Dev Sibwarra

In 11 BBY, during the early years of the Imperial era, Dev Sibwarra was born to Ydra Kilwallen Sibwarra and a man named Sibwarra on the Core world of Chandrila. Ydra, a former Jedi Padawan, had left the Order before completing her training during the final years of the Galactic Republic. Despite her incomplete mastery of the Force, Ydra imparted the basics of Jedi training to Dev after noticing his abilities, with plans to apprentice him to a surviving Jedi. One ability she successfully taught him was life web.

Around 2 BBY, when Dev was ten years old, his family moved to G'rho, a small Human colony world in the Outer Rim Territories, to evade detection by the anti-Jedi Galactic Empire. Shortly thereafter, Sibwarra witnessed the invasion of G'rho by the Ssi-ruuk, a reptilian species from a distant starcluster in the Unknown Regions. During the invasion, his parents were killed, and he felt his mother's Force presence vanish.

Earlier, the Ssi-ruuvi's supreme ruler, the Shreeftut, received Force visions of a hooded Human who identified himself as Emperor Palpatine, ruler of the galaxy. The Ssi-ruuvi Imperium powered their technology through entechment, a process of electronically transferring a person's life-energy into a mechanical construct's power source. Palpatine offered the Ssi-ruuvi numerous worlds and millions of Humans for entechment in exchange for access to their technology. Due to their secret agreement with the Ssi-ruuk, the Imperial leadership concealed the incident and blamed the Alliance to Restore the Republic for the attack.

Ssi-ruuvi scouts found Dev huddled in an eroded ravine, took pity on him, and provided him with refreshments. Recognizing his strange powers to sense others, the Ssi-ruuk spared him from the entechment rig and instead transported him to their capital world of Lwhekk in the remote Ssi-ruuk Star Cluster. There, a blue-scaled Elder named Sh'tk'ith, also known as Bluescale, brainwashed him using mind manipulation techniques and hypospray treatments. Subsequently, he was "adopted" by Bluescale and his colleagues Admiral Ivpikkis and Master Firwirrung, whom he reluctantly came to regard as family.

Through this boy, the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium discovered that Humans were the galaxy's dominant species and that humanoids had longer containment times when enteched, making them more durable power sources than most other species. Due to Sibwarra's Force abilities and his ability to communicate with fellow Humans, the Ssi-ruuk used Dev Sibwarra to calm the subjects being enteched rather than enteching him.

However in 4 ABY, Emperor Palpatine met his end during the Battle of Endor aboard the Second Death Star. Dev, sensing this disturbance in the Force, informed the Ssi-ruuk. With the Emperor unable to fulfill his promise, the Ssi-ruuvi launched an invasion of the known Galaxy's edge. An expeditionary fleet, including at least one Ssi-ruuvi assault carrier and numerous battle droids under Admiral Ivpikkis, conquered Cattamascar and attacked Bakura. As the protege of the Ssi-ruuvi commander Ivpikkis, Dev served aboard the flagship Shriwirr during this campaign.

By seizing Bakura, the Ssi-ruuk aimed to capture a major Human world and entech its population. Millions of Bakuran citizens would be enteched to power more battle droids and ship components. Bakura's raw metals would be used to manufacture entechment rigs and starships. With increased resources, the Ssi-ruuk planned to "invade" the 12,000 terrestrial worlds of the known Galaxy, particularly the heavily-populated Core Worlds, which were the center of galactic civilization and wealth.

Following a significant naval engagement with Imperial forces, the numerically superior Ssi-ruuvi fleet destroyed half of the Imperial fleet and quickly captured all outsystem planetary outposts. An outpost on the sixth planet of the Bakuran system was completely destroyed, and a command signal for Ssi-ruuk droids was established nearby. The Ssi-ruuvi fleet then blockaded the space around Bakura.

To meet the demands of entechment, all bodies, including those wounded or captured alive, were taken aboard the Ssi-ruuvi capital ships to the entechment labs. This practice puzzled the local Bakuran and Imperial recovery crews, who later discovered the horrific fate of these prisoners at the hands of the reptilian Ssi-ruuk. Due to his ability to communicate with the predominantly human prisoners in their native language, Dev was pressed into service at the entechment rig on Deck 16 throughout the night shift.

Accompanied by Master Firwirrung, Dev actively "calmed" the entechment subjects while Firwirrung carried out the mechanical process of "transferring" life sources to power battle droids. Among those enteched was a wounded male Imperial officer who tried to dissuade Dev from carrying out the procedure. Brainwashed into believing the benefits of entechment, Dev dismissed the man's pleas. Later, a female prisoner was killed during an escape attempt, and Dev, still indoctrinated, sighed at the loss.

An outpost on the sixth planet of the Bakuran system was utterly destroyed and a command signal for Ssi-ruuk droids established in its vicinity. The Ssi-ruuvi fleet then blockaded the space around Bakura. In an attempt to persuade the Bakurans to capitulate, the Ssi-ruuk transmitted a holo-recording from Dev Sibwarra, informing them of their impending fate of entechment. Although Sibwarra described it as an eternal release, the Bakurans recognized it as a lie.

In response to heavy casualties, the Imperial governor Wilek Nereus sent an antique Message Droid to the forest moon of Endor after failing to contact Imperial Center and the Death Star II, seeking assistance from his Imperial superiors to fend off the invasion force. Endor was the nearest world with a significant Imperial presence to Bakura, being the site of the Second Death Star.

Governor Nereus dispatched an Elegance message drone to the Imperial presence in the Endor system, hoping to alert Palpatine. However, the Imperials had been defeated during the pivotal Battle of Endor, which resulted in the destruction of the Second Death Star and the death of Sith Lord Palpatine. Instead, the message was received by members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, who dispatched a task force to neutralize a hostile threat and secure a potential ally.

A small Alliance task force was quickly assembled under the command of Luke Skywalker. It also included an Alliance delegation led by Leia Organa. Upon arriving in the Bakura system, the Alliance made contact with the Imperial Commander Pter Thanas, who agreed to cooperate despite the absence of a formal truce. One of their first joint military actions involved deploying Alliance ships, including the Flurry, into the gap between the Ssi-ruuvi's three main cruisers to counter the enemy advance. Several Ssi-ruuvi picket ships and fighters were destroyed by Alliance starships.

Meanwhile, Sibwarra sensed the arrival of a powerful Force-strong Jedi among the new arrivals, later identified as Skywalker. Privately, Sibwarra was fascinated by the powers and skills of the extinct Jedi Knights and wished to meet one. However, he refrained from informing his superior Bluescale, as it would mean confessing a guilty "secret habit." Publicly, he pretended to lament the loss of human souls aboard the destroyed battle droids, prompting Bluescale to arrange for a "renewal service" later.

The Ssi-ruuk had already sustained considerable losses, including a cruiser and several drone fighters, from attacks by the Alliance ships, leading to a temporary withdrawal into hyperspace. This marked the second time the Ssi-ruuvi fleet had been on an emergency orient since their conquest of Cattamascar. This unexpected change forced the Ssi-ruuvi leadership to analyze the newcomers' different tactics, starships, and command style.

Having assisted in repelling the Ssi-ruu attack on the system, the Alliance ships maintained their position near the planet. Following the Ssi-ruuk withdrawal, Leia Organa contacted the planetary government and arranged a meeting between the Rebel Alliance delegation and Governor Nereus, as well as the Bakuran Senate. Arriving at the capital Salis D'aar, Alliance delegates informed their Imperial and Bakuran counterparts of the recent developments on Endor and attended a special session at the Senate.

There, Imperials, Bakurans, and Rebels were shown a recording sent by the Ssi-ruuk via Sibwarra and were horrified to witness how entechment worked, with an individual's life energy being drained to power war machinery. This was met with outrage and horror from most of the assembled delegates. Some, including Commander Thanas, denounced Dev as a collaborator with the enemy. This sparked a wave of paranoia among the populace, who feared the terror of entechment and harbored prejudice against aliens.

The Alliance party then reiterated their intention to help Bakura and offered an official truce, which Nereus said would be discussed. That evening, Alliance and Imperial delegates settled a formal truce during a dinner organized by the Bakuran Prime Minister Yeorg Captison. However, the Imperial Governor Nereus still harbored resentment towards his Alliance counterparts and sought to undermine them by any means necessary, including collaborating with the Ssi-ruuk.

Following the Alliance attack and the brief jump into hyperspace, the flagship Shriwirr was left in a state of chaos, with the galley covered in spilled food. Dev volunteered to join the P'w'eck slave crew in cleaning up the mess using galleyvac units. After an hour, Dev reported for a "renewal service" at Elder Sh'tk'ith's workstation on the battle-droid deck.

Sensing that Sibwarra was hiding something, as sharp Ssi-ruuvi nose-tongues could detect subtle changes in sweat, Bluescale ordered him into a sealed cage and interrogated him. Dev tried to deflect attention by discussing his translation project, but Bluescale brought him to the topic by bluntly reminding him of his inferior place in Ssi-ruuvi society. A tearful Sibwarra then revealed the presence of another Force user among the newcomers to Sh'tk'ith.

According to Dev, this "Outsider" had introduced new and successful tactics to the planet's defenders. After extracting the necessary information, Sh'tk'ith subjected Dev to a hypnotic hypospray treatment, inducing him into sleep. Dev awoke on the command bridge and quickly learned that Sh'tk'ith had reported the information to other leaders of the expeditionary force, including Ivpikkis and Firwirrung.

Recalling how Dev had sensed Palpatine's death in the Force from many light-years away, Sh'tk'ith suggested that the "Outsider's" Force powers could be used to conduct entechment from a great distance. The entechment master Firwirrung proposed modifying the entechment rig to keep this being alive in a fully magnetized state, draining the life energies of millions of sentients from light-years away. Ivpikkis welcomed the idea, seeing it as a means of enteching all sentients within the vicinity of known space.

They then compelled Sibwarra to tap his mind into the "unseen universe," or the Force, to discover the identity and whereabouts of this Force-strong being. Dev complied with their order, provided they promised not to entech him when he was no longer needed. To facilitate his tapping into the Force, Sibwarra was induced into a trance by a hypospray. Through the Force, Dev discovered that the Outsider was Luke Skywalker and that he was in the Bakuran capital Salis D'aar. The feelings of power from Skywalker were enough to give Dev some remembrance of his past.

Satisfied, the Ssi-ruuvi leadership openly praised his efforts. However, Dev was torn between loving his "adopted family" and hating them for exploiting him. Commander Ivpikkis stoked Dev's hatred by derogatorily referring to him as Firwirrung's "pet." Feeling guilty, Sibwarra initiated some sort of telepathic contact with Skywalker, warning him of the Ssi-ruuvi's intent to capture the Jedi and giving him a vision of how dangerous the Ssi-ruuk could be to the larger galaxy if left unchecked.

Due to their losses in the recent Alliance-Imperial attack, Admiral Ivpikkis decided to prevent further losses by making a covert deal with Governor Nereus. The Ssi-ruuk agreed to withdraw from Bakura in exchange for the handover of Skywalker. Given their inability to communicate directly with Nereus due to their physiology, Sibwarra was awakened from his bed pit in the night by Firwirrung to initiate contact with Nereus. The Ssi-ruuk's devious scheme led Sibwarra to question the motives of his "family."

Earlier, the saurians had captured several operational Imperial starships during their campaign, granting them access to the HoloNet. In the early hours of the morning, Wilek Nereus received a HoloNet transmission from the Ssi-ruuk requesting negotiations at the Imperial headquarters. Dev presented the Ssi-ruuvi terms of a full withdrawal in exchange for the handover of Skywalker. Nereus accepted the offer, driven by his hatred of the Rebels and as part of his secret plan to betray his Rebel colleagues.

He told them to contact him within a day while he made the sufficient arrangements for Skywalker. However, Nereus had no intention of allowing the Ssi-ruuk to survive and decided to double-cross the aliens. He planned to infect Skywalker with parasitic olabrian trichoid larvae, which would consume Skywalker's body upon hatching. Nereus's plan was to allow the Ssi-ruuk to capture Skywalker, only to have the trichoids hatch, multiply, and kill the Ssi-ruuk. An avid collector of alien dentition, Nereus planned to add the alien's jaw bones to his personal collection.

The Ssi-ruuk, however, had a hidden agenda: after securing Skywalker, they planned to betray the Imperials with a follow-up assault, prioritizing the orbital space station. To bolster this operation, they forcibly enteched more P'w'eck slaves, even young ones taken from other ships in their fleet. Though their endurance was less than that of Humans, they were essential for powering the drone fighters in the upcoming offensive.

Simultaneously, Firwirrung began the "Skywalker operation," commissioning the construction of a specialized reclining entechment bed. This bed featured locking restraints for arms and legs, along with dual tubes designed to infuse both magsol and nutrients into the subject's bloodstream. This would subdue his nervous system for the bed's energy-collecting circuits. The nutrient flow allowed the Ssi-ruuk to keep the subject in the entechment bed for extended periods, spanning several days.

Furthermore, the reptilian aliens engineered a mind-control substance capable of compelling a human subject to entech others across vast interstellar distances against their will, a process inflicting immense pain. To accommodate the increased energy flow, three additional chairs were also built. This bed underwent successful trials with Dev, who enteched several human prisoners located a few meters away.

For this particular operation, Sibwarra was strapped to the bed, temporarily paralyzed by the infusion of magsol and nutrients into his system. The mind-control drug was also tested on Dev, who, under Firwirrung's orders, willingly stabbed both of his palms. Influenced by the drug and his indoctrination, he followed these commands despite the self-inflicted harm. Having completed his assigned task, he was instructed to take a bath to recuperate from the ordeal.

In a parallel development, Nereus initiated his scheme by surreptitiously placing three olabrian trichoid eggs within Skywalker's meal. However, Skywalker shared this meal with Gaeriel Captison, a prominent Bakuran senator. Later, Nereus lured him to a local cantina situated near the spaceport. Concurrently, the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 intercepted Ssi-ruuk communications, discovering that the Ssi-ruuk not only planned to capture Skywalker, but also intended to launch an attack on Bakura an hour later. They also ascertained the precise location and time of the Jedi's planned abduction.

Having finalized the arrangements, Nereus consented to provide a Lambda-class shuttle for the Ssi-ruuk contingent and to lower the orbital net, granting passage under the guise of official business. A Ssi-ruuk team, including Firwirrung and Bluescale, accompanied by Dev, would be permitted to land near the cantina. By the time Captison and R2-D2 arrived to warn Skywalker, the Ssi-ruuk party and a detachment of Imperial stormtroopers had also reached the location.

Upon their encounter, Dev declared that the Ssi-ruuk commander Ivpikkis had extended an invitation to Skywalker to board the flagship Shriwirr for negotiations, an offer the Jedi accepted. However, when the Ssi-ruuk attempted to take Captison along, Skywalker ignited his lightsaber in defense. In response, Dev ordered the Stormtroopers to stun both of them, triggering a brawl within the cantina. The Ssi-ruuk also brandished their paddle beamers and engaged the Jedi Knight.

During the ensuing conflict, Skywalker killed one of the reptilian aliens and incapacitated the remaining members of the Ssi-ruuk party. Dev attempted to shoot him with a blaster but was also subdued. Sensing Sibwarra's distress, Skywalker attempted to alleviate the effects of the brainwashing he had endured. This distraction, however, left him vulnerable, and Bluescale swiftly struck him on the head, rendering him unconscious.

Nevertheless, Skywalker's efforts were not futile, as his Force-guided ministrations on Sibwarra's mind successfully severed the mental chains that had enslaved him. Sibwarra resolved to assist the Jedi in any way he could. Moreover, Gaeriel, although stunned, was not captured. Instead, Artoo aided her in escaping the cantina, and she received medical attention at the Imperial garrison.

The Ssi-ruuk transported Skywalker back to their shuttle at Pad 12. The Jedi's ever-faithful astromech droid, R2-D2, attempted to board the ramp to rescue his master but was ejected by the P'w'eck guards. Having achieved their objectives, they returned to the Ssi-ruuk flagship Shriwirr to initiate their entechment operation. Concurrently, the Ssi-ruuk launched a full-scale assault, targeting the orbital station positioned above Bakura.

Amidst a space battle between the Imperium and the combined forces of the Alliance and the Empire, the shuttle ascended into space. After docking at the hangar bay, Sibwarra carried an unconscious Skywalker to the designated entechment laboratory. Still unconscious, Skywalker was secured to the modified entechment chair. However, now that Sibwarra's usefulness had waned, his Ssi-ruuvi masters planned to entech him, reneging on a previous promise.

Firwirrung himself pledged to lower the catchment arc and administer the solutions. Having endured prolonged abuse from his Ssi-ruuvi "family," Sibwarra was deeply angered and refused to comply. With nothing left to lose, Dev rushed to liberate Skywalker. At that precise moment, all the lights in the laboratory extinguished, and events unfolded rapidly. Skywalker had regained consciousness and used the Force to compel a P'w'eck slave to smash the control board, plunging the room into darkness.

In the ensuing pandemonium, Skywalker activated his lightsaber, slaying two Ssi-ruuk before destroying three security droids. During a brief exchange, Sibwarra informed Luke about the existence of thirty other entechment labs aboard the vessels. Skywalker sensed the potent presence of the dark side emanating from the numerous sentients murdered and enteched on the vessel. Making their way to the engineering room on the eighteenth deck, the two navigated the stun trap-laden corridors of the battle cruiser.

While Firwirrung and his P'w'eck crew worked on a second entechment chair, Elder Sh'tk'ith and three squads of P'w'ecks confronted Skywalker and Dev at Deck 16. The two Force-sensitive individuals proved more than a match for Sh'tk'ith's reinforcements. During the confrontation, Dev fatally shot Bluescale in the head. However, Skywalker began to succumb to the effects of the olabrian parasites in his bronchi.

They proceeded to the hangars to escape but discovered that most of the Ssi-ruuk had already fled. Fearing death on an unconsecrated world, Ivpikkis and other Ssi-ruuvi officers had escaped in lifeboats, later recovered by other warships. Every ship in the fleet fled for the safety of Ssi-ruuvi home space, except for the flagship Shriwirr. For a brief moment, it seemed that victory was at hand with the defeat of the Ssi-ruuvi threat.

In the engineering deck, the pair were ambushed by Firwirrung and four P'w'ecks. Skywalker swiftly neutralized these threats with his lightsaber but expressed his disapproval when Dev killed a wounded P'w'eck survivor. At that moment, Luke sensed a disturbance through the Force. With the Ssi-ruuvi vanquished, Nereus initiated his secret plan to betray his enemies by ordering Thanas to turn his flagship Dominant against the Alliance flagship Flurry, destroying it along with several Rebel starfighters, effectively ending the truce.

The remaining Alliance ships found themselves trapped in a bottleneck between Bakura and the Imperial fleet. It appeared that the only way for the Alliance ships to escape was to make a suicide run on the Dominant. However, Luke Skywalker used the Force to persuade Thanas to switch sides by projecting feelings of peace and serenity. Admiring the heroism of his former adversaries and recognizing the underlying flaws in his superior Nereus, Thanas ordered his ship to break formation and open fire on the Shriwirr as a gesture of cooperation with the Alliance.

Tragically, Dev sustained fatal injuries during the bombardment of the Shriwirr, suffering severe burns across his body. Sensing the presence of the Olabrian trichoid larvae within his body, Skywalker used the Force to eliminate the parasites by drawing them out into the oxygen-rich environment, which was poisonous to them. Luke then contacted Thanas to request a boarding crew to rescue him and the mortally wounded Sibwarra. As a gesture of goodwill, the Imperial commander agreed to come in person.

Thanas also agreed to surrender himself and the Dominant to the Alliance authorities in exchange for assurances that his men would be sent to a neutral pickup point and allowed to return home, and that Sibwarra would face trial. When the local Imperial Security Bureau operative among the bridge crew attempted to intervene, Thanas swiftly stunned him. Thanas dispatched a two-man evacuation pod equipped with medical equipment and placed Captain Dren Jamer in de-facto command of the vessel.

Luke and a wounded Dev were rescued from the Shriwirr and taken aboard the Millennium Falcon. With Sibwarra in a Jedi healing trance, the Imperial medical corpsman assessed that Sibwarra had little chance of surviving his energy-blast wounds due to severe damage to internal organs. Despite regaining consciousness and briefly exchanging words with Skywalker, Sibwarra's injuries were too extensive, and he died despite the efforts to resuscitate him.

A grieving Skywalker was left to ponder the loss of a potential apprentice who could have played a significant role in his new Jedi Order. Following the cessation of hostilities between the Imperials and the Alliance, Skywalker ensured that Sibwarra received a burial in space. In orbit aboard the Millennium Falcon, Luke Skywalker and other members of the so-called "Heroes of Yavin" released his corpse to fall through the atmosphere of Bakura during a solemn ceremony.

To commemorate his role in the Bakura Incident, the New Republic renamed the captured Ssi-ruuvi flagship Sibwarra in honor of the late Dev Sibwarra. Following the Incident, Luke Skywalker freed all the captive human energies aboard the cruiser to cleanse it of the potent dark side presence. This cruiser participated in a brief punitive expedition into the Ssi-ruuk Star Cluster before the Liberation of Clak'dor VII.

In his youth, Dev held the Jedi in high esteem because his mother was a Jedi. Following his adoption and "indoctrination" by the Ssi-ruuk, he embraced many of the customs of his masters' culture. He was brainwashed to believe that entechment was a great honor and therefore anticipated undergoing the process himself. Due to his fluency in Galactic Basic Standard, Sibwarra was utilized by his saurian masters as a translator and to pacify Human entechment subjects.

He also acquired an understanding of the intricate Ssi-ruuvi language, which Humans could not replicate due to physiological limitations. Other aspects of Ssi-ruuvi culture included a complete disregard for clothing and a strong body odor, prompting Dev to adopt the habit of bathing several times a day. However, Sibwarra also harbored a prejudice against the P'w'ecks, a subservient slave species previously subjugated by the Ssi-ruuk.

Due to his impressionable age and the mistreatment he suffered at the hands of his Ssi-ruuvi "family," Sibwarra was receptive to Skywalker's attempts to minister to his mind and heal him of his indoctrination. This proved crucial during a revolt against the Ssi-ruuk in the final stages of the Bakuran Incident.

Dev Sibwarra made his debut as a point-of-view character in Kathy Tyers's 1994 novel The Truce at Bakura, marking his sole appearance in the Expanded Universe. During the writing of the book, Tyers revealed in an interview with Ilene Rosenberg for Star Wars Adventure Journal 4 that her original intention was for Sibwarra to survive, and she expressed that his death was one of the unpleasant aspects of The Truce at Bakura for her. Tyers also stated that her characterization of Sibwarra was intended to portray him as a victim of abuse.

Subsequently, he was first referenced and illustrated in the 1995 The Essential Guide to Characters by Andy Mangels and Michael Butkus, respectively. Further information about the character was published in West End Games' The Truce at Bakura Sourcebook in 1996. In April 2000, Kevin J. Anderson and Daniel Wallace referenced Sibwarra in their The Essential Chronology and its revised edition The New Essential Chronology, which was published in October 2005.