Gobee

Gobee was a Human male who originated from the planet of Onderon. Rather than residing in Iziz, Onderon's sole established city, Gobee was a Beast Rider, a member of a warrior society whose ancestors had been exiled from Iziz nearly four hundred years earlier, forcing them to seek refuge in the planet's untamed wilderness. By 4000 BBY, Gobee had risen to the rank of commander within the Beast Rider army. Occasionally, he served as a Beast Warrior Commando, an elite soldier within the Beast Rider ranks. Most often, Gobee served as the second-in-command to Beast-Lord Oron Kira, with whom he shared a strong bond. They had fought side-by-side in numerous battles, fostering a deep sense of camaraderie. During his tenure as Kira's second-in-command, Gobee commanded numerous "wings" of Beast Riders, all of whom followed his orders without question.

In 4000 BBY, Gobee, Oron Kira, and several of Gobee's squads encountered an off-world starship while patrolling the skies of Onderon on their warbeasts. The Beast Riders had learned that the Jedi were arriving to broker peace between them and the citizens of Iziz. Therefore, when the Nebulon Ranger, the spotted ship, entered the Onderonian atmosphere, the Beast Riders immediately launched an attack. They fired heavy blaster fire at the ship as it approached the city, scoring several hits. The Jedi, aware of the Beast Riders' presence, contacted Iziz for assistance. Iziz complied, using its perimeter defenses, including turbolaser fire, to halt Gobee's advance. The ship, carrying Jedi Knights Tott Doneeta, Ulic, and Cay Qel-Droma, then landed safely within Iziz's walls.

Meanwhile, Gobee and his team regrouped and prepared to exploit the distraction caused by the offworlders to assault the Royal Palace and abduct Galia, the daughter of Queen Amanoa, the city's ruler. As the moment arrived, Gobee's Beast Rider squads entered the city through a weak point in the wall, surprising the city-dwellers. While his men held the wall defenses, Gobee, Kira, and several Beast Warrior Commandos attacked the palace as the Jedi were being introduced to Amanoa and her court. While the Commandos engaged the Jedi, Gobee and Kira pursued the Queen, who fled with Galia under the protection of their Royal Guards. Armed with primitive knives and blaster pistols, Gobee and Kira quickly dispatched the guards as they caught up to the Queen and her daughter. Amanoa attempted to call upon the spirit of Freedon Nadd, an ancient Dark Lord of the Sith who had once ruled Onderon and whose dark power had dominated the planet for centuries. Dismissing her rants, Gobee stunned the Queen with his pistol, rendering her temporarily unconscious. Meanwhile, Kira took Princess Galia into custody, and the remaining Beast Warrior Commandos retreated with the Princess. Despite minor losses, the Beast Riders' raid on the Royal Palace was a complete success.

Although the attack on the palace appeared to be an isolated event to Amanoa and the Jedi, Gobee and the Beast Riders had planned the raid in advance. Galia had allowed Kira, her secret lover, to kidnap her, as they intended to marry secretly. Knowing that Amanoa would never permit her daughter to marry a Beast Rider, a descendant of exiled criminals from Iziz, the abduction was the only way to solidify their love without the Queen's interference. After the raid, Galia and the Beast Riders retreated to the forest stronghold of Fortress Kira, the home of the Beast Rider royal family, and prepared for the wedding. Commander Gobee could not attend the wedding ceremony because Kira tasked him with guarding the perimeter defenses of the forest citadel, in case Amanoa sent search-and-rescue parties after her daughter—a task he accepted reluctantly.

Assigned to perimeter duty, Gobee was paired with another Beast Rider to watch for any sign of an enemy attack. The second Beast Rider, hearing Gobee's complaints, reminded him that the Beast-Lord had entrusted them with a vital mission: protecting those gathered from Queen Amanoa's reach. At that moment, their sensors detected an approaching vessel, which Gobee identified as the Jedi's off-world ship. Without hesitation, the Commander fired a seeker-torpedo from the defense turret, scoring a direct hit on the Nebulon Ranger, forcing it to crash in the nearby jungle.

Despite their success in defending their territory, Gobee and his companion were unsure if their targets had perished in the crash. Armed with blaster rifles, they searched the area for survivors. Ironically, the dense jungle, usually providing cover, hindered their reconnaissance. Soon, the crashed Jedi found Gobee and his partner, using their Jedi mind tricks to extract the location of the "captured" Princess. Gobee revealed that Galia was being held in the Beast Riders' forest citadel and was about to marry Oron Kira. The astonished Jedi departed for the fortress, determined to prevent the wedding.

Upon reaching the hidden fortress, the Jedi found the wedding already underway, with Galia willingly marrying the Beast-Lord. As a gesture of peace, Ulic Qel-Droma, the Jedi leader, convinced the couple to present their union to Amanoa as a truce between their warring peoples. Oron's father, senior Beast-Lord Modon Kira, was wary of Qel-Droma's idea and prepared his armies for war if the Jedi's plan failed. Oron also ordered Gobee to ready his squads for a final battle with the armies of Iziz. Obeying his Beast-Lord, Gobee led his troops alongside thousands of others in the largest army of Beast Riders ever assembled. However, peace was not Amanoa's intention. She rejected the newlyweds' offer and denounced the Jedi, her daughter, and Oron Kira. In a shocking revelation, Amanoa declared her allegiance to the dark side spirit of Freedon Nadd and unleashed his dark influence against them. Overwhelmed by the dark side, the group attempted to escape but was blocked by Amanoa's forces inside the Royal Palace.

Meanwhile, outside Iziz's walls, Gobee prepared his troops for the impending battle, ensuring they were properly supplied and their war beasts were ready. Soon, Gobee received a comlink call from Kira, who informed him that the peace mission had failed and that the final battle was imminent. Concerned for Kira's safety, Gobee was reassured by the Beast-Lord, who ordered him to commence the counterattack. Without hesitation, Gobee led his troops against the city's northern wall, heavily fortified with defensive towers housing turbolasers and ion cannons. Despite suffering casualties from the ranged weapons, Gobee's flying wings of war beasts attacked from above, while he and his remaining forces scaled the walls, capturing several defensive towers. During this battle, Gobee personally eliminated the last enemy soldiers manning the city's wall defenses. After securing the northern wall, Gobee positioned himself near the Royal Palace, the origin of Kira's last transmission. Although the Beast Riders had overrun most of Amanoa's forces in the city streets, they suffered heavy losses at the heavily fortified palace. Gobee ordered Kurt, one of his flight leaders, to bring his flying squads around from the east to strafe the palace's rooftop resistance. Satisfied with the Beast Riders' progress, Gobee remained concerned about Oron Kira's location and status.

Engaged in battle against the city-dwellers, Gobee held his command position near the palace as Kurt's wings suppressed cannon fire from the palace roof. Soon, Kira, having escaped the palace, arrived to assist in the battle. Gobee assured him that everything was proceeding as planned and that they would soon triumph over the dark side. Together again, Gobee and Kira led their troops to subdue the palace.

During the fighting, Gobee captured Novar, Amanoa's royal adviser. Pleased with Gobee's capture, Kira began to interrogate the darksider, but Novar haughtily declared that their victory would be short-lived because the city-dwellers had the power of the dark side. At that moment, a deafening rumble of thunder sounded, and a palpable darkness spread across Onderon's skies. Gobee was immediately overcome with pain and fear, as was Kira. Novar gloated, explaining that Queen Amanoa had used Sith magic, taught by Freedon Nadd's spirit, to overwhelm the Beast Riders and ensure her victory. Reduced to hysteria, Gobee and Kira were at Novar's mercy as he prepared to kill them. Unnoticed, an off-world ship carrying Jedi Master Arca Jeth arrived, and he employed Jedi battle meditation to nullify Amanoa's power and secure victory for the Beast Riders. Amanoa was defeated when Jeth confronted her at the tomb of Freedon Nadd in the catacombs beneath the palace, where she perished in the face of Jeth's light. With the Jedi's help, the Beast Wars finally ended. Kira's marriage to Galia was consecrated under Republic law, and they were crowned King and Queen of Onderon, residing in the Royal Palace of Iziz. With the civil war over, peace was established worldwide, seemingly unhindered.

Although Arca Jeth, the Arkanian Jedi Master and Jedi Watchman of the Onderon system, defeated Freedon Nadd's power in Iziz, he and his Knights remained on Onderon for two years to ensure Nadd's influence was completely purged. After the battle, Jeth ordered the relocation of Amanoa's and Freedon Nadd's coffins to Dxun, Onderon's moon, where they would be kept in a new tomb made of Mandalorian iron. A funeral procession was held for the Queen, allowing Galia and others to pay their respects. Like Kira's wedding, Gobee could not attend Amanoa's funeral. Instead, the Jedi ordered him to explore the catacombs under the palace, where Nadd's remains were originally housed, to find lingering practitioners of Sith magic. Accompanied by another Beast Rider, he explored the dark hallows, joking about finding the ghosts of Freedon Nadd and King Ommin. They were suddenly confronted by Ommin himself, who had been presumed dead. Ommin revealed his army of darksiders to Gobee and his partner, who fled to warn Kira and the Jedi.

Gobee resurfaced as Master Jeth oversaw the final preparations for the removal of the Queen's and the Sith Lord's remains. He attempted to warn his comrades, but Ommin's forces were too quick. Before Kira and the Jedi understood Gobee's warning, a deafening explosion occurred as the ground split open, revealing an enormous war machine that released scores of Naddist soldiers led by Warb Null, an iron-clad Dark Jedi.

The Naddists attacked the procession, met head-on by Lord Kira, Gobee, and the Beast Riders. Meanwhile, the armored darksider engaged the Jedi in lightsaber combat as his soldiers confiscated Nadd's and Amanoa's coffins. They succeeded, loading the sarcophagi onto their war machine before retreating to their underground stronghold. Master Jeth, attacked through the Force by an unknown source, recognized the skirmish as a distraction. The darksiders' true mission was to reclaim Amanoa's and Freedon Nadd's remains. To their dismay, Jedi Tott Doneeta learned that another faction of Ommin's dark side army was rapidly approaching. Galia told Master Jeth that her father, King Ommin, might help them recover the stolen coffins. Jeth, Ulic Qel-Droma, and the Princess entered the tunnel created by the groundborer, seeking Ommin and Freedon Nadd's sarcophagus. Gobee, the Beast Riders, and the remaining Jedi stayed behind, preparing to battle the darksiders again, unwilling to lose the peace that had taken over four centuries to achieve.

After Jeth's departure, the Naddists attacked the city, gaining the upper hand, capturing the city, and driving the Beast Riders back to Fortress Kira. On the second day of fighting, Ulic Qel-Droma, having escaped the tunnels under the palace, contacted his allies. They learned that Master Jeth had been captured by Ommin and that he and Galia had escaped Ommin's underground lair with more of Ommin's forces in pursuit. Qel-Droma sent a distress call to the Galactic Republic, which responded by sending the Galactic Republic Navy and Jedi Knights. Facing superior numbers and strength, Ommin's forces were defeated by the Republic, and Ommin perished after the Jedi rescued their imprisoned Master. After the battle, the remains of Freedon Nadd, Ommin, and Amanoa were sealed away on Dxun. With the threat of Nadd's dark side power truly thwarted, Gobee and his kin began relief efforts to restore peace to Onderon.

Gobee was an extremely loyal soldier and friend, demonstrated by his devotion to Beast-Lord Oron Kira. As Kira's confidant, Gobee showed his loyalty by fighting alongside him. When separated during battle, Gobee refused to retreat until Kira was accounted for. In battle, Gobee made quick decisions that affected the outcome, such as ordering Flight Leader Kurt to eliminate the rooftop resistance during the Battle of Iziz. He also secured the location of Kira's last transmission near the Royal Palace, maintaining that position until Kira arrived. Gobee had a sense of humor, often making light of dangerous missions.

As a commander in Kira's Beast Rider army, Gobee was an intense and capable leader. He often barked out commands, sometimes met with grumbling. However, Gobee was always in the midst of battle, displaying valor and leading by example, as when he dismounted his war-beast to lead the Beast-Rider charge from the streets of Iziz. Because of this, his men respected him and followed his orders unquestioningly. His dedication to duty was further realized when he was ordered to forgo his friend's wedding for security detail.

Adept at controlling and riding the native drexls of Onderon, a common trait among Beast Riders, Commander Gobee demonstrated this skill during the Battle of Iziz and the subsequent conflicts for Onderon's control. He also showed skill with a variety of close-quarters weapons, such as daggers, which he frequently carried alongside his signature blaster. Gobee also displayed proficiency with ranged weaponry, notably blaster pistols, which he employed alongside his personal knives to subdue Queen Amanoa's Royal Protectors during Princess Galia's capture. The use of heavy blasters while piloting his warbeast was another facet of Gobee's combat abilities, a typical skill for those in his profession. His prowess in unarmed combat was also evident, particularly during his mission as a Beast Warrior Commando in a raid targeting the Royal Palace of Iziz. Furthermore, Gobee was competent in operating heavy equipment, including the torpedo batteries positioned around Fortress Kira. He also received training in reconnaissance missions, which he put to use when he scoured the area around Fortress Kira in search of the Jedi Knights whose ship he had downed, and again, when he and a fellow Beast Rider investigated the tunnels beneath Iziz for practitioners of Sith magic.

Regarding the Force, Gobee possessed limited abilities. Although he lacked Force-sensitivity, he could still perceive the effects of the Force when directed against him. On one occasion, he was deceived by Ulic Qel-Droma's Jedi mind tricks, and when Amanoa unleashed the full power of the dark side during the battle for Iziz, Gobee was immediately overwhelmed by its oppressive influence.

The voice of Gobee was provided by John Randolph Jones, who made his first named appearance in the Tales of the Jedi audio drama, penned by John Whitman and based on a story conceived by author Tom Veitch. However, Gobee's initial appearance in printed form (though unnamed) occurred in the Tales of the Jedi comic series, also authored by Veitch. The audio drama's scenes featuring Gobee directly correspond to the character depicted in the images, including dialogue, suggesting they are the same individual. He plays a supporting role to Oron Kira, injecting moments of humor into the narrative. While Gobee doesn't make a visual appearance in the Freedon Nadd Uprising comic, he does feature in the audio adaptation.

Discrepancies exist between Gobee's narrative in the audio drama and the established events of the Tales of the Jedi comic series. For example, in the audio version, during the Jedi's search for Fortress Kira, Gobee and another Beast Rider are confronted by Jedi Knights who use the Force to manipulate Gobee into revealing Galia's location. Conversely, in the comic, the Jedi obtain this information by taming wild boma beasts, who disclose that Galia is being held at Fortress Kira.

Furthermore, in the audio drama, Whitman utilized Gobee as the character to reveal the rumored existence of King Ommin, another of Veitch's characters that had only been referenced in the audio drama until that point—Ommin was further fleshed out in the subsequent story arc, The Freedon Nadd Uprising. This contrasts with the comic version of The Freedon Nadd Uprising, where Galia instead reveals her father's existence to Arca Jeth.