Admiral Ackbar

Admiral Ackbar
Homeworld	Dac
Species	Mon Calamari
Gender	Male
Height	1.8 meters
Hair Color	None
Eye Color	Orange
Affiliation	Rebel Alliance, Alliance of Free Planets, New Republic, Galactic Alliance

Admiral Ackbar (44 BBY–30 ABY) was a Mon Calamari, and perhaps the finest military commander in the service of the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic. However, unlike many career officers, he was unable to play the political game, relying on his trusted friend Mon Mothma to cover him. When Mon Mothma retired from political service, Admiral Ackbar found severe difficulties in facing the political realities of high command, though he did have an ally in Leia Organa Solo, Mothma's successor. Admiral Ackbar held the distinction of having been the Supreme Commander of the New Republic Defense Force for nearly two decades and defeating two Imperial Grand Admirals, Osvald Teshik and Peccati Syn. He wrote the manual for the New Republic Fleet Academy, titled 'Fleet Combat and Methodology'.

Biography

Ackbar was, for a time, enslaved to Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, where it appeared that he learned much about the art and skill of command. Rebel forces later rescued him, and he swiftly rose through the ranks, finally achieving the rank of Admiral after his role in the Shantipole Project, was a secret project to develop the Verpine designed B-wing starfighter. Mon Mothma, noticing the skills of Ackbar, named him Supreme Commander of the Rebel Fleet and head of all Rebel military operations. In terms of tactics, he is most well known for his audacious, close-range assaults first seen at the Battle of Endor. He fought numerous campaigns against the Galactic Empire, and numerous splinter warlord groups. His successes in the Mid and Inner Rim paved the way for the eventual liberation of the Core, which Ackbar personally commanded. At Kashyyyk he outfought Grand Admiral Syn, vaporizing his flagship and defeating his fleet. Ackbar commanded the fleet that liberated Coruscant from the Empire. He weathered the political manipulations of Borsk Fey'lya and an attempt at framing him for treason masterminded by Grand Admiral Thrawn. His niece Jesmin Ackbar fought in Wraith Squadron alongside Wedge Antilles, however she died in combat. As the New Republic grew stronger, Ackbar took a less active role in the day to day fighting against the remnants of the Empire, though he continued to personally lead major campaigns and assaults.

One of his greatest victories was the defeat of Imperial Remnant forces shortly before the Corellian crisis. Commanding the Third and Fifth fleets from the bridge of the captured SSD Guardian, Ackbar managed to reduce the Imperial Navy drastically, forcing Pellaeon to retreat and shrinking the size of the Imperial Remnant to just eight sectors. This victory is credited with convincing the Remnant to pursue peace with the New Republic. He retired five years after peace was signed with the Imperial Remnant, when his old rival Fey'lya was elected Chief of State. However, senior members of the Defense Force (including Dif Scaur, Etahn A'baht, Traest Kre'fey, and Sien Sovv, Ackbar's replacement) managed to ensure that Ackbar recieved a number of important analyses.

When the Yuuzhan Vong invasion came, Ackbar was in very poor health. As he explained, there was nothing specifically wrong with him, just age and the strain he had put on himself during the Galactic Civil War. But he was still fully cognizant. When the New Republic relocated to Mon Calamari, he pulled himself out of retirement, to plan a trap against those forces in the Deep Core. That plan, which culminated in the Battle of Ebaq 9, was highly successful. In addition to being a legitimate strategic victory, was crucial in restoring morale after the losses suffered in the invasion. Near the very end of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, Ackbar died of natural causes, to the great grief of the Mon Calamari and the Galactic Alliance. A grand memorial service was held on both the newly reclaimed Coruscant and his watery homeworld, attended by countless Mon Calamari and numerous dignitaries from across the Galactic Alliance.

Behind the scenes

Admiral Ackbar was played by Timothy M. Rose in Return of the Jedi.

For SomethingAwful.com, LUELinks.net and Fark.com users, Ackbar has risen to level of Photoshop cliché, often used with the phrase "it's a trap!" or a variation thereof. The basis for this cliché is "Next time you watch Return of the Jedi, note that all Ackbar wants to do, from the minute the assault on the Death Star begins, is leave." "It's a trap!" became so overused that any use of either the phrase, or Ackbar's image, was banned from SomethingAwful.

Ackbar, however, ordered a retreat just once, when it was revealed that the Death Star II was operational. Also, the risk of the entire Alliance fleet being eliminated by the superiorly numbered and armed Imperial fleet was more than enough reason to withdraw.