Cinta Kaz

For other uses, see Kaz.

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"I told you upfront the struggle will always come first. We take what's left. I'm a mirror, Vel. You love me because I show you what you need to see."

―Cinta Kaz, to Vel Sartha^[6]

Cinta Kaz was a human female who was a member of the rebel network operated by Luthen Rael in resistance to the Galactic Empire. At some point, Kaz's entire family were killed by stormtroopers. Kaz became a member of a team that fellow rebel, and Kaz's eventual lover, Vel Sartha led on a mission to break into the armory of the garrison on Aldhani and steal an Imperial sector's quarterly payroll of more than 80 million credits. Another member of that team, Cassian Andor, had been recruited by Rael within days of the mission. During the mission, Kaz shot the Imperial Colonel Soden Petigar and held Commandant Jayhold Beehaz's wife and son hostage to force his cooperation. Although the theft was successful, the only survivors of the mission were Kaz, Sartha, and Andor.

When Andor became a loose end who could reveal too much if the Empire captured him, Kaz was tasked with killing him and went to Ferrix, his adopted homeworld. She rented a room where she awaited his return while he was incarcerated on Narkina 5, and she eventually took a job at Nicola's café to keep watch on his family home and his adoptive mother, Maarva Andor. On Kaz's behalf, Sartha relayed a message for Rael that Maarva had died. Though Cassian came during the funeral, he evaded detection by Kaz as well as the Imperial Security Bureau agents that had hoped to capture him. As Kaz exited from an ensuing riot, she stabbed ISB Attendant Corv, then packed up her room with Sartha's assistance.

Biography[]

Preparations[]

"A blaster burn. It needs to be cleaned. Apologies in advance. It's going to hurt. We're trying to save our pain meds."

―Cinta Kaz, to the wounded Cassian Andor^[1]

Cinta Kaz was a human female whose entire family had been killed by stormtroopers.^[4] At some time, she became romantic partners with Vel Sartha,^[7] a Chandrilan woman who had a privileged upbringing and was the cousin of Senator Mon Mothma.^[8] Kaz and Sartha were both part of a rebel network operated by Luthen Rael.^[5]

In 5 BBY,^[9] she was part of a rebel team led by Sartha. The team's mission was stealing the quarterly payroll of an Imperial sector by breaking into the armory of the Aldhani Garrison on the planet Aldhani.^[1] Kaz would eventually learn that her companion Taramyn Barcona was a former stormtrooper, but she was able to cooperate with him nonetheless.^[4]

A complication arose three days before the heist when Rael delivered Cassian Andor to Sartha and demanded that she add him to the group for redundancy. Kaz and her companions were skeptical when Sartha brought Andor to their camp, but they began bringing him up to speed with their plans. Using her medical skills, Kaz treated a blaster burn on Andor's arm. Since the group was saving their pain medications, she warned him that it would hurt.^[1]

TheAxeForgets-AndorS1E5 — Cinta Kaz and Vel Sartha see a threat.

The next morning, Arvel Skeen shared his impressions of Kaz with Andor, and he added that Kaz was already sharing a blanket as she and Sartha exited a hut together. When Taramyn Barcona drilled Andor, Skeen, and Karis Nemik on marching in formation, Kaz spotted an approaching TIE fighter and raised the warning, giving the team enough time to hide their weapons before the starfighter flew over them. Afterward, as the group packed up their camp, Kaz quizzed Andor on the Aldhani phrases he had learned thus far from the datapad supplied by Barcona.^[7]

When Kaz learned that Sartha already knew and had not told her that Andor was a mercenary, Kaz was displeased. Around the campfire that evening, the group passed around a canteen. When Andor held it out to Kaz, Sartha stepped between them, intercepted it, and drank a toast to the rebellion. The team then split in two for their separate objectives; Sartha and Kaz left together.^[7]

The heist[]

"Tell me you'll be all right."
"I'll be fine. Go."

―Vel Sartha and Cinta Kaz^[4]

Andor, Barcona, Nemik, and Skeen entered the garrison disguised in Imperial military uniforms, but Kaz and Sartha used stealth to approach from behind the Aldhani dam. They first hid within a stone overhang along the reservoir's edge as they confirmed radio contact with the other team. Kaz quickly silenced Sartha when she realized several patrolling soldiers were approaching their hideout; Sartha stopped Kaz from drawing her blaster pistol on them. Under the cover of the Eye of Aldhani event, they dove into the water and then climbed a ladder on the dam's wall. Sartha placed scrambling equipment that they would use to disrupt Imperial communications. When the time came to confirm to Barcona via radio that the mission would proceed, Sartha initially froze while Kaz urged her to stop stalling and respond in the affirmative. They descended on cables from the top of the dam.^[4]

In the tower base room, the infiltration group captured a guard, Commandant Jayhold Beehaz, his wife, and his young son, along with the visiting Colonel Petigar, who threatened to shoot Nemik if the team did not release the child. Kaz ended the standoff upon her arrival by shooting and killing Petigar. She then held her blaster rifle to the child's head as Beehaz was forced to cooperate. The hostages, bound and gagged, were brought up to the observation tower. Nemik reviewed various functions on the control panels with Kaz before she took charge of the hostages while the rest of the team carried out the theft. Before they parted, Sartha held Kaz's hand and asked for assurance that Kaz would be all right; Kaz answered that she would.^[4]

During the next minutes, Nemik commed Kaz to confirm the team made it to the freighter and that the Alkenzi Air Base was expected to make contact soon. She had just dressed herself in one of the garrison's uniforms when the call came through from Alkenzi wing command. After checking the time, she turned off the facility's lights while the hostages looked on. She exited in disguise to approach^[4] the Nasma Brani, a sacred temple^[10] where the Dhani pilgrims and their Imperial escorts were viewing the Eye.^[4]

Assignment on Ferrix[]

"Haven't we been apart long enough?"
"It's not about us."
"After what we've been through?"
"You think the Empire stops to catch its breath? This is a fight to the death, Vel."

―Vel Sartha and Cinta Kaz^[6]

Vel and cinta ferrix — Cinta Kaz and Vel Sartha reunite on Ferrix.

In response to the heist, the Imperial Security Bureau launched an investigation and arrested many of the Dhani residents. Kaz was preparing to ride a speeder bike when an Imperial Star Destroyer flew over the sacred valley. Sartha initially journeyed to Coruscant while Kaz embarked on their new assignment: kill Cassian Andor to silence him.^[5]

The couple reunited on Andor's adopted homeworld, Ferrix, where Andor's adoptive mother, Maarva Andor, lived in the family residence. From Nicola's, a café across the street, Sartha observed the home and two of Andor's friends, Bix Caleen and Brasso, while waiting for Kaz to rejoin her. Kaz's drink had gone cold in the meantime, but she had located a nearby room available for rent. Although Sartha thought they could not stay, Kaz said that she herself could; one would draw less attention than two. Sartha was hurt at the idea of being separated from each other again, but Kaz was adamant that the Empire did not rest and it was not about them. When Sartha questioned who Kaz would pretend to be, Kaz made a pointed remark about being a rich girl running away from her family, reflecting Sartha's own situation. Taking Sartha's hand, Kaz reminded her girlfriend that they had begun their relationship knowing the struggle would always come first for her.^[6]

Kaz remained on Ferrix to continue watching and waiting for news of Andor while monitoring Imperial movements at Hotel Rix seized as the Ferrix garrison's headquarters. She surveilled the hotel with a camera and electrobinoculars kept in her rented room^[11] and blended in among the locals.^[12] An attendant for the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB), Corv, also pretended to be a civilian, which Kaz noticed.^[13] Aware that he was ISB, she kept a close eye on him from her room^[11]and when he visited Nicola's, which they both used to observe the Andor home. She took a job there in the week before Maarva Andor's death. When Andor died, Kaz notified Sartha, who in turn relayed the information to Kleya Marki, Rael's partner in business and rebellion. Cassian's mother's funeral was expected to draw him back home.^[12]

Although Kaz intended to pick Sartha up upon arrival on the planet, ISB Supervisor Dedra Meero had also arrived and walked the city with Corv as her guide. In Kaz's rush to follow them, she was unsure if she had left her room locked; Sartha let herself in to wait for her. The movements from the Imperials signaled that they were also anticipating Andor. Kaz still had a hard focus on the mission, but when Sartha asked her to come away from the window, she softened and did so.^[11]

As the time of the funeral neared, Kaz kept watch on Maarva Andor's home while Sartha met with Luthen Rael and informed him of Kaz's observations. With the Imperials expected to bring Cassian Andor to the hotel if captured, Rael wanted Kaz positioned there instead. The funeral became a riot and people began fleeing from it. Kaz tailed Corv through the crowd, but when he spotted and recognized her, she moved back into a doorway and let him get close enough to stab him through his ribcage, then closed the door to hide where he had fallen. Afterwards, she returned to her room to pack up her surveillance equipment with Sartha. Sartha was concerned that Corv's blood on Kaz's hand was an injury; after Kaz said it was not her own, they resumed packing.^[11]

Personality and traits[]

"Then there's Cinta. Cinta Kaz. She's stone cold and fearless. Probably the toughest one here. She's already sharin' a blanket, if that's what you're wonderin'."

―Arvel Skeen, describing Cinta Kaz to Cassian Andor^[7]

Cinta Kaz had long black hair, brown skin, and brown eyes. At the time of the Aldhani mission,^[1] she was around mid-twenties in age.^[14] Vel Sartha^[6] and Arvel Skeen both described her as cold; the latter also regarded her as tough and fearless.^[7]

In her relationship with Sartha, while Sartha sought assurances regarding Kaz's well-being^[4] and found time apart to be difficult, Kaz considered it necessary and prioritized the rebellion over her personal life and relationships.^[6] However, she was willing to break her intense focus when Sartha expressed vulnerability to her.^[11]

Skills and abilities[]

"How's your arm?"
"It's good. You're a healer."

―Cinta Kaz and Cassian Andor^[7]

Kaz had medical skills that included cleaning and dressing wounds^[1] and she had sufficient knowledge of the Aldhani language to drill others.^[7] She was proficient with blasters and at diving and abseiling.^[4]

Equipment[]

During her assignments, Kaz dressed to blend in with residents. On Aldhani, she wore the fleece-lined garb of a shepherd^[1] until the heist began; then, she used practical equipment that included a wetsuit while diving and an Imperial uniform as a disguise.^[4] While on Ferrix, Kaz dressed in a green, quilted shirt and other local attire^[12] and carried a knife that she could easily conceal.^[11]

Behind the scenes[]

"She was written as someone who doesn't speak a lot, but when she does, she holds a presence. I think Vel […] was described in the script as someone who is physically powerful and commanding, and Cinta is the one who looks meek, and may not be capable of violence. So it's a shock when people see her in action, which also ties into the ideology of women slipping under the radar."

―Varada Sethu on portraying Cinta Kaz^[15]

Andor - Cinta Kaz Poster — Character poster of Cinta Kaz

Cinta Kaz was portrayed by Varada Sethu and debuted in "Aldhani," the fourth episode of the television series Andor^[1] and the start of a three-episode arc directed by Susanna White.^[15] Writer Tony Gilroy said no one at Lucasfilm Ltd. was against Kaz and Vel Sartha's relationship, though no one told him to include it. Gilroy did not want the relationship to be performative in any way.^[16] 2023 Topps Star Wars card for Kaz stated her homeworld was Aldhani,^[17] which Pablo Hidalgo confirmed was a mistake.^[18]

In an interview with The Hindu, Sethu described how the actors portraying the rebel team prepared by reading books and watching documentaries recommended by White about real-life rebellions and conflicts. Eileen MacDonald's Shoot the Women First inspired aspects of Cinta and how Sethu portrayed her; it described how women who say little and do not appear physically powerful may slip under the radar before violent action. Based on the line about stormtroopers slaughtering Cinta's family, Sethu imagined the character might have survived a genocide.^[15] Scenes on Aldhani were filmed at the Cruachan Dam and the surrounding mountains in the Scottish Highlands.^[19] According to Faye Marsay, Sartha's actress, the scenes were filmed during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[20]