Arien Yage, a Human female from the Imperial Remnant, was a Captain in their Navy. She commanded the Imperial frigate Widowmaker during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Following the Battle of Borosk, Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon ordered her and her crew to assist Jedi Master Luke Skywalker in his search for Zonama Sekot.
Before the Battle of Ithor, Captain Yage was assigned as the Commander of the Chimaera. Her connection with Supreme Commander Gilad Pellaeon seemed to be quite close. She frequently called him "Gilad," even addressing him by that name at times, which was very unusual for a Captain speaking to a Grand Admiral in the Navy.
Admiral Pellaeon clearly trusted Yage a great deal. At the end of the Battle of Bastion, he told the Jedi on the Jade Shadow to find Captain Yage at Yaga Minor. While awaiting orders from the Council of Moffs, who hoped to take control after Pellaeon's supposed death, Yage spoke with Jedi Knight Jacen Solo.
Yage learned that Pellaeon had survived and was then contacted by General Berrida, who, like the Council, didn't know Pellaeon was alive. Solo helped Yage gain time by answering Berrida's message in her place, preventing the Council from taking command of her. Because Pellaeon was in critical condition, keeping his survival a secret was very important to Yage.
While Pellaeon was healing in a bacta tank, Yage became an ally to the Jedi. Pellaeon revealed he was alive to the Moffs, who quickly obeyed his orders to flee to Borosk and prepare for battle with the Yuuzhan Vong, fearing his anger at their schemes. During the battle, Yage was Pellaeon's assistant. After the Imperial victory, he instructed her to assist the Jedi's mission by adding the Widowmaker to their forces.
Later, while part of the team landed on Munlali Mafir in the Unknown Regions, Yage stayed in orbit on the Widowmaker. When Master Skywalker and his team returned from their failed mission, Yage told him that a Chiss force was approaching. The Chiss then contacted Yage, demanding to speak with Skywalker.
Yage was shocked by the Chiss commander's impoliteness during the meeting and advised against going to Csilla. However, the group went to the Chiss homeworld, where the Jedi discovered the location of Zonama Sekot.
In Force Heretic II, Yage is mentioned as "Mayn" after the story shifts away from the Bakura plot.
When Karen Traviss was writing her 2008 novel Legacy of the Force: Revelation, she wanted to bring back an Imperial character who hadn't changed their ways, as part of a Drake's Drum theme (a ship captain returning from the dead). She wanted a female character whose unrepentant attitude would contrast with Cha Niathal. She asked her friend James Gilmer for advice. Gilmer considered suggesting Arien Yage and Moff Leonia Tavira before finally choosing Admiral Daala.