Luthen Rael

Luthen Rael was the name adopted by Lear, a human male spymaster who led a covert network during the time of the Galactic Empire. Lear was originally an Imperial Army trooper sergeant forced to commit atrocities before he deserted in around 18 BBY, in the process rescuing a young war orphan whom he named Kleya Marki. A decade later, he had become an antique dealer who owned Galactic Antiquities and Objects of Interest on the galactic capital of Coruscant, though the gallery was a front for his spy network. Alongside Marki, Rael secretly collaborated with others figures, such as Senator Mon Mothma and militant Saw Gerrera to oppose the Empire.

By 5 BBY, Rael had built a network of many operatives and had tasked the rebel Vel Sartha with leading an infiltration team to rob the Imperial garrison on the planet Aldhani, where the quarterly payroll for an entire sector was being kept. Days before the operation, Rael received word from a contact on the planet Ferrix and traveled to meet them. There, Rael recruited the human Cassian Andor, rescuing him from Preox-Morlana security forces. Rael then sent Andor to join the Aldhani team. The operation was successful, and Rael celebrated the victory back on Coruscant.

Following the conflict on Ferrix, ISB Supervisor Dedra Meero became interested in the mystery individual who had aided Andor, identifying them as a rebel leader responsible for the theft of several pieces of valuable Imperial technology across the galaxy. Code-named "Axis" by the ISB, Rael became a high-priority target for Meero. Rael continued his operations, attempting to work with various scattered rebel groups across the galaxy, including Saw Gerrera's Partisans and another group helmed by Anto Kreegyr. The rebel leader attempted to recruit Gerrera to support Kreegyr's attack on the Spellhaus Imperial power station but eventually learned from his secret mole inside the ISB, Lonni Jung, that the Empire had learned of Kreegyr's plan and had set a trap for his forces. However, rather than save Kreegyr's men and raise suspicion of Jung's secret allegiance, Rael decided to sacrifice Kreegyr's group and preserve Jung's safety inside the ISB.

In the wake of Andor's disappearance upon completion of the Aldhani heist, Rael had Sartha and her partner Cinta Kaz track him down. When Andor returned to Ferrix for the funeral of his mother Maarva, Rael traveled there as well. After an uprising began, fueled by passionate posthumous remarks from Maarva, Andor followed Rael to his ship and pledged himself to the rebellion.

After Mothma established the Alliance to Restore the Republic on Yavin 4, Rael was left alone on Coruscant. When Meero finally tracked him down in 1 BBY, Rael attempted to commit suicide rather than be captured. Despite Imperial authorities medically stabilizing Rael for future interrogation, Marki eventually assisted in allowing his death.

In the end, Luthen Rael would not live to see the culmination of his life's work as he himself correctly believed. Nevertheless, the rebellion Rael helped to create ultimately proved to be a success when the Empire that he despised so passionately was eventually defeated.

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