Lowbacca

Born to Kallabow and Mahraccor, Lowbacca, a Wookiee, had a notable lineage; his mother, Kallabow, was the sister of the celebrated Rebel hero, Chewbacca. During his formative years, Lowbacca cultivated two significant interests: the realm of computer science and the exploration of Kashyyyk's intricate plant ecosystems. Driven by the latter, he ventured alone into the perilous depths of his home planet's forests as part of his rite of passage into adulthood, where he faced the dangerous syren plant.

As a Wookiee, Lowbacca's presence among the Jedi was exceptional, given the rarity of Force-sensitives within the Wookiee population, with such individuals emerging only once per century, approximately.

At the age of nineteen, in 23 ABY, Lowbacca embarked on his studies at Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum. Given the limited fluency in Shyriiwook, the Wookiee trade language, among those he interacted with, he employed a compact translator droid named Em Teedee, which he carried on his person. Later, in 24 ABY, this droid was modified to hover and accompany him in flight. He forged friendships with Jaina Solo, Jacen Solo, and Tenel Ka. He appreciated Jacen's sense of humor, which contributed to their bond. Lowbacca's unique combination of computer expertise, biological knowledge, and a penchant for tackling seemingly impossible tasks would establish him as a valuable asset to the Jedi.

Unknowingly, Lowbacca initiated a series of events when he discovered what was later identified as a derelict TIE Fighter within the jungles of Yavin 4. Motivated by a degree of envy towards Lowbacca's T-23 skyhopper, his new friend Jaina Solo sought to repair the TIE Fighter. With assistance from Lowbacca, Jacen Solo, and Tenel Ka, she succeeded, unaware that their efforts were being observed by the TIE Fighter's pilot, Qorl. Eventually, Qorl revealed himself and took the Solo twins as hostages, compelling them to repair the fighter for him.

Lowbacca fled to his skyhopper and returned, attempting to intimidate Qorl into retreat. However, Qorl called his bluff, inflicting critical damage on the airspeeder, forcing Lowbacca to abandon it in the jungle. Lowbacca traversed the jungle on foot towards the Praxeum, losing Em Teedee in the process. Upon arrival, he faced communication barriers. Recalling that his uncle and Han Solo were within communicator range, delivering supplies to Lando Calrissian's GemDiver Station, he contacted them. Solo relayed the situation to Tionne Solusar, leading to a rescue mission that successfully recovered the twins.

Shortly thereafter, Lowbacca, along with his friends Jacen and Jaina, and Em Teedee, were abducted during a field trip to GemDiver Station. The small droid was separated from him, and they were taken to the Shadow Academy. There, Nightsister Tamith Kai attempted to exploit his anger to sway him to the dark side, resorting to reprogramming Em Teedee to disseminate pro-Imperial propaganda and subjecting him to severe torture.

Lowbacca succumbed to his anger on two occasions: first, when Brakiss attacked Jaina with Force lightning, and again when he destroyed a screeching sonic generator. Nonetheless, Lowbacca resisted indoctrination. When Jacen freed himself using a Corusca gem acquired during their field trip, Lowbacca leveraged his programming skills to aid his friends in an escape attempt aboard the station, coinciding with the arrival of Luke and Tenel Ka for their rescue.

Subsequently, Lowbacca journeyed to Kashyyyk with Jacen, Jaina, and Tenel Ka in response to his sister, Sirrakuk's, coming of age and her venture into the underlevels of Kashyyyk to harvest strands of the deadly syren plant. Lowbacca had undertaken this task alone under unwise counsel, and Sirrakuk sought to emulate him, as did her best friend and Lowbacca's admirer, Raabakyysh. However, when Raaba attempted this, she vanished and was presumed dead.

Shortly after their arrival, the Second Imperium, led by Zekk, launched a raid on a factory to procure computer supplies for their new fleet. The two factions clashed, resulting in the death of the Nightsister Garowyn and their descent into the underlevels of the Kashyyyk forest. There, Lowbacca and his companions confronted Vonnda Ra and eleven stormtroopers. Soon after, they encountered a syren plant, where Nightsister Vonnda Ra and Sirrakuk were consumed by the carnivorous plant. Vonnda Ra was devoured, while Sirrakuk extracted strands of the plant and was subsequently rescued by Lowbacca.

In the Third Battle of Yavin, Tenel Ka and Lowie sabotaged the floating battle platform commanded by Tamith Kai, causing it to crash into a river and resulting in the Nightsister's death. Suddenly, a bomb exploded, causing extensive damage to the Jedi Praxeum, although no one sustained serious injuries. With the battle's conclusion, the Second Imperium was defeated.

On one occasion, Lowbacca was manipulated into joining the Diversity Alliance, an anti-Human terrorist organization, by Raaba, a fellow Wookiee presumed dead on Kashyyyk. However, upon discovering the Diversity Alliance's true objectives, Lowbacca turned against them and rejoined his fellow Jedi Knights. He later assisted Zekk, Bornan Thul, Tenel Ka, and the Solos in destroying the Emperor's Plague.

During the Solos' visit to Ord Mantell, Lowie, M-TD, Zekk, and Tenel Ka secretly boarded the Rock Dragon for the Blockade Runners Derby. Utilizing their collective Force abilities, they emerged victorious. Their training at Luke's Jedi Praxeum sparked controversy, but as the ship had not been specifically modified for the derby, as was common practice among participants, the matter was eventually dropped.

Later, in a docking bay, chameleon creatures loyal to the Black Sun were pilfering the space mines they had discovered. Lowie, the Solos, Zekk, and Tenel Ka intervened, resulting in the deaths of several chameleon creatures. Anja Gallandro arrived and eliminated another escaping chameleon, but the remaining creatures absconded with the mines.

Upon Han Solo's arrival, Anja accused him of murdering her father, which Han denied, though his children remained uncertain. Anja persuaded them to accompany her to Anobis, aboard the Millennium Falcon, with the ulterior motive of orchestrating Han's demise in the war. They landed near Yuos's village, where they were attacked by Knaars. After Jacen employed a mind trick to deter the Knaars, Tenel Ka, Jacen, and Lowie ventured into the woods to rendezvous with the Falcon. Upon arrival, they were apprehended by Elis.

Anja then returned to Yons's village with Elis's brother, Protas, to destroy it. However, one of the mines Protas planted detonated, killing him. Upon learning of this, Elis became more amenable to negotiations, ultimately leading to Lowie and the Solos' freedom and the cessation of Anobis's 25-year conflict.

Anja accompanied them back to Yavin 4, isolating herself from everyone except Zekk and Jacen. Weeks later, Lando invited them to visit Cloud City to experience the SkyCenter Galleria amusement park he and Cojahn were developing. Upon arrival, they learned of Cojahn's murder, perpetrated by the Black Sun.

Despite the grim news, Lando proceeded with the tour as promised. Due to a shortage of spice, Anja informed Czethros that Cojahn's death was under investigation. In the simulated swamp environment, they discovered the mysterious disappearance of the Modal Nodes, prompting Lando, Zekk, and Jaina to travel to Clak'dor VII and uncover Black Sun's influence on Cloud City.

While Lowie was in the snow environment, he spotted an Ugnaught spying on them. They followed the Ugnaught down a tunnel leading to an open room, where seven Black Sun mercenaries with images of them revealed themselves. Lowie fled down another hallway. The Ugnaught launched them down a garbage chute. Lowie managed to grab an antenna and Tenel Ka, but Jacen was less fortunate and fell through the clouds.

The Lady Luck arrived with a rescued Jacen. Based on information Jacen gleaned from his rescuer, M'kim, and Lando obtained from the Modal Nodes, they established a link between Cojahn's death and the Black Sun. Lowie reviewed the holo recordings and discovered numerous deletions, but also found evidence that Czethros was on Cloud City and had personally killed Cojahn.

When Lowie, Jacen, and Tenel Ka arrived at the address for the debriefing on the Black Sun, they were ambushed by the Bespin Wing Guard and Black Sun mercenaries. Lowie commandeered a cloud car and took off. One mercenary and one wing guard pursued Lowie. Just as Lowie's engine was failing, seven thrantas and their Riders intervened, knocking Lowie's pursuers out of their vehicle and capturing them. Lowie then landed on Cloud City.

Lowie later reunited with his fellow Jedi Knights, who had experienced similar encounters, and returned to Yavin 4. Subsequently, Anja, in need of spice, stole the Lightning Rod and flew it to the spice mines of Kessel. They received a lead from Lilmit, prompting Tenel Ka, Jacen, and Zekk to travel to Dac, while Lowie and Jaina remained on Kessel.

While on Kessel, an army of Black Sun mercenaries seized control of the planet and captured Nien Nunb, although Jaina and Lowbacca managed to escape. They discovered that Czethros planned to send a signal from Kessel that would activate Black Sun spies worldwide. However, Jaina, Lowie, and M-TD thwarted his plan by destroying the transmitter before Czethros could send the signal. Lowie also assisted in freeing the prisoners and defeating the Black Sun mercenaries. Czethros fell into a vat of carbonite and was flash-frozen, after which the New Republic apprehended him. Consequently, the identities of Black Sun spies in strategic positions of power were revealed, leading to the Black Sun's downfall.

Following this ordeal, the Solo Twins, Anakin, Tenel Ka, Lowbacca, and Zekk were promoted to apprentice Jedi Knights during a ceremony at the Jedi Praxeum.

Upon Chewbacca's death at the onset of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Lowbacca attended his funeral on Kashyyyk. Subsequently, he and Chewbacca's son, Lumpawaroo, pledged to assume his life debt to Han Solo following Chewbacca's funeral, but Han insisted that he was still grieving. Instead, Luke assigned him to accompany Jedi Knight Daye Azur-Jamin and his wife Tinian I'att, a Wookiee-trained bounty hunter, as scouts in Hutt Space.

When Daye was captured on Nal Hutta and the Yuuzhan Vong tightened their grip on Hutt territory, Lowie and Tinian were forced to flee back into New Republic territory, returning to his home planet of Kashyyyk.

Early in the War he returned to Yavin 4, and trained with Finn Galfridian. He then went with Finn and the Solo's to Nar Shaddaa to retrieve a holocron.

Unable to fulfill the debt to Han himself, Lowbacca subsequently stuck close to the Solo children, particularly Jaina. He took part in the Myrkr strike team's assault on the voxyn cloning facility onboard the worldship Baanu Rass, and subsequently served as Jaina's first mate aboard Trickster. He later became a member of Twin Suns Squadron under Jaina's command, where he earned the nickname Streak. At the Battle of Ebaq, Lowbacca was stabbed by the Yuuzhan Vong Warmaster Tsavong Lah, but the wound was not fatal. By the end of the war, Lowbacca was commanding a squadron of his own, and he later bonded with a seedship on Zonama Sekot which he flew during the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar. After the war, Lowbacca told Han he and Waroo were assuming Chewbacca's life debt.

In the years after the war, the Jedi went to great lengths to help the Galactic Alliance recover. Lowbacca worked with Jaina and Tesar Sebatyne on at least one occasion in helping to foil criminal warlords eager to profit from the war's fallout. In 35 ABY, after the three boarded the starship Night Lady and took down the Yaka pirate Redstar, they attended his trial on the maximum security space station MaxSec Eight. While Jaina was testifying, the received a Force-cry from their old friend Raynar Thul. Along with most of the other survivors of the Myrkr mission, Lowbacca followed it into the Unknown Regions and discovered that Thul was now Unuthul, the leader of a colony of Killiks.

Lowbacca was one of several Jedi who became Joiners and were absorbed into the Killik hive mind. He fought for the insectoid species during their conflict with the Chiss, and was captured by Chiss forces. He was released by Jagged Fel after the signing of the Qoribu Truce, but the move ended up forcing Fel's entire family into exile from the Chiss Ascendancy. After the truce, Lowie and Tesar hunted pirates who were hijacking abaarian water shipments.

In 36 ABY, the Killik-Chiss conflict was reignited by the machinations of Jacen Solo and erupted into an all-out Swarm War. During the war, Lowbacca, Tesar, and Tahiri Veila had endangered the security of the Jedi Order by telling Aryn Dro Thul, Raynar Thul's mother, that the Jedi were planning to kill her son. Grand Master Luke Skywalker found out and ordered the three to meditate on Dagobah for the remainder of the war.

In 40 ABY, tensions rose between the Galactic Alliance and the Five Worlds government of the Corellian system. While Corellia was under blockade, Lowbacca and Tesar operated under the command of Alliance Admiral Nek Bwua'tu. Bwua'tu had Jaina and Zekk monitoring secret Corellian shipyards in the Kiris Asteroid Cluster, but when the two were relieved of their posts and sent to the Hapes Cluster, Lowbacca and Tesar took over.

The Jedi departed the Alliance after it fell under the despotic rule of Jacen Solo, now the Sith Lord Darth Caedus. Lowbacca was one of many Jedi who fought against Caedus during the Battle of Kashyyyk, and led a Jedi charge against Caedus's flagship, the Anakin Solo. Caedus attempted to Force meld with Lowbacca in order to sense where the other Jedi Knights were. Lowbacca tried to mentally reason with Caedus while simultaneously launching a shadow bomb at the bridge of the Star Destroyer; the bomb hit, but a distraction caused by Ben Skywalker saved Caedus' life.

Lowbacca's home planet joined a Jedi Coalition directed against Caedus in the battle's aftermath. In 41 ABY, Lowbacca went on to participate in some of the final battles of the Second Galactic Civil War, which ended after Caedus was slain in lightsaber combat by his own twin sister, Jaina.

In 44 ABY, Jaina and Lando Calrissian returned to the Jedi's home base on Coruscant after an encounter with the recently-discovered Lost Tribe of Sith. Lowbacca was presented with a modified MSE-series droid that had been placed aboard Calrissian's Rockhound by Sith pirates in an effort to determine the programming style and hopefully learn the location of the Sith base.

The Jedi Order prepared to launch its StealthX wing from Coruscant to assist Luke Skywalker in his battle with the Lost Tribe. Lowbacca was one of several veteran Jedi pilots who helped command the fighter wing. After launching, the wing arrived at Pydyr and did battle with Sith forces, who soon after escaped.

Lowbacca possessed a serious demeanor in combat, thriving amidst the intensity of battle. His sense of humor was subtle and reserved for appropriate moments. Among his closest companions, Lowbacca found particular enjoyment in Jacen Solo's company, drawn to his comedic nature. Their bond fractured irrevocably when Jacen embraced the mantle of Darth Caedus and inflicted devastation upon Kashyyyk, Lowbacca's native planet, compelling the Wookiee Jedi to confront his former ally until Caedus met his end.

Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta conceived Lowbacca, who then played a significant role as a central character in their series of fourteen young adult novels, Young Jedi Knights, which were available from 1995 to 1998. Subsequently, he was included in several books from the The New Jedi Order novel series, which spanned from 1999 to 2003. Furthermore, a younger version of Lowbacca makes an appearance in the 1998 novel, Rebel Dawn.

Following the publication of Star Wars: The Dark Nest Trilogy, George Lucas decreed a moratorium on the creation of new Wookiee Jedi within the Expanded Universe. Lowbacca's exile to Dagobah occurred in The Swarm War, the trilogy's concluding installment, but author Troy Denning clarified that this banishment was not intended to be permanent. In response to inquiries regarding Lowbacca's abrupt absence, Sue Rostoni, the Executive Editor of Lucas Licensing, explained that he was occupied with unspecified 'Jedi things.' He has since reappeared in a number of novels.