"Crazy witch! Shutting down the secondary conduits will work, I promise."
- Salen after Vyn Asara suggested to sacrifice him and his crew to save the Esseles

Salen was a male human who served as the chief engineer on the Republic transport Esseles during the Cold War between the Sith Empire. When the ship was attacked, Salen was trapped in the engineering deck with the rest of the engineering crew. A team of Republic operatives was attempting to repel the Mandalorian and Imperial invaders, and Salen's subordinate Vepp suggested a reactor reset to disable the security locks. Salen told Vepp that a reactor reset would have vented the engineering compartment and blown the engineering crew into space. Salen then suggested that the operatives reroute the power generators instead of depressurizing the engineering section. Believing they had no time to spare, Ambassador Vyn Asara urged the operatives to reset the reactor to override the lockdown. The operatives decided that they couldn't send the crew to their deaths when there was an alternative.
Salen later told First Officer Haken of what had transpired, he served on the same ships as Haken for ten years and trusted him completely.