Jahan Cross

"I'm not a hero. I'm an agent of the Empire."

- Jahan Cross

Jahan Cross, born 33 BBY, was a male Human who served the Galactic Empire as an Imperial Intelligence agent. Growing up during the Clone Wars, Cross lost his mother and younger sister during the Battle of Coruscant. After enrolling in the Imperial Academy as a young man, Cross came into the employment of Armand Isard, director of Imperial Intelligence, and undertook delicate missions otherwise unsuitable for the Imperial Army as an "agent of the Empire".

Cross underwent his missions with a droid companion, IN-GA 44, developed by Alessi Quon, who also developed much of Cross's arsenal. During a mission to the planet Wayland in 3 BBY, Cross uncovered a plot connecting the rogue Imperial colonel, Milosh Muhrlein to Rossum Droidworks, a company owned by the thought-to-be-dead pirate, Iaco Stark. After unraveling a large conspiracy surrounding the development of a computer virus codenamed "Iron Eclipse" designed to turn all droids across the galaxy into killing machines, Cross discovered Stark to be alive and well on the gas giant Reltooine, albeit with his head grafted onto a droid body. With the assistance of his old friend from the Academy, Han Solo, Cross defeated Stark and escaped Reltooine, losing IN-GA in the process.

Later, Cross was appointed to the planet Serenno, where he assassinated the local Count of the House Dooku, Adan. Cross was unaware of the political ties to the mission; believing Dooku to be an enemy of the Empire, the assassination was actually authorized in the favor of Rodas Borgin of the rivaling House Borgin. Though disillusioned with the mission, Cross accompanied Dooku's orphaned son and successor the title, Bron, to a summit aboard the Dooku airship, the Windrunner, where a new regent was to be appointed until Bron was of age. However, during the meeting, a pirate airship under the command of Vex, a former lover of Cross's, attacked the Windrunner and kidnapped Bron. Cross himself rescued Bron from Vex, who was subsequently arrested by local authorities and placed in a maximum security prison known as The Spike. Cross infiltrated the prison and rescued Vex with the intention of learning about her benefactor, who was none other than Rodas Borgin.

Early life
Born on the planet Alderaan, Jahan Cross lived on the galactic capital Coruscant with his family during the Clone Wars. His father Davim's position in the Republic Diplomatic Corps provided a comfortable lifestyle, though this did nothing to shield Cross from the corruption evident in the Galactic Senate. He was present when the Confederacy of Independent Systems attacked Coruscant. An explosion from the attack knocked Cross unconscious and killed his mother instantly. He awoke later to see his younger sister, Jens, being hauled into the lower levels of Coruscant by the dwellers of the area who had come to the surface to use the confusion of the battle to pillage and loot. Cross followed them deep into the bowels of Coruscant, where he killed his first sentient but was several hours too late to save his sister.

Mission on Wayland
In 3 BBY, Jahan Cross came across evidence that Milosh Muhrlein was engaged in illegal activities at the Imperial Research Station 61 on Wayland. He infiltrated and worked there for two weeks to dig up information. Cross and his droid IN-GA 44 confronted the commander, who attempted to bribe Cross. When Cross turned him down, Muhrlein ordered two experimental B2 super battle droids to destroy the intruders. Cross engaged Muhrlein, while IN-GA 44 eliminated the battle droids. While Muhrlein was protected by a Verpine force field that protected him from blaster fire, he was attacked with an electrical device hidden in the heels of Cross' shoes that passed through the force field and electrocuted Muhrlein.

Upon Cross's return to the Imperial Palace on Coruscant for debriefing, he was dressed down by his superior, Armand Isard, for killing an important and influential Imperial officer. Cross stated he was merely defending himself, and presented his evidence of the connections between Muhrlein and Rossum Droidworks. The data showed a strong link that Muhrlein was selling illegal droid technologies and protocols to Rossum Droidworks in the Corporate Sector and referred to a project called Iron Eclipse. Isard agreed to let Cross proceed to the Corporate sector for further investigation, but warned him that he was on his own.

Infiltration on Etti IV
Once Cross reached Etti IV in the Corporate Sector, he proceeded to look around since he was not met by an Imperial liaison. He collided into Han Solo, an old friend of his from the Imperial Academy as Solo fled from an angry group of gamblers. Along with Chewbacca, the three proceeded to brawl with the other group until the Espos arrived. Cross used his diplomatic immunity to prevent himself, Solo and Chewbacca from being arrested, drawing the ire of the local security forces. Ambassador Vorlin's aide Emesh Nar met Cross and took him to the Imperial embassy so he could get freshened up for the party later that night.

At the party that night, Cross met the ambassador. Vorlin left, leaving Cross with Nar. The two men exchanged words, when Nar tried to figure out the reason Cross was in the Corporate Sector and warned him to leave the Starks alone. Cross responded that he would do his duty to the Empire and reminded Nar that he also served the Empire. After Nar stormed off, Cross sent IN-GA 44 back to his room to monitor communication, while Cross stayed at the party to mingle and see if he could gather any information. Cross observed Elli Stark being bothered by an amorous man named Verpel and intervened. He pretended he was her fiancé and drove off Verpel. This led Elli Stark to talk to Cross about her family and situation. When her brother, Iaclyn Stark, came over, she left, feigning a headache. Iaclyn warned Cross not to interfere with his business and left angrily. This drew the attention of Dah'lis Stark, who was very interested in the Imperial agent. She offered to take him to the Stark Compound so they could talk more. Once there, she disrobed and slipped into a water bath while talking to Cross about the Eclipse and the death of her husband Iaco Stark. She invited Cross to join her, which he did. Unknown to them, they were being observed by Iaclyn.

Sometime later, as Cross and Dha'lis were sitting on the floor talking, Iaclyn came up behind them and stunned Cross. When Dha'lis questioned him, Iaclyn responded that she had been too talkative, and killed her. As Cross regained consciousness, he found himself surrounded by Espos. Lieutenant Dakka Fasser explained the charge of murder against him while Sergeant Myrsk handcuffed him. Cross stated he was setup and tried to claim diplomatic immunity, but Nar had already declared Cross was a rogue agent and disavowed him. Elli Stark intercepted Cross and two officers as he was being led away, and the officers attempted to prevent them from talking. However, Cross was able to wrest the stun baton from one of the officers and made his escape. He made his way to the garage and stole a speeder bike but was cut off by a large group of Espos in IRD-A starfighters and GX12 Hovervans. Cross reversed his course and sped through the house looking for another avenue of escape. Myrsk attempted to shoot him down, but Elli Stark prevented that, stating the bike was worth more than the officer made in ten years. Cross managed to crash through a large window and escape, but was pursued by several IRD-As. As he fled, he contacted IN-GA 44 for more information of Nar and Iaclyn Stark. During her briefing, the droid was hit by an ion blast from Iaclyn and disabled. He instructed Emesh Nar to pack up the droid and have her shipped to Eclipse.

Old friend and new allies
Cross attempted to evade his pursuers, but was hit by a laser blast. He leapt from his speeder bike as it flew over a waterfall and dove safely into the pool below as the speeder bike smashed into the rocks and caught fire. An hour later, Fasser, Myrsk and Dimity examined the area. Fasser wanted proof that Cross had died in the crash, and demanded the other two officers find it. Myrsk wasn't so sure Cross had perished, and followed a hunch that Han Solo might know something. He confronted the smuggler in the Millennium Falcon and demanded to know where Cross was. When Solo was sarcastic to Myrsk's questioning, Mrysk punched him. Chewbacca roared in rage, but Solo calmed his co-pilot and forced Myrsk to apologize. After the Espos left the ship, Cross emerged from the secret compartments hidden in the Falcon's floors. Cross tried to hire Solo to fly him to Reltooine so he could investigate, but Solo refused to do so without payment. After borrowing a shirt and a blaster, Cross departed, promising to get the credits upfront. Chewbacca was worried that Cross might be double-crossing them, but Solo assured him that he had known Cross since the Academy, and that if Cross promised something, he would do it. In Emesh Nar's quarters at the Imperial embassy, Nar returned home expecting to find his date in bed, but instead found Cross there. At blasterpoint, Cross demanded credits from Nar that the aide had gained from illegal activities. When Nar called Cross a common thief, Cross struck him and stated he was an agent of the Empire and Nar was a traitor. Nar denied having any money, but Cross kicked him and demanded he open the safe hidden behind a painting. When Nar did that, he grabbed a blaster he had stashed away in the safe and attempted to shoot Cross. He missed, and Cross returned fire, killing Nar.

After killing Nar, he raided the safe and opened a connection to Armand Isard. While he was waiting for the connection, he went to the room where he had locked Nar's date, Dawn, into. He mentally compared her to his sister Jens, and compassionately told her to leave and deny she saw anything, for her own safety. She left, and Cross got in touch with Isard via holocomm. Cross explained the situation, informing his superior that he hadn't killed Dah'lis and revealing Nar's role. Cross informed Isard of Nar's death, and let him know he was going to continue his investigation. Isard warned him that Cross better find something, or he'd be better off dead. Inspired by this threat, Cross decided to fake his death so he could get the Espos off of his trail. While Myrsk and Dimity watched the spaceport, Cross stole the shuttle from the Imperial embassy and attempted to escape. Mrysk ordered the shuttle to be forced or shot down. Two K-222 aero-interceptors followed Cross into the air and shot at him to prevent him from leaving. He dove down and back into the city, attempting to lose his pursuers. He dove into a mag-lev train trench to avoid ground fire, and was followed by Bloodcarver Leader. Cross set his ship on a collision course with a mag-lev train, and ejected right before the impact, which caused a huge explosion that destroyed the train and Bloodcarver Leader. Cross use a set of parawings to glide away from the crash scene unnoticed. Despite the devastation, Myrsk still assumed Cross was alive.

Cross made his way back the Stark Estate and broke into Elli's room. He awoke her and asked her from some more information. She agreed to help Cross access Iaclyn's account in exchange for passage back to Coruscant. They discovered Iaclyn was currently at the Eclipse and that all of the Stark family finances were tied up in the project, even though it should have been finished many times over. Iaclyn's droid, Majordomo, was spying on them and reported back to Iaclyn. He instructed the droid to kill Cross and keep Elli from coming to the Eclipse. The droid attacked, knocking Elli to the floor. Cross was grazed by Majordomo's fire, but was able to destroy the droid. Stark and Cross made their way to the Millennium Falcon so that they could be transported to Reltooine. During the trip, Cross was treated by Elli for his wounds, and explained his life and why he was so dedicated to the Empire. Elli was moved by his story and they shared a kiss.

A cyborg only lives twice
When they arrived at Reltooine, they were hailed by the station and warned not to approach. Elli made contact with the station, asking for authorization to land, but was denied. Cross had Solo hover briefly above a landing platform, so he and Elli could disembark before the Falcon was attacked by several modified vulture droids. Cross and Elli made their way into the space station, and Cross briefed Elli on his plan to recover IN-GA 44, find out what Iron Eclipse was, and kill or capture Iaclyn. Elli warned him not to kill her brother, but Cross made no promises. When they found Iaclyn, Cross ordered him to surrender. When Iaclyn refused, Cross pointed his weapon at him, but this angered Elli and she pointed her weapon at Cross. During this standoff, Iaclyn issued the protocol five order to all the droids and ordered them to kill Cross. He was quickly overwhelmed, but was saved when Elli begged Iaclyn to not kill Cross. After Iaco Stark killed Iaclyn, Cross managed to grab a piece of scrap metal and attack several droids, creating an escape route for him and Elli. When they got to the door to the outer corridor, Cross discovered IN-GA 44 waiting for them. He ordered her to cover their escape, but she refused due to the modification Iaclyn had performed on her.

The Dooku intrigue
Cross was eventually sent to his home planet of Alderaan to assassinate Count Adan Dooku of Serenno, who was attending the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of the institution of the Alderaan Ascendancy Contention. The House Borgin of Serenno desired to usurp the power of the House Dooku, and cooperated with the Galactic Empire to ensure his death and Rodas Borgin's subsequent placement as a regent ruler; however, this information was left out of Cross's mission briefing, who assumed that Dooku was simply considered a threat by the Empire. To carry out the deed, Cross was supplied with a unique set of Mandalorian armor and a jetpack which dissolved when in contact with water. Cross slipped into the party under the guise of reacquainting with his old acquaintances, such as Bail Organa and his daughter Leia. When Organa brought Dooku into a windowed room away from the party to have a private talk, Cross used the opportunity to kill the Count with a shot to the heart from a long range rifle, positioning himself on a rooftop opposite of the Count's room. Cross, disguised in his Mandalorian armor, fled to the swamps, being pursued by Dooku's head of security, Candra Tymon. Tymon landed a shot on Cross before he got away, though his armor deflected the shot. Cross discarded the armor in the swamp, which promptly dissolved, eliminating any evidence of the perpetrator, and he managed to slip back into his hotel suite before anyone took notice of his absence.

Three days later, agent Ysanne Isard brought to light the intentions behind Cross's mission, revealing that Dooku had been, in fact, a moderate supporter of the Galactic Empire and was not an immediate threat to its interests. Soon after, her father, Armand Isard, briefed Cross on his next mission: ensuring the placement of Rodas Borgin as the regent of Serenno. Cross questioned the ethics behind such a dealing, claiming that such corruption was what brought the Galactic Republic to its knees. Isard told Cross to follow his mission without question; otherwise, his best advice was to resign.

Personality and traits
"I'm willing to die if it means saving the Empire."

- Jahan Cross

Cross was a man of honor and justice, dedicated to his job and proud to serve the Empire. He was also accepting of aliens and droids, so much so that he held a great amount of respect for aliens who worked for the Empire. He was also a man haunted by his past.

He was extremely well-trained in combat, both armed and unarmed, and piloting. He was also observant and an expert at being subtle, though he would fight when the need to do so came.

Behind the scenes
Jahan Cross is the central protagonist of the comic series Star Wars: Agent of the Empire, a series penned by John Ostrander, penciled by Stéphane Roux, and published by Dark Horse Comics. Ostrander's original pitch for the series was "James Bond meets Star Wars", and he drew considerable inspiration from the famous fictional spy James Bond when developing Cross. Ostrander is well-versed in a broad range of spy fiction and espionage films, however, and Cross was also influenced by such characters and franchises as Jason Bourne, The Secret Agent, Mission: Impossible, and the works of John le Carré. Specifically regarding Bond, Ostrander feels that the character was at his best when portrayed by Sean Connery and Daniel Craig, and he cites From Russia With Love, Casino Royale, and Goldfinger as his favorite films of the James Bond franchise.

Ostrander believes that Star Wars and the espionage genre overlap well, with room for a charismatic, roguish character at the center of a story that also involves action, humor, exotic locations, large-scale villains, technology and gadgets, and beautiful women. Ostrander hopes that Agent of the Empire will play out as Star Wars with a "Bond-ian feel&mdash;one part Star Wars and one part spy thriller" with Cross at the center of the narrative. The character is being advertised by Dark Horse as a Bond-esque character, with the publisher's summary of Agent of the Empire first issue touting "Move over, James Bond; there's a new secret agent in the galaxy." It also includes the phrase "The name's Cross. Jahan Cross," which echoes a famous line often uttered by Bond himself.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Agent of the Empire: Iron Eclipse
 * Star Wars: Agent of the Empire: Hard Targets