Daric LaRone

It is known that LaRone had two younger siblings who were brothers.

In 18 BBY, LaRone witnessed the arrival of the new Imperial Military to cleanse his homeworld of Copperline from the pirates that had plagued it for decades. In 10 BBY, when Imperial recruiters arrived, he enlisted in the Imperial Army with the call number TKR 330, as he did not desire to become an impoverished farmer like the majority of Copperline's inhabitants. Three years later, he gained acceptance into the Stormtrooper Corps. He found the initial six years of his service enjoyable, until his deployments on worlds such as Elriss and Bompreil caused him to question his allegiance. The pivotal moment for him occurred when the planet Alderaan was destroyed, and he received orders to kill civilians during a raid on Teardrop in 0.5 ABY, while stationed as part of the stormtrooper detachment aboard the Reprisal. LaRone hesitated to fire upon the civilians and was deeply disturbed by the resulting deaths.

Upon returning to Reprisal, LaRone was later confronted by Major Drelfin of the Imperial Security Bureau, who initially criticized him for failing to adhere to regulations. However, once Drelfin realized that LaRone had disobeyed orders on Teardrop, the ISB officer became increasingly agitated and intended to execute LaRone. In response, LaRone disarmed Drelfin and killed him with his own blaster. The other stormtroopers who witnessed the event—Saberan Marcross, Taxtro Grave, Joak Quiller, and [Korlo Brightwater](/article/korlo_brightwater], along with LaRone—realized that their military careers were over and that their lives would likely be forfeited in any subsequent investigation. They stole the Gillia, a Suwantek TL-1800 that had been specially modified by the ISB, and fled Reprisal. To facilitate their escape, they utilized ISB codes on the ship and impersonated ISB operatives departing Reprisal on a clandestine mission. While exploring the ship, the ex-stormtroopers discovered that it was stocked with weapons, multiple sets of stormtrooper armor, scouttrooper armor, and even a spacetooper suit. The ship also contained credits, equipment for forging identities, and even a pair of speeder bikes.

Journeying to Drunost in their stolen vessel, the five former stormtroopers landed in search of food and other supplies, with LaRone serving as the unofficial leader. LaRone and Grave successfully acquired their supplies and were returning to the ship when a group of farmers they were traveling with came under attack by a swoop gang. LaRone and Grave defended them with hand blasters until Brightwater, Marcross, and Quiller arrived with vehicles and heavier weapons, easily defeating the gang. Unbeknownst to them, they were protecting a supply of arms being transported by the Rebel Alliance. After leaving the scene, they boarded their ship and departed for Janusar to obtain spare parts for their speeders and fuel for the ship.

Upon landing on Janusar, the group was shaken down by the locals, who overcharged them for landing fees and confiscated their speeder bikes for violating planetary ordinances, which angered Brightwater. After the patrollers left, LaRone learned about the corruption of the local militia from a dockworker named Krinkins who was fueling their ship. Krinkins informed them that Cav'Saran, the chief patroller, was responsible for the corruption and that the patrollers had been bullying the populace.

Outraged by the injustice, LaRone convinced the others to help him take down Cav'Saran. That evening, LaRone drove a speeder truck to Patroller Central, where he had instructed Krinkins to gather anyone who was dissatisfied with the corruption, after having his armored comrades disarm the six patrollers outside the building. Dressed in civilian attire, LaRone entered the center and confronted Cav'Saran, who dismissed his demands for justice and proper treatment of the populace. In response, Cav'Saran ordered one of his men to kill LaRone. At that moment, LaRone signaled the other four stormtroopers to enter the room, and they swiftly killed the few who resisted, including Cav'Saran, before the rest surrendered. After turning the town over to Krinkins and some of the former militia members that Cav'Saran had forced out when he took over, LaRone coined the name Hand of Judgment for the group when Atmino asked him for their unit designation so he could file a mention of appreciation to his superiors.

Returning to Drunost in search of the connection they had discovered between Cav'Saran and the BloodScars they had fought earlier on Drunost, the stormtroopers began looking for more info to link them to the person behind the pirates, who they deduced would have to be high in the Imperial hierarchy. While sitting in a tapcafe on Drunost, they observed Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Chewbacca, although they did not recognize them as members of the Rebel Alliance. They also noticed several known criminals in the tapcafe. When the Rebel trio confronted the criminals after Luke decided to intervene, LaRone and his men assisted them when the confrontation turned violent. LaRone was suspicious of them and had Quiller follow them, unaware that they were Rebels. When Han and Luke tracked some of the pirates to the Purnham system and went to chase them, the Hand of Judgment followed them.

LaRone and the Hand of Judgment arrived in the Purnham system before the Millennium Falcon, but upon its arrival, the Falcon came under attack by pirates. LaRone and the others engaged the pirates and decided to investigate the situation. Posing as investigators, they questioned the surviving pirates and the Falcon's crew, who provided them with information on the pirates while posing as independent shippers. However, they decided to keep the Rebels on their ship for further questioning, in case the information they had been given by them was faulty. Extrapolating the data that Solo had given them and the HoloNet data they had gleaned from the pirates, they tracked the location of the pirate base to the Gepparin system.

Traveling to Gepparin with the Falcon attached to their ship and the Rebels locked into cabins in the Suwantek, they arrived around the same time as Reprisal did, and they came under attack by Ozzel, who was trying to protect his own career by stopping the deserters. Meanwhile, Luke, guided by the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi, unlocked the cabin doors and found one of the hidden weapons compartments in the ship. Captain Kendal Ozzel deployed a tractor beam onto their ship, immobilizing LaRone's ship. Fortunately for LaRone, the Falcon's crew was willing to help them. While Solo took over the controls of their Suwantek, Chewbacca took the Falcon, detached it, and destroyed two TIE fighters in the path of the tractor beam. Their destruction created enough reflective particles to disrupt the tractor beam, and both ships escaped the Star Destroyer, after Chewbacca's deceptive transmission convinced Ozzel to journey to the location of shattered Alderaan.

LaRone and his men, along with the Rebels, landed to investigate the base. Both groups had been improvisationally working together and trying to track the source of the pirate groups, but shortly afterward, the two parties discovered each other's identities: Rebels and rogue stormtroopers respectively. Han managed to win enough of LaRone's and the others' respect that LaRone agreed to get them to Shelkonwa to help their "friend," who was actually Leia Organa, though they parted ways there.

Having arrived on the Shelsha sector's capital planet, the stormtroopers discovered that Darth Vader and the 501st Legion were already conducting a search operation. Despite this unexpected situation, LaRone and his companions were determined to locate the traitor responsible for the pirate attacks, as they had concluded that someone within the Governor's office was the culprit. Aware that the 501st would soon uncover the Rebels if they acted alone, LaRone suggested guiding them through the city, a proposition they accepted with reluctance. When a small vessel crashed nearby, LaRone and four stormtroopers departed to investigate, leaving the Rebels to their own devices.

They encountered Mara Jade defending herself against an AT-ST piloted by Caaldra, a pirate and the contact for Vilim Disra, the mastermind behind the pirate assaults. With Chewbacca's assistance in their Suwantek, the stormtroopers and Mara successfully disabled the AT-ST after a challenging engagement.

Following their victory over Caaldra—who had remotely controlled the AT-ST and managed to escape—LaRone was confronted by stormtroopers from the 501st, but Mara Jade intervened, claiming that they were on a special assignment for her. Although Mara was skeptical of their story, she instructed them to obey her orders until she could eliminate Choard. Infiltrating the Governor's mansion's perimeter, the stormtroopers and Jade advanced swiftly, overcoming any resistance with ease, and confronted the governor while Mara dealt with Caaldra definitively. The governor attempted to deflect their accusations, and Marcross unexpectedly betrayed the others, aiming his weapon at LaRone, as the governor was, in fact, his uncle.

However, Marcross inadvertently provided Choard with just enough time to fully implicate himself when he switched sides once more, placing Choard under arrest, although LaRone insisted that they spare his life. At that moment, Mara Jade and Vader arrived, but Jade once again vouched for LaRone, stating that they were assigned to her. Later, she demanded that they reveal their true story in private. After careful consideration, she allowed them to leave, but not before instructing them to abandon the name Hand of Judgment. With that done, LaRone and his comrades departed in their ship, resolved to continue performing good deeds wherever they were needed.

After their departure from Shelkonwa, LaRone and his fellow stormtroopers persisted in their efforts to eradicate corruption and address perceived threats to the well-being and security of Imperial citizens, typically concentrating on issues that were either caused or ignored by official channels. They successfully eliminated a minor warlord and dismantled a pirate stronghold, in addition to compelling an oppressive administrator to resign from their position. The Hand of Judgment also mediated disputes, assisting in the resolution of a water conflict in Griren Province on Hapor. There, they effortlessly defeated a group of mercenaries, leveraging the advantages of stormtrooper equipment and training, speeder bikes, and the weaponry mounted on their modified Suwantek transport. Nevertheless, their continuous series of vigilante missions had depleted their reserves of equipment, counterfeit identification, and credits. Recognizing that these logistical challenges would soon force their endeavors to cease, LaRone and the others resolved to undertake two final small-scale missions—addressing a rigged election on Elegasso and assisting a group of enslaved pottery artisans on another planet.

They journeyed to aid the pottery artisans, only to be ambushed and rendered unconscious by a sedative gas. Upon regaining consciousness, LaRone discovered that he and the majority of his group were at the mercy of administrator Bok Yost, the newly elected official from Elegasso, who had fabricated the artisan rumor to lure them into a trap. Yost intended to have one of his henchmen report them as Imperial deserters, but before he could carry out his plan, Mara Jade intervened, subduing Yost and dispatching his thugs. She liberated LaRone and his men, while simultaneously forcing Yost to relinquish his fraudulently acquired position and conduct a new election, free from any manipulation. Jade and LaRone then rescued Brightwater from his separate interrogation after he assumed the role of pilot to protect Quiller. LaRone inquired about Jade's intentions, and she revealed that they would be assisting her in infiltrating the Candoras sector governor's palace. Jade had been tasked with investigating allegations of treason against Governor Bidor Ferrouz and potentially eliminating him if the allegations were substantiated. Having monitored the Hand of Judgment's activities, she left them with no choice but to assist her.

LaRone and the others consented to assist her, and they soon arrived on the sector capital of Poln Major aboard the Suwantek. Jade instructed them to observe spaceport stormtrooper stations to familiarize themselves with their security protocols and precautions while she assessed palace security. While at the spaceport, LaRone intervened in a dispute between a group of Troukree knife merchants led by Vaantaar and some disgruntled Pineath, who claimed to have been defrauded. LaRone resolved the matter by having the Pineath return the allegedly defective knife—which was, in fact, in perfect working order—but refrained from exposing the attempted scam in order to maintain leverage over the Pineath. As a result of his actions, he earned the gratitude of the Troukree, as well as information regarding Nuso Esva, a local warlord who had been threatening the Troukree for some time. Having concluded their interaction with the merchants, the Hand of Judgment followed Jade's instructions and monitored the spaceport's stormtrooper contingent.

After completing her own investigations, Jade directed them to abduct a pair of stormtroopers and acquire their shoulder pieces, complete with their distinctive identification markings. LaRone complied, luring out two stormtroopers so that Jade could incapacitate them with a sonic device. The two unfortunate troopers were relieved of their armor while Jade formulated their next course of action. The Hand of Judgment was then dispatched to accompany her to the palace gate. When Jade intentionally crashed a speeder in order to be apprehended, LaRone and the others appeared, informing the guards that Jade had also robbed an electronics store. LaRone then persuaded the guards to allow him to take Jade into custody, where he handed her over to Major Pakrie. Jade subsequently escaped and embarked on a hunt for Ferrouz, leaving LaRone and the Hand of Judgment to remain on standby outside the palace gate.

While stationed there, LaRone noticed a riot erupting, with Luke Skywalker at its center. LaRone dispatched some troopers to assist the Rebel, who was being falsely accused of the alleged death of the governor. They were successful, and Skywalker evaded his attackers. Meanwhile, he and Marcross proceeded to assist Jade, who had been cornered by a group of assailants in the governor's office after negotiating with Ferrouz and a Rebel ambassador named Vestin Axlon. LaRone and Marcross approached the attackers from behind and eliminated them. Utilizing the governor's private exit from the palace, they retreated through a tunnel into the storm drains, which led them to a tapcafe. LaRone, acting under Jade's orders, swiftly cleared the tapcafe of its patrons by declaring that it was under official investigation. He and his men then took refuge in the tapcafe with the governor and Axlon, tasked by Jade with protecting them.

As they waited, LaRone came to the realization that Axlon had been aware of Jade's arrival in advance. Axlon opened fire on the troopers, wounding Grave and Quiller, and revealed that he had been collaborating with Nuso Esva, who had been plotting to incite conflict between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire over Poln Major and then seize the opportunity to destroy both factions. Axlon instructed them to summon Skywalker, as he intended to use Skywalker's lightsaber to assassinate the governor, thereby implicating the Rebel Alliance in the act. Axlon had hoped to secure Esva's allegiance to the Rebel Alliance by doing so, but after Governor Ferrouz distracted Axlon, Brightwater flicked a knife to Quiller, who fatally stabbed Axlon. LaRone then warned Skywalker to stay away. The Rebel informed him that he had spotted another of Esva's men, and LaRone instructed him to follow the operative.

Now cognizant of the Rebel presence on Poln Major, LaRone was able to enlist Chewbacca's assistance in procuring a bacta tank from the Suwantek for the severely injured Grave. He also dispatched Brightwater to recruit the Troukree merchants, who were willing to fight alongside him against Nuso Esva's forces in exchange for a generous payment. When Jade, who had been attempting to locate the whereabouts of the governor's family, who were being held hostage by Esva's men, reported that she had found them but that the guards were too numerous for her to handle alone, Governor Ferrouz contacted Major Pakrie, whom Jade had revealed to be duplicitous. Ferrouz provided Pakrie with their location under the guise of consulting a security officer, in order to draw Esva's men away from the prisoners. During this time, LaRone was also in communication with Skywalker, who had reached Esva's stronghold as well and was relaying information to the stormtroopers, who then passed it on to Jade.

The deception was successful, but soon Esva's men launched an assault on the tapcafe. LaRone and the Hand of Judgment repelled the initial wave with ease, but the second group was more heavily armed and better trained, employing an E-WEB repeating blaster to bombard the structure. One of the Troukree drew the weapon's fire, sacrificing himself to provide LaRone with the time needed to hurl a grenade at the heavy weapon. The explosion neutralized the repeating blaster, and the Hand of Judgment was able to fend off the remaining attackers. LaRone was moved by the Troukree's act of selflessness, but had little time for mourning.

A voice informed them that while they had fought valiantly, the governor's death by a specific method was no longer necessary; his death alone would suffice. Concluding that their attackers intended to destroy the building with explosives, LaRone decided to take the offensive, but the Troukree insisted on undertaking the mission. Initially, LaRone believed that they had failed, but upon emerging from the tapcafe, he discovered that the Troukree had neutralized their assailants. Their leader, Vaantaar, then informed them that they would be taken to meet their leader. LaRone was apprehensive, but as he was outnumbered by armed Troukree and his men were already wounded, he had no choice but to comply.

The leader turned out to be Imperial Senior Captain Thrawn, who possessed complete knowledge of their history—including their desertion and the murder of ISB Drelfin. Thrawn expressed admiration for their combat prowess and offered them a position within his own independent command in the Unknown Regions, a return to Imperial service of sorts, but with their names cleared. He informed them that he desired them to train non-human species, such as the Troukree, as stormtroopers to aid in combating the numerous threats in that region of space. After careful consideration, LaRone and his men accepted the offer.

LaRone was a committed soldier, having dedicated six years of service to the Empire. He received extensive training in both armed and unarmed combat from the Empire, making him a seasoned veteran. Together, he and the Hand of Judgment frequently emerged victorious in battles despite facing numerical disadvantages. LaRone often employed flanking maneuvers that incorporated additional firepower, speeder bikes, and snipers to overcome his adversaries. He also possessed a strong sense of honor, refusing to harm civilians, even if it meant risking his own life. During the Hand of Judgment's vigilante activities, LaRone was often the driving force behind them. He could not tolerate witnessing corruption or mistreatment of Imperial citizens, believing that they still had a duty to protect and defend the Empire's populace. LaRone was also persuasive, yet willing to consider the opinions and concerns of others. He had faith in his men's ability to carry out their duties and eventually rose to become the group's leader. LaRone was also capable of transcending his political differences with the Rebels, offering assistance to Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. Maintaining his idealism, LaRone never condoned the slaughter of civilians, nor did he participate in it, as was the case with the rest of the Hand of Judgment. True to his nature, LaRone and his comrades did not cease their series of good deeds even after narrowly escaping death at the hands of Mara Jade, who had instructed them to cease their actions.

LaRone was also pragmatic, recognizing that their good deeds would come to an end when their supply cache was depleted. He was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his team; they shared a close bond. Furthermore, LaRone possessed the ability to resolve disputes fairly while retaining some leverage or avoiding complete embarrassment. Unlike many Imperials, LaRone was able to view aliens without excessive prejudice or xenophobia, which enabled him to collaborate with Troukree fighters on Poln Major. This characteristic served him well, as Thrawn later recruited him and the Hand of Judgment to establish and train stormtrooper units in the Unknown Regions using non-humans.

Daric LaRone was initially conceived as the primary protagonist for Timothy Zahn's novel Allegiance. He also appeared as a significant character in Choices of One, the sequel to Allegiance, also penned by Timothy Zahn.

Regarding LaRone and the Hand of Judgment's role in Allegiance, Star Wars Insider 91 explained that Zahn had long harbored an interest in exploring "the psyches of Imperials who believe they are acting in the right." The article also cited earlier examples of conscience-driven Imperials that Zahn had created, such as Thrawn and Mara Jade. Zahn drew a comparison between the roles of the stormtroopers in the Hand of Judgment and that of honorable soldiers, such as Erwin Rommel, who served in the Third Reich. He stated that the central conflict for those stormtroopers that he wrote into Allegiance revolved around whether or not to continue serving the Empire after becoming aware of its true nature. Ultimately, LaRone would serve under both Jade and Thrawn in Zahn's novels.