Aryn Leneer

Aryn Leneer, Force-sensitive and Human, was orphaned on the planet of Balmorra. Jedi Master Ven Zallow discovered her at a young age and brought her to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant for induction into the Jedi Order and training in the Force. Zallow immediately took responsibility for Leneer's training, and she quickly understood that her life was to be entirely devoted to the Order and its doctrines. As time passed, Leneer formed a deep emotional connection with Master Zallow, viewing him not only as her instructor but also as a father figure. Leneer constructed several lightsabers, including one with a blue blade, another with a yellow blade, and a final one with a green blade.

Leneer eventually achieved the rank of Jedi Knight and served in Havoc Squad alongside Zeerid Korr during the initial stages of the Great Galactic War, fighting the Sith Empire on behalf of the Galactic Republic. She was a skilled and highly competent lightsaber combatant, earning the respect of her squadmates. In addition to her lightsaber prowess, Leneer developed her inherent empathic abilities during the war, utilizing them to boost morale among her fellow soldiers. Although she abstained from alcohol, she often accompanied Havoc Squad to cantinas after battles and training sessions, providing unwavering companionship and friendship, and frequently offering a comforting presence after nights of heavy drinking. Leneer developed a particularly strong bond with Korr, assisting him in coping with the loss of his wife and the disability of his daughter, Arra Yooms.

When the Imperial fleet invaded Alderaan, Leneer joined forces with the Alderaanian armed forces to defend against the Imperial assault. Wielding her lightsaber and the Force, Leneer fought alongside Satele Shan, a Jedi Knight, and helped shift the momentum to repel the invasion. Following the securing of Alderaan, Leneer accompanied Jedi Shan as part of the Republic's delegation for the signing of a peace treaty with the Sith Empire. Under the leadership of Master Dar'Nala and Senator Paran Am-Ris, Leneer, along with fellow Knight Syo Bakarn, was stationed within the High Council building on Alderaan. Though uneasy about being in close proximity to so many Sith, she relied on Zallow's teachings to maintain her composure. When she sensed her former master's death through the Force, she realized that the Sith had betrayed the Republic and attacked Coruscant, leading to Master Zallow's death and the deaths of many other Jedi.

After a brief outburst involving an attack on members of the Sith delegation, Leneer was informed that the Jedi were currently negotiating for the Sith to peacefully withdraw from Coruscant. Leneer became extremely angry with the terms, believing that the Sith attack demonstrated their lack of interest in peace and that the war should persist. She retreated to her quarters to grapple with the shock of her master's death. She then made up her mind to find and kill the individual responsible for her master's murder. Despite Syo's attempts to dissuade her from leaving, she successfully escaped the High Council building and headed for Eeseen spaceport. Although spotted by Jedi Vollen Sor and his Padawan Keevo, Leneer managed to secure passage off-planet.

Leneer determined that to bypass the Sith blockade surrounding Coruscant, she would require the services of an exceptionally skilled pilot. Her thoughts turned to Zeerid Korr, who perfectly fit the description. She initiated a search for him, locating him outside his sister-in-law's residence on the planet Vulta. Securing a ride aboard Korr's ship, the Fatman, Leneer reached Coruscant as part of her mission to identify her master's killer. Their ship was detected and shot down in Coruscant's atmosphere, but she employed her strong Force abilities to slow her and Zeerid's descent, ensuring a safe landing. Leneer guided Korr through the Works, an industrial district of Coruscant, and successfully infiltrated the Temple. Discovering the Jedi Temple in ruins, Leneer located her astromech droid T7-01 and uncovered a recording of her master's death. She deciphered the clues to identify her master's killer, discovering that it was the infamous Darth Malgus who had spearheaded the attack. She later returned to the Temple ruins without Korr, who was occupied scouting a spaceport for their escape, and engaged in a fierce duel with the Sith Lord, who had also returned to the Temple. After a prolonged display of athleticism, the fight ended in a draw, and she ended the battle prematurely when Zeerid, having learned of her location, interrupted the combat and rescued her. Leneer, consumed by hatred at the time, contemplated inflicting greater pain by killing Malgus' lover, Eleena Daru. Korr recognized her plan and attempted to dissuade her, but she refused to listen. Korr then revealed the plan to escape Coruscant to her.

The two entered the spaceport and located a shuttle that they could use to escape the planet. However, Leneer then found Eleena Daru and captured her. As she prepared to kill her, she learned of Daru's mistreatment under Malgus's control and realized she was making a mistake, understanding that her master would not want her to kill an innocent being. After relinquishing her excessive anger and thirst for revenge, Leneer decided to spare the Twi'lek and confront Malgus one last time. She convinced Zeerid to escape, who eventually agreed after sharing a kiss with Leneer. Aryn then faced Malgus in a one-on-one battle. They engaged in an intense fight, with Aryn utilizing her lightsaber skills to fight and eventually injure Malgus. Throughout the battle, they exchanged taunts, with Leneer demonstrating to Malgus that she had regained her true self and would not succumb to the dark side. Malgus ultimately used his Force abilities to gain the upper hand, overwhelming Leneer with a blast of Force lightning and ending the battle. However, upon noticing that Daru had been spared, the Sith refrained from killing the Jedi. Leneer later awoke and realized that Malgus had spared her life. After they both vowed to kill each other if their paths ever crossed on the battlefield again, Leneer escaped Coruscant.

Leneer was disowned from the Order for disobeying the Jedi High Council, although the possibility of her rejoining remained open; records from Grand Master Satele Shan indicate that Leneer formally tendered her resignation to the Order. Aryn then located and reunited with Zeerid Korr, her longtime friend and former Republic officer, who had permanently settled on Dantooine. After finding his farm, she decided to stay with him and his daughter.

At the start of 3626 BBY, during the third Galactic War, Leneer interrupted Zeerid Korr and his daughter as Korr was repairing an astromech droid. She sensed a disturbance in the Force and announced that Malgus was approaching Dantooine. Immediately, she summoned her lightsaber. Darth Malgus sought to sever his ties to Darth Vowrawn, the Sith Emperor, and realized that the late Jedi of the Dantooine Enclave had practiced such psychological techniques. Desiring to forge a new future independent of both the Republic and the Empire, Malgus traveled to the enclave to acquire a relic that would aid him in breaking his chains.

Leneer pursued Malgus into the Jedi Enclave, sensing that the Sith Lord had grown even more powerful since their last duel. After Malgus abandoned his Imperial medical droid, TL-30, at a crossroads within the enclave, Leneer caught up with the Sith Lord. Realizing that she could not defeat Malgus alone, Leneer fled the enclave.

After ensuring the safety of Zeerid Korr and Arra Yoom, Leneer journeyed to meet with Satele Shan. Within two weeks, after the Commander of the Eternal Alliance and Task Force Nova had finally defeated the former Sith Emperor Tenebrae within Shan's mind, Leneer returned to Coruscant and informed Shan of her recent encounter with Malgus.

Shan then inquired about how the situation should be handled, but Leneer argued that she was no longer responsible as she had left the Jedi Order. Shan pointed out that she herself had also relinquished her ties to the Jedi, and Leneer realized that the Order had changed when one of Shan's students, Syl, referred to the Jedi Master by her first name. Syl spoke from the doorway of the meeting room, informing Shan that Master Sal-Deron wished to see her. After the student departed, Satele Shan ushered Leneer out of the room, reiterating that the Jedi Order had changed along with many of its members. The Jedi further stated that the responsibility she once held now belonged to others, and they needed to learn of Leneer's story before the ex-Jedi returned to her family. As the pair left the room and walked down the hallway, Leneer questioned whether everything else had truly changed as the Jedi had. Shan affirmed this, stating that regardless of how hard they resisted change, the Jedi had always been familiar with it. Shan also expressed her feeling that more change was yet to come.

Shan and Leneer then relayed the latter's news to Master Sal-Deron. Gnost-Dural of Task Force Nova also became acquainted with Leneer through Satele Shan. In an agitated state, Leneer insisted that she could recognize Malgus—whom she referred to as "that maniac"—anywhere, and reaffirmed that the Sith Lord had been on Dantooine. The ex-Jedi further stated that the longer the Jedi remained idle, skeptical of her words, the more time Malgus would have to escape his misdeeds at the enclave.

A holographic recording of Leneer's secret meeting with the Jedi leadership was obtained by the Empire's Intelligence officers, and Emperor Vowrawn was displeased upon learning of Malgus' resurfacing. Seeing that the measures controlling the errant lord were no longer effective, the Imperial Reclamation Service proposed deploying an excavation unit to search the enclave and capture Malgus, although Vowrawn wished to keep the rogue Sith's escape a secret. Darth Rivix of the Empire's Hand thus proposed a covert operation to retrieve Malgus, and Imperial ground forces led by Colonel Barden Golah and Lord Ziliss were dispatched to the enclave ruins.

Gnost-Dural, Arn Peralun, and Leneer then convened with the Alliance Commander in a private room at the Alliance base on Odessen to discreetly discuss Malgus' visit to the Dantooine Enclave. Gnost-Dural stated that he had already informed General Ardinondu Dipolus Daeruun of Task Force Nova about Leneer's encounter with Malgus. While Daeruun was occupied and unable to join Leneer and the others on Odessen, he was prepared to deploy military reinforcements if needed. Nonetheless, the general and Gnost-Dural had agreed that the resurfacing of Malgus should be kept secret to prevent panic on Dantooine and to prevent the Empire from discovering it.

Master Gnost-Dural suggested that Peralun and the Alliance Commander search the Jedi Enclave and uncover what Malgus had done there. While Leneer insisted that it would take more than them to defeat Malgus, Gnost-Dural explained that Peralun had studied the enclave ruins before the incident, and the two had nearly defeated Malgus on Corellia recently. Seeing that the two were determined to carry out the mission independently, Leneer volunteered to transport them to Dantooine and guide them there. Stating that she would wait for them by a shuttle, the ex-Jedi left the room.

Gnost-Dural expressed his satisfaction that Leneer, with her knowledge of Dantooine and Malgus, had offered to help, and that she would ensure her family's safety at all costs. The Jedi Master also reminded Peralun and the Commander that Aryn Leneer was no longer a part of the Jedi Order and warned that her only responsibility was to safely transport them to Dantooine and back.

As Leneer piloted the shuttle through hyperspace to Dantooine, the Alliance Commander asked her how she could sense Malgus before he had even set foot on Dantooine. Leneer explained that she had personally experienced Malgus' dark presence while fighting him on Coruscant, and she could never forget the Sith Lord's suffocating aura. Leneer went on to express her certainty that Gnost-Dural had told Peralun and the Commander about her past, and that while she did not wish to be involved in Jedi business again, she was determined to keep her family safe. Having arrived over Dantooine, Leneer set the shuttle down a distance from the enclave ruins to prevent drawing any unwanted attention.

Leneer, Peralun, and the Alliance Commander arrived to find Imperial forces occupying the vicinity of the Dantooine Enclave. To maintain their discretion while making their way to the enclave, the group followed Leneer's lead through hidden access tunnels. Leneer explained that the tunnels were built by locals to scavenge the Jedi ruins, a commonly known secret that the government frowned upon. The group decided to find one such tunnel to enter the ruins, battling through local fauna, including several groups of xuvva, kath hounds, and zeldrates, as well as ambushes by Imperial soldiers. While they searched for a tunnel, the Alliance Commander inquired about possible hostiles other than Imperials in the enclave ruins. Peralun speculated that little would be left in the abandoned site, but Leneer wryly asked if the fact that many local wildlife used the ruins as nesting grounds counted.

After eliminating three Imperial scout camps and nearby Imperial patrols, the latter a course of action proposed by Leneer to prevent the infantrymen from alerting their "buddies" of the group's presence or to learn of how they gained entry to the ruins, the group entered an access tunnel leading to the enclave. As they entered, the Commander reminded the group to be prepared for anything that might be waiting, and Leneer voiced her agreement.

Within the tunnels, the three cut through swarms of hostile skar'kla and encountered an abnormally large graul. After they felled the beast, Leneer expressed her concern that she had encountered no resistance in the caves when she first followed Malgus; while she had seen a few creatures in the tunnels, none of them were hostile towards her. The graul's aggression, the ex-Jedi believed, was a result of Malgus' actions that tipped the balance of the Force there. While the Sith Lord may not have done so intentionally, the Force in the caves felt unnatural to Leneer, who felt the echoes of pain and suffering that resonated within the tunnels—pain and suffering that had been caused by betrayal and murder, ruthless acts of the Sith when they destroyed the enclave, and senseless deaths. Arn Peralun added that the Jedi of the enclave were capable of wiping others' minds and perhaps acts even worse, although Leneer interrupted Peralun to press on the hunt for Malgus.

The group entered the Dantooine Enclave and battled through dozens of its hostile security droid guardians, as well as some skar'kla swarmers. While doing so, the Alliance Commander asked Leneer why she knew so much about the enclave, and pointed out that she was no longer part of the Jedi Order. Leneer responded that the Jedi would not wipe one's mind of memories and knowledge of Jedi affairs if one left the Order, with Peralun adding that the Jedi no longer did such a thing.

The three eventually traveled up to the enclave's ground level and confronted the Sith Lord Ziliss there, killing her two henchmen.

As an empath, Leneer experienced a wide spectrum of emotions daily. This gave her the unique capacity to connect with those she interacted with on a personal level. She laughed easily and genuinely among friends and comforted those burdened by pain or sadness. She was a loyal friend who stood by her companions during difficult times, as evidenced by her unwavering support for Zeerid Korr when she discovered his involvement in smuggling engspice for the Exchange. She was also capable of succumbing to her own emotions, as demonstrated when her anger over Master Zallow's death nearly consumed her, but ultimately, she remained true to herself and her master's teachings. She shared an extremely close bond with Zallow, viewing him as a father figure, and also maintained a friendship with fellow Jedi Syo Bakarn.

Aryn Leneer was a formidable Jedi and an exceptionally skilled duelist. Leneer also possessed a working knowledge of droidspeak.

Leneer exhibited remarkable telekinesis. In one instance, she utilized a potent surge of energy to lift two Sith adepts off the ground, propelling them forcefully into a pair of sizable statues, which subsequently shattered upon impact. Leneer also demonstrated the ability to disarm adversaries using her telekinetic powers; on one occasion, she telekinetically wrested a lightsaber from the grasp of a Sith adept, taking possession of the weapon; in another instance, she employed her telekinesis to disarm Eleena Daru, a skilled marksman. Leneer even managed to seize control of a lightsaber that Darth Malgus had hurled at her, intercepting it mid-flight with her telekinetic abilities. Furthermore, Leneer could launch substantial objects, such as missiles, at her targets using her telekinetic abilities; in one instance, she effortlessly propelled six cargo tram cars towards her targets with a mere gesture.

Leneer also displayed impressive defensive capabilities. During her confrontation with the Sith on Alderaan, when a Sith adept directed a powerful energy wave towards her, she skillfully deflected the attack with a gesture, causing the wave to split in two. One half of the wave toppled additional large statues nearby, while the other half sent the other Sith adept stumbling ten paces away from their original position. During a confrontation with Malgus, Leneer effortlessly deflected the shrapnel resulting from the destruction of stones caused by his impact on the ground. Moreover, Leneer survived a fifty-kilometer fall from space onto the rooftop of a Coruscant skyscraper without a parachute, employing the Force to decelerate her descent from terminal velocity and safeguarding both herself and her companion, preventing their demise upon landing. On a separate occasion, she used her power to slow the descent and soften the landing of a dropship in which she was traveling. Despite Malgus overwhelming Leneer with his telekinetic abilities on multiple occasions during their confrontations, causing her to crash into objects, she consistently utilized her defensive abilities to mitigate the impact and prevent injuries.

Years following the Great Galactic War, while pursuing Malgus, Aryn Leneer admitted without shame that she was no longer the combatant she once had been.

Leneer frequently harnessed the Force to enhance her speed and physical actions, such as executing acrobatic maneuvers during duels and leaping over obstacles like walls several meters in height. During moments of heightened speed, Leneer's perception and reaction time increased to such an extent that a millisecond felt like a minute, granting her ample time to perform actions within that brief span. To onlookers, she appeared as a blur of motion, seemingly existing in multiple locations simultaneously.

Leneer possessed a natural aptitude for Force empathy, earning her the designation of "Force Empath." This ability allowed her to perceive her surroundings with exceptional clarity and detail, regardless of their complexity. Leneer utilized this talent to strengthen her connection with her Jedi Master, Ven Zallow, to the point where she experienced her master's pain as he succumbed to a lightsaber wound inflicted by Malgus. Leneer could even discern the precise location where the lightsaber had pierced her master. Furthermore, she could employ this talent to perceive the emotions of others on a planetary scale by amplifying her own senses significantly; she demonstrated this capability on Coruscant.

As a Jedi, Aryn Leneer wielded a lightsaber with a blue blade and a blue hilt. During her interrogation by Malgus during the Sacking of Coruscant, Vrath Xizor mentioned that Leneer used a green-bladed lightsaber that had belonged to her master, Ven Zallow. Later, the Jedi Knight employed a yellow-bladed lightsaber during her duel with Malgus on Coruscant. Years after her departure from the Jedi Order, Leneer continued to use her blue lightsaber while hunting Darth Malgus.

Aryn Leneer made her debut in the March 2011 novel The Old Republic: Deceived, penned by Paul S. Kemp. Her image first appeared in the source book The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural, authored by Robert Chestney and released in December of the same year. In Star Wars: The Old Republic: Onslaught, the character's voice is provided by Moira Quirk. Aryn Leneer's theme was introduced in the 2021 Update 6.3 to Star Wars: The Old Republic.