The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Feran Slayn

Feran Slayn was born on Yanibar in a life of hardship, but when she was eighteen, she received an offer she couldn't receive refuse. Her village was offered shelter inside a refuge being built to hide Force-users from the Empire. She gladly accepted the offer and was so impressed by what she saw that she joined the refuge's defense force, the Yanibar Guard. She had always been a skilled shot with a slugthrower rifle while fending off predators on Yanibar, and her physical and mental toughness served her well in the training. She joined one of the first infantry squads and embarked on a storied military career. Sadly, though, even as her prominence and her unit's stature increased, her emotional health deteriorated due to her self-imposed isolation.

Slayn had always been something of a loner, even as a child. Growing up on Yanibar's rugged plains as the only child, she had had to foster an independent spirit and strong will to survive. Her parents depended on her to handle a lot of the work around their moisture farm, and she grew up with only droids as her close companions. There were few other children her age nearby, but that didn't daunt her.

She became a capable young woman, living for days on end out on the frontier to monitor distant vaporators and defending herself from predators with an antiquated slugthrower. It was a hard life, but she enjoyed the challenge. Her upbringing had taught her to never back down, to never accept injustice, and to stay true to a code of moral ethics that included defending the weak.

One fateful day, though, her life and the life of her family was changed forever when two representatives from a newly formed refuge for Force-users appeared in her village and offered them all sanctuary inside the Tusloni Basin at the refuge for any who wished to come and promised to abide by the refuge's rules. Feran Slayn and her parents gladly accepted the offer, going to live inside the sheltered basin. Life there was much easier, as the Force-users had weather control and a ring of mountains to protect them from Yanibar's climate. Her independent skills were needed less, and Feran found herself with less to do that exhilarated her. When a call was made for volunteers to join a newly-formed defense force called the Yanibar Guard, she gladly accepted. It was a chance to loose her wild side while giving back to the place that had provided so much for her. She was one of the few women who joined and, even more surprisingly, one of the few non-Force-users.

Her skill with a rifle and her toughness earned her a spot in an infantry squad belonging to 3 Company, Cresh Squad. Her background also saw her chosen as the squad's sniper, using a Verpine magnetically-accelerated sniper rifle. She was the only female sniper in all of the Yanibar Guard at the time. The role suited her well, and the squad's experienced sergeant, Pec Deplisk, did his best to teach her and other squad members the lessons of year. As the youngest member of the squad, he took her under his wing, testing her to see if she would make a good soldier. She excelled in their training, and when Cresh Squad was one of the first units to receive the new, advanced Battlesuit52, she learned how to use that also. Though it was cumbersome at first, she liked the extra capability, protection, and information it gave her. To lessen the odor of the armor after being in it for hours on end, she also placed a trace amount of scent in her helmet, which earned her some ribbing from her squadmates.

In 12 BBY, Slayn saw her first action when a group of pirates landed outside the Yanibar refuge. Cresh Squad was tasked with scouting their camp and spotting airstrikes on their position. They approached stealthily and observed the pirates. Slayn was shocked to watch pirates physically and sexually abusing a group of slaves that they had with them. She immediately told Sergeant Deplisk that they needed to find a way to save them, that helping the slaves was the only right thing to do. He was at first resistant, knowing that could endanger the mission, but eventually gave in to her persuasions, as his own conscience was bothering him.

Deplisk and Slayn approached the pirate encampment quietly by night and dealt with the few pirates at the edge quietly; it was Slayn's first kill. They rescued some of the slaves quietly and went back to retrieve the others when two more pirates came ambling by. Slayn shot the first one, but her rifle jammed when she tried to fire at the second one. They were discovered and the pirates quickly awoke and grabbed weapons. Deplisk charged the pirates, buying time for Slayn, the other squad members, and the freed slaves to escape. However, he perished in the process, cutting down pirates just as the airstrike arrived to immolate their encampment. Slayn never forgot the sacrifice that her sergeant had made that day and vowed to honor his memory.

For her technical insubordination and failure to follow direct orders, Slayn and two of her squadmates were placed on probation, but all three of them managed to clear their names and return to active duty. As the Yanibar Guard grew, Cresh Squad developed a reputation for being one of the most effective infantry squads despite a lack of Force-users in it. In 8 BBY, it was designated a commando unit, a term used for elite infantry squads that were not comprised of Force-users. For her tireless efforts in improving her own performance and that of her unit, Feran Slayn was promoted to sergeant.

All of this came at the cost of her personal life, however. Feran had decided to defer much of her social life until after she was through with the military. A training accident in 10 BBY that took the lives of two of her squadmates, including her best friend Kailendo Tosc, left her reticent and solitary. Her other friendships deteriorated. She threw herself into her work to compensate, earning a reputation as a demanding instructor and totally-focused sniper, as well as knowledgeable on all of the new gear, including brand new S-5X sniper rifles. Unintentionally, this isolated her from the others in her unit even as Cresh Squad began undertaking various covert missions offworld.

One such mission was to Saloch in 6 BBY. Cresh Squad arrived on the planet to assist in the native Tunroth against a group of rabid xenophobics known as the Lortan Fanatics. Their role was supplying weapons and training, not combat, and seeing atrocities inflicted by the Lortans for days on end grated on Slayn's idealism and sense of justice. She had to bide her time, though, because Cresh Squad was not allowed to directly combat the Lortans.

Finally, Yanibar Guard Command realized that the mission had failed, but decided to launch a quick set of strikes against the Lortans to buy time until a planned Imperial response could arrive. Cresh Squad was assigned the task of designating targets. She and the squad leader, Lieutenant Beblos, were instructed to pinpoint the location of a Lortan meeting that included several high-ranking members for an airstrike that would obliterate them.

Slayn and Beblos did their job, sneaking through the ruined city of Om Crestos and braving various hazards. While scoping out the meeting place, Beblos fell through a weakened roof, breaking his leg. Slayn hauled him out of the area and set him down in a safe place while he called for evacuation. Never one to leave things undone, she finished the mission herself, spotting the targets for the bombers. However, spying a group of approaching Lortans, she took the opportunity to exact vengeance on them rather than fully examining the targeting zone. She led groups of Lortans through the streets of Om Crestos, picking them off one by one. Eventually, she reached Beblos's position and the two held off an attack force of Lortans until a shuttle arrived to transport them offworld with their fair share of combat injuries.

What she didn't realize what that the airstrike she had targeted had fallen largely on Tunroth partisans who had been also attacking the Lortan leaders. The blast had wiped out most of the resistance fighters. Upon recovering on Yanibar, she learned the news and was emotionally devastated and utterly disconsolate. She had killed the people she was trying to help, while letting their enemies at least partially escape. Feran Slayn tried to throw herself back into her work to cope with the loss, but the emotional strain was too much. While at the shooting range by herself, the weight of her actions overcame her. Placing a pistol to the underside of her head, she took her own life.

Her death had severe repercussions throughout the Yanibar Guard, and in particular Cresh Squad. Despite her manner of death, she was honored as a tragic loss. Sweeping changes were made regarding debriefings and psychological counseling, especially for commando units. She was remembered as a hero who let herself drift away from others, and for years later, her story was repeated to young cadets as a reminder that war carries more than just physical wounds.

Behind the scenes
The character of Feran Slayn was influenced by the character Julianna Callaghan in the television series Flashpoint. Callaghan is a female police sniper and Force Exile author Atarumaster88 took that idea as the basis for Feran Slayn. Her name is derived from two words, "feral" and "slain." She was originally included in the first Cresh Squad story as a young, idealistic member of the squad with an impulsive streak, playing a supporting role.

For the next Cresh Squad story, Iron Maiden, Atarumaster88 told the story entirely from her perspective, a departure from previous works' narration style. In each of the Cresh Squad stories, he wanted to focus on a particular emotional struggle that those in the military face. For Feran Slayn, it was isolation and depression, which led to suicide. The tragic ending to Iron Maiden was decided by two consultants, Jedi Master 76 and Darth tom, after Atarumaster88 asked them indirectly whether or not it would be better to save her life; he was unsure about having the character commit suicide. The other ending would have had another character rush in and stop her from pulling the trigger at the last second. Following their answers, he went ahead and wrote the character's death.

Appearances

 * Thunderchief
 * Iron Maiden