- "I'm a great admirer of your kind, Lord Vader. In your time, you—"
- ―Aiolin Astarte, to Darth Vader
Aiolin Astarte was a female human engineered and trained by Doctor Cylo to replace the Sith Lord Darth Vader as Darth Sidious' Sith apprentice.
Aiolin and her twin brother Morit Astarte were born of the Astarte line of Celanon, who had joined the Separatist cause. The Astarte line funded much of Cylo's early work. Cylo thought of them as "generally smart" and "forward facing." Fearing retribution for their allegiance during the Clone Wars, the Astartes passed their children to Cylo for training and experimentation, in the hope of redeeming themselves. She also has a green lightsaber.
Biography[]
Early life[]
- "The Astarte feared retribution, and passed their children to me to use in a way to redeem the line. They have been in my tender care ever since."
- ―Cylo to Darth Sidious
Aiolin was born, along with her brother, Morit, into the Astarte line of Celanon either before or during the Clone Wars. His family financially backed the research of Doctor Cylo, a specialist in cybernetics whose experiments were considered immoral and illegal by the Galactic Republic, during this time. The Astartes sided with the Separatists during the war and, fearing the retribution of the new Galactic Empire, gave their two children over to Cylo's care.[1][5]
With backing from the newly self-appointed Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine, Cylo continued his research and included Aiolin and Morit into his experiments. He upgraded them with the best genetic enhancements and technology that made them stronger and capable of greater feats than common warriors. Such an ability was an ability to slice into technological systems and with little to no ability. Cylo believed that this not only made up for their lack of Force sensitivity, but also eliminated any need for the Force. He also provided the twins with advanced training in lightsaber combat. Coupled with their technological upgrades, including rockets placed in the soles of their feet and missile launchers in their wrists, this turned the Astarte twins into warriors with abilities equaling those of the Jedi and Sith of old.[1]
The arrival of Vader[]
- "This isn't a test. That's Vader."
- ―Aiolin
Several weeks[6] after the Battle of Yavin, Sith Lord Darth Vader learned of her and her brother's existence after he captured and killed Cylo,[4] after learning of the doctor's existence from the Emperor, Darth Sidious.[7] She was sent along with her brother, Morit, to Sho-Torun to aid Darth Vader in subduing the the Ore-Baron revolt against Queen Trios at Sho-Torun. During the ensuing conflict at Sho-Torun, she gravitated towards Vader as a mentor, wishing he would teach her the ways of the Jedi. She hoped Vader would train her to become better at the lightsaber. Vader was quick to dismiss this, saying nothing he could teach would be useful to her, and telling her that she and her brother had bought a fantasy: Neither of them had any future.
Nearing the end of the revolt at the Sho-Torun war, she and her brother Morit tried to ambush Vader, in order to take out one of their competitors in their scheme for who would be the Emperor's right hand. However, Vader successfully held them off, and Aiolin told her brother that she was no longer certain they could ever defeat Vader. Morit was however still determined to eliminate one of his competitors on that occasion, and in an act of sudden betrayal, he pushed Aiolin off a cliff, making her fall into a pit of molten lava.[8]
Before she succumbed to her agonizing wounds, Vader used the Force to raise her from the lava. In an uncharacteristic display of seeming compassion, he assured her that the pain would soon pass, but asked her to tell him everything she knew. The horribly burnt woman revealed that Cylo V had collaborated with the Ore-Barons in the rebellion against Queen Trios and was planning to betray Emperor Palpatine. Aiolin then thanked Vader in advance for ending her pain, apparently understanding what this really entailed: Vader used his lightsaber to kill her and quickly put her out of her misery.[8]
Personality and traits[]
A Human female, Aiolin had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. She was given enhancements such as rockets in the heels that allowed her to move comparable to a Jedi[1].
Aiolin was confident in her enhancements and her abilities as one of Cylo's experiments, she had an admiration for the skills of the Jedi and saw herself as a way to continue their martial legacy. She asked Darth Vader for training in the blade to improve her skills and an attempt to get close to the Dark Lord. She showed a ruthless side with her stated intention to turn on her brother and attempted to kill Vader in a surprise attack[8].
Appearances[]
- Doctor Aphra: An Audiobook Original (Indirect mention only)
- Darth Vader (2015) 4 (First mentioned; albeit indirectly)
- Darth Vader (2015) 5 (First appearance)
- Darth Vader (2015) 6 (First identified as Astarte)
- Darth Vader (2015) 7 (Indirectly mentioned only; in the opening crawl)
- Darth Vader (2015) 8
- Darth Vader (2015) 9
- Darth Vader (2015) 12
- Darth Vader (2015) 16
- Darth Vader (2015) 17
- Darth Vader (2015) 18
- Darth Vader (2015) 19
- Darth Vader (2015) 20 (Appears in hologram)
- Darth Vader (2015) 21 (Indirect mention only)
- Darth Vader (2015) 22 (Indirect mention only)
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Darth Vader (2015) 6
- ↑ Star Wars: Timelines
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Darth Vader (2015) 5
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Darth Vader (2015) 4
- ↑ Darth Vader (2015) 20
- ↑ In Darth Vader (2015) 7, Chelli Lona Aphra says "It's been dead for weeks." As Star Wars: Darth Vader 7: Shadows and Secrets, Part I takes place just after Darth Vader (2015) 6, we can deduce that the cited events take place several weeks after the Battle of Yavin.
- ↑ Darth Vader (2015) 1
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Darth Vader (2015) 19