Jaum

During the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, the criminal known as Jaum held sway over the planet of Andelm IV. He maintained his control by bribing the world's council, ensuring they turned a blind eye to his illicit activities. Initially, he offered financial services to the planet's residents, but following the Battle of Yavin, he altered his repayment terms, making it impossible for his clients to settle their debts. He attributed these changes to the declining value of the Imperial credit. Consequently, he coerced those unable to repay into laboring in his Andelm beetle caverns, where they were compelled to extract the mineral dedlanite from Andelm beetles. Jaum intended to sell this dedlanite to the Empire, contacting them with assurances of substantial quantities of superior-quality product.

Accompanied by Tyvak, his Shistavanen bodyguard, Jaum personally visited Arrax, a debtor, and his daughter Zarro, informing them of their obligation to work in the caverns. However, after several days of labor, Zarro made her escape, absconding with one of Jaum's speeders. She later attempted to exchange the vehicle with a Besalisk junk dealer who recognized it as Jaum's property and alerted the gangster. Jaum expressed little concern for the speeder itself but demanded Zarro's capture and return. When the junk dealer failed to detain the fugitive, Jaum dispatched Tyvak and several of his henchmen to search the area where Zarro had been spotted. After Tyvak's unsuccessful return, he and Jaum traveled a considerable distance from Andelm IV's spaceport to meet with representatives of the Galactic Empire, as both parties sought to avoid public association. Jaum provided the Imperials with dedlanite samples, which they took for testing, instructing him to await their contact.

The following day, Zarro was apprehended attempting to re-enter the caverns and was brought before Jaum, who ordered her return to work. Arrax then pleaded with Jaum to spare Zarro's life, but the gangster revealed that he had no intention of killing her, as she and the other workers would be sold along with the caverns to the Empire. Jaum anticipated that they would be replaced by droids and relocated to work elsewhere within the Empire. This revelation prompted another worker to attempt to attack Jaum with a spade, but the gangster fatally shot the worker with a blaster pistol before he could strike.

The remaining workers fled into the mines, pursued by Jaum's men, but were ambushed by Chewbacca, the Wookiee who had befriended Zarro during her brief period of freedom. One of the thugs managed to escape the fight and informed Jaum of the attack. Jaum, suspecting the man was under the influence of spice, shot him. He then prepared for Chewbacca's emergence from the mines by instructing Tyvak to place several containers of explosive beetle larvae around the mine entrance, although the bodyguard used a larger quantity than Jaum had authorized. As soon as Chewbacca appeared, Tyvak detonated the containers, causing a massive explosion that collapsed the cave entrance.

Assuming that his workforce and Chewbacca had perished, Jaum departed the caverns in a speeder with Tyvak, explaining to his bodyguard that once the Empire became his partner, they could easily replace the lost workers with prisoners. The pair then sought refuge in a cantina, where the gangster socialized with two Devaronian women. However, his relaxation was interrupted when his men brought before him the worker he had previously shot. The worker revealed that the workforce and Chewbacca had survived the blast. In response, Jaum disconnected one of the tubes connected to his helmet and used it to release gas into the worker's face, causing him excruciating pain and leaving him writhing on the floor. Disregarding the worker's suffering, Jaum instructed Tyvak to gather his men in his hangar bay while he contacted the Empire via a deep-space transmission. He reached Imperial Commander Kai, who expressed displeasure at Jaum's contact but agreed to dispatch Imperial reinforcements as an investment in the mine.

Kai subsequently traveled aboard an Imperial-class Star Destroyer to the star system where Andelm IV was located and deployed an All Terrain Scout Transport with a contingent of scout troopers and stormtroopers to secure Andelm IV's spaceport and meet with Jaum in his hangar bay. Disguised as mercenaries, Chewbacca and Zarro managed to deceive their way into the hangar and immediately encountered Jaum and the Imperials. They claimed they had been hired to provide security for the hangar, and Jaum assumed the Empire had employed them. However, when the stormtroopers present knew nothing of the arrangement, Jaum ordered Zarro to remove her helmet.

To prevent their identities from being revealed, Chewbacca opened fire on the Imperials, killing several and causing Jaum to flee. During the distraction, Zarro dispatched the R5 repair droid "Boomer", which she had loaded with explosives, to board the Sentinel-class landing craft intended for Jaum, planning to detonate the droid once it was aboard Kai's Star Destroyer. Before the astromech droid could fully board, it was shot and immobilized halfway up the starship's ramp. Jaum then ordered the shuttle to take off, as he had finished loading it with dedlanite, but Tyvak refused, insisting they eliminate Chewbacca first to prevent him from pursuing them. The bodyguard attacked the Wookiee but was swiftly defeated after Chewbacca positioned him in front of the shuttle's engines, which activated and set Tyvak ablaze. While Jaum attempted to negotiate with the Wookiee, Zarro managed to reactivate Boomer, allowing it to board the shuttle, which then took off after Jaum boarded.

Jaum subsequently traveled to Kai's Star Destroyer, where he received an initial payment from the Imperials and began preparing to depart. Upon entering one of the Destroyer's landing bays to inform Kai of his departure, he discovered the commander conversing with Zarro and Chewbacca, who had been captured by Imperial scout troopers but had freed themselves after being brought aboard the Star Destroyer. Zarro had convinced Kai that Jaum was a Rebel spy and that his shuttle was rigged to explode, a claim supported when Boomer detonated, destroying the shuttle and landing bay and breaching the force field separating it from space. Kai, Jaum, and a stormtrooper managed to reach safety in a turbolift, while Chewbacca and Zarro escaped in a TIE/sa bomber.

Jaum was then confined to a cell, where he unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Kai that Zarro and Chewbacca were the true Rebels. When the gangster requested a return to the surface to provide proof, Kai refused, fearing another ambush. He then introduced an IT-O Interrogation Unit, informing Jaum that it would torture him for weeks while the Star Destroyer traveled without a functioning hyperdrive toward the nearest Imperial base.

Jaum possessed green skin and orange eyes. While on Andelm IV, a planet with an atmosphere breathable to humans, Jaum wore a sealed helmet filled with gas that caused humans pain upon contact. When one of his own men reported that Chewbacca was attacking, Jaum killed him, blaming himself for the guard's incompetence in hiring spice addicts. He considered Tyvak a friend and became enraged when Chewbacca set him on fire, but then immediately offered to pay Chewbacca the bodyguard's share if he ceased his attack.

Jaum made his debut as the primary antagonist in the comic book mini-series Star Wars: Chewbacca, authored by Gerry Duggan, illustrated by Phil Noto, and released in 2015. He was featured in all five issues of the series, none of which identified his species.