Karrde, Talon

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Species:
  Human

• Gender:
  Male

• Size:
  1.7 meters

• Weapon:
  Blaster pistol

• Vehicle:
  Wild Karrde

• Affiliation:
  Smuggler

• 

From the Expanded Universe

"I think it's occasionally good for us to remember that being a smuggler doesn't necessarily require one to be a barbarian, too." -- Talon Karrde.

The lawless shadows of the underworld spawns despicable characters possessed of greed, vice and a lack of scruples -- kingpins like Jabba the Hutt capable of killing without compunction. Standing in stark contrast to that is Talon Karrde, a sophisticated, shrewd and skillful smuggler chief who rose to prominence after the collapse of the Empire.

Karrde's fringe career began as member of Jorj Car'das' smuggling group. When Car'das experienced an epiphany and went legal after a strange run in on Dagobah, Karrde inherited command of the organization. He operated in obscurity until the death of Jabba the Hutt shortly before the Battle of Endor.

Karrde's passion is the acquisition of information, and the piecing together of seemingly disparate facts into a cohesive whole. This talent enabled him to scavenge a number of underworld contacts that were otherwise rudderless in the wake of Jabba's demise. Slowly, and quietly, Karrde's organization grew into one of the largest smuggling groups in the galaxy, without the messy hostilities or skullduggery that typified underworld growth.

Karrde's group gained an unparalleled asset when he met a striking young woman going by the name Celina Marniss while investigating a safari-hunting scheme on Varonat. The woman exhibited skills and talents far beyond her simple cover as a hyperdrive mechanic. When the visit to Varonat turned ugly, and Karrde's lieutenant, Quelev Tapper, was killed Celina saved Karrde. In gratitude, and recognizing a valuable operative when he saw one, Karrde recruited Celina -- whose real name was Mara Jade -- into his group and began grooming her as his second-in-command.

Though Karrde's activities occasionally overlapped with those of the New Republic, he was determined to stay neutral in the seismic changes wracking galactic government. Such a stance became increasingly difficult five years after the Battle of Endor, with the start of Grand Admiral Thrawn's campaign to retake the Core. Karrde's base of operations was on distant Myrkr, an otherwise unremarkable planet save for the native ysalamiri creatures that dwelled in the forests. The sessile salamander-like animals had the unique ability to "push back" the Force, creating areas wherein use of the Force was impossible. For Thrawn, they were vital ingredients in a recipe to overthrow the New Republic.

Karrde allowed the Imperials to harvest the ysalamiri, all the while trying to piece together what their plan might be. He also attempted to ferret out Mara Jade's mysterious past -- the woman showed an affinity to the Force, and a remarkable hatred for Luke Skywalker.

He had the opportunity to uncover both secrets when he stumbled across Luke Skywalker's crippled X-wing floating in space. Bringing the Jedi back to his base -- effectively robbing him of his Force talents in the ysalamiri-filled woods -- Karrde considered turning Skywalker over to Thrawn. In the end, he decided against it, and made an enemy of Thrawn, and lost his Myrkr compound.

Karrde's group floated about, looking for a new headquarters, settling for a time on distant Rishi. The Empire eventually caught up with Karrde and took him captive. Luke Skywalker, indebted to Karrde, teamed up with Mara Jade to rescue the smuggler chief.

In gratitude, Karrde supplied the New Republic with coordinates for the long-lost Katana fleet, the resting place of hundreds of warships that could turn the tide in the campaign against Thrawn. Karrde also gathered a coalition of smugglers to assist the New Republic through information gathering and all-out combat against the renewed Imperial threat. This group provided vital support to the New Republic, and helped spell Thrawn's defeat at the Battle of Bilbringi.

The smuggler coalition matured into the Smuggler's Alliance, a formally organized grouping of fringers placed under the command of Mara Jade. Karrde supposedly retired, letting Jade call the shots, but in truth, he took the opportunity to continue his search for his former mentor, Jorj Car'das. Lando Calrissian and Mara helped in the years-long quest, and eventually Car'das was tracked down to Exocron, a world in the distant Kathol sector.

It was fifteen years after the Battle of Endor that the search for Car'das became more than personal curiosity -- it became vital to forestall a New Republic civil war. Tensions regarding the Bothan complicity in the decades-old destruction of Caamas were sparked by political firebrands supported by Imperial agents. Karrde believed that Car'das had the information necessary to end the growing animosity towards the Bothans.

To that end, Karrde ventured into the distant Kathol sector, accompanied by Shada D'ukal, a Mistryl Shadow Guard. Reuinted with his pupil, Car'das was proud of Karrde's methods of operation and his success, but he was unable to provide him with the information he needed. Still, the trip wasn't wasteful -- Car'das did provide proof that exposed a con artist behind the apparent return of Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Once again, the political landscape changed and Karrde was in the right place. The Galactic Civil War was finally brought to a formal end with the signing of a peace accord between the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic. Karrde worked successfully to establish a joint intelligence service that would benefit both parties.

Mara Jade married Luke Skywalker after the Hand of Thrawn incident. Although he participated in the wedding, Karrde knew Mara's loyalty now lay with the Jedi. Fortunately he had a new lieutenant, Shada D'ukal. He also had a new mission. With peace now existing between the Empire and the New Republic, Karrde worked to establish a joint intelligence-gathering service that would cater to both sides.

Now with Shada D'ukal as his lieutenant, Karrde has continued to assist the New Republic and the new Jedi order as they battle against the relentless invasion of the Yuuzhan Vong.

Behind the Scenes

Talon Karrde first appeared in Heir to the Empire, the watershed 1991 novel by Timothy Zahn. Since then, he has made several other appearances, most of them penned by either Zahn or Michael A. Stackpole. As part of a special subset of cards drawn from the Expanded Universe for Decipher Inc.'s Star Wars Customizable Card Game, Zahn served as the model, being made up and posing as Karrde.