The Wraith

This Human male, known by his designation "the Wraith", was a clandestine agent in service to the Galactic Empire during the initial years of the New Republic, functioning as a spy, saboteur, and assassin. To enhance his understanding and abilities in specific areas, the Wraith underwent specialized training and received mnemiotic drugs, which improved his knowledge of planetary systems, first aid, survival techniques, and security protocols. Before 6 ABY, the Wraith successfully infiltrated the New Republic Intelligence Service and discovered the existence of the Archive system. This system was a network of intelligence-gathering and data-processing centers being established by the New Republic under the direction of Major Breslin Drake. The Wraith managed to breach one of the concealed Archive stations, thereby compromising the security of all the other stations. The damage inflicted on the system was irreversible, and Drake suspected the Wraith was responsible for the breach. Subsequently, the Wraith departed New Republic space and journeyed to the Kathol sector, where he began service under the local Imperial warlord, Moff Kentor Sarne. Sarne had withdrawn the sector from the Empire's control following the Battle of Endor.

For a period of two years, the Wraith served Moff Sarne's interests as an assassin and saboteur. He carried out several political assassinations within the sector and constantly sought new poisons to use in his operations. The Wraith made several times visits to the primitive planet Sebiris; under the guise of "Klendost Petrivoor," the Wraith traded flintlock slugthrowers with the native Sebiri inhabitants of a village located in the planet's equatorial region. In exchange, the Wraith was granted permission to harvest a potent poison from the jungle. This poison reduced the neurotransmitter levels in its victims, causing them to enter a deep coma and eventually die after several days on life support.

A few months before the New Republic successfully liberated the Kathol sector capital, Kal'Shebbol, from Sarne's dominion in 8 ABY, Moff Sarne instructed the Wraith to infiltrate the Bombaasa Cartel criminal syndicate, which was led by the crime lord Crev Bombaasa on the planet Pembric II. Assuming the identity of "Drenn," a Pembric II native with supposed family connections to the planet, the Wraith secured a position as a bouncer at Bombaasa's ThrusterBurn Tapcafe and began to climb the ranks within the organization. When news arrived on Pembric II that New Republic forces had driven Sarne out of Kal'Shebbol, the Wraith determined that his current mission was no longer relevant, and he needed to leave the planet to rejoin Sarne's forces. However, upon learning that Kal'Shebbol was no longer under Sarne's control, Bombaasa took action against the Imperial presence on Pembric II, purging loyalists and establishing a puppet government that kept the planet under his control. Bombaasa also discouraged citizens from leaving the planet by implementing expensive exit passes and transit visas required for departure from the system. Lacking the necessary resources, the Wraith found himself effectively trapped on the planet. Shortly after Bombaasa seized control of the system, Major Drake—who had left the New Republic after the Wraith's infiltration of New Republic Intelligence and had been actively searching for him for several years—encountered difficulties with Pembric II's new bureaucratic procedures, resulting in the loss of his cargo and starship. While attempting to leave the planet, Drake took on the role of manager at the ThrusterBurn Tapcafe. Neither the Wraith nor Drake recognized each other while working together.

Soon after the fall of Kal'Shebbol, the New Republic CR90 corvette FarStar arrived in the Pembric system and deployed a covert team disguised as illegal arms merchants onto the planet. The FarStar's crew undertook this effort to recruit a slicer named Gaelin to assist in resolving several technical issues the corvette was experiencing. Spang, an engineer at the Tanquilla Beach shadowport, advised the team to consult Drake, whom he considered the primary source of information regarding Gaelin's whereabouts. The FarStar team met with Drake at the ThrusterBurn while the Wraith was on duty, and during their conversation with Drake, the New Republic delegation was escorted to the tapcafe's back casino to meet with Bombaasa himself. The crime lord was aware of the mission group's true intentions, and the meeting escalated into a conflict between the New Republic team and Bombaasa's bodyguards. Drake intervened and assisted the New Republic crew, recognizing an opportunity to leave the planet. Sensing the same opportunity, the Wraith—along with three other bouncers loyal to Drake—also aided the FarStar crew, though the spy remained on the periphery of the action. After helping the team escape from the ThrusterBurn, Drake revealed that Gaelin was being held prisoner by Bombaasa due to his technical skills. He offered to assist the New Republic in rescuing Gaelin from Bombaasa's clutches in exchange for passage off-world for himself and his bouncers, including the Wraith.

Dividing their forces, one team, including Drake, successfully rescued Gaelin from his prison in a warehouse on the outskirts of the spaceport, while the other team retrieved their Aegis-class combat shuttle, which Bombaasa's Pembric Security Legion had impounded. The shuttle team landed the ship on the warehouse roof, extracting the warehouse team with Gaelin and returning to the FarStar.

Once aboard the FarStar, the Wraith began devising a plan to sabotage the ship and rejoin Sarne's forces. To aid Sarne, he arranged to join one of the corvette's maintenance crews, granting him access to the ship's systems while he developed a strategy to achieve his objectives. Shortly after departing Pembric II, the FarStar landed on the planet Galtea for essential repairs, resupply, and shore leave. The Wraith capitalized on the situation and gained access to a transmitter, sending a coded message to one of Sarne's roving fleets. He transmitted the FarStar's current location and operational status, along with his intention to sabotage the vessel and assassinate Captain Kaiya Adrimetrum, the FarStar's commanding officer. As part of his plan to eliminate the captain, the Wraith manipulated one of the K4 security droids guarding the bridge, altering its command codes to obey his commands and installing a miniature dart gun, loaded with a dart coated in the poison he had obtained from Sebiris, into a concealed compartment. Utilizing his access to the bridge as a member of the maintenance teams, he placed a shaped charge—partially constructed from a thermal detonator—near a power conduit close to the captain's station, which could be detonated with a burst transmission from an encrypted comlink. The resulting explosion was intended to both impede the FarStar's response to the Imperial attack, by disrupting power to the bridge, and to conceal the K4 security droid's assassination attempt.

As the sun rose the following morning, the Imperial fleet contacted by the Wrath materialized. To intercept the approaching fleet, the FarStar launched, engaging in a delaying battle while a hyperspace jump was being plotted. Their forces were significantly outnumbered, facing a three-to-one disadvantage. Concurrently, the Wraith infiltrated the bridge, triggering the shaped charge and disabling the command systems' power supply. Simultaneously, the K4 security droid discharged a poison dart at Adrimetrum. The captain's subsequent collapse was made to appear as a consequence of the power conduit's explosion. Despite the Wraith's efforts, the crew successfully restored power to the bridge and disengaged from the conflict, executing a jump to a binary system situated several hours away from Galtea. Adrimetrum, unconscious due to the venomous dart, was transported to the sick bay, where Doctor Akanseh observed inconsistencies between her injuries and her condition. He could not determine the cause of her state, and was perplexed by her lack of response to bacta treatment.

Lieutenant Jessa Dajus, the Imperial tactical advisor aboard the FarStar, remembered that several of the Moff's political adversaries had experienced similar ailments to the captain, all of whom had perished within days. Dajus had acquired this knowledge because she had previously served under Sarne as an Imperial Intelligence colonel, rather than a shuttle pilot as she had claimed. Security Officer Kl'aal initiated an investigation to uncover evidence of sabotage and foul play. Flight recorder data provided by the K4 security droid on the bridge indicated that the explosion near Adrimetrum's station did not coincide with a weapon impact, and that two seconds were missing from the droid's memory. Upon reviewing the recording, it was noted that Adrimetrum had casually swatted at her neck just before the explosion. Further examination revealed that the impact originated from the K4's position, and that the droid's memory buffers had been manipulated. Fragments of a thermal detonator and scorched circuitry were also discovered near the destroyed power conduit. The evidence gathered by the investigation enabled the medical personnel to identify a puncture wound on Adrimetrum's neck and detect the presence of the poison in her system, which was diminishing her neurotransmitter activity. Having learned of these developments, Drake revealed his suspicions that the Wraith was responsible for eliminating the Moff's enemies, as well as his connection to Sebiris, suggesting that they travel there in search of a cure. He provided the crew with access to his personal logs, which alerted the Wraith not only that he was being actively pursued, but also that the man he had worked with on Pembric II had been tracking him for years.

A mission to Sebiris was planned, and the Wraith volunteered to join the large, heavily armed team. The group landed near the village the Wraith had previously visited to obtain his poison, and ignited a large fire in the clearing near their shuttle. Soon after, five Sebiri—four hunters and the village headman—approached them. After the headman confirmed that the aliens were not hostile, they escorted the landing party to the village.

The landing party informed the headman about their captain's condition, and he told them that a cure could be found in the herbs growing near the stone temple located close to the village, which the Sebiri considered sacred. Although the headman initially refused to allow the landing party near the structure, the offering of gifts, including exotic foods, changed his mind. He personally led the party with twelve escorts to the sacred mound, where he collected the herbs and gave them to the landing party. During this time, the Wraith was conversing with one of the hunters when the headman addressed him as "Petrivoor," the alias under which Drake knew the Wraith. Realizing his cover had been blown, the Wraith immediately drew his blaster rifle and began shooting. However, he did not target the New Republic crew or the Sebiri; instead, his shots struck the stone temple. Outraged by the desecration of the holy ground, the Sebiri began to wail. The Wraith shot the nearest Sebiri hunter and fled into the jungle. Evading the Sebiri hunters who pursued him, the Wraith reached the freighter he had previously hidden on the planet. He launched into orbit and jumped to lightspeed before the FarStar—whose landing party extricated themselves from the situation and returned to the ship with the cure for Adrimetrum—could react.

The Wraith's height was 1.5 meters, and he had light brown hair. While posing as Drenn, he wore his hair long and loose, along with a full beard. As a skilled undercover operative, the Wraith successfully infiltrated both the New Republic Intelligence Service and a secure New Republic facility. He even convincingly impersonated a native of Pembric II, fooling the actual indigenous people. A ruthless assassin, he had no qualms about killing those he was ordered to eliminate, preferring to use poisons to make their deaths appear accidental. Had he known Drake's identity and mission to hunt him, the Wraith would have killed him at the first opportunity. Adaptable and resourceful, the Wraith traded with primitive species to acquire a potent poison. He was also capable of devising complex and technical plans, such as the assault on the FarStar and the simultaneous attempt on Adrimetrum's life, with minimal notice and limited resources. He also had the foresight to conceal a spacecraft on Sebiris in case he needed a quick escape.

Trained by the Empire, the Wraith was proficient in combat, with expertise in both melee and unarmed combat, and thrown weapons. He was also skilled in the use of blasters, including blaster artillery and vehicle-mounted weapons, grenades, and projectile firearms. The Wraith could construct a shaped charge for demolition using a thermal detonator rigged to be triggered by a comlink signal. He was physically fit, capable of running through a dense jungle on Sebiris while evading the native Sebiri. Technically adept, the Wraith was skilled in repairing ground vehicles, walkers, and computers, and he could also program them. Furthermore, he possessed sufficient knowledge about droids to reprogram a K4 security droid, altering its memory and implanting hidden protocols. Driving ground, hover, and repulsorlift vehicles was part of the Wraith's skill set, as was riding swoop bikes and domesticated animals and operating walkers. He was capable of flying starfighters, space transports, and capital ships—including navigating them through hyperspace—and operating the weapons and shield systems of the latter.

The Wraith was knowledgeable about alien species and cultures, law enforcement protocols, and bureaucratic procedure, with a focus on the inner workings of the Imperial Military. A master spy, he could negotiate or deceive his way to achieving his objectives, was a skilled forger, and could operate communications equipment. Through the use of mnemiotic drugs and specialized training, the Wraith had several skills artificially enhanced. One example was his knowledge of planetary systems, as was his aptitude for survival. Operation of security equipment and application of first aid were also two of the Wraith's skills that were not naturally learned. While traveling with the crew of the FarStar, the Wraith carried a heavy blaster pistol, along with a comlink, droid toolkit, and a datapad.

The Wraith made his debut in the fifth adventure of The DarkStryder Campaign, a roleplaying game supplement published by West End Games in 1995. Titled Crisis, the Wraith is presented as "Drenn," a bouncer employed at the ThrusterBurn Tapcafe. His role as an Imperial spy is briefly mentioned in Breslin Drake's roleplaying capsule, and the adventure explicitly states that he will play a significant role in the subsequent adventure, Traitor in our Midst. In that adventure, the gamemaster is instructed to ensure that the Wraith, along with Drake, escapes Pembric II to join the crew of the FarStar. Traitor in our Midst assumes that both the Wraith and Drake are present aboard the FarStar, and details the Wraith's backstory and his connection to Drake. The spy serves as the main antagonist of the adventure, as all the challenges the characters face are directly caused by him. Both adventures were authored by Eric S. Trautmann and Paul Sudlow, and the Wraith's image in Traitor in our Midst was created by Philip Tan.

During Crisis, the Wraith is portrayed as remaining on the periphery of the action, following Drake's lead. When devising a plan to liberate Gaelin, the gamemaster can use Drake to suggest dividing the team to address the two primary objectives—securing Gaelin and retrieving their impounded shuttle—if the players do not consider it. The adventure assumes that both objectives are pursued simultaneously, and this article reflects that assumption. However, it does not specify which mission the Wraith is involved in. At the conclusion of Traitor in our Midst, if the players encounter difficulties communicating with the Sebiri, the characters will have to attempt to locate the herbs needed for the antidote without a guide. In this scenario, the gamemaster is instructed to skip the section where the Sebiri headman reveals that he knows the Wraith as Petrivoor and proceed directly to the battle sequence where the Wraith opens fire on the sacred stone temple. However, as that section proceeds with the assumption that the Wraith's identity has been compromised, and that the FarStar party ventured into the jungle with a guide, this article assumes that the landing party successfully communicated with the Sebiri.