Name: Soontir Fel

Title: Baron (since 3 ABY)

Sex: male

Race: human

Hair color: black

Eye color: dark brown (note: judging from the comics, they could be either brown or green, but the "New Essential Guide to Characters" states that they are in fact dark brown)

Height: 1.83 m (6'0'') (given in the NEGtC)

Homeplanet: Corellia

Soontir Fel
picture taken from "The Making of Baron Fel"

Hometown: AGR agro-combine (note: probably close to Coronet City, because when Fel calls CorSec, it is Hal Horn who investigates; and Fel later lives near Coronet City, and I assume he -- family-oriented as he is -- would choose a place close to his hometown)

Birthyear: 29 BBY

Birthplace: Corellia

Family: father, mother, one sister, and two brothers (note: I assume he has two brothers and a sister from the pictures in "The Making of Baron Fel"), all live at and work for the AGR (Allied Grain and Roughage) agro-combine on Corellia; Soontir is the eldest child (mentioned in the NEGtC)

Relationships: married with Syal Antilles (aka Wynssa Starflare) since 1 ABY

Children: (note: this section becomes more complicated with each new book *sigh*)

  • Chak, born between 2 and 6 ABY, KIA between 27 and 35 ABY (see notes below)
  • Davin, born between 2 and 6 ABY, KIA before 25.5 ABY (see notes below)
  • Jagged, born 7 ABY
  • Cherith, born after 7 ABY, KIA before 25.5 ABY (note: as Cherith was killed in action, I suppose that happened shortly before "Ruin", but most likely not before 22 ABY (at that time she could not have been older than 14))
  • Cem, born after 7 ABY (most likely) and before 15 ABY(see note below)
  • Wynnsa, born around 15 ABY (note: in "Refugee" (28 ABY) Wyn is described as a blond human girl who looks to be in her early teens; as her mother was born 30 BBY, Wynnsa can't have been born much later than 15 ABY though, I guess)

As stated above, figuring out the Fel family currently becomes more difficult instead of easier with each new book, especially with the publication of "Survivor's Quest" by Timothy Zahn in which Chak Fel plays a major role (who should be named Davin and already be dead at that time, but well, he is a good character). "The Joiner King" tries to resolve the canon mistakes, but creates new ones in the process. A collection of the facts I know of:

  • "Ruin" (ca. 25.5 ABY):
    Jag is said to be two years older than Jaina Solo, who was born 9 ABY (confirmed in "Dark Journey" (27 ABY) in which it is explicitly stated that Jag is twenty-year-old).
    Jag says that his mother gave birth to five children.
    Jag mentions that his older brother (he says "my older brother" which to me means that he has only one older brother) and a younger sister (again, "a younger sister" means to me that he has at least two) died in combat.
  • "Dark Journey" (ca. 27 ABY):
    Jag is said to be twenty-year-old.
    Soontir Fel mentions his son Davin and daughter Cherith.
    Davin was about Jag's age (20) when he died, Cherith was even younger.
  • "Refugee" (28 ABY)
    Fel's daughter Wyn makes an appearance and is described as a blond human girl who looks to be in her early teens.
    Wyn mentions someone named Cem who is always taking out the family yacht; she might be talking about her sister/brother, but that's not clear.
  • "The Unifying Force" (30 ABY)
    At the end of the book, Jag asks Jaina to come to Csilla with him, and he says that his parents and Wynnsa would like to meet her. As he explicitly mentions Wynnsa and no other siblings, this could indicate that she is the only one still alive.
  • "Survivor's Quest" (ca. 22 ABY)
    Soontir Fel's son Chak makes an appearance; he is a commander and usually in charge of a fleetarm of clawcrafts (in SQ he commands a group of Stormtroopers, though).
    Chak is desribed to be young-looking, no older than his midtwenties.
  • "Red Sky, Blue Flame" (ca. 21 ABY)
    Jag is said to be 14 at that time (which would place the story at 21 ABY, but as it is supposed to take place shortly after the events of "Vision of the Future", that is a bit late).
    Jag is said to be Fel's only living son, which means that his older brother is already dead at that time and that his three other siblings are all girls.
    Jag's brother is named Davin.
  • X-wing comics ("In the Empire's Service" to "Mandatory Retirement") (ca. 4.5 ABY)
    no children of Soontir Fel and Wynnsa Starflare are mentioned.
  • "Dark Next I: The Joiner King" (ca. 35 ABY)
    Aristocra Formbi of the Chiss Ascendency tells Mara and Luke that only two Fel children are still alive, Jagged and Wyn, and that Chak, Davin and Cherith are dead.
    Mara asks about Cem Fel, who is not known to Formbi, but he is quite sure that Cem is a shadow child (a Chiss tradition), his existence kept secret by the Fels. That Wyn mentioned his name to Jacen ("Refugee") he thinks is very likely not a mistake of hers, but done on purpose and on request from her father (though he might have just wanted to reassure Luke and Mara).
  • The Official Star Wars Fact File (according to Wookiepedia)
    It states that Syal and Soontir already had two children at the time of his defection to the Rebellion (and even before the battle of Derra IV in 3 ABY), and if Wookiepedia is correct, Davin is said to be the older one. So Davin would have been born around 2 ABY and Chak about a year later.

As "Red Sky, Blue Flame" is only a short story, I will go with the novels whenever inconsistencies appear (even though I really like RSBF). Unfortunately the novels aren't consistent, either.
Information about the four youngest Fel children is rather non-ambigious. Jagged was born 7 ABY, his younger sister Cherith most likely a year or two later (she is KIA before 25.5 ABY, so I suppose she is not much younger than Jag). Wynnsa is the youngest, born about 15 ABY (she looks to be in her early teens at 28 ABY). Cem is most likely a few years older than Wynnsa (the way she talks about him seems to indicate that), but younger than Cherith, so he might have been born around 10 ABY. If he is a "shadow child", his existence kept secret by the Fels, it would explain why Jag only mentiones four siblings in "Ruin". So far, so good.
The trouble starts with the two other sons, Davin and Chak. I'm sure that originally, the authers had only one more son in mind, named Davin. But inTimothy Zahn's "Survivor's Quest", a Chak Fel makes an appearance. Instead of ignoring the naming mistake, the shadow child theory was developed to explain the sixth Fel child. But since both Davin and Chak have to be older than Jag, this creates new problems: First of all, it doesn't fit to Jag talking about "my older brother" in "Ruin" which indicates that he has only one older brother (but a younger one, which is not entirely consistent, either, since Cem's existence is kept secret).
Additionally, there is no indication at all that Fel had children at the time of his defection and later disappearance (bt. 4.5 and 5.5 ABY). He is always worrying about his wife, but not once children are mentioned, not even in private conversation with his wife. According to Wookiepedia (citing a Start Wars Fact File) his two oldest sons were born before his defection, though (personally, I find that hard to believe, but well, it is not impossible).
Fel and Syal marry 1 ABY; their first child could theoretically have been born around 2 ABY (Syal doesn't look pregnant at their wedding). I would think that they would have had trouble to keep a child born before approximately 3 or 4 ABY secret, given that Syal was a celebrity (at a later time she might have been able to hide at their holding on Corellia), but again, according to Wookiepedia the first child (Davin) was born in 2 ABY and the second (Chak) not much later, even before Fel became a Baron (in 3 ABY).
In "Survivor's Quest" Mara guesses Chak Fel to be in his early to midtwenties. If he was born 3 ABY he would have been 19 or 20. In "Dark Journey" it is mentioned that Davin was about 20 when he died; if he was indeed born 2 ABY, he would have died 22 ABY.
Chak is definitely dead at the time of "The Joiner King" (35 ABY), but as Jag doesn't mention him at the end of "The Unifying Force" (30 ABY), it is quite possible that he already died before the end of the Yuuzhan Vong war (which might even explain why Jag returns to the Unknown Regions, but that is my own theory). The real reason, of course, that is he not mentioned in TUF is the fact that Timothy Zahn invented the character after TUF was already released (SQ was released a year after TUF).




Curriculum Vitae

29 BBY born on Corellia

11 BBY is forced to accept an assignment to the Imperial Naval Academy on Carida

7 BBY graduates as lieutenant from the academy, he is the Salutarian (second-best) of his class (note: he was in the same class as Han Solo who graduated as Valedictorian according to the "SW Essential Chronology"; it is mentioned in the A.C. Crispin books that Han spent four years at Carida, so I suppose Fel did also); he is assigned to the Abrogator and joins the 37th Imperial fighter wing as a TIE pilot; during his first tour of duy he helped eliminate the Lortan fanatics who had survived the Resalian Purge

6 BBY promotion to captain; he volunteers for a second tour-of-duty as a TIE pilot

5 to ca. 3 BBY serves as an officer in the Imperial Fleet, where he commands the Dreadnaught Pride of the Senate (note: in Crispin's "The Hutt Gambit" Fel is the captain of a Dreadnaught; I guess that Crispin mistook the Air Force rank "captain" for the Navy rank; otherwise that would have been too much of a promotion); he fights under Admiral Greelanx in the Battle of Nar Shadaa

ca. 3 to 0.5 BBY works as a flight instructor at the Imperial Military Academy on Prefsbelt IV; among his students are Biggs Darklighter, Hobbie Klivian and Tycho Celchu; his class is the best that ever graduated from the academy; thereupon Tarkin offers him a job on the first Death Star

ca. 0.5 BBY Biggs and Hobbie lead a mutiny on the Rand Ecliptic and defect; Fel is blamed for his students' actions and transfered to the 181st

0 commands the 2/181st at the battle of Ord Biniir; they reconquer the planet which was lost before by a whole wing of Imperial fighters; at the same day the Rebel Alliance destroys the first Death Star, so Fel's victory is especially emphasized by the Empire and he is transfered to Coruscant with the order to establish a new 181st as an elite unit; promotion to major; he meets Wynssa Starflare on Coruscant

ca. 1 ABY the new 181st fighter group is established; he marries Wynssa and learns that Wedge Antilles is her brother

ca. 1 to 3 ABY though Colonel Derricote officially commands the 181st, Fel does most of the everyday work in leading and training the group

ca. 3 ABY Isard questions his loyalty; afraid that she might know his wife's secret, he tells Wynnsa to prepare to fly to a place unknown even to him in case something happens

ca. 3 ABY takes part in the assault at Derra IV in which a Rebel convey is destroyed; he meets Thrawn, who planned the mission; afterwards he is promoted to colonel, given command of the 181st, awarded the title of Baron and a holding on Corellia;

ca. 3 to 4.5 ABY leads the 181st, for example at Hoth and Endor

ca. 4.5 ABY is captured by Rebel forces at Brentaal; he promises to fight for the Alliance if they help him to find his wife who had fled Corellia after she had learned of his captivity

ca. 4.5 to 5.5 ABY member of Rogue Squadron; he is allowed to keep his rank as a colonel

ca. 5.2 ABY is reunited with Syal (note: according to the NEGtC he finds her seven months after his defection; it seems that Rogue Squadron helped him to find his wife, but that's not entirely clear (cp. 'Vision of the Future' HC p.88 and NEGtC); I'm also not sure if Syal stays with the New Republic or slips away again)

ca. 5.5 ABY is captured by Isard and brought to Thrawn's hidden base on Nirauan; convinced of the dangers lingering in the Unknown Regions he agrees to join Thrawn's secret forces; Thrawn arranges for his wife to join him (note: in the NEGtC it is stated that Isard captured Fel approx. one and a half years after Endor; it is further said that he was still with Rogue Squadron at that time)

bt. ca. 5.5 and 19 ABY fights for Thrawn and Admiral Parck in the Unknown Regions; promotion to general; his children are born (at least the four youngest); he loses his right eye

19 ABY meets Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade on Nirauan; he tries in vain to take them prisoner to prevent them from telling the NR about Thrawn's secret base

22 ABY sends his son Chak to a Chiss mission exploring the remains of Outbound Flight Project

26 ABY loans a phalanx of his pilots, under the command of his son Jagged, to the New Republic to assist them in their war against the Yuuzhan Vong; other than that, he stays away from the NR and the Empire

27 ABY sends Jag on a scouting mission to understand the tactics of the YV; if he's successful, Fel is willing to join the war against the YV

bt. 27 and 28 ABY with his wife Syal and his daughter Wyn he moves to an estate on Csilla, the Chiss homeplanet (note: it is mentioned in 'Remnant' that Fel and his family live on Csilla; the book also indicates that Jagged Fel thinks of Csilla as his home and has at least spent some time there before he joined the military (i.e. before 19 ABY); I find that hard to believe, given the political differences between Thrawn's people/Empire of the Hand and the Chiss)

ca. 28.3 ABY helds the position of assistant syndic of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet (CEDF) (note: originally, Syndic Mitth'raw'nuruodo's Household Phalanx, to which Fel belongs, had parted from the CEDF to guard the Chiss territory in a more proactive manner than the Chiss would normally be comfortable with; as 'Remnant' states that Fel is assistant syndic of the CEDF, it seems that those differences have been settled (possibly in view of the Yuuzhan Vong threat); I still find it curious, though, that a human holds such a position in Chiss society)


additional pictures Back to Top