Gir Kybo Ren-Cha

"No one escapes the wrath of Kybo Ren!"

- Gir Kybo Ren-Cha

Gir Kybo Ren-Cha, commonly known as Kybo Ren, was a Ropagu space pirate active during the early years of the Galactic Empire. Operating out of a base on his homeworld of Tarnoonga, Ren's crew frequently raided shipping in the vicinity of the planet Tammuz-an. In 15 BBY, Ren's operation captured the Gladiator-class Star Destroyer Demolisher from an Imperial repair dock to use in a raid on Tammuz-an itself. In order to weaken the Tammuz-an space navy, Ren captured a transport carrying fuel to the planet. However, the ship's crew escaped, forcing Ren to launch his attack early. As the Demolisher battled the naval forces of the Tammuz-an King Mon Julpa, the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO sabotaged the Star Destroyer, leaving it disabled and leading to Ren's arrest. He was imprisoned on Tammuz-an but was subsequently rescued by his first mate, Jyn Obah. He then took Princess Gerin Toda, daughter of the Tammuz-an warrior-chieftain Lord Malameu Toda, as a hostage. Ren fled to the Bog moon of Bogden and demanded that Toda release his crew and turn Mon Julpa over to him in exchange for the return of his daughter. Toda agreed, but hid himself and a squad of Tammuz-an soldiers aboard Ren's modified attack ship, the Dianoga, while it carried the pirates to Bogden. When Ren attempted to renege on his promise to release Gerin, Toda's troops emerged, and Ren was recaptured in the ensuing skirmish.

Early career
"Welcome aboard the Demolisher. It's small, but it's all we could&hellip; borrow from a repair dock."

- Gir Kybo Ren-Cha

A native of the planet Tarnoonga in the Outer Rim Territories, the Ropagu male Gir Kybo Ren-Cha, commonly known as Kybo Ren, was active as a pirate captain during the early years of the Galactic Empire. His mostly non-Human crew operated out of a base built into an island mountain extending from the ocean on his homeworld. Ren's crew operated a number of captured Imperial TIE fighters, decorated with the symbol of his gang&mdash;a red stylized wampa skull &mdash;on their solar panel wings. Ren himself flew a modified attack ship, the Dianoga, which was similarly marked with the pirates' emblem.

Ren frequently operated in the space around the planet Tammuz-an, conducting raids against convoys en route to the planet. He recognized that Tammuz-an was a world of great wealth and, in 15 BBY, began to plan a major assault against the planet itself. In order to provide him with an advantage over Tammuz-an's naval forces, he stole the Gladiator-class Star Destroyer Demolisher from an Imperial repair dock and converted it to serve as his flagship. Knowing that the Empire would come looking for their missing ship, he made plans to scuttle it on a remote planet once it had served its purpose, destroying any evidence that would incriminate him in the theft.

Shortly before moving against Tammuz-an, Ren was aboard the Dianoga when a small freighter piloted by a young woman named Jessica Meade entered the system, transporting the Tammuz-an heir apparent, Prince Mon Julpa, back to his homeworld. Ren's ship attacked the transport and managed to evade the returning fire to maneuver into the other vessel's path. As Ren closed on his target and prepared to disable its engines, the two ships collided. The pirates recovered quickly, but Meade and her passengers had time to abandon ship before Ren opened fire once more, destroying the freighter. Unbeknownst to the pirates, Julpa's rival, Ko Zatec-Cha, had hired the bounty hunter IG-88B to capture the Prince. Determined to see his bounty unharmed, IG-88B's starfighter fired on the Dianoga, allowing Meade and Julpa to safely reach Tammuz-an.

Battle for Tammuz-an
"I know there is not enough fuel on Tammuz-an for a single fighter. And now that I have your fuel, they are defenseless&mdash;ripe for an attack.''" "You'll find out differently. Just try it." "''I intend to. I have a little surprise I've been saving just for the occasion. A guarantee of victory."

- Gir Kybo Ren-Cha and Jann Tosh

A short time later, Ren learned of a fuel shipment being delivered to Tammuz-an for use by the planet's starfighter defenses. Knowing that without the fuel supply, Tammuz-an would be virtually defenseless and open to attack, Ren resolved to capture it. The newly instated King Mon Julpa anticipated Ren's actions and sent a decoy shipment ahead in an attempt to draw the pirate off. Ren's spies, however, alerted the pirate captain to the decoy, and he allowed it to pass while waiting for the true shipment. The fuel transport King's Ransom soon arrived, piloted by Jessica Meade and guarded by an R-22 Spearhead flown by the Human pilot Jann Tosh. Ren's TIE fighters attacked, drawing Tosh into a dogfight and allowing Ren to reach the King's Ransom in the Dianoga. Docking with the freighter, the pirates cut a hole through the other vessel's hull, and Ren personally led the boarding party, claiming the ship, its crew, and cargo. When Tosh's protocol droid, C-3PO, contacted his master to warn him, Ren ordered Tosh to surrender. The pilot agreed and the Dianoga, still attached to Meade's ship, locked a tractor beam onto Tosh's fighter before returning to Tarnoonga.

Back at his base, Ren had the prisoners brought before him in his throne room. The pirate captain had become enamored with Meade's fiery spirit and held her captive as his "personal guest." With his crew making final preparations to attack Tammuz-an, Ren was unwilling to risk Tosh interfering with his plans and ordered the young pilot's execution. Tosh, along with C-3PO and the astromech droid R2-D2, were taken out on a skiff over the nearby sea. Making Tosh and the droids walk the plank, Ren left them to be devoured by the predatory miridon, which inhabited the area, and returned to his base.

Ren caught Meade attempting to escape from the quarters where she was being held. The pirate attempted to persuade her to stay with him voluntarily, promising to buy her kingdoms with the wealth of Tammuz-an. Meade pretended to be swayed by Ren's offer and, activating a nearby training remote, asked him to demonstrate his skills. Ren duly obliged and chased the remote around the room in an attempt to catch it. With Ren momentarily distracted, Meade attempted to slip out of the room, only to be stopped by Ren's first mate, Jyn Obah, who arrived to inform his captain that Tosh and the droids had survived and returned to the base for Meade. Leaving Obah to watch over Meade, Ren set off to catch the intruders.

Ren soon arrived in the base's combined hangar and sea dock to find it under attack from the miridon, which had followed Tosh into the base. Spotting Tosh and the droids, Ren attempted to apprehend them, but Meade, who had escaped from Obah, took him unawares and caught him in a net. The pirate soon freed himself and ordered his crew to stop Tosh, Meade, and the droids before they escaped. However, his crew was busy trying to fend off the miridon, and the group managed to escape in the King's Ransom and Tosh's R-22. With his plans in jeopardy, Ren ordered the attack on Tammuz-an to begin immediately.

As Ren's fighters launched, the pirate captain headed straight to the Demolisher and intercepted Tosh as the young pilot attempted to leave the system. Tosh's R-22 was caught in a tractor beam and brought aboard the Demolisher, where Ren had Tosh imprisoned and put C-3PO and R2-D2 to work loading torpedoes. With Tosh and the droids in custody, Ren made the hyperspace jump to Tammuz-an in pursuit of Meade. The Star Destroyer reverted to realspace close to Meade's fuel transport, and Ren opened fire, destroying the other ship moments after Meade fled in an escape pod. The small explosion took Ren by surprise, and the pirate realized that the transport had been empty. At that moment, Tosh, who had been released by C-3PO and R2-D2 after they escaped during the trip to Tammuz-an, arrived on the bridge. Tosh explained that the transport had been a decoy and the real fuel shipment had already reached Tammuz-an. Ren was furious at being deceived but remained confident that the Demolisher would ensure his victory over the approaching Tammuz-an navy. While his TIE fighters engaged |Tammuz-an R-22s, Ren prepared to fire at Mon Julpa's capital ships. However, unbeknownst to Ren, R2-D2 had sabotaged the Demolisher torpedoes, loading them in reverse and causing them to backfire as they were launched. The resulting explosions crippled the Star Destroyer's engines and systems, leaving it disabled.

Ren's revenge
"Tammuz-an has not seen the last of Kybo Ren."

- Gir Kybo Ren-Cha

Julpa dispatched transports to pick up the stranded pirates, and Ren was imprisoned in the dungeon of Julpa's castle in Tammuz-an's capital city. Hoping to unite his people against any future invaders, Julpa began negotiating a peace treaty with the Tammuz-an warrior-chieftain Lord Malameu Toda. During the deliberations, Jyn Obah broke into the fortress and freed Ren from his cell. The two pirates made their way to the castle's landing pad, where they found Mon Julpa with Toda's daughter, Princess Gerin. Obah used a stunner to incapacitate Julpa before Gerin got hold of the weapon and turned it on Ren. As C-3PO rushed to help, the pirate captain grabbed the droid and threw him into Gerin, causing her to drop the weapon. After using the stunner on Gerin, Ren boarded an R-22 Spearhead with her as his hostage and escaped, leaving Obah to be captured.

Ren fled to the bog moon of Bogden where he established a makeshift prison in a freighter hidden in the swamps, warning Gerin that if she tried to escape her cell she would be at the mercy of the wild sungwas that infested the ship. The pirate contacted Toda and Julpa and demanded the release of his crew in exchange for the princess's safe return. The two Tammuz-an agreed but, having learned the location of Ren's hideout from Obah, dispatched Tosh, Meade, C-3PO and R2-D2 to mount a rescue. After reaching the princess, the group attempted to escape the ship, only to come under attack from a pack of sungwas. Observing events from the freighter's bridge, Ren was confident that the interlopers would not escape the predators and contacted Toda and Julpa once more to inform them that the rescue had failed and to demand that Toda now turn Julpa over to him as a result of their deceit. Blaming Julpa for his daughter's kidnapping, Toda agreed.

Meade and R2-D2, having split off from the rest of their group and evaded the sungwas, attempted to confront Ren, but were incapacitated by a force field as they reached the bridge. After contacting Obah aboard the Dianoga to ensure that his crew was not being followed, Ren left Meade and R2-D2 tied up in vines and set off to to find Tosh, Gerin, and C-3PO. After Ren left, however, his prisoners got free and used the ship's intercom to warn their friends, who took cover as Ren searched the corridor in which they were hiding. Hearing a noise around the corner, Ren thought he had found his quarry, but instead found himself facing a pack of sungwas. The predators gave chase, but Ren managed to evade them and proceeded to the hangar, where the Dianoga had arrived in time for Ren's crew to stop the rescue party as they attempted to escape. The captive Julpa told Ren to uphold his end of the bargain and release Gerin. When Ren refused, Julpa gave a signal and Toda emerged from a hidden compartment built into the hull of the Dianoga, along with several guards. Ren attempted to escape during the ensuing firefight between his crew and the Tammuz-an soldiers, but he was intercepted by C-3PO and recaptured.

Personality and traits
"You're not leaving. Why, what about my offer?''" "I'd rather squeeze into a space suit with a mynock than stay here with you." "''Ha! You've got the spirit, the fire I've been searching galaxies to find. With the spoils from Tammuz-an, I will buy you kingdoms."

- Gir Kybo Ren-Cha and Jessica Meade

Ren-Cha was a short, overweight Ropagu with dark brown eyes who could be easily recognized by his long, dangling mustache and small goatee. Ren typically wore a helmet, under which little of his black hair remained by the early years of the Galactic Empire. An infamous pirate who was willing to kill to achieve his goals, Ren commanded a large, well-organized pirate group. Although he usually preyed on convoys traveling around Tammuz-an, Ren was known to launch more audacious raids from time to time. He stole Imperial military equipment, including the Gladiator-class Star Destroyer Demolisher and numerous TIE fighters, and ultimately planned to attack Tammuz-an itself to steal the planet's wealth. Ren's success made him extremely egotistical; he sat upon a throne in his base on Tarnoonga, frequently bragged about his victories, and referred to himself by name. Ren demanded instant obedience from those under him, barking out raspy-voiced commands to anyone within earshot, and frequently emitted a raucous, bellowing peal of laughter.

Although Ren personally led his pirates on raids, he was careful to ensure his own safety. When Jyn Obah rescued him from custody on Tammuz-an, Ren fled and left Obah to be captured after the pair were confronted while escaping. However, Ren did later attempt to secure the release of his crew, including Obah, in exchange for the return of Princess Gerin. Ren became captivated by Jessica Meade's fiery spirit and intended to keep her captive on Tarnoonga as his "personal guest," promising to buy her kingdoms with the wealth of Tammuz-an. However, the pirate captain's advances were not reciprocated, and his attempts to impress Meade almost allowed her to escape. Ren's crew was mostly comprised of non-Humans, and he could speak a language used among his crew in addition to Basic.

Behind the scenes
Gir Kybo Ren-Cha was created by Peter Sauder for the 1985 Nelvana animated series Star Wars: Droids. Ren made a brief appearance in the second episode of the second story arc, "The New King," which was first broadcast on October 12, 1985. He then served as the main antagonist in the two subsequent episodes, "The Pirates of Tarnoonga" and "The Revenge of Kybo Ren," broadcast on October 19 and October 26 respectively. Ren also appeared in Ellen Weiss's 1986 adaptation of "The Pirates of Tarnoonga," The Pirates of Tarnoonga: A Droid Adventure. The character was only called Kybo Ren-Cha in Droids; his full name was revealed in the second edition of A Guide to the Star Wars Universe in 1994.

Appearances

 * The Pirates of Tarnoonga: A Droid Adventure
 * The Pirates of Tarnoonga: A Droid Adventure
 * The Pirates of Tarnoonga: A Droid Adventure