Fenn Rau

"You haven't forgotten our ways. That has earned my respect."

- Fenn Rau, to Sabine Wren Fenn Rau was a male Mandalorian who served as Skull Leader during the Clone Wars and, after the rise of the Galactic Empire, as the leader of the Protectors of Concord Dawn approximately three years before the Battle of Yavin. During the Clone Wars, he and his fellow Protectors fought alongside the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order. Rau supported the Republic's successor government, the Empire, who tasked him with keeping a watch over the Concord Dawn system for rebel activities. This brought him into conflict with the Phoenix rebel cell, attempted to seek safe passage through the system in order to travel to the Lothal sector. After Rau attacked Hera Syndulla's diplomatic mission, her rebel comrades Sabine Wren and Kanan Jarrus launched a retaliatory attack which ended with his capture by the rebels.

Early life
Fenn Rau was a human male Mandalorian who, after coming of age, served as the Protector of the Mandalorian colony, Concord Dawn. Thereafter, he led the Protectors, a group of armored warriors who protected the reigning ruler of the Mandalorians: the Mand'alor, for millennia.

Clone Wars
Some time later, Rau, other Mandalorian warriors, and as well as various mercenaries were hired by Kaminoan cloners, who themselves had been hired to create a clone army for the Galactic Republic, to train and equip cloned human males of the bounty hunter Jango Fett. Rau traveled to the ocean planet Kamino, where the Kaminoans were centered, in their capital, Tipoca City. In recognition of Rau's ability as a pilot, Rau specialized in training clone troopers who went on to become pilots in the Grand Army of the Republic. Years later, not long after the first batch of cloned soldiers reached maturity, the clones were called on by the Republic for use against the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which began the galaxy-wide conflict named for the clones, the Clone Wars. Rau led Skull Squadron (a squadron of Mandalorian fighter pilots) as Skull Leader in numerous battles and skirmishes against the Separatist battle droids, often fighting alongside clone soldiers he had trained.

In the third year of the Clone Wars, Rau led Skull Squadron during the Third Battle of Mygeeto, on the Outer Rim planet Mygeeto. Rau's actions during the battle helped saved the lives of the Jedi Master Depa Billaba and her Padawan Caleb Dume and many Republic Clone troopers.

Dealing with the rebels
Following the transformation of the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire, Fenn Rau and his Protectors sided with the new regime. About three years before the Battle of Yavin, Rau became the Empire's main ally on Concord Dawn. As Protector of Concord Dawn, he was tasked with fighting rebels forces and reporting on their activities to the Empire. When the rebel pilot Hera Syndulla and Phoenix Squadron traveled to the Concord Dawn system to negotiate for safe passage, they were intercepted by Rau and his Fang fighters, who demanded to know why they were visiting his system. Syndulla replied that the rebels were seeking safe passage and that they would stand with Concord Dawn against the Empire. Rau responded by ordering an attack on the rebels' A-wing starfighters. During the ensuing dogfight, Rau and his Fang fighters shot down two A-wing fighters, Phoenix Three and Phoenix Four, and badly damaged Syndulla's fighter. Syndulla managed to escape back to the Phoenix fleet but sustained serious injuries. In response, the Mandalorian rebel Sabine Wren, who had accompanied Syndulla on the mission, advocated destroying Rau's starfighters. Wren had tracked Rau's starfighters to a camp on the Third moon of Concord Dawn. The Phoenix rebel commander Jun Sato authorized a retaliatory strike against the Protectors and sent the Jedi Kanan Jarrus–formerly the Padawan Caleb Dume, one of the Jedi Rau saved at Mygeeto– and the astromech droid Chopper to the Concord Dawn system. Despite Jarrus's objections, Wren came along intent on seeking retribution against Rau. Upon reaching the camp, Jarrus told Wren that he still planned to negotiate with Rau, however Wren was intent on destroying his Fang fighters. Splitting up, Jarrus followed Rau into a building, while Wren proceeded to plant charges on the fighters.

While Rau was fetching a drink, he spotted Jarrus and allowed the intruder to reveal his identity. Jarrus identified himself as a Jedi veteran of the Clone Wars who had taken part in the Third Battle of Mygeeto. Jarrus thanked Rau for saving him and his master's lives during that battle. Rau recalled being a young and reckless fighter during that battle but failed to see what it had to do with Jarrus infiltrating his base. Jarrus then appealed to Rau to join the rebellion but the Protector was unwilling to side against the Empire. In his mind, the rebellion had little chance of victory and he thought that it was foolish to commit to a losing side. Despite Jarrus's arguments, Rau remained uninterested in fighting another losing war alongside the Jedi.

Rau's conversation with Jarrus was interrupted by the arrival of one his subordinates, who reported that a group of Protectors had encountered an intruder who had invoked the Mandalorian code to seek justice through single combat. This intruder turned out to be Sabine Wren, a member of Clan Wren, a part of House Vizsla which had sided with the Death Watch, the sworn enemies of the Protectors during the Clone Wars. While Jarrus offered to reason with Wren, Rau decided to accept Wren's challenge and so confronted Wren in the square near the parked Fang fighters.

As Rau drew his blaster pistol, Wren shot it out of his hand, and then triggered several explosives which destroyed seven of the Fang fighters. Rau's fighter survived the bombing and the enraged Protector decided to confront the rebel fleet. However, Jarrus managed to grab the starfighter and hold on to it as it ascended into the sky. Despite Rau's attempts to shake off Jarrus, the Jedi managed to breach the cockpit with his lightsaber and damage the starfighter's controls. After knocking out Rau, Jarrus carried him while jumping aboard the waiting rebel ship Phantom, before traveling back into space to rejoin the rebel fleet.

As the Phantom traveled back to the rebel fleet, Rau stirred and his transmitter began buzzing. Jarrus ordered the captive Rau to answer the device. Upon activating it, Rau was informed by his subordinates that the Protectors had prepared starfighters for a counter-attack. However, Rau ordered them to call off the attack. He agreed to give the rebels safe passage through the Concord Dawn system in exchange for them keeping his capture a secret. Rau was taken back to the Phoenix fleet where he was taken into custody by rebel forces as a "reluctant recruit".

Personality and traits
Fenn Rau was a fearsome warrior, skilled pilot and strong leader. As a skilled starfighter pilot, Rau was tasked by the Kaminoans with training Clone troopers as starfighter pilots for the Grand Army of the Republic. During the Clone Wars, Fenn Rau remained loyal to the Galactic Republic. On one occasion, he led Skull Squadron on an operation to assist the Jedi and Clone troopers during the Third Battle of Mygeeto; an action which he later regarded as brave and reckless. As the leader of the Protectors, he opposed the Death Watch that had seized control of Mandalore during the conflict. Due to this experience, Rau harbored a dislike for those Mandalorians who had sided with the Death Watch.

Following the Clone Wars, Rau remained loyal to the Republic's successor government: the Galactic Empire. He refused to supporting the growing rebellion since he believed that it had a small chance of success against the Empire. Rau's loyalty to the Empire led him to initially deny safe passage to the Phoenix rebel cell and to attack a rebel delegation led by Hera Syndulla. As a hardened warrior, Rau exhibited little regret for the lives he had taken during the dogfight above Concord Dawn.

After the rebels attacked his base in retaliation, Rau was so consumed by rage that he tried to destroy the rebel fleet in retaliation. Despite his hatred for the rebels, Rau was pragmatic enough to concede defeat after being kidnapped by Jarrus and Wren. Unwilling to see the Protectors lose their freedom to the Empire, he allowed the rebels safe passage through the Concord Dawn system in return for concealing his capture.

Skills and abilities
Fenn Rau was a skilled pilot and strong leader. These qualities earned him a place as an instructor for the Grand Army of the Republic and later as the leader of the Mandalorian Protectors. A skilled starfighter pilot, Rau excelled in dogfighting. He also commanded a squadron of Fang fighters and personally trained all the pilots.

Behind the scenes
Fenn Rau first appeared in the spinoff computer game Star Wars Rebels: Strike Missions on October 14, 2015. This video game was tied to the release of the second season of the Disney XD television series Star Wars Rebels. He was later voiced by Kevin McKidd in the eleventh Rebels episode, "The Protector of Concord Dawn", which was released in conjunction with the Marvel Comics story Kanan 10: First Blood, Part IV: The Mesas of Mygeeto on January 27, 2016.

Appearances

 * Kanan 10: First Blood, Part IV: The Mesas of Mygeeto
 * Star Wars Rebels: Strike Missions
 * Star Wars Rebels Season Three
 * Star Wars Rebels Season Three