Andromeda Keane

Andromeda Keane was a - hybrid, the granddaughter of Khrado Ragnos and, by extension, the niece of Tak Sakaros. Though she became her uncle's student, her heart was never in his Sith style and she resisted the power of the dark side, instead becoming an independent Force user. Leaving behind her uncle's life of violence, she settled on and had a family, and eventually grandchildren. After the death of her daughter and son-in-law, she became guardian of her grandson, Jarek Solios. In the last decades of her life, Andromeda contracted the, and Jarek worked around the galaxy to support her medical treatments. She was eventually taken to the Golden Empire by her cousin Tariun Sakaros and healed by his sister Rin, becoming a Princess of the Empire in the final year of her life.

Early life
Little was known about Andromeda Keane's early life. She was the daughter of Adrienne Keane, herself the only child of Khrado Ragnos. Given her heritage (three quarters Human, one quarter Sith) it was obvious that her father had been entirely Human. Adrienne and Andromeda's father were never married, and Andromeda was raised with her mother's surname.

At some point before 34 ABY, Adrienne was sent into a coma due to a malfunction in one of her experiments. Both Andromeda and the comatose Adrienne came into the care of Valadyn Ragnos, Khrado's sister and Adrienne's aunt. Valadyn took the pair with her aboard her ship, the Vengeance. Though she missed her mother terribly, Andromeda bonded with Valadyn and helped her with her experiments, though neither science nor alchemy were ever of much interest to her.

Caretaker
In 34 ABY, Valadyn and Andromeda returned with Adrienne and the Vengeance to, where they encountered Tak Sakaros, Valadyn's blood-brother. The immediately took them both under his protection even though he was attempting to perpetrate an elaborate con to seize power with his ally, fellow Sith Gav Daragon. Andromeda was also protected by her cousin Tariun, Tak's only surviving son, and Tak's apprentice Lorelai Whitesun.

Not long after they arrived at Naboo, Valadyn took ill, and died shortly after despite Tak's fervent attempts to save her. Feeling orphaned again, Andromeda was taken in permanently by Tak and Tariun. Shortly after, however, Tak and Gav's plan soured and the two Sith Lords became enemies. Tak fled into the, taking Andromeda with him.

For the first few years, Andromeda bounced between Tak and Tariun, ostensibly to keep her out of harm's way. Both Sith gave her training in the Force, though her generally kind nature prevented her from developing any real skill with the dark side. She met her cousin Rin before Tak himself did, and grew very fond of the baby girl, helping Ye`keb Millennium and Jadian Star care for her when they were together. In 38 ABY, Tariun pronounced Lorelai fit to be a Sith Lord herself and ended her formal apprenticeship, and took Andromeda on as a student. The pair remained together often from then on, and while Andromeda continued to resist the power of the dark side, she learned many survival skills and Force powers, as well as lightsaber combat.

A different path
In 40 ABY, Tak returned to Naboo and slightly bested Gav in a lightsaber duel, bringing an end to his former friend's dreams of conquest and the ongoing strife between them. Tak settled into Nabooan society, briefly refusing a post in the Senate of the until the conclusion of the. After the conflict ended, however, he took the Senate seat on behalf of Naboo and moved his family to Coruscant.

Andromeda remained fond of her uncle and family, but Tak's membership in the Senate kept him busy, and Andromeda was no more interested in being a Sith then than she had been before. She opted to settle on Coruscant outside the Naboo embassy, and though Tak was sorry to see her go, he gave her his blessing and ample credits to get herself established. Though she could never prove it, Andromeda correctly suspected that her uncle kept an eye on her to help her stay safe.

Andromeda had never had formal schooling, although she was well-educated in a variety of subjects by her aunt and uncle, and it was Tak's influence as much as her own intelligence that got her a place in the. Once there, however, she flourished, receiving high grades and publishing several research papers which were well-received by her professors. She interned with the and did independent research on  and field work in the.

Past and future
Graduating near the top of her class, Andromeda took a research assistant position with the. She had kept her Force abilities concealed from the Jedi, and was thus allowed to work on digs at sites of historical significance to the. While she had no more interest in being a Sith Lord herself as an adult than she did as a child, Andromeda had a lifelong fascination with the history and lore of her ancestors. She had been raised with a vastly different understanding of the Sith Empire than most beings had, viewing them as a people of great dignity and honor rather than simply as conquerors and oppressors.

During her time with Agamar, Andromeda had several brief romances, and one two-year courtship that ultimately failed when she and her inamorato went different ways professionally. Completing her graduate education through the University of Agamar, Andromeda worked for several historical councils and investigatory committees in the before finally returning to Coruscant.

On a research mission to, Andromeda met the Varynno and immediately felt a kinship with him. He had been trained in like all his people, but had little actual interest in it, and was a political scientist with an interest in history. He was also mildly Force-sensitive, though not enough to be trained as a Jedi. The two remained in contact when Andromeda returned to Coruscant, initially professional but eventually becoming affectionate. Varynno moved to Coruscant in 75 ABY, and he and Andromeda were married the following year.

Hold tight to your loved ones
In 84 ABY, Varynno and Andromeda had their old child, a baby girl with Andromeda's blue eyes and Varynno's silver hair. Continuing the tradition her mother had started, Andromeda gave her daughter a name beginning with Aurek—Alexandra Keane. Andromeda and Varynno both worked on Coruscant while they raised their daughter, who was strong in the Force; the couple mutually decided not to give Alexandra to the Jedi or the s. Varynno had a heart attack while Alexandra was studying at  and never fully recovered, succumbing due to a weakened immune system in 104 ABY. Andromeda grieved her husband's death, but took solace in the company of her daughter

When she graduated from school, Alexandra married Human Dhorvan Solios, a member of the. They had three children: Mirum in 109 ABY, Axelia in 114 ABY, and Jarek in 116 ABY. Unlike both Varynno and Andromeda, Dhorvan Solios was a great admirer of the Jedi, and he and Alexandra surrendered Mirum to the less than two years after his birth. However, they had kept Axelia and Jarek (both similarly powerful to their brother) home by 117 ABY, when they were killed in a speeder crash.

Having now had to bury her husband, daughter, and son-in-law, Andromeda took great care of her granddaughter and grandson, raising them as her own. She did not want to send either of them away to a Force-wielding Order like their brother, but in 120 ABY, and the Imperial Knights visited Coruscant, and it was Axelia herself who begged to be allowed to go and be a Knight. Unwilling to stand in the way of her granddaughter's destiny, Andromeda agreed.

Though she continued her historical work, generally as a well-paid consultant and expert, Andromeda spent most of her time raising Jarek. Unlike his siblings, he showed no interest in leaving home, and Andromeda began to teach him more than she had Axelia. She had told all her grandchildren about their Sith heritage, including small amounts about their uncle and cousins, but she taught Jarek to use the Force and what she knew of lightsaber combat too.

Taken ill
During the, both Jarek and Andromeda worried for Mirum, as the Jedi were frontline combatants. Andromeda's fears were realized in 130 ABY, when Mirum was slain at the. Axelia avoided a similar fate, but Coruscant fell into the hands of the. Andromeda taught Jarek to use meditation and conceal his Force abilities from their new overlords.

Not long after the invasion, Andromeda began to feel weak and increasingly ill. She visited a doctor, only to discover that she had managed to contract the. The doctor soothed her initial fear by assuring her that Jarek would not contract it, but informed her that it would work on her degeneratively without treatment.

Andromeda and Jarek moved to a smaller apartment, and Andromeda spent some of her savings to pay for her drugs. When Jarek was old enough, Andromeda wanted to spend the rest to send him to school, not wanting to cling to life at his expense. Jarek adamantly refused, however, and insisted on going to work off Coruscant to pay for his grandmother's treatments. Unable to dissuade him, Andromeda bought him the droid R9-D8 as a gift instead. She also helped Jarek construct his own lightsaber, warning him not to use it except in dire need.

Over the following six years, Andromeda remained on Coruscant, using the money Jarek sent back to pay for her continuing treatments and even doing some consulting work when she felt well enough. She was able to get out more after the overthrew the Sith, even though illness and simple age were weakening her ever more.

Golden years
In 140 ABY, unexpected help showed up, in the form of Tariun Sakaros and the Centurions Breek Zagrev and Chindal. Rin Sakaros had been informed of Andromeda's plight by Jarek, now an agent of the Merquise Syndicate on, and she had sent her best people to rescue her cousin. With no lingering attachment to Coruscant itself, Andromeda was happy to go with her family.

She was concerned when Rin proposed the idea of healing her of the Taren Plague, but Andromeda could sense her cousin's power, multiplied exponentially since the last time they had met, and conceded. Over a few days of intensive work, Rin and Tillandra Moraes cured Andromeda. Rin herself contracted the disease in the process, but her half-Qua physiology fought it off, and it had little more effect on her than a nasty flu.

Determined to make up for what she perceived as her failure to intercede on Andromeda's behalf earlier, Rin made her cousin a princess of the Golden Empire. Andromeda spent the next few months learning about the Empire and its history, and was fascinated by the Order of Keltrayu and what Rin had accomplished. As a member of the Royal Family, she was given two Royal Guards of her own, Moira Nascall and Kelto Nembask. Both were gentle and kind people, especially for warrior Centurions, and Andromeda became fond of them.

Given her unwarlike nature, Andromeda asked to serve the Empire as more of a goodwill ambassador, representing the Royal government at various public engagements and ceremonies. Rin agreed, and Andromeda toured the Empire, attending engagements that duty prevented Rin or Tariun from visiting. When the Tribulation began and Rin reduced the Royal Guard in size to send more Centurions to the field, Andromeda offered to give up her Guards, but Rin would not hear of it. At some time before 142 ABY, Andromeda, Kelto, and Moira attended a performance at the Samayus Palace of Opera together.

In late 141 ABY, Andromeda began to sense that she was approaching the end of her life, and contacted Rin to ask whether Jarek could come visit her. Rin agreed and sent Jira Seezhli to arrange the transportation. Andromeda opted to spend the last month of her life at Rin's private retreat on Queen's Garden, and she was overjoyed to be able to see her grandson one last time, as well as to hear his news that he had at last found love in Alluria Quinn. After a few quiet weeks with Jarek and the Guards who had become like extended family, Andromeda quietly died in her sleep at the age of one hundred nineteen.

Legacy
Andromeda Keane had become widely admired in the Golden Empire, and even in wartime many citizens of the Empire mourned her death. Rin granted her cousin's request to be interred on Queen's Garden, and an entire new wing of the castle was constructed for the tomb, an open-air monument with a small garden of flowers. The Massassi guards at Rin's Castle created a small memorial statue of Andromeda outside the Temple of Rin on Kavez Massass.

When she was rescued from Shalach Hal-Razab and became a Centurion in 147 ABY, Axelia Solios visited her grandmother's tomb on Queen's Garden. Kelto Nembask named his first daughter Andromeda after his former protectee.

Powers and abilities
The granddaughter of a Dark Lord of the Sith, Andromeda possessed a strong basic connection to the Force. However, she did not develop her powers to their fullest potential. Unwilling to embrace the dark side and untrained in the light, she developed some skill with universal Force powers and lightsaber combat, but was no match for her uncle Tak, her cousins Rin and Tariun, or even her own Royal Guards. Her greatest Force ability, especially as she aged, was meditation, which helped her remain calm even in the face of stress and loss.

Andromeda was highly skilled with Quey'tek meditation, and managed to live on Coruscant during the Sith occupation without ever attracting the attention of the One Sith.

Andromeda was also a researcher well-respected in the historical community for both the depth and breadth of her knowledge. She had several pet areas of scholarly knowledge, including the ancient Sith Empire, the, and the , several of which she visited personally. She had a degree in history with numerous specialty endorsements and several postdoctoral publications.

Appearance and personality
Andromeda Keane stood 1.68 meters (5'6") tall and had a slight frame. Mostly Human, she had only a faint hint of red to her skin which revealed her Sith heritage and was easily overlooked as a natural blush.  She tended to dress in robes and dresses, although when doing field work in her youth she wore jumpsuits and other more functional clothing.  Obedient to her uncle's will, she built her first lightsaber with a red blade, although the one she built for her own use years later bore a cyan blade.

Kind and unassuming by nature, Andromeda disliked violence, but was fond of her Uncle Tak and her cousin Tariun, and tried to learn the Force and combat to please them. She was in touch with her heritage as a part-Sith and was able to differentiate between the Sith species and the Order of the Sith Lords, and passed that distinction on to her daughter and grandchildren. Her love for her family was inculcated by her mother, nurtured by her Aunt Valadyn, and cemented by Tak, and she instilled that trait in her descendants as well.

Andromeda had a lifelong love of learning. Though her primary interest was history, she also dabbled in as a related discipline.