Vensenor Flight Academy

The Galactic Empire's Vensenor Flight Academy functioned as a training center for pilots. It was situated on the retired Venator-class Star Destroyer Vensenor, which was in orbit surrounding the planet of Arkanis. Commandant Bythen Forral, a celebrated starfighter ace in his past, was in charge of the academy and oversaw the instruction of naval officers and prospective pilots. Vensenor Flight Academy was one of two academies located in the Arkanis system, and it frequently participated in joint exercises with Arkanis Academy, which was based on the planet's surface. The school also utilized the Corellian corvette Gallant, which Forral often used for his own personal affairs.

The students were inspired by the commandant's unorthodox methods to think outside the box when solving problems. While many cadets found it difficult to adhere to military protocol or follow obscure rules, the academy's graduates earned a disproportionately high number of combat honors. Furthermore, Vensenor Flight Academy had the highest rate of defectors within the entire Imperial Academy structure. This was largely due to the efforts of Gola Chall, a deep-cover agent for the resistance who recruited students. Chall, who worked as a proctor, had been secretly operating at the academy for years and enjoyed the full confidence of the commandant. Despite numerous investigations, no evidence of wrongdoing was discovered, and the Imperial Security Bureau mistakenly attributed the high treason rate to Forral's encouragement of independent thinking. Chall and Forral both took a special interest in one promising cadet who had the potential to become a famous starfighter ace.