Imsatad

Imsatad served under Grand Admiral Thrawn in his campaign against the New Republic in 9 ABY, and he was part of the garrison on Wayland when Luke Skywalker and Talon Karrde infiltrated the Mount Tantiss base and defeated Joruus C'baoth. This experience may have accounted for his later hostility towards the Jedi, but it also gave him an appreciation of the capabilities of vornskrs and ysalamiri in tracking down and nullifying Force-sensitives.

By the start of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Imsatad was serving with the New Republic military—a rough-looking man whose hair was by now turning gray. He participated in the Battle of Dantooine, but his experiences here convinced him that the Yuuzhan Vong could not be beaten, and he also persuaded himself that the war was the fault of the Jedi Order.

Imsatad decided to switch sides, and when Warmaster Tsavong Lah claimed that the war would end if the Republic surrendered the Jedi Knights, he organized a force to attack the Jedi academy on Yavin 4, hoping to capture the Jedi students there and hand them over to the Yuuzhan Vong.

Imsatad's squadron for this raid consisted of thirteen combat-capable starships, including corvettes, armed light freighters, E-wing escort starfighters, and a frigate which served as his command ship. He claimed to be an officer of the Peace Brigade, with the rank of Captain, and one of his subordinates, Kot Murno, identified himself as a Lieutenant, but some of their men and ships, such as Remis Vehn and his freighter, were apparently hired specifically for the attack.

Imsatad sent one ship ahead to scout out Yavin 4, which lurked in orbit for several days before he brought his main group in. The near-simultaneous arrival of Anakin Solo alerted the Jedi to the attack, however, and the Academy quickly went into hiding. The Jedi were still trapped on the surface, but Imsatad's initial plans had been frustrated, and he was unable to track the Jedi down in the dense jungle and the caverns and chambers of the Temple complex.

Next, Talon Karrde arrived, dispatched by Luke Skywalker to evacuate the Academy. The Wild Karrde was outgunned by Imsatad's squadron, and the ex-Imperial distrusted this "traitor to the Empire", but Karrde was able to lure him with a promise of vornskrs and ysalamiri to help him in his search. The Brigader decided to take the risk, and Karrde was allowed to land, albeit under heavy guard. In spite of these precautions Karrde was able to trick the Brigaders, and evacuated Kam Solusar, Tionne and most of the young Jedi aboard the Wild Karrde. Only Tahiri Veila was captured, although Jedi Master Ikrit was killed, and Anakin, Valin Horn, and Sannah remained trapped on the jungle moon.

Shortly afterwards, a large Yuuzhan Vong squadron arrived in-system, ostensibly to tap water from Stroiketcy, but also apparently to raid the Jedi Academy and in preparation for the establishment of a damutek on the jungle moon. They were surprised to find the Peace Brigade there, and angered to discover that the Jedi had gone, but it was a week before a senior officer, Commander Tsaak Vootuh, arrived to meet with the Peace Brigade Captain. Imsatad initially hesitated to reveal that he had Tahiri prisoner, but sensing the Yuuzhan Vong's irritation he offered to hand her over, insisting that only his intervention had prevented Karrde from rescuing all the Jedi. He did not reveal that some of the Jedi were still trapped on the moon, however—perhaps, as Anakin had predicted, he didn't want to reveal his own failure to capture them.

But Imsatad had miscalculated. Karrde's ships had remained at the edge of the system, and Tsaak Vootuh had guessed that there must be more than one Jedi left to rescue on Yavin 4. Realizing his mistake, the Brigader attempted to show his continuing usefulness by offering the information that Anakin Solo was among the trapped group, but the Yuuzhan Vong commander could no longer disguise his contempt for the infidel. As he had probably planned all along, Tsaak Vootuh signaled for Subaltern Vo Lian to impale the Brigader with his amphistaff. Subsequently, the Yuuzhan Vong ships seem to have destroyed the Peace Brigade vessels, while the warriors captured most of Imsatad's men for ritual execution.

• The New Jedi Order Sourcebook
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia