Erisi Dlarit was a spy for the Galactic Empire who infiltrated Rogue Squadron, then later led the Imperial starfighter forces during the Bacta War. A Human female born on Thyferra, her wealthy family consisted of prominent members of the Xucphra Corporation, which produced the medical substance called bacta. With hopes of protecting Xucphra's interests, Dlarit became a spy for Ysanne Isard, the de facto leader of the Empire. She was hand-picked by Commander Wedge Antilles to join the newly reformed Rogue Squadron in 6.5 ABY.
Dlarit developed a romantic interest in Rogue Squadron pilot Corran Horn during her time with the elite squad, but he largely rebuffed her advances. She orchestrated the sabotage and attempted murder of fellow Rogue pilot Bror Jace, a member of Xucphra's rival bacta company, Zaltin, but otherwise provided little in the way of useful intelligence to Isard. When the New Republic captured the galactic capital of Coruscant, Dlarit provided Horn's starfighter codes to Isard, which resulted in Horn's capture and imprisonment aboard Isard's Executor-class Star Dreadnought flagship, the Lusankya. As Coruscant became devastated by Isard's genetically engineered bioweapon, the Krytos virus, Dlarit helped slow down treatment of the disease by betraying a bacta convoy in the Alderaan system to Warlord Zsinj, who subsequently destroyed the convoy. When Horn escaped the Lusankya, Dlarit fled Coruscant before her identity could be compromised.
Dlarit joined Isard and her associate Fliry Vorru at Thyferra, where Isard took over the planet and gave Xucphra exclusive control of its bacta cartel. Rogue Squadron resigned from the New Republic to launch a private war against Isard, who had established the Thyferran Home Defense Corps and placed Dlarit in command of its fighter wing. Dlarit led an attack on an unarmed civilian colony at Halanit that had purchased bacta from Rogue Squadron. It proved to be a massacre, but Dlarit felt no remorse for the victims. Dlarit began to grow disillusioned with Isard's arrogance and instability, and plotted with Vorru to abandon her. However, when Rogue Squadron launched an assault on Thyferra, Corran Horn engaged Dlarit in a dogfight and shot her down over one of Thyferra's moons, killing her.
The Human female Erisi Dlarit was born and raised on the planet Thyferra, where she lived during the reign of the Galactic Empire. Her father, Aerin Dlarit, and the rest of her family were prominent members of the Xucphra Corporation, one of the two conglomerates which, along with the rival Zaltin Corporation, held a monopoly on the production and refinement of ninety-five percent of the galaxy's supply of the medical substance bacta. Her uncle was a prominent investigator for the company. The members of the Dlarit family were made multi-millionaires through their position with Xucphra, and Erisi grew up in a life of luxury as a result. Her childhood home, the Dlarit estate, was an enormous and visually stunning mansion in a remote location among the Thyferran rainforests, complete with servant staff, elaborate security measures, and a gigantic mountain backdrop with gorgeous cascading waterfalls. Like her father, Erisi reveled in the comforts and status that her wealth afforded her, and she treated the opportunity and material advantages afforded to her as if they were her due. As a result, she developed a blithe disregard for money and a strong sense of superiority over those she considered below her social class.
The bacta cartels remained officially neutral throughout the Galactic Civil War. However, since it was Imperial decrees that allowed the bacta cartels to develop their monopoly, Xucphra harbored secret loyalties toward the Galactic Empire. The Dlarit family shared similar leanings, although their first and foremost loyalty was toward themselves. Erisi grew to develop a strong passion and conviction for the Xucphra Corporation, as well as a genuine love for her home planet of Thyferra. She also developed an equally strong hatred for the Ashern, a movement of the Vratix, the native Thyferran species. The Ashern rebelled against the Xucphra and Zaltin Corporations after growing disenchanted with the Human control over the bacta cartel. Erisi and her family considered them nothing more than murderous traitors.
Dlarit was expected to continue in the family tradition of Xucphra service. However, although she was loyal to the family, she preferred a more adventurous life, and she began to learn starfighter piloting skills. After the tide of the Galactic Civil War turned in favor of the Alliance to Restore the Republic following the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, the Dlarit family feared that their grip on power might be jeopardized. Since their monopoly was formed under the Empire, they feared it might be dissolved under the New Republic form of government. As a result, the Dlarit family became involved with Ysanne Isard, the Director of Imperial Intelligence and de facto leader of the Empire. Erisi Dlarit agreed to serve as a high-placed Imperial spy. By now Dlarit had become an excellent starfighter pilot, and Isard plotted to plant Dlarit in an important position in the New Republic Defense Force, from where she would report directly to Isard.
Dlarit was one of eleven pilots hand-picked by Commander Wedge Antilles to join the elite Rogue Squadron when he reformed the famed squad in 6.5 ABY. Dlarit underwent many hours of X-wing simulator training to prepare for the assignment. Her appointment was in part political, as the New Republic sought to place a representative from both the Xucphra and Zaltin Corporations in the squadron to appease both bacta conglomerates. Likewise, Bror Jace, a prominent member of the Zaltin Corporation, was placed in Rogue Squadron as well. However, Antilles assured Admiral Ackbar, the Supreme Commander of the New Republic Defense Force, that none of the pilots selected for political reasons were inferior to any other candidates. Neither Antilles nor any of the other Rogue pilots displayed any visible resentment toward Dlarit for the political decisions from which she benefited. Due to her assignment to the elite squadron, many Thyferrans came to consider Dlarit a hero.
Although secretly serving Ysanne Isard, Dlarit ostensibly claimed she believed so strongly in the cause for the New Republic that she was willing to leave her life of luxury and security to serve higher ideals. Dlarit was given the call sign Rogue Eight, and fellow pilot Rhysati Ynr became her roommate and wingmate. Nawara Ven, a fellow Rogue pilot and Ynr's lover, believed that the two women would develop a sense of jealousy and competition, but that proved not to be the case, as Dlarit and Ynr got along very well. During Rogue Squadron training exercises, Dlarit tended to perform among the middle of the pack, outperforming such pilots as Lujayne Forge and Peshk Vri'syk, but failing to match the talent of pilots Jace and Corran Horn. She readily and publicly acknowledged that she was not among the best of Rogue Squadron's pilots.
During this time, Dlarit developed a romantic interest in Horn, and acted in an openly flirtatious manner with him. During a training run on Folor, Antilles secretly provided Horn's targeting data to the other Rogues, allowing them to get higher scores at Horn's expense. Afterward, when the Rogue pilots felt badly about the lesson, Dlarit volunteered to personally invite Horn to the DownTime tapcafe, where he bought her a drink. For his part, Horn was attracted to her physical beauty and acknowledged some romantic interest in her, but immediately sensed their differing backgrounds made them unlikely partners for each other.
Dlarit and the rest of the squadron saw their first action at a battle at the planet Hensara. The mission was to protect the Battle of Yavin—a New Republic frigate that had crash-landed on Hensara III—from capture by the Imperial Strike-class cruiser Havoc. The battle was a Rogue Squadron victory with no casualties among their ranks, and Dlarit scored at least two individual kills. Shortly thereafter, the squad was moved to a training base on Talasea, which was intended to serve as a staging area for an eventual move against the Imperial-occupied galactic capital of Coruscant, due to the planet's proximity to the Galactic Core. One night, however, a platoon of Imperial stormtroopers was dispatched by Admiral Devlia to attack the base, based on information provided by Imperial Intelligence agent Kirtan Loor, who deduced it himself by reviewing raw intelligence data. Dlarit escaped the attack unscathed, but Lujayne Forge was killed in her sleep, while Horn and fellow Rogue Squadron pilots Gavin Darklighter and Andoorni Hui suffered serious injuries during the assault. Dlarit attended Forge's funeral, and the loss of Forge severely damaged the squadron's morale.
Dlarit participated in a retaliatory strike against Devlia and his forces at the Grand Isle, his base on the planet Vladet. Dlarit and the other Rogues provided cover as Defender Wing, General Horton Salm's Y-wing bomber squadron, destroyed Grand Isle. Once the bombing was complete, however, the Imperial Carrack-class cruiser Expeditious and Lancer-class frigate Ravager dropped out of hyperspace, leaving the New Republic starfighters and their CR90 Corellian Corvette Eridain outgunned. The New Republic forces were saved by a plan put forth by Horn, who had the Y-wing squad Warden Squadron target his own X-wing with their proton torpedoes, before flying directly toward the Ravager and diving under it at the last minute, causing thirty-two torpedoes to strike and destroy the ship. Despite the success of the mission, Salm ordered Horn confined to his quarters after the battle in anticipation of a court-martial for failure to follow orders and for taking command of Warden Squadron without proper authorization.
Dlarit visited Horn in his quarters and made a sexual advance toward him, claiming that she had believed that she was going to be killed during the battle and that she had felt closer to Horn after he had saved their lives. Although attracted to Dlarit, Horn felt conflicted due to his developing romantic feelings toward the smuggler Mirax Terrik. While he did not explicitly rule out a romantic relationship with Dlarit at a later date, Horn rebuffed her advances, claiming that he did not want to get involved with someone in the squadron. Dlarit encountered Terrik while leaving Horn's quarters. In direct contrast to her warm and friendly nature toward Horn, Dlarit was cold and rude to Terrik, trying to discourage her from visiting Horn by claiming that he could not see civilian visitors. Terrik was equally cold toward Dlarit, whom she began to disparagingly refer to as the "bacta queen."
Rogue Squadron was later transferred to Noquivzor, which was to serve as a launching point for an attack against the Imperial-controlled Borleias. Since Borleias was the fourth planet in the Pyria system, the New Republic Provisional Council determined its close proximity to the Galactic Core made it an ideal location from which to launch attacks against the capital world of Coruscant. However, due to recent security leaks to Ysanne Isard, who had accelerated her counterintelligence efforts against the New Republic in recent months, the identity of the planet and other basic information about the mission parameters were kept confidential from the military forces. Even Antilles and Salm were kept in the dark about the details—Borleias itself was identified during the mission only by the codename Blackmoon. These security measures successfully prevented Dlarit from providing Imperial Intelligence any critical information about the assault. Dlarit did not fall under suspicion for the recent intelligence leaks because the suspicion fell on Rogue Squadron's Executive officer, Tycho Celchu, whom many believed to be a spy due to his recent escape from the Imperial prison Lusankya.
The first attempt to capture Borleias proved to be a disastrous failure for the New Republic due to poor planning by the Bothan General Laryn Kre'fey and secret defense measures installed by the Borleias commander, the Imperial General Evir Derricote. During the battle, Rogue pilots Andoorni Hui and Peshk Vri'syk were killed, and Dlarit's X-wing was destroyed by TIE Interceptors, forcing her to eject. The other New Republic pilots feared the punishing nature of the battle would not allow a rescue for Dlarit and the other ejected pilots, Nawara Ven and Ooryl Qrygg. However, Celchu, who was monitoring the battle in the unarmed Lambda-class shuttle Forbidden due to being banned from combat as a security measure, flew into the combat zone to pick them up. Dlarit, Ven, and Qrygg recovered from their injuries after sessions in bacta tanks at Noquivzor.
Dlarit recovered prior to the second attempt to take Borleias, but was unable to participate in the battle due to a shortage of functional X-wings. Though she expressed sadness and regret with being unable to join the other Rogues in battle, she helped them prepare by participating in simulator exercises with them. Due to the continued security measures, Dlarit and most of her colleagues remained unaware of the name of the planet, let alone any further details. Before the battle began, she repeatedly tried to trick Horn into giving up information, at one point claiming she wanted to know where the planet was so she could establish a memorial for Horn and the others in case they died there. However, she was unable to obtain any information, and Horn did not take notice of her attempts. Just before the battle began, Dlarit tried to persuade Terrik to stay away from Horn by promising to use her Xucphra connections to assist Terrik in smuggling if she complied and threatening to use those same connections to end Terrik's career if she did not. Terrik considered the offer, but ultimately rejected it. Later, Rogue Squadron went on to successfully capture Borleias in the second assault.
Afterward, Bror Jace received news that his great-uncle was dying, and Celchu arranged for him to be sent home to Thyferra on a "recruiting mission" so that he could spend time with his family. Dlarit asked Jace about this, and he confided in her the circumstances of his return home as well as information about the route he was taking. Dlarit passed this information on to Isard with the hopes that Jace would be killed, something that would improve her standing as an Imperial spy and also serve as a blow to the Zaltin Corporation. Based on Dlarit's information, Isard arranged for the Interdictor Cruiser Black Asp to pull Jace's X-wing from hyperspace and destroy it.
Jace was presumed killed in the attack, but unbeknownst to Dlarit or the New Republic, he had not actually been aboard the X-wing. The news of the death of Jace's great-uncle was actually a farce; Jace in fact intended to go underground to help plan a budding partnership between the Zaltin Corporation and the Vratix. To that end, he had meant to destroy the starfighter himself and fake his death. Jace had previously told Dlarit about his return home with the specific intention that the Xucphra watch for his return and receive news of his supposed death. Dlarit's betrayal of Jace and the subsequent Black Asp attack only provided further cover for his plans, and the truth of his survival was not publicly known for several more months. Dlarit's betrayal of Jace, too, was initially unsuspected—instead, Celchu fell under further suspicion of being an Imperial spy since he had made the arrangements for Jace's return to Thyferra.
Along with the rest of Rogue Squadron, Dlarit participated in a battle at the planet Mrisst, a response to Warlord Zsinj's scouting of the newly established New Republic base at Borleias. Dlarit flew alongside Corran Horn and Rhysati Ynr under One Flight, a division of Rogue Squadron led by Captain Aril Nunb, who had only recently joined the squad. During the battle, the squadron engaged Zsinj's transport ship, Contruum's Pride, which led to a battle with the ship's TIE fighters and interceptors. Dlarit's X-wing was targeted by one of the interceptors and she had difficulty evading it, but was saved by assistance from Nunb. The battle at Mrisst ended in a victory for the New Republic with no casualties. Afterward, Wedge Antilles pulled Horn and Dlarit aside and gave them instructions for a secret mission to Coruscant, which remained under Imperial control. The assignment was so secret that datafiles provided to Horn and Dlarit by Rogue Squadron's quartermaster droid M-3PO were infected with a self-extracting virus that would destroy the data once viewed, so they were forced to memorize the contents.
Horn and Dlarit were ordered to adopt disguises, rendezvous with existing allied forces on Coruscant, gather reliable data about the planet's defenses, and determine the locations of tactical targets. Dlarit correctly deduced that the job was too large for two people alone and attempted to learn more information for Isard by repeatedly pressing Antilles about whether the other Rogue Squadron pilots were being given their own assignments, with the ultimate goal of capturing Coruscant from the Empire. But Antilles neither confirmed nor denied her suspicions, revealing only that Horn and Dlarit would be working as part of a cell system, through which no one was allowed to know about more than their portion of the network. These security measures, meant to protect the mission from security leaks, were so strong that even Antilles did not know about Horn and Dlarit's travel arrangements to Coruscant. Antilles asked both pilots for permission to transfer money for the financially expensive mission from their personal accounts, to be reimbursed to both later, and Dlarit surprised both men by volunteering 10 million from her personal fortune.
Dlarit was assigned the disguise identity of , an arrogant and wealthy Kuati traveling to the Imperial Center to conceive a child with her telbun, a Human servant and impregnator considered the property of their Kuati masters. Horn was to pose as the telbun, Darsk Ristel; the disguise required Dlarit to treat Horn with great disrespect, and at times ignore him altogether. In private, Dlarit was apologetic for having to treat Horn this way, but Horn felt that at some level, Dlarit did genuinely feel socially superior and entitled to her preferential treatment due to her wealthy Thyferran upbringing. The sexual tension between Horn and Dlarit further developed as they spent more time together, but Horn continued to resist her advances because he did not want to let his guard down and endanger the mission. Once their training was complete, Horn and Dlarit traveled to Coruscant on the starliner Jewel of Churba, where Horn was listed as baggage and Dlarit berated him mercilessly as per their disguise.
Upon arriving at Coruscant, they were picked up in a shuttle by their contact, Winter, who went by the alias Rima Borealis for the mission. Winter provided Horn and Dlarit with new identification cards and set them up in rooms at the luxurious Hotel Imperial. Dlarit once again tried to discern information about what role the other Rogue pilots were playing in the mission, but Winter did not reveal anything. Horn and Dlarit began their reconnaissance mission, all the while maintaining their roles as Kuati and telbun. Per his role, Horn acted in a submissive fashion while in public with Dlarit, trailing her respectfully, paying for things she bought, and carrying her belongings. During their first few nights on Coruscant, Winter had Horn and Dlarit monitored by a team to ensure that no Imperials were taking an interest in them. They spent the next week studying the basic security and peacekeeping forces on Coruscant, as well as the medical services and facilities. During this time, Dlarit reported their movements directly to Isard about the mission, but due to the cell system nature of the operation, she was not able to provide much useful information.
Dlarit and Horn eventually made their way into the Grand Corridor, the centerpiece of the Imperial Palace, where Horn confided in Dlarit and Winter about the murder of his father, Valin Horn. The story further endeared Dlarit to Horn. When Horn spotted Kirtan Loor, an Imperial Intelligence agent with whom he had a long history of rivalry, Horn kissed Dlarit to conceal his face until Loor was gone. The incident did nothing to dampen the sexual tension between them, and Dlarit later tried to seduce him at their Hotel Imperial room; however, he continued to resist. Although frustrated to be rebuked yet again, Dlarit said she would respect Horn's decision, and claimed to be impressed with his self-control and logic.
Shortly thereafter, Horn stumbled across a stormtrooper raid against the anti-Human Alien Combine, where most of the other Rogue Squadron pilots were present. Dlarit was not with them, but Horn helped the Rogues escape the raid. Afterward, Horn and Dlarit were quarantined from each other for several days as a security precaution to ensure no information was relayed to Imperial Intelligence from any possible leaks. Later, Dlarit was reunited with Rogue Squadron, and she was partnered with her roommate Rhyasti Ynr rather than Horn. The Rogues were assigned to take down Coruscant's planetary shields in preparation for an invasion. The squadron was assigned to infiltrate an Imperial warehouse to obtain memory cores, which were to be used to gain access to Coruscant's central computer system. However, the warehouse mission was compromised due to information relayed to Kirtan Loor by the Imperial spy Zekka Thyne, a criminal who had been recruited to help Rogue Squadron on their Coruscant mission. As a result of the betrayal, the Rogues at the warehouse were attacked by stormtroopers. Dlarit and Ynr provided cover with blaster rifles, which allowing the Rogues to escape in a transport driven by M-3PO.
Afterward, Rogue Squadron developed a plan to bring down Coruscant's shields by redirecting an Orbital Solar Energy Transfer Satellite to boil off one of Coruscant's reservoirs. Horn suggested taking control of a construction droid and sending it crashing toward Imperial Center, which would result in its evacuation and allow the New Republic to take control of the center unopposed. Dlarit was one of five pilots assigned to provide air cover in Z-95 Headhunters, with Horn taking the lead among them. Before the mission began, Horn confronted Celchu, whom Horn was convinced was the Imperial spy in their midst. After the confrontation, Horn told Dlarit that he planned to make exposing the spy his priority after the mission ended. Concerned that this would result in her eventual exposure, Dlarit arranged to help Horn check over his Z-95 Headhunter before the flight, obtaining the fighter's codes. Wedge Antilles did not allow outside contact prior to the engagement, so she was unable to warn Isard about the plan to take down Coruscant's shields. However, she was able to transfer Horn's starfighter codes to Isard during the battle so that Isard could take control of the ship during combat and subsequently capture or kill Horn. Dlarit was aware that Celchu also knew the starfighter codes, so she knew that suspicion for her betrayal would ultimately fall on him.
During the battle, Dlarit and her four fellow pilots engaged and successfully fought off several waves of TIE fighters and interceptors, providing cover for Coruscant's shields to be brought down. The mission was a success for Rogue Squadron, but Isard's agents used the overrides to take control of Horn's fighter and capture it, making it appear as though Horn had been killed. While the Rogues believed Horn dead, he was placed in the Lusankya prison—a facility aboard Isard's flagship, an Executor-class Star Dreadnought also called Lusankya, that was buried underneath the surface of Coruscant. Despite Horn's supposed death, the Rogue Squadron victory allowed the New Republic to take control of Coruscant. Shortly thereafter, however, Isard released the Krytos virus, a devastating bioweapon that she had specifically engineered to infect only alien species. The virus was designed to be treatable by bacta, and Isard hoped that the New Republic would spend so many resources treating cases of the illness that they would eventually go bankrupt.
Due to the loss of Horn and the addition of new pilots Asyr Sei'lar and Inyri Forge, Rogue Squadron was reconfigured, and Dlarit's call sign was changed to Rogue Four. Rogue Squadron was assigned to help with the governmental transition on Coruscant and to combat the Krytos virus. The urgent need for bacta allowed the Xucphra Corporation to thrive, further increasing the wealth of Dlarit's family. Dlarit claimed to be communicating urgently with her family about the need for more emergency bacta in greater quantities and reduced prices. Later, she participated in Rogue Squadron's successful attempt at the planet Yag'Dhul to a recapture a large Zaltin bacta supply that had been seized by Warlord Zsinj. The New Republic was notified about the stolen bacta by Qlaern Hirf, an Ashern Vratix who was aboard the convoy at the time of the theft. During the battle, Dlarit and Ynr engaged the TIE Fighters patrolling Yag-prime, an Empress-class space station orbiting Yag'Dhul. The two pilots successfully drove the TIEs away from the station and the rest of the New Republic fleet, and Dlarit destroyed at least one of the fighters with a proton torpedo.
After the battle, Dlarit spent more than an hour questioning Antilles about the identity and location of the Ashern rebel, insisting that he could not be trusted and that he would jeopardize the safety of the squadron. Although actually trying to secure information for Isard, Antilles mistook her concern for guilt over her failure to save Horn's life during the liberation of Coruscant. Antilles insisted that he had no information about the Vratix, but promised to pass her concerns along to General Airen Cracken, head of the New Republic Intelligence Service. Later, Qlaern Hirf approached Antilles and offered to develop the medication rylca to combat the Krytos virus, with the hopes that Antilles would help the Vratix join the New Republic in exchange. Antilles specifically decided to keep Hirf's presence secret from Dlarit due to her concerns about the Ashern. As a result, Dlarit was unable to obtain any information for Isard about the rylca production efforts.
During this time, Tycho Celchu, the prime suspect for the apparent murder of Corran Horn, was placed on trial for treason against the New Republic and for Horn's death. During the trial, prosecutor Halla Ettyk called Dlarit forward as a witness. Under questioning from Ettyk, Dlarit described the suspicion with which Horn had viewed Celchu during their time on Coruscant, as well as the fact that he had publicly confronted Celchu just before the mission wherein Horn was eventually killed. Her testimony was damaging for Celchu and provided herself further cover, since he was on trial for some of the security leaks for which she was in fact responsible. When the court recessed, the Rogues were assigned a mission to Ryloth to purchase a large quantity of ryll kor, a rare grade of the spice ryll to be used for production of rylca. Antilles, Cracken, and New Republic Chief of State Mon Mothma considered forbidding Dlarit from participating in the mission due to her Xucphra associations. However, they ultimately decided pulling her from the mission would anger Thyferra and Xucphra, whose bacta the New Republic desperately needed.
Rogue Squadron was assigned to protect a large bacta convoy from the Xucphra cartel through the Graveyard of Alderaan to the New Republic. Antilles did not believe the high-profile squadron was ideal for the secret mission because they were bound to be watched, but Provisional Councilor Borsk Fey'lya and others felt that having Dlarit participate in the convoy escort would send a positive message to the Thyferrans. Dlarit betrayed the location of the bacta convoy to Isard, in part because the destruction of the convoy would lower the New Republic morale on Coruscant and allow Xucphra to drive their prices up even higher. Additionally, Mirax Terrik and her ship, the Pulsar Skate, were expected to be among the convoy, and Dlarit sought to kill her over their past rivalry regarding Corran Horn. Isard leaked information about the convoy to Warlord Zsinj, whose forces attacked and destroyed the convoy, although Terrik was in fact not present and thus escaped death. During the battle, Dlarit saved Nawara Ven's life by destroying a TIE Fighter that he could not evade. Ven returned the favor soon after by destroying a TIE that was on Dlarit's tail.
Later, when it was learned that the Coruscant-based Palpatine Counter-Insurgency Front terrorist group planned to destroy a bacta storage facility in the planet's Alien Protection Zone, Rogue Squadron was assigned to thwart the attack. Dlarit expressed concern during the mission briefing about the potential for high civilian casualties on the crowded planet. During the battle, Dlarit and Ynr provided cover for the rest of Rogue Squadron around the high orbit of the skyhooks, which provided surveillance and intelligence for the squadron as they destroyed airspeeders laden with explosives meant for the storage facility. The bombs were eventually destroyed. Around this time, Isard learned that Horn had escaped the Lusankya prison, and Isard knew that Horn's escape would lead to its eventual discovery by the New Republic.
As a result, while Rogue Squadron was still in battle, Isard escaped Coruscant by ascending the Lusankya up from underneath Imperial City and propelling it into orbit with the help of a massive repulsorlift platform. Dlarit saw the escaping ship and realized that her own Imperial spy status would likely be compromised soon, so she decided to escape along with Isard. Dlarit pursued a TIE Interceptor heading toward the Lusankya, ignoring Antilles' orders to break away and avoid getting close to the massive ship. Dlarit destroyed the interceptor, then claimed she was caught in the Lusankyas tractor beam and called for help, feigning fear in her voice. Several of Rogue Squadron's pilots, including Gavin Darklighter, wanted to assist her despite being heavily outgunned. Antilles, however, recognized that the effort would be fruitless and ordered the squadron to stand down as Dlarit's X-wing was taken aboard the Lusankya. In reality, Dlarit had not been captured by a tractor beam, but had simply docked willingly with the Lusankya and lied to Rogue Squadron so that she would not compromise her identity as a spy.
The ruse, however, was short-lived. Because of Horn's supposed death, Antilles had added a subroutine to all of the Rogue pilots' astromech droids, so he was able to pull diagnostic data from Dlarit's R5 unit. Because the astromech did not report the damage that Dlarit claimed her X-wing had sustained, Antilles realized that she had not actually been captured by a tractor beam against her will. From this, he deduced that she was a spy working with Isard. Additionally, while aboard the Lusankya, Horn had learned that Tycho Celchu was not the spy; since Dlarit was the only other person who knew his Z-95 Headhunter's codes, Horn realized that she was the one who had sold him out to Isard. Horn and Antilles also reasoned that Dlarit was in a position, and had a motive, to betray Bror Jace. These revelations ultimately led to Celchu's vindication at his trial. Upon further analysis, the New Republic Intelligence Service quickly deduced that Dlarit had in fact provided very little useful information to Isard during her time as a spy. Aside from Horn's capture, Dlarit was responsible only for the destruction of the bacta convoy at the Graveyard and the supposed death of Jace, whom the New Republic soon learned had not actually died.
After leaving Coruscant, Isard and Dlarit returned to Thyferra, where Isard's forces supported a revolution that placed the Xucphra Corporation in charge of the entire bacta cartel. This gave the already wealthy and powerful Dlarit family unprecedented power, as they now controlled the full monopoly that they had previously shared with Zaltin. With the New Republic still in desperate need of bacta and rylca to combat the Krytos virus, Isard believed that taking control of Thyferra and its medical production would ensure that the Krytos virus would continue to ravage Coruscant and destroy the New Republic. However, the New Republic refused to engage this new threat because it was considered to be a internal Thyferran matter, so Wedge Antilles and his Rogue Squadron pilots resigned from the New Republic to launch a private war against Isard, thus starting what became known as the Bacta War. The Rogues, especially Corran Horn, took Dlarit's betrayal personally and were particularly hateful toward her. Privately, however, Antilles felt a small degree of admiration mixed with his anger for Dlarit, based on how well she had hidden her role as an Imperial spy through very difficult situations.
Isard established the Thyferran Home Defense Corps, a defense organization of Xucphra volunteers established to work in conjunction with the ground-based stormtroopers to defend the planet. Isard placed Dlarit in command of the Defense Corps' fighter wing; she made this decision not only because of Dlarit's piloting skills and her knowledge of Rogue Squadron, but also for its strong symbolic value, since by now Dlarit was considered to be a hero by many on Thyferra. Isard's Thyferran forces comprised the Lusankya and the Star Destroyers Avarice, Virulence, and Corrupter, and as such Dlarit had access to a tremendous amount of equipment and resources. She personally led Elite Squadron, a TIE Interceptor squad that she claimed was equal to Rogue Squadron, and she trained other Defense Corps squadrons, including Might and Virile squadrons.
Dlarit was tasked with training Isard's starfighter forces, but she grew frustrated with their lack of commitment and discipline compared to Rogue Squadron. She also disagreed with several of Isard's decisions, which led to open and public arguments between the two. From the beginning of the Bacta War, Dlarit lobbied for her squadrons to be equipped with X-wing fighters, which she insisted were superior fighters to the TIE Interceptors—but Isard, unwilling to concede that anything associated with the New Republic was superior to her resources, refused Dlarit's requests.
Dlarit also sensed that the Imperial forces working with the Thyferran Home Defense Corps looked down on her and her colleagues as incompetent, idiotic, and inferior compared to the true Empire. This image was further perpetuated when a strike team comprised of Ashern commandos, working with Antilles' forces, conducted a raid on the Dlarit estate on Thyferra, stripping Aerin Dlarit naked and distributing hologram images of the humiliation with the hopes of undermining the Xucphra Corporation's regime on the planet. The raid proved to be a major source of embarrassment both for the Defense Corps and Erisi Dlarit personally. To make matters worse for Dlarit, her Imperial colleagues made no effort to hide the news from her, nor conceal their contempt about the Corps personnel from her. This fueled Dlarit's desire to seek retribution against her enemies. Despite the disrespect afforded to her by her Imperial colleagues, Dlarit's knowledge of Rogue Squadron proved to be one of her strong assets. Based on her past with them, she correctly suspected that the Rogues had established their base on the Yag-prime space station. However, Airen Cracken signed a fake report indicating that the station had been destroyed, and Dlarit, believing the report to be genuine, did not investigate or discover the base.
Isard received word that a small colony on Halanit had accepted bacta from Rogue Squadron. The squadron had stolen the bacta from Isard, and the Halanit colony had insufficient resources to pay for the amount that they had received. Hoping to deter other planets and systems from accepting the squadron's help in the future, Isard dispatched Dlarit to retaliate by attacking the unarmed colony. Flying a TIE Interceptor, Dlarit led four other Interceptors from Elite Squadron to Halanit, where they provided cover for TIE Bombers as they dropped thermal detonators and proton bombs on the main colony. Once that was complete, Dlarit and the Interceptors engaged ground targets and suppressed fire as shuttles carrying stormtrooper squads headed toward the surface. Once she had destroyed all of the colony's anti-ship defenses, Dlarit flew through a large hole the bombers had created in the colony, skillfully spiraling through it into a chasm, where she opened fire on crowds of civilians and bridges. Internally, she acknowledged that the civilians were unarmed and defenseless, and that those who survived the initial onslaught would later starve or freeze to death on the icy world. Nevertheless, Dlarit harbored no feelings of guilt or compassion for them.
Ait Convarion, the Imperial Navy commander who had led the stormtrooper ground assault on Halanit, was impressed with Dlarit's performance and personally invited her to join him in monitoring his troopers. Dlarit felt that she had demonstrated that her pilots were worthwhile fighters, although she recognized that Convarion's invitation was partially intended to demonstrate his superiority due to the might of his troops. Shortly after she joined Convarion on the colony surface, however, a lone X-wing was launched from Halanit and began attacking the Imperial forces. Dlarit recognized from the pilot's skill that he or she had to be a member of Rogue Squadron, and she rushed back to her interceptor to engage the X-wing. However, her engine was frozen due to Halanit's cold temperatures, and by the time Dlarit was airborne, the X-wing was already escaping. She communicated with the pilot, who was quickly identified as Gavin Darklighter, and attempted to goad him into surrendering by mocking him as a coward. Darklighter did not take the bait, however, and before escaping into hyperspace, he vowed that Dlarit would die for what she had done on Halanit. He later informed Rogue Squadron of her role in the unarmed colony's destruction.
Not long after the bombardment of Halanit, Isard's Minister of Trade Fliry Vorru located a rendezvous point in the Alderaan system where Rogue Squadron was expected to receive a large shipment of munitions and spare parts. Vorru suggested sending Dlarit's forces to attack the Rogues, but Isard did not want to send all her ships in case the information was false. Instead, she dispatched the Corrupter and the Interdictor Cruiser Aggregator in place of Dlarit. Dlarit attempted to convince Isard to let her participate in the mission, but Isard refused. She pointed out that the starfighter squadrons aboard the Corrupter and Aggregator had received excellent evaluations, but Dlarit countered that they had never engaged in battle before, and felt that Elite Squadron would be better equipped to fight Rogue Squadron. The battle proved to be a failure for Isard, but rather than acknowledging that Dlarit's instincts had been correct, she blamed Dlarit and her training of the Corrupter and Aggregator pilots for the loss. Dlarit was furious at the accusation, and the two women argued so fiercely that Vorru feared that Isard would execute Dlarit.
Around this time, both Vorru and Dlarit were separately harboring concerns that Isard was insane and gradually losing control of her military campaign. Aware of Dlarit's considerable influence within the bacta cartel, Vorru decided to seek an ally in her, hoping that doing so would help him maintain a position of power and influence if Isard had to be eliminated. At great personal risk, Vorru defended her before Isard, sparing her from a potential execution at Isard's hands. Dlarit took notice of the intervention and, although she recognized Vorru was politically posturing, his actions won him Dlarit's favor. Vorru even began to grow sexually attracted to her. Later, in private, Vorru approached Dlarit and proposed developing contingency plans that would ensure the survival of the bacta cartel in the event of Isard's demise. Dlarit, who believed that Isard was so consumed with hatred for Wedge Antilles that she could destroy Thyferra altogether if left unchecked, agreed with Vorru's proposal.
After the Avarice and its captain, Sair Yonka, defected from Isard's forces to the New Republic, Isard decided that she had to draw Antilles out by forcing him to make a hasty attack against her. To that end, she developed a plan to intern Thyferra's Vratix population and kill more than one million of them, then continue to kill two thousand a day until the species' surplus population was reduced to a small number. Despite the genocidal nature of the plan, Dlarit favored the idea, and only suggested that Isard limit the announcement of her policy to the Thyferran population, so that Antilles would not become suspicious of a trap when word eventually got back to him. Isard agreed to her suggestions and ordered Dlarit to prepare her forces to engage Rogue Squadron, either at Thyferra or at their base if its location could be discovered. Shortly after the development of her Vratix plan, Isard's spies confirmed that Rogue Squadron was based at Yag'Dhul, and she ordered the Lusankya and the Virulence to destroy the space station.
Before the attack, however, Vorru approached Dlarit and suggested that even if Isard successfully wiped out Antilles and the Rogues, she would eventually fall from power because the New Republic would recognize the threat she posed and would commit their forces to destroying her. Vorru told Dlarit that he had generated sufficient wealth to purchase a planet and establish a profitable operation there. The Minister of Trade proposed that, after Isard destroyed Rogue Squadron, he and Dlarit travel to the Virulence on an inspection of facilities and stage an accident that would appear to result in their deaths. From there, Vorru would establish his planetary operation, and Dlarit could develop a staff of pilots to protect it. Dlarit accepted the plan, claiming that she now firmly believed Isard's actions would eventually destroy Thyferra and that she did not want to be present to see it happen.
However, the information that Isard had obtained about the Yag'Dhul base had been deliberately leaked by Rogue Squadron so that they could draw her force away from Thyferra before launching an attack on the planet. The Rogue Squadron trap resulted in the surrender of the Virulence and the loss of Lusankyas starfighter complement. Rogue Squadron then launched an assault on Thyferra, and Dlarit scrambled her starfighters from the planet to engage them. Elite Squadron's TIE Interceptors, however, were last in the line of Thyferran Home Defense Corps ships to be launched for the attack after Virile and Might squadrons, so Dlarit was late to engage in the battle. Once she launched, Dlarit realized that Virile and Might were too spread out to properly combat Rogue Squadron. She ordered Virile Squadron to fall back and wait for Might before engaging, but Virile Lead refused, asserting that his orders came directly from Isard and insisting that they could take on Rogue Squadron themselves. As Dlarit predicted, however, both Virile and Might squadrons were easily defeated and destroyed by the Rogues. Afterward, Dlarit led Elite Squadron into battle, hoping that Virile and Might had at least worn the Rogue pilots down.
During the battle, Rogue Squadron received reports that Ysanne Isard had fled Thyferra on the shuttle Thyfonian. Isard ordered Dlarit and Elite Squadron to cover Thyfonian until the ship could escape into hyperspace. Dlarit followed those orders, engaging Rogue Squadron's X-wing fighters as they protected the ship. Although most of her fellow pilots died around her, Dlarit proved to present a much better fight. She engaged Nawara Ven and, despite his attempts to evade her, successfully destroyed his X-wing and forced him to eject. Corran Horn had his R2 unit, Whistler, tap into Dlarit's communication frequencies; the two taunted each other, with Dlarit making disparaging remarks about the death of Horn's father. They engaged each other one-on-one, and Dlarit led Horn away from the rest of the battle toward Thyferra's largest moon. Horn found Dlarit a more difficult opponent than he expected due to the speed and maneuverability of her TIE Interceptor, but he believed that he could use Dlarit's arrogance against her. Horn began to inflict damage on Dlarit at a very gradual pace, but as the Thyfonian neared escape, he attempted to finish his dogfight with Dlarit by firing torpedoes at her interceptor, then accelerated his engines to catch up to her faster starfighter. Dlarit shielded herself from the torpedoes by flying low toward the moon's surface, but was distracted from Horn's subsequent attack and was shot down. Her ship crashed into the surface, resulting in her death.
Despite her long period as a spy among Rogue Squadron, Erisi Dlarit's contributions to the Empire were minimal, and thus had little long-term effects following her death. Since both Bror Jace and Corran Horn survived the attempts on their lives orchestrated by Dlarit, the New Republic considered her only Imperial success during her time as Isard's spy to be the betrayal of the bacta convoy to Warlord Zsinj at the Graveyard of Alderaan. Zsinj's subsequent destruction of that bacta convoy led to the formation of a New Republic task force led by General Han Solo to hunt down and eliminate the warlord. Since Thyferra was responsible for the production of the vast majority of the galaxy's bacta, Dlarit's support of Isard's conquest there had a tremendous impact on the distribution of bacta across the galaxy and had a major long-term effect for millions of people.
Dlarit's infiltration of Rogue Squadron, coupled with raids that were later conducted against the New Republic by Zsinj, contributed to enhanced security measures on Coruscant and other New Republic strongholds. For example, at the Folor Base training facility in the Commenor system, emissions were much more contained than they were before Dlarit's defection, and external visual beacons were lit off only when landing craft needed them. For the most part, the fact that Dlarit had been able to operate in Rogue Squadron without detection did little to dampen the confidence others held in the elite squad and its leader, Wedge Antilles. However, there were a few isolated incidents of distrust or suspicion that arose from it. For instance, General Edor Crespin harbored doubts about Antilles' proposal for Wraith Squadron, a hybrid starfighter/commando unit made up largely of wash-outs and misfits. Although he ultimately signed off on the squadron, Crespin cited Dlarit as a reason to doubt Antilles' judgment while considering the proposal.
Born into wealth and power, Erisi Dlarit developed a strong sense of arrogance and self-importance at an early age. She considered herself to be superior to those below her social status and felt that she was entitled to the riches and position afforded to her. Even while undercover in Rogue Squadron, in which she presented herself as idealistic and noble, her fellow pilots could detect an air of conceit around her. Likewise, when she posed as a Kuati during her covert mission on Coruscant, Corran Horn felt that part of the arrogance and egotism that Dlarit feigned for the disguise was genuine. Because of this arrogance, Horn believed that Dlarit would have especially hated the way she ultimately died, since the lack of an explosion when her Interceptor crashed made for a particularly unspectacular death.
Dlarit's first and foremost concerns and loyalties were to herself, her family, and the Xucphra Corporation. The reputations of all three were very important to her, as illustrated by her strong desire for revenge after the humiliation of her father during the raid on the Dlarit estate. Dlarit cared more about herself, her family, and her business interests than she did about innocent civilian lives. This was demonstrated during the attack at Halanit, where she slaughtered thousands of innocent and unarmed colonists and felt no sympathy for them—rather, she justified their murders with the belief that they should have left their struggling colony long ago, and that their decision to purchase bacta from Rogue Squadron ultimately hurt the Xucphra Corporation's interests. Dlarit was strongly antagonistic toward Xucphra's rival, the Zaltin Corporation, so much so that even while pretending to be on good terms with Bror Jace on Rogue Squadron, she publicly told others that she found Jace to be arrogant and irritable.
Dlarit was very brave and, unlike many of her fellow Imperials, harbored little fear of Ysanne Isard. At times, Dlarit's strong personality and Isard's sense of superiority caused the two to clash. She openly questioned Isard's decisions, argued against her, and, occasionally, even spoke to her in a sarcastic and insulting manner when challenged. At practically all times, Dlarit displayed a confidence that made her seem simultaneously appealing and intelligent. She trusted her instincts, and was thus willing to defect from Isard's faction once she began to observe signs that made her feel that Isard was going insane.
Dlarit was also physically attractive, to the point that she often distracted the men around her. She recognized this about herself, and at times she was able to use it to her advantage, such as when she caught the attention of Fliry Vorru, who asked Dlarit to join him in abandoning Isard. Dlarit engaged a subtle way of winning over men by speaking in a vaguely flirtatious way and touching them casually, but not promiscuously, during casual conversation. At other times, she was less subtle, such as when she kept her flight suit unzipped just enough to let Corran Horn see her cleavage. Her charms ultimately failed to win Horn's affections, however, as he resisted two overt attempts Dlarit made to engage him sexually.
Dlarit was a very intelligent and shrewd woman, as demonstrated by her correct deduction that the Rogue Squadron base was likely at Yag-prime. While some in the Empire, including Ysanne Isard herself, were blinded by their beliefs in Imperial superiority, Dlarit was more pragmatic, as exhibited when she realized that X-wing starfighters had some benefits that TIE Interceptors did not and attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to persuade Isard to start using them. Also unlike Isard, Dlarit did not underestimate her enemies: she recognized the threat that Wedge Antilles presented in a way Isard did not, and she recognized the need to avoid a head-to-head fight again Horn due to his superior piloting abilities.
Dlarit's emotions sometimes visibly changed in a matter of seconds, as demonstrated when the passion she showed around Horn melted immediately away to cold hostility toward Mirax Terrik the moment they were alone together. There were also times when her true feelings started to bubble to the surface so strongly that she could not conceal her anger or jealousy. In one such instance, when Horn asked to be alone with Terrik, Horn thought he would have preferred to be "under the Ravagers guns" than facing her stare.
While serving in Rogue Squadron, Dlarit grew extremely attracted to Corran Horn and made repeated physical advances toward him throughout their time together in the squadron. While in casual conversation, both publicly and privately, Dlarit acted in a physically familiar manner with Horn, often in such subtle ways as taking his arm while they walked together and touching his shoulder as they talked. On two occasions, she explicitly tried to engage Horn sexually: once after he saved the squadron and subsequently her life at the battle on Vladet—Horn attributed her feelings to the emotional spike that one often felt after a near-death experience and the need for a positive experience to counteract it—and after later learning about Horn's tragic past during their time together on Coruscant.
Horn resisted her advances for a number of reasons: because he felt that their backgrounds and social statuses were far too different, because he was attracted to Mirax Terrik, and also because his instincts told him that a romance with Dlarit would be a terrible idea. However, Horn was physically attracted to Dlarit and was tempted by her many times; the two even kissed on occasion. Dlarit admired Horn for letting his emotions guide him rather than simply giving in to temptation. However, after it was revealed that Dlarit was an Imperial spy, their feelings for each other changed drastically. Horn developed a strong disgust for her, and a large part of his decision to resign from the New Republic in order to fight Ysanne Isard was based on a desire to bring Dlarit to justice. During the Battle of Thyferra, the two exchanged strong words of hatred with each other, and Dlarit even went so far as to mock the memory of Horn's dead father. Their conflict ultimately led to the dogfight that resulted in Dlarit's death.
Once Fliry Vorru started to become concerned with Ysanne Isard's growing instability, he decided to seek an ally in Dlarit. Vorru wanted to establish an operation that would keep him wealthy and comfortable once Isard's Empire fell apart, and he felt that Dlarit's power among the bacta cartel would help him secure that end. Vorru defended Dlarit during an argument with Isard, potentially saving Dlarit's life and earning her trust. Contrary to his own expectations, Vorru became sexually attracted to Dlarit during this time and envisioned starting a romantic partnership with her. Dlarit quickly became aware of his feelings and, much as she had done with Horn, acted in a physically familiar manner with Vorru, touching him casually as they spoke and talking in a rather flirtatious way with him. However, it was unclear to Vorru whether she had any true feelings for him or was simply exploiting his own feelings in order to secure her own future. Just prior to Dlarit's death, Vorru proposed fleeing Isard and establishing a secret business operation with Dlarit. Vorru expressed that he wanted her for her personal company as well as her piloting expertise, and Dlarit told him that she planned to accept the invitation.
Erisi Dlarit was an excellent starfighter pilot; she was able to fly both the X-wing starfighter and the TIE interceptor to great effect in space battles. Although generally performing in the middle of the pack among the elite Rogue Squadron, she was far superior to her counterparts in the Thyferran Home Defense Corps. Dlarit was also able to perform particularly difficult maneuvers, such as when she spiraled through narrow chasms at the Halanit battle and diverted proton torpedoes by dropping to a low orbit over a lunar surface at the Battle of Thyferra.
During the course of her time as an Imperial spy, Dlarit proved to be an excellent actress with a talent for manipulating others and concealing her true feelings and emotions. Despite serving in an elite squad and interacting with some of the New Republic's finest minds, she was able to operate for months without arousing suspicion of her true purpose. Also, despite her secret Imperial loyalties, Dlarit was able to convey a pretense of love for the New Republic that appeared so genuine that she was even able to generate tears while expressing fear for her Rogue Squadron colleagues before the battle at Borleias.
Dlarit was apt at detecting very subtle body language and motivations. For example, when Ait Convarion asked Dlarit to join him and witness his ground assault on Halanit, she realized that he was trying to demonstrate his superiority to her. In recognizing this, she was able to avoid his attempts to belittle and condescend her. Similarly, Dlarit quickly recognized that Fliry Vorru was seeking an ally in her against Isard, and she just as quickly deduced that she could use Vorru's vanity and desperation to her advantage.
Erisi Dlarit was created by Michael A. Stackpole for his novels in the X-Wing series, first appearing in X-Wing: Rogue Squadron in 1996 and playing significant roles in X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble, X-Wing: The Krytos Trap, and, most extensively, X-Wing: The Bacta War. To date, she has not appeared in a novel by any other author. She has been illustrated in both the Japanese edition of the Rogue Squadron novel and the Star Wars Insider magazine article "Who's Who in Rogue Squadron," in which she was drawn by artist Scott Roller.
- Star Wars Encyclopedia
- The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons
- A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded
- "Who's Who in Rogue Squadron" — Star Wars Insider 59
- The Official Star Wars Fact File14
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- The Essential Reader's Companion