Wookieepedia:Featured articles/History/2015

This is a list of all featured articles showcased on Wookieepedia's Main Page. For a list of articles scheduled to appear on the Main Page in the coming weeks, see /Queue.


 * 2005
 * 2006

=January=

January 7, 2007 – Talon Karrde
Talon Karrde was a Human smuggler and information broker, and founder of the Smuggler's Alliance. Karrde created his organization from the remains of Jorj Car'das's group and also absorbed some of Booster Terrik's organization while Terrik was on Kessel. He channeled the organization's growth to create a vast intelligence network that rivaled its Rebel or Imperial counterparts. Karrde was determined to remain neutral in the Galactic Civil War, but circumstances and his own sense of honor eventually pushed him and his organiation into the New Republic camp. Key associates like Mara Jade, Zakarisz Ghent, and Moranda Savich, as well as his flagship Wild Karrde proved critical to the New Republic's efforts during the Thrawn crisis and Yuuzhan Vong War.

January 14, 2007 – Ebenn Q3 Baobab
Ebenn Q3 Baobab, or EQ3, as he was sometimes called, was a Human male most notable for his contributions to intergalactic communications through such publications as his Galactic Phrase Book and Travel Guide. For a total of forty-five seasons, EQ3 traveled with the Baobab Merchant Fleet, visiting 1,300 distinct culture units and losing the tip of his left foot and some hair along the way. He also served for a time as Chief Philologist and head of the Baobab Archives, a vast repository of knowledge that rivaled any contemporaneous research center.

As a member of the prestigious Baobab family, EQ3 counted among his relatives the intrepid explorer Mungo Baobab. Somewhat of a jack-of-all-trades, he held many different professions and experienced an unending variety of adventures throughout his life as an artist and art collector, teacher, best-selling writer, poet, doctor, merchant, philosopher, spacer, scientist, linguist and philologist. Baobab was even a war hero, serving valiantly in the Koong Wars, the Aerial Plankton Uprising, and the Mora Infantry. Ebenn Q3 Baobab was, in a word, a true polymath.

January 21, 2007 – Carnor Jax
Carnor Jax was a Royal Guard and aspiring Sith Lord who made a bid for the vacant Imperial throne. Jax was the second apprentice to the self-proclaimed Dark Lady of the Sith Lumiya and served her after the deaths of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. Jax and Lumiya were responsible for the extermination of the last of the Prophets of the Dark Side on Bosthirda.

After Palpatine returned in the form of several clone bodies, Carnor Jax succeeded in ensuring the demise of the last of Palpatine's clones, opening a path to the throne. Jax was also responsible for the destruction of the Royal Guard, and had all but one of them killed off in a surprise attack on the planet Yinchorr. The remaining member, Kir Kanos became a fugitive, forcing Jax to concentrate his efforts on capturing the man. The chase led Jax to capturing the Rebel leader Mirith Sinn and subjecting her to torture.

However, in an unfortunate series of events, the actions of Kanos helped Sinn to escape, and Jax and Kanos found themselves in a final showdown on Yinchorr. The following battle was evenly matched, but the unexpected arrival of Sinn threw off the balance and Jax was killed. Carnor Jax's death left Lumiya without a known apprentice for almost 30 years.

January 28, 2007 – Ossus
Ossus was the third planet in the Adega system in the Auril Sector. Originally a rich, lush world, Ossus was ravaged into an arid and toxic planet with the destruction of the Cron Cluster, and later restored by Yuuzhan Vong terraformers in the Ossus Project.

Ossus was an important Jedi site for over twenty-five millennia, serving as a repository of knowledge and a center for learning for the Old and New Jedi Orders alike. In the latter years of the Old Republic and beyond, it was home to the tribal Ysanna, descendents of Jedi who had survived the Cron supernova. The planet came under attack by the Sith twice, once in 3,996 BBY and once in 130 ABY.

=February=

February 4, 2007 – Brenn Tantor
Brenn Tantor was a young man from Garos IV who dreamed of becoming one of the stormtroopers who kept the peace on his world. After his graduation from the Academy of Carida, however, he became much more when he was recruited out of the stormtrooper corps and made an officer in the Imperial Army as part of an elite project. Supervised by Grand General Malcor Brashin, he rose rapidly through the ranks, becoming a prominent general. Tantor reached his height as an Imperial general in 3 ABY when he directed the Battle of Hoth and shortly after that captured Luke Skywalker on Abridon.

When Tantor's brother Dellis, an Imperial Intelligence officer, revealed that the Empire had killed their father, Brenn had a crisis of conscience. After refusing an order to massacre civilians and being told that Dellis had been killed, Tantor finally defected to the Rebel Alliance. After gaining the trust of General Tyr Taskeen, Tantor took a pivotal role in the Rebellion and the New Republic, commanding such engagements as the Battle of Endor and the Liberation of Coruscant. In the latter, Tantor discovered that Dellis had not been killed but was kept in Imperial custody instead &mdash; custody from which he was freed, finally reuniting him with his brother.

February 11, 2007 – Rune Haako
Rune Haako was the Settlement Officer of the Trade Federation, as well as the Neimoidian lieutenant to Viceroy Nute Gunray in the years before and up to the end of the Clone Wars.

He was Gunray's advisor during the Blockade of Naboo, and often offered sage and cautious advice to the Viceroy. Despite being arrested shortly after the Battle of Naboo, Haako was, like Gunray, found "not guilty" of the charges laid against him, and continued to serve the Trade Federation, and the Confederacy of Independent Systems throughout the Clone Wars. His death occurred mere hours before the war ended.

Haako was significantly more paranoid than Gunray, and almost twice as pessimistic, but he provided sound advice to the often panic-stricken Viceroy, and often prevented a bad situation becoming worse.

February 18, 2007 – Nagai-Tof War
The Nagai-Tof War was a conflict between the newly formed Alliance of Free Planets, the Galactic Empire, and the invaders of the Nagai and later the Tof species from the Unknown Regions. The actions of the Nagai very nearly stopped the formation of a new Galactic government in the Alliance of Free Planets and marked the first widespread appearance of the new Dark Lady of the Sith Lumiya.

The conflict started with small infiltration units of Nagai ordered to disrupt the workings of the Alliance to pave the way for the Nagai Main Fleet. Commander Ozrei N'takkilomandrife, the most talented of these Nagai agents, almost succeeded in restarting the Wookiee slave trade. The arrival of the Nagai Fleet, allied with the Galactic Empire, resulted in all out war; however, the arrival of the Nagai's mortal enemies, the Tof, resulted in the Nagai and Empire allying with the Alliance to stop this new threat.

The war also marked the first time Luke Skywalker was defeated in a duel after the death of Darth Vader. The Dark Lady Lumiya defeated the Jedi with a lightwhip on Kinooine. The war concluded with the capture of the Tof leader Sereno and the brutal maiming of Lumiya. The end of the war was the last time Lumiya was seen publicly for over 35 years.

February 25, 2007 – Death Star
A Death Star was a moon-sized military battlestation with a planet-destroying superlaser. The Death Stars were the first in a long series of superweapons developed to execute the Tarkin Doctrine, but whose concept had been explored even before the Clone Wars. The Death Star was designed to allow Emperor Palpatine to more directly control the Galactic Empire through fear. A Death Star was to be commanded by no one less than a Moff.

Two Death Stars were constructed by the Empire, and additionally a prototype was known to have existed, as well as a Hutt knockoff, the Darksaber. Both Death Stars were destroyed by the Rebel Alliance shortly after they became operational, with the first Death Star destroyed by Luke Skywalker and the second one destroyed by Wedge Antilles and Lando Calrissian. Following their destruction, other superweapons followed, including the Tarkin, the Galaxy Gun, the Sun Crusher, and the World Devastators.

=March=

March 4, 2007 – Jar Jar Binks
General, Representative and later Senator Jar Jar Binks was the first Gungan to represent his people in the Galactic Senate, first serving as a Junior Representative along with Senator Padmé Amidala, and then, after her death, serving as full Senator himself. Like most Gungans, Jar Jar was lanky and spoke Basic with a unique accent. Despite being naïve and clumsy, Jar Jar Binks contributed greatly to the fate of the Galactic Republic, whether for good or for ill.

He was one of Qui-Gon Jinn's companions during the Invasion of Naboo, traveling to distant lands such as Tatooine and Coruscant, an activity not taken upon by many Gungans. On his return to Naboo, Binks served as a General for a short while in the Gungan Grand Army, and was a joint commander of the Battle of Grassy Plains with General Ceel. During Binks's career as Junior Representative, he acted as Amidala's proxy and proposed giving Supreme Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers in order to deal with the Separatist crisis. Binks continued his public service even after the death of Amidala, taking her place as Senator.

March 11, 2007 – Bria Tharen
Bria Tharen was a Corellian who became a pilgrim on Ylesia as part of the Hutt spice/slaving operation there. Her religion was exposed as a fraud by Han Solo, with whom she later fell in love. However, the difficulties she had breaking free from the addictive Exultation caused her to leave Solo, despite her attraction to him. She later became an early commander in the Alliance to Restore the Republic, leading the fledgling Rebel forces in the Battle of Ylesia. As leader of Red Hand Squadron, she participated in many other missions in the Alliance, including several against slavers. On one fateful mission to Toprawa to help retrieve the plans for the First Death Star, her unit was surrounded by Imperial forces, and the injured Tharen committed suicide rather than face capture or execution.

March 18, 2007 – Nute Gunray
Nute Gunray was a Neimoidian from the planet Neimoidia. Following a stint as Senator and Minister for the Trade Federation, he rose in power after the Stark Hyperspace War. He was Viceroy of the Trade Federation before and during the Clone Wars, and a member of the Separatist Council during that conflict.

Gunray participated in the blockade and subsequent Invasion of Naboo, ordered the unsuccessful assassination of Padmé Amidala, and was one of the major contributors to the Separatist Droid Army during the Clone Wars. He was killed by Darth Vader, along with the rest of the Council, on Mustafar in 19 BBY.

March 25, 2007 – Drovian
Drovians were a sentient species indigenous to the Outer Rim world Nim Drovis. Divided into two main tribes, they were members of the galactic community for many thousands of years. A civil war divided the two tribes for centuries, of such scale that virtually all Drovians were affected by it. This came to a head during the Death Seed crisis when the Gopso'o tribe almost gained control of the planet, while financed by the Loronar Corporation. The civil war was finally resolved by the New Jedi Order, and the Drovians remained part of the New Republic through into the Yuuzhan Vong war.

Most Drovians remained on their homeworld, but those found offworld were frequently involved in criminal endeavors, such as swoop gangs, gladiatorial contests, or working for underworld kingpins such as Jabba the Hutt. These occupations took advantage of their strength and size.

=April=

April 1, 2007 – Darca Nyl
Darca Nyl was a Human mercenary who, after falling in love with a woman named Teril, retired and settled on an unknown planet in the Outer Rim Territories. Nyl bore numerous deep emotional scars throughout his life, especially after his wife died in childbirth and a deranged Dark Jedi killed his son. Taking up a lightsaber given to him by a dying Jedi, Nyl went on a anger-filled quest to find and kill his son's killer. Along the way, he encountered various groups of people who assumed he was a Jedi and who were in need of his help. Although he eventually confronted and defeated the Dark Jedi, his encounters with various others along the way spurred him to begin a life dedicated to aiding the helpless.

April 8, 2007 – Zuckuss
Zuckuss was a successful Gand bounty hunter during the height of the New Order. Known as "The Uncanny One" by his fellow hunters, Zuckuss was known for his ability to discover hidden quarry due to his training as a findsman. Being Force-sensitive, Zuckuss was able to use what he called his "intuition" to reveal anything ranging from the location of a person to the motives of an untrusted foe.

During his long career, Zuckuss had many associates but was known primarily to partner with the droid 4-LOM. The two made a formidable bounty hunting team and were successful in retrieving the Yavin Vassilika over such opponents as Bossk and Dengar. Their success eventually attracted the attention of the Empire, and they were hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon near the end of the Galactic Civil War. Due to his famed abilities, Zuckuss was highly sought after, and he found employment with the Bounty Hunters Guild, the Hutt Cartel, TaggeCo, and even the Rebellion for a time. Somewhat of a Rebel sympathizer, Zuckuss eventually began to hunt primarily for New Republic targets near the end of his career.

Although incredibly successful, Zuckuss was not without major flaws. He was plagued with schizophrenia and an advanced case of multiple personality disorder which caused him to speak in two different dialects. Despite his mental health, Zuckuss became incredibly popular on his homeworld of Gand, eventually inspiring an entire generation of Gand bounty hunters to seek success off-world.

April 15, 2007 – Tunroth
The Tunroth were bipedal sapients, indigenous to the Jiroch system of the Mid Rim. Towering and physically strong, Tunroth had distinctive elongated heads. They were renowned throughout the galaxy for their hunting and tracking skills, with the Tunroth Hunters in demand for employment as bounty hunters and big-game hunters.

They were members of the Galactic Republic for thousands of years, but during the reign of the Galactic Empire, Lortan fanatics virtually wiped them out in the Reslian Purge. The Tunroth slowly recovered, joining first the Empire and later the New Republic.

April 22, 2007 – Panaka
Panaka was the head of the Royal Naboo Security Forces before, during, and after the Invasion of Naboo, and later was the Moff for the Chommell Sector during the Galactic Civil War. He was a vocal militarist among the peaceful people of Naboo, a fish out of water amongst his peers.

Shaken by the murder of King Veruna, he installed various security measures to make sure that the same thing did not happen to his second monarch, Queen Padmé Amidala. By learning from the mistakes of his predecessor, Magneta, he was able to successfully defend her in several periods of danger, and continued to serve Naboo, the Republic, and eventually, the Empire.

Notoriously conservative, Panaka often clashed with the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn during the Invasion of Naboo, deriding the Jedi's controversial methods and retaining the utmost faith in his own. Nevertheless, with Jinn's help he was able to get his chance at military action, in the Second Battle of Theed.

April 29, 2007 – Hoth
Hoth was a famous Jedi Master and Jedi Lord who led the Army of Light against Lord Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness during the New Sith Wars, until their final confrontation in the Ruusan campaign.

Hoth's temper was as legendary as his battle prowess, and a feud between Hoth and Valenthyne Farfalla almost delivered victory to Kaan. Despite their animosity, the pair reconciled, allowing Hoth to face his foe in a final confrontation. Knowing that the desperate Sith would utilize the thought bomb in an attempt to stave off defeat, Hoth went to face him anyway, forcing the Brotherhood of Darkness to destroy themselves in the process.

Hoth's act of self-sacrifice saved the Galactic Republic and ended the Sith as a galactic threat for almost a thousand years.

=May=

May 6, 2007 – Bastila Shan
Bastila Shan was a female Human Jedi Padawan who became one of the key figures involved in the Jedi Civil War and its immediate aftermath. She was known for having an impressive talent in Battle meditation and as such was seen as the key to winning the war. Bastila was the only survivor of the Jedi strike team sent to neutralize Darth Revan, forming a Force bond with him when she saved his life. The Jedi Council then reprogrammed Revan's damaged mind and put him under Bastila's care, hoping he could subconsciously lead them to the Star Forge.

While transporting the amnesiac Revan during the war, her ship was ambushed over Taris and she was captured by the Black Vulkar gang. After being rescued by Revan, Bastila accompanied him on his mission to find and destroy the Star Forge. Bastila was later captured by Revan's former apprentice, Darth Malak, who turned her to the dark side. However, Revan confronted her and redeemed her from the darkness to which she had succumbed, and she aided the Galactic Republic in the Battle of Rakata Prime. Bastila was also one of the few Jedi to survive the purge which followed the war.

May 13, 2007 – Armand Isard
Armand Isard was the Director of the Senate Bureau of Intelligence, and respectively, post 19 BBY, the Director of Imperial Intelligence. From humble beginnings as an SBI agent, he worked his way up through the ranks, doing sterling work for the Republic, and constantly aiding the war effort during the Clone Wars.

During Palpatine's reign, Armand worked closely with Lord Vader and the Inquisitorius to hunt down the survivors of Order 66. On several occasions, Isard's men were able to pinpoint the location of Jedi for the benefit of Vader or Inquisitor Tremayne. Simultaneously, Armand began grooming his daughter, Ysanne, for a career as a field operative.

As she grew, she became more and more capable in her role, and, naturally, Armand felt threatened. He sent her on a suicide mission to Darkknell as a means of getting rid of her, but, much to his surprise, she survived and completed the mission. On her return to Imperial Center, she had Armand framed for treason, and personally executed him, ending his decades-long career as Director of Intelligence and launching her own.

May 20, 2007 – Mount Sorrow
Mount Sorrow was a mountain on the Forest Moon of Endor. The tip of the mountain was in fact sentient, and had the power to both blow people off the summit, or cry tears of healing. Sorrow was a figure of legend in Ewok lore, albeit an obscure one, known only to the shamans and witch doctors of Endor. Sometime during the Imperial era, Mount Sorrow was able to cure budding poet Teebo of the perilous laughing spell, inherited from a loonee bird in the Endor Woods. Despite being a mountain, Sorrow was in a constant state of depression, be it either stern or sad. He had excessively high standards, granting the benefit of his powers only to those deemed "worthy." He also had no qualms about sending children to their death, which he demonstrated by attempting to murder Wicket W. Warrick and Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka.

May 27, 2007 – Form IV: Ataru
Form IV: Ataru, Way of the Hawk-Bat, or the Aggression form was the fourth of the seven forms of lightsaber combat. The history of Ataru stretched back through the Old Republic, at least as early as the Mandalorian Wars, where it was commonly employed by Jedi of that day. Ataru continued to be a common form among the Jedi in the latter stages of the Republic.

An aggressive style, Form IV was fast-paced and effective against single opponents, though weaker in prolonged combat and confined spaces. Ataru was characterized by Force-assisted acrobatics, both for attack and defense, and fast, powerful strikes. Notable users of this combat form included Yoda and Qui-Gon Jinn.

=June=

June 3, 2007 – Joram Kithe
Joram Kithe was a resourceful, if cowardly, accountant for the Galactic Republic who received a temporary commission as a lieutenant in Republic Intelligence in order to study the performance of clone troopers on Pengalan IV. When that mission turned into a disaster, Kithe was put into the unusual position of leading the isolated survivors off the planet, destroying a missile factory on the way. Over the course of the mission, Kithe moved beyond his admitted cowardice and selfishness, bonding with the clones under his command and sharing in their danger.

Kithe chose to continue as an intelligence agent after the mission, finding new purpose in fighting the Clone Wars. His success inspired the Republic to create a pilot program putting bureaucrats, with their analysis skills, into the field as intelligence agents. In a mission to Tarhassan, Kithe found the results of that program extremely lacking. He was barely able to keep the mission from being destroyed by overly officious bureaucrat-agents, but managed to use his budding skills to complete it successfully.

June 10, 2007 – Isolder
Prince Isolder was the former Chume'da of the Hapes Consortium. As the second son of Queen Mother Ta'a Chume, Isolder was not expected to rule. However, after his older brother Kalen was murdered, Isolder went on an undercover quest to hunt down the person responsible. Impressed by his finding of the culprit, his mother granted him the rank of Chume'da.

In 8 ABY, Isolder fell in love with Leia Organa when she came to Hapes to discuss a possible alliance between the New Republic and the Hapes Consortium. However, after a series of events led him to the planet Dathomir, he instead fell in love with Teneniel Djo, one of the local Witches of Dathomir.

Shortly after his marriage to Teneniel, Ta'a Chume stepped down as Queen Mother, and Isolder and Teneniel ruled over the Consortium. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Isolder was pivotal in allowing the Hapan Royal Navy to participate at the ill-fated Battle of Fondor, and later suffered the murder of his wife due to his mother's plotting.

During the Second Corellian Insurrection, Isolder served as an advisor to his daughter, Queen Mother Tenel Ka.

June 17, 2007 – Sun King
The Sun King was a powerful entity who ruled the summer season of the forest moon of Endor. He could only bring about summer with the Season Scepter, although the power was not exclusive to him. He was the brother of the Flower Queen, the Leaf Queen, and the Snow King. During the Imperial era, his brother, the Snow King, entered into an affair with Odra, Duchess of Sleet, and placed a large portion of the forest moon under perpetual winter. To avert the crisis, the Sun King sat in on a cabal with his sisters, and enlisted the help of the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village. Thanks to the efforts of Wicket W. Warrick and friends, Odra was defeated, and summer restored.

The Sun King himself had a cavalier attitude towards life, and despite his lofty political position, he had no grasp of formality. He surrounded himself with courtiers, whom he would refer to as "dudes." It is perhaps this apathy and laid-back stance that allowed the Snow King to mount his coup against the Sun King.