Magna Tolvan

In the Imperial Era, Magna Tolvan became a member of the Galactic Empire. Her peers at the Imperial Academy considered her the most likely to achieve great success. Admiral Kendal Ozzel once regarded her as "a candidate for greatness," and she eventually attained the rank of captain. Under the direction of General Cassio Tagge, she oversaw security on Eadu, a planet housing a research and development facility for the Tarkin Initiative. However, in 0 BBY, a group of Rebels aiming to assassinate the scientist Galen Erso caused considerable damage at the facility, which Tolvan was unable to prevent. By the time of the [Galactic Civil War](/article/galactic_civil_war], Tolvan was being mentored by Inspector Thanoth, who believed everything happened for a reason. Thanoth passed away during his final mission.

Despite Tagge's leniency, Tolvan was assigned to a punitive detail on the deserted moon Yavin 4 due to her failure on Eadu. Her task was to search the Great Temple, formerly the Rebels' main base until their evacuation. In 0 ABY, while at the command center, a lieutenant informed Tolvan of detected readings, suggesting possible rebel presence. However, the infiltrators were not rebels but Chelli Aphra, her father Korin Aphra, Krrsantan, and the droids BT-1 and 0-0-0, who were gathering readings from the temple. Tolvan dispatched speeders, but Krrsantan destroyed them. Observing this from a distance, she ordered her troops to respond.

Upon reaching the temple, Krrsantan opened fire on Tolvan's forces using a heavy blaster cannon taken from a walker. Inside, Aphra and her team collected their data and began to leave, engaging Imperial troops. Tolvan managed to corner them between her forces, stormtroopers, and an AT-AT. She ordered them to surrender, but Aphra's ship, the Ark Angel II, intervened, rescuing them and destroying the AT-AT.

Tolvan also patrolled the orbit of Yavin 4 in a TIE/ln space superiority starfighter alongside two other TIE fighters.

Seeking to redeem herself, Tolvan and her remaining troops, now as snowtroopers, tracked Aphra to the Citadel of Rur, passing the hidden 0-0-0 and BT-1. Aphra, her father, and Krrsantan were walking along the citadel's edge when Tolvan's forces arrived. Krrsantan provided cover as his comrades ran across a Force bridge. Aphra then destroyed the bridge's control device, causing three snowtroopers to fall to their deaths.

Unable to cross the gap, Tolvan's troops faced a larger threat when numerous droids attacked, decimating the snowtroopers. Aphra reappeared and told them to follow her. Tolvan complied, and Aphra reactivated the Force-bridge, deactivating it after Tolvan crossed. They retreated to Tolvan's ship, where they found the pilots killed by 0-0-0 and BT-1. Additionally, an Imperial droid possessed by the consciousness of an ancient Jedi attacked Tolvan. The group escaped before the citadel exploded, freeing the droid from the technopathy.

Tolvan threatened to shoot Aphra with her blaster, but Aphra's father stabbed her in the shoulder with Rur's lightsaber, incapacitating her. Tolvan was left stranded on a planet in the Outer Rim. Aphra acknowledged that she should kill Tolvan, but chose not to, due to her attraction.

After her encounter with Aphra, Tolvan was demoted again. Around 1 ABY, as a Lieutenant, she was assigned to an Imperial base on Someilk in the Outer Rim. Her new superior, Captain Punfor, mocked her demotion, recalling her "high flying days" at the academy. She pondered what advice her former mentor, Thanoth, would offer.

Surprisingly, an Orbital Insertion pod landed on the base, deploying armed criminals. Tolvan warned Punfor of the attack, advising him to lock down the base and not deploy stormtroopers. However, stormtroopers engaged the attackers and were quickly defeated by the mercenary Rexa Go. Tolvan attempted to flank them but spotted Aphra. Shocked, Tolvan was shot at by Aphra, but Go pinned her down. After discussing a new plan with Punfor, Tolvan tried to take control of the base's LAAT/le patrol gunship, but was captured by Aphra at gunpoint.

Aphra held Tolvan captive on the ship while her team infiltrated the base. Tolvan pressed for Aphra's identity, but Aphra only used the pseudonym "Joystick Chevron." When Aphra flirted with her again, Tolvan expressed her insecurities about her cybernetics. Aphra apologized for her actions that led to Tolvan's demotion, insisted her attraction was genuine, and stunned her before escaping with the criminals. Tolvan appeared to be the sole survivor after the base was destroyed by the Orbital Insertion pods' detonation.

Due to the base's destruction, Tolvan received a third demerit and was imprisoned in the Imperial Internal Affairs Outpost, awaiting execution. In her cell, Tolvan dreamed that Aphra rescued her, revealing her attraction as she imagined them kissing. She was awakened by her cell guard and taken for execution by firing squad.

However, a messenger arrived with news that Tolvan had been named Thanoth's legatee and reassigned to the Inspectorate due to his death. The reassignment was delayed by the destruction of Scarif and Tolvan's previous demotion. Her new position canceled the execution, as the Inspectorate operated on a four-demerit system, unlike the field corps' three-demerit system. Tolvan reprimanded the Sergeant major in charge of her execution, issuing him a demerit (which would result in his own execution).

At the Imperial Inspectorate HQ on Coruscant, Tolvan searched the database for the real identity of "Joystick Chevron." The search returned a result under "Directive 081-Omega," but its contents were deleted. Tolvan searched Thanoth's files for Directive 081-Omega and discovered that an 081-Omega Rating was the Empire's highest authority to access and alter records. Through his I.D. file, Tolvan learned that Thanoth had been serving as an adjutant to Darth Vader at the time of his death.

Aphra's arrival on Skako Minor triggered Tolvan's search filters, alerting her to Aphra's location. Tolvan took a shuttle and a small crew to Skako Minor, but they crash-landed in the Hellhulk station housing Wat Tambor's workshop. The crash damaged an ancient techno-totem that controlled a Chthonic worm god. Tolvan ordered her stormtroopers to fire on Aphra's crew, but the awakened worm god attacked. Seeking shelter, Tolvan and Aphra briefly held each other at gunpoint before the worm god disarmed them. They found refuge in a mechanical shaft after using one of Aphra's Tooka clones to create a diversion, but the worm god pursued them.

Trapped in the shaft, Tolvan and Aphra argued. Aphra blamed Tolvan for awakening the worm god, while Tolvan retorted that Aphra caused her demotion, near-execution, and the Tooka explosion. Tolvan called Aphra "the worst thing alive" and vowed to incarcerate her. Realizing the techno-totem was with them, they shared a laugh. Believing they were about to die, Aphra and Tolvan shared a passionate kiss.

However, Aphra's droideka, Dek-Nil, intentionally caused a stormtrooper to misfire, striking the ceiling and crushing the worm god. Tolvan asked Aphra for her name, explaining that her file was marked in Imperial records and someone higher up might intervene. Aphra advised Tolvan to stay away for her own safety. As Tolvan prepared to leave, they were spotted by Rexa. Aphra shot Rexa, allowing Tolvan to escape unnoticed. Leaving the workshop, Tolvan found the Defel mercenary Glahst Ombra, who had deserted Aphra. Tolvan killed and skinned her, joining Aphra's crew disguised in Ombra's pelt.

Aphra took the mercenaries to the Lucrehulk Prime, a Lucrehulk-class LH-3210 cargo freighter used as a rebel flight school. As they landed, Tolvan used Ombra's skin to sneak into the air ducts. Aphra's crew were welcomed as recruits, but Tam Posla exposed them, and General Hera Syndulla imprisoned them in the brig. Tolvan found Aphra and Dek-Nil's cell, revealing herself to Aphra, who was disgusted by the idea of Tolvan skinning Ombra. After a discussion about Imperial rules, Tolvan demanded Aphra's name, mission, and why Darth Vader had deleted her records. Dek-Nil stunned Tolvan, causing her to accidentally destroy the cell's shield generator, freeing the mercenaries. Aphra had them move Tolvan back into the air duct, leaving a communicator for future contact.

When Tolvan awoke, Aphra and her mercenaries had left with Syndulla as their captive. However, the flight school followed them to Hivebase-1, which she was infiltrating. The lucrehulk was attacked by a scaraphyte swarm. While the rebel officer Bini tried to manage the situation, Tolvan attacked and subdued four personnel before knocking him unconscious. She contacted Hivebase-1 to report her success, and Commander Yewl ordered her to destroy the flight school. Aphra overheard the conversation and tried to convince Tolvan she was not worth losing.

Tolvan decided she could not die and told Yewl that capturing the flight school was a priority, citing an Imperial doctrine. To Aphra's shock, she revealed Aphra's presence in Hivebase-1. Yewl decided to use rejected prototypes, but Posla's weaponry proved effective. Aphra reached Hivebase-1's datacore and used a bug to control the flight school, which latched onto the complex and ripped out the datacore with Aphra and her team. Tolvan returned to the air ducts as more rebels reached the control hub. As the flight school withdrew, Hivebase-1 was detonated by explosive Tookas released by Aphra.

Now back on the flight school, Syndulla allowed Aphra to leave with the datacore. Aphra sent Posla to find Tolvan in the air ducts. Tolvan tranquilized him and took his armor to disguise herself and leave with Aphra. With the remaining mercenaries joining the rebellion, Aphra and Tolvan were alone on the ship. After two romantic days, they parted on a snowy planet, with Aphra finally revealing her name.

Returning to the Inspectorate, Tolvan investigated the infiltration and destruction of Hivebase-1. Commander Yewl and Dek-Nil were recovered from the wreckage. Yewl was taken to the Imperial Internal Affairs Outpost for execution, and other survivors were disciplined. Although the rebellion had Hivebase-1's datacore, Tolvan doubted they would weaponize its data. She had placed a tracker on Aphra, tracking her to Son-tuul Pride. Tolvan's forces attacked and destroyed the syndicate. Aphra was put on Shuttle Six with Dek-Nil, to be imprisoned in the mobile wreckage-prison Accresker Jail. Following the destruction of Son-tuul Pride, Tolvan was promoted to Captain-Inspector, and her investigation was logged.

Later, Tolvan was investigating a ship crash on Coruscant when Aphra, having acquired a transmitter at Accresker Jail, contacted her. Aphra revealed a conspiracy involving Darth Vader's plan to overthrow the Emperor using a Force-sensitive boy. Aphra, fearing discovery during interrogation, warned that Tolvan would be in danger too. Realizing this and wanting to see Aphra, Tolvan traveled to Accresker Jail.

Tolvan met with Accresker's warden on their prison-tug to take Aphra for her own interrogation. The warden questioned her ability to succeed where they had failed, especially as they were preparing a bor of the Mairan for interrogation. Tolvan persisted and convinced the Imperials to take her to Aphra's cell. Upon entering, Tolvan ordered the other Imperials to leave. Despite a lieutenant citing regulations, Tolvan forced her to turn away and hum to prevent her from overhearing intel. Using electro-tattoos to create a communication bridge through the cell's forcefield, Tolvan and Aphra planned their escape.

While Accresker Jail engaged a pirate station, Tolvan flew a TIE fighter to the far side of the wreckage-prison, where she found Aphra, Dek-Nil, and the shape-shifting alien Lopset Yas waiting. Tolvan used sensor disruptors to evade Accresker command. However, a Force spirit attacked, destroying the disruptors. Aphra pursued it despite Tolvan's objections, and Tolvan was contacted by Accresker Command, demanding identification.

Adding to the already complex situation, the rebel operative Sana Starros, who also sought Aphra, launched an assault on Tolvan aboard the Volt Cobra. As Tolvan's TIE fighter sustained critical damage, she ejected, armed with a missile launcher, and retaliated by destroying the Cobra. Now stranded without spacecraft, Tolvan and Starros engaged in a firefight. During this exchange, they both came to the understanding that they were each attempting to rescue Aphra, leading them to cease hostilities. Concurrently, the conflict with the pirate station reached its conclusion. Aphra and Yas returned to Tolvan, bearing Dek-Nil's severed head. Aphra expressed surprise at Starros' sudden arrival and the loss of their means of escape. Subsequently, a hubdroid appeared and confiscated their weaponry. The droid escorted Aphra away for questioning, while Tolvan and Starros followed Yas.

To facilitate their integration into Accresker Jail, Yas provided Tolvan and Starros with prison attire, along with cautionary advice regarding their predicament. In the meantime, Aphra underwent interrogation by the Mairan Bor Ifriem. To conceal the conspiracy involving Vader and the Emperor, she divulged the existence of a highly infectious fungus, identified as gundravian hookspores, within Accresker Jail. This fungus was said to be the source of the mysterious Force-spirit emanating from the decaying remains of an ancient Jedi. Consequently, Accresker Command announced the decommission of the prison to all inmates, including Tolvan. Furthermore, Accresker Jail was now projected to collide with the rebellious planet Tiferep Major. Upon the conclusion of the announcement, Aphra was returned to the company of the other prisoners.

Driven by a fervent desire to escape Accresker Jail, Aphra devised a novel plan. She made contact with Tam Posla, requesting the delivery of an escape shuttle. Anticipating Posla's refusal, she instructed Yas to assume the form of his nemesis, Doctor Cornelius Evazan. Upon encountering "Evazan," Posla acquiesced to Aphra's proposition. Simultaneously, Tolvan and Starros observed as Accresker Command abandoned the prison-tug, leaving it on a collision course with Accresker Jail. While evading the impending impact, they encountered a riot among the prisoners. One of the inmates identified Aphra as the catalyst for Accresker's decommissioning, resulting in their encirclement by the mob. However, the Force-spirit intervened, launching an assault on the prisoners.

Tolvan, Yas, and Starros managed to hoist a substantial weapon dropped by a fallen prisoner and used it to breach a hole in the prison-tug's hull, gaining entry. Upon locating a control room, Aphra examined a terminal and discovered the existence of a solitary remaining escape pod. Nevertheless, it was inaccessible due to sealed bulkheads, and the prison's gravity rendered its release impossible. Tolvan observed a hologram of Tiferep Major and expressed concern for the millions of innocent civilians still residing there. At that moment, Aphra resolved to use Dek-Nil's head to slice the terminal, thereby reducing gravity and opening the bulkheads. Tolvan, however, was preoccupied and contacted Imperial Sector Control, attempting to utilize her codes to avert Accresker Jail's collision with Tiferep Major. The Imperial on the other end mistook her for a rebel and rejected the request.

Recognizing the apparent lack of alternatives, Tolvan accessed the Imperial Informant System to transmit an anonymous message to Darth Vader. In this message, she disclosed her knowledge of his plot to overthrow the Emperor and revealed her location, hoping for his intervention. Aphra successfully manipulated the terminal, diminishing the gravity within Accresker Jail. After unlocking the bulkheads, she guided Tolvan and the others toward the escape pod. Their path was obstructed by the gundravian hookspores, which Aphra had inadvertently displaced while adjusting the gravity. The hookspores attempted to possess all four individuals but ultimately rejected them, favoring a more heroic host. Aphra then began searching for the ancient Jedi it was housed around for his lightsaber. The fungus remained stationary, and Starros urged Aphra to continue toward the escape pod.

Upon reaching the escape pod, Tolvan and Starros boarded it. Aphra then attempted to launch the pod without herself and Yas. Tolvan, realizing this, refused to abandon Aphra and leaped out at the last moment, leaving Starros alone inside the launched escape pod. Compelled to bring Tolvan along, Aphra led her and Yas to the prison-tug's hangar, where Posla's ship had arrived. Aphra forced Yas to transform into Evazan, much to his displeasure at being exploited, and then froze him using the coolant grille. As Posla emerged, he confirmed the presence of "Evazan" and began transporting the frozen figure. The gundravian hookspores sensed Posla, perceiving him as an ideal host, and converged upon him. As the fungus approached to merge with him, Tolvan activated the coolant grille, freezing them.

After Posla's departure, Aphra and Tolvan returned to the Jedi's remains, where the hookspores had resided. Aphra recovered his lightsaber and escorted Tolvan back to the hangar, where Posla had left behind a shuttle as promised. As they piloted the shuttle out of the hangar, they came under fire. Their pursuers were the assassin droids 0-0-0 and BT-1, who had trailed Posla in search of Aphra. As she and Tolvan fled from them, they realized that Accresker Jail was on the verge of colliding with Tiferep Major. To their astonishment, the prison then decelerated. Vader had arrived aboard his flagship, the Executor, and employed its tractor beam to stabilize Accresker Jail. Aphra witnessed his arrival and recognized the implications of Tolvan's actions.

Left with no viable options, Aphra guided Tolvan back to Bor Ifriem and instructed her to erase her memories. Tolvan, however, proposed that her own memories be erased instead, hoping to salvage their situation and to forget the suffering Aphra had inflicted upon her. Aphra relented and enlisted the Mairan's assistance in altering Tolvan's memory, but made a significant alteration, fabricating memories in which Tolvan believed she had murdered Aphra out of jealousy. Upon Vader's arrival, he interrogated Tolvan, pinning her to the ceiling with the Force and demanding information about Aphra. Tolvan recounted their encounters before tearfully confessing to Aphra's murder. This convinced Vader that Tolvan had summoned him solely to save herself. He escorted Tolvan back to his shuttle, instructing his officers to confine her to his chambers. Vader then sensed the presence of the hookspores and proceeded in their direction.

Tolvan, despite having a metal clamp over her mouth, managed to convey combat stealth signals to reprimand the officers for their lax enforcement of regulations. Simultaneously, Starros returned from Tiferep Major with a rebel squadron. They destroyed the shuttle, eliminating Tolvan's captors. Vader eliminated Tan Leader, but chose to depart Accresker Jail aboard another shuttle after subduing the hookspores. He ordered the prison to continue its trajectory toward the planet, ensuring Tolvan's demise. However, Starros landed her ship and discovered Tolvan amidst the wreckage of Vader's initial shuttle. With Accresker Jail on a collision course, she was compelled to abandon her search for Aphra and evacuate Tolvan instead.

Following the events at Accresker Jail, Tolvan enlisted in the Rebel Alliance and attained the rank of captain. Within days of her induction, she assembled a squad known as Strike Team Misericorde for the Rebel Alliance Intelligence Service. During this period, she experienced profound grief over the loss of Dr. Aphra. Under Tolvan's leadership, the team thwarted three assassination attempts and exposed two double agents. General Airen Cracken developed a high degree of confidence in Tolvan as a result. However, she was also candid about her past and frequently spoke of Aphra.

After Aphra garnered significant attention for infiltrating the Slinani Migration Shrine of the Red Mist around 2 ABY, Cracken dispatched Tolvan and her team to apprehend the rogue archaeologist before the Empire could, without explicitly identifying Aphra to them. Extraction Team Misericorde ambushed Aphra and her accomplice Vulaada Klam on Unox. As Tolvan disembarked from her UT-60D U-wing starfighter/support craft, she immediately recognized Aphra and surmised that she had altered her memory with Bor Ifriem's assistance. Despite her emotions, Tolvan incapacitated her.

Tolvan transported Aphra and Klam to the Trading Post Sh'ung-tesk to confer with General Cracken. Tolvan was tasked with eliminating several stormtroopers believed to be tracking Senator Mothma by testing the Farkiller. Tolvan discharged the weapon, obliterating the barn housing the stormtroopers. She subsequently discovered that the stormtroopers were not pursuing the Senator but Dr. Aphra. When Aphra and Klam returned to the rebels, Tolvan confronted her with a knife upon overhearing her intention to thwart the alliance's assassination attempt on the Emperor. During their altercation, Aphra instructed Tolvan to don a Breath mask as Krrsantan infiltrated the premises through a window. Tolvan engaged Krrsantan in combat and subdued the Wookiee. Tolvan then heeded Aphra's explanation of the Farkiller's capabilities, which extended beyond the Emperor to encompass thousands of innocent bystanders. Tolvan was astonished by this revelation and permitted Aphra to seize the Farkiller. She requested that Aphra inflict an injury to lend credibility to her escape. As Aphra retrieved the weapon, Tolvan provided her with an Imperial command indent. Before allowing Aphra to flee, Tolvan confessed that she both loved and hated her. Subsequently, Tolvan was rendered unconscious by Krrsantan.

Tolvan and General Cracken observed as Aphra foiled Minister Pitina Voor's assassination attempt on the Emperor and destroyed the Farkiller. Around 3 ABY, Tolvan and Extraction Team Misericorde were dispatched to apprehend her. They attacked her shuttle, incapacitating the stormtroopers and Dr. Aphra's father, Korin. Tolvan instructed her team to locate and eliminate Aphra. Tolvan had Aphra's shuttle brought aboard the Unnamed. Tolvan knew she was still aboard the shuttle and was informed that the shuttle's cannons were powering up. She informed the crew that Aphra was aboard their ship. When Tolvan lost contact with Teezee-Too, she and her team went to the op room. Tolvan she had her trapped until it was revealed that she used Teezee-Too as a decoy.

Tolvan was able to contact her telepathically through their recently-acquired Electro-tattoo, which she had had (ostensibly) obtained to help facilitate Aphra's escape from Accresker Jail. Tolvan managed to distract Aphra long enough to fire a warning shot. She engaged Aphra in combat, blaming her for her losses. Despite her grievances, Tolvan asserted that the Rebellion offered hope. Aphra attempted to exploit the tattoo to ascertain the location of the Rebels' new base, but Tolvan resisted until they kissed and slept with each other. However, Tolvan realized Aphra learned about Hoth and made her escape using the shuttle. However, Tolvan's team placed a tracker on it and pursued her.

Tolvan and her team piloted a U-wing to Ash Moon 1 in the Kartovian Formation. However they found only Aphra's father and Klam there and saved them from a creature. Tolvan took Korin and Klam to Echo Base on Hoth. There they listened to a message from Aphra, telling Tolvan to let go of her, and to move on.

During the Battle of Hoth, the Rebellion was compelled to abandon Echo Base following its discovery by the Empire, resulting in the fragmentation of the Rebel fleet into several divisions that converged at designated rally points as part of the evacuation strategy. Tolvan, Klam, and Korin found themselves at disparate locations after the battle. At some point later, Tolvan was stationed at a Rebel Rendezvous in an undisclosed location. There, she was greeted by Starros, with whom Tolvan had cultivated a romantic relationship following her separation from Aphra. Starros had arrived to enlist Tolvan in a mission to rescue Aphra from the influence of an Ascendant artifact known as the Spark Eternal, accompanied by the rest of Aphra's loved ones. Starros, having not seen Tolvan in some time, entered the room where her former lover was.

At some point, Tolvan would become head of a crew that performed miracles for the rebel cause.

When the Scourge hoped to take over the galaxy and inhabit every body in the galaxy, it searched for cyborgs so as to understand the connection between cybernetics and organic components, which would help it to understand how to infect all organics. To that end, the Scourge found and infected Tolvan, turning her into a vessel for its conscious. While the Scourge failed to infect Vader, it knew it had found success by infecting Tolvan and two other cyborgs, Beilert Valance and Lobot. The Scourge stood in possession of Tolvan's body in a dark room.

Magna Tolvan was a human female characterized by blue eyes, white hair, and fair skin. A dedicated scholar, Tolvan committed herself to mastering Imperial protocol, achieving distinction in technical and tactical engagement. She posited that while some individuals were drawn to rules of authority for the sake of transgression, others, like herself, sought discipline to comprehend and manage their internal conflicts. Consequently, Tolvan was meticulous in citing and enforcing Imperial regulations, often dismissing the efforts of those who failed to adhere to them as "sloppy."

Proficient in combat and survival techniques, Tolvan demonstrated her capabilities by overcoming, killing, and skinning the Defel Glahst Ombra, subsequently utilizing its pelt as a disguise. Tolvan also succeeded in shooting down Sana Starros' Volt Cobra using only a handheld rocket launcher and the element of surprise. Under the Scourge's control, Tolvan's eyes emitted a purple glow.

Tolvan's relationship with Aphra was a complex and turbulent one, with Tolvan pursuing the rogue archaeologist both to bring her to Imperial justice and because of the growing mutual attraction between them. Tolvan and Aphra crossed paths repeatedly, eventually consummating their romantic relationship after escaping Hivebase-1 and Lucrehulk Prime.

Magna Tolvan made her debut in the canon comic Doctor Aphra (2016) 3, penned by Kieron Gillen and illustrated by Kev Walker, on January 18 2017. Her given name, Magna, was not revealed until Doctor Aphra (2016) 14, also written by Gillen and illustrated by Walker. During an interview, Gillen stated that he conceived Tolvan as a serious character in pursuit of the more "whimsical" Aphra. He also expressed his vision of Aphra pursuing her emotionally, thus generating sexual tension between them.

In Alexander Freed's novelization of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, published on December 16 2016, it is mentioned that a female garrison commander stepped forward to offer Krennic a welcome, but was waved off. On Twitter, Freed commented that, while the commander in question could be Tolvan, he was not aware of her existence when he wrote the novel, as Tolvan had not yet been created at that time, and so could not make such a call himself.