The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Shara Berecca

"If this war has taught me anything, Matrik, it is that life is fragile. The lives of me and my people in particular."

- Shara Berecca to Ryion Kraen

Shara Berecca was the daughter of the Chalactan viceroy Ghavasa Berecca and was raised on Chalacta largely by her father after her mother died when she was a teenager. She was well-educated, per her father's wishes, and was close to him, but remained aloof from many others, thrust too early into a role in public service for which she was not prepared.

In 27 ABY, Chalacta was invaded by the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong. The planet was allowed to retain its government due to its swift capitulation, and the initial Yuuzhan Vong demands, though harsh, were not unreasonable. That changed, however, in 28 ABY when a group of New Republic volunteers stormed onto Chalacta to evacuate as much of its populace as they could, including Shara and her father, along with the rest of the government.

They fled to Rishi, where the local government accepted them as refugees. Shara and her father were hosted by the planetary governor. She appeared at a charity ball that Rishi's governor organized for the Chalactans, where she met Ryion Kraen, who was operating under an alias and the persona of a toymaker. She remembered him when one of her nieces broke a toy and stopped by his shop to have it repaired. On her way back, she was attacked by Yuuzhan Vong warriors who hoped to kill her to strike at the morale of the Chalactans, only to have Ryion save her. He was severely wounded and Shara arranged to have him transferred back to the governor's estate for treatment.

Despite his protestations, she refused to allow him to leave for his own protection until he was healed, though she also shielded him from the questions of the Rishi government and a Jedi named Kyle Katarn who was onworld. When a Yanibar Guard Fleet arrived to extract him, Shara pleaded with Ryion for their help in defending Rishi from an impending attack by the Yuuzhan Vong, and he made her case to the Yanibar Guard.

The question was made moot by the arrival of a Yuuzhan Vong force which trapped the Yanibar Guard fleet in orbit, requiring the remainder of Yanibar's military to come to its aid, and incidentally, Rishi's as well. The Yuuzhan Vong attacked the governor's palace while their fleet fought the Yanibar Guard in space, and Shara, along with the governor, the viceroy, and much of their staff, was evacuated to a temporary Yanibar Guard base constructed by the relief force.

As the fighting intensified, Ryion and his cousin Zeyn Kraen concocted a plan to infiltrate the enemy's flagship, free the Yanibar Guard prisoners held there, and then destroy it from within. Shara noticed the pair sneaking off to an equipment locker without the usual procedures and confronted him. He told her that it was the only to assure the Yuuzhan Vong were stopped. She was unhappy with his seemingly-suicidal decision, but he was intractable. She kissed him, telling him that she would be there for him when he returned, as she had developed feelings for him.

The battle ended in a mutual withdrawal, but Ryion and Zeyn both survived. Shara's father abdicated his rule as viceroy after the conflict, feeling that he had led to unnecessary suffering. He did ask and receive sanctuary for the Chalactans on Yanibar and Shara was one of the several hundred Chalactans who made their home on Yanibar after leaving Rishi, the seeds of a relationship beginning between her and Ryion.

Behind the scenes
The character of Shara Berecca was created for two reasons. First, to serve as a love interest for Ryion Kraen and second to draw the Yanibar Guard into the Yuuzhan Vong War. While a number of factors resulted in the Yanibar Guard's intervention, Shara was the primary catalyst. Author Atarumaster88 sought to make her seem intelligent, even to the point of manipulative. In part, he did not want the Yanibar Guard and Ryion's aid to Rishi seem too clear-cut. He also wanted to draw a point of comparison between Shara and Ryion's previous love interest, Ariada Cerulaen, who also was manipulative. Shara represented an odd point of contrasts, as a pacifist who pleads for military intervention to defend her people. She was depicted by Bollywood actress Rani Mukherjee for the Force Exile V: Warrior cover.

Appearances

 * Force Exile V: Warrior