Marko (Human)

During the Clone Wars, Marko was a male Human officer within the Thaereian military, which served as the armed forces defending the Thaereian system. As a lieutenant, Marko's assignment involved customs inspection within the Cularin system, a star system under the military protection of the Thaereian forces as per their charter. In this role, he oversaw a Thaereian customs corvette alongside four Z-95 Headhunter starfighters, tasked with inspecting outgoing starships.

Sometime around 20 BBY, as Marko and his team patrolled near the Cularin comet cloud at the Cularin system's edge, they detected an approaching ship and ordered it to submit for inspection. This ship was piloted by the heroes of Cularin, a group of independent agents collaborating with the Galactic Republic flotilla Strike Force Cularin, who were heading in advance of the main Republic armada. These agents saw Marko's order as a chance to humiliate the Thaereians by manipulating Marko and his team into delaying the Republic strike force's advance; they intentionally stalled in transmitting their clearance codes, which would have revealed their connection to the approaching flotilla.

Through a hologram, Marko issued threats to the freelancers, disregarding an attempt by a Thaereian ensign to intervene. The Republic armada's sudden arrival interrupted the lieutenant's tirade. Upon finally receiving the agents' clearance codes, Marko was surprised to realize they were part of the Republic task force. He then granted them permission to proceed and quickly ordered the Thaereian ships to clear the path for the Republic vessels. Subsequently, Colonel Rast'tul, the second-in-command of the ground troops accompanying Strike Force Cularin, contacted Marko to reprimand him for obstructing the flotilla's passage. Disregarding Marko's attempts to justify his actions, Rast'tul relieved him of his command, effectively ending his career in the Thaereian military.

Marko held those subjected to customs inspections in disdain, viewing himself as superior and addressing them with a condescending tone. He eagerly sought opportunities to seize or confiscate the property of those whose vessels he inspected, often searching for flaws in their permits and manifests. Marko also harbored the belief that he was well-versed in all the tactics employed by smugglers and pirates to circumvent customs checks.

Ronald A. Heintz created Marko, who first appeared in Decision: Almas, a 2004 Star Wars Legends roleplaying adventure. This adventure served as the initial installment in the Decisions trilogy within RPGA's Living Force campaign.

In Decision: Almas, players take on the roles of the freelance agents who encounter Marko within the Cularin system. Should the player characters be operating a military starship, Marko demands an explanation for their use of the vessel and threatens to impound it. Players have the option to comply with Marko's order to submit for inspection. In this scenario, the freelance agents transmit their clearance codes, and Marko is briefly alarmed upon realizing that he is delaying a vessel belonging to the Republic fleet. He then grants the operatives permission to proceed and wishes them well on their mission before hastily instructing the Thaereian ships to quickly move out of the path of the oncoming Republic flotilla.

Alternatively, players can deliberately delay their compliance with Marko's instructions to cause him to obstruct the Republic ships, thereby embarrassing the Thaereians. If the agents are particularly uncooperative, Marko considers simply ordering his ships to fire upon them and reporting the operatives as pirates. Marko is later reprimanded by Colonel Rast'tul upon the arrival of the Republic armada for impeding the passage of the Republic vessels.