"Imprint" is a brief, seven-page tale penned by Christie Golden. It serves as a prequel, set a few years prior to, and connected with, the Fate of the Jedi saga. This short story, featuring cover art by Ian Keltie, was a perk included within the 2009 Star Wars Hyperspace member package. "Imprint" recounts the narrative of how Sith Tyro Vestara Khai acquires Tikk, the uvak that serves as her mode of transport in Omen, the second book within the Fate of the Jedi series.
Christie Golden, the author of OMEN, crafted an exclusive short story for Hyperspace members that precedes the Fate of the Jedi storyline and showcases a forgotten Sith tribe. This concise, seven-page story is a Hyperspace member exclusive!
In the year 37.5 ABY, Vestara Khai, a ten-year-old Sith Tyro, accompanies her father, Sith Saber Gavar Khai, to Presentation. This festival takes place in Tahv, the capital city located on the planet of Kesh. A key event is a competition among the offspring of the Lost Tribe of Sith, marooned on the planet five thousand years in the past, for the ownership of a baby uvak. These winged reptilian creatures, once fully grown, serve as transportation. Vestara, attending Presentation for this very purpose, takes her place within the enclosure where the contest will unfold. Approximately fifteen minutes after the scheduled start, an incubation droid enters the arena, depositing a dozen uvak eggs in the center before departing.
The children, Vestara included, immediately start using the dark side of the Force to impose their will on the hatching uvaks. The objective is to make a uvak "imprint" on them, thereby claiming ownership. Vestara selects an egg and concentrates as the uvak inside hatches. She quickly names it Tikk due to the clicking sounds emanating from its beak. However, Ahri Raas, another youth from the Keshiri, also chooses the same uvak, leading to a mental struggle between them. Raas starts inflicting pain on Tikk through the Force, provoking Vestara's anger. She looks at Raas, pleading with him to cease harming the infant uvak. Startled, the Keshiri boy loses his hold on Tikk, who then imprints on Vestara. She cradles Tikk in her arms, and the hungry uvak nips at her ear. Gavar, watching from the audience, applauds his daughter's success.
"Imprint" functions as a tie-in to the Fate of the Jedi series of novels, presented as a brief, seven-page story. Set four years before the events on Kesh depicted in Omen—the second novel in the Fate of the Jedi series—the story illustrates how Vestara Khai comes to possess the uvak seen alongside her in that novel.
The story was exclusively distributed as part of the 2009 Star Wars Hyperspace fan club kit, which began its shipment to members on July 17, 2009. Christie Golden, the author of Omen, wrote the story, and Ian Keltie created the cover illustration, which features Vestara Khai. The booklet also featured a Hyperspace welcome message from Lucas Licensing Ltd. Executive Editor Sue Rostoni, along with a welcome note from Bantha Tracks editor Mary Franklin.
Golden's Omen marked the initial introduction of Khai, Raas, and Tikk. Khai evolved into a central character in the Fate of the Jedi series, while Raas met his end in Abyss, the subsequent book in the series. Tikk, whose birth was detailed in "Imprint," initially appeared in Omen as Khai's mode of transport, before his demise in Ascension, the series' penultimate novel.