Feyn Vann

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"Ready! Aim! And fire!"
"Stop! Stop! Stop! Krennic, stop! It was me! It was me! They have nothing to do with it. Spare them."

―Director Orson Krennic and Galen Erso, prior to the execution of Feyn Vann and his colleagues —

Listen (file info)^[3]

Feyn Vann was a human male scientist who worked for the Nordoxicon Unlimited company. Around 19 BBY, he was forced into Imperial service. During that time, Vann worked in the kyber crystal research team, a division of the Tarkin Initiative based on the Outer Rim planet Eadu. Guided by the expertise of crystallographer Galen Erso, he and his colleagues worked to turn kyber crystals into a viable energy source for the Death Star's superlaser, giving it the capability to destroy entire planets. Vann's duties on Eadu included creating a set of deflectors that would drive the hypermatter flow of the station's annihilation reactor toward the Death Star's kyber crystals.

In 1 BBY, Imperial Director Orson Krennic found evidence that a member of Vann's research team had conspired with a cargo pilot to send a message to the Rebel Alliance about the Death Star project. The director instructed his death troopers to confront the scientists, instructing the traitor to expose himself. Despite Erso admitting to the betrayal, Krennic had his troopers execute the research team, including Vann.

Biography[]

A talented researcher[]

"It's Director Krennic. An… an unplanned visit. He's never… His shuttle will be landing any minute now."

―Vann, informing Galen Erso of Director Krennic's imminent arrival^[5]

Feyn Vann's Imperial service was spent in a division of the Tarkin Initiative (emblem depicted).

The human male^[3] Feyn Vann was a scientist who hailed from Tri-Barr Station.^[1] He worked as a lead researcher for the company Nordoxicon Unlimited^[6] during the reign of the Galactic Republic.^[2] Following the formation of the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY,^[2] he was forcibly conscripted into Imperial service to serve on the kyber crystal research team, a division of the Tarkin Initiative managed by Director Orson Krennic. Afterward, he became an expert in the kyber crystal research field.^[4] Identification records for Krennic's scientists,^[7] including Vann,^[4] were deleted from public databases upon their admittance to Imperial service.^[7]

While hidden by the mountainous terrain^[8] of the Outer Rim planet Eadu, Vann and his colleagues worked in the Energy Conversion Laboratory while being kept secluded from the wider galaxy.^[4] The kyber crystal research team, including Vann, labored on a project that would utilize kyber crystals as an energy source for the superlaser of the Death Star, a Geonosian-designed battle station that would, with the superlaser, possess the capability to destroy entire planets. While working in Eadu's laboratories, Vann worked to create an energy beam at the end of the Death Star's kyber crystal bombardment.^[6]

The kyber crystal research team's day-to-day needs on Eadu were managed by its operations manager Sirro Argonne.^[4] By 13 BBY,^[9] work on the superlaser and Vann's^[6] annihilation reactor had stalled^[10] and left the project years behind schedule.^[11] As a result, Krennic hunted down his former colleague, the crystallographer Galen Erso, and force him back into Imperial service.^[6] Vann and his team proved able to complete the Death Star's superlaser after several years working under Erso, aided by the crystallographer's extraordinary intellect.^[12] Vann's expertise in shield technology allowed him to create a series of deflector arrays that redirected hypermatter streams from the superweapon's core reactor up to a crystalline firing array.^[4]

Firing squad[]

"Gentlemen, one of you betrayed the Empire. One of you has conspired with a pilot to send messages to the Rebellion. And I urge that traitor to step forward."

―Director Orson Krennic, confronting Feyn Vann and his colleagues —

Listen (file info)^[3]

Erso and fellow scientists — Feyn Vann (right) and his team find out about Orson Krennic's unplanned visit.

In 1 BBY,^[2] Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin informed Krennic that a rebel sympathizer within Erso's research team had conspired with a cargo pilot to deliver a message to the Rebel Alliance concerning the Death Star. An enraged Krennic traveled to Eadu with his group of death troopers to investigate,^[3] informing the laboratory's workers, including Vann, of his shuttle's impending arrival. Krennic's visit deeply worried Vann, knowing that Krennic never came to their laboratory for unplanned visits.^[5] Stormtroopers ushered the scientists out of the laboratories^[12] to near the entrance of Krennic's shuttle.^[13] The director then thought of each scientist individually before ordering his death trooper unit to assemble near the scientists.^[12]

Krennic announced his knowledge of the conspiracy against the Empire and demanded that the traitor expose himself.^[3] As the director surveyed Erso's team for signs of guilt, he noticed none, including Vann, showed remorse.^[12] After pausing and receiving no response, Krennic concluded that the scientists had collaboratively turned traitor. As Krennic's death troopers readied themselves to execute the scientists, Erso intervened and confessed to being the traitor in an attempt to save Vann and his colleagues. However, as soon as Erso stepped toward the director, his scientists were shot and killed by the death troopers per Krennic's orders.^[3]

Vann's hypermatter reactors and deflectors^[6] contributed to the completion of the Death Star project^[12] and were used by the space station during its subsequent deployments. However, the Rebel Alliance ultimately destroyed the Death Star not long after the scientist's death by targeting a faulty thermal exhaust port^[6] that Erso had deliberately planted inside.^[12] In 35 ABY,^[14] the historian Beaumont Kin negatively compared the team that Vann was part of to Erso in^[11] his^[15] book, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire.^[11]

Personality and traits[]

"In Erso's absence Krennic was forced to try and persevere with his other captive scientists, none of whom possessed the raw intellect of the man he had lost."

―Beaumont Kin, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire^[11]

Feyn Vann had hair that had turned gray, brown eyes, and light skin.^[4] The time he spent in the kyber crystal research team's laboratories on Eadu left him frail and unused to the outdoors by the time of his death.^[13] In his book, Kin expressed his opinion that neither Vann or any of Krennic's other captive scientists possessed Erso's "raw intellect."^[11]

Skills and abilities[]

Vann was a talented scientific specialist who worked as one of Nordoxicon Unlimited's lead researchers. While working in the kyber crystal research field, he became exceptionally skilled at working with hypermatter reactors and deflectors.^[6]

Equipment[]

EaduScientists — Vann (right) wore a blue-and-white engineering jumpsuit while part of the kyber crystal research team.

While on Eadu, Vann donned a long-sleeved, blue-and-white engineering jumpsuit.^[12] The scientist's attire featured antiseptic coveralls that sported the dark-gray insignia of the Empire on the left sleeve and a chest pocket that held two code cylinders programmed with access to restricted areas.^[4] The fractured kyber crystal–inspired^[8] logo of the Tarkin Initiative was present on the chest of Vann's coveralls.^[4]

The scientist's uniform included shoes that were grounded against potential static charges present within laboratories. He also donned a tunic that would change colors when in the presence of harmful radiation. Vann's work on Eadu centered around creating a set of deflectors for use in the Death Star.^[4] While working in Imperial service, he had access to hypermatter reactors and deflectors.^[6]

Behind the scenes[]

"For the Visual Guide, gave a bunch of these scientists names that were basically phonemes made up of Los Alamos scientists' names chopped up, tossed into a blender and stuck together again."

―Pablo Hidalgo^[16]

Feyn Vann was first indirectly mentioned in Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel, a prequel novel to the Star Wars Anthology Series film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,^[10] that was released on November 15, 2016, and written by James Luceno.^[17] On December 16, 2016,^[17] he made his first full appearance in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story upon the film's release.^[3] He was first pictured in a trailer for the film released on the official Star Wars YouTube channel on October 13 of the same year.^[18]

Vann was portrayed by Paul Weston, an actor who had previously portrayed the Skiff Guard Vedain in^[19] the 1983 film^[20] Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.^[19] Vann's name was revealed in both Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide, an accompanying reference book written by Pablo Hidalgo,^[4] and in Star Wars: Rogue One: Secret Mission, a DK Readers title authored by Jason Fry,^[21] which were both released alongside the film on December 16, 2016.^[22] In Marvel Comics' third issue of the six-part comic book miniseries adaptation of the Rogue One, Vann was mistakenly portrayed as having blue eyes. The issue was written by Jody Houser, illustrated by Emilio Laiso,^[5] and released on April 5, 2017.^[23] Hidalgo created several of the scientists' names by combining elements from the names of the real-life scientists associated with the Los Alamos National Laboratory.^[16]