Jenks (Imperial)

During the era of the Galactic Civil War, a male Human served as an intelligence operative, a spy, for the Galactic Empire during the reborn Emperor Palpatine's reign while inhabiting his final clone body during the period of rule. In the year 10 ABY, Palpatine employed his latest superweapon, known as the Galaxy Gun, to destroy Pinnacle Base, which served as the headquarters for the New Republic and was situated on the moon Da Soocha V. Following this event, the surviving members of the New Republic relocated to Nespis VIII, an abandoned Space City located in the Auril sector, and established it as their new operational center.

In the year 11 ABY, the Imperial spy successfully navigated the New Republic security protocols and gained access to the Nespis VIII base, adopting the identity of a technician known as "Jenks." During his time there, Jenks discovered that the Ysanna tribe, whom the Jedi Knights Luke Skywalker and Kam Solusar had encountered on the planet Ossus, were descendants of the Jedi. Jenks transmitted this information, along with the coordinates of Nespis VIII and its designation as the New Republic's base, to the Emperor.

Continuing his deceptive activities, Jenks made an attempt to install a homing beacon onto the navigation computer of the New Republic starship named the Millennium Falcon. While the vessel was undergoing maintenance, Jenks managed to board it and plant the device. However, his act of sabotage was observed by the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, who happened to be passing by.

The droids intended to inform the ship's captain, Han Solo, about Jenks' subversive actions. With his cover at risk, Jenks drew his concealed blaster pistol and threatened to damage C-3PO's droid brain to prevent the droid from disclosing the sensitive information. However, Solo himself arrived on the scene and witnessed the situation, and C-3PO informed him of Jenks' actions. The spy discharged his weapon at Solo, narrowly missing the captain. Subsequently, the Imperial was attacked by Solo's Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca, who leaped from a compartment above Jenks' head and subdued him.

Jenks was taken into custody, and his true identity as a spy was revealed to the New Republic leaders. The homing beacon he had planted aboard the Millennium Falcon was also deactivated. However, Jenks boasted to his captors that he had already notified the Emperor about the New Republic's presence on the space city, declaring that the New Republic forces on Nespis VIII were doomed. Having been alerted to the New Republic's presence, the Emperor targeted Nespis VIII with his Galaxy Gun.

Although the weapon's initial particle disintegrator warhead failed to detonate, giving the New Republic time to evacuate, the second warhead obliterated Nespis VIII. Utilizing Jenks' information regarding the Ysanna, Palpatine also dispatched Military Executor Xecr Nist to Ossus to abduct members of the tribe, as Palpatine intended to utilize their DNA to create new clone bodies for himself. However, this plan was foiled by Skywalker and his Jedi.

Jenks demonstrated sufficient espionage skills to successfully infiltrate the New Republic's Nespis VIII base while posing as a technician, despite the existence of anti-spy security measures. Jenks was genuinely loyal to Emperor Palpatine, providing him with crucial intelligence and believing in the certainty of his triumph.

During his brief time with the New Republic, Jenks established some rapport with Han Solo, who knew him by his assumed name. When confronted by C-3PO, Jenks quickly lost his composure, drawing his blaster and threatening to harm the protocol droid, ultimately revealing his true identity as a spy. Jenks believed that his capture was insignificant in the larger context, as the Emperor was already aware of the New Republic's presence on Nespis VIII. Jenks had fair skin and closely cropped black hair.

To maintain his disguise during the infiltration of Nespis VIII, Jenks wore a technician's uniform, complete with a cap, and carried a concealed blaster pistol.

"Jenks" made his first appearance in the first issue of the Star Wars: Empire's End comic book series, published by Dark Horse, written by Tom Veitch, and illustrated by Jim Baikie. The initial issue was released on October 24, 1995.

Jenks was also featured in the comic's 1995 audio drama, although the adaptation portrayed the character as a female. While Empire End 1 never clarified whether "Jenks" was the spy's actual name or a fabricated alias, issue 65 of The Official Star Wars Fact File confirmed that "Jenks" was indeed a false identity used by the spy.

In comparison to the comic book, the Empire's End audio drama presents several discrepancies regarding Jenks' confrontation with Han Solo. The encounter between Jenks and Solo in the audio drama commences with Solo arriving in the company of the cyborg Jedi Empatojayos Brand. Instead of firing a single shot, Jenks fires multiple shots and manages to hit Brand, but the Jedi survives due to the backup systems of his prosthetic body's.

Following the attack, Solo questions Jenks about how she managed to infiltrate the New Republic. When Jenks refuses to answer, Solo threatens to hand her over to Chewbacca, implying that the Wookiee will resort to more aggressive interrogation methods. Jenks is then confined to the Millennium Falcon's storage bay. In the comic book, Jenks is depicted tied up in the briefing room of Nespis VIII. For the purposes of this article, the events are presented as they were originally depicted in the comic book.