Matt Talon

The Human male Matt Talon was born into an impoverished family on a minor agricultural planet. When he was old enough, he left his homeworld in search of adventure and eventually found work as a mercenary. Talon joined a company of the First Sun Mobile Regiment, a mercenary unit that hired itself out to the highest bidder, which was usually the Galactic Empire—the unit's specialty was Search, Locate, Annihilate Missions, otherwise known as SLAMs. Talon worked for the organization as a light scout trooper. During his time as a mercenary with the First Sun Mobile, Talon developed his share of wounds and scars, the most notable being a long scar which ran from his right eye down to his mouth, and which Talon refused to have surgically fixed due to its intimidation factor.

On one occasion during the Galactic Civil War, the First Sun Mobile came across an outpost which had been accused of harboring Rebel sympathizers. Talon's company was tasked by the Empire with destroying the settlement; that decision, however, angered Imperial Intelligence because they had not had the opportunity to interrogate the settlers. As a result, Moff Nile Owen ordered the destruction of the company which perpetrated the assault. The massacre was brutal, and virtually the entire company was killed by the Imperials. Only Talon and roughly a dozen other mercenaries managed to survive the encounter. The event left Talon jaded against both the Empire and the First Sun Mobile Regiment, and he decided to abandon his life as a mercenary.

For several years Talon wandered the galaxy, working as a bounty hunter and doing his best to avoid the attention of the Empire. He continued to use the battle armor which he had worn as a member of the First Sun and even decided to keep the unit's emblem on his right shoulder pad. Both of these factors helped contribute to his new role as a bounty hunter, though it was his brutal and vicious nature which allowed him to truly succeed in his new profession. During that time, Talon came dangerously close to walking a dark and evil path. He was made a member of The Most Honourable Guild of Armourers, an organization which gathered together the foremost weapons specialists throughout the galaxy. Among its ranks were such famous bounty hunters as Boba Fett and Dengar. Talon's membership in the Guild combined with the stories of his past activities, both as a trooper in First Sun and his exploits after leaving the regiment, created a reputation that often preceded him. Although he had found a job which provided him a steady income, Talon was unsure of what to do next until he inadvertently made contact with the Rebel Alliance and then decided to join its ranks.

After Talon joined the Alliance, his superiors decided to team him up with a Sullustan known as Thila, the captain of the starship Arkanian Dawn. Thila was an undercover agent who operated in the Outer Rim as a slaver—in reality, the slaves whom she apparently butchered were in fact deposited on Alliance safe worlds where they were awarded their freedom and offered the chance to join the Rebel forces. Talon joined Thila in the undercover operation as her bodyguard and took up residence on the Dawn.

Through his work with Thila, Talon came to respect the Sullustan and developed a deep-rooted sense of loyalty to her—Talon was so loyal that he would not hesitate to sacrifice his life if it would save hers. Upon being assigned to work with Thila, Talon abandoned his previous vicious and dark path and was able to see a different side of life: one that did not revolve around massacres, killing, and hunting criminals of the galaxy. Through her efforts in the Outer Rim, Thila was able to build on Talon's jaded opinion of the Empire and prove what she saw as the inherent evil that ran throughout its organization. Since he regularly witnessed the slavery that was often perpetrated by Imperials, Talon grew to share Thila's view, and he decided to fully turn his anger and passions against his one-time employers.

Matt Talon was known to have an ill-concealed sense of violence about him, which often helped in his career as a bounty hunter, and later while he served as Thila's bodyguard. When dealing with Thila, slavers often chose not to interfere or look too deeply into her operations for fear of repercussions from Talon. Although he walked a dark path during his time as a bounty hunter, Talon's time with Thila helped him develop convictions to use his violent streak for productive ends, namely fighting the Empire, which he viewed as evil.

During his time as a mercenary with the First Sun Mobile Regiment, Talon demonstrated his abilities as a natural soldier and excelled at the position given to him: that of a light scout trooper. When his company was massacred by the Empire, Talon was one of only a dozen First Sun soldiers to survive the attack. He was also skilled with the use of exotic weapons, which earned him a spot on the roster of The Most Honourable Guild of Armourers. As a young man living an impoverished life on his homeworld, Talon craved adventure, and he eventually set out into the galaxy to find some. The man had jet black hair.

Talon wore a set of Scout Armor, and employed a Aratech Whisper Jumper jetpack. Talon's personal arsenal contained a SoroSuub QuickSnap 36T blaster carbine, a modified Merr-Sonn Happy Surprise hold-out blaster, and two vibroblades. He also carried a pair of macrobinoculars and a datapad with him at all times.

The character of Matt Talon was created and written by authors Simon Smith and Eric S. Trautmann for the West End Games sourcebook Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim. Talon's illustration was drawn by artist Mike Vilardi.

• Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim