Yiromatu Takei

> "*Do not sell these rebels short. What they lack in logistical supplies, they make up for in heart. Foolish as it might be, that can not be discredited in a fight.*"
> ― Captain **Yiromatu Takei**
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**Yiromatu Takei** was a young, ambitious Imperial Navy officer that served during the Galactic Civil War. Born on the planet of Chandrila, Takei entered the Imperial Academy at a young age and earned excellent marks. In 5 BBY, he was given command of the Star Destroyer Salient and the following year, he was assigned to the Betseeda System. It was here that he fought against the Rebel Alliance's Arrow Squadron in the campaign to liberate the Betseeda System.

After two years of intense fighting, he was eventually killed during the Battle of Jonquil Station while commanding the Imperial defense from the bridge of the Salient.

## **Biography**

### **Early Life**

Yiromatu Takei was raised in a middle class family on the planet of Chandrila, the only son of two loving parents. Growing up with an unremarkable background, he excelled in his school work. A natural mathematician, he began to develop a keen interest in logistics and strategy as he grew into adolescence.

Never showing any signs of political opinions or violence, his parents were surprised when he requested their permission to enlist in the Imperial Academy. The Empire had never been popular on Chandrila, but the Takei's had never been political people. They gave their son their blessing and, just following the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Takei entered the academy.

### **Imperial Academy & Early Assignment**

Takei thrived at the Academy. His grades were near the top of his glass and he had grown into a physically strong young man. The training was brutal, but Takei's deep-seeded ambition to succeed pushed him forward. He did especially well in his coursework on logistical support and complex strategy.

While at the Academy, he also began to study politics and warfare. While he was deeply loyal to his superior officers, he did have some reservations regarding the Empire's tactics. These reservations did not come from a moral or ethical standpoint, but rather a logical and logistical point of view.

Regardless of these opinions, he was proud to graduate from the Academy and received an assignment working as a strategic analysis officer in the Imperial Navy. He was assigned to the prestigious Kuat Drive Yards where he helped supervise the construction and provisioning of Star Destroyers. During this time, he helped track down several informants within the facility.

His dedication to the preservation of the Empire grew even further, bolstered by the rising mood of dissent among some star systems. Takei hated chaos and disorder and these terrorists challenged his very deeply held beliefs. He slowly began to grow colder, more logical, and more cunning.

### **The Salient**

> "*The Salient is no different than any other ship in her class. The only difference, as I see it, is that she is my ship*"
> ― Captain **Yiromatu Takei**
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In 5 BBY, Takei was given the rank of Captain and put in command of the Star Destroyer Salient. He was intimately familiar with ship as he had overseen its provisioning and sea trials. The promotion validated his mentality and he was quick to name several senior officers that shared his beliefs. Takei and his newly appointed staff served on garrison duty in the Sullust System for nearly a year. While here, Captain Takei improved the performance of his ship and helped improve the logistical supply lines between the various Imperial outposts. He also helped put down a small rebellion by the native Sullustan people.

In 4 BBY, the Salient was paired with the Star Destroyer Venom in its assignment to the Betseeda System. While Takei would have liked to be in command himself, he was appointed as Executive Officer of the fleet behind Admiral Jhutan Ensah. Takei was pleased with the assignment from a tactical standpoint and looked forward to the challenge of operating without significant assistance.

Takei knew little of Ensah's record, but was almost immediately disappointed by the man. Admiral Ensah had ridden the coat tails of several individuals and had severed mostly in the Imperial Advanced Weapons Research Section. What troubled Takei more than anything was that throughout his nearly two decade career, Admiral Ensah had never seen combat. Loyal to a fault, Takei followed his commanding officer to the Betseeda System. Almost immediately, his junior officers began to voice tepid concerns. While Takei did not disagree with their logical assessments, he believed it was not his duty to question his superiors.

## **The Betseeda System**

### **Rough Start**

Captain Takei, Admiral Ensah, the Salient, and the Venom arrived in full force. The system offered no real resistance to their arrival and, for several years, the occupation was impossibly boring. As Takei had theorized, Admiral Ensah viewed the assignment as a promotion and ruled over the system with disregard and ignorance. Rarely leaving the Venom unless he absolutely must, he was out of touch with the sentiments of the people.

Takei and his officers had analyzed several scenarios during their tenure in the system and knew that sentiment was slowly turning against the Empire. When presented with these facts, Admiral Ensah admonished Captain Takei for wasting his time.

Admiral Ensah was also prone to sending the Salient off throughout the system on minor tasks or tedious patrols while the Venom remained in orbit over the planet of Betseeda Prime, the center of Betseeda politics and commerce. While never publicly speaking against his commanding officer, Takei was quick to realize that nothing would come of this assignment unless Admiral Ensah was removed from command. Logical and patient, Takei realized that he simply needed to bide his time.

### **Arrow Squadron**

> "*Admiral, I believe these partisans could pose quiet a threat should they establish a working relationship with the Alliance*"
> ― Captain **Yiromatu Takei** to Admiral Jhutan Ensah
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War finally came to the Betseeda System when the Rebel Alliance dispatched a small group of fighters to liberate the system. Takei and his strategists had actually proposed this possible threat some time before their arrival, but, as always, Ensah had dismissed their concerns and stated that the Betseedan people were exceptionally loyal.

What Admiral Ensah was either ignoring or missing was the rise of a partisan resistance on the planet of Betseeda Prime. Led by the exiled former Senator, Madeline Gren, a small band of former soldiers and police had begun arming themselves. Calling themselves the Betseedan Resistance Forces, Captain Takei was acutely aware of this threat and requested, numerous times, to hunt the rebels down before they grew too powerful.

Takei's fears were realized when a coordinated attack, the First Battle of Betseeda Prime, caught the Imperial forces off guard. Forced to abandon their primary positions above Betseeda and retreat to Jonquil Station, the blow was embarrassing, but had been avoidable. Captain Takei's loyal junior officers now spoke of Ensah's incompetence with increased frequency. Again, Takei did not disagree, but knew that he could not have the Admiral removed just yet.

Sometime later, the Battle of Faan Shaarada, during which the Arrows infiltrated the Imperial war games and caused massive damaged to both the Venom and the Salient, served as yet another black mark for Ensah and more evidence to Takei that his commanding officer was in over his head. Takei managed to plan the first successful Imperial action of the campaign, the Battle of Myyribod, in response to the ambush at Faan Shaarada, but Ensah was quick to take the credit.

During this time, Takei also supervised several small missions that were aimed at killing, capturing, or disrupting Arrow Squadron activities in the region.

### **The Siege of Tazion & Breaking Points**

Admiral Ensah finally began to listen to Captain Takei and adopted his strategy of total war. Takei proposed an extended siege of the capital city of Tazion and advocated, rather simply, to kill as many civilians as possible to break their will to rebel. Admiral Ensah, sensing that his career was on the line, agreed with whatever strategy Takei thought best.

Finally, he things were going to go Takei's way.

The Siege of Tazion was, initially, a great success for the Imperial forces. Thousands of civilians were killed in the bombardments and the Arrows were forced even deeper underground. With the planet starving and supplies being extremely limited, Takei's projections indicated that a surrender was most likely to occur within two-four months. He had also advocated for the Salient to be the primary attacking ship given his insistence on skilled gunnery and combat readiness.

What the brilliant Takei had not accounted for was the BRF and the Arrow's desperate plan to break the siege. Using a recovered Lambda-class shuttle, BRF commandos and several members of Arrow Squadron infiltrated the Salient and caused massive damage to nearly every primary system. Captain Takei was caught off guard for the first time in his life and, momentarily wavered. However, he eventually organized a counterattack and killed many of the attackers. The rest were able to escape, but the Salient was extremely damaged and needed to retreat. The Venom had also been attacked by Arrow Squadron pilots and both ships were forced into another embarrassing retreat.

The siege, instead of breaking the civilians on Betseeda Prime, had actually emboldened them significantly. The Speaker of the Chamber, the official political leader of the planet, openly endorsed the Alliance and supplies, once again, began flowing to the planet. Open revolt was simply unacceptable. Admiral Ensah was completely unreliable and had sequestered himself away in his cabin. Command of the battered task force was effectively left up to Captain Takei.

It was at this point that Takei finally played his hand. In secret, he had been working with intelligence sources to uncover more about the career of his commanding officer. He had learned, over many years of searching, that the majority of Ensah's records had been falsified or adjusted by Ensah himself. It was a damning revelation and coupled with his string of defeats, would certainly be enough to end his career.

When the information was leaked to the public, few suspected the loyal, dedicated Takei of sabotaging his own commanding officer. Admiral Ensah was recalled by Imperial High Command and stripped of his rank. Command was officially passed to Captain Takei. Ensah was never heard from again.

He inherited a fragile, battered force. However, the ambitious officer was sure he could determine a logical path to victory.

### **The Man in Charge**

Takei immediately began to improve the already fortified Jonquil Station. He also dismissed several of Admiral Ensah's supporters. He planned to deliver another massive blow to the insurrection, but was pushed back at the Second Battle of Betseeda Prime. This set back, while troublesome, was not back breaking and he redoubled his efforts.

Slowly, but surely, Takei began to reform the task force. He improved supply lines coming from the planet of Myyribod, the only true loyalist world in the system, and be undertook a massive repair project, docking his Destroyers at Jonquil Station for an overhaul. Once they were combat ready, he planned to crush Arrow Squadron.

## **The Battle of Jonquil Station and Death**

### **The Battle Begins**

> "*Their attack is entirely illogical! It makes no sense!*"
> ― Captain **Yiromatu Takei** as Arrow Squadron began their strafing runs against Jonquil Station
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In 2 ABY, while Takei and his fleet were anchored at their base when they were suddenly attacked by Arrow Squadron pilots. For the second time in his career, he had been caught off guard. Having invested too much confidence in the defenses of Jonquil Station, he did not believe the Arrows would attack the installation.

The Battle of Jonquil Station would prove to be the bloodiest and final battle of the length campaign. Several Arrows, including his fellow Chandrilan, Idolon Jdre, were killed in the attack. Initially, Takei's newly installed defensive turrets proved successful. However, after several crippling blows, the Arrows made it past these defenses and poured heavy fire onto the repairing Star Destroyers. The Salient had benefited from being docked closer to the station, but now, that became something of a disadvantage as their movement was heavily hindered.

As Captain Takei rushed to defend both the Salient and the Venom from the attack, his destroyer was rocked by several massive explosions. The attacking Alliance fighters had managed to destroy the Salient's shield generators. Several more explosions saw cascading system failures and, as he organized the defense, a well aimed shot destroyed the bridge of the Salient, killing Captain Takei and nearly everyone else present.

With Takei dead and the crippled Venom slipping into the atmosphere of, the few remaining Imperials began to make for the escape pods. A brief time later, the Salient exploded into a massive ball of flames, the final blow coming from the Imperials themselves when they activated a self-destruct feature.

### **Legacy**

Captain Takei went down with his ship and was mourned by some of his fellow officers in the Imperial Navy. Others questioned how two massive Star Destroyers had failed to eliminate one squadron of determined starfighters. Others thought it a tragic waste of materials and men, a move that defied the logical and logistics of an already strained Imperial Navy.

Takei proved a fearsome foe and Lieutenant Tolamael Benere of the Arrows would not soon forget his adversary. Years later when command of Arrow Squadron was transferred to Udas, Benere reminded the Arrows new commander:

> "*Don't forget the lessons we learned against Captain Takei. He was a good officer, albeit misguided. He fought to the end.*"
> ― Lieutenant Tolamael Benere to Udas
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