Kay Vess

Born in Canto Bight on the planet Cantonica circa 19 BBY, Kay Vess was a human female nurtured by her mother, Riko Vess, who instilled in her the skills of pickpocketing and theft from a young age. She collaborated with her mother on numerous heists, during which she encountered the merqaal Nix, whom she adopted as a companion. However, at the age of twelve, her mother abandoned her. One morning, Kay received a hologram message from her mother stating that she was leaving, but she left Kay a blaster and a casino chip. As she matured, she utilized the skills acquired during her childhood to become a pirate, thief, and scoundrel.

However, her lifestyle eventually caught up with her, and by 3 ABY, at the age of 22, she resided in the attic of The Broken Hoof bar in the city's South Stretch Worker's District. The owner, Bram Shano, permitted her to stay despite her numerous debts and adversaries. One morning, Kay Vess received her data spike from Shano, which she later repaired at Preeban's shop after stealing some credits with her partner Nix.

With her data spike repaired, Kay attempted to infiltrate Club Tarsus, a club owned by the notorious Sixth Kin, to steal an identicard as their ticket to leave Cantonica. Although she successfully stole the identicard, the Sixth Kin was alerted by a pressure switch, prompting them to lock down the area in search of Kay. Upon returning to The Broken Hoof Bar, Kay was confronted by Shano, who assisted in dispatching the Sixth Kin forces searching for her. Bram offered her one last job that would provide her with enough credits to secure a shuttle off-world, demanding that she not return.

Following the datapad's instructions, Kay met with a heist group led by Dennion, who were secretly allied with the Alliance to Restore the Republic, briefing Kay about the heist while on their speeder. Dennion claimed that their objective was a vault inside a mansion owned by the crime lord Sliro Ruback to steal the fortune within, concealing the fact that their ultimate goal was to rescue the captured rebel Asara Deyn.

Upon reaching the vault, Kay sliced into the systems with the override, where she encountered the rebel Asara Deyn within a cell. Deyn was later rescued by her rebel allies, but Vess urgently demanded her payment from the crew, threatening lethal force if she was not paid. However, Deyn attempted to persuade her to join the rebel alliance instead, which was shortly interrupted by Dennion, who stunned Kay with her blaster and left her behind as a distraction for the incoming Zerek Besh forces. While unconscious, Kay reminisced about her childhood with her mother, Riko Vess.

Upon regaining consciousness, Kay was confronted by the crime lord Sliro himself, who interrogated her about her relations with the Rebel Alliance. However, Kay was rescued by Nix, who attacked Sliro, providing an opportunity for Kay and Nix to escape and temporarily trap Sliro in the cell instead. Enraged by Kay's actions, Sliro placed a death mark on Kay, demanding her death in exchange for a substantial reward. After navigating through the ventilation systems, Kay arrived inside the hangar of the mansion, where she discovered the freighter Trailblazer. Fighting her way onto the ship, Kay piloted it out of Cantonica Space, where she then jumped into hyperspace and arrived at the Toshaal system on Toshara.

With the ship heavily damaged, Kay crash-landed the Trailblazer on the surface of Toshara. Surviving the crash, Kay awoke to find her partner Nix, along with discovering and keeping a jacket from the ship. After opening the rear door of the Trailblazer, Kay caught a first glimpse of the sun of Toshara, only to be immediately ambushed by the Rodian Mechanic Waka. Waka missed, claiming that he mistook Kay for "one of them," and the two were soon attacked by hired guns, whom Kay was able to eliminate. After that, Waka suggested that he could repair the ship to get Kay off-world. He directed her to the speeder, which could take her to Mirogana City, where she could earn the payment for his service by working for Gorak Palas, the boss of the Pyke Syndicate. Kay accepted the deal, but warned Waka to keep the ship intact, or else she would hunt him down.

Riding her speeder, Kay arrived at Mirogana City after escaping pursuits by bandits, where Waka informed her that he only needed fuel injectors with no credit payment necessary, claiming that he was repairing it for the satisfaction of working on a high-quality ship. After passing the imperial inspection, Kay was directed to Makal's cantina, where she made her way up to Gorak Palas' suite as she witnessed him and the soldiers of the Pyke Syndicate neutralizing an Imperial officer. However, she was noticed and questioned by Palas as she was about to leave. Although she was able to mildly charm Gorak, she was still forced out after aggravating him when she mentioned Waka. However, Nix was able to steal Palas' ring while entertaining him.

Later, she was greeted by the Mon Calamari Broker, Danka Orsato, who introduced Kay to the crime syndicates and informed her of the importance of reputation in the underworld. She suggested that she could instead work for someone else by stealing information from Palas' base, which Kay accepted. While exiting the cantina, Kay was called by the Crimson Dawn operative Eleera Soi, giving her directions in stealing the file, soon cutting the transmission after wishing her good luck. Kay later requested additional directions from Waka to infiltrate the base. After infiltrating the Base, Kay found a file of what is actually Palas' favorite Spotchka recipe, but was also able to slice into the system and find a transmission between the Pyke Tizlak and the Imperial Governor Thorden discussing a plot to overthrow Palas. Returning to the Cantina, Kay was met by Soi herself, discussing her death mark and how her whereabouts would be kept a secret by Crimson Dawn if she continued to work for them. Kay decided whether to tell them about the traitor or save it for Palas, while also receiving two fuel injectors from Soi.

After bringing the fuel injector back to Waka, Kay was met once again by Soi, who asked Kay to take the repaired Trailblazer to the Imperial dockyard in Toshara space to delete some data. While flying in space, Kay received cargo from an intercepted freighter as an excuse to enter the station. While on the station, Kay Vess reached the data vault but was spotted and questioned by the Gallusian Bosnok, who threatened to sound the alarm unless Kay freed him from being the Empire's bookkeeper over criminal records. After being wanted and escaping from the Empire, Kay returned to Toshara and delivered Bosnok to protection, receiving information about Vail Tormin, the bounty hunter sent after Kay.

After completing the job, Waka said that he also needed a part to upgrade the speeder used by Kay to access the material needed to repair the hyperdrive. Orsato suggested that Kay start looking from the cantina in Jaunta's Hope. Arriving in the cantina, Kay was told by the bartender to look for Selo Rovak. After finding the vehicle modder on a cliffside, Rovak agreed to help but requested an atmospheric accelerator to complete the modification on the speeder. Arriving at an imperial wind harvester, Kay was able to find the accelerator and steal the modification that grants the speeder the ability to gain an immense boost.

With the speeder modification complete, Waka requested that he also needed a compatible nav computer for the Trailblazer, only available in an old ship wreckage buried in amberine, along with a class-eleven power core that can be found in an Imperial comms station on Toshara. After infiltrating the base, Kay Vess escaped and headed towards the wreckage for the Nav computer.

As Kay traveled through wind tunnels with the speeder's new boost upgrade, she eventually made her way to the wreckage of the Castellian, a High Republic-dated ship that crashed on Toshara. After making her way onto the bridge of the ship and finding the nav computer, Kay was met and betrayed by Waka, who revealed that he had been using Kay the entire time to gather the parts, while always intending to kill her for the Trailblazer when the time was right. However, before being able to kill Kay, he was shot instead by Tormin, the bounty hunter who arrived to capture Kay, needing her alive. Kay, being pushed to a corner, accidentally triggered controls causing the wreckage to violently tremble, giving Kay an opportunity to escape.

After being chased down, Kay was trapped at a dead end of a door that she could not open. Vail demanded her cooperation in the arrest. However, Kay was saved by the BX-series commando droid, ND-5, who cranked open the door and pushed back Tormin, telling Kay to run. Returning to the Trailblazer, Kay was met again by ND-5, and also the scoundrel Jaylen Vrax, who introduced Kay to a heist that could change her entire life. Vrax showed Kay Vess schematics of Sliro's mansion, claiming a safe filled with 157 million credits worth of unmarked beskar ingots, believing that Kay was fit for the job after he heard that Kay infiltrated his mansion. Kay Vess, despite hesitant, was convinced to be part of the crew, and also to work with ND-5 to hire more crew members. ND-5 informed Kay that he would be her bodyguard and assistant as long as she did not betray Jaylen. After flying the repaired Trailblazer to Toshara space, ND-5 suggested that Kay jump to the Kijimi system first for the safecracker, but ultimately left the choice to Kay.

In search of the safecracker for the heist, Kay Vess arrives at the Kijimi system, flying through the Kijimi nebula and landing on Kijimi city spaceport. Upon landing, Vrax introduced the Chadra-Fan safecracker, Ank Parako, to Kay. While leaving, Kay finds a holotracker belonging to the former owner of the Trailblazer, Jet Kordo, which she could use to find stored contraband and holodiscs recording Jet Kordo's adventure. After leaving the Trailblazer, Kay is met by the Ashiga Clan, the syndicate that holds the largest power on Kijimi, who inspected the ship, allowing Kay to leave but also warning her never to lie to them again.

After arriving in a cantina, Kay heard from the bartender that Parako was captured by the Ashiga, to whom she owed millions of credits in debts, to work in a factory to pay off the debt. After infiltrating the Ashiga District in search of Parako's whereabouts, Kay wasn't able to receive the location but instead discovered that Crimson Dawn stole a relic from the Ashiga. ND-5 suggested that Kay start looking from the Wellspring, a Crimson Dawn hub near the thermal district. After successfully stealing the relic, Kay was able to enter the Ashiga Clan stronghold to meet Queen Ashiga, where she returned the relic and requested Parako to be freed. The request to free Parako was denied, but Ashiga suggested that it would change if Kay continued to work for the Ashiga Clan. Kay was later contacted by Krisk Ashiga, daughter of Queen Ashiga, who told Kay to meet her at a cantina.

At the Cantina, Kay was met by Krisk, along with Lady Qi'ra, leader of the Crimson Dawn. Qi'ra said that she had heard about Kay from Soi, telling her that the queen would never free Parako because it was their only way to build weapons for the Empire, which would support their expansion in return. Krisk revealed that she believed working with Crimson Dawn was the only way to liberate the Hive for the better good. Though Kay denied working permanently for Crimson Dawn, she accepted to do it for Parako.

With the keycard provided by Qi'ra, Kay was able to infiltrate the Ashiga weapons factory, revealed by Krisk to be repurposed for building weapons for the Empire. After finding Parako, Kay was told that Qi'ra had a plan with Parako to blow up the Ashiga stronghold. Before leaving, Parako told Kay that she needed something from her husband from the locker room, and she would leave along with Kay. After finding Parako's lucky charm, Kay helped Parako escape from the factory. After telling her about the heist, Parako told Kay that she could only work on one job at a time, which Vrax later remarked as part of her personality.

Kay would later meet with Qi'ra and Parako, with Qi'ra telling her how she could not stand the same tyranny as she saw on Corellia, supporting the plan of Krisk taking over the hive while Crimson Dawn spread their influence. After infiltrating the stronghold and disabling the turrets, Parako informed Kay that Crimson Dawn was playing them, attempting to take the origin strand, the genetic codes of the Ashiga, and take over the hive as a whole. After securing the cyrochamber, Kay took the origin strand to the throne room, where she met Krisk and Queen Ashiga in a standoff of whom to give the origin strand to. Kay would decide who to give the strand to, deciding the fate of the Clan and the Queen. Ultimately, Kay was able to leave with Parako, recruiting her as a safecracker of the heist group.

In search of the droidsmith suggested by Vess, the crew traveled to the Akiva system for a droidsmith to bypass the gatekeeper. While landing on the jungle world of Akiva, Kay introduced Gedeek Obaz to ND-5, saying that he was a talented droidsmith and could even remove restraining bolts, hinting towards ND-5, which it soon denied, responding that he did not require aid. ND-5 suggested that Kay start looking for the droidsmith at The Alcazar, a cantina owned by the Sullustian gangster Surat Nuat. Meeting him there, Kay was able to receive the information that Obaz was trapped in the Imperial Research base on Akiva.

After infiltrating the Imperial research facility, Kay came across a holographic recording of Obaz detailing his modifications to the Viper droids used for Project Swarm. This project was the Empire's attempt to locate and obliterate rebel bases following the Evacuation of Yavin 4. Upon locating Obaz, she faced an attack from a protocol droid that had been reprogrammed. However, she successfully convinced the droid that she was not an assassin and persuaded it to join her crew. Once Gedeek was safely extracted from the base, ND-5 proposed that Kay should investigate the reasons behind the syndicates' pursuit of Obaz and resolve the issue.

Obaz felt compelled to erase his work on the Viper droids for the Empire. To achieve this, Kay needed to enhance her speeder with a hydro-repulsor, a task she could accomplish with the help of his friend Temmin Wexley at Sashin. After discovering Wexley's location through his aunt Esmelle, Vess searched near Mount Selase, where Wexley was thought to be scavenging. Upon arrival, Kay found Wexley already captured by bandits who were trying to steal his parts. After rescuing Wexley, he agreed to install the hydro-repulsor but needed durasteel struts for stability, which had been taken by Nuat to his island. During their journey, Obaz disclosed that he had designed a more advanced Viper droid for the Empire, hoping to prove his worth, but it accidentally went rogue. This caused him to be wanted by nearly every faction, but he felt responsible for preventing the droids from harming the innocent people of Akiva. Following an assault on Nuat's forces and the retrieval of the struts, Kay delivered the parts to Wexley, enabling her speeder to traverse deep water.

With the upgrade completed, Kay went to rendezvous with Obaz's contact, only to be ambushed by Viper droids. During the battle, rebel forces known as Typhoon Squadron intervened and assisted in defeating the viper droids. They revealed that they were the contacts and needed Kay to infiltrate an Imperial base while they launched an attack to extract an asset. Kay was hesitant to collaborate with rebels again due to her experiences at Canto Bight, but she agreed solely to secure Obaz as their droidsmith.

While infiltrating the base, Kay stumbled upon the ISB, which controlled a significant portion of the base to manage and analyze data from the Viper droids. After deactivating the defense grid, Kay met with Obaz, who planned to use his Freedom Spike, a fusioncutter designed for cutting and reprogramming droids, to turn the Viper droids to their advantage. Upon reaching the droid lab, Kay opened the energy barrier for Obaz to reprogram the droids, but this alerted the Imperial forces, prompting Kay to request assistance from ND-5. ND-5 eventually arrived and helped Kay eliminate the forces. Although they successfully repelled the attack, ND-5 sustained significant damage but remained functional, suggesting they should proceed. With the Viper droids reprogrammed, the group used them to aid the rebels in defeating the Imperial forces. After the Rebel Alliance secured the base and the Viper droids were reprogrammed to assist the rebels, Obaz was able to leave with Kay, joining the crew as the droidsmith to bypass the gatekeeper.

In need of a heavy to provide firepower for the heist, the crew traveled to the desert planet of Tatooine, arriving in the remote town of Wayfar, to enlist the Sullustian gunslinger Hoss, whom Vrax considered a legend. However, ND-5 doubted his reputation, as Hoss had recently been arrested by a small-time sheriff for looting vaportators. After exploring the deserted town, Kay located the sheriff known as Quint Cresadde, a former crewmember of Hondo Ohnaka. However, they were soon confronted by Hutt enforcers searching for Hoss, but Cresadde revealed that he had escaped and disappeared on Tatooine. The Hutts insisted on taking Cressade instead, but Kay and Cresadde repelled them.

After assisting the sheriff, Cresadde informed Kay that she had cornered Hoss at a moisture farm, where he had been hiding. Upon arriving at the abandoned moisture farm, Kay found the area deserted, with only the dead body of a bounty hunter and a transponder, which ND-5 believed could still be used to track Hoss. Following Hoss's trail, Kay encountered tusken raiders, who escorted her to Hoss after she claimed she meant no harm. Hoss explained that bandits had stolen a krayt dragon pearl valuable to the tuskens, and they believed Hoss would be a good hostage to bargain for the pearl. He told Kay that she needed to find the pearl in a cave filled with bantha bones to free him from the tusken tribe.

After stealing the pearl and returning it to the tribe, Hoss declared that he was free to go but first needed to settle a tab at the Cantina, instructing Kay to meet him at Docking Bay 94 for the job.

While waiting at the docking bay, Kay couldn't find Hoss anywhere, only to discover that he was in the Cantina. Upon arriving at Chalmun's Cantina, Kay found Hoss playing Sabacc with an Aqualish gambler, who had defeated Hoss and demanded payment. Hoss didn't have the payment, so he offered Nix instead, while allowing the audience to capture Kay. Despite Kay's resistance, she was eventually knocked out by the gambler, falling unconscious. While unconscious, Kay had another flashback of rescuing and keeping Nix during a heist with her mother, Riko, who warned her that her feelings were interfering with the heist, but Kay insisted on keeping Nix.

Upon waking up, Kay found Hoss asking when they should leave, prompting her to threaten him with her blaster to reveal where they had taken Nix, and then knocking him out. It was revealed that Nix had been taken to Jabba's Palace because he was considered an exotic pet that could be sold to Jabba. ND-5 provided information on how Kay could infiltrate the palace but warned her of the dangers of crossing Jabba, which Kay ignored, emphasizing that Nix was family to her. After infiltrating the palace, Kay found and reunited with Nix in the palace's menagerie. While searching for a way out of the palace, Kay entered a room where she saw the carbonized scoundrel, Han Solo. As she approached for a closer look, the exit was sealed off, and Jabba revealed himself, displeased by Kay stealing from him after hearing Zerek Besh and Hoss. Hoss was present and captured by Tormin, who was there to claim the bounty. Jabba, stating that no one steals from him, intended to feed Vess to the rancor. However, Tormin grabbed Kay to prevent her from falling, insisting that she needed to be alive. Jabba wanted all of them executed to spite Zerek Besh as revenge for the Hutts' lost associate. Kay and Tormin fell after Tormin was pushed by a Gamorrean Guard, with Hoss falling alongside them.

After falling into the chamber, the group encountered two massifs, instead of Jabba's pet rancor Pateesa. Tormin and Kay pushed Hoss, leaving him to be killed and devoured by the beasts. When the two reached the garage of the palace, the gate closed before they could escape. However, they were attacked by Pateesa, Jabba's pet rancor. Kay distracted the rancor by igniting explosive barrels while Tormin activated the rails to deploy the barrels, luring the rancor to charge at the gate and steal a WTK-85A interstellar transport. Although they created an exit, the two were quickly pinned down by Hutt Enforcers, forcing them to return to Jabba.

Kay and Tormin met with Jabba again, but he forgave them because he was entertained and impressed by their performance, giving them another chance and allowing Kay to keep Nix. Jabba demanded that the two find a Zerek Besh spy within the palace, requiring them to go to Bestine Compound and find a name, or he would kill them without any further chances. Kay informed Vrax that Hoss was dead, which Vrax accepted and told Kay to get permission from Jabba to leave the planet, and then reconsider the plan. After meeting Tormin outside of Fort Sunfire, Kay infiltrated the base to retrieve the data and later escaped with Tormin. They planned to meet Hutt enforcers afterward in Mos Algo, but Bib Fortuna suggested they recall the enforcers because they were being followed by the Empire. Tormin tried to get help from ND-5, but they realized that their transmissions were being jammed by the incoming Imperial forces. Kay and Tormin continued to fight off the Imperial attack but were soon overwhelmed. Tormin said they couldn't escape the situation, but Kay comforted her, saying they could handle it. However, ND-5 arrived in time with the Trailblazer to attack the Imperial forces and escape Mos Algo.

In a remote location, Bib Fortuna, Jabba's right-hand man, met with Zerek Besh and Sliro himself. Sliro demanded the location of Kay Vess in exchange for securing Fortuna a future position as the new leader of the Hutt Cartel.

Returning to the docking bay, Tormin allowed Kay to leave for this one time, telling her that she would eventually come back for her. With their plans changed, the crew would now search for a talented slicer suitable for the heist.

While searching for the slicer on the Trailblazer, ND-5 suddenly began to move uncontrollably and violently, likely due to the damage he had previously sustained on Akiva. Gedeek Obaz reported that he was experiencing cascading system failure and needed a Compound Regulator, which would be difficult to find because the BX-Commando droid was an old model. ND-5 also described seeing darkness, an experience that seemed to happen to battle droids before they shut down. Obaz suggested that Kay abandon him since he was programmed to prevent Kay from betraying, but Kay insisted on helping him. Obaz recommended talking to Wexley on Akiva to help ND-5.

While on Akiva, ND-5 insisted to Kay that she was wasting time and Vrax could easily replace him, but Kay told him to save his energy. Upon entering Wexley's shop, the crew found Wexley threatened by a hired gun, whom ND-5 killed. It became clear that ND-5 was beginning to lose his personality, displaying the traits of a standard BX-commando droid. After requesting Wexley's help, he led the crew through an ancient catacomb leading to a Separatist droid factory. Upon reaching the factory, ND-5's condition worsened, as he began seeing illusions of clone commandos, then entering a state of transport stasis. Obaz gave his fusioncutter to Kay, instructing her to navigate through the factory while he secured ND. After Kay opened the gate and regrouped with Obaz and ND, she found them in a standoff with a group of rebels, including Asara Deyn. Deyn told Kay to let them go and repair ND only if she worked for them, which she initially refused but then agreed to after Wexley suggested that it might be the last BX factory in the galaxy, with ND almost killing Deyn after assuming he was a Jedi, causing him to fire and attempt to contact General Grievous.

Deyn instructed Kay to rescue a rebel team from the Hutts, who were planning to sell them to the Empire. Kay threatened him that if he betrayed her again, she would sell him to the Empire herself, which Deyn acknowledged. Upon arriving on site, Kay infiltrated the area and freed the prisoners. However, Zerek Besh arrived to neutralize and collect the prisoners. After escorting the prisoners and securing the area, Deyn told Kay that she had saved a lot of lives and that they had found a compatible regulator for ND-5. After returning to the base and inserting the regulator, ND-5 began to violently tremble, creating an impact that knocked down Kay. Kay also experienced a flashback of her childhood while unconscious.

Upon waking up on the Trailblazer, Kay was greeted by ND-5, who was now fully functional again, apologizing for causing the inconvenience. As Kay noticed Vrax talking to someone, the two met the slicer for the job and Kay's mother, Riko Vess. Vrax explained to Kay that they needed two slicers, and Riko was among the top slicers in the galaxy. However, Kay couldn't bring herself to confront her mother and ignored Riko's greeting about looking forward to catching up. Afterward, Kay also saw Deyn present, who was revealed to be the heavy for the crew, splitting the payment with the Rebel Alliance. Kay confronted Vrax, demanding her cut and Riko's removal. Vrax responded that she needed to move on from the past, sharing his own story of how his family was torn apart by the Empire, and he was the last survivor. He then told Kay that Sliro was keeping his master keycode with him, currently making deals with the ISB, requiring Kay to infiltrate and extract the keycodes. ND-5 informed Kay that Riko had secured a lambda shuttle and had sent the coordinates for Kay.

Confronting her mother, Kay received a briefing from Riko. Despite her resentment, Kay eventually agreed to work with Riko for the job. After infiltrating the base, Kay's movement was accidentally detected by a Viper droid, forcing her to erase its data. After deleting the data, Kay headed toward the meeting room. While traveling through the ventilation system, Kay overheard Tormin discussing via hologram with Sliro about abandoning the bounty. However, Sliro threatened to take her fortune on Niamos to recoup his losses, instructing her to finish the job, as he had greater control.

After ending the call and observing his blaster collection, he was confronted by the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Sliro reported that Zerek Besh had infiltrated the deepest levels of the criminal underworld and was on the verge of uncovering the Rebel network, a success for the ISB. However, Vader expressed disappointment, denouncing that Zerek Besh had not yet captured a single member of the Rebel Alliance, making both him and Sliro failures. Sliro, in response, accused the ISB of being far more efficient than the Imperial Army, which had allowed the rebels to escape on Hoth. Enraged, Darth Vader shattered the window of the blaster display using the force, trapping Sliro in the broken pieces of glass, warning him to find some rebels soon, then leaving the room afterward. Kay, astonished by the situation, realized that Sliro was secretly an ISB officer who had created Zerek Besh to uncover Rebel relationships in the underworld. After infiltrating Sliro's quarters, Kay found the codes and then headed to the security terminal to escape the base with Riko.

Returning to Cantonica, Kay gathered the crew, informing them of Sliro's ISB connections, which the crew believed would complicate the situation. Vrax reminded them of the amount of credits they would be giving up if they walked away and that it was their only chance at a free life. The crew then discussed a plan to infiltrate the mansion, with Kay infiltrating through the ventilation systems of the hangar, the two slicers disabling the energy gate at the vault, Deyn securing the exit, Obaz managing the gatekeeper droid, Parako breaching the chromium time lock of the vault, and the Old Canto Sewers as their exit. Kay then discussed their future plans with the crew once the heist was complete and talked to ND-5 to initiate the heist. ND-5 revealed that he wouldn't receive a cut because he was a droid with a retraining bolt and again declined Kay's suggestion to remove the bolt.

The Heist commenced as Kay landed outside the mansion, securing the area for the crew, with Deyn opening the hatch for them to enter. Kay then entered the ventilation system to reach the hangar, making her way to the vault. After regrouping with Obaz and Riko, Kay hacked into the system to disable the turrets and the gate, allowing Obaz to hack the gatekeeper droid and grant entry to the vault. After destroying the lock with Parako's explosive, the crew was attacked by Zerek Besh forces. After repelling the attack, Sliro, Tormin, along with Zerek Besh enforcers, arrived to secure the area. Sliro commanded Tormin to blast Kay, but Tormin decided to betray Sliro, blasting the enforcers to prove her point. She then bargained for a cut while pinning down Sliro, then knocking him down. The crew managed to escape when Parako blew up the side walls, extracting the valuables to the Canto Sewers. Riko decided that they needed to split up because Obaz's face was recorded in the casino cameras, which would trigger an alarm, and Parako was out of explosives, so they planned to regroup at the Trailblazer. After reaching the Canto Casino's security room, Kay and Riko met Deyn, discovering that Zerek Besh was locking down the Casino. After blasting their way out of the Casino, the Trailblazer arrived in time for them to escape, with the goods secured and the Heist finally successful.

After securing the crate, Riko opened it, revealing that the only thing inside was Sliro's databank, containing Imperial clearance codes, operation plans, base schematics, and a collection of Imperial officers' blackmail information. Deyn believed it was something better, but then Vrax controlled ND-5 to grab his blaster and aim at Deyn and Kay, both shocked by the betrayal. Vrax revealed that he planned to return this information and Deyn's rebel network to earn the Empire's favor, allowing him to take over the entire Zerek Besh syndicate, in return, removing Kay's death mark. Kay threatened Vrax and insisted the deal be changed, but Vrax forced ND-5 to target Kay. However, Riko interrupted this situation, telling Kay to stand down, and ND-5, controlled by his restraining bolt, stunned Kay.

Upon waking up, Kay found herself in a pod within the Trailblazer, revealing that she had been rescued by Parako and Obaz. Parako revealed that they took Riko's shuttle and were now aboard the Imperial-class Star Destroyer known as the Revelator. Obaz arrived with a knocked-down stormtrooper, telling Kay that with her secured, they could now leave. Kay refused to leave, stating that she needed to free ND first, acknowledging the things he had done for the crew and yet couldn't walk away freely. Parako and Obaz agreed to the plan, with Obaz instructing Kay to use his freedom spike to remove the restraining bolt from ND-5.

Taking the armor from the stormtrooper, Kay disguised herself and escorted Obaz as a prisoner, the two searching for ND-5 and Deyn by heading towards the control room. Obaz discovered that Sliro was also present to join a conference at the bridge. Kay believed she could join Sliro's escort to get closer to ND-5. After joining the escort and making her way to the bridge, Sliro was met by Darth Vader through a hologram, who declared that Sliro had outlived his usefulness to the Emperor, while Jaylen Vrax revealed himself. Vader stated that the Emperor had accepted Vrax's terms, a bargain of giving the Empire the location of Akivan Rebels and some sensitive information, in return for giving Vrax control of Zerek Besh. Sliro, left hopeless, eventually revealed alongside Vrax that they were brothers, and back when the Clone Wars was over, Sliro accused the Barsha family of plotting against the Emperor for a promotion, whereas they could have built thousands of destroyers and became the richest family on Corellia. In the end, Sliro revealed that it was out of envy for how Vrax always had their parents' favor over him and took everything he could have ever wanted. Vrax ultimately killed him with ND-5, the same droid sent to kill every last Barsha. After this, Kay revealed herself, blasting the other stormtrooper and declaring that she was here to save ND and Deyn. However, Kay was unable to reach ND, with Deyn creating an opportunity for Kay to escape.

During the operation, Kay informed Obaz of its failure, yet remained resolute in her mission to liberate ND-5. Following her escape, Kay made her way to the primary and secondary power cores linked to the destroyer's deflector shields. She hypothesized that a surge of power through the central emitter would be sufficient to incapacitate ND-5. After reactivating the two power cores and evading ND-5's pursuit, Kay strategically directed ND-5 toward the central emitter, where her trap successfully stunned him. As Kay approached ND-5, he still possessed enough functionality to seize her. Nix intervened just in time, providing Kay with her blaster, which she used to stun ND-5. Subsequently, Vrax arrived, holding Deyn as a hostage. ND-5 regained his footing, and Vrax commanded him to eliminate Kay. However, the blast from Kay had inadvertently destroyed the restraining bolt on ND-5, enabling him to disobey Vrax's orders and instead eliminate him.

With the Barsha brothers deceased and the captives released, the team would fight their way towards the hangar, from which they intended to flee aboard the Trailblazer, thus abandoning the destroyer. Nevertheless, the star destroyer had already arrived above Akiva, with intentions to initiate an orbital bombardment aimed at obliterating the rebel base. Deyn found herself unable to establish contact with the base due to signal jamming, prompting Kay to abort the jump to hyperspace and redirect power to the deflectors, planning to confront the Empire while concurrently broadcasting a distress signal. As the crew resisted Imperial TIEs, Deyn endeavored to reach the base to organize an evacuation. After engaging the Imperial forces, Deyn successfully contacted the base, dispatching X-wing reinforcements. Furthermore, a criminal syndicate responded to the distress beacon, either seeking the codex or offering assistance to Kay, whom they regarded as a valuable asset. With the combined support of Rebels and crime syndicates, the crew targeted the shield generator and the reactor, resulting in the complete destruction of the Revelator via explosion, after which the crew jumped into hyperspace.

With the demise of Zerek Besh's leadership, Kay was freed from the death mark and convened with her crew at The Broken Hoof to deliberate on their future endeavors. Kay pledged to support Obaz and Parako in times of adversity, and embraced Shano in gratitude for his contributions, requesting that he leave the lights on in her room. Upon returning to the Trailblazer, Kay encountered Tormin, who was there to claim her share. Instead, Kay compensated her with the codex, believing it contained sufficient secrets and intelligence for Tormin to establish her own criminal empire. Despite Tormin's offer of partnership, Kay declined, citing her existing partnership and urging Tormin to remember her when she ascended to power in the underworld.

Back in the cockpit, Kay encountered ND-5, who inquired about their next destination. Kay responded that they were now free to go wherever they desired.

Sometime during 3 ABY, Kay Vess infiltrated an Imperial detention facility disguised as an Imperial officer. Her purpose was to visit her mother, Riko Vess, who had been apprehended by the Empire for utilizing credits provided by Jaylen Vrax, which were discovered to be marked and therefore illegal. After settling into a seat, Kay revealed that the casino chip given to her by Riko during her youth was, in fact, a tracking device, indicating that Riko had consistently cared for her daughter, even after abandoning her. Subsequently, Kay exchanged the chip for a lock-pick, enabling Riko to escape. Kay then departed with the stormtrooper escort, leaving Riko in the cell.

At some point during 3 ABY, Kay Vess journeyed to Renpalli station based on the recommendation of a Quarren broker, who offered Kay employment for an undisclosed client, promising substantial wealth. Upon arrival at the station, she met the broker, who escorted Kay to the client, encountering stormtroopers along the way. Kay entered a room to meet the client, who was preparing grassfish congee. Kay recognized him as Governor Thorden, who tasked Kay with infiltrating a Sabacc tournament aboard the casino cruiser Morenia to win a valuable moon, providing Kay with a sum of credits for her buy-in. Despite Kay's reluctance to work for the Empire, Thorden threatened to blackmail Kay with a fabricated hologram depicting her as an Imperial spy, potentially damaging her reputation within the underworld. Compelled to accept the contract, Kay inquired about the consequences of failure, to which the governor responded by advising her to be creative, before dismissing her.

ND-5 suggested that Kay seek information about the Morenia from someone familiar with the station. Eventually locating the head engineer, Kay persuaded her to reveal that a hyperfuel shipment destined for the Morenia was associated with a ZH-40 shuttle. Departing the station aboard the Trailblazer, Kay eventually detected the aforementioned shuttle, and she and ND-5 encountered a beacon emitting an encrypted signal, which triggered security vessels upon attempted access. After eliminating the fighters, ND extracted the coordinates, and the two proceeded to the ship's rendezvous point, encountering numerous ships and the casino cruiser itself emerging from hyperspace.

After docking the ship and securing her room, Kay obtained intelligence regarding the tournament, which was scheduled to take place on the Grand Coil Stage located at the ship's front. However, lacking an invitation, Kay was unable to gain entry, prompting her to devise a plan to steal an invitation and identity for access. Reviewing the player list, Kay identified Zana Gatta as a suitable candidate, given her human status and lack of affiliation. Upon reaching Gatta's room, Kay discovered that Gatta had stolen valuable sculptures known as Verillian Eggs from the Pyke syndicate, intending to sell them to Crimson Dawn for her buy-in. Leveraging this information, Kay blackmailed Gatta into relinquishing her invitation for the tournament.

Upon entering the game, Kay encountered the gambler Lando Calrissian, along with the other participants. The droid EY-E9 announced the grand prize of Okala Five, a moon purportedly containing two point eight trillion tons of pure cyphrite ore, before commencing the tournament. As Kay played, she noticed her buy-in, the Hosnian mintage, emitting a beeping sound. Suddenly, the mintage began to emit smoke and subsequently exploded, temporarily blinding Kay and the other players. Upon regaining consciousness, it was revealed that they had been raided by bandits, who had absconded with the map. Collaborating with Calrissian, Kay fought her way back to the Trailblazer, but failed to apprehend the fleeing bandit.

While escaping aboard the Trailblazer alongside Calrissian, Kay was eventually persuaded to persist in her mission, aiming to profit from her efforts and exact revenge on Thorden. Calrissian revealed that Thorden had manipulated her from the outset, not expecting her to win, but rather using her to plant the bomb within the tournament. Returning to Toshara, Kay was instructed by Calrissian to gather further intelligence from an outpost operated by the bandits known as the Starfallers, who had raided the tournament under Thorden's employ. Kay then traveled to two separate Imperial outposts, discovering that the Empire was eliminating the bandits in pursuit of the map, as well as the coordinates for the Starfaller base. However, the bandit leader Aksali managed to escape. Despite Aksali's capture and the seizure of the coordinates to the moon, Kay rescued her, persuading Aksali to disclose that the Empire was transporting it to the Mirogana spaceport. Subsequently, the former Imperial bookkeeper Bosnok informed Kay that Governor Thorden had discovered that cyphrite, when combined with Tolium gas, produces an extremely potent poison that could aid him in consolidating his rule.

Meeting with Calrissian, Kay was instructed to conceal herself within an empty crate, allowing her to be smuggled into the spaceport. Upon arrival, Kay navigated through the area secured by Imperial forces, making her way to Thorden's compound. After infiltrating the base through a natural tunnel, Kay discovered that Thorden had been preparing for the Empire's collapse, amassing a substantial supply of resources and a databank from which ND-5 believed Kay could extract the map. After stealing the map, Kay triggered an explosion within the base, escaping to the landing pad. However, the pad was locked down and guarded by an AT-ST. Kay lured the walker to fire at the capacitors to open the roof, then stealing the shuttle to escape from the facility.

With the coordinates secured, Calrissian transferred the payment and additional gifts to Kay and ND-5. Calrissian himself arrived to claim the moon from Kay, suggesting that his experience as the Baron of cloud city made him better suited to manage it. The two discussed the Empire's impending downfall, with Calrissian advising Kay to prepare for the inevitable collapse, before departing with the recovered map.

Kay Vess was a human female, characterized by her brown hair, brown eyes, tan complexion, and a height of 1.7 meters. She was also recognized for her constellation-shaped tattoos located near her chest and arm.

She possessed a sharp intellect and a fiery disposition. Kay demonstrated fluency in both Galactic Basic Standard and Huttese, and exhibited self-deprecating humor, often attempting to negotiate her way through challenging situations, despite occasionally displaying nervousness and making mistakes.

Her closest confidant and partner in crime, Nix, was akin to family to Kay, whom she encountered and rescued from captivity during a heist with her mother when Kay was younger. The two were frequently seen together, collaborating to overcome obstacles and engage in criminal activities. Kay was prepared to take extreme actions to reunite with Nix should they ever be separated. Kay also partnered with the droid ND-5, who provided her with intelligence and guidance, and with whom she developed trust after rescuing each other from perilous situations.

Kay Vess generally found pleasure in activities such as sharing foodstuff with her partner Nix, particularly spicy cuisine, and engaging in arcade games. She was also known to participate in gambling activities, including wagering on fathier races and playing Kessel Sabbac.

Throughout her time in the Outer Rim, she collaborated with numerous crime syndicates, but remained willing to betray any faction for financial gain or improved standing with another. She also encountered the Empire while on Toshara. While many viewed the Galactic Empire as an oppressive entity, she regarded it merely as an obstacle in her journey through the galactic underworld.

Kay Vess received early training from her mother, Riko Vess, in the art of thievery, a skill that was later enhanced through her partnership with Nix, enabling her to steal from others and retrieve distant objects with ease. Her mother also instructed her in slicing into security systems via terminals to access data or interact with nearby mechanisms. Kay Vess also acquired the ability to breach security doors and locked chests using her data spike, a technique taught by the Bartender Bram Shanos.

Kay Vess displayed exceptional agility, demonstrating the ability to run tirelessly, navigate obstacles, and traverse small ventilation systems, often utilizing this method to infiltrate facilities. Likely stemming from her origins on the desert world of Cantonica, Kay Vess lacked the ability to swim or float in deep water, and would immediately drown without a speeder. Kay possessed notable abilities in unarmed combat, exhibiting remarkable melee skills also imparted by Bram. She could engage lesser-armed adversaries with melee combinations, or subdue enemies through surprise attacks.

Wielding a VM-19 heavy blaster pistol as her preferred weapon, Kay proved to be a proficient gunslinger, capable of switching between different configurations for her blaster. In high-pressure combat scenarios, Kay employed a technique known as Adrenaline Rush, enabling her to strike multiple enemies with precise shots in a short timeframe. Kay could also utilize medium-sized blaster rifles such as the Imperial E-11 blaster rifle and the TL-50 heavy repeater when available, although she would discard them upon energy depletion. Kay could also employ supplementary combat items such as thermal detonators and macrobinoculars, demonstrating the ability to operate the devices when necessary.

Kay was also a skilled pilot, demonstrating rapid learning when she commandeered the Trailblazer from Sliro's mansion and mastered piloting the ship out of orbit. She subsequently honed her piloting skills, particularly in space combat and utilizing the features of the Trailblazer. Kay could also pilot the S57 Cardinal speeder found within the stolen Trailblazer, which she was capable of driving to traverse through the land of different planets, later improved by Temmin Waxley to float on water.

Kay Vess was also a seasoned gambler. She specialized in the game of Sabacc, particularly the Kessel Sabacc variant, while also possessing knowledge of numerous other versions. Kay also knew how to cheat in the game, by using Nix to collect info on the opponent's hand, and also planting cards to frame opponents as cheaters. Kay also utilized talking to her advantage, either to distract opponents whenever she is in trouble, and also to talk her way through difficult situations.

During her time in the Outer Rim, Kay Vess refined her skills under the tutelage of various experts throughout the galaxy, who imparted specialized skills and enhanced her equipment. The mechanic, Selo Rovak, provided Kay with numerous upgrades to her speeder, enabling it to perform small jumps with further enhancements, as well as instructing her in the use of smoke grenades in combat. Aila Bren, the slicer, provided Kay with a slicing kit, enabling her to bypass certain systems without relying on a panel. The scavenger Temmin Wexley provided Kay with a Electro-shock prod, allowing tougher enemies and droids to be taken down during stealth. The veteran commando droid MT-7 gave Kay a decrypting module to help decode CIS transmissions. The mercenary known as Rooster Trace also trained Kay to use high-tier Imperial weapons such as the Z-6 rotary blaster cannon. The gunslinger, sheriff Quint, taught Kay further skills in using the Adrenaline rush, allowing Kay to shoot additional targets. The Jawa hotfixer named Teeka would provide a turrent to the trailblazer, give Kay a cheat in Sabacc with a magnetic dice, and teaching Nix to set off explosives on enemies. Finally, the famous high-roller, Lando Calrissian, would teach Kay to perform a cheating technique known as double-draw in Sabacc, and maneuvers for the Trailblazer. Aside from the specific skills taught by the experts, they all have improved the tools used by Kay, along with her skills in distracting an enemy, her blaster, and ability to survive.

Kay Vess typically wore a blue jacket layered over a white shirt. She had a brown belt equipped with a holster and used it to hold her blaster. Vess employed the VM-19 heavy blaster pistol against her adversaries; it was capable of switching modules while in combat. She also utilized macrobinoculars to survey the surrounding area, enabling her to formulate a strategy before entering a guarded zone. Kay was also equipped with thermal detonators during battle to earn tactical advantages, along with bacta vials to recover from injuries. She also used a Data Spike to open closed doors or containers. When not in use, said tool was used as a makeshift hairpin.

Kay Vess was conceived for the 2024 video game Star Wars Outlaws. She was brought to life by Humberly González, who lent both her voice and motion-capture to the character. Vess made her initial appearance in the world premiere trailer for Star Wars Outlaws, which was unveiled on June 11, 2023. A primary objective in developing Vess was to portray her as an inexperienced scoundrel. It was crucial to ensure that she was a relatable character, despite the high stakes of the narrative. As a character, Vess also embodies the themes of hope and resiliency, two major tenets of Star Wars storytelling. González also felt honored to portray a major Star Wars character as a Latina immigrant. González expressed as such in an interview with interviewer Kate Sánchez, who further stated that González wants to be a beacon for young girls, particularly young Latina girls.

In the game Star Wars Outlaws, the player can choose to let Kay hire the crew in any order, even though the game suggests the player to travel in the order of Kijimi, Akiva, and then Tatooine. This means that the part where Kay recruits the crew should not actually be considered in chronological order, as the order can be changed depending on the player's choice. However, the choices lead to the same result in the end. The section "Wild Card" is also a DLC update for the game, which becomes available after hiring the first crew member. Even though it belongs in the main story section in the game, it can be accessed anytime after, making it an optional and therefore not fully canon information.