Laera Reyolé

"Marines don't have time for regret, Carth. At least, we don't when there's battles to be fought. A rocket-jumper can regret not securing her backup thrusters when her mains misfire, but only for the time it takes for her to get acquainted with the ground. A Mandalorian can regret taking on a Jedi, but only until the Jedi can decap him and kick his bucket."

- Laera Reyolé, to Carth Onasi

Laera Reyolé was a Human female from who served in the Republic Marines during the  and. With her family having been left homeless in the wake of an attack by forces of the, Reyolé enlisted with the military in order to provide extra income. She proved to be a dedicated soldier and talented leader, earning her officer's commission approximately four years prior to the invasion. As part of the forces of the that eventually came under the command of s  and, she experienced many of the war's harshest battles. At the height of the, however, she was killed in action.

This death would prove to be short-lived, as Revan and Malak chose to undertake the considerable expense of reviving the fallen Marine officer through the use of resurrection technology. After months of work, during which the two Jedi Knights succeeded in the Mandalorians at, Reyolé was successfully brought back to life. Sent back to the Republic along with Lieutenant Commander, she arrived on only to find out that she was, in fact,. Reluctantly accepting the offer of under , Reyolé learned how to use  and wield a , building her own weapon and passing the tests for full membership in the  in time to bear witness to the beginning of Darth Revan's invasion of the Republic.

Returning to duty with the Marine Corps though she retained her role and title of, Reyolé assumed command of the 3rd Marine Battalion. Determined to lead by example and show that the could be beaten, in 3,958 BBY she planned and helped to execute an attack on the  homeworld of. The success of the battle that followed led to a counteroffensive by the Republic that culminated in the at. By 3,956 BBY, however, the war had taken a turn for the worse and Reyolé, now a Knight, was assigned to take part in an attempt to capture the. The mission was ultimately a success but Reyolé, along with Lieutenant Silas Dan'kre, would not know of the true import of what they had accomplished for some time. Trapped on T'lessia, they became embroiled in Sa'ari politics, only succeeding in resolving the situation there with the help of and.

Early life
"My folks had been among the first wave of new arrivals; my father, Daddi, had been a manager in the multi-sector agricultural conglomerate which had first scouted the world, while my mother, Ceylon, had worked as his executive assistant."

- Laera Reyolé, on her parents' emigration to Agamar

Laera Reyolé was born on to Daddi and Ceylon Reyolé in 3,998 BBY. At the age of two, her home town was sacked in a supply raid that, while causing much damage to the town and the destruction of her family's home, resulted in relatively light casualties. Though the sent a -led relief force, they were too late to stop the marauders, and were unable to provide much in the way of assistance to the local population. This, combined with the general unrest created by 's, caused the Reyolé family to resent the. At sixteen, with both her parents' consent, Reyolé joined the military, enlisting with the Republic Marines because the rate of pay was significantly better.

Military service
"The Republic Marines eventually became my true family, their motto of Semper Fidelis, which roughly translates to “always loyal” in Old Corellian, became my personal creed."

- Laera Reyolé, on her military service

Though boot camp for Reyolé was a difficult experience, she nevertheless proved equal to the challenges set for her, and graduated with good scores. Afterward, she accepted several opportunities for further training, including scout/sniper school, infiltration and close-quarters combat courses, and the Enlisted Leadership Program. High marks in all of these advanced courses resulted in her rapid progression up the enlisted ranks, making within six months of line service,  within another year, and, by the time she had reached twenty-one Standard years of age,. She took these responsibilities seriously, encouraging those under her command to train themselves hard even as she herself worked to hone her own skills. After thirty months of garrison duty in, the capital and only city of , she was promoted to and assigned to train new recruits at the Marine Corps Academy's facility on.

After leading six classes of recruits through initial Marine training, Reyolé's high rate of success caught the attention of the base's commanding officer, Captain Teeklak Sookanado, who offered the gunnery sergeant the chance to go through Officer Candidate School. Reyolé accepted and, two years later, emerged as a junior lieutenant. By this time, the had begun attacking worlds beyond the  that marked the boundaries of the Republic. Because of the threat posed by the s should they decide to turn their attention Coreward, Reyolé was assigned to command one of the platoons within the company of Marines that had been stationed on an outpost world not far from. With little else to do but train, the Marine officer used every resource at her disposal to drill her troops in defensive fighting, including utilizing the company of s that had been assigned to the garrison in mock battles.

The Mandalorian Wars
"The fighting that we saw was sporadic but vicious, and I had earned at least two decorations for valor, along with several dunkings in kolto tanks due to battle wounds."

- Laera Reyolé, on her service during the Mandalorian Wars

By the time the Mandalorians brought the hammer down on the Republic itself, Reyolé had earned promotion to full lieutenant, billeted as the outpost's commanding officer. Her garrison was among the first to fall under siege by the invading Neo-Crusaders, but they were given a bloody nose when they underestimated the preparedness of the outpost's Marine defenders. The squadron of Marine-operated, who had been patrolling the logical hyperspace approaches, intercepted the incoming force and destroyed the that had been assigned to escort the invasion force. Alerted to the incoming threat, Reyolé's forces took up defensive positions, holding off the two companies of Mandalorian assault troops long enough to force them to retreat. Harassed by the Marines' starfighters, the surviving Neo-Crusaders fled back to their remaining and left the planet. Reyolé and her company, however, were ordered to abandon the outpoast, their own ships making hyperspace just as a second wave of Mandalorians arrived on the other side of the system.

Reyolé was rewarded for her inspired defense with a promotion to lieutenant commander and assignment as the commanding officer of the Third Battalion's Besh Company. During the first year of the Mandalorians' invasion of the Republic, Besh Company was shuffled about the planes of contention where they were used mostly as reinforcements for planetary assaults that had bogged down, or else as the vanguards of relief forces intended to evacuate worlds deemed too costly or insignificant to hold. The fighting that occurred was sporadic but vicious, and Reyolé earned at least two decorations for valor along with several for wounds sustained in battle. When the bulk of the Third Battalion was assigned to the fleet that had been placed under the command of and, Reyolé and her company were among those transferred. It was during this time that she first met Jedi General Vima Sunrider.

Death in battle
"We're dead if we leave, but just as dead if we stay! D'you want those dogs to sing songs about how they gunned you down?"

- Laera's last words at the Battle of Onderon

At the height of the during the last year of the, Laera led a strike team of Marines from the Third Battalion's Besh Company, into Iziz City, with the goal of neutralizing a power station that supplied energy to a key part of the Mandalorian defense network. At the height of this attack, she was killed by a grenade, however, her leadership abilities and suspected prompted Revan to have her reconstructed, using resurrection technology, which included organic and technological resources and methods, instead of simply cloning her.

The project spanned sixteen months, during which the Republic forces under Revan's command secured final victory over the Mandalorian forces at the. After successfully being revived, Laera was promoted to Captain, and given a month's furlough on, to be escorted by then-Lieutenant Commander. During the flight to the young Outer Rim world, the two officers bonded; with Onasi's help, Reyolé successfully came to grips with what she had gone through. However, as the two arrived at their destination, Laera received a of Revan, Malak, and the fleet under their command falling to the  of the Force, though she did not recognize it for what it was. After their arrival on-planet, Laera and Onasi spent a day enjoying the sights of, the capital city. That night, they learned that Revan's entire fleet had dropped out of contact. As they attempted to raise someone at Republic Fleet Command, the Jedi Master arrived, wishing to confirm what the Order already suspected.

Training as a Jedi
With the vanishing of Revan's fleet confirmed by the Republic as well as the Jedi Order, Reyolé, her sensitivity to brought to light, was given the opportunity to  as a Jedi. Though she had distrusted Force-users for most of her life, including after the Jedi involvement in the Mandalorian Wars, she reluctantly agreed to become Master Lamar's after nearly having to be ordered to do so by the Commandant of the Marines himself,  Voskel Dun'vei. After the first week, Reyolé grudgingly accepted her role as an apprentice, reading about the history of the Jedi Order and their ways. However, upon learning that the only Jedi she had ever trusted,, had been exiled for her participation in the conflict against the Mandalorians, she became extremely upset. Reyolé demanded that Master Lamar explain this action, but he refused. Eventually, the apprentice calmed down enough that Lamar was successful in opening her up to the Force.

In the time that followed, Master Lamar helped Reyolé to uncover and nurture her talents, the discipline she had learned through her two decades of military service allowing her to develop these latent abilities despite her age. This training was by no means easy, however, and Reyolé was met with numerous setbacks. Upon learning to focus the Force within herself, she found that she could not project her sense outward, no matter what methods she or Master Lamar attempted. That situation resolved itself in an unexpected way when Reyolé unconsciously fell into a Force-induced trance, reliving visions of her life that she had previously experienced only in part while she had lain on an operating table, undergoing the processes of resurrection, in addition to the vision of Revan and Malak's fleet falling to the dark side. It was in the wake of this vision that Reyolé discovered her aptitude for Sense Aura, which also proved to be the breakthrough toward accessing the Force in a holistic sense.

With her senses fully opened, Master Lamar began to take Reyolé through training in the physical aspects of the Force. A few days later, she received a significant bruise to her ego after a run-in with a group of Mandalorian raiders that resulted in a thorough beating. Afterward, Reyolé resolved to not let her emotions get the better of her in future, and continued her training. With the help of her master, in addition to other apprentices at the on Dantooine including Aewa,  and, Reyolé eventually progressed to  training. Eventually, after having spent nearly a year at the enclave, the Marine officer succeeded in acquiring a and building her very own weapon. As the pronounced her training complete, Darth Revan, calling himself the new, delivered an ultimatum to the Republic. Coming to grips with what this meant, Reyolé declared that she would defend the Republic the best way she could, by leading its military forces into battle. She then journeyed to, where she was given command of the Third Marine Battalion, her old unit.

The Jedi Civil War
As the new marched on the Republic, Reyolé was quickly able to bring the Third Battalion back up to combat readiness, due in large part to help from Thedus Bimm and Chek Nessai, two veterans of the Mandalorian Wars. Appointed by Reyolé to lead Besh and Dorn Companies, respectively, the two officers played key parts in ensuring the vitality of the battalion. In the wake of the at, the unit was assigned to the task force of  Kedlis Hetton and stationed aboard his flagship, the  Stalwart Defender. Once aboard the massive warship, Reyolé set to work coming up with a way to strike back at the still-expanding Sith. Upon learning of the fall of the homeworld of  to the invaders, she began planning a raid against the forces gathered there, hoping to catch them while they were still vulnerable.

With the success of the diversionary raid aimed at the Sith-occupied, the plan for the main thrust at the Sith base that Reyolé had scouted was given the go-ahead. During the land and space battle that erupted with the intervention of four, fellow Padawan brought her newly-mastered skill in  to bear. With the younger woman's abilities bolstering their confidence, Admiral Hetton's task force was able to soundly defeat the new arrivals. At the same time Reyolé herself dueled the Zabrak, who she hand known briefly during their mutual service in the Mandalorian conflict. After a protracted fight that wound its way throughout the base, Reyolé defeated the former Jedi Knight.

Iridonia-Lannik campaign
"You know, ever since you got back from Coruscant after the fight at Rodia, it's been impossible to keep anything away from you."

- Thedus Bimm to Laera Reyolé, on her growth as a Jedi

The defeat of the Sith forces on the surface and in orbit of Iridonia brought about a change in plans. The attack itself, which had originally been intended to be a simple hit-and-fade supply grab, was so successful that Admiral Hetton chose to deploy his regular Army troopers planetside while negotiating with the Iridonian government to bring their world back into the Republic. Information gleamed during the raid itself, however, prompted further action. At Reyolé's behest a ensign named Silas Dan'kre, who had been a freelance  prior to undergoing officer training at the Marine Corps Academy, had hacked into the Sith computer network. The intelligence he obtained pointed directly to a buildup of Sith forces aimed at attacking the neutral world of.

Serving under Forn Dodonna, Reyolé led her battalion throughout the counteroffensive that resulted from the  at the  homeworld. After participating in actions against the Sith at and, she led her Third Marines in several more battles along the frontier. Despite the success of this initial offensive campaign, over the next year and a half the situation became more and more precarious. The fleets and armies under the command of s Revan and Malak seemed limitless, and they were being put to effective use against the Republic. However, during this time Reyolé formed close professional relationships with several of those under her command, particularly Lieutenant Dan'kre, even after his promotion and transfer to.

Final mission for the Republic
"Wouldn't it have made more sense to assemble at Kuat, pick up some heavier ships, and use this intel to set up a showdown fight?"

- Reyolé questions the plan to capture Darth Revan

Two years after the Iridonia-Lannik campaign, with the war coming to a head, the came up with a plan that, ideally, would bring about a quick resolution. The idea itself had been formed by Jedi Master, who had presented it to the High Command for approval. Calling for a force of Republic warships to lure Revan and Malak's fleet into battle, the goal was to land a force of soldiers and Jedi Knights on the Dark Lord's flagship and capture him if at all possible. With little else to go on, the plan was approved and resources allocated toward it, which consisted of a total of seventeen warships. Led by Admiral Dodonna, the force of Hammerhead-class cruisers and, accompanied by the Interdictor-class cruiser Battleaxe, was to engage the Sith force while Reyolé was brought in to lead the boarding party.

Though she did not necessarily care for the risky nature of the mission, Reyolé accepted her assignment, taking up the task of training the assault force&mdash;which was made up of troopers instead of Marines&mdash;in how to fight properly aboard a. During the journey to, where the interception was to take place, she also met with the other Jedi who had been assigned to the mission: Bastila Shan, Keeh Rha, Haydin Biddell, Noi-Vas Jenn, and Georg Oakes, in order to ascertain their roles for herself. Though the meeting came to an amicable end, emotions had run high between Reyolé and Shan; this resulted in Kavar, who had accompanied the Republic flotilla in order to lend his experience to the battle to come, engaging the Marine officer in a private conversation. The discussion, at first regarding how Reyolé perceived Shan's development as a Jedi, soon took a more personal turn; Reyolé apologized for her perceived lacking, while Kavar in turn offered his apologies for having failed to give her the right support for the task to come.

The next day, Reyolé nearly died&mdash;again&mdash;when the cybernetic devices that had been implanted during her resurrection were rejected by her body. After two more days in a coma, she was brought back to consciousness by Dr. Oopal, the chief medical officer of Vibrosword. The other Jedi, after having hit upon the theory that the rejection had been caused by Reyolé's own Force-sensitivity and its refinement during Jedi training and experience in the field, sought to use their combined strength to bring the Marine officer back to full health in time to take part in the mission that was scheduled to go off after another five days. The marathon session was largely successful; in the days that followed, she continued to regain her strength, and was even able to help in training the 1st Marine Strike Platoon.

On the day prior to the mission when the flotilla was scheduled to rendezvous with Battleaxe, Reyolé was present on the bridge of Vibrosword for the expected arrival. The warship was delayed, however; when it did arrive, it also brought along the Interdictor cruiser Wrangler. The other vessel, which Captain Nirkk Tethet had run into during the trip Rimward, was attempting to defect back to the Republic after having served with the Sith from the war's beginning as well as Revan's forces during the Mandalorian conflict. Throughout the rest of that day, Reyolé helped to oversee the integration of Wrangler into the assembled Republic fleet, at the same time confirming that Josef Farfax and Secar Dunnigal, the two senior surviving officers, were also Force-sensitive. Reyolé and Dan'kre were also able to verify their story: that they had hoped to return to Republic service after having suffered heavy casualties at the hands of the warship's commander, the Dark Jedi Xaset Terep, in the wake of a skirmish in the Upestis system.

Personality and traits
Laera Reyolé was, first and foremost, a soldier of the Republic. As an officer who had risen through the enlisted ranks, she was more world-weary than her contemporaries who had not had such experiences, and possessed a better understanding of what service was like for those under her command. Even upon her acceptance of Jedi training and passing the trials necessary to become a full member of the Order, she remained a staunch defender of civilization as she perceived it. Though she had long been distrustful of Force users and Jedi in particular, she had developed a grudging respect of their abilities during the Mandalorian conflict, and even grew to admire the leadership abilities of Jedi General Vima Sunrider. Because of her spending her life as a Marine, she adapted to the role of the with relative ease.

Reyolé was also quite passionate and headstrong; combined with her leadership abilities and keen tactical awareness and mind, this made her a natural field commander. These parts of her personality were put to the test during the Mandalorian Wars, where she personally oversaw several key defensive and offensive battles. Indeed, this willingness to lead from the front was what led to her "first death" during the liberation of Onderon. Her subsequent resurrection and the reevaluating of her life that followed did little to mitigate this, and nearly resulted in her permanent demise during her training on Dantooine when she ran afoul of a band of Mandalorian raiders. Her personality was also at odds with that of her mentor, Vrook Lamar; though both were authoritative when they needed to be, Reyolé preferred to educate by example rather than employ Lamar's preferred method of irritated lecturing.

The cumulative effects of having lived through such traumatic events, of having been scorched by the fires of war on many occasions, eventually wore her down. During the lead-up to the mission to capture Darth Revan, the previous four years of experience came to a head, and she nearly succumbed to a nervous breakdown. However, with the help of Kavar and the other Jedi on the insertion team, she was able to overcome these emotional scars. The Laera Reyolé that emerged still cared about doing her part to help others, but it was with a more focused determination; she had realized that she did not need to try to save everyone.

However, not everything had been resolved. The purpose of her resurrection, brought about at Revan's order, was still a mystery to Reyolé. It was not until well after her unintentional journey to the previously unknown world of T'lessia that the final pieces slid into place. As she, Silas Dan'kre, Eldarch Bellinega, Luke and Ben Skywalker, and the lighters Fua T'Ooro and Iper T'Royc were attempting to resolve the Sa'ari situation, Reyolé was finally able to make peace with what had been done to her. By accessing a message encoded into Revan's holocron, she was able to understand why he had brought her back to life and, finally, to forgive him for all that had happened.

Powers and abilities
Upon joining the Marine Corps at sixteen and going through basic training, Laera Reyolé soon learned that she was a natural with s, achieving high marks in every course. She further honed her affinity for this type of weapon through scout/sniper training, which she underwent right after graduating from boot camp. Though she was not as adept with s, Reyolé was nevertheless a skilled close-quarters combatant in both ranged and melee weapons, particularly with s. In addition, she was a skilled infiltrator; having learned the basics during another post-boot camp training course, she practiced them in nearly every harsh-environment posting she was assigned to.

She was not, however, a very good vehicle pilot. Not even bothering to try to learn how to pilot a, let alone an or , the most she was able to do was keep up some semblance of basic  driving skills. Even then, her talents were not in piloting, or maintaining any kind of complex machinery such as s or even the inner workings of computers and other high technology. She was also not very skilled with diplomacy, at least during her career as a Marine, only learning the basics of that art during the course of her Jedi training on Dantooine under Master Vrook Lamar.

Also during her training, Reyolé discovered her talents in Sense Aura. This power was a gateway which allowed her to access higher-tier mental abilities that were otherwise uncommon or difficult to learn, such as advanced versions of including Alter Mind. This affinity worked both ways, however; she was also especially vulnerable to or  in the Force. She was also proficient with Control, using it to enhance her physical abilities such as running fast or jumping high, in addition to enhanced strength. In, she preferred a combination of the and  styles; though she was skilled with blaster deflection, she was not as proficient with blaster redirection.

Behind the scenes
The character of Laera Reyolé was first introduced in the short story Star Wars: Death and Life, and her character was greatly expanded upon in the followup novellas, A Marine Went to Jedi Camp, Star Wars: Saber Battalion, and the novel 'The Last Full Measure. Much of her personality, and to some degree her dialogue, were inspired by noted voice actress 's performance as the female version of Commander Shepard, the main protagonist of the Mass Effect series of computer and video games. Her original circumstances were inspired by the beginning of Mass Effect 2, and intended to explore in more detail the concepts and repercussions of death and rebirth.

At the end of Death and Life, it is implied that Laera's resurrection was planned by Revan and Malak to be more than a simple case of preserving a natural leader. The idea is further explored in her later appearances, and from differing points of view. With the release of The Great Leap Forward, however, that particular question is finally put to rest, though the circumstances of its story leave open yet more possibilities for future character development, possibilities which Nash hopes to further explore. However, due to other projects that Nash has scheduled, it may be some time before this is accomplished.

The image of Laera Reyolé was amorphous at first, with only the most basic identifiers known. Gradually, however, Nash developed a mental image of her that was at first an Asian-type variation on Jennifer Hale's likeness. However, as Nash further wrote out her character and history and discussed it with fellow Fanoneer and artist Trak Nar, he developed a rather different approach. Laera was instead envisioned with Hispanic features that "vaguely resembled" noted  heroine. Within his own head, Nash has also pictured Reyolé as having the voice of  star.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Death and Life
 * A Marine Went to Jedi Camp
 * Star Wars: Saber Battalion
 * The Last Full Measure
 * The Great Leap Forward