Lyunesi

"The problem with Lyunesi is that they're not smart enough to be heartless."

- Boba Fett

The Lyunesi were a fragile species, one of six that were native to the planet Ryoone. They faculty in translating languages, and capturing every nuance of body language, ensured their survival on their homeworld, which was consumed in intense competition between its various species. The Lyunesi also utilized their faculty with languages offworld, serving as comm handlers at communications nexus across the galaxy. However, in their encounters with other species, their sensitivity to body language could lead to an all-consuming passion for another individual which compromised their rationality. The Lyunesi comm handler Oph Nar Dinnid was forced to flee his employment in the Narrant system after being overcome by this condition, and having an affair with the alpha concubine of his liege-lord. Dinnid was eventually killed, after fleeing to the Shell Hutts for protection.

Biology and appearance
The Lyunesi were a frail species of sentients.

Society and culture
"Better that a high-ranking female should get involved with someone like Prince Xizor. The experience is reputedly more intense and pleasurable, and after it's over, the female might still be alive. If she keeps her wits about her."

- Boba Fett on Lyunesi liaisons.

The historic survival of the Lyunesi was dependent on their proficiency in inter-species translation. Their skill extended beyond translating words and meaning, and came to include every nuance of body language, despite dealing with species that functioned on differing metabolic basis. THere skill was so great, that they were more effective than protocol droids. However, their hyper-sensitivity to communication occasionally manifested in a hyper-eros, or all consuming passion, for another sentient. Frequently reciprocated by the object of their desire, this condition could leave both individuals without a shred of self-preserving intelligence, leading to a variety of unfortunate outcomes.

History
The Lyunesi evolved on the backwater planet Ryoone, located in the Wazta sector of the Outer Rim Territories. For millennia, the upper atmosphere of their homeworld had been permeated with volcanic ash, resulting in fierce competition for survival among the world's six indigenous species. These other, stronger, species would have wiped out the Lyunesi, had they not mastered inter-species communications. This skill made the Lyunesi irreplaceable in managing the fluid and rapidly shifting alliances, declarations of war and swiftly terminated peace treaties, that characterized relations between the planet's other species.

Lyunesi in the galaxy
"Oph Nar Dinnid made himself valuable to [the Shell Hutts]. Seems he had memory augmentors surgically implanted in his cortical areas, and stuffed them full of the Narrant system's top-secret business information, dealings, and records that he had access to from working as the supreme liege-lord's protocol intermediary. There's a lot of data inside Dinnid's head that the Shell Hutts have found to be pretty interesting. And profitable."

- Bossk on Oph Nar Dinnid

Lyunesi were found throughout the galaxy, working at every communications nexus between differing sectors of the Galactic Empire, fine-tuning the messages and negotiations that passed between the regions. Lyunesi involved in these high-level diplomatic positions occasionally created major scandals when seized by an all-consuming passion for another sentient. One such crisis was created by Oph Nar Dinnid. The Lyunesi worked as a comm handler and protocol intermediary for one of the major liege-holder clans out in the Narrant system&mdash;the clans were loose confederations of genetically linked species, with complex layers of ritual obeisance and blood oaths maintaining their unity. Dinnid fell for his supreme liege-lord's alpha concubine and was caught&mdash;publicly&mdash;in a compromising position with her.

Dinnid fled the Narrant system, seeking refuge with the Shell Hutts, but not without a large bounty being placed on his head. Dinnid offered the Hutts confidential information on the leige-lord's activities, which he had stored in memory augmentors surgically implanted in his cortical areas. Dinnid was eventually killed by the Shell Hutt Gheeta on Circumtore, the home planet of the Shell Hutts.

Behind the scenes
The Lyunesi were created by K.W. Jeter for his novel The Mandalorian Armor, published in 1998. Since then, the Lyunesi Oph Nar Dinnid has been mentioned in a number of reference books.

Appearances

 * The Mandalorian Armor