Teren Rogriss

Teren Rogriss dedicated his career to the Imperial Navy. He firmly believed in the order that the Galactic Empire brought, and he participated in conquering new worlds, which he viewed as bringing them civilization and order. He also prioritized building a family, marrying and having a daughter, Asori, in 15 BBY, followed by a son, Terek, in 11 BBY. He distinguished himself as a shrewd captain and ascended to the rank of admiral by 6 ABY; his flagship was the Star Destroyer known as the Agonizer. He sought assignments that involved combating the Rebel Alliance and later the New Republic, but always avoided operations that targeted civilians or occurred outside of direct engagement with armed enemies.

Even after the death of Emperor Palpatine during the Battle of Endor, and throughout the rule of Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard, he remained loyal to the Empire, despite numerous Imperials defecting to become independent warlords. The most significant of these was Warlord Zsinj, who commanded the Super Star Destroyer Iron Fist and controlled a considerable empire. In 6 ABY, Rogriss was deployed to defend Imperial-held shipyards within the Bilbringi system, where, with support from the elite 181st Imperial Fighter Wing, he successfully repelled a New Republic attack led by the Mon Calamari Admiral Nammo. After Isard lost the Imperial capital world of Coruscant to the New Republic and fled, Rogriss continued his service to the main Empire, then governed by a coalition of Moffs and advisors.

Having become a senior officer, Rogriss was given command of the Imperial task force tasked with neutralizing the threat posed by Zsinj. Zsinj was known to be a cautious and astute commander, who launched swift and devastating strikes against his chosen targets, and avoided fighting on battlegrounds he hadn't personally selected. Both Rogriss and General Han Solo, the New Republic commander assigned to hunt Zsinj, struggled to defeat him. Zsinj achieved a significant victory against the Empire by attacking the shipyards of Kuat, capturing the almost-finished Super Star Destroyer Razor's Kiss. However, the ship was quickly destroyed by the Solo Fleet, preventing him from using it.

Enraged by the attack on Kuat, Rogriss's superiors instructed him to initiate communication with Solo and explore potential cooperation against their mutual enemy. When Zsinj attacked Jussafet Four, an Imperial world bordering Zsinj's territory, Rogriss traveled there aboard the Agonizer, arriving after the attack had concluded. Solo, however, had responded and driven off Zsinj. Rogriss seized the opportunity to establish communications, requesting a face-to-face meeting aboard the Mon Remonda, suggesting Commander Wedge Antilles, the Rogue Leader, as an acceptable New Republic representative. As Solo deemed it too risky to send himself or the high-profile commander, he proposed the Mon Remonda's captain, Onoma, but Rogriss ultimately agreed to Garik Loran, a captain and squadron leader under Antilles. Rogriss hosted a lavish banquet for Loran and greeted him warmly, amused by the former Imperial propaganda actor's quick wit. He proposed a cooperative effort between both sides, offering a datacard containing frequencies for contact. Any message from Solo would indicate agreement to the plan, at which point Rogriss would share all Imperial intelligence on Zsinj, expecting the same from the New Republic. Loran returned to the Mon Remonda, and Solo decided to accept Rogriss's offer.

Solo's information revealed Zsinj's business dealings, specifically his habit of secretly owning important businesses within both New Republic and Imperial territory. These businesses generated revenue, provided supplies, and granted him influence and covert assets on enemy worlds. Rogriss followed up on Solo's leads within Imperial territory, significantly weakening Zsinj's position by uncovering numerous enterprises in collaboration with Solo.

When Solo received information from a spy aboard the Iron Fist that Zsinj would be at Vahaba, Solo knew that an ambush would simply cause Zsinj to flee. He sent Loran to Rogriss to request the use of an Interdictor. Rogriss considered it too risky to commit such a vital ship to a New Republic operation, but Loran assured him that two New Republic Star Destroyers would protect the ship at all costs. Only the essential crew members would be informed of the collaboration with the New Republic, with the majority only seeing the two Star Destroyer escorts. Combined with an appeal to Rogriss's sense of duty and honor, Loran convinced Rogriss to agree to the operation.

Rogriss transferred his flag to the Interdictor Stellar Web, participating in the mission personally. He remained separated from Solo's task force while awaiting Zsinj's arrival, communicating only with Solo directly. When Zsinj's fleet appeared, Rogriss positioned the Stellar Web, flanked by the Skyhook and Crynyd, to use its gravity well projectors to prevent Zsinj's escape into hyperspace. Seeing that the Interdictor was trapping him, Zsinj dispatched the Red Gauntlet and Serpent's Smile to destroy it. The Serpent's Smile moved to ram the Stellar Web, hoping to force it to veer away and disrupt its gravity well's effect on Zsinj's position. Rogriss attempted to hold his ground, and Zsinj believed he would succeed in making the Serpent's Smile flinch first, but when the Serpent's Smile's bridge was destroyed, Zsinj ordered the auxiliary bridge to lock in a ramming course and abandon ship. Realizing this, Rogriss took a desperate measure to avoid the collision, reversing the Stellar Web's gravity well projectors to create a repulsion effect, pushing it into open space. Zsinj was now free to escape. Rogriss contacted Solo, expressing his disappointment at the failed trap, and responded positively when Solo inquired about future collaboration before departing the battlefield.

Further cooperation proved unnecessary, as Solo received another message from his spy, revealing that she had sabotaged the Iron Fist's hyperdrive, stranding it at Selaggis. The Solo Fleet tracked it there and defeated Zsinj. Shortly afterward, Solo killed Zsinj over Dathomir, effectively ending the threat posed by Zsinj's empire. Rogriss led part of the effort to seize Zsinj's former territory, competing with the New Republic throughout 8 ABY in a struggle for control that pitted him against the New Republic's Supreme Commander Ackbar, as well as another major warlord, Treuten Teradoc. Rogriss achieved some success, expanding Imperial territory eastward and seizing the Hydian Way. However, he was defeated by Teradoc in the Battle of Junction, although Ackbar ultimately defeated Teradoc, and Junction fell into Imperial hands as Teradoc fled to the Deep Core. This illustrated the larger situation; Ackbar emerged as the victor in the three-way contest. Rogriss experienced more losses than wins, and was forced to cede most of Zsinj's territory to the New Republic. This series of misfortunes culminated in defeat at the Taking of Kuat, where Rogriss lost the vital shipyards of Kuat to the New Republic.

As a consequence of his failures, Rogriss was relieved of command of all but the Agonizer and assigned to less important duties; nevertheless, he remained loyal. This campaign was followed by Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo's return and the Empire's expansion, as well as the Reborn Palpatine's near-victory over the New Republic. However, after Palpatine's defeat, the Empire collapsed, plagued by warlordism and internal conflicts. From the territories of the major warlords, Admirals Natasi Daala and Gilad Pellaeon formed the Imperial Remnant, a new Imperial state that lacked many of the unpopular aspects of Palpatine's regime. Rogriss continued to serve in the same capacity under this new state, and his son Terek came of age and joined the fleet. The admiral assumed command of the Super Star Destroyer Dominion and participated in the Battle of Orinda in 12 ABY. After entering the Orinda system alongside six Interdictor cruisers, the Dominion engaged the New Republic Star Dreadnaught Lusankya, and Pellaeon's forces ultimately prevailed.

In 13 ABY, Rogriss and the Agonizer were dispatched to Adumar, a newly discovered world. Its inhabitants, descended from a group of ancient exiles, sought to negotiate with both the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic to determine which they preferred to join. Given Adumar's significant missile production capacity, the Remnant was highly interested in securing its allegiance. Because the Adumari held fighter pilots in high regard, General Turr Phennir and three other pilots from the elite 181st Imperial Fighter Group were sent to conduct the negotiations; Rogriss provided transportation and support for them. When it became known that New Republic diplomats were also present on the world, Rogriss was required to swear to the Adumari that he would leave peacefully if they chose to join the New Republic. However, Rogriss was aware that the Imperial Remnant would order an attack on the world if it sided with the New Republic, forcing him to break his oath. This prospect weighed heavily on a man as honorable as Rogriss.

Depressed, Rogriss sought solace in alcohol, traveling to Cartann City, the site of the negotiations, and drinking anonymously in a local establishment. There, he encountered General Wedge Antilles, the leading New Republic pilot in their delegation. Antilles recognized that Rogriss was grappling with a serious moral dilemma and wished him well in resolving his conscience.

Weeks later, Antilles contacted Rogriss and requested a meeting. Rogriss agreed to listen to what Antilles had to say, expecting a bribe attempt, and arrived heavily intoxicated. Instead, Antilles revealed that he understood Rogriss's predicament and urged him to uphold his word. If he did so, the New Republic was prepared to offer him sanctuary. He also offered to send messages to his children and ensure their safety if they desired—Rogriss's wife had already passed away. Rogriss accepted Antilles's comm frequency but admitted only an interest in gloating when he prevailed.

Eventually, Cartann, the dominant nation on Adumar and the one negotiating with the Remnant, declared its intention to form a unified world government, and waged war on those nations that refused to join. Antilles led an alliance of nations opposing Cartann, ultimately capturing the world. They then established their own unified world government, which applied for membership in the New Republic. Faced with his decision, Rogriss locked down the Agonizer's holocomm, preventing it from transmitting, and sent it back to the Remnant. He then boarded a shuttle to Adumar, where agents of the unity government brought him to Antilles. Antilles pledged to fulfill his promises regarding Rogriss's children, and Rogriss, while unwilling to betray the Imperial Intelligence team on the planet, decided against defecting to the New Republic. Unwilling to directly fight the government to which he had dedicated so much of his life, he sought a position with the new Adumari government. He had spent his time in orbit analyzing Adumar's military vulnerabilities; now he wanted to use that knowledge to strengthen its defenses. Balass ke Teldan, the new perator of Cartann and a leading figure in the new government, appointed Rogriss as his defense minister and a general in the Adumari Planetary Defense Forces.

While the Remnant dispatched a strike force, it was delayed long enough for Antilles to assemble a New Republic force that successfully repelled the attackers. A second Imperial attack, led by Supreme Commander Gilad Pellaeon himself from the Super Star Destroyer Reaper, targeted Adumar, but under Rogriss's leadership, Adumar resisted and stalled Pellaeon's offensive, which was eventually called off due to more pressing issues in the Antemeridian sector. As of 17 ABY, Rogriss remained Adumar's defense minister, having settled comfortably into the role and developed an extensive knowledge of Adumar.

Rogriss was a firm believer in duty and honor, and was committed to advancing the Empire's interests above his own. He placed great importance on keeping his word and maintaining impeccable personal integrity, so much so that when his orders conflicted with his oath during the mission to Adumar, he became despondent and resorted to drinking, ultimately choosing to defect rather than break his promise.

Rogriss possessed high intelligence and charm, along with a talent for diplomacy and a demeanor that inspired trust. However, he could also be extremely intimidating when necessary. Rogriss was an affable man who didn't take himself too seriously, and he could joke about himself, his side, and the entire Galactic Civil War when interacting with New Republic representatives. He was direct and honest in his communication, and willing to do whatever it took to achieve his objectives. Although a loyal Imperial, he had no qualms about cooperating with the New Republic in his pursuit of Zsinj, and he treated his temporary allies with respect.

In battle, Rogriss displayed cunning, excellent timing, and considerable daring, although he avoided unnecessary risks. He was also resourceful, as demonstrated when he reversed the Stellar Web's gravity well projectors to avoid being rammed. He had a passion for and aptitude in strategy and tactics, viewing them as an art form, and he preferred elegant battles over brute-force confrontations.

The character of Teren Rogriss was created by author Aaron Allston, and he appeared as the Imperial counterpart to Han Solo in X-Wing: Solo Command.