| “ | You will respect us. In time, you will bow before the Nihil. | „ |
| ~ Nan threatening Reath Silas. |
Nan is a major antagonist in the epic space opera Star Wars metaseries Star Wars: The High Republic.
Nan was a deceptive and cunning information broker and former member of the Nihil, a dangerous marauder organization based in the Outer Rim Territories active during the High Republic era. Unlike other members of her gang, she possessed a code of honor of sorts. She also had a complicated, romantic interest in Reath Silas, a Jedi.
Roles[]
In Phase I: Light of the Jedi, Nan appears as the main antagonist of the 2021 novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Dark, a cameo antagonist in the 2021 manga series Star Wars: The High Republic: The Edge of Balance, the secondary antagonist of the 2021 novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Out of the Shadows, and a major antagonist in the 2022 novel Star Wars: The High Republic: The Fallen Star.
In Phase III: Trials of the Jedi, Nan appears as a minor antagonist in the 2023 novel Star Wars: The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness and the 2024 novels Star Wars: The High Republic: Defy the Storm and Star Wars: The High Republic: Temptation of the Force. She return in the 2025 novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Light, where she becomes a reformed anti-hero.
Appearance[]
Nan was a petite young woman roughly eighteen years of age who stood at four feet and eleven inches tall. Due to her short stature, she was often assumed to be younger than she actually was. She had long, wavy, shoulder-length black hair with several dyed light blue strands. Her hair was partially swept over the left side of her face and was fully swept back on the right side. Nan's eyes and skin were brown. She sported a plethora of crude tattoos across her body, though her face remained unblemished. A depiction of the Nihil insignia was among her tattoos.
While not trying to conceal her identity, Nan wore blue paint over her round face that matched the strands in her hair. As a marauder, she usually wore practical clothing consisting of tight-fitting light brown pants, a dark green sleeveless top, dark green elbow-length gloves, an open khaki green jacket, light brown fingerless gloves, and a light brown scarf. During her stay on the Amaxine station however, Nan wore a vibrantly colorful patchwork dress that concealed her abundance of tattoos.
Personality[]
| “ | I haven't forgotten that you saved me from being kidnapped. You returned me to my fleet. That earns you one chance to walk away. One. | „ |
| ~ Nan displaying honor towards an opponent, a rare trait among the Nihil. |
Having been raised in the ranks of the Nihil, Nan believed in the gang's creed of violence and individualistic strength with the fervour of the fanatic. Unlike many Nihil however, she possessed a sense of honor and firmly believed a favor given should be returned in kind, regardless of whether it was beneficial for her to do so. Nan had an intense hatred for the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order that protected it, seeing them both as threats to the Nihil way of life that sought to impose their elitist way of living on the Galactic Frontier. Although prideful in her strength, Nan recognized her own shortcomings and adapted in accordance in order to improve herself and her chances of success.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
| “ | Our family joined the Nihil together. They offered us the chance for a better life than we could ever have had otherwise. My mother and father were proud of their choice. I'm proud of their choice. When they died in a raid, I was taken in by Hague. | „ |
| ~ Nan revealing her history to Silas. |
Nan was born around 250 BBY during the High Republic Era, a period during which the democratic Galactic Republic and the mystical peace-keeping Jedi Order that protected it were at their zenith. Nan grew up on the Galactic Frontier, the area on the outer reaches of the galaxy where the Republic was still forming its influence. When Nan was young, she and her parents joined the marauder gang called the Nihil. The Nihil were a group of murderous pirates that plagued the Galactic Frontier and disdained the Republic and the Jedi. The gang made use of unique hyperspace lanes known as "Paths" to strike in unorthodox locations and to take their enemies by surprise.
The Nihil were divided into three Tempests, each roughly a thousand man strong and led by their respective Tempest Runners. Nan grew up with the Nihil's code of hatred and violence, and came to believe in individual strength above all else. When Nan was in her teenage years her parents died during a raid, and she was subsequently taken under the wing of the elderly Zabrak Hague. Hague, who had been a great commander in his youth, taught Nan to use her mind to overcome her opponents. She became a skilled liar and strategist, and thus earned her place among the Nihil.
Agent of the Eye[]
Marchion Ro, the Eye of the Nihil.
Immediately after Hague's death, Nan reported to the Eye of the Nihil Marchion Ro. Ro was responsible for distributing the Paths to the Nihil, and had essentially became the de-facto leader of the organization since the Great Hyperspace Disaster which he had devised. Rather than punishing Nan for her failure, the Eye of the Storm made her one of his personal spies and promised her that she would get her revenge against the Jedi for the death of Hague. As a spy, Nan became Marchion Ro's greatest informant and worked with elements of every Tempest on raids at least once.
At one point she worked with the Tempest Runner Kara Xoo, and although the job hadn't been especially lucrative, Nan came to appreciate Xoo's methods. Overtime, Nan grew fiercely loyal to Marchion Ro and became privy to many of his secrets. She discovered the source of the Paths—an elderly Force-sensitive human woman named Mari San Tekka who resided on the Eye's gigantic flagship called the "Gaze Electric." Nan also formed a rivalry of sorts with a teenage boy named Krix Kamerat, who was also a favourite of the Eye's despite Nan believing there was nothing special about him.
Sometime later, Nan attended a meeting hosted by Marchion Ro on the Great Hall of the Nihil, a structure in No-Space which served as the makeshift base-of-operations of the Nihil. Other key members of Ro's inner circle were also present, including Krix Kamerat and his right-hand woman Sabata Krill, and the Cloud Zaret. As Nan had suspected, the Eye ordered the gathered Nihil to prepare attacks on the various Jedi temples and outposts throughout the Outer Rim Territories, as he wished to lessen the Jedi presence on the Galactic Frontier and by extension weaken the protection afforded to the Republic's Starlight Beacon.
Guardian of the Oracle[]
Mission to the Heart of Gravity[]
Roughly a year and a half after the battle on the Amaxine station, Nan eavesdropped on a private meeting aboard the Gaze Electric held between Ro and the Tempest Runners. As the meeting commenced Nan was approached by Krix Kamerat, who reminded her that she wasn’t supposed to be there. Nan responded that he was also eavesdropping and threatened to kill him for bothering her, which made Kamerat move to the other side of the room in defeat. Lourna Dee, the longest-running Tempest Runner, spoke with Ro about a secret weapon known as Gravity’s Heart that a scientist of her’s was working on.
Gravity’s Heart was a space station under construction that would allow the Nihil to pull vessels out of hyperspace and prey on them. The station would provide the Nihil with a much-needed advantage, as they were being forced onto the back foot by the Republic and the Jedi. Dee requested that, in order for the weapon to be prepared faster, she be given access to Mari San Tekka as the elderly woman would be able to use her hyperspace-related insights to speed up the development of the station. Although Ro was reluctant to be separated from his Oracle, he accepted Dee’s request.
The Eye beckoned over Nan and ordered her to accompany and protect the Oracle during her time in Dee’s care. Although she outwardly accepted the Eye’s request with zeal, Nan privately saw the mission as a burden as she believed she would be punished if the incredibly frail San Tekka passed away while in her care. However, she soon began to regard the responsibility as a way to prove herself to Ro and as such saw it as a blessing in disguise. Before she departed aboard her personal starship the “Whisperkill,” Nan was given a box by Ro that would allow her to make the senile San Tekka responsive if she became too absent-minded.
Trying to Recover the Box[]
| “ | We know you took it, and in a very short time you will be dead. So stop resisting and give us what we want. Or call down the fury of the Storm. | „ |
| ~ Nan threatening the haulers that stole from her. |
Nan was accompanied on her journey by Kisma Uttersond, the Eye’s private doctor whose job it was to oversee the Oracle’s failing health. On their way to the Gravity’s Heart, Uttersond had Nan make a stop at the planet Tiikae so he could pick up some supplies from a group of haulers. Upon reaching the Gravity’s Heart, which was situated in a radiation cloud in the Berenge sector, Nan requested docking access. Before she could land however, Uttersond informed her that the box Ro had given her had been stolen. Believing the haulers from Tiikae to be responsible for the theft, Nan sent a threatening message to them.
Upon docking on the station, Nan sent a small group of the Gravity Heart's Nihil to Tiikae to kill the haulers and retrieve the box. However, only the group's leader survived to return emptyhanded as a small number of Jedi had killed the rest of the team and thwarted the Nihil's efforts on Tiikae. Nan shot the group's leader for his failure and stomped into the Gravity Heart's laboratory to check on the progress that Lourna Dee's scientist, named Chancey Yarrow, was having. However, Yarrow threatened to kill Nan if she executed another member of her crew and had her locked up alongside Uttersond so they couldn't interfere in her work.
Ambush on the Everbloom[]
In order to escape her imprisonment, Nan secretly sent a message to the powerful San Tekka family informing them that their long lost relative Mari San Tekka was still alive and being held captive on the Gravity's Heart. In doing so, she hoped the San Tekkas would attack the station and give her an opportunity to escape. However, three days later Nan was released from her confinement so that she could transport Yarrow and her most loyal soldiers aboard the Whisperkill to a space station in the Hynestian sector. The station in question, called the "Everbloom," was owned by an incredibly rich and influential family called the Grafs.
Yarrow, Nan, and the Nihil met with the head of the Graf family — Catriona Graf. Graf agreed to allow the Nihil to stage an ambush on a group of Jedi being lured to the Everbloom by Catriona's grandson Xylan. The true purpose of the ambush, however, was to retrieve Chancey's daughter Syl Yarrow who was travelling with the Jedi. While the other Nihil ran off to get into their positions for the ambush, Yarrow revealed to Nan that she had intercepted the transmission Nan had tried to send to the San Tekkas. Instead of being angry, Yarrow was impressed by Nan's efforts.
Ultimately, the ambush was a success. The group of Jedi, consisting of two Padawans and their masters, were knocked unconscious by poisonous gas. In addition to Syl Yarrow, Chancey decided to bring the two Padawans back to the Gravity's Heart as she had promised Marchion Ro that she would deliver some Jedi to him that he could use to test a new secret weapon on. One of the Padawans in question coincidentally turned out to be Reath Silas. After returning to the Gravity's Heart, Nan was given the task of guarding the new prisoners in their cell.
Parting with the Nihil[]
Nan eventually entered the cell and was knocked unconscious in a surprise attack by Syl Yarrow. Chancey Yarrow then locked Nan into the cell with the prisoners, as she believed Syl and Nan could learn something from one another. While she was imprisoned in the cell, the Jedi arrived to rescue the Padawans and Syl Yarrow. Nan argued with Syl Yarrow until Reath woke up, at which point she awkwardly greeted her old enemy and asked if he could free them. Silas was able to open the door by tampering with its wiring. Seeing her opportunity, Nan abandoned the Jedi and began running through the Gravity's Heart.
As the Gravity's Heart was slowly destroyed by Jedi ships, Nan was able to meet up with Chancey Yarrow and escape aboard the "Switchback," the latter's ship. Together they travelled back to the Everbloom, where Chancey met with Catriona Graf and her grandson Xylan. Yarrow had decided to continue her research under the support of the Graf family rather than the Nihil. Nan, knowing she could not return to the Nihil because San Tekka had died during the destruction of the Gravity's Heart, also decided to begin working for the Grafs as an informant, at least until she could earn redemption in the eyes of Marchion Ro.
The Falling Star[]
Prisoner of the Jedi[]
Months later, in 230 BBY, Nan and Yarrow were doing a job for the Grafs in the Ocktai system when a raid on a nearby Nihil fleet was conducted by Republic and Jedi forces. Because their ship was in the area at the time of the raid, Nan and Yarrow were questioned by Republic officials. Though Republic forces were initially unsuspecting of the pair, Nan skittishly pulled a blaster on the first Jedi that tried to question her. Her actions prompted an identification check, which revealed her true identity as a member of the Nihil. Nan and Yarrow were both detained and transported to the Starlight Beacon for further questioning.
En route to the space station, Nan and Chancey Yarrow were interrogated by Jedi Knight Regald Coll. Nan tried to convince Coll that she was no longer a Nihil operative, almost accidently revealing her connection to the Graf family in the process before a glare from Yarrow silenced her. Upon reaching Starlight Beacon, the prisoners were escorted by Coll to the station's containment cells. Nan became tense as she awaited Jedi questioners in her cell. Eventually, Jedi Master Stellan Gios, who introduced himself as the Marshal of the Jedi on Starlight Beacon, arrived to interrogate the two former Nihil operatives.
According to Nan's intel, a Jedi Master named Avar Kriss was the Marshal of the Starlight Jedi. Gios informed her that Kriss had recently been removed as the Marshal, but nevertheless praised Nan for the accuracy of her information. Gios asked Nan and Yarrow to reveal who they were working for, if not the Nihil. Nan retorted that she didn't trust the Jedi's discretion, and that she believed they would likely torture her to get the intel they wanted. Gios explained that, unlike the Nihil, the Jedi didn't practice torture. The Jedi Master then left the cell, giving Nan and Yarrow time to consider whether or not they wanted to answer his question.
Once Master Gios was gone, Nan and Chancy Yarrow discussed their options. Nan suggested that she could give the Jedi false or outdated intel, but Yarrow advised against such an option. If Ro learned that Nan had given information to the enemy, he wouldn't wait to verify whether not said intel was valid before sending assassins after her. As she waited for the Jedi to return, Nan grew anxious. Noticing her nervousness, Yarrow mentioned that the Jedi were probably taking a while on purpose as a method of putting Nan on edge. Nan promised to keep her cool, but doubted that she would be able to do so.
The Starlight Saboteurs[]
As the days went by, Nan grew ever more impatient and frustrated. She thought about how Chancy Yarrow would prefer her daughter Syl to be by her side, and wondered to what extent Syl and Reath Silas, whom she thought about often, were connected.
Occlusion Zone[]
A week after Starlight's fall, Ro used the "Stormwall" to envelop ten whole Outer Rim space sectors. The Stormwall was an impenetrable barrier that destroyed starships traveling through hyperspace, therefore stopping any outsiders from entering. The sectors sealed off by the Stormwall were cut off from the Republic, allowing the Nihil a vast area to rule as they saw fit dubbed the "Occlusion Zone." When Nan returned to the Nihil, she was met with open arms and hailed as a living legend due to surviving Starlight's fall. However, her position as Ro's protégé had already been usurped by an unassuming attendant named Thaya Ferr.
In 229 BBY, as the anniversary of the destruction of Starlight Beacon drew close, Marchion Ro hosted a grand feast to commemorate the occasion in the Nihil's new primary base on the agricultural planet Hetzal in the Occlusion Zone. Nan was among the many Nihil to attend the event. During the revelry, she watched Ro as he sat silently upon his throne. Thaya Ferr approached the Eye and whispered something in his ear, after which he looked in Nan's direction. Nan was angered by Ferr's closeness to Ro, but refrained from taking action. Ro made a speech in which he assured the Nihil that the anniversary would not go unmarked.
Abilities[]
- Master Deceiver: Rather than other Nihil who largely relied on their physical prowess, Nan practiced deceit and manipulation to upstage her enemies. In her own opinion, Nan could use her unassuming appearance and sharp mind to make anyone she hadn't met before believe almost any story she told them. Her ability to effortlessly lie made her the most successful of the informants at Marchion Ro's disposal. She could even use her deception on members of the Jedi Order, who were usually capable of discerning lies through the use of the Force.
Gallery[]
