Leta Weyland

> Monster? Sometimes we must be monsters to fight monsters, my dear.
>
> Leta Weyland

Leta Weyland (designation TC-4263) was a parasitologist in the First Order Medical Corps, who had secondary training as a general medical practitioner as a xenobiologist. Her specialty was the study and modification of parasites, but her passion for knowledge, particularly about other species, led her to becoming a medical practitioner for other species.

Born on Zeltros to a Zeltron mother and a human father, she lived an early life of indulgence and indolence, but her human nature left her with a hunger for knowledge that a life on Zeltros could not fulfil, and her workaholic tendencies earned scorn from her more free-natured Zeltrons. This scorn and pressure to change ended up in pushing her to seek a new way to reach pinnacles of knowledge otherwise not accessible on Zeltros- financially or socially. It was a chance encounter - and one night stand- with a masked man that ended up giving her contact information on the organisation he was associated with, and pushing her into the arms of the First Order.

## Biography

#### Early Life

Leta Gabrielle Weyland was born to her Zeltros mother, Sayaadi Idarine, and her human father, David Weyland on Zeltros in 0 ABY. Zeltros had little care of the politics of what was going on with the Empire and the Republic's Rebellion- Zeltros was always a neutral planet more focused on pleasure and easy life styles than conflict.

Leta grew up struggling with her human natures of hungering for knowledge and advancement, while living in society where good moods and the pursuit of enjoyment were of top priority. Her innate telepathic abilities were weaker than full-blooded Zeltrons, but her pheromones were stronger, and harder to control- especially with her frustration at her desires being unobtainable. This caused a great deal of conflict with her fellow Zeltrons, as negative emotions such as anger, fear, or depression were shunned, because the telepathy of Zeltrons allowed them to read and even feel the emotions of others.

She finished basic grade school at the young age of 15, and sought higher education, and found she was utterly fascinated by biology- especially pertaining to other species, and parasites. Parasitology wasn't a concern on Zeltros, and xenobiology was limited to keeping off-world guests happy in a safe manner, and treating them during their stay.

Her frustration at the lack of opportunities grew to be such a negative influence, that her parents had been pressured into sending her out to seek the education she desired, and she was given what she needed to reach the Core worlds to do so by the local government. At the age of 18, she was given a grant, a ship, and supplies to seek her education elsewhere in an informal form of exile. Leta was conflicted by this decision- elated at the opportunity to pursue her dreams, but crushed that she was being sent away because she didn't fit in.

#### Newfound Family

During her travels to the Core, Leta decided to explore other societies first, and to get field experience. She got firsthand experience exploring new terrain and gathering samples of new parasites and other microorganisms, while also learning field medicine from a senior doctor. She used these blossoming skills to treat her expedition members of varying species, and in the process, learned her telepathy and pheromones were much easier to control when she was surrounded by different, non-Zeltron individuals. She also learned to use various technologies to suppress the colour of her skin and pass as a human when necessary, as she found that her Zelton appearance attracted unwanted attention.

Leta greatly enjoyed her time with her new-found family, which consisted mostly of women:

* Sikaava, a Zabrak geologist
* Gilura, a Twi'lek sharpshooter
* Phileina and Linya, twin human slicers
* Nasirra, a Mirialan doctor.
* Kuthriraan, a Gurlanin surveyor and scout
* Shadra, an Umbaran epidemiologist

The team also had a few male members:

* Daerin and Jaros, both human archaelogists
* Markir, a Pantoran historian.

With this group, she learned about her fields of interest, as well as basic field combat- something she never would have learned on Zeltros.

During a stop-over to her next expedition, Leta and her squad took some time to relax at a bar. They had found a starchart that proved the famed planet Dromund Kaas, had not been lost, and celebrated their find. Due to her extra liver from her Zeltron biology, Leta easily outdrank her squadmates without being affected- catching the attention of another group across the bar.

#### Meeting Ren

Leta found herself approached by a bulk of a man, face covered in a blank mask and bare torso covered in scars and burns. He introduced himself simply as "Ren." He complimented her drinking ability, and asked if she wanted to join him for another round. She tentatively accepted, and he removed his mask to take drinks with her. Leta was immediately attracted to his ruggedly handsome face, and she complimented his white hair. She asked him about his burns, and he countered with asking about her drinking ability.

One drink led to another, which led to one thing after another. Leta ended up taking Ren back to her hotel room, and during their night together, Leta dropped her mask and Ren was delighted to find out she was a Zeltron. The two of them had an enjoyable evening, and afterwards, they talked about their next location. Leta told him her expedition was on the hunt for Dromund Kaas, and Ren's interest was piqued again- he and his men had been searching for the same planet.

The two decided to pool their resources, and take on the expedition together. The scientists were searching for Dromund Kaas for the famed former capital of the Galactic Empire- Kaas City- and the data, technology and history contained within. Ren and his Knights were seeking the same planet for the infamous Dark Temple, and the powerful artefacts and weapons it contained. Between the chart pieces Ren had obtained, and the starchart Leta's expedition had found, they had a full map to the lost Imperial Capital.

#### The Dromund Kaas Expedition

The planet was in ruins, abandoned, and overrun with Dromun Kaas's jungle and swamp flora and fauna, and due to centuries of no civilisation or unnatural interference, it all had grown, even evolved in some cases. The expedition was thrilled, taking samples, making observations, downloading whatever data they could recover. Meanwhile, the Knights of Ren delved into the Dark Temple. What the sought, they never told the scientific expedition.

During the month long exploration of the city, the expedition encountered oversized predators, were swarmed by insects, and were nearly stampeded over by panicked prey animals, but nothing severe enough to deter them. It wasn't until some of the party members began to have some unusual symptoms that the group put a pause to their expedition.

#### The Illness

At first, Leta had suspected that the environment had done wonders for her gut. Having a mixed system of Zeltron and Human biology, Leta had always had digestive issues, and required supplements to keep her dual livers healthy. However, her digestive tract seemed to be thriving after being on Dromund Kaas, and she wasn't alone. Everyone on the expedition seemed to be at their best digestive health in their lives- which bolstered their mood and overall well being. Morale was high, until things took a turn, and disaster struck.

It started with Daerin. He complained of some flank pain, and examination showed he had tenderness and swelling in his kidneys. His fluid intake was increased, and he was given antibiotics. There was no concern until he took a rapid turn, and began convulsing in pain that Leta and Nasirra recognised to be similar to that of kidney stones- as well as kidney failure. Despite frantic attempts at emergency dialysis, Daerin did not live through the night, leaving the group in a state of shock- but they didn't have time to mourn, as Leta was getting sick, as well.

Leta's sinuses were aching, and her nose had started to bleed sporadically. She passed it off as an allergic reaction to being exposed to the massive amounts of new pollen in the air. It wasn't until her eyes began to hurt, and her vision began to blur, did she begin to be concerned. Unable to pinpoint the issue with their medical equipment- or finding any records in the data they recovered- the expedition began to pack up what they'd found, and prepared to go back to civilisation, to the nearest medcenter. Leta hailed Ren, and told him they were leaving due to health hazards. Ren told her to hold tight, and that he would take them somewhere closer.

Ren left his Knights to continue their search. He and the expedition team boarded the Nightbuzzard. They arrived in a seemingly empty patch of space- where a ship of a design Leta had never seen before came out of hyperspace. A ship similar to a Star Destroyer, but larger, sleeker, and without the iconic command tower.

Over the comm, the Nightbuzzard was hailed by the Finalizer of the First Order.

## The First Order

#### The Parasite

Leta's team was not given a warm welcome upon their arrival to the Finalizer. They were met with cold stares and a thorough search. Only the word of Ren was what got them past security and straight to decontamination- which only confirmed what they already knew: she was infected with a parasite and would need medical attention.

She was sent to an isolation ward, and was seen by a team of medical droids, who examined and ran tests on her for many days. The parasite infecting her sinuses, however, was not in the First Order's database, so a course of various anti-parasitic drugs were administered, but by then, the damage had been done, and it was irreversible.

The group was treated for the parasite, and most of the group made it through unscathed. Leta and Kuthriraan, however, were left forever marked by the parasite's invasion.

Kuthriraan was no longer able to shift forms without agonising pain, which meant her lifelong career was at an end. She nearly died from the damage the parasite was causing to her spleen and one of her hearts, so her grief at the loss of her work was off-set by the gratitude she felt at the help she received. She made a full recovery, but was unable to shapeshift without pain, so she went back home to Qiilura, and retired.

Leta, however, lost her eyesight.

The parasite would have been harmless- even beneficial- if it had remained in the gut. However, it made its way into her bloodstream, and ended up in her sinuses, then in her eyes. It began devouring bacteria in her eye, and once it no longer had food, it attacked the tissue of her eye, and her immune system's inflammatory response damaged her retinas beyond repair.

#### A Decision

While recovering, Leta found herself being visited a man who introduced himself as Nikev Viciu. He told her that he and General Hux had gone over the findings of her expedition, and Hux had sent him down to make her an offer: to join the First Order, to hand over her research, and she would be allowed to continue her research, her education, and would be given top of the line implants to restore her sight.

Leta was then faced with a choice- she could return to Coruscant and try her luck with getting ocular implants on her limited funds, and trying to get more grants for her research; or she could agree to the offer being given to her.

There was no choice- not for Leta. Even if the offer didn't include implants to restore her sight, Leta would have accepted the offer from the First Order.

#### Implants

Leta was outfitted with top of the line ocular implants that possessed a variety of enhanced functions that organic eyes lacked, including the ability for her to feed data directly into the implant so she could view it without use of a screen, or interface with her medical and laboratory equipment.

She also received implants to help with lingering, permanent nerve pain/inflammation from her immune system fighting off her infection, and the affected areas, aside from her eyes, were her spine and hips. The implants were in each illium wing, right above the sciatic notch, and fed into the sciatic nerve. They created a loop that fed from the sciatic nerve and into the implant, which acted as a "dead end" for the nerve path. It wasn't passive, but activated when inflammation/nerve activity reached a certain threshold, and gave pain relief.

Her implants were controlled and maintained by zygomatic interfaces that allowed her to either activate the pain relief, or to interface her implants with her equipment- or other implanted individuals that were trusted enough.

## Work in the First Order

### Research and Development

Leta's main focus in the First Order was research of various microorganisms and the possible beneficial uses for them, as well as medications that can be used to treat them.

She had a sample of the parasite that cost her her sight, and was cultivating it, studying it, and working on trying to turn it into a symbiote rather than a parasite. It was her long term project, working on trying to make something horrifying into something good.

#### General Medical Practitioner

With Leta's knowledge and experience as a field medic treating various species, as well as her higher education in the field of xenobiology and medicine, Leta was the unofficial GP for non-humans and near-humans of the First Order from the Multi-Species Inclusion Program. She offered a safe place for others like herself.

## Personality and Traits

Leta was a dedicated worker, with the tendency to have tunnel vision when it came to her research. When working with her patients, however, she was devoted, protective and relentless in trying to make sure they were healthy, happy, and comfortable.

Leta was rather blunt, and often could come off as being brash, crude or even heavy handed with her manner of speaking, and her social interactions. She never picked up the social cues and finesse that came with being a Zeltron- she also was too accustomed to using her telepathy amongst fellow Zeltrons, and never learned to read physical social cues or verbal tones. Jokes and flirtation would often go right over her head.

## Skills and Abilities

Leta was trained in basic field combat, utilising her natural flexibility to be light on her feet and quick and silent with her movements- being evasive and quiet was a better defense than being able to hold her own in direct combat. Despite this, she also had training with a sniper rifle and a basic blaster pistol, and vibroknives.

Though Leta was poor at socialising, she was an excellent source of comfort to others. She was skilled at using her pheromones to soothe and calm those under her care, and with permission, she would use higher levels to induce a state of euphoria and bliss to alleviate anxiety or panic.

Leta was trained and fully educated in field trauma medicine, general medical practice, xenobiology, and parasitology. She was also fluent in Basic, Sy Bisti, Minnisiat, Huttese, and Taarja.

## Equipment

Leta's equipment included:

* Lab appropriate body suits
* Labcoats
* One standard issue blaster pistol
* Standard issue vibroknife

Leta was not technically military, and did not wear uniforms. Instead, for ceremonies she was asked to attend, she would wear a simple white tunic and slacks with red patches on the upper arm of each sleeve to indicate her status as medical staff.