Ubese

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To most inhabitants of the galaxy, the enigmatic Ubese species are a rare sight to behold, never leaving the confines of their armor and speaking through a voice modulator. Few are those who could witness their veritable appearance and even fewer would be allowed to see the visage of a Ubese alive. Their xenophobic nature made them ideally suited for professions such as mercenaries or bounty hunters, granting them an excuse to hunt down and kill other species. Normally, they were a very aggressive people, though loyal to one another. The Ubese homeworld was little known to the rest of the galaxy, as they tended to be very secretive, associating only within their own circles. They were generally known as mysterious, savage nomads.

Contents 1 Biology and Appearance 2 History 3 Behind the scenes 4 Appearances 5 Sources

[edit] Biology and Appearance

The typical Ubese, when seen outside of their homeworld, be it Uba IV or Ubertica, wore a protective, airtight environment suit or armor that covered the entire body. Without their armor, the Ubese species were Near-Human in appearance, usually standing around 1.75 – 2.25 meters and weighing 165 – 185 pounds. They had a slender build, and with their armor on, it was often difficult for an offworlder to determine whether he was dealing with a male or female. The formation of their vocal chords is particular in that they cannot speak above the sound of a raspy whisper, which makes them very difficult to understand without the voice modulator that is usually integrated into their helmet. Only on their homeworld, Ubertica, and under very special circumstances, would a Ubese show his visage, a feat that was literally impossible to accomplish for the Ubese of Uba IV, who required their helmet at all time in order to breathe in atmospheres other than the one they became adapted to on their ravaged home planet. Their face was characterized by a lean morphology, featuring a resistant skin that varied in color from different shades of gray and white. They could not grow any facial hair, and had prominent high cheeks, small and dark eyes, as well as oily, black hair.

[edit] History

Although their mysterious history is filled with imprecisions, several studies gave researchers a way to determine that the race was almost completely annihilated by the bureaucrats of the Old Republic millennia ago. The small amount of data discovered indicates that the species originated from a star system located in the Mid Rim bearing the name Uba. At one point in history, the planet featured a promising, but also highly unstable civilization. The Ubese were divided into several clans and it took them a long period of time before ceasing their brutal clan-wars and rally as a unified race towards a common goal; the conquest for the stars. This moment marked the beginning of the colonization of the Uba system, establishing numerous colonies quickly. Frustrated by their inability to find a way of travel faster-than-light, tensions between the Ubese people surfaced once more, generating many conflicts which threatened to erupt into an all-out war. Many of the colonies were equipped with highly disruptive weapons of mass destruction easily capable of hitting their rivals. The outbreak of a war between the colonies would've brought devastation beyond compare to the Uba system, and for several years, an ongoing cold war ensued, reducing the Ubese dream of colonization to dust. Slowly, the race began to divide again into multiple factions, fearing the moment when the inter-colonial war would explode. During the early first contact missions of the Old Republic, the Uba system was amongst the first to be discovered, and the voyagers were warmly greeted by its inhabitants, who saw a chance at redemption, an opportunity for a new beginning.

To the eyes of the Ubese, the advanced technology of the first contact voyagers coupled with the knowledge of a grand galactic civilization were proof that not only was galactic expansion something that could be technically achieved but that it was also a reality. Quickly and decisively, the Ubese began to assimilate this new technology which served to reunite them as a people. Their old dream of conquest was now reignited. The development of their own technology led to make them more aggressive and overconfident. Should other species begin to covet the worlds they wanted to keep for themselves, aided with the construction of advanced weaponry, the Ubese began to elaborate schemes in order to ensure their superiority. Due to their refusal regarding their dream of expansion, the diplomats of the Republic were expulsed from the Uba system. Marking a vast movement to expand their civilization and ultimately begin a military campaign, the Ubese people underwent a great deal of modernization in an attempt to create new technologies and weapons, ensuring they would be able to rival those of the Republic. To make sure that their system of origin would remain safe, the weapons of mass destruction stationed on the colony worlds were reactivated and improved.

Following much debate, the representatives of the Republic concluded that they would deliver a military strike aimed at the weapon installations on the colony worlds of the Uba system with the intent to put a stop to the Ubese's dangerous ideas of conquest and also serve as an act of prevention, a sign that the rest of the galaxy was more than capable of resisting them. Unfortunately, the carefully planned strikes on the Ubese weapons engendered the activation of an automated defense system, and numerous, unstable weapons that had been "improved" fired upon their assailants. The Republic's losses were minor in comparison to those of the Ubese. The activation of the colonies' auto-defense systems generated a number of malfunctions which resulted in some weapons targeting other colony worlds (which in turn would trigger their auto-defense system) instead of the Republic's vessels. Of all the five planets residing in the Uba system, only a single one, Uba IV, remained unharmed enough to accommodate a couple of thousand survivors amongst its wastes. Not only were the three other colonies irradiated and transformed into uninhabitable deserts, but the Ubese homeworld, Uba III, was completely destroyed, becoming an asteroid field. This cataclysm caused numerous other disasters inside the rest of the system.

Deeply horrified by the consequences of their actions, the Republic engaged in a great purge of information to make sure that no data of their decision could ever be retraced; they began to erase all documents concerning the operation and even reports and all other references of the Uba system and its people. Certain representatives who were unable to accept the unjustice of this quarantine proceeded to move a small number of survivors from the Uba system into a distant star system, Ubertica, but for the most part, the vast majority of the survivors on Uba IV were left on their own. For millennia to come, the Ubese of Uba IV cursed their cousins who had been saved by the Republic while they were forced to survive under impossible conditions. For several years, the refugees of Ubertica invested a great deal of time and efforts into finding traces of their origins and discover their home system. It took them centuries to find the star that first gave birth to their civilization, and in time, the descendants of the survivors from the Uba system began to travel the galaxy. The reunion of the two people was certainly bloody at first. The "true Ubese" of Uba IV never ceased to stop cursing at their cousins from Ubertica, giving them the name of "Yrak Pootczk", implying cowardice and impure parentage. However, it seems that their common hatred towards the Republic, who had destroyed their dream and their race, served as a means to unify them.

Ever since, the Ubese have definitively renounced any hope to attain their dream. Even though some other clans persisted to remain on their ravaged world (Uba IV), which was portrayed as a sacred remainder of their past, most Ubese slowly migrated towards the planet of Ubertica, which became their new homeworld. It became a tradition that those who left Ubertica had to be wearing an environmental suit that was developed on Uba IV following the disaster. These armors, also practical in combat, were used to protect the wearer against hostile atmospheres. For those Ubese of Uba IV who adapted to the irradidated climate of their planet, they cannot hope to survive without these suits, which is necessary to allow them to breathe in Type I atmosphere. For the most part, Ubertica and Uba IV received very few visitors, and most of them were usually chased off planet, or even killed. Their number as a race is unknown and details concerning their culture and practices are limited, but it seems that there was two important stages to go through during the early years of a Ubese. The first step, the rites of passage into adulthood, ensured that those who were not already living on the desolate world of Uba IV had to travel there in order to pass a series of intense, ceremonial trials. If he survived the rites of passage, he would be rewarded with the donning of an esteemed set of ceremonial armor, and be sent to travel around the galaxy. This second stage of their life was not done to satisfy curiosity, it was done by hatred. As a result, many Ubese offered their services as mercenaries, bounty hunters, assassins, and any other number of occupations that would allow them to bring down retribution on the rest of galaxy while also amassing great wealth by doing it. Usually, those who managed to survive their journey through the galaxy would often return on their homeworld, be it Uba IV or Ubertica, to found a family. When their offspring were in age to fend for themselves, not rare were those Ubese who returned to their dangerous lifestyles. During the Clone Wars, the Ubese did not hesitate to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems in their battle against their sworn enemy, the Republic. Following the defeat of the Separatists, the droid factories they had established on Uba IV and Ubertica remained active, continuing to produce droids to defend the planets. The Ubese eventually joined the Galactic Empire.

Although many Ubese were in majority considered xenophobic by nature, they remained intelligent in their dealings with other species. If they were to kill others, they might as well do it in exchange for getting paid. Ubese often concealed a sinister grin behind their helmet when they thought of those rivalries between the "grand galactic civilizations" they expressed a profound hatred for. Little do they knew that they gave them the resources needed to become stronger and wealthier by aiding their enemies to kill themselves. Above everything, the Ubese could not tolerate anything that was related to the Old Republic and the Jedi Order, these so-called "defenders of justice." When Palpatine initiated the Great Jedi Purge soon after proclaiming himself Emperor, many Ubese warriors offered their talents to track down and kill the wanted Jedi. Although the Ubese had no particular affinity towards the Empire, which they considered to be as detestable as the rest of the galaxy, the Rebel Alliance who worked to restore their old nemesis, the Old Republic, was a much more prominent enemy. During the civil war that opposed the Empire and the Rebels, most Ubese bounty hunters and mercenaries that were implicated in this conflict pledged their services to the Empire.

However, the Ubese people was far more complex and diversified than one could imagine. Many extremists existed amongst the "true Ubese", and they continued to hate their cousins of the Ubertica system. Three years after the Battle of Yavin, Savax, the war-master of clan Vorsazg, conducted a transactions with the Hutts. The latter supplied Savax with five war vessels, which he used to launch an all-out attack on Ubertica and its inhabitants. After the destruction of several cities, forces of the Empire intervened and destroyed the attackers.

At some point prior to the end of the Galactic Civil War, some Ubese colonists fell victim to a lethal virus known as the Intestinal Revenge of Bars Barka. In his Galactic Phrase Book and Travel Guide, Ebenn Q3 Baobab tells of this illness, which caused fatal weight loss in those exposed to it. Having served as a Neimoidian doctor at one point in his career, Baobab believed that the epidemic had originated with the Neimoidian species; only speculation exists as to whether this was a deliberate, trade-related attack or an accidental outbreak.

The Ubese bounty hunter, Boushh, became one of the most famous Ubese in Galactic history, though his posthumous fame was not won for his own deeds. Instead, it was because Leia Organa posed as Boushh to infiltrate the palace of Jabba the Hutt.

[edit] Behind the scenes

Conflicting sources lead to a confusing chronology. The destruction of Uba III is placed by RPG sources and The New Essential Chronology c. 2,000 BBY, but Ubese mercenaries wearing environmental suits are already portrayed seeking revenge on the Jedi as early as 3,951 BBY in Knights of the Old Republic II.

The appearance of the Breen species from Star Trek is modeled on Ubese armor.

[edit] Appearances

• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
• Jedi Quest comic (Siri Tachi in "Zora" disguise)
• Republic Commando: Hard Contact
• Republic Commando: Triple Zero (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars Republic: Into the Unknown
• Star Wars Dark Times: Blue Harvest, Part 1 (Appears in viewscreen)
• Evasive Action: Prey
• Junkheap Hero
• Rebel Dawn
• Star Wars Rebellion: My Brother, My Enemy
• Star Wars Rebellion 6: The Ahakista Gambit, Part 1
• Shadows of the Empire (novel) (Mentioned only)
• Sacrifice (Mentioned only)

[edit] Sources

• Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire toy line
• Galaxy Guide 10: Bounty Hunters (Picture only)
• The Far Orbit Project (Picture only)
• Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook (First described)
• Alien Encounters
• Alien Anthology
• Ultimate Alien Anthology
• Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive
• The New Essential Chronology
• Galactic Phrase Book and Travel Guide
• Underworld: A Galaxy of Scum and Villainy
•  Alien Adventures on Wizards.com (article)
• Scum and Villainy