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- "The criminals responsible for last night's atrocity on Aldhani think they've taken the Empire by surprise. We know better. We know the real shock will be when they discover how ready and eager we are to respond, to be prepared, to be here this morning and know that the only question we need to answer is how tight to close our fist. This is why we plan. This is why we work so hard when we're at peace. This is why we recruit so carefully and demand so much."
- ―Wullf Yularen
Wullf Yularen was a male human Anaxes bureaucrat and military officer whose career spanned from the final years of the Galactic Republic into the era of its successor state, the Galactic Empire. Following the outbreak of the Clone Wars—which pitted the Republic against its splinter state, the Confederacy of Independent Systems—Yularen served in the Galactic Republic Navy and ascended to the rank of fleet admiral. A by-the-book officer, Yularen was assigned to work with Jedi General Anakin Skywalker. Though Skywalker was brash and reckless in contrast to Yularen's crisp nature, the two overcame an initially rocky relationship and successfully combated the Confederacy in several battles throughout the war, including Christophsis, the Kaliida Nebula, and Geonosis.
Though Yularen grew accustomed to serving under Skywalker, he would have to learn to work with his Padawan learner, Ahsoka Tano. During the Battle of Ryloth, Tano's refusal to follow orders led to Wullf being injured when his flagship, the Resolute, was attacked by droid fighters. Despite his injuries, however, Yularen managed to give the Padawan a critical vote of confidence, which allowed them to break the Confederate blockade. Narrowly escaping the destruction of the Resolute, Wullf was considered one of the preeminent naval officers of the time, and he continued to serve alongside Skywalker for the remainder of the war.
Following the rise of the Galactic Empire at the end of the war, Yularen resigned his commission as an Admiral in favor of a career as a colonel in the Imperial Security Bureau. In this role, Wullf's job was to root out sedition in the Imperial Senate as well as serving as a liaison to the Naval Intelligence Agency. Following the events of the Berch Teller campaign, Yularen was promoted to head the reformed NIA with the position of deputy director. However, he continued playing an important role in the ISB and became an early ally of the Chiss Thrawn as he rose through the ranks of the Imperial Navy, assisting him in his campaigns against the rebel agent Nevil Cygni.
As various rebel networks began to grow and and band together, Yularen oversaw the ramifications that followed the successful heist on the Aldhani Garrison. During this time, ISB Agent Alexsandr Kallus, Wullf's "star pupil," was in the middle of hunting a rebel group known as the Spectres. A few years later, Yularen assisted Thrawn, who had since become a grand admiral, in hunting for the rebel mole "Fulcrum," who leaked Imperial intelligence to the rebels. Working with the Chiss, the two discovered that the rebel mole was in fact Kallus, who subsequently defected to the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Following the Battle of Scarif, which saw the theft of the Death Star plans, Yularen was one of the officers assigned to the battle station, where he was killed during the Battle of Yavin.
Biography[]
Early career[]
- "He tore our ships apart. We barely escaped with our lives. In the end, a Jedi-led task force moved in to settle the matter. Trench's ship was destroyed, and we assumed he went down with it."
- ―Wullf Yularen, on Trench and the Battle of Malastare Narrows
Wullf Yularen was a human male born on the planet Coruscant.[1] He was raised on Anaxes.[2] Prior to the start of the Clone Wars, Yularen served as an officer in the Republic Navy when it was a branch of the Judicial Department. He participated in the Battle of Malastare Narrows, a conflict in which a fleet organized by the Corporate Alliance blockaded the planet Malastare as one of the Republic officers leading the Republic forces. Despite his best efforts, the enemy fleet, led by the brilliant Harch tactician Admiral Trench, proved impossible to break, and Yularen lost many who served under his command.[14] Eventually, a dispatched Jedi task force turned the tide of the battle, defeating the Corporate fleet, vaporizing Trench's flagship, and seemingly killing him in the process. Despite the victory, Yularen left the battle with a lasting fear of the Admiral's tactical capabilities,[13] with Trench stalking his nightmares. As a result, Yularen left the Republic Navy and moved[14] to the Senate Bureau of Intelligence for a time, until he retired.[8] During his time in the Bureau of Intelligence, Yularen met Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, and worked with him in the Galactic Senate.[14]
The Clone Wars[]
Assignment to Anakin Skywalker[]
- "Of all the Jedi, why did I have to end up with Skywalker?"
- ―Yularen, on his assignment to Anakin Skywalker's fleet during the Clone Wars
Yularen served under General Anakin Skywalker
Following the eruption of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY and the formation of the Grand Army of the Republic,[16] Chancellor Palpatine encouraged Yularen to join the brand new Republic Navy,[8] pushing Yularen to accept a commission as an admiral in the new Republic Navy,[14] making him the youngest member of the naval corps to achieve this rank.[8] In fact, Yularen served as a fleet admiral during the war.[17] Since a war bargain struck between the Jedi Order and Chancellor ensured that the new Jedi Generals would be paired with veteran naval officers, Admiral Yularen was assigned to Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.[4] The Resolute, a Venator-class Star Destroyer, served as Skywalker and Yularen's flagship. Yularen served as the ship's captain, as well as the commander of any fleet group the Resolute was a part of.[14]
Conflict on Kudo[]
- "I recommend a surgical strike targeting the foundry's generators. Our schematics are incomplete, but I believe it should fully destroy the facility."
"Killing everyone inside. Living beings, not droid soldiers."
"Unfortunately, the realities of war can be very ugly. We're lucky that the army we face is primarily droids."
"A two-pronged attack would give us an opprtunity to evacuate the Kudon. They aren't soldiers, they're workers."
"An emotional approach. But not a tactical one. Allowing time for an evaluation will allow time for the Separatists to raise defenses. Which will mean far more risk of casualties to our own men. Either way, people will die. And it's our job to make sure it isn't our people." - ―Wullf Yularen and Skywalker
Wullf Yularen speaks with Anakin Skywalker during the early days of the Clone Wars
Following an unexpected conflict in the Corvair sector, Skywalker conferred with Yularen aboard the Resolute. The admiral relayed information from Republic Intelligence, which had identified a droid factory belonging to the Confederacy of Independent Systems on the third moon of the planet Kudo. With a limited period of opportunity as a result of nearby Separatist reinforcements, Skywalker suggested attacking immediately until he reviewed Yularen's projections, which predicted a high number of casualties. Yularen attributed the numbers to the local Kudon operating the factory and countered the other man's objection that the planet's population was neutral.[18]
The admiral suggested a strike on the foundry's generator, causing Skywalker to again mull over the casualties. The general proposed an alternative attack plan that would provide time for an evacuation of the Kudon—time, Yularen argued, for the Separatists to raise their defenses, a risk to the Republic's own clone troopers. Admiral Yularen concluded the briefing with a reminder to Skywalker that their own soldiers were the priority.[18]
Yularen later spoke to Skywalker's Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to ask if he shared Skywalker's concerns. When Skywalker made the decision to investigate the Kudon crisis on his own, the admiral again berated his general for heeding his own emotions over sound tactical advice. Skywalker ultimately discovered the Kudon's innocence and reported as much to Kenobi and Yularen aboard the Resolute's bridge. Kenobi speculated that the Separatists could have framed the Republic for any Kudon deaths in an indiscriminate attack, a strategy Yularen judged as an effective recruitment tactic. Kenobi and Yularen both praised Skywalker for his heroics.[18]
Christophsis and Teth[]
Yularen facing the blockade over Christophsis
During the Battle of Christophsis, Yularen initially failed to break through the Separatist blockade of the planet with supplies for Senator Bail Organa's force trapped on the planet. Recognizing his insignia on the Separatist flagship, the dreadnought Invincible, Yularen concluded that Trench had survived at Malastare and was facing him once again. Fearing his capabilities, Yularen regrouped on the far side of Leesis, Christophsis' moon. Reinforced by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi's Negotiator, Yularen personally participated in a mercy mission aboard a new model of stealth ship to provide relief to the planet below.[13]
The ship, fitted with an experimental cloaking device, easily slipped past the blockade. However, Trench, emboldened by the lull in the fighting, ordered a flight of Hyena bombers to attack Organa's position on the planet's surface in an attempt to draw out the Republic force and destroy it. Despite Kenobi's preparations, Yularen recognized that any counterattack would result in heavy casualties for their fleet. The Jedi, Skywalker, was able to outmaneuver Trench's attacks and destroy the Invincible. Despite his initial skepticism and friction with the Jedi, the Admiral was impressed with Skywalker's unconventionality, who commented that they made a good team.[13] Yularen was later forced to withdraw due to a renewed Separatist blockade in orbit, but the destruction of the Separatist shield generator and ensuing surrender of General Whorm Loathsom allowed him to return with Master Yoda's reinforcements and secure a Republic victory.[6]
Yularen then assisted General Kenobi in rescuing what was left of Clone Captain Rex's troops holed up at Teth's B'omarr Monastery. He tried to allow Skywalker, his Padawan Ahsoka Tano and Jabba the Hutt's son, Rotta to land on his ship but were unable to due to Vulture droids attacking the ship's hangar.[6] Following Rotta's return to his father and the establishment of the Republic's treaty with the Hutt Clan, Yularen would assign various missions to Skywalker and Kenobi throughout the war. After the Republic's defeat at Hypori, Yularen sent Kenobi, Commander CC-2224 "Cody" and the 212th Attack Battalion to aid Commander Mekedrix and his forces from Roon at a battle on Abrion Major.[19]
Hunt for Grievous[]
Yularen during the search for the Malevolence
Yularen played a pivotal role in the search and destruction of General Grievous's secret weapon, the warship Malevolence.[20] After it was revealed Grievous planned to attack the undefended Kaliida Shoals Medical Center, Yularen briefed the pilots of Shadow Squadron, flying BTL-B Y-wing starfighter/bombers, for their strike on the ship. With the destruction of the Malevolence's massive ion cannons and the disabling of its hyperdrive,[21] Yularen pursued after the ship with three Venator destroyers, including the Resolute, trying to stop it from fleeing to Separatist space, until the ship finally was destroyed on impact with a nearby moon.[22]
Admiral Yularen continued to assist Kenobi and Skywalker in their search for Grievous. Yularen then informed them that the Rishi Station had stopped transmitting and then had the fleet alerted to this problem, which turned out to be an attack orchestrated by Grievous.[23] After discovering that Grievous planned to attack Kamino, the homeworld and production center for the Republic's clone army, Yularen was placed in charge of the planet's blockade fleet. The vigorous orbital defense was successful in damaging much of Grievous' fleet, only to discover the space battle was a Separatist ruse in order to launch a ground attack. Despite this, the planet was successfully defended from the attack.[24]
Role at Quell[]
- "You'll never be able to dock with our ship in the middle of this battle!"
"We have no choice, Admiral. General Skywalker's condition may be critical. We must get him on board the Resolute."
"Are all Jedi so reckless?"
"Just the good ones." - ―Wullf Yularen and Aayla Secura
Yularen was involved in multiple other engagements as well throughout the war. He participated in the Battle of Quell, arriving to reinforce the beleaguered fleet of General Aayla Secura, but to no avail. After the Jedi's cruiser inadvertently disappeared into hyperspace, with Secura, Skywalker, Tano, and several clones onboard, Yularen was left to fight on until the battle was lost.[25]
Battle of Ryloth[]
- "The Commander is right. I know this strategy is very bold. But these circumstances call for drastic measures."
- ―Yularen, authorizing Ahsoka Tano's Marg Sabl
As the Republic moved to liberate Ryloth from the Confederacy, Yularen led the Republic fleet in engaging the blockade, commanded by Neimoidian Captain Mar Tuuk onboard a modified Droid Control Ship. The initial engagement saw the losses of Blue Squadron and the Redeemer while the Resolute and the Defender were severely damaged. Yularen was also injured during the fighting and went to rest in his quarters. Tano entered his quarters and, believing him to be unconscious, verbalized her insecurities about continuing with the battle. In turn, Yularen vouched for Tano when she proposed a new strategy; turning the Resolute on its belly while the clones flew in from the sides. He also authorized Skywalker's plan to ram the crippled Defender into the Tuuk's flagship while the Jedi pretended to surrender aboard an escape pod. Skywalker and Tano's strategies succeeded in crippling Tuuk's fleet and allowed Kenobi's troops to land on the planet.[26]
Later battles[]
The Admiral also coordinated the aerial support for the three-pronged ground assault in the Second Battle of Geonosis,[27] as well as being given command of a task force of Star Destroyers, Republic frigates and Arquitens-class cruisers during the Battle of Saleucami, while the Jedi attempted to rescue the General Eeth Koth, as well as capture Grievous.[28] He commanded the Republic fleet during the Battle of Sullust, where the Resolute was lost to heavy enemy fire.[29] Yularen, however, was able to evacuate before its destruction.[30] Following the Devaron massacre, Yularen informed Skywalker and Kenobi that Mekedrix had gone rogue and possibly joined a group of assassins known as the Death Wind, striking at multiple Republic, Separatist and civilian targets. Yularen tasked the Jedi with locating the Death Wind on Ando and killing Mekedrix if he had indeed joined them, which they begrudgingly did.[31]
Carida and the Jedi Temple bombing[]
Yularen had visibly aged by the later half of the Clone Wars
In 19 BBY, Yularen, as one of the higher-ranking Republic naval officers, attended the Republic strategy conference at the starbase Valor over Carida, where he almost perished due to a Separatist plot to ram the station with a captured Star Destroyer laden with explosives.[32] He returned to Coruscant to attend the memorial service for the victims of the Jedi Temple hangar bombing.[33]
Outer Rim Sieges[]
- Yularen: "Sir, we've received a transmission from someone using your subspace frequency 'Fulcrum.'"
- Skywalker: "Saw Gerrera?"
- Kenobi: "Perhaps the siege at Onderon has taken a turn for the worse."
- Yularen: "No, sir. It's not Gerrera. You had best take this transmission here on the ship. Both of you."
- ―Yularen, Skywalker, and Kenobi[34]
Yularen participated in the Battle of Ringo Vinda, where he fought against his nemises, Admiral Trench, once again. Republic units forced Trench back to the Ringo Vinda space station that surrounded the planet,[14] and later directed Skywalker and his team towards the remains of the destroyed Nu-class transport that had been transporting CT-5385 "Tup" to Coruscant following an accidental activation of Order 66.[35] When Admiral Trench was killed by Skywalker during the Battle of Anaxes, it brought limited satisfaction to Yularen.[14]
Sometime later, while on a Venator-class Star Destroyer, Yularen spotted an unknown ship, the Silver Angel, in military airspace. Yularen spoke to the passengers onboard through the comlink and asked Trace Martez what she was doing in military airspace. He threatened to confiscate her starpilot license, but Ahsoka Tano switched off the comlink and the ship flew off. Yularen then informed General Skywalker that it was some rookie pilot on their first maneuvers. He said that he was about to send a detachment to arrest them until Skywalker sensed Ahsoka's presence and decided to let them fly off.[36]
Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan Kryze contact the Republic Military for assistance.
Near the end of the Clone Wars, Yularen would take an interest in Count Dooku and his new right-hand man "Admiral Enigma," who was actually the former Jedi Master Quinlan Vos. After receiving intelligence that Dooku and Admiral Enigma had been sighted on a Providence-class dreadnought that was planning to attack Taris, Yularen informed the Jedi High Council, which had been engrossed in a meeting to discuss rescuing Vos. Using Admiral Yularen's information, the Council decided to rescue Vos and agreed to pardon the former Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress if she agreed to take part in the rescue mission. While the rescue mission was successful, Vos had secretly turned to the dark side and become Dooku's newest Sith apprentice.[37]
Under the Galactic Empire[]
Admiral of the Empire[]
- "In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire! For a safe and secure society."
- ―Darth Sidious upon forming the Galactic Empire
Following the conclusion of the war, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine transitioned the Republic into the Galactic Empire, with himself as Galactic Emperor.[38] Yularen continued to serve as an Admiral within the Imperial Military, albeit briefly. Although the Corporate Sector had largely supported the Confederacy during the Clone Wars, the Corporate Sector Authority was allowed to expand to tens of thousands of star systems by the Emperor, rather than being brought under Imperial control. As such, the Empire maintained a cooperative relationship with the CSA, and shortly after the end of the Clone Wars, Admiral Yularen conducted a campaign in the Corporate Sector against pirates that were launching raids.[39]
Imperial Security Bureau[]
Yularen became a Colonel in the Imperial Security Bureau following the Proclamation of the New Order.
Eventually with this New Order, Yularen resigned his admiral's commission in favor of pursuing a career with the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order's Imperial Security Bureau with the rank of colonel. His first assignment was heading a division whose purpose was to expose instances of sedition in the Imperial Senate.[9] By 14 BBY,[40] the fifth year of the Empire's reign, Yularen had been appointed the head liaison between the ISB and its main rival, the Naval Intelligence Agency, and was responsible for ensuring cooperation between the Empire's different intelligence agencies.[9]
During this time, he personally reviewed the reports of Naval Intelligence operative Commander Gallius Rax, bypassing NIA Vice Admirals Dodd Rancit and Terrinald Screed.[3] Along with his direct superior, Harus Ison, he represented the ISB on Coruscant when Moff Wilhuff Tarkin arrived to give his report about the attack on Sentinel Base. As the Berch Teller campaign progressed, he continued to play an active role in the Imperial response from Coruscant, conferring with both Tarkin and the Joint Chiefs of the Imperial Military. After the death of Vice Admiral Rancit at Carida, the Emperor promoted Yularen to replace his rival's former role as head of the NIA when it was folded under Imperial Intelligence, with the position of Deputy Director.[9] In this role, he continued to receive Gallius Rax's top-secret intelligence reports, which were marked "eyes only" for himself.[3]
The rising Rebellion[]
Response to Aldhani[]
New regulations[]
- "We will be invoking the Public Order Resentencing Directive later today. P-O-R-D. Any criminal act, with even indirect effect on the Empire, will henceforth be branded a Class One Offense."
- ―Wullf Yularen, to supervisors of the ISB
In 5 BBY,[41] by which time Yularen had become ISB Director while retaining his rank of colonel,[42] the Galactic Empire started to notice several signs of rebellion against its reign.[43] For example, during that year,[44] a rebel infiltration team stole the quarterly payroll for an Imperial sector from the planet Aldhani's Imperial headquarters. As the heist's shockwave reached Coruscant,[45] Yularen spoke with Emperor Palpatine, who gave the ISB direct control of operations going forward and informed him of an impending emergency session of the Senate. The following day, Yularen addressed the ISB board[12] active under the Investigations department[42] to relay that, while the Aldhani heist's perpetrators might think they took the Empire by surprise, the Empire would respond with eagerness he hoped would prove to be the real shock. He announced the Empire would levy a tribute tax on any sector harboring partisan activity five times the amount stolen from Aldhani and that using any local custom, festival, or tradition as a cover for rebel activity would result in a permanent revocation of Imperial tolerance.[12]
Yularen informs the ISB about Emperor's Palpatine proactive measures following the heist on Aldhani.
Upon relaying the particulars of his and Emperor Palpatine's meeting, Yularen informed the board that they would no longer have any difficulty in gaining access to Army or Naval resources henceforth. He continued that the Emperor would propose a legislative package of bills and amendments during the upcoming emergency session that would grant the ISB unlimited powers of surveillance, search, and seizure, and that the Senate would be invoking the Public Order Resentencing Directive, which stated that any criminal act with indirect effect on the Empire would be classified as a Class One offense. Yularen carried on that all prison sentences were to be re-evaluated and all outstanding fines to be paid in full. Meanwhile, an upset Supervisor Dedra Meero listened. Following the meeting's conclusion, Meero spoke with her attendant, Heert, privately in her office, wherein she expressed her concerns that the Empire's new policies were playing into the rebels' hands: the Empire was treating the Aldhani heist as a robbery when it was, in fact, an announcement.[12]
A presentation from Dedra Meero[]
- "This is an Imperial Starpath unit. It was stolen from the Steergard Naval yard last year. We don't know when it was taken because Steergard was afraid to disclose its theft and thought they could hide its absence. My full report highlights the prevalence of this problem galaxy-wide."
"I'm listening."
"This unit was found last month on Ferrix in the Morlana One Sector. The thief was a local named Cassian Andor. He was wanted for the murder of two Corporate Security officers. The Starpath was left behind as he escaped the tactical team sent in to arrest him. Andor was in the act of transferring the unit to a person we've named Axis because of his centrality to what we believe to be an organized rebel effort to acquire specialized Imperial gear." - ―Dedra and Yularen
During a meeting with Colonel Yularen, Dedra Meero began her hunt for fugitive Cassian Andor.
The following days after the Aldhani heist saw Major[12] Lio Partagaz[47] reassign the Morlani system to Meero from its previous Supervisor, Blevin. Partagaz attributed his decision to an incident on Ferrix,[12] in which the Preox-Morlana Security Inspection team failed to arrest Cassian Andor after he killed two Corpos.[48] The incident had become a point of interest for Dedra whereas a distraction for Blevin.[12] On the day she was scheduled to give a report to the ISB board with Yularen in attendance, Meero interviewed former Pre-Mor Deputy Inspector Syril Karn about his involvement in the Ferrix incident. Afterward, Meero presented to Yularen and the rest of the ISB board a N-S9 Starpath Unit that had been stolen from the Imperial Naval Yard on Steergard the year prior. She reported that Steergard, like other worlds, had engaged in hiding the theft of stolen Imperial equipment. Intrigued, Yularen told Dedra he was listening.[46]
Dedra continued that the Starpath Unit had been discovered on Ferrix after the incident, that Andor was the apparent thief, and that he was in the process of transferring the unit to a person she identified as "Axis," believing him to be a central point in an organized rebel effort based on stealing Imperial equipment. Reading the list of supplies Meero requested aloud, Yularen commented that it was "quite a wishlist," but Meero assured him that they were all ready to go and that, if any Ferrixian knew something about "Axis," they needed to listen. Yularen pointed out that it was a rather large investment. Meero, however, asserted that such an investment was a fraction of the cost of lost technology. Surprised, Yularen asked what her plan was, to which she replied that the ISB needed to figure out who "Axis" was and that Ferrix was their first and best lead. Partagaz added that Meero had persuaded him that, despite not knowing his identity or region of influence, "Axis" had already caused enough disarray. Dedra declared that Ferrix was "Axis"' first mistake and that what she wanted was to drill down, find Andor, and start a hunt.[46] The hunt for Andor went awry: a riot broke out on Ferrix and Andor managed to evade Imperial capture while both sides suffered immense casualties.[49]
The Spectres[]
- "The Imperial Security Bureau pays attention to patterns. When the Empire's operations are targeted on an ongoing basis, it could signify something more than the theft of a few crates. It could signify the spark of rebellion. Next time they make a move, we'll be waiting for them, to snuff out that spark before it catches fire."
- ―Kallus on the Spectres
Alexander Kallus was a star pupil of the Colonel, and would pursue a key group of insurgents during the early Rebellion era
In the same year,[41] another rebel group who caused significant trouble for the Empire was known as the Spectres. During an operation on Kessel, Imperial Security Bureau Agent Alexsandr Kallus, Yularen's "star pupil" from the Imperial Academy, came into conflict with this crew. Kallus would fight against these rebels for a significant amount of time, and Yularen would frequently check on Kallus' progress and career.[43]
Nightswan's campaign[]
Visiting the Alisandre Hotel[]
Yularen attending the Ascension Week ball at the Alisandre Hotel
Following the Dromedar hijacking, Colonel Yularen accompanied the Lothal Senator Domus Renking, the Chiss Senior Lieutenant Thrawn and Ensign Eli Vanto during an Ascension Week ball at the Alisandre Hotel on Coruscant. Renking introduced Yularen and his colleagues to one of his aides Arihnda Pryce, who worked at one of Renking's citizen assistance offices. Yularen recounted the story of how Thrawn and Vanto single-handedly captured a pirate ship and most of its crew, and saved a valuable shipment of tibanna gas. While Thrawn was modest about his achievements, Yularen pointed out that Thrawn and his crew were outnumbered by the pirates. When Yularen asked Vanto if he was stating the case, Vanto replied in the affirmative but remained despondent about his lack of promotion.[51]
While making conversation with Renking and Pryce, Yularen announced that he had to leave to attend to business with "friends in high places." Before leaving, Yularen took care to introduce Thrawn to other Imperial officials and senators. Another ulterior motive of Yularen's social call was to help Thrawn build connections with sympathetic civilian officials in order to counterweight the High Command in the event they decided to court martial Thrawn for his ingenious but unorthodox tactics on the Dromedar. Thrawn and Yularen then discussed the matter that twelve of the tibanna cylinders recovered aboard the Dromear had been emptied. Yularen deduced that the insurgent leader Nevil Cygni, who was the insurgent leader Nightswan, had somehow found a way to get the gas out of the cylinders. While Thrawn was upset, Yularen reassured the Chiss that he would be welcome in the Imperial Security Bureau in the event that the Navy did not want him. Fortunately for Thrawn, he was cleared by the court martial panel, and was subsequently promoted to Captain.[51]
Yinchom Dojo and Higher Skies[]
- "Don't worry about Higher Skies. Whatever is there, we'll find it."
- ―Colonel Wullf Yularen
Colonel Yularen with Captain Thrawn and Ensign Vanto investigated the Yinchom Dojo.
Continuing their investigation into Nightswan's campaign, Captain Thrawn and Ensign Vanto visited Colonel Yularen's office to seek his help on investigating the wily Nightswan. Yularen shared Thrawn's dismay that Commander Alfren Cheno had taken the fall to protect Thrawn following the Battle over Umbara. Yularen informed Thrawn that he had found multiple references to Nightswan in a range of activities including metal smuggling, antique purchases, and the instigation of protests and unrest. However, he was unable to uncover the insurgent leader's identity. Unable to discern Nightswan's motives, Yularen dismissed him as a troublemaker.[51]
Thrawn speculated that Nightswan was motivated by the usurpation of some personal or mining interests. Following the Circle Bay mayor's office protest, Yularen convinced Thrawn and Vanto to accompany him and the ISB Officers Roenton and Brook on a visit to the dojos that trained bodyguards for Imperial Senators. One of these dojos that Colonel Yularen and his comrades visited was the Yinchom Dojo, which was owned by the Togorian H'sishi. Over the past five years, thirty senators had sent their bodyguards to Yinchom Dojo for training. At the dojo, they met Pryce again, whom they had encountered earlier at the Alisandre Hotel. After losing her job with Senator Renking, Pryce had found work at the Higher Skies Advocacy Group. One of the martial art instructors Juahir Madras at the dojo was a friend of Driller MarDapp, the leader of Higher Skies. Madras was also part of Driller's spy ring, which worked for Nightswan.[51]
When H'sishi arrived, Yularen introduced himself and his companions. He also asked H'sishi whether she had record on government contracts and bodyguard training. Before H'sishi went to fetch the documents, Thrawn convinced H'sishi to engage in a sparring session with sticks. Following the visit, Thrawn related his observations of the dojo to Yularen. He noted that Instructor Madras had ignored them until H'sishi had ordered her to stop. Thrawn also explained that Pryce had alerted him about the advocacy group Higher Skies and that he had sparred with H'sishi to ascertain if she had any hostile intentions. While Thrawn cleared H'sishi of any malevolent intent, he convinced Yularen to investigate Higher Skies.[51]
Colonel Yularen investigated Higher Skies at Thrawn's urging.
Following the Yinchom visit, Thrawn secretly met with Pryce, who offered to provide the Imperials with information about Higher Skies' espionage activities in return for immunity. Thrawn agreed to petition Yularen to protect Pryce in return for spying on her colleagues. Acting under Thrawn and Yularen's instructions, Pryce baited Moff Ghadi by offering to provide him with information that Higher Skies had illegally obtained about Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. Pryce then double-crossed Ghadi by exposing Higher Skies' activities and Ghadi's attempted profiteering to Tarkin himself. In addition to granting Pryce immunity, Tarkin agreed to promote her to Governor of Lothal and to promote Thrawn's friend Vanto to Lieutenant Commander.[51]
Following Pryce's deal with Tarkin, Colonel Yularen and several ISB agents arrested members of Higher Skies and Yinchom Dojo including Juahir and the group's leader Driller MarDapp. Yularen personally arrested Juahir after one of the martial arts instructors' students, the bodyguard Kaniki, tried to assassinate Senator Evidorn; after being informed about the "evils" of the Empire by Madras. When Juahir pleaded for Pryce's help, Pryce instructed her former friend to cooperate fully with Yularen in return for being spared the death penalty. However, Pryce convinced Yularen to spare H'sishi since there was no evidence of any wrongdoing on her part.[51]
The Batonn insurgency[]
- "What do you mean, push back? Where are you pushing back from?"
"At the moment, from a place called Scrim Island, three hundred kilometers west of Batonn's main continent. Five days ago, a group of insurgents overran and took command of the Imperial garrison there. They're holding at least a hundred hostages, mostly navy troopers and techs, but also some civilian workers. They have full control of the island's energy shield, its shoreline defenses, and three of its ion cannons." - ―Wistran and Yularen
Colonel Yularen attending the meeting called by Fleet Admiral Donassius
In 2 BBY, Colonel Yularen along with Admiral Thrawn and Commander Vanto attended a high-level meeting of Imperial Admirals and Governors chaired by Fleet Admiral Jok Donassius to discuss the Batonn insurgency. Nightswan's insurgents had taken the Imperial garrison on Scrim Island hostage. Thrawn was assigned to deal with the insurgents but insisted on studying the battle longer. Yularen sided with Thrawn and pointed out that the insurgents had disabled the base's cathtron tubes. An impatient Fleet Admiral Donassius then reassigned Scrim Island to Admiral Durril.[51]
Following the failure of Admiral Durril, Thrawn's 96th Task Force successfully defeated the Scrim Island insurgents and forced their surrender. However, several of the insurgents managed to flee to the Creekpath Mining and Refining complex where they holed themselves up. The siege of Creekpath was complicated by the presence of Governor Pryce's parents Talmoor and Elainye Pryce, who worked at the mine. Pryce managed to convince Colonel Yularen to allow her to accompany Agent Gudry on an undercover mission to disable the insurgents' deflector shield generator. Colonel Yularen briefed Thrawn about the plan and the Admiral provided the undercover agents with comms and data collectors.[51]
To ensure coordination between the Navy and the ISB, Yularen agreed to correspond with Commander Vanto on frequencies and passcodes. After briefing Vanto, Yularen asked the Commander about the unusual position of Thrawn's Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera and the rest of the task force including the disabled light cruisers. Despite the vulnerable position of the ships, Vanto urged Yularen to have faith in Thrawn's tactics. Not fully trusting Thrawn's plan, Yularen asked Vanto to keep an eye on his commanding officer and expressed concern that Thrawn had become obsessed with stopping Nightswan.[51]
Carnage at Creekpath[]
- "It was, by anyone's standards, a slaughter. I saw some horrendous things during the Clone Wars. This ranks right up there with the worst of them. […] As you can see, the number of civilian deaths far exceeded the number of insurgents killed."
- ―Yularen
In secret, Thrawn communicated with Nightswan and the two met at an empty field to discuss a peaceful solution to the siege. Despite their philosophical differences, Thrawn offered to provide Nightswan a means to join the Chiss Ascendancy to safeguard the galaxy against threats from the Unknown Regions. Unwillingly to abandon his men to the tender mercies of Governor Restos, Nightswan declined Thrawn's offer but convinced the Admiral to do his best to minimize civilian casualties at Creekpath. Following the meeting, Yularen picked up Thrawn in his airspeeder and asked Thrawn why he should not shoot him as a traitor.[51]
In private, Thrawn reassured Yularen that he was only trying to seek a peaceful outcome to the Creekpath siege. After being assured of Thrawn's loyalty, Yularen questioned him about the placement of the four light cruisers. Thrawn explained that he had positioned them at a distance so that they would be out of range of any surface attack. When Yularen expressed concern that the light cruisers' positions left them vulnerable to attack, Thrawn responded that this was to prevent theft. Not understanding Thrawn's tactics, Yularen chided Thrawn for his lack of political savvy. Yularen also expressed concern about not receiving any contact from Pryce and Gudry.[51]
Unknown to Yularen, Pryce and Gudry had fallen out. With Gundry reneging on his promise to evacuate Pryce's parents, Pryce had killed him following a struggle. Meanwhile, Colonel Yularen dispatched a special squad to retrieve the two, believing they were in danger. Pryce and her family reached the Imperial lines safely, where they took shelter at Major Talmege's headquarters. Despite the presence of Yularen's special squad and many civilians, Pryce used Gudry's stolen remote to detonate Nightswan's cache of explosives. While this ended the threat of Nightswan's insurgents, many civilians were killed. In space, Thrawn successfully used the four light cruisers as a bait to lure the insurgent fleet into a trap.[51]
Yularen reports on the devastation of the Creekpath facility
Following the breaking of the Creekpath siege, Yularen expressed outrage at the high civilian death toll and likened the incident to the Clone Wars. While official reports theorized that Gudry had detonated the explosives to prevent his capture, Yularen blamed Pryce indirectly for the bombing; unaware that she was directly responsible of the incident. Yularen's forces also found and identified Nightswan's corpse. Yularen and Vanto then departed so that Pryce could talk with Thrawn in private. Pryce convinced Thrawn to take responsibility for the suppression of the Batonn insurgency in return for securing the command of the Seventh Fleet. Thrawn reluctantly obliged and was promoted to the rank of Grand Admiral by the Emperor.[51]
Hunt for Fulcrum[]
- "I would never have suspected one of my best students was capable of this betrayal."
"And that is why you and so many others have been deceived." - ―Yularen and Thrawn, discussing Agent Kallus
Much later, Yularen was invited by Thrawn to help identify a rebel spy who operated under the codename Fulcrum. As part of the screening process, Yularen questioned several Imperial officers on the Sector Command staff in the Lothal sector aboard Thrawn's flagship Chimaera including Captain Brunson, Commander Brom Titus, Lieutenant Yogar Lyste, and his former student Agent Kallus. Lyste and Kallus boarded Thrawn's Imperial Star Destroyer with a captured bounty hunter, who turned out to be the rebel Ezra Bridger.[10]
During a meeting with Kallus and Lyste, Yularen urged his comrades to remain vigilant for any sign of rebel activity. Thrawn also informed the attendees that he was close to locating the Phoenix Cell's Chopper Base on the planet Atollon. After exiting the meeting, Yularen chatted with Kallus about the identity of Fulcrum. Kallus claimed that the rebel spy was definitely an officer since it was a high level intelligence leak and suggested someone in the Communications Division. However, Yularen believed that was too obvious and suspected that Fulcrum had their own communication system. Kallus also promised to help his former mentor. During a private meeting with Thrawn and Pryce, Thrawn voiced his suspicion that the spy had attended their interviews. When Colonel Yularen reported that a coded message had been beamed off the Chimaera following the arrival of Lyste and Kallus' prisoner. Yularen then accompanied Thrawn and Pryce to interrogate the prisoner.[10]
Yularen with Thrawn aboard the ISD Chimaera
Upon arriving in the Chimaera's detention block, Yularen and his comrades discovered that the prisoner had been freed. After Yularen found that the records had indicated that someone using Yogar Lyste's code cylinder was the last person to enter the brig, Yularen came to suspect that Lyste was Fulcrum. After Thrawn narrowly survived an assassination attempt in his office, Yularen was contacted by the Grand Admiral who told him to head towards the hangar with stormtrooper reinforcements. Yularen arrived too late to apprehend the rebels but accepted Kallus' account that Lyste was the rebel spy Fulcrum. Despite Lyste's protests, Yularen ordered his stormtroopers to lead the Lieutenant away.[10]
Publicly, Yularen regarded Lyste's code cylinder as proof of the officer's guilt. After Kallus and Pryce had exited Thrawn's office, Yularen privately confided his doubts about Lyste's guilt to the Grand Admiral. Thrawn agreed and then presented Yularen with Ezra's helmet, which was inscribed with an image of a loth-cat. When Yularen asked Thrawn why Kallus had withheld Ezra's identity, Thrawn concluded that Kallus was indeed Fulcrum and had framed Lyste to cover his tracks. Yularen expressed shock that one of his former pupils was a traitor, which prompted Thrawn to remark that Yularen had allowed his fondness for his former pupil to deceive him. With Fulcrum "officially" captured, Thrawn decided to allow Kallus to continue operating in order to lure the rebels out of hiding.[10]
Liberation of Lothal[]
- "This is ISB Colonel Yularen. I am executing override code Base Gamma Zero."
"Imperial security? I was unaware ISB was involved."
"That is the point of this exercise."
"Then, uh, this is a drill?"
"Is it? And do you always question the orders of a superior officer?"
"Proceeding with Protocol 13 immediately." - ―Ryder Azadi impersonates Yularen
An impersonation of Yularens voice granted the Rebels access to the Imperial Complex on Lothal.
In 1 BBY, during the Liberation of Lothal, the former Lothalian Governor Ryder Azadi impersonated Colonel Yularen in order to force a skeptical Imperial office to comply with a faux Protocol 13 order. Due to Yularen's prestige within the Empire, the ploy worked. As a result, the entire Imperial garrison on Lothal was trapped aboard the Dome, a mobile Imperial Planetary Occupation Facility. In the ensuing conflict, the Rebels emerged victorious, resulting in the destruction of the garrison and the disappearance of Thrawn and his Seventh Fleet, ultimately ending Imperial rule on Lothal.[52] The Empire would face further defeats within that year, with the theft of the Death Star's technical readouts by agents of the Alliance to Restore the Republic during a battle on Scarif.[53] One key agent in the effort was Cassian Andor, the individual Yularen and the ISB had attempted to capture five years earlier.[46]
Final days aboard the Death Star[]
- "The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I've just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away."
- ―Grand Moff Tarkin reports the Senate's dissolution to the Joint Chiefs and Yularen
Yularen (left) during a meeting with the Joint Chiefs.
Following the Battle of Scarif, Colonel Yularen and other key members of the Death Star's command staff—including Tarkin, Motti, and General Tagge—met in a conference room to discuss the current state of the Empire and the security of the battle station. The colonel remained silent for the majority of the meeting, watching quietly as Motti and Tagge bickered over the threat that the Rebel Alliance posed to the Empire's military. Even when Tarkin arrived with the news that the Emperor had dissolved the Imperial Senate, Yularen remained stoic. He continued to watch the meeting progress, listening as the others discussed the whereabouts of the stolen Death Star plans and sitting calmly as Darth Vader—Yularen's onetime Jedi commander, the former Anakin Skywalker—choked Motti into submission for his disbelief in the powers of the Force.[7]
Yularen and another intelligence officer aboard the Death Star
Some time following the meeting, the Death Star was infiltrated by a makeshift group of soon-to-be-Rebels, including smuggler pilot Han Solo, his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca, and Vader's secret son, future Jedi Luke Skywalker, as part of an attempted rescue of Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, who had been captured after attempting to deliver the stolen Death Star plans to the Rebel Alliance. As part of their infiltration, Solo and Skywalker disguised themselves as stormtroopers and pretended to escort Chewbacca to the detention block where the Princess was being held. While the trio waited for a turbolift that would take them to the prison level, Yularen and another ISB officer passed by them, oblivious of their true identities.[7]
Skywalker's mission proved successful; the Princess was rescued and successfully evacuated to the Rebel base on Yavin 4. However, a tracking device planted aboard Solo's freighter allowed the Death Star to follow them to the Yavin system. The Alliance launched an attack on the battlestation, determined to destroy it. Skywalker, piloting a T-65 X-wing starfighter, proved successful in this task—his pair of proton torpedoes reached the Death Star's reactor core and detonated, obliterating the station. Colonel Wullf Yularen was killed in the resulting explosion.[7]
Legacy[]
- "I mean…think about who we lost. The repercussions are going to be pretty horrifying. Some of the Empire's top people were on that station. Grand Moff Tarkin. Colonel Yularen. So many good men and women. The Empire would have been better off if others had made it instead of me. I'm just a TIE pilot."
- ―Iden Versio, to Gideon Hask
Not long after the Battle of Yavin, Senior Lieutenant Iden Versio and Lieutenant Junior Grade Gideon Hask reflected on the Death Star's destruction, with Versio noting that Yularen was one of the Empire's top personnel lost when the station was destroyed, feeling that it would have been better had Yularen survived instead of a TIE fighter pilot.[54] While searching the Hall of Imperial Register on Coruscant[3] in 5 ABY,[55] after discovering that the Emperor's personal Super Star Destroyer Eclipse had disappeared, Grand Admiral Rae Sloane found an image crystal showing a still image of Palpatine and several Imperial personnel, including Yularen.[3]
Personality and traits[]
- "We cannot expect reliable intelligence to come from someone willing to work for the highest bidder. That their loyalty is up for sale to begin with should tell you all you need to know about this scum."
- ―Wullf Yularen
Even by the outbreak of the Clone Wars, Wullf Yularen was regarded by his peers as a crisp, efficient veteran naval officer. Despite his disagreements with the brash and reckless General Skywalker, he held a sacred respect for the chain of command, a trait which made him assist his Jedi General in any way he could.[4] Indeed, the man was most often a by-the-book soldier, but he was not above expressing, an albeit begrudging, respect for Skywalker. He showed such a respect for Skywalker when his general used unorthodox tactics to outmaneuver Admiral Trench,[57] whom Yularen had previously expressed doubt about their ability to defeat.[13]
Colonel Yularen was a highly skilled and level-headed investigator.
Colonel Yularen respected the Chiss Imperial Navy officer Thrawn's creativity and ingenious tactics enough to consider him worthy of joining the Imperial Security Bureau. Knowing that Thrawn was an outsider in a xenophobic Imperial Military, Yularen went out of his way to cultivate civilian allies for the alien officer. Still, Yularen was disturbed by Thrawn's unorthodox tactics and willingness to negotiate with the enemy. While Yularen recognized that Thrawn cared about avoiding excessive civilian casualties, he warned Thrawn that his attempt to negotiate with Nightswan could be misconstrued as treason. As a member of the ISB, Yularen actively led Imperial counterinsurgency efforts against undercover insurgents. As a veteran of the Clone Wars, Yularen was horrified by the high civilian death toll during the siege of Creekpath mine, which brought back dark memories of that conflict.[51]
Yularen's position as the ISB director and colonel mapped to his prior rank of fleet admiral.[42] Yularen took pride in the achievements of one of his former pupils Agent Kallus, a promising Imperial Security Bureau Agent. Yularen's investigative skills led Thrawn to enlist his help in exposing the rebel spy Fulcrum. Yularen's trust and respect in Kallus led him to overlook the ISB agent as a suspect. Kallus manipulated Yularen's trust by fabricating evidence which implicated another officer Lieutenant Yogar Lyste. While Yularen privately doubted that Lyste was Fulcrum, he was initially convinced by the presence of Lyste's cylinder code. Yularen was shocked that Kallus could become a traitor to the Empire.[10]
Behind the scenes[]
Wullf Yularen first appeared as an unnamed background character in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.[7] Fan websites have attempted to identify the actor who portrayed him. The fan website Aveleyman once said he had been portrayed by "Robert Clarke"[58] and then possibly "Robert Carrick."[source?] Ann Skinner's continuity notes included "Robin Clarke" as an actor potraying an Imperial officer, but the secondary source Star Wars Aficionado did not indicate if that name is associated with Yularen's role.[59] Yularen would later be adopted by the 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars film as a recurring character. In that film, the subsequent television series, and the Star Wars Rebels television series, he was voiced by Tom Kane.[6][20][10] The character returned to live-action for the first time in 45 years in the television series Andor, portrayed by Malcolm Sinclair.[12]
In their commentary, the creators of The Clone Wars film describe how they were under the assumption that Yularen had been a Grand Admiral during the time of Episode IV, given his white uniform. As such, they opted to portray Yularen as an Admiral, as a means of showing him in the process of rising through the ranks.[60]
In the 2015 reference book Ultimate Star Wars, Yularen is indicated to have been born on Anaxes,[61] with the 2021 reference book Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Character Encyclopedia - Join the Battle! specifying that he was raised there.[2] As Join the Battle! is the most recent source, this article assumes that Yularen was born on Coruscant but may have been raised on Anaxes.
In Star Wars Legends, Wullf Yularen was first identified as such in the card game Star Wars Customizable Card Game.[62] In the StarWars.com Encyclopedia and the Databank, Yularen's first name was spelled "Wulff," rather than "Wullf," as spelled in the Star Wars Customizable Card Game, thus making the new spelling part of the Star Wars canon. However, Tarkin and Ultimate Star Wars (2015), a sourcebook published by Dorling Kindersley, use the original Star Wars Legends spelling of his name. This issue was later remedied, with Yularen's Databank page being updated with the "Wullf" spelling. In the end credits of several first The Clone Wars episodes, his last name was misspelled as "Yularan."[63][64][65][66]
Timothy Zahn, author of the Thrawn trilogy in Star Wars Legends, stated that he would like to write a novel featuring Yularen, as he is his favorite background Star Wars character.[67] This was later realized in the novel Thrawn, which was released on April 11, 2017 and featured Yularen working with the titular character during his rise.[51]
