Bey

In the year 36 BBY, Bey was born on the planet of Corellia. His mother, Krai H'voc, was a Nagai scout who had ventured into Imperial space to assess the potential for invasion of the galaxy. During this time, H'voc settled on Corellia and unexpectedly developed a romantic connection with a Human. H'voc eventually entered into marriage with the man and gave birth to Bey, but her time on the world was limited. Upon learning of the marriage, her Nagai superiors commanded her to relocate and terminate the relationship. She returned to her people to provide an assessment of the galaxy, which was then engaged in civil war, leaving behind her son and his father. Bey's father harbored resentment towards H'voc for her abandonment, and he directed his anger towards his son. As a near-Human hybrid, Bey faced discrimination from many, who regarded him as inferior and unintelligent.

However, even in his youth, Bey possessed a significantly larger stature than his peers, which he utilized to his advantage. By the age of seventeen, Bey had reached his full height. Approximating the size of a Wookiee, Bey presented an imposing figure, capable of defending himself against those who might act on their prejudices through physical violence. Having witnessed the cruelty that individuals could inflict upon one another, Bey frequently sought to protect those who were being targeted. It was in this capacity that Bey first encountered Han Solo during the Clone Wars. While traversing the streets of Corellia, Bey observed a nine-year-old Solo being harassed by a group of boys his age. Despite Solo's attempts to fend off the group, he was easily overwhelmed and subjected to their assault. Bey intervened, dispersing the gang and assisting Solo in getting back on his feet.

From that moment forward, Solo became Bey's "little buddy," and Bey began instructing Solo in the art of hand-to-hand combat. Bey emphasized the importance of fighting with intellect rather than anger, explaining how anger could be exploited against him. As they matured, Bey became an idol to Solo, a source of guidance and inspiration. Around this period, Bey's father passed away, leading Bey to enlist in the Corellian Security Force. During his tenure with CorSec, Bey earned the Corellian Bloodstripe for his acts of heroism, an achievement that greatly impressed Solo, who vowed to emulate his friend. However, Bey's heroism also attracted unwanted attention. The newly established Empire sought to exert greater control over planetary police forces. Bey, as a half-alien hero of CorSec, did not align with the Imperial's humanocentric ideology, and they plotted his downfall. In what would be Bey's final mission, the CorSec agent participated in the evacuation of a passenger liner. A local terrorist organization had planted explosives on the transport, and Bey's efforts saved numerous lives. However, before Bey could escape the passenger liner, the bomb detonated. Bey sustained severe injuries, including the loss of his eyesight. Upon awakening in the hospital, he was informed by Solo that he had permanently lost his left eye, but that his other eye could be restored with a cybernetic implant. Following weeks of recovery and extensive surgery, he regained his health. After the procedures, Bey adopted the practice of wearing an electronic red eye patch over his inoperable left eye, establishing a distinctive look that would define him for the remainder of his life. However, the loss of his left eye was used as justification for deeming Bey unfit for duty. Despite other CorSec officers being permitted to remain in the force despite more severe injuries, prejudiced Imperial officials ensured that the half-human hybrid would no longer have a career in law enforcement.

Following this incident, Bey embarked on a journey of exploration throughout the galaxy, moving from place to place, acquiring knowledge, and forging friendships. Bey's travels served as a pretext for his search for his mother, as he sought to uncover the truth behind her abrupt abandonment of her family. Bey continued to provide assistance to those in need during his travels, earning him a considerable reputation. As he traversed from planet to planet, Bey never requested any form of compensation for his deeds, and eventually, many regions of the galaxy regarded him as a legendary hero. However, throughout these exploits, Bey never truly felt at home. The individuals he sought to assist initially hesitated to accept him, scrutinizing his ability to perform heroic acts before extending their kindness.

However, after years of searching, Bey would eventually discover his true home. Utilizing clues left behind by his deceased father, Bey initiated a search near the Unknown Regions. Based on accounts from other spacers, he learned of enigmatic spacecraft that congregated in a desolate sector of space. Bey located one of these ships and followed it, ultimately reaching Firefist, a satellite galaxy that housed the homeworld of his mother's people. Faulty starship instruments and a stroke of fortune led him to the planet of Nagi, where he crash-landed. Bey was soon encountered by a Nagai resistance group engaged in conflict with their "old enemy", the Tof. To his astonishment, the local Nagai accepted him without reservation, treating him as an equal. The Nagai who had discovered him promptly reunited him with his long-lost mother, who resided on a nearby Nagai colony world. Despite having her own family there, including another son, Ozrei N'takkilomandrife, she welcomed Bey into her family. Touched by the Nagai's friendliness, Bey resolved to join their cause. With the Galactic Empire reeling from its defeat at the Battle of Endor, the Nagai were planning to commence their invasion. Bey agreed to assist them, leveraging his reputation to infiltrate the broader galaxy and serve as a double agent for his people.

Bey returned to Alliance space and connected with Fenn Shysa on Mandalore. As the Nagai initiated attacks on worlds near Mandalore, Bey aided Shysa in establishing resistance groups to combat the growing threat, utilizing this opportunity to gain the Mandalorian's trust. Nagai analysts believed that the Mandalorians would eventually align with the Alliance, enabling Bey, as their spy, to indirectly infiltrate their enemy. Following the Battle of Mandalore, in which Bey played a role in the resistance, Shysa decided to appeal to the Alliance of Free Planets for assistance, prompted by a request from Admiral Gial Ackbar for additional soldiers. Bey, recognizing the opportunity to infiltrate the Alliance High Command, departed Mandalore with Shysa and a contingent of Mandalorian Protectors. The group arrived at the Alliance's base on the forest moon of Endor and sought out Princess Leia Organa to determine how they could contribute.

However, upon locating Organa, Shysa and Bey found her engaged in a dispute with Han Solo regarding his role in the new government. When Solo physically restrained the Princess to emphasize his point, he was subsequently seized from behind and thrown to the ground. Shysa, assuming that Solo was harming Organa, intervened to protect her. As the Princess escorted Shysa aside to explain the situation and brief the Mandalorian on the current circumstances, Bey reunited with his longtime friend, who was primarily suffering from wounded pride. Bey teased his friend about his relationship with the Princess, reminding Solo that if he cared for the Princess, he needed to treat her well and tell her how he felt. Solo shrugged off the advice, claiming that Organa knew how he felt about her, ignoring Bey's advice.

Shortly thereafter, Bey and Shysa accompanied the Princess aboard a GR-75 medium transport, shadowing the Millennium Falcon as it investigated mysterious energy spheres that had been appearing throughout the Moddell sector. As the Millennium Falcon approached one of the spheres, an energy tendril struck the ship, transporting it to a far-off world. Bey was perplexed by his friend's disappearance, but Solo eventually returned to the base. During his absence, Solo heeded Bey's advice, and upon his return, he confessed his feelings to the Princess.

Shortly after Solo's return, Bey accompanied him to the planet Godo along with Chewbacca and Ackbar. The native Godoans were gradually succumbing to a strange technovirus that affected anyone who arrived on the world. To mitigate the risk of infection, Bey and the rest of the group underwent protective precontainment radiation baths before landing on the planet. After unloading supplies for the ailing Godoans, Solo requested permission to explore the area, eventually stumbling upon the House of the Goddess, the planet's most sacred structure. As Bey and the other travelers explored the building, Solo realized that the temple was a techno-organic construct, a machine designed to sustain life on the planet. However, two components of the building, the Dancing Goddess and the Minstrel, had been removed, rendering the machine inoperable. Solo, having encountered the two pieces during his smuggling days, and, believing them to be in Lando Calrissian's possession, raced back to the Alliance base to request the objects from Calrissian.

Unfortunately for the Godoans, Calrissian did not possess the pieces, one having been stolen by a gang led by Lemo and Sanda, two pirates operating in the Outer Rim, and the other having been gifted to Barpotomous Drebble, a friend of the Alliance. As Solo, Calrissian, Chewbacca, and Luke Skywalker embarked on a mission to retrieve the artifacts, Bey remained with the Alliance Fleet, awaiting their return. In space, alongside Fenn Shysa, Bey observed Solo and Skywalker returning with the Minstrel, and Calrissian and Chewbacca returning with the Dancing Goddess. With the two pieces restored, the House of the Goddess resumed its function, revitalizing the ailing Godoans. However, in his haste to deliver the Dancing Goddess to the world, Calrissian had neglected to undergo a precontainment radiation bath. Afflicted and nearing death, Calrissian's only hope lay in being brought inside the House of the Goddess in the hope of a cure. Unfortunately for Calrissian, the Godoans, fearing the desecration of their sacred structure, had sealed the House of the Goddess to all offworlders, effectively condemning Calrissian to death. Enraged by the turn of events, Solo threatened to open fire on the Godoans' capital city and destroy their sacred building if they refused to heal Calrissian. Despite Ackbar's condemnation of the action, Solo secured the cooperation of several members of the fleet. Following encouragement by Bey, Shysa also agreed to cooperate. Faced with the threat of destruction, the Godoans relented and allowed Calrissian to land, resolving the crisis. Ackbar decided to overlook the actions of the complicit parties due to the absence of harm, exonerating Bey and Shysa from blame.

Following the crisis on Godo, Bey and his companions returned to the Alliance base on Endor. While many of the Alliance soldiers, including Solo and Shysa, began taking computerized flight exams, Bey opted out of the tests, as he was not proficient as a starfighter pilot. Following the tests, a group of Hoojibs led by Plif discovered a secret from the Nagai captured in the Skirmish on Kabray. The Nagai were planning to attack the Alliance's base on Endor. Organa and her Zeltron attachés confirmed the report when they detected a large group of ships heading for the forest moon, and the Alliance prepared to evacuate. The Alliance Fleet readied itself to cover their evacuating personnel, but without the help of Solo and Skywalker. The earlier flight exams had categorized the two pilots as flying their craft in ways that no sane pilot would attempt. The computer would not allow either Solo or Skywalker to pilot a ship, keeping the two out of the upcoming fighting.

As the Alliance scrambled to counter the Nagai threat, Bey used the distraction to help his true allies. Bey freed the Nagai prisoners, including his half-brother, N'takkilomandrife. The Nagai commander took control of a Nagai task force, including Maccabree warriors that had landed secretly on the forest moon. Bey then turned over the Alliance's flight patterns to the Nagai fleet in space, led by the Dark Lady Lumiya. With the Nagai able to predict the Alliance Fleet's every move, preventing the Alliance Command from evacuating safely, N'takkilomandrife's team was given time to advance on their position and take them out.

The initial stages of the battle worked to perfection, allowing the Nagai to easily overwhelm their opponents. The Alliance Fleet, led by Shysa and Calrissian, were slowly wiped out, and Maccabree warriors under Lieutenant Hol B'shaki attacked the tracking station, surrounding Organa and her Zeltron attachés, who struggled to fight back. However, Solo and Skywalker, who had been grounded, disrupted the plan. Exploring the forests on a tip from the Ewok Tippet, the two Alliance heroes came upon the Nagai ground forces' staging point, discovering their plan. While Skywalker raced back to the Alliance headquarters to warn them of the ambush, Solo was attacked by a Maccabree warrior, losing his speeder bike in the process. Although he dispatched his attacker, Solo was forced to make his way back on foot, where he was cut off by Bey.

Solo gestured frantically at his friend, requesting that he help him warn Organa before it was too late. After finding no help from Bey, Solo tried to shrug off the larger man, pushing him aside. However, Bey restrained Solo, informing him that he was the one who had brought the Nagai to the forest moon. Solo, shocked at the revelation, slowly reached for his blaster, only to have it knocked out of his grip when he tried to pull it out of its holster. The two stared each other down, with Solo declaring his intention to rescue his friends, even if he had to go through his old friend to do so. Solo tried a low leg sweep, but Bey vaulted the blow and kicked Solo in the face, leaving him sprawling on the forest floor.

Bey explained to his friend how he had found his true family, and that they had accepted him as one of their own, triggering the betrayal. When Solo asked his friend what would happen next, Bey informed Solo that he had been ordered to kill him. However, Bey could not bring himself to murder his old friend, leaving both unsure of what was to happen next. However, at just that moment, Bey's half-brother appeared, claiming that he would finish what Bey had started, and trained his blaster on the unarmed Solo. However, before N'takkilomandrife could pull the trigger, Bey threw himself at his brother, knocking him off balance. The Nagai quickly turned his blaster on Bey, preparing to execute the traitor, but he was once again prevented from firing the fatal shot as Solo hit N'takkilomandrife in the stomach with a blaster shot.

Bey ran to his injured brother, telling him to hang on until he could get him medical attention. Solo advanced on his injured enemy, telling Bey to step aside. However, Bey trained his brother's blaster at Solo, telling him to leave or he would shoot him. Solo was confused over Bey's actions, pointing out that the Nagai had nearly killed both of them. However, Bey remarked that he would be able to forgive his brother, though he realized that the Nagai might never forgive him. Solo left Bey to tend to his wounded brother, leaving to rescue Organa from the Nagai task force.

With Bey revealed as the traitor, and the Alliance Fleet informed of their flight plans being discovered by the Nagai, the tide quickly turned. Calrissian abandoned all preconceived flight patterns, changing the course of the space battle, while Skywalker defeated the Nagai task force on the ground. Bey was able to get his brother back to the fleet, where he received immediate medical aid, and the Nagai fleet retreated in defeat. Bey, having betrayed both the Nagai and the Alliance, secretly turned himself into Admiral Ackbar.

Bey correctly predicted his brother's reaction to the betrayal. He was thrown into a deep state of depression, even losing the will to live during his recovery. However, it was not long after N'takkilomandrife's recovery that the Nagai joined forces with the Alliance during the Battle of Zeltros due to the arrival of the Nagai's old enemy, the Tof. The Alliance and Nagai began to slowly push the Tof back, eventually isolating them on the planet of Saijo. Hoping to infiltrate the Tof command, Ackbar formed an insertion team consisting of several proven Rebel agents, including Jan Ors and Kyle Katarn, and the mercenaries Dash Rendar and Guri.

Ackbar requested for Bey to join this team, knowing the skills he possessed. Bey decided to work alongside the team, going undercover as a Tof noble. Bey's identity in the team was kept a closely concealed secret, knowing that both sides would find his appointment controversial. Using a wig and green face paint, Bey was able to pass himself off as a Tof, and soon he was working closely alongside the Tof Prince Sereno.

Bey was present undercover when an Alliance group consisting of Solo, N'takkilomandrife, Organa, Skywalker, Den Siva, and Dani entered Sereno's palace, posing as prisoners. However, their deception was revealed, and a shootout broke out in the throne room. Unfortunately for the Alliance operatives, the Dark Lady Lumiya was holding an audience with Sereno at the exact same time, and she used her Force abilities to turn the tide of the battle, stunning N'takkilomandrife and disarming Organa. However, before she could kill either of them, Bey intervened, shooting Lumiya with a powerful blaster shot, badly crippling her and leaving her a smoking mess on the palace floor. As the rest of the group silenced any further resistance, Bey revealed his presence to the surprise of both Solo and N'takkilomandrife. Bey's half-brother was touched by how his sibling had rescued him, and he came to forgive Bey for his betrayal. With the Tof Prince captured and their fleet defeated in space, the war was effectively over.

Following the end of the war, both Solo and N'takkilomandrife reconciled with Bey. Bey did not join the Nagai in their quest to liberate their homeworld, leaving the operation up to his brother and Fenn Shysa. When the Alliance of Free Planets reformed itself into the New Republic, Bey joined up, taking a job with New Republic Intelligence. Bey believed this appointment to be apart of his atonement for the destruction he had been responsible for at Endor. It appeared that Bey's days of wandering were at an end.

Bey stood as a compassionate figure, a protector of those who could not defend themselves. His difficult childhood, marked by abuse, led him to vow against mirroring his father's anger, shaping a gentle and empathetic personality. Renowned for his willingness to help, he famously rescued Han Solo from tormentors in his youth. In battle, Bey remained dispassionate, refusing to let rage dictate his actions. Despite his almost mythical reputation for his accomplishments, Bey harbored feelings of resentment towards those he saved. His father, grief-stricken by the loss of Bey's mother, rejected him as a boy. Other Corellians scorned Bey for his mixed heritage, and his unusual appearance and large stature frightened young children. Perhaps these experiences contributed to Bey's inability to find genuine acceptance among those he aided, leading him to perceive them as judgmental and unkind, offering hospitality only when they needed his assistance.

Upon finding his mother on her native world of Nagi, Bey finally experienced the acceptance he craved, a desire that even drove him to betray the Alliance. Siding with the invading Nagai, Bey turned against those he had once defended. Yet, he retained his compassion, unable to embrace the cold-heartedness of his Nagai kin. He spared Solo's life during the Second Battle of Endor, and his act of mercy brought him into conflict with his own half-brother. After the Nagai-Tof War concluded, Bey earned his brother's forgiveness by saving his life in the Battle of Saijo. Bey's demonstration of love following this conflict convinced Solo that the war had truly ended.

Mary Jo Duffy brought Bey to life for the Marvel Star Wars comic Star Wars (1977) 99, establishing him as a long-time acquaintance of Han Solo. Subsequent flashbacks in the following edition, Star Wars (1977) 100, illustrated Bey's interactions with Solo in his younger years. The subsequent issue, Star Wars (1977) 101, took place before Bey's initial appearance in Touch of the Goddess, marking his last appearance until the Marvel series' final issue, Star Wars (1977) 107.

Following the comic series' conclusion in 1986, Bey remained unmentioned until Joseph Bongiorno and Rich Handley's article in Star Wars Gamer 1 (November 2000), The University of Sanbra Guide to Intelligent Life: The Marvel Series, which delved deeper into Bey's past. The article unveiled Bey's mother's name and detailed his reunion with his family before the Nagai-Tof War. Abel G. Peña's online article, The Dark Forces Saga, also mentioned Bey, noting his acquaintance with Kyle Katarn. In 2009, James McFadden's Hyperspace article, The Forgotten War: The Nagai and the Tofs, provided further insights into Bey's history. These included specific details about the incident that cost Bey his eye and a more thorough account of Bey's eventual reunion with his estranged mother.