Chak Fel

Chak Fel's father was Baron Soontir Fel, a highly regarded Imperial starfighter pilot. His mother, Syal Antilles Fel, was an Imperial actress known by her stage name, Wynssa Starflare. Chak and his older brother, Davin, were born on Coruscant, but their mother raised them, along with the rest of their father's family, on their father's baronial estate located on Corellia.

Near the end of 4 ABY, when Fel's father disappeared during the Battle of Brentaal IV, his mother took him and Davin and fled. She feared the vengeance of Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard, who was not an ally of Soontir Fel. They remained hidden for several months before Syal was reunited with Soontir, who had switched his allegiance to the New Republic after being captured. However, they continued to live in secrecy, and it seems that Fel's existence was kept secret, as even Syal's brother, Wedge Antilles, was unaware of the children's existence. Shortly after, Isard managed to capture Soontir and handed him over to Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo, who was known by his core name Thrawn. Thrawn convinced Soontir that he needed his help to bring order to the many threats present in the Unknown Regions. Soontir became a general in the Empire of the Hand, which Thrawn had established to stabilize the Unknown Regions. A few months later, Syal and the children joined him, their disappearance orchestrated by Thrawn, at the Empire of the Hand's headquarters on Nirauan.

Fel was raised in the Unknown Regions, where he and Davin were joined by two younger brothers—Jagged and Cem, with Cem being kept hidden from everyone outside the family as a shadow child to protect the family line—and two younger sisters—Cherith and Wynssa. When Thrawn went back to the known regions of space to command the Empire, the Empire of the Hand was left under the command of Admiral Voss Parck, with Soontir serving as a senior officer. The Empire of the Hand remained a secret, fighting against the various dangers found in the Unknown Regions. It included not only Thrawn's Imperial forces but also members of Thrawn's species who opposed the ban imposed by their society, the Chiss Ascendancy, on preemptive strikes.

Fel was brought up by his father among the Chiss and according to Chiss standards, becoming a warrior dedicated to the protection of the galaxy. However, he did not attend the Chiss academy that Davin and Jagged attended, instead receiving his education exclusively through Imperial facilities. Fel joined the pilot corps of the Empire of the Hand's fleet, where he was promoted to the rank of commander by 22 ABY, leading a fleet-arm of Nssis-class clawcraft. He gained extensive combat experience and received numerous awards and honors during his years of combat operations, making his father proud. Fel collaborated with elements of the 501st Legion during his time with the Empire of the Hand, although not in direct combat; his expertise and role were in the cockpit of a clawcraft. Fel's early career was not without its sorrows; by 19 ABY, his brother Davin had been killed in action.

In 22 ABY, Parck received a message from Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano of the Chiss Ascendancy, requesting that Parck forward a message to the Jedi, inviting them to participate in an expedition to the recently discovered ruins of the Old Republic's Outbound Flight Project, which Thrawn had destroyed before the Clone Wars. Parck sent the message to Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker. Parck also dispatched Fel and Unit Aurek-Seven—Su-mil, known by the warrior name Grappler; Watchman; Shadow; and Cloud—of the 501st Legion as his representatives and as guards for Chaf'orm'bintrano. He informed them that the mission would be dangerous and that the Chiss would require protection, but he did not reveal the specific nature of the danger to Fel. He also included a complete copy of the operational manual for Outbound Flight, which he had found in Thrawn's records.

When Fel arrived at the rendezvous point of Crustai and boarded the expedition ship, the Chaf Envoy, he was greeted by Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano, who went by the core name Formbi. He had little contact with Formbi afterward, and General Prard'ras'kleoni, or Drask, the commander of the Chaf Envoy's military contingent, was clearly unhappy with their presence on the ship. Fel learned that the New Republic had also sent a representative, Ambassador Dean Jinzler. Fel and the four stormtroopers who served as his bodyguard spent most of their time aboard their own ship, docked within the Chaf Envoy, preferring to stay out of the way. Eventually, a refugee ship arrived. Its passengers informed the Chiss that they were Geroons, victims of the Vagaari who wished to visit Outbound Flight's crash site and pay their respects to the men and women who had saved them from Vagaari enslavement, a request that Formbi granted. The Vagaari had previously been marauders in the Unknown Regions but had been defeated in the battle at which Outbound Flight was destroyed.

Shortly after the Skywalkers arrived, Fel heard the sound of a lightsaber being activated and took Aurek Squad to investigate. He found Mara Jade Skywalker hanging from a ceiling pillar in the entrance chamber, examining a cable that had come loose and nearly struck her husband upon their arrival. Fel greeted her, and when he suggested that they compare notes about the mission, she took him back to the cabin she shared with her husband, suspecting that there might be spies present. They spoke briefly, with Fel falsely claiming that he had been sent by Parck to guard them, an idea that the fiercely independent Jade Skywalker did not appreciate.

Fel returned to his quarters and changed into his dress uniform for a reception dinner with the other guests that evening. While on his way there, he encountered Jinzler in the hallway and spoke briefly about the operational manual he possessed, asking if Jinzler had any similar records for comparison; Jinzler did not. During dinner, an explosion and fire occurred near Fel's Imperial transport. The fire-suppression system malfunctioned, and as the stormtroopers were closest and had their own air supplies, they went in to extinguish the fire. They reported to Fel that the fire was dangerously close to the fuel supply and that they had found what they believed to be a conduit for extinguisher foam. Fel enlisted the help of the Jedi to use their lightsabers to carefully scratch the conduit to determine what liquid was actually inside—they wanted to avoid accidentally releasing a flood of flammable liquid. They did so, confirmed that it was indeed a fire-suppression foam conduit, and successfully extinguished the fire.

Afterward, he spoke with the Skywalkers again. They discussed the possibility of sabotage as the cause of the explosion but could not identify a motive. Fel offered to show them the operational manual to search for clues about what on Outbound Flight might be valuable, but upon reaching his ship, Fel discovered that the datacards had been stolen, with the fire likely serving as a distraction. Due to several people having been nearby when Fel discussed the datacards with Jinzler, they were unable to narrow down the list of suspects in the theft.

Fel spent the next several days primarily on his shuttle. However, when the Chaf Envoy arrived at Brask Oto Command Station, he, the Skywalkers, Jinzler, and the Geroons were all summoned together. Formbi informed them that they were about to enter an extremely dangerous star cluster known as the Redoubt and asked them to confirm their willingness to proceed. All agreed. During the journey into the Redoubt, the Chaf Envoy dropped out of hyperspace due to engine problems. Fel, suspecting further sabotage as a diversion, dispatched Unit Aurek-Seven to secure potential targets for the mysterious saboteur onboard. The stormtrooper Su-mil discovered Jinzler lurking near the shield generator, but Jinzler claimed that he had been pursuing an intruder himself. Su-mil did find a repeater device placed in the ship's navigational lines; however, he could not determine who had planted it.

Upon arrival, they discovered the six Dreadnaughts of Outbound Flight crashed, with most of them buried under a layer of scree. Fel, in his dress uniform, attended a ceremony with the other dignitaries upon entering the first Dreadnaught, the only one accessible from the surface. While Formbi offered apologies for the Chiss role in the destruction of the project, Skywalker sensed survivors aboard one of the buried Dreadnaughts. They prepared a rescue party, and soon Fel, Unit Aurek-Seven, the Jedi, Jinzler, four Geroons, Formbi and his aide Feesa, Drask, and three Chiss guards began to make their way into Outbound Flight. Fel and one of his men were positioned in the middle of the group, with the other three troopers behind, effectively boxing in the Geroons. Their progress through the damaged ship was slow, but they eventually reached the fleet tactical room, where Fel created a distraction by attempting to access the ship's records while the Jedi investigated what appeared to be an individual ahead. However, Drask noticed this and slipped away to follow them. They were captured by the suspicious survivors, making noise that the rest investigated.

Fel and his stormtroopers brought up the rear as the others led. They were met by a young girl named Evlyn, who promised to guide them to the survivors. Instead, she led them into a trap. Fel's party was separated from the others in a disguised turbolift car and plummeted briefly before coming to a stop. A voice identifying itself as Jorad Pressor, Guardian of the People, informed them that the turbolift car was balanced between powerful opposing repulsors, with their circuitry embedded in the walls of the car. Any attempt to cut their way out would damage the circuitry and disable at least one of the repulsors, sending them crashing into one end of the tube or the other at fatal speed. Pressor instructed them to wait until he made a decision about their fates. With their comlinks jammed, Fel immediately began covering the monitor in the car while the stormtroopers scanned the pattern of circuits around it. They devised a plan to access the control wires and gradually reduce the power to the repulsors. Implementing their plan, they headed toward the central supply core, not wanting to follow Jinzler's car, which they had heard descending, directly to the next Dreadnaught. In the supply core, they encountered the Skywalkers and Drask, who had also managed to escape their own turbolift trap. Drask scolded him for leaving Formbi without protection, but Fel could not help being separated from the Aristocra.

The Skywalkers separated to investigate the command Dreadnaught, buried deepest, while Fel and his stormtroopers made their way to Dreadnaught-Six to investigate it quickly and then move to Dreadnaught-Five from an unexpected angle to provide assistance to the others, now aboard Dreadnaught Five, if necessary. After arguing with the impatient Drask, Fel led the group to investigate an occupied area of the Dreadnaught. Fel and Drask led the way into what they discovered was a nursery for the children of the Outbound Flight survivors. The stormtroopers came under fire, causing the group to retreat. Fel wanted to move on to Dreadnaught-Five, but Drask insisted on investigating what the residents were protecting, as they had been away from the nursery. Fel agreed, and the stormtroopers stunned the Peacekeepers who had fired on them. They then continued moving, finding a prison set up on the same Dreadnaught. Fel spoke to the two women caring for the children inside, who informed him that the children had been locked up because they were suspected of Force-sensitivity; for unknown reasons, the Outbound Flight survivors had a deep fear and hatred of Jedi. Fel was angered by the imprisonment of the children, but he had more pressing matters to attend to and moved on at Drask's urging.

During their journey, the comlink jamming ceased, and Jinzler immediately reported that the Geroons were actually Vagaari and that they were under attack by the Vagaari's wolvkil attack beasts in the conference room they had been sharing with the survivor leadership. The Vagaari themselves were spreading line creepers throughout Outbound Flight to shut down the power and kill the inhabitants. Fel spoke with the Skywalkers, and both rushed to assist the diplomatic party. Drask attempted to contact the Chaf Envoy, but there was no response. The Vagaari craft had been packed with warriors in suspended animation who now emerged to make their way down into Dreadnaught-Five to reinforce the others.

While waiting for the turbolift to arrive to take them to Dreadnaught-Five, the stormtroopers detected that the car was too heavy. Fel prepared to ambush the presumed Vagaari occupants as they arrived. The Vagaari emerged firing, and Fel was attacked behind his cover by a wolvkil. It withstood his blaster shots, leaping on him and biting his right arm. After a struggle with the beast, Shadow arrived just in time to prevent the wolvkil from tearing out Fel's throat and, with the help of the other stormtroopers, killed it. With that group of Vagaari defeated, Fel had his arm treated before deciding to hand over command of the stormtroopers to General Drask, a career ground officer. Fel realized that he could not command the stormtroopers as effectively as Drask could and would not let pride prevent him from ensuring the most efficient leadership. Drask graciously agreed to a joint command.

Upon arriving aboard Dreadnaught-Five, Drask and Fel planned a surprise attack on the Vagaari guarding the aft turbolift, the one they would need to return to the surface. He, Drask, Cloud, and Su-mil planned to attack the Vagaari, driving them back into the turbolift where Watchman and Shadow could ambush them within the shaft. Before attacking, Fel fired a Vagaari blaster a few times, drawing a group of Vagaari away from the main guard to, as they thought, aid some of their comrades. That group was quickly eliminated, reducing the number of troops they would have to attack. Fel used his knowledge of the Dreadnaught's layout to find an overlooked corridor they could use to ambush the guards.

The stormtroopers led the attack from the narrow corridor, and when the return fire became too intense, they sealed the door and prepared to retreat. Turning to leave, at the back of the formation, Fel found a line of Vagaari sneaking up on them. Fel immediately began attacking, but the situation looked dire. Both stormtroopers were injured, with their armor wearing down under sustained fire, and Fel and Drask were unarmored. They managed to fight their way to an access point into the turbolift anteroom, where there would be more Vagaari but where the Imperials would not be so confined. A concussion grenade gave them time to get through safely, but the Vagaari were beginning to recover before they could reach cover. A turbolift car arrived, which they entered, but they found the controls locked down. Despairing of his life, Fel was surprised when Watchman and Cloud burst through the ceiling and eliminated the Vagaari threatening them; he had forgotten about them in the heat of battle.

They met up with the Jedi shortly after that, with the Dreadnaught now clear of Vagaari. The Vagaari blew apart the pylon connecting Dreadnaught-Four, which they had first entered, to the other Dreadnaughts and blasted off, leaving Fel and the others stranded. While they recovered, it was revealed that Formbi had known that the "Geroons" were Vagaari. He had deliberately sent his message to Parck with enough signal leakage for the Vagaari, who had been gathering their strength recently, to intercept it. He allowed them aboard the Chaf Envoy in the hope that they would make the first strike against the Chiss, thus allowing the Chiss Ascendancy to go to war with them. He had anticipated that they would try to steal the ship and flee, not knowing that they had brought so many warriors stored in their transport. Soon enough, they were contacted by the crew of the Chaf Envoy, who had been left undisturbed, waiting for an attack on the command center while the Vagaari had simply left. Fel and the stormtroopers were transferred to Dreadnaught-Six to recover from their wounds while the Skywalkers piloted a Delta-12 Skysprite that had been stored aboard the ship in pursuit of the Vagaari, hoping to warn the Ascendancy before the Vagaari escaped.

The Skywalkers succeeded in retaking the Dreadnaught from the Vagaari and were even able to locate the Vagaari fleet, providing the information to the Chiss. They returned to the crash site with Chiss forces, who evacuated both the diplomatic party and the Outbound Flight residents. The latter, unwilling to return to the New Republic, accepted Fel's offer of a place in the Empire of the Hand. Fel and his troopers did not stay to oversee the evacuation, however, instead departing with Drask to participate in the strike against the Vagaari fleet. They successfully attacked the fleet, using the element of surprise to destroy it.

Due to injuries sustained when a wolvkil mauled his forearm, Fel could no longer fly a clawcraft. Consequently, he had to relinquish command of his unit, though this did not end his service to the Empire of the Hand's navy. In 23 ABY, Jagged joined Fel in the Empire of the Hand, assuming command of his own squadron. Within two years, Jagged rose to the rank of colonel, leading three squadrons. Tragically, he also experienced the death of Cherith, who was killed in action by 25 ABY.

When the Yuuzhan Vong War began in 25 ABY, Jagged was dispatched to the New Republic as Soontir's representative, tasked with providing assistance. Simultaneously, the Empire of the Hand faced persistent threats from the Unknown Regions, eventually leading to its dissolution. The Fels then transferred their allegiance to the Chiss Ascendancy. Amidst this chaos, Fel perished, most likely before the Yuuzhan Vong War concluded. He suffered fatal shrapnel wounds from a turbolift explosion during a Vagaari ambush of his forces, which caused his death. By 35 ABY, his death was confirmed when Chaf'orm'bintrano informed Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker during a diplomatic visit to the Galactic Alliance.

Chak Fel possessed an open, honest, and direct nature. Despite being raised by his father amongst the Chiss and according to Chiss customs, Fel lacked the unyielding, intense discipline and severity characteristic of his brother Jagged. This difference may have been due to his education within the Empire of the Hand's system, as opposed to the Chiss academy attended by both Jagged and Davin.

He felt immense pride in both the Empire of the Hand's accomplishments and his personal achievements within it. His father's pride in him was a great source of satisfaction. He abhorred failure or disappointing others, yet he willingly acknowledged his shortcomings. He also openly admitted his inexperience or lack of skill, as demonstrated when he handed over command of Unit Aurek-Seven to Drask.

Fel refused to subject his subordinates to risks he himself would not face. Even while fighting without armor aboard Outbound Flight, he prevented the armored stormtroopers from handling all the combat, partly motivated by a desire to avoid appearing cowardly to Drask.

Fel possessed extensive knowledge of military matters, encompassing both the Empire of the Hand and Chiss Ascendancy military practices and equipment. He had considerable combat piloting experience. However, he possessed limited ground combat experience and, while familiar with tactical principles, was not particularly skilled in their application. He was also familiar with Chiss Ascendancy diplomatic and cultural affairs. However, he lacked expertise in espionage or investigation, generally trusting others and not expecting complex deceptive strategies outside of combat.

Timothy Zahn, the author, created the character Chak Fel for the novel Survivor's Quest. Zahn had a strong fondness for Soontir Fel, Chak's father. Fel has only been directly referenced by name in one other story, Dark Nest I: The Joiner King.

However, Chak Fel's appearance in Survivor's Quest led to continuity problems. The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide II: Ruin, released in 2000, and The New Jedi Order: Dark Journey, released in 2002, established that the Fel family had five children—Jagged, his deceased older brother Davin, his deceased younger sister Cherith, and two other unnamed children. The New Jedi Order: Force Heretic II: Refugee, released in 2003, identified the missing two as Cem and Wynssa. All five children had already been named when Chak Fel appeared in Survivor's Quest in 2004. Since Davin was the only Fel child close in age to Chak, Lucas Licensing editor Sue Rostoni initially proposed that Chak was actually Davin, with Chak being a nickname. Ultimately, this explanation was not integrated into canon. Dark Nest I: The Joiner King established that Cem was a shadow child unknown outside the family. All references to five Fel children were therefore misinformation and included Chak, Davin, Jagged, Cherith, and Wynssa.

The Official Star Wars Fact File 122 stated that Soontir Fel had multiple children before his defection. Given the established ages, these could only be Chak and Davin. While that issue of The Official Star Wars Fact File was filled with inaccuracies about the Fel family, this piece of information does not contradict any canon and has been included in this article. Therefore, Chak Fel must have existed during Soontir Fel's time in the New Republic, yet he was never mentioned, even though Soontir frequently worried about his wife. Furthermore, no one in the New Republic seemed aware of any Fel children besides Syal, strongly suggesting that Chak's existence was kept secret.