A Human male, strong in the Force, who went by the moniker "Slippery Hilts," resided on the planet of Kesh during the era known as the Time of the Rot. He married a woman, and she later gave birth to a son named Varner. The father of Varner Hilts was a member of the Sith Tribe located on Kesh. Sometime before 3000 BBY, he formulated a plan to assassinate a rival who was also a Sith. However, the [sheath](/article/sheath/legends] meant to hold Hilts' bladed weapon was poorly made, causing the blade to slip out and pierce his ankle. Consequently, the Tribe began referring to him as "Slippery Hilts," a name that stuck with him until he died from an infection resulting from the wound one month afterward.
A Human male Force-sensitive individual, a member of the Hilts family, came into the world on the planet of Kesh during the chaotic period of the Time of the Rot, a time marked by constant conflict on the planet. Hilts belonged to the Lost Tribe of Sith on Kesh, descendants of a group of Sith who found themselves stranded there following the crash of their starship. Hilts married a woman, and in 3060 BBY, she gave birth to their child, who they named Varner. The father of Varner Hilts dedicated many years to earning the confidence of the leader of a political faction of Sith in Beray. Sometime before 3000 BBY, he devised a scheme to assassinate the party's leader and seize his position.
Hilts carefully chose a shikkar—a glass dagger designed for a single use, where the blade would break off from the hilt and remain lodged within the victim's body—to execute his plan. However, he failed to properly construct the sheath in which he carried his shikkar. Consequently, before he could assassinate the faction leader, the blade slipped out and stabbed Hilts in the ankle. His fellow Tribe members found the incident amusing and began to call him "Slippery Hilts." Hilts' wound quickly became infected, leading to his death within a month, before he reached the age of sixty. His widowed wife attempted to seduce the leader just one week later, but she also perished in her attempt.
Slippery Hilts possessed significant ambition, a trait common within the Hilts family. His patience was evident in his years-long effort to gain the trust of his superior before attempting to assassinate the Sith and seize control of the faction. Hilts was meticulous in selecting his shikkar, but his negligence in crafting the weapon's sheath ultimately led to his demise.
The character "Slippery Hilts" was initially mentioned in the eighth eBook within John Jackson Miller's Lost Tribe of the Sith series, titled Secrets, which was published in 2012.