Ellian Zahra was a human female who held the rank of Commander in the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War against the Rebel Alliance. Both cunning and vengeful, Zahra served at the helm of the Star Destroyer Tarkin's Will. Zahra rose through the Empire as the protégé of Governor Wilhuff Tarkin. After she failed Tarkin during a mission, Zahra's mentor dismissed her, though Zahra attempted to regain his favor. However, Tarkin perished aboard the Death Star battle station when it was destroyed by the Rebel Alliance during the Battle of Yavin. Zahra held a personal grudge against Princess Leia Organa of the Rebellion for Tarkin's death.

Following the Battle of Hoth, Zahra was assigned to lead attacks on the divisions of the scattered Alliance Fleet. She failed to prevent the rebel Fourth Division from escaping due to the intervention of the rebels aboard the freighter Millennium Falcon, including Organa. Zahra continued to hunt down other divisions, but desired to destroy the Fourth Division and Organa along with it. During a battle against the Fourth and Seventh Divisions at Elessia, Zahra confronted Organa personally, wounding the rebel leader with her blade—an act Zahra believed would demoralize Organa.

Biography[]

Service to the Empire[]

The human female^[2] Ellian Zahra^[6] lived during the Imperial Era. Zahra's parents,^[3] along with the rest of her family,^[3] were killed in a rebel terrorist attack while she was still young. Forced to survive on her own for some time, Zahra eventually entered into the Imperial Academy to serve the Galactic Empire and ensure that the same would not happen to others.^[6] She scored at the highest levels on the Empire's selection exams, and was one of several students selected by Governor Wilhuff Tarkin for her potential and lack of familial or other ties. Under Tarkin's instruction and influence, Zahra rose through the Imperial Academy.^[3]

Around 1 BBY,^[7] Tarkin brought Zahra, along with two other students of his, Beldin and Hannevik, to the Outer Rim^[3] planet^[7] Eriadu,^[3] his homeworld,^[8] for a final test to determine the one who would become his protégé. Zahra and her peers were tasked by Tarkin to hunt down a deadly albino veermok in the forest of the Carrion Plateau and bring him the creature's head before he departed in his flagship, the Carrion Spike, at dawn in twelve hours. By dawn, Zahra had killed the veermok, having caught the creature in the trees while it believed it was safe. Additionally, having determined that Tarkin intended for the candidates to hunt one another, Zahra defeated Beldin and Hannevik. Although she had sustained injuries in the hunt, Zahra returned to Tarkin with the veermok's head, also informing him that her peers had been unworthy.^[3]

Having passed the test, Zahra was taken in as Tarkin's protégé. As an officer in the Imperial Navy, she accompanied Tarkin to meetings with individuals such as Director Orson Krennic and oversaw the interrogation of rebels alongside her mentor, rising to the rank of Captain. Zahra was introduced to^[3] Sith Lord^[7] Darth Vader by Tarkin, who recommended her insight during an engagement with rebels. She eventually obtained the rank of Lieutenant Commander, having distinguished herself during her years with Tarkin.^[3]

Tarkin's final mission[]

Eventually, Zahra met with Tarkin on the Death Star^[3] battle station and superweapon,^[7] where her mentor gave her a mission to eliminate Burnium Ro, a warlord operating on the Mid Rim world Ikkrukk and utilizing imagery associated with the obsolete Nihil criminal organization. When Tarkin assigned Zahra a strike force and the Carrion Spike, she questioned if such firepower was needed; her mentor's description of the Nihil as agents of chaos led her to understand that Ro was the antithesis of the Empire's order and that she needed to send a message. Zahra departed, with Tarkin requesting that she bring him Ro's head.^[3]

On Ikkrukk, Zahra deployed a network of probe droids, creating a mobile surveillance net to search for Ro while she waited aboard the Carrion Spike. When one of the vessel's Navy Troopers questioned how she thought of the idea, Zahra explained that she considered everything as a resource using the water she was drinking as an example. The probe droids detected the warlord in Grail City, and Zahra—unaware that he was actually a decoy of Ro's—had the cloaked Carrion Spike follow him. After arriving at Ro's stronghold, Zahra had the vessel deactivate its cloaking system and fire on the stronghold, destroying the base and killing "Ro" and the forces within.^[3]

Upon Zahra's return to the Death Star, Tarkin questioned why she had not brought him Ro's head. Zahra insisted that she had destroyed Ro and his operation, but Tarkin, playing a shadowfeed broadcast of the warlord, informed her that the man she had killed was a decoy and that the real Ro was using her failure and his survival to elevate himself. She listened in silence as Tarkin expressed his disappointment, telling Zahra that his beliefs in her had been mistaken before departing. Although Tarkin ordered that Zahra report to the personnel office to be reassigned, she remained determined to locate Ro.^[3]

The Battle of Yavin[]

In 0 BBY,^[7] a week after her failed mission, Zahra had obtained intelligence that revealed Ro's location. She returned to the Death Star, but her efforts to meet with Tarkin were denied by an officer under orders from her former mentor. Zahra ordered that her information be passed to Tarkin, but the officer reiterated the governor's orders. Relenting, Zahra asked the officer to tell Tarkin that she understood. Intending to kill Ro and regain Tarkin's favor, Zahra headed for a hangar, unaware that the Death Star was currently engaged in^[3] the Battle of Yavin, having come under attack by the Rebel Alliance in the Outer Rim's Yavin system as the station prepared to destroy the rebel base on the moon Yavin 4.^[9]

Zahra attempted to requisition a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle, but the stormtrooper guarding it asked for authorization, informing her of the rebel attack. Although Zahra was confident that the Death Star was not in danger, the stormtrooper remained uncooperative, having been tasked to hold the shuttle for the potential evacuation of high-ranking officers. Zahra knocked the trooper unconscious and commandeered the shuttle.^[3]

Flying out of the hangar amidst the battle, Zahra recorded a message for Tarkin, setting it to be transmitted once she had embarked on her mission. She explained her hope that Tarkin would give her an opportunity to prove herself and that she had stolen a shuttle, but assured her former mentor that she would return with Ro's head. However, at that moment, the rebels destroyed the Death Star^[3] while Tarkin was still aboard the station.^[6] Sustaining injuries as her shuttle was thrown and damaged by the blast, Zahra looked on in dismay at the destruction.^[3] Holding Princess Leia Organa responsible for her mentor's death, Zahra vowed to kill her to avenge Tarkin.^[6] As per orders from Tarkin before his death, Zahra was indefinitely assigned non-essential duties. She was eventually placed in command of Mining Facility 81-B on^[6] the spice mining world^[10] Kessel.^[6]

Hunting the rebel armada[]

A chance for redemption[]

Zahra, holding the rank of Commander, was still stationed on Kessel^[6] by the time of the Battle of Hoth^[1] in 3 ABY,^[7] in which the Rebel Alliance's fleet was forced to scatter into numerous divisions.^[1] With orders from Emperor Palpatine to have the remnants of the fleet hunted down and destroyed, Vader, knowing of Zahra's record, assigned her to the task. Vader allowed Zahra to be given any resources that were necessary, but warned her not to fail both him and the Emperor.^[6]

With Vader offering her the choice of any vessel in the Imperial Navy to be her flagship, Zahra chose the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Fortitude, which was near the Death Star during the battle and had suffered severe damage from the station's wreckage. Intending for the damaged Star Destroyer to serve as a memorial to the Death Star's loss, Zahra gave it the name Tarkin's Will and selected Imperials who had similarly lost individuals close to them in the station's destruction to serve as her crew. In the days before Zahra intended to embark on her mission, Lieutenant Gorr was assigned to the Tarkin's Will as her second-in-command.^[5]

Escape of the Fourth Division[]

Having broken the Rebellion's codes, Zahra used a signal analysis protocol of her own design to track down two divisions that attempted to communicate—the Fourth and Eighth Divisions. Zahra split her battle group, sending her secondary strike force to attack the Eighth Division near the^[1] planet^[9] Malastare while she led an attack on the Fourth Division, which was attempting to regroup at Rendezvous Point Delta-Three in the Mid Rim. Zahra utilized a tactic she had previously devised but never tested, using her fleet's turbolasers to form a cordon and blockade the rebels against a nearby star. Unable to escape, the Fourth Division suffered heavy damage from Zahra's TIE fighters. From the Tarkin's Will, Zahra admired the destruction and her tactic's success, discussing her fleet's two engagements with Gorr.^[1]

When one rebel X-wing starfighter escaped the blockade, Zahra ordered a technician to transfer her manual control of a single turbolaser. The technician was hesitant but followed the order, and Zahra took control of the turbolaser and destroyed the X-wing, relishing in the rebel's failed escape. The freighter Millennium Falcon soon arrived amidst the battle, carrying Organa and several other rebels. Zahra, recognizing that Organa was likely aboard, ordered Gorr to divert a squadron of TIEs and any non-essential turbolaser batteries to target the Falcon, wishing to eliminate Organa and the vessel that had repeatedly escaped the Empire. However, the Falcon's crew managed to destroy the turbolasers on one of Zahra's light cruisers, giving the survivors of the Fourth Division a gap to escape into hyperspace.^[1]

Furious, Zahra snapped at Gorr when the lieutenant reported the escape before ordering the fleet to stand down in resignation. Zahra later reported to Vader via hologram, asserting the operation was a partial success; Vader disagreed, however, questioning her as to why she had failed. The commander noted the Falcon's disruption, but Vader reprimanded her for attempting to destroy the vessel—unknown to Zahra, the Falcon carried Luke Skywalker, Vader's son, who the Sith Lord wanted alive. Zahra was dismissed by Vader, but not before he ordered her to destroy what remained of the rebel fleet with a warning against further failure.^[1]

Locating additional cells[]

After locating the Alliance's Sixth Division in the Mid Rim, Zahra led the Tarkin's Will in an attack on the division. Her forces eliminated all targets within the system, though Gorr noted they had no leads as to the locations of the remaining cells. Zahra, however, was certain that her plans would succeed in finding them, quoting her former mentor. When the lieutenant, unaware of the history behind the Tarkin's Will, suggested that repairs be made to the vessel, Zahra chastised Gorr. She informed the apologetic lieutenant that the Tarkin's Will and its damage served as a memorial to those who died aboard the Death Star, rallying the crew in a call to never forgetting the losses. In awe, Gorr gave Zahra sympathy for if she had lost someone aboard the station, and the commander confirmed she had, declaring her intent to exact her vengeance on Organa.^[5]

Zahra later intercepted transmissions from what believed was the Alliance Fleet's Seventh Division. Her forces continued to track the division's movements, waiting for it to contact—and subsequently reveal the location of—another cell. Zahra reported her progress to Vader, who commended her but soon became distracted when Skywalker activated a trap the Sith Lord had set at a Jedi outpost on the^[11] planet^[12] Tempes. When Vader ordered his pilot to set a course for Tempes, Zahra offered to bring the Tarkin's Will to assist, but the Sith Lord insisted that he would handle the matter himself.^[11]

The Fourth Division eventually responded to the Seventh Division's transmission, and Gorr reported the news to Zahra. Recognizing the Fourth as Organa's group, Zahra intended to eliminate the division herself and send her secondary strike force after the Seventh, but Gorr noted that the positions of the Imperial and rebel fleets made the inverse more efficient. Zahra was displeased, but relented, ordering the Tarkin's Will to the Seventh Division's location near the^[3] Mid Rim astronomical object^[13] Elessia.^[14] Arriving at the Seventh Division's location and launching an attack on the rebels, Zahra's forces were positioned to overwhelm their foes. However, when she asked Gorr about the Fourth, the lieutenant informed her that the secondary force had arrived to find the rebels absent. Zahra was about to reprimand Gorr when the vessels of the Fourth Division—having intended to trap the Imperials in a pincer maneuver—emerged from hyperspace behind her fleet.^[3]

Confronting Organa[]

Zahra intended to lead a boarding party against the rebel fleet, ordering Gorr to prepare her shuttle.^[3] Gorr questioned if it was wise for Zahra to lead a boarding party amidst the battle, but Zahra insisted that it was necessary to complete the mission herself. Instructing Gorr to take command of the battle and follow her own methods, Zahra and her team of stormtroopers boarded the EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate that served as the Fourth Division's flagship, cutting down the rebel troopers that attempted to stop them. Zahra made her way to the vessel's engine room, disabling its safety systems. Contacting the frigate's commanders, Zahra informed them of the vessel's imminent destruction, vowing to reactivate the systems and save the ship if Organa came alone, armed or otherwise, to the engine room.^[6]

Organa did as she had been asked, and Zahra trapped her in the engine room once she entered. Zahra promised Organa that she would not use her blaster and that she would let Organa go if she reached the exit on the opposite side of the room alive. Hidden from Organa's view, Zahra told her about her life, including the death of her family and becoming Tarkin's protégé. As she spoke, Zahra struck Organa twice with her blade. Before Zahra could take her revenge, she was contacted by the Tarkin's Will—which intended to flee under the fire of both rebel divisions—and was then confronted by Skywalker.^[6]

After warning Organa that she would return, Zahra distracted Skywalker by throwing her blade past his head, subsequently leaping over the Jedi and kicking him in the back. Zahra broke through a viewport to escape the rebel ship and flew aboard the Tarkin's Will with her jetpack, boarding the Star Destroyer before it departed. Despite failing to kill Organa, Zahra was satisfied with having injured her, believing that her threat would cause her nemesis to lose hope.^[6]

Failure on Panisia[]

Zahra's efforts against the rebels ended in failure during the Battle of Panisia, which saw the destruction of the Tarkin's Will.^[16] On the surface, Zahra again confronted Organa, who explained to the Imperial commander the differences between how the Empire and rebellion fought. Zahra was left for dead in a cave.^[15] Left with scars across the right side of her face, neck, and at least a portion of her upper body, Zahra also lost her right arm and leg, which were both replaced with cybernetics. She joined the ranks of a raider faction and longed for revenge against Organa.^[4]

Personality and traits[]

After her parents were killed in a terrorist attack, Zahra had a jaded view on life, refusing to believe in hope and instead seeing things as they were.^[3] Zahra signed up to the Imperial Academy in order to prevent others from suffering as she had.^[6] In serving the Empire, Zahra believed that the regime stood for order and subsequently brought peace. She saw everything as a resource, considering ways of utilizing her resources in the best way possible.^[3] A vengeful^[5] and cunning^[3] commander, Ellian Zahra was devoted to serving the Empire, despite her previous failures.^[1]

Zahra was initially unable to accept Tarkin's dismissal of her despite understanding it, attempting to make up for her failure to regain her mentor's faith.^[3] Zahra saw the Death Star as the Emperor's greatest effort to maintain peace in a troubled galaxy, believing its destruction to be a tragic massacre of loyal Imperial subjects.^[5] After losing Tarkin in the destruction of the Death Star,^[3] Zahra was angered that he had died before she could redeem herself to him,^[6] and blamed Leia Organa for the act, wishing to slit Organa's throat in revenge.^[5] She assumed Tarkin had intended her to learn from her dismissal and subsequent assignment of non-essential duties and that she would have received an opportunity to reedem herself if Tarkin had lived. Zahra became cynical during her time stationed on Kessel, not expecting anyone to call for her and being surprised when she was contacted by Vader.^[6]

After being chosen to lead the hunt for the rebel fleet, Zahra honored those who perished on the Death Star by taking command of the Fortitude, a Star Destroyer damaged in its destruction, and recruiting a crew that consisted solely of those who had lost someone on the station. She intended the Tarkin's Will to be an instrument of vengeance, believing that the rebels would come to know and fear the vessel.^[5] Zahra admired the destruction of the Rebel Alliance fleet, considering the sight to be beautiful, and reveled in destroying a rebel who had attempted to flee. When she failed to prevent the survivors of the Fourth Division from escaping, Zahra grew angry at Lieutenant Gorr for stating the obvious, although confidently maintained the operation was partially successful. A human^[1] female,^[2] Zahra had black hair, blue eyes, and light skin.^[1]

Skills and abilities[]

Under Tarkin's instruction,^[3] Zahra was a skilled tactician and commander, developing tactics that she could use in battle.^[1] She devised a method of using probe droids as a surveillance network, utilizing the approach against Burnium Ro.^[3] Zahra also created a tactic in which an enemy fleet would be trapped against a celestial body by a cordon of turbolasers. While attacking the Fourth Division of the Alliance Fleet, Zahra took control of one of her fleet's lasers, manually targeting and destroying an escaped rebel starfighter.^[1] Zahra was a skilled fighter with her blade, striking at Organa from the darkness without being seen in her confrontation aboard the rebel flagship.^[6]

Equipment[]

Zahra commanded the Tarkin's Will, an Imperial-class Star Destroyer formerly known as the Fortitude, which had been severely damaged in the destruction of the Death Star. She did not wish to repair the damage the Star Destroyer had sustained, keeping it as a reminder of the attack.^[5] Zahra kept an office aboard the Tarkin's Will, where she displayed numerous trophies that included weapons and mounted creature heads.^[6]

Zahra wore the uniform of the Imperial Military.^[1] She owned a set of armor that she utilized in battle, which included a helmet with goggles, a jetpack, and a rebreather mask and pack. Zahra possessed a blade, intending to use the weapon when killing Organa. She wielded the blade alongside a blaster when boarding the rebel vessel to face Organa for the first time.^[6]

Behind the scenes[]

Ellian Zahra was introduced in the first issue of the 2020 Star Wars comic series, written by Charles Soule, illustrated by Jesús Saiz, and published by Marvel Comics^[1] on January 1 of that year.^[17] Her forename was provided in the series' eighth issue, also written by Soule^[6] and published on November 4, 2020.^[18] Prior to the release of the comic, Zahra was first mentioned in an article on Marvel's website that covered the series' announcement on October 2, 2019.^[19]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]