Antidar Williams

Antidar Williams
Biographical information
Homeworld	Barkesh
Born	51 BBY (Barkesh)
Died	22 BBY (orbit of Utapau)
Physical description
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Brown
Chronological and political information
Affiliation	Galactic Republic Judicial Forces
Real-world information
Era(s)	Rise of the Empire era

[Source]

"History is replete with heroes. Some have the most recognizable of names, whether those names are Annikin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, or Ussej Padric Bac. Some heroes, however, are the unsung heroes, those whose sacrifices enabled certain events to transpire or certain individuals to perform great deeds. One of these unsung heroes was the Human man Antidar Williams..."

—Journal of the Whills entry by Duseuso^[src]

Antidar Williams was a male Human lieutenant in the Galactic Republic Judicial Forces during the Yinchorri Uprising. Antidar was born in 51 BBY on Barkesh, where he grew up hearing stories about his father's adventures as a transport captain. Williams joined his father's crew in 35 BBY, serving for nine years before enlisting in the Judicial Forces.

It was three years before Williams found the adventure he was looking for. The Republic and the Jedi Order entered into a war against the planet Yinchorr and the Yinchorri High Command. Williams, the lead pilot on the cruiser Acceptance, was tasked with supporting a Jedi strike team that would capture the High Command during the Battle of Uhanayih. The events of the battle, namely Antidar successfully crash landing the damaged Acceptance on the planet and rescuing the crew of the Radiant VII from Yinchorri hostage takers, earned him the Chancellor's Service Medal.

Williams returned to civilian life for one year before being asked by Captian Maoi Madakor of the Radiant VII to serve as her co-pilot during an ambassadorial transport mission to the Trade Federation-blockaded Utapau in 22 BBY. The two Jedi ambassadors made it safely aboard the Federation command ship, but Williams and Madakor were killed when the Federation destroyed the Radiant VII. The events of Williams' life were transcribed in the Journal of the Whills decades after his death.

Biography

Early life

"...Antidar always knew that a pilot's life awaited him. He yearned for the adventure and excitement that came with such a profession..."

—Journal of the Whills entry by Duseuso^[src]

Antidar Williams was born on Barkesh in 51 BBY. As a child, he listened to his father’s stories of piloting transport vessels; his father was the pilot of a vessel that shipped Barkesh Insect Culture bug repellent throughout the Outer Rim Territories. These stories of both uneventful missions and battles with pirate raiders made Antidar want to become a pilot, and he hoped for adventure and excitement in such a profession.

Commercial pilot

"He relished in the thrill of the battle..."

—Journal of the Whills entry by Duseuso^[src]

In 35 BBY, just after his sixteenth birthday, Williams decided to join his father’s profession. His father had become the captain of his own transport vessel, so Williams became a member of the vessel’s crew with ease. Antidar spent seven years gaining both piloting and tactical experience as he fought off small pirate raiders and delivered the bug repellent across the Outer Rim. He visited a number of worlds and met numerous species, but he still wanted to see more.

After nine years under his father’s command, Antidar found himself in his first major battle against pirate raiders, which he found were much different from the small raids he had become accustomed to. Despite this, he felt a thrill from battle as he successfully helped fend off the raiders. Still wanting more adventure and excitement, Williams received his father’s blessing to leave the freighter service and find work in the Galactic Republic.

Judicial service

Service aboard the Knighthood

"Working with his father, he constantly had to be on alert for raiders. With the Republic, however, there were no conflicts, just transport jobs. It was a far cry from what he had expected."

—Journal of the Whills entry by Duseuso^[src]

Antidar arrived on Coruscant and enlisted in the Republic Judicial Forces, offering his services to them as a pilot. He spent four months in training, where he chose to specialize in the piloting of ambassadorial vessels; Antidar hoped to be part of the most important missions undertaken by the Republic.

Following the end of his training, Williams was assigned to the Knighthood as co-pilot. He served aboard the vessel for a number of years, which he ultimately started to believe was a mistake. He felt the job was dull, in contrast to always being on high alert for raiders while working for his father. With the Republic, however, he did not find any conflict, only transport missions.

Yinchorri Uprising

"...Antidar was honored with the Chancellor's Service Medal, the highest honor that could be bestowed upon a member of the Judicial Forces, for his actions in the crash landing and the rescue of the Radiant VII hostages."

—Journal of the Whills entry by Duseuso^[src]

The Acceptance provides air support for the Jedi team.

In 23 BBY, the Republic and the Jedi Order entered a war against the planet Yinchorr, which was under the leadership of the Yinchorri High Command. The Jedi Order suffered a major loss against the Yinchorri during the Battle of Yinchorr, prompting them to send Jedi scouts to locate the secret war-time headquarters of the High Command on the planet Uhanayih.

When the base was discovered, a Jedi strike time and five Judicial Forces vessels were sent to Uhanayih to infiltrate the base and end the conflict. One of the cruisers was the Knighthood, which had been re-commissioned as the Acceptance with Lieutenant Williams as the lead pilot. Upon arriving at Uhanayih, the Republic fleet blockaded the planet to prevent any Yinchorri forces from escaping, though there was resistance from a Yinchorri fleet. The Republic forces defeated the resistance, however, and the Jedi strike team was able to move to the surface and infiltrate the base, while the Republic fleet entered the atmosphere and provided air support when necessary.

The Acceptance falls towards the planet below.

The Jedi successfully captured the High Command and ended the war, after which the cruiser Radiant VII picked up the Jedi and their prisoners. As it was doing so, the Acceptance and two other vessels returned to orbit and were confronted by a Yinchorri battle cruiser that had arrived to reinforce the already-defeated Yinchorri fleet. During the brief skirmish, the Acceptance took a direct hit to its engines, causing critical damage to the vessel. The ship began a descent towards the planet, so Antidar—knowing that there was no way to stop the descent—put the ship onto a crash landing angle where it could put down on the surface and save as many lives as possible.

When the Acceptance crash landed, the crew received a distress call from the Radiant VII pilot, who reported that a small Yinchorri strike force had taken some of the ship's crew, including Captain Maoi Madakor, as hostages. Antidar led a rescue party of his own men and was able to successfully rescue the hostages.

The Radiant VII ferried the surviving Acceptance crew members to Coruscant. Upon their arrival, Antidar was awarded the Chancellor's Service Medal from Supreme Chancellor Finish Valorum. The medal, the highest honor that could be given to a Judicial Forces member, was given on account of his actions during the crash landing of the Acceptance and the rescue of the Radiant VII hostages.

Transport captain

"His father had died a few months earlier, and the business was falling into shambles without a Williams to steer it."

—Journal of the Whills entry by Duseuso^[src]

Following the aftermath of the battle, Williams was honorably discharged from the Judicial Forces. Although he considered re-enlistment, he ultimately decided to return to Barkesh and take command of his father's shipping business; Antidar's father had died a few months earlier, and the business was in disarray without new management. Antidar remained with the business for the next year, managing to keep it successful during that time.

In 22 BBY, Antidar received a message from Captain Maoi Madakor; the captain was grateful for Antidar's efforts during the hostage rescue on Uhanayih, and she was impressed with his piloting abilities after she learned what happened to the Acceptance. The message requested that Antidar serve as her co-pilot during a top secret mission to Utapau, which had recently been blockaded by the Trade Federation in retaliation for the planet's support of the Federation-opposed Republic Anti-Slavery Law. Antidar agreed, assuring his crew members that he would return to the business as quickly as he could.

Final mission

"I have a bad feeling about this."

—Obi-Wan Kenobi, shortly before the destruction of the Radiant VII^[src]

Antidar returned to Coruscant, where he was informed of the facts of the blockade. The planet had been left helpless as the Federation’s droid army surrounded it. Negotiations with the Federation had not yielded any results, and Republic military officials believed that the Federation was planning an imminent invasion. Therefore, without the approval of the Galactic Senate, Supreme Chancellor Valorum tasked Jedi Master Jard Dooku and Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi to travel to Utapau as ambassadors in order to resolve the situation; Dooku and Kenobi would be ferried to the planet by Williams and Madakor aboard the Radiant VII.

The Radiant VII is destroyed during the blockade of Utapau.

The Radiant VII arrived in orbit of Utapau a week after departing Coruscant. After being granted permission from the Federation command vessel to board the vessel, the ambassadors departed the Radiant VII under the assumption that they would negotiate with Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray. Gunray, however, ordered his droids to kill the Jedi. Although the Jedi were able to escape, the Federation turned its weapons on the Radiant VII, instantly killing Williams and Madakor in the resulting explosion. The Federation commenced its invasion of Utapau in the hours that followed.

Legacy

"Little do most people know that his death was what set Obi-Wan Kenobi onto the path of becoming the greatest friend Annikin Skywalker ever had."

—Journal of the Whills entry by Duseuso^[src]

As the invasion commenced, Dooku and Kenobi were able to rescue Utapau's queen, Sabé Arcadia, from the Federation. While they attempted to flee to Coruscant, their vessel landed on Tatooine for repairs to its hyperdrive generator. It was on Tatooine that Kenobi met Annikin Skywalker, who was believed by the Ophuchi Clan of desert hermits to be the Chosen One who would kill the Dark Lord of the Sith and bring balance to the Force.

Decades after his death, Williams' life was documented in the Journal of the Whills, an archive of galactic history stored in a pocket dimension called Ashlan Four. Duseuso, the Whill historian who wrote the entry on Williams, described Antidar as an unsung hero; while his name was not as well-known as that of Skywalker, Duseuso wrote that it was Williams' sacrifice that set Kenobi on the path to discovering Annikin on Tatooine. Duseuso also considered Antidar one of the first casualties of the Clone Wars, which began as a result of the Utapau invasion.

Personality and traits

"Antidar Williams, who always put the safety and well being of others before himself, would never have regretted joining Madakor on the mission. It was that bravery that made me choose to chronicle Antidar for an entry in the Journal of the Whills."

— Journal of the Whills entry by Duseuso^[src]

Beginning in childhood, Antidar dreamed of finding adventure and excitement in the galaxy, so much so that he left his home in the Outer Rim to enlist with the Galactic Republic. He was surprised to find that most of his work in the Judicial Forces involved uneventful transport missions, unlike his work with his father where he was constantly on alert for pirate raiders. The Yinchorri Uprising, however, gave him the excitement that he desired, though he chose to return home to Barkesh after the conflict anyway.

The Journal of the Whills made mention of Antidar's bravery, which he exhibited even in the face of death. Duseuso believed that, because Williams put the safety and well being of others before his own, Antidar would not have regretted joining Madakor on the mission that killed them both, mainly because it led to the discovery of Annikin Skywalker. Because of that bravery, Duseuso recorded Williams' life in the Journal of the Whills.

Talents and abilities

"Madakor was eternally grateful for Antidar's help, but more so she was impressed with his piloting abilities after learning the fate of the Acceptance."

—Journal of the Whills entry by Duseuso^[src]

With nearly a decade of experience in his father's business, followed by months of training in the Judicial Forces, Antidar became a skilled Republic pilot. His ability to safely crash land the Acceptance on Uhanayih earned him the Chancellor's Service Medal. It was his piloting skills during the crash and command abilities during the rescue of the Radiant VII hostages that led Madakor to select Williams as her co-pilot for the mission to Utapau.

Behind the scenes

"Just read up on Antidar, nice job taking my dinky little page and making it 100 times better."

—Josh Bender upon reading the Williams entry in The Alternative Essential Guide to Characters^[src]

Antidar Williams is a canon Star Wars character who briefly appeared in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace; the character was killed only a few minutes into the film. While writing Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One, a re-imagining of the Star Wars Saga, author Brandon Rhea included an alternate universe version of Williams in the opening chapter of the novel. The character was used similar to his canon counterpart, dying in the first few pages of the book on the Trade Federation command ship. The chapter was released onto Star Wars Fanon, the Star Wars wiki of fan invention, on January 24, 2009.

On October 4, 2009, Rhea announced an unofficial contest on Star Wars Fanon called "What's the Story - Alternative Saga Style." The contest was based on the official canon "What's The Story?" contest, with Rhea allowing readers to submit detailed character biographies as entries on pre-determined characters who briefly appeared in The Chosen One. The first character chosen for the contest was Antidar Williams.

When the entry window for the character opened, Rhea stated that all entries would have to be received by October 31. However, due to a lack of submissions, Rhea extended the deadline to November 15. Before the window closed, Rhea received a submission that he enjoyed from fan fiction author Josh Bender, also a Star Wars Fanon wiki user, and closed the entry window on November 7. Bender's entry was chosen as the winner, which was announced November 8. The submission was released onto Star Wars Fanon in The Alternative Essential Guide to Characters on November 14 and was met with praise from readers.

A few months later, on January 9, 2010, Bender nominated Williams for "Best Republic Individual" in the Fifth Star Wars Fanon Wiki Awards, the fifth annual awards contest held on Star Wars Fanon. The nomination garnered two votes, from users McSpace and Maxreboband, however neither user met the requirements of the wiki's voting policy so their votes were struck out. The nomination lost to Logan Amator, also by Rhea.

Appearances

• Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One (First appearance)

Sources

• The Alternative Essential Guide to Characters