Eyes (information broker)

"While Eyes' actions are clear, his past and motivations remain a mystery. He is not to be trusted."

- Airen Cracken on Eyes

"Eyes" was a Force sensitive information broker who operated during the reign of the Galactic Empire. A member of an unknown alien species, Eyes wound up at some point on the planet Camden in the Outer Rim Territories, where he slowly built up a plethora of contacts. Eventually, he became an informant, and ran a lucrative business from the Snakes' Den spaceport of Camden. For reasons he never disclosed, Eyes harbored an intense personal hatred of Emperor Palpatine, though he was indifferent towards the Empire in general. Eventually, the Rebel Alliance noticed his work, and, impressed, hired him as an undercover operative. However, their trust in Eyes was never great, and they never permitted him to see any important information.

Nothing was known about Eyes's origins. It was rumored he was a member of an alien species wiped out by Palpatine, though this was merely one of many theories. Eyes was widely thought to be male, though in truth even his gender was unknown. He was an amoral being, and during his time in the galaxy, he killed on more than one occasion. He also used his Force-sensitivity to further his own gains, and even used divination to track an Imperial, whom he later murdered.

Early life
Next to nothing was known of this being's early life, and he chose to reveal absolutely no information about his background, species, or even his gender, though most referred to him as male. Eyes had a peculiar appearance, with over two dozen eyes, varying greatly in size; they were likely the inspiration for his nickname. Each of the mass of eyes was unique&mdash;most were on the end of long, slender stalks, while several others had no such stalks. One of his eyes was significantly larger than the rest, though their diameter and pupil-size varied. He had a long neck, with several minuscule tentacles protruding from it, and had two thin arms. Each arm had a large, two-fingered hand, which Eyes used as pincers to hold objects. Eyes was a Force-sensitive, and had a basic understanding of Force powers, including the skill of telepathy. Although he never spoke of his origins or motivations, many had speculated as to what Eyes was. According to Alliance to Restore the Republic general Airen Cracken, some said that Eyes was a member of an alien species wiped out by one of Emperor Palpatine's genocidal policies. However, these theories were never backed up with concrete evidence, and Eyes's past continued to remain a mystery.

How and when he wound up there was never known, but during the reign of the first Galactic Empire, he served as an informant on the planet Camden, located in the Outer Rim Territories region of space. Camden was located on one of the many trade routes the galaxy encompassed, and it saw a great many freighters and spacers from all stretches of the universe passed through daily. He operated out of Snakes' Den, a seedy Camden spaceport, due to its unofficial capacity as a major crossroads for all kinds of fringers. After arriving at Snakes' Den, Eyes began to watch and listen closely to everything that was going on around him. After spending day after day observing the regular goings on at the bustling spaceport, Eyes made many friends, as people knew he would listen to their troubles and offer advice wherever he could. People began to come to him for information, knowing he picked up on every little thing anyone might have said, and he began to trade his knowledge for other goods as well as money. Over time, his knowledge and number of friends increased, and eventually, Eyes had enough potential clients to set up a full-time operation as an informant. He would hold court in the Jade Simian restaurant on Camden, where people would line up to meet with him.

Informant
This system of learning and repeating snippets of information eventually formed an operation of immense proportions; driven by an unknown goal, he became a legend among Outer Rim fringers, and his network soon grew until it could easily match the capabilities of any Imperial Intelligence organization. Thousands of people traded information with Eyes, meaning he always had a constant flow of information. However, Eyes was a lot more than just an information broker, and he was known to have killed many individuals in cold blood. One such man was an Imperial security officer, who had angered the alien informant. Eyes used his divinatory abilities to track down the Imperial officer, who he murdered. He was known to have killed others as well, though like most aspects of his existence, the details were not known.

Eventually, Eyes's operations came to the attention of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, who knew they could use his talents to great effect. Eyes was happy enough to work for the Rebels; he was indifferent to the fate of the Empire, though he had an intense personal grudge against Emperor Palpatine, and although many theories arose, again, no one ever learned exactly why. Although he was completely willing to break the law and aid the Alliance, he always expected full payment in either goods, credits, services or information. He was generally believed to be loyal to the Rebels, though they were careful never to entrust him with certain sensitive information.

However, one high-ranking Alliance member who was not entirely convinced by the alien information broker was General Airen Cracken, who had many more doubts on Eyes than most. He issued reports on many of the Alliance's undercover agents to many members, including a small biography and a personal addendum. On Eyes's addendum, Cracken said that he was not to be trusted, and that Eyes only worked with the Alliance because it was lucrative. He also stated that Eyes might well go over to the dark side of the Force due to his lack of morality.

Personality and traits
Eyes preferred to surround himself with an aura of mystery, and chose to reveal as little as possible about himself. He also cared for none other than himself, and was not above using various unscrupulous means in order to achieve what he had set out to do. He was described as having no sense whatsoever of morality, and his goals were always questionable to any he dealt with; particularly those who felt they were of moral being, such as the Rebel Alliance. However, he did have some ulterior motives for working against the Empire, though the exact nature of them was not common knowledge. Eyes was an incredible bargainer, which he used to his own great advantage when building up his network of sources and clients. He wore simple clothing, and carried a hold-out blaster, a comlink and a mysterious amulet, which was believed to have had some sort of religious significance, though, like many of the details surrounding the alien informant, this was merely a theory.

Powers and abilities
Eyes was Force-sensitive, and although he never received formal training of any sort, he learned several basic Force powers during his time in the Outer Rim. He could use the Force to magnify his senses, as well as to sense life forms and the use of basic telepathy. He was also known to have used divination and telepathy to track down adversaries on at least one occasion. He was also an adept computer programmer and was skilled at forgery.

Behind the scenes
Eyes was created by Star Wars author Sean Fannon for the 1991 Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game supplement called Cracken's Rebel Operatives, where he was illustrated by Mike Vilardi. He was subsequently mentioned in Platt's Smugglers Guide by Peter M. Schweighofer, as one of several examples of "infochant" characters used by other Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game supplements.