Demetrius Zaarin was one of the very first Grand Admirals promoted to the rank, two years before the Battle of Yavin. He led the Empire’s research and development team for starfighter technology. In that role he helped create the TIE Advanced and the TIE Defender, a starfighter credited to Grand Admiral Thrawn in canon stories. Despite his status within the Empire, Zaarin sought more power, and attempted to overthrow the Emperor himself. He allied himself with Arden Lyn, one of Palpatine’s Force-sensitive agents, to successfully capture the Emperor over Coruscant. But the coup was stopped by Darth Vader and then Vice Admiral Thrawn. He fled the Chiss and his forces all the way into the Unknown Regions, where his ship malfunctioned and exploded. Thrawn was promoted to the rank of Grand Admiral as Zaarin’s replacement. #starwars