Slussen Urla-fir Kal Kethin-wa Canker, alternatively recognized as Canker the Red, His Venomous Grace, Keeper of Men and Killer of Foes, the Prince and First Son of Vorlag, Master Scion, or simply Slussen Canker, was a male Vorlaggn individual engaged in slavery during the era of the Galactic Civil War. In the year 5 ABY, Slussen provided refuge to the former Imperial Vice Admiral Perwin Gedde; who was a wanted individual by the New Republic due to his war crimes, notably the testing of diseases on worlds populated by captives.
Slussen Canker functioned as a Vorlaggn crime lord and slaver, establishing his residence within a volcanic fortress located on the planet of Vorlag. He maintained a population of slaves and also kept several formidable hroth-beasts. In 5 ABY, Slussen gave sanctuary to the former Imperial Vice Admiral Perwin Gedde, a figure sought by the New Republic for a multitude of war crimes, particularly the poisoning of entire planetary populations. Slussen treated Gedde as a guest, showering him with servants and spice to feed his addiction. During that year, Slussen's palace experienced an infiltration by a team of New Republic operatives, including Norra Wexley, the bounty hunter Jas Emari, the former Imperial loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus, and the New Republic Special Forces soldier Jom Barell.
Leading up to the mission, Emari secretly entered the palace a few days prior to the main assault to deactivate the intersecting laser portcullis. Unbeknownst to most of Norra's team, with the exception of Norra's son Temmin Wexley, Jas had entered into a clandestine agreement with Slussen and Vice Admiral Gedde. In exchange for her betrayal of Norra's team, Slussen promised to compensate her with a fifteen percent finder's fee. Gedde also pledged to give Jas the Imperial bounty placed on Norra and her team. However, unbeknownst to Slussen and Gedde, this was simply a deception employed by Jas to acquire funds to settle her debts with Black Sun and other criminal organizations. Jas remained loyal to Norra and her team, and she arranged for a metal key to be attached around the neck of one of Slussen's hroth-beasts.
Norra and her companions successfully infiltrated the hroth-beasts' feeding area, only to be met with an ambush orchestrated by Slussen, Gedde, and their subordinates. When Jom and Sinjir requested that Slussen surrender Gedde in exchange for their peaceful departure from his palace, Slussen declined their proposal and revealed his alliance with Gedde. Following Jas's public declaration of having betrayed her team, Slussen instructed his guards to confine Norra and her team within cages. Nevertheless, Norra and her team managed to break free with Jas's assistance. Subsequently, they abducted Gedde and made their escape off-world aboard Emari's ship Halo, which was being piloted by Temmin.
As a Vorlaggn individual, Slussen Canker possessed skin that appeared cracked, resembling the char on fire-cooked meat. Furthermore, he exhibited fissures that exuded a clear fluid, and he had three deeply set eyes. Slussen's speech involved clicking and clucking sounds produced by his tongues, resulting in a voice that sounded wet and rheumy. In his capacity as a crime lord, Slussen engaged in slavery and also offered refuge to the Imperial fugitive Perwin Gedde. He held a disliking for intruders who trespassed upon his palace. Despite his unscrupulous nature, Slussen upheld his commitment to sheltering Gedde. Both he and Gedde were also victims of deception by Jas, who manipulated them into believing that she intended to betray her team.
Slussen Canker made his initial appearance as a minor antagonist in Chuck Wendig's 2016 novel Aftermath: Life Debt, which serves as the second entry in The Aftermath Trilogy.