Admiral Kassius Konstantine is a character who appears in the Disney XD animated series Star Wars Rebels. He is an Admiral of the Imperial Navy, the captain of the Grand Inquisitor's personal star destroyer, and a member of the Pau'an's personal task force that helps him hunt down the lost Jedi who survived the Execution of Order 66 and then the Rebel Network.
Background
Personality
Kassius is a stern, by the book, no-nonsense officer. He is loyal to the Empire and happily works for Sidious' agents. He is shown to be considerably more intelligent and competent than Aresko and Grint and far quicker on the uptake than either one as shown when he realizes that the Rebels are trying to mask their escape with decoy devices and when he advises Kallus to allow a orbital bombardment. However, he's not as insightful and as blessed with foresight as the Grand Inquisitor, Darth Vader, and Grand Admiral Thrawn, because as Governor Arihnda Pyrce states "he is more of a politician than soldier". He is also aware that the Empire uses decimation. He's also shown to favor brute force attacks and other power type tactics
However, Kassius is also shown to be self-serving as shown when he voices the intention to blame a subordinate for zapping Vader's ship with a tractor beam by mistake. Furthermore, he does not seem view any of his colleagues as friends, even Agent Kallus despite agreeing with the ISB agent a lot as he shows no concern for him when he returns injured from a mission. He's also shown to not take the Rebels seriously, and when his failures against them finally outweighed his successes against the lost Jedi he became increasingly thirsty for glory, which ultimately cost him his life.
Role in the Series
Admiral Konstantine played a minor role in the first season. He was mostly seen taking orders from the Grand Inquisitor. He was later seen evacuating Grand Moff Tarkin during the destruction of his ship, while the Grand Inquisitor perished in the battle.
His first major role is in the second season premiere. He is the commander of the blockade over Lothal. When multiple signals that match that of an Imperial shuttle that the Ghost cell stole appear, Konstantine instantly realizes that the Rebels are trying to mask their escape and orderes TIEs to shoot down the transponders giving off the signal, but this allows the Rebels to escape. When he reports it to Darth Vader, Vader orders his ship prepared. Confused, Konstatine asks Agent Kallus what's going on and Kallus tells him that the ship the Rebels stole has a tracker on it. When he arrives in the system the Rebels were tracked to, Vader orderes the Admiral to take the Ghost cell alive. Konstantine orderes the tractor beam's activation, but instead of the Ghost it catches Vader's ship by mistake. Refusing to take responsibility for the incident, Konstantine has an innocent tractor beam operator blamed and executed by Vader instead.
Sometime later, Konstantine and Kallus receive a report from Clone Commander Wolffe that the Rebels they seek are with him. The pair dispatch a probe droid to the area that confirms the report as true. After arriving in the system, Konstantine suggests using orbital bombardment but Kallus took three AT-ATs downplanet to fight them. Suddenly, the Admiral receives a message from Darth Vader to rendeveau with his shuttle and took the fleet to the destination. Upon arrival, Konstantine is surprised to see the Fifth Brother, who reveals that Vader dispatched him to assume leadership of the hunt for the Rebels.
Konstantine holds a low esteem towards the Fifth Brother due to his reliance on imprecise information and his lone wolf approach. When a officer reports a power surge at an abandoned medical station, Kallus and Konstantine both dismiss it but the Fifth Brother confirms it was the Rebels and goes alone to nab them. He later comes back with the Seventh Sister, who Konstantine holds in higher esteem. When the Seventh Sister's probe droid reveals that the Rebels are on Garel, Konstatine dismisses this possibility because he assumes they would have known about it by now if that were the case. However, Kallus confirms the Inquisitors' report correct and orders him to deploy a fleet for Garel.
Six months after the demise of both the Fifth Brother and the Seventh Sister on Malachor, he and Agent Kallus resume the hunt for the Rebels, not knowing that Kallus has become a Rebel spy. He and Kallus are visited by Tarkin, who informs him that Governor Pryce is coming with the Seventh Fleet to assume command of the hunt for the Rebel Network which she feels has become a galaxy-wide threat to the Empire. Konstantine dismisses Pryce's theory stating his belief that she is overestimating how well organized the Rebels were. He also adds that the Rebel Network is just pockets of resistance not a galaxy-wide operation. Suddenly, Pryce arrives with Grand Admrial Thrawn, the Commander of the Seventh Fleet. The Chiss tells Konstantine that he agrees with Pryce's theory and vows to stop the Rebellion. Later, they get a call from Commander Brom Titus who tells them the Rebels are attacking Requim Station and go there. When Thrawn contacts them, Pryce informs him of the Rebel Fleet's arrival only for him to tell her that's not the Rebel Fleet and tells them to let them go. Surprised, Konstantine tells Pryce he doesn't understand why they're letting them go and Pryce tells him it's because she and Thrawn are after more than the capture of one Rebel Cell.
During his time under Thrawn's command, Konstantine becomes increasingly aware of the fact that because of everything that's happened since the death of his late boss the Grand Inquisitor he is no longer held in high esteem by higher ranking Imperialists such as Arihnda Pryce as Thrawn increasingly assigns him missions where his only job is to cut off the Rebels and make sure they don't escape and becomes increasingly determined to regain respect and favor from Emperor Palpatine and Imperial High Command. When Thrawn finally locates Chopper Base and attacks it, he places Konstantine in an Imperial Intecector and and orders him to keep the Rebel ships from making a jump. When Jun Sato pulls his ship forward, Konstantine orders his ship to intercept it and ignores Thrawn's orders to return to position, refusing to be denied the glory of killing Sato. Suddenly, Sato's ship swings toward him with the intention to ram the Interceptor so Ezra Bridger can make a jump. Enraged, Thrawn refuses to save Konstantine and decides to let him and his men die. Realizing his mistake, Konstantine orders his crew to take evasive action but is too late. Sato's ship rams Konstantine’s, killing them both instantly.
Gallery
Trivia
- The admiral shares his name with two prominent Romans: Cassius and Constantine (albeit with the spelling changed). This is ironic since this pair are both his exact opposites. Cassius was a Republican and Constantine was religious.
