Ria Deleru

Ria Deleru
Biographical information
Homeworld	Glee Anselm
Descriptive information
Species	Nautolan
Gender	Female
Eye color	Black
Skin color	Green
Chronological and political information
Affiliation(s)	Migrant Merchants' Guild Hanera's Dance Troupe

Warning: This infobox has missing parameters: parents, pronouns, children, siblings, partners, families, feathers and unrecognized parameters: era

"I'm sorry, I should've told Nik the truth. I was just hoping to spare his feelings. Life with him was miserable. Not only were we barely scraping by, but I was fed up. His jealousy was driving me crazy! He didn't want me talking to anyone or going out. Life here is… better."

―Ria Deleru, on her new life as a dancer

Ria Deleru was a Nautolan female who lived during the Great Galactic War between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. During the war, she immigrated to the capital world of the Republic, Coruscant, with her husband, Nik Deleru, but the two found life in the planet's Galactic City difficult. They were among the thousands of other alien refugees who occupied the Old Galactic Market sector in the aftermath of the Sacking of Coruscant at the end of the war, and like many of their contemporaries, the two fell into severe poverty. Around 3643 BBY, during the Cold War, Ria became fed up with her economic situation and Nik's jealous and obsessive behavior, and so chose to escape into a life as an erotic dancer with Hanera's Dance Troupe. She led Nik to believe that she had been captured by the violent crime organization known as the Migrant Merchants' Guild, and although he sent an emissary to retrieve her, she was able to convince the messenger that she had found a better life.

Biography

"Nik and I left the homeworld together. His devotion was flattering… but I grew to realize the difference between love and obsession. Could you please tell Nik I was shipped off Coruscant? If he thinks I'm gone, he might move on."

―Ria Deleru, to Nik's messenger

Ria Deleru was a female member of the Nautolan species who lived during the Great Galactic War and the resulting Cold War between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. Ria was married to fellow Nautolan Nik Deleru, and at some point prior to 3653 BBY, the two left their species' homeworld of Glee Anselm together. They ultimately settled on the Republic's capital world of Coruscant—a gleaming ecumenopolis that, despite housing the center of galactic governance and finance, also played host to a huge population of impoverished aliens in its lower levels. It was there that the two Nautolans made their lives, much to Ria's chagrin.

In 3653 BBY, as Republic and Imperial delegates negotiated an end to the Great Galactic War on the Core World of Alderaan, the Sith led their military in a massive invasion of the Republic's capital that came to be known as the Sacking of Coruscant. During the assault, Imperial warships dropped numerous bombs into the lower levels of Coruscant's Galactic City, destroying Ria and Nik's home, along with thousands of others. The Empire eventually left the world, but Coruscant remained in ruins and the Republic lacked the supplies to respond and rebuild quickly. Eventually, Ria, Nik, and many other displaced families ended up settling in the Old Galactic Market, a commerce sector which had been widely abandoned after the Sacking. In the decade that followed, the criminal syndicate known as the Migrant Merchants' Guild moved into the Old Galactic Market as well and began running a protection racket on the refugees in the area.

During that time, Ria became fed up with Nik's behavior, which she saw as obsessive and overly protective. When Nik failed to make a protection payment to the guild, Ria saw it as an opportunity to escape her life and her husband. She fled their home and became an erotic dancer in Hanera's Dance Troupe, an entertainment business based out of the Migrant Merchants' Guild headquarters. Hanera herself mentioned that she never saw someone with as much potential as Ria. Nik believed her disappearance meant that the Guild had kidnapped her in retribution for his late payment, and so sought help from Officer Mal of the Coruscant Security Force. Because Coruscant Security was overwhelmed with battling the Merchant's Guild on other fronts, its police officers were unable to help the Nautolan. Instead, Nik convinced a Republic war hero to help him find his wife. The war hero succeeded in catching up with Deleru in the Guild's headquarters, but the dancer was unwilling to return to her husband. She instead asked that the Republic combatant tell Nik that she had already been moved off-planet, in the hope that he would move on and leave her to her new life. After the war hero returned to Nik with the false information, Ria sent the messenger an electronic message thanking the hero for complying and encouraging the being to return to see her.

Personality and traits

Nik Deleru, Ria's husband

"I just wanted to thank you for your help with Nik. I'm sure he gave you quite the sob story, but we're really better off apart. I've got dreams and ambitions, you know?"

―Ria Deleru, in a message to the war hero

Deleru was a green-skinned Nautolan with large, black eyes common to her species. Although her husband Nik loved her deeply, his appreciation for her bordered on obsession and jealousy, and she felt that he prevented her from following her dreams. After years of living in poverty, Deleru decided she could no longer endure the emotional or economic turmoil that had characterized her life. She found comfort among the Twi'lek dancers of Hanera's Dance Troupe, and decided to remain with them instead of returning to live with her distraught spouse. Despite her frustration with Nik, she did not want to upset him, and so instead of informing him that she had elected to leave, she allowed him to believe that she had been kidnapped. Upon the Republic war hero's agreement to uphold her deception, Ria asked that the individual return to see her dance under "less formal circumstances."

Behind the scenes

Ria Deleru was first introduced in Star Wars: The Old Republic, a massively-multiplayer online game produced by BioWare and LucasArts and released on December 20, 2011. Deleru is found on Coruscant, as part of the mission "For Better or Worse," available to any player characters aligned with the Republic—as such, the interaction with Deleru could be completed by any of the following class characters: Jedi Consular, Jedi Knight, trooper, or smuggler. Due to The Old Republic's nature as a role-playing game, the mission has two possible outcomes with regards to Deleru's fate. The player character can elect to maintain her deception of her husband, thereby allowing Deleru to continue pursuing her dreams. This decisions yields light-side alignment points. Conversely, the player can collect dark-side alignment points by demanding that Ria return to Nik, or by agreeing to uphold Ria's lies only to then reveal the truth to Nik. This article assumes that the Republic player character selects the light-side conversation choice; however, it should be noted that a canonical storyline has yet to be confirmed.

Appearances

• Star Wars: The Old Republic (First appearance)