This wasnt a concentrated effort.
Why are so few new characters sticking around?
Part of it is because the stories are constrained by the era in which they take place.
They all present the same problem that Ahsoka did afterThe Clone Wars.
Character deaths are also an easy way to create drama.
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Star Warsdoesnt always fall into this trap.
Characters like Jaina Solo or Leia Organa lived on and had their own stories.
But others, like the very popular Mara Jade, are cut off.
Its more noticeable in the case of women than men, although it happens more rarely to male characters.
This isnt just any death, Its one that is entirely inconsequential, except for one other character.
But personally, as I read and reviewed every book, I was scared.
Would we lose another female character in this one, thinning the already low numbers?
Would we ever have another Rae Sloane?
Would someone else join her ranks in the EU?
InRebels, she leads a team, andA New Dawnshows part of how she put that team together.
Still, the examples are few and far between.
When Chalis was first introduced, I was instantly afraid for her life.
She isnt connected to any other stories, so she has no safety net.
Chalis joins the Rebels in the story after shes captured in her own palace.
But this isnt the end for her.
She returns to the Empire because she knows that she can make the Imperials an offer they cant refuse.
When Chalis returns to an Imperial ship, I thought for sure that she would die.
This would be the moment when the female lead died to prove that war was terrible, I thought.
Because the story needed to prove that the Empire was evil, that the Empire wouldnt win.
Except thatTwilight Companydoesnt prove anything with as unsubtle a story, and Chalis doesnt die.
Instead, she out-negotiates and out-thinks two Imperials, the mystic Prelate Verge and military man Tabor Seitaron.
Instead, she talks her way out of the situation, outsmarting her enemies.
Seitaron shoots Verge, for reasons laid out clearly throughout the book.
And he almost shoots her, too.
Instead, Chalis, her face bleeding, says, Tell me.
She has unarmed Seitaron perfectly.
Its dark and brilliant.
Chalis couldnt have known that Seitaron would kill his fellow Imperial.
She figures out his best possible plan before he does and frames herself for Verges death.
She convinces Seitaron to let her go, and she flies away to find a differentmaybe even peacefullife.
We dont know that well ever necessarily see Chalis in aStar Warsstory again.
Would she ally herself with the Rebellion if we ever saw her again?
In the world ofTwilight Company, nothing is guaranteed.
But Chalis remains solidly manipulative, Imperial to the core.
And of course, Chalis isnt the be-all and end-all of female characters inStar Wars.
There are other great characters and stories, like Rae Sloanes.
Megan Crouse is a staff writer.
