Iving Creel

"How will I plead you?"

- Iving Creel

Iving Creel was a famous Pleader on the planet Concord Dawn during the early years of the Galactic Empire's dominion of the galaxy. Circa 15 BBY, Creel visited an imprisoned Journeyman Protector&mdash;Boba Fett, going by the name Jaster Mereel&mdash;who had been detained after murdering a corrupt fellow Protector. Although Creel admitted that the murdered man had been a disgrace to his office and uniform, he expressed to Mereel that he had no right in killing him. Nevertheless, Mereel believed himself to be just in his actions and told Creel to plead him unrepentant for the crime despite the Pleader's warnings that he would be facing exile and perhaps even execution. After Creel defended Mereel at his murder trial, the court stripped the man of his belongings and exiled him from Concord Dawn.

Biography
"You're Iving Creel. I've heard of you. You're rather famous." "No one wants it said you were not treated fairly."

- Jaster Mereel and Iving Creel

Iving Creel, born years prior to 31.5 BBY, was a Pleader of the legal system of the distant planet of Concord Dawn during the early years of the Galactic Empire. In this capacity, Creel defended those convicted of crimes, earning himself some semblance of fame.

During one early morning circa 15 BBY, Creel entered the jail cell of a recently imprisoned young Journeyman Protector of Concord Dawn going by the name Jaster Mereel, in reality the young bounty hunter Boba Fett. Mereel, who had killed a fellow Journeyman Protector, was facing exile and potential execution for his crime. Having come to hear Mereel's desired plea, which he would then announce before the body presiding over Mereel's case, Creel was surprised to hear from the indignant young man that he would stoically be pleading unrepentant. Indeed, Mereel felt himself justified in killing the other Journeyman Protector, a corrupt man who even Creel regarded as a disgrace to his uniform.

Regardless of whether or not Mereel felt the corrupt Protector had had it coming, as Creel explained to him, he had no justification in killing him. Creel proceeded to urge Mereel to swallow his pride and apologize for the crime, otherwise, he warned, Mereel would likely be executed himself for angering the ruling body. Although Mereel again explained that he only regretted that he hadn't killed the man sooner, Creel urged him one last time to think upon his choice before exiting the jail cell with the unrepentant plea obtained. Unknown to Creel was that the man Fett killed had raped Fett's wife, Sintas Vel, causing him to seek vengeance.

Before Creel left, however, Mereel flashed him a strange grin and stated bluntly that one must not love life too much, for everyone eventually dies. Creel would find himself remembering the strange smile at odd moments throughout the remainder of his life.

Creel defended Mereel in his murder trial. For the murder of a fellow Journeyman Protector and his unrepentant plea, the Concord Dawn trial court stripped Mereel of all that he owned and exiled him from the planet. Boba Fett would later go on to become known as the most notorious bounty hunter in the galaxy.

Personality and traits
"You can't love life too much, Pleader. Everyone dies."

- Jaster Mereel

When Pleader Iving Creel visited Jaster Mereel's cell to hear the younger man's plea for killing a fellow Journeyman Protector, Creel was taken back by Mereel's entire presentation. Not only did Mereel not rise to greet Creel when he arrived, the discourtesy of which visibly disturbed Creel, the arrogant way by which Mereel examined Creel annoyed him and made him feel as if he were the one facing a trial court.

Mereel's stark apathy for the murder initially perturbed Creel, who strongly urged him to simply apologize in order to do what he could to save his own life. The manner by which the Pleader greatly valued life prompted Mereel to tell Creel that life was fleeting and that death would eventually befall everyone.

Behind the scenes
The character of Iving Creel was created by author Daniel Keys Moran for the short story The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett, appearing in the 1996 anthology book Tales of the Bounty Hunters. However, the character that would later be identified as Creel was first mentioned indirectly as Jaster Mereel's "pleader" in the 1995 The Essential Guide to Characters. While the character only appears fleetingly across two pages within Moran's story, he did receive an individual entry in the 1998 Star Wars Encyclopedia, albeit mistakenly listed under the name "Irving Creel."

Appearances

 * The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett

Notes and references
Iving Creel