Biala

Biala was a female Shifala who served as the governor of the Carreras system following the collapse of Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire in 138 ABY. She was involved in the construction of the Carreras G51 communications array, which was the farthest outpost of the new G51 communications array network. During the Carreras Incident, Biala's security forces "rescued" the rogue Sith Darth Wredd, who had impersonated the Imperial Knight Yalta Val. Posing as the Galactic Federation Triumvirate's emissary to the Carreras system, Wredd succeeded in forcing Biala to cede control of the Carreras security forces to him under the pretext of recovering his lightsaber and dealing with an underground Sith presence in the Carreras system.
Following a failed attempt to recover the "false" Yalta Val's lightsaber, relations between Biala and the impostor deteriorated when the latter mobilized her troops without her permission. When Biala protested, Darth Wredd intimidated her by threatening to bring the power of the new Galactic Federation Triumvirate down on her and told her to focus on fixing the G51 communications array. Construction on the Carreras communications array was slow due to problems with the field generators. Impatient at the slow progress, Darth Wredd almost strangled one of Biala's Shifala subordinates. The "false" Yalta Val's erratic actions unnerved Governor Biala who decided to lodge a formal complaint with the Triumvirate authorities. Biala's suspicions of "Yalta Val" were confirmed when he ordered the Carreras communication array to begin moving without consulting her.
An opportunity to eliminate the false Imperial Knight surfaced when her security forces apprehended the junk dealer Ania Solo, the Mon Calamari Sauk, the assassin droid AG-37, and the Imperial Knight Jao Assam, a friend of the real Yalta Val who had come to investigate his disappearance. The "false" Yalta Val intended to execute them. When Biala protested, he almost Force choked her. With her suspicions confirmed, Biala freed Jao and her companions and sent them to deal with the impostor. Following a skirmish on the Carreras communications array, Wredd managed to escape to his hidden base on the floating world of Mala where he was able to remotely control the communication array. Revealing himself as Darth Wredd, the Sith impostor outlined his manifesto to destroy the new Triumvirate and attempted to execute the real Yalta Val.
However, Darth Wredd was thwarted by Ania Solo who freed and rescued Yalta Val before the Carreras communications array collided with Mala. Prior to the collision, Biala learnt the truth about Darth Wredd and ordered her men to evacuate the doomed space station. Following the Carreras Incident, Biala submitted a report on the recent events in the Carreras system to the Galactic Federation Triumvirate. While Biala was unclear about the full facts, she revealed that a girl named Ania Solo was involved in the destruction of the communications array. In response, the Triumvirate authorities dispatched the Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer Animus to intercept Ania's ship and to recover Yalta Val and Jao Assam.
==Biography==
===Governor===
Biala was a Shifala woman who had become the elected governor of the Carreras system by the end of the Second Imperial Civil War.Legacy (2013) 3 As governor, Biala commanded all of the security forces within that star system. In 138 ABY, Galactic Empress Marasiah Fel embarked on an ambitious project to construct the G51 communications array, a communications network which would improve communications throughout the Outer Rim Territories. The Carreras system was designated as the farthest outpost of this communication and a communications array was established in the system. Due to her position, Governor Biala was aware of the project and that large amounts of her government's funding were allocated to it.
===The Sith Impostor===
That year, the Galactic Federation Triumvirate, a new galactic government consisting of the Fel Empire, the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Order sent the Imperial Knight Yalta Val to supervise the finishing work on the Carreras station. While traveling through the Surd Nebula, Val's starship became stranded on the mysterious floating world of Mala. There, all of the Imperial crew and passengers with the exception of Val were killed by an unidentified Sith master and his apprentice Darth Wredd, members of the One Sith order which had been driven underground following the death of Darth Krayt. After killing his own master, Darth Wredd took Yalta Val captive and impersonated him, stealing his armor and forcing the captive Knight to wear a helmet, that was designed to drive its users to the dark side of the Force. However, Wredd was unable to recover the Knight's lightsaber which drifted through space until it was recovered by a Mon Calamari engineer named Sauk and his Human friend Ania Solo, who operated a junk yard on Carreras Major.
As planned, Darth Wredd's escape pod was picked up by the Carreras security forces and brought to the Carreras communications array. As the commanding officer of the station, Biala was tasked with the responsibility of greeting the Triumvirate emissary. While Biala was aware of the difficulty with interstellar travel through the Surd Nebula, she was surprised that the Imperial Knight's starship had crashed. Seeking to make amends for the Imperial Knight's difficult travel experience, she ordered her men to show the Knight every courtesy, stressing that they had to rectify the situation before the communications relay went life. During their first encounter, the false "Yalta Val" requested a private meeting with Governor Biala at her office. Since Biala had never met the real Yalta Val and the impostor wore the armor of the Imperial Knights, Biala did not suspect anything wrong.
There, the false "Yalta Val claimed that there was a Sith presence in the Carreras system. Biala attempted to disagree but was interjected by the Sith impostor, who went on to claim that the Sith had attacked his ship and murdered his entire crew. He added that he had also lost his lightsaber during the fighting with the Sith. Biala suggested contacting the Triumvirate authorities on Coruscant to request for more reinforcements including Jedi to deal with the Sith threat. However, the Sith impostor claimed that there was not enough time and that they would not be able to contact Coruscant until the array was functional. He claimed that the Triumvirate would not arrive in time to deal with the Sith threat. Biala disagreed and replied that they had to try to keep the communications array.
Before she could continue, she was interjected by Darth Wredd who insisted that as an Imperial Knight, he was more than equal to the job of hunting down the Sith. He then claimed that Biala was afraid that the Triumvirate authorities would uncover rampant corruption in the Carreras government. Without allowing Biala to give a response, Darth Wredd then demanded that she cede him personal control over all of her security forces. He claimed that no one else but him was equipped to deal with the Sith threat. Biala reluctantly complied with the false "Yalta Val's" demands, not wishing to create trouble with Coruscant. While the Sith impostor had his back turned to Biala, his eyes began to glow yellow and red, revealing his dark side affiliation. Later, the Carreras security forces encountered Ania and Sauk and attempted to recover Val's lightsaber. However, the pair managed to evade the Carreras authorities following a lengthy pursuit which killed four guards.Legacy (2013) 2
===Rising Tensions===
After learning about the unsuccessful recovery attempt from Biala, Darth Wredd led a force of Carreras security guards to Ania Solo's junkyard and attempted to recover the lightsaber. However, Ania and Sauk escaped on the assassin droid AG-37's freighter. The Sith impostor then took advantage of the second unsuccessful recovery attempt to mobilize the Carreras security forces. When Biala angrily confronted the false "Yalta Val", he criticized her for her lack of concern at the Sith presence in the system. The impostor then added that the Sith could be anywhere in the system and insinuated that Biala was to blame for the failure of her security forces to catch Ania, whom he dismissed as a mere "girl with a lightsaber". Before Biala could reply, "Yalta Val" warned her not to challenge the new Galactic Triumvirate and insisted that she focus on getting the array working while he dealt with the alleged Sith threat.
Governor Biala oversaw the finishing work on the Carreras communications array. The engineer was satisfied with the status of the subfield conduits but was concerned about the state of two field generators. While Biala wanted to wait until the generators had been fixed, the false "Yalta Val" insisted on starting up the communications array. Despite some misgivings, the engineers reluctantly activated the primary power. Since the communication array's systems had not yet been fully fixed, the internal engine systems overloaded. Enraged and frustrated by the lack of progress, the Sith impostor grabbed the engineer by the throat and almost choked him. While the false "Yalta Val" ultimately chose to spare the engineer's life, his actions left a very bad taste among Biala and the other Shifala.
Following the failed start-up attempt, Governor Biala retreated to her office. There, a fellow Carrerras government official related to her his concerns about the erratic actions of the Imperial Knight. While Governor Biala was deeply concerned about Yalta Val's behavior, she decided to focus on starting up the communications array first before tackling the troublesome "Yalta Val." Biala intended to lodged a formal complaint with the Triumvirate authorities. They then felt some movement and quickly learnt that "Yalta Val" had ordered the activation of the space station's directional thrusters. Shortly later, the Carreras security forces apprehended a group of space travelers: Ania Solo, Sauk, AG-37, and the Imperial Knight Jao Assam, a friend of the real Yalta Val who had come to ascertain his whereabouts.
The Sith impostor ordered the Carreras security forces to bring the Imperial Knight to him and to execute the others. When Governor Biala objected, he demanded that she put her trust in him. Outraged at the false "Yalta Val's" abuse of power, she reminded him that the Carreras government was autonomous and that no executions could be approved without a trial. She expressed her regret at trusting the Imperial Knight and the new Triumvirate, which had created nothing but expense for her people. Biala reiterated that she was an elected leader and told the Imperial Knight that she was going to take back control of this project. Before Biala could continue, the Sith impostor user the Force to levitate her and Force choke her. After warning her to keep her mouth shut, the false "Yalta Val" let her go, choosing to spare her. Biala's narrow brush with death confirmed her suspicious about the Imperial Knight and she decided that he had to be stopped at all costs.
===A Fiery Climax===
After monitoring a conversation between the false "Yalta Val" and the captive Jao Assam, Governor Biala quickly realized that Darth Wredd was a Sith impostor. After the Sith impostor had left the cell, Biala freed Jao and his friends and assigned them with the task of eliminating Darth Wredd. Jao and his companions cornered the Sith impostor in the Carreras space station's hangar bay. However, Darth Wredd managed to escape on a shuttle, leaving AG-37 badly damaged and Jao severely wounded having being pierced by two metallic rods. Meanwhile, Biala attempted to shut the communications array down. However, they soon learnt that the false "Yalta Val" had already taken control of the array's engine systems and was able to remotely direct the space station. By the time they had found out, Darth Wredd had returned to his base on Mala, where he was able to remotely control the communications array.Legacy (2013) 5
Darth Wredd then used the Carreras communications array to transmit a manifesto the galaxy. Biala witnessed the broadcast and quickly saw an image of the real Yalta Val, being chained to a chair. During the broadcast, Darth Wredd taunted his galactic audience and questioned the peace brought by the new Galactic Triumvirate. He claimed that the Triumvirate's components were weak: Empress Fel had no real power, the Jedi were a shadow of their former power, while the Galactic Alliance was broken and weak. In an attempt to demonstrate his power, Wredd attempted to execute Yalta Val during the broadcast. However, he was interrupted by Ania Solo who fought him, allowing Val to break free from his restraints and recover his lightsaber.
By this stage, the Carreras communications array was on a collision course with the floating world of Mala. She ordered a general evacuation of the station and the crew escaped on a fleet of starships and escape pods. Amidst the impending collision, Ania and her companions managed to escape Mala with the rescued Yalta Val and a grievously wounded Jao Assam on AG-37's freighter. However, Darth Wredd managed to escape into space. The Carreras communications arary was destroyed during the collision, disrupting the G51 communications array network. Following the Carreras Incident, Biala submitted a report to the Galactic Triumvirate's leaders informing them about the recent events in the Carreras system. While Biala was still unclear about what had exactly transpired in the Carreras system, she still managed to report that a certain girl named Ania Solo had been involved in the destruction of the communications array. As a result, the Triumivrate authorities were alerted to the presence of Darth Wredd and Ania Solo.
==Personality and traits==
As a Shifala, Biala was a humanoid female with simian features including fur. As the elected Governor of the Carreras system, Biala was a competent administrator and presumably had good a good leadership track record. While the Carreras government was known for its corruption, Biala was an exception to this trend and made sure that she applied professional standards to her work. In addition, Biala also had a strong moral compass. She was horrified when the Sith impostor Darth Wredd attempted to strangle one of her engineers and expressed her disgust when Wredd ordered the summary execution of several prisoners whom the Carreras security forces had apprehended. She was also distrustful of the new Galactic Federation Triumvirate whom she disliked for seemingly exploit her government's resources and hospitality. Biala was also intuitive enough to notice the "erratic" behavior of the Sith impostor and quickly took action to get him removed from the communications array.
==Behind the scenes==
Biala first appeared in the first issue of the comic series Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2. The issue was written by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman, illustrated by Hardman, and published by Dark Horse Comics on March 20 2013.
==Appearances==
*Legacy (2013) 1 
*Legacy (2013) 2
*Legacy (2013) 3
*Legacy (2013) 4
*Legacy (2013) 5
==Notes and references==
Category:Females
Category:Galactic Alliance governors
Category:Individuals with she/her pronouns
Category:Shifala