Stavin Thaal

Biography

Galactic Empire Instructor

During the Galactic Civil War, Thaal worked for the Galactic Empire as an instructor, teaching small-unit tactics at the Caridan Military Academy. He was among the last officers to be evacuated when the planet met its end in 11 ABY, destroyed by Jedi apprentice Kyp Durron who used the Sun Crusher to transform Carida's sun into a supernova. Shortly after this cataclysmic event, Stavin Thaal switched his allegiance to the New Republic, integrating himself into its army.

New Republic

In 12 ABY, Thaal, at the time a captain, entered into matrimony with his first wife, Zehrinne.

When the Yuuzhan Vong conquered Coruscant in 27 ABY, Colonel Thaal, who was stationed on the occupied planet, volunteered to command an elite unit on Vandor-3. Renaming themselves the Pop-Dogs, Thaal and his team gathered intelligence on the extra-galactic invaders' movements within the system and carried out raids for the remainder of the conflict. Thaal was promoted to General after the Yuuzhan Vong were defeated, in recognition of his valiant contributions.

Galactic Alliance General

In 44 ABY, as part of the Imperial-Alliance conspiracy, he collaborated with Haydnat Treen, Merratt Jaxton, Drikl Lecersen, and others to plot the overthrow of both the Galactic Alliance and Imperial governments. However, the conspiracy unraveled after being discovered by Natasi Daala and due to the clandestine manipulations of Abeloth and the Lost Tribe of Sith. In response, Thaal orchestrated the assassinations of several of his fellow conspirators, even compelling Jaxton to commit suicide himself.

Months after the conspiracy's demise, Thaal became a suspect due to the actions of former co-conspirator Borath Maddeus, the director of Galactic Alliance Security. Maddeus enlisted Garik "Face" Loran to reform Wraith Squadron in order to establish Thaal's culpability and bring him to justice. Loran, however, harbored suspicions about Maddeus and secretly created two Wraith Squadrons: one under Bhindi Drayson and the other under Sharr Latt. Their mission was to investigate Thaal while Loran simultaneously investigated Maddeus, aiding the Wraiths in their efforts.

Meanwhile, Thaal was planning to retire and assume a new identity as Thadley Biolan. He arranged for the kidnapping of renowned identity forger Usan Joyl and his grandson Dashan, imprisoning them in cells beneath the Caridan animal exhibit on Vandor-3, a property Thaal secretly owned. He underwent gene therapy, administered by the elder Joyl, to ensure his transformation into Biolan was convincing. This process was also performed on numerous Pop-Dogs loyal to Thaal, and their personal histories were completely rewritten. Thaal intended to retire to Kuratooine and marry the famous pop singer Ledina Chott. In the interim, he maintained his public persona as Stavin Thaal by using makeup to conceal his Biolan appearance.

Upon returning to Vandor-3 to investigate the escape of unidentified hostiles from Mount Lyss Meteorological Station, Thaal arrived just as the station was destroyed. The destruction was caused by one of his own soldiers inadvertently triggering a booby trap set by the Wraiths. Thaal correctly identified Wraith Squadron as the culprits but mistakenly believed they were led by the deceased Ton Phanan, whom he thought had faked his death years prior.

Later, Thaal was tricked into visiting Kuratooine earlier than planned by Wraith Squadron member Turman Durra, who posed as a member of a species native to the planet's underground caverns and offered Thaal valuable gems. In exchange for these nonexistent valuables, Thaal gave the disguised Durra a fake deed to the Imperial capital of Bastion. Shortly after, Thaal briefly adopted his Thadley Biolan identity to visit Chott, with whom he had become romantically involved. However, upon arriving at her apartment, he was shocked to discover she had been abducted.

Ultimately, Wraith Squadron orchestrated events on Kuratooine to draw Thaal to a public plaza. Knowing that Thaal's belief that Ton Phanan was still alive had reached their ears, they decided to exploit it. They used a droid equipped with a hologram to depict Durra disguised as Phanan, accusing Thaal of being an impostor. This accusation was seemingly validated when Thaal's recently divorced ex-wife, Zehrinne, arrived from Coruscant and claimed that Thaal was not the real Stavin Thaal but an impostor named Thadley Biolan, having seen through his makeup. Thaal attempted to flee, but was paralyzed by a dart fired by Wraith Drikall Bessarah.

Sometime later, Thaal was freed from his Coruscant prison by General Maddeus and hidden one level below Maddeus's office. However, Loran tricked Maddeus into revealing Thaal's location by having a Wraith impersonate Thaal. Consequently, Wraith Squadron ensured that both Thaal and Maddeus were returned to prison for good.