Panha


 * &laquo;What is that? It's too big to be a planet&hellip;it's moving!&raquo;
 * "It's an armada. Plot their trajectory. What's the first inhabited planet that fleet will reach?"
 * &laquo;It looks like&hellip;Artorias.&raquo;
 * "We have to warn them."
 * &mdash;Sarkkin and Panha find themselves on the frontlines of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion [src]

Panha was a female explorer at the time of the Yuuzhan Vong War, a pan-galactic conflict that began in 25 ABY when the Yuuzhan Vong species attacked the Outer Rim Territories. Partnered with the Wookiee Sarkkin, Panha operated a starship, the Pythea, alongside her companion, with the two explorers acting as the vessel's sole crewmembers. In the opening months of 25 ABY, having intercepted a transmission from the last survivor of a recently devastated race alerting the galaxy to the arrival of a powerful species of invaders known as the Yuuzhan Vong, Panha recognized the name due to the fact that the Yuuzhan Vong had attacked her own people on a prior occasion.

Aware of the danger faced by the galaxy, Panha and Sarkkin piloted their vessel to the nearest world, Artorias, in order to forewarn them of the imminent arrival of a Yuuzhan Vong armada. Panha barely managed to make contact with the planet's communication center and warn its lone monitor of the approaching warfleet before a Yuuzhan Vong cruiser disabled the Pythea and dispatched troops to board the vessel. In the resulting skirmish, Sarkkin was badly wounded and, although Panha and her Wookiee companion managed to kill all of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors, they decided that rather than be captured they would attempt to inflict at least some damage against the Yuuzhan Vong fleet. The explorer piloted the Pythea into the prow of an approaching Miid ro'ik cruiser, sacrificing herself and Sarkkin.

Exploring the galaxy

 * "You know, part of flying a ship is actually watching where we're going."
 * &laquo;Quiet!&raquo;
 * "What? Why quiet? It's not like there's anybody else onboard."
 * &mdash;Panha and Sarkkin [src]

Panha was a female explorer whose species had, in the distant past, fought an aggressive and warlike species known as the Yuuzhan Vong. Having become an explorer in her adult life, partnered with the Wookiee Sarkkin, Panha was used to piloting the exploratory starship Pythea in which she and her friend traveled. Together, the two explorers they journeyed through the galaxy. Panha had a good-natured relationship with her fellow explorer, with whom she shared a home together.

In the early months of 25 ABY, Panha and Sarkkin were piloting the Pythea in the Outer Rim Territories during their exploration of the galaxy. On one occasion when the female explorer arrived in the vessel's bridge, she found the pilot chair empty, despite the fact that Sarkkin was supposed to have been flying the craft. Once she had called out his name and ascertained that the Wookiee was in the bridge's small communications center, Panha climbed the ladder to join her companion, while playfully teasing him for the smell she had detected during the last several days.

Sakkin, however, had been investigating a weak communications signal the Pythea ' s array had picked up and was trying to boost the signal in order to receive the message. Once he had been able to do show, Panha remained silent next to the Wookiee as an identified warrior began relating the nature of his species' culture and history. The unknown speaker told of how his race had a society oriented around martial conflict and warfare but that against an overwhelming invading force, which he referred to as the Yuuzhan Vong, these cultural aspects had little relevance. The warrior's species had been devastated in the attack; he urged recipients of the message to flee the oncoming Yuuzhan Vong invasion force while they still could, as attempting to fight the species was futile.

Sacrifice

 * "Is there any way to boost the signal?"
 * &laquo;I can reroute some power, but we won't have enough to get home.&raquo;
 * "How close are those Vong ships?"
 * &laquo;They're almost on top of us.&raquo;
 * "Reroute all the power you need&mdash;we're not making it home."
 * &mdash;Panha and Sarkkin elect to forewarn Artorias rather than flee [src]

Recognizing fearfully the name of the Yuuzhan Vong, Panha rushed down to the pilot controls, ignoring Sarkkin's confused questions. She took the controls and powered up the engines, telling Sarkkin to check the long range scanners in case the Yuuzhan Vong were closer than they expected. Sarkkin soon informed her as the Pythea sped away that there was a large mobile mass on the scanners, which Panha gravely confirmed was a Yuuzhan Vong armada. Realizing that worlds in the path of the oncoming fleet had to be warned, Panha asked Sarkkin to relay data on the closest inhabited world. When the Wookiee replied that the closest such planet was Artorias but that they were too far away to communicate the news, Panha simply stated that they would have to move closer to Artorias, despite the danger such a trajectory would place them in the path of the armada.

As Panha and Sarkkin piloted the Pythea to Artorias, the Yuuzhan Vong fleet continued on its course; Panha explained that whether or not she and Sarkkin were placed at risk, what mattered most was that the inhabitants of Artorias were warned of the imminent threat to their existence. The Yuuzhan Vong fleet, however, dispatched several vessels, including a miid ro'ik cruiser, to intercept the Pythea. Deciding that escape was an impossibility, Panha asked Sarkkin to re-route power to the communications system in order that they could warn Artorias before their own destruction.

The Yuuzhan Vong force closed in and Panha desperately tried to contact Artorias, receiving no response. A yorik-vec cruiser fired a plasma burst at the Pythea, breaching the starship's hull. Just as Sarkkin reported the damage, an individual on Artorias finally responded. Panha hurriedly informed the man of the approaching invasion fleet and of its prior conquest, urging him to evacuate. Gratefully, the individual wished her luck on behalf of the planet's populace. Panha and Sarkkin then turned to the pressing issue of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors who had boarded the Pythea. As the warriors neared the bridge, Panha drew her blaster while Sarkkin prepared to attack the warriors with brute strength.

During the brief skirmish that ensued, Panha was able to down several Yuuzhan Vong warriors, though Sarkkin was stabbed through the midsection with an amphistaff. The two explorers realized as they fought that the Yuuzhan Vong were attempting to take them alive. In the end, the entire enemy boarding party was vanquished, although Sarkkin lay badly wounded among the slain warriors. All the while, the Yuuzhan Vong cruiser drew closer to the starship. The two friends agreed that they would not face capture; leaving Sarkkin wounded, Panha took the controls for the last time and drove the starship into the prow of the Yuuzhan Vong cruiser, immolating herself and Sarkkin along with the Pythea.

Personality and traits

 * &laquo;If we stay on this course, that fleet will intercept us!&raquo;
 * "It doesn't matter. My species has encountered the Yuuzhan Vong before. Even in small numbers they were almost unstoppable. We have to give Artorias a chance&mdash;we have to let them know&hellip;the Yuuzhan Vong are coming."
 * &mdash;Panha and Sarkkin [src]

Panha was a selfless being, who first risked her life, and then gave it up entirely, in order to warn strangers of their imminent peril. Aware of the threat of the Yuuzhan Vong, the explorer acted in haste and panic to alert Artorias to the threat, while remaining practical enough to realize the situation in which she and Sarkkin had found themselves. Rather than face capture, Panha chose to fight a numerically superior enemy before sacrificing herself and her companion in order to inflict greater damage against the foe.

The explorer had a companiable relationship with Sarkkin, lightheartedly teasing him for his personal hygiene and for his abandonment of the controls during ther exploratory travels aboard the Pythea. She cared for the Wookiee and they knew one another well enough to come to an agreement over their final course of action. Although Panha was an explorer, she was not without a home entirely.

Behind the scenes
On 7 February 2009, the official Star Wars website announced that Dark Horse Comics would be releasing a new comic series titled Star Wars: Invasion, revolving around the events of the Yuuzhan Vong War, which itself had been the focus of Del Rey's nineteen-book New Jedi Order series. The comic was released in July of the same year, with two eight page previews released online in the months of May and June, respectively, as a prelude. The first of these installments, Star Wars Invasion 0, Part 1, was released on May 8, and introduced Panha and her companion Sarkkin. Panha's role in the series was brief, however, as the second half of the sixteen page comic featured the suicidal sacrifice of the two explorers.

In the comic, Panha was drawn by artist Colin Wilson and colored by Wes Dzioba. Panha's comment referring to the fact that her species has fought the Yuuzhan Vong before, as well as her appearance, raises the question of whether she is a Chiss or a Ferroan. Both species have blue skin, black hair and gold or red coloration in their eyes and both are known to have fought the Yuuzhan Vong prior to 25 ABY. Panha's military uniform and the prominence of the Chiss in the Expanded Universe suggest that Panha is of the former species, but as this consists of speculation, her race has not been stipulated in this article.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Invasion 0, Part 1
 * Star Wars Invasion 0, Part 2