Vika Faer

Vika Faer
Biographical information
Born	By c. 397 BBY
Died	During or after 379 BBY, Gaze Electric
Descriptive information
Species	Evereni
Gender	Female
Pronouns	She/her
Eye color	Black
Skin color	Gray
Family information
Family	Faers
Sibling(s)	Velya Faer (twin)
Chronological & political information
Affiliation(s)	Marda Ro's pirate group

"I am Marda Ro and this is mine."
"Is it?"
"I took it."
"And if we take it from you?"

―Marda Ro and Vika Faer

Vika Faer was a female Evereni born by around 397 BBY, who lived during the High Republic Era. At some point no earlier than 379 BBY, Faer and her twin brother Velya stopped at a space dock over the gas giant Siquay to refuel their ship. The two Faers were tracked down by the Evereni pirate leader Marda Ro, who sent them an invitation that they reluctantly accepted. Faer and her brother then met Ro in the throne hall of her starship, the Gaze Electric.

Ro greeted the siblings and invited them to join her for food. They stayed aboard the Gaze for several days and accompanied Ro's pirates for a raid. After they returned, a feast was thrown in the throne hall. During the feast, Ro's assistant Alirya approached Faer from behind and stabbed her with a dagger while the Evereni was talking to Ro. Faer killed Alirya in retaliation but herself was shot by Ro for the act. Following her death, Faer's brother was enraged at Ro, but she calmed him down and convinced him to join her. Ro later mentioned Faer in a memoir she recorded for her descendants, which her great-great-grandson Marchion Ro had listened to by 252 BBY

Biography

Early life

"I've been with Vika my whole life."

―Velya Faer

Vika Faer was a female Evereni who lived during the High Republic Era. Born by around 397 BBY, she grew up alongside her twin brother Velya Faer and, by some point no earlier than 379 BBY, the two owned a ship and Faer had met Evereni that bore the names Espri and Rad.

Invitation aboard the Gaze Electric

"My name is Vika Faer, and this is my brother, Velya. Our grandmother knew Ro."

―Vika Faer, introducing herself and Velya Faer to Marda Ro

Vika and Velya Faer met Marda Ro aboard the Gaze Electric. (pictured)

At some point no earlier than 379 BBY, Faer and her brother stopped at a space dock orbiting the gas giant Siquay to refuel their ship. The two Faers spent some time at the dock, giving Marda Ro—the Evereni founder of a group of pirates who would eventually become the Nihil—time to catch up to them in her search for others of her species. Ro sent three ships in her service to intercept the Faers, who she sent an invitation to meet her.

Hesitant at first, ultimately the twins reluctantly accepted the invitation. Vika and Velya were taken to the Gaze Electric, Ro's ship, and taken to its throne hall by the raiders Esstrop and Kortanio. Ro greeted the Faers and they conversed shortly, Vika revealing her and Velya's names to Ro during the interaction and telling Ro that their grandmother was familiar with the Ros.

Meeting Marda Ro

"Your pet is sweet."
"Alirya is not a pet. She is a part of my crew, and as important as she makes herself."

―Vika Faer and Marda Ro talking about Alirya

They joined Ro for food prepared by her human assistant Alirya and—as Ro grew up isolated from her species' culture—the Faers told her about their family and other Evereni. Alirya also brought the three Evereni liquor, but none of them drank it. Once they finished eating, Faer and Velya were challenged by Ro to a spar. Faer requested to go first and her brother offered to mediate the friendly fight. While Ro drew her staves, Faer unsheathed her knife and questioned Ro's weapons of choice. Ro replied and quickly attacked Faer, who swiftly disarmed her of one of the staves and slashed her arm open with her claws.

The Evereni women continued to fight and Ro tossed Faer over her shoulder, immediately getting on top of her to press her other stave against Faer's throat. Faer managed to escape from the lock by dislodging Ro, after which Velya stepped in to stop the fight. Faer and Ro exchanged smiles, upon which Alirya rushed to Ro to attend to the wound she had suffered during the spar. Faer asked Alirya to bring the liquor from earlier, however Alirya ignored both Faer and her brother until Ro convinced her she was well. While Alirya was bringing them the liquor, Faer commented that she was a sweet pet, and Ro countered by explaining that Alirya is important and as valuable as she makes herself.

Death

"Alirya wanted to stay at me side. She saw your sister pushing beside me."
"Is that how—how it works around here?"
"There is space at my side now. For one."

―Marda Ro and Velya Faer discuss deaths of Alirya and Vika Faer

Vika Faer was shot by Marda Ro. (pictured)

Faer and her brother stayed aboard the Gaze Electric for several days and while her brother bounced back and forth between her and Ro, Faer explored every part of the Gaze. When Ro's pirates went out on a raid, the Evereni twins accompanied them and returned with plentiful spoils. Like Ro's raiders, they made offerings to her while teasing each other and her about it, with Ro teasing them back that it is the price for eating and sleeping on the Gaze. Following the raid, a feast was thrown in the throne hall in commemoration of everyone returning safely.

During the event, Faer moved a chair next to Ro's throne and brought the pirate leader a small plate of finger cakes. Faer told Ro that her brother thinks Ro is beautiful, and the two talked while Ro nibbled on a finger cake. Unbeknownst to either of them, Alirya snuck up on Faer while they were talking and Faer was stabbed from behind with a dagger by Alirya.

The human backed away with the dagger covered in blood and Faer swiftly grabbed her neck and wrist. She stood to her full height, lifting Alirya off the floor, and broke her wrist while she kicked at Faer. She dug her claws into the human's throat and dropped her dead body onto the floor. During the subsequent chaos, Faer's brother rushed to her to inspect her wound, while Ro—shocked by Alirya's death—took out a blaster from a hidden compartment in her throne and shot Faer in her chest.

Legacy

"Remember the name. The body is nothing once it is dead. It is food, or rot, or waste."

―Velya Faer, regarding his dead sister

Velya was enraged at Ro for murdering Faer. She explained to him that Alirya tried to murder Faer because she felt the Evereni threatened her position and she wanted to eliminate competition, and also offered him Alirya's newly vacant place by Ro's side. While hesitant due to Faer's death, her brother ultimately accepted the position. Faer's body was subsequently removed soon after, and—because of her death—Ro questioned Faer's brother about Evereni traditions regarding the dead. He explained to her that the name should be remembered, bodies of dead Evereni are worthless.

Later, Ro talked about Faer and her death in a message she recorded for her descendants. By 252 BBY, during his youth, Ro's great-great-grandson Marchion Ro had listened to her journal, including the entries where Faer was mentioned. In 228 BBY, while listening to the journal again, Ro remembered that the journal's contents chronicled his great-great-grandmother's hunt for Evereni, including Faer.

Personality and traits

"Your pet is sweet."

―Vika Faer to Marda Ro, regarding Alirya

As an Evereni, Faer had black eyes and gray skin. She had a scalloped ear that had barbed metal woven through it and wild hair long enough to conceal the ear. Her face resembled that of her brother, and she also shared her sleek and predatory stride with him. Faer enjoyed fighting, feeling exhilarated during a fight. She was condescending towards Alirya, calling her a pet, and she was also considered beautiful by Ro.

Skills and abilities

"Vika disarmed me of one stave, and I flexed my freed razor-sharp nails. I feinted and grabbed her wrist. I squeezed. She twisted her arm and slashed mine open."

―Marda Ro, in her journal

Faer was an experienced fighter, capable of persisting against Ro while sparring and even injuring the Evereni woman.

Equipment

"Vika wrapped her hair into a knot at the nape of her neck, then slipped a long knife from a sheath on her thigh."

―Marda Ro, in her journal

Faer wore complementary gray and red clothing which camouflaged blood, and soft-soled boots that enabled her to walk quietly. She also carried a long knife in a sheath on her thigh and her brother and her owned a starship.

Behind the scenes

"This is a spoiler, major spoiler. I really wanted Marda to shoot somebody in the chest. Or in the face, or whatever."

―Tessa Gratton, discussing reasons for Vika Faer's creation

Tessa Gratton, Vika Faer's creator

Vika Faer appeared in flashbacks in the short story "A Closed Fist Has No Claws," written by Tessa Gratton and published in the 2023 young-adult anthology The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life as a part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project. In an interview, Gratton mentioned that he knew they needed one Evereni who rejects Marda Ro and a second one who would accept her. Those ended up becoming the elder Evereni Isren and Faer's brother Velya respectively, but while the initial plan was to have only those two, Gratton later realized that the story would benefit from having two Evereni with a dynamic similar to that of Ro and her cousin Yana Ro, which led to Faer's conception.

In addition to wanting the dynamic, Gratton said she also wanted to have a scene in the short story where Ro shoots somebody in the chest, because the character usually opts to use claws instead. Coming up with Faer's was a complicated process according to Gratton, because there was a lot of pieces that he needed to rearrange in order to make Faer's death feel like a climatic moment of the story. They wanted the scene to be violent and after receiving notes asking if it would be possible to make the scene more brutal on the first submited draft, she was delighted at the request. Gratton also revealed that he thinks that due to the pain she carries with her, Ro interprets her experiences with other Evereni she's met—such as Faer—painfully, taking the wrong lesson from them instead of interpreting them in a beautiful way.

Appearances

• "A Closed Fist Has No Claws" — The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life (and audiobook) (First appearance) (In flashback(s))