Deena Shan

"I'm tired of people looking out for me all the time. I want to start looking out for other people, and that starts now."

- Deena Shan

Deena Shan was a young Human female who became a supply officer in the Alliance to Restore the Republic shortly after the Battle of Yavin. Initially looking for a better life for herself, she became convinced of the Rebel cause after meeting and fighting alongside Han Solo, Leia Organa and Chewbacca. She later posed as an Imperial lieutenant on a mission to the Imperial base of Kalist VI where she developed feeling for the Imperial captain, Kale Roshuir. Despite her feelings for him, Deena led Roshuir's forces into a trap, allowing the Rebels to free the captive Jorin Sol and a group of Jabiimi slaves. Confused by her feelings for Roshuir and determined to prove her worth to the Rebels, Deena later accompanied Luke Skywalker on a mission to rescue his old friend Janek Sunber.

Into the Rebellion
Deena Shan grew up on Etti IV in the Corporate Sector during the early years of the New Order. Her relationship with her father was difficult at times and he considered her to be a screw-up and "always in the wrong place at the wrong time". Faced with a choice of either being a stay-at-home wife or overseeing the automated assembly line at a speeder factory, Deena soon became uninspired by her future prospects as a citizen of Etti IV. In 0 ABY, when word spread about the Rebel Alliance's victory over the Galactic Empire at the Battle of Yavin, Deena decided to join the Alliance Military, seeing it as an opportunity for adventure and a better life. Enlisting as a private, Deena was assigned to supplies and requisitions on the Kalla's Stanchion. However, after three months with the Alliance, the tough, unglamorous lifestyle was beginning to make Deena regret her decision.

That would change when the Millennium Falcon arrived at the Kalla's Stanchion and Deena was assigned to take an inventory of the ship's fuel and ammunition. Having heard stories of the "Heroes of Yavin", Deena was eager to meet the famous Han Solo and quickly became attracted to the Corellian captain and jealous of the attention he showed Princess Leia Organa. As Han led Deena on to the Millennium Falcon, the Kalla's Stanchion detected an Imperial presence nearby and all ships were ordered to scramble to random destinations to avoid capture. Fearing that the Kalla's Stanchion was too large a target and would place the young women in danger, Han and Chewbacca insisted that Leia and Deena accompany them to safety on Millennium Falcon, leaving the Kalla's Stanchion and making a jump into hyperspace.

Exiting hyperspace near an uncharted planet, the Millennium Falcon soon picked up a distress signal from the planet's surface and Han piloted the ship down to investigate. After landing, Han and Chewbacca went to locate the source of the distress signal, though Han insisted that Deena and Leia remain in the safety of the ship. While the two former smugglers were gone, Deena and Leia exchanged stories. Hearing Leia's reasons for joining the Rebellion made Deena's own reasons seem selfish and she shook off her infatuation with the captain as she came to understand the true relationship between him and the princess. The conversation was interrupted by the sound of blaster shots&mdash;Han and Chewbacca had located a wrecked ship which was the cause of the distress signal and, on their way back, come under attack from a large creature. Although scared, Deena took a weapon and followed Leia into the forrest. Deena and Leia were able to free Han and Chewbacca from the creature's grasp and, together, the group managed to kill it and left in the Millennium Falcon.

Mission to Kalist VI


Eight months after the Battle of Yavin, Deena was chosen to accompany the Infiltration of Kalist VI, to rescue the captive Rebel mathematician Jorin Sol and acquire fuel for the fleeing Alliance Fleet. The Rebels captured the Imperial freighter Nuna's Twins bound for Kalist VI and, after arriving, claimed that their escort had been destroyed en route. A staged attack by Red Squadron was designed to convince the Imperial forces of their story. After Red Squadron withdrew from the area the Nuna's Twins was granted permission to land.

Deena, disguised as an Imperial science office assigned to study the fuel consumption of various Imperial bases, accompanied Captain Harran and Luke Skywalker into the base to meet with General Noils while R2-D2 began to drain fuel from the Imperial pumps and Rebel soldiers, posing as stormtroopers, attempted to locate Sol. The Rebels planned to leak information about the Rebel base at Thila, informing the Imperials that it was where they'd first encountered their attackers. While the Imperial troops left to investigate and fell into a trap, the Rebels would be free to conduct Sol's rescue. Deena offered to assist Captain Kale Roshuir in pinpointing the probable location of the Rebel base, explaining that her training had involved a geographic survey of the Thila system.

Deena and Roshuir had a mutual attraction and, while working together, this quickly developed into a strong relationship, resulting in Deena spending the night in his quarters. In the morning, as Roshuir prepared to lead the attack on the Rebel base, Deena realized that she had placed him in danger and tried to persuade him not to go. Dismissing her concerns, he left for battle and promised to return to her as soon as he could.

After leaving Roshuir's quarters, Deena encountered Luke, who had become concerned when she failed to return the previous night. After watching the departing Imperial troop shuttles they prepared to return to the Nuna's Twins but were stopped by Janek Sunber, an old friend of Luke's from Tatooine and now a lieutenant in the Imperial Army. While the old friends caught up, Deena returned to the ship and the news that a number of Jabiimi slaves were being held at the base. Harran agreed with his troops that they must attempt to rescue the slaves, although doing so would complicate their mission.

Meanwhile, Roshuir's men had reached Thila and, when many of them were killed by the concealed explosives, Roshuir realized that Deena had set him up. Furious, he took his remaining men and returned to Kalist VI as quickly as possible. Sol's imminent transfer to Coruscant forced the Rebels into action but Skywalker and the Rebel troops soon became cut off from the Nuna's Twins and would have to find an alternative way to get Sol and the slaves to safety. Deena and Harran prepared to leave in the Nuna's Twins with their valuable cargo of fuel but Deena was confronted by a furious Roshuir. Feeling betrayed and blaming her for the deaths of his men, Roshuir attacked Deena but was surprised and knocked unconscious by Harran. The two Rebels fled in the Nuna's Twins followed shortly by the others in a stolen Acclamator-class assault ship.

Imperial subterfuge
"It's the story of my life. I finally meet the man of my dreams and who does he turn out to be? An Imperial officer. And how do I endear myself to my Captain Roshuir? Lure his men into a trap where they're all killed and lead him to swear eternal vengeance upon me. Oh yeah, I really know how to treat a guy."

- Deena Shan

Despite her attachment, Deena was a key part of the Alliance's victory at Kalist VI. However, following the battle, Deena was frequently despondant, torn by her feelings for Captain Roshuir and her loyalty to the Rebellion which had led her to betray him. Drunk and depressed, Deena offered herself to Luke Skywalker who was struggling with his own confused feelings after learning of Janek Sunber's involvement with the Empire. When Luke turned her down, Deena became even more convinced that her father was right, that she couldn't do anything right and the Rebellion would be better off without her. Luke, in an attempt to make her feel useful, asked her to go and watch over the recovering Jorin Sol who could have vital information for the Alliance.

Unbeknown to the Alliance however, Jorin Sol had been brainwashed by the two Imperial Intelligence agents. Deena arrived on the medical deck to find the lights out and the remains of a medical droid. As she went to activate the alarm she was attacked by the brainwashed Jorin Sol, who had broken free of his bacta tank. Sol attempted to strangle her but, as his own personality won the struggle against his Imperial programming, he let her go.



Luke Skywalker soon received a transmission from Janek Sunber announcing his intention to defect to the Rebellion. Leia feared that it might be an Imperial trap and refused to let Luke go to his friend but Luke decided to go anyway. Deena anticipated Luke's actions and, determined to prove her worth to everybody, she convinced him to let her accompany him. Their vessel emerged from hyperspace into an Imperial junkyard containing derelict ships dating back as far as the Clone Wars. Locating the only source of power, a small administration center, Luke and Deena boarded the station where Luke searched for Sunber while Deena covered the shuttle and watched for signs of an Imperial trap. Soon an Imperial shuttle docked and stormtroopers boarded the station&mdash;Deena was surprised to see that they were led by her still angry former lover, Kale Roshuir.

When Luke returned with Suber, who had apparently been tortured and restrained when Luke found him, the two Rebels fought off the Imperials and were able to escape and return to Rebel One with the rescued Imperial. Their return to the fleet was not a warm one. Sunber was placed under the custody of security, and Shan and Skywalker were reprimanded heavily and debriefed before being allowed to return to duty. This entire chain of events however, had been nothing but an Imperial plot which brought a large Imperial fleet to their location, along with Darth Vader and, though the Rebels were able to escape, their fleet suffered heavy losses.

Personality and traits
"Yeah, yeah. I get it&mdash;I can't even throw myself at the nearest manically depressed man with any success."

- Deena Shan after being rejected by Luke Skywalker

Having joined the Alliance at a young age&mdash;she was in her late teens when she enlisted&mdash;Deena displayed a somewhat naive attitude. She saw the Rebellion as an opportunity for adventure and a better life for herself, rather than a necessary fight for freedom from the rule of the Galactic Empire. Her first adventure caused her to quickly grow up and re-assess her ideas, forcing her to face her fear in order to help rescue Han and Chewbacca and, upon hearing the story of Princess Leia and seeing how brave she and the other "Heroes of Yavin" were, Deena came to realize that the heart of the Rebellion was about making a better life for everybody, not just herself.

Deena was considered attractive and was friendly, sometimes quite flirty with men such as Han Solo and later Luke Skywalker. She quickly developed feelings for Kale Roshuir and the need to follow her orders and betray him hurt her deeply. Deena struggled with her loyalty to the Alliance and her desire to be with him until, upon encountering him again, his promise to feed her "battered, bleeding body to a malnourished Sarlacc" provided her with what she would later describe as "closure".

Deena also struggled with feelings of inadequacy which appeared to start with her father's belief that she was a screw-up and eventually led her to question her usefulness to the Rebellion. She overcame this by accompanying Skywalker on Janek Sunber's rescue, demonstrating her ability to keep calm in a fight and to risk her life for others, the same qualities that she had earlier admired in Leia.

Behind the scenes
Deena Shan was created by Welles Hartley for the Star Wars Empire comics and later appeared in Star Wars Rebellion: My Brother, My Enemy. Whether she survived the attack on Rebel One is currently unknown.

Since she shares the same surname as Bastila Shan from the game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic some fans have speculated that they may be related but this has not been confirmed by any official source.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Empire 22: Alone Together
 * Star Wars Empire: The Wrong Side of the War
 * Star Wars Rebellion: My Brother, My Enemy