Harlo

"Uncle Harlo will know what's best."

―Eedy Karn^[1]

Harlo was a friend of the Karn family, close enough that Eedy Karn and Syril Karn always called him "Uncle Harlo." He took an interest in Syril's career, helping him get a position in the Imperial Bureau of Standards and monitoring his advancement in the office.

Biography

"You can spare me the Uncle Harlo testimonials. I've had a look at his ISB criminal files, and that is not a story you want to be advertising."

―Dedra Meero, to Eedy Karn^[5]

Harlo had a criminal past that was documented by the Galactic Empire's Imperial Security Bureau,^[5] but he managed to secure a degree of influence within the Imperial bureaucracy, in particular the Bureau of Standards.^[4] He was close to the Karn family during the time after Syril Karn's father disappeared, and Eedy later recalled that his charity helped them make it through that difficult time.^[5] The Karns came to consider him as a member of their family.^[2]

As Syril Karn grew older, Eedy would sometimes suggest, to his annoyance, that he should turn to Harlo for help with his career. In 5 BBY, after Syril was fired from Pre-Mor Security for his failures during the Ambush on Ferrix, Eedy told him that it was finally time she "called in the family favor" from Harlo. Syril rejected the idea and quipped that Harlo might not even remember her; Eedy countered that he would instead respect her for waiting so long in seeking the favor.^[1]

Eedy contacted Harlo over Syril's continued objections. In their conversation, which Syril overheard, Harlo agreed with Eedy that the security force had been the wrong career path for her son. Harlo promised to find him something more suitable.^[1] He soon used his influence to get Syril a position in the Bureau of Standards, speaking on his behalf with the supervisor Flob. As a gesture to Harlo, Flob not only gave Syril a job in the Fuel Purity division, but he also expunged parts of his record referring to his failure on Ferrix.^[4]

In 4 BBY, Eedy visited Syril in the apartment that he now shared with Imperial Security Bureau Supervisor Dedra Meero. At one point, while Syril was out of the room, Dedra warned Eedy to stop filling their lives with anxiety, making an implicit threat by reminding her of Harlo's criminal record, which she had found in the ISB's files and had the power to expose.^[5] Eedy continued to keep Harlo informed about Syril's progress in the Bureau of Standards, telling him of her son's promotions^[6] and his later transfer to the Bureau of Standards field office on the planet Ghorman. Harlo agreed with Eedy that the transfer from Coruscant to Ghorman was a step down, not a promotion.^[7]

Personality and traits

"No one understands what you're doing out there."
"And when you say 'no one,' I'm assuming you mean Uncle Harlo?"
"He says you're deluded if you think Ghorman was a promotion."
"His advice is always uplifting."

―Eedy and Syril Karn^[7]

Harlo was loyal to the Karn family, extending help to them when they needed it on more than one occasion.^[5] Like Eedy Karn and unlike Syril, Harlo held a rigidly conventional view of success within the Empire, seeing a desk in Coruscant as the key to steady advancement.^[7]

Skills and abilities

Harlo had influence within parts of the Imperial bureaucracy. Eedy was confident that he would be able to find Syril a job with little trouble,^[1] and he accomplished this quickly. Supervisor Flob purged some negative parts of Syril's record as a favor to Harlo;^[4] Harlo also managed to keep his own criminal past out of public knowledge.^[5]