Ozrei N'takkilomandrife

Ozrei N'takkilomandrife, a Nagai male, entered the world in the Unknown Regions, the offspring born to Krai H'voc, a renowned Nagai scout. Ozrei steadily progressed through the Nagai military hierarchy, eventually achieving the rank of commander. He garnered recognition for his unwavering loyalty and effectiveness, attributes he employed during the Nagai's conflict against their perennial foes, the Tof. Prior to Ozrei's birth, during the zenith of the Galactic Empire's dominion over the galaxy, his mother, Krai, distinguished herself as the first Nagai to explore Imperial territory, residing on Corellia for a period. Krai perceived the galaxy as vulnerable to conquest, given its involvement in a protracted civil war. Upon acquiring comprehensive knowledge of the galaxy and its inhabitants, Krai departed Corellia and returned to her species, advising them to defer their attack until the conclusion of the war, targeting the weakened victor.

During Krai's sojourn on Corellia, she bore a half-breed son named Bey and abandoned him following her return to the Nagai. Subsequent to Ozrei's birth and his subsequent ascent within the Nagai military, Bey eventually located his estranged mother in the Unknown Regions, encountering her other family, including Ozrei. Upon learning of his half-brother, Ozrei extended a warm welcome, integrating him into the family. Concurrently, news of the Galactic Civil War's resolution reached the Nagai populace. The time for their invasion had finally arrived. Ozrei was dispatched as an advance scout to infiltrate the new territory and establish a slave trade to destabilize the nascent government, the Alliance of Free Planets. Bey, Ozrei's newfound brother, was also deployed to act as a spy in anticipation of the impending arrival of the Nagai fleet.

Commander N'takkilomandrife was assigned to the planet Kashyyyk, where he swiftly cultivated relationships with several Wookiees driven by financial desperation. Due to the Wookiee's unique tongue, they found Ozrei's name unpronounceable, opting to call him "Knife" in Shyriiwook, referencing his proficiency with his Tehk'la blades. Knife established a slavery operation with himself at the helm and the Wookiee Vargi as a key partner, aiming to revive the trade that had flourished under the Galactic Empire. Vargi, the brother of Mallatobuck, who was married to Chewbacca, a celebrated hero of the Rebel Alliance, informed Knife of Chewbacca's significance to the new galactic government. Knife subsequently devised a plan to ransom Chewbacca's family and capture the formidable Wookiee, believing that it would significantly undermine local resistance to the burgeoning slave trade.

However, immediately after Knife had abducted Chewbacca's wife and his young son, Lumpawarrump, he received notification that the Wookiee had just arrived on the world aboard the starship Cobra with Alliance Generals Lando Calrissian and Han Solo. Knife, accompanied by Vargi, met the companions at the spaceport, requesting that they accompany them back to Chewbacca's home for refreshments. Upon their arrival, Chewbacca immediately grew suspicious, noticing the absence of his family. After the group entered the residence, Wookiees under Knife's command entered, brandishing weapons and presenting Chewbacca's family as captives. Knife informed the group of his intention to sell them into slavery and led Chewbacca into the city to parade his captive.

Regrettably for Knife's plan, Solo and Calrissian managed to evade their captors and instigated a riot. Chewbacca personally defeated Vargi in one-on-one combat, and the Wookiees revolted against Knife's loyal allies. Assessing the situation, Knife opted to minimize his losses and swiftly retreated from the area. Knife located Calrissian's ship, the Cobra, with its defense systems deactivated, commandeered it, and hastened back to the Nagai.

Despite having temporarily escaped a precarious situation, Knife remained on the move. On Saijo, Knife employed a rebel named Durne to instigate a conflict between two Rebel factions in the Cantros system. Durne proved highly effective, and the two sides, each believing the other was collaborating with the Empire, gradually eliminated each other. The catastrophe was only averted when the Rebel heroes Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Luke Skywalker exposed the deception.

With several bases now established, the Nagai invasion intensified. Knife was placed in command of a task force of commandos tasked with attacking a diplomatic conference on Kabray and capturing several prominent Alliance leaders. Knife and his team swiftly took several Alliance members captive, including Solo and Organa, who were present at the meeting. Knife confined the leaders in a secure cell pending their transportation back to his commanders. However, upon entering the cell, Knife was attacked by Jahn, a Zeltron teenager employed by Organa. Jahn rendered Knife unconscious, and a skirmish erupted between the prisoners and Knife's men, resulting in an Alliance victory.

Following the attack, Knife and his team were taken into custody. Zeltron teenagers who had participated in the skirmish escorted the group back to a ship for transportation to a holding facility at the Alliance base on the [Forest](/article/forest-legends] Moon of Endor. As a prisoner on Endor, Knife underwent brain scanning by telepathic Hoojibs. The Hoojib operatives, led by Plif, uncovered information indicating that the Nagai fleet was poised to launch an attack on the Endor base. The Alliance attempted to evacuate the forest moon, but they were too late, and a climactic battle ensued.

Meanwhile, Knife's half-brother Bey had been covertly relaying the Alliance's battle plans to the Nagai leadership. Bey facilitated a clandestine landing on Endor by a group of Nagai, who promptly liberated Knife and his men from their captivity. Knife assumed command of the group, alongside an attack force of Maccabree warriors, and prepared to obliterate the Alliance's base while the majority of their forces were engaged in space against the Nagai fleet. Knife instructed Lieutenant Hol B'shaki to initiate the attack while he sought to reunite with Bey.

However, Knife discovered Bey engaged in combat with Han Solo, who had uncovered Bey's collaboration with the Nagai. Bey's martial prowess and imposing presence eventually disarmed Solo, leaving him prone on the forest floor. However, Bey hesitated to execute Solo, displaying mercy, an atypical Nagai trait. Observing that Bey was about to contravene the strict Nagai code of honor, Knife intervened, preparing to kill Solo himself. Unfortunately for Knife, Bey could not permit his brother to kill Solo and lunged toward him just as he was about to fire. Knife lost his balance and inadvertently turned his blaster on Bey.

Knife denounced Bey as a traitor, but before he could pull the trigger, he sustained a blaster shot to the torso. As Knife clutched his mortal wound, Solo advanced on the Nagai, having halted him in his tracks. However, Bey rushed to Knife's side and threatened to shoot Solo if he did not depart the scene. Solo left to return to the Endor base and assist in repelling the Nagai offensive while Bey tended to Knife's wound. Bey managed to transport his half-brother back to the Nagai fleet, but after Solo exposed the Nagai's plans to Alliance command, the battle was lost, and the Nagai retreated.

Knife sustained a severe injury from the blaster wound and was temporarily removed from active duty. Consequently, he was absent from the Battle of Iskalon, instead recuperating aboard a Nagai cruiser. Upon his recovery, Knife interrogated captured Alliance soldiers, subjecting them to torture with his knives.

Knife's return coincided with the news that the Nagai's old adversaries, the Tof, had finally tracked them to their new location. Knife received reports of the Tof's slaughter of Nagai forces at the Battle of Trenwyth and posthumously commended all the soldiers who perished in the battle. However, the reports of every soldier being killed were premature, and it appeared that one Nagai pilot had survived. Wing Commander Taikotelai Akikoma reported to Knife's ship to deliver his report on the battle. However, Tai revealed that he had only survived by receiving assistance from Alliance operatives. Knife condemned this action, asserting that accepting mercy was equivalent to showing it and constituted a violation of the Nagai code of honor. Knife hurled one of his Tehk'la blades deep into Tai's chest, killing him and imparting a stark lesson to his subordinates.

Although Knife's subordinate, Lieutenant Den Siva, was appalled by the action, Knife remained unmoved and ordered Siva to commence the planned invasion of Zeltros immediately. Ultimately, the invasion faltered, with the Tof arriving, catching the Nagai off-guard, and capturing several of them. Only with the assistance of Alliance members on the world were the Nagai forces able to defeat the Tof. Lieutenant Siva recognized that the Tof had now become the major threat and decided to initiate negotiations for a potential alliance. Knife was displeased with the turn of events, but his superiors sanctioned the alliance, establishing a tentative truce.

With the Nagai and the Alliance of Free Planets now allied, the Tof were gradually pushed back, eventually being isolated on their forward base on Saijo. There, the Alliance initiated a type of siege warfare, slowly advancing toward the palace of Prince Sereno, the Tof leader. Knife was stationed alongside Luke Skywalker, Den Siva, Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Mandalore Fenn Shysa, as well as Alliance operatives Dani, Maggie and Trif. The diverse group eventually found themselves ensconced in a destroyed Saijo settlement on the outskirts of the Tof-erected palace. While there, Knife proved a difficult ally, attempting to provoke a fight with Solo and insulting his fellow Nagai, Siva, for being weak-willed. Knife expressed concerns about the aftermath of the battle, suspecting that the Alliance would betray them at the mission's conclusion. However, Skywalker did much to allay Knife's fears.

Eventually, Skywalker divided the group, taking only Siva, Solo, Knife, Organa, and Dani to infiltrate the palace. As they gradually approached the main Tof structure, Siva and Skywalker witnessed a group of Nagai prisoners being herded into the palace by their Tof captors. The group swiftly captured the Tofs and decided to devise a ruse to gain entry into the palace. Threatening their Tof prisoners, they posed as captives and were able to enter Sereno's throne room. Upon their arrival in the room, the group discovered Sereno in an audience with the Dark Lady Lumiya. The Tof prisoners could not maintain the deception in front of their leader; however, Knife executed a Tof before he could betray them and took Sereno captive, holding him at blasterpoint.

As a fight erupted in the chamber, Lumiya stunned Knife with a blaster shot and attempted to finish him off. However, Lumiya herself was shot by Leia Organa. Lumiya managed to regain the upper hand over Organa through the use of the Force, but she was outnumbered by her foes. The time she had spent subduing Organa gave Knife's brother time to come to their rescue, whereupon he disabled Lumiya with a blaster shot to the back. Knife was touched by his brother's actions, finally finding the strength to forgive him for his betrayal on Endor.

Knife joined Bey and the rest of the Alliance heroes in celebrating the end of the Tof threat, but he realized that his species' homeworld of Nagi was still under Tof control. Knife accepted an alliance with Mandalore Fenn Shysa and his Supercommandos to continue the fight against the Nagai's sworn enemy. The Alliance of Free Planets offered the planet of Saijo to the Nagai as a potential new homeworld to rebuild and live on, as well as full membership in the new government. However, the majority of the Nagai, along with Knife, knew that they had a duty to their homeworld. The fleet departed with the Mandalorians to fight the Tof back in their home system.

Ozrei N'takkilomandrife possessed a particularly brutal nature, exhibiting no remorse for his actions as long as they adhered to his rigid moral code. Knife harbored no reservations about torturing an adversary or even executing a subordinate if he deemed them lacking the strength expected of a Nagai. He also demonstrated a lack of forgiveness, harboring a deep-seated animosity toward Han Solo for thwarting his plans on Kashyyyk and Kabray, which complicated their collaboration during the final battle on Saijo.

Given his unwavering loyalty to his race, the betrayal of his half-brother Bey on Endor profoundly affected Knife. During his protracted recovery, he experienced a period of depression and even confided in Den Siva that he had perhaps lost the will to live. However, his indomitable spirit sustained him through this period, although he continued to struggle with forgiving Bey. Knife even began to distrust anyone who was not a full-blooded Nagai after the event.

However, following the Battle of Saijo, Knife's mindset underwent a transformation, fostering respect for the members of the Alliance after they repeatedly risked their lives to safeguard his own. He even sought assistance from the Mandalorians in the Nagai's subsequent campaign against the Tof. Knife proved to be a tenacious adversary, not succumbing to potentially fatal wounds sustained during the Battle of Endor, and promptly resumed active service after recovering. While Knife demonstrated himself to be a formidable enemy, he also proved to be a potent ally, as evidenced during the battle of Saijo, where he succeeded in capturing the Tof Prince and surviving Lumiya's assault, contributing to the conclusion of the Nagai–Tof War.

Knife was conceived by Mary Jo Duffy for inclusion in Marvel Comics' ongoing Star Wars comic series. He made his debut in 1985's Star Wars 91 and was utilized throughout a storyline centered on the Nagai invasion of the Star Wars galaxy. Subsequently, Knife remained unused until 2000, when he was referenced in Rich Handley and Joseph Bongiorno's article The University of Sanbra Guide to Intelligent Life: The Marvel Series, which, among other revelations, disclosed Knife's true name as Ozrei N'takkilomandrife. The article also identified Knife's mother, Krai H'voc, and confirmed that Knife was the individual who had hired the traitor Durne in Star Wars 93, a mystery that had previously remained unsolved.