Shael Edur

Shael Edur (2 BBY&mdash; ) is a young pilot out to make a name for herself in the galaxy. In the relatively brief time she has been out on her own she has worked for Talon Karrde's organization, Starlight Swoops, Kasin Enterprises, the Angry Rancor, and the New Republic, (nearly) all at the same time. She is passionate about her flying and her swoop racing, seeming to enjoy nothing more in life than a good race. Like most pilots she is proud of her abilities and does not hesitate to brag about her accomplishments. She also feels strongly about the Galactic War and does not hesitate to risk her life to do her part, or to help her friends.

The First Five Years
Shael was born on a relatively poorly known planet in the Expansion Region known as Altion. With a history of being taken advantage of the planetary government decided it wanted nothing to do with the Empire, and while the Empire's attention was focused on the Rebellion it was decided the planet would declare its independence. A small military was founded of which Shael's father (Deakin) was a member, flying a Z-95 Headhunter. Shael was enormously proud of her father and his flying abilities even as a young girl, and one of her fondest memories is of sitting in his lap in his fighter, while he tried to teach her the basics of flying.

Unfortunately the Empire did take notice of the planet's bid for freedom and decided it couldn't be allowed to stand. Shortly after Shael's fifth birthday and mere months after declaring their independence Altion was invaded. Shael, her childhood friend Whisler Swain, and Shael's mother (Luana) tried to evacuate together while Shael and Whisler's fathers reported for their military duties. In the chaos of the evacuation Shael and Whisler were both seperated from Luana, though the girls were safely evacuated to a friendly planet named Chical. The fate of Whisler's father and Luana was never discovered. It was reported, however, that Deakin was shot down and killed in defense of the planet.

Life on Chical
Chical, having seen what had become of their neighbor planet, took a different stance on Galactic politics. They felt that it was in the best interest of their citizens to dutifully serve whichever government was in power in that region of space at any given time. As a result the girls became used to changing textbooks and changing curriculum through their years as students.

With no relative to be found for either girl, they were both placed in the foster care system shortly after being evacuated. They were initially placed in seperate homes for the first few years, and changed placements several times before Shael found herself in the care of a woman named Callandra Treyall. After being in the woman's care for a few months Shael was able to convince Callandra to take on the care of her childhood friend as well.

Callandra was good to the girls, indulging their individual talents and doing her best to encourage their studies. Shael was allowed to follow in her father's footsteps and she began persuing flying lessons. Whisler likewise imitated her own father, developing an adeptness for mechanics. By carefully saving their money and refurbishing used parts the two girls were eventually able to piece together their most prized possession, a working swoop they dubbed 'The Rasper.'

The self-same swoop managed to get the girls in a great deal of trouble. Once they had the swoop working, neither girl could resist the urge to go off their work and their piloting, leading them to enter the Rasper in illegal races on the outskirts of the city. It was on one such evening when Shael was not actually racing that the local law enforcement invaded, managing to catch both girls. Brought before the courts, it was decided that their foster mother was not fit to care for them. Shael was to be placed in a group home for another two years until she was eighteen, Whisler was to be placed in a juvenile detention facility for that and past offenses. Faced with the possibility of being seperated from their foster mother and each other Shael and Whisler made the only choice they felt they could: they ran.

Shael Winters
Hoping to remain hidden from any in the foster service that may be searching for her, Shael Edur adopted the name of Shael Winters with matching false ident cards that proclaimed her to be a little over two years older than her actual age. Using their false IDs, the girls got a job with a rather disreputable shipping company. It was not long before the girls found themselves instead in the employ of Talon Karrde. It was while with Karrde that Shael and Whisler learned of their foster mother's death in a land speeder accident, a tragedy the young pilot still sometimes struggles to come to terms with. Shael also came to believe she might be able to help affect the tide of the Galactic War and hinder the Empire if she only applied her efforts appropriately.

With the disappearance of Karrde, Shael and Whisler made the decision to leave his organization and find independent work. Shael quickly picked up work in a number of different places, sometimes transporting cargo for the New Republic, Kasin Enterprises, or Daana Roon and her ship the Angry Rancor. Shael was involved in Operation Shado Kolpo, smuggling supplies past the Imperial Blockade onto Coruscant, as well as the efforts to evacuate the refugees to Ord Mantell, the planet that subsequently became Shael's new home. During a brief stint in Imperial custody, as a result of her involvement in Operation Shado Kolpo, Shael met Krieg, a man she feels she owes her life to and the only Imperial she knows of that she believes to be a decent person.

Shael even adopted yet another alias, that of 'Jeni Donella' as her racing personna for Starlight Swoops' team in the Galactic Swoop League. Racing in the G1 category on her swoop, the Outlaw, Shael won all the races that she entered, and secured the G1 speed record on the Caspar track. At the end of the 15 ABY season 'Jeni' was awarded with the G1 title, a fact that Shael remains quite proud of. It was on the track that Shael met Ikihsa Enb'zik, one of the few swoopracers her believes to have more talent than herself, and a man who grew to be a close friend.

Whisler's Disappearance
Whisler had less success finding work and was growing increasingly bitter over the ease with which Shael seemed to succeed in her life. The straw that broke the bantha's back came when Shael got into a brawl with Serenella in the spaceport, and chose to press charges against the other girl. Angry that Shael would risk exposing their identities, she left and Shael has yet to hear from her lifelong friend.

Admitting the Truth
With her 18th birthday quickly approaching, and with the encouragement of her friends Sha'dria, Enb'Zik and Snarl, Shael chose to admit to her friends that she had been lying about her identity and switch back to her real name. Her friend and mentor Senator Del Marx helped advise Shael, and reassured her that any legal repercussions could be dealt with. And so, individually or in small groups, Shael admitted the truth and was pleasantly surprised to discover that other than some friendly ribbing the news was well recieved.

On her birthday Shael finally made a trip back to Chical, after two long years, visiting the grave of her step-mother, and reuniting with as many of the friends she had left behind as she could. She regailed them with tales of the things she had done and seen, as well as the people she had met. She showed off her upgraded ship and her GSL swoop... And aside from the fact that Whisler was no with her, had a wonderful visit. Now, however, she is back on Ord Mantell and ready to see what more she can do to hinder the Empire and help the New Republic.