Kushiban

Kushibans were sentient lagomorphs, with two big ears and Mood Fur covering their bodies. This mood fur was white when the Kushiban were at peace, and changed colors according to their mood.

Biology and appearance
Members of the sentient alien species known as Kushibans were four-limbed lagomorphs,  Their bodies were commonly half a meter long,   but reach one meter, as exemplified by Kushiban Jedi Master Ikrit, was not uncommon. Like many smaller species, they were physically weaker than most humanoids, but they were also a difficult target due to their small size. They were also nimble, quick and stealthy when needed.

The head of a Kushiban was dominated by the two big,  soft    ears, which a Kushiban could rise or drop at will or to reflect changes of mood: When disappointed or tired a Kushiban dropped the ears, but they would revive if the Kushiban recovered interest in a subject or to focus his or her attention. The ears rocked when a Kushiban nodded, and fell to the floor when a Kushiban was sleeping.

The face of a Kushiban, which had apelike features, included a keen small snout, but was dominated by its big,     innocent-looking,  round eyes, with eyelids protruded for several centimeter. Kushibans were known to wink eyes and to watch people closely while silently waiting for the other person to talk. The eye color, in the case of Jedi Master Ikrit, could change to mimic the eye color of the person the Kushiban was looking at or becoming a whirlpool if the Kushiban was not looking at anyone at the moment. Ikrit's eyes were known to be bright, except during the end of his life, and Human Jedi Tionne Solusar recognized in them curiosity and intelligence.

The body of a Kushiban, including its soft tail, was covered with surprisingly soft but straight-out, fluffy fur. While the Kushiban was at rest, its fur was frost white,   but that feature was not fixed: the Kushiban could change the color of its fur at will emulating for instance the golden-brown of surrounding stones  to camouflage itself for security or reflecting the Kushiban's mood,   blossoming to pitch black when mourning, or desperate   and changing to grey when upset. Due to this, a Kushiban's fur was known as "Mood Fur." The few people familiar with the Kushibans changing colors depending on their mood could use this knowledge to understand the real motivations of a Kushiban.

Kushiban fur could be, and was, curled, and individual Kushibans tended to brush their fur periodically&mdash;for instance daily. If a Kushiban got its fur dirty, he or she could shake it off to get rid of dust or mud; otherwise, the fur tended to get filthy and matted.

While Kushibans were quadrupeds, their foremost paws could be used as manipulative hands, allow a Kushiban to open a door, to hold an object, or to beat its chest while standing on its other legs. Indeed, Kushibans could walk on two legs, but they were faster when running or ramming on fours,  and tended to walk on fours as default choice. A Kushiban could also leap, reaching the shoulder of an eleven-year-old human, the upper dome of an R2 unit, or the frame of a window, and they could also climb up steep walls or up the body of a friendly humanoid.

Kushibans could speak either Galactic Basic Standard or other languages. In the case of Kushiban Jedi Master Ikrit, his voice when speaking Basic was raspy, deep and scratchy,    with a familiar rasp. At other times, it was between a purr, a growl and a roar, and he had a peculiar wheezing sound when laughing.

A Kushiban started adolescence at six years of age, and was considered an adult at thirteen. When reaching sixty years, the Kushiban felt the first ill effects of old age, which became more acute at eighty-five. A Kushiban's life expectancy reached one hundred and ten years of age, although a number of Kushibans outlived that span.

Kushibans were herbivorous creatures and ate all their food raw, but they had a natural bite attack.

A number of Kushibans were Force-sensitive and became members of the Jedi Order, as in the case of Ikrit. An exceptional Kushiban, Ikrit was a telepath who could hibernate for four centuries and communicate with an R2 unit without nearby Humans hearing him.

Due to their furry appearance and a number of their behavioral patterns, Kushibans were considered cute by a number of other species. Eleven-year old Human Tahiri Veila found Ikrit to be cute before knowing that he was a sentient being. A number of people described the Kushiban K'Mi as cute, which K'Mi found enervating to the point of reacting aggressively.

Society and culture
The Kushiban people considered themselves to be a simple civilization, having developed a complex and peaceful society  that lived harmoniously with their environment  on the non-industrialized, lush green planet Kushibah, in the Gordian Reach of the Outer Rim.

The Kushibans shared their planet with non-sentient, clawed, fanged, three-meter predators known as Xinkras or Xinkra-beasts. The Xinkras preyed on the Kushibans, but the Kushibans had learned to use fire as a defense against all their natural predators. The pyrophobic Xinkras were also vulnerable to sharp weapons and to Jedi mind tricks.

Kushibans lived in family units, similar to Human's, in collective areas of weavers and farmers: Kushiban farmer grew silkweed which, when mixed with their own brushed fur, could be weaved to create clothes and tapestry. Kushiban fabric was famous throughout the galaxy, leading to a local industry and a number of traditions: The Silkweed harvest was a notable date in Kushibah. Due to the textile jobs, Kushibans used a number of specific tools including rakes, scythes, spindles and torches, but beyond that the Kushiban population had little interest for galactic technology. Kushibans had little need for tools, as they needed not to hunt or cook their food and used caves and hollow trees to protect themselves from weather. As Kushibah had so little technology, the world was almost worthless for the space-based economy of the galactic community.

Kushibans were commonly kind and generous, with a playful sense of humor and a penchant for practical jokes. They had traditional proverbs, such as the one saying that the path to success tended to be long. However, if betrayed or angered, Kushibans could be cruel or vindictive, and they had little patience for bullies, simpletons and misanthropes.

Only rarely a Kushiban showed interest in leaving his or her native Kushibah; the only Kushibans travelling through the galaxy were almost exclusively scholars, scouts and members of the Jedi Order. While some Kushibans joined the Jedi Order, the Kushiban community found the idea of a Kushiban Jedi, or its need, to be laughable. Kushibans rarely spoke Galactic Basic Standard language, instead learning only their own Kushiban language. Kushibans outside the planet gathered credits and the planet itself had a "pool of credits" to be used by the species.

Due to the fur, short height and long ears of the Kushibans, other people tended to take them for pets or vermin. By looking helpless and cute, a Kushiban could trick even a Jedi community so that he could be considered the pet of a person instead of an intelligent person.

Kushibans had one-word names, with examples including Asani, Cerlyk, Etyk, Mabbik, Pritsi, Sibble, Tieko, Widdimur and Mirax, which was also a common name for female humans as in the case of Human Mirax Terrik from Corellia.

History
The planet Kushibah joined the greater galactic community at some point between 3,000 and 1,000 BBY, during the times of the Galactic Republic. During the Republic, it was uncommon for a Jedi Master to visit Kushiban villages looking for a prospective student; this happened at least once in the last millennia of the Republic, with Master Yoda visiting, and the event honored the Kushibans. Yoda took the Kushiban Ikrit as his apprentice. Ikrit later returned to Kushibah as a Jedi student and saved his community from the Xinkras.

In the years before the Clone Wars, the Kushiban species was known in the outer galaxy: The Jedi called Rune, during an interview hosted by Yara Grugara, insulted his college Nute calling him a "Kushiban-loving freak." At the same time, in 22 BBY, the species was so rarely seen that the Kushiban K'Mi was being exhibit in an illegal zoo with other exotic species. Soon before the Battle of Geonosis, however, Ikrit was featured among the Jedi distributed by Biscuit Baron featuring several Jedi Masters and other heroes of the Republic.

During the Clone Wars, Kushibah was in the space controlled by the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

Much later, during the struggle against the Diversity Alliance (23-24 ABY), several Kushibans were killed along with Bith, Ithorians, Rodians, Sullustans and Ugnaughts. Raabakyysh the Wookiee thought that Kushibans were people same as Humans, and that they should be granted the right to live.

Kushibans in the galaxy
Ikrit was a Kushiban Jedi Master who gained notoriety during the times of the Galactic Republic. He hibernated for four centuries in the Palace of the Woolamander on Yavin 4, guarding the Golden Globe while he waited for more prepared Jedi who could break the Globe and free the poor souls trapped inside. As he was sleeping, he avoided the Great Jedi Purge and, in the times of the New Republic, Ikrit awoke and worked along with Junior Jedi Knights Anakin Solo and Tahiri Veila to succeed at the Golden Globe quest. Ikrit later taught Solo and Veila as their Master and worked with them and with other Jedi against threats such as Orloc,  up until the moment where Ikrit heroically sacrificed his live during the war against the Yuuzhan Vong.

The Kushiban K'Mi was captured, enslaved and regularly beaten by the Chevin criminal Phylus Mon. Mon surgically inserted a bomb near K'Mi's heart so he could not escape, and exhibited K'Mi in an illegal zoo in Mon's starship, Animiasma. K'Mi, unhappy with his fate, was ready to work along any other person to escape.

Behind the scenes
The Kushibans first appeared in the novel Junior Jedi Knights: The Golden Globe, by Nancy Richardson. The Golden Globe was the first novel of six in the Junior Jedi Knights series, all of which featured Ikrit the Kushiban as an important character.

Appearances

 * Junior Jedi Knights: The Golden Globe
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Lyric's World
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Promises
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Anakin's Quest
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Vader's Fortress
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Kenobi's Blade
 * Young Jedi Knights: The Emperor's Plague
 * Young Jedi Knights: Crisis at Crystal Reef
 * ''Star Wars: Invasion 1: Refugees, Part 1
 * Edge of Victory I: Conquest
 * Edge of Victory I: Conquest