Yalta Val

Yalta Val was a Human man and an Imperial Knight who served the newly-formed Triumvirate in the aftermath of the Second Imperial Civil War. In 138 ABY, Empress Marasiah Fel sent him to the remote Carreras system in the Surd Nebula to activate the local communication array station, which was part of a galactic-wide G51 communications network that would connect isolated worlds of the Outer Rim with Coruscant, the galactic capital. Once in the Surd Nebula, he decided to launch a comm droid to serve as a beacon since the nebula interfered with the ship's communications. Upon exiting hyperspace, Val's ship crash-landed on Mala, a dark planet which did not orbit a star and was covered entirely in black rocks. Val's Imperial crew managed to land the ship on top of a rock. The shuttle's stormtroopers immediately fanned out to establish a perimeter around the crash area. However, the stormtroopers were quickly ambushed and killed by a red-skinned humanoid; he was a Sith master of the One Sith, which had recently been defeated and forced into hiding by the Triumvirate.

Yalta Val rushed out of the ship to and was immediately attacked by the Sith master. While dueling with lightsabers, the Sith master used the Force to push Val and his shuttle down the hill. The ship's crew were killed in the ensuing clash but Val continued fighting the Sith master. The Sith master gained the upper hand and used the Force to shove Val into the ground. Before the Sith master could deliver a killing blow, he was slain by his own Sith apprentice, a Human man who donned a mask and cloak. The man announced that he was no longer an apprentice, imprisoned Val, and stole his armor in order to impersonate him. Meanwhile, the comm droid retrieved his lightsaber and decided to go home but it was destroyed on the way. Its remains were then discovered by a junk dealer, Ania Solo, who also acquired the lightsaber.

During his captivity, Yalta Val was forced to wear the Sith apprentice's helmet and clothes, and had his hands bound in restraints. Val was also guarded by Dieben, a Nalydian henchman of the fallen Sith master and his apprentice, who gave him a putrid soup for sustenance. Meanwhile, the Sith apprentice, who was named Darth Wredd, assumed Val's identity and was rescued by Governor Biala's forces, who maintained a garrison at the communications array in the Carreras system. The "false" Val claimed that there was a Sith presence in the Carreras system and that the Sith had attacked his ship and murdered his entire crew, and that he had also lost his lightsaber. He also demanded that Governor Biala accelerate work on the communications array and that she give him personal control of all of her security forces.

Later, Yalta Val was contacted by his captor via an ingenious hologram projection pod, who noted his captive's discomfort with the mask. When Val asked who his captor was, Darth Wredd refused to disclose his identity but mentioned that Val's mask was the same one which his late master had forced him to wear during his apprenticeship in order to temper his weakness and teach him hate. When Val queried why his captor had not chosen to kill him, Wredd replied that he was smarter and more ambitious than his late master. Darth Wredd then presented Val with the choice of embracing the dark side and joining his cause, or waiting in captivity. Meanwhile, Wredd, in his guise as Yalta Val, used Governor Biala's forces in to recover Val's lightsaber from Ania Solo and her associates Sauk and AG-37. Howver, Solo and her associates managed to evade capture. While tinkering with Val's comm droid, they found that the droid had recorded a lightsaber duel between the real Yalta Val and the Sith master.

Meanwhile, Yalta Val's fellow Imperial Knight Jao Assam, became concerned about the construction delays in the Carreras system. He was worried that he had not received any communication from Val, whom he argued would have used the comm droid to send them a new eta. Suspecting that something was wrong, he decided to take leave from his work supervising the Ithorian link in the communications array to investigate developments in the Carreras system. After arriving in the Carreras system, Assam narrowly escaped capture from the "false" Val's security force and encountered Ania Solo and her associates on the planet Carreras Minor. Ania and her associates showed Assam the Imperial comm droid's holorecording. Based on the holorecording, Assam quickly deduced that the real Yalta Val had been replaced by an impostor. Jao Assam and Ania and her associates then formed an alliance to find the real Yalta Val and stop the impersonator from exploiting with the communications array.

While traveling there, Jao Assam, Ania and her associates were captured by the Carreras security forces. By this stage, Governor Biala had become disturbed by the "false" Yal Val's erratic behavior and solicited the support of Assam, Ania, and her associates in getting rid of the Sith impostor. Following a skirmish at the Carrerras communications array station, the "false" Val fled back to Mala on a stolen shuttle. Upon arriving back in Mala, the "false" Val and Dieben removed Val's mask and used the Carreras communication array to make a live broadcast to the galaxy. During the broadcast, the real Yalta Val was bound to a chair while Darth Wredd delivered his message to a galactic audience. After denouncing the Triumvirate, he attempted to kill Yalta Val in order to show the impotence of the Imperial Knights and that the galaxy's population were unsafe.

However, Darth Wredd was stopped by Ania Solo, who succeeded in freeing Yalta Val from captivity by motioning for him to notice the lightsaber in her boot. During the skirmish, Val managed to regain his lightsaber by levitating it with the Force and fought back against the Sith. During a lightsaber duel, Darth Wredd revealed his intentions of becoming the only Sith in the galaxy and managed to escape Mala. By this stage, the Carreras communications array had become trapped in Mala's atmosphere and was about to collide with that dark planet. In response, Governor Biala ordered her crew and soldiers to evacuate the doomed communications station. Meanwhile, Ania managed to return to the Carreras communications array in a starship and evacuate her wounded associates Sauk and AG-37. She then flew AG-37's freighter back to Mala and evacuated Yalta Val within seconds of the impending collision between the planet and the communications array. Val's fellow Imperial Knight Jao Assam was also rescued by the Imperial communications droid and received medical attention aboard Ania's ship, which then entered hyperspace.

Yalta was amazed by the Imperial comm droid's selfless heroism in rescuing Jao Assam and remarked that he had never seen a droid save someone like that before. AG-37 then explained that the comm droid believed that Jao had traveled all this way to rescue it and thus felt that it owed a debt of gratitude to its rescuer. Due to Jao Assam's debilitating injuries, the Imperial comm droid broadcast a distress signal. AG-37's freighter was stuck in a remote part of the Surd Nebula and were unable to reach Carreras. The next closest system was the Mustafar system which did not have sufficient medical facilities to treat Jao's wounds. Fortunately, the freighter was picked up by the Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer Animus. Ania and her companions were warmly welcomed by the Imperials who repaired AG-37 and his freighter.

Meanwhile, Yalta Val resumed his duties as an Imperial Knight while Jao Assam received medical treatment in a bacta tank. After changing into a new set of Imperial Knight's armor, Yalta received a briefing from his superior Antares Draco via hologram on the new threat posed by the rogue Sith Darth Wredd. Val was surprised to learn that Wredd was killing his fellow Sith. According to Draco, Wredd's actions were putting the Empire in a difficult position. While Yalta Val suggested using Darth Wredd as a way to track the underground One Sith, Antares informed him that the Triumvirate was not pursuing Darth Wredd at this time. Antares Draco then informed Yalta that the Empress had reassigned him to a new position as prefect of the Imperial Knights Training Facility in Coruscant. Yalta's new job was to find new recruits to bolster the ranks of the Imperial Knights.

Later, Jao Assam received a Force vision of Darth Wredd attacked the Empress Marasiah Fel. Disturbed by this vision, Jao Assam confided in his mentor Yalta Val, while the former was dueling with a training remote. However, Yalta Val dismissed Assam's concerns about Wredd's threat to the Empress and reminded the younger knight that they had orders to follow and that Wredd was not his problem. Jao disagreed and insisted that Wredd was still a threat. Val explained that he did not like his orders but as an Imperial Knight, he was bound to serve the Force by following the Empress. He reminded Assam to remember his vows and reprimanded the younger Knight for disobeying a direct order to remain in the Ottega system by venturing to Carreras to rescue him. While Val was grateful to Assam for saving his life, he believed that Assam's disobedience was an act worthy of punishment.

While Assam viewed his recent assignment to Coruscant for the next cycle as a form of punishment, Master Val thought that the younger Knight need to spend time recovering since Darth Wredd had nearly killed him. While distracted, Jao was hit by a laser beam fired by the training remote. Continuing his conversation, Assam argued that their highest duty as Imperial Knights was to protect the Empress. Val refused to continue the discussion and insisted they had orders. Frustrated, Assam sliced the training remote in half but indicated that he understood his orders. Uncomfortable with his superiors' unwillingness to tackle the threat posed by Darth Wredd, Assam later confided in Ania, telling her of the vision and his feeling that Wredd wanted him as an apprentice. Following a lengthy discussion, Jao succeeded in convincing Ania to follow him on a quest to hunt down the rogue Sith Darth Wredd. Ania and Assam tried to sneak off of the Animus, but were discovered and confronted by Master Val and a squad of stormtroopers.

Master Val attempted to reason with Jao Assam by reminding the younger Knight that they had to trust that the Force would guide the Empress in this matter. Assam replied that that was what he was exactly doing. Assam warned that Darth Wredd was not satisfied with just killing Sith and had wider ambitions. Master Val refused to listen and ordered Assam to stand down. At that point, Val's Imperial comm droid arrived, spooking the stormtroopers and causing them to open fire. Val deflected their laser blasts with his lightsaber and told Val that he did not want violence. After Assam refused to submit, Val conceded that the younger Knight was right and allowed him to go. However, he warned Assam that his dereliction of duty was a "selfish act" for any Imperial Knight. Jao and Ania then left on a stolen Imperial shuttle before Val and the stormtroopers could their minds.

When the Animus returned to Coruscant, Yalta Val and his superior Antares Draco had to face a displeased Empress Fel who was angered that her subordinates had allowed Ania Solo to escape. The Empress wanted to find out everything he could about her and appeared to be disturbed when reading about her background for unspecified reasons. Marasiah Fel was further angered to learn that Jao Assam had left with Ania for parts unknown. Yalta Val took full responsibility for letting Jao to seek leave from his duties without permission. Fel expressed her regret in putting her faith in Yalta Val and expressed her disappointment that she could not trust her Knights anymore. Yalta then attempted to defend the younger Imperial Knight by revealing that Jao was pursuing Darth Wredd after receiving a vision in the Living Force. He explained that Jao was trying to do what he felt to be right. However, Empress Fel was unmoved and condemned Jao as a deserter. She then ordered the Imperials to bring Ania Solo to her as a prisoner and charged Jao with desertion, a crime which carried the death penalty in the Galactic Triumvirate.

Meanwhile, Jao Assam and Ania Solo's hunt for Darth Wredd led them to the lawless Calamari system, which had become a haven for criminals following the Genocide on Dac towards the end of the Second Imperial Civil War in 138 ABY. While the two companions found no sign of Darth Wredd in the Calamari system, they quickly discovered that another rogue Sith named Darth Luft and his pirate associates had set up a base in the abandoned Mon Calamari Orbital Shipyards. There, they had tricked a large number of Mon Calamari and Quarren into returning to a "renewed" Dac, which had been poisoned and rendered lifeless by Sith viral spores. These unfortunate sentient beings were enslaved and forced to build a fleet of starships for the pirates. Before being captured and dumped into an escape pod that was then dropped into Dac's poisoned oceans, Yalta Val's former comm droid, which had now come into Jao's services, managed to transmit a coded message to Yalta Val alerting him about the presence of the pirates in the Calamari system.

Yalta Val was supervising the training of several Imperial Knight cadets on Coruscant when he received Jao's coded message from the AS–1 listening post, which contained Val's stamp on it. While the Imperial communications officers had initially wanted to disregard the message since he was obviously on Coruscant, they decided to bring it to Yalta Val. After reading Jao's message in his private quarters, he interrupted a high–level Galactic Triumvirate meeting to inform his superiors about the pirate presence in the Dac system and the enslavement of Mon Calamari and Quarren slaves. While Empress Fel was unconcerned about this development and argued that the Triumvirate did not have the resources to attend to every problem in the galaxy, Admiral Gar Stazi was dismayed with the Triumvirate authorities for neglecting the plight of the Dac refugees and allowing the Calamari system to slip into lawlessness. When a Jedi delegate described the Sith threat as a many–headed hydra, Empress Fel angrily remarked that they had no direct evidence of a Sith threat in the Mon Calamari Shipyards and dismissed Jao as an unreliable source.

She lectured her fellow Triumvirate members that they could not afford to get sidetracked by what she termed "one man's obsession" especially in the aftermath of the loss of the Carreras communications array. Stazi disagreed with the Empress' comments and argued that the Triumvirate had an obligation to take up the cause of the Mon Calamari and Quarren captives in the Dac system. The Empress was still unmoved and argued that the Triumvirate was doing everything it could to help the surviving Mon Calamari and Quarren refugees to rebuild their homes throughout the galaxy. Unable to reason with Empress Fel, Yalta Val returned to the Imperial Knights' training facility. He was later joined by Admiral Stazi who was also disturbed by the Empress' lack of concern for the plight of the Mon Calamari and Qaurren refugees. Both men agreed that they had to come to the aid of the enslaved refugees on Dac. In the end, they assembled a force of Galactic Alliance starships, seatroopers, and Imperial Knight cadets to deal with the threat posed by Darth Luft and the pirates.

The Triumvirate forces quickly wiped out the pirate starfighter and pirate droid defenses in the Dac system. The Alliance tanker Trand Cappa flooded the Mon Calamari Shipyards with seawater: overwhelming the pirates, damaging their starships, and allowing the Mon Calamari and Quarren slaves to gain the upper hand. While Gar Stazi commanded the starship forces, Yalta Val led a force of seatroopers and Imperial Knights to liberate the Mon Calamari and Quarren slaves and to apprehend the pirates. While moving through the flooded interiors of the shipyards, Val and his seatrooper escorts pursued a pair of pirates. When the pirates ignored his orders to halt, the Knight used his lightsaber to slice the bridge in half, causing them to fall into the waters below where they were picked up by several waiting seatroopers. Val then ordered his men to take the prisoners back to Dry Bay #1 where the prisoner transport was waiting. He also reminded his men to round up the remaining survivors before they got their bearings.

Meanwhile, Jao Assam succeeded in killing Darth Luft following a protracted lightsaber duel. Ania and her companions also succeeded in rescuing several Mon Calamari and Quarren refugees from being killed by exposure to zero gravity space. Following the defeat of Darth Luft and his pirates, the liberated Mon Calamari and Quarren slaves were allowed to settled in the flooded interiors of the Mon Calamari Shipyards. Yalta Val supervised the arrest of the surviving pirates who were led aboard a prisoner transport. He also encountered Jao Assam and the two Imperial Knights discussed the recent developments in the Calamari system. Both men were pleased with the liberation of the enslaved Mon Calamari and Quarren slaves, which they regarded as a sign of healing taking place in the galaxy. When Val asked whether Jao would be returning to his duties, the latter apologized that he could not do even though he knew that desertion was punishable by death. When Val inquired why Jao continued to persist in his "folly", the latter explained that he was trying to keep the Empress safe from Darth Wredd, thus fulfilling his first and most important duty as an Imperial Knight. Jao concluded that he could not afford to ignore his vision. Despite their disagreements, Yalta Val and Jao Assam departed on good terms.

A year after the events of the Carreras Incident, Master Val was supervising the training of Imperial Knight cadets when he received a visit by Admiral Gar Stazi. The Admiral informed Val that he had filed a report on the events in the Calamari system which contained recommendations for Dac's immediate future. Stazi explained that their actions at the Mon Calamari Shipyards had been a popular boost for the Triumvirate government and suggested that Empress Fel might consider promoting them. However, Val declined the offer of a promotion due to his recent experiences in the Carreras system. He had been promoted only to be demoted when it became clear that he was not politically savvy. Val also liked his job training recruits on Coruscant. Stazi then mentioned that Val's Knights would soon be busy since the Triumvirate had decided to resume hunting for war criminals. When Val questioned the Empress's decision to abandon the pursuit for Darth Wredd, Stazi merely replied that the public response to the liberation of Dac's shipyards showed that the galaxy respected strength.

After learning that his old acquaintance Ania Solo had ended up on the Triumvirate list, Val confronted his superior Antares Draco at his private apartments on Coruscant. He criticized the Triumvirate's new war criminal campaign, arguing that the authorities had their priorities misplaced. Draco was defensive and warned Val to be careful with his words. While acknowledging that Ania had saved Val's life in the Carreras system, he argued that things were not always as they seemed. Val then deduced that the Imperials had wanted to arrest Ania and make her disappear quietly during her time at the Animus. Val then demanded to know what was going on. After admitting that the Imperials had indeed wanted to make Ania disappear, Draco added that Ania's recent publicity following the Carreras Incident and the Liberation of the Dac Shipyards had forced the Triumvirate to get the public on their side by placing her on their "Most Wanted" list. Draco then asserted that the authorities had good evidence that she had killed an Imperial Knight, Teemen Alton. With the Triumvirate solidifying its control over the galaxy, Draco wanted to send a strong message that the Imperial Knights were the instruments of this new peace and that they would not tolerate any crimes against them, past or present.

The next morning, Val visited Empress Marasiah Fel to reiterate his concerns about Ania's "guilt" and question her justification for tracking Ania down. Marasiah Fel was visibly angered by Yalta Val's dissension and threatened to strike him down with her lightsaber. However, she relented and remarked that serving as Empress did not supersede her vows as an Imperial Knight. Still unmoved by Master Val's concerns about Ania Solo's guilt, she proceeded to remind that when one Imperial Knight was harm, the entire Imperial Knights body felt the pain. She reiterated that apprehending Ania would bring justice to the fallen Teemen Alton and stressed that bringing justice did not require justification. Still questioning Ania's guilt, Jao examined Triumvirate files and found that Teemen Alton's real murderer had a prosthetic hand, something which Ania did not. Val relayed this information to Jao and Ania's companions Sauk and AG-37, who were on a quest to rescue Ania, who had been kidnapped by her old flame Ramid and was being stalked by a mysterious bounty hunter.

Following Ania's arrest, she was transported to Coruscant to face a military tribunal. The tribunal consisted of Antares Draco, the head of the Imperial Knights, a Sullustan Galactic Alliance official, and a female Jedi. During the proceedings, Yalta Val volunteered to represent Ania. He began by attacking the Triumvirate's evidence against Ania and pointing out that she had raised her life more than once to save members of the Imperial Knights. Unconvinced, Draco insinuated that Ania had done those good things out of guilt for her earlier crimes. Representing the prosecution, Draco stressed Ania's guilt and demanded a swift resolution to the case. Val was able to weaken the prosecution's case by pointing out that Teemen's murderer had a prosthetic hand and that Ania had two biological hands. He added that Alton was strangled by a laser whip that could only be operated by a matching prosthetic hand.

Val's evidence managed to sway the Galactic Alliance and Jedi members of the tribunal but Antares Draco remained unswayed and demanded more evidence. However, Ania Solo was saved by the arrival of Jao Assam who presented the bounty hunter's severed prosthetic hand. He explained to the tribunal that the artificial hand belonged to Teemen's real murderer and that this person had tried to frame Ania for a crime that she did not commit. Faced with compelling evidence, the tribunal was forced to find Ania not guilty and to release her. However, Draco ordered Jao's arrest on charges of desertion and had him imprisoned. Later, Master Val explained to Ania and her companions that by coming back to Coruscant, Jao had effectively given himself up. Val reiterated that desertion from the Imperial Knights was punishable by death.

Shortly after Ania's acquittal, the fugitive Darth Wredd freed Jao Assam from his prison. Despite his loyalty to Empress Fel, Jao still followed Darth Wredd because he wanted to foil the rogue Sith's plot. In response, Empress Marasiah Fel sent Ania Solo and a platoon of stormtroopers to free Jao. Unknown to Ania, Empress Fel also assembled a force of Imperial Knights to hunt down Darth Wredd. However, Darth Wredd had intended to lure the Imperial Knights and the One Sith into a trap. He tricked Jao into transmitting the floating world of Mala's coordinates to the Imperials and Sith. Master Yalta Val and Master Antares Draco accompanied Empress Fel aboard a Star Destroyer to Mala. Upon arriving above Mala, they were shocked to discover an entire army of One Sith. While Empress Fel remained aboard the Star Destroyer, Draco and Val led the Imperial Knights into combat against the Sith army.

During the Battle of the Floating World, Darth Wredd joined forces with the Imperial Knights and Ania's companions against the Sith. Darth Wredd desired revenge against the One Sith for destroying his family and his homeworld and had intended to use the Imperial Knights to destroy the One Sith. After a fierce and savage battle, the Imperial Knights succeeded in killing the entire one Sith army. However, Darth Wredd then seized the opportunity to make an assassination attempt on Empress Fel. Before he could finish off his work, he was stopped and attacked by Jao Assam, who succeeded in cutting off both his hands with his lightsaber. Realizing that Wredd wanted to lead him down to the dark side, Jao refused to kill the rogue Sith, letting Ania do the job.

Following the battle, the wounded Empress Fel was evacuated and Master Yalta Val reconciled with Jao Assam. Jao reasoned that Darth Wredd had engineered the entire battle to punish and destroy the One Sith for the harm they had done to his homeworld. But after it was all over, there was still one Sith left: himself. Having strayed to far into the Dark Side to believe in redemption, Wredd had deliberately engineered his own death and almost succeeded in creating a new Sith in the process. Later, Master Val reported to Empress Fel that all of the One Sith had died. He believed that the Sith had gone from the galaxy but Fel was not so sure and asserted that history had a way of continuing.

Following the events on Mala, Ania Solo succeeded in convincing Empress Fel to drop the desertion charges against Jao and to release him from the Imperial Knights Order. Before Jao departed to spend his new life with Ania, Yalta Val had a final conversation with his former pupil. Both men were delighted with the Empress's plans to reform the Knights by focusing their loyalty on the light side of the Force, rather than just the Empress alone. Jao warmly described Master Val as one of the least orthodox Knights he had encountered and thanked him for all the lessons which he had learnt. Jao vowed not to stray from the light side but conceded that he was no longer a Knight. Jao also promised that he would be prepared to fight by Master Val's side should the need ever arise. After embracing each other, Master Val praised Jao for never letting him down once. Jao was accompanied by Master Val's old Imperial comm droid, which had become close to Jao. Master Val presumably continued serving as the head of the Imperial Knights training facility on Coruscant.

As an Imperial Knight, Yalta Val was loyal and devoted to serving his Empress Marasiah Fel. He was also committed to following the light side of the Force and trusted that the Force would guide the will of the Empress. At the same time, Yalta Val had a clear moral compass which sometimes led him to question the orders of his superiors, if he felt they were wrong or unethical. On one occasion, Val was troubled by the Empress' ambivalence towards the plight of enslaved Mon Calamari and Quarren in the Mon Calamari Shipyards. This moral discomfort led him to join Admiral Gar Stazi in leading a Triumvirate task force to liberate these slaves. The liberation of the Mon Calamari Shipyards proved to be a popular action and helped boost confidence in the Galactic Triumvirate government. However, Val's dislike for politics led him to decline a promotion intended to reward him for his leadership and actions during the Calamari incident.

Master Val also had a deep respect for the junk dealer Ania Solo for saving his life during the Carreras Incident. His affinity for Ania led led him to question the Triumvirate's criminal case against Ania for allegedly murdering an Imperial Knight. Val's commitment to finding the truth led him to discover evidence which helped overturn the Triumvirate's case against Ania and clear her name. In addition, Master Val was also good teacher who was well liked by many of his students including Jao Assam for his unorthodox and flexible methods. Yalta Val also believed that change could made from within a person. Val displayed good leadership skills during the ill-fated mission to the Carreras system and the successful liberation of the Mon Calamari Shipyards. These leadership qualities led Empress Fel to appoint him as head of the Imperial Knights Training Facility on Coruscant.

As an Imperial Knight, Yalta Val was skilled in lightsaber combat and the arts of the Force. Val was able to use the Force to levitate his lightsaber from Ania Solo's boot, allowing him to fight back against the rogue Sith Darth Wredd. He was also able to hold out against Darth Wredd during the Carreras Incident. Val later put his lightsaber skills to good use during the liberation of the Mon Calamari Shipyards and the Battle of the Floating World. Due to his leadership and combat skills, Val was placed in charge of the Imperial Knights Training Facility on Coruscant.

Yalta Val appeared as a supporting character in Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman's Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 comic series, a spinoff of Dark Horse Comics' popular Star Wars: Legacy comic series.