Dalven Kyrell, call sign HJ290, was a human male second-wave aristocrat from the Outer Rim planet Jelucan. He was the older brother of Thane Kyrell, both of whom attended different Imperial Academies and later served in the Imperial Navy. The two had a difficult relationship during their childhood with Dalven bullying his younger brother. Despite his father Oris Kyrell's best efforts to secure his eldest son a place at the Imperial Academy, Dalven graduated as a a low-ranking clerical officer in the Imperial Navy.
By contrast, his younger brother Thane became an elite TIE fighter pilot in the Navy before defecting to the Rebel Alliance. In the months following the Battle of Jakku, he served as a lieutenant under the leadership of Commander Nash Windrider. Kyrell's assignments were considered to be tedious and unskilled by his commanding officer.
Dalven Kyrell was the eldest son of Oris Kyrell and Ganaire Kyrell. He had a younger brother named Thane Kyrell, whom he frequently bullied. His family were Second-wavers, the descendants of a group of affluent human migrants who dominated and looked down upon the First Wavers, an earlier wave of human settlers who lived in the valleys of Jelucan. Despite lacking any interest in starships and piloting, the young Dalven wanted to join the Imperial Academy because he wanted to gain prestige and power. By contrast, Thane was an enthusiastic fan of starships and regularly studied manuals and practiced gliding.
At the age of twelve, Dalven and his family attended a public parade in Jelucan's main city Valentia. Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, a senior Imperial government official, had visited Valentia to announce the official incorporation of Jelucan into the Galactic Empire. For this parade, the Imperial Navy had marshaled out several Imperial Star Destroyers, TIE fighters, and Lambda-class shuttles to impress the local inhabitants. During the parade, he belittled Thane for correctly identifying the engine roar of a Lambda-class shuttle and told his parents that they should not have brought his younger brother along. Thane ignored his older brother's whining and befriended a valley dweller named Ciena Ree after defending her from a group of second-wave bullies.
As a teenager, Dalven continued his acrimonious relationship with his younger brother. He despised Thane's First Waver friend Ciena as a primitive barbarian and made fun of her poverty and old-fashioned ways. On one occasion, Dalven's taunts provoked his younger brother into striking him until they were forcibly pulled apart by their father Oris, who was a strict disciplinarian who regularly beat his sons. Oris favored his older son Dalven over Thane, which deepened the wedge between the two brothers. Dalven also forbade his younger brother from flying his V-171 airspeeder, something which Thane and Ciena ignored.
When Dalven was old enough to join the Imperial Academy, Oris bribed the local official to admit his son in order to bolster the family name. By contrast, Oris did not afford his younger son Thane such a privilege and made it clear that Thane would have to work his own way to the Academy. Due to his father Oris' connections to the Imperial establishment on Jelucan, Dalven was given a place at an unspecified lesser Imperial Academy. As an Imperial cadet, he was assigned the designation HJ290. Despite his parents' hopes for their eldest son, Dalven performed poorly in his studies at the Imperial Academy. By contrast, Thane passed the academy preparatory course with flying colors and was admitted to the prestigious Royal Imperial Academy.
Upon graduation, Dalven was assigned to work as a third-class clerical staff in the Imperial Navy. Rather than lose face, Dalven told his family that he had received the rank of lieutenant in the Navy. Shortly after receiving his new uniform, Dalven encountered his younger brother Thane, who had been at the Royal Imperial Academy for just three months. Due to their difficult relationship, the two brothers did not exchange any greetings. Dalven expressed bemusement that his younger brother had not "washed out yet." After Thane realized Dalven had been assigned to work as clerical staff, Dalven bid his younger brother farewell before slipping away.
Unlike his younger brother Thane, Dalven remained loyal to the Galactic Empire and did not defect to the Rebellion following the destruction of Alderaan. Dalven and his parents believed a faux Imperial report by the Imperial officer Ciena Ree claiming that Thane had committed suicide due to his inability to cope with Alderaan's destruction. They were unaware that Thane had become a starfighter pilot in the Rebel Alliance's Corona Squadron. Dalven continued serving the Imperial Navy following the Battle of Endor and the Battle of Jakku.
In the wake of the Empire's major defeat at the hands of the New Republic on the planet Jakku, the now-Lieutenant Dalven was assigned to the Imperial attack cruiser Garrote where he assisted commander Nash Windrider, a senior TIE fighter pilot who had been a former friend of Thane. While Windrider knew the truth about Thane's survival, he chose to keep this information from Kyrell and treat him as an individual. As the flight commander's assistant, Dalven's tasks were considered basic.
Upon learning that commander Windrider had nominated his brother's childhood friend Ciena for the Distinguished Medal of Imperial Honor, Dalven suggested that the more common Medal of Honor would be more appropriate. Believing that Ciena had perished aboard the Star Destroyer Inflictor at Jakku, Nash pointed out that the captain had stayed behind to crash the ship onto the planet's surface in an effort to deny the Inflictor to the New Republic. When Dalven suggested that Windrider's nomination could be seen as a sign of factionalism since they had belonged in the same class, Windrider retorted that several prominent Imperial captains, generals, admirals, and officials including Grand Moff Randd were also planning to nominate her since she had purportedly died a hero's death.
Chastised by his commander, Dalven added that Ciena had died a "terrible death." Windrider however disagreed with Dalven's remark and suggested that it was a glorious way to die for the Empire. He also expressed the hope of having such an opportunity. Dalven concurred before slinking away. Knowing that Dalven had ridiculed Ciena in his adolescence, Windrider toyed with the idea of finding an "appropriate" suicide mission for the clerical officer. However, Windrider's disdain for Dalven was not matched by his hatred for Thane, whom he regarded as a traitor.
As the eldest son of his family, Dalven Kyrell carried great expectations on his shoulders. However, he failed to live up to both his own and his parents' expectations. From adolescence, Dalven had dreamed of enrolling in the Imperial Academy in order to become somebody "important" despite his lack of interest in starships and piloting. Lacking the discipline and interest in excelling, Dalven performed poorly at the Royal Imperial Academy and graduated as a third-class clerical staff, who was relegated to desk duty.
In his childhood, Dalven had a reputation as a bully who belittled his younger brother Thane and his valley-dwelling friend Ciena Ree. He regularly ridiculed Ciena for her poverty and her "old-fashion ways." At the age of twelve, Dalven was once embarrassed when his younger brother was able to correctly identify the engine sounds of a Lambda-class shuttle. As an adult, Dalven was considered by his superior officer commander Windrider to be a weak and toadying man, who was capable of only fulfilling the basic tasks he had been given. Dalven's disdain for Ciena, who had become a captain in the Imperial Navy, led him to suggest that she was not worthy of the Distinguished Medal of Imperial Honor, one of the highest accolades in the Empire.
Dalven Kyrell first appeared in Claudia Gray's 2015 young adult novel Lost Stars, which was produced under the umbrella of the Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a series of twenty different books and media designed to promote The Force Awakens movie. As a secondary character, most of his lines are told through the POV of his brother Thane Kyrell and Nash Windrider.