Tiss'shar

The Tiss'shar were bipedal therapods descended from predatory reptilians native to the humid jungle continents of Tiss'sharl. They were relatively strong and agile, with long necks, slender torsos, wider hips, and a short but wiry tail. Their mouths were filled with short, sharp teeth, and their large tongues were pink and constantly moving. Their large eyes were black and appeared glassy as a result of the clear, resilient film that covered and protected them. Many Tiss'shar had prominent sickle-shaped claws on the first toe of their feet; some also possessed a crest of feathers atop their heads.

There were six subspecies of Tiss'shar, distinguished most easily by the markings on their scales. The sil-ar were the most common, and had diamond shaped markings on the backs of their heads and torsos, and on their limbs. The kal-ar were another common subspecies, having thin, concentric bands beginning at the base of their jaws and going all the way to their feet. Other subspecies included the ask-ar, which had red markings resembling masks on their faces; the orl-ar, which had green scales punctuated by yellow-orange stripes; the nil-ar, which had thin red bands around their eyes, wrists, ankles, and tails; and the isk-ar, which were albino Tiss'shar with translucent white scales and no other visible markings.

Tiss'shar social structure was inextricably tied to business. Nearly all Tiss'shar families had a corporation as a patron, which provided the family with its material needs in exchange for the dedicated labor of its members. Patron corporations regularly supplied food, housing, health care, education, and security services. While most companies native to Tiss'sharl focused on enviro-technology and modern weaponry, they also produced many other high-end products such as hyperdrives and droids. Tiss'sharl was open to companies from offworld, and some of the most prominent corporations from around the galaxy set up offices there; however, these companies' less generous benefits packages often meant they could only attract less skilled Tiss'shar to their payroll.

The predatory instincts of the Tiss'shar, redirected into the realm of business, served them well. While no stereotype fully defined the species, they often were considered aggressive, resourceful, calculating businessbeings. These traits also made them excellent assassins and gunfighters, renowned galaxywide for their efficiency. Most Tiss'shar had an appreciation for the art of the deal, and conducted their business legitimately; even those who chose the path of the assassin remembered that they were conducting business and respected their contracts. Tiss'shar tended to focus solely on success, tackling problems with a detached and calculating approach. They often preferred subterfuge over overt physical approaches when solving disputes.

Government among the Tiss'shar was also tied to business. Tiss'sharl was governed by the Tiss'sharl League, a body consisting of those businessbeings whose companies posted the highest profits for the previous five local years, with each local year being roughly eleven standard months long. The body was not restricted to Tiss'shar; foreigners were also eligible to become a part of the League, which was headed by a President and Vice President, with officers and league councilors filling out other roles. Tiss'shar politics by the time of the Galactic Civil War were extremely cutthroat, with advancement often occurring as a result of assassination.

The Tiss'shar was made up of hisses, shrieks, and lisping vocalizations. The written form of Tiss'shar consisted of sharp lines and curves in series, and was described as possessing a violent-looking aesthetic.

Tiss'shar typically did not wear clothing other than a simple tool harness, though that was far from an absolute rule. Citizens of the capital city could be seen wearing garments of various sorts covering their upper torsos. Members of the Tiss'sharl League and their guards often wore elaborate outfits about their necks and shoulders, and guards also wore wide-brimmed helmets. Assassins sometimes wore a face-concealing cowl.

Tiss'shar cuisine, befitting their predatory nature, was served unheated. Meat was served still attached to the bone of the creature of origin, with no attempt made to disguise the source; small animals were served whole.

Tiss'sharl was a planet in the Xappyh sector, located in the Outer Rim Territories. Sometime prior to 3976 BBY, Mandalore the Ultimate ordered the Mandalorians to expand outward. Among the peoples they discovered were the Tiss'shar, many of whom became recruits among the Mandalorians, who had begun to accept members of non-Taung races.

In 3704 BBY, the hyperspace explorer Freia Kallea connected the nearby Morellian Trail to the Spurs of Celanon as part of the super-hyperlane that came to be known as the Hydian Way. This opened up this region to the rest of the galaxy, and the space that included Tiss'sharl was explored between 3000 and 1000 BBY. The Tiss'shar came under the undisputed authority of the Tiss'sharl League in approximately 1000 BBY; the rule of the League provided stability and abundance for the Tiss'shar, though it also eventually fostered the cutthroat politics that characterized it during the Imperial era. During the Clone Wars, Tiss'sharl fell within territory controlled by the Galactic Republic.

By the time of the Galactic Civil War, the Tiss'shar were well-integrated into the galaxy. They were key players in the galactic economy, with Tiss'sharl the focus of extensive import and export activity, often generating a trade surplus. Many galactic corporations, including TaggeCo, had set up offices on the planet. The world was loyal to the Empire, with Moff Giiedt serving as Imperial liaison to Tiss'sharl.

The election prior to the Battle of Yavin left Si-Di-Ri in the Presidency of the Tiss'sharl League, with his friend Astre-De-Kay as Vice President, and Geor-Dan-Thi appointed to the League Council. Geor-Dan-Thi soon rose in power, as Mayor Antha-Kres, Secretary Lai-O-Sid, and Astre-De-Kay all soon died under questionable circumstances. Many, including Si-Di-Ri himself, believed Geor-Dan-Thi, by then Vice President, was not finished rising through the League's hierarchy through assassination.

The Galactic Civil War brought new challenges. Lord Darth Vader visited the world three times in a year, each time demanding a lower selling price of TaggeCo blaster cartridges. Vader's third visit occurred eight months after the Battle of Yavin, following the death of Moff Giiedt. Vader brought Giiedt's replacement, Commander Demmings, and spared him the task of demanding yet another price cut, to 1,000 credits per 5,000-cartridge container.

Si-Di-Ri secretly met with former Senator Timi Rotramel of Mon Calamari, who was sent by the Rebel Alliance to offer Tiss'sharl protection from the Empire, including the establishment of an Alliance base. Despite the pressure Imperial demands were making on Tiss'sharl's economy, Si-Di-Ri refused Rotramel's offer, as the Rebellion was on the run and in hiding from the Empire, and thus was not a viable alternative in his eyes. His refusal occurred just as Vader arrived at the meeting. The raise in prices had been part of a ploy by Vader to draw a Rebel emissary to Tiss'sharl, though he had expected Princess Leia Organa instead of Rotramel. Vader killed the Senator, and, in light of the President's loyalty and unwitting assistance in the gambit, allowed TaggeCo to retain its current prices. Si-Di-Ri, realizing he was ultimately a pawn in spite of his position, and realizing the position was not worth the constant risk of assassination, chose to resign his post, the first President of the Tiss'sharl League in recent memory to do so.

The Tiss'shar were known across the galaxy as shrewd, resourceful businessbeings. Tiss'shar merchants could be found on all of the major hyperlanes, and Tiss'shar corporations were aggressive in their search for new markets and business opportunities throughout the galaxy. Tiss'shar who didn't care for more legitimate means of gathering wealth often became corporate or freelance killers. such as the bounty hunter Xufal D'uat.

A large number of Tiss'shar found their way into the Corporate Sector. Eleven percent of the population of Bonadan, one of the Sector's busiest ports, was Tiss'shar, and a significant population of them lived on the urban planet Media on the Sector's Lucaya Cross hyperlane. Some Tiss'shar in the sector found work in legitimate business, while others served as "protection agents" and corporate assassins. Uul-Rha-Shan, a former gunrunner turned gunslinger, was hired by Corporate Sector Authority Viceprex Mirkovig Hirken to serve as his bodyguard.

Yet other Tiss'shar turned to piracy. One of the most infamous was Abin-Ral-Xufush, the notorious leader of the Shadow Wing pirate fleet. Another Tiss'shar pirate was Pao-Neh-Lo, an experienced and merciless member of the crew of the privateering vessel Far Orbit.

The Tiss'shar Tra-Skan-Lor served as the Director of the Special Acquisitions Branch of the Library of the Republic and caused the Sayings of Emperor Uueg Tching of Atrisia to become deeply embeded within the culture of the Branch.

The droid manufacturer Uhr-Vah-Vo TechWorks was operated by Tiss'shar, and was purchased by the InterGalactic Banking Clan several years prior to the outbreak of the Clone Wars.

As non-humans, Tiss'shar faced some discrimination during the time of the Galactic Empire. Like many non-human races, they were not welcome on Coruscant. Non-Tiss'shar sometimes referred to them derogatorily as "snakes."

The Tiss'shar first appeared in the form of the reptilian thug Uul-Rha-Shan in Brian Daley's novel Han Solo at Stars' End, in 1979, though the species would go unnamed until Uul-Rha-Shan's write-up in the Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook, published in 1993. The species itself would first be explored in Galaxy Guide 12: Aliens — Enemies and Allies two years later.

The appearance of the Tiss'shar has varied with time. In the comic adaptation of Han Solo at Stars' End, Uul-Rha-Shan appeared as a robust, almost amphibian alien with a protruding snout. This depiction was apparently forgotten years later, when Mike Vilardi illustrated a more slender, lizard-like depiction of him for Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook. This version of the Tiss'shar would inspire later images drawn throughout West End Games's publications, as well as the image in Wizards of the Coast's Ultimate Alien Anthology. In Empire 31, the Tiss'shar acquired an appearance much more like what dinosaurs such as Velociraptor were widely believed to look like at the time of the issue's illustration, complete with the characteristic sickle-shaped claw on the foot's second digit.

Star Wars: Empire 31 artist Joe Corroney at first had difficulty drawing the reptilian protagonists of the issue, but eventually adjusted and came to enjoy the task. The depictions of various Tiss'shar in that comic suggest far more outward variety than the six subspecies described in the Ultimate Alien Anthology.

• Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook
• Alliance Intelligence Reports
• Galaxy Guide 12: Aliens — Enemies and Allies
• Pirates & Privateers
• Stock Ships
• The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology
• Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Alien Encounters
• Ultimate Alien Anthology
• The New Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Essential Atlas
• Scavenger's Guide to Droids
• The Written Word on Hyperspace
• The Essential Guide to Warfare