Vana Dorja was a Human female who held the rank of commander within the Navy of the Imperial Remnant during the Yuuzhan Vong War. She possessed a sharp mind and keen observational skills, coupled with a strong allegiance to the Imperial cause. Her family boasted a distinguished history of naval service to both the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire; her father had captained an Imperial Star Destroyer, continuing to do so into the era of the Remnant. Despite the Council of Moffs of the Remnant opting to remain neutral in the conflict, Dorja was dispatched on what was presented as a trade mission to Coruscant, the capital planet of the New Republic. There, she personally witnessed the attack by the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong forces in 27 ABY. Managing to escape before the planet's fall, she journeyed to Mon Calamari, the New Republic's temporary capital, in 28 ABY, where she requested transport back to Imperial Space.
Captain Han Solo and ambassador Leia Organa Solo provided Dorja with passage aboard their freighter, the Millennium Falcon, as the Solos were undertaking a diplomatic mission to the Remnant. Organa Solo harbored suspicions that Dorja was acting as an Imperial spy on Coruscant and was often uneasy in her presence. However, when a Yuuzhan Vong dovin basal pulled the freighter out of hyperspace, Dorja manned one of the Millennium Falcon's quad laser turrets, contributing to the destruction of Yuuzhan Vong coralskipper fighters. A squadron of New Republic starfighters, led by Colonel Jagged Fel, arrived to assist. Fel boarded the Millennium Falcon and discussed with Dorja his views on the Remnant's strategic options as the Yuuzhan Vong War continued. Following Fel's departure, the freighter proceeded to Imperial Space, and Dorja discreetly left the Solos upon their arrival at a Super Star Destroyer stationed at Bastion, the Remnant's capital.
Vana Dorja, a Human female, was born circa 2 BBY. Her father, Captain Dorja, served as an officer in the Imperial Navy, continuing a prestigious family's tradition of military service to the Galactic Empire and the Galactic Republic—with six generations of Dorja men preceding her all having been naval officers. Vana Dorja's father eventually commanded the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Relentless[/article/relentless_(dorja)], retaining command of the warship into the era of the Imperial Remnant. The younger Dorja followed in her father's footsteps, achieving the rank of commander within the Remnant's naval forces.
In 25 ABY, the Yuuzhan Vong, an extra-galactic species, launched their invasion of the galaxy. While the Council of Moffs of the Imperial Remnant chose to remain on the sidelines, reinforcing Imperial Space as the New Republic confronted the invaders, Dorja was dispatched to Coruscant, the New Republic's capital world. Her mission was ostensibly to negotiate a trade agreement and procure Ulban droid brains for use in Imperial hydroponics farms. The negotiations failed due to the dual-use nature of the droid brains, which could also be applied to military purposes. In 27 ABY, during Dorja's extended stay, the Yuuzhan Vong attacked Coruscant. She managed to evacuate before the capital's capture, and in 28 ABY, she arrived on Mon Calamari, the New Republic's provisional capital, seeking passage back to Imperial Space. Leia Organa Solo, a New Republic ambassador, was preparing for a diplomatic mission to the Remnant and agreed to transport Dorja aboard her husband's freighter, the Millennium Falcon.
Organa Solo viewed Dorja with suspicion, believing she was a commercial spy sent to Coruscant to observe its downfall. She also suspected that Dorja's negotiations were a sham and her escape pre-planned. Consequently, Organa Solo placed restrictions on Dorja's access to certain areas of the Millennium Falcon and scanned her for hidden technology, but found nothing. The freighter then commenced its journey. During their time in hyperspace, Dorja engaged in conversation with C-3PO, the Solos' protocol droid, and later shared a meal with Organa Solo and Han Solo in the ship's main hold. They discussed matters of power and leadership, with Dorja speculating on how Emperor Palpatine would have addressed the Yuuzhan Vong threat had he still been in control of the galaxy. Their conversation was interrupted by alarms as a Yuuzhan Vong dovin basal pulled the ship out of lightspeed along the Hydian Way. Captain Solo rushed to the cockpit, while Dorja and Organa Solo took positions at the freighter's quad laser cannons, Dorja manning the dorsal turret.
Solo steered the Millennium Falcon directly towards the dovin basal, using its gravitic pull to conceal them from the sensors of six Yuuzhan Vong coralskipper fighters on the other side. As they swept past, he launched concussion missiles, which, combined with laser fire from Dorja and Organa Solo, destroyed four and damaged one of the coralskippers. With six more coralskippers in pursuit, Solo executed another pass within the dovin basal's gravitational field, destroying one of the pursuers. When the sole survivor of the initial flight caught up, Dorja eliminated it. Solo then ceased his slingshot maneuver to disorient the remaining enemy pilots, allowing Dorja and Organa Solo to destroy another coralskipper and damage its wingmate. They finished off one more as Solo accelerated away from the dovin basal's gravity, but before they could engage the remaining adversaries, a combined force of New Republic E-wings and Chiss clawcraft arrived from hyperspace and dealt with the remaining coralskippers. Colonel Jagged Fel, the commander of the force and his daughter's boyfriend, was invited aboard the Millennium Falcon for dinner.
After being introduced to Dorja, Fel joined the others at the table. When Organa Solo mentioned her diplomatic mission to the Imperial Remnant, Fel expressed his best wishes but suggested that an alliance with the Yuuzhan Vong would be in the Remnant's immediate interest. Dorja urged him to elaborate, and his suggestion that the Yuuzhan Vong would offer substantial territories to their Imperial allies captured her attention. However, he cautioned that the invaders would ultimately betray and destroy the Remnant. He departed shortly thereafter, and the Millennium Falcon resumed its journey through Yuuzhan Vong territory. Upon arriving in the Sartinaynian system at Bastion, the Imperial capital world, they landed in the docking bay of a Super Star Destroyer, where Dorja quietly disembarked. As the Solos were escorted to Imperial Headquarters on the fortress world's surface, Organa Solo suspected that Dorja was briefing Gilad Pellaeon, the Remnant's Supreme Commander, on her observations regarding the state of the New Republic. The Solos then met with Pellaeon and successfully negotiated an exchange of information: the New Republic provided all available intelligence on the Yuuzhan Vong in return for the Remnant's secret hyperspace routes through the galaxy's Deep Core.
Vana Dorja possessed brown eyes and neatly styled dark hair that she kept tucked into her Imperial uniform. She was an observant and inquisitive woman with a bland, agreeable face—qualities that Leia Organa Solo considered suitable for a potential Imperial spy. Organa Solo found her manner of speaking equally unremarkable, and although Dorja was courteous and accommodating to her hosts on the Millennium Falcon, she had a knack for creating unsettling moments. Dorja appreciated C-3PO's efficiency but found him somewhat loquacious. During the battle against Yuuzhan Vong coralskippers, Dorja considered Solo's piloting unorthodox but adapted to it and proved to be a capable gunner. Her usual composure broke when she cheered after destroying an enemy vessel.
Dorja held a partisan view of the Empire, believing that Emperor Palpatine would have swiftly crushed the Yuuzhan Vong with his Imperial war machine. She viewed Borsk Fey'lya, the New Republic's Chief of State, as having adopted a weak and hesitant approach by negotiating with the Yuuzhan Vong while simultaneously fighting them, leading to chaos. Dorja listened intently when Jagged Fel appeared to advocate for an alliance between the Imperial Remnant and the invaders rather than the New Republic. She also criticized the New Republic's lack of clear leadership following Fey'lya's death. She suspected that Organa Solo, a former Chief of State, would attempt to regain power—in Dorja's view, voluntarily relinquishing power was akin to shirking responsibility. Han Solo openly criticized Imperial methods, and after one of his angry tirades about the Empire's past failures, Organa Solo thought she detected amusement in Dorja's eyes.
Vana Dorja has a minor role in The New Jedi Order: Destiny's Way (2002), written by Walter Jon Williams and the fourteenth book in The New Jedi Order series. While the book only vaguely alludes to her parentage, referring to her as "the daughter of the captain of a Star Destroyer," The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (2008) explicitly identifies her father as Captain Dorja, a character who initially appeared in Dark Force Rising, a 1992 novel by Timothy Zahn.