Spore was a Vesuvague/Bafforr tree hybrid imprisoned during the Golden Age of the Old Republic in an asteroid by the Ithorians.
Spore was a genetic construct created by Ithorian botanists, who had hoped to merge the DNA of a Vesuvague tree and a bafforr tree with other material to create a sentient plant. Instead, they created a creature which absorbed other minds to expand its thoughts and work its destructive tendencies. The entity used the minds of almost any living creature to augment its own power. It was thought that Spore could control several thousand minds at one time.
The crisis began in the year 439 BBY (404BrS:4:11). With the help of the Jedi Knights, it still took over 100 years for the Ithorians to capture and neutralize Spore, entombing the entity in an asteroid where it was forced into dormancy by the hard vacuum of space.
The Ithorians refused to kill Spore, owing to their strict adherence to the Law of Life. When Mining Station Alpha was established on the asteroid to collect minerals, the Ithorians carefully monitored their progress, lest they discovered Spore's tomb. Unfortunately, the tomb was discovered by Hodge and his team shortly after the Battle of Yavin.
Spore was released, and the ripples of darkness permeated the Force. Emperor Palpatine sent the Dark Jedi Jerec to capture Spore, but the hybrid had already escaped its prison and hidden itself in the body of the mining chief Hodge. Ithorian Fandomar was livid with fear, and rushed to escape the asteroid before Spore could infect anyone, but she was too late.
She brought Hodge—and Spore—back to Ithor, and Spore attacked the rescue party that came to find them. Black vines snaked out from Hodge's mouth and eyes, entwining the Ithorians and eventually capturing the Shi'ido Mammon Hoole and Zak Arranda. Each vine that touched a being, infected it immediately. Spore was patient and knew it would eventually infect any Ithorian herdship. Jerec intercepted Spore on Ithor, and offered it the chance to get off the planet if it would infect the crew of the Vengeance and make them his slaves. Spore first attacked Jerec, but Jerec with his command of the Dark side of the Force, easily deflected Spore's vine. Spore then agreed, but had no intention of helping Jerec for very long. Spore then tried to capture Tash Arranda and Fandomar Nadon, but they led Spore into an asteroid belt infested with space slugs. Space slugs attacked and destroyed the Vengeance deflector shields. Crushing asteroids then made holes in it large enough to expose Vengeance to the vacuum of space.
Exposure to the vacuum of space caused Spore to disintegrate, neutralizing the creature, leaving only a small dark object floating in the void.
- The New Essential Guide to Characters
- The Official Star Wars Fact File59
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia