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Races
Bith—a race characterized by an enlarged round skull, pale skin, large lidless eyes, and long, nimble fingers. Their origin is unknown. It is believed that Biths do not experience emotions such as fear or passion, and that they do not require sleep. They produce children in laboratories using genetic material from the parents.
Gotal—humanoids possessing limited abilities to channel power. Covered in gray fur, they have two horn-like growths on their heads, which are actually specialized receptors that allow Gotals to sense infrared, light, electromagnetic, and radio radiation. They harbor an instinctive distrust of droids, as these affect their perception, and Gotals are accustomed to relying on their horns even more than their eyes. Legends say that Gotals can read thoughts, although in reality, they simply feel the emotions experienced by their interlocutor more deeply. The natural feeling that Gotals prize above all else is love. If two Gotals decide they love each other, it is for life. Their society is quite primitive; Gotals live primarily by hunting.
Neimoidians—a race from the planet Neimoidia, related to the Duro. They are distinguished by glossy, greenish skin and large red or orange eyes with horizontal pupils. They dwell in large families, weeding out weak individuals from an early age and keeping only the strong in the clan. They are known for their innate pathological greed and a high level of robotics.
Netipyrka—a flying creature from Coruscant, known for particularly strong jaws and claws.
Rodians—inhabitants of the planet Rodia, humanoids with compound eyes, a snout, and mobile pointed ears. Rodian skin is usually green. They differ little from one another, which causes difficulties for other peoples in communicating with them.
Sullustans—short intelligent rodents with large dark eyes and pointed ears, natives of the planet Sullust. Extraordinary adaptability allowed them to create extensive underground settlements. An innate sense of direction helps them remember any complex route on the first try; therefore, many Sullustans become pilots and navigators of spacecraft.
Wookiees.
One of the most respected—and feared—races in the galaxy, Wookiees are tall, fur-covered humanoids from Kashyyyk. Well known for their strength and animalistic fits of rage, Wookiees are also intelligent, loyal, and trusting. Among races, they are rightfully distinguished by bravery and glory.
Kashyyyk, the homeland of the Wookiees, is a planet densely covered in trees. Wookiees inhabit the upper reaches of these vast forests, building their homes high among the branches of towering wroshyr trees. Most Wookiee cities consist of hundreds of huts connected by wooden platforms, bridges, and ropes. Nevertheless, although Wookiees may look like savages, they have mastered technology quite well; they easily train as spacecraft pilots, repair machines, and produce advanced weaponry.
An average Wookiee grows to over two meters in height and lives several times longer than a human. In addition to their great strength and sharp senses, they possess regenerative powers and can recover from dangerous wounds within days. They also have retractable claws that help them climb trees but are not used in combat.
Wookiees speak Shyriiwook, a language consisting of grunts, growls, roars, howls, and shrieks. They understand other languages but are limited by their vocal capabilities and can only speak their native tongue.
The Wookiee race is mentally stable and strongly attached to nature. They love their world and have a deep attraction to animals, plants, and other components of the natural world. Wookiees can also tune into the Force exceptionally well.
Wookiees place great importance on morale, courage, and loyalty. Very few Wookiees would willingly betray friends or family, although Vargs, Chewbacca's brother-in-law, once helped a group of slavers attempt to enslave the inhabitants of Kashyyyk. A life debt—a vow of loyalty extended to anyone who saves a Wookiee's life—is typical of Wookiee beliefs. When Chewbacca was saved from slavery by Han Solo, he pledged his oath to his savior and risked his own life countless times to protect his friend. Finally, Wookiees feel glory for their deeds; thus, they do not care for medals or other material symbols of success or courage.
Although not always warlike, Wookiees can become fierce warriors and deadly opponents when angry or frightened. There is no regular army on Kashyyyk, but Wookiees will gather for mutual defense, and families often join forces to repel various threats, including Trandoshan slavers. Legends tell of Wookiee berserkers who could single-handedly defeat a legion of Imperial stormtroopers or cadres of high-paid mercenaries. While Wookiees can produce and use a wide range of weaponry, in battle they prefer to carry homemade bows and riyk blades.
Unfortunately, the notorious strength of the Wookiees became a matter of demand during the Galactic Civil War. The Empire, hoping to utilize the strength of Wookiee slaves, attempted to capture the entire planet. Collaborating with Trandoshan slavers, the Empire captured thousands of Wookiees. Those Wookiees who escaped Imperial slavery were able to create a resistance movement and carry out several successful counter-offensives, making it clear that the Empire would never fully possess the planet.
During the Galactic Civil War, innovation and desperation led the race to invent new weaponry to oppose the threat of the Empire. As with much of their technology, Wookiees combine materials from their natural environment with advanced engineering to obtain highly effective and intimidating "means," including catapults and battering rams. Motorized infantry, experienced stormtroopers, and brave Wookiee berserkers constantly attacked Imperial military installations on Kashyyyk, freeing slaves and fighting heroically for the liberation of their brothers.
When the Rebel Alliance finally defeated the Empire, Kashyyyk, a long-time member of the Old Republic, became an important part of the New Republic.
Gungans.
The original inhabitants of Naboo, Gungans, are a very closed species that can be found in the impenetrable swamps of their homeland. Being amphibians with a flexible cartilaginous skeleton, Gungans are mostly experienced warriors and good craftsmen. They pay special attention to personal responsibility, loyalty, and courage.
Gungans have several different races. Boss Nass, for example, belongs to the Enkar Gungans, while Jar Jar Binks is an Otolla Gungan. Long before the battle on Naboo, the ancient and very rare Enkar kind united with the Otollans, who created the Oto Gunga. Although Enkar Gungans, such as Boss Nass, possess characteristic traits, most Gungans are very lanky. They have long muscular tongues, easily hidden stalked eyes, and four-fingered hands. Their large, powerful teeth are designed for crushing the shells of crustaceans, which form the basis of the Gungan diet. Two long ears, known as "hayla," are used to convey anger, friendliness, and fear. Amphibious Gungans have nostrils that close when they enter the water and membranes that cover the eyes if necessary. They can also boast combined lungs, allowing them to breathe both in air and in water. Additionally, they have spring-loaded knees and powerful calves and legs to increase speed while swimming. However, because they are so adapted to the aquatic environment, their skin dries out very easily in dry and hot climates. The Gungan skeleton is composed of strong elastic cartilage, which is much more mobile than bone, allowing them to make practically any movement. Standard family units consist of a father, mother, and several children who hatch from eggs.
Gungan settlements are located throughout the swamps of Naboo; many are also underwater in large lakes and bays. Beyond the sprawling Oto Gunga, Gungans live in diverse settlements united by various agreements. Due to their long isolation, they are very suspicious of Naboo, whose culture is very different. Despite the fact that traders from the edges of the Gungan community cooperate with Naboo, many Gungans have never seen humans.
Gungans worship a pantheon of deities, many of whom preside over nature. According to Gungan mythology, these deities live in Ossarus—a beautiful underwater city protected by magical water-sand monsters and giant Gungans riding their loyal kaadu. The chief god is Oma-Oma, who is celebrated in legends as the creator of all life on Naboo.
Despite many considering them primitive, in reality, Gungans have achieved a technical level far exceeding that of most other cultures. Gungan technology is based on the use of organic materials, and they simply grow many of their machines, tools, buildings, and weapons. Practically everything produced by Gungans is handmade, so no two items look identical.
It is believed that Gungans first mobilized their forces for war during attacks by semi-intelligent panthers, monster-like creatures that constantly attacked Gungan settlements long before the arrival of Naboo. Gungans assembled a "great army" to fight this enemy, and as a result, the panthers disappeared. Later wars took place between different Gungan tribes ruled by leaders with a thirst for power. The most infamous commander was Rog, who was completely defeated by Gallo. With Rog's defeat, Gallo gained the opportunity to unite all Gungan tribes, making him the first true "Boss."
Since Naboo is entirely peaceful, Gungans currently have no real enemies. However, they maintain a huge army for protection against giant predators, as well as as a tribute to tradition. The army uses several types of weaponry based on strange Gungan energy balls. Energy balls, made of electrical filling encased in an organic membrane, can be launched from Gungan catapults, atlatls, and baskets.
The Gungan Grand Army is the primary military force. Being assembled from soldiers hailing from all Gungan settlements on Naboo, the Grand Army can only be commanded by the ruling Boss. During battle, several trained generals command their units.
Most soldiers in the Gungan Grand Army are militia units or mercenaries. They are quite inexperienced but fight with conviction and courage. Since the Grand Army is not very well organized, militia squads find their own equipment. They are trained in the use of baskets and atlatls to throw energy balls at the enemy and can protect themselves using personal shields. Cavalry units ride on trained kaadu. On the battlefield and during maneuvers, generals of the Grand Army use horns, whistles, and gestures to transmit orders and commands. Although most of the fantastic technologies of the Gungan Grand Army are designed for combat, many are used to protect soldiers. The army uses a large number of shield generators mounted on fambesses, which protect several legions from both blasters and artillery.
By the time the Trade Federation decided to invade Naboo, the Gungan Grand Army had not been used in combat for over a hundred years. After concluding an alliance with Queen Amidala, Boss Nass agreed to organize the army to help the people in the battle against strangers. However, this conflict placed the Gungans before an important decision: When Queen Amidala warned Boss Nass that many Gungans might perish in the battle with the Trade Federation, she was realistically assessing the Gungan Grand Army. Also, the Queen understood that the Gungans would have to put themselves in a terrible position to carry out a convincing diversionary maneuver. The Trade Federation, with its advanced technology, mechanical soldiers, and overwhelming firepower, would easily suppress the Gungan diversionary forces in open combat. The fact that the Gungans managed to hold out for a long time is a testament to their courage.
As many Gungan generals note, the tactics in the battle for Naboo are not typical for Gungans. Very few Gungan commanders would attack Trade Federation forces head-on. In fact, even before Queen Amidala arrived to call for an alliance between Naboo and the Gungans, leaders such as General Zil and Captain Terpels were already planning retaliation for the Trade Federation's attack on Oto Gunga. According to their plans, the Gungans were to start a guerrilla warfare campaign, using surprise attacks on Trade Federation forces and then retreating into the swamps. These plans were disrupted when Boss Nass agreed to organize a serious diversionary maneuver for the Queen.
To attract the attention of the Trade Federation, Nass called upon all available members of the Gungan Grand Army. Two thousand soldiers came from each Gungan village and city, and only a few militia squads remained in the rear to protect Gungan territory if the Queen's plan failed. Nass also deployed heavy Gungan catapults, which he believed could mislead the advancing Trade Federation forces, and allowed the deployment of large Gungan shield generators. When the Grand Army was assembled, Boss Nass ordered them to move toward Teed.
General Zil planned to position a large part of the army on top of the Shek Ridge, a row of hills south of Teed and north of the Gallo Mountains. From this tactically advantageous position, Zil hoped to shell enemy machines using catapults and destroy the best troops using squads of trained atlatl-throwers and basket-throwers. Unfortunately, the Trade Federation reacted to the appearance of the army faster than the Gungans anticipated. When the Gungan army entered the valley of the Great Grass Plains, Zil's scouts discovered a chain of AATs belonging to the Trade Federation, a mile long, positioned on the hills. The general declared an alarm. Although in the valley the catapults could not work at full power, General Zil knew that the Gungans would always be able to retreat quickly into the swamps.
The Trade Federation wanted to cover the Gungans with fire in the valley. Led by OOM-9, the army of mechanisms moved quickly from Teed with the goal of occupying Shek Ridge. While AATs and accompanying MTTs guarded the Ridge, the main part of the army prepared for an invasion of the Great Grass Plains valley. Meanwhile, Trade Federation reserve forces attempted to outflank the Gungans. OOM-9 calculated that a flanking maneuver would grind the Gungans into powder. Fortunately, the pirate Nim and merchant Vena Sedge directed the troops coming from the flanks until the RSF and a squad of soldiers led by Lieutenant Gavin Sykes destroyed the rest.
As the Trade Federation army approached, the Gungans made every effort not to give the attackers any respite. Under General Zil's command, Captain Tarpal ordered the activation of shield generators, which protected the Grand Army from AAT attacks. When it became obvious that the AATs could not break through the shield, OOM-9 withdrew the tanks from the catapult kill zone and directed infantry soldiers to attack. In organized groups of 56, combat units left the MTTs and headed for the shield. They were followed by AATs, and then transports crawled forward.
When the attacking soldiers passed through the shield, General Zil organized a counterattack. Using baskets and atlatls, the Gungans took out attackers row by row. Unfortunately, Trade Federation forces concentrated fire on the shield generators, leading to the destruction of Gungan equipment and the removal of the field. OOM-9 sent AATs forward to destroy the Gungan Grand Army.
While catapults held back the AATs, militia squads clashed with attackers in close combat. Using their baskets as clubs and their atlatls as bats, the Gungans destroyed dozens of attackers. But General Zil quickly realized that the battle was lost. The superior force of the AATs would soon suppress the Gungans, and dangerous enemy soldiers had already taken many lives. Zil ordered a full retreat. Gungan cavalry riding kaadu picked up the wounded, while the bravest Gungans held their positions to give others time to withdraw. In this chaos, the Gungans managed to destroy several more AATs, but this victory came too late.
OOM-9 assumed that his forces on the flanks would prevent a retreat, but these small squads never reached the location and more than half of the Gungan Grand Army reached the swamps. Combat mechanisms surrounded the remaining Gungans, including General Zil, Captain Terpals, and General Binks. This meant the complete collapse of the Grand Army's command structure. While some Gungans realized that surrender was their only option, others threw themselves into one last fight. In reality, nothing needed to be done: as soon as the Trade Federation closed in around the last Gungan, and same-type units entered the field to collect damaged parts of their army, Anakin Skywalker destroyed the Droid control ship. Without commands from the ship, OOM-9 and the rest of the droid army stopped in inaction.
Darth Saruman
