- "Look, I don't know when you arrived here, but I've had two weeks of orientation and I think I know what I'm doing…"
- ―Sergeant Snopel arguing with a subordinate
Snopel was a Human male who, according to stories, likely served the Galactic Republic as a soldier during the very beginning of the Clone Wars. By the time of the Galactic Civil War, he had become an Imperial shock trooper, attained the rank of sergeant, and became known as one of the best commando trainers in the galaxy.
During his service with the Empire, Snopel participated in the Battle of Talus, helping to deploy troops in defense of the Imperial Outpost on Talus. However, his respectable career took a turn for the worse when he was placed in command of a TIE bomber group tasked with demolishing vacant homes. After he endangered the lives of hundreds of innocent citizens for refusing to abort a poorly planned bombing mission, he was reassigned to Tansarii Point Station in the Bright Jewel system.
By then retired from his normal duties as an Imperial commando, Snopel nevertheless continued to impart his knowledge of commando combat techniques to prospective trainees. One such trainee was referred to him by the Rebel Alliance smuggler Han Solo. Together with his trainee, he helped to fight the rampant crime aboard the space station, and even helped to save its inhabitants from a terrorist bombing attack.
Snopel's reputation as a skilled commando allowed him the opportunity to contract his services to individuals in other parts of the galaxy. Whilst remaining on Tansarii Point Station, he supervised missions against the meddlesome sand pirates of Tatooine, and the invasive mountain poachers of Naboo. In achieving his aims, Snopel did not hesitate to encourage acts of extreme violence. However, as he got older, he became less willing to enter the fray of battle himself.
Biography[]
Battle of Geonosis[]
Stories had it that a Human male by the name of Snopel fought on Geonosis during the beginning of the Clone Wars[1] in 22 BBY[4] at the First Battle of Geonosis[5] between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems,[4] most likely on the side of the Republic.[2]
Serving the Empire[]
Battle of Talus[]
Following the rise of Galactic Empire in 19 BBY,[4] Snopel continued his military service, this time as a shock trooper for the Empire during the course of the Galactic Civil War against the Alliance to Restore the Republic.[1] Following the Battle of Yavin[6] in 0 BBY,[4] Snopel was stationed at the Imperial Outpost on Talus where he participated in a fierce battle that took place on the world. During the course of the battle, a Rebel counterattack led by Captain Coret Bhan attempted to overrun the Imperial Outpost after the Empire retreated there following a failed initial assault on the Rebel's secret Talusian base. Although they were wearied, the Imperial Armed Forces had no choice but to defend themselves. Grabbing helmets and blaster rifles, all available soldiers rushed to defend the outpost. For his part, Snopel made sure that all the forces were deployed correctly. Due to the efforts of Snopel and his fellow Imperial troops, the Empire began to make headway against the Rebels, forcing Captain Bhan to give the order for the Alliance forces to fall back. This success culminated in a second Imperial offensive the next morning. This time, thanks to the arrival of reinforcement troops and TIE/LN starfighters, the assault on the Rebel's secret base proved successful. However, despite the Empire's victory during the Battle of Talus,[7] many key Alliance personnel managed to evacuate.[8]
A Training Mission Gone Wrong[]
- "Snopel, you must abort this mission! There are too many houses targeted!"
"Look, I don't know when you arrived here, but I've had two weeks of orientation and I think I know what I'm doing…"
"No, you're wrong! Send the abort code now!"
"Calm down now, I'll do no such thing." - ―An Imperial officer and Sergeant Snopel, shortly before their scuffle
Sergeant Snopel in the Ranged Combat Training Room aboard Tansarii Point Station
As the Galactic Civil War intensified, the Empire began to fear that abandoned domiciles spread throughout the galaxy could be used as safe houses and ambush points for Rebel insurgents. To combat this perceived threat, Colonel Braedic Ekirk contracted a small firm known as Galactic Vacant Building Demolitions to demolish countless vacant structures on the Empire's many worlds through means of aerial bombardment.[9] However, Imperial regional commands had also turned the opportunity to destroy deserted houses into a training exercise for TIE bomber groups. At one such bomber command center, the usual training officer was not able to attend that year, and was replaced by Snopel. Although he was by now recognized as a sergeant in the Imperial Army, and as a distinguished commando trainer and non-commissioned officer, Snopel seemed out of his element commanding a TIE bomber group.[3]
Nevertheless, the TIEs left properly on schedule and in formation, vectored towards the houses they were assigned to destroy. Meanwhile, one of Sergeant Snopel's subordinates tracked their progress with the help of a large holoprojector in the command center. Soon, the Imperial subordinate noticed that something was wrong. All of the houses were targeted for demolition, not just the empty ones. Recognizing this critical oversight, the subordinate pleaded with the sergeant to abort the mission. However, Snopel was unfazed by these protests. The sergeant casually swiveled his chair to face the junior Imperial, and insisted that his two weeks of orientation were enough to know how to do his job. The lower-ranked Imperial persisted, exclaiming to Snopel that he was wrong, and that he needed to send out the abort code immediately. Snopel, set in his ways, refused to carry out such a command. When it became apparent that hundreds of innocent citizens could be killed, the junior Imperial headed towards the comm console to send the abort code personally. When Snopel blocked the way and grabbed the Imperial's arm, a scuffle ensued between the two officers. After a brief struggle, the subordinate officer managed to subdue Snopel, and threw him in the brig. The abort code was then sent out to the bomber group, saving countless lives in the process. When the embarrassing situation was later explained to their superiors, a decision was made to reassign Snopel[3] to Tansarii Point Station in the Bright Jewel system.[1] The disgraced army officer was never to be allowed in an Imperial facility again.[3]
Reassignment to Tansarii Point Station[]
Fighting the Hutts[]
- "You want to talk to Sgt. Snopel in the Ranged Combat Training Room. He only teaches those with potential. I'll give you a waypoint."
- ―Han Solo, to an aspiring commando
By the time he was reassigned to the Ranged Combat Training Room of Tansarii Point Station, Snopel had retired from his career as an Imperial commando. However, he continued to wear his distinctive black-colored shock trooper armor, and he still bore the rank of sergeant.[1] Despite his retirement, Snopel made good use of his time on the space station by showing a great many trainees the basic techniques a commando used in the field.[11]
One such trainee was referred to him by none other than Han Solo, the famed Rebel Alliance smuggler. Snopel was willing to teach the new recruit the basics of becoming an effective commando. To that end, Snopel decided to test the trainee's abilities by having the individual resolve a problematic situation in the lower level of Tansarii Point Station. Hutt thugs began to cause a ruckus by punching a hole in the station and infiltrating the lower level. Snopel remarked he was getting too old to put a stop to them himself, and needed his trainee to take care of it. Sergeant Snopel handed over to his trainee an arsenal of C12 fragmentation grenades. The trainee then headed down to the "Storage 02" room and lobbed a grenade, killing three thugs loyal to the Hutts. Snopel believed that this would be sufficient enough to send a message.[1]
Stopping Terry[]
- "I have just learned that there was a shipment recently delivered that may be useful to my superiors. I need you to find one named Terry. He has a record of the shipment in his datapad. Recover that datapad by any means necessary. I want no witnesses."
- ―Sergeant Snopel, to a commando
After injecting a small semblance of order to the lower level, Snopel soon learned that a shipment recently delivered to the station may be useful to his superiors. Snopel tasked his trainee with finding a dock worker named Terry. According to the grizzled sergeant, Terry possessed a record of the shipment in his datapad. Snopel asked the trainee to retrieve the datapad with extreme violence, and to leave no witnesses. The commando trainee located Terry in the station's upper atrium and killed him, but the datapad contained no mention of the shipment. But Snopel did learn that Terry had planted a bomb in the upper level of the station. Snopel urged his trainee to immediately stop the bomb from detonating. With no time to waste, Snopel suggested to the trainee via communicator message to search one of the back rooms. The trainee soon found the explosive device, and defused it successfully. The trainee then returned to Snopel to inform the anxiously awaiting sergeant of the good news. Sergeant Snopel was deeply grateful to his trainee for saving him and the lives of everyone else on the station. As a show of gratitude, Snopel bestowed to his trainee a lump sum of credits, a sharpshooter's bandolier, and a package containing a commando's uniform.[1]
Focused Destruction[]
- "Sgt. Snopel sent me to you."
"Of course he did. I have a job for you. Won't be too easy, but shouldn't kill ya either. A bunch of sand pirates are interfering with my business partners." - ―A commando and Coris Mao
For the time being, Snopel had no more assignments for his novice commando, but it would not be the last time the two worked together. Although Snopel would remain on Tansarii Point Station, he at times became involved in supervising missions against various criminal elements throughout the galaxy. One such criminal organization was the sand pirates, a group of pirates which operated a base on a hilltop overlooking Mos Entha, a major city on the Outer Rim Territories world of Tatooine. To destroy the pirates, Snopel sent his commando marching orders to meet with a man named Coris Mao in Mos Entha. Mao explained to the commando that the sand pirates were interfering with his business partners by attacking any transport that neared their base. To put a stop to this, Mao requested that Sergeant Snopel's loyal commando infiltrate their base, kill their leader, and ensure that no one could use the base again. The commando carried out the mission dutifully, first by killing two guards at the base's entrance, and then by eliminating at least ten other pirate's within the confines of the base. At the base's lowest level, the commando encountered and killed the boss of the sand pirates. Snopel congratulated the commando via comm message, but there was still one more thing left to do. To ensure that the base could not be used in the near future, Snopel told the commando to overload the reactor and get out. Snopel did not know how long the main reactor would last once overloaded, but the commando carried out this objective as instructed and quickly vacated the base. Snopel was impressed that the commando had carried out the mission so cleanly. He informed the commando that he had already sent payment to Coris Mao, and that the commando should head back to him in Mos Entha to receive it. In addition to the credit payout, Coris Mao also bestowed to the commando a diffusion generator.[12]
Clearing the Trash[]
- "I got a job for you. Some folk took possession of a base and the owners want it back. The new owners don't seem willing to let them take it back. Help them see reason."
- ―Sergeant Snopel's attack orders to a commando
As one final mission to the now more seasoned commando, Sergeant Snopel sent attack orders to clear out an occupied bunker in the Gallo Mountains of Naboo. The bunker, not located far from the Zaprin Estate, was once owned by a group of mining professionals. However, a violent group of mountain poachers forcefully took over the bunker with the help of their trained narglatch creatures. The owners wanted it back, so they turned to Snopel and the contracted services of his junior commando to help the mountain poachers "see reason." Sergeant Snopel's commando traveled to Naboo and approached the captured bunker. The mission objectives were simple. Snopel needed the commando to kill the inhabitants, and reset the locks by accessing three of the bunker's computer terminals. The commando succeeded in doing so, and received the requisite congratulations from Snopel via comm message. Snopel then instructed the loyal commando to travel to Naboo's capital of Theed to meet with a man named Galuf Cardaan for payment. With that, Snopel ended communications. Galuf Cardaan was grateful for the services rendered by Snopel and his faithful associate. With the mountain poachers cleared out, he and his mining partners planned on moving back into the bunker in the near future.[13]
Personality and traits[]
- "Are you a new recruit? Stand at attention when speaking to a superior, soldier!"
"Yes, sir!" - ―Sergeant Snopel and a commando
Over the course of two decades,[14] Snopel had cultivated a distinguished career as a soldier during both the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War.[1] During his time with the Galactic Empire, he acquired the rank of sergeant in the Imperial Army, and demonstrated his prowess as a superior commando trainer.[3] When it came to the battlefield, he exhibited the kind of leadership that helped the Empire achieve victory during the Battle of Talus. When wearied Imperial troops were caught unprepared by a relentless Rebel counterattack, Snopel ensured that the Imperial defenders were deployed correctly.[7]
On the other hand, Snopel was out of his element when it came to commanding a TIE bomber group of rookie pilots. Over time, he had become set in his ways, and unwilling to listen to reason. This personality flaw came to head when Sergeant Snopel refused to abort a simple training mission gone horribly wrong. In the face of Snopel's cavalier attitude, stubbornness and ineptitude, one of his subordinates scuffled with him in order to prevent the bombers from carrying out a mission that could have killed hundreds of innocent lives. Snopel's lapse in judgment resulted in him being reassigned[7] to a less than glamorous post on Tansarii Point Station, compelling him to retire from his normal duties as an Imperial commando. Regardless, he retained the rank of sergeant and continued to proudly wear his black-colored shock trooper armor.[1]
Snopel made the most of his new post by showing a great many trainees the basic combat techniques used by commandos on the battlefield.[11] Demanding respect and discipline from his soldiers, he did not hesitate to use extreme violence to achieve his objectives. To fight the rampant crime aboard the space station, he instructed a novice commando to lob a grenade in one of the lower storage rooms, killing three thugs. He believed excessive gestures such as these were necessary to send a message. He also worked with the same commando to ruthlessly kill a dock worker named Terry. However, as it turned out, Terry was a in fact a violent terrorist himself who had planted an explosive device in the station's upper atrium. Under Snopel's direction, the commando trainee managed to defuse the bomb, saving the station and its inhabitants from certain destruction. Despite his seasoned experience on the battlefield, the bomb scare left Snopel feeling at least somewhat anxious. He was thankful to the novice commando for saving his life, and in recognition, Snopel gifted to the commando a brand new uniform.[1]
By this point in time, Snopel felt he was getting too old to take part in such adventurous ordeals himself. Yet he continued to thrive well enough at his more supervisory role from the confines of Tansarii Point Station. When sand pirates harassed business partners of Coris Mao, Snopel encouraged the same gung-ho acts of violence previously employed on Tansarii. He even went so far as to recommend overloading the Sand Pirate Base's main reactor, despite not knowing if the junior commando would have enough time to escape. Regardless, Snopel recognized talent, and was impressed that the commando had completed the mission against the sand pirates with a "minimum of mess." He would excitedly congratulate the junior commando for completing missions such as these, and go out of his way to ensure the commando received ample compensation for a job well done.[12]
Equipment[]
- "The life of a commando is full of fun tactics and loud weapons."
- ―Sergeant Snopel
During the course of his service with the Galactic Empire, Sergeant Snopel wore black shock trooper armor fashioned with dark, blue-colored kamas. In terms of weaponry, Snopel possessed an arsenal of C12 fragmentation grenades which he bestowed upon a trainee for use against the thugs of Tansarii Point Station. Otherwise, Snopel was unarmed, at least during his time as a instructor aboard the space station.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
- "To use the grenade, press the corresponding hotbar key, (button 6), to queue the grenade attack into your special attack slot. Once that is done, you can right-click once your cursor is hovered over an enemy, (your cursor will turn red), and you will toss the grenade at that enemy."
- ―Sergeant Snopel providing game mechanic information to the player as part of a tutorial
Snopel was a non-player character in the 2003 video game Star Wars Galaxies, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts, prior to its closure on December 15, 2011.[1][15] He was added to the game with the release of Publish 25's "New Game Enhancements" (NGE) on November 15, 2005, which included a New Player Tutorial featuring Tansarii Point Station.[1][16] Another Imperial officer with the same name, Warrant Officer Snopell, was already present in the pre-NGE tutorial.[17]
During the tutorial, Sergeant Snopel could be found in the station's Ranged Combat Training Room where he would give a quest to players who pursued the commando profession. The quest required the player to kill three Hutt thugs in the station's lower level with a C12 fragmentation grenade. After completing this task, players were then required to kill an NPC named Terry and defuse a bomb in the upper level of the station. Completing these objectives awarded the player 500 credits, a worn sharpshooter's bandolier, and a standard issue uniform package.[1] As they gained combat experience, players of the commando profession would receive an item called Marching Orders once reaching Commando Fundamentals V at level 14. Using this item would activate a quest titled Focused Destruction, in which Snopel supervised a mission to kill multiple sand pirates and destroy a reactor in their base near Mos Entha on Tatooine. Completing that quest would earn the player 5000 credits and a diffusion generator.[12] Once reaching Commando Essentials II at level 26, players would receive yet another item called Attack Orders. Using this item would activate another quest titled Clearing the Trash, in which Snopel would supervise a mission to clear out and hack into a bunker taken over by mountain poachers on Naboo. Completing that quest would earn the player 9500 credits and the choice of either a Special Forces D-18 or a Conscript Carbine.[13]
Following the release of the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game expansion Squadrons Over Corellia, players could participate in the House Pack-Up promotional scenario from March 3, 2009 through March 31, 2009. Completing this scenario allowed players the opportunity to win at least one promotional card featuring an illustration of Sergeant Snopel,[18] the artwork for which was completed by Kieran Yanner.[19] Snopel also made a brief appearance in the storyline of the Dark Side scenario campaign for Squadrons Over Corellia, where Snopel was described as being responsible for making sure troops were deployed correctly at one point during the Battle of Talus.[7]
Appearances[]
Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game — Squadrons Over Corellia (Dark Side scenario campaign)- Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game — Squadrons Over Corellia (House Pack-Up promotional scenario)
- Star Wars Galaxies: Starter Kit (First appearance)
Sources[]
- Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game — Squadrons Over Corellia (Card: Sergeant Snopel) (backup link)
- YOU'RE NOT FINISHED WITH HOUSE PACK UP UNTIL YOU GET SOME GREAT LOOT IN THE STAR WARS GALAXIES™ TRADING CARD GAME! on the official Star Wars Galaxies website (content now obsolete; backup link)
Notes and references[]
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