Mici Shabandar

Mici Shabandar was a Human woman who was an operative of the Rebel Alliance. Alongside Luke Skywalker and the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, Shabandar was part of a team under the command of Princess Leia Organa during a mission to steal the Staraker, an Imperial prototype starship under development on Foundry.

While Organa and Skywalker triggered an intruder alert to distract many of the stormtroopers in the construction facility, Shabandar set up another diversion. Disguised as a computer techno with her "two maintenance droids," Shabandar presented the launch bay guards with forged identification as a systech level 7 with Staraker clearance epsilon-omega. Before the stormtrooper could verify her I.D. with security central, the astromech R2-D2 pretended to malfunction and sprayed foam to interfere with the stormtrooper's sight and scanners. Shabandar seized a blaster rifle and struck three stormtroopers with it, knocking them off-balance and unable to call for reinforcements before Skywalker and Organa shot them. Organa then ordered her team into the Staraker while she acted as rear guard. Unlike Skywalker, who argued with their leader, Shabandar immediately ran for the ship. As the two Humans raced for the ramp, followed by the droids, Skywalker told the group to be fast as they got the ship ready for take-off; Shabandar commented that they had not forgotten since stealing it was why they were there.

After hasty preparations to ready the ship, Shabandar told Organa to run for the ramp while the other woman provided cover fire. The pair were overwhelmed by sheer numbers and a stun bolt felled the princess. Shouting for Skywalker to remain in the cockpit to pilot the ship, Shabandar got Organa into the airlock herself. She then protected Organa with her own body during the strong launch acceleration.

En route to Rebel Alliance headquarters, Organa thanked Shabandar for saving her life as Shabandar assisted R2-D2 with some adjustments. The ship's communicator alerted them to contact from General Dodonna, tasking them to divert to a dead planet, Alashan. The Alliance had lost contact with an archaeological station there as well as the scout team sent to investigate, and in their last transmission, the archaeologists had reported a "major discovery." Dodonna was concerned that it could be a weapon the Empire would seize first. He gave the Rebel team a new mission to Alashan.

After days of uneventful travel, Shabandar and the other Rebels reached Alashan and were soon attacked by TIE fighters. While Skywalker flew evasively, Shabandar and Organa used the Starakers guns to blast and destroy the TIE fighters. Shabandar believed the Imperial presence explained what happened to the archaeologists, but Skywalker questioned it. When the scanners detected further contact, Shabandar warned the others of an Imperial cruiser. Before the Rebels could act, it was destroyed by a beam of energy from Alashan's surface. Another beam struck the Staraker and its experimental shields barely held and the ship took significant damage, sending it tumbling towards the planet's surface.

Shabandar went aft to put out a fire with R2-D2's assistance. Just as Skywalker warned her to strap in before the ship hit the atmosphere, a computer panel exploded and hurled her against a bulkhead. Although Skywalker was able to bring the ship into a crash-landing, Shabandar was thrown again, suffering broken bones and internal injuries. She was barely breathing when Organa discovered her. Unable to bring the other woman to a hospital, Organa told R2-D2 to activate his medical memory sub-bank.

Guided by R2-D2 with C-3PO translating, Organa began the operation by setting Shabandar's broken bones, but her lifesigns were critically low and she still had internal bleeding. Skywalker, who had meditated in preparation for his role, followed Organa's directions as he used his lightsaber to cauterize Shabandar's wounds without causing additional damage. Eventually, her bleeding stopped and her lifesigns stabilized.

With Shabandar still unconscious but out of immediate danger, Organa and Skywalker discussed what to do. The Staraker had become buried in lava that cooled and hardened around it. Skywalker set out to find a way to the surface, while Organa and the droids remained with Shabandar. The princess surfaced after Skywalker encountered a group of Imperials led by Major Wil'm Grau, and in part due to Shabandar's need for further medical attention, the enemies agreed to a truce.

After receiving medicine from an Imperial sergeant, Shabandar was conscious and no longer in pain, describing herself instead as being "in wonderland," but she grew fearful when Skywalker told her that he and Organa would be going with the Imperials to investigate the archaeological site; the droids would remain with her. She expressed her fear of dying alone and Skywalker hugged her, consoling her as C-3PO observed the display and wondered what it was like to have emotions that caused pain.

As the unexplained energy beam activated again, C-3PO warned Shabandar of approaching explosions. She suspected that whoever shot them down intended to finish them off. Even though she had not yet recovered from her injuries and she was terrified, she grabbed her blaster with her shaking hands and prepared to face whatever was breaking into the ship. R2-D2, detecting an energy-field approaching, shocked Shabandar into temporary bio-stasis. C-3PO thought his counterpart had killed her and demanded an explanation. A clawed sentinel entered and picked up Shabandar, but soon dropped her and left her behind with the droids because it detected no signs of life aboard the vessel. After apologizing for yelling at R2-D2, C-3PO told him to revive Shabandar at once.

Days later, Shabandar was conscious when the repaired Staraker departed from Alashan with Major Grau and Anarine, although the Imperials soon jettisoned to return to the Empire. The Rebels had not succeeded in acquiring the technology of Alashan, but neither had the Imperials.

Mici Shabandar had brown skin and black hair with a tightly curled texture that she wore in a rounded style. She also had a widow's peak and prominent cheekbones. R2-D2 trusted her to perform service modifications on him.

Shabandar was capable of droid maintenance and using guns in ship-to-ship combat. She was skilled at using a blaster.

On Foundry, Shabandar wore coveralls with high-heeled boots and tied her hair back with a bandana. While in space afterward, she wore a pair of dangling earrings, large bangle bracelets, and four thick, stacked necklaces that covered her neck.

Mici Shabandar first appeared in Star Wars Weekly 107, the beginning of the "World of Fire!" storyline in the comic book series Star Wars Weekly. The issue was written by Chris Claremont with art by Carmine Infantino and Gene Day, and it was cover dated for March 12, 1980.

Shabandar appeared on the cover of the April 16 issue Star Wars Weekly 112. While the interiors for her appearances were in black-and-white, the cover depicted her with brown skin. However, when the issues in which she appeared were reprinted in the 1982 paperback Star Wars 2: World of Fire, the front and back cover artwork instead portrayed her skin as light as Leia Organa's.