Sarna (Queen)

"I may be mercenary, but since I joined the Rebellion, I've earned a lot of people's respect&mdash;I'm not throwing all that away on you! Find yourself another sucker."

- Lando Calrissian to Queen Sarna

Sarna was the Queen of Drogheda during the height of the Galactic Empire. During her younger life, she had been romantically linked with Lando Calrissian. However, Calrissian had primarily pursued her intending to marry her for her money. Sandra's father caught wind of the plot, and he banished Calrissian from Drogheda and from his daughter. Although Sarna was heartbroken, she understood her father's reasoning and broke off contact with her lover.

Following the defeat of the Empire at the Battle of Endor, Sarna's rule was threatened by the locals, who wanted to set up a democratic government. Hoping to recruit someone who could defeat the revolutionaries, she contacted her former flame, lying to him that the rebels were being funded by the Empire. Calrissian came to Drogheda, but he quickly saw through the ruse. Sarna tried to keep Calrissian from escaping to inform the Rebellion, but he eluded her clutches, aiding Danu, Sarna's sister, and secret agent for the revolutionaries, in overthrowing Sarna's rule. As the revolutionaries celebrated their victory, they decided to exile the queen, and Calrissian was payed a fee to remove Sarna from Drogheda. The two departed the planet in the Cobra, planning to cook up a money-making scheme.

Early life
Sarna was born on the ore-rich world of Drogheda to the planet's ruling class family. Her father was the head of the Drogheda Mining Company, which made the family very rich. As the oldest daughter, Sarna was set to inherit the business. Sarna had a younger sister, Danu, that was near her in age, but since she was not set to gain authority on the planet like her sister, the two were not very close. In fact, Danu had no interest at all in her sister or the family business.

Romance with Calrissian
"You know the mining business wasn't the only attraction for me."

- Lando Calrissian

At a point where Sarna had come of age, she was visited by Lando Calrissian, who began courting her heavily. Unknown to Sarna, Calrissian was hoping for a marriage with the rich princess, in order to make his way into the family's mining business. However, Calrissian actually found himself falling for the young woman. By the time that Calrissian had become the Baron Administrator of Cloud City, he was still rumored to be seeing Sarna. In an interview with Ars Fivvle, a short time following his advancement to the position, Calrissian neglected to comment on his relationship with the queen.

However, at the same time, Sarna's father discovered Calrissian's plans to obtain part of the family's fortune and their mining operation by marrying his daughter. To stop Calrissian from doing so, Sarna's father banished the man from Drogheda. Sarna was heartbroken by her father's decree, but she was able to understand that her father needed to protect his business. Calrissian himself, though more concerned with being cut out of a possible business venture, never got over the woman, claiming years later that she had been very hard to forget.

After the Empire
"Don't you realize I've got a crisis on my hands?"

- Sarna to Danu

Following the major defeat of the Galactic Empire at the hands of the Rebellion at the Battle of Endor, the thought of casting off a monarchy and replacing it with a government of the people was fresh in the minds of the people. However, Sarna was not ready to relinquish power. She refused to allow the Droghedans self-rule, increasing the power of the Drogheda Royal Guard to crack down on the those that opposed Sarna's rule. The head of the Royal Guard, Harlech, took the lead in protecting the monarchy, and the supporters of democracy for Drogheda were scattered.

However, unknown to Sarna, her sister, Danu, joined the revolutionaries, providing them with inside information in the Drogheda Citadel. The rebels, in an effort to strike the monarchy where it hurt, captured the Mount Meru Mine. Since the mining operation was suspended while the revolutionaries controlled the mine, the ruling family began to lose money at an alarming rate, as the profits made from the mine was the monarchy's primary source of income. Desperate to resolve the crisis, Sarna decided to contact her old flame, Calrissian. Now known as a Rebel hero, Sarna was confident that her former lover could resolve the crisis.

However, Sarna knew that Calrissian would probably be hesitant to help her if he knew that the operation resolved crushing a movement for democracy in order to support her own oppressive government. To convince the Rebel hero to help her cause, Sarna had several of her guards pose as revolutionaries with orders to attack Calrissian when he arrived on the planet. Sarna planned to tell Calrissian that the rebels were being supported by the Empire, and if she was deposed, the Empire would take control of the planet.

Back with Calrissian
"I'm here at your sister's request&mdash;not to get involved in your petty intrigues."

- Lando speaks with Danu

Calrissian arrived on Drogheda and met with Danu who was still working with her sister to gather information for the revolutionaries. Sarna's fake rebels attacked Danu and Calrissian on sky-sleds, but the duo were able to commandeer a sled of their own, fending off the attack. After making their point, the guards left to allow Harlech to "rescue" the Rebel leader, and the group made their way to Sarna's throne room in the planetary citadel. Upon meeting with Calrissian, Sarna tasked her former flame with defeating the revolutionaries, feeding Calrissian the false story of the rebels being funded by the Empire.

Calrissian was able to flush the revolutionaries out of the mine, despite Danu informing her comrades beforehand. However, as Calrissian watched the royal guard attempt to slaughter the revolutionaries, the Rebel became suspicious of Sarna's true intentions. He brought one of the revolutionaries back to the citadel, and although Sarna tried to make Calrissian turn over the man to her interrogators, Calrissian decided to interview the man himself. Calrissian became further suspicious upon hearing what the man had to say, but Harlech was able to kill the rebel before he could say too much. Calrissian decided to find more information, and in a local cantina, he was able to discover Sarna's ruse. He immediately came back to the citadel to confront Sarna and stated that he was leaving. Sarna knew that letting Calrissian leave the planet with the information about her oppressive government would create a huge liability, and she ordered her guards to capture the man. However, Calrissian was able to overpower Harlech, and he broke free, eventually joining up with the revolutionaries.

Battle
"Find Lando! If he escapes, he might bring the Rebellion down on us!"

- Sarna

Sarna was furious with her guards and ordered them to track down Lando, believing that he might bring the Rebellion back to Drogheda. At the same time, the revolutionaries had decided to attack the monarchy and overthrow it. Danu signaled her allies by detonating the munitions room inside the citadel, and the revolutionaries attacked the citadel. During the chaos, the royal guards were only able to find Danu, and they brought her to the throne room. As Danu taunted Harlech for being unable to locate Calrissian, the Rebel hero crashed into the throne room through an upper window, having been pursued by Sarna's royal guard.

As the throne room stood in shock by Calrissian's tactics, the Rebel quickly took Sarna hostage. However, Harlech had no intention of saving his queen, hoping to take the throne upon Sarna's death. As Harlech ordered his men to kill both Calrissian and Sarna, the revolutionaries flooded into the citadel and incapacitated Harlech. Danu thanked Calrissian for his assistance, but commanded that he leave immediately, as he had only come to the world to help the now deposed Sarna. However, Danu offered Calrissian a reward if he would take Sarna offworld into exile. Sarna was appalled by her sister's tactics, but Calrissian agreed to the deal, taking Sarna away from Drogheda in his ship, the Cobra.

As the two departed, Sarna tried to convince Calrissian to join her in a new caper, with her as the brains and Calrissian as the brawn. Calrissian scoffed at her claim that she would be the brains, and the two began to bicker as they left the system.

Personality and traits
Sarna was a manipulative woman with aspirations for power. She was content to use anyone to retain her position as Queen on Drogheda, even her own sister. However, despite her machinations, she proved to be not incredibly self-aware. She was continually being double-crossed, and during the conclusion of the Drogheda Civil War, she was betrayed by Lando Calrissian, her sister, and her closest confidant, Harlech.

Although only loyal to herself, Sarna was also something of a romantic. She fell for Calrissian's charms, despite his intention to marry her only for her money. When Calrissian was banished from Drogheda by Sarna's father, Sarna was heartbroken, and during the crisis on her world following the Battle of Endor, she thought of Calrissian first when looking for help. Upon her exile from Drogheda, Sarna hoped that Calrissian would join her in a money-making scheme.

Behind the scenes
Sarna was created by Linda Grant for use in Marvel Star Wars Star Wars 83: Sweetheart Contract. Upon the ending of the comic, Sarna leaves her homeplanet with Calrissian. However, she did not appear again in the Marvel line, leaving her final fate a mystery. Sarna was indirectly mentioned in the Wizards of the Coast online article, Bespin: Action Tidings, during a written interview of Lando Calrissian following his becoming the Baron Administrator of Cloud City. The Queen of Drogheda mentioned to Calrissian by Ars Fivvle in the article is the reference to Sarna.

Appearances

 * ''Star Wars 83: Sweetheart Contract