Kaleesh/Legends

Kaleesh were reptilian humanoids from the planet Kalee. They had reddish-brown scaly skin, four-clawed hands, legs bent back at the knees, and clawed toes. Each of a Kaleesh's hands has two opposable thumbs.

The Bitthaevrian Threat
At least five decades before the Battle of Yavin, the Republic had had strained relations with Guiteica, homeworld of the Bitthaevrians, due to its non-membership. After a few years of failed negotiations, a Republic-backed soldier attempted to stage a coup against Guiteica's leader in order to force the planet to join the Republic. The attempt failed, however, and caused a massive surge of violence and hostility toward all Republic stations within the surrounding Kadok Regions.

Kalee, near the edge of Bitthaevrian space, though a mostly unnoticed planet considered backwater by the Republic, would have had nothing to fear from the m'Yalfor'ac Order, as the Bitthaevrian military was known. However, Republic administration wished to keep the rebellion a secret, and rather than making noise by having their own forces terminate it, convinced the Kaleesh that they were indeed in danger. Quietly sending a group of military instructors to the planet, the Republic trained and armed multiple Kaleesh tribes (resulting in the introduction of the popular, projectile-firing Czerka Outland rifle on Kalee), who with the help of a small group of Knights sent by the Jedi Council, were able to end the perceived threat for the Republic.

Notably, the grandmother of Qymaen jai Sheelal participated in the Kaleesh assault.

The Huk War
The Huk War was a long conflict prior to the Clone Wars, beginning when the Yam'rii of the neighboring planet Huk, having overpopulated their own planet, began taking over and colonizing nearby worlds, eventually arriving at Kalee. The Kaleesh, led by Sheelal and Ronderu lij Kummar, rebelled against their invaders in a bloody series of battles that would leave multitudes dead on both sides.

After obliterating the Yam'rii presence on Kalee, Sheelal led his warriors back to the Yam'rii colony worlds, massacring soldiers as well as civilians. The Yam'rii petitioned in the Senate for Republic intervention, and received as much when a dispatch of Jedi arrived to end the war. The Senate imposed harsh sanctions on Kalee, plunging the world into an economic crisis.

Culture
The Kaleesh were a spiritual people, believing in many deities and constructing a large number of temples devoted to them, the holiest of which was called Shrupak. As of the New Republic era, the late General Grievous, former Kaleesh warrior Qymaen jai Sheelal, had joined his species' pantheon of religious deities. Their society was divided into numerous tribes, including the Lig, and the Kaleesh were known to take multiple wives and have many children.

War was viewed as an essential and sacred practice, and the culture's large emphasis on honor was known to spur many acts of vengeance among the various tribes. However, when necessary, the tribes would put aside their differences and bond to fend off a common enemy.

Typical Kaleesh weaponry:


 * Czerka Outland rifle
 * Lig sword
 * Shoni spear

Appearances

 * The Eyes of Revolution
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars
 * "Chapter 20"
 * "Chapter 21"
 * "Chapter 22"
 * "Chapter 23"
 * "Chapter 24"
 * "Chapter 25"
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith