Your powers are weak, old man.
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You may have a success here and there, but make no mistake—the Empire always strikes back.
—Selwyn Marhanen, Emperor's Royal Guard
Selwyn Marhanen was a male Force-sensitive Human who served the Galactic Empire briefly as a stormtrooper and later as an Emperor's Royal Guard. Raised in the slums of the lower levels of Coruscant, Marhanen grew up in total poverty, and struggled to get by. In 13 BBY, Marhanen tried out for and was accepted into the Stormtrooper Corps, in order to escape the poverty in which he lived in. Due to his skills in combat, from growing up in the slums, Marhanen was sent to train as Royal Guard cadet, Palpatine's elite bodyguard cadre. During his training, Marhanen used his Force-sensitivity to help him master Teras Kasi, a martial art, marksmanship, and dueling with bladed weapons. After a year of brutal training, he passed, and became a full Guardsmen, and developed a strong loyalty to the Empire.[1]
Biography[]
Early life[]
Born in 31 BBY to unknown parents, Marhanen grew up in the slums of the lower levels of Coruscant, the capital of the galaxy. His family was very poor, and could barely afford food and water, along with other commodities, like clothes and a place to live. Being raised in the ghetto, Marhanen constantly got into fights with gangsters and other local thugs, for various reasons. Sometimes he did so on purpose, to get money or other valuables that he could sell for money, so that his family could get food. During his youth, though he did not yet realize it, he used the Force in many situations, which sided him in getting what he wanted. Growing up in such an area made him a skilled fighter, and gave a moderate experience in dealing with blaster weapons. Eventually, when he turned eighteen, Marhanen decided to try out to join the Stormtrooper Corps, in order to elevate his social position and get a better life.
Joining the Empire[]
Always good to see another talented individual joining the Empire, to put his skills to good use. Anyway, I should also tell you that you scored higher than the requirements to be considered a candidate to become a cadet of the Imperial Royal Guard.
—A recruiter to Marhanen
One night, after seeing the Coruscant Guard in action, he realized that he could lift himself out of poverty by joining the Empire. Going to a nearby recruitment center, he took a series of tests. It was determined that he was not only eligible to become a stormtrooper, but he scored higher than the requirements for Royal Guard training. Two days later, Marhanen was recruited into the Emperor's Royal Guard. He underwent a brutal training regimen for a year on Yinchorr, where the Imperial Royal Guard Academy was located. Marhanen was one of the three survivors out of their class of forty. Throughout the year, he worked with a partner, but when the Emperor told them to fight to the death as the final test, he killed him with neither mercy nor regrets. For this, he was among the three that survived and became full Royal Guardsmen.[1]
Galactic Civil War[]
Hunting a traitor[]
Space station control, this is the shuttle Endeavor. I am Captain Drelfin, of the governor's forces. We are here with dignitaries who the governor is expecting.
—Marhanen fooling space station controllers
Marhanen wearing specialized Royal Guard stormtrooper armor, which he donned for the mission.
Around eight months before the Battle of Yavin, Marhanen was deployed on a field assignment by the Emperor, to the Dominus system. His sources informed him that Governor Asclepaides, the local leader, was planning on using a Jedi to make an attempt at overthrowing Palpatine and taking his throne. Marhanen was deployed there aboard a Lambda-class shuttle, with the objective of eliminating the governor and his "apprentice", and destroying his private space station. Aboard the shuttle Endeavor, he flew up to the station, and told the commander, Colonel Melak Krayk, that he was "Captain Drelfin", transporting dignitaries who wanted to meet with the governor. The Colonel actually did not buy it completely, but allowed him to board, sending him to docking bay two. At the same time, he had ten Imperial Army troopers, led by Lieutenant Vandron, go to the docking bay. When he arrived, the Royal Guard and the lieutenant had a brief conversation, after which a firefight broke out. Marhanen killed them all, and proceeded.
Next, he took control of the hangar bay's control room, stunning a couple of officers inside. He then contacted the head of the governor's security detail, a stormtrooper sergeant named Hasufin, and told him that assassins infiltrated the station, and were gaining ground. Marhanen told the sergeant to evacuated the governor to hangar two, where a shuttle was waiting for evacuation from the station. The Royal Guard also told him to not contact anyone else, as much of the station was under the assassins' control. The sergeant, though a bit doubtful, complied, and told the governor, who was also suspicious. But having heard blaster fire earlier (which was actually Marhanen killing the lieutenant and his men), they were convinced enough to go through with it. Eight stormtroopers led the governor and several diplomats he was meeting with down to one of the hangar bays of the station, where Marhanen was waiting. Before they arrived, the guardsman quickly cleaned the place up, removing the dead bodies and cleaning up the signs of the firefight, so that it was not noticeable.
When the troopers and the governor arrived, Marhanen found out that the visiting diplomats were Alliance to Restore the Republic officials. There was no "Jedi", that was just a distraction used by them to cover up their actual intent. However, it did not make a difference by then, as the governor, the Rebels, and the treasonous troopers boarded the Endeavor. The Royal Guard purposely stepped out after the shuttle's ramp closed, and made himself visible to the stormtroopers. They realized their mistake as Marhanen set off the explosives he had put in the shuttle earlier, destroying it, much of the hangar, and killing the governor and the Rebel visitors. He then proceeded down to another hangar as the bridge crew, under command of the colonel, began the self-destruct procedure that the governor ordered them to do in the event of his death, so the information aboard the station did not fall into the Empire's hands. The colonel himself committed suicide, as the station's crew tried to evacuate. Marhanen escaped aboard a TIE Lander, and the station exploded shortly afterwards.
Arriving on Solay, the sector capitol, Marhanen met with Grand Moff Argon, in his palace. The two had a short conversation, during which, Marhanen brought into question the fact that he had seen stormtroopers working for the governor. He pointed out that the governor did not have any stormtroopers under his command initially, nor did he have the authority to call any in from the military, as he oversaw such a remote and backwater territory; Stormtrooper Command would not deploy and troopers there, seeing no point. That meant that the stormtroopers could have only been sent there on orders from the Grand Moff. Marhanen only implied that last part, and Argon caught on. He fiercely refused the idea that he was aiding the traitor, saying those troopers must have been defectors that the governor had contact with or just Rebel spies. Marhanen was doubtful of this, but he kept quiet in the issue for the time being. He then asked the Grand Moff for permission to look around his palace for evidence, as an investigation, since the Emperor had told him shortly after he reported to him that the governor was killed, that he was right—the problem in the Dominus sector was definitely not yet over. Argon, not wanting to seem suspicious, agreed. However, the Royal Guard later recalled that, through the Force, he could tell that Argon was very nervous during their encounter; with the nervousness peaking when he brought up the stormtrooper issue.
As he left the hangar, Marhanen decided to go to the communications center of the palace, to check what calls have been made in and out of the palace in the last four weeks. After briefly talking to some of the technicians there, the records he was after were given to him. He also told the techs to leave the room, and they reluctantly complied. The Grand Moff was monitoring him, and noticed that he was looking at the call records, which would give away that Argon was in contact with Rebel representatives. Since much of the garrison was unaware of what was happening or was in on the defection plot with him, Argon called in a squad of stormtroopers to kill the Royal Guardsman, claiming that he was a criminal that broke in. The stormtroopers complied and broke into the communications room, but Marhanen killed half of their squad before being injured with a shot to the arm. One stormtrooper corporal, Rufan Mauryl, recognized his Royal Guard armor and realized something was up. From his position at the rear of the remaining troopers, he shot them before they could reach the wounded guardsman. Marhanen then thanked Mauryl and explained the situation, and the stormtrooper agreed to help him, being loyal to the Empire. The stormtrooper then aided Marhanen in making a transmission through the comms to the Executor, the flagship of Darth Vader, who he informed of the situation in the sector. The Dark Lord promised to arrive.
However, the Grand Moff got the message that the squad failed in their assignment, as they did not report back for too long. He called in additional troops, several patrols of the locally-recruited palace guards, and had the palace's stormtrooper contingent sent outside the palace for a big "patrol"; in reality, this was because he did not trust them and wanted to handle the Royal Guardsman quietly. The palace guards attacked the stormtrooper and the guardsman, but after a while of intense fighting, much of the palace guards lay dead, along with the troopers from earlier. The commanding officer reported to Argon that three patrols of palace guards had been lost. In response, the Grand Moff ordered the entire guard force to be sent to the communications room, to kill Marhanen and Corporal Mauryl. However, before the palace guard reinforcements could reach the area, the pair made their way out of the communications room. Around the same time, the Grand Moff received a message that the Executor entered the system and that Lord Vader wanted to talk with him.
A specialized TIE interceptor that Marhanen used, over Solay.
As Marhanen and the trooper made their way through the tunnel, the Grand Moff had an argument with Vader, in which he made his allegiance to the Alliance clear. As a result of his frustration, he snapped at one of his officers, who doubted his betrayal of the Empire for the Grand Moff. Before he could do anything, the Moff's adjutant, Major Zelos, killed him, and the two went down to the hangar bay to board a shuttle. Marhanen and Mauryl, meanwhile, made it out of the tunnel near the hangar bay, and headed there. They spotted the two traitors near the shuttle, killing a group of army troopers who were not in on the conspiracy. Running up to them, Marhanen and Mauryl engaged in a firefight with the treasonous duo. Argon took advantage of this and snuck aboard the shuttle, leaving Zelos to be killed by the stormtrooper, with a shot to the head. Meanwhile, the Grand Moff took off and left the planet. Afterwards, the Royal Guard and the stormtrooper were taken up to the Executor, awaiting in orbit. Marhanen then later heard that the Executor spotted Argon's shuttle, attempting to get to a point at which it could enter hyperspace. Boarding a TIE interceptor, he pursued the fleeing traitor, and destroyed his hyperdrive. The former Grand Moff attempted to shoot down his pursuer, but failed, and was destroyed by missiles fired by the Royal Guardsman.[3]
Personality and traits[]
Such is the fate of enemies of the Emperor!
—Selwyn Marhanen
Selwyn Marhanen was a cold and ruthless individual, often displaying little emotion, nor showing regret over the many people that he killed throughout his life. During his Royal Gyard training, he spent a year becoming friends with a comrade that he was assigned to work with. It was part of the Emperor's psychological test for his future bodyguards. At the end of the year of their training—during which they constantly faced challenges that forced them to work together with their partner—the Emperor asked the guardsmen to duel to the death against their partner. Any hesitation to carry out the Emperor's command would result in an execution. Marhanen's partner was shocked by this and did not act quickly enough, but he did, killing his former comrade. He showed neither mercy nor regret of the act.[1] During his service in the Empire, he began showing extreme loyalty and devotion to it, and had no problems with—and often took pleasure in—killing enemies of the Emperor. For his loyalty, Emperor Palpatine selected him to he a field operative, similar to the Emperor's Hands.[3]
Behind the scenes[]
The character was inspired by Carnor Jax and Kir Kanos, two canon a Royal Guards. The name came from a minor character in the fantasy novel Fortress of Ice, which the author read.
Appearances[]
- Liquidator: Subject Zero (First appearance)
- Makings of a Royal Guard
- By the Emperor's Command
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Makings of a Royal Guard Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Making" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ The Makings of a Royal Guard states that he was eighteen in 13 BBY, therefore, he must have been born in 31 BBY.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Liquidator: Subject Zero