ThonBoka

The ThonBoka nebula—which translated into Galactic Basic as the "StarCave"—was a sack-shaped cloud of dust and gas about a dozen light-years across hidden within the remote Open Sea in the Outer Rim's Centrality region. Rife with preorganic molecules and amino acids, the ThonBoka was occupied by a vacuum-dwelling sentient species called the Oswaft, along with thousands of species of native carapace-creatures and interstellar plankton that floated along the ThonBoka's currents. The ThonBoka was an open system where chemicals and nutrients freely passed through on the interstellar tide, which was crucial to the Oswaft's survival.

From within, the gas and dust of the ThonBoka appeared to shut out the rest of the galaxy, resembling the interior of an enormous cave. That cave-like impression was reinforced by the nebula's billows and folds that resembled geologic flows and sheets of limestone. The nebula could only be entered from one side, and that barrier was especially impermeable for the Oswaft, who traveled longer distances primarily through their natural ability to jump through hyperspace, as the gas and dust created a terminal amount of friction—it was said that Oswaft who tried to jump through the barrier would burst into flames and disappear. Three small, planetless stars, unusually located only about one or two light-years apart from one another, illuminated the ThonBoka from the region's center.

During the era of the Great Galactic War, the nebula was home to a fairly notorious group called the Skyraiders of ThonBoka. However, by the time of the Imperial Period several millennia later, the ThonBoka had fallen into obscurity, only inhabited by the native Oswaft, who were almost completely unknown by the wider galaxy. Th Oswaft's existence was known in the Centrality for centuries, but this knowledge was kept from Galactic Empire, and from the wider galaxy. It was only in 3 BBY, when a young, uncharacteristically curious Oswaft named Lehesu decided to explore his home's surroundings, that anyone beyond the Centrality became aware of the Oswaft's existence. Lehesu's travels outside his people's ancestral territory aroused the suspicion and hostility of the Empire, which saw the peaceful Oswaft as a potential threat due to their numbers, massive size, and unique ability to naturally jump through hyperspace. The Empire arrived in force and laid siege to the ThonBoka, hoping to starve the Oswaft out by preventing the free flow of nourishment that sustained them.

The Oswaft were pacifistic to their core, and some were willing to allow the Empire to wipe their species out rather than fight back. However, the deaths of Elder Bhoggihalysahonues and an Oswaft delegation that attempted to negotiate with the invading fleet—and the entreaties of Human starship captain Lando Calrissian, who had befriended Lehesu during his travels beyond the ThonBoka—rallied the Oswaft to struggle instead. The situation escalated into a bloody battle between the Imperial force, commanded by Sorcerer of Tund Rokur Gepta, and the Oswaft, which ended with Gepta's death in single combat with Calrissian and with the arrival of the Silentium, a droid culture that had arrived to safeguard one of their number, Calrissian's companion Vuffi Raa. The Silentium's power appeared so overwhelming that it cowed the Imperials into retreating quietly, once again leaving the ThonBoka safe for the Oswaft.

As the native Oswaft soared freely on the cosmic winds within the ThonBoka, the nebula only had a single artificial structure, the only one the Oswaft ever constructed in their history: the Cave of Elders. Constructed as an exacting replica of the ThonBoka itself, the Cave of Elders—a rotating sphere which was entirely made of precious gems—was located in the triangular plane between the three stars in the interior of the nebula. The locale served as an important meeting place for the Oswaft, and was the location where their society's three Elders governed their people.

The ThonBoka was home to a native sentient species known as the Oswaft, who viewed the isolated region as their refuge, and as a place of peace and plenty. The Oswaft believed themselves bound to the nebula, and could not conceive of life outside its borders—they lived in symbiosis with the ThonBoka, feeding off the wildlife and debris that floated along its currents, and did not learn anything of life beyond the nebula until 3 BBY. Although the ThonBoka was large and billions of Oswaft called it home, the Oswaft maintained a homogeneous culture, and their ability to communicate telepathically over vast distances prevented separate languages from ever forming.

The ThonBoka appeared as the primary setting of Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka, written by L. Neil Smith and released in 1983.

• "Star Wars Publications Timeline" — Star Wars Insider 23
• The Essential Chronology
• The Essential Guide to Alien Species
• "A Campaign Guide to the Centrality" — Star Wars Gamer 5
• The New Essential Chronology
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Essential Atlas
• Millennium Falcon Owner's Workshop Manual
• The Essential Reader's Companion