Background
Zola is the daughter of a very poor Togruta clan. Born in the north outer rim on a colony, she was a kit in a big litter. Not so much a runt, but one of many mouths to feed. She came to live in neglect, a strange thing for a pack-borne species. Zola can't remember if her parents actively tried to deny her food. She DID remember that when a Jedi knight saw potential in her 3-year-old self, her packmother tried to sell her for about 600 credits. Just to make it worth the knight's while.
That stuck with her to Coruscant and beyond.
Her master, and her parental figure from that point on, was Mani. Mani Ekhai, the knight errant, a shy and soft-spoken man with deep convictions. He was a psychologist and a sociologist, none of which Zola could even fathom growing up. Mani articulated the light and the dark sides of the Force from the perspective of the average person. What drives people to love and to fear, to hate and to embrace one another. The finer details eluded Zola, but she understood the core things Mani railed against: the difference between intention and action. The virtue of stopping fights before they start, of righting wrongs that go unaddressed in the Galaxy. Where Mani's intelligence fed a thoughtful exploration of people and spirituality, Zola trained to put that exploration to practice. She could put a finger on the scale and help little girls like her who didn't have a place. All it took was using the dark side in others. Mani told her the danger - that using the dark side against itself was a tantamount to falling - but did his best to teach her the fundamentals. For he knew it was useless to convince her otherwise. Zola had buried conflict, and to deny it here with blanket disapproval would only breed resentment. The best he could do with what he had taught her was to hone her emotions to a razor's edge. To fuel the fire of justice's hand with patience, respect, and some semblance of love.
The Zola that came out of this strange tutelage is a Jedi through and through, but also an actor and a crime fighter. While not academically intelligent, she reads people well and understands quickly. An important quality to have for what she found herself doing. Mani pitched in for Zola with Ord Mantell's bureau of investigations in the final years of padawan training, letting her take on missions as a special deputy. Honed mind and honed body were put to practice scaring the poodoo out of petty criminals and bagging those who the courage to stand and fight. Zola finally felt accomplished. Felt like she was doing something important for the galaxy.
But not enough of something to do forever. There were bigger things, more... pressing things that could pull Zola into their orbits, things she could do something about. Knighting expanded her horizons, on the eve of the Separatist crisis.
Maybe Geonosis is just the thing she was looking for.
Motivation
Conflict //
Professional
Zola's upbringing shaped her mind in ways she is just beginning to really articulate. Even as a Jedi, violence and the threat of it are her primary tools to shape the galaxy around her. She firmly believes she can adjust the scales of justice this way - and that her outlook has given her a firm weight to judge the guilty upon. She is a warrior, a fighter, and a killer through and through.
Morality
Dedication //
Obsession
Psychological warfare is a little more to Zola than going boo. Digging into the phobias and fears of her quarry is a lurid process, often requiring some intense focus on method acting. This makes anyone's experience partnering with Zola harrowing, to put it bluntly.
This isn't to say Zola can't be friendly and bubbly in the right places. She just... gets deep into her work.
Description
Female, 24, 5'9", Athletic, Brown-white tails and shaggy hair, Yellowish-white Eyes
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Notable features: Extensive tattooing; frequent use of body paint in combat.