Nei Rin

"Jeedai Master Skywalker had a vision&mdash;to use Yuuzhan Vong biotech to transform and restore ailing worlds&mdash;and to so transform the galaxy's perception of the Yuuzhan Vong. What was conceived as a dream quickly became a nightmare."

- Nei Rin, speaking of the Ossus Project

Nei Rin was a Yuuzhan Vong female who rose to the rank of Master Shaper before 126 ABY. As a crafter of Yuuzhan Vong biotechnology, she was highly respected among her species. The Yuuzhan Vong were seen as pariahs throughout the galaxy after having ravaged many planets in a war fought a century prior, and when members of the New Jedi Order invited them to use their terraforming technology to restore those worlds and win redemption, Rin was named the Master Shaper of what became known as the Ossus Project. While shaping coral seeds and restoring ecosystems, she worked alongside and grew close to the Jedi Master Kol Skywalker, who had conceived of the project. The two traveled to Wayland in 126 ABY and transformed the planet's devastated surface into a thriving floral landscape, which gave hope to the native Myneyrshi people.

Agents of the One Sith covertly sabotaged the Ossus Project in that same year, which mutated the coral seeds that Rin had shaped and infected the inhabitants of the terraformed worlds with a lethal plague. The Myneyrshi screamed for Rin's blood as she, Skywalker, and their companions escaped from the mutated surface of Wayland. Rin was overcome with guilt and attempted to discover the cause of the mutations while a galactic war erupted over the resulting public outrage. She remained at the Jedi Temple on Ossus over the course of the war, but left the planet to perform research in 130 ABY with Choka Skell and Liaan Lah, two Yuuzhan Vong warriors who had been assigned to protect her from the galaxy's wrath. The war concluded during their absence, and the Jedi Temple was attacked by the Sith. Rin and her bodyguards returned to find many Jedi, including Skywalker, slain.

The surviving Jedi were scattered across the galaxy; Rin and her warriors performed funeral services for the fallen at Ossus and brought every remaining Jedi artifact into a hidden sub-basement of the temple. They felt indebted to the Jedi and remained there for seven years as protectors of the Jedi legacy. When Skywalker's son Cade returned to Ossus in 137 ABY to complete his training, Rin prepared to turn the Jedi legacy over to him. A stubborn Cade refused, however, and departed the planet after requesting that the Jedi Master K'Kruhk be charged with protecting the artifacts instead. Over the next several weeks, Rin and her warriors, along with K'Kruhk and his Jedi brethren Wolf Sazen and Shado Vao, remained hidden under the temple as patrols of the Sith Lord Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire searched the planet for signs of life. They were able to escape to lower levels within the temple when the Imperials bombarded the compound, but Sazen and Vao took an injured K'Kruhk off-planet to be healed.

Architect of hope
"&laquo;The hearts of the Myneyrshi people overflow with gratitude, Jedi Skywalker. Our debt to you is great.&raquo; &laquo;Your happiness fills us, Roax. Your debt is paid.&raquo; Besides, this is the work of our Master Shaper, Nei Rin."

- Roax and Kol Skywalker on Wayland

The Yuuzhan Vong female Nei Rin lived in the years leading up to the Sith–Imperial War. She was a member of her species' shaper caste and ascended to the rank of Master Shaper prior to 126 ABY. The Yuuzhan Vong were a species that regarded mechanical technology as religious blasphemy; as a shaper, Rin was a highly-regarded crafter of biotechnology among her people. An unsuccessful war of conquest initiated by the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong against the galaxy in 25 ABY had left the species largely hated and feared by the galactic community for nearly a century, but shortly before 126 ABY, members of the New Jedi Order approached Yuuzhan Vong across the galaxy with an offer of redemption. The Jedi hoped to use the Yuuzhan Vong's advanced terraforming technology to restore many of the planets that had been ravaged during the war. The Yuuzhan Vong agreed, and Rin was appointed the Master Shaper of the project.

The project was championed by Kol Skywalker, a leading member of the Jedi Council. Skywalker believed strongly in assimilating the Yuuzhan Vong into galactic society and hoped that the project could transform the galaxy's perception of them. As such, Rin came to greatly admire him for his vision and his efforts. The project was tested on a desolate portion of the planet Ossus, where the Jedi housed their primary academy, and barren terrain was successfully transformed into a landscape of lush flora. Other star systems began vying for the opportunity to have their worlds restored, and one hundred planets were chosen for terraforming in what became known as the Ossus Project. Nei Rin set to work shaping yorik coral seeds, which grew into Yuuzhan Vong plant life on various worlds and helped restore entire ecosystems. Her efforts saw her work closely with Jedi such as Skywalker and the healer Hosk Trey'lis, as well as scientists from the Galactic Alliance.

In 126 ABY, Rin and Skywalker arrived on Wayland, a world whose surface was still pocked with plasma-spewing Chom-Vrones from the war. Wayland was home to the Myneyrshi, some of whom had refused to leave the planet and had been living on its devastated landscape without hope for decades. Rin crafted new coral seeds and worked with Skywalker and other shapers to restore the world to full floral health. Skywalker brought two Jedi Padawans to Wayland&mdash;his son Cade and the Twi'lek Shado Vao&mdash;and one day walked hand-in-hand with Rin through Wayland's new greenery as the children played. The Mynersh chieftain Roax thanked them, and Skywalker shared his belief that the will of the Force had brought them to the planet to give hope to its people.

Searching for answers
"The mutations should not have happened! As the Master Shaper, I dedicated myself to finding out what went wrong, and why!"

- Nei Rin

Six months after Rin and Skywalker spoke with Roax, agents of the One Sith sabotaged the Ossus Project. The Sith had been hiding for nearly a century and were aware that many in the galaxy still distrusted the Yuuzhan Vong; they hoped to frame them for the sabotage and manufacture a cause for galactic war. Wayland was their first target and was corrupted by the Sith scientist Darth Maladi as well as the renegade Yuuzhan Vong shaper Zenoc Quah. The coral seeds that Rin had shaped began to mutate, and the Myneyrshi became infected with a plague that caused coral growths to sprout from their skin. None of the Yuuzhan Vong or Jedi on-world were affected, and the Myneyrshi blamed the mutations on them. Mutant creatures and vines began to attack those who were on-world; Skywalker, the Jedi Master Wolf Sazen, and several Yuuzhan Vong warriors battled the flora and fauna back from Rin and the children while clearing a path to an escape ship.

As Rin and Skywalker stood on the ship's loading ramp, a furious Roax demanded Rin's blood as retribution for what he believed to be a curse she had placed upon them. Rin suspected sabotage, and Skywalker Force-pushed Roax and his warriors off the ramp before promising to return and right the wrong that had been committed. Sazen and Cade piloted the ship away, but damage inflicted by the vines left it stranded in orbit. Shortly thereafter, Moff Nyna Calixte of the Galactic Empire received their distress signal and brought their ship aboard her Star Destroyer. Similar situations began to occur on other worlds that had been terraformed and caused lethal mutations to their populations. Rin was shocked, and when every terraformed world save Ossus became infected, she struggled to understand why. She returned to Ossus with the Jedi and began to tend to some of the infected beings.

The Jedi convinced the Galactic Alliance to back the Yuuzhan Vong in the face of public outrage, but the Empire called for retribution and declared war on the Alliance. Jedi and Yuuzhan Vong alike began to be hunted, and Rin was assigned two Yuuzhan Vong warriors as bodyguards &mdash;Choka Skell and Liaan Lah, who were both fiercely dedicated to protecting her and saw everything else as secondary to her survival. As none of Rin's preliminary experiments on Ossus had shown any signs of mutation, she dedicated herself to discovering what had gone wrong and why. One year into the war, the Sith emerged from hiding and entered the fighting on the side of the Empire. Rin immediately suspected that the sabotage had been at their hands. She stayed on Ossus with the Jedi and attempted to determine how, hopeful that the truth could discredit the Sith and end the war.

Protector of a legacy
"Your father was an honorable and respected warrior, young Skywalker. Being able to turn the Jeedai legacy over to his son is more than I ever hoped."

- Nei Rin to Cade Skywalker

In 130 ABY, Rin, Skell, and Laah left Ossus to perform field research pertaining to their investigations. The war concluded while they were away, and the Sith attacked the Jedi Temple. Many Jedi died, and the rest were scattered across the galaxy. When Rin returned, she found dead Jedi as well as Yuuzhan Vong warriors and shapers strewn about a burning temple. Skywalker was among the dead, and Rin and her warriors gave him a proper funeral. They performed similar services for all of the fallen Jedi. All three Yuuzhan Vong felt indebted to the Jedi and gathered every remaining Jedi artifact they could. They brought the treasures deep beneath the temple and dedicated their lives to protecting what they saw as the Jedi's legacy. While living in the temple's sub-basement, the Yuuzhan Vong serviced the astromech droid R2-D2, who had served the Skywalker family for decades, in honor of Kol Skywalker. Rin also fitted Skywalker's lightsaber, which she had recovered from the battlefield, with a lambent crystal of her own shaping. Lah's coralskipper starfighter remained hidden with the Yuuzhan Vong in case they needed to flee, but they chose to remain and protect the Jedi treasures. They avoided detection whenever starships of the Galactic Empire, now under the rule of the Sith Lord Darth Krayt, patrolled Ossus and scanned for signs of life.

During her time under the temple, Rin found proof that the Sith had sabotaged the Ossus Project. The revelation freed her of her guilt, and she began to hope that she could one day clear her people of any blame. Seven years after the Sith's attack on the planet, several Jedi returned to Ossus and began to train Cade Skywalker, who had been working as a bounty hunter for the past seven years, in the ways of the Force. Cade and Shado Vao crashed through the temple's floors during a sparring session and were attacked by Skell and Laah until Rin realized that the two were Jedi and ordered her warriors to stop. Rin recognized Masters Sazen and K'Kruhk but not Cade, who had grown into a young man; Cade did, however, recognize her. Rin then told the group the story of how she and her warriors had come to protect the Jedi's legacy on Ossus. When Sazen revealed Cade's identity to her, Rin was pleased that she could pass the legacy over to Kol Skywalker's son. The younger Skywalker was stubborn and independent and refused the responsibility; he offered to sell the artifacts before storming away. Rin wondered if the Jedi's honor had sunk so low, but Sazen assured her that Cade's actions were not representative of the Jedi Order.

The following morning, Cade prepared to depart Ossus in order to rescue Hosk Trey'lis, whom he had captured during his bounty hunting career, from the Temple of the Sith on the galactic capital of Coruscant. He asked Rin to allow K'Kruhk to care for the Jedi legacy, and she agreed. She presented Cade with his father's lightsaber before he left, and K'Kruhk assigned R2-D2 to him as a mechanic. K'Kruhk, Sazen, and Vao remained with Rin and her warriors over the next several weeks, and concealed their presence in the Force when an Imperial patrol arrived at the planet. When several Imperial stormtroopers searched the temple on foot and discovered the hidden chambers below, Vao used a mind trick to persuade them to leave. The troopers reported no signs of life to their superiors, but the Imperial Star Destroyer in orbit bombarded and destroyed the temple regardless. K'Kruhk used the Force to hold back the collapsing rubble as Rin, her warriors, Sazen, and Vao escaped to even lower levels, and he was severely injured in the process. Rin attempted to heal the Jedi Master but was unable to sufficiently treat him, even with the aid of bacta. K'Kruhk then told Sazen and Vao about a Hidden Jedi Temple on Taivas, and the two took him there to be healed by other Jedi.

Personality and traits
"The Jeedai championed us so the galaxy would accept the Yuuzhan Vong. We could do no less to honor such as Kol Skywalker. We gathered what remained of the Jeedai artifacts and brought them here&hellip; to protect the Jeedai legacy."

- Nei Rin

Nei Rin was a highly skilled shaper and a specialist in Yuuzhan Vong biotechnology. She excelled at crafting coral seeds and villips among other Yuuzhan Vong biots, and as the Master Shaper in charge of the Ossus Project, she helped restore entire ecosystems of devastated planets. Rin also had a talent for healing. Shapers were highly regarded among the Yuuzhan Vong for their abilities, and when they were invited by the Jedi to participate in the Ossus project, Rin was placed in charge of the project and believed herself worthy of the task.

Rin greatly admired Kol Skywalker for his initiative and conviction to integrate the Yuuzhan Vong into galactic society. She thought of him as a hero. While working alongside Skywalker, Rin grew close to the Jedi and would at times hold his hand while walking through restored landscapes. She was deeply saddened by his death and retained fond memories of him over the following years; she continued to refer to him by his first name seven years later. Together with Choka Skell and Liaan Lah, she gave Skywalker, along with all of the Jedi who had fallen during the Sith's attack on Ossus, proper funerals in the wake of the massacre.

Rin felt very indebted to the Jedi for the help they had given her species, and she dedicated her life to honoring their legacy by hiding and protecting Jedi artifacts beneath Ossus's Jedi Temple. She remained on the planet for seven years, honoring the Jedi even while Imperial vessels searched the planet for signs of life. When Cade Skywalker returned to Ossus in 137 ABY, Rin was pleased that she had the opportunity to turn the Jedi legacy over to the son of the man she had admired. Cade requested that she give the responsibility to K'Kruhk, however, and she acquiesced without argument.

When the Ossus Project was corrupted, Rin was shocked and could not understand what had gone wrong. As the project's Master Shaper, she felt responsible and guilty until she was able to prove that the sabotage had been the work of the Sith. After discovering proof of the Sith's machinations, she retained faith that the project could one day become a success in spite of everything that had happened. Rin had initially hoped that the truth could end the Sith–Imperial War but was unable to prove her suspicions about the Sith until after the war's conclusion. By that point, she was still hopeful that the truth could one day acquit her species of any blame.

Custom and ritual were very important to Rin. Her respect for the Jedi and their customs prompted her to perform funeral services for all of the fallen Jedi on Ossus. When K'Kruhk asserted that the responsibility of protecting the Jedi's legacy should not be given to just one person, Rin disagreed with him, citing the Yuuzhan Vong's tradition of honor. She believed that Skywalker had been the Jedi's greatest warrior, and that as such, the responsibility should fall to his son. In addition to steadfastly holding to Yuuzhan Vong traditions, Rin also believed in the Yuuzhan Vong gods. She felt that the eyes of Yun-Ne'Shel, the Modeler, shone brightly on Kol Skywalker, and when the Ossus Project was sabotaged, she wondered if Yun-Harla, the trickster goddess, was laughing at her.

Rin's left hand was a Yuuzhan Vong shaper hand, and she often carried a personal villip. Although most of her Yuuzhan Vong contemporaries did not bother to learn any languages other than their native tongue, Rin could speak Basic, Bocce, High Galactic, Huttese, Mon Calamarian, Shyriiwook, and Zabraki, in addition to the Yuuzhan Vong language.

Behind the scenes
"I think these Yuuzhan Vong will be very different than in The New Jedi Order, if the Yuuzhan Vong Shaper on the cover of Issue 12 is any indication."

- Jan Duursema discusses the roles of Nei Rin and the Yuuzhan Vong in Star Wars: Legacy

Nei Rin was created by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema for the comic series Star Wars: Legacy and first appeared on the final page of its eleventh issue, released in May 2007. She was named and given a backstory in the following issue in addition to appearing on its cover. The two issues formed a story arc called Ghosts, which included the first appearance of the Yuuzhan Vong in Legacy. The Yuuzhan Vong had previously featured as the primary antagonists for The New Jedi Order series of novels, in which they had laid siege to the galaxy before being defeated and exiled at the conclusion of the series. With their first appearance in Legacy, set more than one hundred years after The New Jedi Order, Ostrander and Duursema hoped to use Nei Rin as a model to illustrate how much the species had changed in that time. Since then, Rin's character and her role in the Ossus Project have been expanded upon in subsequent Legacy issues and in 2009's Legacy Era Campaign Guide.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Legacy: Ghosts
 * Star Wars: Legacy 17: Claws of the Dragon, Part 4
 * Star Wars: Legacy 25: The Hidden Temple, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Legacy 43: Monster, Part 1