Shirene

Shirene was a human woman who lived on the Outer Rim planet Akiva with her wife, Esmelle, during the Imperial Era. In 1 ABY, when Esmelle's sister, the pilot Norra Wexley, left Akiva, she and her wife took Norra's son Temmin Wexley into their care. However, Temmin eventually left his aunts' home and began operating a junk shop in the world's capital city. Over the following years, Temmin continued to help Shirene and Esmelle with household duties.
In 4 ABY, Norra returned to Akiva and was displeased to learn that Temmin had not stayed with his aunts for some time. When the pilot and Esmelle argued over the issue, Shirene defused the situation and attempted to explain that she and her wife had not been equipped to handle parenting a strong-willed child like Temmin. Shortly after, the woman lent Norra her bala-bala speeder when she chose to follow her son back to his junk shop. The following year, Shirene and Esmelle attended the funeral of Norra's husband, Brentin Wexley. By 34 ABY, she and her wife continued to reside on Akiva and occasionally dined with Norra and her partner, the pilot Wedge Antilles.
==Biography==
===Temmin's guardian===
Shirene was a human woman who was married to another woman named Esmelle. During the Imperial Era, she and her wife lived on the Outer Rim planet Akiva. In 1 ABY,Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Aftermath to 4 ABY. The novel establishes that Norra Wexley's initial departure from Akiva occurred three years prior to the book's events, equating to 1 ABY. Esmelle's sister, the pilot Norra Wexley, left Akiva to join the Rebel Alliance and left her son, Temmin Wexley, in the care of his aunts. Temmin lived with Shirene and Esmelle for some time, growing into a self-reliant young man. He eventually moved out of his aunts' home and began operating a junk shop in Myrra. As the years passed, Temmin began assisting Shirene and Esmelle by delivering food packages consisting of bread and fruits and occasionally including arguez sausage and wyrg-jerky. The young man also helped with living expenses and repairing his aunts' home machinery.
By 3 ABY, Shirene and Esmelle lived in the Sashin settlement in the Karaba Foothills on Akiva. That year, the wives noticed whem Temmin had not been seen in Sashin for several days and wondered where he was, especially since he was not in his shop either. The mercenary Kay Vess spoke to the women when looking for Temmin, hoping to acquire his help in modulating her speeder. Though Esmelle was suspicious of her intentions, Shirene apologized for her wife's brusque tone and suggested Vess look for Temmin in a junkyard scrap heap near Lake Amari, where he might be salvaging parts for his store. Eventually, Vess found Temmin at the scrapyard Shirene pointed her toward and succeeded in acquiring his help to improve her speeder with a hydro-repulsor.
By the time following the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, Shirene and Esmelle lived in a home on Orchard Hill in Akiva's capital city, Myrra. There, they met with Norra upon the woman's return to Akiva. The pair declined Norra's invitation to leave the world with her, despite the Imperial presence encroaching on the world. Much to the pilot's displeasure, the aunts informed Norra that her son had moved out of their residence and now lived in his junk shop. Afterward, she met with Temmin in his business and confronted him with what she had learned from Shirene and Esmelle, though he defended his independent lifestyle. Temmin refused to leave Akiva with his mother, so she reluctantly drugged him and carried him away toward the Moth, a freighter she had hired to take them offworld. However, when they arrived at the vessel to find it surrounded by Imperial stormtroopers, the pair fled the area on a speeder bike.
===Ensuing arguments===
When the pair were separated during their escape, Norra used the speeder to flee to Shirene and Esmelle's house to rendezvous with Temmin. While waiting for her son to arrive, Norra expressed her frustration with Esmelle for allowing her son to move out of their home. Shirene interjected in their argument and suggested that her wife have a cup of tea to calm down, which she agreed to. Norra and Shirene conversed after Esmelle's departure, with the latter explaining her and her wife's stance on Temmin's independence and how he had grown up to be a young man to be proud of in her absence. Shortly afterward, Shirene lent her bala-bala speeder to Norra when she left their house searching for her son, who she assumed had returned to his junk shop. After rescuing Temmin from an encounter with thugs working for the crime lord Surat Nuat in the streets of Myrra, the pilot returned to the aunts' house with her son and rested while he repaired his B1-series battle droid Mister Bones. Later, following the rebellion on Akiva, Norra and Temmin again used spare parts from Shirene and Esmelle's basement to repair Mister Bones.
After the Battle of JakkuAftermath: Empire's End one year later,Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Aftermath: Empire's End to 5 ABY. Shirene and Esmelle both attended the funeral of Norra's husband, Brentin Wexley, who had been killed by Counselor to the Empire Gallius Rax. The pair also watched as Temmin buried the arm of Mister Bones, as the rest of the droid's body had been disintegrated in the same conflict. Following the funeral, Norra and Temmin stayed at Shirene's and her wife's home for a few days before returning to their new home on the planet Chandrila. By 34 ABY,Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Resistance Reborn to 34 ABY. she and her wife continued to reside on Akiva and occasionally dined with Norra and her partner, the pilot Wedge Antilles.Resistance Reborn
==Personality and traits==
Shirene had dark eyes, dark skin, a bulky physique, and close-cropped curly black hair. She loved her wife, Esmelle, and sometimes called her "Esme" as an endearment. Though not related to Temmin by blood, she cared for the boy like a son even though she and her wife felt that they were unequipped to serve as parental figures for such a strong-willed youth. Shirene and Temmin developed a stronger relationship during the years he spent working in his junk shop, as the young man helped her and her wife with household needs.
The woman exuded a mediating presence to those she first met, such as Kay Vess, in comparison to her wife Esmelle's more suspicious interactions with strangers. She also sought to maintain peace between Norra and Esmelle when they argued, using a soothing tone when diffusing the situation. By 4 ABY, Shirene enjoyed living on Akiva and refused to leave her home to flee offworld. However, she supported Norra's efforts to take Temmin with her off of Akiva and allowed the pilot to use her bala-bala speeder. Shirene spoke Basic.
==Equipment==
While in Sashin, Shirene wore a green shirt, a tan jacket, and dark colored pants with wide pockets. Shirene and Esmelle's home on Akiva was equipped with a flood-pump and an evaporator. The home's basement housed a collection of tools and spare parts and served as a workshop. Their kitchen contained supplies to make tea, including a thermajug. The married pair also owned a blue bala-bala speeder with a braced box-rack and chain and ball-hitch.
==Behind the scenes==
Shirene first appeared in Aftermath, a 2015 novel written by Chuck Wendig as the first installment in Star Wars: The Aftermath Trilogy. Wendig strongly defended his inclusion of LGBTQIA+ characters in Aftermath following the novel's release, indicating that Shirene and Esmelle's role in raising Temmin was important and made them unique and compelling characters. Shirene was later depicted for the first time in Star Wars Outlaws, a 2024 video game developed by Massive Entertainment.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars Outlaws 
*Aftermath 
*Aftermath: Empire's End 
*Resistance Reborn 
==Sources==
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==Notes and references==
Category:Akivans
Category:Females
Category:Humans
Category:Individuals with she/her pronouns
Category:LGBTQIA+ individuals