Kithriss

"Transaction codename SARLACC065824 set to occur during Cloud City Sabacc Tournament as planned. The Hutt has assured us that his agent will be present to receive the handoff. An officer from the Assiduous will be taking part in the tournament. The transaction will occur during play so as to avoid arousing suspicion. You are responsible only for observing this transaction and making sure the Hutt's agent does nothing to endanger the secrecy of the arrangement."

- A message sent by Kithriss' superiors to his datapad

Baron Kithriss was a male Human from the planet Chandrila, who served the Galactic Empire during the years following the Clone Wars. A devoted follower of Emperor Palpatine, the leader of the Empire, Kithriss spent several weeks on the planet Byss at Palpatine's request. There, Palpatine secretly exposed the baron to a number of Sith techniques, in attempt to make Kithriss resistant to the effects of Force powers. In about 17 BBY, Kithriss was sent by the Empire to Cloud City on the planet Bespin, to oversee a transfer of funds to the Hutt crime lord Darga Jiramma Mionne. However, the baron encountered a group of Alderaanian Resistance agents that were investigating Darga's activities, and the agents engaged Kithriss in combat on a Cloud City walkway. The agents eventually defeated the baron and they stole his datapad.

Biography
"Under no circumstances are you to interfere with the transaction. Once the transaction is complete, send a confirmation message to Coruscant standard relay 88-Shen-Xesh-3, then return to Chandrila. No further instructions will follow."

- A message sent by Kithriss' superiors to his datapad

Kithriss was a wealthy male Human baron from the planet Chandrila. During the years following the end of the Clone Wars, when Kithriss was in his early twenties, he served the Galactic Empire and became a veteran member of the Imperial Senate, the Empire's governing body. At some point, he purchased two Theelin slaves from a Hutt gangster and he appointed the pair as his bodyguards. Kithriss became devoted to Emperor Palpatine, the leader of the Empire, and at Palpatine's request, Kithriss traveled to the Deep Core planet Byss and spent some time at Palpatine's newly-constructed retreat on the world. There, over a period of several weeks, Palpatine covertly exposed Kithriss to various different dark-side-based Sith techniques, in an attempt to make the baron resistant to the effects of Force powers.

In about 17 BBY, the Empire secretly made deal with the Hutt crime lord Darga Jiramma Mionne, whereby Darga would supply the Empire with tibanna gas for use on a clandestine Imperial project. As part of the arrangement, the Empire agreed to pay Darga a large sum of credits, which were to be surreptitiously handed over to Darga's agent Mirana Fioro during the Cloud City Sabacc Tournament, a sabacc tournament that was held in Cloud City on the planet Bespin. To ensure that Fioro did not do anything to expose the secrecy of the transaction, the Empire planned to have Kithriss oversee the exchange, and a message was sent to the baron's datapad that ordered him to travel to the Yarith Bespin hotel in Cloud City. The purpose of his assignment was not divulged to him and he was told that he would receive further instructions via the hotel's computer system, and that during the assignment he was to maintain communications silence and not tell anyone that he was an Imperial agent. Kithriss also received instructions to meet up with four clone stormtroopers prior to embarking for Bespin, who had been assigned to guard him during the mission. Unknown to Kithriss, the clones were under orders to observe him, to see if he demonstrated any signs of instability as a result of his exposure to Palpatine's techniques, and if so, to quietly kill him.

Accompanied by his two Theelin bodyguards and the four troopers, Kithriss traveled to the Yarith Bespin and checked in to one of the hotel's luxury suites. However, he was unsatisfied with the standard of his accomodation, so he went to the hotel's lobby and loudly berated one of the hotel employees, and demanded that the hotel manager allocate him a better room. Everyone in the lobby turned to watch Kithriss' tirade and the commotion attracted the attention of a group of undercover Alderaanian Resistance operatives, who were investigating Darga's dealings with the Empire. Due to the presence of Kithriss' clone trooper guards and the style of the baron's garb, the operatives recognised that he was an Imperial agent and they deduced that he might possess information relating to the Empire's deal with Darga. Once Kithriss had finished his outburst, the hotel staff rushed off to attend to his requests and the baron headed out onto the streets of Cloud City with the Theelin and the four clone troopers. The Alderaanian agents followed the party and they subsequently engaged Kithriss and his entourage in combat on a Cloud City walkway. The operatives eventually defeated Kithriss and they stole his datapad. A short time afterward, the baron's superiors on the planet Coruscant&mdash;who were unaware of the Alderaanians' attack on him&mdash;sent a set of instruction to the baron's datapad, which directed him to oversee the transaction in the sabacc tournament. The message also stated that he was not to interfere with the exchange and that once it had taken place, he was to transmit a confirmation message to Coruscant and then return to Chandrila.

Personality and traits
Kithriss was arrogant and he carried himself with an air of superiority. He was an ardent supporter of Palaptine and was one of the emperor's greatest sycophants, and his conditioning on Byss resulted in him becoming even more fiercely loyal to Palpatine. Kithriss also gained a limited resistance to Force-based attacks as a result of his exposure to Palpatine's techniques, but the baron was unaware of this ability and the effect was due to wear off after a few months. Kithriss spoke in a precise tone and had a Core Worlds accent, and in addition to Basic, he was able to speak the languages Bocce, High Galactic, Twi'leki and Kel Dor. He also had dark black hair, which was cut in a style that was popular with agents of the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order. He wore clothing of a style that was the considered the latest fashion among the Chandrilan nobility, and he was equipped with a blaster pistol, a vibroblade, a comlink, a datapad and a sabacc deck.

Behind the scenes
Baron Kithriss was created by Rodney Thompson and he appeared in The Queen of Air and Darkness, a roleplaying adventure that was released on Wizards.com in 2008, as part of the Dawn of Defiance campaign. During the adventure, the players roleplay as the team of Alderaanian Resistance operatives and the player characters' fight with Kithriss can begin in a number of ways, with Kithriss initiating the bout if he suspects that the Alderaanian agents are following him, or if the player characters ask him questions about Darga and the Empire. During the altercation, the two Theelin bodyguards remain near to Kithriss and the baron tries to allow the Theelin and the clone troopers to defend him, and if he gets close to the player characters, he attacks them with his vibroblade. The manner of the defeat of Kithriss and his party is dependent on the actions of the players, and it is possible for the player characters to kill him.