Soontir Fel

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**Soontir Fel** was a Human male considered among the best starfighter pilots in the galaxy, becoming an Imperial hero, but his journey to those heights was anything but easy. Born on Corellia to a farming family, Fel developed his piloting skills over the fields before gaining entrance to the Imperial Academy and beginning a career as a TIE pilot. He served dutifully, demonstrating a strong sense of responsibility for his men. After a series of events out of his control tarnished his career, Fel was exiled to the lackluster 181st Imperial Fighter Wing, which he revived, eventually gaining its command and the title of Flight Baron, winning Fel a reputation as one of the Empire's most deadly pilots and the 181st as one of the most elite starfighter units. During that time, Fel married and started a family. After the death of Emperor Palpatine at the Battle of Endor, Soontir began losing faith in the Empire as it began to split into remnant factions.

When Director Ysanne Isard sent Fel and his men to die at Brentaal IV for her own political gain, Fel was captured and defected to the New Republic, having grown tired of the growing corruption within Imperial ranks. Soontir served the New Republic faithfully for a time as a starfighter pilot, but shortly thereafter Fel was recaptured by Imperials and sent to the planet Nirauan, where an Imperial Remnant faction affiliated with the Chiss Ascendancy was based. There, the Chiss showed Fel the myriad threats awaiting the galaxy in the Unknown Regions, and Fel agreed to serve in the Chiss-Imperial faction, fighting against warlords and would-be invaders beyond the knowledge of galactic civilization. There Soontir Fel raised his family, surrounded by hardship, before once again making contact with the galaxy at large. During his time in the Unknown Regions, Fel joined the Chiss Ascendancy and became a senior officer in the Chiss Defense Fleet.

## Biography

### Early Life

#### Upbringing

**Soontir Fel** was born in a farm country region of Corellia in 31 BBY to a tight-knit rural Corellian family, the eldest child. Fel’s father worked as a transport pilot for Allied Grain and Roughage, a company which Fel’s mother and much of his extended family also worked for. As a Fel, Soontir was taught the family values of loyalty, virtue, and dependence on each other. Fel learned to put his family first and to always look out for them. Among fellow farmers, Fel developed a skill in raising plants, and the love of growing things would remain with him. The greatest skill he honed on the farm lands, though, was piloting. Fel grew to be an accomplished pilot as he soared across the farm lands in a skyhopper. When Fel was seventeen, he won an airspeeder race at the harvest festival. Fel stepped in and flew for his father after he became ill and couldn’t make his rounds, saving his job. Once Fel turned eighteen in 13 BBY, his father arranged for him to take his position.

Fel spent a month delivering supplies and making field repairs, adding another source of income for the family. The night of the harvest festival, Fel came upon a female friend about to be raped by sons of AGR management. Fel defended her and beat the assailants into submission. The local police, however, were loyal to AGR and Fel knew they would not prosecute sons of management. He therefore went to CorSec, where Inspector Horn took his statement and arrested the assailant. This wasn’t to the liking of AGR, which could face potential embarrassment. The AGR director called Fel into his office and told him that he secured him a last-minute senatorial appointment to the Imperial Academy on Carida, but in order to take it, he needed to leave a week before his testimony at the trial. This was a tremendous opportunity for Fel, but the director pushed his offer even farther, offering to make sure Fel’s family was well-cared for in his absence.

#### Imperial Education

If Fel didn't take the offer, however, the director threatened repercussions for his father, who allowed Fel, technically an unauthorized underage individual, to fly AGR property. Fel was reluctant to halt justice but felt that for his family's sake he had no choice. He accepted the offer and the case against the assailant fell apart. Horn met Fel before his flight, assuring him that he had made the best choice he could, that he should make the most out of his appointment, and that Horn would watch on the assailant and be sure to prosecute if he broke the law again. Fel soon arrived at Carida and found little time to adjust. His long hair was shaven off upon induction, and a life in the fields turned to one of discipline and rigid disobedience. Fel did not care for the more intellectual studies forced upon him, such as astrogation, but excelled nonetheless, taking advantage of the educational opportunities afforded by one of the most elite Imperial academies.

During his time at Carida, Fel took pleasure from physical pursuits rather such as combat training, mechanical classes, and grav-ball. However, Fel's favorite part of life at the Imperial Academy was piloting. He trained in TIE fighters, and simulators until only few could rival his skill and set new heights for cadet performance. One of the few cadets who rivaled Fel's piloting skills was a fellow Corellian named Han Solo. Despite their similarities, Han did not care to befriend Soontir Fel, whom he regarded as too rural and quietly disciplined to fit in with his roguish friends. There was, however, a mutual respect between the two, and Soontir Fel regarded Solo as a heroic officer with a bright future ahead of him. Fel studied their technical systems, learning to repair the fighters as well as fly them. Fel gained a reputation as a hotshot Imperial cadet, among the Carida Imperial Academy's elite, and performed as well academically as he did in a fighter cockpit.

### Imperial Service

#### Imperial Naval Officer

Soontir Fel graduated with the rank of lieutenant at the age of twenty-one in 10 BBY and was inducted into the Imperial Starfighter Corps. His accomplishments caught the attention of some high-ranking Imperial officials, who made a point to watch Soontir's career. After graduation, Fel was assigned to the 37th Imperial Fighter Wing based on the Imperial Support Vessel Abrogator, considered a prime assignment for an up-and-coming officer. After the captain’s tour was up, Fel took command of the squadron, and under his guiding hand the 37th became a squadron known for its fierce and efficient performance, considered among the Empire's best. After his second tour of duty, Fel earned the rank of captain and served as a capital ship commander, becoming one of the youngest to achieve that honor. His extraordinary performance marked him out as an outstanding pilot, and his exploits became well-known throughout the Imperial Starfighter Corps.

Soontir commanded patrol ships for the Imperial Office of Customs agency long enough to develop a healthy respect for the capabilities of smugglers. The great majority of his time in fleet operations, though, was spent aboard his largest command ship, the Imperial Support Vessel *Pride of the Senate*. For years Soontir commanded the *Pride*, which he found to be old, outmoded, and underwhelming in performance; he longed to move up to command an Imperial Star Destroyer. If not that, he would have preferred to be back in a TIE fighter cockpit. Nevertheless, he was determined to do the best job possible with the command he had. Soontir’s men admired and respected him, for his past accomplishments and for his command style and care for those under his command. Fel had a strong rapport with the TIE fighter pilots aboard the ship, who had even more reason to be impressed by his record and with whom Soontir felt a special connection.

#### Incident at Nar Shaddaa

Around 3 BBY, Fel was attached to the Sector Group for Hutt Space as a senior officer. There were little attempts to enforce Imperial law in Hutt Space because of the Moff benefiting from dealing with the Hutts in exchange for turning a blind eye to their illegal activities, however, things changed when the Moff responded to Imperial scrutiny by declaring a hard line against smuggling. Fel was part of a fleet sent to blockade Nal Hutta and make an example by assaulting and razing its moon, Nar Shaddaa. The admiral of the fleet was instructed via a high-level Imperial message to secretly throw the battle as part of a plot to discredit the Moff, and the Hutts paid off the admiral to give them his battle plan and retreat at the first opportunity. He had until then avoided engaging in any massacres, and felt sickened about performing a Base Delta Zero, but Fel reluctantly accepted to follow his orders no matter how personally distasteful he found them.

Fel wasn’t aware of the dealings behind the battle, objecting to the admiral's plans and arguing that they seem foolishly overconfident. The admiral himself knew that Fel was likely to question his orders and was therefore the greatest threat to his ability to lose without being accused of incompetence. When the battle commenced, Fel found the smugglers of Nar Shaddaa had organized an efficient defense, and during the course of the battle, Fel discovered that his former classmate Han Solo was among the smugglers. Soontir was surprised and disappointed to learn that Han Solo deserted Imperial service on Mimban and liberated a Wookiee slave. Fel thought that the Empire could manage a victory against the smuggler coalition, however, the admiral relayed orders to retreat. Though the battle ended in Imperial defeat, Fel was relieved that he had not had to carry out Base Delta Zero, one of the few bright spots of the engagement for him.

#### Testing TIE Prototypes

In 2 BBY, Grand Admiral Thrawn took an interest in Soontir and his combat piloting skills, and sought Fel’s assistance in testing several TIE prototypes. Fel was taken to a classified Imperial flight yard where he would meet the Chiss Thrawn for the first time. Upon meeting the alien officer and witnessing his skills as an effective officer, Fel began to question the Empire’s humanocentric policies, which justified themselves by promoting the duty of Humans to protect "lower species" who could not protect themselves.  Instead, this alien Imperial admiral was the one protecting the Empire. Nevertheless, Fel set aside the issue and performed spectacularly as he tested various experimental TIEs including the TIE Aggressor, the TIE Hunter, the TIE Phantom, and the TIE Defender, the latter TIE of which would become the lead TIE line prototype of Thrawn’s new fighter initiative at the Imperial Factory on Lothal, to deal with the threat of rebels.

#### Imperial Naval Instructor

After testing the experimental TIE fighters, Fel gave insight into the basic stats of each fighter based on his experiences at the flight yard. After his brief period of time at the flight yard, Fel reconsidered his views on aliens, taking note of Thrawn’s skills as a tactician and how he secured many victories for the Empire. Around 1 BBY, Fel hoped to receive a transfer to command of a Star Destroyer in the future, instead he was transferred to the Naval Academy on Prefsbelt IV and returned to the pilot corps. At Prefsbelt IV, Fel served as an instructor, training his cadets relentlessly in all subjects, striving to build the best possible Imperial pilots. Fel's methods inspired his students to new heights, and the cadets exceptional performance gained attention in high places. Unbeknownst to him, several cadets planned on defecting to the Rebellion. When they did so, Fel was punitively transferred to the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing, a disreputable unit.

#### From Disgrace to Ace Pilot

The 181st Imperial Fighter Wing was a notoriously poor unit, a posting for those whose careers were in the gutter. Under the nearly nonexistent leadership of an unimpressive pilot and mediocre officer who was less interested in commanding his squadrons than cultivating his garden, the 181st had almost no discipline and even less motivation, simply whiling away time until the political enemies who had placed the men in the wing sent them to die. This was far from acceptable to Fel. In command of the second squadron, he requested permission to bring his men to a sufficient state of discipline and training, a request which the commanding officer casually agreed, saying that at least the pilots could then die as men. Fel instituted a strict training regimen, raising his TIE fighter pilots up to his exacting standards. Under Soontir Fel’s leadership, the 181st underwent a complete turnaround, and the TIE unit’s reputation improved accordingly.

Around this time in 0 BBY, the Empire suffered a catastrophic loss at the Battle of Yavin and the Galactic Civil War had begun. The Empire saw Fel’s performance and that of the 181st as an opportunity to propagandize an example of one of the Empire’s best pilots and the victories of the 181st while minimizing news of the Death Star’s loss at the Battle of Yavin. Fel was promoted to the rank of major at a gala event on Imperial Center and feted as a hero. At the ceremony Fel met the actress Wynssa Starflare, who took him out of the gala and on a tour of the Federal District, flirting gently with him. Fel and Starflare began dating, seeing the sights of Coruscant. This was made much easier by the transfer of the 181st to the capital, where it was downsized from a wing to a group and rebuilt into an elite unit. Though Fel wasn’t the official commander, he effectively ran the 181st by himself, shaping it into one of the Empire’s most feared TIE units.

#### Marrying Wynssa Starflare

Fel spent much of his time recruiting new, elite pilots with truly exceptional skills and strong devotion to the Empire, accepting no political appointees or glory hounds. Fel had fallen deeply in love with Starflare, and after nearly a year of dating, he proposed to her. She wanted to accept but was terrified; her great secret, which she revealed to Fel, was that Wynssa Starflare was a stage name. Her real name was Syal Antilles, and her brother was Rebel pilot Wedge Antilles. She feared that if that secret ever got out, her career would be ruined, and marriage to Fel would take him down with her. She was also frightened that Fel might be called upon to face Wedge in combat and that one would kill the other; Fel was likewise concerned but reassured her that such an occurrence would be unlikely and that, married or dating, the hurt she felt would be the same. Soontir also cast aside doubts about his career, saying that he was marrying her, not her brother.

With those reassurances, Fel was able to convince Starflare to join him in marriage. Always cautious, however, Fel began devising plans for the couple's safety if knowledge of Starflare's true identity ever came out. Fel and Starflare were married near the beginning of 1 ABY and went on a two-week honeymoon at a luxury resort, which rekindled Fel’s love of nature. Starflare became pregnant early in their marriage, giving birth to Fel's first son, and then to another son. Perhaps due to worries over his brother-in-law's impact on the family's safety, their children apparently were kept secret and were raised among Fel's relations on Corellia. Fel continued to train the 181st, taking his men through mission after mission with Fel being made a commanding officer of the 181st group. Fel enjoyed married life, continuing life as an Imperial celebrity, but grew worried over facing Wedge, growing convinced that a conflict between them was inevitable.

#### Assigned to Death Squadron

In 3 ABY, Director of COMPNOR Ysanne Isard investigated Soontir Fel and assessed that his loyalties lie with the Empire, however, after Isard visited Soontir at his personal residence he could perceive that she saw him as a possible enemy. After her departure, however, Fel remained disturbed by the fact that Isard was now aware of him and likely hostile. He ordered his wife to draw up her own set of contingency plans, unknown to him, so that she could disappear at a moment's notice if Isard ever moved against them. Fel would disappear independently and seek out his wife. After her evaluation, Isard revealed to Soontir that as a reward for his loyalty he and the rest of the 181st were to become attached to Lord Vader’s Death Squadron and would help to destroy the Rebel Alliance. In their first mission under the command of Darth Vader, the 181st targeted and successfully destroyed several enemy transports with supplies vital to the Rebellion.

Fel did not care for the slaughter of the almost helpless transports, but knew that he and his men had done their duty to the fullest and helped deliver a grievous blow to the Rebellion. In the aftermath of their victory at Derra IV, an elaborate ceremony was held on Imperial Center in which as a result of their stellar performance, Fel was promoted, given formal command of the entire 181st, and granted the title of a Flight Baron of the Empire by the hand of the Emperor himself. With the barony came a vast estate on Corellia, to which he moved his family members, who were able to live a life of quiet comfort. Although Fel still continued to serve the Empire, he began to see signs around him of the darkness behind Imperial policies that soured his belief in the Empire. Combined with the presence of the treacherous Director Isard, Fel found less to like about the Imperial leadership, and his vision of the Empire was soured and became less idealized.

The 181st participated at the Battle of Hoth, with the assignment of picking off the fleeing Rebel transports. Those pilots of the 181st with more than ten kills began marking their TIE Interceptors with red stripes along their wings, which would become a distinctive sign of the 181st Imperial Fighter Group. In 4 ABY, the 181st was present at the Battle of Endor, where Fel flew against the full weight of the desperate Alliance Fleet. His fighters protected several Star Destroyers including the *Avenger*, as well as the battlecruiser *Pride of Tarlandia*. Flying as part of the 181st's elite Saber Squadron, Fel destroyed many enemy starfighters. However, due to the large number of Alliance vessels and contradictory orders from his superiors, Fel was powerless to avert the destruction of the *Tarlandia* by the Alliance. He was also unable to prevent the destruction of the Death Star II or the demise of the Emperor and several other high-ranking Imperials in the disastrous defeat.

### Dawn of a New Era

#### Imperial Remnants Service

In the aftermath of the Battle of Endor, Vice Admiral Rae Sloane ordered the surviving Imperials to retreat from Endor. Soontir Fel continued to serve the Galactic Empire as the Rebel Alliance became the New Republic and launched an organized offensive. In this time, Fel also gained the skills of Maarek Stele, another legendary Imperial pilot who transferred into the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing. Like Fel, Stele had grown to doubt the Galactic Empire in the months after Endor, but in seeing Fel's strong sense of personal honor and dedication to service, Stele was inspired to keep fighting. By this time, Soontir Fel had gained legendary status among the forces of the Galactic Empire. Though Fel's name was well-known throughout the Empire and the upper echelons of the Rebellion, many younger Rebels were unaware of his existence, never having flown against the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing and having little access to Imperial sources of intel.

In the months after the Battle of Endor, the Galactic Empire deteriorated into several Imperial Remnant factions, with Director Ysanne Isard among the top figures of Imperial authority. Isard tasked the 181st with defending Brentaal IV against the New Republic, but in reality, she had no intention of holding the planet, and instead planned for it to fall and manipulate the situation so that her political rivals would seem responsible for its loss. Before the battle, Fel’s executive officer suggested that he remove himself from the political games of the Imperial leaders and take control of his own Imperial territory with the 181st as a warlord. Fel rejected his executive officer’s ambitious call, saying that his duty was not to any one Imperial leader but to the Imperial citizens, and he would protect the people and follow orders. Fel confronted Isard via hologram, revealing his knowledge of her manipulations and accusing her of treason and wasting his pilots.

#### New Republic Service

Fel angrily told Isard that he could see through her manipulations, but that he would follow orders nevertheless. Fel spoke with his wife via hologram, reassuring her that he would survive. Although Fel and his men downed several fighters in the battle, Fel was defeated and was captured by the New Republic forces after an ion cannon shot from a Y-wing disabled his fighter. Fel was enraged that Isard had spent their lives in what he could perceive were her political games. Upon hearing of his capture, Starflare fled into hiding with the children. Fel was transferred to a cell on the New Republic capital of Chandrila, where he would be interrogated by his Republic captors. During an interrogation with his brother-in-law Wedge Antilles, Fel announced he had lost faith in the Empire and expressed a desire to defect. Fel proposed that if the New Republic could help him find his wife, he would agree to defect and to fight on their side.

Wedge agreed to Fel’s proposal, and assigned him to the New Republic Starfighter Corps. Although many of his fellow pilots were deeply distrustful of Fel, suspecting him of being a spy or still loathing him for his Imperial past, he served faithfully during several battles against the Imperial Remnants. Months after his defection, Fel and his wife, who had dropped her Imperial stage name, were reunited. The Empire was enraged when they discovered Fel defected, and launched a propaganda campaign vilifying him, depicting him as a traitor. Fel continued serving the New Republic long enough to get to know rebels Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. During his service to the New Republic, Fel helped defeat Isard’s forces in a critical battle which caused her to take steps against Fel. Already furious with Fel due to his continual evasion of her plans, Isard sought out Fel, and so the Imperial Remnants began making plans of trapping and kidnaping him.

### Empire of the Hand

#### Chiss-Imperial Remnant

The New Republic assumed that Soontir Fel was killed or imprisoned by the Imperial Remnants, but instead he was taken to the planet Nirauan. It was on Nirauan that an Imperial Remnant group made up of Imperial assets and Chiss auxiliaries was based, an organization that would come to be known as the Empire of the Hand. This organization was brought together because of the Chiss Grand Admiral Thrawn, who served as an emissary of the Chiss Ascendancy, and sought to build an alliance with the Galactic Empire. The Chiss on Nirauan told Fel about the myriad deadly threats to galactic civilization found in the Unknown Regions and convinced him of the need to battle against them. Fel accepted a position in the organization, convinced that it was doing vital work and that it was not Palpatine’s or Isard’s corrupt Empire but an unprejudiced, non-oppressive government of the sort he once believed himself to be fighting for.

#### Life in the Unknown Regions

Fel and the Chiss arranged for his wife Syal and their children to join them on Nirauan. Fel served loyally in the Chiss-Imperial forces, gained the rank of general, and returned to the use of his noble title Flight Baron of the Empire. Fel served as a top lieutenant to the Chiss-Imperial leadership, the Empire of the Hand’s commandant, and commanded the Empire of the Hand’s starfighter corps. Living with his wife among the Chiss in the harsh Unknown Regions of space, Soontir Fel undertook the raising of a family, and would become a father to several children. Raised among the Chiss, the Fel family were subject to their harsh self-discipline and early maturation. During his service to the Empire of the Hand, Fel came to know and befriend many Chiss, including the Chiss officer Kres'ten'tarthi, more commonly known as Stent. Stent helped Fel’s children gain admittance into a Chiss military academy with links to the Empire of the Hand.

Soontir Fel served not only as a commander, but also in the front lines of the Empire of the Hand's many wars against the Unknown Regions' marauders, carving out a vast swath of territory. In the final battle of the campaign against one warlord, Fel lost his right eye. After the engagement in which he lost his eye, Fel retired from active military duty to become a commander of the Empire of the Hand. Fel and the other Chiss-Imperials refused to turn the Empire of the Hand over to the mainstream Empire, the Imperial Remnants, or the Empire’s successor state, the First Order. Soontir Fel continued in his duties for decades, founding several secret Chiss-Imperial bases. Knowing of the First Order’s intentions of starting a war with the New Republic and seizing control of the galaxy, Soontir Fel felt that the Republic could handle the war on its own while the Empire of the Hand fought its own battles, though Soontir’s wife attempted to persuade him otherwise.

#### Among the Chiss Ascendancy

In 34 ABY, Soontir Fel learned of the destruction of Hosnian Prime and the collapse of the New Republic. He was deeply concerned by that development, and now felt that the New Republic and the Resistance needed his aid. Fel decided to some of his most trusted Chiss-Imperial officers, including one of his sons, to learn more about the First Order and formulate tactics before large-scale forces were deployed against them. He was deeply uneasy, knowing that he might be sending one of his own children to die, but he knew that hard decisions must be made in war. During this time period, Fel moved from the Empire of the Hand to the Chiss Ascendancy itself, joining the Chiss Defense Fleet and gaining an estate on the capital planet Csilla. Fel was one of the few Humans to meet the demanding Chiss standards for acceptance, though the Chiss desired to incorporate more Humans so to bring galactic experience into their previously insular society.