Homeworld: Taris
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Height: 1.71 m
Weight: 47.63 kg
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Emerald Green
Family: Jovan Merrik Creel - Father (Deceased); Cierran Shan Creel (Deceased)
Lara Varyn Forto
Homeworld: Unknown /Ord Mantell
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Height: 1.71 m
Weight: 47.63 kg
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Sapphire Blue
Family: Jenner Charron Forto - Father, Adoptive; Isabet Telion Forto - Mother, Adoptive (Deceased); Unknown - Mother, Kierran Sera Shan (Deceased); Unknown - Father, Biological (Unknown)
Sera Creel was born seven years before the beginning of the Clone Wars. The daughter of a wealthy Tarisian shipping magnate and his wife, Sera was found to be Force Sensitive as an infant. Skeptical of the Jedi and at his wife's fervent insistence, Jovan Creel petitioned aide from several powerful senatorial allies to prevent his daughter from being taken by the Order. These allies included Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. The Jedi's interest in the child was thwarted and the child was left to the care of her parents and caregivers.
Sera's life was idyllic for a child until her parents landed on the wrong side of a political battle. As Taris debated about withdrawing from the Republic and joining the Confederacy of Independent Systems, political battle lines were drawn. The Creel family backed a pro-Republic faction, that went overboard in their maneuvering... assassination. When the trail was finally traced back to the group, them and their supporters were brought to trial. While not able to prove that the Creel's had knowingly backed the assassins, the family's holdings and businesses were heavily taxed while steep fines were imposed on the individuals. Jovan and his wife faced further punishment, a 25 year exile from the planet. Nearly bankrupt, Jovan took his wife and daughter off world, traveling the galaxy to shore up his business and aide the family that he left behind. Taris would go on to side with neither the Republic or the CIS, but join Duchess Satine Kryze's Council of Neutral Systems.
In a bitter irony, Jovan's exile saved him. Toward the end of the Clone Wars after the collapse of the Council of Neutral Systems, history repeated itself. An army of Mandalorians stormed Taris under the leadership of Mandalore the Resurrector, trashing the planet-wide city and killing many inhabitants. Most of the extended Creel family was killed during the invasion.
Little of this mattered to Sera, other than Mandalorian becoming another word for murderer. In her father's travels she began to learn and explore the ship she lived on. The crew was more than happy to oblige the curious child, teaching her everything she wanted to know. Despite infuriating her mother at her "un-lady-like pursuits", Sera became a decent pilot and an astounding engineer. By the age of 10 she was as good as many of the seasoned crew.
Tragedy would come again when Sera's family came to Coruscant for a business meeting. The opulent hotel they were staying in was hit during the Battle of Coruscant. The building collapsed under the impact, but miraculously Sera survived in a perfectly formed little pocket of rubble. She was trapped there for a day with the bodies of both her parents before rescue crews found her catatonic among the wreckage. Armand Isard of Senate Intelligence came that same day and spirited the girl to an unknown location.
When Sera awoke, she was again among opulence. A family friend greeted her, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. He explained what had happened to her parents and comforted the girl. He told her that she would be his ward until time that her proper family could be found on Taris, unless she did not want to. Palpatine explained that he knew of her secret and that he could help her learn to use it to prevent tragedies like what happened to her parents. Still grief stricken, Sera agreed. She would become the first of Palpatine's personally trained Hands.
During her six years of training, Sera proved to be quite capable as a student. Her hatred for the Separatists gave her strong connections to the Dark Side of the Force. Knowing her true potential, Palpatine began to teach her bits about the Sith, beginning with the story of Bane and Zannah. After recovering and rebuilding Darth Vader, Palpatine knew that the former "chosen one" had become a liability, so he began to give Sera more and more instruction into the ways of the Sith, creating an ambitious apprentice to one day replace the disappointment that was Vader. She would go on to begin service as an Emperor's Hand, but each assignment was a test of her abilities to help her ascend to face Vader.
Lara Forto was also born seven years before the Clone Wars, the same time and date as Sera Creel. Lara would never know her biological parents as she had been given to the Jedi Order as an infant and found to be Force Sensitive. Her command of the Force was undeniable, impressing all, while rumors of a potent ancient bloodline circulated ubidden through the halls of the Temple. The precocious child was a handful for most every instructor of younglings, earning the interest of Jedi Master Saesee Tiin. Even Master Tiin was hard pressed to keep the child in-line, but she learned swiftly, eagerly and was obedient. At the age of four, she mysteriously vanished from the Jedi Temple along with nine other younglings. The incident was covered up by the Jedi High Council, but no explanation has been found for what happened or where the younglings disappeared to.
Lara has no recollection of her time in the Jedi Temple. Whether this was purposeful or accidental, is unknown. She would grow up under the belief that her parents were actually Jenner and Isabet Forto, a data service processor and a teacher at a local school (both of whom secretly worked for Black Sun). He childhood was typical of a middle-class family on Ord Mantell, with the up's and down's there in. Lara began intensely interested in computers and droids, learning everything she could from her father. By the age of ten, she was so good that he actually let her help him in some of his more "private" cases.
At the age of twelve, Lara and her mother were involved in a speeder accident. Lara survived unscathed despite the nature of the wreck. Isabet was killed however, devastating Jenner. Grief turned to anger, blaming his daughter for surviving. Jenner began to degrade as he turned to alcohol and abuse to cope. Eventually, he had to give up the middle class life and the charade of being an upstanding citizen; he of course blamed his daughter for this as well. As he imploded, Lara took to keeping them afloat by doing Jenner's Black Sun assignments. Something the organization took notice in.
Jenner’s superiors, who were disgusted by their associate’s behavior, made overtures to help Lara get away and induct her fully into the organization. Lara waved them off several times, excusing the abuse out of love for her parent. Black Sun secretly planned to kill the man the next time he would abuse his daughter and install Lara as his permanent replacement due to her superior abilities. However, Jenner would come to learn of this.
When Jenner learned that his daughter had been doing his job for him and was poised to replace him… that night he beat her mercilessly, screaming his rage. He took his daughter’s bloody body and threw her into the street in front of their home, spitting on her. In his twisted logic, maybe then she would “learn to respect him".
It was by Palpatine's orders that sent Sera Creel to Ord Mantell tasked with killing a rogue inquisitor. However, it was the will of the Force that she find herself on a darkened street when a bloody young girl was thrown into the street ahead of her. Examining the girl, Sera was shocked to see a battered mirror there. Checking the girl's ID, the girl looked exactly like Sera in every way except for different eye color.
Taking the girl to her safe house, Sera tended to her wounds as best she could, but the damage was too great and time was too short. Lara thanked Sera for her company and care before closing her eyes. Weeping over the body, something happened. Sera stood up suddenly and walked back to the hovel where Lara had lived. She entered the home to find Jenner drunk and spoiling for a fight.
In his stupor, Jenner mistook Sera for his daughter. It was a costly mistake. Yelling obscenities, he reared back to hit the girl, but found his forearm snapped in two with his fist touching his elbow. His screams woke the neighbors, who reported seeing the girl who lived there run from the house with a large bag. Jenner was found with every bone in his body powdered, yet he had no internal injuries and no marks on his body. The security forces found that his bank account had been emptied, the house looted, and his daughter was missing as well. They labeled Lara Forto a person of interest in the case, but left it at that given the nature of the assault. Ord Mantell security felt that the Inquisitorius would deal with the fugitive.
Black Sun felt Jenner received a just punishment, but made it so his recovery would be very long and bacta-free. His medical debt to them would take a life-time to pay off. The organization also began to inquire about Lara. She was now worth more to them than just her skills as a slicer.
Sera Creel found that her target had moved on from Ord Mantell long before she arrived. Disposing of Lara's body, she smuggled herself off Ord Mantell. During her trip, she began to have dreams and flashes of memories that did not belong to her. By the will of the Force, Lara somehow lived on through their mysterious connection in the Force.
Now struggling internally, Sera pushes forward seeking her ascension in the Sith. She is willing to do whatever she deems necessary to prove her worth to her master. Lara seeks to understand what has happened and deals with the horror of what Sera is willing to do to ascend as a Sith Lord. Her resolve strengthens that she alone might be only one who can stop Sera.
