Air Marshal Von Asch was a celebrated male Human Imperial starfighter strategist and advisor during the Galactic Civil War for the TIE/IN interceptor endeavor. Asch instructed a plethora of young pilots that eventually became the foundation of the Empire's TIE interceptor contingent. However, the New Republic apprehended the Air Marshal not long after the Battle of Endor. Later, General Lando Calrissian enlisted Asch into his newly formed commando squad, Lando's Commandos, leveraging his expertise with TIE interceptors when a pirate group of former TIE interceptor pilots commenced assaults on New Republic convoys. During an intense briefing concerning a mission to counter this threat, the Air Marshal deduced that the TIE interceptor pirates were likely situated in the Abraxas system by analyzing the attack locations in relation to the fuel requirements of the TIE interceptors.
The commandos journeyed to the planet Radix, within that system, where they were quickly ambushed by pirate forces due to the treachery of their local pilot, Kine. Lieutenant Harme Kiela, the pirate leader and a former student of Asch, confessed that the entire scheme was devised to persuade Asch to join their ranks as their new commander. The Air Marshal immediately declined, asserting that Kiela and the pirates had lost all honor and had disgraced him by resorting to criminal activities. As fighting broke out again, Kine attempted to kill [Isolde Siro](/article/isolde_siro], another commando, using a lightsaber, but the Air Marshal intercepted the blow, saving Siro's life. Asch eventually recovered from his serious wounds, and the mission concluded successfully with the arrival of New Republic reinforcements.
Von Asch, a male Human, attained the rank of Air Marshal within the Galactic Empire and was highly regarded as a brilliant starfighter tactician. At the height of the Galactic Civil War, Asch served as a project consultant for the TIE/IN interceptor project and initiated training for Imperial pilots in the operation of this fightercraft. He transformed gifted, young pilots such as Harme Kiela into some of the Empire's most proficient dogfighters. These protégés of Asch later formed the core of the Empire's overall TIE interceptor forces. Asch was taken into custody by the New Republic after the Imperial collapse that followed the Battle of Endor.
When a group comprised of former TIE interceptor pilots who had become pirates began attacking New Republic convoys, General Lando Calrissian recruited Asch and several other individuals with questionable histories to form a commando unit to combat the threat, naming them "Lando's Commandos." Asch was selected because of his knowledge of TIE interceptor tactics and his familiarity with the specific pilots involved in the attacks. He willingly agreed to assist the New Republic in locating the pirates, whom he felt had abandoned Imperial honor.
During the initial briefing, Asch's reputation led several other commandos to question his allegiance. Isolde Siro, a fellow commando, argued that Asch should have been imprisoned on a prison barge for the deaths he may have caused during his Imperial service, but Calrissian vouched for Asch's critical role in the upcoming operation. The Air Marshal then briefed the rest of the team on the TIE interceptor's capabilities, stressing that the starship's most dangerous element was its pilot. He concluded that the pirate TIE interceptor squadrons required either a command ship or a planet for refueling and rearming, and determined that the Abraxas system was the most probable location for their base, based on the known locations of their attacks.
Guided by a local pilot, Kine, Asch and the commandos searched the Abraxas system aboard Calrissian's freighter, the Millennium Falcon, and discovered the pirates' base on the planet Radix. Upon landing, the commandos detected only five TIE interceptors patrolling the skies, far fewer than anticipated, leading Asch to suspect a trap. The team was soon ambushed by concealed pirate forces, prompting Calrissian to instruct Kine to monitor Asch during the battle. However, Kine betrayed Calrissian, shooting him with his blaster and taking Siro hostage as the pirate forces surrounded the commando team. Lieutenant Kiela, the pirate leader, revealed that the entire operation was designed to rescue Asch, whom he believed was being forced to assist the New Republic against his will.
When the pirates asked Asch to become their new leader, he refused, denouncing them as mere bandits and mercenaries without honor, who had disgraced the Empire and betrayed his teachings. Realizing that he could not sway Asch, Kiela attempted to kill him, but Calrissian, wounded, attacked Kiela with his blaster and called in New Republic air support. In the ensuing chaos, Kine produced a lightsaber and tried to kill Siro, but Asch intervened, taking the full force of the attack and saving her life. Siro immediately killed Kine, but Asch was severely wounded and lay in a pool of his own blood. Before losing consciousness, Asch told Siro that she possessed a unique strength and a special destiny. The mission was ultimately successful, and Asch later recovered from his injuries.
Von Asch, with his brown hair and green eyes, deeply valued personal honor. He took great pride in the pilots he trained, viewing them and himself as warriors. Asch held a very negative view of criminal elements like pirates and mercenaries, and he took Kiela's transformation into one of them very personally. He usually maintained a calm demeanor, even when criticized, but he was prone to violent reactions when his personal honor was at stake. When Kiela asked him to become the new pirate leader, Asch slapped the lieutenant and angrily grabbed his face while rebuking his actions. Asch also willingly sacrificed himself for Isolde Siro, admiring her strength and believing she had a unique destiny.
Asch was highly knowledgeable about the inner workings of a TIE interceptor and was considered one of the most respected starfighter tacticians in the Empire. He believed the TIE interceptor was a ship for aces and that its most dangerous aspect was its pilot. The Air Marshal was known for transforming some of the Empire's best starfighter pilots into exceptional dogfighters. His reputation was widely known, even among members of Lando's Commandos, one of whom was astonished to learn Asch's identity. After the mission, Calrissian was surprised that Asch had acted as the "hero" by saving Siro's life, rather than betraying the team and joining the pirates.
Von Asch was created for the comic story "Lando's Commandos: On Eagles' Wings" by Ian Edginton, published in Star Wars Tales 5 in 2000. While the stories in the first twenty issues of Star Wars Tales were considered outside of conventional Star Wars canon, Asch and the events of the comic were canonized in the 2001 Star Wars Gamer 6 article Unusual Suspects by Andrew Hind, which consistently misspelled Asch's last name as "Tarsh."