The Fairwind was a sizable gunship whose design was reminiscent of old sailing vessels. This starship possessed a curved hull, a pair of masts, wings, and a prominent figurehead. When flying within an atmosphere, the top of the ship served as an outdoor deck. The well-armed Fairwind featured three dual laser cannons along with a pair of laser turrets. The wooden hull was protected by deflector shield skins.
Jedi Lord and Master Valenthyne Farfalla was the owner of the Fairwind. Farfalla utilized this vessel within his fleet as he recruited Jedi Knights to join Lord Hoth and his Army of Light on Ruusan during the New Sith Wars. After assembling three hundred Knights, Farfalla, along with his starship and additional gunships, made his way back to the planet. However, a Sith blockade impeded his reunion with Lord Hoth until treachery among the Sith created an opportunity for the armada.
Farfalla successfully breached the blockade, rescuing Lord Hoth and his troops in a pivotal action that aided in shifting the momentum of the war. Hoth's forces were strengthened, leading Sith Lord Skere Kaan to desperately activate a thought bomb, which ultimately devastated both the Jedi and Sith forces on Ruusan. The conflict ended, and in the battle's aftermath, Farfalla spearheaded rescue operations from the Fairwind in an attempt to find Jedi survivors.
The unusual design of the Fairwind, a space gunship, bore a resemblance to a massive sailing ship, complete with numerous masts and a rounded hull. It was constructed with a timber frame and a golden keel running down its center. Four circular engines were mounted on the stern, arranged in pairs on each side. Above the engine housings were two wings on each side of the hull, one larger than the other. Upon landing, struts extended from the rear and bow of the hull to stabilize the ship. Passengers could then exit through a hatchway extending from the front.
Along the vessel's side, above the midline, were two rows of portholes: nine on the upper level and seven on the lower. When the Fairwind traveled within an atmosphere, these portholes could be opened to allow fresh air to enter. A large figurehead, resembling the head and front legs of a horned horse, was mounted on the front.
The upper surface functioned as an open-air deck within an atmosphere, offering unobstructed views to crew and passengers during cruises. Two large masts, topped with circular watchtowers, rose from the deck. Broad, seemingly rigid sails were mounted on each mast, and a red pennant flew atop each watchtower. The sails were gold, matching the ship's color scheme. In front of these was a smaller, purple sail with a large golden crest.
Despite its decorative design, the Fairwind was heavily armed. Each side had at least three double-barreled laser cannons: two near the bow and one towards the stern. Additionally, two laser turrets were incorporated into the figurehead, and another was placed at the bow's leading edge. The gunship's hulls, made of strong and flexible wroshyr tree wood from Kashyyyk, were protected by deflector shield skins.
The Fairwind's design, though unorthodox, was not unique. Similar designs appeared sporadically, including the Tof starship design exemplified by the Merriweather, and the flagship of Reddjak the pirate.
The Fairwind played a significant role in the Ruusan campaign near the end of the New Sith Wars. The New Sith Wars were a large-scale conflict where a resurgent New Sith Empire fought against the Galactic Republic and its ally, the Jedi Order. After the Sith pushed back the Republic, threatening even Coruscant, the Jedi Order prioritized defeating Sith Lords over regular forces, leading to a protracted campaign on Ruusan. Lord Farfalla, a Jedi Master from a noble Jedi family newly part of the Galactic Republic, volunteered to recruit reinforcements for the beleaguered Jedi forces on Ruusan, having been with the Army of Light since the beginning of the conflict.
Farfalla returned to Ruusan months later, leading a private army and a fleet of ships, including his flagship. Each ship in the fleet, composed of capital ships and gunships, bore his personal colors. The fleet carried three hundred Jedi Knights of various species. En route, they defeated the traitorous King Lahzar, but upon reaching the Ruusan system, they faced a strong Sith blockade.
Despite being unable to fully disembark, Farfalla managed to send smaller ships to the planet, rescuing a caravan of Lord Hoth's from a Sith ambush. However, Hoth rejected Farfalla's aid, embittered by the death of Pernicar, his closest companion. Angered, Farfalla returned to his flagship in orbit, leaving Hoth's forces on the surface.
The tension between the two Jedi Masters was resolved by one of Farfalla's subordinates, who posed as an envoy from Farfalla, apologizing for the delay. Hoth reciprocated with an apology. With the rift healed, Farfalla's forces needed to breach the Sith blockade. An opportunity arose when a section of the blockade moved to engage Farfalla's forces in orbit. Using his capital ships to draw fire from Sith cruisers and Dreadnaughts, Farfalla broke through the blockade with the Fairwind and several gunships. These ships attacked the ground forces, destroying Sith fliers and routing the enemy. The overwhelmed Sith fled, giving the Jedi victory. This intervention by the Fairwind was decisive for the Ruusan campaign and the New Sith Wars. With Hoth's forces replenished, Lord Kaan, leader of the Brotherhood of Darkness, desperately unleashed a thought bomb to destroy the Jedi. Lord Hoth led one hundred Jedi volunteers to Lord Kaan to stop Kaan or force him to detonate the bomb. Kaan chose the latter, and when the thought bomb was unleashed, both Jedi and Sith forces were destroyed.
Lord Farfalla and his forces survived, having withdrawn to a safe distance. Farfalla, now the leader of the Army of Light, organized the remaining Jedi and evacuated Ruusan in his fleet.
After the detonation, Farfalla, from the Fairwind, oversaw rescue missions on Ruusan, hoping to rally any non-Force sensitive Army of Light survivors. Following the Seventh Battle of Ruusan, survivors were cared for, while enemies, such as mercenaries, were imprisoned.
Lord Valenthyne Farfalla was a half-Bothan Jedi Master from a noble family. His elaborate etiquette and court ceremony led some Jedi to perceive him as foppish, a perception that persisted even after his death. However, those who knew him well regarded him highly. He was one of the first Jedi Masters to join Lord Hoth and his Army of Light on Ruusan, earning a fierce reputation even among the Sith.
Lirondo, a Jedi Knight and close companion of Farfalla, traveled on the Fairwind and marshaled its forces for the Seventh Battle of Ruusan. He fought alongside his master, wielding a large axe and a green lightsaber.
A female alien envoy with humanoid and avian characteristics, including large wings, approached Lord Hoth with an apparent apology from Farfalla. When she returned with an apology from Hoth, Farfalla recognized her ruse but appreciated the irony. She fought in the Seventh Battle of Ruusan alongside Lirondo and Farfalla.
Farfalla's flagship first appeared in the comic Star Wars: Jedi vs. Sith, though unnamed. It was later mentioned in The New Essential Chronology as a "wooden-hulled battleship." The events of Jedi vs. Sith were retold in Darth Bane: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn, who made changes to the Ruusan campaign's chronology and other details. Farfalla's forces, originally a single ship, became a fleet. To remove fairytale elements, Karpyshyn omitted the starships' unusual design, referring to them as "gunships."
This article integrates these sources by interpreting the gunships that fulfill the same role as the starship in the original comic to include Farfalla's flagship. The novel's chronology is favored, placing Farfalla's intervention after Pernicar's death, rather than concurrently as in the comic.