Vul Isen

Biography

Scientist

Living more than a century after the Battle of Yavin, Vul Isen was a male Givin exhibiting Force-sensitivity. He was born on Korriban, a planet serving as a stronghold for the One Sith, and was inducted into their ranks alongside numerous other Sith born there. However, his expertise lay not in combat, but in the field of science. Consequently, he was denied the title of Darth, which was reserved for the most accomplished warriors within the One Sith, leading to his being viewed with disdain by those who considered such Sith less significant than the warriors. After his departure from Korriban, Isen opted not to wield a lightsaber or don the dark robes commonly worn by Sith warriors. Instead, he chose a uniform akin to that worn by the Sith's military officers. Isen became profoundly knowledgeable and skilled in his chosen field, emerging as an expert in the extermination or pacification of species that resisted the Sith's dominion. He engineered a variety of destructive organisms capable of eradicating vast populations and transforming planets into swamps, although he lamented that he lacked ample opportunities to test many of these creations.

Unlike the warriors who looked down on him, Isen did not blindly obey the leader of the One Sith, Darth Krayt, and he freely questioned orders that seemed illogical to him. He believed that, as a scientist, it was his duty to question everything. In 137 ABY, Krayt initiated the Genocide of Mon Calamari, mandating that all members of the Mon Calamari species on the planet Dac be either killed or subjected to slave labor as punishment for their opposition to Krayt's Empire. Following the Massacre of New Coral City, many Mon Calamari sought refuge in the depths of the planet's oceans, and Isen was tasked with employing his expertise to expedite their elimination. Darth Azard, a Quarren Sith Lord, was dispatched to Dac to oversee the extermination, with Isen reporting directly to him.

The Sea Leviathan

Because Krayt's objective was solely the elimination of the Mon Calamari, excluding the Quarren or any other native species of Dac, Isen was barred from releasing experimental viral organisms that could obliterate all life on the planet. Consequently, the Givin consulted with several other high-ranking Sith to determine the most effective approach to accelerate the process while ensuring that only the Mon Calamari were targeted. Darth Maladi, Krayt's chief scientist and torturer, offered no assistance, refusing to share her knowledge. Darth Wyyrlok, Krayt's most trusted advisor, suggested that Isen delve into older Sith lore and explore the possibility of adapting a Leviathan—a Sithspawn bioengineered alchemically by Dark Jedi predating the Sith—for use in the sea. The resulting creature would be capable of eliminating the remaining Mon Calamari on Dac. Although semi-sentient, the Leviathan would absorb the life energies of its victims, becoming sentient and developing a Mon Calamari-like mindset, thereby enhancing its ability to locate their hiding places. Isen dedicated weeks to engineering the creature within the vast, underwater Soheras Trench, accessing the trench via an Imperial Aquatic Terrain Armored Transport, until the first Sea Leviathan was ready—requiring only a spark of the Force to awaken it.

Isen and Darth Azard journeyed together to the trench in a transport. Azard, one of those who believed that members of the One Sith who had not earned the Darth title were inferior, resented Isen's lack of unwavering obedience to Krayt's directives. During the transport, Isen attempted to engage in conversation, expressing his preference for the complete annihilation of the world. Upon reaching the edge of the abyss, Isen and Azard jointly invoked the Force to awaken the creature, imprinting their minds and wills upon it and issuing its directives. The first Sea Leviathan emerged from its slumber and immediately targeted a nearby enclosure of enslaved Mon Calamari, consuming their life energies. Isen elucidated the process of absorbing life forces, although Azard harbored doubts, fearing that the Leviathan might become too Mon Calamari-like in its thinking and turn against the Imperials. Isen, however, exuded confidence that this would not occur and successfully allayed Azard's concerns.

Rooting out the resistance

Darth Azard already had a target in mind for the Sea Leviathan. Earlier that day, an Imperial Acklay Battle Fortress, the Sea Lion, had been attacked and disabled by a group of Mon Calamari Rangers, part of the resistance against the Empire on Dac, while tracking a group of refugees. Azard instructed Isen to direct the beast towards the refugees' location, with the aim of drawing out the Rangers and defeating them in a single, decisive blow. Isen was impressed by Azard's plan and promptly began its execution.

The Leviathan, trailed by Isen and Azard in their transport, soon encountered two Mon Calamari Rangers piloting underwater Krakana fighters. The Mon Calamari attempted to evade the creature, but Isen's shuttle managed to damage one that had escaped the Leviathan's reach. Subsequently, the creature absorbed the life energies of the damaged ship's occupant, but one Krakana managed to escape, and its pilot sped back to her comrades in the Rangers' base. Isen ordered his gunners to allow the Mon Calamari to escape unhindered, so that she could inform the Rangers that the Imperials were coming for them; a Mon Calamari defeat, Isen felt, was inevitable, but he felt it would be easier to finish off the Mon Calamari if they swarmed into the same locations, rather than having to hunt them down individually. Isen informed Azard that he preferred breaking the will of a species, sparking a minor confrontation between the two, though it soon abated.

Failure

The Leviathan followed the Mon Calamari's trail, toward the Rangers' base, with the Imperial shuttle in tow. Isen became very agitated during the long journey, continually querying Azard as to whether or not they had arrived at their destination; the Quarren grew impatient with the repetitive questioning, and made as much clear to Isen. Eventually, they reached the base, and swarms of Krakana came out to meet them. The Mon Calamari avoided the Leviathan and instead targeted the shuttle, hoping that if they destroyed it, the creature would stop attacking them. The shuttle's shields held firm against the Krakanas' plasma weapons, and since the Krakana were built for speed and had no shielding of their own, Isen thought the Mon Calamari's tactics foolish.

Azard ordered the gunners to kill all of the Mon Calamari, and the transport began spraying blaster fire in all directions. Although the Leviathan targeted escaping refugees, the Rangers stuck firm at their task, searching for a chink in the shuttle's armor. However, the situation turned against the Sith when the Rangers' ally, Imperial Knight Treis Sinde, arrived with many devilsquids, which swarmed around the Leviathan and attacked. Azard formed a plan: the shuttle would release its complement of Shark fighters to deal with the Krakana, while it would deal with the devilsquids. Though the shields had to be lowered to launch the Sharks, Azard was confident that if the shuttle concentrated fire on the area of the launch they should be able to repel the Krakana.

Azard was proved wrong, as a sole Mon Calamari ranger drove at the shuttle, committing suicide as she collided with the Imperial vessel. Isen's shuttle was crippled, and the bridge area disconnected from the rest of the vessel, which sank to the sea's floor. Isen escaped barely injured, but Azard was not so lucky, and was pinned to his chair. Using the Quarren's lightsaber, Isen freed him, and smashed one of the vessel's windows with the Force so that they could escape. Azard was surprised that Isen had freed him, but the Givin remarked that they were both part of the One Sith, and that Krayt would have wanted him to. The two then swam upward and away from the wreckage. Isen's creation, the Leviathan, was ultimately vanquished by Sinde and the Mon Calamari Rangers.

The Final Protocol

Sometime later, Lord Azard and Vul Isen received a holographic transmission from Darth Wyyrlok, who had seized control of the Empire and the One Sith in the name of Darth Krayt. Lord Wyyrlok informed Azard and Isen that Emperor Krayt no longer wished to expend Imperial resources on the systematic extermination of the Mon Calamari and instructed Isen to execute the Final Protocol: the extermination of all life on Dac. Pleased with the prospect of continuing his work elsewhere, Isen infected Dac's oceans with viral spores, which would be carried by oceanic currents and kill every life form on the planet within a week. Three days later, Dac's oceans were already covered with the bodies of the dead. Isen's action caused the deaths of more than eighty percent of the planet's population, and would've caused total extermination if not for the intervention of the Galactic Alliance Remnant and an evacuation fleet of civilian volunteers.

The Butcher of Dac

After the genocide concluded, Isen was branded with the title Butcher of Dac for the atrocities he committed on the planet. Cade Skywalker, now engaged in a personal vendetta against the One Sith, led a team consisting of Jariah Syn, Deliah Blue, and Wolf Sazen to Daluuj with the intention of locating and assassinating Isen. This mission was based on intelligence provided by Naxy Screeger. A contingent of Sith Lords rushed to confront the team, and while Syn and Blue infiltrated the facility to locate Isen and plant explosives, Skywalker and Sazen engaged the Sith in combat. Syn and Blue soon realized that Naxy's intelligence was outdated and that Isen was no longer present on Daluuj.

In reality, Isen was aboard the War Hammer, the flagship of the First Sith Imperial Strikeforce, where he had joined Lord Azard and Moff Rulf Yage to oversee the poisoning of Da Soocha, a sanctuary granted to Mon Calamari refugees by Azzim Anjiliac Atirue. Da Soocha was contaminated with the same toxins as Dac, while its moon, Napdu, was subjected to a massive orbital bombardment. Following these events, Isen celebrated the victory and referred to Yage as the "Conqueror of Da Soocha."

Death

On Utapau, Isen, accompanied by Darth Azard, established a laboratory where he conducted experiments on native Utai and Pau'an subjects. The Givin's plan was to assassinate Gar Stazi and, shortly thereafter, unleash a new plague capable of adapting to any living species.

Skywalker's comrades, Jariah and Blue, foiled Isen's assassin, while Cade and Jedi Master Wolf Sazen confronted Isen and Darth Azard. Isen attempted to flee as Cade pursued him. On the ledge Isen drew his lightsaber and engaged Cade. During the duel, both sensed Darth Krayt, who had returned from the dead, and soon after, Isen jumped into the sinkhole to release the vial. Cade leaped afterwards, and using the Force to propel himself to Isen, cut Isen in half before catching the vial containing the virus intended to purge Utapau, slowing it down and preventing it from shattering. As a result, Utapau was saved.

Personality and traits

Vul Isen, having been born on Korriban and indoctrinated into the ways of the One Sith from birth, was destined to become a scientist rather than a warrior. He possessed a naturally inquisitive mind, never accepting information without verification, and frequently questioning the decisions and orders of his superiors. Isen believed that this attitude was essential to his success as a scientist. However, it did not endear him to other, more warlike Sith—who were unflinchingly loyal and unquestionably obedient to Darth Krayt—and they regarded Isen as not a true Sith.

Isen was trained in genocide and was adept at pacifying or annihilating entire populations. He viewed it as a game and derived pleasure from his work. He believed that breaking the will of a species was more enjoyable than simply exterminating them, considering it a more subtle task. Despite this, the sadistic Givin worked extensively with viral organisms that could wipe out entire planets and significantly alter their environment, and he enjoyed experimenting with these organisms—on actual populations. He was greatly excited by Darth Azard's plan to eliminate the refugees and the Mon Calamari Rangers in one fell swoop, and he found the concept of the Leviathan's ability to absorb sentients' life energies fascinating, even as he watched his beast reduce masses of Mon Calamari to nothing but empty shells.

Isen was also quite talkative, in contrast to the reticent and taciturn Azard, with whom he spent much time on Dac. He frequently expressed his preferences, detailed his plans and their formulation, mocked individuals who annoyed him or displayed perceived incompetence, and outlined the capabilities of his creation, the Sea Leviathan. He was impatient and found it difficult to simply wait for events to unfold. His mind required constant stimulation; during the search for the Mon Calamari Rangers, he irritated Azard with his constant questioning as to whether they had arrived yet.

Despite his inquisitive, independent nature, Isen was deeply loyal to Darth Krayt, his Empire, and its ideals. While Azard distrusted the Givin because he was not blindly obedient to his superiors like many of the Sith warriors, ultimately Isen showed his true colors to the Quarren Sith, freeing him from the wreckage of the crippled Imperial shuttle. This surprised Azard, who had expected Isen to merely save his own skin and leave the injured Quarren there, but Isen told him that Krayt would have wanted members of the One Sith to save each other, and that they must follow their master's orders.

Powers and abilities

Isen's primary skills lay in science, and he engineered a number of experimental deadly toxins during his time. He was also able to use Sith alchemy to create a Leviathan, altered for use in the sea, though the idea was not his own, stemming instead from Darth Wyyrlok, an expert in Sith lore.

Despite being a member of the One Sith, Vul Isen was not destined to be a warrior. He himself admitted that he was never greatly skilled with a lightsaber, one of the reasons he did not become a Darth, and he did not carry a lightsaber in his service for Krayt's Empire. However, he did have rudimentary abilities with a lightsaber, using it to free Azard in the shuttle, and defend himself from Cade Skywalker for a short time.

Though his focus was on research and bioengineering, Isen was still able to effectively wield the Force. Along with Darth Azard, he invoked the dark side on Dac to awaken the Sea Leviathan, sending his mind into the abyss where it was located and imprinting his will upon it. As they did so, a tangle of Sith lightning engulfed them. The Givin was also adept at telekinesis; he used it to retrieve Azard's dropped lightsaber aboard the AT-AT on Dac, and used it to smash the vessel's window and create a means to escape. Isen was a capable swimmer, and was able to swim large distances because of his Givin physiology, which allowed him to survive in a vacuum.

Behind the scenes

The character of Vul Isen was conceived by John Ostrander for the Fight Another Day story arc within his Star Wars: Legacy comic series. Isen made his debut in the first issue of the arc in January 2009, and subsequently appeared in the second issue in February. In both issues, he was illustrated by Omar Francia. In all of his later appearances, he was drawn by Jan Duursema.