Grand General Jagen

"Lord Vader has trusted me with command of his army. Defy me, and you defy him as well."

- Grand General Jagen Vax Jagen was a Human male who served as grand general in the military forces of the Galactic Empire. In contrast to his fellow officers, Jagen often took the field of battle with the soldiers under his command.

Jagen was an orphan on the planet Balmorra, taking work as a hired gun for various crime syndicates, earning a reputation and, eventually, a gang of his own. In 28 BBY, after the reelection of Chancellor Palpatine, Jagen was arrested and sentenced to 5 years in prison, and another 5 years of probation. However, after the outbreak of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, Chancellor Palpatine offered to lift his probation on the condition that he enlist in the Republic Military. Jagen managed to work his way up to the rank of General, securing multiple decisive victories for the Republic in the process. During this period of time, he grew closer to Chancellor Palpatine, for whom he initially held in contempt due to his sentencing and the disbanding of his gang. Eventually, Palpatine revealed his true identity to the general as Darth Sidious.

Jagen remained a general after the rise of the Galactic Empire, and the apparent destruction of the Jedi Order, and was eventually promoted to the rank of Grand General. As a result, he took part in the design and construction of the first Death Star. He preferred to serve on the field, wearing a custom-designed set of Shadowtrooper armor, and forming a squadron of like-minded officers known as the High Command Squadron, who mirrored his custom Shadowtrooper armor. Jagen expressed a strong disdain of his fellow officers, save for Grand Admiral Thrawn whose strategic mind he greatly respected. This eventually led to Jagen staging a bombing of the ship of one of his rivals, Grand Moff Toven, whom he saw as a threat to his military campaign. Toven would be replaced by Mikael Corama, a member of the High Command Squadron. Jagen's High Command squadron was also personally responsible for rendering the Sabin clan of Mandalorians nearly extinct. In spite of several more decisive victories against various rebel groups, he was eventually killed aboard his flagship, the Overlord, when it was attacked and captured by the revitalized Mandalorian Uprising. Jagen and his High Command Squadron were taken captive, and Jagen was personally executed by Tath Sabin in retribution for the massacre of his clan.

Early Life
"My mother died when I was a few years old. I never met my father, and he can rot in hell for all I care."

- Jagen to Chancellor Palpatine Vox Jagen was born in 57 BBY on the planet Balmorra during the final decades of the Galactic Republic. His father abandoned his mother shortly before he was born, and his mother died of illness when he was five leaving him orphaned on the streets. He spent the next seven years running jobs for various street gangs and crime syndicates, including emissaries of the Hutt Cartel. Eventually, he formed together his own gang, which he named the Junk Rats, due to their tendency to frequent junkyards to put together makeshift weapons. Though the gang composed of less than twenty members, Jagen's planning and strategy resulted in most of their endeavors succeeding.

Arrest and Imprisonment
"Vox Jagen, this court finds you guilty of gang leadership, and multiple charges of assault, battery, theft, and property damage. You are hereby sentenced to five years at a Juvenile detainment center on Saleucami, and five subsequent years of probation."

- Jagen's trial and sentencing

In 42 BBY, Jagen and three other members of the Junk Rats were arrested trying to steal a cargo frigate. During questioning, one of the other members named Jagen as their leader, and Jagen was put on trial for his status as a gang leader. He was found guilty and sentenced to five years in a juvenile facility on Saleucami, as well as another five years of probation. This resulted in the complete disbanding of the Junk Rats, as Jagen's leadership was all that truly held them together. Jagen was released in 38 BBY and took work on various star cruisers.

First Meeting with Palpatine, and Enlistment
"The Clone Wars are beginning, and our troops are doing the best they can, but they need military minds. Minds like yours."

- Palpatine

In 22 BBY, the first battle of the Clone Wars occured on Geonosis, and the galaxy was plunged into war. During this time, Chancellor Palpatine was seeking out potential candidates for commanding roles in his new military, with the possibility of their continued service after the war. Republic officials tracked down Jagen and, under Palpatine's orders, had him brought to meet personally with the Chancellor himself. Palpatine referenced Jagen's strategy and leadership in the Junk Rats in an effort to convince him to enlist in the Republic Military. Despite his cold greeting of the Supreme Chancellor, he eventualy accepted his praise and agreed to enlist, in return for which his criminal record was completely expunged.

Republic Career
"Those are some shiny lookin' droids, men. Let's send them back to Geonosis in a scrap heap!"

- Commander Jagen rallying his troops

By the time the Clone Wars had become fully underway, Jagen had risen to the rank of Commander. During this time, he spent most battles on the front lines, rather than most enlisted officers who preferred to command from afar. This led to a strong boost in troop morale, an uncommon occurrence in platoons not commanded by Jedi for the aforementioned reason. His expertise in the field caught Palpatine's eye once more, and he visited the commander often. Palpatine's visits often heralded high regard for his skills in combat and leadership, and constructive criticism of his tactics and strategies. With the Supreme Chancellor's suggestions and advice, Jagen's victories helped him climb the military ladder, eventually earning him the rank of General.

End of the Clone Wars and Establishment of the Galactic Empire
"I seek to build an empire that will last a thousand generations. I need your help to make that dream a reality."

- Darth Sidious

General Jagen's meetings with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine increased significantly as the Clone Wars progressed. As time went by, Palpatine began planting seeds of doubt in the General's mind as to who the Jedi truly supported. Initially holding the Jedi Order in high regard, Palpatine's words caused Jagen to become more suspicious of the Jedi, and he began associating with them less and less. However, in the final years of the Clone Wars, he grew close to Jedi General Anakin Skywalker, whom Palpatine had also been grooming into a position of power, along with multiple other military leaders. In the last few months of the Clone Wars, Palpatine revealed to Jagen that he was, in fact, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Sidious divulged his plan to create a new empire and rule the Galaxy after the end of the war, and enlisted the General's help with such a task. Initially hesitant, Jagen accepted the offer, keeping Sidious's identity to himself and growing more and more distant from the other Jedi. After Sidious enacted Order 66 and the newly christened Darth Vader stormed the Jedi Temple, Jagen led an outer rim campaign to hunt down and exterminate any potential survivors of the massacre.

Imperial Service
Jagen's service during the Clone Wars, and his diligence in hunting down surviving Jedi led to continued favor in the eyes of the newly crowned Emperor Palpatine, and Darth Vader. Jagen began a lengthy campaign to secure the Empire's rule in the outer-lying systems, bringing military force to planets where democracy had previously failed. In 17 BBY, Jagen was promoted to the rank of Grand General.