A Question: Why Nataasi Daala?

I'll admit I didn't read the last novel in the Legacy series. But I read quite a bit on Wookieepedia. So, I know about the absence of niathal thing. But why would they have chosen a former Imperial for the highest office in the New Republic?

Wasn't there any other choice?

 

I think it was Karen Traviss who wanted a former Imperial Officer who was female in charge.

Then some fan recommended Daala.

That may be an urban legend though.

 

Honestly, everyone's still wondering the same thing.

 

Karen wanted a former Imperial who was loyal to Pellaeon because the Moff Council had decayed in his time away and he'd want someone to cover his back. She only intended for Daala to be...well, a mercenary or private military contractor, essentially. She asked me and I gave her the primary sources for Daala. She wanted someone who the Moffs would actually be worried about because they'd be a wild card, and Daala's habit of gassing people who don't agree with her politically sort of works with that.

The fact that no one knew what Daala had in terms of a fleet was part of the whole idea. She'd been a small-time merc on the fringes of the galaxy fighting wars no one knew about and using hit and run tactics against the Vong during that war. Traviss had nothing to do with the CoS role, AFAIK.

Karen came up with the idea that the Moffs had been hunting her for a long time, and had killed her husband and wounded her, so she'll follow Gil and the principles of Empire in general terms, but mostly she's just for a more orderly galaxy at this age.

 

In universe it seems pretty insane but I guess you can rationalize it.

The leader chosen needed to be a strong personality at this point in history. The Alliance wanted to keep the Imperials inside the tent as the entire alliance looked pretty fragile at this point. Seeing the Remnant withdraw support would be bad. Jag Fel can only do so much to keep the others on board. By putting Daala in charge you have someone that shares imperial ideals but isn't completely sympathetic to the Empire.

Not to mention, because of the lack of any political leaders that were willing to stand up to Jacen Solo without defecting to the confederacy means there aren't too many strong personalities in the political arena right now. Niathal eventually stood up to him but she was Solo's accomplish for most of the war which shoot her credibility out the window.

The situation is bizarre no doubt and creating a new character entirely may have been the better choice.

 

Daala may have been selected because her character fit the role of the GFFA President in the FOTJ series (which may be clearer in hindsight once the series is done).

 

Yeah but she just retained Fett and company to kill like half the Moff Council, why would they like her at all?

I actually really liked Karen Traviss's take on Daala in Revelation. She was still a sadistic revenge monger who just happened to be on the right side of things due to her loyalty to Pellaeon. Her rise to the highest office in the Galactic Alliance took place in Invincible and does seem very forced.

Someone mentioned in another thread that former Imperials are running the galaxy now. Turr Phennir with the Confederation, Daala with the GA and Jag(if he can be called a former Imperial) with the Empire. It's a strange twist indeed.

 

EDIT: Whoops, sorry, thought I was still in the Outcast thread.

 

Problem is what Daala is doing NOW, and I will say no more as I am spoiled.

 

As someone else (who I forget) pointed out a while ago... her name is Natasi Daala.

Read her first name backwards (which was only first revealed to us in REVELATION, appropriately named as it revealed Daala's survival).

Natasi

nataS,I

I, Satan

I'm sure the authors are conciously stirring the pot and creating fan outrage by making Daala into the Chief of State.

 

In universe, not really. Niathal was completely discredited due to her association with Jacen, and Bwua'tu didn't want the job, nor did Luke/Leia/any other character that might be qualified for it. The current-standing G.A. Senators were likely too tied to the government for them to be a politically viable choice (assuming likely candidates Releqy A'kla and Triebakk wanted anything to do with the Alliance after Jacen). Daala did want the job, and was a hero after the war (at least to the common person IU), so she got it.

Admittedly it's a bad choice when taking into account what the readers know, but the interesting thing is that Daala's worst actions (taking the Sun Crusher and blasting the NR to kingdom come and crashing the Star Destroyer onto Coruscant) weren't, as far as I know, ever revealed to the galaxy as a whole, and I'm not sure whether the New Republic allowed the destruction of the Eol Sha colonists to leak into the public sphere.

Every other action (the far more publicized ones) were technically assaults on legitimate military targets (with the exception of Khomm, and even that had accepted Jedi Knights and therefore technically broken its neutrality). In fact, in the anti-Jedi climate after the Second GCW, Daala's attack on Yavin 4 may have been seen as a good thing by a lot of the common people, and given what Sue said on TOS, they seem to be taking the track that Daala's recent actions overshadowed her past actions in the public's mind--something that isn't unheard of in our world.

Also, given that almost 25 years passed between Daala's last assault and her appointment as COS, it remains extremely possible that her character did change for the better during those years. Basically all we know of what she was doing in that time was 1) dodging Imperial assassins and 2) defending worlds the New Republic couldn't be bothered to defend against the Yuuzhan Vong. It is extremely possible (even, I would argue, a near-certainty) that upon her appointment to COS or even before, Daala used the goodwill from these efforts during the Vong War to bolster her power base far beyond merely using the Maw Irregular Fleet.

So long story short, to me at least, Daala's appointment makes some in-universe sense. Yeah, it's convoluted, but I think the same can be said of pretty much all politics.

 

The problem is that nothing about Daala would make anyone want to appoint her to the highest political office in the galaxy. Even if the galaxy forgot about her terrorist activities, her stint guarding the installation that perfected the Death Star's design should have negated any political credibility she might have. The Empire hated her, the New Republic hated her, and she was most often portrayed as being koo koo bananas.

Why did this question need to come up again? Being reminded that this actually happened makes my poor little brain hurt.

TC

 

By the Force... he's right!

 

This was my first instincct after reading INVINCIBLE...

Is it mere coincidence that two important red-haired Imperial women happened to just "disapppear" for decades, and both return "from the dead" within the same year?

I am talking about Daala and LUMIYA.

Is it coincidence that Lumiya instigates a war... which Daala happens to enter on the winning side right near the end, to be rewarded with the control of the Galactic Alliance?

Natasi Daala, the lover of Tarkin anc creator of superweapons in the Maw, being held in honor by Luke Skywalker for demanding the Jedi's obedience to her?

Luke did always have a soft spot for red-haired Imperial women, though. His girlfriend Shira/Lumiya, his wife Mara Jade...

Is this all a coincidence?

Hmmm...

 

The Cylon 6 Model is called Natasi in the books . . .

 

Natasi Daala,... I, Satan,... and a Cylon 6 model...

and that reminds me again of the FAKE-PEOPLE Seff & Valin see.

 

Fake people?

 

Only in the novelization of the miniseries. The other books felt free to ignore it and stayed consistent with the show as a result.

 

The way I see it, DR had no idea how to end LOTF properly but they had an awesome idea for a new series so wrote Invincible for that. I think I remember Sue saying something like they needed a new CoS and Daala fit the role they wanted. But my theory is Daala will SHOCK EVERYONE by becoming evil again and no one IU could see it coming. We need a new CoS by the end of the series. I recomend Nas Choka. He wasn't so bad. And he was a good dancer

 

I just thought it was coincidental when I noticed it last night, looking up the Galactica novelisation. It's not like Natasi is a common name... unless it is over there? I dunno, you northern hemispherians are a strange lot...

Only just realised the political terrorist Zarek was Apollo decades ago! Funny! I saw some youtube clips of the old series for the first time. Zelda's blonde dye, those spacefight effects are CORNY! Apollo and Starbuck strafed a massive Basestar, shot a few guns, and caused "heavy damage?"

If Baltar calls that acting I'm a turnip called Fuffles!

 

Yeah, I've never met anyone named that in my life. Does have an unpleasant ring to it, doesn't it?

 

I don't know how it would work with established continuity (the Post-RotJ time period isn't really my domain) but I think the willingness with which the GA accept Daala would be aided a great deal if it turned out she'd, I don't know, done some really (war) heroic stuff during the YV invasion.

It would also help if all the main characters of FotJ have already confronted her (during the YV war) over her evil/insane deeds and whatnot, which would go a little towards explaining why they're not doing it now somuch.

Maybe she'll be a player in the comics?

Or we could just accept that she's been retconned?

Though, while I don't blame you (or anything silly like that) for where they went with Daala, Patch, in hindsight, man, I wish you'd suggested another Imperial. (Not that I would have any ideas, Post-RotJ and all that)

If I have a daughter, I'm going to try and sneak it in as a middle name.

Not because of Daala, mind you.

 

No, his suggestion was a great one. I just wish the other LotF folks had also consulted Patch. "Hey, Patchman, I want to run something by you: Daala elected COS at the last minute. Does that make sense? Yeah, Anderson's Daala. The one who guarded the Maw, uh huh. Planned to destroy every system in the New Republic, yup. The one Karen's bringing back as a rogue pirate. Leader of the free galaxy. Yeah, that's the idea. Why are you laughing?"

TC

 

"In hindsight" was meant to be imply "in light of what eventually happened with the character".

I wouldn't have had a problem with a "Space Pirate Daala" and no CoS election.

 

That actually is a rather good idea. Even if it was only a minor 3 or 4 issue or something, having her do something heroic would make the whole situation seem less weird. It's not like they'd need to write an entire book on it: just have her do one little thing. Then the rest we could just use our imaginations.

So... the entire GA have been replaced by fake people and the "crazy" Jedi are really the only sane people left?

Yeah, I know that isn't quite what you meant. Or, I assume not at least. I haven't read Outcast yet so I don't really know anymore than the blurbs. Still, if she ever wins an election, then it means it isn't just her but the whole of Coruscant that are androids.

Actually, all this talk of Cylon copies is oddly suspicious. I remember how I put forward a rather screwball suggestion months ago about a Silentium invasion... Silentium could actually be kind of Cylonish. Though I don't understand the Jacen connection, unless the idea was that he woke up the Silentium equivalent of Zonama Sekot, and has now put the Galaxy at risk of being blocked off from the Force like the Yuuzhan Vong were.

Which would actually be rather clever... as it'd mean this whole Sith tribe stuff is just a total misdirection like the One Sith were in LOTF, and could only be there because both the Jedi and the Sith are at risk if the GFFA suffered the same fate as the Vong's galaxy.

Meh... I'll quit talking else I'm going to get my hopes up for something more creative than just more Sith as the bad guys. Although, a galactic entechment that somehow drained all life of the Force would be rather a lot like the Reapers in Mass Effect... but, then again, copying proven ideas from Mass Effect actually makes me think it's even more probable.