Shoan Kilian

Shoan Kilian was a human Corellian male officer who held the rank of Admiral in the Galactic Republic Navy during the Clone Wars against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. During the war, he commanded the Venator-class Star Destroyer Endurance while it made a training tour near the planet Vanqor. The young bounty hunter Boba Fett was able to infiltrate the ship and sabotage it, causing the Endurance to crash onto Vanqor's surface. Kilian refused to abandon his ship but survived the crash and was taken captive by Fett and his bounty hunter comrades along with Clone Commander Ponds and a clone naval officer. The Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano eventually rescued Kilian before the bounty hunter Bossk could kill him.
==Biography==
At some point during or before 21 BBY, Shoan Kilian had obtained the rank of admiral while serving in the Galactic Republic's Navy. By then, Kilian was one of the older human officers working for the Republic. When the Clone Wars broke out across the galaxy, Kilian continued to serve in the Navy and assumed command of the Endurance, a Venator-Class Star Destroyer which belonged to the Open Circle Fleet's Fifth Fleet. During his service aboard the vessel, Kilian oversaw a visit from a Clone Youth Brigade. Unbeknownst to Kilian, a young Boba Fett infiltrated the Endurance pretending to be a cadet in the Youth Brigade, in an attempt to get close enough to kill Mace Windu, the Jedi Master who had killed his father. Kilian witnessed the exceptional skills shown by Fett, who was going under the name "Lucky," during a targeting exercise, and remarked to the clone gunner that "Lucky" was a cadet to watch.
Fett tried to kill Windu with a laser-triggered bomb that he set up at the entrance to Windu's quarters.
Kilian was standing at the bridge and checked the ship for any damage caused by the explosion. He reported to the Jedi that the Endurance navigation was hobbled, but not destroyed. The systems were repairable, and he ordered a shutdown of the engines until the ship was fully operational. Kilian also told the Jedi the ship would remain in orbit over the planet Vanqor and he wouldn't allow the ship to become a fat and easy target for the separatists, with which he ended his transmission to the Jedi.
After Fett's initial assassination attempt failed, his mentor and fellow bounty hunter Aurra Sing ordered Fett to sabotage the Endurance. Fett went to the reactor core, destroying the reactor core, sending the Endurance on a collision course with the planet Vanqor. As the star destroyer slowly dove into Vanqor's atmosphere, Kilian felt it was his duty to send the Clone Youth Brigade to the escape pods as he was curious to see what materials comprised them. He told the young clones that this was for training purposes and said that the whole event would be good for telling a story when they returned to base. After the cadets had left, he ordered a clone to send a distress beacon, as the ship was going down. 
Windu and Anakin Skywalker attempted to convince the admiral to evacuate, but Kilian refused to leave his vessel behind, binding himself to the old traditions of the admiral going down with his ship. After the Jedi determined Kilian could not be persuaded, they left to help gather troops into the escape pods. A few clones of the command bridge crew, along with Clone Commander Ponds stayed behind to help the admiral. Soon afterwards, the ship entered the atmosphere and crashed onto Vanqor's surface. Communication with the cruiser, the clones and its admiral were lost. 
The Jedi assumed that Kilian and all aboard were killed in the crash. However, the admiral was amongst the three survivors captured by the bounty hunters who attacked the wreckage. A few other members of the bridge crew originally survived the crash, but they were all killed by the bounty hunters during their raid of the Endurance. Admiral Kilian, along with Ponds and a clone navigation officer, were taken hostage by Boba Fett, with the assistance of Sing, Bossk, and Castas. Bossk remained with Kilian and the other prisoners as Sing led Fett and Castas on a failed search of the Endurance wreckage for Windu and Skywalker's bodies. As a result, Bossk pulled Kilian, Ponds and the naval officer up Slave I ramp. After R2-D2 evaded the blasts from Slave I and used a hyperspace ring to escape the system, Sing informed her colleagues that she would use Kilian and the other hostages to her advantage to track Windu. 
Later, on board Slave I, the admiral tried to reason with Fett, saying he was not like Sing and the other bounty hunters. Kilian also told Fett he knew a good soldier when he saw one. After Sing's broadcast of her murdering Ponds, Kilian and the surviving clone officer were taken to Florrum to await Windu's arrival. Soon after Plo Koon and Ahsoka Tano arrived on Florrum, Bossk lost communication with Sing. Bossk prepared to execute Kilian and the clone officer as instructed by Sing. However, before Bossk could strike the killing blow, Tano arrived and subdued the Trandoshan. Tano freed Kilian and the clone officer and Kilian held Bossk at bay with the Trandoshan's own weapon. Once Kilian was fully healed, he returned to active duty.
==Personality and traits==
Shoan Kilian was a human Corellian male, with brown eyes, grey hair which was only visible through his eyebrows and beard, and light skin. He was one of the older human officers working for the Republic during the Clone War. The admiral was 1.72 meters, or 5 feet, 8 inches tall. Kilian was a man of principle and high honor. He was also seen as naval traditionalist, and ran a tight ship. Kilian was loyal to his ship, the Endurance, and despite attempted persuasions by Jedi Generals Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu, he refused to abandon his ship, even as it was on a collision course with Vanqor. Kilian insisted to Windu and Skywalker that an admiral must go down with his ship. Despite his stubbornness, Kilian was an understanding man.
==Skills and abilities==
As a Republic admiral, Kilian was an effective leader. He was also skilled in military tactics and diplomacy.
==Equipment==
Shoan Kilian wore the uniform of a Galactic Republic admiral during the Clone War. He also knew how to wield a blaster, as demonstrated by him targeting Bossk's weapon at the Trandoshan.
==Behind the scenes==
Shoan Kilian first appeared in "Death Trap," the twentieth episode of the second season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He was voiced by Julian Holloway. Kilian was named after The Clone Wars concept artist Kilian Plunkett. In the current Star Wars canon, he was first identified as "Shoan" in the 2021 reference book Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Character Encyclopedia - Join the Battle!, written by Jason Fry. He was originally identified as "Shoan" in the 2010 reference book Star Wars: The Clone Wars: New Battlefronts: The Visual Guide, which is now part of the Star Wars Legends continuity.Star Wars: The Clone Wars: New Battlefronts: The Visual Guide
==Appearances==
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==Sources==
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*Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
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*Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Character Encyclopedia - Join the Battle! 
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==Notes and references==
Category:Corellians
Category:Humans
Category:Individuals with he/him pronouns
Category:Males
Category:Republic Navy admirals