Ishin-Il-Raz

The Human male Ishin-Il-Raz became a key figure in the Commission for the Protection of the Republic. Il-Raz proved a formidable public speaker, and became COMPOR's chief spokesman at a relatively young age. Established midway through the devastating Clone Wars, the Commission for the Protection of the Republic was a body of volunteers who offered their support to Chancellor Palpatine in whatever ways it could, including various types of rallies and resource drives, as well as lucrative schemes. Fiercely patriotic, Il-Raz was unperturbed when Chancellor Palpatine dissolved the Republic and formed the first Galactic Empire, naming himself the Galactic Emperor. COMPOR was reformed and renamed as the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order, which aimed to institutionalize discrimination and Human High Culture, mostly through means of propaganda. Il-Raz was heavily involved in the establishment of COMPNOR, and was the driving force behind many of their core concepts.

Il-Raz was the key speaker at the inaugural rally of COMPNOR on Imperial Center some time after the formation of the Galactic Empire. He told the masses who had congregated at the Glitannai Esplanade that COMPNOR would lead the Empire into a millennia-long era of prosperity, and urged his fellow Imperial citizens to volunteer and join the Commission, telling them that if they did not, they would be outcast by their peers. Although Palpatine did not attend the rally personally, he sent one of his advisors, Crueya Vandron, to view the proceedings. The Emperor was impressed by Il-Raz's devotion and faithfulness to the New Order, and would continue to watch him for several years.

Il-Raz continued to serve COMPNOR, gaining a reputation as a fanatical supporter of Palpatine and the Empire. His political progress came to the attention of Palpatine, and despite Il-Raz's complete and utter lack of any form of military experience, he was among the twelve Grand Admirals named by Palpatine two years before the Battle of Yavin. The rank was a completely new one, created by Palpatine to reward some of his most loyal servants; others included in the "circle of twelve" were Josef Grunger, Octavian Grant, Rufaan Tigellinus and Demetrius Zaarin. Because he was not appointed for any military or strategic ability—indeed, he was wholly lacking in any martial talents—he was left somewhat isolated among his peers, who were far more capable than he. He soon thereafter became the head of COMPNOR's Select Committee, and was influential in the hundreds of recruitment drives that followed COMPNOR's founding.

Due to this, Il-Raz's appointment, as well as several of the other Grand Admiral's, was heavily criticized in the wake of the creation of the rank. Many argued that Palpatine was not a military-minded man, and appointments of such importance should have been left to those who were truly experienced in warfare. Palpatine's critics always looked to Ishin-Il-Raz when arguing this point; the man was, in the eyes of most, the weakest and least talented of the Grand Admirals appointed. None, however, were outspoken enough to openly criticize the Emperor, and Il-Raz kept his post unchallenged, though he knew full well that his had been a political appointment, made only because of his work with COMPNOR.

Il-Raz knew of the motivations behind his appointment as a Grand Admiral, though he sought to at least show Palpatine that he was capable for such a lofty position. Palpatine became an idol to Ishin, and all of his military exploits were designed to gain him favor in the Emperor's eyes. To this end he perpetrated various atrocities such as the massacre of Myomar and the bombardment of the planet Shalam. However, while these genocides did earn him respect in the eyes of many, he was often grouped among the likes of lowly criminals, such as the Devaronian war criminal Kardue'sai'Malloc. Nevertheless, Il-Raz's position was never seriously threatened, despite his being one of the least popular of Palpatine's Grand Admirals, and he kept his post until the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY.

The Battle of Endor proved disastrous for the Empire; Palpatine and his enforcer, Darth Vader, were killed aboard the second Death Star, throwing the Empire into a state of chaos. The Death Star was destroyed by the Alliance to Restore the Republic, taking many of the Empire's highest ranked individuals, including among them fellow Grand Admiral Nial Declann, with it to the grave. While many of his colleagues turned warlord and battled over territorial disputes, Ishin-Il-Raz became depressed, knowing that the only reason he achieved such a lofty position, Emperor Palpatine, was gone; he knew that his career was in shambles, and that he would be unable to hold his own if he entered battle with any of the other Grand Admirals.

Il-Raz was visibly distressed and upset about the death of his idol, and fearing the loss of his career his mental state began to deteriorate, resulting in him leading a series of attacks on random Outer Rim worlds. Most ignored him, thinking he was not a threat to their efforts to claim a stake of the Empire, though at least one of his fellow Grand Admirals, Peccati Syn, let Il-Raz borrow his copy of the Church of the Dark Side's sacred text, Secrets of the Dark Side, in the hopes that it would heal his wounds and coax him out of his depression. Syn's efforts failed, and Il-Raz slowly became more and more unstable, until he found the only viable solution to his predicament: suicide. Eight months after Palpatine's death, Ishin-Il-Raz took command of his Star Destroyer, Emperor's Disciple, and plunged it into the Denarii Nova, killing the entire crew, as well as many others. Ultimately, over thirty-seven thousand lives were lost in addition to his own. Ishin-Il-Raz died while chanting the ideas and precepts of the Select Committee, which he had devoted his life to.

Il-Raz had black hair, green eyes and tan skin, and was extremely devoted to the Imperial cause, serving his superiors as loyally as possible. His devotion to the Emperor ran so deep that when Palpatine perished aboard the second Death Star, Il-Raz found little purpose in continuing his own life. Il-Raz was also intelligent, and did not harbor any false ideas about his lofty rank in the Empire, knowing that he was no match in terms of tactical awareness and skills in comparison to his peers, who had achieved their rank because of their ability. Early in his life, Il-Raz was a strong leader, and a talented public speaker, known for the ferocity of his politics. However, after his unprecedented appointment in 1 BBY, he was seen as more of an outcast than a leader.

As one of the creators of COMPNOR, Il-Raz was a supporter of ideals such as Human High Culture and the enforcement of Imperial rule through dictatorship. Il-Raz was happy to perform mass killings of others to further his own means, and cared little for the lives of others, particularly those of non-Human origin. On his orders, thousands of people were killed, for no purpose other than to attempt to make Il-Raz look good in Palpatine's eyes. During his COMPNOR days, Ishin was not adverse to the use of propaganda and fear-mongering in order to keep the population loyal to the Empire. Also, Il-Raz became mentally and emotionally unstable after the Battle of Endor, and unlike virtually all of Palpatine's greatest admirers, was unable to deal with his death. While also dealing with paranoia at the possible termination of his position in the Empire, his ultimate solution was to kill himself, though the ideals of his beloved Empire stayed with him until the end.

Ishin-Il-Raz was created by author Daniel Wallace for the reference book The Essential Chronology, published in 2000. Wallace later expanded Il-Raz's backstory in the article "Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals," published in Star Wars Insider 66, with co-writer Abel G. Peña making only minor adjustments. Il-Raz later appeared in a HoloNet news article appearing in Star Wars Insider 84, written again by Daniel Wallace, this time with Pablo Hidalgo. Ishin-Il-Raz was illustrated by Joe Corroney in both of the insider articles, his renderings were based on Maikel Das, a regular contributor for the Official German Star Wars Fan Club magazine.

The Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals article appearing in Insider 66 was originally slated to appear in Star Wars Gamer, though when the magazine was discontinued, it instead appeared in Insider. The original Gamer article, titled Dirty Dozen: The Imperial Grand Admirals, established that after realizing he was loathed among his peers, Il-Raz began to study naval tactics, making him slightly more competent in that department. Unlike many of the other Grand Admirals, Il-Raz's biography published in Insider differed little from the original version slated to appear in Gamer.

• The Essential Chronology
• Rebellion Era Sourcebook
• "Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals" — Star Wars Insider 66
• The New Essential Chronology
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 67
• The Essential Guide to Warfare