Trace Martez

For other uses, see Trace.

"Jedi or not, I consider you my friend."

―Trace Martez, to Ahsoka Tano^[src]

Trace Martez was a human female pilot, mechanic and smuggler from the planet Coruscant who lived during the final days of the Galactic Republic and the early Imperial Era. With her older sister Rafa, Trace lived on Level 1313 of the Coruscant Underworld, developing a sense of bitterness towards the Jedi Order after their parents' deaths during the pursuit of Ziro the Hutt. Late in the Clone Wars, Trace met and befriended former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano after the Togruta crashed her broken-down Joben T-85 speeder bike into Trace's repair shop.

Trace and Tano's friendship was solidified after the two subdued some binary loadlifters Rafa had been hired to build. Shortly thereafter, Rafa, who had taken on a job transporting spice for the Pyke Syndicate, was forced to turn to the naïve Trace and her untested, home-built starship, the Silver Angel, after the pilot she had originally hired backed out. Although the pickup from Kessel went smoothly, after Tano and Rafa got into an argument about the ethics of the job, Trace panicked and dumped the cargo into hyperspace en route to Oba Diah. Now indebted to the Pykes, the trio attempted to defraud the syndicate and were imprisoned in Pyke Palace, making an unsuccessful escape attempt before being recaptured. Tano managed to trick the syndicate into releasing the sisters by pretending to make a deal with Pyke leader Marg Krim, claiming that the sisters had hidden the spice offworld. However, they returned to Oba Diah in an attempt to rescue Tano, stealing more spice in the process but discovering she was an ex-Jedi. Trace forgave Tano for her omission, and her feelings about the Jedi softened, parting with Tano as a friend after the Togruta left with the Mandalorian Nite Owls.

After the rise of the Galactic Empire and fall of the Jedi Order, Trace and Rafa began working as smugglers and taking jobs from people who opposed the Empire, now accompanied by R7-A7, Tano's old astromech droid. Another friend of Tano's, the former Clone Captain Rex, asked the sisters to retrieve the head of a Separatist tactical droid from a decommissioning facility on Corellia, hoping to use its data to fight the Empire. Things did not go as planned when Trace and Rafa discovered they were not the only intruders after the droid head: a group of former clone commandos-turned-mercenaries known as the Bad Batch were also after it. The two groups eventually teamed up to escape the facility, but the droid head was destroyed. Batch leader Hunter gave a data rod with the copied information to Rafa, believing their cause was more worthy, and the sisters told Rex of their success, as well as the squad of rogue clones.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Early in the Clone Wars, Trace lived with her sister, Rafa, along with their mother and father on the other side of the Level 1313 underworld portal. While in the underworld, the two sisters heard stories about the Jedi and grew to admire them.^[3]

After he freed Ziro, Cad Bane fired on a transport, leading to the deaths of the Martez parents.

During the early stages of the Clone Wars, Cad Bane and his group of fellow bounty hunters managed to successfully free Ziro the Hutt from his imprisonment within the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center.^[4] This culminated in the group being chase into the Coruscant underworld by the Jedi where Bane and his group jumped between oncoming speeders, which drew the attention of crowds of people, including the Martez family. Eventually, Bane shot the engine of a transport ship, sending it spiraling out of control and towards a populated landing platform. The Jedi managed to steer it away from the heavily populated area, but instead sent it crashing into the side of the same Underworld portal where the Martez family lived. Seeing the oncoming danger, Trace and Rafa's parents rushed to evacuate them from their home; however, before their parents could escape along with them, the transport crashed into the portal wall, killing both of the Martez sisters' parents.^[3]

In the aftermath of Ziro's escape, the Jedi came back to inspect the collateral damage that had been caused by the transport's crash. A green-skinned Jedi soon came over to the grieving sisters and simply told them that she needed to make a choice, but that they shouldn't worry as the Force would be with them before departing. This left Trace and Rafa embittered against the Jedi Order both for their role in the death of their parents and their attempt to comfort the sisters.^[3]

Orphaned,^[3] the two sisters began to dream of leaving Coruscant to "escape from the war." In order to accomplish this goal, Trace attempted to earn as much money as she could by working as a mechanic within the repair shop she had inherited from her parents and began slowly piecing together a Nebula-class freighter^[2] that she named the Silver Angel. On the other hand, Rafa won a laundromat which she used as a front for her shady business dealings^[5] such as being lent money from the shady moneylender named Pintu Son-El.^[2]

Crossing paths with Tano[]

Trace introducing Ahsoka Tano to her sister Rafa.

While Trace was working in her garage, the former Togruta Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano crashed her speeder bike on the edge of the garage's platform. Seeing Tano's plight, Trace offered to repair her bike. Since Tano lacked the tools to fix the bike, Trace allowed her to use her tools and facilities to repair the vehicle. Taking pity on Tano, Trace allowed her to stay with them as long as she could pay.^[2]

After Tano introduced herself as a resident of the upper levels, Trace told Tano that she and her sister Rafa had bought a starship called the Silver Angel in order to leave Coruscant and make a living in the stars. Later, the moneylender Pintu and two towering alien thugs visited Trace's garage in order to collect Rafa's debts. Trace attempted to deal with Pintu on her own. When the thugs cornered her, she attempted to fight back with a pole but was soon overpowered and beaten up by the thugs. At Trace's request, Tano intervened. Using her Jedi training and powers, Tano defeated Pintu's thugs and forced them to leave.^[2]

Trace and Tano then traveled to Rafa's laundromat to inform her about the incident with Pintu. Rafa promised to pay back her debts using a new "big job." Though Rafa promised that Pintu would not trouble them again, Trace said that she had enough of being punched. Trace also introduced her new friend Tano to Rafa. Shortly later, the two sisters and Tano were visited by the Twi'lek Lokann, who told Rafa that his business partner needed three binary loadlifters to be built.^[2]

Trace and Tano worked together to assemble three binary loadlifters, which turned out to be repurposed demolition droids. Tano convinced Trace that they needed to place restraining bolts on the dangerous droids. One of the droids attacked Tano but she deactivated it with a remote. However, a second droid broke free before they could install a restraining bolt. The binary loadlifter rampaged through the streets of Level 1313. Trace attempted to pin down the droid with a fork life but it proved elusive. In the end, Tano managed to deactivate the droid and used the Force to lift a speeder carrying the droid to safety.^[2]

While Rafa sold the binary loadlifters to Lokann, Trace chatted with Tano at a food court. When Tano asked about her relationship with her older sister Rafa, Trace explained that Rafa was trying to make things better for the both of them. Rafa later joined them and explained that she used the proceeds from the sale of the droids to pay off their debts to Pintu. Rafa also announced plans to accumulate more credits. Trace thanked Tano for saving her earlier before helping the Togruta to repair her damaged bike.^[2]

The Kessel spice run[]

Trace was caught between Rafa and Ahsoka's argument about the ethics of smuggling spice.

As Ahsoka settled into her new life and job at Trace's repair shop, the two developed a friendship. Trace was impressed with Tano's skill with repairing starships. Seeking to hide her Jedi past, Tano claimed that she had attended the Skywalker Academy. Later, Rafa enlisted Trace and Ahsoka for a spacefaring job that involved delivering spice from the planet Kessel. While Rafa had been reluctant to involve her younger sister, she was forced to do so after the original pilot backed out.^[5]

For the Kessel job, Trace was tasked with flying the Silver Angel due to her piloting skills. Despite Tano's warnings, Trace flew into a military lane. This attracted the attention of Admiral Wullf Yularen, who threatened to confiscate Trace's starship pilot license. Rafa claimed that she was teaching her younger sister to fly. Fortunately, Tano's former mentor Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker was present on Yularen's Venator-class Star Destroyer and sensed Tano's presence. He convince convinced Yularen to let the Silver Angel go.^[5]

Under Rafa's guidance, Trace took the Silver Angel on a hyperspace route to the planet Kessel. This marked Trace's first trip into space with the inexperienced pilot forgetting to turn off the breaks. Following an uneventful journey, Trace landed the Silver Angel at a palace hangar Kessel's lush southern hemisphere. The trio found themselves to be guests of King Yaruba, the rule of Kessel. Since the King was away, they were hosted by the King's majordomo Kinash Lock.^[5]

Kinash tasked the trio with delivering three shipments of unrefined spice to the Pyke Syndicate crime lord Marg Krim on the planet Oba Diah. While Rafa and Trace were eager to make money, Tano was uncomfortable due to the spice trade's association with the underworld and slavery. When Tano raised her concerns with Trace, Trace believed that Rafa was looking out for her and admitted this was her first job involving spice. The trio traveled on the Silver Angel to the spice mines of Kessel, which lay in the planet's northern hemisphere. There, they picked up the spice shipment and departed offworld.^[5]

During the hyperspace journey, Tano argued with the Martez sisters about the ethics of delivering spice. When Tano objected to dealing with criminals, Rafa countered that she took the job in order to pay off her and Trace's debts. Tano tried to convince Rafa to deliver the spice shipment somewhere else but Rafa was determined to continue with the job. Fearing the loss of the Silver Angel, who panicked and dumped the spice into hyperspace.^[5]

After a heated debate, the three decided to fool Marg Krim and the Pyke syndicate. Upon landing, Tano tried to use a Jedi mind trick to convince Krim to pay them without checking the cargo. However, his majordomo Fife was suspicious and managed to force open the spice cargo canisters, exposing the fact they were empty. The Martez sisters and Tano attempted to flee the Pykes but the Silver Angel was trapped in a tractor beam. While Rafa wanted to blamed Tano, Trace pointed out that all three of them were responsible for the crisis with the Pykes.^[5]

Prisoners of the Pykes[]

Ahsoka rescuing the Martez sisters from the Pyke Syndicate on Oba Diah.

Trace along with Rafa and Ahsoka were imprisoned in the Pyke Syndicate's prison. While locked in a cell, Rafa and Trace related to Tano how their parents' deaths through an accident caused by the Jedi during the Senate hostage crisis had caused them to distrust the Jedi. When the Pyke guards led Rafa away for interrogation, Rafa told Trace that she would get the family business if she died. Trace protested that she did not want the family business and reassured Rafa that she would not die. When the two were alone, Trace confided with Tano that her and her sister's life had been a struggle since the death of their parents. Trace also told Tano that she helped her due to her late mother's belief in helping others.^[3]

After a bruised Rafa was returned to the cell, Trace was dragged out to the interrogation chamber. When the smelter droid demanded to know where the spice was, Trace pretended to faint but took the opportunity to grab one of her captors' blasters and shoot at a guard. She then took out two more guards and escaped into the prison. While eluding the pursuing guards, Rafa freed two Ithorian and Weequay prisoners, who helped her escape the guards.^[3]

While navigating through the prison, Trace encountered Ahsoka and Rafa, who had managed to escape their cell. Under Tano's guidance, the trio fled to an outdoor hangar. When the guards arrived, Trace used a blaster to ignite several crates, causing an explosion. They then fled across a bridge but their Pyke captors began retracting them. While fleeing across the bridge, the Martez sisters noted Ahsoka's athletic abilities, unaware of her Jedi identity. Fleeing down a garage, they fought another Pyke guard who was crushed by machinery.^[5]

While Trace and Rafa distracted the guards, Tano infiltrated the guard tower and opened the gates. Escaping into the streets of Oba Diah city, Trace convinced the others to find their ship Silver Angel and escape offworld. While on the run, they passed by a Gotal beggar who took offense when Rafa refused to give the money. The beggar subsequently reported them to the Pyke authorities. Since the Silver Angel was parked at the Pyke Palace's landing platform, Rafa tried to convince Trace to give up her beloved ship. Trace refused to give up her ship and demanded that Rafa buy her a new one.^[5]

The trio commandeered a landspeeder but the Pykes shot its engine. The two Martez sisters were captured but Tano managed to escape. Fife and Krim wanted to execute the two Martez sisters for attempting to cheap them and causing them damage. Before the Pykes could execute them, Tano came to their rescue and fought with the Pykes. However, Tano was also captured and the three were brought back to their cell in the Pyke Prison.^[5]

A new ally[]

Trace's adventures with Ahsoka left her with a better perspective of the Jedi.

After returning to their, Trace sided with Ahsoka's argument that Rafa's plan to transport spice to the Pykes had been a mistake. This upset her older sister Rafa, who was shocked that Trace had sided with Ahsoka. Ahsoka told the Martez sisters that she had a plan but could not divulge it. She told them to trust her.^[6]

In Krim's throneroom, Ahsoka claimed that she and the Martez sisters had hidden the spice offworld. She convinced the Pykes to send them offworld to retrieve the spice within one rotation or Ahsoka would reveal the location of the Martez's family. In addition, Tano demanded a small percentage of the value of the spice shipment. Unaware about Tano's deception, Krim ordered the Martez sisters to retrieve the spice within one rotation or he would kill Tano, them and their family.^[6]

While refueling the Silver Angel at the Orondia Refueling Station, Trace was puzzled at why Ahsoka would threaten to give up their family when she knew their parents were dead. Rafa pointed out that Ahsoka had sacrificed herself so that they could escape. Rafa resolved that they would return the favor by rescuing Tano.^[6]

Traveling to a Pyke spice loading facility, Rafa convinced the workers including a Toong worker that they had special request from the Pykes to obtain spice. The two were soon confronted by the Trandoshan manager, who demanded to see the manifest. He grabbed Trace, prompting Rafa to attack him. The two sisters fought the Trandoshan, who was killed when Rafa dropped him from a crane over the cliff. The Martez sisters then returned with their spice shipment to the Pyke Palace.^[6]

When the Martez sisters return to the Pyke Palace, they found that the Pykes were preparing to execute Tano on the pretext that she was a spy for the Jedi and the Galactic Republic. The Martez sisters were shocked that Tano had kept her Jedi identity a secret from them. However, Tano had planted explosives throughout the Pyke Palace during an earlier escape attempt. These explosives created enough havoc for the trio to escape aboard the Silver Angel. The Pykes sent starships after them but Ahsoka shot them down. Trace piloted the Silver Angel and charged at a Pyke ship, causing it to swerve and to crash into the mountain.^[6]

The Martez sisters and Ahsoka then returned to the Martez sisters' hangar on Coruscant. When Tano told them that she had left the Jedi Order, Trace expressed surprise that Tano had walked away from the Jedi Order. Rafa told Tano that even though she was no longer a Jedi, she acted as the Jedi aspired to be. Trace also thanked Tano for rescuing them and getting them out of a difficult situation.^[6]

The Martez sisters were both present when a group of Mandalorians led by Bo-Katan Kryze visited the hangar, seeking Ahsoka's help in dealing with Maul, who had taken over the planet Mandalore. Though Trace volunteered to help, Tano declined her offer since she regarded Maul as too dangerous for the Martez sisters. However, Tano left her speeder bike with the sisters for safekeeping before leaving with the Mandalorians.^[6] When Skywalker later asked Tano about what she was doing on Oba Diah, Tano alluded to her adventures with the Martez sisters without directly mentioning them.^[7]

The Corellian job[]

Following the Clone Wars, Trace and Rafa joined an underground movement fighting against the new Galactic Empire seeking to make the galaxy a better place for people.^[8] They were dispatched by the former Clone Captain Rex^[9] to obtain the head of a decommissioned Separatist tactical droid for its valuable information. As part of their mission, the Martez sisters infiltrated a decommissioning facility on the planet Corellia.^[8]

Trace recovered the tactical droid's head from a conveyer belt in the facility's northern sector, beating Omega, a young female clone of Jango Fett who was a ward off a squad of rogue Clone troopers known as the Bad Batch. The Bad Batch had been hired by the Trandoshan information broker Cid to recover the tactical droid's head. Trace contacted Rafa by comlink, telling her that she had recovered the droid head and asked her what was taking so long. However, Rafa was held up by Omega.^[8]

Meanwhile, Trace ran into the Bad Batch members Hunter, Echo and Tech at the plant's control center. At that point, the intruders were spotted by a factor worker who reported a security breach and placed the factory on lockdown. As the workers retreated, squads of armed police droids were dispatched to the decommissioning plant to neutralize the intruders. Trace took advantage of the gun battle to flee the Clones with the tactical droid's head and contacted Rafa to meet them at the rendezvous.^[8]

The Martez sisters were pursued through the factory by Omega and the Bad Batch. During the chase, Trace managed to pass the droid head to Rafa. However, Rafa dropped it on the conveyer belt after bumping into a droid. Trace and Omega were forced to race through the conveyer belt in order to retrieve the tactical droid head. Though Omega managed to grab the head and escape down a chute, Trace later retrieved the droid head after Omega got one of her leg's trapped under a droid part. After escaping the conveyer belt, Trace contacted Rafa to meet her at their rendezvous point on the north exit.^[8]

However, Trace changed her mind after hearing Omega's cries for help and used a B2-series super battle droid's arm to pull the younger girl to safety before she was crushed in the smelter. Trace's decision to save Omega earned her the respect of her opponent Hunter. After reuniting with Rafa and the rest of the Bad Batch including Wrecker, the Martez sisters and the Bad Batch decided to put aside their differences in order to fight their way out of the decommissioning plant. With the help of Tech, Trace reprogrammed the tactical droid's head in order to reactivate the decommissioned battle droids to fight the police droids. Tech used a power bank and data droid to boost the tactical droid's signal.^[8]

When the reactivated battle droids fought the police droids, the Martez sisters and the Bad Batch took advantage of the diversion to flee the factory. Trace also radioed R7-A7 for a pick-up. However, while fleeing the decommissioning plant, Trace dropped the tactical droid's head, destroying it. The group then escaped aboard the Martez sisters' ship Silver Angel. During the flight, the two parties discussed their motives for wanting the tactical droid head. While Hunter explained that the Bad Batch were mercenaries seeking to make ends meet, Trace revealed that she and Rafa were part of an anti-Imperial resistance movement.^[8]

Due to their adventures, the Martez sisters developed a friendship with Omega, who invited the older women to visit her on Ord Mantell, which Trace regarded as seedy. Out of respect for the Martez sisters and their case, Hunter passed them a data rod containing intelligence from the tactical droid before it was destroyed.^[8] After parting company with the Bad Batch, Rafa reported their findings to Rex, who subsequently tracked down the Bad Batch on Ord Mantell. Rex told the Bad Batch that he had learnt of their exploits on Corellia from the Martez sisters.^[9]

Personality and traits[]

Trace was a human female with tan skin, brown eyes, and had curly brown hair with both sides of her head shaved.^[2]

Trace befriended former Padawan Ahsoka Tano.

Trace was very friendly, as she was willing to help Ahsoka Tano fix her speeder bike for free, despite having said earlier that she would like to be paid if she fixed the bike. Trace also had a sense of morality and responsibility as she was bothered by Rafa making shady dealings with criminals, though Trace knew that her sister was only doing it so the two of them could survive.^[2] Unlike Rafa, Trace was very trustworthy to individuals whom she befriended, such as Ahsoka. When Trace found out Ahsoka lied to her about being a former Padawan, Trace was hurt and angry, but quickly forgave Ahsoka and still regarded her a friend.^[6]

Trace could also be naïve and impulsive. On a mission to deliver spice to the Pyke Syndicate, she heard that the Pykes might damage her beloved ship, the Silver Angel. So, she decided to dump the spice instead of losing her ship. As a result, this put her, Rafa, and Ahsoka at risk of breaking their deal with the criminals, a consequence she had not considered before dumping their shipment.^[3]

Trace once admired the Jedi Order, but after they accidentally caused the death of her parents and did very little to comfort or help her and her sister afterwards, Trace became resentful of the Jedi. However, Trace did not completely hate the Jedi and viewed Tano as an archetype of how true Jedi should act. She had a hard time comprehending why someone would leave the Order.^[6]

Trace also had a moral compass and once saved the female clone Omega's life during a mission to recover a tactical droid's head on Corellia. As a result, Trace and Rafa developed a friendship with Omega and the rest of the Bad Batch. Out of respect, the Bad Batch's leader Hunter gave the Martez sisters a data rod containing intelligence from the tactical droid.^[8]

Skills and abilities[]

Trace had limited skills in piloting for she only had experience with speeders and maintenance vehicles. As a result, Trace was not prepared to successfully pilot her ship, the Silver Angel.^[5]

Trace was physically fit and was able to fight on several occasions.^[2]^[3] She was also a capable runner. Trace was also tech savvy enough to reprogram a tactical droid's head.^[8]

Behind the scenes[]

Trace Martez first appeared in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Gone with a Trace." She is voiced by Brigitte Kali.^[2] Among the design options for Trace, artist JP Balmet presented to Dave Filoni a design which ultimately became that of Trace's sister Rafa.^[10]

While the episode story arc that ultimately featured the Martez sisters was in development in 2012 before The Clone Wars was cancelled, Trace and Rafa didn't exist.^[10] Instead, Ahsoka would have met a young mechanic named Nyx Okami, who filled the Martez sisters' role as the one who owed money to Pintu Son-El.^[11]