Hogrum Chalk

"You serve with honor, Master Chalk."

- Roan Fel

Hogrum Chalk was a Human male who served Emperor Roan Fel until Fel's death in 138 ABY. Originally one of the Emperor's Imperial Knights, Chalk was maimed in an accident and consequently fitted with a cybernetic suit of life-preserving cyborg armor. He afterward left active service as an Imperial Knight and became the order's Master Armorer; in his new post, Chalk crafted the armor worn by his fellow Knights. Before 137 ABY, Elliah Fel&mdash;Chalk's sister and the Emperor's wife&mdash;was killed by the rogue Imperial Knight Eshkar Niin. Following his sister's death, Chalk remained close with his niece, Princess Marasiah Fel. However, he betrayed her father and became a spy in the employ of Grand Moff Morlish Veed. The Grand Moff was an officer in the Sith Lord Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire, an organization opposed by Fel's Empire-in-exile in the Second Imperial Civil War.

In 137 ABY, Chalk was with Fel's forces on the fortress world of Bastion, and he constructed a suit of life-preserving armor for Azlyn Rae, an Imperial Knight who had been gravely injured during a battle on the planet Had Abbadon. When the Emperor soon after went to the planet Agamar to negotiate an alliance with the Jedi Order, Chalk informed Veed of the meeting's location. The Emperor was subsequently attacked by a Sith–Imperial strike force put together by the Grand Moff, but managed to escape Agamar with his life. Fel remained unaware of Chalk's betrayal and appointed him the Director of Imperial Intelligence, which gave Chalk access to Imperial secrets, some of which he passed on to Veed. When an Imperial frigate captured the Sith Lady Darth Maladi, Chalk had her imprisoned on Bastion and brought Fel to see her after she, in an apparently crazed state, requested an audience with the Emperor.

Maladi claimed to no longer serve Darth Krayt and offered to create a deadly pathogen that Fel could use against the Dark Lord&mdash;albeit with high civilian casualties&mdash;and Chalk urged Fel to accept her offer. When Krayt unleashed his devastating Sith trooper army on the Empire-in-exile and its allies during an evacuation of the Jedi's Hidden Temple, Chalk reiterated his advice, and the Emperor deferred to his wisdom. During an attack on Krayt's throneworld of Coruscant, Fel prepared to unleash the pathogen onto the enemy capital, but he was halted and killed by the Imperial Knight Antares Draco, who had sworn an oath to end his Emperor's life if Fel ever succumbed to the dark side of the Force. The allies nevertheless won the battle and consequently the war, and at Fel's funeral, Chalk delivered a eulogy and announced that the galaxy would be unified under a new Galactic Federation Triumvirate.

Dealing with loss
"I will need your counsel on our meeting on Agamar, old friend. You understand the Jedi in a way I never could&hellip;"

- Emperor Roan Fel, to Hogrum Chalk

In the years before 137 ABY, the Human male Hogrum Chalk was a member of the Imperial Knights, an order of Force-users dedicated to the preservation of the Galactic Empire and the defense of its Emperor, Roan Fel. Chalk's sister Elliah was the Emperor's wife, and Chalk's niece, Princess Marasiah Fel, was born before 130 ABY. While active as an Imperial Knight, Chalk was maimed in an accident. He received extensive scarring and was subsequently fitted with a suit of life-preserving cybernetic armor that included a prosthetic left eye. Now a cyborg, Chalk retired from active service in the order and took on the position of Master Armorer, crafting the armor worn by his fellow Knights.

In 130 ABY, the Sith Lord Darth Krayt usurped the Imperial throne from Emperor Fel and drove him into exile. Imperial Knight Eshkar Niin defected to Krayt's One Sith at some point before 137 ABY, but first hunted down and killed Elliah Fel. After his sister's death, Chalk continued to serve Fel's Empire-in-exile in its war against Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire, but he also became a spy for Morlish Veed, one of Krayt's Grand Moffs. When the Empire-in-exile captured the planet Bastion from Krayt's forces in 137 ABY, Chalk joined the Emperor on his new fortress world.

Later in the year, Imperial Knight Azlyn Rae was grievously injured by Darth Krayt while battling him on the planet Had Abbadon, and was afterward fitted with her own suit of life-preserving armor by the mechanic "Bantha" Rawk before returning to Bastion. After her arrival at the Imperial capital, Chalk designed new armor for her. While Rawk's suit had enclosed her entire body, Chalk's design negated the need for a helmet by installing an artificial breathing system in the suit's neck. With the design complete, Rae sparred with fellow Knight Ganner Krieg in Bastion's Imperial Knights quarters to become more comfortable fighting in her new armor, and Chalk and the Emperor looked on. Fel had recently agreed to meet with representatives of the Jedi Order on the planet Agamar to negotiate an alliance against Krayt's forces, and he sought Chalk's counsel regarding the meeting. The two walked away from the duel to discuss the upcoming mission.

Playing both sides
Chalk contacted Veed and let him know of the meeting; the Grand Moff accordingly brought a strike force to Agamar with the intention of killing or capturing Fel. Chalk did not attend the meeting, but over ten Imperial Knights were with their Emperor when he and his new Jedi allies were ambushed by Krayt's Sith. Several Imperial Knights and Jedi died while protecting the Emperor, who was able to evacuate the planet alongside most of the survivors. Marasiah, Rae, and Jedi Master Rasi Tuum were stranded planetside, and the princess was afterward kidnapped by the Sith. Rae and Tuum were able to steal a Sith-Imperial attack ship and return to Bastion.

As the vessel approached the Imperial fortress world, Chalk, Jedi Knight Shado Vao, and Imperial Knight Masters Krieg, Antares Draco, and Treis Sinde were roused from their sleep by alarms. They all rushed to a landing platform, where Chalk unsuccessfully attempted to contact the ship. He suspected that it might be piloted by Sith who had tortured proper clearance codes out of a captured Imperial Knight. Rae contacted Krieg via comlink, however, and Chalk ordered Bastion's defensive artillery batteries to cease firing on the ship. When Rae and Tuum landed, a furious Draco berated them for not having brought Marasiah with them. The Emperor contacted Chalk at that moment and summoned everyone present to his quarters, and Chalk put an end to the unfolding argument by relaying the news. Inside his quarters, Fel revealed that his sources had told him Marasiah had been taken to the Sith world of Korriban. Draco, Krieg, and Vao were able to soon after rescue her, but Draco was himself captured by the Sith in the process.

Shortly afterward, Fel named Chalk the Director of Imperial Intelligence and the head of Bastion security. Chalk contacted the Hapes Consortium and asked if their spies had any news of Draco, but they had heard nothing. Chalk relayed as much to Marasiah when she sought her uncle out on one of Bastion's landing platforms during a snowfall. He planned to make further inquiries, however. After the two reminisced together about Elliah Fel, Chalk expressed his regrets that his intelligence duties prevented him from attending an upcoming ceremony being held for Draco and the Imperial Knights who had died on Agamar. Around the same time, Intelligence informed Chalk that an Imperial frigate had found the Sith Lady Darth Maladi lying comatose in a derelict vessel near the planet Vinsoth, and Chalk arranged for her to be secretly transported to Bastion's Imperial Dungeons. When Maladi awoke, she appeared to be in a mentally fragile state and began to ramble about a pathogen called Omega Red that could wipe out all life it touched. She also requested an audience with the Emperor.

Devil on a shoulder
"Did you feel it, your Majesty? The purity of its hate! How can we hope to stand against legions of these things&mdash;even with the aid of the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance? These creatures desire only to serve Krayt. For the sake of the Empire&hellip; for the sake of the galaxy, we must use the toxin weapon Maladi created to destroy Krayt and his Sith&hellip; or cede the throne to the usurper."

- Chalk encourages the Emperor to use Omega Red

Meanwhile, Darth Krayt began a renewed military push against the Empire-in-exile and other enemies of the Sith. Chalk looked on as Fel held a holocomm conversation with Imperial Knight Rand Ko, who was leading Fel-loyal stormtroopers in a battle on the planet Borosk. Ko reported that the battle was lost just before the HoloNet connection died, and Fel vocally rued the amount of manpower that Krayt possessed. Chalk thus brought Fel to the Imperial Dungeons and revealed to him the Sith prisoner. A half-crazed Maladi requested safe haven from Krayt, whom she had previously plotted against, and offered to create Omega Red to the Emperor in exchange for the head of Cade Skywalker, a former Jedi who had mentally attacked her with the Force and left her in her current mental state. Chalk and Fel discussed the idea of using the pathogen, and Fel repeatedly dismissed it as too barbaric an act even after several suggestions from Chalk to use it on Korriban and end the war. The two then left the dungeons, and the Emperor ordered Chalk to tell no one of Maladi's capture.

As Head of Bastion security, Chalk discovered that Nyna Calixte, the Director of Imperial Intelligence for Krayt's Empire, was a spy working for Fel and had given him advanced warning of the ambush on Agamar. Chalk contacted Morlish Veed and relayed the information to him, which prompted Veed to attack Calixte in her apartment. As the war progressed, Fel committed a fleet to the defense of the Jedi's Hidden Temple from Krayt's forces. The battle saw Krayt reveal his secret army of Sith troopers and wreak havoc on the Empire-in-exile and its allies, which prompted Fel to worry that Bastion would be their next target. With their allies en route to the Empire-in-exile's fortress world, Chalk and Fel made their way to the Imperial dungeons, and Chalk attempted to console the distraught Emperor. A determined Fel ordered Maladi to create Omega Red.

Master Draco was among the allies who returned to Bastion, as he had been frozen in carbonite and delivered to Cade Skywalker by the Sith after revealing the location of the Hidden Temple under torture. Chalk and Master Sinde debriefed him upon his return home. A captured Sith trooper was also with the fleet, and as it was examined by a doctor in a Bastion operating theater, Chalk, Fel, Sinde, Jedi Master Tili Qua, and Admiral Gar Stazi of the Galactic Alliance Remnant looked on. The trooper revealed that its will&mdash;as well as the will of every member of the Sith trooper army&mdash; was linked to Krayt's own will through the dark side of the Force, and then promptly died. Chalk quietly urged Fel to use Omega Red against Krayt's Sith and to launch an attack on their throneworld of Coruscant, else he and his allies would be unable to stand against the Sith trooper army. Fel agreed and told Chalk to keep Omega Red's existence a secret. The Emperor was able to convince Stazi and the Jedi Council to go ahead with the attack, and as the allied fleets made their way to Coruscant, Chalk stood with Fel on the bridge of the Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer Jagged Fel. Sinde, Marasiah, and Draco were also with them, as the Emperor wanted to be surrounded by those who were most loyal to him.

The Jagged Fel and the rest of the allied fleets arrived in the Coruscant system just as the throneworld's orbital defenses were brought down by an advanced strike team led by Skywalker. During the ensuing space battle, Fel and Draco left the bridge and made their way to an escape pod. When Fel insisted on using Omega Red to defeat Krayt in spite of the billions of innocent lives it would claim, Draco killed his Emperor in a lightsaber duel, fulfilling an oath that every Imperial Knight made to end the Emperor's life if he were ever to fall to the dark side of the Force. Skywalker, meanwhile, killed Krayt on the planet's surface, and when the Sith troopers subsequently went insane, the naval forces of Krayt's Empire fled the planet and ceded control to the allies. With the capital won and the Sith in hiding, the war was over. In the battle's aftermath, a funeral was held on Coruscant for the Emperor. Chalk delivered the eulogy as Fel's body was cremated, praising the Emperor's resolve to defeat the Sith and his devotion to citizens of the galaxy. Chalk also announced the formation of a Galactic Federation Triumvirate&mdash;Admiral Stazi, Jedi Master K'Kruhk, and the newly-crowned Empress Marasiah&mdash;that intended to lead a unified galaxy.

Personality and traits
"She's a Sith&mdash;and one of their most practiced liars and manipulators. And she's mad. Even if she isn't, even if this "Omega Red" exists, we could not consider using it.''" "''No? Even against Korriban? You once said there was no weapon too foul to use against the Sith."

- Fel and Chalk

Hogrum Chalk was possessed of black hair, black eyes, and fair skin. Following his accident, he received extensive scarring and was fitted with cybernetic armor. Chalk believed that the accident was caused by the will of the Force so that he might go on to develop armor for the Imperial Knights. He was very dedicated to his job as Master Armorer, referring to the armor he built as his "creations." He felt that the armor Rawk had crafted for Azlyn Rae was an unrefined design not befitting an Imperial Knight, regardless of some parts of it that he found impressive.

When Chalk was appointed the head of Imperial Intelligence, he displayed similar dedication to his new post. He focused much of his time on directly serving the Emperor, actively seeking out information on the missing Imperial Knight Antares Draco and imprisoning Darth Maladi in Bastion's Imperial Dungeons. When Fel stewed over the outcome of the Attack on the Hidden Temple, Chalk remained positive and reminded the Emperor of several successes that had come out of the battle. Nevertheless, Chalk betrayed his Emperor and repeatedly passed vital information to Morlish Veed, a Grand Moff in Darth Krayt's Empire.

Chalk was very fond of his sister Elliah, admiring her warrior spirit and her loyalty to the Empire. Years after she was murdered, he still regretted her passing, and maintained a close relationship with Marasiah Fel, his niece and Elliah's daughter. Chalk believed that she embodied the same qualities her mother had. Chalk's opinions was respected and trusted by the Emperor, who felt that Chalk understood the Jedi, and who sought his counsel in preparation for a meeting with representatives of the Jedi Order.

Counsel that Chalk provided for Fel during the later stages of the war saw him advocate the use of Omega Red&mdash;a deadly pathogen that had the power to wipe out all life it touched&mdash;on the Sith world of Korriban. Fel initially refused, but Chalk believed that it could end the Sith Order and ultimately save millions of lives. When Darth Krayt revealed his army of Sith troopers and Fel's convictions began to flounder, Chalk continued to urge his Emperor to use the pathogen. Fel ultimately chose to unleash it on Coruscant, which led to his death at the hands of Antares Draco.

Powers and abilities
"Takes a former Imperial Knight to know what a Knight needs."

- Roan Fel compliments Chalk's armor-crafting abilities

Chalk was sensitive to the Force. Prior to his accident, he was an active member of the Imperial Knights, an organization whose members were considered to be among the most talented and dangerous Force-users in the galaxy. Following the accident, Chalk became adept at crafting armor for the Imperial Knights, and his skills were respected by Roan Fel. Fel later named him the Director of Imperial Intelligence and the head of Bastion security. Chalk remained skilled in the use of the Force while serving in these posts; he was able to sense the purity of a captured Sith trooper's hatred while it was being examined on Bastion.

Armor and equipment
"It was by the will of the Force my accident maimed me so that I might, by strength of my own will, develop my own creations."

- Hogrum Chalk

Chalk's cybernetics covered much of his body. His entire torso, neck, and right arm were enclosed inside of silver and black armor, which included a glowing red panel on his lower chest. He covered his back and the backs of his legs with a flowing, floor-length cape. Chalk's armor also covered the back of his head and parts of his face&mdash;in addition to circling his exposed right ear, it completely covered his left ear, cheek, and eye, the latter of which was prosthetic and glowed red. A comlink was built into his prosthetic left ear.

Behind the scenes
Hogrum Chalk was created by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, authors of the comic series Star Wars: Legacy. He made brief appearances in the series' forty-third and forty-ninth issues prior to its cancellation. Chalk afterward went on to play a much larger role in Legacy followup miniseries, Star Wars: Legacy&mdash;War. The miniseries showed him to be a traitor whom Grand Moff Veed had first mentioned in Legacy 43, but his motivations for betraying Roan Fel were never explicitly revealed.

Chalk's armor is consistently drawn as completely circling his right ear. However, illustrations of Chalk in the first issue of Star Wars: Legacy&mdash;War show his armor surrounding only three sides of the ear and leaving the skin below it exposed.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Legacy 43: Monster, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Legacy 49: Extremes, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Legacy&mdash;War 1
 * Star Wars: Legacy&mdash;War 2
 * Star Wars: Legacy&mdash;War 4
 * Star Wars: Legacy&mdash;War 5
 * Star Wars: Legacy&mdash;War 6