Saberan Marcross, also known under his service number TKR 175, was an Imperial stormtrooper at the time of the Galactic Civil War. Together with his friends and colleagues Daric LaRone, Korlo Brightwater, Taxtro Grave, and Joak Quiller, Marcross deserted to continue protecting the citizens of the Empire as a member of the Hand of Judgment, rejecting the increasing corruption of some Imperial officers. He went on to join the Empire of the Hand.
Saberan Marcross grew up in Makrin City, the capital of the planet Shelkonwa. During his childhood he spent much time with his cousin Crayg, the son of the Governor of the Shelsha sector, Barshnis Choard. Marcross later joined the Empire himself but remained in his home sector as a stormtrooper soldier aboard the Star Destroyer Reprisal under the command of Captain Kendal Ozzel. He was loyal to the Empire and obeyed every order unconditionally, including during a mission on the planet Teardrop, where fire was opened against innocent civilians - under the pretext that they were sympathizers of the Rebel Alliance.
A few days after the operation on Teardrop, an incident occurred onboard the Reprisal with an officer of the Imperial Security Office, Major Drelfin, who was killed in a scramble with fellow Stormtrooper Daric LaRone. With the threat of being arrested and executed by officers from the Imperial Security Bureau, Marcross and his friends decided to desert. With the modified Suwantek freighter Gillia they fled from the Reprisal and first went to Drunost to get supplies and fuel there. After protecting a group of supposed farmers from the fire of the Bargleg Swoop gang there, Marcross and his friends traveled on to Rankling, where they freed the city of Janusar from the influence of corrupt patrolmen led by Cav'Saran. It was there that Daric LaRone, who had led the small group of former stormtroopers until then, came up with the idea of calling his "unit" the "hand of judgement". Not wanting to break the oath they swore to the Empire, they decided to continue working to protect the Empire's citizens. However, they wanted to stay away from any corruption that they increasingly found with Imperial officers during their service.
After leaving Rankling, Marcross and his friends followed up on a lead that suggested a connection between the Rebel Alliance and the pirate gang BloodScars. During their investigation, they met Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Chewbacca, who received them on their ship. Unaware that the three were rebels, Marcross and the rest of the Hand of Judgement worked with them to find that the BloodScars headquarters was on the planet Gepparin. There, to their surprise, they encountered the reprisal, which the deserters tried to capture with the help of a tractor beam, which Han Solo managed to prevent with a flight maneuver. After they infiltrated headquarters, an analysis of the HoloNetz logs carried out by Marcross revealed that Governor Barshnis Choard was one of the backers of the pirate gang. He is said to have recruited the pirates with their help to declare the independence of the Shelsha sector. Marcross refused to admit that his own uncle was involved in an imperial plot, which is why he initially kept his information secret from Daric LaRone and the others. He wanted to give his uncle the opportunity to explain himself before condemning him.
On Shelkonwa, Marcross and his friends involuntarily met the hand of the Emperor Mara Jade, who placed the five deserters whom she believed were stormtroopers on duty under her command. SHe was also about to indict Barshnis Choard of treason against the Empire, so she pursued contact Caaldra on the matter. After falling for a diversionary staged by Caaldra, Mara Jade and the Hand of Judgement went to the governor's palace to arrest Choard. The premises of the palace were still very familiar to Marcross, which is why he proved to be of great help in infiltrating the building. While Mara Jade took care of Caaldra on the first floor, Daric LaRone and his people put the governor in his ballroom on the first floor. Finally, Marcross turned his blaster on LaRone to prevent him from killing his uncle. He hoped that his uncle was innocent, but he only mocked the naivete of Marcross and fired a graze on his shoulder. After it was unequivocally established that Choard was guilty of high treason, he was arrested and taken away by Darth Vader and his 501st Stormtroopers Legion.
After Mara Jade was informed by Marcross and the others about the circumstances under which they became deserters, she agreed to help them overcome the Imperial blockade of Shelkonwa. However, she advised the former stormtroopers to go into hiding and discard their name "Hand of Judgement" as they only accepted themselves as the only hand. After their flight from Shelkonwa, however, they refused and continued to make it their joint task to protect the citizens of the Empire.
Marcross believed that duty was very important, more so than power or money. Though he understood the principle of command, he did not have the talent himself.
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- The Essential Reader's Companion