Thara Nyende

Biography

Seeds of rebellion

Thara Nyende's birthplace was the planet Sullust, and she resided in its [capital](/article/capital], Pinyumb. As a teenager, she was known for her knack for fixing things. In 2 ABY, she enlisted in the Stormtrooper Corps of the Galactic Empire. Motivated by the prospect of high pay to support her mother, uncle, and cousins, she underwent training as a cadet and joined the ranks of the 97th Legion, where she was assigned the designation "SP-475". Nyende's earnings were double that of most workers in Pinyumb. She would sometimes donate supplies to visitors at her uncle's cantina.

One day in 3 ABY, Nyende was delivering supplies to her uncle's cantina. After handing them over, she approached the holotable and overheard a discussion about the Cobalt Laborers' Reformation Front, a protest group opposing the Empire on Sullust. As they debated the merits of the group's cause, an older Sullustan claimed the Empire had taken away their freedom. At this point, Nyende decided to leave and headed to the Imperial garrison to don her stormtrooper armor.

Pinyumb raids

Almost three weeks later, Nyende was present during the inspection of her stormtrooper unit. Following the inspection, the lieutenant briefed them on the Cobalt Front, whose protests had resulted in eighty percent of their members being taken into Imperial custody. The lieutenant asserted that there was now evidence suggesting the group was attempting to align with the Alliance to Restore the Republic, an armed rebellion at war with the Empire. He named several Alliance members with known ties to Sullust, including Nien Nunb, Sian Tevv, and Corjentain Malaqua. As he began explaining the rebels' possible intentions, the lieutenant received reports of an attack through his earpiece. The garrison's alarms sounded, and the lieutenant began briefing the stormtroopers on the new situation.

While more experienced teams were dispatched to the Inyusu Tor mineral processing facility in response to the attack, which appeared to be sabotage, Nyende spent the day blockading streets and searching civilians. In the afternoon, the Imperial Security Bureau issued raid warrants. Upon receiving the signal, Nyende and numerous other stormtroopers surrounded specific areas and searched civilians. She found no weapons or bombs, only black-market holovids and Cobalt Front pamphlets. Later, Nyende was assigned to sentry duty at a tram station with stormtrooper SP-156. 156 posed questions to her, which she answered professionally, though she considered them to be beneath regulations.

Once her shift concluded, Nyende returned to her uncle with more supplies to donate. The cantina was filled with fearful civilians who had been forced from their homes by the Security Bureau. Unsettled by this, Nyende handed over her bag of supplies and began to leave. However, as she departed, she impulsively scanned the crowd for any suspicious items and noticed fresh supplies that hadn't come from her. This made her fear that someone with greater resources was supplying them.

Boarding the Keepsake

Nyende reported the influx of supplies in the hands of the Sullustans she had scanned. Consequently, her uncle was taken into custody a week later, though he was not charged. Despite his eventual release, Nyende still received bitter looks from his friends. In the two weeks following the attack, the Empire implemented anti-terrorism policies that increased stormtrooper security in Pinyumb.

Fifteen days after the attack, the Security Bureau targeted a suspected rebel vessel. Nyende and SP-156 were among the twelve stormtroopers sent to board it. They swiftly entered the docking bay and surrounded their target, the VCX-150 freighter Keepsake. Nyende was the second of eight troopers to enter the starship and began searching the dozen rooms. The lead stormtrooper, SP-113, ordered all equipment to be locked down to prepare the ship for forensic technicians.

156 then moved away from the group and inspected a conduit access panel across the corridor. He examined it for a moment before smashing it off with his rifle, revealing a Chadra-Fan hiding inside the cramped compartment. 113 questioned it, demanding the whereabouts of Nien Nunb and the contacts of the Sullustan resistance. The Chadra-Fan claimed to be working alone and told 113 that Nunb was in the city. 113 ordered him to be taken away, and Nyende stepped back to watch three stormtroopers restrain the Chadra-Fan. Suddenly, the alien detonated a detonator. Nyende hesitated and was barely able to turn around before the explosion sent her hurtling down the boarding ramp.

Rebel assault

Nyende was among the few who survived the explosion. She experienced headaches in the following days but was cleared for light duty within two weeks. On her first day back, 113, who had also survived the incident, approached her in the armory. He reviewed her records and instructed her to return to patrol sooner.

Shortly after, Nyende joined many other stormtroopers to oversee the arrival of a transport carrying Imperial reinforcements to Sullust. One of the maintenance crew claimed it was oversight for a production increase to make up for a rebel attack on the planet Mardona III. As Nyende watched the reinforcements pass, a high-pitched whine erupted in her helmet. Trying to understand her surroundings, she saw another trooper gesturing behind her. She turned and spotted a small cam droid. Nyende fired at it three times with her rifle, and it fell to the ground. Two stormtroopers inspected the small droid, and 113 congratulated her for shooting it down.

Over the next three weeks, Nyende worked ten hour shifts. More transports arrived carrying reinforcements, and the processing facility was being overworked. The situation worsened, however. An entire rebel company—the 61st Mobile Infantry—arrived at Sullust and attacked the facility, liberating it within twelve hours. Nyende was sent to patrol the mountain during the night.

The next day, Nyende was stationed in the security office of Pinyumb Transport Station Four. She briefly removed her helmet to eat a ration when more orders came through her comlink. The 61st's CR90 corvette, the Thunderstrike, had returned to quickly collect them. Nyende crammed into a cargo lift with twenty other stormtroopers, and they ascended to the surface to address the emergency. Upon exiting the lift, they found that TIE fighters had damaged the corvette. Nyende watched as it plummeted down the other side of the mountain, resulting in a large explosion.

The curfew

As a consequence of the sudden rebel presence, Pinyumb was locked down, and a massive roundup began. On the second night after the rebels became stranded, they sent a scout party to Pinyumb to contact the Sullustan resistance. Nyende soon responded to a skirmish in the city streets. Two rebel scouts were killed, and another, named Hazram Namir, was knocked unconscious under rubble. Nyende's helmet was damaged by a stray shot. She inspected the unconscious rebel, who had been under the rubble for an hour, and decided to take him into custody.

As the stormtroopers transported Namir away on a speeder, Nyende asked him to reveal the rebels' plans. The rebel refused to answer, but before she could continue, another problem arose. Nunb, positioned on a roof, shot at the stormtroopers, quickly taking one down. Namir knocked over Nyende's comrade, and a barrage of blaster shots rained down on the speeder bed, injuring Nyende. The rebel then scrambled out and ran towards Nunb, quickly disappearing.

Liberation of Pinyumb

Within minutes, a medical evacuation arrived and rushed Nyende to the garrison's emergency ward. There, her wound was treated, and she was transferred to a civilian clinic the next day. Later that day, the Imperial garrison attacked the rebels at the processing facility. Medics at Nyende's clinic began discussing reopening the clinic to civilians. Nyende put on her boots and grabbed her blaster. Leaving her bed, she entered the corridor and found one of the medics talking to Malaqua. She held them at gunpoint to prevent them from conspiring with the rebel again.

Late in the day, Nyende received news that the garrison had been flooded with lava. The rebels on the mountain had defeated the local forces. An uprising led by the Sullustan resistance and the Cobalt Front quickly liberated Pinyumb. Nyende surrendered to the rebels without resistance. Her uncle was finally released by the rebels and used his cantina as a distribution point for donated supplies. Due to the large number of Imperial captives, Nyende was put to work under supervision. She intended to rejoin the Stormtrooper Corps if the Empire returned but hesitated at the thought of turning her rifle against the patrons at her uncle's cantina.

Behind the scenes

Thara Nyende made her first appearance in the 2015 novel Battlefront: Twilight Company, authored by Alexander Freed. According to Freed, in an interview with Daily Dot, Nyende was created through discussions with his editor and individuals at Disney during the outlining process, who had suggested incorporating a "ground-level Imperial point of view." He described her as the sole character through whom the novel explored the rank-and-file of the Empire, as the story primarily focused on Imperial higher-ups. Freed also mentioned his intention to humanize stormtroopers through Nyende while simultaneously dehumanizing the Imperial hierarchy, which he claimed treated the stormtroopers like clone troopers by assigning them numerical designations, such as "SP-475," and constantly monitoring them.