The Five was an obscure evil-worshipping cult that existed on a trans-dimensional warship residing deep within the region of space called the Hellhoop. Consisting of five Humans who had managed to survive for centuries away from the concerns of the wider galaxy, the Five amused themselves by tormenting and killing travelers who had the misfortune of falling into their grasp. One of their most notable captures was Wutzek, the last known living Force demon, an immensely powerful being that the Five kept trapped in their recreation room. Their reign of terror ended during the Galactic Civil War, when one of their final prisoners—Rebel leader Chewbacca—freed Wutzek and allowed him to slaughter the Five.
The Five's unique warship.
The Five was a cult of five Humans who lived in the centuries leading up to the Galactic Civil War, and had left behind the concerns of the wider galaxy in order to dedicate their lives to the worship of evil in all its forms—the , the Soulworm and the Lady with the Locust Heart were some of the dark deities the Five venerated. Although the Five viewed themselves as enlightened beings, its members—Suzal, Mavin, Chell, Chokla and Koobaree—made sport of brutal violence. The Five resided on a large, triangular warship that lay in wait for travelers within the Hellhoop, a region of space in the Expansion Region near Attahox.
The warship was constructed of almost impossible geometries and angles, and could seemingly disappear at will into a realm that the Five called "beyond the dimensions". The Five ensnared approaching ships within a large hole in the center of the warship, and once they had their prey in hand made amusement of torturing and killing captives in agonizing ways. They took special pleasure in psychologically breaking their prisoners through incredibly lifelike illusions, before destroying their bodies with obscure, powerful weapons called . However, the Five did not kill every living thing it happened upon: the group had a recreation room aboard their warship where they kept creatures that they viewed as amusing curiosities, viewing the torture of unintelligent beings as beneath them.
The Five psychologically torment Leia Organa.
The Five formed centuries before the Galactic Civil War, retiring to their interdimensional warship in the Hellhoop and dedicating their lives to the worship of evil and the desecration of unfortunate travelers. Over time, they also built up a substantial collection of captive creatures in their recreation room—none more formidable than Wutzek, the last known living Force demon. A member of a species that had ruled the galaxy during its dawn age, Wutzek was tricked and imprisoned for decades in a device called an , becoming one of the favored exhibitions in the Five's zoo. Over the generations, the Five's presence lended the Hellhoop a black reputation among spacers—although the cult itself remained obscure, tales traveled about a region of space where ships frequently disappeared, and most advised to avoid the area.
The Five continued its reign of terror within the Hellhoop until sometime between 0 and 3 ABY, when the cultists welcomed their final guests. When Torgaigne gangsters from nearby Attahox chased Rebel leaders Han Solo, Chewbacca and Leia Organa into the Hellhoop over a smuggling dispute, the Five ensnared both sides of the conflict, immediately putting the Torgaignes to death and psychologically torturing Solo and Organa. However, the Five made one crucial mistake: not recognizing the Wookiee Chewbacca as a sentient being, they placed what they thought was a simple ape in its recreation room with the other curiosities. Chewbacca easily escaped his bindings and was telepathically convinced to free Wutzek, who rampaged through the ship and killed all five members of the cult. Wutzek then absorbed their souls into his body, and after allowing the Rebels to escape, utterly destroyed the cult's ship and removed all trace of their existence.
The Five appeared in The Pandora Effect, a 1981 comic story written by Alan Moore and published in The Empire Strikes Back Monthly 151.
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 32