Haninum Tyk Rhinann

Haninum Tyk Rhinann, a male Elomin, resided on Elom up until Emperor Palpatine's Imperialization of the galaxy. Most Elomin had been put into slavery and placed in work camps, but Rhinann had managed to avoid that fate by being appointed as an aide by Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. Following his appointment, he resided in the Imperial Palace on Imperial Center, and was given a considerable salary. Despite the benefits of his new job, Rhinann lived in constant fear of Vader.

Several months after the Declaration of a New Order, Vader devised a trap specifically for fugitive Jedi Knight Jax Pavan, for reasons unknown to Rhinann. The Elomin was given little understanding of just how the trap would work, but he did know that the droid 10-4TO would be used as bait. Information would be spread throughout the underground that claimed that the droid possessed data vital to the Whiplash resistance movement, and Vader was able to make sure that the information made its way to Jedi Master Even Piell, who was Pavan's former master. Piell would then supposedly attempt to track down the droid himself. According to Vader's plan, Piell would subsequently be killed, and then news of the Jedi Master's death would reach Pavan. Pavan would hopefully find out just what his master had been seeking when he died, and then would try to complete Piell's mission.

Piell did indeed die under the guns of a stormtrooper squad, and shortly afterwards, Rhinann was summoned to Vader's antechamber for a report. As Rhinann attempted to report Piell's death he learned that Vader had already detected the Jedi Master's passing through the Force. Vader went on to inform the Elomin that Pavan was hiding in Imperial Center's Yaam Sector. Vader himself would not be able to locate Pavan through the Force, since doing so would alert the fugitive Jedi to the Dark Lord's interest. Rhinann was then tasked with locating Pavan, but the Elomin protested, claiming that the Yaam Sector was too broad a location to search. Vader did not want excuses, however, and mildly threatened Rhinann. No further protest came from the Elomin, and he set himself about the task.

To begin with, Rhinann assigned netdroids to scour the HoloNet for any possible information pertaining to Pavan. He then assigned slicers to search Imperial Center's security grid for any information on the fugitive that might have come from the Jedi Temple records. To narrow his search, Rhinann stipulated a set of parameters, such as a lack of previous employment and credit records. Moving on, he dispatched agents both covert and overt, as well as miniature search droids to scour the Yaam Sector for Pavan. Despite those measures, Rhinann was aware that he would not locate the Jedi quickly enough with just agents and droids.

He began making datasphere queries, and discovered that a great many male and female Humans on Imperial Center possessed the name "Jax Pavan." Rhinann narrowed the search to only male "Jax Pavans," but even this did not help, as there were still over half a billion Human males named "Jax Pavan" on Imperial Center at that time. In the Yaam Sector alone there were over eight thousand men by that name. The Elomin began to suppose that Pavan could have hired a slicer for himself to remove all connections he had to the Jedi Order.

Beginning to panic, Rhinann tried to use the Jedi Temple's genome records to pinpoint his quarry's exact identity, but was unable to do so. In a moment of desperation, he narrowed down his results to any "Jax Pavan" that had been even remotely linked with the Jedi, and came across a recent holorecording. The recording showed a group of stormtroopers being fought and killed by former Republic army officer and wanted murderer Nick Rostu, and another man who was wielding a lightsaber. The fight was taking place inside a resiblock named the "Coruscant Arms," prompting Rhinann to research a resident list of the building. Amongst his findings was a listing for "Jax Pavan." Satisfied that he had found his quarry, the Elomin took note that Pavan had already moved out of the Coruscant Arms, but Rhinann was not deterred.

Vader was able to positively identify the man in the holo as Jax Pavan, prompting Rhinann to pursue his existing line of investigation. Hovercameras detected Rostu's presence in Tangor Square, and so the Elomin, acting quickly, hired Interstellar Trading League member Captain Drach Coven of the Far Ranger to bring the Korunnai in. Vader personally wished to speak with Rostu, and so Rhinann had Coven bring his new captive to Docking Bay 1453CG in the Palace. Bringing his Givin underling along, Rhinann first took custody of Rostu, paid Coven, and then had stormtroopers arrest him and his Weequay colleague, Mok. Coven himself was wanted for crimes against the Mercantile Guild, and so Rhinann had both he and Mok liquidated, while the Far Ranger was impounded.

Rhinann then took Rostu to Vader's chambers. The Korunnai protested at first, before the Elomin explained that Vader wanted Rostu to locate Pavan. The Dark Lord spoke with Rostu in private, but by the time the Korunnai departed Vader's chambers, he was in a near vegetative state, and required physical guidance. Rostu had apparently agreed to help find Pavan, and so he was given the Far Ranger to use in his mission. To prevent the Korunnai from fleeing Imperial Center, Rhinann had implanted a subcutaneous tracer in him, and had made sure that Rostu was aware of it. When Rostu had left, Rhinann wondered just what Vader had done to the Korunnai that had turned a hardened criminal and soldier into a stumbling wreck of a man. The Elomin then began to speculate on just how useful he was to Vader, and whether or not he would soon be replaced. Rhinann was in such a state of fear by this point that he began breaking out in a rash of pruritic papules. In addition to that, he felt he was about to suffer a full systemic vascularity, which was concerning, since by Elomin standards he was too young to be afflicted by such an ailment.

Vader summoned him once more, but Rhinann was unable to confirm whether or not Rostu had contacted Pavan yet. Believing that his job was killing him through fear, Rhinann began considering ways in which he could depart Imperial Center. Fear of reprisal from his master overrode his better judgment, though, and he began seeking methods by which he could protect himself from the Dark Lord. Venturing into one of the Palace's storerooms, be began scouring Catalog Nineteen for unidentified holocrons. Catalog Nineteen contained all manner of esoteric devices and trinkets that the Empire had collected after the conclusion of the Clone Wars.

He eventually came across a Sith holocron, which was exactly what he was looking for. He feverishly believed that a Sith holocron would contain secrets that would grant him immunity from Vader's powers. Taking the holocron, which was marked "SD41263.I," he replaced it in the catalog with another item, changed the manifest, and then attempted to return to his chambers. Before he could, however, he was summoned by Vader, who had grown tired of waiting for Rostu's signal and had decided to follow the Korunnai's tracking device, assuming that the man had made contact with Pavan. Rhinann accompanied Vader on the journey to the Factory District, where Rostu had been tracked to. The Elomin's fear was heightened by the rumors he had heard about what kinds of creatures lurked in the Factory District, and to make matters worse for him, he was still carrying the stolen holocron.

As Vader's Lambda-class T-4a shuttle approached the building in the Factory District that Rostu had been tracked to, he gave the shuttle's captain, Tanna, orders to take Pavan alive, but to kill anyone accompanying him. What Rhinann found curious, though, was the fact that the first person to exit the building, alone, was Prince Xizor of House Sizhran. Vader ordered Tanna to ignore Xizor, who had diplomatic immunity, but was sure that once Pavan was captured, the prince's presence would be understood. One of the shuttles officers then reported that there was a sudden and massive build-up of radioactivity from underneath the building. Vader surmised that the cause was an overloading reactor core, and by using the ship's equipment, he learned that in fourteen minutes, the core would explode, destroying everything in its vicinity.

Vader then ordered Tanna to take the shuttle out of the possible range of the explosion, before shooting down the Far Ranger, which was parked nearby. Just as the captain prepared to execute the task, Pavan and his companions, the injured Rostu, Gray Paladin Laranth Tarak, protocol droid I-5YQ, journalist Den Dhur, and Black Sun assassin Kaird, departed the building. Countermanding his previous order, Vader had Tanna fire warning shots at the group, and then dispatch troops. The shuttle suffered blaster fire from I-5YQ and Tarak, and making matters even worse for the Imperials, Pavan leapt towards the ship, destroying its forward repulsorlift vanes with his lightwhip. Once again acting on impulse, Rhinann decided to suddenly resign from service to the Galactic Empire. Leaping into one of the shuttle's escape tubes, he was able to make it to the landing below with a minimum of fuss.

Locating Pavan, the Elomin hurriedly requested that he be allowed to go with the Jedi and his companions. Pavan, wasting no time, agreed, and took Rhinann with him to the parked Far Ranger. The Jedi's companions had been able to make it to the freighter, which took off as soon as Rhinann and Pavan were aboard. Meanwhile, Vader's shuttle continued to flounder. Within two minutes, the core had exploded, leading Tarak to assume that Vader was dead, but Pavan thought otherwise. The Far Ranger was then taken to a Black Sun safehouse that Kaird knew of. While there, Rhinann mainly kept to himself while the others debated as to what their next move should be.

Recordings made by the Far Rangers rear camera confirmed that Vader had been able to escape the blast, much to the disappointment of the group. Rhinann made it clear to Pavan that he wanted to depart Imperial Center, before he presented the Jedi with the holocron, which could only be activated by someone attuned to the Force. Pavan chose not to activate the holocron immediately, however, and revealed that he had been hunting down 10-4TO, who had been destroyed back in the Factory District during an altercation with Xizor, who had also been hunting the droid under the assumption that it contained valuable data. Rhinann explained that there had been no data, and that the droid had only served as bait in Vader's trap. The Jedi was surprised by the fact that Vader would put so much effort into capturing him, but came to accept the fact. Instead of electing to leave Imperial Center, however, Pavan chose to stay to help those disenfranchised and subjugated under Palpatine's rule.

Rhinann, along with the others, was bequeathed a considerable sum of money by Kaird, who later returned to his homeworld of Nedij. The money was not enough for the Elomin to return home, however, and he found that he had to stay with Pavan and his cohorts on Imperial Center. Despite becoming incredibly depressed in light of his situation, the skills that had served Rhinann well in his time as Vader's aide made him a natural fit for the role of the group's procurer. They resided in a relatively upscale apartment in the Southern Underground, from where the group would help people escape Imperial Center. Pavan was without a lightsaber, however, which hindered his ability to operate as a Jedi, as he was forced to use a vibroblade. Rhinann was unable to procure a replacement lightsaber, but he did find a Velmorian energy sword, which he presented to Pavan around the time of the Destruction of Caamas.

Shortly afterwards, Pavan and his cohorts were engaged by Dejah Duare to extract her and the artist Ves Volette from Imperial Center. Rhinann, depressed as usual, paid little attention to Duare and the situation, and instead devoted himself to his studies of the Force. Covertly, he had measured his own midi-chlorian, and had, disappointingly, found it to be incredibly low. Disheartened by the fact, he turned his attention to procuring lightsaber parts for Pavan. In his search, he found a transmission that had been made by Jedi Knight Barriss Offee during the Battle of Drongar. In it, Offee claimed that a bota distillate increased her ability to use the Force. Although Rhinann was unable to decipher the whole message, he believed that, if the report was true, he would perhaps be able to forge his own connection to the Force, and wreak revenge on all those who had wronged him.

He continued, unsuccessfully, on his search for the bota, eventually losing his last opportunity as Vader took it himself in the Imperial Security Bureau. Enraged, he attacked Vader, but fell out of a window to his death with Darth Vader in tow. In his last moments he felt the Force thanks to Vader's supercharged powers due to a bota injection.

Rhinann was a punctual being, particularly when in the service of Darth Vader. In addition to practicing punctuality whenever he could, he understood its value. Rhinann was, like most of his species, obsessed with cleanliness and presentation, which in his view made him ideal for his post as an aide. Like most Elomin, he thought his race more civilized than any other. Rhinann despised Humans, finding them to be anarchic and destructive. Another race that was the subject of Rhinann's derision was the Elom, who shared his homeworld with the Elomin. In order to make stock of a particular culture, race, or species, Rhinann studied the architecture of any given location, and thought Imperial Center's haphazard collection of architectural styles to be typical of Humans.

Rhinann was fascinated by the Force, and his interest was one of his key reasons for accepting the job of Vader's aide, although if he hadn't accepted the job he would have been destined for slavery. Vader's presence struck great fear into Rhinann's heart, even though the Dark Lord had effectively saved the Elomin from slavery. If a meeting with Vader went particularly poorly, Rhinann would do his utmost to purge the experiences from his memory. He would also do his utmost to insure himself against the Dark Lord's wrath. In time, his constant fear of Vader brought him to physical illness, which concerned him deeply. Rhinann was also generally afraid of high adventure and dangerous operations, although he did enjoy reading about such tasks. He would occasionally act rashly when under great pressure, but would later reflect on the error of his ways in a self-effacing manner.

Haninum Tyk Rhinann's first appearance was in 2008's Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight. In the novel, which was written by Michael Reaves, Rhinann serves as a supporting character. It is from his perspective that the events on the Imperial side of the story are told.

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