Fairwind

"The Jedi, shaken out of their complacency by the galactic crisis, raised their own champions, such as [...] Lord Farfalla, a foppish alien whose retinue and wooden-hulled battleship looked like elements of a forgotten fairy tale."

- Voren Na'al

Farfalla's flagship was a large gunship designed to resemble ancient waterfaring vessels. Built with a large rounded hull, twin masts, and a large figurehead, the starship was an ornate vessel owned by Jedi Lord and Master Valenthyne Farfalla. Farfalla used the vessel while recruiting Jedi Knights to join with Lord Hoth and his Army of Light on Ruusan. After gathering together 300 Knights, Farfalla returned to the planet with his ship and a number of other gunships. However, a Sith blockade prevented him from reuniting with Lord Hoth until treachery within the Sith ranks created an opening for the armada. Farfalla then led broke through the blockade, in a crucial intervention that helped turn the tide of the war.

Design
Farfalla's flagship was unusual in its design, for it resembled a giant sailing ship, replete with multiple masts and a rounded hull. The hull was constructed of wood, with a golden keel running down its center. Mounted on the stern were four circular engines, two on each side. Mounted above these engines on each side were two wings, one larger and one smaller. When landing, two struts extended from the rear of the hull and one from bow in order to stabilize the ship. Passengers were then able to disembark through a hatchway at the front of the hull.



Above the mid line of the ship, two rows of windows ran along the side of the ship; nine along the upper level, and seven along the lower level. When the ship was within atmosphere, these windows could open to the air. The upper surface of the ship operated as an open air deck within the atmosphere, offering unrestricted views while the ship cruised. Mounted to the front of the ship was a large figurehead, resembling the horned head and front legs of a horse.

Two large masts rose from the deck of the ship, topped with circular watch towers. Two broad, though seemingly rigid, sails were mounted to each of the masts, and a red pennant flew atop each watchtower. Both the sails were gold, matching the color scheme theme of the rest of the ship. In front of these, and smaller, was a third sail; this one purple with a large crest emblazoned upon it&mdash;likely the Farfalla family crest. Despite its ornate design, the flagship was heavily armed. Each side of the ship was equipped with at least three double-barreled laser cannons; two mounted near the bow and one towards the stern. In addition to these, two laser turrets were incorporated into the figurehead, and another was placed at the leading edge of the bow.

While the design of the starship differed fundamentally from orthodox construction, it was not unique. Similar designs appeared sporadically throughout the galaxy; notable examples included Tof starship design, as exemplified by the Merriweather, and also the flagship of Reddjak the pirate.

Recruitment
"Send me, my lord, I have been here since the beginning; I believe in this cause as strongly as you&hellip; Give me leave to recruit others to our cause, and I will return with a hundred-no, three hundred!-Jedi ready to join the Army of Light."

- Valenthyne Farfalla

The origins of Farfalla's flagship were unknown; however, it made its most significant contribution to galactic events during the Ruusan campaign at the close of the New Sith Wars. The New Sith Wars were a conflict on a galactic scale which pitted a resurgent New Sith Empire against the Galactic Republic and its ally the Jedi Order. After the Sith forces drove the Republic back, threatening even Coruscant, the Jedi Order prioritized defeating actual Sith Lords over their regular forces. To achieve this end, the Jedi and the Sith engaged in a drawn-out campaign on the planet Ruusan. One of the Jedi Masters fighting there from the beginning was Lord Farfalla. A scion of a noble Equine family newly part of the Galactic Republic, Farfalla volunteered to recruit reinforcements for the beleaguered Jedi forces on Ruusan.

Farfalla returned to Ruusan months later spearheading a fleet of ships from his iconic flagship. Each ship in this fleet&mdash;composed of a number of capital ships and other massive gunships&mdash;was marked with his colors; suggesting they originated from his family's personal forces. The fleet carried three hundred Jedi Knights he had gathered to the cause, composed of many different species. En route to Ruusan, the taskforce had fought and defeated the traitorous King Lahzar, finally returning to the Ruusan system to be confronted with a powerful Sith blockade preventing access to the planet.

Reinforcements
"First, we spill wine&mdash;then we spill blood!"

- Lord Farfalla prepares his forces aboard his flagship

Despite the inability to disembark wholesale on the planet's surface, Farfalla did manage to slip some smaller ships down to the planet, rescuing one of Lord Hoth's caravans from a Sith ambush. However, the blunt general rebuffed Farfalla's aid, stung by the death of Pernicar, his closest companion, during the skirmish. Infuriated, Farfalla returned to his flagship in orbit, leaving Hoth's forces on the surface.

However, the frosty standoff between the two Jedi Masters was healed by the initiative of one of Farfalla's subordinates, who posed as an envoy from Farfalla. Apologizing for the delay in her Lord's return to Ruusan, she elicited a return apology from Hoth. With this rift healed, Farfalla's forces still needed an opportunity to pierce the Sith blockade. An opportunity arose during the next confrontation between the ground forces when a section of the Sith blockade moved to engage Farfalla's forces in orbit. Using his capital ships to draw fire from Sith cruisers and Dreadnauts, Farfalla managed to punch through the blockade with his flagship and a number of gunships. These gunships bore down on the ground forces, their laser cannons destroying Sith fliers and routing enemy forces. The outmatched Sith quickly fled the onslaught, giving victory that day to the Jedi. This intervention by Farfalla's flagship proved decisive for the Ruusan campaign and the whole of the New Sith Wars. With Lord Hoth's forces replenished, Lord Kaan, leader of the Brotherhood of Darkness was forced into a desperate gambit; unleashing a thought bomb to destroy the Jedi. Lord Hoth willingly led one hundred Jedi volunteers to Lord Kaan; when the thought bomb was unleashed, both Jedi and Sith forces were destroyed.

Lord Farfalla and his forces survived the detonation, having withdrawn to a safe distance. Farfalla, now the leader of the Army of Light, organized the rest of the Jedi, evacuating Ruusan in his fleet.

Notable crew
"Ahh, Lirondo, with friends like these, one need not be afraid his soul will go over to the dark side!"

- Valenthyne Farfalla

Lord Farfalla was an alien Jedi Master from a noble family. He favored elaborate etiquette and court ceremony, leading some Jedi to perceive his as foppish and vain, an impression that clung to him long after his death. However, to Jedi that knew him well, Farfalla was highly regarded. He was one of the first Jedi Masters to join Lord Hoth and his Army of Light on Ruusan, and subsequently fought in nearly every confrontation there, earning a fierce reputation even amongst the Sith forces.

Lirondo was a Jedi Knight of the same species as Farfalla, and a close companion of the Jedi Master. He traveled on Farfalla's flagship and marshaled the ship's forces for the Seventh Battle of Ruusan. Lirondo fought at his masters side during that battle, wielding a large axe and a green lightsaber.

The Envoy was a female alien with avian and humanoid characteristics; most notably two large wings. On her own initiative she approached Lord Hoth with an apparent apology from Farfalla. When she returned to Farfalla with an apology from Hoth, he saw through her ruse, yet appreciated the irony of the situation. The Envoy fought in the Seventh Battle of Ruusan alongside Lirondo and Farfalla.

Behind the scenes
Farfalla's flagship first appeared in the comic Jedi vs. Sith, although it went unnamed. It was subsequently referred to in The New Essential Chronology, described as a "wooden-hulled battleship". The events of Jedi vs. Sith were later retold in the novel Darth Bane: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn. In retelling these events, the author made some changes to the chronology of the Ruusan campaign, as well as other cosmetic changes. Where Farfalla's forces had originally comprised only one ship, he was now given a whole fleet. Furthermore, in order to remove some of the fairytale characteristics of the original comic, Karpyshyn made no reference to the unusual design of the starships, instead referring to them as "gunships".

In order to integrate these two sources, this article has understood the gunships that fulfil the same role as the starship in the original comic to include Farfalla's flagship. The chronology of the novel has also been favored over that of the comic, placing the dramatic intervention of Farfalla's forces after the death of Pernicar, rather than contemporaneous as in the comic.

Appearances

 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * Jedi vs. Sith