Vandolay

This article is about the Imperial officer. You may be looking for Vandolae, a Shi'ido shapeshifter.

"Alert all commands. Ready the tractor beam."

―Admiral Firmus Piett's orders to his command crew, including Vandolay^[2]

Vandolay was a Human male who served as the Imperial Security Bureau attaché aboard the Super Star Destroyer Executor during the Galactic Civil War. By 3 ABY, he held the rank of corporal and was the political liaison for the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order, as well as the Detention Officer responsible for all prisoner transfers aboard the Executor. That year, Vandolay was present aboard the Executor during the Galactic Empire's occupation of the planet Bespin.

Biography[]

Corporal Vandolay was a Human^[1] male who lived during the Galactic Civil War,^[2] serving aboard^[1] the Dark Lord Darth Vader's flagship, the Super Star Destroyer^[3] Executor,^[1] by the year 3 ABY.^[4] Aboard the Executor, Vandolay was the Imperial Security Bureau attaché and political liaison for the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order,^[1] an organization that supported Emperor Palpatine's New Order by ensuring the cultural edification of the Galactic Empire's citizens.^[5] Vandolay was also the Executor's Detention Officer and was responsible for all prisoner transfers aboard the warship.^[1]

In 3 ABY,^[4] Vandolay was present in one of the crewpits of the Executor's command bridge during the Super Star Destroyer's attempt to capture the freighter Millennium Falcon—carrying the Rebel fugitives Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, and Lando Calrissian—following the vessel's escape from Cloud City on the Imperial-occupied planet Bespin. Vandolay and the other crew members responded to Admiral Firmus Piett's order to ready the battleship's tractor beam to capture the Millennium Falcon. However, at the last minute, the Millennium Falcon suddenly escaped into hyperspace.^[2]

Personality and traits[]

Vandolay had brown hair^[1] and fair skin.^[2] Vandolay was a fierce supporter of the Emperor's New Order.^[1]

Equipment[]

While serving aboard the Executor, he wore a black Imperial Navy crewman uniform.^[2]

Behind the scenes[]

Albeit initially unnamed, Vandolay first appeared in the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, in which he was portrayed by an uncredited extra. The actor portraying Vandolay first appeared as a member of the bridge crew of the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Avenger during the pursuit of the Millennium Falcon in the Anoat system. That character, however, is not canonically established to be Vandolay. Toward the end of the film, the actor appears again in reused footage from the Avenger scene during the Executor's attempted capture of the Millennium Falcon over Bespin. Only the back of the character's head is visible on-screen during this scene, however.^[2]

The Vandolay character was later given a name and brief backstory on the "Corporal Vandolay" card for the 1997 Dagobah Limited expansion set of Decipher, Inc.'s Star Wars Customizable Card Game, which canonically established Vandolay as the character appearing in the reused-footage Executor scene. Notably, however, the card used a still of the character from the Avenger's bridge scene as the canonical image of Vandolay.^[1]