Arwen Cohl Arwen Cohl was a Mirialan mercenary from the planet Mirial . He became a hero among his people after leading them to victory in a conflict against a nearby planet , but was betrayed by leaders on his own side . He was imprisoned for many years , and when he escaped , he emerged a greatly hardened man . After gaining revenge on those who had betrayed him , Cohl became a pirate and gained a band of followers , including his lover Rella and the Rodian , Boiny . In 33 BBY , he took a job from the terrorist organization known as the Nebula Front . He successfully infiltrated a Trade Federation freighter , stole a cache of valuable aurodium ingots , and escaped . Though Cohl planned to retire with Rella after this , he found himself unable to walk away from the mercenary life , and accepted another mission from the Nebula Front . On the orders of Havac , the organization ' s leader , he began recruiting skilled assassins for a planned strike at Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum during the Eriadu Trade Summit . Havac wished to use the assassins as death fodder to distract the Jedi present on Eriadu while Havac launched his own plan . Fiercely loyal to his men , Cohl refused to participate in such an action , resulting in a firefight between him and Havac that left Rella dead and Cohl and Boiny wounded . Cohl swore revenge on Havac , and during the Trade Summit , the two engaged in a skirmish . Both died in the fight . Biography . Early life . Arwen Cohl was a male Mirialan born decades before the Invasion of Naboo on the planet Mirial . He became a freedom fighter in a war between Mirial and a neighboring world . Though Mirial eventually won , and Cohl was considered a hero by many of his people following the victory , the leaders of his side declared him to be a traitor . To solidify their power and prevent Cohl from riding a wave of popular support into a high - ranking political office , these individuals had Cohl imprisoned for many years . Already hardened by the war , he grew even more callous . When he escaped , he killed those who had incarcerated him , and swore that he was finished with his homeworld . Cohl became a mercenary and a pirate , determined not to make the same mistakes that had landed him in prison . He pledged to look out only for himself , and always stay ahead of his foes . Flying the starship known as the " Hawk - Bat " , Cohl gained a reputation for being both ruthless and highly skilled . He amassed several followers , including the Rodian Boiny — who was very loyal to him — and the Human female Rella , who became his lover . Though Cohl initially only worked for those whose cause he supported , he eventually became a common killer - for - hire . In spite of this , he was highly loyal to his men . In the employ of the Nebula Front . In 33 BBY , Captain Cohl and his gang were hired by the Nebula Front terrorist organization to attack the " Revenue " , a Trade Federation " Lucrehulk " - class freighter collecting cargo above Dorvalla . Cohl and his twelve men hid in a cargo pod of their own that contained a shuttle . Their faux pod was then placed with the other pods the freighter was scheduled to pick up . Shortly after the " Revenue " finished loading the pods into its cargo bay , Cohl and his gang activated the controls , opening the cargo pod . Noticing a disturbance , several B1 battle droids guarding the cargo surrounded the pod . In the ensuing firefight , all of the droids were destroyed , while none of Cohl ' s men were killed . Meanwhile , a Nebula Front fleet jumped out of hyperspace and attacked the " Revenue " . The attacking starfighters were led by the " Hawk - Bat " , with several members of the Nebula Front flying the ship . As Cohl had built up a reputation as a fearsome foe , the Trade Federation was frightened by the " Hawk - Bat " presence . Stunned , the freighter ' s commander , Daultay Dofine , sent out a distress call . With the battle raging in space , Cohl ' s gang made their way to the ship ' s bridge . Once there , they quickly defeated the guards , and then rounded up the bridge crew . Cohl informed Dofine that they were taking the " Revenue " cargo , aurodium ingots . When Dofine replied that his ship was carrying no such cargo , Cohl threatened him , informing the Neimoidian that Boiny was affixing a thermal detonator to the ship ' s fuel - driver - control system , which would cause it to explode in 60 minutes . A sufficiently - cowed Dofine agreed to show Cohl where the ingots were kept . After the Trade Federation ship " Acquisitor " arrived in response to Dofine ' s distress call , Cohl was forced to hurry his operation . Dofine led them to the ingots , which Cohl ' s team then took to the cargo bay where their pod waited . Cohl ordered Boiny to slice into the central computer and have it release all cargo pods , preventing the " Acquisitor " from locating Cohl ' s pod . After suggesting that Dofine climb into a pod of his own if he wanted to survive , Cohl boarded his pod , which was then released into space along with many others . As they maneuvered through the storm of pods in space , Boiny noticed that another pod was shadowing them . Rella took evasive action , but the other pod continued to follow them . It was then that Boiny realized that a thermal detonator was attached to their pod . Cohl had Boiny activate the controls , causing the pod to split open and reveal the shuttle concealed in it that Cohl ' s men were flying . Believing that they were safe , Cohl was shocked to see the other pod split open , releasing a red Lancet fighter hidden inside . Quickly recognizing that the ship was flying the colors of Coruscant — the capital of the Galactic Republic — Cohl also conjectured , due to the deft flying of the opposing vessel , that they were possibly being tailed by Jedi . Desperate to escape , Cohl ordered that they fly the shuttle back into the blast radius of the " Revenue " . When the ship exploded moments later , the Lancet lost them , and the shuttle set down on a large piece of the vessel that had more or less survived the explosion intact . Realizing that the wreckage was outside Dorvalla ' s gravity , Cohl decided to wait four days to buy time and ensure that no other ships were watching them . As the debris ' orbit began to falter , Cohl ordered that the shuttle take off and head for their base on Dorvalla , ignoring protests that their base was almost certainly being watched by the authorities . As they entered the atmosphere and approached their base , the team was queried by security , who ordered them to identify themselves . On Cohl ' s orders , Rella crashed the shuttle in the forest near the base , faking their deaths . Despite the risk , Cohl felt that such an action was necessary to shake their pursuers . Only Cohl , Rella , and Boiny walked away from the crash , and although they were wounded , they were the only three of the original twelve to have survived the mission . Taking the audorium , they traversed the forest to a pre - arranged rendezvous point where the " Hawk - Bat " was supposed to be waiting for them , and it was not long before Cohl ' s ship arrived to extricate them from the planet . Later , above the planet Asmeru , Cohl and his gang met with Havac , the leader of the Nebula Front . He handed over the ingots , receiving a sizable sum of credits in exchange . Before Havac departed , Rella and Cohl discussed their future plans with him , revealing that they intended to retire and work as moisture farmers . Havac offered Cohl one final job , stating that it would pay big , but the Mirialan declined . One final mission . A short time later , Cohl returned to meet with Havac above Asmeru . Despite the fact that Rella was tired of working as a mercenary and wanted a peaceful retirement , Cohl was not ready to give up working as a soldier for hire . Thus , he came alone , informing Havac that he simply could not walk away from mercenary life and was ready for another assignment . Havac explained Cohl ' s next mission to him — the assassination of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum at the Eriadu Trade Summit , an upcoming meeting involving , among others , the Trade Federation and the Supreme Chancellor . Though Cohl believed that the fallout from such a move would be huge , he accepted the mission when Havac promised that the backlash would fall on the Nebula Front . As Havac felt that the " Hawk - Bat " was too well - known , he gave Cohl another starship to use for this mission . Shortly after the meeting , Cohl began assembling a team of trackers and assassins who were largely apolitical . The mercenary visited several planets , including Belsavis , Malastare , Clak ' dor , and Yetoom . On the planet Karfeddion , Cohl and his loyal second - in - command Boiny met with a mercenary named Lope , who proved himself in a bar room brawl . After recruiting Lope , Cohl was surprised to be greeted by Rella , who had grown concerned for him , and had tracked him to Karfeddion . When Cohl informed her of his mission , she urged him to back out . However , the Mirialan refused , stating that he felt he had to see the mission through to its end . Exasperated but not wishing to leave Cohl , Rella agreed to go with him . Soon , Cohl had gathered all the men he needed for the operation , and headed for Eriadu as directed . Once their ship entered the planet ' s atmosphere , they were boarded by several customs officials . Rella and Boiny subdued them , while the rest of the team hid in cargo tube s . The team loaded the cargo tubes on the custom officials ' ship , and thanks to several Nebula Front members who had infiltrated the planetary security , they were able to gain clearance to land in a warehouse . Once on Eriadu , the team emerged from the tubes , and were greeted by several Nebula Front mercenaries , Havac included . Havac led Cohl , Rella and Boiny to a private room in the warehouse , where he began berating the Captain . Cohl had , he claimed , been careless , allowing the Jedi to follow his trail , and the men Cohl had recruited would now have to be used as a diversion in order to salvage the mission . When Cohl responded that he had not gathered the men for them simply to be killed , and turned to leave , Havac drew Rella ' s blaster and threatened Cohl , stating that he was expendable ; in the fight against the Trade Federation , sacrifices had to be made . Abruptly , a skirmish broke out . The brief firefight ended with Rella dead , and Cohl and Boiny wounded . With this , Havac left , intending to meet with Cohl ' s recruits and give them their mission . Revenge . Boiny proved resilient , and discovered several bacta patch es in a medpac near the door . These allowed him and Cohl to stay conscious , and stave off the pain . Upon realizing that Rella was dead , Cohl was distraught , but managed to put aside his grief after a moment . The two discussed their options , with Cohl stating that Havac had left them to be found by the Jedi . The mercenary also swore revenge on Havac , promising to avenge Rella . Now determined to find Havac , the two began exploring the warehouse . It was not long before they discovered a room containing a holoprojector and a restraining bolt . The holoprojector revealed schematics of the Seswenna Hall , where the Trade Summit was to be held . Cohl realized that Havac had intended for security officials to find the holoprojector , giving him an idea as to what the mercenary had planned . Cohl and Boiny made their way to Seswenna Hall , where they hid among a group of Stark Hyperspace War veterans awaiting admission to the Summit . Heavily wounded , the two fit in well with the veterans , many of whom bore battle scars . Once they entered the building , the duo crept off into the upper levels , where they could look down on the delegates seated many floors below . Cohl noticed that one of the thirteen droids with the Trade Federation representatives was missing a restraining bolt , leading him to suspect that it was being remotely controlled by Havac . Cohl and Boiny simultaneously remembered that Havac had been a holodocumentarian prior to joining the Nebula Front , and headed for the media booth in the Hall ' s upper levels . As the two made their way upwards , they encountered two Jedi — Qui - Gon Jinn , who had long been tracking Cohl , and his Padawan , Obi - Wan Kenobi . Jinn revealed that he and Kenobi had been the ones following them at Dorvalla , and that now , he sought Cohl ' s help to capture Havac , who the Jedi had learned about through way of an informant . Boiny and Cohl revealed Havac ' s plan to use a droid to assassinate the Chancellor , and Kenobi went to warn the other Jedi stationed near the Chancellor while Jinn followed the mercenaries to the media booth . Jinn was able to subdue Havac ' s guards and disarm him . Panicked , Havac revealed that he did not have the remote — the team ' s sniper , located on one of the walkways nearby , had it . Leaving Cohl to guard Havac , Jinn and Boiny rushed off to find the shooter . The two were unable to prevent the sniper from firing a shot , although he did not hit Valorum . When Cohl mocked Havac ' s plan , Havac responded that he had never been after Valorum . Stunned , Cohl glanced down at the floor , and realized that the Trade Federation Directorate had been the Nebula Front ' s target the entire time , and that Havac ' s holocam was the remote . Though Cohl tried to grab it , he was unable to prevent Havac from using it to activate the droid , which then turned on the Directorate and executed its members . In the brief skirmish between Cohl and Havac , Havac managed to wrestle the blaster away from the Mirialan and fatally wound him . With what strength remained in him , Cohl tore the blaster away from Havac and fired a shot , killing the reactionary before dying himself . Unbeknownst to Cohl — and the rest of the galaxy — the entire Summit had been manipulated by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious . Havac had been acting on his orders to have the Trade Federation Directorate killed ; he too had simply been a pawn of the Sith Lord . Personality and traits . Arwen Cohl fought selflessly for his homeworld in the Mirialan War . His people considered him a hero for the sacrifices he made in leading his side to victory . However , the war hardened him , and after being betrayed by those that he had fought for , he grew even more apathetic . Cohl swore not to care for others , and left his homeworld to become a mercenary . Though he initially worked only for those whose cause he felt was noble , soon he became a pirate who would work for almost anyone . The Mirialan Jedi Luminara Unduli lamented the fact that history would remember Cohl as a criminal and not a hero . Despite his promise to look out only for himself , Cohl never completely abandoned his values . He fell in love with the Human woman Rella , and remained loyal to his crew , especially Boiny . Cohl was unwilling to allow Havac to sacrifice men he had hired for the Eriadu mission , stating that they had not signed up simply to die . When Havac brushed off his concern , Cohl attempted to leave , sparking a fight that resulted in Rella ' s death . Cohl ' s crew reciprocated his loyalty , and were completely obedient to their captain . Boiny in particular held great respect for Cohl , and the two got along very well . Cohl and Rella were lovers , and he was grief - stricken when she died . He swore revenge on Havac , promising to do all he could to get payback on him . Though Cohl was very loyal to his crew , he also knew that they were aware of the risks involved in the missions they participated in . As such , he considered completing a mission of tantamount importance , and was willing to leave crewmembers behind if waiting for them threatened the mission . However , he was only comfortable with doing this if they had been informed of the potential dangers involved in the mission , and thus , was not willing to allow Havac to use the assassins he had hired as decoys , stating that they had not signed up to have their lives thrown away . Cohl held a reputation as a fearsome fighter who rarely failed . He was known throughout the Outer Rim , and the mere sight of the " Hawk - Bat " was enough to greatly intimidate many of his targets . After being assured that the Nebula Front would take the blame for the assassination of Supreme Chancellor Valorum , Cohl had no qualms about helping plan the mission . The Mirialan disliked the Trade Federation , and was willing to destroy a Trade Federation freighter . He also stated that he would shoot an unarmed Neimoidian without a second thought . Despite this , and his reputation as a pirate , he was considered by many to be an idealist . Unlike many mercenaries , Cohl had limits , and was very loyal to those who worked for him . Still , Cohl had no loyalties beyond those to his people , and held no interest in the outcome of the taxation debates between the Trade Federation and the Republic . Behind the scenes . Arwen Cohl was created for the novel " Cloak of Deception " by James Luceno . He later received mentions in several reference books , and was given an entry in " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " . Arwen Cohl was originally named Margrave M ' Buele as a nod to Katya M ' Buele .