Odala Kass`l

Odala Resmi Kass`l (nee Van Meer) was a failed who became a  to Alluria Solios and an agent of the Merquise Syndicate. A friend and ally of Rin Sakaros and the Golden Empire, her elder child and only daughter Azalyn became a Novice of the Order of Keltrayu shortly before Odala was poisoned and killed by.

Jedi Apprenticeship
Odala was born in 122 ABY, the daughter of merchant traders. She was identified as a Force-sensitive in 124 ABY and taken to train as a on. As a young girl, her impetuous and rebellious nature caused strain with her Jedi Instructors. When Jedi Master Souv Tanake selected Odala as her apprentice, the masters of Coruscant were not sorry to see her go.

Souv and Odala were present for the, where Souv's own master, Hayden Ragnos-Sakaros, died in the battle. They escaped, with Souv protecting the young Odala, and the pair worked with other Jedi survivors to subvert the. Odala developed an intense contempt for the dark side of the Force and the Sith in particular. She bonded with her master, and the pair took on an almost mother-daughter relationship.

Some missions were so dangerous that Souv entrusted her youthful Padawan to other Jedi for periods of time, which Odala found uncomfortable, as other Jedi were less tolerant of her sharp tongue and attitude. In 136 ABY, Odala finally rejoined Souv permanently at the Jedi Academy on. She suffered an accident (believed by some Jedi to have been a deliberate attack by organized criminals or dark siders) less than a year after arriving on Nar Shaddaa, and her crushed left leg was amputated and replaced with a prosthetic below the knee.

Odala was initially uncomfortable on Nar Shaddaa, but grew to accept her injury in the wake of her accident. She openly disapproved of her master's alliance with Tak Sakaros and the Merquise Syndicate. She developed a crush on fellow student Kalron Rendalle, but an attack by the  collapsed a building the two were in, killing Kalron and necessitating more cybernetics for Odala, including a prosthetic arm and a metal plate in her head.

A different path
"You do not have our gift of vision, child, or you would never doubt yourself. Trust in yourself, and you will never fail."

- Rin Sakaros to Odala Van Meer

Having survived a second near-death experience but lost more of herself in the process, Odala found her anger closer to the surface. Her constant danger on Nar Shaddaa did little to calm her, and she began to subconsciously forge her anger into a weapon instead.

In 140 ABY, Odala went out drinking and went home with Tariun Sakaros, the Sith Lord becoming her first lover, although she did not know his identity. Shortly after, she was captured by the Desilijics, but rescued when Souv, Alluria Quinn, Jarek Solios, and a disguised Tariun attacked her captor in his own throne room. Breek Zagrev and Khoro`ly`ooho`sh`lyhoo slaughtered Odala's guards and broke her out of Hutt confinement.

Not long after her ordeal, Odala took the before the. Despite their respect for Souv herself, the Council masters had grave reservations about Odala's obvious anger, and she failed her trials. Angry and unwilling to talk to Souv, she resigned from the Order and tried to bury herself in hedonism on.

She did not remain for long. Breek Zagrev found her there and invited her to a parley on Tariun's behalf. Odala grudgingly went along with Souv and Jextar Cyern-Star, mostly to see Tariun again. However, she was deeply impressed by Rin Sakaros, especially when Rin reassured her about her failed Trials, characterizing them not as failure but simply discovery of a new path.

When she looked at Odala and Alluria together, Rin wore a strange expression that intrigued both women. Having decided firmly to leave the Jedi despite her love for Souv, Odala finally asked to become Alluria's apprentice instead.

Elite
Alluria accepted Odala as an apprentice. Their relative closeness in age led them to develop a distinctly different and much more irreverent relationship than the one Odala shared with Souv. Odala moved into Ara Merquise's Fortress, and Alluria regularly had the Syndicate's agents fire stun bolts at her to teach her. They sparred regularly, and Alluria spared Odala no hardship in training, but helped her channel her anger into power. Seeking another new avenue of power, Odala built herself a pair of s rather than using a traditional Sith lightsaber.

Odala was added to the Elite Guard of the Syndicate, where she became friends with Alluria's boyfriend Jarek Solios, as well as the Nagai twins Broll and Veli Kass`l. Sleeping with Tariun had opened an entirely new realm of personal activity to her, and she took several Elite Guards as occasional lovers, though she settled on the Kass`l twins after a while.

Serving the Merquise Syndicate presented Odala with numerous opportunities to seek vengeance against the Desilijics, and her new Sith outlook allowed her to kill without mercy. However, her training contrasted so sharply with Souv's teachings that Odala gradually walled off some of her emotions and memories behind mental shields to prevent them from disrupting her new life.

Loss and loves
Though she had a long affair with the Kass`l twins, eventually Alluria settled on Veli as a permanent lover. The two were not at all discrete about their relationship, and it was cause for some ribbing for both among the other Elite.

In 142 ABY, fallen Jedi Master Lilea Frey, having rebranded herself as Naiya, began hunting Alluria and those close to her. In an attack in a Nar Shaddaa bar, Naiya branded Odala with her own lightwhips and from the Force. Badly injured, Odala was taken back to the Syndicate to recover. Jarek eventually dueled and killed Naiya after she attacked the Jedi Academy.

Stripped of her Force powers, Odala could not continue her training and spent much of her time alone. Veli did his best to comfort her, and Odala eventually became pregnant. Though overjoyed, Odala's happiness with tinged with bitterness; her separation from the Force prevented her from feeling her child's growth and development, as Alluria could with her own growing daughter.

When Odala was seven months pregnant, Rin arrived at the ziggurat, having finally won the Vagaari War. She observed Odala's situation and vowed to rectify it. In a three-day trance, Rin underwent the agonizing process of both returning Odala to the Force and cautiously introducing Odala's mind to baby Azalyn's—since Azalyn had never felt her mother's presence, sudden exposure to a Force signature all around her would likely have caused a miscarriage instantly. Though the effort nearly killed her, Rin painstakingly introduced one mind to the other, finally drawing back when mother and daughter were intimately acquainted in the Force.

Both Odala and Azalyn were exhilirated by knowing each other and stressed from their ordeal, and Odala went into labor only moments after Rin collapsed. Azalyn was born a month premature, but the Syndicate's medical droids kept mother and daughter healthy. Though she had previously respected and admired Rin, the Sith witch's gift to her made Odala her permanent friend.

A new home
When Odala was fully recovered, she resumed her Sith training. However, in the process of drawing her back into the Force, Rin had also reawakened all the memories Odala had suppressed, and she was forced to take a hard look at herself, comparing what she had once been to what she had become. The striking differences undermined Odala's dedication to the dark side of the Force, and her training dropped off in intensity.

Odala and Veli were married not long after Azalyn's birth. Odala spent much of her time with her family, though she did return to the field in 144 ABY when the Syndicate had another struggle with the Desilijics. When agents of the One Sith came to Nar Shaddaa, Odala fought them alongside her comrades and several visiting Centurions.

In 145 ABY, Jarek proposed moving the family away from Nar Shaddaa and its perpetual conflicts. Eager for Azalyn to have a safer life, Odala supported the plan, and helped Alluria and Reiko Kaytana scout out. She took to the farm the combined families built, sometimes helping to harvest the and other times to build up the home complex.

In 146 ABY, Odala and Veli had their second child, a boy named Tae. He was mildly Force-sensitive, enough to have superior reflexes but not as strong as Azalyn or Odala herself. The following year, having known since she first felt her daughter's mind that Azalyn would some day become a Centurion, Odala talked Veli into sending her to the Golden Empire to become a Novice. Both were pained to see their daughter go, but Odala was confident that Azalyn would be safe in Rin's hands, and Veli trusted in her confidence.

Death
Alluria, Odala, Veli, and Tae took a trip to in 148 ABY. They were noticed and attacked by and. Odala used a to convince Veli to flee with Tae before she and Alluria fought the One Sith. Despite their efforts, they were captured.

Taken to, the two were brought before himself. Both were defiant, and Nihl had torture them, trying to bring them into his service. Rin mounted a rescue operation with Jarek, Reiko, and half a dozen Centurions, but while they were able to save Alluria, Odala died of her injuries.

Powers and abilities
Odala possessed a complement of powers normal to Jedi and Sith, including, mind tricks, and acrobatics. She was trained to conjure, although her control of it suffered after Rin fully restored her memories.

As a Jedi, Odala preferred combat. She worked elements of Ataru into her lightwhip use, using generally circular motions. She was capable of wielding a pair of lightwhips simultaneously without injuring herself.

Appearance and personality
Odala Kass`l had a very thin build; she massed only 54 kilograms despite standing 1.70 meters (5'7") tall. She had pale skin, which became more so with time, with blue eyes and shoulder-length brown hair.  As a Jedi, she wore traditional robes and carried a lightsaber with a yellow blade.  When she became Alluria Quinn's apprentice, she adopted more scanty clothing, as well as a pair of lightwhips with blades that changed color according to her mood.

As a Jedi, Odala was impetuous and impatient, qualities which led to her eventual turn to the Sith. She initially and deliberately walled off her Jedi memories when she became Alluria's apprentice, and learned to reflect her master's sadistic and callous nature. After Rin restored her memories, Odala struggled to find a balance between the sides of her personality, and it led her to a less stringent practice of the Force.

Odala viewed Souv Tanake as a motherly figure, and even after becoming Alluria's apprentice remained close to her former master. She was on good terms with her fellow Elite Guards, as well as Reiko Kaytana. She sometimes resented Alluria's tutelage, but considered the a friend nonetheless.

Odala's love for her husband and children became the center of her life in her later years. She was deeply connected to her daughter Azalyn, and only her intense respect and love for Rin Sakaros let her part from the girl. Despite Tae's comparatively mild Force sensitivity, Odala treasured him, especially after Azalyn's departure.

Behind the scenes
Odala Kass`l was created by Ahrrie, who granted permission to Sakaros to write this article on her behalf.