This Imperial scout, a member of the Galactic Empire Exploratory Division, holds the distinction of being the one who found the long-lost planet Seoul 5. Shortly before the outbreak of the Galactic Civil War, this scout, while on a mission for the Galactic Empire, experienced a catastrophic event: his scout ship collided with a meteor just as he initiated hyperspace travel. This impact diverted his course, unexpectedly transporting him to a distant star system. Upon landing on one of the system's habitable planets, the scout began an exploration of an abandoned city, immediately recognizing it as a former Seoularian outpost. His continued investigation led him to an underground room containing a valuable cache of Seoularian crystals, which had once provided power to the entire city. Though he intended to return and conduct a more extensive collection of the city's artifacts, the scout only took one of the crystals with him back to Imperial space. Unfortunately, his plans to acquire a larger starship and revisit the planet were thwarted by the eruption of the Galactic Civil War, preventing his return.
Following the pivotal Battle of Endor, the scout found himself on a remote, insignificant world, where he resorted to gambling as a means to achieve his long-held ambition of returning to the planet he had discovered. Coincidentally, Han Solo and his trusted copilot, Chewbacca, were also present on the same world, engaging in their own games of chance. Recognizing an opportunity to potentially win a substantial vessel from the notorious smuggler, the scout made a bold wager: his precious crystal and a holomap detailing the Seoul 5 system against Solo's prized ship, the iconic Millennium Falcon. Despite his confidence in securing victory, Solo ultimately outmaneuvered the scout, claiming the crystal as his prize. The scout, enraged, accused Solo of cheating and even brandished his blaster pistol, but Solo managed to evade the attack and escape the gambling establishment with both the holomap and the crystal in his possession.
Prior to the beginning of the Galactic Civil War, this particular scout served within the ranks of the Galactic Empire's Exploratory Division. During a return journey from one of his assigned scouting missions, his scout ship suffered a direct hit from a meteor just moments before initiating a jump into hyperspace. This event resulted in his hyperdrive miscalculating its destination, leading him to a distant star system. His instruments indicated that the fifth planet within the system possessed a habitable environment, prompting him to land for necessary repairs. After leaving his service droid to oversee the repair process, the scout decided to explore a nearby city. Although the city appeared completely deserted, the scout was able to identify the architectural style as Seoularian, a result of his previous assignment where he had been garrisoned on a planet containing Seoularian ruins.
Following an investigation of the surrounding area, the scout made a discovery of the crystal control room, which served as the city's power source and contained a substantial reserve of Seoularian crystals. With the intention of eventually returning to the planet to acquire the diverse collection of artifacts preserved within the city, the scout chose to take only one crystal with him, specifically the key crystal, which was responsible for activating the other crystals. Upon his return to Imperial space, circumstances prevented him from organizing a return trip with a larger ship, as the Galactic Civil War had commenced. Consequently, the scout was unable to gather the necessary resources to invest in a larger vessel and return to Seoul 5.
Even after the significant Battle of Endor and the subsequent death of the Emperor, the scout remained unable to orchestrate a return expedition to the distant planet. He eventually found himself in a cantina located on a lawless world situated in a remote sector of the galaxy. It was there that he began to engage in gambling with the objective of accumulating sufficient resources to realize his ambition. However, a highly skilled gambler named Han Solo started to win against everyone in the establishment. Believing that he could defeat the smuggler in one final hand, the scout shared his story with Solo, attempting to persuade him to wager his ship, the Millennium Falcon, against his key crystal and a holomap leading to the Seoul 5 system.
Solo remained skeptical, but the scout proceeded to demonstrate the key crystal's ability to amplify mental faculties. After using the key crystal to telekinetically hurl Solo's copilot, Chewbacca, across the room, Solo reluctantly agreed to one final hand. The Imperial scout played his concluding hand, a Full System, recognized as one of the most formidable hands in the game, and prepared to claim his winnings, as the probability of being defeated was statistically insignificant. Nevertheless, Solo defied the odds, and his hand surpassed that of the Imperial scout. Outraged by Solo's improbable luck, the scout drew his blaster pistol on the smuggler, accusing him of cheating. Before he could discharge his weapon, Chewbacca overturned the table, causing the scout to fall to the floor and disarming him. However, the accusation of cheating attracted the attention of the other patrons in the gambling hall, who decided to punish Solo for allegedly defrauding them. In the ensuing shoot-out, Solo and Chewbacca managed to escape the cantina and return to their ship, securing the key crystal and the holomap in their possession.
This particular Imperial scout possessed a volatile temperament, exhibiting a tendency to quickly lose his composure and direct his anger towards those he perceived as having wronged him. When Solo questioned the veracity of his account regarding the discovery of Seoul 5, the scout reacted by yelling at the smuggler for daring to doubt his story. Similarly, upon losing to Solo in a card game and forfeiting his most cherished possession, the scout immediately accused Solo of cheating and brandished his weapon within the gambling establishment.
Despite demonstrating resourcefulness during his initial discovery of Seoul 5, the Imperial scout proved incapable of organizing a return expedition following the outbreak of the Galactic Civil War. He ultimately resorted to gambling as a means to achieve his dream of revisiting his discovery, rather than pursuing legitimate avenues to secure the necessary funding.
The character of the Imperial scout was conceived by Roy Richardson for inclusion in Star Wars 84. Although the character remained unnamed within the comic, he served as the catalyst for sending Han Solo and Chewbacca to Seoul 5. The comic concludes without revealing the scout's subsequent whereabouts. The Imperial scout's depiction was penciled by David Mazzucchelli and colored by Tom Palmer.