Variise, a member of the all-female Mistryl Shadow Guard, acted as both bodyguard and trusted enforcer for Moff Caerbellak after the Battle of Endor. It was widely speculated that the Moff had saved her from pirates before she began working for him. This explanation seemed to satisfy those who questioned why a Mistryl would serve someone representing the Empire, the sworn enemy of her people. Variise quickly became known for her ruthlessness and sadistic nature, earning her a fearsome reputation among those who knew of her existence.
Later, Variise went with Caerbellak to Rydonni Prime. The Moff's goal was to acquire a prototype weapon being developed by Rythani Products, a weapons manufacturer. They attended a royal parade held before the unveiling ceremony for the prototype, which was hosted by King Rilvvan K'ntarr, the ruler of Rydonni Prime and CEO of Rythani Products. However, Caerbellak soon received news that the prototype had been stolen from the Rythani Products Building. During the parade, the pilot of one of the All Terrain Armored Transports announced that he was the thief who had taken the prototype. Caerbellak ordered Variise to board the walker and recover the weapon. She engaged the thief, Sienn Sconn, in hand-to-hand combat, but Sconn managed to throw her off the side ramp of the walker after which he detonated a thermal half-sphere he had planted there, resulting in Variise's death.
Variise was a Human and a member of the Mistryl Shadow Guard, an all-female warrior group hailing from the planet of Emberlene. She eventually rose to become the bodyguard and primary operative for Imperial Moff Caerbellak. This alliance was viewed as strange, considering the Mistryl's general animosity towards the Empire, which they blamed for the destruction of their homeworld. Consequently, almost all Mistryl refused to work for the Empire, making Variise a rare exception. Variise acknowledged her membership in the Shadow Guard but never elaborated, claiming she was bound by an oath of secrecy. Rumor had it that Caerbellak had once saved Variise from pirates, and her service was a way to repay that debt. While this satisfied those who questioned her relationship with the Moff, it was never confirmed. Over time, Variise earned a reputation as the Moff's merciless protector.
Following the fragmentation of the Empire after the Battle of Endor, Variise traveled with Caerbellak to Rydonni Prime, a corporate world and the headquarters of Rythani Products, a weapons manufacturing company. Caerbellak's objective was to acquire a prototype weapon from the company, and he was invited to a ceremony showcasing the product. Variise and the Moff first attended a reception hosted by the Rydonnian King, Rilvvan K'ntarr, who was both the monarch of Rydonni Prime and the chief executive of Rythani Products. Variise donned a black gown and accompanied Caerbellak to K'ntarr's mansion, where she encountered Sienn Sconn, a waiter. Variise stopped Sconn as he tried to apologize and excuse himself, and she intimidated him into giving her a glass of Rydonnian spicewine, which she swiftly consumed. The Mistryl then warned the shaken waiter that she was not easily forgiving before rejoining the crowd.
The following day, Variise and Caerbellak attended the prototype unveiling ceremony in Ryell, the capital city of Rydonni Prime. Variise sat next to Caerbellak and King K'ntarr in the royal reviewing stand during the parade that preceded the ceremony. The parade consisted of an Imperial procession featuring All Terrain Armored Transports, repulsorlift vehicles, and stormtroopers marching in formation. During the parade, Caerbellak learned that the prototype had been stolen from the Rythani Products Building. He seized K'ntarr by the collar and threatened to impose martial law on the planet if the prototype was not recovered. The King called for his guards, but before they could react, Variise quickly shot each of them in the back with her dual hold-out blasters.
As Caerbellak continued to threaten K'ntarr, one of the parading walkers halted and the pilot identified himself as the thief who had stolen the prototype. Having revealed himself in an attempt to distract Caerbellak from killing the King, the thief opened fire on the platform where Variise and the others stood. Variise, Caerbellak, and K'ntarr safely scrambled down as the grandstand collapsed. After ensuring Caerbellak was unharmed, Variise was ordered by the Moff to retrieve the prototype and eliminate the thief and his accomplice, Princess Kalieva K'ntarr, the King's daughter. The Mistryl jumped from the collapsing grandstand onto the back of the walker and concealed herself within its darkened troop compartment.
The thief, who was revealed to be Sienn Sconn, eventually entered the troop compartment after Kalieva reported hearing a noise. Variise surprised him and attacked with her shock whip. Sconn, however, deflected the attack with a shot from his wrist laser, causing Variise's weapon to overload and electrocute her. Variise recovered and charged at Sconn, but the thief used her momentum against her, sending her crashing into a sensor panel that opened the walker's side hatch.
During the ensuing struggle, Sconn tried to push Variise towards the edge of the lowered ramp, but Variise instead sent the thief over the edge, though he managed to grab hold of the ramp, preventing a ten-meter fall. Reminding the thief that she had already forgiven him once, Variise tried to kill the helpless Sconn with one of her hold-out blasters, but he thwarted her again with his wrist laser. In the resulting chaos, their positions were reversed. Variise, now hanging precariously from the ramp's edge, stared in disbelief as Sconn detonated the thermal half-sphere explosive he had attached to the ramp. Variise was killed in the explosion. Although Variise failed in her mission and Sconn escaped with the prototype, Caerbellak's secret lover, Kalieva K'ntarr, tricked Sconn into trusting her and secretly placed a tracking device on the prototype before his departure.
Variise was a cold, cruel, and calculating woman who derived immense pleasure from her role as Moff Caerbellak's protector and subordinate. She was sadistic, relishing the suffering of others and eager to kill, often taunting her victims before ending their lives. She particularly enjoyed the fear her reputation inspired in most sentient beings. Before the Moff's arrival, rumors would circulate about the purpose of his visit, but whenever Variise was mentioned, voices would drop to a whisper. She seemed to exude danger, often compared to feline predators ready to pounce. Consequently, people were generally on edge around her. After their first encounter, Sienn Sconn was left a sweating, terrified mess. When Variise issued an order, it was carried out immediately, usually because the subordinate was eager to distance themselves from her as quickly as possible.
Variise was a beautiful and exotic woman with an athletic physique, considered as deadly as she was attractive. She had smooth skin, a mane of curly red hair, sharply filed crimson-painted fingernails, and a tattoo over her right forehead and cheek. She typically spoke with a smooth, silky voice, often laced with menacing undertones. She was dedicated to protecting and serving Moff Caerbellak in any way possible, although her relationship with him was seen as unusual given the Empire's history with the Mistryl. The Eleven Elders of the People, the rulers of Emberlene, publicly refused to conduct any business with the Empire, though they were sometimes known to accept Imperial jobs in secret. Variise's relationship with her people was ambiguous, as she refused to violate her oath of secrecy to them.
As a Mistryl Shadow Guard, Variise was proficient in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat. She was also trained in the use of a shock whip and carried several other weapons, including a vibroknife and two hold-out blasters. Additionally, Variise was skilled in operating repulsorlift vehicles and space transports, and she could use starship weaponry when necessary.
Variise was a creation of Paul Danner, with her initial illustration by Doug Shuler for the short story Easy Credits, featured in the ninth issue of the Star Wars Adventure Journal in 1996. In 2003, an image of an unidentified Mistryl Shadow Guard by Chad Michael Ward appeared in the Hero's Guide, a supplement for Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Roleplaying Game. Ward's image was later used in Galaxy at War, a 2009 supplement to the Saga Edition roleplaying game, identifying the Shadow Guard as Variise, thus retconning her appearance in the Hero's Guide. This image resembles a Mistryl Shadow Guard miniature from the Bounty Hunters Star Wars Miniatures set released in 2006. However, the miniature lacks Variise's facial tattoo, meaning it has not yet been retconned as her.