Basilisk war droid

Description

The Basilisk war droid, a droid resembling a beast, had a mechanical appearance that was a combination of a Zalorian rock-lion and a Karran beetle. It stood on six legs—two powerful, clawed front legs and four smaller hind legs—with a height ranging from 2.98 meters to nearly five meters, depending on the specific model. The droid possessed a droid brain that granted it a basic, animal-like self-awareness, categorized as semi-sentient. While capable of independent operation, the war droids typically served as loyal mounts guided by riders, requiring external activation and deactivation that took several seconds. Basilisk droids developed strong emotional connections with their riders and were known to emit sounds resembling pained howls when their rider was killed.

The Basilisk droids' bodies were heavily armored and often colored in shades of green, although some exhibited gray or red hues with gold accents. Mandalorian riders, who controlled these beast-like droids from armored saddles on their backs, were known to adorn their mounts with various personal weapons, including axes, swords, and flashpistols. The open combat models of the war droid were themselves armed with a formidable array of artillery: pulse-wave cannons and auto-firing laser cannons, shatter-missile launchers, and concussion missile launchers with a four-missile payload were integrated into or beneath the Basilisk's armored plating. The droid's primary weapon, located at its nose, was a cluster of shockwave generator rods that could generate a burst of plasma capable of penetrating the hulls of starships. Even the heavy claws on its two front legs, primarily used for landing and walking, could be employed for brawling, crushing obstacles, or tearing apart opponents. Basilisk droids often carried a pair of deployable space mines, and combat-type war droids could tow volatile atomic compression bombs between them, launching the nuclear bomb at enemy ships or space stations. Mandalorian modifications led to numerous customized variants of the Basilisk, such as the two-seated bomber, accommodating both a pilot and gunner, and the stealth configuration, which featured lighter weaponry and additional engines. Later models deviated significantly from the original design, incorporating enclosed cockpits and larger S-foils, thereby diminishing the droid's animalistic appearance in favor of a form more akin to a starship.

Basilisk droids were effective in ground, air, and space environments, and sensor clusters positioned at the front and rear allowed them to detect threats from all directions. While typically slow and lumbering on the ground, they could achieve higher speeds when necessary. In aerial combat, the Basilisk's rear armored wing plates, usually tucked against its body, would extend to reveal high-boost engines that enabled flight speeds of up to 550 kilometers per hour. However, despite their high speeds, particularly during bombing runs, the heavy armor made them slow to turn, and the absence of stabilizer fins at the tail made them difficult to control in flight.

Role

With an intelligence level slightly surpassing that of typical domesticated animals, the Basilisk droids developed strong emotional bonds with their Mandalorian owners. These bonds allowed the droids to react almost instinctively to their riders' commands, functioning as extensions of their bodies. They were loyal companions, capable of serving as mechanical beasts of burden, transporting heavy equipment, or towing large cargo-laden sleds.

Despite their mechanical, beast-like appearance and animal-level intelligence, Basilisks functioned more like gunships than droids. Capable of operating in the vacuum of space—with their Mandalorian riders wearing pressurized suits of vacuum-sealed Mandalorian armor—Basilisk war droids were transported aboard Mandalorian warships, secured by magnetic locks until launched from drop bays. They participated in fleet engagements alongside other Mandalorian craft, even using their claws to latch onto enemy vessels. Pairs of war droids could coordinate the deployment of towed bombs against enemy starships or space stations. Basilisk droids could also enter a planet's atmosphere, and Mandalorian riders commonly directed their mounts in rapid dives from orbit to the planet's surface, using the high descent speed to disrupt the targeting computers of enemy ground cannons.

Within the atmosphere, Basilisk droids were employed for high-speed bombing runs or providing strafing air support for ground troops while hovering. On the ground, these typically lumbering war droids were capable of bursts of rapid movement and could use their heavy claws to strike or slash at enemies.

History

Creation and capture

The Basiliskan race, a technologically advanced reptilian people from the Core Worlds planet Basilisk, were the original creators of the Basilisk war droids, developing them thousands of years before the rise of the Galactic Empire. In 4017 BBY, the Mandalorian Crusaders, led by Mandalore the Indomitable, launched an assault on Basilisk. The Basiliskan people were overwhelmed by the Mandalorian Taung warriors, but rather than allow the invaders to claim their world, the Basiliskan chose to poison their own planet, denying it to the Crusaders. While this action succeeded in forcing the Mandalorians to abandon the toxic world, they first looted countless Basilisk war droids, along with numerous Basiliskan warships and Lagartoz War Dragons.

Mandalorian war mounts

The Basilisk war droid, a unique weapon in the galaxy, became a common sight among the forces of the Mandalorian Crusaders. Although Mandalorians traditionally favored their own efforts over the use of droids, they came to regard their acquired war mounts as close companions, developing strong emotional bonds with them. Known as bes'uliike, or "iron beasts," in the Mandalorian language of Mando'a, only the most esteemed warriors within a clan were granted the honor of piloting a Basilisk droid. The Mandalorians fed their Basilisks a mixture of locap plasma and unrefined Mandallian Narcolethe, and when a Basilisk droid was lost in battle, it received the funeral rites of a warrior before being sent to rest in the heart of a star.

With Basilisk war droids under their command, the Mandalorian Crusaders conquered Kuar and raided the borders of Krath space near the Empress Teta system. During this time, the Mandalorians clashed with the fallen Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma, and Qel-Droma and Mandalore the Indomitable agreed to a single combat challenge on Kuar. During the duel, Mandalore the Indomitable engaged Qel-Droma from his Basilisk war droid, but was defeated and forced to swear loyalty to the newly appointed Sith Lord. Serving Qel-Droma and his Sith Master, Exar Kun, the Mandalorians under Mandalore the Indomitable rode their Basilisk war droids into battle during an attack on Foerost, seizing the fleet of vessels under construction at the planet's shipyards. Soon after, the Mandalorian Crusaders' Basilisk riders participated in Qel-Droma's assault on the galactic capital world of Coruscant. Despite being ordered to retreat following the false report of Qel-Droma's death, they struck at Onderon atop their Basilisk droids, intending to conquer the world for Qel-Droma after learning of his survival. However, during the fighting at Onderon, a Galactic Republic frigate fired upon Mandalore the Indomitable's war droid, causing the Mandalorian leader to crash on Onderon's moon, Dxun, where he was killed by the local creatures. After the ceremonial Mask of Mandalore was found, Mandalore the Indomitable was succeeded by a new warrior as the Mandalorian leader. Although the Great Sith War soon ended, the new Mandalore had his own ambitions for the Mandalorians and their Basilisk droids.

Mandalore the Ultimate aimed to challenge the Republic and conquer the galaxy, inducting as many of its inhabitants as possible into his army of Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders during what became known as the Mandalorian Wars. Mandalorian warriors riding Basilisk droids assaulted Althir and devastated Cathar, wiping out nearly ninety percent of the Cathar population, before proceeding to conquer Flashpoint. At the battle of Vanquo, Basilisk droids participated in orbital combat, with one droid latching onto a Republic Aurek-class starfighter and tearing the canopy from the vessel with its front claws. By this point in time, the Mandalorians had developed several Basilisk war droid variants, and a significant number of these droids participated in the Mandalorian Siege of Taris, with several patrolling the skies of Taris during the Neo-Crusader occupation.

War droids fought alongside the Mandalorians again at Onderon and Dxun, while some Basilisks and their riders fell victim to the rakghoul outbreak on Jebble. At Essien, at least a dozen Basilisk droids were part of the Neo-Crusader forces seeking to take the planet. During the fighting, the war droid piloted by Ko Sornell was shot down, but she and her son Gheedor were rescued from Republic fire by the pacifistic Jedi Zayne Carrick. A squadron of Basilisk droids was transported aboard the Kandosii-type dreadnaught Parjai, bound for Dantooine when the Mandalorian Knights targeted the Jedi Enclave there. At Duro, the Neo-Crusaders struck with numerous Basilisk droids, raining them down on the orbiting cities like meteors, and war droids fought under Cassus Fett at Jaga's Cluster.

The Mandalorian Wars concluded with the Battle of Malachor V, where Revan, a Jedi Knight, killed Mandalore the Ultimate in single combat, and the Mandalorians' fleet was devastated over Malachor V by the superweapon known as the Mass Shadow Generator. Following his victory, Revan ordered the Mandalorians to disarm and destroy their Basilisk droids. However, some defied Revan's terms and secretly retained their war droids. Clans Ordo and Jendri were among those who refused to relinquish their loyal mounts. While searching for Mandalore's Mask, which Revan had hidden after defeating Mandalore the Ultimate, several clans, including Jendri and Ordo, traveled to Rekkiad, a world in the Outer Rim, bringing their Basilisks with them. The Basilisk droids belonging to Clan Ordo helped transport heavy cargo across the frozen, ice-covered surface of Rekkiad, before being forced into a skirmish with the Basilisk riders of Clan Jendri, when Ordo's members crossed into the territory established by Clan Jendri. However, Jendri possessed only four war droids compared to Ordo's six, and the battle turned in Clan Ordo's favor, leading to the retreat of Clan Jendri with their Basilisks. Clan Ordo successfully recovered Mandalore's Mask from Rekkiad, and Canderous Ordo became Mandalore the Preserver.

As the new Mand'alor, the traditional leader of the Mandalorian clans, Canderous Ordo sought to unite the Mandalorians who had scattered after the Mandalorian Wars, gathering his clan and others at the Mandalorians' old outpost on the Onderon moon of Dxun. There, the Mandalorians who rallied to Ordo maintained a modified Basilisk war droid, featuring an enclosed cockpit with seating for three Humanoid individuals.

When the Jedi Exile Meetra Surik traveled between Dxun and Onderon to intervene in the ongoing civil war on Onderon, she utilized Clan Ordo's Basilisk droid to reach the Onderon capital city of Iziz. Despite some offline systems, including weapons, its armor and shields allowed it to descend rapidly from the moon to the planet's surface, evading the city's laser cannon defenses. The city's inhabitants feared the Basilisk's arrival, as memories of the droid's actions during the recent Mandalorian Wars were still fresh in their minds.

Chop'aa Notimo had acquired a Basilisk war droid by the year 2 BBY. In that year, Notimo, along with his group of Mandalorian mercenaries, captured Corellian senator Garm Bel Iblis as a hostage on the world of Bespin. Galen Marek, a former Sith apprentice, was tasked by Jedi Knight Rahm Kota to liberate the Corellia's senator from Cloud City, Bespin's capital. Marek battled Notimo's mercenaries before finally facing the experienced Mandalorian warrior. Notimo then deployed his Basilisk war droid to engage Marek, utilizing the droid's powerful claws and laser cannon to keep the Force-wielder at a distance. Ultimately, Marek managed to violently throw the war droid against a wall and then used the Force to dismantle its mechanical structure. Without his droid mount, Notimo attempted to fight Marek personally, but he was defeated and killed, and Bel Iblis was successfully rescued.

During the time of the Galactic Civil War, engineers managed to obtain blueprints that allowed them to recreate the ancient Basilisk war droids. The droids that were designed by these engineers were quite similar to the original animalistic Basilisk, however they now included a pair of hind legs in addition to the familiar front set, and could only accommodate one rider. During the early stages of the conflict between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, these war droids were available for purchase by various spacers.

By the era of the New Republic, Basilisk war droids had become a rare sight across the galaxy. Most of them had been destroyed, and the remaining ones were generally deactivated, only visible behind the transparisteel barriers in the galaxy's museums.

Legacy

Despite the dwindling numbers of Basilisk droids in the galaxy, the war droid remained a significant symbol within Mandalorian culture, representing Mandalorian strength and power. When MandalMotors—a prominent Mandalorian starship manufacturer with its headquarters in Keldabe, the capital city of Mandalore—began the design of the StarViper-class attack platform around the time of the Battle of Yavin, many aspects of later Basilisk droid designs were clearly present in the new starfighter's concept.

Decades later, the engineers at MandalMotors developed a new prototype starfighter known as the Kyr'galaar. However, with the discovery of a new deposit of virtually indestructible Mandalorian beskar iron on Mandalore, the company's CEO, Jir Yomaget, decided to add beskar armor plating and renamed the craft the Bes'uliik-class starfighter. Being a long-time admirer of the ancient Basilisk war droids, Yomaget felt that the name was appropriate for the highly advanced starfighter.

Behind the scenes

The Basilisk war droids were first introduced to the Star Wars universe in the initial issue of the Tales of the Jedi story arc The Sith War, specifically in Tales of the Jedi – The Sith War 1, which was written by Kevin J. Anderson. The war droids continued to appear in subsequent issues throughout the story arc, and were also featured in informational entries in The Essential Guide to Droids and its later update.

The original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game includes a detailed description of the Basilisk war droids, before the droids themselves appear in the sequel, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. However, there was a notable difference between the Basilisk droid as described by the player's companion, Canderous Ordo, in Knights of the Old Republic, and the droid's appearance in the sequel. Ordo describes the vehicle as a small, open-air mount, whereas Knights of the Old Republic II depicts a closed fighter, mirroring the design of Prince Xizor's Virago from Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire. This change was a deliberate choice by Chris Avellone and the second game's developers, who considered the original animal-like appearance of the Basilisk droids to be "really stupid" and sought to replace the fantastical, "ancient" look of the comics with a more grounded aesthetic reminiscent of the movies. Despite this, both designs are considered canon within the Star Wars Legends continuity, with subsequent references made to the older version. This difference may have been implicitly retconned as variations between different models of the war droid.

Dustin Weaver, the artist for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Flashpoint, appears to have attempted to reconcile the design variations, depicting Basilisks with both the body of the traditional mount-type droid and the wings and details of the Virago-like design from Knights of the Old Republic II. Basilisk war droids made multiple appearances throughout the Knights of the Old Republic comic series, and in the subsequent mini-series, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: War. Several Basilisk droids were featured in Drew Karpyshyn's Star Wars: The Old Republic tie-in novel, The Old Republic: Revan, and the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii versions of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed included a Basilisk war droid as a boss encounter on Bespin. Two of Karen Traviss' Star Wars: Legacy of the Force novels, Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice and Legacy of the Force: Revelation, mention the Basilisk war droid, and Basilisk replicas are present in the massively-multiplayer online game, Star Wars Galaxies.

Since their initial appearance, some ambiguity has emerged regarding the origins of the war droid's name. When they were first introduced in the Tales of the Jedi comics, the name Basilisk was given without any explanation. Later, with the release of The History of the Mandalorians reference article in the eighty-sixth issue of Star Wars Insider, Abel G. Peña connected the Basilisk droids to the Basiliskan race from the planet Basilisk, suggesting that the name Basilisk was a descriptor based on their creators. However, Karen Traviss, while developing the Mando'a language, created the Mandalorian word bes'uliik to refer to the war droids, which translates to "iron beast". As of yet, there is no canonical explanation for the apparent homonymy between the name of the planet and the Mando'a term, although various explanations are possible.

According to page 86 of The New Essential Guide to Droids, the Mandalorians acquired the war droids from "the Basilikian homeworld."

The capitalized name Basilisk War Droid was at one point used by John Jackson Miller.