Minch

Minch was a Jedi of a small tridactyl species who served the Galactic Republic. Minch studied under a Zabrak Jedi Master named T'dai, who trained the young learner successfully to Knighthood.

In 700 BBY, the Jedi Council received word that the Bpfassh system was being terrorized by several Dark Jedi. Minch was selected by the Council as a member of a team of Jedi Knights led by Master T'dai to venture into Bpfassh space and end the violence instigated by the Dark Jedi. Minch and their team's hunt led them to a trading station owned by the Commerce Guild, where Minch was able to intercept one of the Dark Jedi alone on the station's fifth level. The Jedi Knight engaged the Dark Jedi in combat, but was looked down upon by their opponent, who believed that Minch was nothing more than a mere Padawan because of their small physical appearance. Minch continued to duel while professing that they were more than a simple apprentice. However, the Bpfasshi—who still doubted the Jedi—was able to disarm, and in doing so, defeat Minch.

Minch was rescued when Master T'dai and the rest of the teammates arrived to corner the Dark Jedi while demanding to know the whereabouts of his Master, who had thus far eluded capture. The Bpfasshi conceded defeat and refused to divulge anything to the Jedi regarding his leader, before killing himself by plunging his own lightsaber into his gut. Minch's own Master then received a comm from their ship, the Takara, advising that a small craft had escaped the space station while they had been otherwise occupied. T'dai deduced that it must be the Dark Jedi Master, and Minch was ordered alongside their comrades to take to their own starfighters in pursuit. The Jedi chased the Bpfasshi Master through the Sluis sector to the Dagobah system, where he headed to the namesake planet. While the Jedi Knight's teammates maintained orbit around the world in their fighters and awaited the Takaras arrival, Minch broke formation to follow after their quarry. Minch was ordered to stand down by T'dai, who cited that Dagobah's lack of technology, massive lifeforms, and severe weather conditions were ample reasons to wait for reinforcements. The Jedi Knight, however, was driven to prove themself to those whom they felt discounted their miniature proportions; they ignored T'dai's instructions and followed the Dark Jedi Master's ion trail into Dagobah's atmosphere.

The storms of Dagobah that T'dai had identified were indeed perilous, and Minch's starfighter was disabled by a bolt of lightning upon entry. Their ship crash-landed in a swamp, but they survived otherwise unscathed. Master T'dai had Minch's coordinates and ordered them to stay put as the Takara was only a parsec away. Minch had other plans, though, and immediately sensed the dark presence of the Bpfasshi Master. Minch began to survey the area, and it was not long before they came upon the Dark Jedi, who fled capture as Minch approached. The diminutive Jedi lost sight of the Bpfasshi, but their Force sense eventually guided them to a dark cave overgrown with brush. Minch ignited their green-bladed lightsaber to clear a passage for themself and, upon entering the cave, demanded that the Dark Jedi surrender in the face of defeat.

Scorning Minch, the Bpfasshi Master stated that there would always be those who would be willing to embrace the dark side of the Force and that perhaps Minch was one of them. Minch affirmed their status as a Jedi, but the Bpfasshi derided the Jedi Knight as nothing more than a small child full of fear and anger. Minch attacked at that moment, intent on proving that their size was not a measure of their skill. In response, the Dark Jedi grew to an enormous height and towered over Minch. Stricken with fear, Minch lashed out with their lightsaber and struck their adversary, but the Bpfasshi did not die, much to Minch's surprise. Instead, he changed into hundreds of smaller versions of himself and began to overwhelm Minch, who thrashed about with their lightsaber in blind terror while thee Jedi Knight's enemy repeatedly attempted to seduce them into accepting the power of the dark side.

Minch's panic finally subsided to reveal that the Bpfasshi had been dealt a fatal blow. As the Jedi Knight too lay on the ground, Minch was mocked again by the Dark Jedi, who proclaimed himself the victor, dying with the belief that he had successfully driven Minch into using the dark side of the Force to achieve his goal. Minch then received a comm from T'dai stating that the Takara had landed on Dagobah and that they needed to prepare for extraction. The Jedi told their Master that they had slain the Bpfasshi and promptly left the cave to rejoin their comrades. The shedding of the Bpfasshi's blood and subsequent death at the hands of Minch within the cave on Dagobah tainted that location with the dark side, and over time, transformed it into a focal point of malevolent Force energy.

Minch was a short-statured, green-skinned Jedi, with eyes of the same color and brown hair that they wore pulled back in a long braid. Minch was underestimated by their opponents because of their diminutive stature; they was mistaken for a Padawan by the first Bpfasshi Dark Jedi he fought, and was even patronized by the Dark Jedi's Master as a child while dueling him on Dagobah. To this end, Minch sought to prove themself as a capable Jedi Knight. They were courageous, yet impulsive, evidenced when they single-handedly attacked the Bpfasshi on board the Commerce Guild Station. Minch's determination to prove themself combat-ready caused Minch to disobey a direct order from Master T'dai, their superior, when they chose to break formation in pursuit of the Dark Jedi Master to Dagobah. According to the Bpfasshi Master, Minch's feelings were quite transparent; he was able to sense Minch's anger and fear and even sought to capitalize on the young Jedi's emotional weakness by attempting to turn Minch to the dark side of the Force. Though Minch resisted the seductions of the darksider, their fear and anger did guide them into slaying the Bpfasshi. Upon death, Minch's opponent assured them that such feelings would guarantee their fall into darkness—eventually.

Minch wielded a green-bladed lightsaber in an aggressive two-handed style. Even though they were able to duel opponents of greater size than themself, their skills proved insufficient in their battle against the lone Dark Jedi on board the Commerce Guild station; the Bpfasshi broke through Minch's guard, causing them to both drop their lightsaber and fall to the ground. Minch displayed a talent with Force sense and was able locate the Bpfasshi Master on Dagobah by searching for him through the Force. Though unsuccessful against the learner, Minch was able to defeat the Dark Jedi Master in combat, even though their fear nearly consumed them while doing so. Minch was also a capable starfighter pilot.

Minch first appeared in author Paul Lee's "Heart of Darkness," which was featured in Star Wars Tales 16. It was later compiled into a trade paperback version, Star Wars Tales Volume 4. Plausible stories in Star Wars Tales 1–20 were initially considered S-canon until referenced in a non-Tales source, at which point the subject matter was elevated to C-canon. In the story treatment for Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, "Minch" was attributed as the given name of Yoda, and early drafts saw only "Minch" used. This was subsequently dropped in favor of simply "Yoda".

The Dark Horse Comics publisher's summary for Star Wars Tales 16 indicates that Minch and Yoda are one and the same, describing the events of Heart of Darkness as a "story from Yoda's past". However, this position was denied by Lucasfilm official Leland Chee, who described aspects of "Heart of Darkness" as non-canonical, citing their contradiction of Yoda's established history, and further stating that "Minch" was not a part of Yoda's name.

However, Minch later received his own entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, simultaneously establishing him as a unique character and raising his existence in Heart of Darkness to C-canon.

• Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia