Shada D'ukal

Do you know Shada D'ukal? She can be very disarming.Han Solo

Shada D'ukal was a deceptively decorative-looking mercenary from a mysterious militaristic order of female warriors known as the Mistryl Shadow Guard.

Biography

Shada had come from a family with several uncles. She joined the Shadow Guard in 3 BBY^[5]. In 0 BBY,^[6] Shada was a member of the six-person Shadow Guard team led by Manda D'ulin and approached by the scientists working on the Hammertong project to guard a prototype of the second Death Star's superlaser. When the mission went wrong, Shada and her friend and comrade Karoly D'ulin stole the Strike Cruiser being used to transport the prototype, and escaped to Tatooine, where they posed as the Tonnika sisters in an effort to hire a freighter to help take a section of the device back to Emberlene.^[1]

Tonnika1 — Shada disguised as Brea Tonnika in Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina

By 8 ABY, Shada was traveling the galaxy aboard the freighter The Fury with Mistryl trainee Dunc T'racen, when the pair of them were caught up in a complex con run by Ghitsa Dogder and Fenig Nabon. After this, Shada became bodyguard for the smuggler chief Mazzic. In this job, she appeared with plaited hair and a blank expression—until trouble started. Then she was all business, throwing enameled zenji needles with lethal accuracy and using her more-than-capable combat skills to protect the smuggler chief.

She was present at the meeting on Trogan where she defended Mazzic and later at the meeting on Hijarna where she assisted at the formation of the Smugglers' Alliance.^[4]

Mazzic and Shada — Mazzic and his bodyguard Shada D'ukal

In 19 ABY, Shada prevented Karoly from assassinating Mazzic, and came under punishment from the Eleven who led the Mistryl. She left Mazzic's employment to avoid the Mistryl hunter teams, seeking to join up with the New Republic. Instead, Leia Organa Solo offered Shada's services to Talon Karrde, who was heading into the Kathol sector to locate a copy of the Caamas Document. Shada accompanied him, and the two grew fond of each other. When Karrde located information that revealed the truth about the fake Grand Admiral Thrawn, Shada was there to stop the cloned Major Grodin Tierce from killing Gilad Pellaeon and a Mistryl leader, Paloma D'asima. As a result the hunter teams were called off and Shada officially joined Karrde's new joint intelligence organization, taking the role of Karrde's unofficial second in command that had been open since Mara Jade left the organization.

During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Shada continued to serve as Karrde's lieutenant and business-partner. She assisted in transporting Jedi Initiates from Yavin 4 to Coruscant. There were rumors that she had passed on details of the Hammertong device to Karrde, allowing Booster Terrik to mount a superlaser aboard the Errant Venture.

Behind the scenes

Model Christine Hewett played Shada D'ukal in the guise of Brea Tonnika.^[7] In the short story "You Owe Me a Ride," it was revealed that Karoly and Shada are Brea and Senni Tonnika in the canon Star Wars continuity.