Monday, June 27, 2011

Forgotten Heros of the Empire


When Star Wars fans speak of the Empire, they invariably think of the big name bad guys: Darth Vader, General Tagge, the Emperor, and for those of you who like the new trilogy (weirdo-freaks), the Darth Mauls, Chancellor Palpatine, Jar-Jar.

But to think of the Empire in purely evil terms does a disservice to lesser known heros of the Empire; those brave men who risked death for standing up for what was right. (side note - why was everyone in the Empire a man? Was it chauvinism, or something else.... For that matter, why were they all British, too? Alas, I digress....)

Today, we celebrate one of these lesser known heros of the Empire: Chief Bast

The Chief, played by Leslie Schofeld, had apparently only one line, but it was a critical. Much like Rosencrantz and Guilderstern, his screen time was limited, but his role proved critical. For it was Chief Bast who analyzed the Rebel's plan of attack and realized that yes, there is a danger.

Was he rewarded for his initiative? No. Was his warning headed? No. Was his tact in bringing up such a delicate matter appreciated? Hell no. For his troubles, he recieved nothing but scorn a verbal lashing from General Tagge for overestimating the Rebel's chances.

We think it is time for Chief Bast to be praised for displaying the initiative, intelligence and discretion that all good officers should demonstrate. Had you only been successful in warning others of the danger, we might not ever have to have seen an Ewok.

Chief Bast: We salute you!

3 comments:

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Anonymous said...

First, I'm going to go into nerd mode for a sec - It was actually Grand Moff Tarkin who gave Bast grief over evacuating, not General Tagge.

Anyways, I'm actually posting because some sources claim that he was one of the few survivors of the Death Star. It's a contentious thing - some licensed material confirms him as still alive, while the continuity guy has said he's dead. For one, I like to think that Chief Bast made it, 'cause, frankly, if anyone on there deserved to survive, he did.

Jim Miller said...

Thanks for the correction on the Grand Moff Tarkin. My mistake!

I have never heard the rumor that he survived. I always lived under the assumption that Darth Vader was the only survivor, though I think it makes it more interesting if some others did make it, like Bast. It would have made for some interesting back stories, I think.