Piers Roddance began his career as a lieutenant and later ascended to the rank of captain within the Imperial Military stationed on the Outer Rim planet of Lothal. As a member of the Imperial Military officer corps, Roddance exhibited a strong fascination with Imperial Military technology and played a role in the instruction of Imperial cadets at the Academy for Young Imperials. Roddance gained notoriety for his stringent opposition to those who dissented from or opposed the policies of the Galactic Empire on Lothal. Notably, he once commanded his stormtroopers to open fire upon a group of protestors demonstrating against their forced removal from their agricultural lands.
The subsequent year saw Roddance's promotion to Captain. With the rise of insurgency on Lothal, Captain Roddance became particularly interested in Cadet Zare Leonis, whom he considered a potential security threat due to his connections with "rebel elements." His attempts to expose Leonis and undermine his academic success, however, proved unsuccessful. Subsequently, Roddance deployed his cadets in a planet-wide security operation initiated by Governor Arihnda Pryce. Following Leonis's leadership during an anti-smuggling operation, Roddance, acting under orders from the Grand Inquisitor, reluctantly agreed to his colleague Lieutenant Chiron's suggestion to transfer Leonis to the Arkanis Academy for officer training.
Piers Roddance, a male [human](/article/human], served the Galactic Empire in the capacity of a Lieutenant on the planet Lothal. His responsibilities on this world encompassed inspections of facilities belonging to Sienar Fleet Systems. During his tenure, these facilities received three squadrons of TIE/ln space superiority starfighters equipped with novel P-s4 ion engines. Furthermore, his duties included observing a All Terrain Defense Pod's Maad-38 heavy laser cannon penetrate medium vehicle armor. After the 291st Legion of the Empire conducted a raid against Thalassian slavers located on the planet Galpos II, Roddance dedicated time to a thorough review of the battle reports.
Approximately six years prior to the Battle of Yavin, Roddance, then in his mid-twenties, was a guest at a summer celebration hosted by the Leonis family to commemorate their daughter Dhara Leonis's acceptance into Lothal's Academy for Young Imperials. During the party, the Lieutenant overheard Dhara's brother Zare Leonis and his neighbor Ames Bunkle discussing a TIE fighter patrol passing by the Leonis family apartment, the location of the party. Roddance engaged the boys in conversation about the vehicles, followed by AT-DPs. Subsequently, Zare noticed Arihnda Pryce, the Governor of Lothal, and led Bunkle away to speak with her.
Later that year, during fall, Roddance revisited the Leonis residence. This occurred after Zare and his companions Beck Ollet and Merei Spanjaf discovered detonators planted by dissidents on Imperial surveyor droids during a late-night walk. Following the incident, Roddance was invited into the apartment and offered tea by Zare's parents, Leo and Tepha Leonis. Zare was then brought out of his room by the nanny droid Auntie Nags. The Lieutenant reassured the boy that he was not in trouble. He then escorted him to the Security Ministry where he questioned him about the incident. Zare recounted everything he had witnessed to Roddance, but omitted certain actions taken by Ollet, who had deliberately misled Imperial stormtroopers upon their arrival at the surveyor droid's location.
During the winter of the same year, Roddance was dispatched as an Imperial representative to engage with a group of disgruntled farmers who had been displaced from their lands due to Imperial mining operations. The farmers had prepared a petition for Governor Pryce, with the intention of engaging in peaceful dialogue with Roddance. However, the Lieutenant arrived at their meeting place accompanied by two AT-DPs and an Imperial Troop Transport filled with stormtroopers. Emerging from the transport, he addressed the farmers through the vehicle's speakers using a comlink, declaring their gathering illegal and demanding their dispersal. When the group refused to comply and staged a sit-down protest, Roddance ordered his stormtroopers to advance and disperse the crowd. The troopers then began stunning some of the farmers, before opening fire with their lethal energy weapons. The Empire concealed the incident by falsely claiming that the protesting farmers were "insurgents" who had attacked Imperial mining equipment and surveyors.
Later that year, Dhara disappeared during a training exercise in Lothal's Easthills. While Imperial authorities asserted that she had run away, her mother Tepha and her brother Zare suspected that the Empire was concealing the true circumstances of her disappearance. The following summer, Zare enrolled at the Imperial Academy and was accepted. Roddance once again attended the Leonis family apartment for the boy's acceptance party, standing by a railing and smiling at Zare. The young Leonis, who had witnessed Roddance's involvement in the attack on the farmers, forced himself to return the smile. Unbeknownst to Roddance, Zare intended to infiltrate the Academy to uncover his sister's whereabouts.
In the following year, Piers Roddance received a promotion to the rank of captain. During a visit to the Academy for Young Imperials in the Fall, Captain Roddance encountered Zare, who had recently completed a rigorous training exercise in the Well, a specially designed chamber capable of simulating various obstacle courses. During their brief exchange, Roddance revealed his awareness that his colleague Lieutenant Chiron had inquired about Dhara's disappearance at Zare's request. Roddance reiterated the official Imperial stance, assuring them that the Empire was actively searching for Dhara and would inform the Leonis family upon receiving any news. In the meantime, he advised Leonis and Chiron to make better use of their time rather than engaging in "pointless worrying." Leonis interpreted this as a veiled threat from the Empire, warning him to cease any investigation into his sister's disappearance. Later, Leonis's suspicions of an Imperial cover-up were confirmed when his girlfriend Merei Spanjaf discovered that Dhara had been forcibly inducted into a top-secret program known as Project Harvester, based on the planet Arkanis.
During the Fall, the Academy for Young Imperials was infiltrated by a young rebel named Dev Morgan, who used his cadet cover to steal a decoder that allowed his rebel associates to intercept a Kyber crystal shipment. With Leonis's assistance, Morgan and another Force-sensitive cadet named Jai Kell evaded Imperial authorities and went into hiding. Leonis managed to avoid exposure by pretending to resist the rebel infiltrators, earning a commendation for defending the Academy. Following the attack, Imperial authorities began interrogating cadets at the Academy about their past.
During the crackdown, Captain Roddance took a personal interest in Zare Leonis. Given Leonis's association with known rebel sympathizers, including Beck Ollet, Morgan, and Kell, Roddance recommended that the young cadet be handed over to the Imperial Security Bureau for interrogation. However, this request was denied by "higher authorities" within the Imperial hierarchy, who seemed to regard Leonis as a model cadet. Interrupting Lieutenant Chiron's questioning, Roddance personally took charge of Leonis's interrogation, questioning the young cadet about his suitability for Imperial service.
Roddance began with a past incident involving Leonis's former athletic director Janus Fhurek. Leonis had struck Fhurek after the latter suggested that his sister Dhara was a traitor. He then asked Leonis whether he knew that Dhara was planning to desert. When Leonis denied this, Roddance questioned Leonis about his family's loyalty to the Empire. After being assured of his family's loyalty, the Captain asked Leonis why he had initially withdrawn his application. Zare responded by citing his difficult family circumstances and claimed that he had reapplied to restore his family name.
When Roddance questioned Leonis about whether he suspected anything suspicious about Kell and Morgan, Zare feigned ignorance of their "treachery" and reiterated his claim that he had been caught off-guard by them. Unable to disprove Leonis's account, Roddance then turned his attention to Leonis's old school friend Ollet, who had attempted to sabotage Imperial mining operations in the Westhills. When Roddance questioned Leonis whether he knew that Ollet was planning to murder Imperial personnel, Leonis denied any foreknowledge but conceded that he knew about Ollet's anti-Imperial sympathies, which were motivated by the destruction of his family's orchards to make way for a mine. During the interrogation, Leonis voiced empathy for Ollet's grievances towards the Empire.
Despite his best efforts, Roddance was unable to produce any evidence of treachery or sedition on Leonis's part. Conceding defeat, he warned the young cadet that he would be keeping a watch over him. Captain Roddance then informed Leonis that he had been selected for one final exercise, arranged by "higher authorities." Even Roddance admitted ignorance about its purpose. Shortly later, a junior officer brought a curious device—a screen with a handle resembling an old-fashioned datapad. After an image of a ship, a cup, and a speeder appeared on the screen, Roddance asked Leonis what was on the screen. Leonis quickly realized that the Empire was testing to see whether he was Force-sensitive like his sister Dhara.
In addition to screening cadets for disloyalty and sedition, Captain Roddance was also known to have supervised at least one training exercise. This exercise involved cadets advancing on a position held by a high-value target. For this exercise, decommissioned droids that had been deemed unworthy of refurbishment or resale were used as targets. Prior to the exercise, Roddance ordered his stormtroopers to shoot an old protocol droid. Roddance's destructive lust unnerved Leonis but was enthusiastically adopted by Cadet Nazhros Oleg, an opportunistic bully who was unpopular with his fellow cadets, including Leonis. Following Roddance's example, Oleg disintegrated a nanny droid during the exercise. Oleg's unprovoked violence earned Roddance's praise, and the Captain began favoring the young Cadet at Leonis's expense.
Following the winter break, a further surge in rebel activities on Lothal led Governor Pryce to implement a planet-wide crackdown. To support this crackdown, Captain Roddance announced that the cadets of the Academy for Young Imperials would be conducting law enforcement operations in Capital City. Their primary mission was to ensure public safety and security by detecting and eliminating illegal activity. He also informed the cadets that questioning Imperial orders was itself a violation of the law. As part of the crackdown, the cadets questioned residents about any knowledge of illegal activities in their neighborhoods. Other activities included placing the children of fugitives into protective custody and raiding smugglers. In an attempt to provoke Leonis into breaking the law, Roddance arranged for him to be paired with Nazhros Oleg, whom he favored at Leonis's expense.
By the first day, Roddance's cadets had achieved some results. Cadets Uzall and Giles had assisted stormtroopers in capturing a fugitive weapons smuggler. The Captain also commended Cadet Oleg for gathering information about petty tax violations and treasonous rumors. When Lieutenant Chiron expressed concerns that people were still unfamiliar with the new Imperial revenue collection policies, Roddance accused the lower-ranking officer of attempting to justify tax evasion. Roddance then reiterated that every violation was an attack on the social order. When Leonis questioned the need to investigate everyone who questioned Imperial orders, Roddance argued that disloyal thoughts would lead to disloyal statements and actions. Before dismissing the cadets, Roddance warned them that he would be investigating their personal backgrounds. He also reminded them that he expected absolute loyalty to the Emperor and unquestioning devotion to the Imperial cause.
Later, Lieutenant Chiron recommended that Zare Leonis be transferred to the Arkanis Academy the following autumn for officer training. This recommendation was seconded by Sergeant Currahee and approved by Commandant Aresko, who viewed Leonis favorably for his role in "saving" the Academy from rebel attackers. However, Captain Roddance, who personally disliked Leonis, opposed this transfer. In an effort to provoke Leonis into breaking Imperial law, he continued to pair the cadet with Oleg, knowing that the two disliked each other. In addition, Roddance had learned from Supply Master Yogar Lyste's informants that Oleg's two uncles were involved in smuggling activities and operating from a warehouse in Capital City.
To test the two cadets, Roddance assigned Oleg and Leonis to lead a raid on the smuggling den. For that mission, Roddance assigned Oleg to lead stormtroopers on that raid and made Leonis his assistant. While Leonis passed the test, Oleg failed when he tried to shield his uncles from prosecution by ordering his men to release them. However, Leonis quickly took command of the situation and ordered the stormtroopers to arrest the uncles for smuggling. He also relieved Oleg of his duties. After learning about Oleg's transgression during the raid, Roddance arranged for Oleg to be expelled on the grounds of "associating" with criminals.
Following the smuggling incident, a higher authority known as the Grand Inquisitor took an interest in Leonis's case and expedited the cadet's application to the Arkanis Academy, moving it up from the following Fall to a matter of a few days. Roddance was forced to concede defeat on this matter. The Captain was later present when the Grand Inquisitor summoned Leonis for a midnight briefing in Roddance's office. During the meeting, Roddance told Leonis that the previous incident was a lesson about the value of loyalty and that Oleg had been expelled for failing that test. When Leonis suggested that Oleg was unaware that his uncles were engaged in smuggling, Roddance responded that Oleg's associations were a weakness that the enemies of the Empire would have exploited. To serve the Empire, he reasoned that one had to purge oneself of all weaknesses.
When Leonis asked whether compassion was a weakness, the Inquisitor interjected that compassion was the most insidious weakness and then turned the discussion to the topic of Leonis's transfer to Arkanis. The Inquisitor then ordered Roddance to leave the office while he briefed Leonis. While Leonis's transfer to Arkanis was officially reported as a reward, the Inquisitor actually intended to investigate his links to Dev Morgan and to break the young cadet. Following the execution of Commandant Cumberlayne Aresko and Taskmaster Myles Grint by the Grand Inquisitor, Roddance was made temporary head of the Academy for Young Imperials.
Roddance spoke with a Core Worlds accent and had pale skin and dark hair, which he wore close-cropped. Upon meeting Zare Leonis for the first time he gave the boy a handshake strong enough to make Zare wonder if the Lieutenant was trying to crush his hand. Roddance was far more interested in the future progress of Dhara and Zare at the Academy than that of the poorer and less intelligent Bunkle.
When Roddance spoke with Leonis and Bunkle concerning Imperial vehicles, he scolded Bunkle for not using the proper terminology when referring to AT-DPs. The Lieutenant became embarrassed however, when Bunkle assumed he had taken part in the raid on Galpos II when in fact the Imperial had only read about it. Roddance spoke with great pride about the Galactic Emperor and the "justice" he brought to the galaxy, and refused to listen to the arguments of the displaced farmers he was sent to deal with, ordering violence against them when they began to peacefully protest.
As Captain, Roddance appeared to take delight in flouting his authority over his subordinates. After Zare Leonis convinced Lieutenant Chiron to make an inquiry into Imperial efforts to locate his missing sister Dhara, Roddance reprimanded them for not minding their own business. When Lieutenant Chiron later suggested that the Empire should show some leniency towards Lothalian citizens who were unfamiliar with Imperial tax regulations, Roddance accused Chiron of condoning tax evasion.
As a commanding officer, Roddance encouraged aggression and brutality among his subordinates. During a live-fire training exercise, Roddance took pleasure in disintegrating a decommissioned protocol droid, which had been designated as a "high-value target". Roddance's disregard for droids encouraged Cadet Nazhros Oleg to disintegrate an decommissioned nanny droid in an unprovoked attack.
Roddance was also firmly devoted to the Galactic Empire and believed that his men should be willing to follow all orders unquestioningly. He also equated telling lies with the crime of treason. He believed that the Imperial Military needed to be purged of recruits with conflicting interests that would displace their loyalty to the Empire. When Cadet Oleg failed to arrest his uncles for smuggling, Roddance had him expelled on the grounds that his loyalty was compromised.