Llon Banjeer

Llon Banjeer was a Human male serving as an admiral in the Galactic Empire, commanding one of the Imperial Navy's largest fleets in the years following Emperor Palpatine's first death at the Battle of Endor. In the aftermath of the Emperor's death, Banjeer became an ally of Grand Moff Zsinj, warlord of the Quelii Oversector. In 4 ABY, when Imperial agents discovered the location of the New Republic's Hast Shipyards, the admiral prepared a fleet to attack the facility. After obtaining several bulk cruisers from the wealthy D'Asta family fleet and converting them into TIE fighter carriers, Banjeer assaulted the shipyards, destroying or crippling over thirty New Republic vessels—many of which were to be used against Zsinj's forces.

Around 11 ABY, Banjeer was one of the Imperial Military officers to become a member of the Imperial Interim Ruling Council, an Imperial governing body established following the defeat at Endor. While on the Council, Banjeer represented the interests of the Imperial Navy. Using the authority of his new position, Banjeer established his nephew as the leader of the temperate world Baramorra, and, in turn, the new leader of Baramorra used his uncle's connections to gain control of all the bounty hunters in the sector, allowing him to keep the population in line. Admiral Banjeer, among others on the Council, conspired with the aspiring Sith Lord and former Royal Guardsman Carnor Jax to have Palpatine's clones sabotaged by his physician, thus paving the way for Jax's ascension to Emperor. After the death of Carnor Jax on Yinchorr at the hands of fellow Royal Guard Kir Kanos, the arrogant aristocratic Burr Nolyds became head of the Council, and Banjeer continued to serve under him.

At a meeting of the Interim Ruling Council in De-Purteen on Ord Cantrell, during which the state of the Empire was discussed, Council member Feena D'Asta suggested that the Council sue for peace with the New Republic. Nolyds announced that such a deal would not be made; Jax's plan had paved the way for the Council's control of the remnants of the Empire, and any attempt at negotiations would spell destruction for them. As Nolyds departed, he proclaimed that the deaths of Jax and Imperial Army General Redd Wessel, much like Palpatine's deaths, had benefited all of the Council members. Shortly thereafter, Nolyds was assassinated when a message disk planted by Yuuzhan Vong agent Nom Anor, stirring upon chaos in preparation for a galactic invasion by his people, self-destructed in his private chambers.

The Council members suspected that the assassin had been one of their own, but Banjeer put forth the idea that Kir Kanos was the culprit, and that the head of the council would always be a target. It was for that reason that at a subsequent meeting of the council, Xandel Carivus, a wealthy bureaucrat and native of Ord Cantrell, was nominated by the Defel Prince Za—on the suggestion of the Myke former pirate Norym Kim—to succeed Nolyds as the leader of the Interim Ruling Council. Banjeer supported Carivus's nomination because, in accordance with his own Humanocentrist views, Carivus was a Human. The Council members did not realize that their new leader was a puppet of Nom Anor, and thus would not be assassinated as Nolyds had been.

The same could not be said for Banjeer, however. While waiting for his dinner, the admiral was fatally stabbed by Nom Anor, who used a knife bearing the insignia of Kir Kanos. One of Banjeer's aides discovered the body while delivering the admiral's meal. To prevent any further losses, the stormtrooper guards were doubled and all personnel were put on full alert. At a following Council meeting, the councilor General Immodet accused the non-Human members of the Council of being behind the assassinations of Nolyds and Banjeer. Though the members in question denied any involvement, Admiral Jeratai, who also had a seat on the Council and a fleet of his own, concurred with Immodet's assessment of the situation. Feena D'Asta accused Carivus of not taking precautions to prevent a further execution following Nolyds's death, and that his lax attitude had been responsible for Banjeer's death. Using the evidence gathered from both crime scenes, head of security Lieutenant Ganner incorrectly concluded that Kir Kanos was behind the murders, having discovered that the insignia on the holoprojector used to kill Nolyds and the symbol on the knife used to kill Banjeer matched Kanos's own Royal Guard crest. Carivus responded by ordering that Jeratai's and Banjeer's fleets be sent out to find and capture Kanos.

An Imperial traditionalist and a mild Humanocentrist, Banjeer disliked the presence of non-Humans on the Interim Ruling Council and was opposed to the thought of a non-Human becoming the leader of the Council, preferring someone like Xandel Carivus—whom the Council members despised—over a non-Human. Unlike his comrades, Banjeer was not so quick to accuse a member of the Interim Council of being behind Nolyds's assassination, believing that Kir Kanos was continuing his vendetta against all those who had sabotaged Palpatine's clones.

Admiral Banjeer, albeit as an unnamed member of the Ruling Council, first appeared in issue one of 1997's Star Wars: Crimson Empire, written by Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley and penciled by Paul Gulacy. Banjeer would go on to appear (and be given a name) in issues one and two of 1998's Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood before being killed off. He would be mentioned in The Bounty Hunters: Kenix Kil; in it, his nephew was introduced. The admiral was also given brief entries in Star Wars Handbook 2: Crimson Empire and The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. Coruscant and the Core Worlds makes reference to a Banjeer family estate in Sirpar Hills on Anaxes, though that particular estate has not been tied to this Banjeer. In 2012, he was given the first name "Llon" in The Essential Guide to Warfare.

• Star Wars Handbook 2: Crimson Empire
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Essential Guide to Warfare