The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Ardo Romierr

Ardo Romierr was born as the son of Lorrdian immigrants on Wukkar as Jaxon Tbilsov. Growing up in Iltarr City, he was discontented with his lot as a junior worker in his parents' successful speeder business. He was often associated with several other idle rich youths, but while his penchant for flashy appearances and dramatic talent made him popular in his school years, he was more aberrant than most of his peers, who eventually settled down. The young Tbilsov instead began associating with shadier elements at his school, and soon, through manipulation, cunning, and blackmail, came to quietly control or at least influence many of the illicit activities there, including cheating rings, illegal drug use, and extortion schemes.

As he exited school, Tbilsov's network eventually threatened some of the local Black Sun operations, and they sent a pair of enforcers to deal with him. Initially caught offguard, Tbilsov was able to escape death by feigning a heart attack, whereupon he stole a blaster and shot both enforcers. Knowing that Black Sun would not forgive him, he fled Wukkar and changed his identity many times over the years, living as a poor wanderer. Eventually, when he was sure he was free from Black Sun pursuit, he enrolled at a Republic service academy under the name Ekgli Manorste. It was the latest in a long list of aliases.

While "Manorste" initially attempted to keep a low profile, his natural predilection for illicit dealings eventually allowed him to discover the seedier side of Republic service. Corporate and criminal bribery was common, and many a government official was more than happy to conduct a little side business. It didn't take long for Manorste to quietly take on many backers and subvert different factions against each other, all the while gaining numerous informants and operatives who were beholden to him.

Eventually he was forced to leave Republic service after serving as a clerk on Humbarine for several years--having been found out and hounded by a persistent Republic Judicial Forces agent. However, his network wasn't fully dismantled, as his disappearance caused the leads to his people to dry up. Manorste changed his identity again, this time to Ardo Romierr, and entered arms dealing, having wisely foreseen the first hints of conflagration in the Old Republic. By 30 BBY, Romierr had a wide network of contacts and was known fairly well in galactic circles as a wily but effective arms dealer with a penchant for personally overseeing deals. His customers trended away from the Republic side--as well as Black Sun--and thus he often dealt with planetary governments looking to add some muscle to their forces, corporate hired guns, mercenaries, and smaller criminal locations.

Romierr was very good at hiding his trail and often employed disguises and cover identities--especially aided by his Lorrdian heritage, which gave him experience in such theatrics and nonverbal cues. He was successful in eluding governmental investigation--admittedly lackluster at that due to the number of officials on his take--that even his species and real appearance were unknown to the Republic by 23 BBY. Yet Romierr also had no fear, and would openly cavort at times, and was known as quite the rake, utilizing his reputation and winsome ways to protect his identity. He could also be empathetic, caring for the downtrodden wherever he went, based on his own experiences as an impoverished vagrant.

In 23 BBY, Romierr was overseeing a weapons smuggling ring on Ando, disguised as a Republic diplomatic aide named Daklan Burbage. Romierr's activities drew the attention of the Jedi--his weapons smuggling had inflamed several sectors amidst growing Separatist tensions. Romierr soon learned that four Jedi had been sent after him--quite a few--but he remained undeterred, as his place at the Republic ambassador's side gave him all the information from their investigation. He pretended to cooperate with the investigation, but was in fact attempting to frame the ambassador as complicit in the smuggling--which in fact, he was, as Romierr had already subverted him.

Romierr had one of his sea captain allies attack a Jedi ship snooping near his hideout, but the Jedi were able to foil the attack and seize the boat, even though Romierr was onboard. However, the ambassador attempted to double-cross Romierr and planted a bomb on his boat. He was saved by one of the Jedi, who defeated his ally and returned to confront the ambassador, who killed himself. While that was happening, Romierr kept up his pretenses as a good diplomatic envoy, even being entrusted with salvaging the situation for the Republic. However, the resulting scandal inflamed anti-Republic sentiment on Ando, pleasing Romierr's Separatist clients. Triumphant despite the loss of his operation, Romierr called the Jedi via holo to gloat over fooling them.

His employers were elated that he had eluded the vaunted Jedi, including a Jedi Council member, and as such funneled more business his way. When the Clone Wars started, Romierr was making money hands over fist working for the Separatists, smuggling weapons to their allies as well as inciting revolutions for profit. However, the tides of the war eventually turned as the Republic's colossal defense-industrial complex slowly ground down the Separatists. The war hardened Romierr, and made him more desperate--and ruthless. His former empathy was instead replaced by grim pragmatism as too many narrow escapes and pointless battles made him largely disinterested in loyalty and only in his own profit and survival.

Romierr eventually found himself commanding a group of former die-hard Separatists on the Neimoidian purse-world of Zeru Neimoidia. There, Romierr's forces waged a guerrilla war against Republic--later Imperial--forces even after the Clone Wars officially ended. Romierr was successful initially, operating under the nom du guerre Stonefin, after an indigenous Andoan fish. Though not a soldier by trade, his cunning and intelligence network allowed him to hamper Imperial operations, while his forces remained hidden inside a mountainous fortress deep inside the forested interior of Zeru Neimoidia. Imperial forces doggedly pursued him, and eventually an Imperial Intelligence agent named Roxana Taskien was able to infiltrate his base and signal its location to Imperial forces. Taskien was captured and Romierr used a new weapon dubbed the Shadow Hawk cruise missile that an allied group of Xi Charrian weapons engineers that he had been protecting, had developed.

Romierr told his followers that a successful strike would be enough to cripple the Empire, while he departed for other worlds to foment rebellion. In actuality, he was planning on taking the technology and making his escape while leaving the insurgents to distract the Imperials in a prolonged and bloody campaign. His missile strike destroyed two Imperial outposts and he was planning his escape while the Imperials were distracted by a follow-on fighter assault. However, a full-scale Imperial attack thwarted his plans. Taskien was rescued but Romierr made it to his ship, attempting to destroy the mountain with a baradium missile. His missile destroyed much of the mountain, but his ship was stopped by a special Imperial warship, the Griffin, under personal command of Imperial advisor Kinman Doriana. Romierr surrendered--fully aware that the Griffin was largely crewed by members of his network thanks to the efforts of one of his operatives, Sarwas, serving as Doriana's aide. The Griffin and its experimental technology were supposed to be the prizes in Romierr's next great heist. Thus, Romierr was unfazed when a wounded Taskien confronted him on the Griffin, lording over her status as victor and captor.

As the ship entered hyperspace, with Romierr's technology, Xi Charrians, droideka droids, and other assets aboard, Romierr staged a prison break during an awards ceremony for those who had captured him--a bit of irony he found most delicious. Sarwas and his conspirators were able to free Romierr, who magnanimously allowed the captured Imperials to survive, as he planned on trading them in on the black market to the highest bidder, especially Doriana. While Romierr's original plan hadn't involved being captured before he and his men seized the Griffin, he was certainly fine with the adaptation. They headed to Darlyn Boda for the auction, landing the ship in the swamp outside a smuggler's port to hide it, but the resourceful Taskien and clone trooper commander CC-3433 were able to get a signal off to patrolling Imperial fighters from a Star Destroyer that was hunting a group of Force-sensitives. Romierr and his men were able to subdue them, but were forced to return to their ship, where Romierr killed twenty-four imprisoned clone troopers as punishment.

Romierr's ship was surrounded by Imperial ground troops, forcing him to lift off and attempt an escape into hyperspace against a vastly superior combatant in orbit. However, in a bit of serendipity, Sarwas found a group of people breaking into his house--a group of people that included Sarwas's local lover who was also a Matukai Force-sensitive and one of the Jedi that Romierr had fooled on Ando years earlier, Selu Kraen. Romierr recognized an opportunity to use them--obviously survivors from an Imperial attack on the Matukai enclave. He contacted them and offered them a hyperdrive-equipped gunship to affect their escape. Though both sides were distrustful, an alliance borne of desperate necessity was formed. The Jedi and Matukai cleared out the fighters for Romierr using the gunship and a starfighter brought by the Jedi, but Romierr’s ship was boarded by Imperial troops. The Jedi and Matukai joined in as well and a bloody melee was fought onboard the ship. The Imperials, aided by freeing the prisoners that included CC-3433 and Taskien, battered their way into the bridge. In the ensuing firefight, Taskien lobbed a grenade at Romierr, mortally wounding him. He lived long enough for Selu Kraen to fight his way onto the bridge and secure it. Selu promised the dying Romierr that he would get his people out of this and make the Imperials pay. Romierr also recognized that the Jedi was the best bet to carry on the fight against the Empire since most of his senior staff had been killed and gave him a datapad with locations and command codes for Romierr’s remaining assets, telling Selu to put them to use. His final words to the Jedi were a reminder that Selu had never caught him.

The Jedi did escape on the Griffin with the rest of Romierr’s surviving men, and they went on to build a refuge in exile for Force-sensitives on Yanibar. Romierr’s assets and former subordinates helped form a fledgling defense force and intelligence network for what became known as the Yanibar Guard.

Appearances

 * Second Guessed
 * Force Exile III: Liberator