Thane Kyrell

Rebel Alliance Starfighter Pilot
 Age
 Status
 Weight

**Thane Kyrell**, designated **AV-547** in the navy of the Galactic Empire, was a Human from the Outer Rim world of Jelucan, which would be annexed by the Empire eleven years before the start of the Galactic Civil War. He pursued his childhood dream of becoming a pilot along with his best friend Ciena Ree, graduating from the Royal Academy on Imperial Center. After he saw the Death Star destroy the planet Alderaan, he then eventually joined the Rebel Alliance to end the tyranny of the Empire. After spending some time as the co-pilot of the Wookiee Lohgarra, Thane joined the Corona Squadron, an X-Wing starfighter squadron. He fought in several key battles of the Galactic Civil War such as the Battles of Hoth, Endor, and Jakku. Despite being on opposing sides, Thane and Ciena still maintained a connection that became one of romance.

## Biography

### Early Life

**Thane Kyrell** was born a member of higher society on the world of Jelucan in the Outer Rim. Son of Oris and Ganaire Kyrell and the younger brother of Dalven Kyrell. Thane and his family were Second-Wavers, a group of affluent migrants that had recently settled on the Outer Rim Territories planet of Jelucan. The Second-Wavers were preceded by the First-Wavers, an earlier group of human settlers who had settled in the valleys over five centuries before the rise of the Galactic Empire. Most Second-wavers, including the Thane's family, looked down on the First-Wavers as peasants. In his youth, Thane was often bullied and intimidated by his older brother, whom his parents favored at his expense. Thane also had a strained relationship with his father, who verbally belittled him and physically assaulted him on several occasions.

### Striving for Imperial Service

#### Meeting his Best Friend

At the age of eight, Thane once outsmarted Dalven by identifying the humming engine of a *Lambda*-Class shuttle while traveling to a ceremony to celebrate the establishment of Imperial rule on Jelucan. After listening to Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's speech, Thane's parents left his older brother to babysit him while they attended a private function. When his brother abandoned him to chat with some friends, Thane went behind Tarkin's stage to inspect his shuttle. There, he came to the rescue of a First-Waver girl named Ciena Ree, who was being harassed by a group of Second-Waver boys. Despite being outnumbered and outmatched, Thane sprang to Ciena's defense and fought the bullies. Their fight was interrupted by Grand Moff Tarkin and his entourage, which included several Imperial officers and troopers. While the other boys ran away, Thane and Ciena stayed behind to face Tarkin. After Ciena told Tarkin that Thane had saved her from being beaten up by the older boys, a bemused Tarkin counselled Thane not to fight against superior forces.

When he replied that he had been counting on Tarkin as his superior force, the Grand Moff praised Thane Kyrell for his strategic thinking. Realizing that the two children were curious about the wider galaxy, the Grand Moff quizzed Thane and Ciena about his starship, which they correctly identified as a *Lambda*-Class shuttle. Impressed, Tarkin allowed them to tour his ship and play in the instruments as a cockpit. Having established a rapport with the children, Tarkin took the opportunity to encourage them to serve Emperor Sheev Palpatine by joining the military of the Empire when they came of age. In order to reach that goal, they had to gain entrance to one of the Empire's Imperial Academies. Following their meeting with Tarkin, the two children resolved to study hard so that they could become pilots. When Ciena revealed she did not have a flight simulator of her own, Thane kindly allowed her to share his. For the rest of their childhood, Thane and Ciena bonded over their love of flying and pushed each other to excel and pursue their dream of flying in the Navy.

#### Practicing his Pilot Skills

Over the next five years, Ciena regularly visited Thane's household where she practiced on Thane's flight simulator. Thane was also tutored in mathematics and the sciences by the family's tutor droid CZ-1. While his parents tolerated Ciena, his brother Dalven mocked her for her poverty and "old-fashioned ways". On one occasion, Thane had struck Dalven in the cheek before their parents pulled them apart. Though his brother had forbidden him the use of his V-171 airspeeder, Thane and Ciena flaunted this rule and took rides in the airspeeder. At thirteen, Thane once managed to sneak out of a mathematics test by bribing CZ-1 with the offer of a lubrication bath, which the droid heartily accepted. After taking a flying fox to his family's hangar, he encountered Ciena, who had arrived in her family's ridgecrawler. After bantering, the two friends borrowed Dalven's airspeeder for a joy ride and flew to their secret hideout, a cave called "The Fortress". After discussing Imperial politics, Thane asked Ciena why she frequently used the phrase "look through my eyes." Ciena then revealed that she had a twin sister named Wynnet Ree who had died a few hours after her birth. By the age of fourteen, Thane and Ciena were studying for the entrance exams for the Academy's preparatory course.

Since their homeworld of Jelucan had supported the dissolved Separatist Alliance, the Galactic Empire had imposed a quota on prospective Imperial cadets coming from their world. During revision, Thane encouraged Ciena to persevere despite the odds. While Oris had pulled strings to ensure his older brother Dalvern's admission into a Imperial Academy, he did no such favors for his younger son. As a result, Thane Kyrell had to "pull himself up by his own bootstraps". Due to their diligence and hard work, Thane and Ciena were admitted into the Jelucan preparatory academy, which prepared locals for the Imperial Academy. At the age of fifteen, Thane's relationship with his father underwent a downward spiral. On one occasion, Oris physically assaulted his younger son during a fit of rage, leaving punches, bruises, and lashes all over his body. As a result, Thane Kyrell came to harbor a deep hatred for his father and resolved to gain admission to an Imperial Academy so that he could leave Jelucan for good. Unable to turn to either one of his parents, Thane instead turned to Ciena Ree, who comforted him and attended to the back wounds from his father with curative skin sealant.

### Attending the Royal Academy

#### Arriving on Imperial Center

As the most accomplished students of the Jelucan preparatory courses, Thane and Ciena were selected at the age of sixteen to attend the prestigious Royal Imperial Academy on Coruscant; which supplied officers for the Imperial Navy. The two teenagers were pleased because they would be able to continue their friendship while studying at the Imperial Academy. While Ciena's parents accompanied their daughter, Thane made his own way to the spaceport after wishing his parents farewell. Due to his estranged relationship, Thane was relieved that they did not accompany him. Once they arrived on Coruscant, Thane felt lost and overwhelmed in the city world. By contrast, Ciena was excited because she spent her entire life preparing for this dream. After landing on Coruscant, Thane met roommates Nash Windrider, the son of an Alderaanian carpet maker, and Ved Foslo, a Coruscanti and the son of an Imperial general. While Thane and Windrider took an instant liking to each other, the two cadets found their other room mate Foslo arrogant and snobbish. Thane Kyrell and the other freshmen later attended an induction ceremony where the Commandant Deenlark exhorted the Imperial cadets to put aside their ties to their home planets and to redirect their total loyalty to the Empire foremost.

#### Romantic Feelings for Ciena

Despite Deenlark's rhetoric, Thane and Ciena promised to continue their friendship and were relieved to learn that they would be attending some of their classes together. Putting Jelucan behind them, the two resolved to train to be Imperial officers. For the next three years, Thane endured the Academy's rigorous curriculum and studied science, mathematics, piloting, and physical training. All cadets were subject to a battery of tests. Due to the extremely challenging curriculum, the Academy had a high attrition rate. Despite the odds, Thane and Ciena continued their studies and earned very high rankings in their class. While they challenged each other to excel, both maintained a close friendship. In addition, Thane developed a warm friendship with cadet Windrider. While training together, Thane shared about his time growing up on Jelucan including his dysfunctional relationship with his family. Thane was heartened to learn about Nash Windrider's much more enlightened upbringing on Alderaan. About three months after arriving on Coruscant, Thane encountered his older brother Dalven at the Imperial military dispensary while collecting a pair of larger boots. Due to their acrimonious relationship, Thane had not kept in touch with his older brother.

This was not a warm reunion with Dalven remarking his surprise that Thane had not washed out yet. Thane then quickly discovered that Dalven had performed poorly in his studies at the Imperial Academy and had been assigned to work as a third class clerical officer. For Thane, this was another instance of him besting his overbearing brother. As the months passed, Thane's friendship with Ciena blossomed into a romantic relationship, though they did not act on it since the Imperial Academy prohibited romantic liaisons between students. Later, Thane and his fellow cadets took part in a flying exercise called Small Craft Flight which involved riding speeder bikes. This exercise involved the cadets flying through ten Reitgen Hoops near the Royal Academy. While flying, Thane's speeder bike became entangled with Ciena's. With much difficulty, the two managed to land their bikes safely while at the same time winning the race. The instructor was displeased with the two cadets for finding a loophole in the exercise but reluctantly split the prize and awarded them twenty-five points each. Fearful that two cadets from the same homeworld were close friends, the Academy's Office of Student Outcomes engineered an incident to split up the two cadets.

#### Arguments with Ciena Ree

Six months into their first year at the Royal Academy, Thane's relationship with Ciena experienced a strain during their "laser cannon" project incident. As part of an exercise, cadets had to repair the cannons on their TIE Fighters using improvised spareparts. After Thane and Nash had left the repair bay, an unidentified intruder had managed to gain access to the facility and severed the wires inside the cannon. The intruder also tampered with the door panel, planting a falsified layer of data that implicated Ciena. The following day, Thane's laser cannon failed to fire. After determining it had been sabotaged, commander Harn checked the door computerand found "evidence" that Ciena had been the last person to visit the room after Thane. Despite the evidence stacked against his friend, Thane believed that Ciena was innocent and that she had been framed. Ciena was summoned to Deenlark's office for disciplining. Ciena protested her innocence and was supported by her classmate Jude Edivon, who presented evidence that someone had tampered with the door computer in order to frame Ciena. Based on the evidence, Jude suspected Thane was the culprit. Thane was promptly summoned to Deenlark's office where the two cadets received a dressing down from the commandant.

Unwilling to ascertain the authenticity of the data level, Deenlark failed their laser cannon assignment and downgraded their class rankings. Following their disciplining, Thane and Ciena assured each other that they did not sabotage the laser cannon and the door computer. When Ciena pointed the finger at the snobbish Ved Foslo, Thane pointed out that his room mate was a "stickler" for the rules. Later, the two cadets met up with Jude, a skilled slicer who was skilled with computer systems. Jude apologized that her earlier analysis had falsely implicated Thane and uncovered evidence that the Office of Student Outcomes had engineered the incident. While Thane was determined to clear his and Ciena Ree's names, Ciena was unwilling to challenge the Academy authorities since she feared jeopardizing her marks and career prospects. A heated argument ensued between the two friends which ended with Thane storming out after Ciena had mentioned his hated father. While Thane and Ciena later reconciled, their friendship was damaged by the "laser cannon" incident. As a result, the two found themselves unable to confide in each other as they had previously. Over next two and a half years, Thane and Ciena devoted their energies to scoring top marks and reaching the top slots of their class.

#### Reestablishing a Friendship

As a result, the two cadets clashed frequently for the top place. During his studies at the Academy, Thane began to feel disillusioned with the Empire's policies. While he questioned the HoloNet reports which portrayed the Galactic Empire in a positive light, the young cadet still despised the rebellion as terrorists. Still, Thane conceded that they emerged as a reaction against the Empire's increasing authoritarianism. By the end of his third year, Thane had been assigned to the elite fighter track while Ciena had been picked for the commander track. While collecting a new set of uniform at the uniform dispensary, Thane reconciled with Ciena and comforted her after learning that her pet muunyak had died on Jelucan. A few weeks before graduating from the Imperial Academy, Thane and Ciena were part of a handful of cadets handpicked to attend a ball at the Imperial Palace. The ball was attended by several dignitaries including Princess Leia Organa, daughter of the Alderaanian Senator Bail Organa and a staunch critic of the Emperor's policies. After learning from a drunken Foslo that the Academy had staged the "laser cannon" incident to force them to direct their loyalties toward towards the Empire, Thane and Ciena decided to out side their differences and fully reaffirmed their friendship.

### Losing Faith in the Empire

#### Service on the Death Star

Upon graduation, Thane Kyrell was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and assigned to a secret Imperial space station, which was later revealed to be the Death Star. Shortly later, he was joined by Ciena, who arrived on *Imperial-*Class Star Destroyer *Devastator*, which had captured Princess Leia Organa. While stationed on the Death Star, Thane witnessed Alderaan's destruction and was horrified. Soon after, he was assigned to scout an abandoned rebel military base that had been built on the planet Dantooine. He soon came to view them as an organized military force that had the potential to orchestrate precise, yet small attacks on any Imperial installations or minor planets that were under Imperial control. While he was there, the Death Star was destroyed, and the lack of communications from the rest of the Empire left him very worried for Ciena's safety. When he finally did return to the Imperial fleet, he briefly met with Ciena, with whom he shared a first kiss before they were forced to split ways again. Already disillusioned with the Empire for the destruction of the planet Alderaan and their massive disregard for the lives lost on the Death Star, Thane Kyrell witnessed the harsh maltreatment of the Bodach'i slaves on his next posting on the planet Kerev Doi, which pushed him over the edge.

#### Leaving the Imperial Navy

Guilt-ridden and horrified by the plight of the alien species, Thane had made the decision to desert the Empire. After an awkward chat with Ciena via hologram, Thane put his plan into action the following day. After withdrawing credits from his bank account, he used them to buy spice and then bartered the spice for unmarked credits. Thane Kyrell used the proceeds to buy civilian clothes and then secured passage on an independent freighter owned by a Falleen pilot. After deserting the Empire, he visited his home planet Jelucan in order to hide from the Imperial Security Bureauagents that would be tasked to find him. Upon returning home to Valentia, Thane was dismayed to find the city disfigured by what he regarded as ugly Imperial buildings and walls. While Thane toyed with the idea of returning to his parents, he decided that he was unwilling to submit himself to his father's drunken rages and his mother's outrage. Instead, Thane rented a small flat and subsisted on street food for several days. Having lost his purpose in life, Thane descended into a state of despondency. Ciena Ree was sent to find him, soon discovering him hiding inside his Jelucan flat. Upon finding Thane, Ciena tried to convince her best friend to return to Imperial service in the Navy or else be hunted down by the Empire.

She reassured Thane that he would not be arrested since the Empire had a shortage of qualified officers. However, he was adamant that he would never return to the Empire. He recounted his disillusionment arising from the destruction of Alderaan and the enslavement of the Bodach'i. When she pointed out that the rebels murdered their mentor Tarkin and friend Jude, Thane assured her that he would not become a member of the rebellion. During their meeting, Ciena Ree admitted her disillusionment with the Empire but was unwilling to break her oath. When Thane disagreed, she remarked that second-wavers broke their promises. Following a tense discussion, Thane and Ciena made love for the first time, but it was short lived. Unable to convince Thane to return to the Empire, Ciena told him to leave Jelucan and catch the next freighter to an independent world. Ciena warned Thane that she would report him to the Empire if he had not left by then. Breaking her oath to the Empire for the first and last time, she warned him not to indenture himself and advised him to find work in the Outer Rim. Thane reluctantly accepted Ciena's advice and the two embraced each other. To save him, Ciena told her Captain Ronnadam that he had committed suicide due to his grief over the losses on the Death Star.

#### Path to the Rebellion

Seven months after the Battle of Yavin, Thane had found work as a pilot and navigator on *Mighty Oak Apocalypse* under the Wookiee captain Lohgarra. While Lohgarra hired several itinerant crew members, her only other permanent member of the crew was a JJH2 model astromech droid. Though Thane concealed his past from the other crew, he confided in Lohgarra. Under Lohgarra's captaincy, Thane and her crew often went on missions to help desperate worlds that were abused or neglected by the Galactic Empire, something Thane felt fulfilling and purposeful. While Thane was helping the Tarsunt engineer Brill and Ithorian maintenance officer Methwat Tann deliver a shipment of constructor droids on the cold planet of Zeitooine, he witnessed a local family being arrested by Imperial Stormtroopers. Thane was so distressed by the plight of the family that he forgot to buy a new power cell; when Brill questioned him, he claimed that the shops did not have anything in their price range. Eighteen months after the Battle of Yavin, Thane and Lohgarra took part in a mission to deliver medical supplies to Oulanne following a flood that left many without food, water, and medic gear.

While assisting the relief efforts, he was recruited by pilot Wedge Antilles who had also sent aid from the Rebel Alliance. Although they did not have much to offer by way of supplies, this valiant display of concern for the great many people of the systems under their control forced Thane to contemplate joining the Rebel Alliance. Although he resented them for destroying the Death Star and killing many of his friends, he knew they were his best chance of stopping the cruel acts of the Empire. Thane subsequently returned to the *Mighty Oak Apocalypse* to inform Lohgarra of Wedge's offer to bring him to the Rebel Alliance. Lohgarra too felt sympathetic to the rebels' plight, given that her own people were enslaved by the Galactic Empire. However, she stated that if they were to join the Rebel Alliance, the decision would have to be unanimously made by the crew, which would not happen for some time. He then confided to her his concerns that by joining the Rebel Alliance, it would mean fighting against his old friends in the Galactic Empire, most notably his life long friend Ciena Ree. Lohgarra assured him that the Force had a way of bringing people together when the time was right.

### Member of the Alliance

#### Before and After Hoth

After joining the Rebellion, Thane was assigned to Echo Base on the icy planet of Hoth. As a starfighter pilot, Thane was assigned to Corona Squadron. While braving the icy cold, Thane befriended a pilot named Dak Ralter, who later served as the rebel Luke Skywalker's gunner during the Battle of Hoth. Despite joining the rebellion, Thane was uncomfortable with Luke for killing several of his former classmates on the Death Star and avoided contact with him. When the Empire had discovered their base and attacked Hoth, Thane flew a snowspeeder with the Twi'lek co-pilot Yendor, who served as his gunner. Thane and Yendor's mission during the battle was to harry the Imperial ground assault forces until the rebel transports could flee into hyperspace. Using Thane's knowledge of the blueprints of an AT-AT and his extensive experience in flying, the two were able to destroy a walker by exploiting the weak spot in the armor of the walker, the ankle. After the last transport had escaped, the two raced to their X-Wings and met with the rebels at the rendezvous. As Thane left Hoth, he saw the Imperial fleet and realized one day he might encounter Ciena and unknowingly kill her.

Unknown to Thane, his lover Ciena learned that he had joined the Rebellion after analyzing footage of his snowspeeder harrying AT-AT Walkers during the Battle of Hoth. Due to their love, she did not report him to his Imperial superiors. After reaching the MC80 star cruiser *Liberty*, the base of Corona Squadron, Thane learned from Wedge Antilles that Dak had died during the Battle of Hoth, which then greatly depressed Thane. As he was handing out equipment to new recruits, he was reunited with his old friend from his days in the Royal Imperial Academy, Kendy Idele, who had also deserted from Imperial service. Thane and his rebel comrades spent the rest of the day accounting for lost personnel and stock following the retreat from Hoth. With some time to spare, Thane decided to get himself drunk with jet juice. After he had stumbled through the *Liberty*'s corridors, he finally decided to sit down against a wall, before an unidentified woman appeared to support him and guide him to a chair. In his drunken stupor, Thane Kyrell spilled out his entire life story including how much he cared for Ciena Ree to the unidentified woman, who then offered a cup of water to help him.

Thane later found himself waking up in his bunk, where a coy Yendor revealed that their squadron was due for a briefing in a half hour. After getting a shower and a treatment from 2-1B, Thane arrived in the briefing and was mortified to find that the woman who helped him the previous night was none other than the Chancellor Mon Mothma, the leader of the Rebel Alliance. After Mothma told Corona Squadron that they would be permanently based on the *Liberty* doing special reconnaissance missions for the Rebel Alliance, she requested to speak with Thane privately. Once they were alone, he then apologized for his previous unprofessional behavior. Mon Mothma told him that she was not concerned with the events from the night before, but wanted to make sure that he did not doubt himself in battle again. He assured her that he was devoted to their cause, and he took heed of her words that it was acceptable to love someone on the other side of the war so long as he loved the principles of the Rebel Alliance more. Later on, Thane and fellow Corona Squadron pilots took part in a mission to scout the Outer Rim world D'Qar for activity pointing toward Galactic Empire's forces.

There had been reports from deep-cover agents on Coruscant that the Empire was shipping large amounts of material for an unknown project, later revealed to be the second Death Star. While Corona Squadron found no sign of Imperial activity, they identified D'Qar as a possible base. After returning to the *Liberty*, Thane chatted to one of his fellow pilots Kendy, who had been Ciena's former bunk mate at the Imperial Academy. While Kendy respected Ciena, she opined that "good people" were eventually corrupted by the Empire. Following a heated discussion, Thane concluded that the woman he loved was gone. While listening to Imperial transmissions from his home world of Jelucan, Thane learned that Ciena's mother Verine Ree was being accused in an Imperial court of 'embezzling' funds from the local mine that she managed. This prompted Thane to request a few days leave from his commanding officer, so that he may stand with Ciena Ree's family during a time of strife and betrayal. Thane Kyrell was granted this leave on the merits that he would return, and that he wouldn't be missing from his duties when the Alliance Fleet would jump to another system.

#### Visiting the Ree Family

When he reached Jelucan, he was alarmed and saddened by the state of his homeworld, where the sky was black with coal mining soot and the mountains were hollowed out from mining. He journeyed through the rapidly modernizing city Valentia, awed by the fact that the valley folks and second-wavers were no longer distinguishable from each other. They all now wore factory made clothing supplied by the Empire. Thane rented a ridgecrawler and drove to Ciena's home where he reunited with the now Lieutenant Commander Ree. At Ciena's house, he planted the customary maroon dyed flag into the sandy trench in front, attempting to make amends with her. Throughout their interactions, Thane assumed that Ciena did not suspect he had joined the Rebel Alliance. The two flew together in Thane's old V-171 airspeeder, and it was as if they were never apart. Returning to the Fortress, their childhood hideout, Ciena then revealed that she knew he joined the rebels and demanded to know why he would join a group she designated "terrorists" who had killed Jude. Thane passionately defended the efforts of the rebellion and retorted that Palpatine was the terrorist for ruling by fear.

Although they could not agree on who was fighting on the right side of the war, there was no denying the passion they had for each other. They shared a night together and made love a second time under the blankets. Afterwards, Ciena revealed that she knew he was involved in the Battle of Hoth by how he flew his snowspeeder. In turn, Thane told her how he respected his superiors in the Alliance and how they in turn trusted him to return to Jelucan. After the trial of Ciena's mother, Thane returned to the rebel fleet, where he admitted to General Carlist Rieekan and Corona Squadron regarding his meeting with Ciena and her status as an Imperial officer. His admission took everyone by surprise, which made him the least popular member of the squadron. Despite his assurance that his starfighter did not have a tracker, it was checked anyway. Rieekan remarked the galaxy was full of other women who weren't Imperials while Smikes chided Kyrell for leaving to "bang his ex". When Yendor warned that Ciena could kill them, Thane defended his judgement and told them to stayed out of it. While sympathetic, Kendy then told Thane that his love for Ciena Ree would tear him apart.

#### Before and After Endor

Following his trip to Jelucan, Thane and his fellow Corona Squadron pilots settled on 5251977, a planet that served as a base of the Alliance. Due to the world's slow rotation, days and nights lasted weeks. While stationed on 5251977, Thane learned that the Alliance Fleet was massing for a planned assault. Thane was very encouraged seeing the *Mighty Oak Apocalypse* again. Lohgarra and her crew had decided to throw their support to the rebellion. Ten hours after arriving on 5251977, Thane and Corona Squadron received new orders from rebel Admiral Gial Ackbar, commander of the Alliance Fleet. Sensors had detected an unusually high level of Imperial ships in the Hudalla System. The Corona Squadron was ordered to observe the Imperial fleet and to obtain as much intelligence as possible. Upon arriving in the system, Thane and his fellow pilots discovered a large Imperial fleet, which had been massing for the arrival of the Emperor at Death Star II above the Forest Moon of Endor. While they were assessing the size of the Imperial fleet, the Corona Squadron was attacked by a squadron of TIE/IN Interceptors led by pilots Ciena Ree and Nash Windrider, his former roommate.

Ree had received secret orders from Admiral Piett to let at least one of the starfighters escape. During the fight, Thane remarked that "this galaxy isn't big enough" across the intercom, which was picked up by both Ciena and Nash. While Ciena was horrified at the prospect of having to fight her lover, Nash was furious that Thane had joined the rebels and sought to kill him. The only thing that allowed Thane and most of Corona Squadron to escape without heavy casualties was Ree's involvement in shielding Thane's X-wing from Nash while he was preparing to jump to hyperspace. While the Imperials lost two TIE fighters, the only Corona fatality was Smikes, who answered to the callsign Corona Four. Thane Kyrell then participated in the Battle of Endor, where the role of Corona Squadron was to cover the Gold, Red, Green, and Gray Squadrons as they entered the second Death Star. During the pre-battle briefing, Thane was privy to the exact details of the assault on the Forest Moon of Endor including Han Solo's strike team which was tasked with disabling the shield protecting Death Star II. Two days after the briefing, Thane and the rest of the fleet exited hyperspace at Endor.

To their horror, they quickly discovered that Han Solo's strike team had not yet disabled the second Death Star's shield. Under Lando Calrissian's orders, Thane and the other pilots took evasive action when the Imperial fleet launched TIE Fighters and TIE Interceptors. During the Battle of Endor, Thane saw the Death Star's superlaser destroying the *Liberty*, the MC80 star cruiser that had served as the base of Corona Squadron. Under Calrissian's orders, the remaining rebel starfighters and ships ran circles around the Star Destroyers in order to escape the Death Star's blast. While they waited for the shield generators on Endor to be taken down, Thane and his fellow pilots Kendy and the Contessa damaged the engines of the Imperial Star Destroyer *Subjugator*. When the Death Star's shields went down, rebel forces led by Lando, who was flying the *Millennium Falcon* destroyed the second Death Star; killing Palpatine and Darth Vader. Since Ciena was reportedly stationed on the Super Star Destroyer *Executor*, he believed that Ciena died and wore a mourning band in her honor. While Thane took part in the victory celebrations, he found little joy due to his belief that Ciena had died.

### Service to the Republic

Following the Battle of Endor, the Galactic Empire entered a state of chaos as various Imperial officers fought to control the Imperial Remnants. The Rebel Alliance was transformed into a New Republic, which established itself as a rival to a failing Empire. Seeking an alternative to authoritarianism and oppression, many joined the New Republic. Despite his pessimistic outlook, Thane came to regard the New Republic as a fairer and more humane government which sought to address the wrongs of the Empire including slavery, pollution, and devoting more expenditure to civilians. While Thane was taken back by the rapid disintegration of the Empire, he and his fellow comrades found themselves still fighting an all-out war from the Imperial Remnants. Barely a year after the Battle of Endor, Thane and his fellow Corona pilots took part in the defense of the planet Naboo and helped beat back an Imperial fleet. This marked the third attempt made by the Empire to attack Naboo, which had joined the New Republic. Following the dogfight, Yendor invited Thane and the other pilots to visit the Gungan city of Otoh Gunga in order to taste a dessert that took at least four hominids to eat.

#### The Empire's Last Stand

However, Thane politely declined his friend's offer because he was still mourning for Ciena; unaware that she survived Endor. Due to his friendship with Ciena, Thane had also gained an appreciation of the Force; something that mystified his fellow pilots including Kendy. With the anniversary of the Battle of Endor only a few weeks away, Thane vowed to remove his mourning band. One year after the destruction of the second Death Star, Thane took part in the Battle of Jakku; the last major battle of the Galactic Civil War. As an Imperial defector, Thane was assigned to a boarding part that was tasked with capturing the Imperial Star Destroyer *Inflictor* for the New Republic; whose nascent fleet faced a critical shortage of ships. Using their knowledge of Imperial ship design and procedures, the New Republic forces then boarded the *Inflictor*. Thane's knowledge of Star Destroyers came was useful when the strike team disabled the ship's engines and self-destruct system. Unknown to Thane, Ciena was the Imperial Captain of the *Inflictor* during the assault.

During the fighting, Thane recognized the voice of Ciena Ree being played throughout the vessel on the intercoms, calling for the evacuation of all Imperial personnel within the designated time limits to prevent the *Inflictor* from being captured by the Rebel forces. Telling the rest of his crew to abandon the ship, he headed to the bridge, which Ciena had sealed off. Remembering the quote Ciena used to show her deceased sister beautiful or surprising moments in her life, "*Look through my eyes*", he cracked the password and entered the bridge. Although Ciena's oath required her to see the ship destroyed, he tried to take her with him, and the two fought. Using his physical strength, he subdued her and carried her away to an escape pod, narrowly ejecting into the atmosphere in time to survive. Thane and an unconscious Ciena survived their crash-landing on the sands of Jakku. After landing, they were picked up by a squad of Republic soldiers. Realizing that Ciena had been wounded, Thane Kyrell called for the team's medic to attend to her injuries.

#### Aftermath of the Conflict

Instead the soldiers pulled out their blasters while the leader clamped a pair of magnetic binders on Ciena Ree's wrists. Before Thane could utter a word of protest, he realized that the New Republic soldiers were merely doing their duty by capturing a high-ranking Imperial officer who would be tried for her crimes. Following the Battle of Jakku, Thane finally managed to visit Ciena in prison after a week of repeated attempts. Ciena had finally relented but had to wait for Thane to return from a mission. While Ciena was upset that Thane had not allowed her to die, he insisted that he done the right thing. Although Ciena Ree had remained loyal to the Empire, she could see its faults and wished that her oath no longer stood. She thought that the New Republic would make an example out of her, torturing and executing her, but Thane assured her that even if she didn't give up any intelligence, the Republic did not treat its prisoners of war that way and were very lenient. He remained confident in the goodness and fairness of the Republic, vowing to wait for her as long as it took so they could be together again. Ciena Ree then reluctantly agreed to accept Thane Kyrell's offer of friendship.

## Abilities

**Expert Pilot:** As a child, Thane had a passion for starships and piloting and aspired to join the Imperial Navy. As a pilot and former Imperial cadet, Thane Kyrell was a skilled pilot who was selected for the Imperial Navy's elite track. He knew how to operate a blaster and could also engage in hand-to-hand combat. Thane knew how to improvise a laser cannon using spare parts. After deserting the Empire, he put his skills to good use by working as the Wookiee Lohgarra's co-pilot and navigator. As a starfighter pilot, Thane had joined the Rebel Alliance's Starfighter Corps and flew in the Corona Squadron. Due to his training at the Imperial Academy and knowledge of Star Destroyer layouts, he was hand selected for a special New Republic mission to capture a Star Destroyer during the Battle of Jakku, the final battle of the war.