- «laa remembers friends old friends all dead friends
with every friend piece of laa gone
not much laa left» - ―Laa, to Zannah
Laa was a Bouncer living on Ruusan around 1000 BBY at the height of the New Sith Wars fought between the Jedi and the Sith. Laa saved a young Force-sensitive human girl, the future Darth Zannah, after a Sith attack. Laa befriended the girl, whom she knew by her nickname Rain, and tried to keep her safe from the war raging across Ruusan. While the armies were preparing for their final battle, the Jedi Knight Petja shot and killed Laa near the Jedi camp. Rain lashed out in grief and rage to kill the Jedi, beginning her descent into the Dark Side of the Force.
Biography[]
The Ruusan campaign upended the peaceful life of Laa and her fellow Bouncers. For two years,[4] the Jedi Army of Light and the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness clashed on the planet's surface, in the air, and out in orbit, desperately trying to gain the upper hand in what had become a symbolic showdown between the two sides.[3] The war not only brought physical devastation, but for the empathic Bouncers it also wrought great mental anguish. So many deaths, both of locals and of outsiders, drove some Bouncers mad with grief.[2]
Both sides in the war were desperate for more Force-sensitive fighters, even children. Zannah, a ten-year-old girl known by her traditional nickname Rain, found herself recruited into the Army of Light together with her cousins, Darovit (called Tomcat) and Hardin (called Bug).[3] As their Jedi starship flew them to their new home among the Jedi, it was attacked by a squadron of Sith fighters. The fighters blew a hole in the ship's hull, and Rain fell out. Both her cousins and the Jedi assumed that the fall had killed her, but Laa managed to save her.[1]
Not everyone believed that Laa had made the right decision. Some Bouncers praised her for being brave and good and saving a life, but others dismissed the idea that Rain's life was worth saving. They warned of dark prescient dreams, something important in Bouncer culture. Laa insisted that "life is life." She cared for the unconscious girl, carried her on her back, and helped her regain her strength.[1] Laa and Rain quickly developed a close bond. Laa tried to impart her values to the girl and keep her away from the fighting.[5] Rain had no trouble interpreting Laa's telepathic messages, though she always responded by speaking out loud.[3] When Rain witnessed another Bouncer die from the effects of an intensely bad dream, she promised to use her still-underdeveloped skills in the Force to keep Laa safe.[5]
One night, Rain dreamed that she was back home with her cousins, while Laa had an ominous dream about the future.[5] In the dream, she saw Rain grow to become a powerful Dark Jedi.[6] Laa told Rain to get up, then told her that she had dreamt of death, without sharing other details. Her thoughts weighed down with sorrow, she told Rain good-bye.[3] That same night, Darth Bane gathered all of the Sith of the Brotherhood together, where he made himself into a conduit for their Dark Side energies, unleashing a fierce Force lightning storm into the forests of Ruusan. While the Jedi ran for their lives in what became known as the Sixth Battle of Ruusan, many Bouncers were caught in the storm and subsequent wildfire.[3] Rain, however, instinctively created a bubble of protective energy to shield herself and Laa. When Laa told Rain what had happened, the girl was jubilant: this was the first time since arriving on Ruusan that her Force power had manifested. Laa only felt disturbed; she told Rain what she had seen in her dream.[6] Knowing that Laa's dreams tended to come true, Rain was horrified. She tossed herself off a cliff but stopped herself; Laa found her levitating just over the cliff edge. The girl insisted that she would defy the dreams and become a Jedi Knight.[2]
Zannah kills Petja as she sits near Laa's body.
In the aftermath of the Force storm, many of the surviving Bouncers were driven to madness. One ventured into the camp of the Army of Light and into a tent where Jedi wounded were lying. The Bouncer's agony and madness telepathically began to affect the wounded, and the Jedi Knight Petja shot the unfortunate creature with an arrow. Other Bouncers were drifting around near the camp, filling the minds of the Jedi with thoughts of pain and despair. Petja and his companion began firing at them to end their misery and prevent panic from sweeping through the army. A day later, Laa and Rain headed toward the Jedi camp. The girl insisted that she wanted to join them, and Laa lacked the will to argue. Like her fellow Bouncers, Laa's thoughts fixated on the friends she had lost. Petja, deprived of sleep, saw Laa but did not notice the human girl she carried. He killed Laa with a single shot.[2]
Laa's senseless death was more than Rain could bear. She retaliated in anger, snapping Petja's bones with the dark side of the Force, then killing his companion with a single snap of his neck.[2] She buried herself in the still warm, soft fur of Laa's body and cried. Darth Bane found her there some time later, just after the rest of the Brotherhood were wiped out in the Seventh Battle of Ruusan. He invited her to become his apprentice. Her brutal act of killing had filled her with the power of the Dark Side, and Zannah now renounced her childhood name and joined Bane. She became the first Sith apprentice under the Rule of Two.[3]
Personality and traits[]
Like other Bouncers, Laa had a globelike body large enough to carry Zannah as she moved through the air. She was covered in soft green fur. Ribbon-shaped tails or tentacles trailed behind her. Laa was a compassionate being. She rescued Zannah and cared for her even when some of her companions advised against it.[1] She continued to stand by Zannah even after dreaming of her fall to the Dark Side; although she feared the dream would probably come true, she told Zannah only that she hoped it would not.[6]
During the time when she knew Zannah, Laa was an older Bouncer and was therefore less vulnerable to dream-induced death than her younger companions.[5] When most Bouncers were driven mad in the aftermath of the Force storm that Darth Bane unleashed on Ruusan, Laa never lost control, even though she was tortured by grief and anguish.[2]
Powers and abilities[]
Laa shared with others of her species a natural sensitivity to the Force. She could communicate telepathically with other Bouncers and with outsiders.[1] She sometimes had prescient dreams about the future, which usually came true.[6]
Behind the scenes[]
Laa first appeared in the second issue of the comic series Star Wars: Jedi vs. Sith, published on May 16, 2001. Her design was the work of penciller Ramón F. Bachs. The series was written by Darko Macan. Letterer Steve Dutro made the lower-case cursive lettering representing Laa's telepathic dialogue.[1]
Continuity[]
Laa's death was first depicted in Jedi vs. Sith 5 and later adapted in the epilogue of the novel Darth Bane: Path of Destruction. The novel condenses the events leading to her death; it happens just as Laa is telling Zannah about her dream. It skips Zannah's suicide attempt and her decision to bring Laa to the Jedi camp. Some other details are changed for the novel. The two Jedi come upon Zannah and Laa as they sit in a forest clearing, rather than see them airborne from a distance. They are armed with blaster rifles instead of a bow and arrow.[3][1] This article follows the more complete sequence of events in the Jedi vs. Sith comic while not favoring either source for the other contradictory details.
Appearances[]
- Darth Bane: Path of Destruction (and audiobook)
- Jedi vs. Sith 2 (First appearance)
- Jedi vs. Sith 3
- Jedi vs. Sith 4
- Jedi vs. Sith 5
- Jedi vs. Sith 6 (Corpse)
- Darth Bane: Rule of Two (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
- Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil (and audiobook) (Indirect mention only)