Kon'me

Kon'me
Biological classification
Designation	Sentient
Classification	Reptilian
Physical characteristics
Skin color	Pink with dark spots on their backs
Distinctions	Reptilian
Sociocultural characteristics
Homeworld	Bal'demnic

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The Kon'me were a sentient reptilian species native to the ocean planet Bal'demnic in the Outer Rim's Auril sector. Living on the small islands that littered the surface of Bal'demnic, the Kon'me divided themselves into two prominent social classes, an upper-class that resided in luxurious bubble-like structures on oceanside cliffs, and a lower-class that lived in simple, thatch, beachside dwellings. Known to be extremely distrustful of off-worlders, the Kon'me tried to keep from involving themselves in larger galactic affairs unless absolutely necessary, but they were unable to avoid being forced into the Clone Wars when it was discovered that Bal'demnic's cliffs contained the rare mineral cortosis.

In 19 BBY, the Confederacy of Independent Systems invaded Bal'demnic, seeking to mine the cortosis ore, with the higher-class Kon'me reluctantly allowing the Separatists' occupation. However, the beachfront Kon'me were less compliant, and rebelled against the Confederate battle droid army. During the resulting battle, the Galactic Republic sent a detachment of its clone army led by a number of Jedi Knights to assist the Kon'me insurrection. The Kon'me rebels, however, seeing all the off-worlders as tyrannical invaders, fought back against both Confederate and Republic armies, eventually forcing the two intruding factions to leave Bal'demnic.

Biology and appearance

The Kon'me were a sentient reptilian species from the ocean world Bal'demnic, in the Bak'rofsen system of the Auril sector. Humanoid in appearance, the Kon'me were pink hued with dark spots on their bodies, and had a large neck that extended from their torsos to a pointed head. The Kon'me possessed hands with three digits each along with feet with two digits, with which they were able to operate heavy machinery and weaponry.

Society and culture

The Kon'me lived in the small, tropical beach islands that dotted Bal'demnic's watery surface. The species arranged themselves into two main social classes, with an upper-class that lived in glistening, bubble-like structures built on the islands' cliffs, and a lower-class that dwelt in simpler thatch, beachside dwellings.

The Kon'me were heavily distrustful of off-worlders and colonists, taking an isolationist stance and avoiding involvement in the affairs and conflicts of the galaxy. Bal'demnic would likely have become a popular tourist destination—being considered very beautiful and attractive by many off-worlders—were it not for the Kon'me's isolationist policies, and as a result the Kon'me were viewed as an annoying and noisome species by the rest of the galaxy.

During battle, the Kon'me wore armor that included a breastplate, shoulder plates, and a helmet with a horizontal slit for their eyes to see through. In conjunction with this armor, the Kon'me wore brown leggings and wrist guards.

History

"I was Ak'ghal Usar. Last lord of Urkupp, the lost dominion of Cron, and subjugator of the Kon'me. All that remains is my vengeance."

―Ak'ghal Usar

Due to their separation from the rest of the galaxy, the Kon'me remained mostly undisturbed by galactic wars and events. Nonetheless, the species was conquered by Ak'ghal Usar, a Dashade Shadow Killer who ruled the nearby planet of Urkupp, sometime before the Cron Supernova wiped out Urkupp in 3996 BBY. In 19 BBY—the final year of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems—Confederate Commerce Guild scouts found trace amounts of the rare mineral cortosis sheltered in Bal'demnic's island cliffs. Wanting to mine the cortosis—a metal so dense it could even block lightsaber attacks—for their war efforts against the Republic, and coinciding with their goal of directing Republic forces away from the Core Worlds, the Confederacy approached the upper-class Kon'me with an ultimatum: either allow the mining operations on Bal'demnic to begin or be destroyed by the Confederacy's battle droid army.

The Kon'me rebels fighting against Confederate spider droids.

Seeing little choice in the matter, the Kon'me leaders reluctantly permitted Commerce Guild miners to start their cortosis operations on Bal'demnic. However, the lower-class Kon'me, viewing the off-world miners as invaders, rebelled against the Separatist occupation, using powerful weapons smuggled to them by war profiteers hoping to take advantage of the situation. The Kon'me insurrection set up military barracks in the upper-class' bubble homes on the island cliffs, mounting their new high-tech blasters to drive back the Separatists. In response to the rebellion, the Confederacy dispatched OG-9 homing spider droids to overrun the Kon'me's positions, pushing Bal'demnic into chaos.

Meanwhile, Separatist transmissions regarding the situation on Bal'demnic were intercepted by the Jedi Order and the Republic. Jedi Master Mace Windu, not wanting the Confederacy to obtain cortosis that could be used against Jedi in the war, dispatched a detachment of the Grand Army of the Republic—led by a number of Jedi Knights including Sha Koon and Halagad Ventor—to sabotage the Confederate invasion in any way possible. However, once the Republic task force landed on Bal'demnic, the Kon'me freedom fighters, seeing the clone soldiers and their Jedi leaders as just another army of off-world invaders, opened fire on the Republic army as well as the Separatists.

Baldemnic's island terrain made it difficult for the Republic and Separatist armies to maneuver, forcing both off-world factions to retreat from the planet's surface. The Confederacy abandoned Bal'demnic altogether, while the Republic set up a small orbital defense fleet around Bal'demnic to assure that the Separatists would not try to set up another cortosis mining operation.

Behind the scenes

"This villain was called the Mekon, and I have hence named Bal'demnic's natives the Kon'me."

―Arthur Papadam discusses the origin of the Kon'me name

The Kon'me first appeared in the opening montage of Chapter 22 of the animated television series, Star Wars: Clone Wars, produced by the Cartoon Network. The chapter first aired on March 22, 2005, as part of the show's third season. The name of and a brief backstory on the Kon'me were later established by Arthur Papadam, writing under the pseudonym "Arf Maul," for Bal'demnic's entry in the Databank, as part of the What's The Story? feature on StarWars.com. The Kon'me were also included in Bal'demnic's entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, published on December 9, 2008.

Arthur Papadam named the Kon'me species after "Mekon," the final boss in the Commodore 64 video game, Dan Dare: Pilot of the Future, released in 1986. The physical appearance of the Kon'me reminded Papadam of Mekon, whom he describes as "a big green alien with a big head." This resemblance was furthered by the weapons emplacements of the Kon'me, which reminded Papadam of Mekon's own weapons platform.

As a way of justifying the Kon'me's success against the Confederacy, Papadam stated that he intended the Kon'me to "boast a history of defeating several local aggressors," although no reference to this made it into the final version of Bal'demnic's Databank entry. The name of their homeworld was derived from the word "condemn," which Papadam hoped might give "the impression that the planet and its inhabitants are not as innocent as they might appear."

Appearances

• Template:TOR (Mentioned only)
• Darth Plagueis
• Star Wars: Clone Wars — "Chapter 22" (First appearance)

Sources

• Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 2
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (Under Bal'demnic)
• Bal'demnic in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link) (First identified as Kon'me)

External links

• "The Making of Bal'demnic: The Island Planet" — We'll Blow Your Planet Up! — Arthur Papadam's StarWars.com Blog (backup link)

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