Pell Baylo

Baylo's birth occurred between 95 and 85 BBY, placing it over 84 years prior to the Battle of Yavin. In the final decades of the Galactic Republic, he established the Defiance Flight Training Institute. With the onset of the Clone Wars, the Republic assumed control of Baylo's institute. Following the war, when the Republic transitioned into the authoritarian Galactic Empire, Baylo continued his service, albeit reluctantly, retaining his title of Commandant.

Eventually, the Commandant conceived a plot against the Emperor. One day, Palpatine chose to convene with several of his naval chiefs aboard the starship Defiance, accompanied by his personal enforcer, the black-[armored](/article/armor] Darth Vader. Baylo pre-programmed the Defiance to exit hyperspace near Christophsis and subsequently dive into its sun, aiming to cause Palpatine's demise. He then confronted the Emperor in his office, offering his resignation.

However, Darth Vader anticipated Baylo's scheme and countermanded the Commandant's programmed course correction. When the Defiance returned to realspace, the vessel was still millions of kilometers away from the star of Christophsis. With his plan foiled, the Commandant voiced his disdain for the Emperor and his methods. Baylo's comparison of Palpatine's followers to mindless robots in Vader's presence proved to be his undoing. The Dark Lord, himself a [cyborg](/article/cyborg], used the Force choke to kill the old man. Palpatine, displeased with Vader's action, rebuked him for the unauthorized killing of Baylo. Palpatine had wanted Baylo to live and witness the transformation of his beloved Navy into something he despised, and to see the Defiance repurposed into cafeteria trays. The Emperor believed he could have exploited the Commandant's willingness to sacrifice his own students for his own ambitions. Vader justified his actions as more efficient, but Palpatine dismissed these reasons, emphasizing that the unauthorized killing was unacceptable.

Following Baylo's execution, his corpse was unceremoniously discarded through the airlock along with the ship's waste, and his death was officially attributed to natural causes. The training ship Defiance was renamed Obedience, a subtle insult directed at Baylo and a not-so-subtle reminder to Vader of his place. Despite the harsh discipline imposed by Baylo, one of his former cadets, Rae Sloane, later reflected favorably on his advice to maintain a stoic and expressionless demeanor before her bridge crew to prevent demoralization. This advice proved valuable to Admiral Sloane when she commanded the Imperial Star Destroyer Vigilance during the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY.

Baylo, a human male, possessed a stocky build, fair complexion, brown eyes, and a prominent nose. In his later years, his hair had turned gray, and a spinal injury resulted in a pronounced limp.

Despite his cantankerous and occasionally vulgar demeanor, Baylo held strong ideals. He considered naval service a noble profession, believing that navies should serve solely for defense, never for aggression. Baylo enjoyed a near-mythical reputation among his students and within the Imperial navy. He gained fame as a skilled pilot aboard the Defiance, and his ongoing struggle with pain from battle injuries was viewed as a testament to his bravery.

A committed Republic loyalist, Baylo rejected the legitimacy of the Empire, viewing it as an enemy entity. He believed that the Galactic Senate had betrayed its constituents by consenting to the Empire's formation. Furthermore, he considered his colleagues traitors for compromising their principles to retain their positions, and he was willing to sacrifice them in his scheme to assassinate the Emperor.