Sheb Valaad
During the Clone Wars, a Koorivar merchant named Sheb Valaad operated his business on Otor's Hub. Valaad specialized in the trade of possessions taken from individuals who had suffered "unfortunate ends." Although Valaad typically waited for the original owners to perish, he sometimes orchestrated their demise. His staff included the protocol droid Blue, a Twi'lek assistant, the Gamorrean guard Thurg, and several bodyguards, among them a Rodian and an Aqualish. In the aftermath of the Separatist attack on Mahranee, he received a visit from Quinlan Vos, a Kiffar Jedi Master undercover as "Master Tal," and Akar-Deshu, a Mahran known as "Desh," who proceeded to assault him and his security. Before departing, Vos rendered him unconscious, leaving Sheb and his crew to be apprehended by other Jedi.
A year prior to the outbreak of the Clone Wars, the Koorivar merchant Sheb Valaad initiated a black market enterprise on Otor's Hub. Sheb's business revolved around the sale of various items, such as jewels, paintings, statues, and ornate hookah pipes, catering to both the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. While Sheb generally acquired his goods by awaiting the "unpleasant fates" of their original creators, he occasionally dispatched assassins to kill them. To aid in the management of his operations, Sheb enlisted the services of the sycophantic protocol droid Blue and several enforcers, including the Gamorrean Thurg.
The activities of Sheb eventually garnered the attention of the Jedi Order, prompting them to dispatch Master Quinlan Vos to surveil him. Disguised as a Kiffar buyer named "Master Tal Khar", Vos frequented Sheb's establishment to cultivate trust. Tal became such a familiar face that Sheb instructed Thurg to grant him unhindered access. After exchanging greetings with Blue, Sheb presented Tal with one of his recent acquisitions: a small statuette depicting an aquatic creature. While Tal examined the object, Thurg entered, escorting another visitor, the Mahran Jedi Knight Akar-Deshu ("Desh"), who appeared diminutive next to the burly Gamorrean. Desh had been dispatched by the Jedi High Council to retrieve Vos for a sensitive mission involving the assassination of Count Dooku.
Tal (or rather Vos) was caught off guard by Desh's arrival and realized his cover was in jeopardy. After returning the statuette, Tal employed the Force to levitate Sheb, causing the merchant to writhe. Desh then utilized his Force powers to break Thurg's hold and to topple the Gamorrean. As Blue hurried towards the door, several armed bodyguards, including a Rodian, charged at Tal. Despite Sheb's pleas to avoid damaging his merchandise, the bodyguards opened fire on the intruders. Throughout the ensuing firefight, Sheb remained suspended in the air, and a stray blaster bolt singed one of his robes.
Upon witnessing Vos and Desh ignite their lightsabers, Sheb quickly deduced that the intruders were Jedi. The two Jedi overwhelmed Sheb's guards and severed Blue's hand at the wrist when the protocol droid attempted to summon reinforcements via a comlink. While Tal was displeased that Desh had prematurely disrupted his undercover operation, he was appeased by the fact that Sheb had inadvertently revealed his other contacts. Vos had also managed to identify the owners of some of Sheb's merchandise through his psychometric abilities. Before departing with Desh, Vos used the Force to propel Sheb, still suspended in the air, against a wall, effectively rendering him unconscious. Sheb was subsequently apprehended by other Jedi personnel.
Sheb Valaad was a conceited and greedy merchant whose sole focus was on maximizing profits. He profited by trading a wide range of high-value valuables and artifacts, which had been unjustly taken from creators who had died. Occasionally, Sheb was willing to have these creators killed "directly" so that he could obtain their works. To boost his own ego and self-esteem, Sheb had his protocol droid Blue programmed with two specialized programs "Adul-8" and "B-Little" to soothe and entertain him respectively.
Like his father, Sheb took pride in his horn and decorated it with ornate carvings. While Sheb saw himself as a "powerful friend" who sold luxurious goods to both the Republic and the Separatists, Vos and Desh regarded him as a war profiteer who had to be punished for his crimes. Sheb also smoked a hookah pipe and enjoyed eating delicate pastries that were prepared by his own private chef.
Sheb Valaad made his first appearance as a minor antagonist in Christie Golden's 2015 novel Dark Disciple, which was adapted from eight unproduced screenplays from the canceled Cartoon Network TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Dark Disciple is part of the Canon The Clone Wars Legacy, an ongoing multimedia project using material from the canceled TV series. He was given a point-of-view passage in the book's second chapter.