Randd

During the Age of the Empire and the period after the Battle of Endor, Randd, a male human, held the rank of Grand Moff. By 5 ABY, he functioned as the designated governor of the Exterior, a far-flung sector situated in the Outer Rim Territories. This sector was one of the few remaining Imperial strongholds in the face of the New Republic's progress and increasing defections. The New Republic was the successor government established by the Rebel Alliance after the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader above Endor. Given his high standing within the Empire, Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax invited Randd to join the Shadow Council, an exclusive governing body tasked with the Empire's reconstruction. Randd also had a wife named Danassic, who considered him humorless and severe.

The first meeting occurred on Rax's Super Star Destroyer Ravager in the Vulpinus Nebula, the base of operations for the Imperial Navy under Grand Admiral Rae Sloane's command. During the Shadow Council's inaugural dinner, Grand Moff Randd inquired of the Imperial propagandist Ferric Obdur about the narrative the Empire would promote following Endor. Randd suggested the Empire should portray itself as a wounded dog, mistreated by a cruel, unfair, and irresponsible father. At that moment, Rax entered, commending the delegates for their ideas. He then revealed he also commanded Imperials in the Almagest, the Recluse's Nebula, the Ro-Loo Triangle, and the Inamorata. Randd and the others listened to Rax's plan to utilize Imperial factories on Xa Fel, Anadeen, and Turco Prime to rebuild weapons, vehicles, and starships to support the Imperial war effort against the New Republic.

During the attack on Chandrila, Randd encountered Fleet Admiral Rax in his quarters. He was subsequently instructed to mobilize the Imperial fleets to a specific set of coordinates, which turned out to be the Inner Rim planet of Jakku. Rax also directed Randd to coordinate the mobilization with General Hodnar Borrum. Randd questioned Rax's orders, but Rax insisted on their execution. Randd complied after Rax claimed Sloane had approved them. Rax then instructed the Grand Moff to convene a meeting of the Shadow Council.

During the meeting, Randd was the only Shadow Council member to maintain eye contact with Rax, a sign of respect. Rax stated that Sloane was missing, possibly captured by the New Republic, and efforts were underway to rescue her. Randd listened as Rax declared himself temporary Counselor to the Empire and announced the Imperial fleets would gather at Jakku for a test, exploiting the New Republic's setback on Liberation Day, setting the stage for the Battle of Jakku. Secretly, Rax intended to eliminate Randd and the other Shadow Council members, except for former Commandant Brendol Hux.

After the Empire moved its forces to Jakku, Randd, along with General Borrum, Brendol Hux, and Ferric Obdur, remained members of the Shadow Council. In the months following the attack on Chandrila, the Empire awaited the New Republic's offensive. After the New Republic discovered their presence and deployed a scout ship and probe droid, Randd suggested allowing the enemy to arrive slowly, giving the Empire time to reinforce their numbers. He also informed Counselor Rax that veterans from Ryloth had arrived aboard the Star Destroyer Diligent.

Leading up to the Battle of Jakku, Randd attempted to caution Counselor Rax that bringing the Empire to Jakku's desolate environment could demoralize their troops. However, Counselor Rax assured him that the Imperials on Jakku were the best of their kind and would not falter. Rax claimed the harsh conditions would strengthen them. As a supporter of austerity, Randd trusted Rax and considered him a capable and admirable hero of the Empire. Unbeknownst to Randd and his allies, Rax planned to destroy Jakku, along with both Imperial and New Republic forces, as part of the Emperor's posthumous Contingency plan.

Grand Moff Randd conducted a ceremony on the space station Wrath above Ponemah Terminal, promoting Imperial Navy Commander Ciena Ree to the rank of Captain and assigning her command of the Imperial Star Destroyer Inflictor. During the ceremony, Randd praised Ree's meritorious and selfless service to the Empire. He also appointed Commander Brisney as the ship's Imperial Security Bureau officer, Commander Erisher as the ship's systems officer, and Ree's fellow Royal Imperial Academy graduate Nash Windrider as the Inflictor's Flight Commander. Randd then informed the assembled officers and crew that the Empire was preparing for a major battle against the Rebellion.

Following the New Republic's Galactic Senate's deployment of its fleet to Jakku, Randd attended a briefing with his fellow Shadow Councillors via hologram while aboard the Inflictor. He informed Rax and his fellow Councillors that the enemy fleet would outnumber the Imperial forces. However, he reassured them that the Empire had the Ravager and dismissed the New Republic fleet as a disorganized collection of incompatible ships and squadrons. He believed the Empire's unified fleet would secure victory. Randd and his fellow Imperials then listened to Gallius Rax's speech urging the Imperial forces to destroy the New Republic.

During the Battle of Jakku, Rax commanded the Imperial fleet from the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Ravager. During the space battle, Randd's tacticians developed a defensive strategy using the Star Destroyers to create a protective perimeter around the Ravager. Throughout the battle, the Star Destroyers would periodically open the formation, allowing the Ravager to fire its turbolasers at the New Republic fleet. Under Admiral Ackbar's leadership, the New Republic ships managed to tighten the Imperial perimeter but could not break through.

Randd's tactics began to fail when Captain Groff of the Star Destroyer Punishment panicked and rammed his ship into the Starhawk-class battleship Amity. This created an opening, allowing New Republic Commodore Kyrsta Agate's Starhawk Concord to attack the Ravager. The Super Star Destroyer crippled the smaller Republic ship with its cannons, causing the Concord to plummet into Jakku's atmosphere. However, Agate used her ship's tractor beam to drag the Ravager down with her. New Republic starfighters and ships then began attacking the Ravager's rear engines. With the ship's weapons systems recharging, the Ravager was unable to defend itself. As its engines were destroyed, the Ravager descended into Jakku's atmosphere. Realizing the ship was lost, Randd panicked and escaped in an escape pod.

The loss of the Ravager shifted the momentum of the Battle of Jakku in favor of the New Republic. As the battle continued, Randd's mass battle tactics were ineffective against the more unconventional New Republic forces, who attacked on multiple fronts. Captain Ree attempted to contact Grand Moff Randd to suggest a change in tactics but lost communications when her ship was boarded by New Republic soldiers. Ree ordered a mass evacuation of the Inflictor and set the ship to crash on Jakku's surface to prevent it from falling into New Republic hands. While Randd and Windrider believed she had died in the crash, Ciena was rescued by her lover Thane Kyrell, who had joined the New Republic Starfleet.

The Battle of Jakku resulted in a devastating defeat for the Empire, leading to a New Republic victory. As a result of the events on Jakku, the defeated Empire was compelled to sign the Galactic Concordance, ending the Galactic Civil War in favor of the New Republic.

Following the disintegration of the Galactic Empire due to internal strife, surviving Imperial forces retreated to the Queluhan Nebula to prepare for a renewed offensive against the New Republic. A month after the Battle of Jakku, Grand Moff Randd and several other Imperial officers, including Windrider, nominated Ciena Ree for the Distinguished Medal of Imperial Honor, the highest award in the Imperial Military.

Grand Moff Randd was described as a rigid, lean human, noted for his sharp intellect. He was a highly focused and paranoid individual, reluctant to consume food if he suspected poisoning. Although puzzled by Fleet Admiral Rax's secrecy, Randd obeyed his orders once Rax claimed Sloane's approval. He both feared and respected Rax. Randd was also married to Danassic, who described him as stern and recalled him laughing only twice a year.

Randd viewed Rax as a true hero of the Empire and accepted Rax's assertion that bringing the Empire to Jakku would strengthen the Imperial forces for their confrontation with the New Republic. However, Randd's concerns about the harsh conditions of Jakku negatively impacting his troops were validated during the Battle of Jakku when Captain Groff broke formation and rammed his ship into a New Republic vessel, creating a gap in the Imperial defensive line.

He considered Ciena Ree an exceptional Imperial Navy officer who had advanced through merit and dedicated service to the Empire. Randd employed mass battle tactics during the Battle of Jakku, which proved ineffective against the New Republic. According to Rae Sloane, while Randd was a capable leader, he lacked the courage and creativity to win a battle of the scale of the Battle of Jakku. As Randd lacked tactical expertise, he relied on others to develop a defensive strategy during the Battle of Jakku. Randd panicked when the Super Star Destroyer Ravager was destroyed during the battle. Humiliated and fearing punishment, Randd fled in an escape pod rather than remain with his ship.

Grand Moff Randd made his debut as a minor character in Claudia Gray's 2015 young adult novel Lost Stars. He later reappeared in Chuck Wendig's Aftermath: Life Debt and Aftermath: Empire's End, the second and third installments of The Aftermath Trilogy. The canon reference book Star Wars: On the Front Lines indicates that Randd commanded Imperial forces from the Acidity, contradicting Aftermath: Empire's End, which states that Randd commanded Imperial forces from the Super Star Destroyer Ravager.