Anja Gallandro

Anja first met the Solo twins when they were ambushed in a hangar on Ord Mantell. She surprised everyone when she killed the thugs with an ancient, acid-yellow-bladed lightsaber. At the sight of Han Solo, she angrily announced that he killed her father. Solo denied it, but couldn't tell her the truth: her father was killed by a trap while looking for treasure when he didn't heed Solo's warning. Jacen Solo had a small infatuation with the older woman, which led to a cooling down with his relationship with Tenel Ka.

However, Anja was secretly an agent for Czethros, an old rival of Solo's who claimed to be legitimate, but was actually one of the higher ranking members of Black Sun, as he was trying to plant spies and seeds in the New Republic to spy on. Her payments came in the form of doses of andris spice, which helped increase her senses and allow her to fight like a Jedi with her lightsaber. Although she denied it inside, she was addicted to the spice outside of battle. It also gave Czethros a good hold on Anja.

Hoping to prove his good intentions, Han offered to help end a twenty-five-year civil war on her backwater homeworld of Anobis. There, Solo met with the two rival factions and brokered a truce between them. This made Anja wonder whether her hatred for Solo had been misplaced and she agreed to join the Solo twins and their companions at the Jedi Praxeum to discover her abilities.

Later, Lando Calrissian invited the twins and their friends to Cloud City, where he wanted them to be the first try out the new SkyCenter Galleria amusement park which he had invested in through the use of repurchased interests from the spice mining world of Kessel and shares from a mining operation on Varn. However, things went bad when a business associate of Calrissian named Cojahn was found dead. Worse, the Jedi discovered whom Czethros actually was and his plot for galactic domination. Jacen, Tenel Ka, and Lowie were also ambushed by several Ugnaught Black Sun mercenaries in the lower levels of Cloud City, and Jacen was almost killed. For the first time in a long time, Anja actually felt remorse by Jacen's apparent death, and also realized that Czethros didn't care about her as she had thought.

As a result, Czethros was targeted by the New Republic and arrests for him were issued on many worlds. However, he had managed to evade capture and went underground. Unfortunately for Anja, she had realized that without Czethros there would be no supplier for the spice that fueled her addiction.

Anja then stole Zekk's ship Lightning Rod and traveled to the ocean world of Mon Calamari, where she hoped to retrieve a hidden stash of spice beneath the planet's frozen ice cap. Jacen, Tenel Ka, and Zekk pursued Anja to Mon Calamari while Jaina and Lowbacca went to Kessel to help protect Nien Nunb from Czethros' takeover. On Mon Calamari, at the resort city of Crystal Reef, Jacen confronted Anja while she tried to lease a Mon Calamari submersible Elfa to hunt for the hidden spice stash. She was helped by Jedi healer Cilghal to cure her of her spice addiction. They succeeded in destroying Czethros's stash of spice on Mon Calamari, where she also let her lightsaber fall into the waters. Czethros was apprehended, and Anja decided to work with Lando, but not before apologizing to Han Solo and accepting her father's true fate.

The true fate of Anja's father was detailed in Han Solo and the Lost Legacy. After becoming aware of Solo's reputation as a gunslinger in the previous novel, the elder Gallandro became obsessed with testing his skills against the Corellian's and eventually confronted him in the Treasure Vaults of Xim the Despot. Though Solo's fast draw came close, Gallandro was faster and dealt the smuggler a disabling injury. Intending to claim the treasure for himself, he then attempted to kill Solo's associate, Skynx, in a "no weapons" security zone. This triggered the vault's automated defenses, disintegrating him. Solo had noticed that Skynx, anticipating the betrayal, had removed the warning lights marking the area but Gallandro either did not hear or ignored his warning.

• The Essential Chronology
• A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded
• The New Essential Guide to Characters
• The Official Star Wars Fact File106
• The New Essential Chronology
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia