The Cha'a, recognized for their inherent craftiness, were a diminutive species of reptilian descent, characterized by their orange-colored scales. For millennia, they were integrated into the broader galactic framework. A prominent figure among the Cha'a was Ssk Kahorr, a Lord who functioned as a Merchant during the time of the Great Hyperspace War. Additionally, three Cha'a students of the Jedi Order trained alongside Jacen and Jaina Solo within the New Jedi Order.
The Cha'a were a species of reptilian origin, distinguished by their delicate scales and predominantly orange hue. A series of horns adorned the top of their heads, extending down their backs, situated above their widely spaced, slitted eyes. They possessed elongated snouts equipped with sharp teeth and a lengthy, prehensile tongue. As carnivores, the Cha'a utilized their pointed teeth to devour live prey soon after hatching. These same teeth occasionally served as instruments in determining dominance among hatchling-mates, influencing the hierarchy within each clutch of eggs. The Cha'a were bipedal, with each limb terminating in three digits tipped with claws.
The Cha'a were a technologically advanced species, responsible for the creation of starships, including the Cha'a drone ships, and droids, for instance, the message pod. Their drone ships were characterized by their distinctive design, incorporating elaborate figureheads into their structure. One such vessel, the Zeta Five, met its demise on an unproven hyperspace route that ventured too close to the star, Primus Goluud.
From the early epochs of the Galactic Republic, the Cha'a actively participated in galactic affairs. Distributed throughout the galaxy, Cha'a inhabited both urbanized planets such as Empress Teta and the mining settlement of Goluud Minor. A notable Cha'a figure of that era was Ssk Kahorr, who was the head of a trading fleet composed of drone ships. As a representative of his kind, Kahorr displayed considerable ambition, willingly embracing risks in his commercial endeavors, such as utilizing the newly discovered Goluud Corridor hyperlane to gain access to the mining colony. When the route proved to be unstable, leading to the destruction of his cargo vessel, the Zeta Five, he orchestrated the killing of Shodon Ko, the representative of the Hyperspace Navigator's Guild, and commissioned bounty hunters to pursue the route's discoverers, Dav and Jori Daragon. Kahorr subsequently seized the Daragon's starship, Starbreaker 12, and perished when it was destroyed during the initial assault of a Sith armada at the onset of the Great Hyperspace War.
The Cha'a maintained their involvement in the galactic community throughout the tenure of the New Republic, during which three Cha'a hatchling-mates underwent training at Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. They played a role in defending the Praxeum from an assault launched by the Second Imperium, an Imperial-affiliated darksider training institution, by concealing themselves in the murky jungle rivers to ambush Dark Jedi. Furthermore, the Diversity Alliance considered the Cha'a as potential recruits. Hovrak, a Shistavanen Adjutant Advisor, identified them as possessing cunning and ambition, qualities deemed beneficial to the Alliance; however, the Alliance faced defeat shortly after Hovrak articulated his recruitment intentions.
Kevin J. Anderson conceived the Cha'a for the Old Republic era comic book series Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith (1996) and The Fall of the Sith Empire (1997). Their subsequent appearances have been limited to the Young Jedi Knights series, which Anderson co-authored with his wife, Rebecca Moesta.