The Lakra were a species that originated in Wild Space's Lakra system. Lakra settled the planet Kariek, home to the Eickarie species, and entered a centuries-long civil war with them. Around 28 BBY, the alien known as the Warlord began a fifty-year-long tyrannical reign on Kariek, using Lakran mercenaries to subjugate the Eickaries. Eventually, the tribes of the latter unified and waged war against the Warlord's forces with the aid of the Empire of the Hand. Ultimately, the Warlord was captured, and the InterTribal Council of the United Tribes of Kariek was formed to govern both the Eickaries and the Lakra.
The Lakra were a sentient species that had hands and feet. The hands of one Lakra, a mercenary squad leader, were massive, and the sound of his voice resembled that of rocks being inside an operating fruit blender.
The Lakra could speak Basic but also made use of another language that was not the main trade language of the Eickarie species. The former species was more aggressive than the Eickaries.
The Lakra originated in Wild Space's Lakra system and at some point settled the Wild Space planet Kariek, which was also home to the Eickaries. Eventually, a centuries-long civil war began between the Lakra and the Eickaries as well as among the various Eickarie tribes. Around 28 BBY, the alien known as the Warlord, who had arrived on Kariek and aligned himself with the Lakra, began a fifty-standard year–long tyrannical reign over the Eickaries. No Lakra or Eickarie was ever aware of the ruler's true identity, which he concealed behind a set of full-body armor. The Warlord utilized a force of Lakran mercenaries equipped with full armor and blasters to subjugate the Eickaries, and the oppressors co-opted ancient Eickarie fortresses for their own purposes.
Most of the Eickarie tribes eventually joined forces in opposing the Warlord's tyranny, in the process forming the government of the United Tribes of Kariek. They negotiated the aid of the Empire of the Hand interstellar state in overthrowing the Warlord, and during the subsequent eight-month war the Imperial military forces, alongside those of the Eickaries themselves, fought the Lakran mercenaries.
Forces of the Empire of the Hand, including Unit Aurek-Seven (pictured), fought against Lakran mercenaries on Kariek.
At some point by 22 ABY, the Empire of the Hand, wishing to learn the identity of the Warlord, carried out an attack on the fortress housing the Warlord with the objective of capturing him. When, prior to the commencement of the attack, the Imperial stormtrooper Unit Aurek-Seven was approaching its designated position in the city near which the fortress was located, bad weather was skewing the infrared data supplied to the heads-up displays of the troopers' helmets and was making it impossible to carry out gas-spectrum analysis, therefore hampering the unit's ability to distinguish between Eickaries or Lakra if they encountered them.
Eventually, with the help of a group of Eickaries, Unit Aurek-Seven was able to infiltrate the fortress during the attack and, after several skirmishes against squads of Lakran soldiers, the Warlord was captured. Subsequently, the Empire of the Hand discovered that the Warlord belonged to a species other than the Lakra or the Eickarie. Meanwhile, the United Tribes of Kariek formed the leadership body known as the InterTribal Council, the mandate of which included day-to-day governance of both the Eickaries and the Lakra, and entered negotiations to join the Empire of the Hand.
The Lakra appeared in Fool's Bargain, a 2004 novella by Timothy Zahn. The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, published in 2008, erroneously states that the Lakra-supported Warlord's reign on Kariek ended twenty-two years after the Battle of Endor, which corresponds to 26 ABY, when in fact Fool's Bargain, which depicts the event, must be set at some point by 22 ABY instead.
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia