Qwi Xux, an Omwati female specializing in weapons design, was manipulated through psychological conditioning to contribute to the creation of significant superweapons such as the Sun Crusher and the Death Star, along with others, for the Galactic Empire.
When she reached the age of ten years, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin ordered Qwi's abduction from her home village on Omwat, alongside nine other children hailing from different villages. Tarkin was a firm believer in the untapped mental potential of the Omwati people, convinced that with careful manipulation, their minds could achieve extraordinary feats.
Aboard a space station orbiting Omwat, the ten children were subjected to intense educational programs, demanding mental challenges, and rigorous testing. Failure in these tests resulted in the horrifying spectacle of their entire village being bombarded from space, followed by their own execution. This experience understandably inflicted deep psychological scars on the Omwati children, profoundly altering their perspectives on life and the challenges they faced. This trauma manifested in Qwi Xux's relentless drive to solve problems, fueled by a deep-seated fear of the repercussions of failure, even years later. Qwi was the sole survivor of this torturous ordeal.
After two years of this psychological manipulation, her grasp on reality became warped. She became convinced that problems needed to be solved for their own sake, absolving herself of responsibility for the consequences of her experiments. Qwi's specialized training focused on developing an unmatched understanding of physics, engineering, and mathematics, while deliberately neglecting biological knowledge. She also received instruction in AI principles from Nasdra Magrody.
Tarkin brought Qwi Xux to his top-secret Maw Installation with the purpose of creating new weapon systems for the Empire. Under the supervision of Bevel Lemelisk, she began tackling the complex problems presented to her, playing a significant role in the development of the Death Star. Due to her conditioning, she was under the false impression that her creations were harmless, rather than the destructive forces they truly were. She believed the Death Star was designed to break apart lifeless planets to extract valuable resources. She held the same belief about the World Devastators. Additionally, she contributed to the development of the Sun Crusher's supernova-inducing weaponry and its quantum-crystalline armor.
It wasn't until 11 ABY that the truth was revealed to her. Han Solo, Chewbacca, and the Force-sensitive Kyp Durron stumbled upon the Maw Installation and were subjected to intense interrogations to uncover information about the Empire. The results of these interrogations were presented to Dr. Xux, who initially accepted them as mere facts. However, driven by curiosity about the Death Star, she sought a meeting with Han. Hearing his account of the Destruction of Alderaan by the Death Star and the devastation wrought upon Mon Calamari by the World Devastators, she began to have doubts. After reviewing the interrogation records, she was horrified by the methods used to obtain the information. The realization that her work had caused the deaths of billions opened her eyes to the true horror of her creations.
Upon realizing the magnitude of the projects at the Installation, Qwi aided Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Kyp Durron in escaping aboard the Sun Crusher. They were pursued by Daala's fleet of Star Destroyers, but they encountered the Kessel mercenary force near the Maw and managed to escape during the resulting chaos.
Qwi was placed under the protection of Wedge Antilles, as her knowledge made her a potential target for abduction. Before leaving Coruscant to go into hiding, she implored the New Republic to destroy the Installation before its power could be unleashed. They traveled to the planet Vortex to assist the Vors in repairing the Cathedral of Winds. However, when Qwi used a shard of the tower to create haunting music, a Vor took the shard and destroyed it. Fearing they had offended the Vors, they left to continue their undercover mission.
During their time together, Wedge and Qwi grew close. Wedge took her to Ithor, hoping she would appreciate the natural wonders of the jungle planet. There, Qwi Xux was confronted by Kyp Durron, who had abandoned his training at Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum after succumbing to the dark side of the Force. Kyp probed Qwi's mind, extracting any information that could be used to build another superweapon. Wedge nursed her back to health, but she was never the same.
She and Wedge continued their relationship, but as he became increasingly involved in military affairs, Qwi became more absorbed in her work. Despite a brief period as Wedge's science officer in the New Republic Defense Fleet, they both realized that their relationship had become more of a convenience than a genuine romance, and they parted ways.
Qwi eventually decided to return to Vortex to help the Vors repair the Cathedral of Winds. She hoped to find inner peace and erase the memories of the lives lost due to her superweapons.
Qwi Xux underwent extensive mental conditioning during her youth. As a result, she displayed a veneer of feigned innocence throughout her life, until she left the Maw Installation. Until that point, she did not believe she was responsible for the outcomes of her experiments or the consequences of solving a problem. Therefore, she could be described as extremely naive.
She had a deep love for music, often humming or singing while she worked.
Kevin J. Anderson created Qwi Xux, drawing inspiration from Mermeia in The Star Wars Holiday Special. In the Jedi Academy trilogy, Xux's eyes are described as deep blue, pale blue, or violet, while The Essential Guide to Characters clarifies her eye color as light blue.