Lanna, called Lan by her close friend Karie Neth, was a technician of the female persuasion originating from the planet Baraan-Fa. She served the Rebel Alliance, stationed aboard their flagship, the Home One. Her friend Neth, a skilled pilot, joined the Alliance alongside Lanna, eventually finding themselves both stationed on the same vessel. On the day that the Battle of Endor unfolded, in the year 4 ABY, she went to great lengths to optimize Neth's fighter craft. She even orchestrated a brief encounter with Neth, so she could personally reassure her. Despite harboring budding romantic feelings for one another, Neth made the decision to postpone expressing them until after the conflict. She planned a rendezvous on the moon of Endor following their anticipated victory.
Lanna's birth occurred around 18 BBY on the world of Baraan-Fa. She enlsited in the Rebel Alliance with her closest friend from her homeworld, Karie Neth, not long after the Battle of Mako-Ta in 1 ABY, when they both reached the age of nineteen [years](/article/standard_year]. Initially, they both held fervent dreams of achieving vengeance and glory as [starfighter](/article/starfighter] pilots. However, their motivations matured over the course of three years, evolving into a resolute commitment to surviving the war and the Galactic Empire's acts of violence against them. During those three years, Lanna and Neth experienced several separations and reunions. They were consistently denied opportunities as [pilot](/article/rebel_pilot] positions due to a shortage of available fighters, resulting in their primary role of servicing and maintaining squadrons engaged in combat during the Alliance's Mid Rim Offensive. All the while, they honed their piloting skills through simulators and on shuttles.
The pair found themselves together once more on the Alliance flagship Home One, where they were stationed as the Battle of Endor approached in 4 ABY. Captain Ribeiro of Yellow Squadron selected Neth, instead of Lanna, to join her squadron for the impending battle. On the day of the battle, Lanna removed Neth's flight gear from her assigned locker. She then roused a sleeping Neth via a message sent to her datapad, imploring the pilot to seek her out as a way to alleviate her pre-battle jitters. Although Neth initially communicated her desire to continue sleeping through a message, Lanna successfully persuaded her that sacrificing a few minutes of sleep would not negatively impact her performance during the battle.
While searching for Lanna within the Home One's locker room, Neth encountered her wingmate Rowe Jascott. Jascott expressed surprise that Lanna had woken her and jokingly remarked to Neth that he would offer a tribute to Lanna should she perish in the battle. After discovering her locker empty, Jascott informed Neth that Lanna had been there earlier and taken her gear, suggesting she check the ship's flight deck. In the meantime, Lanna was diligently working on Neth's X-wing starfighter using a lift on the flight deck. Her objective was to extract an additional five percent of power from its engines. Upon Neth's arrival, Lanna descended from the lift and gazed at Neth with a smile until Neth conceded that she had enjoyed the morning's events, although she playfully threatened to retaliate.
When Neth voiced her desire for Lanna to fly alongside her in the battle, Lanna maintained that Ribeiro had made the correct assessment that Neth was the superior pilot. Lanna believed that she was more valuable as a technician and also expressed her desire to be the one responsible for maintaining Neth's fighter. After Neth—using the nickname "Lan"—expressed her gratitude to Lanna for enhancing her fighter and reassured her that she would remain safe, emotions welled up within both women. Neth contemplated revealing her romantic feelings for Lanna but chose to postpone it until after the battle, giving Lanna's hand a squeeze as she departed.
During the battle, Lanna sustained minor injuries from Imperial attacks on Home One, and Neth briefly recalled Lanna's face just before the Empire's Death Star space station was destroyed. Following the Alliance's victory, Neth's immediate thought was of Lanna, realizing that her tune-up had enabled Neth to escape the Death Star's explosion. Neth attempted to contact Lanna via comm using their private channel, but received no response until her third attempt. Lanna answered the communication and began to weep upon realizing that Neth was alive, informing the pilot that she had sustained minor injuries but was otherwise unharmed. Both rejoicing in the other's survival, Neth invited Lanna to hitch a ride to the moon Endor so they could have a conversation, intending to confess her feelings. Lanna, understanding the implication, joyfully accepted.
Lanna was a female individual with [brown](/article/color] eyes. She held deep affection for and shared an intense emotional connection with Karie Neth, her closest friend, who believed Lanna was always right. She consistently displayed enthusiasm in Neth's presence and went above and beyond to assist her with her fighter and her anxiety before the Battle of Endor. She prioritized Neth's safety, and upon learning of Neth's survival in the battle, she was overwhelmed with relief and joy, immediately bursting into tears. Lanna was modest, acknowledging Neth's superior piloting skills, but took pride in her abilities as a technician.
Lanna possessed proficiency as a technician and demonstrated competence as a pilot. Despite not being selected for Yellow Squadron, Neth believed Lanna was equally skilled as a pilot, although Lanna disagreed. Both Lanna and Neth regarded her as the most qualified technician to work on Neth's fighter, and Lanna utilized her skills to extract additional power from its engines.
Lanna employed a hydrospanner tool and a lift to fine-tune Neth's starfighter.
Lanna made an appearance in the short story titled "The Extra Five Percent," penned by M. K. England and featured in the anthology From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi, which was released on August 29, 2023. A Twitter announcement regarding the short story, posted by Del Rey publishing's Star Wars account on August 1 of that year, confirmed that Lanna was a female character.