowed the search, and ordered Titan to eliminate the convoy to send a clear message to Javes.
====Encountering the Starhawk's might====
An Imperial listening post hidden near Esseles intercepted a communication from Javes with details that Vanguard Squadron were protecting a shipment of magnite crystals in the Zavian Abyss that were essential to completing the Starhawk. When the post was subsequently destroyed by Vanguard, Kerrill pursued the lead in the Overseer.
The Overseer arrived in the Abyss as Vanguard were battling TIE fighters in the volatile conditions. Kerrill was amused at how Vanguard thought they could challenge an Imperial Star Destroyer and launched further fighters thinking the squadron was trapped, scanning the convoy and obtaining the location of Project Starhawk in the Nadiri Dockyards. As Vanguard continued to defend the shipment transports, Kerrill called the stand a futile gesture and informed her enemy that she had no interest in taking prisoners. However, Kerrill had no idea she had been lured into a trap: the Starhawk was lying in wait within the Abyss. Its powerful tractor beam locked onto the Overseer, and the tremendous pull shocked Kerrill as her ship began to be drawn towards the Starhawk. She demanded Titan return to the ship for an immediate hyperspace jump, as the ISD was taking huge damage due to the sheer pull of the beam and the amount of debris in its path. Before it could be fully ensnared by the Starhawk, the severely wounded Overseer made the jump to safety.
Kerrill and the Overseer eventually ended up in the Remitik system, where she scrambled fire crews and sent a distress call to the nearest Imperial station. LT-514 had found an old munitions depot in the system run by Colonel Gralm. The distress call was sent as a furious Kerrill swore that the battle was not over.
Gralm was anything but helpful upon receiving the call and used his control of the sector to reassign the Overseer to his command. Kerrill angrily told him that they had been sent on this mission by Admiral Sloane and that all she required was repairs and proper munitions. Gralm was not swayed and instructed Kerrill and Titan Squadron to aid him in fighting rebels in the system. Kerrill planned to protect the depot, but steal munitions in the chaos of battle. When LT-514 informed her that regulations specifically forbade that course of action, she snapped back that she would not be beaten by Vanguard Squadron, grandstanding imbeciles, or anyone else. She believed her judgment was fine and not impaired by her vendetta against Javes. She remarked that small-minded officers were always the quickest to flaunt what little power they had, and refused to allow Gralm to jeopardize the mission. She knew the depot had everything required to annihilate the Starhawk, but agreed that Gralm was not her enemy and they would do their duty to protect Imperial assets. She instructed Titan Squadron to secretly search the station, its freighters, and cargo shuttles for baradium, an explosive material that would be a valuable tool against the Starhawk whilst LT-514 completed repairs. She planned to escort any baradium to the Overseer whilst Gralm's forces dealt with the rebel attacks.
When the baradium was seized and with the Overseer nearly fully repaired, Kerrill saw Vanguard Squadron as her only obstacle to destroying Project Starhawk. Sloane had devised a plan to lure the Republic fleet away from Nadiri Dockyards with simultaneous attacks on rebel targets across the galaxy. Titan was assigned to attack Mon Cala, where they would attack refueling pods, civilian transports, and medical frigates with swiftness and brutality to draw out Anvil Squadron, who were protecting the planet. The Admiral also overlooked Kerrill's unapproved acquisition of Gralm's baradium supply.
As Titan arrived over Mon Cala, Kerrill ordered them to show no mercy, reckoning that sowing terror and outrage there would mean victory at Nadiri. After Titan destroyed the fuel pods, Kerrill ordered them to destroy the civilian and medical vessels and stated that losing medical supplies in wartime was far more devastating than people. Titan successfully fought off Anvil Squadron and Kerrill knew the New Republic would now rush to defend Mon Cala, leaving Nadiri wide open for attack.
Aboard the Overseer, Kerrill called the Mon Cala mission a success and told Titan they now had a clear path to completing their overall mission. Titan Squadron would lead the assault on the Starhawk, bringing down the dockyard's shields, immobilizing the Starhawk with baradium-enhanced munitions, and destroying the station's hyperdrives. Kerrill wanted the Starhawk to be rendered helpless for her to deliver the killing blow and implored them to make Admiral Sloane proud.
====Striking back against the New Republic====
Kerrill believed a historic victory was ahead of them if they had the mettle to seize it. She knew the baradium, the Overseer, and their TIEs were simply tools and their will to conquer is what would truly decide the battle. As Titan approached the dockyards, she told them to bask in the moment of their impending victory and then massacre their enemies.
Closing on the Starhawk, General Hera Syndulla, who was leading the project and was aboard the station, demanded the Imperials leave immediately. Kerrill informed her coldly that she and the Starhawk were going to die. Titan took out the dockyards' defenses before destroying the shield generators and severely damaging the Starhawk with the baradium missiles. Syndulla pleaded with Kerrill to allow the civilian transports to leave, but Kerrill ordered them to be destroyed, calling their destruction the price of rebellion. She continued to goad Syndulla as she attempted to fly the Starhawk to safety, but the damaged hyperdrive prevented it. She told the crew of the Starhawk to make their peace and that there was no escape for them as she prepared to deliver the killing blow to the station and Syndulla. To herself, Kerrill chided Javes and his absence from a battle where he was needed the most.
The Overseer fired two missiles towards the helpless Starhawk, however, Javes arrived in the Temperance and absorbed the missiles in its shields, saving the Starhawk from annihilation. Upon realizing her nemesis had arrived, Kerrill angrily demanded that all stations fire on the Temperance but eventually ordered Titan to pull back as the Overseer missile guidance systems had been scrambled.
Away from the battle, Kerrill knew the Nadiri Dockyards were burning and that Javes and Vanguard Squadron were within her reach, but knew not to become complacent—the Empire had called her to serve and she would not fail. She planned to force the Starhawk and its protecting fleet into the dangerous Ringali Nebula and destroy them. She instructed Titan that LT-514's calculations indicated that the remains of the Nadiri fleet was attempting to reach the New Republic capital of Chandrila. To do so, they would need to navigate a junkyard of scrapped Imperial ships near Sissubo. Titan was to fly ahead of the enemy fleet to set a trap that involved using several reactor cores in the junkyard to create a minefield ensuring the Starhawk would either be destroyed in the minefield or would be forced to divert into the nebula. The plan ultimately succeeded as Titan destroyed the New Republic frigates and forced the Starhawk to divert its course into the nebula. Kerrill was confident in her belief that the Starhawk was terrified of Titan Squadron, and the station and Javes would perish in the nebula.
====Victory over Javes====
With the Overseer located near the remote moon of Galitan outside the Ringali Nebula, Kerrill received confirmation that Lindon Javes had joined the fray personally to lead Anvil Squadron. She knew Javes was attempting to bait her into doing something reckless, but she was not going to rise to it as Titan Squadron's full focus was on destroying the Starhawk. Whilst she wished she could deal with Javes personally, she knew a commander's true weapon was their squadron, not a sole starfighter.
Thanks to reinforcements requested by Sloane, the Starhawk was surrounded. Kerrill believed a careful strike to the ship's tractor beam core would turn it into a floating time bomb. An undetonated baradium missile was lodged in the hull, and when breached, a single starfighter could fly inside the station to attack its tractor beam core to start a core overload. She rallied Titan, telling them that all their work and sacrifices had led to led them to that moment and, not to let Javes stop them.
As the battle ensued, Titan destroyed waves of rebel fighters and frigates, and Kerrill told her squadron that leadership and fury would win them the day. Javes taunted Kerrill that he was there with Anvil defeating a Star Destroyer and how it was a shame she would not face him. Kerrill called him a traitor and reminded him that Titan was her weapon, one poised to deliver the Empire's vengeance. Reinforcements requested by Kerrill from the Bormea sector arrived to aid the fight as the Starhawk hull was breached. Titan Three destroyed the core omitters within the station which caused them to overload and ensured the Starhawk would eventually explode. Piloting his T-65B X-wing to buy time for his fleet to retreat, Javes flew into the battle, where he was met by Titan Squadron. Kerrill did not insult him by asking for his surrender, and Javes told her that he had underestimated her talent but also her willingness to be used by an Empire that would destroy her. She bit back that he never knew her at all if that was what he believed. Javes was shot down by Titan Three during the dogfight, and his starfighter plunged into the hull of the Starhawk. Kerrill thanked Titan Three for destroying Javes, stating "so perish all traitors" as the Overseer jumped to lightspeed, leaving the Starhawk to burn. Kerrill believed Imperial ideals had prevailed in the wake of their victory and took pride that the death of Lindon Javes would send a message to all who would betray the Empire that Titan will be waiting, no matter the cost.
===A bittersweet end to the fight===
Kerrill and Imperial forces continued in their fight against the New Republic and Project Starhawk, attacking Anvil Squadron with the intent to destroy them once and for all. As Imperial and New Republic forces fought near Galitan, it was revealed that Javes had survived and had hidden within the Starhawk. He joined the battle as several CR90 corvettes entered the dying Starhawk tractor beam path and towed it toward the unstable moon of Galitan. When the Starhawk crashed into the moon, the shock waves of the crash obliterated the moon and the nearby Imperial forces. Javes and Vanguard Squadron subsequently escaped to fight another day.
==Personality and traits==
Terisa Kerrill was a natural leader who was extremely loyal. In addition to being a strong commander, she was a skilled pilot. Kerrill had short brown hair and tan skin.
==Skills and abilities==
Terisa Kerrill was a capable pilot during her time as a Helix Squadron pilot. She was also capable of forming successful tactics during battle scenarios.
==Behind the scenes==
Terisa Kerrill appeared in the 2020 video game Star Wars: Squadrons, portrayed by Peta Sergeant.
==Appearances==
* 
*Star Wars: Squadrons
* 
==Sources==
* 
* 
*
* 
*Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy
*Star Wars: Timelines
*Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
*Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
* 
==Notes and references==
Category:Coruscanti
Category:Females
Category:Helix Squadron personnel
Category:Humans
Category:Imperial Navy captains of the Galactic Empire
Category:Imperial Navy pilots of the Galactic Empire
Category:Individuals with she/her pronouns
Category:Titan Squadron personnel