Now spill it, pilot. Or else you'll discover the other secrets that this droid has to offer.
—Colonel Arryn, to Commander Dameron, her rebel prisoner
Ralia Arryn (commonly known as the Colonel or the Imperial Dagger) was a human female who served in the Investigations and Interrogation branches of the Imperial Security Bureau during the reign of the Galactic Empire. She was a legend in her field and was ruthlessly efficient in interrogating subjects and extracting intel.
Following the death of her parents at the hands of Saw's Partisans in 9 BBY, Ralia swore to find the murderer and began her studies at the Royal Imperial Academy to pursue a career in the ISB. After graduation she continued to rise through the ranks, and was eventually promoted to Colonel by Darth Vader nine months after the Battle of Yavin. She was placed in command of the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Vindicator and tasked with quelling the rebellion in the Quotev sector of the Outer Rim.
After the fall of the Empire, Arryn remained with the Queluhan Nebula Imperial remnant until it was attacked by New Republic forces. Arryn then spent years in the Unknown Regions, hunting and destroying lone Republic ships, before finally joining the First Order, where she was offered the rank of Director of the First Order Security Bureau.
Upon the reorganisation into the Final Order and during the Battle of Exegol, Arryn was stationed on her Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Ultimatum. Following the Order's defeat, rebellions began arising across the galaxy, some of which were quelled by her efforts. However, in a last stand against the advancing Resistance forces, the Destroyer was damaged, and, ordering her crew to abandon ship, Arryn stayed on the bridge and watched the Ultimatum crash into the surface of a planet, killing her.
Biography
Early life
Ralia was born on Coruscant in 24 BBY into the family of a Republic admiral and Senator Feleda Arryn. Both her parents transitioned to Imperial service following the Proclamation of the New Order. She was never eager to attend an academy or go into the military and preferred spending time with friends instead.
In 9 BBY, returning from an event at the Galaxies Opera House, Ralia and her parents were ambushed by a man in a hooded cloak, who shot both her parents after calling them "Imperial dogs". Having witnessed the scene, Ralia swore to serve the Empire in the name of her parents and find the murderer. At the funeral, she was approached by Wullf Yularen, a close friend of her father, who she asked if she could join the Academy despite being a year younger than the standard admission age.
Academy training
Despite being the youngest cadet in her class, Ralia worked hard and made it to the top of her class. She would stay up late and developed the habit of overworking herself for her cause. Some of the classes she elected were Interrogation Techniques and Security Protocols that were required for a career in COMPNOR.
During her last year of training, Arryn was invited to attend the yearly ball at the Imperial Palace, where the top of the graduating class would meet high ranking officers and other prominent Imperials. At the ball, she shared a dance with General Drace Killian, who would become Director of the Bureau in the future.
ISB Service
Upon graduation, Arryn was stationed at the ISB Headquarters on Coruscant, from where she would be dispatched on missions to assist senior staff. Before she could handle interrogations herself, she was tasked with taking care of interrogation droids and bringing the senior officers caf during longer sessions. Field work wasn't usually her specialty, but, as part of Investigations, she would sometimes be sent offworld to collect data and bring in prisoners.
One of the missions to an Outer Rim world, while accompanying Senior Agent Meeko, Arryn's shuttle was shot at and the group was forced to land on an unfamiliar planet, where they were ambushed by the very group of rebels they were sent to destroy. Sustaining heavy casualties, the Imperials won the fight and even captured two of the insurgents, but Agent Meeko died in Arryn's arms, marking yet another loss she would have to deal with.
Staying loyal
After the events of 0 BBY, some Imperials, including Ralia's old academy roommate Keshani Farla, began questioning the methods of the Empire, especially the destruction of Alderaan. Ralia was furious after the destruction of the Death Star, which fueled her hatred for the Rebel Alliance even more, but received an encrypted holocall from Keshani, in which the latter told her she was unhappy with the Empire and couldn't continue to serve such a government. Betrayed and shocked, Ralia was forced to choose between the Empire and her friend and ultimately reported Keshani to the ISB, but the betrayal left her feeling empty and disillusioned.
Promotion to Colonel
Nine months after the Battle of Yavin, Arryn had been promoted to Commander, as a lot of staff had been lost aboard the Death Star. On a mission overseen by Darth Vader himself, having successfully retrieved intel about a stolen Imperial shipment, Arryn was on her way to report to her superior, Colonel Harik, but instead found him being strangled by the Dark Lord for failing this task himself and passing it over to her. Terrified by what she had seen, Arryn still reported to Vader, who then cleared her to proceed with an operation to return the shipment and promoted her to Colonel.
After completing the assignment, Arryn reported back to the ISB Headquarters, where she was given her new rank plaque and a Mid Rim station. Several months later she was placed in command of the Vindicator and assigned to quell resistance in the Quotev sector of the Outer Rim.
Assassination attempt
Due to her reputation, Arryn was loathed by the rebels and especially Saw Gerrera's Partisans, who she had been relentlessly pursuing in her sector. In 1 ABY, one of the partisans was captured and interrogated by her, which caused another one to infiltrate her Destroyer and attempt to stab her in her quarters. Thankfully, she had time to react and fought back with her electrostaff, besting the assassin after a long fight. She had him taken down to an interrogation cell and used her IT-O Interrogator, nicknamed Zappy, on him, while also finding out the name of her parents' murderer who happened to be in the same partisan cell. Arryn then tortured the assassin to death while plotting her next move.
Finding the murderer
TBA
Anti-insurgency efforts
TBA
Losing an arm
TBA
Post-Endor
Into hiding
Prior to the Battle of Endor, Arryn, as a rather important figure in her sector, had the chance to greet the Emperor aboard the Second Death Star along with hundreds of other officers. She then departed to the Vindicator which was stationed next to a small planet next to a commonly used hyperspace route, guarding it in case of a rebel escape. However, during the actual battle, the comms officers promptly lost contact with the Second Death Star, and the Destroyer was left in outer space with no way to keep in touch with the rest of the Empire. After a while they picked up a signal from Grand Moff Randd, who informed them of what had happened on the moon of Endor. Hearing the news about the Emperor and Darth Vader, as well as the loss of millions of personnel, devastated her, since the Empire was everything she had left.
Queluhan Nebula Remnant
After Endor Arryn found out that the ISB Headquarters had been taken by forces of the Rebellion, and she was likely to be one of the only surviving prominent Bureau members. Because of this she did not participate in the Battle of Jakku. Randd had told her that she would be valuable after the Empire's revival. After Jakku had been lost, though, she regrouped with the scattered Imperial remnant in the Queluhan Nebula. Randd promoted her to the rank of Inspector General, since the fate of the Bureau's High Command was unknown.
The Imperial Dagger
In 7 ABY, the Vindicator was sent to retrieve some supplies at an outpost on the edge of the nebula, and came under attack of the New Republic. Arryn had stayed on board, but one of her agents, Carla Starfire, was sent down along with a unit of troopers to pick up those supplies. After the appearance of enemy ships, the Destroyer received an order to retreat and jumped to hyperspace without being able to pick up the agent. The signal had been jammed, and the coordinates of the rest of the remnant remained unclear, which was why the Vindicator could not find them.
Several days later, Arryn watched a New Republic HoloNet News broadcast of Carla's trial, false accusation and execution. Outraged and hateful, she ordered her captain to locate the nearest New Republic ship and perform a surprise attack, retreating as soon as the ship was destroyed. The practice became a habit. The Vindicator lived up to its name, dropping into realspace, firing on an enemy, and jumping to hyperspace again. These attacks were an act of defiance to the Republic, its policies and disarmament, and soon earned Arryn the nickname Imperial Dagger thanks to both the Destroyer's shape and its swift sneak attacks. The Senate was aware of who was behind the title, but their attempts to capture Arryn proved fruitless.
Stranding in the Unknown Regions
After years of surprise attacks on Republic ships, the Vindicator was damaged in a run-in, and forced to retreat to the very edge of the Unknown Regions, further than they'd ever gone. The ship was low on supplies, fuel and energy, and had lost a lot of pilots and crew in the years. With no communication with other survivors, Arryn had no idea whether the remnants were still active or had been destroyed.
In 27 ABY, their comms finally picked up a signal, and the Vindicator arrived on First Order territory. She had been presumed dead and her arrival came as a surprise to everyone present.
First Order
FOSB Director
TBA
Hosnian Cataclysm
TBA
Death
TBA
Legacy
Personality and traits
Ralia Arryn was the picture of ambition, her competitive edge, razor-sharp wit, and intelligence aiding her greatly in her rise through the ranks. A skilled actress, she manipulated interrogations with ease, wearing a friendly or sweet identity while being completely different on the inside. She was scrupulous and data-driven; however, this extreme sense of determination often crossed the line into hate-fueled revenge.
Her eyes may have been jovial and her smile sweet, but that was all part of her image. Deceitful sweetness and a melodic laugh caught people off guard, and she used that to her advantage. Her warm smile always hid an underlying threat, and the wider it was, the more trouble it meant.
Ever since the untimely death of her parents (at the hands of rebels, no less) she’d undergone a complete transformation. She was no longer a clumsy and slightly lazy teen - tragedy had honed her into a weapon, quick and lethal. Now, she was driven by her work for the Empire, operating in the shadows, quiet, vengeful, and hateful. She was a silver-tongued liar and will go to any lengths to get revenge and find her parents’ killer.
Even despite her job, she preferred to have style and to treat her staff fairly. She had a moral code about not causing violence without a good reason, and despised those Imperials who defaced the Empire by being needlessly brutal, corrupt, or sycophantic.