Mandalore the Avenger

Shae Vizla, a Mandalorian warrior of Human female descent, spent her formative years during the time of the Great Galactic War. Early in her life, she made a living as a merciless bounty hunter, accepting high-paying assignments with no regard for the objectives of her employers, driven solely by the pursuit of money. After the Sith Empire resurfaced following their millennia of isolation, and the Great Galactic War began between the revitalized Sith and the Galactic Republic, the Sith Imperials forged a strong alliance with the Mandalorian warrior clans, which remained intact under the reign of Mandalore the Vindicated. Vizla's brutal assassination of Senator Keenig drew the attention of Sith Lord Darth Malgus, which led to a partnership with the Sith Empire. Her exceptional abilities earned her a reputation that resulted in the Imperials frequently employing Vizla for high-stakes operations of significant importance. Vizla's talent and effectiveness led to her participation in the Empire's largest campaigns against the Republic.

In 3667 BBY, at the height of the Great Galactic War, Shae Vizla was involved in the Sith Empire's attack on the peaceful Core World of Alderaan. Under the command of Darth Malgus, Imperial forces consisting of hundreds of Sith warriors, thousands of assault droids, and a large number of Sith troopers invaded the arboreal planet. Despite being outnumbered, the Sith were held back by the combined might of the Republic's special forces unit, Havoc Squad, and a group of Jedi Knights, including Satele Shan. Shan personally fought Malgus, defeating and injuring the Sith Lord, leaving him trapped under the wreckage of a collapsed rock face. However, Malgus managed to escape and rejoin the war, and Shan believed that Vizla was responsible for rescuing the Sith Lord.

Three years later, in 3664 BBY, Vizla was assigned to assaulting a Republic political delegation. During the attack, Vizla's brother was killed by Jedi Master Aurei Eadon. The Mandalorian mercenary challenged Eadon to a duel to avenge her brother's death, but Eadon declined. This incident led Vizla to develop a strong hatred for the Jedi, although she kept the reasons for her animosity secret.

In 3653 BBY, twenty-eight years after the start of the Great Galactic War, Sith forces reached out to the Republic, expressing a desire to negotiate a peaceful end to the war. While delegates from both sides met on the planet Alderaan to create a peace agreement, Shae Vizla was hired by the Sith Empire to assist in their surprise assault on the galactic capital world of Coruscant. Her mission was to neutralize Coruscant's defense grid, which was located within the Jedi Temple. Vizla found herself working alongside Darth Malgus once again, as well as his Twi'lek attendant, Eleena Daru. Once all three were in position at the Temple, and after receiving Malgus' order, Vizla entered the ancient ziggurat through a high window above the Temple's main entrance.

Simultaneously, a Republic shuttle that had been taken over by the Sith crashed into the Temple's main hall, and the Sith warriors inside rushed out to engage the Temple's Jedi defenders. This may have been a diversion to allow the Mandalorian infiltrator to go unnoticed. Inside, Vizla shot and killed several members of the Temple Security Force as she made her way to the security grid mainframe. Once there, she disabled Coruscant's defenses, allowing the Sith fleet commanded by Darth Angral to launch a planet-wide attack on Coruscant. After taking down the defense mainframe, Vizla used her jetpack to fly into the battle in the Temple's lower levels, where she was responsible for numerous deaths of both Temple Security guards and Republic soldiers.

Following the battle for the Jedi Temple, and as the Sith celebrated their victory over the Jedi, Shae Vizla stood outside the ruined entrance to the Temple, surveying the damage with her helmet off and held beneath her arm. When Malgus approached her, they nodded to each other. Acknowledged for her work, Vizla put her helmet back on and flew away from the burning temple to await her payment from the Empire.

The Sacking of Coruscant led the Republic to sign the Treaty of Coruscant, which marked the beginning of a Cold War, lasting for over a decade. Vizla continued her mercenary work, becoming one of the best in her field over the years, and her list of accomplishments eventually surpassed that of Mandalore the Vindicated. After years of success, Shae began to accept fewer contracts as she became the leader of Clan Vizla. By the time hostilities between the Republic and the Sith Empire reignited in a new Galactic War, Vizla and her clan had largely withdrawn from galactic events, settling on the remote planet of Rishi.

The Mandalorians established a base on Tracyn Island, where warriors could train against each other in arenas or against local creatures in the wilderness. Vizla carefully avoided the war and distanced herself from other Mandalorians, although their presence on Rishi was known to the locals, who called her "Torch." Clan Vizla helped the Nova Blades pirates maintain a positive relationship with the people of Raider's Cove. Later, after the Order of Revan arrived on Rishi sometime after 3642 BBY, they briefly allied with them. Vizla and her clan introduced the Revanites to the Nova Blades and helped them win some minor battles, but when their motives to manipulate the Empire-Republic war for their own purposes became clear, Vizla ended her clan's partnership with them.

By 3637 BBY, the Revanites and the Nova Blades had gathered a fleet of warships on Rishi. An associate of Theron Shan and Lana Beniko, who were working against the Revanites, learned of "Torch's" involvement from the files of Dael Margok, the Nova Blades captain, and traveled to Tracyn Island to ask her for more information. The shuttle was disabled on approach, and Vizla watched as the outsider landed on the island, sending a team of her warriors to confront them. Surprised, the intruder prevailed and entered her Clan's compound, so Vizla set them against several of the beasts her Clan kept there. The outsider prevailed again, and Vizla ordered a Mandalorian couple, Jos and Valk Beroya, to test them in the arena.

The Beroyas were defeated, and Vizla, deciding that the newcomer was a worthy challenge, met them at the nearby lava lake, which was turned into a battleground. When asked for information about the Revanites and the Nova Blades, Vizla instead demanded a challenge and fought the intruder. After a long fight, Vizla was defeated, but she complimented her opponent on a good fight, saying that it felt good. Feeling that the information was earned, Vizla revealed the existence of the Revanite fleet on Rishi and provided her opponent with a speeder to return to Raider's Cove to replace the destroyed shuttle. Before leaving, Vizla's opponent asked her to join the fight against the Revanites, but the Mandalorian refused, explaining that she had had enough of war and preferred fighting strong opponents one-on-one.

Vizla's information soon led to the Battle of Rishi, in which the Revanite fleet was destroyed and a Coalition between Imperial and Republic forces was formed to defeat Revan. Learning about this, Vizla traveled to the moon of Yavin 4, arriving just in time to join an unlikely alliance of people like Grand Master of the Jedi Order Satele Shan and Dark Council member Darth Marr in a stand against Revan. A long fight followed, in which Revan was defeated and became one with the Force, which also led to the revival of the Sith Emperor. Vizla then left Yavin, but not before renegotiating her Imperial contract with Darth Marr, telling him to let her know where the next fight would be.

The Coalition led by Darth Marr continued its search for the former Sith Emperor, which led to the first skirmish with the Eternal Fleet and the subsequent Zakuulan Eternal Empire conquest of the galaxy. The Mandalorians fought back, and Clan Lok suffered heavy losses, as Mandalore the Vindicated led his forces on the front lines and was ultimately killed in combat with the Skytroopers. After the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire signed treaties with the Eternal Empire, many of the Core Worlds were blockaded by the Eternal Fleet and the Star Fortresses, trapping almost half of the Mandalorian clans on those worlds. Most of the other clans scattered, with Clan Vizla surviving better than most. Shae Vizla, whose reputation was legendary even by Mandalorian standards, was chosen by the leaderless Mandalorians as their new commander and given the title "Mandalore the Avenger," which she reluctantly accepted.

The new role was challenging for Vizla, who had spent most of her life as a lone hunter and had little experience leading people, let alone an entire culture. She had to quickly adapt to unite her people, who were demoralized after years of fighting Zakuul. However, her first battle as Mandalore the Avenger was the clans' first victory in six months. In 3630 BBY, Vizla was contacted by an old acquaintance, Theron Shan from the Mestani sector, who offered her and the clans a chance to strike against Zakuul by organizing a raid on Darvannis weapons factory. Taking the factory would allow the Mandalorians to re-arm themselves for the first time in years. Assembling a dozen clans, including Fett, Chorn, Beroya, and her own, Mandalore Vizla traveled to Darvannis and laid siege to the factory, placing rotating assault teams of two hundred commandos each around it.

Vizla and her second-in-command, Khomo Fett, were joined by the Commander of the Alliance that opposed Zakuul—Vizla's old acquaintance from Rishi. Vizla asked the scout Torian Cadera to assist the Commander in retaking the factory's perimeter guns, while the forward team led by Breyer Chorn worked to take down the energy shield. That wave of assault alone resulted in the deaths of twenty-eight warriors, but eventually the factory's shields were disabled, and the inner ring of defenses was severely damaged. As the day ended, the Mandalorians held a Kote ky'ram for the fallen, while celebrating their survival during the night. The next morning, Shae Vizla and Khomo Fett planned an assault on the factory's power stations, after which they were ready to move inside the factory itself. Vizla shared her battle plan with the Alliance Commander, who added to it by providing the factory's inner schematics, which Theron Shan had recently acquired.

Vizla gave an inspiring speech to her warriors and led the assault, while Torian Cadera and the Commander went to retrieve the GEMINI Prime, which was the main reason the Alliance decided to attack the factory. Inside the factory, the Mandalorians encountered resistance, but they managed to acquire a large number of weapons and inflict significant damage on the factory before Vizla ordered a coordinated retreat. Afterward, Vizla assigned Torian Cadera to serve as her representative and liaison within the Alliance, while expressing her concern to the Commander that her warriors would soon want to reclaim their honor by fighting more than just droids.

Following the Alliance Commander's decisive triumph over the Eternal Empire by unseating Emperor Arcann, the Mandalorians were keen to throw in their lot with the Alliance. With the backing of her people secured, Vizla moved to formalize the alliance. She journeyed to the Alliance base located on Odessen, where she officially committed herself and her warriors to the Alliance's cause. Under the leadership of Torian Cadera, the Mandalorians actively participated in the liberation of Voss and played a crucial role in the defense of the Alliance base during Vaylin's Assault on Odessen.

Once the war concluded with the Eternal Empire's defeat, Shae continued her leadership role within the Alliance, aiding in the reconstruction efforts not only for her people, but also for the war-ravaged galaxy. As piracy surged following 3627 BBY, Mandalore took the initiative to collaborate with Hylo Visz, tasking the clans with safeguarding vital supply convoys from pirates and other opportunistic individuals during the escalating resource scarcity. Consequently, these ships enjoyed a level of security, as potential attackers knew they were under the protection of the formidable Mandalorians.

Shae's leadership faced a test with the outbreak of the Third Galactic War. Dissident members of Clan Lok and like-minded individuals abandoned her command prior to the events on Darvannis and relocated to Onderon, where they established the Ash'ad under the direction of Mirli Lok. Upon discovering their whereabouts, Mandalore the Avenger dispatched Mandalorian forces to the city of Iziz, instructing the Alliance Commander to locate the Ash'ad and hold them accountable for their desertion. Shae was determined to see them stripped of their armor and clean the stain of honor to the previous Mand'alor, which in the end proved successful after the Commander found their base in the jungles, eliminating every single member present and stripping their armor from them. Mirli was killed in the process.

In 3626 BBY, Shae Vizla's command was challenged by the emergence of a clandestine Mandalorian faction known as the Hidden Chain, spearheaded by Field Marshal Heta Kol. This group believed that the Mandalorians under Vizla had strayed from their traditional values. Even Clans still loyal to her were starting to feel that they had become glorified couriers by focusing their efforts on protecting cargo supply runs or caravans needing their protection from pirates. Her advisor Jekiah Ordo continued to express his concerns about the growing unrest among the Clans, advocating for a more forceful crackdown on the Hidden Chain's increasingly frequent raids on supply convoys. However, Shae maintained her commitment to Mandalorian freedom and independence, seeking to avoid further inflaming tensions. Jekiah Ordo took Mandalore's flagship, the Spirit of Vengeance II, to lure the mysterious attackers out, but the ship came under attack by the Hidden Chain and lost contact with the Alliance base, forcing Mandalore's hand. She recruited the Alliance Commander and Jekiah Ordo's brother, Rass Ordo, to assist her in freeing the ship.

Upon their arrival, they discovered that Heta Kol had united various Mandalorian outcast groups, including the Dar'manda, Clan Varad, and the Ash'ad, to form the Hidden Chain. With their combined fleet, they had seized control of the Spirit of Vengeance II, deploying boarding parties to pilfer valuable relics from within. Shae, Rass, and the Commander fought their way to the bridge, encountering the remaining survivors led by Jekiah Ordo, only to be confronted by Heta Kol. Mandalore challenged Heta, and a fierce battle ensued. As members of the Hidden Chain located the Clan Cadera banner, Heta Kol made her escape into space, leaving the loyal Mandalorians to repair the damage inflicted on the Spirit of Vengeance. Subsequently, Mandalore appointed Jekiah Ordo as her arbiter and initiated a search for Heta Kol and the Hidden Chain, hoping to prevent another Mandalorian Civil War.

She traveled to Mek-Sha to investigate Indigo, the leader of the Dar'manda, believing she could provide information on the Hidden Chain, although Indigo denied any involvement. She eventually tracked Heta to Ruhnuk but was not willing to risk exposure and thus returned to Odessen for an attack plan. Shae briefed the Alliance Commander on the information she had gathered on Heta Kol, although she was unable to find Heta's past clan affiliations despite her fighting style being Mandalorian. Shae then explained that Ruhnuk was where the Hidden Chain operated and had put Jekiah Ordo and her fleet on standby while she, the Commander and Rass Ordo would infiltrate Ruhnuk to locate the main base.

Upon their arrival on Ruhnuk, the team experienced a crash landing as Shae was forced to evade a probe droid. Shae and the Commander located two technicians hired by Dar'manda and Shae killed one, while the other revealed that the Hidden Chain had a relay station for communications that could cut through interference surrounding the planet. With that knowledge Shae and the Commander went back to Rass to ready a new plan. Rass was joined by Akaavi Spar and Torian Cadera and revealed that he may have found a way to locate the relay station and proposed that Shae and the Commander go there while the rest secure their position. At the Ruhnuk Communications Tower, Shae and the Commander confronted Sa'har Kateen, whom Shae demanded to point her to Heta. The Commander attempted to reason with Sa'har, but Shae opened fire and Sa'har took the opportunity to escape from the duo.

Shae and the Commander dealt with the relay station and went to find Heta Kol. They entered a compound where Shae decided to have a look around only for the doors to close, and the Commander was incapacitated by four sonic weapons. Dar'manda leader Bask Sunn and Heta Kol confronted the Commander, who remained helpless because of the sonic disruptors until Shae arrived and challenged the leader of the Hidden Chain to a one-on-one combat. Heta agreed and escorted Shae to the battle arena, where with Hidden Chain as the audience, Heta announced that she would destroy the Mandalorians by exposing their weakness and called out for Shae Vizla to come out and face her. Shae loudly expressed her pleasure, calling her opponent a pretender.

Both Heta and Shae were presented with Beskar short swords to use as their primary weapons. The duel began and Shae managed to gain the upper hand, but suddenly felt almost paralyzed because of a secret trick pulled by Bask Sunn with one sonic disruptor. Heta took advantage of by pressing the attack with Shae managing to hold off as best as she could. The Commander destroyed the weapon, which freed Shae and allowed her to overpower Heta and win the duel in view by the Hidden Chain. But the scene was interrupted with the arrival of both fleets, and Shae's Mandalorian reinforcements attacked the Hidden Chain thus beginning the full-scale battle.

Shae Vizla was left incapacitated while taking out the enemy, and Heta attempted to finish her off, but Shae recovered and was able to fend off Heta's attacks and land a striking blow to Heta who retreated aboard a shuttle. Shae angrily declared that their feud was not over, as the battle ended with the Hidden Chain escaping Ruhnuk to an undisclosed location and Jekiah ordered the fleet to not pursue the enemy. Jekiah and the Commander rallied to Shae Vizla and helped her off Ruhnuk. She was then taken to a medical facility and attended by medical droids. Jekiah and Mandalore discussed how Shae's victory over Heta was spreading throughout the galaxy. Shae was unwilling to disclose that Heta unknowingly cheated via Bask Sunn's sonic disruptor and stated that her hunt was still in-progress.

Shae Vizla arrived on Carrick Station with the intention of confronting Darth Malgus on his knowledge, and supposed alliance with, Heta Kol who now held Darth Nul's holocron but was stopped by the security droids who only had authorization from the Supreme Chancellor to let certain individuals in the chamber. Shae listened in on the conversation between the Alliance Commander and Malgus, to which Malgus became aware of Shae's presence and proceeded to, his delight, taunt Shae for letting Heta escape Ruhnuk and how Heta will eventually destroy Shae which led to Shae's outburst at Malgus demanding Heta's location thus signaling the guard droids to deal with Shae if she persists. But Shae calmed down and angrily left the prison.

Shae subsequently missing at the time when Jekiah attempted to reach her regarding Hidden Chain attacks across the galaxy.

Concluding that both the Empire and Republic would destroy the Mandalorians if her war with Heta Kol continued, no matter which banner they carried, Shae hired a team of mercenaries to break into Carrick Station to free Malgus, believing he would know Heta's location. Simultaneously, she sent an audio recording to Jekiah Ordo informing him of her choice and that she would be stepping down as Mandalore. Arriving at Malgus' prison, Shae and her team made quick work of the guard droids before she made her way across to face the rogue Sith. She drew her blaster to destroy the chair and the shield freeing one of the galaxy's most dangerous Sith Lords to which they made their escape via ship.

Vizla possessed delicate features, including long red hair, light skin, and hazel eyes, that contrasted with her formidable physical abilities, which she typically augmented with custom-designed armor. Darth Malgus, the Sith Lord, acknowledged Vizla's exceptional combat skills, noting her capacity to skillfully employ her armor's diverse arsenal while maintaining flight with her jetpack in battle. She felt comfortable removing her helmet in the presence of others, but she was not willing to share her name with Darth Malgus during their collaborations.

Shae Vizla, a Mandalorian mercenary, was motivated by financial gain, offering her combat prowess for credits with scant regard for the objectives or principles of her patrons. However, she harbored a deep-seated animosity towards the Jedi, stemming from the death of her brother at the hands of Jedi Master Aurei Eadon. Vizla remained tight-lipped about the reasons behind her feelings toward the Jedi; despite her hatred, following the sacking of their Coruscant temple, Vizla dispassionately surveyed the damage that had been inflicted by the Sith.

As she aged, Vizla developed a distaste for warfare, finding it tedious and preferring engagements that offered intellectual stimulation over indiscriminate violence. Her animosity toward the Jedi diminished, and she readily collaborated with them when necessary. After assuming the mantle of Mandalore, she prioritized the survival of her people, which led to concerns regarding her right hand Khomo Fett, as she knew he would want to bring back the glory days of the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders.

Shae Vizla's Mandalorian armor was primarily gray, worn over a black flight suit. Her full-face helmet deviated from traditional designs by lacking a T-shaped visor. Vizla utilized a jetpack equipped with dual thrusters for sustained flight, and she possessed at least two blasters, including a blaster pistol that discharged red bolts of plasma, which she wielded with exceptional precision.

In addition to boots and a utility belt, Shae Vizla's armor featured advanced gauntlets, with the left one incorporating a hologram projector. Both gauntlets were equipped with miniature flamethrowers capable of generating intense streams of fire, and each was integrated with a launcher that fired lethal missiles.

Shae Vizla was first unveiled in the promotional materials for the Star Wars: The Old Republic video game. Her debut occurred in the Deceived cinematic trailer, which premiered on June 1, 2009. In this trailer, she remained silent and was initially unnamed. A bounty hunter clad in armor similar to Vizla's, though not immediately identified as her, also appeared in the second trailer for The Old Republic, entitled Hope, which was released on June 14, 2010. The character's identity remained a mystery until an update on The Old Republic's website showcased a Gentle Giant Studios statue of the bounty hunter, accompanied by a promotional description that revealed her name. It was only with the publication of The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural that Vizla's presence in the Hope trailer was officially confirmed. She subsequently featured in The Old Republic: Deceived novel, which elaborated on the events depicted in the Deceived trailer.

Shae Vizla was also prominently featured in various promotional images as the archetypal character for the The Old Republic's bounty hunter class, although some concept art depicted her wielding a blaster rifle, a weapon unavailable to the Bounty Hunter class within the game. Despite her prominent role in the pre-release marketing, Vizla was conspicuously absent from the game upon its launch in December 2011, and she did not reappear until the release of the Star Wars: The Old Republic: Shadow of Revan expansion three years later. Her return was hinted at in the short story Bedtime on Concordia, published on the game's website, which mentioned Vizla's withdrawal from major galactic events at some point in the past. Voiced by Sumalee Montano, Shae Vizla serves as the final boss in the "Blood Hunt" flashpoint; alongside Jos and Valk Beroya she is the only in-game boss who does not die in-story after being defeated in a prominent group encounter. She also reappears during the battle against Revan on Yavin 4 at the conclusion of the expansion's storyline.

Vizla played a key role in the Knights of the Fallen Empire Chapter XIV: Mandalore's Revenge, which established her as the new Mandalore and introduced her updated armor design. During this chapter, players can make a Dark Side choice not to share the factory plans with Vizla, resulting in significant Mandalorian casualties during the factory assault. Subsequently, players can further undermine her authority in front of the Mandalorians by making another Dark Side choice. Both her original armor and Mandalore the Avenger's armor are obtainable by players through Cartel Market packs. Shae Vizla was offered as a companion character exclusively to players who were subscribed on October 25, 2016 during the Knights of the Eternal Throne expansion. Eligible characters can utilize her in-game starting at level 1, but story-wise, she only joins the player's Alliance after the completion of Fallen Empire Chapter XIV. If the player made dark-side choices in it, Vizla will note that her position with the clans is weak and joining the Alliance is only way for her to prove her strength.

Shae Vizla's surname bears resemblance to those of Tor and Pre Vizsla, well-known members of the Mandalorian Clan Vizsla. As of yet, no official confirmation exists regarding any familial connection between these characters, and Shae's surname lacks the "s" present in the names of the other two individuals. Curiously, the surname of Gen Vizla, another member of Clan Vizla, is spelled "Vizsla" in German and French versions of the game client.