Umbaran

"I can't even see the enemy!''" "''That's why they're called the Shadow People, Tup!"

- Clone troopers during the Battle of Umbara

The Umbarans, also known as the Shadow People, were a near-human species native to the planet of Umbara. They were characterized by their pale, bluish skin and colorless eyes. In the waning decades of the Galactic Republic, the Umbarans were represented in the pan-galactic Senate by Mee Deechi. However, they ended up joining the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars, bringing their extremely advanced technology to the enemies of the Republic.

Biology and appearance
The Umbarans were a slender near-human species with pale, bluish skin. They had four limbs: two legs, and two arms with five-fingered hands. They had opposable thumbs, essential for the throwing grip and the use of tools. Umbarans had gaunt, emaciated faces with gray markings around the sockets of their colorless eyes. They had a single heart, and the stabbing of which was a fatal injury. Although Umbarans did have hair, some of them either were bald or shaved their heads. Because of the species' skill at manipulating others, there were rumors that Umbarans had the ability to control minds. With their colorless eyes, they were capable of seeing in the ultraviolet spectrum. On the surface of their home-world of Umbara, they wore atmospheric helmets and breathing apparatuses, seemingly unable to breathe the atmosphere. Clones had no trouble breathing.

Society and culture
On their gloomy homeworld of Umbara, the so-called "Shadow People" formed an organized society divided into castes, and they constantly schemed to improve their social rank. Their technology was more advanced than that found in most of the galaxy. Though Umbarans were capable of speaking Galactic Basic, they primarily communicated in their native language, which had an alphabet that consisted of twenty-six letters, on their homeworld. A traditional Umbaran garment was the voluminous shadow cloak.

History
Umbarans evolved on Umbara, a foggy and dangerous planet located in the eponymous solar system of the Ghost Nebula. During the last decades of the Galactic Republic, they were members of that democratic government. As such, they were represented in the Galactic Senate by senator Mee Deechi. Ten years after the Invasion of Naboo, an Umbaran female named Sly Moore served as an aide to Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, leader of the Galactic Senate of the Republic. Around that time, the defrocked Jedi Master Dooku created the Confederacy of Independent Systems, an alliance of solar systems that no longer felt in tune with the Republic. During the ensuing Clone Wars, the Umbarans would stay loyal to the Republic. However, after the assassination of Mee Deechi, they chose to secede from the Republic and joined the Separatist Alliance. Their advanced weaponry of their militia gave the Confederacy an edge on the battlefield as clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic were tasked with conquering Umbara. Despite the betrayal of Jedi General Pong Krell, the Republic got the upper hand when his colleague Obi-Wan Kenobi managed to take the capital city of Umbara. At the end of the war, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine proclaimed himself Galactic Emperor. In the height of the First Galactic Empire, Umbaran technology had been appropriated for use in the Imperial Military.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
 * Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel
 * Star Wars: Republic Cammando Hard Contact
 * Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
 * Adventures in Wild Space: The Nest
 * Thrawn
 * Battlefront: Twilight Company
 * Star Wars: Commander
 * Aftermath: Empire's End
 * Poe Dameron 2: Black Squadron, Part II
 * Poe Dameron 8: The Gathering Storm, Part I
 * Thrawn
 * Battlefront: Twilight Company
 * Star Wars: Commander
 * Aftermath: Empire's End
 * Poe Dameron 2: Black Squadron, Part II
 * Poe Dameron 8: The Gathering Storm, Part I