“ | I will not abandon our command ship! | „ |
~ Jun Sato during Darth Vader's attack on his fleet. |
Commander Jun Sato is a supporting character in the second and third seasons of Star Wars Rebels. He is the leader of a Rebel cell, named Phoenix Squadron, that resisted the reign of the Galactic Empire. He is one of the leading members of a larger rebel movement organized by Bail Organa and Ahsoka Tano.
He is voiced by Keone Young.
Biography[]
Jun Sato is the Commander of the Pelta-class frigate Phoenix Home and leader of a the rebel cell known as Phoenix Squadron that meets with the Ghost crew after they learn of the existence of the wider rebellion. Back on his homeworld of Mykapo, his late brother was a part of Iron Squadron until his death, leaving his son and Sato's nephew Mart behind, though he would soon join the Rebellion alongside his uncle. Sato led Phoenix Squadron in joining the official formation of the Alliance to Restore the Republic.
Personality[]
Jun Sato was a by-the-books commander, operating his cell using military protocols. He was grateful that the Ghost had become part of his fleet and felt that the rebels had proven invaluable to the rebellion's cause, though he also believed that the Lothal rebels lacked effective discipline. During Darth Vader's assault on the Rebel Fleet, Sato at first refused to allow his crew to abandon Phoenix Home, as he was unwilling to lose his own command ship. Once he realized that the ship was lost, however, he regretfully agreed with Hera's advice to order his crew to evacuate the ship.
Sato was a strategist who realized the importance of the Rebellion in winning new recruits, new starships, and finding a base. He was a courageous commander even in the face of adversity. When captured by Brom Titus, Sato was not afraid and tried to intimidate the Admiral by claiming that he and his crew were members of the Corporate Alliance. Sato at first doubted Ezra's abilities, but after seeing him in action while escaping the Imperial Interdictor, Sato gained a new found respect for Ezra. Sato later realized that Ezra had good leadership potential and promoted the youth to Lieutenant Commander following a successful prison heist on Naraka. However, Sato overlooked Ezra's aggressive streak and brush with the dark side of the Force.
Sato had a brother and a nephew named Mart Martin. After losing his brother, Sato thought he had lost his family until Hera encountered Mart during a mission to Mykapo. Sato was determined to do anything to reunite with his nephew. He was grateful to Hera and her crew for risking their lives to save Mart. Sato regarded Mart as stubborn and rebellious but still loved his nephew. The two passionately embraced each other during their reunion at Chopper Base.
Sato was ready to lay down his life for the Rebellion. Sato sacrificed his life by ramming Phoenix Nest into an Interdictor Cruiser. His sacrifice enabled Ezra and Chopper to escape and seek reinforcements offworld.
Story[]
Commander Sato and his squadron rescued the crew of the Ghost from the Star Destroyer, under the command of Grand Moff Tarkin, after rescuing the Jedi Kanan Jarrus, who had been imprisoned on one of the Star Destroyers. From there, the crew of the Ghost teamed with the Rebels of the Phoenix Squadron and continued to pursue Imperial targets.
After the small fleet had gathered again after an attack on Imperial freighters, the crew had gone to the bridge of the Phoenix nest where Jun Sato thanked them for their help in the attacks. Shortly thereafter, the astromech droid Chopper received a message from minister Maketh Tua. Kanan sent the droid the news, in which the minister asked the rebels to take her away from Lothal. In return, she would give them valuable information. Commander Sato sent the crew of the Ghost crew to Lothal as he thought the information was valuable enough to take the risk of the mission.
The mission failed and the Ghost crew was perused by Darth Vader with a tracking device hidden aboard the shuttle they stole. Phoenix squadron tried to stop Vader, but had to accept big losses and could not stop the Sith from attacking Phoenix Home. Despite Commander Sato's refusal to leave his command ship, he was eventually forced to abandon ship. Sato and his crew were taken by other ships and fled into the hyperspace.
Since his old flagship ship had been destroyed, Commander Sato switched to the Liberator and made this his new flagship. But Sato was aware that the Rebels had suffered a great loss, so the crew went to search for an old friend of Ahsoka Tano, who had an enormous knowledge of hidden space stations and inconspicuous planets that could provide Rebels a base of operations. The mission was successful with the Ghost crew returning with the former clone-warrior CT-7567, "Rex", who provided the Rebel fleet with information.
Sometime later, some of the rebels' ships were sent under the command of Captian Hera Syndulla in the spirit to the planet Ibaar to supply the inhabitants with food because the empire had built a blockade around the planet as they cooperated with the Rebels. The first attempt to penetrate the blockade failed and the Rebels lost a vast amount of ships in the process. Sato sent Syndulla and her crewmembers Sabine Wren and Garazeb Orrelios on the advice of Rex to Shantipole, where they met the Mon Calamari engineer Quarrie. He had developed a Star gift which succeeded in penetrating the blockade over Ibaar. Through this success, Sato, on Kanan's request, promoted Syndulla to Phoenix leader.