Dasha Defano

Dasha Defano, a female Wroonian born on Wroona, began her career in piloting as a privateer, collaborating with a band of fellow Wroonians. They raided both Imperial and Rebel Alliance shipments. During her time with the group, Defano was compelled to destroy a civilian transport that the group was attacking in order to prevent it from transmitting a distress signal. Later, she found out that one of her best friends from Wroona had been aboard the transport at the time of its destruction. She realized that she was partially responsible for her death. Overcome with shame, Defano abandoned the privateers and rarely discussed her experiences with them. Several months before the Battle of Endor, Defano joined the Rebel Alliance as a starfighter pilot, flying T-65 X-wing starfighters. She remained in service with the Alliance as it evolved into the New Republic, and she was assigned to the task force dispatched to liberate Kal'Shebbol, the capital planet of the Kathol sector, in 8 ABY.

After the liberation of Kal'Shebbol, Defano was assigned to the starfighter complement of the modified CR90 corvette FarStar. There, she served as both a pilot and a gunner. The corvette had been tasked with tracking down Moff Kentor Sarne, the Imperial warlord who governed the Kathol sector. Sarne had escaped the planet along with the majority of his forces following the fall of his sector capital, and the New Republic sought to neutralize any potential threat he posed to the region. Defano actively participated in shipboard life during the FarStar's months-long mission. She even entered a gunnery competition in an attempt to win an extended shore leave pass shortly after the ship departed from the planet Binaros.

During her service on the FarStar, Defano formed a strong friendship with Lieutenant Ranna Gorjaye, the Human leader of the squadron. The two women frequently spent their free time playing sabacc. However, as Gorjaye and the FarStar's commanding officer, Captain Kaiya Adrimetrum, resolved their professional disagreements—Gorjaye felt that Adrimetrum, a former commando, was not qualified to lead the mission—and began to collaborate effectively, Defano began to feel isolated from her friend.

Consequently, Defano befriended Thanis Gul-Rah, a Human and fellow crewmate who had previously worked as a bounty hunter. Their relationship was not romantic. Gul-Rah claimed he needed someone to confide in, as Scoryn, the FarStar's First Officer following the defection of the previous executive officer, Gorak Khzam, was abusing her position to settle an old score between them. Defano found Scoryn's actions objectionable, which was Gul-Rah's intention. He was attempting to create division between Scoryn and the fighter pilots to gain an advantage in any potential conflict between them.

Several months after departing Kal'Shebbol, the FarStar journeyed through the Kathol Rift, a region characterized by volatile gases and intense lightstorms. Following a stop at the planet Q'Maere within the Rift, the FarStar took aboard several former prisoners from the Q'Maere Research Facility. This installation had served as Sarne's secret prison and reeducation center, where many inmates had been unjustly imprisoned, tortured, and abused. Days after leaving Q'Maere, Lowen Chase, the leader of the former prisoners, instigated a mutiny to seize control of the ship. Defano remained loyal to Captain Adrimetrum and assisted in the effort to reclaim the vessel from the mutineers. However, her friend, Gul-Rah, was on the opposing side. Despite their actions, the mutineers were not removed from the ship, as the FarStar's crew requirements necessitated every available hand to operate the vessel. Consequently, the mutineers were permitted to remain aboard, albeit with restrictions on their personal freedoms.

After passing through the Rift, Defano became increasingly aware that the FarStar was on the verge of engaging in a major battle against Sarne's forces. While confident in her own abilities, she recognized that if anything were to happen to Gorjaye, she would be next in line to command the corvette's fighter squadron. Her apprehension about the upcoming battle was exacerbated by Gul-Rah. Her trust in him had been weakened since the mutiny and his betrayal of Adrimetrum. However, despite that, his perspective on the command staff had begun to influence Defano. The young pilot found herself disagreeing with Adrimetrum more frequently than in the past due to his influence. As a pilot, Defano participated in the Battle of Kathol, an engagement that resulted in the final defeat of Moff Kentor Sarne.

Dasha Defano possessed blue skin and long, wavy blue hair. She was an extremely self-assured woman and an exceptional pilot. Unreserved and confident, she freely expressed her abilities to others. However, due to her remorse over the death of her best friend during her privateer days, she rarely boasted about her actions during that time. Instead, she preferred to discuss her time flying for the New Republic. As a trained pilot, Defano was also proficient in driving repulsorlift vehicles, navigating through hyperspace, and operating the weapons and shields on starships. She was also trained in the use of a blaster.

Defano, who was friendly and easy-going, could often be found near the hangar bay of the FarStar, engaging in conversations with the technicians and other pilots. Although she appeared to get along with all the members of the crew, she harbored a sense of distrust towards the Duros gunner Krudar. Her reservations stemmed from the fact that a Duros had served on the same privateer vessel as she had, and she believed that any Duros would be aware of her past. Consequently, she avoided Krudar whenever possible. Defano also had a strong sense of empathy for the downtrodden, which led to a friendship between her and Thanis Gul-Rah. While not a romantic relationship, the potential for it to develop into one existed.

Defano was a practical woman who consistently carried a gear bag with her, even storing it in the compartment of any starfighter she piloted. The bag contained various personal and survival items, including a hold-out blaster, medpac, ration pack, glowrod, emergency flare, a knife, and a holo-image of the friend who perished on the transport she destroyed.

Dasha Defano was created for The DarkStryder Campaign, published in 1995 by West End Games for their Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. She was introduced as a member of the FarStar's crew. Her biography was featured in the "Support Crew" section of the publication, written by Peter M. Schweighofer. The illustration of Defano that accompanied the entry was created by Mike Vilardi. She was subsequently mentioned in all three accompanying supplements: The Kathol Outback, The Kathol Rift, and Endgame. Later, she received an entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, published in 2008.

As an integral part of the FarStar's starfighter complement, it is reasonable to assume that Defano participated in all battles where the corvette deployed its fighter squadron. However, due to the nature of the RPG scenarios presented in The DarkStryder Campaign, her participation is only explicitly mentioned in the Battle of Kathol.