Gara Petothel

Gara Petothel's birth occurred on Coruscant, where her parents, Dalls Petothel and Edallia Monotheer, both served as Imperial Intelligence operatives during the initial years of the New Order. She shared a close bond with both her mother and father, characterized by a deep sense of trust and belonging that would be absent in her later life. During her childhood, Petothel enjoyed moments of carefree joy, learning dances such as the Alderaanian waltz and watching numerous holovids featuring child star Garik "Face" Loran, on whom she developed a childhood crush. As a member of the upper echelons of Coruscanti society, she became proficient in Coruscant Charm Signing, a form of body language used to convey intentions and signals.

From a young age, Petothel harbored dreams of becoming a starfighter pilot, but her parents and their superiors in the Empire recognized her aptitude for intelligence work early on. Petothel possessed an exceptional memory, allowing her to retain facts, trivia, and statistical data permanently, although her facial recognition skills were less developed. She also displayed a remarkable ability to read people and an unusual control over her emotions; her ability to cry and stop crying at will particularly impressed Imperial officials. Almost immediately, she was being prepared to follow in her parents' footsteps as an officer in the Bureau of Imperial Intelligence.

She was also raised with long-held Imperial beliefs and customs, including Humanocentric speciesism. While she allowed herself to show affection for certain members of alien species, such as household staff or low-ranking merchants, Petothel generally believed in the inherent superiority of humans. Furthermore, she was taught to distrust the Rebel Alliance; her teachers depicted Rebel soldiers and pilots as undisciplined and reckless individuals with no respect for law and order. She was also taught to view Rebel ideologies of individual freedoms as simplistic and unrealistic propaganda.

Around 8 BBY, during Petothel's early teens, Dalls Petothel and Edallia Monotheer were arrested on unspecified treason charges and subsequently executed. Imperial records suggested that the pair had been leaking Imperial Intelligence information to anti-Imperial factions on Chandrila. However, years later, officials from the New Republic Intelligence Service concluded that Petothel and Monotheer were not involved with the Rebel Alliance and that the charges were likely fabricated to justify their persecution for a less significant offense.

The now-orphaned Gara Petothel experienced conflicting emotions following the sudden and disgraceful arrests and deaths of her parents, oscillating between hatred and longing for them. The lack of information and explanation surrounding their execution further deprived her of any sense of closure. It was during this period that Petothel was officially inducted into the Imperial Intelligence Agency, which also removed any official records linking her to Dalls Petothel and Edallia Monotheer. Petothel immersed herself in her Intelligence training, demonstrating great loyalty and eagerness to learn, in order to distract herself from her parents' deaths and avoid suffering a similar fate.

Gara Petothel underwent a rigorous and ultimately traumatic education at the hands of anonymous Imperial instructors. She was instructed to retain only information that was practical or relevant to her missions and Imperial service, and to suppress anything with personal or sentimental value, such as memories or emotional attachments. As a result, she failed to remember the names, personalities, or physical appearances of her teachers; in later years, she would only recall them as shadows silhouetted against bright lights.

Petothel was taught how to create new identities and assume various roles in order to carry out assignments as a spy. She was trained to plant triggers deep within her mind to activate a new identity and then to bury that identity once her objectives were achieved. Once an identity was abandoned, she was expected to discard any personal connections or memories that she may have formed while living that life. Petothel was taught to eliminate everything that did not pertain to her current mission; she was forced to abandon the concepts of friendship and trust and forbidden from even speaking with anyone who did not fall within her mission parameters.

She was also taught to abandon any negative connotations associated with the concept of treachery and instead focus on efficiency. Petothel learned to abandon her scruples and personal honor in order to do whatever was necessary to complete her mission. She was also taught that Rebels would do the same in order to defeat the Empire, reinforcing the propagandistic lessons she had learned about the Rebel Alliance from an early age. These lessons, combined with the impersonal and overwhelming teaching style of her instructors, deprived Petothel of any sense of personal attention or belonging to a group. However, lacking a basis for comparison, she did not long for these things and would not realize the extent to which the training had damaged her until years later.

She proved to be a prodigy in Imperial Intelligence. Her exceptional memory, ability to control her emotions, and skills in manipulating others made her ideal for covert assignments. Petothel's childhood desire to become a starfighter pilot was rekindled during basic pilot training, and she requested a permanent transfer to the Imperial Naval Academy. Although her instructors recognized piloting as a valuable secondary skill, they denied her transfer request, believing that her intelligence-related skills were more significant and valuable. Her primary training focused on infiltrating enemy ranks, extracting their secrets, and sabotaging their data.

Upon completing her training, Gara Petothel was assigned her first practice role under the identity of Kirney Slane, a Coruscanti student of economics and the daughter of a fictional hotelier. She was not given any significant mission or task as Slane but was simply ordered to pose as a member of Coruscant's middle society in order to test and refine her skills as a spy under an assumed name and identity. Under the guise of her first new identity, Petothel flirted with Imperial officer candidates and chatted with the spouses of married men. She attended dances, pretending that her ultimate motive was to find and marry a promising officer. She mastered the small talk of the social class and immersed herself in Slane's carefree personality. However, once Kirney Slane's usefulness as a training tool ended, Petothel was removed from the assignment and, as her training dictated, forbidden from ever assuming that name, manner, or mentality again. With her training now complete, Imperial Intelligence officials began assigning Petothel missions of far greater importance.

Over the following years, Gara Petothel assumed numerous names and identities while serving the Galactic Empire. Following the death of Emperor Palpatine at the Battle of Endor, she continued her service under Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard. Under Isard's command, Petothel infiltrated New Republic Fleet Command and posed as Chyan Mezzine, a New Republic Intelligence Service operative and code slicer. Mezzine was eventually assigned to the New Republic Frigate Mother Sea as a communications officer and mission coordinator. She was serving on that ship in 7 ABY when Isard was supposedly killed during the Battle of Thyferra, the final conflict of the Bacta War. Her controller, the only point of contact between Petothel and the Empire, also perished along with the rest of Isard's support staff during that battle.

Recognizing that Isard's death would lead to further fragmentation within the Empire, Petothel decided to switch her allegiance to Warlord Zsinj, a former high-ranking Imperial officer who had gone rogue and was vying for control of the remaining Imperial forces. She offered her services to Admiral Apwar Trigit, who also defected to Zsinj after Isard's death. He readily accepted her offer, and Petothel transmitted a significant amount of New Republic data to Trigit, including information about Talon Squadron, one of the New Republic's newly formed squadrons of X-wing starfighters. Under Trigit's direction, Petothel initiated a plan to eliminate the newly created squadron.

Petothel falsely reported that the uninhabited Gravan system had recently been secured by New Republic Intelligence. This allowed Trigit to lure Talon Squadron into the system using what appeared to be a lone TIE interceptor with no hyperspace-capable starships nearby. The squadron followed the lone starfighter into Gravan Seven, where an ambush resulted in the deaths of 11 of the squadron's 12 pilots. Only Brevet Captain Myn Donos, the squadron leader, survived the trap, although he was severely traumatized by the attack. The attack led to the squadron's decommissioning.

Knowing that the destruction of Talon Squadron would trigger an investigation into the intelligence leak, Trigit arranged for Petothel to abandon the Chyan Mezzine identity and rendezvous with him aboard his Imperial-class Star Destroyer, the Implacable. Petothel covered her tracks well enough that her true identity was not discovered until after she left Mother Sea. However, New Republic Intelligence officials eventually determined that Chyan Mezzine was, in fact, Imperial Intelligence agent Gara Petothel. An arrest warrant was issued for Petothel, and a bulletin was circulated among the New Republic military branches.

In 7.5 ABY, Petothel was assigned as a data analyst on the crew pit of the Implacable's bridge, reporting directly to Trigit. Her intelligence and performance soon made her one of Trigit's favorite officers, and the admiral even developed a physical attraction to her, considering a sexual affair. Petothel noticed his affections but did not reciprocate them. Nevertheless, she respected Trigit, knowing that Isard, known for her impulsive ruthlessness, might have preferred to let Petothel die rather than risk bringing her back from Mother Sea as Trigit had.

However, Petothel decided to create a contingency plan in case her service under Trigit did not work out. While researching the admiral, she learned about Aldivy, an agriworld in the Outer Rim Territories. Trigit had bombarded New Oldtown, an Aldivy farming community, killing nearly all of its residents after they failed to provide him with supplies. Among the dead was Lara Notsil, a farmgirl with very little official documentation. Petothel replaced Notsil's pictures, fingerprints, cellular coding, and other record data with her own, essentially assuming the identity for herself. She studied the planet using Imperial surveys and other publicly available data, as well as the Aldivian accent, teaching herself to speak only a trace of it in order to maintain the guise of a farmgirl who had always wanted to leave her home planet.

After conducting her own secret research on the Implacable, Petothel illegally accessed Trigit's personal quarters and discovered his secret personal escape pod. She devised a plan in which, in the event of the Implacable's downfall, she would pose as Notsil and claim to have been kidnapped by the admiral after the New Oldtown bombardment and forced to serve as his unwilling mistress, kept in a state of submission by glitterstim and other drugs. She memorized HoloNet addresses that would allow her to reestablish communication with Zsinj and stashed away stolen expensive lingerie, several datacards with other alternate identities, and makeup to alter her appearance if necessary. Although she had no intention of using the Lara Notsil identity except in an emergency, she resolved to minimize contact with Implacable crew members so they could not identify her if captured by the New Republic.

Petothel quickly proved herself to be a valuable asset to Trigit, who immediately tasked her with analyzing information gathered by Morrt-class parasite-droids, small, box-shaped droids that attached themselves to the hulls of New Republic starships and tracked their movements as part of Trigit's Project Morrt. The data led Trigit to attack a New Republic starfighter training base on Folor, but just as the battle began, Petothel analyzed the planetary data and determined that the mining facilities most suitable for New Republic occupation were located on the opposite side of the moon from where the base was reportedly situated. From this analysis, Trigit was able to deduce that beacons and other electronics were being activated remotely by Wraith Squadron, the New Republic's newest starfighter squadron, in a deliberate attempt to draw the Imperials away from the base. Although the successful tactic prevented Trigit from inflicting as much damage as possible, Petothel's intelligence work allowed him to redirect his attention and resources back to the actual base.

A few weeks later, Petothel made a similar discovery in her analysis that saved the Implacable and its crew from capture or destruction at the Battle of Talasea. As Trigit's fleet was in hyperspace en route to Talasea, a planet in the Morobe system where Project Moort information indicated survivors from Folor Base had gathered, Petothel analyzed the data and discovered that almost all of it was coming from the same Morrt droid units. This indicated that Project Morrt had been compromised and their information deliberately falsified. Petothel notified Trigit that the fleet was heading into a trap, allowing the admiral to drop his flagship from hyperspace prematurely. This quick action further improved Petothel's standing with Trigit, even though the discovery came too late to save other ships in the fleet, including the escort frigate Provocateur and corvette Constrictor, from the ambush set by Wraith Squadron.

Petothel's final service under Trigit occurred at the Battle of Ession, an attempt to use the Pakkerd Light Transport on Ession as bait to destroy New Republic starfighter forces, including Rogue and Wraith Squadrons. However, the Implacable quickly found itself on the defensive when the battle turned out to be a trap designed by Wraith Squadron to eliminate the Star Destroyer. Petothel demonstrated her usual skill and usefulness during the initial stages of the battle, such as when she accurately identified and reported to Trigit that Red Feathers, an old container ship, was actually a disguised delivery mechanism for sending three starfighter squadrons and Katarn Commandos to the planet's surface.

During the battle, the Implacable's shield generator domes and bridge transparisteel viewport were destroyed by fire from Atril Tabanne, a former Imperial TIE pilot leading Wraith Squadron's TIE contingent. While most of the bridge crew were sucked into space, Petothel was among the minority, including Trigit, who managed to crawl through the bridge into the safety of the ship's security foyer. As the crew struggled to keep the ship operational, Petothel was forced to take on some of the duties of her fallen crew members, including coordinating the fleet's TIE squadrons for the battle. While performing these tasks, Petothel discovered that something had infiltrated the Implacable's power cells and was systematically destroying them. Although she did not realize that the source of this destruction was Wraith pilot Falynn Sandskimmer, she correctly deduced that the action would ultimately lead to the ship's destruction.

Petothel communicated this information to Trigit, suggesting surrender to preserve the lives of the 35,000 crew members. However, the admiral declined to allow the New Republic to seize and utilize his flagship, choosing instead to sacrifice both the vessel and its personnel. Trigit, on the other hand, plotted his escape via his personal TIE interceptor equipped with hyperspace capabilities, offering Petothel one of the two escort interceptors so that she could save herself. Internally, Petothel seethed at Trigit for condemning thousands of loyal soldiers to death and felt revulsion at the absence of personal integrity in secretly arranging his own salvation while his crew perished. Despite being trained to disregard personal honor, Petothel made a conscious decision to engineer Trigit's demise due to his dishonorable conduct.

She feigned an inability to pilot a starfighter, informing Trigit that she preferred to die alongside the crew rather than risk capture by the New Republic. The admiral experienced a genuine feeling of loss for Petothel, yet he proceeded to activate the ship's self-destruct mechanism. Once Trigit departed, Petothel secretly transmitted a message to the New Republic, divulging the admiral's escape attempt. As a result of Petothel's intelligence, Trigit and his escorts were eliminated by Myn Donos, now a Wraith pilot, and General Edor Crespin, the former commander of Folor Base.

Petothel also sent a message to the Implacable's crew, notifying them of the ship's impending destruction and instructing them to abandon ship, thereby rescuing thousands of lives. Subsequently, she retrieved her Lara Notsil disguise and identity and proceeded to Trigit's now-unsecured private quarters. After donning the lingerie and impersonating the admiral's unwilling mistress, she injected herself with a sufficient amount of drugs to simulate the appearance of a prisoner, but a small enough dose to maintain her mental clarity for the deception. She then utilized Trigit's private escape pod to evacuate the Implacable moments before its destruction.

Gara Petothel was presumed dead and officially listed among the casualties aboard the Implacable in New Republic records. In reality, Petothel, now operating under the alias of Lara Notsil, found herself in a military hospital on Borleias, a planet within the Pyria system where the New Republic had established a fighter pilot training facility. During past assignments as an Imperial Intelligence operative, Petothel avoided contact with Rebel personnel; however, her time in the hospital marked the first instance of her directly interacting with New Republic individuals. She observed that they differed from the undisciplined and unrestrained individuals she had been led to believe they were during her training, but she attributed this to their recovery from severe injuries and dismissed it. One of the people Notsil encountered during her hospitalization was Ton Phanan, a doctor and pilot within Wraith Squadron who had lost his spleen during the Battle of Ession. The two engaged in lengthy conversations, and Phanan became infatuated with Lara Notsil.

Notsil was soon transferred to Coruscant for further debriefing. She provided a wealth of information regarding Apwar Trigit, including scandalous and fabricated details of her captivity and Trigit's cruel treatment of her. She portrayed herself as severely damaged and traumatized by Trigit, channeling her lingering resentment towards him for sacrificing his crew to enhance her performance. The New Republic interrogators accepted her account without question, and while most survivors of the Implacable were incarcerated as military prisoners after their escape, Notsil was released without any charges.

Upon her release, Petothel fully intended to discard the Lara Notsil persona and resume her service under Warlord Zsinj as quickly as possible. She rented an inexpensive and inconspicuous room on the fortieth floor of a Coruscanti building and secured employment as an information processor for a shipping company. During her brief tenure, she managed to gather a significant amount of data concerning various worlds, companies, and planetary officials, but the primary objective of her employment was to gain access to the HoloNet. She modified both Imperial and Rebel records to provide inaccurate information about Gara Petothel, then created a code program that would enable her to transmit New Republic data to Zsinj without leaving any trace of her involvement.

However, before establishing contact with Zsinj, she received a visit at her Coruscant residence from Phanan and fellow Wraith pilot Garik "Face" Loran, the child actor she had been infatuated with during her youth. The two Wraiths were seeking to disrupt the illicit activities of Colonel Atton Repness, a New Republic training officer who manipulated the test scores of struggling pilots, then blackmailed them into assisting him in stealing starfighters and equipment, which he then sold on the black market. Given that Repness specifically targeted attractive female pilots, Phanan remembered Notsil from their time in the hospital and believed she would be ideally suited for the role; Phanan also recognized that she still harbored animosity towards Trigit, and felt it could be directed against the corrupt colonel. Loran and Phanan offered to sponsor Notsil for pilot training, where she was to intentionally perform poorly and expose Repness when he approached her.

Notsil immediately recognized an opportunity to infiltrate one of Wedge Antilles' pilot squadrons, thereby providing her with the chance to either supply sensitive information to Zsinj or assassinate the renowned commander, either of which would elevate her status in the warlord's eyes. Notsil initially declined Phanan's and Loran's request, insisting that she had always dreamed of becoming a pilot ever since operating farm skimmers on Aldivy, and that accepting this assignment would label her as a traitor and jeopardize her prospects of becoming a New Republic pilot. In response, the two Wraith pilots assured her of the opportunity to join one of Antilles' squadrons, just as she desired. She agreed to the task, and Loran initiated the process of enrolling her in pilot training.

Phanan and Loran subsequently explained the plan to Antilles, who disapproved of the idea but agreed to allow it, on the condition that he would not accept Notsil into one of his squadrons unless she passed his own evaluation and met his standards, both in terms of piloting skills and character. Simultaneously, Notsil contacted Warlord Zsinj and offered her covert services to him, informing him that she expected to soon gain access to Antilles as one of his pilots. Zsinj, vaguely familiar with Gara Petothel through her association with Trigit, expressed interest in her services but did not dismiss the possibility that she had been captured and was being used by the New Republic to lure him out and capture him. He instructed Melvar, his top general, to investigate Petothel, independently verify her information, and determine her true allegiances before committing any resources to her.

Lara Notsil trained under Captain Sormic, who nicknamed her "Deadstick Notsil" due to her subpar abilities and test scores. She deliberately performed well below her actual capabilities, and she was surprised to realize that she was secretly bothered by the fact that she wasn't able to do as well as she could. Although she possessed superior flying skills compared to most of her classmates, Notsil would fall into traps she knew were coming and make mistakes that she would never make as a real pilot. Sormic suggested she shift her focus to astronautics or communications, where she excelled, but Notsil insisted on becoming a pilot. Unbeknownst to the captain, Notsil reprogrammed one of the simulation machines to prevent it from recording her performance, and she would repeat her simulations with great success when no one was observing.

Despite being trained to regard her classmates as enemies, Notsil found herself becoming drawn to their kindness and enthusiasm. Some of the students, such as her group leader Lowan, insulted her to the point that she imagined vaporizing them in a dogfight. However, others, like her Sullustan wingmate Lussatte, were so kind that she dreaded the thought of one day fighting them. Lussatte in particular challenged her prior teachings, which taught her that aliens were inferior to humans. Notsil nevertheless attempted to suppress these lingering doubts and concentrate on her mission for Zsinj.

As anticipated, Atton Repness transferred Notsil to his Screaming Wookiee Squadron, a remedial Y-wing training squad considered by most pilots as a "last resort" for pilots on the verge of failing out. She trained aboard the Nebulon-B frigate Tedevium, where her scores began to improve, although she knew this was due to Repness manipulating her simulation results. Notsil also continued involuntarily bonding with fellow students such as Bickey, an eager and boyish young pilot unlike any TIE pilot candidates she had ever encountered.

Shortly after her arrival, Notsil broke into Repness's private office and discovered his cylindrical comlink-like device, which he used to detect and block any nearby listening devices or eavesdropping equipment. She modified the device so that it would instead record conversations and transmit them to a secret account in the Tedevium's main computer, which she could later access herself. Two days later, Petothel was summoned by Repness, who used the device and unknowingly recorded their conversation. Repness revealed that he had been altering her scores and informed Notsil about his black market operation, offering to continue improving her scores if she agreed to take an A-wing on a simple training mission to an uninhabited planet and fake the starfighter's destruction. Repness would then sell the intact A-wing on the black market.

The rigged recorder captured far more evidence against Repness than she had anticipated, including conversations with subordinates like training Captain Teprimal about how to conceal and sell the stolen A-wing. The paranoid colonel even used the device while working alone at his computer terminal, and due to his tendency to speak aloud, the recordings included passwords and secret account names that granted Notsil access to evidence concerning all of his stolen Tedevium goods and meetings with fellow conspirators.

Based on her positive interactions with the other candidates, Lara Notsil decided not to expose Repness's other pilots and jeopardize their careers. She destroyed any evidence specifically related to the pilots, even though she knew that doing so would inflict damage on the New Republic, her sworn enemy. Instead of contacting Loran and Phanan and revealing that they had set up Repness, she submitted the recordings, accounts, and passwords to Director of New Republic Intelligence Airen Cracken in a secret message signed by a mysterious (and fictional) code slicer known as White Lancer.

Once the message was sent, Notsil confronted Repness, who threatened to end her flying career. Notsil responded that she would rather suffer that fate than live without honor, and she was surprised to realize that she genuinely believed it, despite her Imperial Intelligence training to disregard such notions as honor. Repness attacked Notsil, drugged her, and imprisoned her in the Tedevium's infirmary. He planned to modify her records to portray her as a compulsive liar, so that her claims about his black market scheme would appear to be a fabrication she concocted after failing out of pilot training.

Notsil's message reached Cracken, however, and the New Republic Intelligence Service arrested Repness before he could inflict any further harm on Notsil. Notsil informed the officials confronting Repness that he had assisted her in working through some of the psychological issues she continued to experience since the destruction of her Aldivy farm colony and requested a second chance in her pilot training.

Her trainers agreed to subject Notsil to an advanced training regimen, during which Notsil no longer suppressed her true piloting abilities. She excelled to such an extent that, even when averaging her previous scores with her new scores, she not only qualified as a pilot but also became eligible for one of Wedge Antilles' elite starfighter squadrons. She applied for a transfer to Rogue or Wraith Squadron, and although both were at full capacity, Antilles accepted her into the latter squad to augment their complement of snubfighters aboard the Mon Calamari Cruiser Mon Remonda. Edor Crespin, the new commander of the Tedevium, presented Notsil with Repness's personal X-wing as an act of poetic justice against the disgraced colonel. He also provided her with Tonin, Repness's R2-series astromech droid, a state-of-the-art model fresh from the factory.

Notsil immediately informed Zsinj of her assignment, and the warlord instructed her to provide the Mon Remonda's course and schedule. He intended to use Notsil to assassinate Han Solo, the celebrated New Republic general who was using the Mon Remonda as the flagship of Solo Fleet, a task force dedicated to hunting down Zsinj. The fleet included both Rogue and Wraith Squadrons, placing Notsil in close proximity to Zsinj's greatest adversaries. If she succeeded in this endeavor, Zsinj planned to grant her any position she desired, including command of his own flagship, the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Iron Fist.

Notsil was transferred to the Mon Remonda as a temporary third member of an existing X-wing pair with Antilles and Loran. She was assigned the call sign Wraith Thirteen and shared quarters with Tyria Sarkin. Notsil made every effort to appear friendly and made jokes to integrate with the fellow pilots, although she planned to resist forming bonds with them, as she had in all her previous missions. Antilles confided in his squadrons Notsil's part in exposing Repness.

Lara Notsil's inaugural mission with Wraith Squadron was the Battle of Lavisar. Zsinj had been disseminating what New Republic Intelligence believed to be false information that the warlord controlled the neutral planet of Lavisar in an attempt to provoke the New Republic into attacking it, enabling Zsinj to come to the planet's defense and be perceived as a hero by Lavisar. The Wraiths were tasked with staging a deliberately unsuccessful assault on the planet and then withdrawing. Notsil was familiar with Lavisar from her employment as an information processor on Coruscant. She informed Antilles that Carmal, the governor of Lavisar, enjoyed sunfruit liqueur and suggested presenting it to him as a gift, impressing the squadrons with her trick memory and making the first of many intelligence- and planning-related contributions to Wraith missions. Immediately upon meeting the Rogue and Wraith Squadron pilots, Notsil was surprised to see they were not the wild and unrestrained as she had previously been taught, and found Antilles trusted her in a way her Imperial superiors never had. She began to suspect that Imperial evaluations of the New Republic and its staff were either wrong or purposefully propagandized, but she nevertheless tried to ban such treasonous thoughts from her mind.

During the Battle of Lavisar, Lara Notsil realized Zsinj was a dishonorable man and switched her allegiances to the New Republic. The mission proved to provide many internal conflicts for Notsil. First, Notsil considered gunning down both Loran and Antilles, the latter of which she knew would do tremendous damage to New Republic morale. Although her Imperial Intelligence training would have encouraged her to take the shot, Notsil decided shooting them in cold blood would be too dishonorable, especially given the fact that Antilles and his pilots had already demonstrated respect and trust for her in their short time together. As the Wraiths approached Lavisar, Notsil had Tonin scan normal Imperial frequencies, and overheard chatter among TIE pilots about an Imperial garrison moving from a lunar station to intercept the Wraiths. Notsil briefly considered allowing the Imperials to ambush the Wraiths, but instead informed Antilles about the impending attack, allowing the squadron to better prepare for the ambush.

Notsil particularly dreaded the idea of facing her fellow Imperials in battle, and wondered whether destroying some of the TIEs would hurt her standing with Zsinj. However, upon confirmation that Lavisar was indeed independent and Zsinj was trying to trick the New Republic into attacking it, Notsil realized Zsinj was equally dishonorable and treacherous as Apwar Trigit when he opted to sacrifice his crew. When the time came to engage against the TIEs, Notsil ultimately decided she could never serve Zsinj or the Galactic Empire again. She shot one of the Imperial pilots down; her internal conflict over the action was further perpetuated by the fact that Tonin had not stopped monitoring the Imperial frequencies and she actually heard the slain Imperial scream.

After the successful mission, Notsil returned to the Mon Remonda and was embraced and congratulated by her fellow pilots. Among them, she felt a sense of belonging that she had not previously felt since before the deaths of her parents, and realized in that moment that she wished to remain with Wraith Squadron. She decided to try to remain within the identity of Lara Notsil and forget her previous life as Gara Petothel. This marked the first time Gara Petothel became personally attached to one of the identities she had assumed, and it caused her to have dreams in which Petothel and Notsil argued with each other as if they were two separate people.

Over the course of the next few days, Lara Notsil became further addicted to the feeling of trust she got from her squadmates and, although she still felt tense and out of place herself, the Wraiths found her quick-witted and good company. Wedge Antilles took notice of her abilities both in flying, planning and her ability to work with other pilots, and placed her high on his list for prospective lieutenant candidates. "Face" Loran, an expert in body language and mannerisms, noticed she seemed to lack any affection for the life she lost of Aldivy, and occasionally spotted Notsil adopting a Coruscanti posture that betrayed her supposed farmgirl background. Loran thought little of the observation and guessed Trigit might have trained her to walk that way in an attempt to control her, but it was the first time he deduced that Notsil was far more troubled that her fellow Wraiths realized.

By now, General Melvar had verified Gara Petothel's previous message to Warlord Zsinj, but was having difficulty finding a way to contact her. He eventually discovered Tavin Notsil, the brother of the real-life Lara Notsil from which Petothel created her false identity. Tavin Notsil was a criminal who was supposed to be in New Oldtown's jail during Trigit's bombardment, but had made arrangements with the town constable to leave the city before the farming community was destroyed. Melvar contacted Tavin and hired him to record a hologram message for Gara Petothel.

Lara Notsil received the message from Tavin, who pretended to have recently learned she was alive and asked her to return to Aldivy to meet with him. Since the family photos in the background included Gara Petothel's face, not the real Lara Notsil, she realized this meant the message was a probe from Zsinj and that her identity as Lara Notsil was no longer safe. In an uncharacteristic lack of self-control, Notsil suffered an identity crisis in her mind that was so severe, it took her a few moments to remember whether she was actually Gara Petothel or Lara Notsil. It was the first time she realized the extent to which her Imperial Intelligence trainers had damaged her psyche.

Once she had recuperated, Notsil made the decision to constantly supply Zsinj with fabricated intelligence and remain with Wraith Squadron until the warlord's defeat, after which he would no longer be a threat to expose her true identity. While contemplating these matters, Donos approached Notsil, and despite her reservations, she chose to share Tavin's message with him. She portrayed her supposed sibling as a criminal who would only reach out if he had ulterior motives. Donos posited that Zsinj might have employed Tavin to contact Notsil in an attempt to infiltrate and sabotage Wraith Squadron. He insisted on accompanying her to Aldivy to observe and safeguard her in case of a setup.

Prior to her visit to Aldivy, Notsil participated in a Wraith Squadron operation above Halmad. In this mission, several Wraiths adopted the guise of a pirate group known as the Hawk-bats, infiltrating both an asteroid base situated over Halmad and a refueling tanker named Bastion. Notsil was among the seven Wraiths providing aerial support in TIE fighters. Although her role in the engagement was relatively minor, she managed to destroy at least two enemy fighters. Antilles was impressed by what he perceived as her exceptional proficiency with a TIE fighter.

Despite the Wraiths' success in the conflict, Ton Phanan's death during the battle significantly impacted the squadron's morale. Notsil was then assigned as Loran's permanent wingmate. Following Phanan's death, she was also designated as the squadron's medic, being the Wraith with the most recent military first-aid training. Additionally, she was tasked with discreetly monitoring Loran for any signs of stress resulting from the loss of his friend.

With Antilles' approval, Lara Notsil and Myn Donos piloted their X-wings to Aldivy to rendezvous with Tavin Notsil. During the journey, Donos inquired extensively about her homeworld, even identifying inconsistencies in her recounted past, which made Lara apprehensive that he would uncover her deception. Upon landing at the ruins of New Oldtown, Lara insisted on confronting her brother alone. Donos agreed, but only on the condition that he could monitor the situation from a distance using his sniper rifle. She was taken aback by the realization that Donos seemed genuinely concerned for her well-being. To prevent Donos from overhearing anything about her true identity, Lara deactivated her comlink during the meeting with Tavin, but indicated she would signal for assistance by making a fist gesture.

Equipped with her own blaster, Lara approached a makeshift dwelling, where she encountered both Tavin Notsil and Todrin Rossik, a captain in Zsinj's forces. Rossik revealed his plan to provide her with a specialized transmitter that would enable her to transmit small packets of information via the old Imperial HoloNet, allowing Zsinj to track and destroy Mon Remonda. Rossik assured her that arrangements would be made for Notsil to disembark the vessel before the attack, a claim she viewed with skepticism. Notsil fabricated a story about Antilles and Wraith Squadron, asserting that she was kept uninformed about most mission-related details and that her belongings were thoroughly searched, making it unlikely she could smuggle the transmitter aboard.

During their conversation, Rossik detected Myn Donos and declared that he would have to be eliminated. When she protested that she would be unable to return to Mon Remonda without Donos, Rossik countered that he could not take the risk and that she would instead have to return to Iron Fist after Donos was killed. Lara recognized that she could not apprehend Rossik and Tavin Notsil without jeopardizing her identity, but nevertheless attempted to place them under arrest and demanded their surrender. When Tavin brandished his blaster at Lara, she signaled Donos for assistance. He fatally shot Tavin Notsil with his sniper rifle, diverting Rossik's attention long enough for Lara to draw her own weapon and kill him. Although genuinely shaken by the encounter, she felt relieved that her identity remained secure, at least for the time being.

Upon Notsil's return to Mon Remonda, she learned that the Wraith code slicer, Castin Donn, had perished during a Hawk-bat mission. Given Notsil's superior knowledge in computer technology, she was appointed as the squadron's new code slicer. She was subsequently tasked with developing a program capable of translating statistical data from large military forces into an equivalent force of ships from other cultures. She completed the program in a mere two hours, adapting programming from ship analysis programs found in the Mon Remonda X-wing and TIE simulators. Antilles applied Notsil's program to data that Zsinj had provided to the Hawk-bats regarding the defenses for an impending assault. Thanks to her software, he correctly inferred that the attack would target the Kuat Drive Yards with the aim of stealing Razor's Kiss, a newly constructed Executor-class vessel.

Donn had previously created a tracker program with the intention of uploading it into Iron Fist, and Antilles requested that Notsil modify the program so that it could be installed into Razor's Kiss. After completing the program, Notsil also generated fabricated dossiers for herself and Wraiths Shalla Nelprin and Dia Passik, hoping that Zsinj would select one of them to accompany his advance team to the new Super Star Destroyer. Zsinj chose Nelprin, who was to board Razor's Kiss and install Notsil's tracker program during an undercover operation. Wraith Squadron and the Solo Fleet then launched an ambush on Zsinj's forces at Kuat and, upon their escape into hyperspace, utilized Notsil's program to track Razor's Kiss.

The Battle for the Razor's Kiss culminated in the Super Star Destroyer's destruction. Lara Notsil's kill count surpassed five, elevating her to the status of an ace. During the battle, "Face" Loran sustained significant damage and, still grieving over Ton Phanan's death, contemplated a suicide run against the Imperial forces. Notsil partially brought Loran back to reality by coming to his aid and escorting him safely to Tedevium's landing bay. Following the mission, Notsil's call sign was officially changed to Castin Donn's previous designation, Wraith Two.

Over the following weeks, Lara Notsil developed a stronger sense of belonging within the Wraith Squadron. She became more comfortable around her comrades, engaging in playful banter and joking more frequently. She cultivated a particularly strong bond with her wingmate, "Face" Loran. Together, they devised an offensive tactic in which one starfighter shielded itself behind another until the opportune moment to target an enemy, after which the two fighters would separate. However, despite her newfound comfort, Notsil was occasionally reminded that her true identity would likely not remain concealed for long. A particularly close call occurred during a Wraith Squadron visit to the Galactic Museum on Coruscant, when an elderly Old Republic intelligence official mistook Notsil for Edallia Monotheer, Gara Petothel's biological mother. The encounter was overheard by several Wraiths, including Loran.

Notsil dismissed the encounter as the ramblings of a senile old man, but the incident visibly startled her, and she came to the realization that she would eventually have to reveal her true identity to Wedge Antilles and the squadron. In the meantime, however, Notsil resolved to continue assisting the Wraiths in any way she could, such as during a covert mission to Saffalore. During the infiltration of the Binring Biomedical facility, a medical research lab on Saffalore that housed biologically altered non-human sentient species, Notsil and fellow Wraith Elassar Targon were tasked with planting tracers on the roof. When Targon noticed that a section of the roofing had been recently replaced, Notsil discovered that new security measures had been installed, prompting her to warn Wraith Squadron of a potential trap. Her instincts proved accurate, and the Wraiths survived in part due to her warning. Targon and Notsil were subsequently attacked by stormtroopers and TIE fighters, but were rescued by Donos, who was providing overwatch as a sniper.

Donos, who had made significant progress in overcoming the trauma of his Talon Squadron's destruction, found himself drawn to Lara Notsil's beauty, intelligence, and what he perceived as her strong sense of secrecy. He approached Notsil and inquired whether she would consider exploring a more intimate relationship with him. Due to her involvement in the destruction of Talon Squadron, she initially resisted and even hinted that Donos would disapprove of her if he knew her secrets. Donos persisted, however, arguing that Notsil had closed herself off from others to such an extent that even she was unaware of her true self. Eventually, Notsil relented and entered into a romantic relationship with Donos, even as she predicted to him that it would end tragically. The two began spending significantly more time together, even engaging in public displays of affection, although some of her fellow Wraiths observed that Notsil occasionally grew tense and maintained a slight distance between them.

During a celebratory dance, "Face" Loran observed Notsil use Coruscant Charm Signing to invite Donos to kiss her. Loran was surprised and confused by the gesture, which he knew to be primarily used within Imperial social circles on Coruscant. He was reminded of previous mannerisms, gestures, and postures he had observed in Notsil that seemed Coruscanti in nature, as well as the elderly man at the Galactic Museum who had referred to Notsil as Edallia Monotheer. He decided to request additional information from New Republic Intelligence regarding both Lara Notsil and Edallia Monotheer.

Wraith Squadron was dispatched to escort New Republic Intelligence operatives to Kidriff 5, the Zsinj-controlled planet closest to the Galactic Core. During a lull in the mission, Loran reviewed transmissions he had received earlier in the day, including a response to his information request. He found nothing alarming in Lara Notsil's file, but was shocked to discover that Edallia Monotheer's husband was named Dalls Petothel. Recognizing the surname as that of the Imperial spy who had compromised Talon Squadron, Loran realized that Lara Notsil was, in fact, Gara Petothel. Concerned that she might attempt to harm Wedge or others in the squadron, Loran remained on the periphery for the remainder of the engagement, and Notsil, despite her confusion, followed him.

As Wraith Squadron prepared to depart the system, Loran declined Wedge Antilles' request to rejoin the group and requested to speak with the commander on a private channel. Notsil deduced that Loran was attempting to protect Antilles and realized that he must have uncovered her true identity. She directly asked Loran if he knew, and he confirmed that he was aware she was Gara Petothel. Although mortified that her time with Wraith Squadron had come to an end, Notsil felt a sense of relief that she no longer had to conceal her secret. Loran informed Notsil that he would have to arrest her, and she agreed to comply. However, Loran had neglected to switch his communications to a private channel, and the conversation was broadcast to the entire squadron, including Myn Donos.

Upon realizing that Lara Notsil was the woman who had betrayed his former squadron, Donos lost control and attacked Notsil, launching a proton torpedo at her X-wing. She was saved when Loran positioned his starfighter between hers and the torpedo and ordered Donos to detonate it prematurely, which he did at the very last moment, nearly killing Loran. The attack startled Notsil and made her realize that most New Republic officials would not believe she had remained loyal to Wraith Squadron. She became convinced that she would not survive long enough to face a court-martial if she surrendered. She informed Antilles and Loran that she would continue to remain loyal to the squadron and, after a final, unsuccessful attempt to communicate with Donos, jumped into hyperspace and fled the system.

Notsil escaped to the Halmad system, where she refueled her X-wing at the squadron's abandoned Hawk-bat Base and took time to collect her thoughts. Distraught, she realized that she could never revert to either her Gara Petothel or Lara Notsil identities. Instead, she chose to rename herself Kirney Slane, her first new identity in her Imperial Intelligence career. She was drawn to the identity because it had been so carefree and insignificant, and she resolved to use that identity to make new choices and forge a new life. She also decided that she would return to service under Warlord Zsinj and secure a position aboard Iron Fist, where she would attempt to find a way to sabotage the starship. To prevent Zsinj from discovering any of her actions while living as Lara Notsil, Slane erased Tonin's main memory and reprogrammed the droid so that his memory would only return when she entered the correct password.

Meanwhile, her former New Republic colleagues debated among themselves whether Lara Notsil had been truthful about her loyalty to Wraith Squadron. While "Face" Loran's intuition suggested that she was trustworthy, Myn Donos, who no longer wished for Notsil's death, remained conflicted as to whether she was trustworthy or not. Some, such as Rogue Squadron standout Corran Horn, believed that she could not be trusted and would defect back to Zsinj, rendering such undercover operations as the Hawk-bats and the Millennium Falsehood, a modified YT-1300 light freighter designed to resemble the Millennium Falcon, useless. Although Antilles carefully considered all of these perspectives, he ultimately believed that the operations were secure.

Kirney Slane contacted General Melvar and, identifying herself by her original name of Gara Petothel, arranged to meet with Warlord Zsinj aboard Iron Fist. She was secretly committed to destroying both the ship and the warlord, fully expecting to be killed in the process. When Melvar inquired about her experiences with Wraith Squadron and the incident that resulted in the deaths of Tavin Notsil and Todrin Rossik on Aldivy, Notsil told him that Donos had fallen in love with her and followed her, killing Notsil and Rossik when he believed she was in danger.

She agreed to provide all the information she could about Han Solo, Wedge Antilles, Mon Remonda, and its squadrons, while secretly withholding any genuinely relevant or sensitive information. Slane used her genuine contempt for Zsinj to feign hatred towards the Wraiths. Zsinj assigned her a position as an intelligence analyst on the Iron Fist bridge, with the rank of naval lieutenant. However, he remained skeptical of her true loyalties and ordered Melvar to establish constant surveillance, with human staff members monitoring and recording her every minor action every hour of every day. Zsinj, who intended to kill her if her loyalty proved false, also assigned an ensign named Gatterweld to shadow her at all times. Aware of Zsinj's paranoia, Slane correctly assumed that he would monitor her room and was careful not to act suspiciously even in the privacy of her own quarters.

Slane devised a plan to destroy Iron Fist after observing the MSE-6 mouse droids on the ship. Whenever she left her quarters, Slane instructed Tonin to open the door a few centimeters from the ground, allowing him to use his sensors to detect stray mouse droids. When a lone MSE-6 droid passed by, Tonin would capture it and reprogram it to obey his commands. Because Tonin had to wait for completely unattended mouse droids, he was only able to capture about three each day, meaning that it would take at least several weeks to collect enough droids to implement the plan.

The droids would be strategically placed throughout the ship so that, once enough were under their control, they could be used to sabotage Iron Fist's hyperdrive and other functions. Some of the mouse droids' wheels would also be fitted with magnetic strips, enabling them to crawl on the outside of the ship and inflict damage to the hull. Slane and Tonin developed a very close bond during the implementation of the plan, which felt particularly strange to Slane, who had been raised to shun all notions of friendship with anyone, let alone droids.

While performing her intelligence analyses for Zsinj, Kirney Slane discovered that she could secretly manipulate the warlord into inadvertently making himself vulnerable to Solo Fleet. She used a data package of the supposed Millennium Falcon (actually the Millennium Falsehood) on Kidriff 5 to convince Zsinj that Solo was launching attacks against Zsinj-controlled worlds with a direct or indirect connection to Alderaan, the home planet of his lover Princess Leia Organa, in an attempt to please her. Slane therefore convinced Zsinj that the next assaults would be on Comkin V or the Vahaba asteroids. In reality, she fed Zsinj those locations because she believed that the New Republic would be prepared for him at both places.

Slane utilized the TIE simulators aboard Iron Fist and once again proved to be an excellent pilot. Unbeknownst to her, she participated in a simulated dogfight with the man believed to be Soontir Fel, widely regarded as the greatest Imperial pilot. In fact, actor Tetran Cowall was impersonating Fel as part of a Zsinj scheme to ultimately kill Wedge Antilles, but in both the simulations and actual flights, Cowall flew with the assistance of droid-assisted piloting routines designed to mimic Fel's skills. Although Slane lost the simulated fight against the supposed Fel, she demonstrated herself to be a capable pilot against his superior skills. Impressed, he invited her to fly in Broadaxe Squadron, a TIE interceptor squad that would accompany his elite 181st Imperial Fighter Group in an upcoming battle, and she gladly accepted.

The battle turned out to be an attack against the Millennium Falsehood on Comkin V, causing Slane to worry about facing her former squadmates in combat. However, she quickly conceived a plan to use the battle as a means of contacting Wraith Squadron. Before the launch, she recorded a lengthy message to Wedge Antilles and the Wraiths, explaining that she was working on a plan that would allow her to transmit Iron Fist's whereabouts to the Wraiths for its destruction. She also informed them that they would be able to encounter Zsinj at the Vahaba Asteroid Belt. Slane then recorded another, emotional message to Myn Donos, saying goodbye and attempting to explain her state of mind both as an Imperial Intelligence agent and later as a loyal Wraith. Finally, before launching into battle, she reprogrammed her TIE interceptor so that its laser cannons would transmit fragments of her transmission. She also reduced the strength of her lasers so that when she fired upon a New Republic starship, it would communicate her message while inflicting minimal actual damage on the target.

During the mission, Slane was aware that she was being closely watched by her Imperial superiors to gauge her reaction to engaging in fire upon her former New Republic colleagues. Slane not only fired upon the Millennium Falsehood but also sent a taunting message to the ship before doing so. Although the Wraiths initially believed her attack to be confirmation that she had defected, the Wraith Squadron protocol droid, Squeaky, was aboard the Falsehood and recognized that her laser attacks were veiled communication transmissions. Squeaky requested that Antilles, who was piloting the Falsehood, allow Slane to fire upon them, and the commander reluctantly decided to trust Slane. When the Falsehood's shields failed, Slane knew that she would be exposed as a double agent if she failed to fire upon it, but also knew that she would destroy the Falsehood if she did. Instead, she faked a partial collision with the freighter, taking herself out of commission and risking her own life to save the Falsehood. She ended the mission by repeatedly striking her head against her cockpit to simulate the effects of being knocked unconscious from the impact.

The plan deceived her Imperial superiors; the supposed Fel expressed satisfaction with her piloting performance, and General Melvar personally congratulated her for her tenacity and courage in pursuing the enemy. Meanwhile, her message was viewed by Antilles, Han Solo, and Mon Remonda Captain Onoma, as well as former Wraiths Myn Donos, "Face" Loran, and Shalla Nelprin. Antilles asked each of the three Wraith pilots to analyze and interpret the message, and all three believed that it was genuine for different reasons. Loran, himself a former actor, believed that her emotions were genuine and not an act, and Nelprin stated that the risk she took in sending the message indicated that she was telling the truth. Myn Donos felt that if she were lying, she would have falsely expressed hope that the two could be together once Iron Fist was destroyed, rather than speaking as if she believed she was going to die when her mission was over.

Several weeks had passed since Tonin began collecting MSE-6 droids, and by now he controlled hundreds of the tiny robots. Slane had him strategically place the droids throughout the ship; some were in the engine departments, while others were spliced into the computer data cables. Many of the mouse droids gained control of cables and dataports, providing Slane with access to many different parts of the ship, as well as the computer archives via her monitor goggles. Tonin also had one droid tapped into the security system monitoring Slane's quarters, so she could move about freely without the risk of being monitored.

Yet another droid discovered an unmapped portion of the ship containing medical wards, an operating theater, and cages filled with non-human sentient and near-sentient life-forms, including Ewoks, Ranats, Bilars, Ortolans, Chadra-Fan, Talz, and Gamorreans. Slane demanded more information about this section of the ship and discovered that it was the base of Project Chubar, an operation in which non-Humans were biologically altered to take on a variety of genetic, chemical, and behavioral techniques; it was the same as the Binring Biomedical project Wraith Squadron had previously encountered.

She further discovered that Iron Fist was also the home of Project Minefield, an outgrowth of Project Chubar in which the non-humans were brainwashed into making suicide missions against a specific target once activated by a programmed code phrase. The project had already been used in previous assassination attempts, including against Wedge Antilles and Admiral Gial Ackbar, Supreme Commander of the New Republic Defense Force. Slane, having now completely shed her previous Imperial Intelligence notions of the inferiority of aliens, was horrified by the discovery of the project and the horrors that were being inflicted upon the unwilling subjects of the experiment. She resolved to free the subjects, whether by helping them escape or ending their misery along with the eventual destruction of Iron Fist.

With enough mouse droids in place to knock out the Iron Fist hyperspace engines, Kirney Slane decided to implement her plan. Solo Fleet was awaiting Zsinj at Vahaba based on Slane's message, and when the warlord brought Iron Fist to the Vahaba system based on her intelligence analyses, the New Republic launched a surprise attack. Although calling in his fleet would have allowed him to engage Han Solo in the battle, Zsinj ordered a retreat based on his doctrine, which dictated changing the battleground if it was selected by the enemy. Slane prepared to shut down Iron Fist's hyperspace engines, which would provide Solo with the opportunity to engage the disabled ship, but a New Republic-aligned Interdictor cruiser rendered the Super Star Destroyer unable to jump to hyperspace, giving Slane more time before she had to unleash her trap.

As she waited, she devised a new plan to separate Iron Fist from the rest of Zsinj's forces, which would further improve Solo's odds. She instructed Tonin to secretly change Fist's hyperspace course to a different location than the rest of Zsinj's fleet. Once Iron Fist escaped the interdictor's gravity well projectors and jumped into hyperspace, Zsinj was surprised to find that his flagship had jumped to the Selaggis system, while the rest of his fleet was elsewhere. Slane then had Tonin order the mouse droids to shut down the hyperspace engines, rendering Iron Fist disabled and unprotected. Because the ship had changed its hyperspace destination, Zsinj's fleet would be unable to reinforce Iron Fist for some time; while some ships could respond in minutes, others would be unavailable for several hours.

Amidst the chaos unfolding on the bridge, Slane cleverly initiated a fabricated radiation emission within the flight deck housing her X-wing, intending to facilitate her subsequent escape. As a final act before her departure, she dispatched a communication to Mon Remonda, revealing to Han Solo the whereabouts of Iron Fist, and then hastily departed from the bridge, fully anticipating that Zsinj would intercept her message. While the warlord was, admittedly, impressed by her cunning, he nonetheless decreed her immediate capture, torture, and execution as punishment for her act of treason. However, Slane possessed comprehensive knowledge of all access routes within Iron Fist, thanks to her deployment of mouse droids. Consequently, she promptly journeyed alongside Tonin towards the concealed Project Chubar section of the starship, coinciding with the launch of Solo Fleet's second attack against Iron Fist.

Adopting the guise of a newly appointed liaison officer, Slane brandished a blaster pistol towards the Chubar crew and liberated an imprisoned Ewok named Kolot. Collaboratively, they proceeded to liberate the remaining imprisoned aliens and made their way to the deck where Slane's X-wing and a Sentinel-class landing craft were stationed. There, Slane encountered Ensign Gatterweld and General Melvar, who had detected the fabricated radiation leak and accurately surmised that it served as Slane's means of escape. Melvar, however, was unprepared for the onslaught of the genetically altered aliens, who promptly assailed Melvar and Gatterweld, leaving them bound and destined to perish alongside Iron Fist.

Kolot revealed that he had been trained in shuttle piloting through the use of prosthetic limb extensions, a consequence of his Project Chubar modifications. This revelation drew a parallel between Kolot and Lieutenant Kettch, the fictional Ewok pilot frequently employed as a practical joke within Wraith Squadron, fostering an immediate connection between Slane and Kolot. She tasked the Ewok with piloting the aliens and Tonin to safety, while Slane would utilize her X-wing to assist Wraith Squadron. Tonin implored Slane to reconsider, expressing concern that even if she survived the battle, she would likely be captured and imprisoned by Wraith Squadron due to her past affiliations with the Empire. However, Slane remained resolute in her decision to pursue the path she had chosen. She further instructed Tonin to transmit all data pertaining to Project Chubar and Project Minefield to the New Republic. Before her departure, she deactivated the automated communication signal typically indicative of ejection, ensuring that she could eject from the X-wing without leaving any detectable traces.

Kirney Slane observed Wedge Antilles and the Wraith Squadron descending into the atmosphere of Selcaron, the satellite of Selaggis VI, in pursuit of the fictitious 181st Imperial Fighter Group. The Wraiths were ambushed by a squadron of TIE Raptors, one of which attempted to eliminate Tycho Celchu, whose fighter had crash-landed on the moon's surface. After eliminating the Raptor and rescuing Celchu, Slane redirected her attention towards Antilles, who had become separated from the rest of the Wraiths while pursuing who he believed to be Soontir Fel. Following the destruction of Fel's TIE interceptor, Antilles landed on the surface in an attempt to apprehend Fel, only to discover that he was, in fact, Tetran Cowall, an actor hired to lure Antilles to his doom. The TIE Raptors descended to attack Antilles, who narrowly managed to return to his ship, but realized he would be unable to launch before they destroyed him.

Just as the Raptors were about to reach Antilles' X-wing, Slane launched an assault, her diversion saving his life and enabling him to take off and join her in the counterattack. The two pilots swiftly dispatched the Raptors, but not before one of them launched a concussion missile towards the rear of Slane's starfighter. She ejected from the ship moments before it crashed onto the surface, and because she had previously disabled the automated communication signal, no evidence remained to indicate her survival. Antilles was "unable to confirm" whether she had ejected or not, and Slane successfully feigned her own death, thereby evading any potential criminal prosecution at the hands of either Warlord Zsinj or the New Republic.

The Battle of Selaggis concluded with the apparent destruction of Iron Fist. In reality, Zsinj salvaged his flagship from annihilation by utilizing Second Death, a clandestine vessel laden with explosives and containing the reconstructed remnants of the Super Star Destroyer Razor's Kiss. Second Death, equipped with an orbital nightcloak that allowed it to evade detection by the New Republic, detonated just as Iron Fist was on the verge of destruction, scattering the debris of Razor's Kiss and creating the illusion that Iron Fist had been obliterated. Nevertheless, Zsinj and his forces would never fully recover from Kirney Slane's scheme and the Solo Fleet assault, and Iron Fist met its end at the Battle of Dathomir less than a year later.

Embarking on a new chapter in her life, Slane resolved to establish a new shuttle enterprise on Corellia utilizing her Sentinel-class landing craft, with Kolot serving as her co-pilot and Tonin providing support staff. She dispatched a final holographic message to Myn Donos, employing her new identity of Kirney Slane and posing as a Corellian. She extended an invitation to Donos to join her in the shuttle business venture, or at least to contact or visit her, while acknowledging that she would accept whatever decision Donos made, even if it meant severing all communication. This message was intercepted by Han Solo and Wedge Antilles before it reached Donos, Solo deducing that she was alive (and that Antilles was aware of it). They opted not to report it, recognizing that she would face a death sentence for treason, despite her instrumental role in dismantling Warlord Zsinj and Iron Fist. Instead, they chose to forward the message to Myn Donos and erase all other traces of the communication.

Donos accepted Slane's proposition, and together they established a transport company named Donoslane Excursions, operating from a leased section within Behareh Spaceport, a spaceport situated in the Corellian capital of Coronet City. The company operated a Lambda-class shuttle with a short, furry alien as a co-pilot. In 40 ABY, Jaina Solo, Zekk, and Kolir Hu'lya chartered a shuttle from them at the onset of the Second Galactic Civil War. By 44 ABY, Slane and Donos had at least two children, and in that year, Slane was recruited by the now-retired Antilles to extract the new Wraith Squadron from Vandor-3 after the pilot was contacted by his daughter Myri Antilles, a member of the Wraiths. While Antilles and Tycho Celchu confronted the attacking Pop-Dogs, a group of soldiers under the command of the traitorous General Stavin Thaal, in a pair of StealthX fighters, Slane piloted the Donoslane shuttle down to the Wraiths, facilitating their escape. She then proceeded to reprimand their leader, Piggy, repeatedly warning him against recruiting her children as she piloted the shuttle back to Corellia.

Despite Gara Petothel's pivotal role in the downfall of Warlord Zsinj and his forces, her contributions remained largely unknown throughout the galaxy. Due to the necessity of maintaining secrecy regarding her participation against Iron Fist to avoid criminal prosecution, most individuals within the New Republic either continued to perceive her as a traitor or harbored lingering doubts regarding her true allegiances. As a consequence of Han Solo and Wedge Antilles' decision to conceal her message to Myn Donos, the majority remained unaware of her survival following the Battle of Selaggis.

Petothel possessed exceptional intelligence, characterized by an eidetic memory that enabled her to instantly and permanently retain facts and information, a valuable asset in managing the intricate backstories of her various identities. Imperial Intelligence operatives exploited Gara Petothel's grief and confusion over the executions of her parents to manipulate her and mold her into an Imperial prodigy during her formative years. Partly as a result of their training, Petothel developed the capacity to discern and manipulate the emotions of others, influencing them to act according to her wishes without their conscious awareness. Through a lifetime of adopting and discarding numerous identities during her 15-year tenure as an Imperial Intelligence agent, Gara Petothel failed to cultivate a distinct sense of personal identity or self-awareness. The training inflicted significant psychological damage, a realization that would not dawn upon her until she joined Wraith Squadron in 7.5 ABY.

Her decision to align herself with the New Republic over the Galactic Empire she had long served stemmed from the discovery of a profound sense of honor, which had remained dormant within her for the majority of her life. Her Imperial Intelligence training mandated the abandonment of honor and the embrace of any means necessary to achieve her objectives, regardless of their treacherous nature. However, through her associations with Apwar Trigit Atton Repness and Warlord Zsinj, individuals she deemed to be treacherous, she developed a desire to deviate from their examples and uphold honor. Her decision to refrain from the cold-blooded elimination of Wedge Antilles and Garik "Face" Loran during the Battle of Lavisar further exemplified this newfound sense of honor.

In addition to honor, Gara Petothel discovered the concept of trust during her time with Wraith Squadron. Her Imperial Intelligence training strictly prohibited her from trusting anyone, and her Imperial superiors failed to place any significant trust in Petothel during her missions for the Empire. However, she experienced trust from her fellow students during New Republic pilot training and was immediately trusted by Wedge Antilles and her fellow pilots upon joining Wraith Squadron.

By the time she recognized the extent of the damage inflicted by her Imperial training, Notsil realized she lacked any sense of her true self, experiencing an identity crisis and psychological breakdown that was uncharacteristic of her typically strong emotional control. Only after this breakdown did Gara Petothel realize she possessed the agency to make her own choices and chart her own course in life. Her initial choice was to remain within her Lara Notsil persona as a pilot in Wraith Squadron, severing ties with her Imperial Intelligence past and her association with Warlord Zsinj.

Petothel became addicted to the trust bestowed upon her and, after forming a bond with Myn Donos, she eventually learned to trust others. With trust came the burden of understanding that her actions made her responsible for her entire squad, a stark contrast to her Imperial days when she was solely responsible for herself. However, she grew to cherish the trust she both gave and received, forging friendships with her Wraith pilots and even engaging in playful banter with them, an unprecedented occurrence during her time with the Galactic Empire.

While she was devastated when her past was exposed and she was forced to leave Wraith Squadron behind, Petothel also experienced a sense of relief at being able to shed both her Gara Petothel and Lara Notsil identities and embark on a fresh start with a clean slate. She chose to become Kirney Slane, an unremarkable identity from her earliest Imperial Intelligence mission, precisely because it lacked any genuine past, allowing her to truly begin choosing her own path. In doing so, she resolved to infiltrate and attempt to dismantle Iron Fist and Warlord Zsinj.

Petothel meticulously planned every detail, as evidenced by her preparation of the Lara Notsil identity and her memorization of Warlord Zsinj's HoloNet addresses in case her association with Admiral Trigit proved unsuccessful. She possessed exceptional resourcefulness, sufficient to devise a plan to utilize small mouse droids to disable a Super Star Destroyer. Petothel also exhibited remarkable patience; aware that Warlord Zsinj was monitoring her private quarters aboard Iron Fist, Petothel feigned insomnia for several hours before attempting to communicate with Tonin, demonstrating a strong sense of self-discipline and resolve.

In addition to her intelligence, Gara Petothel possessed an acting prowess that made her ideally suited for espionage. She was capable of speaking not only with various accents but also with a subtle trace of an accent when portraying someone attempting to distance themselves from their home planet, a skill she described as particularly challenging to master. She was also adept at controlling her natural mannerisms and replacing them with fabricated ones, such as feigning disappointment during her deliberately poor New Republic training simulations and expressing false disdain for Wedge Antilles and the Wraith Squadron pilots during her conversations with Warlord Zsinj.

She was proficient in numerous military disciplines, including communications, astronautics, medical care, electronics, and computer slicing. Her technical expertise was repeatedly demonstrated during her Wraith Squadron missions, including the development of programs capable of tracking enemy capital ships and translating statistical data of large military forces into an equivalent force of ships from other cultures. She also showcased her slicing skills aboard Iron Fist when, without leaving the cockpit of her TIE interceptor, she reprogrammed the starfighter's laser cannons to transmit stored fragments of a communication transmission when fired.

One of her most exceptional skills, however, was starfighter piloting, a skill she had yearned for since her youth and honed as a secondary skill during her Imperial Intelligence years. Petothel was among the select few pilots in the galaxy who could claim to have flown alongside and against (in simulations) Wedge Antilles and Soontir Fel, the most skilled pilots that both the New Republic and Galactic Empire had to offer, although the Fel she encountered was actually an imitator utilizing droid-assisted piloting routines. Her piloting skills were further demonstrated by the fact that, even when averaging her deliberately poor New Republic training scores with her later real scores, she qualified for placement in both Wraith Squadron and Antilles' other elite fighting force, Rogue Squadron.

Gara Petothel was also a master of disguise. Despite possessing fair skin and being considered attractive in each of her identities, she was capable of making subtle alterations to her appearance that effectively distinguished her from each new persona she adopted. Gara Petothel was born with black hair and a small birthmark on her right cheek, which she had surgically removed. She adopted the same hair color and style as Chyan Mezzine during her undercover operation concerning Mother Sea; she even employed a false birthmark to replace the one she had previously removed. As Lara Notsil, she sported short, downy blond hair and used makeup to further conceal any features that might have persisted from her Mezzine identity. After the destruction of Iron Fist, when she permanently assumed the identity of Kirney Slane, she had long red hair draped in a braid over her shoulder.

Myn Donos found himself drawn to Lara Notsil's beauty, intelligence, and air of secrecy during her tenure in Wraith Squadron, initiating a romantic relationship with her, unaware that, as Gara Petothel, she had been responsible for the deaths of his 11 squadmates in Talon Squadron. Although attracted to Donos, Notsil attempted to dissuade the relationship before it began, even hinting that he would disapprove of her if he knew her secrets. Donos persisted, however, expressing his desire to help Notsil overcome her tendency to isolate herself from others and from herself. The two became lovers, despite Petothel's lack of prior romantic experience due to her rigorous Imperial Intelligence training. However, when Donos learned of Notsil's past during the Battle of Kidriff 5, he suffered a psychological breakdown and attempted to kill Notsil, who was only saved by the intervention of Garik "Face" Loran. Notsil was devastated by the turn of events and, during her covert mission aboard Iron Fist, took the time to record an apologetic and confessional message to Donos. Following his breakdown, Donos attempted to resign from Wraith Squadron but eventually regained his composure and realized he did not wish to kill Notsil, although he continued to experience conflicting emotions regarding her past. He vouched for Notsil to Wedge Antilles and Han Solo, asserting that she was sincere in her intentions to destroy Iron Fist and had not betrayed Wraith Squadron. After the destruction of Iron Fist, Notsil (now using the identity Kirney Slane) contacted Donos and invited him to establish a shuttle company with her, an offer he accepted.

Gara Petothel was conceived by Aaron Allston for his novels within the X-Wing series, making her debut in X-Wing: Wraith Squadron and playing significant roles in X-Wing: Iron Fist and X-Wing: Solo Command. To date, she has not been featured in any work by another author. While Allston has stated that he does not have a definitive favorite among the Star Wars characters he has created, Gara Petothel holds the distinction of being his favorite in terms of dramatic potential.

Allston has expressed his belief that Myn Donos and Gara Petothel would rekindle their relationship following the events of X-Wing: Solo Command, most likely before the events of The Courtship of Princess Leia, placing it in 8 ABY. Allston strongly alluded to this with the inclusion of the Donoslane Excursions shuttle service in his 2006 Star Wars: Legacy of the Force novel, Legacy of the Force: Betrayal. The company name is a combination of Kirney Slane and Myn Donos, and the co-pilot is almost certainly Kolot. Nevertheless, it was not considered canon until 2008, when Petothel's ownership of the company was explicitly confirmed in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. Kolot's presence, however, remains a mere implication until it is directly expressed in a canonical work, and Allston has acknowledged that he had no idea when and if that would ever occur.

Ian Liston, the actor who portrayed Wes Janson in The Empire Strikes Back, noted in an interview that Lara Notsil's last name was his own last name spelled in reverse. He mistakenly referred to Lara Notsil as Wes Janson's "girlfriend" in the interview. Liston described the gesture as "very funny and hugely flattering," but Aaron Allston maintains that it was merely a coincidence.