Noghri/Legends

Noghri are a primitive humanoid species. They have steely gray skin, and are extremely skilled assassins due to their abilities in stealth and hand-to-hand combat. They are much like the Wookiee species culturally, in that they respect honor above all else.

They are natives of the planet Honoghr, which was ravaged by toxins from a Trade Federation core ship destroyed in a battle during the Clone Wars. Darth Vader visited the planet some time later under the guise of helping it recover from ecological disaster, in return for most of the young males of the planet entering slavery as the personal assassins of Emperor Palpatine.

The Noghri remained in service to the Galactic Empire after the death of Palpatine. About five years after the death of the Emperor, Grand Admiral Thrawn ordered the Noghri to kidnap the pregnant Leia Organa Solo. Realizing that neither she or her children would be truly safe as long as the Noghri served the Empire, she went to Honoghr in order to convince the Noghri to leave the Empire's service. She was able to use the fact that she was the daughter of Darth Vader to convince the Noghri that the Empire had been lying to them and kept them in virtual slavery for many years. As a result, the Noghri turned against the Empire. Grand Admiral Thrawn died when his Noghri bodyguard Rukh turned on him and stabbed him.

Following the death of Thrawn, the Noghri came into the service of the New Republic. They helped resettle the Noghri to other planets to give Honoghr time to heal. Leia and her entire family became very highly respected figures in Noghri society.

The Noghri appear extensively in the Thrawn trilogy of novels, written by Timothy Zahn.