Chiss

"They're supposed to be great warriors. Clever, resourceful, proud. Intensely loyal to one another, too."

- Eli Vanto, on the Chiss

The Chiss were a blue-skinned, near-human sentient species that possessed red eyes and dark blue hair. They hailed from the planet Csilla.

The Chiss Ascendancy was the governing body of the Chiss, their domain located in the Unknown Regions. They had little contact with the rest of the galaxy, and until Grand Admiral Thrawn's ascent in the ranks of the Galactic Empire, their existence was regarded as mostly a legend even within the Unknown Regions.

Biology and appearance
"What is he, some kind of Pantoran with an eye condition?"

- Driller MarDapp, commenting on Thrawn's appearance

The Chiss' were near-humans, meaning their shape, features, and dimensions were greatly similar to those of humans. Their skin, however, was blue, their hair a shimmering blue-black, and their eyes a glowing red. Because of those first two characteristics, they were frequently mistaken for Pantorans, blue-skinned humanoids from Pantora, although Pantorans did not have red eyes. Besides their coloration, Chiss eyes were slightly better than those of humans, their visible spectrum edging a little into the infrared range. Additionally, their hearing was also sharper.

Force-sensitivity, refered to as the Third Sight by the Chiss, was incredibly rare and manifested in one ability, namely precognition. These Chiss were almost always female. Their abilities diminished as they grew older and eventually disappeared.

Society and culture
"But one fact has always remained constant: The Chiss must be approached from a position of strength and respect. One must have strength, for the Chiss will deal only with those capable of keeping their promises. One must have respect, for the Chiss must believe that those promises will be kept."

- Passage from Thrawn's journal

The ruling class of the Chiss Ascendancy was known as the Aristocra. The Chiss military consisted of the Chiss Defense Fleet.

In their rare contacts with outsiders, the Chiss used the Sy Bisti trade language.

Aside from the long form of their names, the Chiss also used shortened variants&mdash;for example "Mitth'raw'nuruodo" could be shortened to "Thrawn".

History
The Chiss hailed from Csilla, a planet located in the so-called Unknown Regions of the galaxy. During the Age of the Empire, they were being ruled by a government known as the Chiss Ascendancy.

Despite their secrecy, one Chiss known as Thrawn became an officer of the Galactic Empire. Attaining the rank of Grand Admiral, he participated in the Imperial Military's efforts to combat the early rebellion in the years prior to the Battle of Yavin.

Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, former Senator Johhar Kessen acquired the services of several female Chiss mercenaries. During the Galactic Civil War, a Chiss female spy infiltrated the Empire as a human Imperial officer using fake skin.

Behind the scenes
The Chiss species first appeared, albeit unidentified, in Heir to the Empire, a 1991 Star Wars Legends novel written by Timothy Zahn as the first entry in The Thrawn Trilogy. The species' name would later be revealed in Vision of the Future, a 1998 Legends novel also written by Zahn as the second and final entry in the The Hand of Thrawn Duology. The Chiss became canon when they appeared in Secret Alliances, the sixth campaign featured in Star Wars: Commander, a mobile game published by Disney Interactive that was released on August 21, 2014.

Though it was ultimately decided that he would be a human, a preliminary design of Agent Kallus, one of the antagonists of the canon animated television series Star Wars Rebels, depicted him as a member of the Chiss species. Eventually, the Chiss would appear in the series, in the form of Grand Admiral Thrawn.