Abal Karda

Biography

Lightning Squadron and the Icarii Campaign

During the Imperial Period, Abal Karda, a Human male distinguished by his cybernetic left eye, held the rank of Colonel in the Imperial Army. He was a member of the Lightning Battalion, and in 3 BBY, he participated in the Icarii Campaign on Vestar. Karda was a well-liked soldier who earned the respect of his fellow soldiers in the Battalion, and he fought alongside them on the front lines of the campaign. This was in contrast to his commanding officer, General Nim, who was not as popular among the troops. The campaign was a difficult one, as the Icarii proved to be extremely difficult to kill in their jungle environment. The species' regenerative abilities were remarkable, with severed limbs continuing to pose a threat to the troops.

At Camp Forty, Karda and the Lightning Battalion ambushed the Icarii during a war raid, launching a devastating fragmentation attack. Despite the destruction of the war party, the Icarii quickly retaliated with a counterattack that night. During the ensuing battle, Karda captured the Icarii leader, a precognitive woman named Selestrine, with the intention of deterring the Icarii assault. While restrained before Karda, Selestrine conceded that the Icarii would face defeat, but warned that the Lightning Squadron would suffer greatly, specifically foretelling that Karda would experience a painful death. The colonel, seeking to minimize further casualties among his men, discovered a bioagent capable of dissolving the Icarii's internal organs. Following General Nim's orders, Karda authorized the aerial deployment of the bioagent, bringing the costly campaign to an end.

With Selestrine in his custody, Karda aimed to exploit the prophetess for his personal gain, hoping to use her precognitive abilities to advance his career. However, the Icarii leader sought death and managed to inject herself with the bioagent. Reacting quickly, Karda unsheathed a sword and decapitated Selestrine, immediately summoning a medic. Selestrine's head was kept alive in a kneebhide casket, but the prophetess began to predict Karda's impending death, blaming him for the demise of her people. The commander protested, shifting the blame for the genocide onto Nim, prompting Selestrine to foresee Nim's imminent demise and Karda's "promotion." Delighted by the prospect of an upcoming opportunity, Karda was suddenly confronted in his tent by the general himself. Nim announced that Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet Darth Vader was highly impressed with Karda's performance in the Icarii Campaign, suggesting that a promotion to general for Karda was imminent.

Nim also had another matter to relay from Vader: the Supreme Commander was aware of Selestrine's survival and wanted to take possession of the casket. As Nim approached the casket, Karda forcefully pushed him away. Nim collided with a table and was accidentally impaled on the sword Karda had used to decapitate the Icarii leader. In a panic, Karda shot and killed Nim's personal escort of bodyguards before abandoning his unit. Declared an enemy of the Empire, Karda fled to Vestar's main settlement, Port-Esta, with the kneebhide casket in his possession. From there, he escaped the planet on the Tramp freighter Port-Esta Queen, paying the crew with a strand of Selestrine's hair adorned with gold jewelry, the entire wealth of the Icarii. To maintain a low profile, Karda disguised himself as a Vestaari nomad and refused to allow anyone near the casket. He was eventually dropped off at Starstation 12. In his escape, Karda managed to evade Darth Vader's agents, forcing the Supreme Commander to resort to more extreme measures to apprehend the deserter.

Enemy of the Empire

At Starstation 12, Karda sought to further enhance his disguise. Under the alias "Mixxim," he sought out tattooist Bojam Rees and had a Duhma tribal pattern tattooed on his face, paying for the service with another valuable strand of Selestrine's hair. The Duhma, who lived in darkness on their homeworld, were known to wear visors to protect their eyes from the glare. Karda acquired such a visor, which helped him conceal his cybernetic eye as he continued to flee from the Empire. The deserter booked passage on the passenger liner Orramas after Selestrine predicted that the ship would make an unscheduled stop at the remote volcanic world of Maryx Minor. He informed the ship's captain of his unusual destination, causing confusion, which he exacerbated by refusing to leave his cabin and having all his meals delivered to him.

As predicted, the Orramas encountered a meteor shower and was forced to land on Maryx Minor for repairs, at which point Karda disembarked. He rented a landspeeder from a local vendor and ventured into the wastelands. Petrified by the knowledge that the notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett was pursuing him, Karda sought refuge with the Ancient Order of Pessimists, a sect residing on the planet. Approaching the gates of the Order's hermitage with the casket under his arm, Karda pleaded for sanctuary. When the hermits hesitated, he declared that Fett would surely kill him, prompting the Order to open their gates. As Karda entered the hermitage, one of the Order's members attempted to take Selestrine's head, but Karda responded by drawing his weapon, threatening to kill any hermit who attempted to steal the box.

The High Hermit calmed Karda's fears by having Brother Mabob lead him to a cell where the fugitive could rest. However, the deserter found no peace, as Selestrine continued to insist that he would meet his death at Fett's hands. Incredulous that Fett could find him on Maryx Minor, Karda flew into a rage, much to the confusion of the hermits, who were unaware of the casket's contents. When Brother Mabob attempted to bring Karda food and drink, Karda mistook him for a spy and swiftly shot him down. He began to suspect that the other hermits coveted the casket and warned that he would not hesitate to wipe out the entire hermitage if they attempted to steal it. Selestrine persisted nonetheless, welcoming Karda's threats as she longed for death.

Selestrine's prediction of thirty-one days was nearing its end, and she foretold that Fett would arrive within a day. The hermits held a funeral ceremony for the late Brother Mabob, and the noise they generated further infuriated Karda. Interrupting the ceremony from his cell, he bellowed at the hermits, instructing them to deny any knowledge of his presence when Fett inevitably arrived at the hermitage and to kill the bounty hunter if he attempted to enter. The High Hermit protested, arguing that such actions would violate the Ancient Order's principles, but the deserter was unmoved, promising to kill all of the hermits if they failed to comply with his instructions.

As predicted, Fett arrived at the hermitage the next day, searching for someone with Duhman tattoos. Karda watched from his cell window as the High Hermit and his fellow hermits conferred with Fett from atop the main gate before hurling stones at the bounty hunter in an attempt to satisfy Karda's demands. When Fett used his arsenal of weaponry to obliterate the rocks, the hermits turned tail and fled from the walls, enraging Karda. The deserter opened fire on the hermits before Fett blew open the main gates with explosive force. From his vantage point, Karda attempted to shoot down the bounty hunter, but Fett used his jetpack to evade the shots, forcing Karda to retreat into his cell. Fett announced that he had a warrant for Karda's execution but was open to negotiation. He demanded jewelry from Selestrine's head. Karda believed that this was all Fett was after and that he did not yet realize that Selestrine was effectively still alive. Fett demanded that Karda bring half the jewels down to him, a suggestion that Karda scoffed at until Fett suddenly burst through the cell door, having approached stealthily. The bounty hunter immediately fired a grappling hook into Karda's midriff, knocking the Imperial deserter out of the cell window, suspending him briefly over a pit of lava below. Karda protested briefly before Fett released him, sending him plummeting to his death. Darth Vader ultimately recovered Selestrine's head, choosing to kill the Icarii prophetess rather than allow her to fall into the hands of his master, Emperor Palpatine. Furthermore, because of Fett's involvement in Karda's death before Vader had the opportunity to interrogate him, Vader, when hiring him for future assignments, made a stern request for "no disintegrations," especially if he needed the target alive.

Personality and traits

Karda was a highly regarded figure within the ranks of the Lightning Squadron, earning the trust of his fellow soldiers by fighting on the front lines during the brutal Icarii Campaign. He placed a high value on the lives of his soldiers, choosing to commit genocide against the Icarii to protect the ranks of the Lightning Squadron. Despite enjoying the camaraderie of his men, Karda was an ambitious individual who held his superior officer in low regard, readily assigning blame for the Icarii genocide without hesitation. Karda was pleased at the thought of Nim's demise, as it would allow him to advance, but he was less pleased when he realized that Nim would effectively die by his hand. After severing Selestrine's head and arriving on Maryx Minor, Karda became increasingly paranoid, drawing his blaster pistol at anyone he suspected of trying to take Selestrine's head and willingly gunning down defenseless hermits. His paranoid delusions ultimately manifested in violent actions. Karda was also meticulous in his efforts to desert the Imperial Army, incorporating multiple elements into his disguise, including tattoos and aliases. He had black hair, and his one remaining eye was also black.

Equipment

Karda possessed a cybernetic eye, which he attempted to conceal while fleeing from the Empire and Boba Fett. He used a blaster pistol and also owned a sword that he used to decapitate Selestrine.

Behind the scenes

Abal Karda's first appearance was in the comic issue Boba Fett: Enemy of the Empire 1 (1999), written by John Wagner. The character was later killed off in the third issue of the same arc.