For the sake of preservation, I will be republishing/reuploading lost Star Wars content to my blog. There are other sites out there that already do this, but I'm always paranoid of data being lost, so... what's one more resource?
ALIENS IN THE EMPIRE
By Abel G. Pena and Rich Handley
Part I: The Hierarchy of Power
In his persona as both a politician and a Dark Lord, Emperor Palpatine rose to power abetted by many nonhumans, including his Sith apprentice Darth Maul, his trusted aides Sly Moore and Mas Amedda, and even his one-time kidnapper General Grievous. Palpatine's Sith Master was whispered to have been an emaciated Muun. Few could have predicted the dictator's institution of harsh anti-alien laws in his new Galactic Empire, but then, few were privy to his manipulation and subsequent abandonment of the Trade Federation, shattering the Neimoidians' entire power base. Some said Palpatine inherited the old-world prejudices perpetrated toward the Gungans on his homeworld Naboo, while others, still convinced the Emperor was only a figurehead, blamed the rise of "High Human Culture" not on Palpatine, but rather on his power-hungry human advisors and military officers.
Either explanation might have contained a grain of truth, but the more precise fact was that, as sovereign of a galaxy, the Emperor simply didn't care. For Palpatine, the fundamental divide wasn't between humans and aliens, but between the powerful and the weak. And overwhelmingly, it was humans that craved power by any means -- and at all costs.
One of the earliest known aliens to excel in Palpatine's xenophobic Empire was Grand Admiral Thrawn. Historically, Thrawn was painted as something of an enigma -- the lone alien to serve Palpatine after the fall of the Republic. However, the brilliant Chiss strategist was neither the only one, nor even the first. From mad scientists to lowly technicians, a handful of aliens managed to make their mark within the hierarchy of power that was Palpatine's Empire.
Mammon Hoole and Borborygmus Gog
Though they eventually became bitter enemies, the Shi'ido changelings Mammon Hoole and Borborygmus Gog started out as ambitious colleagues at the Chandrilan Academy of Sciences sharing a mutual interest in genetics. After the academy, Hoole went on to study among Lur and Ithor's renowned geneticists, while Gog used his shape-shifting abilities to infiltrate the reclusive cloner ranks of Khomm and Kamino. The Shi'ido were then reunited as the newly appointed Supreme Chancellor Palpatine requested greater emphasis on controlled cloning research. Under the supervision of Palpatine's aide Sly Moore, Hoole and Gog were initially instructed to help the Republic's Ministry of Science develop countermeasures to biological attacks aimed at clones. However, the unparalleled breakthroughs produced by the two geniuses soon drew the attention of Palpatine himself. Moore specified the Chancellor's wish that the scientists undertake research into the spontaneous generation of life, and not just the genetic replication of it. Moore even provided a "volunteer" for their experiments: Niobi, a gentle and meek woman from backwater Bordal.
The prospect of creating life itself was too exciting for the scientists to get bogged down in moral considerations. Hoole and Gog's first attempt was rumored to have gone terribly wrong, resulting in the woman giving birth to a three-eyed mutant; mother and son were quickly spirited away by the Chancellor's confidant, Sarcev Quest. Blaming their failure on Moore's volunteer, the cocky scientists redoubled their efforts, this time using themselves as test subjects. They came to feel such confidence in their work that they even crossed their own genes with those of a Clawdite changeling, successfully stretching their natural Shi'ido shape-shifting abilities to radically atypical limits. Inspired by their progress, the Emperor had a special laboratory built for Hoole and Gog on the planet Kiva, where they made rapid advancement on their life-creating experiments.
But in their zeal, something again went horribly wrong in their experiments -- unleashing a plague that wiped out all life on Kiva. Unable to forgive himself for the atrocity, Hoole fled the Empire and the life he'd known. He instead became an anthropologist, dedicating himself to recording and preserving species' lives and cultures. Gog, on the other hand, regarded the catastrophe as just one more step toward fulfilling the Emperor's ultimate goal. Beginning the next phase of his research, Gog implemented Project Starscream, a horrific string of experiments that concluded when Gog created the first soldier of his Army of Terror -- an invincible monster capable of liquefying and devouring his victims.
With the help of his niece and nephew -- Tash and Zak Arranda -- Hoole ultimately foiled Gog's plans and was there to see the mad scientist betrayed and apparently killed by his own experiment. Hoole left Kiva, believing his former colleague dead, but knowing the wily scientist, it's quite possible the galaxy has not yet seen the last of Borborygmus Gog.
Cartariun
Festering among the darkest corners of the galaxy are places where few dare tread. Vjun, Garn, Korriban, the Hellhoop... all have one thing in common: As focal points for the dark side, they are repositories for great power -- evil power just waiting for the right mind to harness.
The fourth planet of the Malrev system is one such world. A vital dark side hub during the days of the New Sith Wars, Malrev IV housed several temples used by the Sith's dark acolytes. Most of those temples have since become lost to the ravages of time, but one stood sound for thousands of years. Emperor Palpatine, having discovered the existence of Malrev IV in the Sith archives, sent a construction team into the planet's forests to build an outpost so he could study the temple and augment his own powers. Among the construction team was a Devaronian male named Cartariun, who in private had always shown a mild penchant for using the Force. Cartariun had hidden that talent, having seen as a boy what had happened to the Jedi.
Shortly after the Battle of Endor, the base was abandoned when word of the Emperor's fall reached the Malrev team. Cartariun, however, remained behind to study the ways of the Sith, intent on becoming the next Dark Lord. What he did not know was that his mediocre skills had been augmented by the magics of the temple. Cartariun leaned to manipulate the minds of Marev's beast-like primitives, the Irrukiine, whom he trained to fly TIE fighters and fight so they could defend the temple for him. The Irrukiine mind was far too primitive to understand any of what Cartariun taught them, however, and without his guidance, they reverted to their natural animalistic state and immediately forgot what to do.
In the months following the Emperor's death, Rogue Squadron visited Malrev IV in search of a lost Bothan ship, the Starfaring, which had suffered a flaw in its navigational system. In search of a disciple, Cartariun used his newfound Sith magic to touch the minds of all the pilots and the surviving Bothans. In addition, he began capturing pilots for observation, beginning with Wedge Antilles. Rogue Squadron tried to rescue him and found themselves under attack by TIE fighters piloted by Irrukiine. Distracted, Cartariun inadvertently lost his hold on the beasts, causing them to crash and die. Wedge slipped away in the confusion, but Sullustan pilot Dllr Nep was drawn to Cartariun's power, which he perceifed as entrancing music. Dllr became an unwilling conduit for the temple's dark side power, but was able to resist.
Realizing the Sullustan's strength of will could ultimately prove dangerous, Cartariun decided to find another conduit. Moments later, he discovered just the mind he'd been searching for: a power-hungry Bothan named Girov Dza'tey, who'd murdered his own commander. An expert in the martial art of Jeswandi, Girov was someone whose thirst for personal power made him particularly suspectible to the allure of the Sith temple. The magics of the temple corrupted Girov's mind, influencing him to kill them both and take Cartariun's place as his apprentice. However, moments before death, Dllr made contact with the brain-damaged mind of Bith Rogue pilot Herian I'ngre. Guided by Dllr, Herian boarded an X-wing and flew it directly at the temple, killing herself and Dllr in the process.
Ampotem Za, the Suprema
Tall and thin, with a long snout and slanted eyes that gave him the appearance of a bipedal dragon, the towering reptilian Imperial officer known as the Supreme was an enigma whose origins were shrouded in myriad and inventive rumors. Some claimed he was an Imperial experiment, cooked up by scientists who'd crossed a gundark with a wild durkii and a dozen-and-a-half other species; others said he belonged to a race of saurian conquerors from the Unknown Regions and could breathe fire. The Suprema encouraged such fabrications, as they helped instill fear in his enemies.
The soldier's long-lived species, the Shimholt, has been rarely seen in the galaxy since a devastating Nelori incursion on their planet, Kar'a'katok, left his once-agarian and friendly people xenophobic and reclusive. The Shimholt put aside their farming tools and embraced the art of military self-defense, successfully repelling the Nelori Marauders. Angry at the government's failure to prevent the invasion, many demanded a change of leadership, and the democratic government soon fell in a coup staged by a fanatical religious faction. Once in power, the zealots launched an unprecedented effort to fortify the planet against invaders, decreeing Kar'a'katok closed to outsiders and making it a capital crime for any Shimholt to travel offworld. And thus, for 40 centuries, the Shimholt were all but forgotten.
That seclusion ended during an Imperial raid of the mist-enshrouded world, when the Shimholt known as Ampotem Za was injured and captured by the forces of Major Stafuv Rahz -- a grave dishonor for a species bound by such religious doctrine. Za managed to escape his Imperial captors and made his way back to Kar'a'katok, only to be shunned and exiled by his own people for allowing himself to be taken offworld. With nowhere to run, Za surrendered to Rahz, who took the prisoner-of-war to the Emperor. Recognizing an exploitable resource, Palpatine had the Shimholt brainwashed and trained in Trandoshan slaving techniques for over a year, and then put him to work.
Taking the name "Suprema", his title among his own people, Ampotem Za was installed as overlord of Mandalore with the objective of enslaving the population of the planet. Having seen Jango Fett and an army of his clones in action, the Emperor knew just how useful Mandalorians could be. As a trained and organizaed soldiery, the Mandalorians were now all but extinct, but many hardy specimens with raw talent remained among the planet's populace. The Suprema's task was to round them up for Imperial conscription.
His slavery ring on Mandalore proved especially successful for the Empire, for in only a few short months, nearly all remaining Mandalorians had been shackled in energy-links that bound their wrists and their souls. Among those captured was Tobbi Dala, a Mandalorian Protector with close ties to fellow Clone Wars survivor Fenn Shysa. The slaves were put to work inside a skeleton several stories high and 400 meters in length, which had been converted into a hard-labor penitentiary. The City of Bone was a carcass-prison, all that remained of a mythosaur unlucky enough to have crossed paths with ancient Mandalorian conquistadors. To the Mandalorian people, it was a constant reminder of the eventual death they face, both individually and as a race.
Shysa and Dala had been away from Mandalore on a prolonged mission for the Protectors. Horrified to find their people in shackles, they built a resistance movement to end the Imperial hold on their world. To that end, Dala infiltrated the prison with the intention of capturing the Suprema and forcing him to free their kinsmen. Upon Dala's capture, Shysa picked up where his comrade had left off.
Meanwhile, seeking clues to the whereabouts of the carbonitee-frozen Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa also found herself on Mandalore, hoping the bounty hunter Dengar might be able to provide information. Dengar was working for the slaving ring, and if he knew anything about Han, Leia was determined to make him talk.
With Dengar in chains, Leia and Fenn Shysa freed Tobbi Dala from the prison facility and stole a hovercraft. Shysa signaled his followers to attack, then shot the energy-link controls, freeing all the slaves. Leaving Dengar bound in the craft, they stormed the office of the Suprema, who shot Dala.
Furious, Shysa nearly beat the Shimholt officer to death. Dala lived, but he knew his wounds were fatal and bid his friend to leave him behind. As Leia and Shysa escaped with Dengar their prisoner, a pursuing hovercraft opened fire. Freed slaves returned the favor by tossing a gruel trough at the Imperial ship, causing it to crash. Dala donned his armor to die as a Mandalorian Protector, then opened the hangar doors for his friends to escape and closed them on the Imperial craft, dying to protect others as the Keldabe prison exploded. The Suprema and his entire squad of Imperial henchmen died in the resulting explosion.
Part II: To the Traitor Go The Spoils
Hethrir, Procurator of Justice
When the near-human Hethrir and his mate Riallo, both Force-sensitive Firrerreos, were discovered by Inquisitor Tremayne, they were tortured at length to confess all that they knew about the Jedi survivors of Order 66. Not being Jedi themselves, however, the couple had no information to impart. Sensing malleable prey, the Inquisitor brought the Firrerreos to Vader as prospective students.
Though Vader found Riallo had all the makings of a Jedi healer, Hethrir possessed Darth Sidious' rare talent to cast a dark side shadow over Force users, dulling their abilities. He was a powerful student and an ideal Imperial, absorbing humanocentric philosophies with obvious pleasure despite his own alien status. Emperor Palpatine, seeing in Hethrir a like-minded individual, named him the Imperial Procurator of Justice and, to prove his loyalty, directed him to eradicate the entire population of his homeworld, Firrerre. When Hethrir carried out the order with barely a second thought, Riallo fled in disgust with their unborn son. In stark contrast, the pleased Emperor bestowed upon Hethrir an artificial worldcraft capable of traveling through hyperspace. Swollen with pride, Hethrir named it Rebirth.
Though trained by Vader, Hethrir's ultimate loyalty was to power -- and that meant the Emperor. Before Palpatine was killed at the Battle of Endor, the Emperor had already introduced the Procurator to his vision of a dark empire he'd personally rule for a thousand years. Thus, in the power vacuum that followed Endor, Hethrir wasted no time putting a plan into motion, forming alliances with his rivals High Inquisitor Tremayne, Admiral Galak Fyyar and a number of wealthy Imperial nobles. Hethrir's Imperial remnant gained momentum while remaining invisible to both other Imperial warlords and the New Republic. The 10 years that followed were tumultuous, but nothing rivaled Hethrir's shock when summoned to the planet Byss to face a miraculously reborn Emperor Palpatine. Hethrir re-pledged his loyalty immediately, coming to understand Palpatine not as a man but as a vessel for the darkness of the universe, an avatar of the dark side itself.
With the reborn Emperor's final death, Hethrir believed the dark side had now chosen him as its new champion. Hethrir believed he was destined to lead an Empire Reborn for the next millennium. Though ignorant to the secret of immortality, he saw the opportunity to embrace this destiny with the coming of the Waru. While the resurrected Emperor had created destructive hyperspace wormholes with his dark powers, Hethrir's scientists had yanked a supernal being through one of the space-time distortions. A theoretically impossible, extra-dimensional slab of sentience with "anti-Force" abilities, this creature, called the Waru, was as contradiction incarnate. Unfazed, Hethrir took the most logical course of action: He cut a deal with the thing. The Procurator promised to feed the Waru a Force user strong enough to create a vortex back to the creature's own universe, and in exchange the Waru would complete Hethrir's dark side transfiguration, granting him immeasurable powers and life-everlasting.
Unfortunately, the Procurator of Justice ultimately couldn't come through on his end of the bargain. Not to be denied, the grotesque Waru betrayed Hethrir and consumed the dark sider. Hethrir, avatar of the dark side, was absolutely negated from existence... perhaps at last fulfilling his destiny.
Major Stafuv Rahz
The population of Hoszh Iszhir knows better than most what it's like to live on an inhospitable planet -- waterless deserts covering half the planet, a poisonous soup of an atmosphere shrouding the other half and everywhere deadly predators desperate to find food in such deplorable conditions. It's no wonder the dominant species on Hoszh Iszhir, the Gektls, are born survivors. To be otherwise on such a planet would surely result in a painful death.
Since the early days of the Old Republic, the reptilian Gektls have been highly regarded for their literature and artwork. Gektl painted eggs are among the most valued collectibles in the galaxy, not only for their extreme beauty, but also because each egg, when viewed in just the real light, preserves images of important events in Gektl history.
One event sure to be recorded -- if only as a reminder of evil -- is the betrayal of the entire species by a sadistic, power-hungry Gektl named Stafuv Rahz. Caring little for his fellow Gektls, Rahz journeyed to Coruscant to request an audience with the Emperor. Rahz, who maintained the planet's defense shields, offered to supply Palpatine the codes needed to bypass the shields. His simple price: power over others. The planet was rich in guerrerite and other precious metals, and the Gektls used the defense shields to protect themselves from those who would attempt to steal its riches. Eager to tap such abundant resources, the Emperor granted Rahz a commission in the Imperial military, assigning him to keep the planets in his star system in line. Palpatine then sent a fleet of Star Destroyers to bombard the planet, enslaving the Gektl people to mine the ores.
Rahz reported directly to Darth Vader, who made no effort to hide his disgust for the Gektl. Vader believed strongly in maintaining tight order, and such treachery on Rahz's part made him entirely untrustworthy -- an irony, given Vader's legacy of betrayal of the Jedi Knights. This nearly proved fatal for Rahz when he made several tactical errors involving a raid on Harix. Vader had ordered Rahz to arrest a schoolroom of children whose teacher, Myoris Lin, was suspected of having Rebel ties; Vader hoped to lure her Rebel contacts in for a rescue attempt, then round them up as well.
At the time of the arrest, Luke Skywalker was bringing a supply of illegal pre-Empire micro-books to Myoris for use in her classroom. Myoris tried to lead the children to safety through a hidden tunnel, but Rahz spotted them escaping and captured the lot. Only the teacher's son, Berd, managed to avoid capture. Luke rescued the boy, destroying Rahz's small fleet of ships as they departed, and took him to see Princess Leia Organa, who agreed to help rescue Myoris and the other students. With help from Han Solo, his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca and a barroom full of smugglers, the young genius Berd hatched a plot to fool Rahz and pull off a rescue.
Altering 1,000 Deep Space Target Practice Units (DSTPUs) to resemble a space fleet, the group tricked Vader and Rahz into thinking a Rebel attack was imminent. While the Imperials prepared to fight the perceived threat, the smugglers discreetly made their way to Harix to destroy a squad of TIE fighters based behind the Talhu Slotted Peaks. Scaling nearby Shaelo Cliff, Luke and Han dislodged a boulder, causing a violent avalanche that buried Rahz's entire fleet in rubble. Chewie then signaled Leia to lead "Berd's Fleet" to the school and rescue the children.
Desperate to recitify the situation and avoid the Dark Lord's wrath, Rahz prepared to execute his captives with a sonic beam projector. Before he could engage the weapon, however, the Rebels jumped him and shot his troops. Myoris led the kids to safety, but Luke and Han were quickly surrounded by stormtroopers. Only too late did Vader discover the DSTPU ruse, for as he awaited an attack he realized would never materialize, the smugglers made short work of the startled troops down on the planet. Shedding his reptilian tail, Rahz made a last-ditch effort to salvage his career and leapt for the sonic beam projector. However, Berd had sabotaged the weapon during the confusion, causing the Gektl to blow himself up instead.
Kharys, Majestrix of Skye
Kharys had been only a young flyer when General Obi-Wan Kenobi and Commanders Anakin Skywalker and Halagad Ventor -- fresh from Concordance of Fealty vows -- rescued Skye from ruin by a genetics terrorist during the Clone Wars. But the 13-year-old S'kytri's infatuation with Anakin and his power over the Force stayed with her until her death.
Anakin was kind to Kharys during his visit, pointing out her Force potential to Obi-Wan. However, Kenobi and Ventor both agreed she was too old for training. Unconvinced, Anakin promised Kharys he'd find a way to have her trained when the Clone Wars were over. Then, years later, one of these Jedi returned to Skye. Clad in a mask and armor, however, the warrior answered only to the name Darth Vader, making it unclear to the S'kytri which of three saviors he was. But when the Sith Lord came to Kharys' home and took the young girl as his pupil, she knew Anakin had kept his promise.
Kharys perfected a style of flying lightsaber combat while training under Vader, and learned to conjure life-draining, smoke-like Force Demons. When Kharys returned to Skye under the Imperial title of Majestrix, she did so with an overwhelming force of starships and stormtroopers, ruling in the name of Vader and the Galactic Empire from her aerie-fortress perched high atop Canaitith Mountain. On one occasion, when a group of 20 Corellian smugglers came to the restructed world, Kharys personally led a strike team to hunt down and kill the invading "walkers", the disdainful term the S'kytri used to describe those who could not fly. Among them was a young Han Solo, one of only two Corellians to escape the slaughter.
The other was Katya M'Buele, an old friend and lover of Solo's, who'd also flown with him during the Battle of Ylesia. However, when Luke Skywalker arrived on the planet brandishing the same lightsaber as one of Skye's Jedi saviors, the S'kytri held out hope he could defeat the despotic Kharys.
Propelled by an antigrav belt, Luke met the Dark Jedi in a fierce aerial lightsaber duel. In a spectacular display of his growing Force powers, the young Jedi bested Kharys and the Majestrix plummeted to her death, freeing the people of Skye to chart their own destinies.
General Sk'ar
The Kaleesh officer known as General Sk'ar led an Imperial strike force to conquer the planet Shiva IV shortly after the Battle of Hoth. Approaching three meters in height, with a hugely muscled physique, a deep purple tint to his skin and a beak-like face stretched tight over dense bone, he resembled a skinless violent skull, with razor-sharp teeth lining his jaws. A squad of colossal stormtroopers -- towering T'Syriel outcasts dressed in modified Imperial armor -- loyally obeyed his every command.
Bentilais san Sk'ar joined the Empire after a Star Destroyer fleet commanded by Captain Thrawn leveled his planet when the Imperial officer failed to comprehend Sk'ar's people by studying their artwork. Sk'ar was a warlord cut in the mold of the legendary Kaleesh Qymaen jai Sheelal and though his planet had violently resisted Imperial rule for over a decade, he knew brilliant strategizing when he saw it. So awed was he at the raw power the Imperial technology represented that he wasted little time feeling angry or vengeful about the slaughter of his people. His soldiers had died in battle, bested by a superior foe, and since there was no dishonor in such death, there was no need for revenge.
Sk'ar waited for Imperial forces to approach the wreckage of his headquarters and surrendered, offering Captain Rel Bentin his services or his life. More than a little unnerved by his prisoner's immensity, Bentin brought Sk'ar before the Emperor to let him decide the behemoth's fate. No strange to what a Kaleesh warlord was capable of, Palpatine was impressed by Sk'ar's courage and strength, which he knew could serve him well in bringing in line some of the more rebellious planets on the edge of known space.
It wasn't long before the ruthless Kaleesh was given a chance to show the Emperor what he was made of. Leading his strike force to conquering victories on Pral, Koltine and other worlds along the Jahilid Drift, he made a name for himself even among the most bigoted Imperial admirals. Sk'ar excelled in the tactic of dividing and conquering. Rather than just attacking with sheer numbers, as many Imperial commanders would, he took a more subtle, yet equally damaging approach to minimize the danger to his soldiers and maximize control over conquered worlds.
This was the tactic he utilized on Shiva IV. To drive a wedge between the humans of the Calian Confederacy and their T'Syriel brothers of the Twelve Tribes, Sk'ar hired members of both groups to help him take control of the planet. This would give the illusion to any who stumbled upon his operation that the other side had betrayed the truce that had long kept their peoples at peace.
In destabilizing the governing powers of Shiva IV, Sk'ar arranged the antimatter-bombing of K'avor, an Outlands city far from the Calians' throne city of Illyriaqum. Sent to investigate increased Imperial activity in the system, Princess Leia Organa crash-landed and was forced to live among the Calians for several weeks before she could be rescued. Warlord Aron Peacebringer, leader of the Calian Confederacy, and Demarch Keral Longknife of the Twelve Tribes rescued Leia from renegade T'Syriel outcast riders. What they did not yet know was that Aron's own kin, Ygal Delois, was among those who'd joined the Imperial invaders, betraying all his people had died for. When the time was right, Sk'ar ordered Delois to prepare a mock Calian aerial battleship to drop an antimatter bomb on Illyriaqum during an impending celebration of the Concordat between the two people.
This proved to be the general's undoing, for in underestimating the strength of the peace treaty on Shiva IV, he inadvertently provided the human and T'Syriel armies with a common enemy against whom to rally. With help from Leia's Rebel comrades, the peoples of Shiva IV rose up to fight the forces of General Sk'ar. The fight was bloody, but swift, leaving Sk'ar to run for cover amid a mosaic of dead bodies. A personal force-field built into Sk'ar's uniform protected him from any stray blaster weapons, but as the alien escaped aboard a flier, the Wookiee Chewbacca threw a steel gun mount at the ship, destroying it in mid-air. In the days following that battle, a Calian fleet destroyed Sk'ar's other forces while the Rebels dealt with Sk'ar's orbiting fleet.
