Early life

Galen Walton Erso was born on the agricultural backwater planet Grange to a human mother and father as an only child in 56 BBY.

Growing up in a poor neighborhood, Galen demonstrated high intelligence from an early age. His mother, first to recognize her son’s genius, supplied him with whatever he needed to keep his mind busy when credits weren’t tight; first providing him a music synthesizer, chemistry set, and later whatever datacrons she could find. Upon entering primary school, Galen outlearned his fellow classmates and quickly grew bored. Galen’s mother, eager for Galen to learn of the broader galaxy,  subscribed him to a Holo Net service. By secondary school, Galen’s teachers described him as a “prodigy.”

Galen excelled in the mathematics and the sciences, learned numerous languages and magic tricks out of pure curiosity, and built his own primitive Holo Net transceiver. 

In school, Galen won the Grange subadult science and engineering fair scholarship. Often coming up with academic formulas and theories that surpassed his understanding and mystified his instructors, one of his solutions was eventually submitted offworld by a mentor. This submission brought Galen into the attention of the Republic Futures Program, a program designed to collect the “best and brightest” students from across the stars to become the Republic’s next generation of leaders, scientists, and citizens.

At the urging of his mother, Galen wound up in the Futures Program on Brentaal in 40 BBY.  While enrolled, he received word that his mother had died of a short illness, and, only a few years later, that his father had died in a vehicular accident. Following these losses, he soon became best friends with architecture student Orson Krennic in 36 BBY.

By graduation, Galen graduated with top honors in the Brentaal Futures Program materials competition. Following graduation, Galen wound up taking advanced studies, research internships, and teaching positions. During this time, Krennic helped Galen land a visiting professorship at the Institute of Applied Science on  Coruscant, which came with a good stipend and free apartment. By twenty-five Galen had published prolifically and had earned a reputation for himself in the fields of crystallograhy and energy enhancement.

Galen traveled the galaxy on research missions searching for rare crystals. During an expedition on Espinar in 26 BBY,  Galen met his future wife, Lyra. By the end of the six month expedition, the two were lovers. A year later in 25 BBY, Galen married Lyra on Coruscant. Sometime later, the two were trapped in a crystal cave on Chandrila, where Lyra’s knowledge of the wilderness led to their survival.

While many of Galen’s colleagues pursued government research, Galen refused to pursue military research because of his pacifistic principles, and instead took a contract with Zerpen Industries to continue his studies into crystal synthesis and energy enrichment.

Born to hardworking parents and seeing the wealth disparity in the galaxy, Galen sought to examine the very structures of existence to see if he could unlock unlimited energy and even the divide between the have’s and have not’s. Galen hoped to find a way to provide clean, safe, and nearly unlimited power to developing worlds by unlocking the secrets of the Kyber crystal. Months before the outbreak of the Clone Wars, Galen and Lyra relocated to the Outer Rim world of Vallt, where Zerpen Industries had arranged a deal with Vallt’s King Chai, who allowed the construction of a research facility to grow synthetic crystals in the hopes of creating a new source of inexpensive power.

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Clone Wars

We’re onto something big with this last batch of kyber synthetics; I can feel it. There’s no telling at this point what the limits are: power enough to supply enriched and renewable energy for entire continents, certainly. Perhaps for entire worlds. I do ache to get back to the facility to continue the work. Research is the only thing I’m good at, and I’m determined to provide for you and our child.Galen Erso, in a letter to his wife while a political prisoner on Vallt, 22 BBY

By the start of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY and before leaving for Vallt, Lyra was already pregnant with their future daughter, Jyn. Shortly afterward, Vallt’s Republic-aligned King Chai was overthrown in a coup by forces loyal to Marshal Phara, who received military support from the Separatist Alliance.

Age of the Empire

Galen Erso is one of the Core’s most renowned polymaths. A theoretician, a mathematician, an engineer and experimental physicist. At present he is the preeminent authority on crystals and their use in supplying enhanced power.Orson Krennic speaking about Galen to Mas Amedda.

Traumatized by his near death-encounter at the hands of the Separatists, and increasingly worried for the safety of his family, Galen quickly fell under the influence of Krennic, who now served under the auspices of the First Galactic Empire.  Lyra was suspicious of Krennic, and continually acted as Galen’s moral conscience. Before returning to Coruscant from Lokori, Galen briefly stopped on Kanzi at behest of Krennic, who offered him a position in Project Celestial Power. Galen was misled into believing that Celestial Power represented the Emperor’s dream of reconstructing the galaxy devastated during the Clone Wars by providing nearly unlimited energy. In addition to supposedly reducing poverty and aiding developing worlds, Galen was led to believe it would also deter growing Separatist holdouts from  gaining new members dissatisfied at the pace of Imperial reconstructive efforts.

Galen soon became enamored in kyber research in Celestial Power’s central facility on Coruscant. Lyra worried over Galen’s increasing remoteness and dedication to his work. Realizing that Lyra’s morality was a danger to his plans, Krennic offered her a job scouting a possible network of kyber crystal caves on Alpinn. By Lyra’s return at the end of the six month period, Galen was a different man. Lyra worried that she had lost her husband in his mad pursuit of knowledge, being providing nearly unlimited resources to aid in his research, and seemingly echoing propaganda rhetoric spoken by Krennic. Furthermore, Galen had become distanced to his daughter, Jyn, and rarely spoke with Lyra except for when she transcribed his notes. Galen consciously regretted this, knowing that he was no longer allowed to due to his swearing of multiple security oaths. However, he firmly believed that what he was doing was for the ultimate good of the galaxy.

Eventually, Galen became suspicious of Krennic’s inability to provide him with examples of the implementation of his research. In 17 BBY, following his wife, Lyra’s telling of Galen that his knowledge was in fact being weaponized by Krennic, Galen sought to escape his Imperial service. Angered at being lied to by Krennic, Galen and Lyra escaped in the chaos of Coruscant’s All – Species Week,  a holiday event that saw the streets and skylanes of Coruscant jammed with party-goers. In the chaos, Galen and his family escaped with the aid of known rebel Saw Gerrera,  whom Lyra had heard of through Has Obitt, the pilot who initially rescued them from Vallt along with Krennic, and had become good friends with the Ersos. Saw helped purchase 65 hectares of land on Lah’mu, a remote world unspoiled by the Empire for the Erso’s to hide on. Knowing that deleting his research would only quicken Krennic’s soon-to-be mad search for himself, Galen left his notes unspoiled, instead hoping that his insanely complicated notes would hamper Celestial Power’s scientists’ ability to understand the progress he was making.

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Recruitment into the Tarkin Initiative

I knew if I had refused to work, if I took my own life, it would only be a matter of time before Krennic realized he no longer needed me to complete the project. So I did the one thing nobody expected: I lied; I learned to lie. I played the part of a beaten man resigned to the sanctuary of his work. I made myself indispensable and all the while I layed the groundwork of my revenge.Galen Erso, about his deception.

For several years, Galen eked out a peaceful existence on Lah’mu, living on its less popular eastern side in a modest  homestead.  There, Galen and his droids utilized hardy Pretormin Enviromental GX-8 condenser units to distill water vapor from the air, becoming simple farmers not interested in off-world trade. Galen was content to live out the rest of his life on Lah’mu, near the loving company of his wife and daughter. However, in 13 BBY, Krennic traveled to Lah’mu aboard his personal Delta-class T-3c Shuttle with a complement of death troopers.

Galen confronted Krennic, who offered him reentry into the Empire’s service. Galen attempted to lie to Krennic, pretending that his memory was “not as it used to be.” Despite this, Krennic saw through Galen’s lie. Simultaneously, Galen’s wife, Lyra , pulled a blaster on Krennic, demanding that he leave them and their daughter alone. After refusing to lower her blaster, Krennic ordered his death troopers to kill Lyra, which they did in front of Galen’s eyes, while Krennic took a mild glancing shot to the shoulder from Lyra’s blaster.

Galen was then pressed into the service of the Tarkin Initiative, an Imperial think tank. There, he was responsible for the fusing of crystal shards into larger forms, and the creation and redirection of a controlled chain reaction as the head of the kyber crystal research team.  Galen, realizing that Krennic already possessed the ability to complete the station without him, decided to play the part of a defeated and obedient man. Knowing that whether or not he quit would not deter the further completion of the station, Galen delayed the research as long as he could and made himself indispensable. Unknown to the Empire and to Krennic, who legitimately believed that he was helping Galen achieve his greatness, he had never become truly loyal, and instead deliberately engineered a fatal weakness at the center of the space station in the form of a reactor module. Any pressurized explosion to the component would set off a chain reaction that would completely destroy the station. Hoping that his daughter was still alive and safe from Krennic, Galen codenamed the Death Star’s structural readouts “Stardust,” the name he called Jyn as a child.

Stationed on Eadu,  Galen eventually convinced Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook of the true horrors of the Death Star. Overcome with a crisis of conscience,Galen entrusted Bodhi with a message to be delivered to the Rebelliok, and hopefully his daughter, informing them of the station’s vulnerability.

Aiding the Rebellion

Stop! Stop! Stop Krennic, stop! It was me. It was me.Galen Erso to Orson Krennic about him aiding the Rebellion

By 0 BBY, rumors soon began to spread throughout the galaxy of a new Imperial superweapon . Shortly before the Battle of Yavin, the Rebel Alliance received word that Gerrera had a message from Galen pertaining to the superweapon. Recruiting Galen’s estranged daughter, the Rebellion tasked Jyn with traveling to the Force – sacred world of Jedha to secure a meeting with Gerrera, a former friend of hers, and retrieve the message.

After traveling   to Imperial-occupied Jedha and watching her father’s message, Jyn was led to believe that the Rebellion sought to extract her father from Imperial custody, while in reality, Intelligence officer Cassian Andor was under direct orders to  assassinate Galen at his first opportunity by General Davits Draven, who was fearful of what other weapons Galen could create for the Empire. While on a covert missiodn to Eadu to assassinate Galen, Andor lost the will to pull the trigger after seeing Galen defend his fellow comrades from execution after Krennic realized a transmission had been sent from the facility. Threatening to shoot all researchers if the traitor did not reveal themselves, Galen announced that it was he who had sent the coded transmission, leaving his place by Krennic’s side to plead for his colleagues lives. Galen’s words were met with deaf ears, as Krennic ordered researchers Rasett Milio, Vlex Onopin, Ames Uravan, Sirro Argonne and Feyn Vann executeted.

Angered by Galen’s betrayal, Krennic hit Galen across the face. Before any further action could be taken, a Rebel Alliance strike force assaulted Eadu owing to a communications blackout from Andor and his forces on the planet, with Draven fearing the worst had occurred. A proton bomb from  a passing BTL -A4 – Y – wing assault starfighter / bomber struck the platform where both Galen and Krennic were standing, sending them flying to the ground. Jyn who had watched the exchange from a distance, ran to the platform where her father lay dying, revealing herself to him in his final moments. After a few brief words with his daughter, Galen died from his wounds in Jyn’s arms.