Kren Blista-Vanee

"Anything to please your Eminence."

―Kren Blista-Vanee^[5]

Kren Blista-Vanee was a prominent advisor to Emperor Palpatine and a member of the Imperial Inner Circle during the Galactic Civil War. Blista-Vanee was an important figure alongside the likes of Bregius Golthan and Alec Pradeux. A socialite and connoisseur of fine art, he lived in a sizable, lavishly decorated high-rise mansion on Imperial Center, where he often held parties for the planet's elite.

In 3 ABY, Blista-Vanee and several other advisors presided over the New Year Fete Week ceremonies in the Emperor's absence, with Palpatine busy in the Deep Core. Blista-Vanee was one of six advisors who accompanied Palpatine to the second Death Star in 4 ABY, while the Sith Lord oversaw the superweapon's construction. During the ensuing Battle of Endor, Blista-Vanee was killed when the Death Star was destroyed by the Rebel Alliance.

Biography[]

Advisor to the Emperor[]

A Human male, Kren Blista-Vanee was an advisor to Galactic Emperor Palpatine during the Galactic Civil War, and a member of the Imperial Inner Circle, a collection of governors and ministers who had earned the sovereign's favor.^[3] Blista-Vanee himself was loyal and subservient to Palpatine, willing to backstab those who questioned his master's authority.^[7] The advisor's roles were myriad, from simple administrative duties,^[5] to conferring with the Emperor,^[3] to officiating at ceremonies.^[8] The Dark Lord ensured that his advisors constantly fought amongst each other to keep them in check, as well as to prevent them from forming alliances. To this end, he tried to keep them separated, sending each on various non-essential missions throughout the galaxy. Palpatine also maintained a select group of a dozen or so in-favor advisors, who frequently met with him and accompanied him off Coruscant; Blista-Vanee was among this group during the Galactic Civil War. With hordes of lesser advisors hoping to take their places, however, those in the circle of favored advisors were insecure of their positions.^[5]

Blista-Vanee was also a prominent socialite, as well as an avid art collector. He owned a lavish mansion on Coruscant, which had giant transparisteel windows for walls and possessed a much-praised view of the planet's skyline. From here, Blista-Vanee threw elaborate galas and parties.^[9]

Emperor Palpatine was unable to attend the festivities for the New Year Fete Week^[8] of 3 ABY,^[10] as he was attending to business in the Deep Core. A number of advisors were chosen to officiate most of the ceremonies in his absence, one of the most prominent among them Lord Blista-Vanee, alongside the likes of the Advisors Alec Pradeux and Bregius Golthan, and Grand Vizier Sate Pestage. It was the second year running that Palpatine failed to attend the festivities, and other notables, such as^[8] Supreme Commander^[11] Darth Vader, Grand Admiral Rufaan Tigellinus, and Admiral Thrawn, were also conspicuously absent. The Emperor's advisors were quick to play this fact down, claiming that the upkeep of the Empire required round-the-year work.^[8]

The second Death Star[]

"I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for this appointment. You are a competent overseer, but certainly not the sort to whom the Emperor entrusts vital tasks."

―Blista-Vanee, to Jerjerrod^[12]

Inner circle — Blista-Vanee and his fellow advisors aboard the second Death Star

Several months later, the famous Brentaalan opera The Kallea Cycle made its debut on Coruscant; to commemorate, Blista-Vanee held a gala at his Coruscant residence. The Imperial advisor invited the upper echelons of Coruscant's elite society, including Lady Amber Comark; Imperial Grand Admiral Miltin Takel; and Mayli Weng, representative of the Exotic Entertainers' Union. Other, seedier elements of Coruscanti society were also invited, such as spice-dealer Wendell Wright-Sims, who had many upper-class clients, including Takel and Weng.^[9]

Around this time, Blista-Vanee, Pradeux and Golthan were in a waiting hall of the Imperial Palace when Tiaan Jerjerrod, the Moff of the Quanta sector, arrived for a meeting with Palpatine that neither of the advisors knew of. The three advisors disliked being left out of the loop, and waited for Jerjerrod to emerge, mocking him. Blista-Vanee brusquely stated that while Jerjerrod was competent, the moff couldn't be relied upon to carry out an important job. Jerjerrod simply informed them that he had been appointed the director of the newly formed Imperial Energy Systems. In actual fact, Jerjerrod had been appointed as the overseer of the construction of the second Death Star in the Endor system. Palpatine wanted to keep the operation secret, and chose Jerjerrod because he was unlikely to become overly ambitious like the men in charge of the first Death Star had been.^[13]

In 4 ABY,^[1] Palpatine traveled to the Endor system to personally inspect Jerjerrod's progress, taking with him a number of close advisors, including Blista-Vanee, Janus Greejatus, and Sim Aloo. Lord Vader, had already visited Commander Jerjerrod, voicing the Emperor's displeasure at the lack of progress. Palpatine, Blista-Vanee and the other dignitaries arrived aboard the Death Star on a Lambda-class shuttle, and were greeted by a procession of Imperials, including Vader and Jerjerrod. The Emperor decided to stay aboard the station for a time, ostensibly to oversee progress. Aloo and Greejatus later left the other advisors to consult with Palpatine in his throne room.^[4] While Blista-Vanee and the others were stationed aboard the Death Star,^[14] it was attacked by the Alliance to Restore the Republic. During the engagement, the battlestation was destroyed,^[15] and Blista-Vanee was killed along with the other dignitaries aboard.^[2]

Personality and traits[]

Kren Blista-Vanee was a Human^[3] male, tall, thin,^[14] and exceedingly pale. He stood at a height of 1.6 meters,^[5] weighed 76 kilograms,^[6] and styled himself as "His Eminence, Kren Blista-Vanee, Imperial Advisor To Our Most August Emperor."^[9] Like his fellow advisors, he generally wore lavish, dark costumes derived from the history of his homeworld, and he carried with him a hold-out blaster. A skilled linguist,^[5] he was extremely loyal to the Emperor, merciless in dispatching the Sith Lord's enemies^[7] and more than content to backstab any of his fellow advisors.^[5]

Blista-Vanee was also sneering and contemptuous toward those he considered lower to himself, such as Moff Jerjerrod. Not one to mince words, he spoke his mind to his subordinates without restraint. Like most of the other Imperial advisors, Blista-Vanee prided himself on being informed about all happenings within the Imperial Palace, and he was annoyed at the fact that Jerjerrod met with Palpatine without Blista-Vanee's knowledge.^[13]

Blista-Vanee's position in the Empire afforded him considerable wealth, and he owned a vast residence on Coruscant, with a large entrance hall whose walls were made of transparisteel, providing a much-lauded view of the planet's skyline, and an honor guard. He was considered a cultured man, an aficionado of the arts and the opera. His mansion on Coruscant contained a substantial art collection, and he held a gala to commemorate the arrival of the Kallea Cycle on Imperial Center.^[9]

Skills and abilities[]

Blista-Vanee was knowledgeable in alien species, bureaucracy, intimidation, and languages.^[16]

Equipment[]

Blista-Vanee wore traditional planetary garb and utilized a hold-out blaster.^[16]

Behind the scenes[]

"On Jedi, one of the most exciting things from a design point of view was the advisers who surround the Emperor. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what they might look like because I thought it was important that through them you might understand what the Emperor's world is like. Coming from a Catholic background, I sort of made a joke, and that's why they look like bishops. So they wear red, and they have elaborate headgear. This was a challenge because it wasn't in the script, and you see them only briefly in the movie."

―Nilo Rodis-Jamero, on the designs of Kren Blista-Vanee and the other Imperial advisors^[17]

Kren Blista-Vanee first appeared in the novelization for the original trilogy film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi,^[18] published May 12, 1983,^[19] shortly before he appeared in the film itself,^[4] released May 25 of that same year,^[20] where he was portrayed by an unidentified actor. He was barely visible onscreen,^[4] but he and his fellow Imperial advisors posed for a promotional picture which has been reused in numerous sources.^[3]^[21] The outfits for all the Imperial advisors were designed by Nilo Rodis-Jamero, who took inspiration from the outfits of Catholic bishops.^[17]

Michael Stern's Galaxy Guide 5: Return of the Jedi, published in 1990, provided the name "Kren Blista-Vanee" in a sample Imperial advisor template, but the character was not definitively linked with any of the advisors appearing in Return of the Jedi. Two advisors are pictured on the same page as the sample template,^[5] but later sources have established them to be Janus Greejatus and Sim Aloo.^[22]^[23] In the sourcebook's 1995 second edition, an image of Aloo was also used on the same page as the template for Kren Blista-Vanee.^[24] Kren Blista-Vanee was properly identified as one of the hitherto unnamed advisors from Return of the Jedi in 2003 with the release of a Hasbro action figure of the character.^[7]