Kendal Ozzel

Kendal Ozzel - Art By: Ryan Barger

**Kendal Ozzel** served in the Republic Starfleet of the Galactic Republic in the Clone Wars. In the era of Galactic Empire, he served as Admiral of Death Squadron, a force of the Imperial Navy charged with searching for the secret base of the Rebel Alliance after the destruction of the Death Star I. He oversaw the search from the *Executor*, flagship of Lord Vader and one of the largest vessels in the Imperial fleet. Upon locating the rebels hidden base on Hoth, Ozzel then had Death Squadron emerge from hyperspace directly above the planet—only for the rebellion to raise the base shield. Forced into a surface-attack, Vader used the Force to strangle Ozzel for his failure while promoting the Captain Firmus Piett, to fill the vacancy.

## Biography

### Early Life

**Kendal Ozzel** was a Human born on Carida into a wealthy family. His surname was synonymous with a naval heritage, and like others with such prestige, the Ozzels had an estate. Later, he employed his bloodline as a tool used to rise in the social, political, and military ranks. Kendal attended multiple Core World institutes in his youth years that catered to the more privileged members of galactic society. Eventually, he graduated and became Captaion of the Line. However, his superiors didn't see him as being fit to serve as a effective commander, and he was relegated to teaching for a while.

### Imperial Service

For a time, Ozzel taught out of such institutes as the Imperial Academy of Carida, and then he served in the Republic Navy during the time of the Galactic Republic, and was a supporter of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's rise to power. Ozzel continued to serve in military following the Republic's reorganization into the Galactic Empire. He eventually, he ended up serving in the navy of the Galactic Empire. By fourteen years before the Battle of Yavin, he held the rank of Rear Admiral, and was a member of the Imperial Joint Chiefs. Following the destruction of the Death Star, Ozzel had become an Admiral. He personally issued a communique to the Imperial Starfleet ordering the fleet to enter a state of battle readiness. After this occurred the attempted Hijacking of the *Executor*, in which Sith-Lord Darth Vader finished off scientist Cylo, who had attempted to steal the *Executor*-Class Star Dreadnought *Executor*. The SSD was originally designed to be given to Grand General Cassio Tagge, however, the Emperor demoted Cassio to General, and gifted the *Executor* to Vader, due to his trusting Cylo. Vader chocked Tagge on his command ship's bridge in front of Ozzel.

#### Officer of the Starfleet

Vader asked him when the *Executor* would be ready, and gave him two weeks, after Kendal Ozzel replied he needed a month. He later became the commanding officer of Death Squadron, an armada of Imperial starships. tasked with locating the Alliance's hidden main base in the aftermath of the Battle of Yavin, though the fleet under the control of Vader. In his capacity as admiral of the fleet, Ozzel led Death Squadron from Vader's flagship, the *Executor*. As Ozzel had been assigned to oversee the Empire's search for the Rebel headquarters, he felt that he was the perfect being to command the massive warship during the hunt. During his time as the senior officer aboard the *Executor*, Kendal took time to personally congratulate Lieutenant Commander Ciena Ree, a young Imperial officer whose service had been outstanding for the past two years. After commending Ree for her dedication, Admiral Ozzel implied that Ciena might obtain a promotion to the rank of Commander soon. The Empire forces sent thousands of probes across the galaxy to participate in the search for the hidden rebel base, one of which found signs of a settlement on the frozen planet Hoth.

Before being destroyed by rebel Captain Han Solo, the droid relayed its data to the *Executor*, where it was reviewed by Admiral Ozzel, his subordinate, Captain Firmus Piett, and General Maximillian Veers of the Imperial Army. Piett cited the data as their best lead in the search, but Ozzel dismissed the information as lacking definitive proof of a rebel presence. Nevertheless, Darth Vader overruled him and ordered the fleet to make haste to the Hoth System to deal with the rebels based there. As Vader withdrew to his private quarters, Ozzel assumed command of the fleet's maneuvering and pre-battle strategy. Believing he could surprise and overwhelm the rebels, Ozzel opted to have the Star Destroyers of Death Squadron emerge from hyperspace directly above Hoth. The Alliance detected their arrival immediately, but the tactic did not shock them as Ozzel had planned, for the presence of the probe droid had made them suspect that the Empire had discovered their base. Before Death Squadron could initiate a bombardment, the rebels activated the base's shield, strong enough to deflect any fire unleashed by the Imperial warships; even the firepower of *Executor* wouldn't breach it.

#### Kendal Ozzel's Failure

General Veers had reported this recent development to Darth Vader, who voiced his disapproval at Admiral Ozzel's tactical blunder as they would now be forced to deploy troops and equipment into a costly ground battle rather than simply annihilate the rebels from above. The Sith opened a channel to Ozzel on the *Executor*'s bridge and, before an oblivious Kendal could report on the situation, began telekinetically strangling the Admiral in full view of the Captain Piett and others. Citing the tactical decision as Ozzel's last failure, Vader executed the pompous and inept officer and simultaneously promoted Piett to take his place as the Admiral, bestowing the title at the exact moment Ozzel's still-twitching corpse hit the floor. The Empire went on to win the Battle of Hoth despite Ozzel's actions. As a result of his fatal decision, Death Squadron was forced to wage a ground battle against the defenders of the Echo Base, one that ultimately proved successful despite minor casualties of the Imperial forces. Luke Skywalker along with the rest of his allies successfully fled from the Imperial forces, depriving Darth Vader of a total and complete victory in Battle of Hoth.