Jaron Kyte

Jaron Kyte was a Human who served in the Imperial Fleet. By 19 ABY, he had attained the rank of general and was stationed on the planet Muunilinst in the Obtrexta sector of the Outer Rim Territories. Kyte was one of the senior officers overseeing the defenses of Muunilinst, which served as the financial capital of the Imperial Remnant under High General Sutt Ramic. From his position, Kyte was one of several high-ranking Imperial officials involved in a secret agreement between Moff Vilim Disra of the Braxant sector and Captain Zothip of the Cavrilhu Pirates.

As part of the agreement, the Cavrilhu Pirates supplied the Imperials with SoroSuub Corporation Preybird-class starfighters from a production plant that they had acquired and reactivated. In exchange, the pirates received tactical assistance in the form of clones drawn from sleeper cells that Grand Admiral Thrawn had established during his campaign against the New Republic ten years earlier. In addition, the pirates were hired to strike at New Republic shipping as privateers, using information that Disra had obtained from Imperial Intelligence reports. However, the agreement had not been processed through official channels, and the raiding targets were not chosen by Imperial High Command or Imperial Intelligence. Furthermore, the entire arrangement was kept secret from Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet.

Kyte was responsible for supplying Imperial equipment and personnel to the Cavrilhu Pirates, and his role in the agreement brought him into contact with Lord Graemon, a banker on Muunilinst who funneled the funds from the Empire to the pirates. Kyte was also in contact with another individual who had a direct connection to the pirates, and any messages that needed to be relayed to the Pirates went through him.

In 19 ABY, Kyte was summoned to a meeting with Admiral Pellaeon alongside High General Ramic and the other four senior officers of the Muunilinst defense hierarchy. Pellaeon had proposed making peace with the New Republic and had convinced the Moffs to agree to his plan. As part of the process, the Admiral was touring the Remnant's military installations and presenting the proposal to the senior officers, seeking their support and explaining his reasoning behind the need for a peace treaty.

However, while attending to other business on Muunilinst, Pellaeon learned of the arrangement between Disra and the Cavrilhu Pirates—although he did not know the identity of the pirate gang—and investigations by Intelligence officers under his command had uncovered financial records that had led him to Lord Graemon. Pellaeon suspected that a senior member of the Muunilinst defense setup was working with Graemon, so he invited the banker to his meeting with the senior officials. When Graemon arrived during the meeting, Kyte was shocked to see the banker and briefly allowed it to show on his face before recovering his composure. Pellaeon, watching the assembled officers for any signs of recognition toward Graemon from any of them, caught the involuntary movement and deduced that Kyte was in league with Graemon since he was the only officer in the room to react to the banker's presence.

After Graemon was shown to a side room, Ramic inquired as to the banker's presence, and Pellaeon explained the agreement he had discovered to the assembled officers. He noted that some high-ranking officials were embezzling funds for their own personal gain, and added—while looking at Kyte—that others were guilty of supplying Imperial equipment and personnel to pirate gangs, acts that Pellaeon considered to be treasonous. Kyte realized that Pellaeon suspected he was involved in the conspiracy, and, after the meeting was concluded, the General sent a message to his contact with the Cavrilhu Pirates, warning them that Pellaeon may have discovered the arrangement. The transmission was subsequently intercepted by Intelligence agents led by Commander Dreyf, who reported the activity to Pellaeon eleven days later.

Jaron Kyte did not usally panic when faced with difficult situations. Despite being loyal to the Remnant, Kyte had no compunctions about operating outside official channels when the need arose, and he allied himself with Moff Disra rather than supporting the Supreme Commander of the Fleet, Pellaeon. Kyte was somewhat suspicious of Pellaeon, and questioned why Pellaeon put forward a treaty with the New Republic if he disliked the idea.

Kyte was a capable officer who reached the rank of general and was assigned as a senior officer in the defense hierarchy of an important Imperial planet. Although Kyte was usually able maintain his composure and control his body language to a degree hide his reactions, Kyte was unable to suppress his initial shock when caught unaware by the arrival of Lord Graemon, allowing Admiral Pellaeon—who was looking for a reaction from Kyte—to see it clearly before Kyte regained composure.

Jaron Kyte appeared in Specter of the Past, the first novel of Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn Duology, written by Timothy Zahn and published in 1997.