Ozrei N'takkilomandrife, also known as Knife, was a male Nagai and one of the foremost leaders of his species' invasion fleet during the Nagai–Tof War in 4 ABY. He commanded several early missions into territory belonging to the Alliance of Free Planets. The son of the scout Krai H'voc, Knife first encountered Alliance agents Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, and Chewbacca when he tried to set up a slave ring on Kashyyyk using Chewbacca's family as hostages to keep the native Wookiees in line. His efforts were foiled by a Wookiee uprising, however.
During the invasion, Knife learned of his half-brother Bey and immediately befriended him, not showing any sign of discrimination against the half-breed. Shortly after his activities on Kashyyyk, he led an attack on the planet Kabray, but he and his commando squad were captured by the Alliance in the process. After being taken to an Alliance base on the Forest moon of Endor, Knife's brain was scanned by several telepathic Hoojibs, which revealed to the Alliance the full extent of the Nagai's invasion plans. As the Nagai fleet attacked, Knife was freed from his captivity by Bey, who was acting as a double agent.
Not long after, the Tofs—old enemies of the Nagai—followed the Nagai fleet into the known galaxy and began to inflict devastating losses on them. Despite Knife's reservations, the Nagai joined forces with the Alliance to repulse the greater threat. Knife had a hard time adapting to the new allegiance, constantly picking fights with Alliance warriors. However, the allegiance proved fruitful, and they managed to defeat the Tofs on the planet Saijo. With the conflict over, Knife returned with the Nagai fleet to their conquered home planet of Nagi to liberate it from the ruling Tofs.
Knife lifts his glass to his allies.
The male Nagai Ozrei N'takkilomandrife was born in the Unknown Regions to a prominent Nagai scout named Krai H'voc. Ozrei advanced through the ranks of the Nagai military, eventually attaining the rank of commander. He was well known for his loyalty and efficiency, skills he utilized during the Nagai's struggle against their perpetual enemies, the Tof. Before Ozrei had even been born, and during the height of the Galactic Empire's rule over the galaxy, his mother, Krai, became the first Nagai to scout Imperial territory, residing on Corellia for a time. Krai found the galaxy ripe for conquest, as it was engaged in a fierce civil war. After learning all she could about the galaxy and its people, Krai left Corellia and returned to her species, telling them to wait until the war had ended so that they could attack the weakened loser.
During Krai's stay on Corellia, she gave birth to a half-breed son named Bey and abandoned him following her return to the Nagai. After Ozrei's birth and subsequent advancement into the Nagai military, Bey finally discovered his long-lost mother in the Unknown Regions, and met her other family, including Ozrei. When Ozrei heard of his half-brother, he welcomed him with open arms, accepting him into the family. At the same time, news of the conclusion of the Galactic Civil War reached the Nagai people. The time for their invasion had finally arrived. Ozrei was sent as an advance scout to enter the new territory and create a slave trade to disrupt the newly forming government, the Alliance of Free Planets. Ozrei's new brother Bey was sent as well, to serve as a spy for the imminent arrival of the Nagai fleet.
Knife silences his Wookiee captive.
Commander N'takkilomandrife was sent to the planet of Kashyyyk, where he quickly made friends with several Wookiees desperate for money. Because of the Wookiee's unique tongue, they were unable to pronounce Ozrei's name, and they took to calling him "Knife" in Shyriiwook for his skills with his Tehk'la blades. Knife formed a slavery ring headed by himself and the Wookiee Vargi, ready to restart the business that had flourished under the Galactic Empire. Vargi was the brother of Mallatobuck, who was herself the wife of Chewbacca, a famous hero of the Rebel Alliance. Vargi informed Knife of Chewbacca's importance to the new galactic government, and Knife made plans to ransom Chewbacca's family and capture the mighty Wookiee, believing that it would do much to demoralize local resistance to the new slave trade.
However, as soon as Knife had kidnapped Chewbacca's wife and his young son, Lumpawarrump, he was notified that the Wookiee had just arrived on the world in the starship Cobra with Alliance Generals Lando Calrissian and Han Solo. Knife took Vargi and met up with the companions at the spaceport, requesting that he and Vargi accompany them back to Chewbacca's home for drinks. However, when they arrived, Chewbacca became immediately suspicious, seeing that his family was not present. After the party entered the home, Wookiees under Knife's command entered with weapons trained on the Rebel heroes, with Chewbacca's family in tow. Knife informed the group that he would be selling them into slavery and took Chewbacca out into the city to parade his captive around.
Knife is knocked unconscious during the Skirmish on Kabray.
Unfortunately for Knife's plan, Solo and Calrissian were able to get away from their captors and incited a riot. Chewbacca personally defeated Vargi in one-on-one combat, and the Wookiees rose up against Knife's loyal allies. Assessing the situation, Knife decided to cut his losses and quickly retreated from the area. Knife found Calrissian's ship, the Cobra, with its defense systems offline, and he commandeered it, speeding back to the Nagai.
Although he had temporarily escaped a bad situation, Knife was back on the move. On Saijo, Knife hired a rebel named Durne to foster a fight between two factions of Rebels in the Cantros system. Durne was highly successful, and the two sides, each believing that the other was working for the Empire, slowly wiped each other out. The catastrophe was only stopped when the Rebel heroes Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Luke Skywalker were able to reveal the deception.
With several bases now established, the Nagai invasion intensified. Knife was put in charge of a task force of commandos charged with attacking a diplomatic conference on Kabray and capturing several prominent Alliance leaders. Knife and his team quickly took several Alliance members captive, including Solo and Organa, who were present at the meeting. Knife put the leaders in a contained cell until he could transport them back to his commanders. However, when Knife entered the cell, he was attacked by Jahn, a Zeltron teenager who had been working under Organa. Jahn knocked Knife unconscious, and a fight broke out between the prisoners and Knife's men, resulting in a victory for the Alliance.
Knife and his warriors are led away as captives of the Alliance.
Knife and his team were taken captive following the attack. Zeltron teenagers who had taken part in the skirmish herded the group back to a ship to be taken to a holding facility on the Alliance base on the Forest Moon of Endor. As a prisoner on Endor, Knife had his brain scanned by telepathic Hoojibs. The Hoojib operatives, led by Plif, discovered information that the Nagai fleet was about to begin an attack on the Endor base. The Alliance tried to evacuate the forest moon, but they were too late, and a climactic battle began.
Knife is wounded by Han Solo.
Meanwhile, Knife's half-brother Bey had been secretly passing the Alliance's battle plans to the Nagai leadership. Bey helped a group of Nagai make a secret landing on Endor, and they quickly released Knife and his men from their captivity. Knife took charge of the group along with an attack force of Maccabree warriors, and prepared to annihilate the Alliance's base while the majority of their forces were engaged in space against the Nagai fleet. Knife commanded Lieutenant Hol B'shaki to begin the attack while he went to reunite with Bey.
However, Knife found Bey locked in battle with Han Solo, who had discovered Bey's part in working for the Nagai. Bey's martial arts and overbearing presence eventually disarmed Solo and left him sprawling on the forest floor. However, Bey hesitated to execute Solo, showing mercy, a distinctly un-Nagai trait. Seeing that Bey was about to violate the strict Nagai code of honor, Knife stepped in, preparing to kill Solo himself. Unfortunately for Knife, Bey could not allow his brother to kill Solo, and he lunged towards him, just as he was about to take the shot. Knife was knocked off balance and turned his blaster on Bey instead.
Knife declared Bey a traitor, but before he could pull the trigger, he received a blaster shot in the torso. As Knife clutched his deadly wound, Solo advanced on the Nagai, having stopped him in his tracks. However, Bey rushed to Knife's side and threatened to shoot Solo if he would not leave the scene. Solo left to return to the Endor base and help stop the Nagai offensive while Bey tended to Knife's wound. Bey was able to get his half-brother back to the Nagai fleet, but after Solo was able to reveal the Nagai's plans to Alliance command, the battle was lost and the Nagai retreated.
Knife turns his weapon on his brother Bey.
Knife was gravely injured by the blaster wound and was taken off of active duty for a time. As such, he was not present for the Battle of Iskalon, instead spending his time recovering aboard a Nagai cruiser. Upon his recovery, Knife took to interrogating captured Alliance soldiers, subjecting them to torture with his knives.
Knife's return was just in time to hear that the Nagai's old enemies, the Tof, had finally tracked them to their new location. Knife received word of the Tof's slaughter of Nagai forces at the Battle of Trenwyth, and awarded posthumous commendations to all the soldiers lost in the battle. However, the reports of every soldier being killed were premature, and it seemed that one Nagai pilot had survived. Wing Commander Taikotelai Akikoma reported to Knife's ship to make his report on the battle. However, Tai revealed that he had only survived by receiving help from Alliance operatives. Knife condemned this action, declaring that accepting mercy was as bad as showing it, and was a violation of the Nagai code of honor. Knife hurled one of his Tehk'la blades deep into Tai's chest, killing him and teaching a powerful lesson to his subordinates.
Although Knife's subordinate, Lieutenant Den Siva, was shocked at the action, Knife was unaffected and ordered Siva to begin the planned invasion of Zeltros immediately. Ultimately, the invasion went poorly, with the Tof arriving, catching the Nagai off-guard, and capturing several of them. Only with the help of Alliance members on the world were the Nagai force able to defeat the Tof. Lieutenant Siva realized that the Tof had now become the major threat and decided to begin negotiations for a possible alliance. Knife was upset with the turn of events, but his superiors accepted the alliance, creating a tentative truce.
Knife executes a Tof in Sereno's palace.
With the Nagai and the Alliance of Free Planets now allied, the Tof were slowly pushed back, eventually being isolated on their forward base on Saijo. There, the Alliance began a type of siege warfare, slowly moving towards the palace of Prince Sereno, the Tof leader. Knife was stationed alongside Luke Skywalker, Den Siva, Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Mandalore Fenn Shysa, as well as Alliance operatives Dani, Maggie and Trif. The diverse group eventually found themselves holed up in a destroyed Saijo settlement on the outskirts of the Tof-erected palace. While there, Knife proved a difficult ally, trying to incite a fight with Solo as well as insulting his fellow Nagai, Siva, for being weak-willed. Knife was concerned about what would happen following the conclusion of the battle, believing that the Alliance would betray them at the mission's end. However, Skywalker did much to quell Knife's fears.
Eventually, Skywalker split the group up, taking only Siva, Solo, Knife, Organa, and Dani to infiltrate the palace. As they slowly approached the main Tof structure, Siva and Skywalker witnessed a group of Nagai prisoners being herded into the palace by their Tof captors. The group quickly captured the Tofs and decided to create a ruse to get into the palace. Threatening their Tof prisoners, they posed as captives and were able to enter Sereno's throne room. As soon as they arrived in the room, the group found Sereno in an audience with the Dark Lady Lumiya. The Tof prisoners could not continue with the deception in front of their leader; however, Knife executed a Tof before he could betray them and took Sereno captive, holding him at blasterpoint.
As a fight broke out in the chamber, Lumiya stunned Knife with a blaster shot and tried to finish him off. However, Lumiya herself was shot by Leia Organa. Lumiya was able to regain the upper hand over Organa through use of the Force, but she was outnumbered by her foes. The time she had spent subduing Organa gave Knife's brother time to come to their rescue, whereupon he disabled Lumiya with a blaster shot to the back. Knife was touched by his brother's actions, finally finding the strength to forgive him for his betrayal on Endor.
Knife is wounded by Dark Lady Lumiya during the Battle of Saijo.
Knife joined Bey and the rest of the Alliance heroes in celebrating an end to the Tof threat, but he realized that his species' homeworld of Nagi was still under Tof control. Knife accepted an alliance with Mandalore Fenn Shysa and his Supercommandos to continue the fight against the Nagai's sworn enemy. The Alliance of Free Planets offered the planet of Saijo to the Nagai as a potential new homeworld to rebuild and live on, as well as full membership in the new government. However, the majority of the Nagai, along with Knife, knew that they had a duty to their homeworld. The fleet departed with the Mandalorians to fight the Tof back in their home system.
Knife and Han Solo finally lay aside their differences at the end of the Nagai–Tof War.
Ozrei N'takkilomandrife was a particularly brutal being, having no regrets for his actions as long as they served his strict moral code. Knife held no qualms about torturing an enemy or even killing a subordinate if he found them to be lacking the strength that should be shown by a Nagai. He was also fairly unforgiving, holding a deep hatred for Han Solo for foiling his plots on Kashyyyk and Kabray, making it difficult for him to work beside him during the final battle on Saijo.
Holding such strong loyalty to his race, the betrayal of his half-brother Bey on Endor affected Knife deeply. During his slow recovery, he suffered from a bout of depression and even suggested to Den Siva that he had perhaps lost the will to live. However, his strong will pulled him through this period, although he still had a hard time forgiving Bey. Knife even began to distrust anyone who was not a full-blooded Nagai after the event.
However, following the Battle of Saijo, Knife's mentality changed, finding respect for the members of the Alliance after they laid their lives on the line repeatedly to protect his own. He was even able to ask the Mandalorians for help in the Nagai's next campaign against the Tof. Knife was a strong-willed enemy, not succumbing to potentially deadly wounds that he sustained during the Battle of Endor, and quickly pressed himself back into active service after recovering. While Knife proved a formidable enemy, he was also a powerful ally, which he proved during the battle of Saijo, succeeding in capturing the Tof Prince and surviving Lumiya's assault, helping to end the Nagai–Tof War.
Knife was created by Mary Jo Duffy for use in Marvel Comics' ongoing Star Wars comic series. He first appeared in 1985's Star Wars 91, and was used throughout a storyline involving the Nagai invasion of the Star Wars galaxy. Afterward, Knife went unused until 2000, when he was referenced in Rich Handley and Joseph Bongiorno's article The University of Sanbra Guide to Intelligent Life: The Marvel Series, which, among other things revealed Knife's true name of Ozrei N'takkilomandrife. The article also named Knife's mother, Krai H'voc, and confirmed that Knife was the person who had hired the traitor Durne in Star Wars 93, a mystery that had previously been unsolved.
- The Essential Guide to Characters
- "The University of Sanbra Guide to Intelligent Life: The Marvel Series" — Star Wars Gamer 1
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- The Forgotten War: The Nagai and the Tofs on Hyperspace