Besh (Korun)

Besh was a male Korun from the world of Haruun Kal. Besh fought for the Korun Upland Liberation Front during the Summertime War and the Clone Wars against the ruling offworld Balawai government and its militia. During his time in the ULF, Besh served under Jedi Master Depa Billaba and lor pelek Kar Vastor.

In 22 BBY, Jedi Master Mace Windu journeyed to Haruun Kal to find Billaba, his Padawan learner, who had sent him a cryptic and near-undecipherable message via a holowafer left at the site of a ULF-perpetrated massacre; Windu feared that she had turned to the dark side. Besh, along with comrades Chalk and Nick Rostu, as well as his brother Lesh, were dispatched by Kar Vastor and Billaba to apprehend Windu and bring him to them. They intercepted him in Pelek Baw, the capital, and took him with them. Besh did not survive the arduous journey; he was badly injured and later died of fungal infection.

Joining the ULF
"If you won't tell us, we'll make sure you don't tell anyone else, either."

- A Balawai prospector torturing Besh

Born on the planet of Haruun Kal sometime before 22 ABY, Besh was a male Force-sensitive Korun and younger brother of Lesh. At some point in his life, Besh was captured by several Balawai prospectors, who forced him to divulge the location of a supposed treasure grove of lammas trees which were prized for their valuable wood. Such a grove did not exist, however, but the prospectors nonetheless tortured Besh, cutting off three of his left hand's fingers and ripping out his tongue. He survived, but nursed a deep hatred for the offworld Balawai and, along with Lesh, joined the Summertime War, an annual battle between the Korunnai and the offworlders for cultural survival and access to Haruun Kal's bankable resources respectively.

Escorting a Jedi
In 22 BBY, during the onset of the Clone Wars and at the height of the Summertime War, Jedi Master Depa Billaba was dispatched to Haruun Kal to recruit Korun fighters for actions against the Balawai government, who had allied themselves with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Windu himself harbored concerns that Billaba was also training the Korun fighters as a Force-sensitive cadre of agents for wider deployment in the Republic's fight against the Confederacy, his fears of her possibly falling to the dark side were only exacerbated by a disturbing message left for him on a holowafer left at the site of a massacre against a group of Balawai. Besh was ordered by Billaba and lor pelek Kar Vastor, both of whom were the commanders of the Upland Liberation Front, a cover organization made up by Billaba, to assist fellow fighters Nick Rostu, Chalk and Lesh in retrieving Windu.

However, things did not go as planned. Missing several chances to reach Windu in the planetary capital of Pelek Baw due to complications including, but not limited to, a food riot, Besh and the team eventually managed to help the Jedi Master in a firefight between him and a group of mercenaries. Managing to prove their authenticity with a particular item&mdash;Billaba's lightsaber&mdash;the group and Windu left Pelek Baw by groundcar and travelled into the wilderness. It was several days later that Lesh would die from exposure to fever wasps from chewing raw thyssel bark. Windu euthanized the hapless Korun, but his medpac scan also detected that Besh and Chalk were infected, and Windu dosed them with thanatizine to slow their bodily processes and the development of the wasps inside them.

Death
Besh and Chalk were taken to a former Balawai bunker by Windu. While there, Kar Vastor made an appearance in combat against a group of Balawai fleeing the ULF. Out of hatred for the Korunnai, Besh and Lesh's unconscious forms were savagely attacked with a crude blade by Terrel Nakay, a Balawai boy whom Windu had rescued from a steamcrawler accident near the site. Vastor killed Nakay, but Besh's wounds had been dealt, and despite Vastor's success in expelling the fever wasps from Besh and Chalk, and tissue binders being applied to their wounds, Besh fell victim to a severe fungal infection. At the ULF stronghold inside a mountain at the Lorshan Pass, Chalk treated the infection with alcohol but was unable to save him. He died soon after.

Personality and traits
Besh was a scarred individual, both mentally and physically; however, this did not prevent him from being an expressive and eloquent individual. He was able to convey his meaning through gestures and messages in the Force, and Mace Windu noted that Besh was the most erudite of his companions.

When his brother Lesh died from fever wasp exposure, Besh was notably upset, with Windu noticing his Force aura shading into despair, and was understandably distressed when he learned that he too was infected.

Powers and abilities
Besh was able to use the Force to communicate in place of speech. He, like other Korunnai, could also form bonds with akk dogs and grassers, fauna valued by them.

Behind the scenes
Besh made his first and only appearance in Shatterpoint, the first novel in the Star Wars Legends Clone Wars multimedia project by Matthew Stover, released in 2003.

Appearances

 * Shatterpoint