Sigel Dare

"Die in the name of the true Emperor!"

- Sigel Dare

Sigel Dare was a female Human Master within the Imperial Knights during the Second Imperial Civil War. Fiercely loyal to Roan Fel, the Emperor of the Empire-in-exile, Dare was rigid in her belief that an Imperial Knight's duty was to obey the Emperor's commands above all else, even the will of the Force. Her icy, unwavering demeanor saw her express open distaste to those not aligned with Fel's Empire, including Jedi, Sith, and members of the Galactic Alliance. This mindset often blinded her to the larger galactic picture; she saw potential allies of her Emperor only as enemies.

In 137 ABY, Dare accompanied Fel as he retook the fortress world Bastion from Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Krayt's Imperial forces. She was later sent with Treis Sinde, her former Master, to sabotage the construction of a new Star Destroyer belonging to Krayt's Empire. When the Star Destroyer was seized by Admiral Gar Stazi of the Galactic Alliance Remnant, Dare and Sinde infiltrated the planet Dac and rescued several Alliance pilots from the clutches of Krayt's forces in an attempt to warn Stazi of the explosives they had planted. Although the mission resulted in Sinde becoming stranded on the planet, the actions of the two paved a pathway toward an eventual alliance between Stazi's fleet and Fel's Empire.

Dare was later sent back to Dac to retrieve Sinde, accompanied by the Jedi Master Asaak Dan. When Sinde informed Dare that he would be staying on-planet to continue aiding the Mon Calamari Rangers, she angrily drew her lightsaber and engaged her former Master in a duel that was quickly halted by Dan's intervention. Dan offered to take Sinde's place as an advisor to the Rangers, and Dare and Sinde prepared to return to Bastion. Soon after, the two joined a contingent of Imperial Knights that accompanied the Emperor to Agamar in order to conduct peace talks with the Jedi Order. The meeting was interrupted by forces of the One Sith, but Dare and the rest of the Imperial Knights were able to safely ferry Fel away from the planet.

Early service
The female Human Sigel Dare was trained as an Imperial Knight by Master Treis Sinde and, after reaching Knighthood, became fully qualified to serve Emperor Roan Fel as a bodyguard and agent. At some point prior to 137 ABY, Dare attained the rank of Master, a title reserved only for the highest ranking Imperial Knights. During sparring sessions with Sinde, she came to surpass her teacher's skills with a lightsaber.

Second Imperial Civil War
After seven years of conducting hit-and-run tactics on the fleets of the Sith Lord Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire, Roan Fel, former Emperor of the Galactic Empire, returned to the Imperial stronghold of Bastion, which Krayt had claimed shortly after the conclusion of the Sith–Imperial War. Dare accompanied Fel as he arrived on-planet, along with fellow Imperial Knights Antares Draco and Ganner Krieg. After securing the loyalty of the Imperial forces stationed on the fortress world, Fel believed that his Empire could now become a more potent threat to Krayt.

Sabotaging the Imperious
"Jedi?''" "''Better. We're Imperial Knights."

- Monia Gahan and Dare on Dac

Weeks later, Fel sent Dare and Sinde on a mission to sabotage the Advanced Star Destroyer Imperious, which was nearing completion at the Mon Calamari Shipyards, as destroying the vessel would mean denying its usage to Darth Krayt's Empire. Undercover and in plainclothes, Sinde and Dare were dispatched to Dac to infiltrate and destroy the ship. The pair planted three sets of explosives, the first two of which they expected to be found; the third they anticipated to remain undiscovered. The explosives were primed to go off when the Imperious weapon systems came online during its shakedown cruise; the hope was that the ship would be far enough away from Dac so that the Mon Calamari would not be blamed for its destruction.

The plan hit a snag, however, when Admiral Gar Stazi of the Galactic Alliance Remnant executed his own mission to steal the Imperious from Krayt's Empire, hoping to add the ship to his fleet's arsenal. Stazi's plan succeeded, and Sinde realized that the explosives would not be discovered by the Alliance. Although he decided that he and Dare needed to warn Stazi of the sabotage, Dare did not share her former instructor's views, feeling that the Duros Admiral was as much an enemy of Roan Fel's Empire as Darth Krayt was. However, Sinde knew that Fel hoped to ally with Stazi against Krayt and felt that he and Dare could convince him of their good intentions by warning him of the threat posed by the explosives.

Escape from Dac
"Uh, who are your 'friends'?''" "''They're Imperial Knights&hellip; I know&mdash;I had the same reaction."

- Rogue Squadron pilots Ronto and Monia Gahan, regarding Dare and Treis Sinde

Angered at the loss of the Imperious, Darth Krayt brought a legion of Sith and stormtroopers to Dac, and ordered the execution of ten percent of the Mon Calamari population, beginning with the members of the Mon Calamari Council. As Sith and stormtroopers swarmed New Coral City, Dare and Sinde, still in plainclothes, ignited their lightsabers and fought their way through Krayt's forces in order to locate Monia Gahan, a member of Rogue Squadron and the niece of former Senator and Galactic Alliance Triumvirate member Gial Gahan. The two Imperial Knights anticipated that she could help them locate Stazi. Finding Gahan, Dare and Sinde saved her from execution at the hands of a squad of stormtroopers. Sinde then informed her of the situation and told her that she would be taken off-planet in order to enable himself and Dare to reach the Admiral. Still wary of their plan, Dare taunted Gahan, telling her that Stazi had been outsmarted, but was in turn reprimanded by Sinde, who felt that she was failing to see the larger picture.

Gahan agreed to help them, on the condition that they assisted in the rescue of Alliance pilots that had been captured during the battle. While Gahan felt that it would be a sign of Emperor Fel's sincerity if the Imperial Knights brought Stazi all of his missing people, Dare saw it as an unnecessary risk. However, she was willing to defer to Sinde's wisdom. With Gahan at their side, Dare and Sinde cut their way through legions of stormtroopers as the Mon Calamari rescued her fellow Rogues from a prison cell. Sinde quickly laid out a plan: everyone who could fit into stormtrooper armor would wear it as a disguise, and Dare would pose as an Imperial lieutenant. With the plan put into motion, the ensemble made their way to the hangar levels. Dare used a mind trick to convince the Captain on-duty that they were authorized to load prisoners aboard the personal shuttle of Darth Azard, a Quarren Sith Lord. Boarding the shuttle, Sinde and Dare incapacitated the crew. Before they could take off, Sinde saw Azard approaching; the Sith Lord had sensed a disturbance in the Force. Sinde and ordered Dare to take the shuttle to a rendezvous with Stazi, then leaped down into the hangar to engage Azard.

Unfazed by Gahan's horror that she would leave her partner behind, Dare prepared to follow Sinde's instructions. As her former Master dueled Azard in a delaying action, Dare used the Force to jettison a fuel tank into the path of the shuttle's rear guns, and instructed one of the Rogues to fire on it. A massive explosion engulfed the hangar, covering the shuttle's escape and distracting Azard long enough for Sinde to dive off of the hangar level and flee himself.

Piloting the Sith Lord's shuttle to the Imperious, now in the hands of Stazi and rechristened the Alliance, the Rogues brought Dare to an audience with the Duros Admiral. Dare informed him of the third set of explosives, which were swiftly disarmed. Tension mounted between Stazi and a disrespectful Dare, but Gahan cut through the strained relations and asserted that Master Sinde had been correct: the Sith were the common enemies of both Stazi and Emperor Fel, and it would be beneficial for the two to become allies. Dare and Gahan agreed that Sinde had been willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good, and Dare expressed her belief that he was still alive. Swayed by Gahan's words, Stazi realized the necessity of bringing down Krayt and instructed Dare to contact Roan Fel and inform him of his willingness to create an alliance. Bowing to the Admiral, Dare acquiesced to his request.

Retrieving Sinde
"You will return with me or you will die here! You have a duty to the Emperor."

- Dare, to Treis Sinde, on Dac

The resulting alliance between the Empire-in-exile and the Galactic Alliance Remnant went on to decimate Krayt's Coruscant Third Fleet at Ralltiir, while on Dac, Sinde fought alongside the Mon Calamari Rangers in an effort to protect Mon Calamari refugees stranded on the planet. After finally being able to make contact with Sinde, Fel summoned Dare to an audience along with Antares Draco and Ganner Krieg, who had just reported back from a mission that saw the death of Darth Krayt. In the wake of the Sith Lord's demise, the Emperor handed out orders to all three Knights; Dare was to go to Dac and retrieve Sinde, who was needed to train more Imperial Knights.

Dare traveled to the Arkanis sector and once again met with Admiral Gar Stazi aboard the Alliance. During Dare's visit, the Admiral was also host to four Jedi, all of whom had been dispatched by the Jedi Council in order to aid Stazi's alliance with Roan Fel. Jedi Master Te Corso invited Dare to join a private conversation about the bounty hunter Cade Skywalker, but the Imperial Knight declined, instead asking Stazi for the use of one of the Alliance Imperial shuttles, which would allow her to covertly slip into Dac. Fascinated by what he had heard about Sinde's work with the Mon Calamari Rangers, Jedi Master Asaak Dan asked to come along, but his request was met with steadfast refusal. However, Dare's conviction was overridden by the Admiral, who reminded her that the shuttle, and consequently the decision, was his.

En route to Dac, Dare hatched a plan that saw her dress as an Imperial Intelligence officer and Dan as one of her agents. Bothered by Master Dan's presence, she repeatedly informed him of the plan and its details, creating a hostility between the two of them, albeit one that was reciprocated in a largely mock-serious manner. After landing on Dac, they were able to bypass security with the aid of a mind trick on Dare's part, and then rendezvoused with Sinde and the Mon Calamari Ranger Tanquar. Hoping to leave the planet quickly, Dare informed her former Master of the awaiting ship, and was shocked to hear that he intended to remain on Dac. Sinde believed that the Force was telling him to remain with the Rangers, but Dare, angrily igniting her lightsaber, insisted that an Imperial Knight's personal loyalty to the Emperor transcended what the Force told them. Sinde didn't wish to fight, but Dare was adamant: he would return with her, or he would die on Dac. Dismayed that Dare, and younger Imperial Knights in general, were losing sight of the true purposes of their organization, Sinde reluctantly engaged his former student in a lightsaber duel.

As the two fought, Master Dan ignited his own lightsaber and intervened, enraging Dare in the process. Halting the duel, he suggested to Sinde that it was Sinde's duty to return to Bastion and train young Imperial Knights correctly, and offered to stay on Dac and help the Rangers in Sinde's place. After the elder Imperial Knight accepted, he and Dare prepared to depart the planet, and Dare grudgingly admitted that the Jedi Master was skilled and brave.

Peace talks on Agamar
"The War Hammer attack has started! They'll be on us any second! You'll have to leave now!''" "''Too late, Moff Calixte. The attack is here."

- Nyna Calixte and Roan Fel, anticipating an attack by the Sith on their forces, including Dare

Back on Bastion, Dare, along with Masters Draco, Hogrum Chalk, and Emperor Fel, observed a sparring match between Masters Krieg and Azlyn Rae that was happening under Master Sinde's direction. During the session, Dare took notes as she watched. She later joined a contingent of Imperial Knights in accompanying the Emperor and his daughter, Princess Marasiah Fel, to Agamar in order to conduct peace talks with the Jedi Order. Five Imperial Knights disguised themselves as farmers and hid away from the rest of the party on the planet's surface, while the main party, which Dare was a part of, made camp for the night. The next morning, they awoke and met with representatives from the Jedi, led by Master K'Kruhk. A formal alliance was struck, and Fel declared Bastion a safe haven for both the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance. However, the parleying was interrupted by an approaching intruder riding a local animal. Master Sinde ordered Dare and Master Krieg to open fire, and the two hit the beast with shots from blaster rifles until Fel recognized the rider as Nyna Calixte, the Director of Imperial Intelligence for Krayt's Empire who had held the same title under Fel's leadership prior to the conclusion of the Sith Imperial War. Calixte hurriedly told the assembled party that the Sith were aware of the meeting and had sent a task force under the command of Moff Rulf Yage to capture or kill the Emperor. As the task force, led by the Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer War Hammer, engaged Fel's Dauntless in orbit, she suggested that the Imperial Knights and Jedi run if they wanted to survive.

The Jedi and the previously undisguised Imperial Knights donned farmer disguises of their own, but were nevertheless advanced upon by a group of Sith emerging from nearby swamps. Draco and K'Kruhk called on their respective parties to defend Emperor Fel, and all disguises were shed as a battle ensued. At least ten Sith fell to the blades of the Imperial Knights and Jedi, as well as to Calixte's blaster. Draco hailed the Imperial Knights' escape shuttle, Defender One, which landed near the site of the melee in order to evacuate the Emperor. As Sinde and K'Kruhk began clearing a path toward the shuttle, the Imperial Knights and Jedi boarded, save for Marasiah, Rae, and the Jedi Rasi Tuum, who were too far away. Draco gave the order for the shuttle to lift off, and Defender One escaped the planet as the Dauntless held a corridor of space open for them, taking the brunt of the War Hammer attack and being destroyed in the process.

Personality and traits
"We are Imperial Knights. We do our duty by the Emperor and by the Force&mdash;no matter the cost."

- Sigel Dare

As of 137 ABY, Sigel Dare was a Master within the Imperial Knights. The title indicated that she was one of the organization's highest-ranking members. Dare was fiercely loyal to the cause of Emperor Roan Fel, and was very rigid in her approach to her duty, an approach which her former Master, Treis Sinde, saw as blinding her to the larger picture. While with Sinde on Dac, Dare was very reluctant to warn Admiral Gar Stazi of the explosives planted aboard his new flagship, as she felt that he was as much an enemy to her Emperor as the Sith were. Even while working to warn him, Dare was smug in her actions, taunting several members of Rogue Squadron and insisting that she and Sinde had outsmarted the Admiral. In Stazi's presence, she sarcastically reminded him that her actions had played a large part in the disarming of the explosives. While on Dac, Dare indicated that if it the decision had been hers and not Sinde's, all members of the Galactic Alliance would rot on Dac and Stazi would die in space.

Dare maintained that an Imperial Knight's duty was ultimately to the Emperor and not to the will of the Force; when retrieving Sinde from Dac, she insisted that he obey their Emperor's orders rather than listen to what the Force was telling him. Her staunch devotion to this attitude even saw her draw her lightsaber and attack her former Master, who displayed an unwillingness to return to Bastion. Dare attempted to kill him until Asaak Dan intervened.

Severely critical of both the Jedi and the Sith, Dare was greatly annoyed when Jedi Master Asaak Dan was permitted to accompany her on a retrieval mission to Dac, and felt that she needed to explain her plan to him several times in order for him to understand it. In spite of her open disregard for those who weren't part of Fel's Empire, however, she showed humility at times, such as when she acknowledged Master Dan's skills and bravery, when she bowed to Gar Stazi upon hearing his decision to open talks with Fel regarding a potential Alliance, and when she was willing to defer to Treis Sinde's wisdom on Dac. As cold as ice, Dare did not want to admit that the galaxy was falling apart around her.

Powers and abilities
As an Imperial Knight, Dare was part of an organization that was said to be among the most talented and dangerous Force-users in the galaxy. Dare was skilled with a lightsaber, and, during her training, came to surpass Treis Sinde's abilities with the weapon. She was also proficient with various uses of the Force, such as mind tricks and telekinesis.

Behind the scenes
Sigel Dare was created by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema for the comic book series Star Wars: Legacy, and, along with the Imperial Knights in general, was first revealed in Legacy Issue 0, released in June 2006. She went on to make her first appearance in a brief scene in the third issue of the series, and was depicted on the cover of its sixth issue despite not appearing within its pages. Dare's first major role came in Issue 22 of Legacy, written by Ostrander and pencilled by Alan Robinson; she later went on to play a significant role in the series' forty-second issue, also written by Ostrander but pencilled by Dave Ross. In her first appearance, Dare's hair was incorrectly colored blonde.

Figures
In 2008, Dare received her own miniature figurine, as part of the Legacy of the Force set of Star Wars Miniatures. Although Dare's likeness was used, the figurine was simply called "Imperial Knight". The following year, Dare also received her own action figure. Hasbro, as part of its Legacy Collection comic packs, released Dare and Darth Krayt as 3 ¾ inch action figures, packaged with Issue 22 of Legacy.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Legacy 3: Broken, Part 3
 * Star Wars Legacy 6: Broken, Part 5
 * Star Wars Legacy 22: The Wrath of the Dragon
 * Star Wars Legacy 33: Fight Another Day, Part 2
 * Star Wars Legacy 35: Storms, Part 2
 * Star Wars Legacy 42: Divided Loyalties
 * Star Wars Legacy 43: Monster, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy 45: Monster, Part 3