Shannon Voorson, a female Human, became a member of the Rebel Alliance when she was just nine years old. She was born in 6 BBY to Johan and Nell Voorson, who worked as officials at the Kuat Freight Port. For the first nine years of her life, she resided on Kuat. Although her parents supported the Galactic Empire, Voorson harbored a strong dislike for Emperor Palpatine due to his various actions, notably the destruction of the planet Alderaan.
In 3 ABY, Deen Voorson, her older cousin, returned to Kuat for a brief visit after having left years prior to work as a tech in the wider galaxy. They discussed their shared hatred for the Empire, and Deen confessed to his cousin that he had joined the Rebel Alliance. That evening at dinner, Deen asked his aunt and uncle if he could retrieve a Colony Class 23669 power generator for the Rebel Alliance. Voorson's parents, fearing repercussions from the Empire, refused to let Deen take the generator. However, Voorson, sympathizing with her cousin, sliced into the Imperial database to alter the generator's pickup time and then contacted Deen.
A few days later, when the time arrived, Deen and his fellow Rebel Boo Rawl collected the generator. They also took Voorson with them, as she desired to join the Rebellion and had locked herself inside the power generator's docking bay. The only options were to contact security, exposing their theft, or allow her to join them. Despite facing unexpected difficulties when Imperial forces discovered the illegal pickup and deployed TIE/LN starfighters to intercept them, they successfully escaped, and Voorson officially became a member of the Rebel Alliance.
Shannon Voorson was the offspring of Johan and Nell Voorson, both employed as officials at the Kuat Freight Port. This port was a subsidiary of Kuat Drive Yards, a corporation that was aligned with the Imperial regime. Consequently, the Voorsons were loyal to the Empire. Born in 6 BBY, Voorson spent her initial nine years on Kuat. Due to her parents' demanding work schedules, Voorson was often alone. She became deeply involved with computers, which led her schoolmates to consider her an outcast. Despite her young age, Voorson was already a proficient slicer, frequently accessing Imperial files. She admired her cousin Deen, who was among the few Voorsons to leave Kuat and pursue a career as a tech in another part of the galaxy. Like Deen, Voorson enjoyed the story Vici of Alderaan, which recounted the tale of two Jedi trainees named Vici and Veni Ramunee.
In 3 ABY, Deen returned to visit Voorson and her parents for the first time in four years. He shared stories about his work in the broader galaxy, such as modifying airspeeders to function in extremely cold conditions. Voorson and her cousin also expressed their shared disdain for the Empire, particularly their disgust at the Empire's destruction of the planet Alderaan as a mere demonstration of power. Deen explained that the planet was destroyed to prevent the spread of Alderaanian ideals of freedom and peace. When pressed by his cousin, Deen confessed that he was a member of the Rebel Alliance. Voorson revealed her slicing skills and mentioned that she had accessed numerous Imperial files. She offered to provide him with copies of a recently accessed file containing a list of six Imperial Star Destroyers nearing completion at the Kuat Drive Yards—the Impervious, the Penetrator, the Inflexible, the Indomitable, the Inexorable, and the Exterminator—to take back to the Alliance, but they were interrupted by Nell before he could respond.
That evening during dinner, Deen asked Nell and Johan, both high-ranking officials at Kuat Freight Port, to assist him in obtaining a Colony Class 23669 power generator. Deen claimed that a friend's ship had been damaged by asteroids and urgently needed a generator. He requested that they alter the pickup time without notifying the original customer, so that a partner of his could retrieve it. Nell and Johan were appalled, arguing that Deen's suggestion was tantamount to theft, and they quickly ended the discussion.
Later that night, Voorson overheard her parents discussing the possibility of providing the generator to Deen, whom they now recognized as a member of the Rebel Alliance. Nell insisted that the Empire would retaliate if they allowed the Rebels to take the generator, and she refused to give it to her nephew. The following morning, Deen departed, but before leaving, he gave his aunt and uncle a device that they could use to contact him if they decided to give him the generator. Voorson offered to dispose of it, as her parents wished, but she secretly kept it. She was upset with her parents for not helping Deen and decided to take action herself to enable him to acquire the generator. Voorson accessed the port database to find the list of upcoming exports and changed the generator's scheduled pickup time to be in five days. She moved it two hours earlier and then contacted Deen.
Five days later, Voorson went to the port, telling a skeptical guard outside the building that she was bringing her father lunch. The guard allowed her to enter, and she headed for Dock 42, where the pickup was scheduled to take place. A short time later, Deen and his partner, Boo Rawl, arrived on the freighter Long Run. Voorson greeted the two when they arrived, and requested to leave with them to join the Rebel Alliance. Though Deen refused, he was forced to let her leave with them when he realized that with the dock sealed, the only way to get Voorson out was to contact security, something Rawl was reluctant to do, considering their pickup was illegal. The two then let Voorson aboard, and she revealed that she, not her mother, had set up the change, allowing the Long Run to pick up the generator. Rawl thanked her, although he expressed his wishes that she had contacted the techs so the dock would have been ready sooner, as well as informing the intended recipient that the pickup had been moved back, allowing the three to not have to worry about running into the other vessel it happened to arrive early.
Just as the Long Run departed port, the barge 36DD, the intended recipient of the generator, entered, much to the shock and dismay of the Long Run's crew. Instantly realizing something was amiss, a controller on Kuat ordered the Long Run to return to port immediately. Knowing that he and Deen would be arrested if they complied, Rawl sped up, although a group of TIE Fighters was released to force the Long Run back to port or destroy it if the ship would not turn around. The Long Run continued onward, hoping to reach open space where the ship could enter hyperspace before it was destroyed.
As Deen recognized the controller ordering them to return as Nell Voorson, he informed his aunt that not only was he on the ship, but her daughter was, as well. Deen pleaded to her to order the TIEs to stop firing, only to be informed that security refused to listen to her. Rawl headed straight for the 36DD, with the fighters still on the Long Run's tail. At the last second, the 36DD pulled up, leaving nothing but open space in front of the Long Run. They were then able to enter hyperspace, now safe. It was then that the gravity of the situation hit Voorson, and she began crying with the realization that she would never see her parents again. However, she cheered up when reminded that she would soon be joining the Rebel Alliance alongside her beloved cousin.
Despite being only nine years of age, Shannon Voorson possessed firm convictions regarding the Galactic Empire. She deeply believed in the Empire's inherent evil and felt significant resentment towards Emperor Palpatine for actions that she perceived as cruel, such as the Destruction of Alderaan. This idealism motivated Voorson to join the Rebel Alliance, even at the cost of leaving her parents behind. She drew inspiration from her cousin Deen, who was among the few Voorsons to leave Kuat. Furthermore, she regarded the Empire's leaders as lacking imagination, which she felt was evident in their naming choices for Star Destroyers. Voorson considered names like Impervious and Exterminator to be uninspired and dull, believing that she would have chosen names such as Iron Hand or Raptor, which she deemed far more exciting and intimidating. Voorson was also prone to impulsivity and often acted without fully considering the consequences, as demonstrated when she neglected to inform the Kuati techs about the two-hour advance in the generator's pickup time, which could have allowed the Long Run to depart before the 36DD arrived.
Voorson was also a proficient slicer, capable of infiltrating Imperial files. She believed it was unwise of the Empire to rely on computers to generate codes for secure databases, as she was often able to hack them with relative ease. Voorson had always been fascinated by machines, as she was often left alone by her busy parents and found solace in computers. She also displayed a high level of intelligence for her age.
Shannon Voorson was a character conceived for the short story Slaying Dragons, featured in Star Wars Adventure Journal 9 and penned by Angela Phillips. This narrative was subsequently included in Tales from the Empire, a compilation of several stories from the Adventure Journal.