Ulabore

"The generals give the orders to me, and I give them to you, not the other way around!"

- Ulabore, to Dessel

Ulabore was a male lieutenant in the New Sith Wars in the years leading up to the Seventh Battle of Ruusan. He was the leader of a unit in the Brotherhood of Darkness military called the Gloom Walkers and received many accolades, commendations, and awards for the high success rate of the unit. However, it was actually one of his troopers, Dessel, who was responsible for the success of the Gloom Walkers due to his remarkable abilities, which he later learned were caused by latent Force-sensitivity. Ulabore served with the Gloom Walkers on Kashyyyk, Trandosha, Phaseera, and many more planets between 1,003 BBY and 1,002 BBY. During the Battle of Phaseera, Ulabore was knocked out by Dessel, who took over the Gloom Walkers in a mutiny after Ulabore refused to reconsider orders given to him by his superiors. After the battle, Ulabore had Dessel arrested, but Dessel was taken away for training at the Korriban Sith academy before his trial could take place. Ulabore was later killed in an ambush by Republic forces, when the Sith trooper Lucia shot him in the back.

Biography
"Enough! Quit braying like a bantha cut of from its herd! You have your orders, now follow them! Or do you want to see what happens to soldiers who defy their superior officers?"

- Ulabore

Lieutenant Ulabore was, as of 1,003 BBY, the leader of the Gloom Walkers&mdash;a unit in the Brotherhood of Darkness army&mdash;during the New Sith Wars against the Galactic Republic. In 1,003 BBY, the Gloom Walkers&mdash;who had recently gained two new members, Dessel and Adanar&mdash;fought in the Battle of Kashyyyk, where the Brotherhood was attempting to gain a foothold in the Mid Rim. When the Brotherhood forces arrived on the Republic stronghold of Kashyyyk, the Republic forces retreated into the mighty wroshyr forests of the planet and used guerrilla tactics to decimate the Brotherhood forces, which were unprepared to fight in such heavy wilderness. Nevertheless, the Sith Masters continued to send in reinforcements, and the Gloom Walkers were pressed into action as part of the second wave of troops. During the battle, the Gloom Walkers were separated from the main force, stranded deep behind enemy lines. Alone and surrounded by enemies, Ulabore panicked, having no idea how to keep his unit alive without direct orders. However, Dessel was able to lead the Gloom Walkers back to the main force. The story of the Gloom Walkers became a rallying point for the beleaguered Sith forces, raising the level of morale that had become dangerously low. The Sith were able to take the planet, and Ulabore was given a special commendation. Ulabore never bothered to mention that Dessel was responsible for leading the Gloom Walkers back to the main force, although he did promote Dessel to the rank of sergeant.

Following the pivotal Battle of Kashyyyk, the surviving Republic soldiers fled to the neighboring world of Trandosha, and the Brotherhood of Darkness commanders sent twenty units of Sith troopers&mdash;including Ulabore's Gloom Walkers&mdash;in pursuit. The Sith caught up to the Republic forces outside the city of Hsskhor, and a battle ensued. After night fell, the two sides retreated to opposite sides of the battlefield to regroup, only to find themselves under attack by the native Trandoshans that were not allied with either side of the war. The Sith were able to fight off this attack, however, and went on to annihilate the Republic forces and raze Hsskhor. Over the next year, the Gloom Walkers fought in scores of battles with an extremely high success rate, mostly due to the efforts of Dessel. Although Ulabore received many accolades as the official leader of the Gloom Walkers, all the unit's members knew that Dessel was really the one in charge when the battle started.

In 1,002 BBY, the Gloom Walkers fought in the Battle of Phaseera, an attempt to capture the Republic manufacturing world of Phaseera. The Gloom Walkers were tasked with taking out an outpost preventing the Sith forces from moving through a valley that led to a Republic base camp in Phaseera's capital city. After several hours of waiting, Ulabore received the orders from the Brotherhood commanders telling them to take the outpost during the day. When he relayed these orders to the rest of the unit, however, they objected, stating that it was a suicide mission due to the Republic flatbed gunships that would gun down the unit's members if they were sighted. When Ulabore refused to reconsider, Dessel took charge and knocked Ulabore unconscious, taking command of the unit through mutiny.

The Gloom Walkers, now under Dessel's control, went on to accomplish their objective and eliminate the outpost. The victory was mostly due to a tremendous effort by Dessel, who killed a large number of Republic soldiers even after being blinded by a flash canister. When Dessel and the Gloom Walkers returned, they were greeted by a furious Ulabore and a team of Sith enforcers. Ulabore commanded the enforcers to take Dessel prisoner and court-martial him. As Dessel was taken away by the Sith enforcers, he got a feeling that Ulabore would die in an accident the next time he saw battle. However, the court-martial never occurred, as word of Dessel's incredible shooting while capturing the outpost spread. The story of his accomplishments reached the highest-ranking members of the Brotherhood of Darkness, and he was taken to be trained in the dark side of the Force at the Korriban Sith academy. Dessel eventually became Darth Bane, one of the most important and influential Dark Lords of the Sith in galactic history.

A month after the Battle of Phaseera, the Gloom Walkers were patrolling Alaris Prime when they were ambushed by Republic Forces. During the short, bloody, close-quarters battle, both sides suffered several causalities, Ulabore among them. Ulabore was shot in the back by Lucia at point-blank range, a fact that no one in the Gloom Walkers reported.

Personality and traits
"Go talk to Ulabore. He listens to you sometimes."

- Adanar, to Dessel

Ulabore, despite being highly decorated by the Brotherhood of Darkness as the official leader of the Gloom Walkers, greatly lacked leadership skills, something which earned him disdain among the members of the Gloom Walkers. Even though Dessel was his best soldier and had led the unit to many victories, Ulabore talked down to Dessel, and before the Battle of Phaseera, lamented the fact that he was questioning their orders, saying that it was cowardice that caused the Gloom Walkers to protest. Ulabore never listened to most of the members of the Gloom Walkers, with the occasional exception of Dessel. He secretly feared being punished by his superiors and refused to disobey his orders due to fear of the Brotherhood of Darkness' leaders' Force powers.

Ulabore was vain and self-centered, and was quick to accept full responsibility and accolades for the Gloom Walkers' journey back to the main force during the Battle of Kashyyyk. However, he knew that he was not responsible and was smart enough to promote Dessel to the rank of sergeant after the battle. Ulabore quickly turned vicious whenever his ego was bruised and greatly enjoyed ordering the Sith enforcers to arrest Dessel after being knocked out before the Battle of Phaseera. Before a battle, he enjoyed inspecting his troops as they stood at attention, which would give Ulabore a chance to feel as if he had something to do with the success of a mission, as he would quickly yield command to Dessel and stay out of the way once the battle began.

Behind the scenes
Ulabore made his first appearance in Drew Karpyshyn's 2006 novel Darth Bane: Path of Destruction. So far, it is his only appearance in Star Wars canon, although in 2008, Ulabore received an entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

Appearances

 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil

Notes and references
Ulabore Ulabore