Erling Tredway

Erling Tredway was born around 24 BBY on his family's estate located on 24 Tredway, an asteroid within the Sil'Lume asteroid belt. Erling was the son of Axton Tredway and a businesswoman from the asteroid belt. Erling's father was a Jedi Knight and was friends with Anakin Skywalker, one of his fellow Jedi. Axton respected Skywalker above all other Jedi, and he introduced him to his family. As a young boy, Erling and his sister, Dena, became familiar with Skywalker. However, both Skywalker and Erling's father were eventually called away to fight in the Clone Wars. When Axton returned to 24 Tredway following the war's conclusion, he was severely depressed, greatly affected by the fighting. As a young boy, Erling was unable to understand the change in his father's demeanor. Shortly thereafter, 24 Tredway was attacked by the Galactic Empire, who was hunting for Axton. To protect his family, Erling's father departed their asteroid home, but the Imperials continued to harass the Tredways. As the Empire tirelessly searched for Axton, Erling began to resent his father for not protecting them and driving the Imperials away.

When Axton returned to 24 Tredway briefly, Erling confronted his father and told him of how much he hated him for not protecting his family. Axton was stirred by his son's words, and he resolved to flee no longer. When the Imperials came again to his asteroid home, Axton fought and defeated them. However, shortly afterwards, the Empire's greatest warrior, Darth Vader, arrived and killed Axton, leaving Erling fatherless. Although his father was a Jedi, Erling lost his faith in the power of the Force, due to its inability to defeat the Imperials and his father's death. Erling had also held out hope that Skywalker would come to rescue them, but when he did not appear, his resentment for the Jedi only grew. Without his father, Erling and Dena grew up under their mother's care. The death of her husband led Erling's mother to withdraw from galactic affairs. Seeing what had happened to those that opposed the Empire, she allied the mining business on 24 Tredway to the Empire. Under his mother's supervision, 24 Tredway became the most profitable outfit in the Sil'Lume asteroid belt.

Despite his disillusionment with the Force, Erling still had a hatred for the Galactic Empire, and when he was old enough, he attempted to join the Rebel Alliance. However, his commission was refused by Rebel leader, Mon Mothma herself. Erling was greatly discouraged by this turn of events, but unknown to him, his commission had been refused because Mothma had a greater purpose in store for him. Using his sister, Dena, Mothma had learned that the Tredway siblings had inherited Force-sensitivity from their father and along with it, the ability of instinctive astrogation. This ability allowed them to divine hyperspace coordinates through the Force, an ability that would allow the Alliance to find new bases with ease. To test her brother's abilities and show Mothma how much use he could be to the Alliance, Dena convinced Erling to find worlds that were outside the Empire's sphere of influence, under the guise that they were expanding their mining business. Around the same time, the Tredways became friends with the Ithorian Doctor, Ire Eleazari, who was on the run from the Empire after being framed by a fellow Ithorian, Oosea.

Despite agreeing to work with his sister, Erling had other priorities. Determined to show that he could fight the Empire on his own terms, he started a local rebel movement within the Sil'Lume asteroid belt. Using his innate charisma and charm, Erling spoke of passive resistance to the Empire. Erling taught his followers that violence against the Empire was in itself evil and encouraged his followers to resist the Empire but to not fight back. Although his lessons were derided as those of a coward by some individuals, many people flocked to his message, particularly the pacifist Pada species. The rebel movement became popular enough that it attracted the attention of Governor-General Sebastian Parnell. The undue attention from the Empire caused Erling's mother to threaten to disown her son if he did not cease his rebel activities, but Erling refused. Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, Erling's rebel movement had become too large to ignore, and Governor-General Parnell decided to act. To punish the Tredways, Parnell decided to take Erling captive and ordered the complete destruction of 24 Tredway as a warning to future would-be rebels.

While Erling was in a cantina, Governor Parnell, flanked by a force of six stormtroopers, came to take him into custody. Erling did not fight his capture and willingly went with the Imperials, calling out to his followers to continue to peacefully resist the Empire's evil. Erling was taken to the Imperial prison world of Tol Ado and placed in the Deathblock, a prison and torture center on the planet. While there, Erling was forced to listen to the screams of other Imperial prisoners as a warning of what he would soon be experiencing. Before his torture could begin, Erling's cell was broken into by Rebel agent Luke Skywalker, who had come to rescue him. Disguised as an Imperial officer, Skywalker urged Erling to come with him and escape Tol Ado. However, Erling refused—he had resolved to become a martyr to his cause and did not wish to escape the Deathblock. Skywalker was furious at Erling for giving up his life so easily, but did not attempt to force Erling to come with him. As Skywalker prepared to leave Erling to his fate, the rebel captive offered to use his astrogation abilities to help Skywalker locate his ship upon his escape.

When Skywalker told Erling that he had left his ship at Ire Eleazari's asteroid, Erling realized that Skywalker must have come in contact with his family. When he asked the Rebel agent about his family's status, Skywalker reluctantly told him that he had been to 24 Tredway and the entire facility had been destroyed and all personnel killed, including Tredway's mother. However, Skywalker had been able to rescue Erling's sister, and although she had been badly injured in the attack, he brought her to Eleazari for healing. Upon hearing of the death of his family, Erling was filled with the desire for revenge, and he agreed to escape with Skywalker, if only to get revenge on the Empire. As they made their escape from the Deathblock, Erling met the other rebels who had come to rescue him: Gideon Smith and Sidney Shortfang, the latter a member of Erling's pacifist rebel group.

Using Skywalker's disguise as an Imperial officer, the group boarded a repulsorcart and slowly exited the base. During their departure, Erling noticed Governor Parnell and a force of ten Imperial stormtroopers heading towards his cell. Hoping for revenge, Erling fired on the Imperials with a blaster rifle, compromising their escape. As Skywalker took evasive maneuvers, Gideon Smith pushed Erling out of the way of returning blasterfire. However, Smith's maneuver caused him to be hit, and he fell from the cart and was immediately killed by stormtroopers. Skywalker was able to pilot their craft into a tunnel that led to the , an area below the the Deathblock, and the group escaped the pursuing Imperials.

Upon escaping into the sub-facility, Skywalker was furious with Erling for compromising the escape and causing the death of Gideon Smith, but Erling was unapologetic, knowing that there was nothing he could do to bring the man back. Additionally, he was confronted by his follower, Sidney Shortfang, who was distressed by Erling's eager use of violence against the Empire. Shortfang had been forced to use violence against the Imperials when he had gone to 24 Tredway with Skywalker and was having trouble coming to terms with what he had done. Erling told Shortfang that in certain situations killing was justifiable, but Shortfang did not accept his judgment, calling out his hypocrisy and use of violence when it suited him. The argument was broken up when a pack of Gorums, who inhabited the sub-facility, revealed themselves to the rebel group. Believing that Erling and the others were Imperial spies, they took them back to their base so that their leader, the Wookiee Warburton, could pass judgment on them.

Not fully convinced that Erling and his group were not spies, Warburton ordered them to participate in an ambush of Imperial troops that were planning to invade the sub-facility. Under the command of Warburton's lieutenant, Tormey, the group took up positions at the outer perimeter and waited for the Imperials. As an Imperial scout made its way ahead of the Imperial force, Erling nearly sabotaged the ambush by attacking the scout, but Skywalker was able to stop him from attacking. However, the warning alerted the Imperial scout, who fired on Erling's position. Shortfang was able to push Erling out of the way but was hit by blasterfire. Although Shortfang was badly wounded, the ambush succeeded in defeating the Imperial troops. As Shortfang was taken away by a Quarren for treatment, Tormey threatened to execute Erling for almost spoiling the ambush. Skywalker could not let Erling be killed, and after giving Tormey information about a spy he had previously discovered in their ranks, the sub-facility rebels allowed them to leave.

As the two Rebels made their way through the corridors of the Imperial installation, Erling attempted to make up for the trouble he had caused by using his instinctive directional skills to help them get out, but Skywalker was still angry about the loss of his two companions and refused to listen. As they continued, Skywalker's temper softened, and he followed Erling's lead. The two rebels eventually came upon a room filled with confiscated equipment. Among the blasters and other weapons was a suit of armor that resembled Darth Vader's armor. The two bonded over their shared heritage, believing that both their fathers had been killed by Vader. However, when Erling revealed that he had no faith in the Force's existence, Skywalker's resentment increased. When the rebels made their way towards the hangar to escape, Skywalker, determined to show Erling how wrong he was about the Force, tried to use a Jedi mind trick to convince the Imperials there to let them pass. However, as he was still angry at Erling, his concentration was affected, and Skywalker was captured by the Imperials as Erling escaped with Skywalker's droid, R2-D2.

Determined to make up for his failings, Erling backtracked to the confiscated equipment room. After R2-D2 hacked into the Imperial system, he revealed to Erling that Darth Vader was coming to the base to take Skywalker as his personal prison. Knowing that they now had a short window to rescue Skywalker, Erling donned the armor in the room to make himself look like Darth Vader. Disguised as Vader, Erling walked through the Deathblock and convinced the Imperials to turn Skywalker over to him. As they made their way back to the hangar, Skywalker sensed Vader's presence at the Deathblock. The two ducked out of site to avoid Vader, but when they circled back around to commandeer a ship they came face to face with Governor-General Parnell. Parnell, sensing a deception, tricked the rebels into choosing a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle which was not Vader's craft. Erling's disguise revealed, the rebels were forced into a shootout to reach a shuttle. As they boarded a craft and took off, they watched Parnell being |choked to death by Vader for his failure.

As their shuttle prepared to leave Tol Ado, a squad of thirty TIE fighters appeared to stop their escape. Erling urged Skywalker to trust him to punch in the hyperspace coordinates and bypass their navigation computer so that they could escape, but Skywalker was still having trouble trusting Erling after his previous missteps. However, Skywalker took a leap of faith and as they absorbed fire from the attacking TIEs, Erling punched in the coordinates. The shuttle jumped to hyperspace and arrived at Ire Eleazari's asteroid. Skywalker immediately surmised that Erling had used the Force to plan their jump and revealed this fact to Erling. Realizing that the Force was real and that he had the ability to use it, Erling apologized to Skywalker and revealed that he had only denied the Force due to his father's death. Skywalker forgave Erling, and the two reunited with Erling's sister and Ire Eleazari. Dena had been healed by the Ithorian doctor, and she revealed to her brother his importance and the reason Mon Mothma had refused his commission. Skywalker told both brother and sister that they would have a place in Alliance Intelligence if they wanted it, based on his recommendation.

Erling did join the Rebellion, and he used his abilities to aid a mission to D'rinba IV. Alongside rebel agents, Shira Brie, Corwin Shelvay, and Kyle Katarn, Erling was involved in a SpecForce mission to sabotage the superlaser of the second Death Star.

Like the other members of his family, Erling had a connection to the Force, passed down from his father. He could use it to divine hyperspace coordinates by concentrating hard on where he needed to go. Tredway's abilities far outpaced the other members of his family, such as his sister Dena. Although he believed the ability to be simply an instinctive skill, after meeting Luke Skywalker, he accepted the idea that his abilities were due to his Force-sensitivity.

Erling was also naturally charismatic, and people were drawn to him and what he had to say. He used this ability to build a resistance movement in the Sil'Lume asteroid belt, and his natural sense of command was amplified through the Force. He was able to use this ability to convince the Imperials on Tol Ado that he truly was Darth Vader.

Erling Tredway was a handsome man noted for his fiery red-brown eyes. He had a prominent features and a strong chin and carried himself with confidence. Among his followers, Erling was known for trying to get to know each of them, a factor that led to a certain measure of loyalty among those who followed him. However, despite appearances, Erling's connection with his followers was only a surface relationship, and he had trouble remembering their names at times. Erling's support of passive resistance was disparaged by certain individuals, such as Gideon Smith, who believed him to be a coward, but Luke Skywalker had a grudging respect for Erling's bravery and determination to die for his beliefs. However, Erling's convictions were challenged upon the death of his mother and destruction of his home. He cast aside his pacifist ways and was eager to attack the Imperials. In their escape, Erling used violence against the Empire, shocking his followers, such as Sidney Shortfang, with how quickly he had cast aside his peaceful beliefs. However, Erling was a poor combatant and was nearly executed by the sub-facility rebels for his poor performance in battle. Erling believed this attribute was what caused his commission into the Rebel Alliance to be rejected.

As a young man, Erling came to hate the Galactic Empire for harassing and threatening his family. However, his hatred also spread to his father for not protecting them, and when his father was killed, it caused him to lose all faith in the powers of the Force, despite his ability to access it. This lack of faith brought him into conflict with Luke Skywalker during their escape, but Skywalker's abilities eventually convinced Erling to lay down his hatred for his father and accept his own Force-sensitivity, which he was able to use to help the Rebellion.

Erling Tredway was created by Troy Denning and appeared in one of the role-playing strands of the 1990 West End Games role-playing supplement Jedi's Honor. He was later referenced in the article The Dark Forces Saga on Wizards.com, the website of the role-playing company Wizards of the Coast. Written by Abel G. Peña and Jason Fry, the article confirmed that Erling did join the Rebel Alliance and was involved in a mission to D'rinba IV. This information retconned Erling as a character in Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game, as the board game concerned the mission to D'rinba IV. Erling's survival confirms that Skywalker must have rescued Erling from Tol Ado in Jedi's Honor, as other scenarios result in Erling being tortured and executed by the Empire for treason.

During Jedi's Honor, the outcome of the adventure is dependent on the reader's choices. Although the scenario always starts with Erling being captured by Imperials and 24 Tredway being attacked, it is up to the reader to decide how to proceed. Skywalker can attempt to rescue Erling at the beginning of the scenario, but attacking the Imperials still results in Erling being captured. Proceeding from there, Skywalker has a choice to go directly to Tol Ado to rescue Erling, or to go to Erling's home at 24 Tredway to warn Erling's family. However, if Skywalker goes to Tol Ado before going to 24 Tredway and rescuing Erling's sister, Dena, then the storyline will prevent him from rescuing Erling. Upon meeting Erling in the Deathblock, Erling will refuse to go with Skywalker, determined to die in as a martyr to his cause. If Skywalker has gone to 24 Tredway and rescued Dena, Erling will be driven by revenge and attempt to escape.

During the escape, Skywalker's choices can result in Erling being recaptured if he does not act appropriately. Upon meeting with the sub-facility rebels and being assigned to help an ambush of the Imperials, Skywalker has a choice to allow Erling to ruin the attack or stop him from sabotaging it. If Skywalker allows Erling to blow the ambush, Sidney Shortfang will sacrifice his life for Erling, and he will be brought back to the sub-facility rebels for judgment. Skywalker can then allow the sub-facility rebels to execute Erling, but this results in a failure of the mission. After the sub-facility attack and escape from the base, Skywalker is given the choice to trust Erling to make the blind jump to hyperspace or return to Tol Ado to avoid the attacking TIE fighters. However, if Skywalker decides not to trust Erling, they are shot down, and both Skywalker and Erling are recaptured, but Parnell is still killed by Darth Vader.