Ona Nobis was a bounty hunter hired by the scientist Jenna Zan Arbor to capture Jedi and anyone else who was Force-sensitive for her experiments. She was a member of the near-Human Sorrusian race. She wielded a deadly whip which could be used as a laser as well (though not exactly the same technology as a lightwhip). She was also a master of disguise.
Nobis bore a deep hatred for the Jedi Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Ona Nobis was born on the planet Sorrus in a tribe led by Goq Cranna. In 53 BBY, she was paid by an agent from the Sorrusian government to betray and manipulate her own tribe into voting for a dam, diverting water from their territory. The agent could have more fertile land to add to his mountain property. As a result, the tribe's land had dried up, forming the Arra Desert. Nobis fled offworld before the tribe could discover her deception; she had a hideout full of rations and supplies that she could pick up for later.
Nobis was denounced a disgrace by her people, even more so when she became a bounty hunter.
In 43 BBY, Nobis was hired by the renowned scientist Jenna Zan Arbor into kidnapping Jedi and other unaffiliated Force users so that the latter would experiment on the Force. She would strangle her victims and then drain them of their blood. The first to be killed was Ren S'orn, the son of Belascan Senator Uta S'orn. He was allegedly attempting to break into Zan Arbor's secret laboratory on Simpla-12 after his "release"; as a result, Nobis murdered him to keep her employer's activities hidden.
Months had passed and Nobis had left six victims behind in the slums of Coruscant to baffle the police. She even managed to kidnap Jedi Master Noor R'aya on his homeworld of Sorl and brought him to Zan Arbor for more experiments.
Weeks later, Nobis began to track Didi Oddo on Coruscant because he was believed to have a datapad revealing information on Zan Arbor. She attacked Didi on a swoop, knocking off a Cavrilhu Pirate's visor on the way. Just as she had Didi trapped in her whip, the Cavrilhu angrily chased her away with a vibroblade, but not before she lashed him.
Two days after the attempted kidnapping, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, happened to have returned to Coruscant when Didi asked begged them to help him. When they came to Nobis' apartment at the Soft Landings Inn, in the hopes of persuading her to leave Didi be—and finding out if she was chasing the wrong target—the bounty hunter attacked the Jedi. She managed to slightly wound Qui-Gon before escaping.
Disguised as an old man, Nobis went to the Splendor Tavern. There, she "lost" a cottage on Duneeden in the Cascardi Mountains to Helb, a member of the Tech Raiders; she knew that the Neimoidian would trade it to Didi, whom was eager to find somewhere to hide with his adopted daughter, Astri. Minutes later, she was spotted by Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, who went after her. However, she outraced them and disappeared in a six-road square.
Afterwards, Zan Arbor was invited to a big dinner party at Didi's Diner. Among her group of fellow scientists, Nobis went under the identity of "Reesa On," which was "catch me" in Sorrusian dialect; the whole purpose of the name was to mock her pursuers. Once the party was over, Nobis stayed behind. She knocked Astri unconscious, trapped Didi with her whip around his neck, and searched for the datapad in Didi's office. She could not find it anywhere. When the Jedi came to the rescue, Nobis fought them off with her blaster, using the Oddos so that her opponents would rush at their defense. Then, she jumped out the window and fled on her swoop.
At the hotel where Zan Arbor was staying, Nobis dressed up as a parking clerk. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had been there to question the scientist in their investigation. As the Jedi were leaving, the disguised Nobis "helped" to move some speeders that were blocking their own, at the unsuspecting Qui-Gon's request. Her targets vulnerable, she rammed a speeder onto theirs, knocking Obi-Wan off the platform. The Padawan managed to use his liquid cable launcher to prevent himself from falling. With Qui-Gon entirely focused on Obi-Wan's safety, Nobis made her escape once again.
The bounty hunter knew that the Oddos had left for Duneeden. She had remained on Coruscant long enough to keep the Jedi from figuring out her plan. Arriving at the house in the Cascardis Mountains, she posed as a very old caretaker that "came with the place." She lured the Oddos into a false sense of security by saying that no one came here during the winter.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan discovered what Nobis had done and went Duneeden to rescue the Oddos. But Nobis was already inside the house, waiting for them. She activated some sort of lockdown sequence, trapping the Jedi and Oddos with durasteel coverings on every exit. She even tampered with the Jedi's cruiser to keep them from escaping.
Dressed in black, Nobis blended with the dark surroundings to ambush the Jedi. As they fought, she had deduced that Astri was hiding Zan Arbor's datapad in her tunic after kicking her. The Jedi did everything they could to keep her away from Astri. Obi-Wan jumped to swing from some pipes and kicked Nobis with both legs, causing her to fall down the ramp hard and lose consciousness for a few moments.
The Jedi cut the durasteel off a few windows and exited the house with the Oddos. Nobis, furious at being outmatched by such Jedi, woke up and pursued them outside. Obi-Wan discovered the Sorrusian's hidden cruiser down the mountain and urged the Oddos to make a break for it. Nobis knocked off the platform they were fighting on with enough time to form a sled from her suit, sliding after the Oddos. The Jedi raced her downwards, but she managed to stop between the Oddos and the transport. She caught Astri with her whip and dragged her toward her. She shot Didi when he tried to stop her, though he later survived.
Nobis was within inches of Zan Arbor's datapad. When she found that Astri wouldn't give it up, she set her whip to laser mode and prepared to kill her. But Obi-Wan used the Force to leap and kicked Nobis again to send her back. Nobis drew out a vibroblade and threw it at Astri. Once more, Obi-Wan intervened. He grazed two of her right fingers with his lightsaber in one hand and caught the hilt of the blade with the other just in time. Angered and in pain, the bounty hunter vowed to Obi-Wan that she would have revenge. She shot out a lunge line from her utility belt with a homing beacon attached to pull her toward the ship; she suffered some more injuries while bouncing on the ice. She got aboard, preparing for takeoff. Before the hatch had closed, Qui-Gon jumped inside to catch Nobis, but she shot him at point blank range, just missing his heart. He fell into unconsciousness.
Nobis set course for Simpla-12, where she delivered Qui-Gon into Zan Arbor's clutches. As part of her treatment, her injured fingers were fused together. Her obsession with Obi-Wan remained.
After dropping off Qui-Gon, Nobis' next job was to assassinate Tino, a friend of Zan Arbor's first Force-sensitive subject, the late Ren S'orn. The scientist feared that the man might know something that could expose her location and experiments. However, before Nobis could begin, she had to return to her hideout her homeworld of Sorrus. There, she picked up a survival rations pack and filled her datapad of past jobs with misinformation on her current target: the governor of Cinnatar. She figured that this would lead anyone who found it on the wrong trail, while she could kill Tino without trouble. Then, she returned to Simpla-12.
Nobis knew that Tino was working at a warehouse in Sim-First, Simpla-12's capital city. Dressed in her black suit, she sneaked in and found the unsuspecting Tino working one level below her in Sector Two. She prepared to strike him down with her whip, but she didn't see that Obi-Wan and Astri were also in the vicinity. Obi-Wan spotted her and shouted a warning to Tino before using the Force to jump on the platform where Nobis was standing.
Surprised and angered that she had been discovered, Nobis attacked Obi-Wan by throwing boxes at him before resorting to use her whip and blaster. As they fought, Astri led Tino to safety. Obi-Wan managed to keep Nobis off-balance, simultaneously corkscrewing Nobis' whip with the blade of his lightsaber and avoiding her blaster fire. Nobis was not willing to forsake her whip. However, she was forced to reconsider when she found herself between Obi-Wan at her front and Astri behind her on a gravsled. She jumped off the catwalk and fled on a ramp that led to the lower levels. There, the bounty hunter slipped through a door that was the size of the warehouse's tech droids; her Sorrusian physiology allowed her to fit inside, an advantage her adversaries lacked.
Shortly afterwards, Nobis had taken in another job from a different client. She arrived outside Zan Arbor's laboratory and requested access via the entrance's intercom from the doctor's Quint assistant, Nil. But Nil was not responding. Before long, Zan Arbor let the Sorrusian in and explained that the laboratory had been infiltrated: Nil was missing and two people, including a Jedi, were most likely trying to rescue Qui-Gon. She demanded Nobis to find the intruders, but the latter of the two women was expecting payment for her "last task" given by the former; she even had plans in case she and Obi-Wan would meet again. Zan Arbor, frantic, tried to persuade Nobis that Obi-Wan might be here at this very instant. Still, the bounty hunter wouldn't budge, stating that she would meet the Padawan whenever she, not her employer, saw fit. When Zan Arbor began refusing to pay her, she made her a gruesome offer: pay or die.
Frustrated, Zan Arbor gave Nobis her payment in an envelope, vowing to never hire her again. Nobis didn't care in the slightest; she just left the premises. Then, she took off for a return trip to Sorrus.
Upon arriving on her home planet, Nobis discovered that she was being followed by Astri Oddo, who brought along three companions—Cholly, Tup, and Weez—to capture the bounty hunter. Sensing an opportunity to get revenge on Obi-Wan, she ambushed the foursome on their air taxi, killed the pilot with a brand new whip, and took them to her hideout. There, she tied them up and gagged them before taking out every tool and provision available to her. In case Obi-Wan would try looking for the captives, Nobis set up a lever that would cause debris to collapse and cave everyone inside once tripped. She then made her way to the Sorrus Medical Center in the planetary capital, Yinn La Hi; she had another trap in mind.
Nobis persuaded "Doctor" Ivo Muna to contact Obi-Wan on his comlink, informing the Padawan that Astri was the hospital, badly injured in an "accident"; the girl had "asked" for him to come before she passed out. Obi-Wan, anxious, promised he would be there soon. Nobis had then made her way to a room on the partially constructed Wing M, third door on the left, which was where Astri would be said to be resting. The ward was just the same as the hallway outside. After studying the terrain, she perched herself on a beam used for the ceiling, readying to ambush Obi-Wan.
Sure enough, Obi-Wan was being led toward the room by Doctor Rai Unlu. He went inside alone after Rai Unlu had left for some "emergency." Nobis leaped from her beam out of the darkness and attacked, but not before Obi-Wan had time to back away, drawing his lightsaber. She knew that this room would restrict Obi-Wan's movement because the Padawan retreated into the construction site to get on better ground. The bounty hunter followed behind, expressing how she had longed for this moment to come.
At first, Obi-Wan jumped on every obstacle in the hall to gain the upper hand over Nobis, letting the Force guide him as he went. But as Nobis drew a blaster to add with her whip, the boy could not concentrate on both weapons at once, slipped on some stones and fell onto a muddy puddle. He dodged her weapons and then went back on his feet. Outmatched, Obi-Wan telekinetically threw a fusioncutter at her, causing her to intercept it with her whip. This distraction gave Obi-Wan time to jump over the bounty hunter, landing on the nearest girder behind her. Nobis tried to lasso the Padawan in, but he was out of reach, hopping from girder to girder until he was on the other side of the site. Knowing that her quarry had escaped her, she let out an angry scream.
During this time, Nobis was contacted via her comlink by Jenna Zan Arbor, who wanted to rehire her, despite the latter's previous claim to the contrary. She was needed to smuggle the scientist and Noor R'aya into Belasco, the home of former Senator Uta S'orn; then, she would once again protect Zan Arbor as she began working on a cure to the bio-plague she introduced on this world's water supply. Hearing that she would get a cut of this reward the Belascan people could offer Arbor Industries, Nobis accepted the offer and left Sorrus for Belasco.
As she arrived at the Senta spaceport, the bounty hunter disguised herself as a Belascan medic and awaited the V-wing cruiser Zan Arbor would be flying. Zan Arbor went under the alias "Cir L'ani", a native Belascan returning home with her sick "father" (Noor). When the cruiser landed, Nobis met her employer, who held the weakened Noor on a med-splint, and they both traveled to the palace. She kept herself well hidden in one of the ceiling vents nearing S'orn's private quarters, where Noor was being held. S'orn, who was a part of this conspiracy, posed as a volunteer med aide and left two trays of food for her Sorrusian compatriot. Nobis slithered out of the vent, helped herself to two tarts, and sneaked the trays with her into her hiding place.
Later in the day, Zan Arbor and S'orn's scheme was falling apart. It was in the middle of a party in the royal grounds that the Jedi revealed the plot to Belascan Leader Min K'atel, who ordered for S'orn's quarters to be searched and the Senator surrounded. But the palace guard droids had been reprogrammed at the last moment by Zan Arbor to shoot the Jedi. As the fight broke out, Siri Tachi, apprenticed to Master Adi Gallia, somehow found Nobis and went after her.
This act of impulse would almost cost Siri dearly. Nobis lured her onto the palace roof and caught the Padawan's lightsaber with her whip, trying to wrench it off. As she drew a blaster to shoot Siri, Obi-Wan rushed to the rescue, using the Force to knock the blaster away from her. Nobis nearly fell as a result, but quickly recovered. She switched the whip to laser mode to attack Obi-Wan and pulled out her second blaster. She dodged a charge from Siri, causing her to mock both Padawans on their abilities. Once again, Obi-Wan corkscrewed his lightsaber around Nobis' whip and the bounty hunter fired in response, narrowly missing him. As she pulled on the whip hard, Obi-Wan fell, but used this opportunity to twist and kick Nobis' blaster out of her grasp. Then, Siri joined Obi-Wan as they cornering Nobis together.
Feeling the need to escape, Nobis reverted her whip to normal mode and lassoed onto a nearby drainpipe, propelling herself over the Padawans. At the same time, while in midair, she pulled out a third blaster and aimed at her prey. Before she could fire, Adi Gallia arrived and jumped toward Nobis, cutting the whip in half. All the bounty hunter could do was give a look of surprise as she fell to her death.
Ona Nobis was a clever, greedy, sarcastic, and treacherous bounty hunter. She would find ways to outsmart any pursuer. She rarely spoke to any of her targets. Whenever she captured a bounty, she would always put them in servo-cuffs.
Nobis didn't care about her employers' worries; in fact, she was extremely selfish and heartless. She only wanted to get their money and move on to another assignment. The bounty hunter went as far as threatening Jenna Zan Arbor by reminding her of what she was capable of.
Nobis was adept at strategy. She could use the environment to her advantage in a fight, if the option were available, such as her ambushing Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Sorrus Medical Center.
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