WhyweloveStarWars

The sympathetic plight of Imperial Officers

Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back

Writers: Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett

Director: Irvin Kershner

They’re cold, calculating, scheming, skilled and sharp. They are also blinded by ego, fueled by fear, often ineffective, and prone to bickering and posturing. These are the officers of the Galactic Empire and when Captain Lourth Needa slumped to the floor of Darth Vader’s Super Star Destroyer, slowing dying as he apologized for his mistakes, it was pretty clear that for the Empire good help is both hard to find and harder to keep.

Emperor Sheev Palpatine had some big plans and wild dreams when he switched the Grand Republic into the Galactic Empire on a dime. Almost overnight, nearly everything changed. The equipment, the uniforms, the ships. It was quite an undertaking, but all of it was necessary for Sheev to achieve his dreams and it was something he had been working on for most of his life. It would be inspirational if not for the fact that he’s an evil Sith Lord. While he played on the fears of the people and promised a “safe and secure” society, Palpatine was hell bent—or is it Sith Bent—on conquering every part of the known galaxy, oppressing what was now his to help build his war machine, and using it all to search far beyond his kingdom for ancient dark side mysteries, relics, and weapons that would extend his reign of terror. That’s a lot on an evil guy’s plate. Sheev Palpatine can’t sweat the small stuff. So, the day-to-day operations of running the galaxy had to fall into the lesser hands of the Imperial officers.

Yes, for a long time, there was still a so-called working government in the galaxy, but, by the start of the events in the original trilogy, military control is in full effect and the rising Rebellion could no longer be ignored. The importance of the Imperial officers, including Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, were paramount to the survival of the Empire. The trials and tribulations—and ill-fated careers—of these officers are a somewhat unintentional sub-stories of the original trilogy. Can the Imperial officers simply survive themselves?

In A New Hope, we are introduced to Imperial officers almost immediately. They’re lap dogging around the cape of Darth Vader in the halls of the just captured Tantive IV. They’re opinionated for sure, most definitely smarmy, but project an air of competent confidence. Soon, though, we meet the higher ups. The next level of Imperial bosses. And we learn something else: they love to fight with each other, no one is on the same page, and Darth Vader has no problem choking them. Specifically, the snarling Admiral Conan Antonio Motti. It’s an interesting scene. This all-powerful Empire is in the hands of this bunch? Sure, we all get into disagreements around the conference room, but when the big boss starts Force-choking middle management—something’s not right.

Yet you have to feel for them in a weird way. Imperial officers can’t win for losing. Even the destruction of the first Death Star was a lesson in this. With the Rebels swarming around the Death Star, General Moradmin Bast approached Grand Moff Tarkin with some sobering news. Imperial analysis had exposed some level of danger in their attack. General Bast had done his job and found a problem. He told his superior. Tarkin brushed him off with blustering misplaced confidence in his prized moon-sized weapon. Moments later, they were both dead.

Captain Firmus Piett was a very competent officer stuck behind the dullard Admiral Kendal Ozzel. His reward for Ozzel’s clumsy incompetence was a promotion full of the stress of knowing his boss was choked to death right in front of him. You can’t make mistakes, and no one can perform under that pressure. Hell, even the ice-cold General Maximilian Veers successfully leads the ground assault on Hoth and is never really seen again. Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod is given control of the second Death Star but is not given the proper resources to finish the job. His reward is to go down with the figurative ship that he was not able to build properly. Even Rae Sloane, a fascinating character, introduced in the original trilogy era novels and comics, carries the flame of the Empire to the bitter end and her reward is to try and build the First Order surrounded by lesser minds and mad men.

And then we go back to Captain Lourth Needa. Proudly in command of the Star Destroyer Avenger, Vader’s original command ship, he was in hot pursuit of the coveted Millennium Falcon when it suddenly disappeared from the ship’s scopes and seemingly vanished. That wasn’t Captain Needa’s fault. Han Solo had just pulled off one of his trademark miracle plans. That wasn’t Captain Needa’s fault. His staff had failed to track a ship that simply shut off its engines and attached itself to their ship. That wasn’t Captain Needa’s fault. Famed bounty hunter Boba Fett seemed to know what was happening but sat on the information to help him collect his bounty. None of this was Captain Lourth Needa’s fault, but, like a good leader, he was prepared to take the blame and he went straight to Lord Vader’s chambers on the Executor to apologize.

Needa had served in the Navy of the Republic, fighting in the Battle of Coruscant and transferred his allegiances to the Galactic Empire right at the beginning. He worked his way up, getting promotion after promotion. After nearly two decades of distinguished service he had found himself in charge of one of the prized ships in Vader’s Death Squadron. He took responsibility for one mistake. Just one. Captain Lourth Needa’s reward was to slowly have the life choked out of him. As he fell dead, Darth Vader grumbled, “Apology accepted, Captain Needa.” What is the incentive to serve the Empire? What is the reward for a job well done? The Rebels certainly toppled Palpatine’s armies, but when you watch the death of Captain Needa, you know the structure was built on sand.