Aing-Tii (Jedi Renaissance)

"The Aing-Tii have a different view of the Force. Not in terms of Jedi or Sith&mdash;of black and white, as it were&mdash;but in a way I like to think of as a full-color rainbow. We have yet to fully understand these people, but I think the High Council would agree that their contributions to the study of the Force will be highly valued."

- Jedi Knight Horen Hote, writing about Aing-Tii monks.

Aing-Tii were a secretive species from the world of in the  region of the galaxy. Many members of the species were Force-sensitive; these were the only Aing-Tii who ever left their planet, traveling about the Kathol Rift in large, organic starships and using advanced weaponry to destroy those who opposed them. The Aing-Tii were very reclusive; they often used violence to dissuade outsiders from probing too far into their business; although a report based on a crashed Aing-Tii ship provided the galaxy with some details on their culture. Their belief system held that all events were not necessarily predetermined, but rather "guided." Unlike the Jedi or Sith, the Aing-Tii held that the Force had neither a light nor a dark side, but was full of many colors, like a rainbow.

The Aing-Tii monks only ever left their territories to attack slavers; they believed slavery to be a great evil and were relentless in their persecution of those who thrived from it. The Jedi Order learned of the Aing-Tii at some point during the New Sith Wars though they interacted on few occasions and knew only stories from individuals who lived near the Kathol Rift. Following the Clone Wars, a Jedi expedition was sent into the Rift to bridge the communication gap with the Aing-Tii and the Jedi. Agreeing to meet with the Jedi, the Aing-Tii built trust with the outsiders over the course of a decade before sending a delegation to Ossus to record their teachings in the Great Library and begin teaching their techniques at the Grand Academy.

Biology and appearance
The Aing-Tii were a species of sentient, toothless mammals who stood about two meters tall on average. They stood erect on two clawed feet, and they had two spindly arms, each with three large digits. Their bodies were covered entirely in jointed protective coverings of white, bony plates, which extended up past their necks and onto their heads, where they acted and appeared like a protective helmet. The Aing-Tii head was small and jutted out perpendicularly from their chest. The head featured two large eyes and a series of long, thin tongues that extended around half a meter from their mouths. Each Aing-Tii had a long, prehensile tail that could be used in self-defense. The Aing-Tii each had a set of painted motifs covering their entire bodies, though the patterns were unique to each Aing-Tii. The species did not communicate through speech, as they were incapable of producing sound. Instead, they conveyed information via tasting, smelling and touching each other with their six long, thin green tongues.

Society and culture
"The Aing-Tii have an understanding of the Force; but it's a different understanding from that of the Jedi. Or perhaps it's merely a different aspect of the Force they relate to. I'm not really sure which."

- Republic explorer Jorj Car'das, part of a joint Jedi-Republic delegation to Kathol.

The Aing-Tii were native to Kathol whose location in the Kathol Rift was a closely guarded secret. The Rift itself was a dangerous area of space though they had developed space travel and many had taken to living in their semi-organic starships. The majority of Aing-Tii never left their homeworld nor had any contact with members of other sentient species. Those who did&mdash;commonly called Aing-Tii warrior monks&mdash;were highly xenophobic and reclusive, attacking any who tried to learn more about them. Although most aspects of Aing-Tii culture were not known to the wider galaxy, it was documented that all Aing-Tii seen offworld were Force-sensitive. They believed that their Force talents were gifts from their deities, "Those Who Dwell Beyond the Veil," although they generally preferred not to use the Force when they could avoid it. They saw the Force as sacred, something that was not to be meddled with. The monks spent their entire lives performing errands for their gods, traveling through the dangerous Kathol Rift&mdash;which they also viewed as a holy place&mdash;and performing pilgrimages in the hope that they would receive "an answer" from them.

The monks did make occasional use of the Force, mostly to fuel their cavernous ships. The Aing-Tii had a different view of the Force from that of other Force-users: they believed that even one who was not Force-sensitive could manipulate the energy field to do his or her bidding. Although Aing-Tii avoided using these "gifts," the monks could instantaneously move an object&mdash;ranging in size from small items to 300-meter-long ships&mdash;from one location to another, an ability not mastered by even the most powerful of Jedi or Sith. They were also able to teach this power to non-Force-sensitives. The Aing-Tii believed that, while life was not predetermined, everything was somehow guided by the Force. Unlike the Jedi and Sith, the warrior monks did not believe in the light or dark sides of the Force. Instead, they held that there were many different aspects to the Force. The monks were able to use myriad other Force powers, one of which was known as flow-walking. Skilled practitioners of the technique could surrender their emotions to the Force and center themselves in its flow, thus transcending time itself. An Aing-Tii could therefore use flow-walking to observe events in the past or future, so long as the monk knew the location at which the event had occurred or eventually would occur. By allowing their senses of detachment to fade, and letting their emotional selves return, however, practitioners could impose themselves upon the passage of time and begin to influence and change the course of events. Such alternation was only possible to an extent; the Force itself was unable to be substantially altered and would ensure that events continued as they were pre-destined to do so. With its manipulation of the fabric of time, flow-walking was a complex, esoteric ability, and it remained a little-known secret among the Aing-Tii.

The Aing-Tii held a deep hatred of slavery, and they often attacked slavers who roamed the Kathol Outback. Due to the sheer power of their technology, the Aing-Tii traveled in groups of three to five ships, ramming vessels laden with slaves and destroying slaver ships that were free of slaves at the time. Few outsiders realized what was behind such attacks, thinking them simply random, although those who had dealings with the Aing-Tii learned quickly of this hatred. Although Aing-Tii were quick to respond to pleas from residents of the Kathol Outback, the species kept to themselves and discouraged any attempts by others to pry into their business. They did allow a small amount of information about themselves to surface, though only to scare off any who would seek to learn more.

Technology
"Their star drive is considerably different from ours. As you may have noticed from the battle. Instead of using the usual hyperspace travel, their ships are able to make an instantaneous jump to whatever point they wish."

- Jorj Car'das

The Aing-Tii developed a form of semi-organic technology early in their history, using it to build massive, 100-being ships. These vessels, named Sanhedrim ships, over 300 meters long, were used by Aing-Tii warriors to embark on pilgrimages in the Kathol Rift, to attack slavers, and to respond to distress call sent by the people of the Kathol Outback. Each Sanhedrim was unique, with numerous symbols painted on the hull and dozens of conical exhaust ports and thruster pods jutting out at random places. Each Sanhedrim was roughly ovoid in shape and covered in thick hull plates, not unlike the imbricated hides of an Aing-Tii themselves. Sanhedrims had weaponry that, in comparison to that used by the Galactic Republic and Galactic Empire, were extremely advanced and deadly. Over 60 gunners on each ship used energy web generators and null-burst projectors to destroy enemy ships with ease, although the Aing-Tii often rammed other vessels instead. The monks used non-deadly weapons to dissuade those who had taken an interest in them; the mysterious weapons altered the victim's perception of time, allowing the Aing-Tii to escape to their home territory. Aing-Tii ships usually traveled in groups of three or four, although it was not uncommon for a ship to wander by itself. The Sanhedrims were also able to evade being picked up by other ships' sensors.

The Aing-Tii were reported to have a sort of symbiotic connection with the ships they served on. The Aing-Tii developed a method of moving from one destination to another, which was barely comprehensible to anyone but the monks. They used the Force in conjunction with their unique technology to instantaneously move their ship through space. It was this technology, combined with their natural ability as navigators, that allowed them to travel through the dangerous Kathol Rift unhindered. Another piece of Aing-Tii technology was the Vor'cha stun stick. These appeared to be wooden sticks wrapped in some kind of wire that could deliver a powerful energy charge, rendering a victim unconscious. The Vor'cha were able to penetrate armor and electrocute a victim regardless of what he or she was wearing.

History
The galaxy knew very little of the Aing-Tii's early history, and for centuries their existence was known only to a select few who had seen them in the flesh. The species' reclusive nature meant that they rarely interacted with the other inhabitants of the Rift, and then only to banish slavers or answer pleas for help. Their rumored powers piqued the curiosity of spacers, who made several attempts to learn more about the monks. One group managed to sneak a micro-espionage droid onto an Aing-Tii ship during the time of the Galactic Republic; this provided the rest of the galaxy with its first images of reclusive species. This attempt was eventually halted by the monks, although around the same period an Aing-Tii vessel crashed on a remote world and provided the denizens of the Kathol Sector with much information on the species and their technology. Nevertheless, knowledge of the monks was always scarce. The Jedi Order had learned of the Aing-Tii by the time of the Ruusan Reformation and the species received an entry in the Jedi training manual The Jedi Path, although the Aing-Tii themselves were indifferent towards Jedi.