Overview
Roan Fel was the Emperor of the Fel Empire and a direct descendent of Jagged Fel. Following the Sith-Imperial War he was deposed by Darth Krayt who created the Sith Empire. He eventually led the Fel Empire, or Empire-in-Exile, against Krayt in the Second Imperial Civil War; where he was allies with the Galactic Alliance Remnant and what was left of the New Jedi Order. In the last battle of the Second Imperial Civil War he gave in to the Dark Side of the Force and was killed by Antares Draco.
Biography
Sith-Imperial War
During the Battle of Caamas in 130 ABY, the final battle of the war, Roan Fel watches the battle from the holomap room on the planet Bastion with Moff Nyna Calixte. He confronts her about her role in the war and the Sith’s manipulation of events that led to it. She responds by saying that he is only concerned that a Sith might take his throne. He holds her lightsaber at her throat and accuses her of treason but she tells him that she is unarmed and if he strikes her down in anger he will be no better than the Sith and he backs down. When it becomes clear that the Alliance lost the battle and now must surrender he warns that the Jedi will not surrender to an empire involved with the Sith. Nyna tells him not to worry about it and leaves.
Later in his private quarters, Roan is discussing a meeting with the Moffs with his cousin Mohrgan Fel and Antares Draco. Mohrgan tries to talk Roan out of going because the Moffs are angry with some of Fel’s policies and might try to kill him. Nyna Calixte, who was hiding behind a curtain, reveals herself and the two knights move to defend their Emperor but before they can harm her Roan asks why she was hiding and she tells him of a Sith assassination plot that will take place during the meeting and his survival will ensure the survival of most of the Moffs. He decides to send his body-double to the meeting and escapes to a ship Nyna had prepared along with Antares and they escape.
Second Imperial Civil War
Bastion
Seven years after the rise of the Sith Empire, in 137 ABY, Roan returns to Bastion with Antares Draco, Ganner Krieg, and Sigel Dare and reclaims it in his name and that of the true Empire. While all of the stormtroopers and most of the officers present kneel to him, one officer does not and draws his blaster pistol but before he can fire, he is shot by a stormtrooper. Roan makes Bastion the new base of the Fel Empire and as he is making plans, he is informed that his daughter, Marasiah Fel, has gone missing. When Antares volunteers to go search for her the Emperor explicitly refuses because he senses it is a trap to lure Fel out into the open to kill him. A short while later Fel and Draco have a heated argument about whether or not to rescue Marasiah and Fel reasons that even though his daughter’s life is at stake, a rescue mission would tell Krayt that they have taken Bastion and they don’t have enough forces on the planet to mount an adequate defense against a Sith invasion so they cannot rescue her. When Draco and Krieg return from rescuing Marasiah, Roan promises to discipline them for insubordination.
In private chambers Roan yells at Draco and Krieg for insubordination and how disastrous the mission was. Instead of having them killed he retroactively approves of the mission and gives both men medals because no one else heard the command to not rescue her. He tells them that the move is completely political and that they will be assigned the most dangerous missions and because he can’t have it look like Imperial Knights are disobeying him because it would undermine his authority and even if people question the mission’s value, since he was trying to rescue his daughter then people would understand and it would show his human side and people might like him better for it. He tells Draco that he can forget about marrying his daughter before assigning the two for a potentially lethal mission to meet Gar Stazi of the Galactic Alliance.
Attempt on his life
During a peace conference between a rogue member of the Galactic alliance who is in league with the Sith and some of Fel’s underlings, a Sith assassin sneaks onto Bastion and attempts to assassinate Roan while he is meditating in a garden. The two men duel and Fel wins when he draws a hidden blaster and shoots the assassin. Shortly afterwards, after hearing of Cade’s escape form the Sith Temple, he is angry that he let Cade leave, fearing that he spilled secrets about the situation on Bastion to the Sith.
Assassination of Darth Krayt
During Cade’s assassination attempt of Darth Krayt on Had Abbadon, Draco contacts Fel about the Muur Talisman and its ability to turn people into monsters that the wearer can control called Rakghoul and Fel commands him to bring it and the current wearer, Celeste Morne, to Bastion. This action had the unintended effect of shaking Azlyn Rae’s and Ganner Krieg’s faith in Fel because the Imperial Knights only serve the Emperor as long as he serves the Light Side of the Force and the Talisman is a strong Dark Side object as it was created by an ancient Sith Lord. This plan did not come to fruition as Cade killed Morne and destroyed the Talisman. After the battle Fel sends Krieg to Kiffex after Cade, who was bringing Rae there for healing and he sends Draco to find out if Krayt was truly dead as he could not risk taking the throne back if the Sith Lord was still alive.
Alliance
Eventually the peace talks between the Fel Empire and the Galactic Alliance remnant come to fruition and an alliance is achieved. Both fleets decide to attack an Imperial Fleet loyal to the Sith to stretch the Sith’s lines even thinner. The battle is won by the new alliance but it brings to light many conflicts of personality among the leading admirals of the fleets and between Gar Stazi and Roan Fel, after a heated argument, Fel apologizes for is admirals actions and agrees to try and work out the problems as it is in the best interest of all.
Operation: Thunderstroke
Fel is able to negotiate a secret meeting with the remnants of the New Jedi Order on the planet Agamar and brings a contingent of Imperial Knights including his daughter, Draco, Krieg, Rae and Sinde with him. On the way there, he spars with his old friend Treis Sinde and voices his concern that he is being corrupted by the Dark Side because he wants to destroy the Sith at any cost. Sinde reminds him that it is the duty of an Imperial Knight to either bring the Emperor back to the Light or kill him if he falls to the Dark Side, including him and Marasiah.
When they land they meet with the Jedi but the meeting is interrupted by Nyna Calixte who warns them of the imminent Sith attack. The Sith attack soon after and he is separated from his daughter and several other Knights but he continues fighting his way to the extraction point. He makes it but the team has to pull out before the other team, protecting his daughter, arrives and they leave, witnessing the destruction of his own Star Destroyer, Dauntless, but its sacrifice provides time for his shuttle to make it to hyperspace and return to Bastion.
After his return to Bastion, Fel is informed that his daughter has been captured by the Sith and is now their prisoner on Korriban. He tells Draco, Krieg and several others that Marasiah must be rescued because she knows all of the Imperial codes and the location of the Jedi’s Hidden Temple and if she cannot be rescued she must be killed. He gives Draco three hours to come up with a plan.
Death
After Draco, Krieg and Shado Vao save Marasiah at the cost of Draco staying behind; Fel holds a funeral for him and speaks at it. Later he receives a transmission form Rand Ko on Borosk about how they are losing the fight, Fel orders a retreat but Ko is killed and the transmission ends. Fel laments that he is losing the battle against the Sith and Hogrum Chalk reveals that they have captured Darth Maladi, Darth Krayt’s chief poisoner and torturer. She offers to make him a compound called Omega Red that she claims will kill the Sith if it released on Coruscant and all she wants is the head of Cade Skywalker. Fel walks away claiming he will never perform an act of mass murder because it is what the Sith do and leaves, telling Chalk to tell no one else of Maladi’s capture.
During the Sith assault on the Hidden Temple, Fel places Treis Sinde in charge of the fleet he sends to help protect it. After the battle, in which the Sith were defeated and suffered heavy losses, Fel returns to Maladi’s cell and claims that the battle was a loss because of the new Sith Troopers. He orders Maladi to make Omega Red and says he will give her Cade after she creates and releases the poison and it is successful or he will kill her now. Three days later he sees a Sith Trooper up close before it dies and is autopsied Chalk then tells Fel that they should attack Coruscant to finally break the Sith who brings the idea before Stazi and the Jedi Council but does not tell them about the toxin.
As the Battle of Coruscant begins Fel commands his Marasiah, Draco and Sinde to remain on the flagship because he needs to be around people he can trust. While watching the orbital battle from the bridge of the Jagged Fel, he watches the Fist of the Empire get destroyed so be brings Draco with him to Darth Maladi and gets the Omega Red toxin that will wipe out all life on Coruscant “in a matter of breaths.” He and Draco go to a hatch where Fel claims the battle is lost and the only way to destroy the Sith is to kill everyone on Coruscant, Draco, along with Marasiah and Sinde, try to reason with him but Roan will not listen and Force pushes Marasiah and Sinde into a wall. Marasiah begs Draco to stop her father but he tells her that Draco’s loyalty is his and he is following the will of the Force. Draco tells him he is wrong and proceeds to duel Fel. During the duel, Cade kills Krayt and both men feel it through the Force but Roan claims it to be a Sith trick because Krayt had “died” before. Just before Roan can press the button to eject the pod carrying Omega Red, he is stabbed through the chest by Draco and dies. His funeral is attended by many Imperial Knights and several Jedi and Gar Stazi. After his death, his daughter Marasiah Fel becomes Empress of the Empire.
Personality
Roan Fel was a strong leader and had a strong personality, inspiring loyalty from troops who had been serving the Sith for seven years before his return to Bastion. He was a firm ruler but not a tyrant as he believed his ancestor’s, Jagged Fel’s, Victory without War Program. He was also more merciful and tolerant of other factions in the Galaxy than some of the hardline Moffs.
After his exile, he developed a darker side to his personality as he was willing to do anything to destroy the Sith, including killing everyone on Coruscant or use the Muur Talisman, a powerful Sith artifact. He was however, fully aware of his descent into darkness and called his friend Treis Sinde to advise him. This was not enough because he had fallen to the Dark Side at the time of his death.
Abilities
Roan Fel was a Force-sensitive human male who received extensive training in lightsaber combat as an Imperial Knight and training in Force manipulation. He was proficient enough with his abilities to fight and kill a Sith assassin. He was also very intelligent, being able to plan ahead and anticipate his enemy’s moves.
Death
Roan Fel planned to use a viral toxin created by his prisoner, Darth Maladi, to wipe out the population of Coruscant, which would presumably destroy Darth Krayt and the Sith as a whole at the cost of civilian lives and the lives of his men. It would later be revealed that the Sith were immune to the toxin, and would end up killing non-Sith from the Sith Empire, Galactic Alliance, and soldiers from Fel’s own Empire. This was unknown to Fel when he attempted to release the toxin. Fel’s Imperial Knights – including his daughter, Marasiah Fel – rebelled against him. He swatted them away, before doing combat with Imperial Knight Antares Draco, possibly Fel’s most loyal Knight. After a brief duel, Draco struck the Emperor down, and mourned over him.
Krayt was killed by Cade Skywalker, and his Sith followers scattered to the far reaches of the galaxy. Marasiah Fel became the Empress of the Fel Empire. Roan Fel was given a dignified funeral, his actions remaining a secret from the rest of the galaxy. She went on to become a part of the Galactic Federation Triumvirate, which included the New Jedi Order, the Fel Empire, and the Galactic Alliance.