Lon Isoto was an Admiral within the Imperial forces, but his involvement in the Battle of Brentaal IV led to his reputation as a traitor.
During the period of the Galactic Civil War, Lon Isoto, a male Human, served in the Imperial Navy. Despite his widely acknowledged tactical shortcomings, which earned him the mocking nickname "Isoto the Indecisive" from both the Empire and the New Republic, Isoto achieved the rank of admiral by 4 ABY. His primary motivation was personal advancement, exploiting his position and its resources to indulge in a life of luxury. While married, he kept his wife on Imperial Center while stationed elsewhere, allowing him to pursue his carnal desires without restraint. There were also strong suspicions that he was addicted to the spice glitterstim.
Shortly following the death of Emperor Palpatine in 4 ABY, Admiral Isoto received a posting to Brentaal IV within the Bormea sector. His assignment was to safeguard the prosperous planet, jointly owned by numerous affluent Imperial allies. However, Isoto's focus was primarily on his collection of concubines housed in his lavish palace located in Vuultin, the capital city of Brentaal. The New Republic, anticipating a future offensive, began monitoring the planet and were well aware of Isoto's reputation for incompetence. Simultaneously, Ysanne Isard, the Director of Imperial Intelligence, initiated her scheme to seize control of the Empire from Grand Vizier Sate Pestage and eliminate the "Cabal," his main rivals for power.
Isard manipulated Pestage into publicly announcing increased defenses for Brentaal, thereby provoking an immediate New Republic attack. The decision regarding Isoto's command rested solely with the Grand Vizier. Although Pestage desired a more competent admiral, Isard dissuaded him, falsely claiming that the Cabal supported Isoto. She argued that Isoto's inevitable incompetence would force them to humiliatingly request his replacement by Pestage. Conversely, Isard told the Cabal that Pestage refused to remove Isoto despite her recommendations, enraging them. Isard was deliberately setting Pestage against the Cabal, using Isoto as an unwitting pawn in her game.
Elements of the elite 181st Imperial Fighter Group were deployed to reinforce Brentaal's defenses, with the remaining forces, including Colonel Baron Soontir Fel, scheduled to arrive later. The New Republic swiftly launched an assault on Brentaal's moonbase, led by Admiral Ackbar. Their forces included the Mon Calamari cruiser Independence, Wedge Antilles's Rogue Squadron, and Horton Salm's Aggressor Wing. Despite possessing a substantial fleet capable of repelling the attack, Isoto chose to keep his capital ships orbiting Brentaal, leaving only the 181st and stationary turbolasers to defend the moonbase. The inexperienced Imperial pilots suffered a defeat, and the New Republic seized control of the facility. Isoto's poor tactics had inadvertently provided the New Republic with a staging area for their assault on Brentaal itself. He further demonstrated his incompetence by allowing the New Republic to establish a foothold on Brentaal, hoping to wear them down through attrition.
With the imminent arrival of the rest of the 181st on Vuultin, Soontir Fel communicated his requests to Isoto regarding additional defensive installations on Brentaal. Isoto complied, ordering the construction of fortified missile sites and a launch bunker for the 181st. This required demolishing parts of the planet's irrigation system, which angered the local population, but Isoto dismissed their concerns, believing they could afford to import food. Upon the arrival of the 181st personnel, Fel was pleased that Isoto had meticulously followed his instructions. The Admiral's attempts to entice Fel with luxuries and courtesans were ignored; Fel was more concerned with developing a defensive strategy for Brentaal, a subject that held little interest for Isoto. Eventually, the Admiral agreed to a brief discussion with Fel, who anticipated that the New Republic would likely target the city of Oradin due to its spaceport facilities, rather than Vuultin, which lacked strategic value. Despite his conviction that the New Republic would attack whichever city he was in, the Imperial Admiral authorized Fel to deploy the majority of his fighter group to Oradin, but insisted on a detachment of 181st pilots remaining in Vuultin to protect him.
Isoto, known for his ineffectiveness, was derisively nicknamed "Isoto the Indecisive" by both the Empire and the New Republic. His rise to power was facilitated by his connections within the Cabal. More devoted to personal pleasure than Imperial service, Isoto exploited his position to fulfill his desires. Although married, he kept his wife on Coruscant to avoid any interference with his licentious activities.
At the time of Emperor Palpatine's demise at Endor, he commanded the Imperial base near Vuultin. He was allowed to remain in command by Sate Pestage upon his ascension to power. Ysanne Isard and Pestage devised a plan to lure New Republic forces to Brentaal IV, aiming to demonstrate the Cabal's inability to effectively govern, let alone control the Empire. Meanwhile, Isoto indulged in his hedonistic lifestyle within his fortress, surrounded by women and, according to rumors, consuming glitterstim. He was fatally shot by one of his concubines, shortly after receiving orders from Ysanne Isard to evacuate Brentaal. Unbeknownst to him, the concubine was an agent of Isard, working as part of Project Ambition.
In the aftermath of his death, Imperial propaganda, likely to mitigate the negative publicity surrounding Baron Soontir Fel's defection, portrayed Isoto as the hero of the Battle of Brentaal and Fel as the villain. Even as far as the Ciutric Hegemony, pilots such as Colonel Lorrir lauded him as "one of the greatest heroes our Empire has ever known."
In some instances, Isoto is incorrectly referred to as a general, presumably due to an error.