Bossk'wassak'Cradossk

Biography

Early life

Bossk, originally named Bossk'wassak'Cradossk, was the offspring of the Trandoshan bounty hunter Cradossk. Shortly after hatching, Bossk consumed the eggs of his siblings, asserting himself as the sole survivor of his clutch. However, his sister, Doshanalawook, actually survived. From his father, Bossk acquired skills in boosting and stealing a landspeeder, along with the ingrained Trandoshan animosity towards the Wookiees of Kashyyyk. Upon reaching adulthood, Bossk emulated his father's path and became a bounty hunter. Reflecting on his early years, Bossk considered fathers as overrated and disliked inquiries about his past.

In 22 BBY, the Galactic Republic became engaged in the Clone Wars against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Entering the bounty hunting profession during this conflict, Bossk rapidly distinguished himself, gaining recognition for his skills in tracking, capturing, and blackmailing adversaries of crime lords and dictators throughout the galaxy. He also became known as an exceptionally proficient Wookiee hunter. He was also a member of the Bounty Hunter's Guild, which regulated the bounty hunting trade. At some point during his career as a bounty hunter, Bossk acquired a modified YV-666 light freighter named the Hound's Tooth. This adaptable vessel became his primary mode of transportation throughout his career. Bossk was a devout follower of the Trandoshan goddess known as the Scorekeeper, believing himself favored by her above other hunters.

The Clone Wars

Aiding a vendetta

During the First Battle of Geonosis, the initial engagement of the Clone Wars, the renowned bounty hunter Jango Fett was killed by Jedi Master Mace Windu, leaving his son Boba as an orphan. Early in the war, Boba was taken in by Jango's former associate Aurra Sing, who, along with Bossk, served as mentors and trainers to the young Fett as part of a bounty hunting crew. Bossk, along with Castas, a Klatoonian bounty hunter hired by Sing, conspired with Aurra to assist Boba in exacting revenge on Windu. Sometime later, the group initiated their plan, with Boba infiltrating the Venator-class Star Destroyer Endurance, where Windu was stationed. Boba, whose father was the genetic source for the Republic's clone army, easily disguised himself as a clone cadet.

While Boba was aboard the Endurance, Bossk and Aurra trailed the cruiser in Jango's ship, the Slave I. Aurra maintained contact with Boba, guiding his actions. Their initial plan to assassinate Windu by planting an explosive in his quarters failed, leading Aurra to instruct Boba to disable the entire ship. She directed him to destroy the Endurance's reactor core, triggering a chain reaction that severely damaged the ship's hull. Boba and his fellow cadets were sent to escape pods. Boba sabotaged his pod, sending it adrift from the designated rendezvous point. Bossk and Sing located the pod and docked it to Slave I. They opened the hatch to find Boba. While Aurra and Boba debated the fate of the three cadets in the pod, Bossk returned to the cockpit to prepare for departure. After detaching the pod, Bossk piloted the ship to Vanqor, the planet where the Endurance had crashed.

Upon arriving on Vanqor, the bounty hunters searched the wreckage of the Endurance for survivors. They executed several surviving clone troopers and took three hostages: Admiral Shoan Kilian, Commander Ponds and another naval officer. After clearing the wreckage, they set a trap for Windu, anticipating his search for survivors. Inside the command bridge, Jango Fett's helmet was rigged with an explosive set to detonate upon contact. After completing their task, Bossk and the others returned to Slave I with their hostages. From a distance, Bossk, Boba, Aurra, and Castas watched as Mace Windu and Anakin Skywalker entered the wreckage and witnessed the bridge explosion. Boba wanted to confirm Windu's death, but Aurra dismissed the need to search for a body.

Castas voiced concerns to Bossk about remaining on Vanqor, citing the large gundark population and the presence of hostages. Aurra reminded him of the potential to sell the hostages to the Separatists, and, at Boba's urging, considered that providing proof of Windu and Skywalker's deaths to the Separatists could also yield a reward. Aurra, Boba, and Castas departed on speeder bikes to reach the crash site, while Bossk was tasked with guarding the hostages. While navigating the wreckage, Sing, Castas, and Boba narrowly avoided death from falling debris and explosions. Despite Boba's eagerness to continue to the bridge, Sing and Castas decided to detonate the remaining wreckage and retreat. Meanwhile, Bossk had tied the three hostages together and was dragging them on board Slave I. Aurra contacted him, instructing him to prepare the ship for departure and to destroy the remaining Endurance wreckage. Bossk confirmed that the ship would be ready upon their arrival.

As Sing and the others returned to Slave I, they noticed a nearby explosion. Aurra contacted Bossk, demanding an explanation. Bossk checked the ship's scanners and detected an object near the Jedi's landing site. Sing instructed Bossk to jam all outgoing communications before the hunters continued their return to Slave I. Once they loaded their speeder bikes, Bossk launched the ship and flew towards the wreckage. Flying at low altitude, they spotted a Jedi starfighter to their right. Castas and Boba recognized the ship as Windu's, and Aurra ordered Bossk to pursue and destroy it. Boba fired at the ship as it flew along the star destroyer, continuing his assault as Bossk followed it into the atmosphere.

As the starfighter approached two hyperspace rings, Bossk informed Boba that he was out of range and had only one chance to destroy them. Boba destroyed one ring, but the starfighter entered the second and jumped to lightspeed. With the ship gone, Bossk inquired about their next move. Aurra opened the hatch to the hostages, deciding they would serve as bait for Windu. Aurra then told Bossk that they needed to regroup. Unbeknownst to the hunters, Windu had remained on Vanqor; both Windu and Skywalker had survived the bridge explosion but were trapped under debris. Skywalker's astromech droid R2-D2 had commandeered Windu's starfighter and sought to contact the Republic for assistance, which arrived shortly after and rescued the two Jedi.

While Bossk piloted Slave I through space, Aurra and Boba recorded a message for the Jedi. Displaying the hostages, Aurra demanded Boba kill Ponds, which he refused to do. Aurra angrily killed Ponds herself, taunting Windu to find them before the remaining hostages were killed. Returning to the cockpit, Aurra informed Bossk and Castas that the Jedi would soon track them down. Castas criticized Aurra's haphazard planning and the escalating stakes. Annoyed by Castas' cowardice, Aurra asked Bossk if he had any doubts. Bossk denied any doubts, affirming his commitment to the plan, citing his high stakes in killing Windu and his need for the reward.

Castas, however, announced his withdrawal from the mission. Sing instructed Bossk to set a course for Florrum, where they would visit an old friend of hers and Castas could find a place to go. On Florrum, the hunters landed at the fortress of the Ohnaka Gang, a pirate group led by Aurra's former partner Hondo Ohnaka. While Sing, Boba, and Castas met with Ohnaka, Bossk remained behind, guarding Slave I, and later re-entered the ship when Ohnaka invited his visitors inside for drinks. At a bar in the fortress, Aurra noticed Castas attempting to sell information on her location to a contact and shot him. Meanwhile, Bossk monitored Slave I's scanners for incoming ships. The scanners detected a Jedi craft, and he alerted Aurra. Sing ordered him to take Slave I to the outskirts of Florrum and prepare the hostages.

The Jedi who arrived at Florrum were not Windu, but Plo Koon and Ahsoka Tano. Sing set a trap for Windu inside Ohnaka's bar, but upon realizing Windu had not come, she contacted Bossk, ordering him to execute the hostages. Shortly after, Tano severed Aurra's comlink antenna, leaving Bossk unable to reach her. Bossk decided that if he did not hear from her, he would kill the hostages and depart aboard Slave I. Meanwhile, Koon and Tano gained the upper hand against Sing and Boba, capturing Boba. Sing abandoned Boba and fled on a speeder bike, pursued by Tano. Boba revealed the location of Slave I to Koon, and Tano went to rescue the hostages. As Bossk aimed at the hostages, Tano arrived and fired at him from her speeder. Bossk jumped to avoid the blasterfire, dropping his rifle. Tano freed the hostages, and Kilian picked up Bossk's rifle and aimed it at him. Just then, Sing arrived and crashed her speeder into Tano's, causing an explosion. Sing ran aboard Slave I and prepared to leave, but Tano destroyed the wing with her lightsaber. The ship spiraled to the ground, exploding with Sing inside.

Incarcerated

Bossk and Boba were captured by Republic forces that arrived on Florrum and taken to the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center on Coruscant. Upon arrival, they were met by Windu. Boba angrily confronted him, vowing never to forgive him, but Windu told him that he would have to. During their imprisonment, Bossk saw potential in Boba and became protective of him, acting as a bodyguard. Sometime into his sentence, Cad Bane approached Boba and Bossk, promising them a share of a large reward from Moralo Eval in exchange for inciting a prison riot.

To start the riot, Boba had to provoke a fight with Rako Hardeen, a new inmate. Bossk watched as Boba argued with Hardeen in the cafeteria and cheered him on as they fought. Hardeen subdued Boba as guards intervened, and Bossk stood up. He grabbed the guards by their heads, slamming them together, and then confronted Hardeen, warning him that any issue with Boba was an issue with him. Bossk threw Hardeen across a table. Four guards surrounded Bossk, prodding him with electrostaffs. Bossk attacked them, encouraging other inmates to join the fray. Amid the riot, Bossk took out several more guards, but he and Boba failed to escape, unlike Bane, Eval, and Hardeen.

Later, Bane and Eval were rearrested and returned to prison. Bane sat with Bossk and Boba during lunch to recount his escape. Bossk and Boba inquired about their promised credits, but Bane only offered a story. Bane explained how he and Hardeen joined Eval's plot to kidnap Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor, though the plan went awry when Hardeen was revealed to be Obi-Wan Kenobi. Bane admitted that his defeat made him consider retirement, suggesting Fett could replace him, reluctantly adding Bossk's name when the Trandoshan hissed. As Bossk ate Bane's food, Boba told Bane it wasn't his time to retire, saying that he and Bossk had a big plan for the future, and invited him to take part in it.

The Quarzite job

After their release, Bossk and Fett traveled to Tatooine and formed Krayt's Claw. Their crew included Dengar, Latts Razzi, C-21 Highsinger, and Oked. Based in Mos Eisley, they accepted a job from Rigosso, a Belugan Major, to escort cargo on Quarzite. Before departing, Bossk, Razzi, and Oked went to a local cantina for drinks. Oked flirted with Asajj Ventress, a Dathomirian woman, who killed him with a lightsaber. After the commotion, Bossk bought her a drink and invited her to join them. Razzi explained they had a problem, and Bossk revealed that she had killed one of their team.

Ventress sarcastically apologized. Bossk inquired about her lightsabers, and she said she had stolen them. Bossk asked if she was a bounty hunter, and when she said she was not, he asked if she had ever considered it. Ventress asked if it paid well. Razzi confirmed it did, but Bossk offered Ventress a choice: join their team in Oked's place or be turned over to the authorities. Ventress agreed to Bossk's deal. As they entered Krayt Claw's base, Dengar teased Bossk about Ventress. Bossk greeted Boba as his boss, prompting Ventress to mock the idea. When asked her name, Ventress said she had none. She confronted Boba, mocking his height and age. Bossk hissed at her, then told Fett that they brought her there because she had killed Oked. Putting his arm around her, Bossk coldly told her that if she backed out, they had "another way" of settling her debt.

With the matter cleared when Ventress then agreed to join, Fett announced they were ready to go, but Ventress questioned why they hadn't settled the payment first. Boba angrily told her that she would get her cut once the job was finished, same as the other hunters. The group traveled to Quarzite's space station aboard the Hound's Tooth, where Bossk landed. Major Rigosso met them and led them to a holotable, where he explained their mission. The team would escort a subtram in the planet's crystalline caverns. The tram carried cargo valuable to Otua Blank, Quarzite's Lord. Dengar asked about the cargo, but Rigosso said it was none of their concern. Rigosso and the bounty hunters headed to a series of turbolifts nearby, where they would descend past the planet's hostile surface and to the crystal underworld below. Bossk entered one of the lifts alone, and altogether he and the others were brought to the tram station.

Once the lifts had been exited, Rigosso's soldiers received assistance from the bounty hunters in transporting the cargo to the tram. While heading towards the train, Bossk spotted the small box and, with a touch of sarcasm, questioned Razzi if that was the entirety of the cargo. Latts retorted that she was indifferent to the nature of the cargo, provided they received their payment. With the cargo completely loaded, the team divided itself into three distinct groups. Razzi and Highsinger remained with Rigosso and the cargo itself, while Fett and Bossk took up positions guarding the engine room. Dengar and Ventress were assigned to secure the back platform. A short time into the journey, Dengar contacted the other teams, informing them of approaching company: a group of Kage Warriors with the intention of seizing the cargo from Rigosso and Otua Blank. Almost immediately after receiving Dengar's message, Bossk and Boba detected the sound of footsteps originating from above the tram. Three warriors made their entrance into the engine room at the front of the car, and another three appeared at the back. While Boba engaged the three warriors at the front, Bossk eliminated one at the back with a shot and confronted the remaining two. Bossk and Boba successfully repelled the attackers, and Boba departed to check on the cargo, leaving Bossk behind. On the back platform, Dengar was forcefully pushed off the side of the tram, leaving Ventress to defend against the growing number of assailants on her own. She contacted the team, requesting assistance, and Boba instructed Bossk to provide support. While dispatching the last of the warriors in the engine room, Bossk inadvertently threw one against a wall, causing a short circuit that extinguished the lights on the tram. Bossk informed Boba that he was en route and began moving towards the back platform. While traversing the car between the engine room and the back, he was ambushed by a group of warriors. One discharged blinding dust into Bossk's eyes, rendering him temporarily blind. One of the warriors seized Bossk's side, while the others assaulted him, pushing him closer to the edge of the tram. Despite Bossk's resistance, he was overpowered in his incapacitated state and thrown overboard. He managed to land on all fours and let out a furious roar as the tram sped away.

Shortly after Bossk's ejection from the tram, Razzi and Highsinger also found themselves overboard. While Ventress and Boba pressed on with the mission, the other hunters began their journey back to the Hound's Tooth. Following the defeat of the Kage Warriors, Ventress and Boba became embroiled in a dispute regarding payment. After a brief confrontation, Ventress restrained Boba, gagged him, and confined him within the cargo box, which was revealed to contain a Kage girl named Pluma Sodi, whom the warriors were determined to recover safely. Ventress presented the cargo to Otua Blank, collected the payment, and ensured that he would not discover Boba inside until after she had departed aboard the tram. Ventress then handed Sodi over to the Kage Warriors in exchange for an additional payment. With the promised unmarked credits from Blank and her separate compensation from the Kage, Ventress returned to the Hound's Tooth, where she found Bossk and the other hunters awaiting her and Boba's return. Ventress distributed Blank's payment, minus her share, to Bossk, who then presented the case to the others. Ventress requested that Bossk ensure Boba received his portion. Bossk inquired about Boba's whereabouts, but Ventress only stated that he would "turn up." Both Razzi and Bossk questioned her about her future involvement with the team, but she made no commitments, asserting that she was not part of any team.

Mission on Serenno

At a later point during the Clone Wars, Bossk and Fett's group of hunters made a stop at a bar located on Level 1313 of Coruscant. Bossk was sitting at the bar, enjoying a drink, when the Jedi Quinlan Vos entered, disguised as a bounty hunter. Vos, in search of information regarding the location of Bossk's former teammate Asajj Ventress, attempted to attract attention by loudly inquiring if anyone had any job opportunities, a query that Bossk coldly dismissed. However, when Vos casually mentioned Ventress, Bossk's interest was piqued, and he chuckled before offering Vos a drink. Bossk asked if she had stolen a job from Vos, but Vos instead asked if Bossk knew where she was. Bossk claimed to have no knowledge of her whereabouts, but after further prompting from Vos, he led him to a back alcove where Boba and the other hunters under his command were seated. Bossk informed his boss that Vos was looking for "No Name," and Boba eventually provided the undercover Jedi with the information he needed to locate and confront Ventress on Pantora. Before Vos departed, Bossk commented that he hoped Vos was "man enough" for the task.

Shortly thereafter, Ventress sought out Boba and Krayt's Claw, which by this time included the feared Kyuzo bounty hunter Embo, requiring their assistance in rescuing Vos from Count Dooku's palace on Serenno. Despite initially rejecting the offer due to Ventress's betrayal of Fett, the hunters, particularly Bossk and Latts Razzi, were swayed by the offer of 250,000 credits. Bossk and the other hunters created a diversion while Ventress entered the castle to retrieve Vos. They managed to trap Dooku under some netting; however, the appearance of Vos wielding the dark side forced the hunters and Ventress to flee.

The Age of the Empire

Wookiee Hunt

Following the conclusion of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire in place of the Republic, Krayt's Claw disbanded, and Bossk resumed operating independently. Nevertheless, Bossk remained a member of the Bounty Hunters' Guild, which had established a cooperative relationship with the Galactic Empire, pursuing targets for whom the government had issued bounties. He was among a select group of bounty hunters whose Republic criminal records were cleared by the Empire to facilitate their use as independent law enforcers in the Outer Rim Territories. As a licensed bounty hunter, Bossk was also issued an Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate. Despite being licensed by the Empire, Bossk's involvement in criminal activities remained unknown to the government, which suspected him of continuing to operate in that capacity.

Kashyyyk, the Wookiee homeworld, was the location of one of the final major battles of the Clone Wars. After the war, the Empire besieged and conquered Kashyyyk. However, the native Wookiees initiated an uprising after the pacification of their world. Bossk volunteered his services and played a crucial role in suppressing the rebellion. As a result of the Imperial occupation, the Wookiee population was enslaved. Bossk, an expert in tracking and hunting Wookiees, spent several years locating rebellious Wookiees and delivering them to the Empire. He operated with a posse of Trandoshan hunters during the early years of the Empire, and one of his initial Imperial bounties was for a Wookiee named Chewbacca. He also became familiar with the scents of various Wookiee clans. During a failed attempt to stop a Wookiee berserker on Ord Mantell, one of Bossk's arms was cleanly severed. He later regrew it, and the incident was documented in an Imperial Security Bureau dossier on the Trandoshan.

One of his most infamous targets was Rutallaroo, an engineer who conceived and directed a three-year clandestine operation aimed at driving Imperial forces away from Kashyyyk. Bossk successfully captured Rutallaroo and delivered him to the Empire for a substantial reward, after which Rutallaroo reportedly "apologized" for his crimes and became a prolific Imperial designer. While he often turned his Wookiee prey over to the Empire, Bossk occasionally supplied his prisoners to underworld operations, such as fighting pits and arenas. During his time hunting Wookiees, Bossk encountered a mysterious adversary, the Wookiee liberator known only as "Chainbreaker." Chainbreaker led successful attacks against Imperial forces, freeing thousands of enslaved Wookiees and remaining elusive. Chainbreaker became the Empire's most wanted Wookiee, and Bossk eagerly anticipated the day he would be able to capture them. Another of Bossk's rivals was Chewbacca, who had escaped Imperial captivity on Mimban with a deserter named Han Solo.

In 10 BBY, Chewbacca and Solo joined a crew led by Tobias Beckett and his lover, Val, who voiced her dissatisfaction with hiring the newcomers instead of experienced mercenaries such as Bossk or the Xan sisters. Solo and Chewbacca soon ventured out on their own as smugglers aboard the freighter Millennium Falcon.

The pair became a constant source of frustration in Bossk's bounty hunting career, and he developed a deep-seated hatred for them that rivaled even his hatred for his father. Bossk attempted to capture them on numerous occasions, including when he encountered them scavenging the sewage seas of Erub II and when he sabotaged their efforts to establish a secret Wookiee colony on Gandolo IV. During a high-speed pursuit to apprehend the pair along the plasma floes of the Zusi hypertunnel, Bossk damaged the class one generator of the Hound's Tooth. Bossk also engaged them in an explosive blaster fight at the Jurzan spaceport, which resulted in the destruction of both his favorite cantina and a new starship he had recently acquired, the Bitemark. His repeated failures to capture the pair not only embarrassed Bossk and diminished his standing within the Bounty Hunter's Guild but also led Cradossk to question Bossk's competence as a bounty hunter and whether he was the appropriate hatchling to survive his clutch.

Despite his frustrations with his elusive targets, Bossk successfully secured several high-profile bounties and took pride in his accomplishments. Bossk managed to capture the Gibbering Gran of Gibraal and overthrow the Masked Monarch of Qotile, assuming the title himself after collecting the bounty. Bossk also collected a bounty on Durgaagoo, the right-hand man of Ploovo Two-For-One.

The Corellia Job

Around 10 BBY, Bossk was contracted by Khamus, the heir to the Mourner's Wail Syndicate, to assist him in infiltrating a sanctuary of the Unbroken Clan and assassinating Krynthia, the daughter of the syndicate's leader, who was pregnant with his child. Bossk and the other hunters were unaware of Krynthia's identity as the target or that they were trespassing on Unbroken Clan territory. Bossk was part of a group of hired hunters, including Beilert Valance, Nakano Lash, and T'ongor. As the crew prepared for the mission, T'ongor contacted his sister T'onga using the ship's long-range communicator, while Bossk and Valance stood nearby, awaiting the briefing. Bossk teased Valance, who was waiting for T'ongor to finish his conversation so he could speak with his close friend, Yuralla Vega. Bossk grew impatient with the delay and urged the cyborg to be quick with his lover. The annoyed Valance threatened to tear off Bossk's arm after the Trandoshan slapped him on the back of the head, leading to a brief standoff. Bossk taunted Valance, claiming that his new synthetic skin wouldn't make Vega love him, mockingly calling him more of a droid than a man. Bossk joked that he would one day dissect Valance to see for himself.

T'ongor concluded his conversation with T'onga and offered Valance the comm, but as Valance began to contact Vega, he abruptly cut off the transmission. Bossk labeled him pathetic, and Valance angrily pinned him against a wall. Bossk invoked the Scorekeeper to ward off Valance, asserting that the goddess favored him and that Valance would pay for attacking him. Before their fight could escalate, Lash entered the room and intervened. Lash threatened to kill both of them but reminded them that her only restraint was that she was already down one fighter for the mission. As the group entered the briefing room, Bossk suggested to Lash that if she needed an extra gun, he could contact his former partner, Boba Fett. Lash accepted Bossk's offer and had him arrange a rendezvous with Fett. With the crew assembled, Lash began the briefing, outlining the mission: the crew would assist Khamus in entering a secret base to assassinate his target, and in return, the bounty hunters would receive one hundred thousand credits.

Their target was located in Coronet City on Corellia, and the hunters initiated their assault by eliminating the guards surrounding the facility. Bossk was assigned to eliminate the soldiers in the West Quadrant, which he accomplished with ease. He contacted Khamus to report his progress and inform his client that the other hunters were encountering more resistance in taking the tower. Khamus noted that one of the guards escaped Bossk's massacre and had Lash snipe the guard from their position. Although Bossk successfully completed his part of the mission, Fett's lack of discretion upon entering the base and Lash's sudden murder of Khamus after discovering that Krynthia was pregnant forced the hunters to make a hasty and violent retreat. Lash, Krynthia, and T'ongor fled the facility, where Bossk questioned what was happening. As T'ongor yelled at Bossk to help Lash and Krynthia, he was killed by a stray blast from Fett, who was prevented from sniping the pregnant woman by Valance.

Fett abandoned Valance to the Unbroken Clan's forces, and the cyborg was taken prisoner. The remaining hunters managed to escape relatively unscathed, though the failed mission would have severe consequences. As a result of Lash's actions, the Mourner's Wail Syndicate and the Unbroken Clan engaged in a war, and she was forced into hiding with Krynthia's daughter after she died during childbirth. Bossk, Fett, and T'ongor's sister, T'onga, each developed a vendetta against Lash for her actions. The failed mission also had a lasting impact on Bossk and Fett; both hunters became more independent of each other and in their trade, with Fett abandoning the idea of working with a crew altogether.

Lothal

Five years prior to the Battle of Yavin, Bossk traveled to the Outer Rim planet of Lothal to collect a bounty on the Dug criminal Gronson "Shifty" Takkaro, who had skipped bail in the Ahakista system. While the local security Imperial Security Bureau Lieutenant Herdringer hesitated to allow the Trandoshan bounty hunter to enter his jurisdiction, he reluctantly agreed on the condition that Bossk refrain from using firepower. Unbeknownst to Bossk, the ISB official he was speaking to was actually an impostor, the corrupt ISB Lieutenant Jenkes, who had murdered the real Herdringer and assumed his identity. Jenkes was also in collusion with "Shifty" Takkaro and informed the Dug fugitive. He also dispatched Squad Five, a squad of stormtroopers, to eliminate Bossk.

After landing in Lothal Capital City's spaceport, Bossk encountered a young Force-sensitive Human street urchin named Ezra Bridger. Having been orphaned at the age of seven following the death of his parents, Ezra made a living on the streets of Capital City as a con artist. Posing as an official guide to Lothal, Ezra agreed to lead Bossk to a joint called Ake's Tavern, where "Shifty" Takkaro was reported to be hiding. In return, Bossk promised to pay Ezra a thousand credits and provided the youth with an upfront payment of five hundred credits. While traveling on a speeder bus to Ake's Tavern, Bossk paid Ezra the remaining half of his fee.

Upon arriving at Ake's Tavern, Ezra entered the building disguised as a ticket-seller for the Arena Day tournament, which was scheduled for the following day. However, "Shifty" Takkaro had already been warned, and Bossk and Ezra soon found themselves under attack from three of Jenkes' associates: the Duros assassin Angrigo and the two Niktos known as the Kratchell twins. These assassins had been sent to protect Takkaro and eliminate Bossk and his local guide. During the ensuing shootout, Bossk killed Angrigo and the Kratchells and captured Takkaro. Bossk attempted to interrogate Takkaro, but before he could extract any information, a squad of stormtroopers arrived at Ake's Tavern.

Bossk identified himself as a licensed bounty hunter whose hunt for the bail jumper Takkaro had been authorized by Imperial Herdringer of the ISB. When the stormtroopers ignored Bossk, he used a concussion grenade to distract the Imperials before fleeing the tavern with Ezra. Following a skirmish with several stormtroopers and scout troopers, Bossk and Ezra managed to escape on a stolen speeder bike. At Ezra's urging, Bossk reluctantly left his unconscious quarry Takkaro behind; Takkaro was subsequently apprehended by the local Imperial authorities. During their escape from the tavern, Ezra managed to confuse the Imperials by using a stolen stormtrooper helmet to issue false orders. Fleeing into a tunnel, Bossk and Ezra were pursued by a pair of scout troopers on speeder bikes but managed to evade their pursuers by taking the left fork, which led them to the outskirts of the city.

Bossk survived the fight and escape from Ake's Tavern but sustained a laser bolt wound through his upper shoulder. Following their escape, Ezra demanded a pay raise from Bossk as compensation for being used as a "decoy." The Trandoshan reluctantly agreed to pay Ezra all the money in his ship's strongbox if the youth took him somewhere safe to recuperate from his injury. Bossk was unable to return to his ship Hound's Tooth because the Imperial authorities were after him. Honoring his side of the bargain, Ezra took Bossk to his home: an abandoned communications tower on the outskirts of Capital City. Ezra tended to the wounded Trandoshan and applied a thick bandage around his injured shoulder. Reflecting on the day's events, Bossk realized that he had been set up by Lieutenant Herdringer, who had orchestrated the "incident" at Ake's Tavern.

To determine how the assassins he had encountered earlier had surfaced on Lothal, Bossk decided to visit the local posting agency at Capital City's spaceport to access the Imperial Enforcement DataCore. Borrowing Ezra's jump bike, the two of them traveled to Capital City's spaceport. To avoid detection, Bossk pretended to be a blind invalid, with Ezra acting as his guide. After Ezra used his conman skills to get them past a squad of stormtroopers, the two partners entered the posting agency. While viewing the Imperial records, Bossk and Ezra discovered that Lieutenant Herdringer had died three months prior in a traffic accident and that his colleague Lieutenant Jenkes had stolen his identity. They also learned that Jenkes had previously managed an illegal gladiator arena on Nyriaan and that Gronson Takkaro had worked as his bookmaster.

Unbeknownst to Bossk and Ezra, Lieutenant Jenkes was monitoring the Imperial Enforcement DataCore. The corrupt ISB agent dispatched a squad of stormtroopers to eliminate Bossk and placed a bounty on the Trandoshan. After escaping a second attack by stormtroopers, Bossk and Ezra decided to flee to Monad Outpost, where Jenkes was organizing an illegal gladiatorial event called Gladiator Night the following night. Bossk intended to confront Jenkes there and expose his corruption. During their escape from the spaceport, Bossk destroyed an Imperial surveillance remote and knocked out a Ranat bounty hunter and Nimbanel companion, who had intended to collect the Imperial bounty on Bossk.

After Bossk deduced that Lieutenant Jenkes was the mysterious "Commissioner" who ran the illegal Gladiator Night, Ezra realized that Jenkes would want to kill anyone who knew about his operation, including his Xexto mentor Ferpil Wallaway, who had hired Ezra to sell tickets for the Gladiator Night event. In an attempt to save Wallaway's life, Bossk and Ezra traveled to Wallaway's pawnshop, located nine kilometers from Capital City's spaceport. However, Jenkes had already arrived at Wallaway's pawnshop and killed him with a blaster pistol. Bossk and Ezra arrived just in time to see Jenkes leaving the pawnshop with a large luggage case. Despite failing to save Wallaway's life, Bossk managed to plant a magnetic tracer beacon on Jenkes' speeder. Wallaway's death convinced Ezra to join forces with Bossk to stop Jenkes' plan to steal as much money as he could from the Gladiator Night event at Monad Outpost.

Bossk and Ezra arrived at Monad Outpost, an abandoned mining settlement located on the outskirts of Lothal's Capital City; the arena was situated beneath the settlement. Lieutenant Jenkes had already arrived and killed the Ishi Tib manning the box office. Before he and his two stormtrooper escorts could leave with the stolen credit chips, Bossk and Ezra intercepted them. After incapacitating his stormtrooper companions, Bossk confronted Jenkes, but the lieutenant fled into the arena. Bossk and Ezra pursued him, but Jenkes shot the Trandoshan bounty hunter through his right thigh. In an attempt to slow down Bossk, Jenkes seized a comlink from the arena's Pa'lowick master of ceremony and claimed that Bossk was a dangerous fugitive wanted by the Empire.

Bossk foiled Jenkes' attempt to frame him by using Ezra's stolen comlink to issue a challenge to the arena's competitors: the Houk Borbig Drob and the Feeorin Warjak. After soundly defeating the two competitors in bare-handed combat, Bossk revealed that Lieutenant Jenkes was actually the shady criminal known as the "Commissioner" and that he had been planning to steal the spectators' credit chips. In addition, Bossk revealed Jenkes' involvement in the murders of Lieutenant Herdringer, the pawnbroker Wallaway, and the Ishi Tib manning the box office. Lieutenant Jenkes then attempted to escape the arena but was thwarted by Ezra, who fired a slingshot at him. Shortly thereafter, Jenkes was arrested by the local Imperial authorities.

Following the Gladiator Night showdown, Bossk was exonerated by the Imperial authorities on Lothal, who awarded him an undisclosed amount of credits via transfer register. In addition, Bossk was allowed by Commandant Cumberlayne Aresko to take back the corpse of Lieutenant Jenkes as a trophy, as he had been executed for his numerous crimes. An official HoloNet News report credited the Trandoshan with saving the lives of numerous civilians and exposing a crime syndicate's operation to defraud gamblers. This brief report omitted any mention of Jenkes, whose actions were deemed an embarrassment for the Empire. Prior to departing Lothal, Bossk paid Ezra everything in his strongbox, which amounted to little more than a paltry sum of ninety credits.

Galactic Civil War

Locating the Rogue Droid

By 7973 C.R.C., the bounty hunter Bossk had accumulated a total of twelve Imperial warrants, with eight of those specifying that he capture his targets alive.

In the year 0 BBY, Bossk received a summons to the Death Star, an immense Galactic Empire battle station capable of destroying entire planets and comparable in size to a moon. During a meeting with two Imperial officers, the Trandoshan learned of a renegade Imperial astromech, designated 261, that had absconded with confidential files. Suspecting treason, the Imperials engaged Bossk's services to recover the missing droid.

Bossk promptly boarded his ship, the Hound's Tooth, and departed, aiming to intercept the droid before it could jump to hyperspace. As he emerged from the Death Star's atmosphere, the Trandoshan found himself amidst a squadron of Imperial Star Destroyers. Monitoring the warships' communications, he discovered they were reporting the theft of a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle, piloted by an astromech, and its destination: the desert planet Tatooine. Upon landing on Tatooine, Bossk located the stolen shuttle at the Mos Eisley spaceport. Despite the shuttle having crashed, causing injuries to stormtroopers and civilians, 261 was nowhere to be found near the wreckage. Reasoning that the damaged droid would seek replacement parts, Bossk engaged in conversations with several street vendors before entering Chalmun's Cantina for a drink. He notably questioned Wuher, the cantina's unfriendly barman, but gained no useful information. Reaching a standstill, the Trandoshan traveled to the stronghold of Jabba Desilijic Tiure, the Hutt crime boss of Tatooine. There, EV-9D9 informed him that 261 had been brought to the palace and forced into the droid pool but had subsequently escaped.

Ultimately, the Trandoshan found out that Jawa scavengers had captured his target, and he began tracking them across the desolate terrain. Bossk eventually confronted the Jawas outside their sandcrawler. After retrieving the resourceful droid, the bounty hunter escorted it back to the Empire.

The Anthan Heist and Other Endeavors

Not long after the Empire's destruction of the criminal syndicate known as the Son-tuul Pride, Bossk answered a call on Son-tuul alongside fellow bounty hunters IG-90, Krrsantan, and Beebox. IG-90 was delayed by Imperial checkpoints on his way to the planet, so Bossk, Beebox, and Krrsantan waited at a local bar for their contact, the renegade archeologist Chelli Aphra. While awaiting IG-90's arrival, Krrsantan entered a fighting pit, killing a contestant and taking their place. When IG-90 finally arrived, a bouncer denied him entry, whom the droid promptly eliminated. Bossk inquired sarcastically if IG-90 was finished, to which the droid responded that he had made his point and explained the reason for his tardiness. IG-90 then asked Bossk what he had missed, and the Trandoshan replied that there had been nothing but delays. Beebox informed IG-90 about Krrsantan's distraction. Bossk, IG-90, and Beebox proceeded to the fighting pit, where they watched Krrsantan defeat his opponent. Bossk commented that, in all his experience capturing Wookiees and forcing them into fighting pits, he had never witnessed one willingly volunteer to participate. After Krrsantan exited the arena, he joined the other hunters, and they found a booth to share drinks. There, they met with Aphra, who detailed an assignment for them. She informed the group of hunters about the Imperial Arquitens-class light cruiser transporting the Son-Tuul Pride's wealth and that she had insider information to help them infiltrate and steal the substantial sum of credits.

Aboard Aphra's ship, the Ark Angel, Bossk and the other hunters journeyed to Anthan Prime, where they observed the Imperial cruiser carrying the Son-Tuul Pride's assets. Aphra informed the hunters that they would make their move once the cruiser entered the asteroid belt. Annoyed that none of the hunters questioned the fact that Anthan Prime lacked an asteroid belt, Aphra had her droid 0-0-0 pose the question. She then detonated an asteroid near the cruiser, creating a barrage of debris that struck the ship. Using the chaos to her advantage, Aphra fired an ion torpedo at the cruiser, disabling its systems for five minutes. With the ship incapacitated, Bossk, Aphra, Beebox, and IG-90 boarded the cruiser's hull from the Ark Angel. For this, Bossk and Aphra put on spacesuits. Beebox cut through an airlock on the cruiser, and the group entered the ship. Aphra instructed Beebox to seal a door to the crew's quarters while they located the vault containing the Son-Tuul Pride's credits. The group discovered a long corridor leading to the vault door, which was guarded by Viper probe droids. Bossk remarked that it was unusual for the Empire to use droids for such a task, which offended IG-90. Bossk quickly added that IG units were different from other droids. Aphra explained that the Empire was using droids because they wouldn't allow anyone but the most loyal soldiers near the riches, then used an electro-pulse grenade to incapacitate the probes. Bossk and IG-90 then shot down the droids while Aphra placed a homing beacon on the vault. She informed the others that they had limited time before the ship's crew opened the door to their quarters. Bossk hissed and told her to let them, but she refused and explained that secrecy was essential for the mission's success.

After Aphra placed a homing beacon on the vault, Bossk and the others fled the cruiser and returned to the Ark Angel. Aphra had Krrsantan drag a large asteroid into the cruiser using a cable from his gunship. The asteroid breached the cruiser, causing the credits from the vault to be ejected into space. Krrsantan rejoined Bossk and the others aboard the Ark Angel, and Aphra instructed her astromech, BT-1, to create an energy field large enough to collect the credits floating in space. BT-1 only managed to gather enough credits to fill two crates, which disappointed the hunters. Aphra suggested dividing the credits, but Krrsantan responded with an angry growl, and Bossk cocked his rifle. Krrsantan and Beebox warned Aphra against betraying them, but the doctor argued that it was logistically impossible and questioned if they believed she would double-cross four bounty hunters. Bossk looked her in the eyes and said that he believed she would consider it, but added that she wouldn't go through with it.

The hunters took the credits and left Aphra, who cheerfully told them that she would have more work for them in the future. With the credits in hand, Bossk and the hunters parted ways. Unbeknownst to Bossk, IG-90, and Beebox, Aphra and Krrsantan had double-crossed them. While BT-1 gathered only a small portion of the credits, the rest was collected by satellites set up by Krrsantan. The majority of the credits were then handed over to the Empire's Darth Vader, who had hired Aphra to collect the credits to fund his secret projects. As the war progressed, Bossk continued his bounty hunting career, accepting jobs on Taldorrah, Lothal, the Silver Moon of Acomber, Uaua, where he assisted a Quor'sav narcotics agent, Goroth Prime, where he collaborated with a group of Rodians, and a job that involved him silencing the Mad Monks of Xo.

The Pursuit of Chainbreaker

In 3 ABY, Bossk persisted in his pursuit of Chainbreaker, setting a trap for his elusive target. To draw Chainbreaker to the Rycep Belt, Bossk altered Imperial flight itineraries to make it appear as though a gunship carrying Wookiee prisoners would be passing through, knowing that this would be an irresistible opportunity for the Wookiee liberator. While awaiting his enemy's arrival, Bossk stationed the Hound's Tooth at Asteroid X342 and prepared. As he had anticipated, the Wookiee gunship Liswarr entered the Rycep Belt. To board the vessel undetected, Bossk donned a vac suit and gear to traverse the open space between the Hound's Tooth and the Liswarr. However, before he could initiate the perilous approach, he was alerted to a high-priority communication. Mistaking it for a candidate holo-ad for the upcoming Bounty Hunter's Guild elections, he went to press the "egress" button to delete the message but noticed that it was from an Imperial address.

Bossk played the recording, in which Imperial Lieutenant Masil Veit invited him to the Star Destroyer Executor to participate in a hunt for the Millennium Falcon. Before Bossk could obtain the rendezvous coordinates, the message became distorted and cut off. Anxious not to waste time reconstructing the message, Bossk hit the egress button and prepared to jump to the Liswarr. Upon exiting the Hound's Tooth through the airlock, Bossk initiated a short burst from his jetpack to propel himself towards the Wookiee ship. As he navigated the asteroid field, Bossk attempted to remain calm to avoid triggering any sensors, but as he dwelled on the Millennium Falcon and Chewbacca, he grew increasingly agitated and overheated. A warning from his vac suit reminded him to regulate his temperature, and he focused on reaching the Liswarr.

Successfully crossing the gap from the asteroid field, Bossk reached the Liswarr and dug his claws into the wooden underside of the gunship. Using his claws, Bossk pulled himself across the hull until he reached the ship's airlock. To avoid triggering any alarms by touching the airlock controls, he pried loose some wood that formed part of the unusual ship. This action released the pressurized air in the lock, allowing him to crawl inside, after which he replaced the piece of wood. He then began prying loose wood on the interior entrance of the airlock, eager to begin his hunt. Once inside the ship's main corridor, Bossk inhaled the pungent air to identify the Wookiee tribes aboard. He detected the presence of the Chyakk, Koom, and Gkrur clans but was unsure if a fourth scent belonged to the Kaapauku or Sawa tribes. Although he couldn't place the name of the fourth scent, he recognized it well as being related to Chewbacca. Bossk unslung his Relby and began cautiously walking down the corridor.

After approximately one hundred paces, a hydrospanner was hurled at his head. Bossk deflected it with his rifle and fired a stun bolt into the spine of the thrower, a brown-and-white Wookiee female. As he observed the unconscious Wookiee, Bossk's instincts kicked in, and he turned to face a short Wookiee charging him with a large piece of tree bark. Bossk intercepted the branch mid-swing, then kicked the Wookiee in the gut before stunning him. He felt a tingle on his palm and discovered a pincer flea that had jumped from the Wookiee. Bossk smacked his hand against the wall several times to kill the pest, then continued down the corridor. Bossk reached a door at the end of the corridor. After smashing the door controls with his fist, he entered a wroshyr nursery. Bossk pointed his rifle at the ceiling and began slowly moving around the trees. In his infrared vision, he could discern the heat signatures of three young Wookiees huddled together. Not wanting to further enrage the adult Wookiees elsewhere on the ship, Bossk decided to leave them but devised an alternative plan.

Setting his Relby to fire micro-grenades, he fired an explosive at the base of a wroshyr tree. He exited the tree chamber through a different corridor than he entered, hoping the burning tree would distract some of the gunship's crew while he searched for Chainbreaker. Following the corridor, Bossk could see the door to the bridge at an intersection of hallways. However, as he approached the center of the corridor to the bridge, six armed Wookiees emerged from the intersection: two browncoats, two graycoats, one yellow-striped, and one hairless. The six Wookiees charged Bossk, who stunned the female browncoat and knocked out the male browncoat with a heavy uppercut from the butt of his rifle.

Bossk lunged at the two graycoats' legs, easily toppling them and stunning them. Bossk rolled to his feet in time to block a swing of a bronzium pipe from the striped Wookiee. The striped Wookiee discarded the pipe and lifted Bossk by his shoulders. The Trandoshan bent his head forward and bit her nose, causing her to drop him and howl in pain. After stunning her, Bossk came face-to-face with the hairless Wookiee, whose scent he instantly recognized. Realizing that his opponent was Rutallaroo, whom he had apprehended over a decade prior, Bossk shot him with several stun bolts, none of which felled the large creature. Bossk understood that, after years of torture at the hands of Imperials, Rutallaroo would not be incapacitated by stun blasts. Bossk dropped his rifle and bared his claws to engage the Wookiee in close combat. Bossk slashed him in his back, but Rutallaroo simply gave the Trandoshan a twisted smile and dug his cracked claws into Bossk's elbow. Bossk kneed the Wookiee in the abdomen and wrenched his arm free, then seized Rutallaroo's neck in a chokehold. Throwing the Wookiee against a wall, Bossk managed to knock him unconscious and smiled at his victory.

Bossk picked up his rifle and surveyed his fallen adversaries, noting that none were armed with blasters or bowcasters; it appeared that they had only put up enough of a fight to mount a convincing defense without seriously injuring Bossk. While pondering this, the doors to the bridge opened for him. Strangely, the scent emanating from the doorway was similar to the Scorch where he was born. Entering the metallic bridge, Bossk saw his long-sought target sitting in a mechno-chair. Bossk growled Chainbreaker's name, and the mysterious figure replied with Bossk's full name, Bossk'wassak'Cradossk, in Dosh. Suddenly, Bossk realized that his instincts had not led him astray and that Chainbreaker was not a Wookiee but a Trandoshan. After a moment of silence as Bossk processed this information, he did something rare and laughed at the absurdity of a Trandoshan who liberated Wookiees. Chainbreaker told Bossk that laughing at her was like laughing at himself, and she moved her head into the light.

Bossk's laughter ceased when he noticed that Chainbreaker's features were strikingly similar to his. Chainbreaker told Bossk that it was good to finally meet her brother, but he exasperatedly pointed out that he had devoured his fellow hatchlings. Chainbreaker moved her mechno-chair further into the light, revealing three missing limbs and one deformed arm. Bossk deduced that Cradossk must have lied about the story of his hatching. He looked at Chainbreaker and told her that she should be grateful to him for her life, given that he had not eaten all of her. Chainbreaker scoffed at the notion and pointedly told him that she thanked the Wookiees for her survival. Chainbreaker revealed that she had been given to Wookiees by Cradossk in exchange for rum and went by the name Doshanalawook. Bossk laughed and told her that Wookiees ate Trandoshan eggs, but Chainbreaker stared at him and asked if he had ever witnessed one doing so. Bossk tried to defend what he believed, but his sister informed him that most Trandoshan beliefs about Wookiees were lies intended to incite hatred. Bossk could smell the clan-stench of Chewbacca on Chainbreaker, who explained that she had been mentored by Chewbacca's father, Attichitcuk.

Despite his confusion and numerous questions, Bossk decided that enough was enough and ordered Chainbreaker to bring the Liswarr to Asteroid X342. Chainbreaker told Bossk that she had already set the course. Bossk correctly guessed that Chainbreaker had known his plan. Chainbreaker revealed that, although Bossk's plan was better than anyone else's who had tried to capture her, she could tell that there was no Wookiee prison ship because it did not appear on any of the hundreds of Imperial timetables she received besides the one Bossk had altered. Bossk asked if she truly meant hundreds, and she invited him to tour the consoles and holographic maps on the bridge. Keeping his rifle aimed at his sister, Bossk looked around and found a projection table at the center of the bridge that featured information about him. Chainbreaker explained that she kept tabs on anyone who threatened Wookiee liberation and dismissed Bossk's claims that Wookiee freedom was treason to Trandoshans.

While examining the information Chainbreaker had on him, Bossk discovered that she had been intercepting his private communications. Bossk was shocked, as the Hound's Tooth had high-grade encryption transceivers that were used on Star Destroyers. Chainbreaker plainly explained that it was the Wookiees who had designed such technology. Bossk snarled and activated playback of his latest message from Lieutenant Veit about hunting the Millennium Falcon. Before he could watch the full message and obtain the rendezvous coordinates, Chainbreaker used the console on her mechno-chair and disrupted the hologram. Bossk slammed the console in a failed attempt to make the message reappear, then ordered Chainbreaker to replay it. Chainbreaker smiled and told him that she would only do so if he did her a favor. Bossk snapped that he didn't do favors, and she changed her wording to suggest a trade. Bossk walked towards her chair and set his rifle to its most painful setting. Staring at Chainbreaker, Bossk told her that, sister or not, he would inflict intense pain and kill every being on the ship unless she replayed the message. Unfazed, she replied that she wanted him to see the truth and let him reconsider his threat. Just as she finished speaking, Bossk heard the footsteps of Wookiees approaching the bridge. He shot at the door controls, but before it could close, a series of spears entered the cabin. Bossk dodged the spears and ducked behind Chainbreaker's chair.

Chainbreaker ordered both the Wookiees and Bossk to hold their fire. Bossk initially refused, but upon seeing the Wookiees he had beaten earlier enter the room fully armed, he relented. Bossk muttered that not all of them could have been immune to his stun blasts, but Chainbreaker confirmed that each Wookiee had endured far worse under the Empire. Bossk wedged his rifle into Chainbreaker's head and told the Wookiees that he would kill her if any of them moved. Chainbreaker informed Bossk that only she could replay the message, and he realized that his chances of escaping the ship were nil. Bossk acquiesced to Chainbreaker and asked what favor she wanted. To his astonishment, she asked that he stop hunting Wookiees for good. Bossk involuntarily let out a burst of nervous laughter and asked if she was serious. She explained that she didn't want him to stop bounty hunting, she just wanted him to stop hunting Wookiees.

She explained that the galaxy was full of bounties for criminals and murderers and that they would be a better quarry for Bossk than Wookiees. Bossk retorted that Trandoshans were meant to hunt Wookiees. Chainbreaker mocked his refusal and said that he was afraid to go after other bounties. Bossk let out a stifled laugh, angered by her comment. Bossk angrily told her that his bounties went far beyond Wookiees. In an attempt to prove his prowess, Bossk mentioned collecting on the Gibbering Gran of Gibraal, though Chainbreaker pointed out that the Gran was respected by no one. Bossk tried to save face by mentioning Dugaagoo and the monarch of Qotile, but Chainbreaker undermined his facade by noting how he could not collect on Dugaagoo's boss and that the title of Monarch of Qotile was meaningless. Defeated, Bossk simply told her that insults wouldn't change his mind. Chainbreaker remained calm and apologized, saying that she simply meant to point out that he was meant to go after greater bounties than common lowlifes or Wookiees.

Eager to get his message and return to his ship, Bossk reluctantly agreed to her terms. Chainbreaker ordered Bossk to say it aloud to the Wookiees, though he couldn't bring himself to meet their gaze as he spat out the words. Satisfied, Chainbreaker played the end of the message, which revealed that the rendezvous with the Imperial fleet was at eight-four-two-point-three in the Anoat System. Chainbreaker also handed Bossk a datacube which she said contained information about how baseless claims and lies had shaped the divided history between Trandoshans and Wookiees. Keeping his rifle aimed at her, Bossk began to slowly back out of the room as Chainbreaker optimistically told him that reconciliation between Trandoshans and Wookiees was possible. Halfway to the exit, Bossk turned to Chainbreaker and asked if she knew who his target was in the Imperial job. She nodded and told him that it would be a good test to see if he would keep his word. Bossk asked if there would be repercussions if he broke his promise.

Chainbreaker informed him that he would be hunted down and would face a wrath unlike anything he would ever know, but also told Bossk that that wouldn't happen because she knew he would keep his word. Bossk questioned why she would trust him, and she replied that she trusted him because he was her brother. As he flew back to the Hound's Tooth with his jetpack, Bossk felt colder than he had on the jump to the Liswarr and kept repeating "Doshanalawook" to keep himself awake. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't muster the ability to hate his sister. Once at the airlock of the Hound's Tooth, Bossk looked back to where the Liswarr had been and noticed that it was already gone. Confused by the entire experience, Bossk questioned whether he had contracted space fever, had dreamed up the situation like the lies his father told him, or if the galaxy was changing and he was becoming involved in it. Back on board his ship, Bossk put these questions aside and began to think about Chewbacca.

The Pursuit of the Millennium Falcon

After departing the Rycep Belt, Bossk made his way to the designated meeting point. He then piloted the Hound's Tooth to a landing bay on the Executor. There, he joined Dengar, IG-88, and, as he had anticipated, both 4-LOM and Zuckuss. Boba Fett's arrival was the final one; as he exited his ship, he gave a nod to both Bossk and Dengar. Bossk, using Fett's first name as he'd done since childhood, greeted him, much to Fett's irritation. An Imperial officer then gathered the group of bounty hunters and escorted them to the bridge of the ship. During the walk, Dengar and Fett placed a bet of 20 credits, wagering that their target would be the Millennium Falcon. Bossk reflected on the job he had passed up to accept this assignment, but he was eager to eliminate Chewbacca. Dengar inquired as to how Solo and Chewbacca managed to become wanted by so many groups and individuals while still managing to survive. Bossk surmised that their affiliation with the Alliance to Restore the Republic might have aided them, despite what he perceived as their lack of intelligence. Upon reaching the bridge, the hunters were made to wait yet again. Soon, Vader made his entrance and began to assess Dengar and IG-88. Admiral Firmus Piett whispered to his fellow officers, referring to the hunters as "scum," a remark that prompted Bossk to issue a clear warning to the Admiral in Dosh, his native tongue.

As Fett had predicted, the Falcon was indeed their target. The hunters' anticipation was short-lived, as an Imperial officer soon announced that the ship had been located. The hunters then made their way back to the hangar bay, where 4-LOM and Zuckuss quickly departed. Bossk and Dengar, ready to leave, were perplexed by Fett's choice to remain behind. Bossk questioned Fett's reasoning, and Fett explained that despite Solo's foolishness, he wouldn't risk his ship against the Empire without a good reason, implying that something was amiss. Bossk, with a sarcastic tone, cleared his throat and asked Fett that if he knew Solo so well, why he hadn't captured him already, and inquired if Fett was losing his edge. Dengar, with a smirk, suggested that they collaborate to track Fett together, prompting Bossk to respond sarcastically with "Krayt's Claw lives again." Bossk then stated that such a partnership was out of the question, and taunted Fett regarding his reluctance to work as part of a team. Fett responded that he would never again work with a team after the Corellian job, a statement that caused the three hunters to wince at the memory of the unsuccessful mission. Bossk then reminisced about the more successful ventures they had undertaken as Krayt's Claw. As the three hunters stood in silence, a young Imperial officer rushed to his comrades, announcing that Captain Needa was dead, thus validating Fett's suspicion that the Empire had lost the Falcon.

Fett suggested that they join forces once more to track Solo, a proposition that caught the attention of Bossk and Dengar. However, Fett secretly intended to betray them. After the three returned to their respective ships, Fett provided them with a series of false coordinates, a tactic that Bossk had once taught him. Unaware of Fett's deception, Bossk and Dengar jumped to the decoy locations, while Fett feigned his jump and remained with the Imperial fleet. Ultimately, Bossk's pursuit of Solo and Chewbacca proved unsuccessful, and Fett later received a carbonite-encased Solo from Vader.

The hunt for Nakano Lash

Bossk was displeased with Fett's success in capturing Solo, and he expressed his frustration at the Carbon Score Cantina on Burnin Konn. While there, he was approached by Aphra and Krrsantan, with Aphra taunting the Trandoshan. Angered, Bossk stood up abruptly, throwing his drink to the floor, ignoring the bartender's pleas for him to stop. Bossk then charged at Krrsantan, and the two engaged in a physical altercation. Aphra sat down and began mixing a drink, instructing Bossk to leave Krrsantan alone, and revealing that she had stolen his blaster during the scuffle. The doctor brought up the failed Corellia job, but Bossk remained unmoved, demanding that she explain the reason for her and Krrsantan's presence. Aphra explained that Nakano Lash had resurfaced, with a bounty placed on her head, a revelation that piqued Bossk's interest.

As it turned out, Bossk was not the only one in pursuit of Lash. Her return had attracted the attention of numerous bounty hunters, most notably Valance, Fett, and T'onga, all of whom were intent on finding and eliminating her. Armed with Aphra's information, Bossk traveled to the graveyard planet Galmerah, where Lash had recently been spotted. Upon landing, Bossk was approached by one of the graveyard's caretakers, who asked the Trandoshan for alms. Bossk responded by yelling at the caretaker, who then fled from him. Also present on Galmerah was Valance, whom Bossk encountered at the grave of Lash's parents. Bossk aimed his rifle at Valance, accusing him of being complicit in Lash's betrayal during the Corellia job. Valance reminded Bossk that he was the only hunter to escape unharmed, unlike Valance and the others. Bossk dismissed this fact, stating that killing Valance would still be worthwhile, given that Valance's droid had discovered Lash's coordinates.

Bossk then launched a dioxis grenade at Valance, who sought cover. Bossk mocked his former partner as he searched for him through the mist. Valance returned fire from a higher position, prompting the Trandoshan to launch another grenade, which knocked the cyborg to the ground. Valance attempted to use his palm blasters against Bossk, but they malfunctioned, causing him to flee through the ruins as Bossk continued his barrage of explosives. Valance threw a rock at Bossk, then delivered a punch strong enough to momentarily stun him. Bossk retaliated with a punch, then leaped over Valance before he could grab his leg. The Trandoshan continued to pummel Valance, but was knocked to the ground after Valance slammed his head into Bossk's. Before Bossk could get back to his feet, Valance struck him with a large rock. Valance mused that he could kill Bossk if he wanted, but instead restrained him so he could remember his defeat.

Bossk remained restrained to a column on Galmerah, where he was discovered by Fett. Fett interrogated Bossk about Valance's whereabouts. Bossk told Fett that Lash had provided Valance with coordinates, then suggested that he release him and they could collaborate to find Valance and Lash. Fett scoffed at the idea, stating that there was no chance they would ever work together. Fett then kicked Bossk hard in the jaw, rendering him unconscious and leaving him on the graveyard world.

The Great Hunt of Malastare

Some time later, Bossk resumed his work and was hired by Bib Fortuna, Jabba the Hutt's right-hand man, to infiltrate the Great Hunt of Malastare. His mission was to pressure Exum Jermit, the Second Vice Chair of the InterGalactic Banking Clan, into ceasing business dealings with one of Jabba's competitors and redirecting his business to Jabba's criminal enterprise. As part of the assignment, Bossk was to join the ranks of the Great Hunt's prey, which consisted of prisoners and other low-level offenders forced to fight for their survival. Bossk rescued a small group of prey from a Gran hunter, easily sinking his claws into the hunter's head, killing him. The group expressed their gratitude to Bossk, but the Trandoshan coldly informed them that they had not yet survived the night and that only one of them might live. One of the Malastare Hunting Club's probe droids recorded the killing, but Bossk ignored the group's pleas to destroy it, instead wanting the footage to be seen by Jermit. Bossk violently subdued one of the dissenting runners and forced the others to submit to his orders. As Bossk and the prey walked through the forest, they selected a clearing to set up a trap. One of the runners stood in the center of the clearing, where any hunter attempting to kill them would be impaled by several spears from the caves above.

Two Dug hunters located the clearing in search of Bossk, and one of them entered the trap and was skewered. Bossk snuck up behind the other, who managed to counter Bossk's attack and strike him in the jaw. One of the prey shot the Dug while Bossk was fighting him, angering the Trandoshan. The runner explained that they were returning the favor for saving them from the Gran, but instead of thanking them, Bossk warned them not to interfere with him and his targets again. News of Bossk's presence drew Exum Jermit out of his private club and onto the hunting field, eager to kill the Trandoshan himself. As Jermit and his team tracked him, Bossk and his group made their way to the edge of the valley, where they could see Bib Fortuna's ship. The group of runners were unaware that it was Fortuna's ship, and Bossk promised them that it was a way off-world as part of his plan to draw out Jermit. Using the ship as bait, Bossk sent the group running towards it across the open field, where all but one were gunned down by Jermit's hunting group. While they were massacred, Bossk disappeared from their sight and buried himself underneath the sand. When Jermit's hunting group ceased fire, they noticed that Bossk was not present with the prey.

At that moment, Bossk burst from the ground and slashed the eyes of one hunter, setting off his detonator in the process. The explosion killed two more hunters, and Bossk eluded the blast. While Jermit and his companion Grummgar got their bearings, Bossk leaped from the smoke and threw his saber into the head of another hunter, then attacked Grummgar. Bossk and Grummgar engaged in a fistfight, but the large Dowutin was no match for the agile Bossk, who slammed a rock into his opponent's head. As Bossk walked away from the unconscious Grummgar, the surviving prey called out Bossk for using them. Bossk snidely remarked that he had been right earlier; one of the prey had survived.

Jermit and his remaining hunters ran towards Fortuna's ship in order to escape Bossk, but Fortuna refused him entry unless he reneged on his contract with Jabba's competitor, lest he be killed by Bossk. Jermit refused the offer, and Fortuna had Bossk sneak up behind the Muun and kill him. Bossk followed Fortuna onto his ship, where Jabba's advisor complimented his work and offered him some of the food he had taken from Jermit's hunting club, though Bossk was disinterested in the cooked meats. Bossk asked Fortuna about another job he had been told about, and Fortuna informed him that it would be a difficult challenge, exciting the Trandoshan.

War of the bounty hunters

Fortuna informed Bossk that Jabba had placed a bounty on Boba Fett, who had lost Han Solo while trying to bring the frozen smuggler to the Hutt. While en route to deliver Solo to Jabba and collect the Hutt's bounty on him, the carbonite holding Solo captive became unstable and Fett had to make a quick stop on Nar Shaddaa to have it fixed, though things went awry when agents of the revived criminal organization Crimson Dawn stole Solo from him for their own purposes. Believing Fett to have sold Solo, Jabba placed a price on his head with the return of Solo as a bonus. With the information given to him by Fortuna, Bossk tracked Fett down to Jekara, where Crimson Dawn was hosting a large auction attended by nearly every crime organization in the galaxy.

Fett had arrived on Jekara to claim Solo from Crimson Dawn, but after landing his ship he was attacked by Bossk. Bossk fired a grappling line around Fett, snarling that Jabba had some questions for him. Fett used his flamethrower to create a cloud of steam as cover, then cut the wire restraining him. He then fired a rocket from his jetpack, which Bossk dodged. Although Bossk dodged the rocket itself, the projectile hit a ship behind him, destroying it and disintegrating his legs in the blast. Bossk crawled from the wreckage, where Fett stood over him. Bossk was not concerned with his legs, given that they would grow back. The Trandoshan faced Fett, asking what would he would do with him. Fett told him that he would not kill him, instead tying him to a rock as a message to any bounty hunters who were trying to collect the bounty on his head. Bossk pleaded with Fett not to leave him out in the cold, but Fett refused and continued on his way to retrieve Solo.

Bossk was left out in the cold, cursing Fett for defeating him and leaving him stranded. Soon after, he was discovered by a crew led by the bounty hunter T'onga, who had been searching for Valance. T'onga recognized Bossk from Nakano Lash's crew. Zuckuss sensed that the Trandoshan could be useful, but then retracted his statement when he saw the condition that Bossk was in. T'onga wanted to load Bossk into the medical bay of their ship, the Edgehawk, despite protestations from Tasu Leech. After Leech suggested eating Bossk, the Trandoshan awoke from his frost-bitten unconsciousness and lunged at Leech, grabbing him and holding a knife at his throat, saying that he would kill the crew and then proceed to track down Fett and Valance. T'onga, having realized Bossk had seen Valance. Bossk was taken aboard the ship, donning a cloak to warm up and eating protein in an attempt to help his legs grow back. Bossk asked Leech if Gands were high in protein, which worried Zuckuss. After the crew failed to rescue Valance, Bossk eventually joined T'onga's crew.

Hunting Lando Calrissian

Some time after Fett collected the bounty on Solo, Bossk and a group of fellow hunters took a job to hunt rebel Lando Calrissian, who they tracked down to the planet Arkanis. Unexpectedly, Chewbacca and rebel leader Leia Organa were sent to help Calrissian, who managed to outrun Bossk and other hunters trying to capture him. As Organa and Calrissian found each other and prepared to leave, Bossk's accomplices electrified the nearby Chewbacca and brought the Wookiee to Bossk. Bossk was elated to have Chewbacca in his hands and decided to order drinks for the hunters who brought him in. In the nearby cantina, Bossk stood at the bar with the captive Wookiee sitting on the floor next to him. Impersonating the bounty hunter Boushh, Organa entered the cantina and told Bossk that she would see him on Tatooine after Bossk mentioned bringing Chewbacca to Jabba. Bossk and the other hunters were taken aback by Boushh's statement and knew that something was up, so he sent them to go see what Boushh was doing.

Organa and Calrissian managed to take out the two hunters sent by Bossk, who followed them in the Hound's Tooth. Bossk jumped from his ship and fired at Organa, who he believed to be Boushh trying to take Calrissian for himself. Bossk and Organa engaged in a shootout, but she outsmarted the Trandoshan by firing at the rocks above him. The stones hit Bossk's first-gen X-45 rifle, which jammed and allowed Organa to corner him. Bossk suspected that Boushh wasn't himself, though Organa offered to let Bossk go if he traded Chewbacca in exchange for his gang. With no other options, Bossk relented and traded. Bossk chastised his boys after they were returned to him, then they boarded the Hound's Tooth and left Arkanis.

Jabba's Palace

Bossk later met up with Fett at Jabba's Palace, and subsequently accompanied Jabba's retinue aboard the Khetanna.

New Republic Era

During the time of the New Republic in 9 ABY, Charr, one of the Hunters who participated in the Hunters of the Outer Rim event, expressed his admiration for Bossk, stating that he was his inspiration to strive for excellence. He also voiced his disappointment at Bossk's absence from the sporting event, as he had hoped for the opportunity to spar with the bounty hunter.

Around the same time, Bossk and the rest of T'onga's crew, which he had rejoined despite his prior betrayal, accepted a job on the Halcyon from the Black Sun to capture or kill the Balosar Stolak Vandello, who owed a debt to the syndicate.

Personality and traits

Bossk was known as a serious and temperamental bounty hunter, but he was also ruthless and efficient. He firmly believed in adhering to the Bounty Hunter Code at all costs. He disliked interference from other bounty hunters or governments in his bounties, and he did not appreciate questions about his past with his father. Although Bossk typically worked alone, he was also capable of collaborating with others, including Boba Fett, Aurra Sing, and Ezra Bridger.

As a businessman, Bossk was known for honoring his promises to the letter of the law. He was also regarded as a fair and honest combatant, although he later stated that he preferred "a big rock" to honor in combat. Bossk believed that the hunt itself was more important than credits, but he often found himself in need of money. He was impatient and did not believe in subtlety, preferring to get the job done in whatever way he deemed appropriate.

The Trandoshan considered instinct to be "fierce, not cruel" and believed that the sole purpose of the Wookiee species was to be hunted. At a young age, he developed a hatred for the species and would inflict gruesome injuries on the Wookiee slaves held by the Trandoshans. Despite vowing to stop hunting Wookiees after being forced to do so by his sister, who knew that he would keep his word, Bossk pursued the bounty on Chewbacca when his hunt for Lando Calrissian proved unfruitful.

Bossk earned a reputation as one of the galaxy's top bounty hunters, and during the Imperial Era, his reputation was akin to that of a folk hero. While Bossk possessed some sense of honor, he was also capable of extreme cruelty, often skinning his prey.

Skills and abilities

As a bounty hunter, Bossk was physically fit and a skilled fighter. He gained a fearsome reputation as an effective hunter of Wookiees, a species that originated from the Kashyyyk system. Although Bossk often wielded a mortar gun, he was also proficient in unarmed combat. As a Trandoshan, Bossk possessed considerable strength and natural regeneration abilities. On one occasion, he defeated two gladiatorial fighters in a single fight. Bossk lost limbs in combat on several occasions, ranging from an arm to both of his legs, only to regenerate them and return to bounty hunting.

Equipment

Bossk's primary weapon was a Relby-v10 micro grenade launcher, a weapon that suited his direct and destructive style. He also used a YV-series light freighter called the Hound's Tooth, as well as the Z-95-AF4 Headhunter Nashtah Pup. During the Galactic Civil War, Bossk carried a small saber and also used a first-generation X-45 blaster rifle. His arsenal also included dioxis grenades and proximity mines.

He favored a simple yellow pressurized suit and a white flak vest over armor, which allowed him greater freedom of movement. Additionally, he preferred not to wear footwear such as boots, allowing his clawed feet to be used as weapons.

Behind the scenes

Development

Bossk made his debut in the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. Before the film's release, he was featured in a mail-in flyer that revealed his role in the movie. In The Empire Strikes Back, Bossk was portrayed by actor Alan Harris, who reprised his role in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Dee Bradley Baker voiced Bossk in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Bossk's animation model was redesigned between his appearances in season two and four to more closely resemble his film counterpart. The show's staff regretted how simple his initial appearance was, as the more colorful designs for the Trandoshans in season three highlighted this simplicity.

In the fourth draft of The Empire Strikes Back screenplay, Bossk was described as a slimy, tentacled monster with two large bloodshot eyes in a soft, baggy face. Bossk's outfit was actually repurposed from a 1966 Doctor Who serial titled The Tenth Planet. The suit itself was a High-Altitude Windak Pressure Suit, which was used by the British Royal Air Force in the 1960s. Before the cancellation of The Clone Wars TV series, Bossk was scheduled to appear in a four-episode arc starring Boba Fett and Cad Bane. A clip shown during the Animated Origins and Unexpected Fates panel at Celebration Orlando in 2017 featured Bossk and Embo siding with Bane during a standoff between Fett and other bounty hunters. Bossk then suggested that Bane give Fett a chance to prove himself.

Writer Jon Kasdan originally wanted to include Bossk in the 2018 Star Wars Anthology film Solo: A Star Wars Story. However, Kasdan ultimately decided that there was no place for Bossk in the film. In Kasdan's drafts for Solo, Bossk was a member of the Cloud-Riders and served as Enfys Nest's second-in-command, only to abandon her by the end of the film. Despite Kasdan's efforts to keep this scene, he was overruled. In the comic series Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, writer Ethan Sacks aimed to depict Bossk developing attachments and possibly a conscience, but ultimately failing to "shed his Trandoshan nature." This would ultimately hurt Bossk, turning him into a tragic figure.

Although Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition stated that Bossk and Fett escaped from the Republic Detention Center, Star Wars: The Secrets of the Bounty Hunters later clarified that they were released.

Freemaker Adventures

Bossk appeared in the LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures Season Two episode "Return to the Wheel," which premiered on August 3, 2017. He and several bounty hunters including Dengar, 4-LOM, IG-88, and Zuckuss captured the Freemakers but they escaped after Kordi created a fight between the droid and organic bounty hunters.