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"How do I look... for a princess... who's been living her brother's life for him, since he lost it saving hers?"
―Vila[1]

Vila was a female Human from Naldar who was the planet's Princess during the era of the Galactic Civil War. Vila was the sole survivor of the royal family after an Imperial invasion, and in 4 ABY, she fled her homeworld—posing as her twin brother Denin—to beg for aid from the Alliance of Free Planets. She brought back a small force to Naldar that cleared away the Imperial threat, although she lost her life in the process.

Biography[]

"He would have been proud of me, wouldn't he, Luke... I moved before that trooper could fire his blaster... just like a Jedi would have... like my brother would have..."
"No one—not your brother, not anyone—could have done as well, Vila. You're a natural, and I'm very proud of you. You're going to make a fine Jedi Knight."
"I'm glad, Luke... it's what I want. I know that now... I don't just want it for Denin. I want to be a Jedi Knight, more than anything...
"
―Vila and Luke Skywalker[1]

A Human female from the planet Naldar, Princess Vila was born into Naldar's royal family, along with a twin brother named Denin. While Denin grew up dreaming of training as a Jedi Knight and learning to use the Force, Vila was unsure of her place in the world—until everything she knew was destroyed in 2 ABY, when Imperial forces moved in and brutally subjugated the world. Denin and the rest of the royal family were killed during the initial assault, and although Naldar held for a time, Vila was forced to flee in 4 ABY in the face of a redoubled attack.[1]

Alone and desperate, Vila traveled to Endor, and the home base of the still-young Alliance of Free Planets, to beg for aid from the government descended from the Rebels who had defeated the Empire. Vila posed as her late brother, personally demanding that the Alliance send a force of troops to retake her world and begging Luke Skywalker, the Alliance's resident Jedi, to train her in the Force. Although Admiral Gial Ackbar had no fighter squadrons to spare, Alliance command sent a small team, led by Skywalker—who refused to train Vila, or anyone, in the Force—back to Naldar with Vila to provide as much help as possible.[1]

Netherworld of the Force

Vila with Denin and Yoda in the Netherworld of the Force.

Traveling on the freighter Millennium Falcon, the group arrived to find Naldar's capital city almost completely destroyed, and all native resistance wiped out. They were quickly attacked by a squad of stormtroopers—Vila shot and killed one foe in the ensuing firefight, the first person she had ever killed, which affected her deeply. Faced with a numerically superior force led by Imperial commander and aspiring Sith Lord Flint, Vila and Lando Calrissian fled back to the Millennium Falcon to get help. It was there that Vila learned that she had been found out—Alliance leader Leia Organa had learned that Denin had been killed two years before, forcing Vila to admit her true identity.[1]

Luckily for the Alliance, one of their team, Barney, had grown up childhood best friends with Flint on the planet Belderone, and his presence helped convince the Imperial leader to stand down. This was viewed as a betrayal by one surviving stormtrooper, who prepared to shoot Flint in the back—before he could, Vila leapt into action. Vila struck the trooper down with a lightsaber, but in doing so sustained a deadly blaster wound. In her last moments, Vila realized that being a Jedi was what she had wanted for herself all along. Upon her death Vila passed into the Netherworld of the Force, where she reunited with Denin's spirit. Overjoyed to be reunited, Denin took Vila to meet their new teacher, the Jedi Master Yoda—even in death, their Jedi training would finally begin.[1]

Personality and traits[]

"My parents had twins—Denin, who wanted nothing more all his life than to meet one of the legendary teachers and become a true Jedi Knight—and Princess Vila, who didn't know what she wanted, except that she wishes her family, especially her brother, were still alive."
―Vila[1]

Vila was very close with her twin brother Denin, but while Denin was always sure in his desire to one day be a Jedi, Vila grew up not knowing what she wanted. Vila was devastated by her brother's death, and saw it as her duty to live Denin's dream for him, as he never got the chance in his own life. It was only after leaving war-torn Naldar and traveling to the forest moon of Endor that Vila learned to appreciate life's beauty and the value of peace. Under the guise of Denin, Vila quickly rubbed Alliance leadership the wrong way with her demanding nature and lack of respect for protocol and political niceties. Vila was a very talented pilot and proved to be quite capable with a blaster upon her return to Naldar, but was deeply shaken by taking a life for the first time. It was only upon her death that she realized that being a Jedi was her dream as well, not just her brother's—acting quickly in her final moments to save Flint's life, Vila was pleased to have acted in a way that a true Jedi would have, and Luke Skywalker noted that she would have made a natural Jedi.[1]

Behind the scenes[]

Vila appeared in Star Wars 92, written by Mary Jo Duffy, illustrated by Jan Duursema and released in 1984.[1]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

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