Ardan
Biographical information
Homeworld	Brentaal IV[1]
Physical description
Species	Human[2]
Gender	Male[2][3]
Hair color	Brown[4]
Eye color	Dark[4]
Skin color	Light[4]
Chronological and political information
Era(s)	Rise of the Empire era[1] Rebellion era[1]
Affiliation	Galactic Empire[1]

[Source]

Ardan was a Human male native of the Core World Brentaal IV and a lieutenant commander of the Imperial Navy during the height of the Galactic Civil War. He participated in the Imperial subjugations of the planets Ithor, Kashyyyk, Firro, Sinton, and other worlds populated by non-Humans. Ardan later commanded the bridge pit crews of the Super Star Destroyer Executor, the flagship of the Dark Lord Darth Vader, during the events leading up to the Battle of Hoth.

BiographyEdit

The Human male^[4] Ardan was a member of the Imperial Navy Officer Corps during the Galactic Civil War. A native of Brentaal IV,^[1] a wealthy commercial planet in the Core Worlds that proved strategically important during the Clone Wars,^[5] Ardan was a veteran of the Imperial subjugations of Ithor, Kashyyyk, Firro, Sinton, and other non-Human-populated worlds. By early 3 ABY, Ardan served with the Imperial Death Squadron as a lieutenant commander aboard the Super Star Destroyer Executor, the personal flagship of the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader, in charge of the command ship's bridge pit crews.^[1]

Ardan was present within the Executor's starboard-side crew pit in 3 ABY,^[4] monitoring a number of helmsmen,^[6] when Vader strode purposefully across the bridge's command walkway to discuss the findings of a reconnaissance Viper probe droid in the Hoth system with Admiral Kendal Ozzel and Captain Firmus Piett. Ardan, along with the rest of the crewmen within the command pit,^[4] watched with fearful silence as the Dark Lord passed above them.^[4][7] The probe droid's data revealed the location of Echo Base, the Rebel Alliance's hidden headquarters on the planet Hoth, leading to the Executor's participation in the subsequent Battle of Hoth.^[4]

Personality and traitsEdit

Lieutenant Commander Ardan and the remainder of the Executor pit crew present displayed fearful deference for the presence of Darth Vader as he stalked across the upper command walkway of the flagship's bridge to learn of the Viper probe droid's report in the Hoth system.^[4][7] Ardan also possessed a certain level of Force-attunement.^[1]

Ardan's equipment included a blaster pistol as his personal sidearm.^[2] He had brown hair and dark eyes.^[4]

Behind the scenesEdit

Ardan first appeared in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back as one of the unidentified extras among Darth Vader's bridge crew, appearing fleetingly in the scene introducing the Imperial forces to gaze fearfully at Vader. The panning shot of Ardan and the Executor's bridge crew helps to establish the film's theme of Vader's authoritative dominance over his subordinate officers.^[4]

The character's name and backstory were first introduced on the "Lieutenant Commander Ardan" card as part of the April 1997 Dagobah Limited expansion set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game, which also includes the game stipulation that Ardan is "Force-attuned." This level of Force ability is a step down from a "Force-sensitive" and significantly less than a full Jedi/Dark Jedi character for gameplay.^[1]

The character image appearing on the Ardan SWCCG card, seen here, appears to be a transposed version of the character's scene from the film. In the card game's image, Ardan's rank insignia and code cylinder are located on his right breast, while in the film they are located on his left breast—in accordance with all other Imperial officers in the film. However, in both the card image and the film scene, the character is looking up and over his right shoulder. Additionally, the card image lacks the presence of the two helmsmen whom Ardan is flanking within that scene in the film.^[1][4]

AppearancesEdit

• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (First appearance)

SourcesEdit

• Star Wars Customizable Card Game – Dagobah Limited (Card: Imperial Helmsman) (Picture only)
• Star Wars Customizable Card Game – Dagobah Limited (Card: Lieutenant Commander Ardan) (First identified as Ardan)
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
•  Lieutenant Commander Ardan in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)

Notes and referencesEdit