Unidentified Imperial scout

"I said I've been there, and I don't like being called a liar! Now shut up and listen!"

- Imperial scout

This Imperial scout was a member of the Galactic Empire Exploratory Division and the person who rediscovered the lost planet Seoul 5.

Imperial scout
"Back before the war, I served as a forward scout for the Empire's exploratory division. I was returning from a mission when a meteor knocked my ship out of control just as I was entering hyperspace."

- Imperial scout

Sometime before the outbreak of the Galactic Civil War, this scout was part of the Empire's Exploratory Division. On a way back from one of his scouting missions, his scout ship was hit by a meteor right before he was about to enter hyperspace. His hyperdrive transported him to a distant star system. His instruments showed showed the fifth planet in the system to be habitable, and he put down for repairs. After leaving his service droid to finish his repairs, the scout decided to scout the nearby city. The city had been completely abandoned, but the scout recognized the buildings as Seoularian due to being previously garrisoned on a world with Seoularian ruins.

After exploring the surrounding area, the scout discovered the crystal control room, the power station to the city which contained a vast supply of Seoularian crystals. Intending to return to the planet to take possession of the wide variety of artifacts in the preserved city, the scout only took one crystal with him, the key crystal which powered the other crystals. The scout returned to Imperial space, but before he could find time to return with a larger ship, the Galactic Civil War began. As a result, the scout was unable to accumulate enough resources to return to Seoul 5.

Gambling prospects
"You see, Solo, I want to wager my crystal against your ship."

- Imperial scout

Even after the Battle of Endor and the death of the Emperor, the scout had still not been able to mount a return trip to the distant planet. He eventually found himself in a tavern on an outlaw world in the backwater sector of the galaxy. While there, he began to gamble in an effort to obtain enough resources to achieve his dream. However, one skilled gambler, Han Solo, began to clear out everyone in the house. Believing that he could beat the smuggler on one last hand, the scout told Solo his story, trying to convince Solo to wager his ship, the Millennium Falcon, against his key crystal and a holomap to the Seoul 5 system.

Solo remained unconvinced, but the scout demonstrated the abilities of the key crystal to boost mental power. After the scout threw Solo's copilot Chewbacca across the room using the key crystal, Solo agreed to one more hand. The Imperial scout played his final hand, a full system, and prepared to take his winnings, as the chance of beating his hand was astronomically low. However, Solo had beaten the odds, and his hand beat the Imperial scout. Appalled by Solo's unbeatable luck, the scout pulled his blaster pistol on the smuggler, claiming that his opponent had obviously cheated. Before he could fire on Solo, Chewbacca upended the table, throwing the scout to the floor and disarming him. However, the mention of a cheat caused the rest of the gambling hall to take notice, and they decided to punish Solo for "cheating" them out of their money. In the shoot-out that followed, Solo and Chewbacca escaped the tavern back to their ship, bringing the key crystal and the holomap with them.

Personality and traits
This Imperial scout had a hot temper, and he was quick to lose his cool, yelling at those who had wronged him. When Solo questioned him about his story on the discovery of Seoul 5, the scout yelled at the smuggler for daring to deny the veracity of his tale. Likewise, when Solo was able to beat him in a card game, taking his most prized possession, the scout proclaimed Solo to be a cheater and pulled his weapon while in the gambling hall.

Although the Imperial scout proved resourceful during his discovery of Seoul 5. He had apparently fallen on hard times during the Galactic Civil War. He had resorted to gambling to fulfill his dream of returning to his discovery rather than trying to obtain the funds through legitimate means.

Behind the scenes
The Imperial scout was created by Roy Richardson for use in Star Wars 84: Seoul Searching. The character remained unnamed in the comic, but he helped initiate the action of the comic, sending Han Solo and Chewbacca to Seoul 5. By the end of the comic the scouts whereabouts are left unexplored. The Imperial scout was penciled by David Mazzucchelli and colored by Tom Palmer.

Appearances

 * Star Wars 84: Seoul Searching