Kowrrilop

Kowrrilop was a spacefarer from. Trained as a navigator, he became a member of the secretive before being enslaved by the. He managed to escape some time after the and returned to the, working subtly with Wookiee resistance groups until the Empire's downfall. He was nearly enslaved against by s in 80 ABY before he was rescued by the Sith witch Rin Sakaros and her apprentice Keltrayu. Pledging a life debt to Rin, Kowrrilop became her companion, pilot, and protector for nearly four years before she wiped his memories and returned him to his family on Kashyyyk.

Early life
Born on Kashyyyk in 153 BBY, Kowrrilop lived in the forest floor city of. From an early age he became fascinated with space travel and longed to leave Kashyyyk to journey the galaxy. Despite this, he was deeply in touch with the customs and culture of his people. For his, he and two of his closests friends journeyed into the and harvested fibers from a , although Kowrrilop stayed on alone to hunt and kill a native.

As a young adult, Kowrrilop worked in several of Kashyyyk's spaceports, including those in and. He became an accomplished starship mechanic, but was eager to test his abilities and expand his knowledge offworld. When he was twenty, a company shipping Kashyyyk's lumber offworld hired him as an apprentice navigator.

The spacelanes
For nearly a century, Kowrrilop worked aboard numerous starships, gradually learning the ins and outs of the trade. He was a capable pilot but especially enjoyed navigation, studying the various s that connected the worlds of the galaxy and seeking to forge new ones. He was eventually recommended to join the and finally realized his dream of blazing new hyperspace routes, although they were usually short jumps from established Republic systems.

Though he loved space and visiting new worlds, Kowrrilop sometimes missed home, and he returned to Kashyyyk when he could. During some of these visits he began courting a female Wookiee named Nrragalarr. They were married in 71 BBY and went on to have three children over the span of their long lives. Though he doted on his children and loved his wife, Kowrrilop was gone from Kashyyyk much of the time on the business of the Republic.

In 52 BBY, the Claatuvac Guild hired Kowrrilop on as an apprentice. His courage in exploring spacelanes led him to advance quickly in the organization, and he became friends with the Guild's Master,. Kowrrilop also studied to add to his skill set.

Slavery
Kowrrilop was present on Kashyyyk in 19 BBY for the on Kashyyyk at the end of the. He fought at Kachirho under the command of, Kachirho's chieftain, who was himself fighting for the Jedi Master. Kowrrilop survived the battle, although his eldest son Caaraghar did not.

Saddened at the loss of his first child, Kowrrilop stayed on Kashyyyk to mourn the boy with Nrragalarr and his other children. The Wookiees were startled to find Kashyyyk was being yet again, this time by the newly formed. The Wookiees attempted to fight, but the Star Destroyers in orbit eventually commenced bombardment, flushing them back into the open. Though Kowrrilop and his family fought, with Kowrrilop himself ripping a stormtrooper in half, they were all eventually stunned and subdued.

Captured by the Empire, Kowrrilop was taken to to work on the. There he would remain for years, helped to construct the gargantuan battlestation, although he and other Wookiees sabotaged the project in the small ways they could without being detected. After a few years, Kowrrilop and Nrragalarr found each other again, but carefully limited any contact or signs of affection between them, not wanting to give the Imperials a reason to exploit one through the suffering of the other.

On the run
When the construction of the Death Star was moved to, Kowrrilop and Nrragalarr were among the Wookiees sent with the project. However, the actions of saboteurs disrupted the project there. In the confusion of the stormtroopers' attempt to apprehend or kill the Rebels, several Wookiees started a revolt and seized a. Kowrrilop and Nrragalarr were among the Wookiees who crammed into the cruiser. Assisting the pilots, Kowrrilop helped them chart a hyperspace course away from the shipyards.

Many of the Wookiees were adamant that they return immediately to Kashyyyk, but others, including Kowrrilop, felt they would only be recaptured and their efforts would all have been for nothing. Eventually, the Wookiees agreed to dispose of their cruiser at and seek passage separately. Some started new lives with shipping companies or smugglers, others stayed on Ord Mantell, and still others sought out the nascent Rebellion to pledge their services.

Kowrrilop and Nrragalarr returned to the Mytaranor sector, though they avoided Kashyyyk itself. Traveling as covertly as possible, the couple lived first on and then. They stayed briefly on, but after assisting in a slave rebellion there which saw the deaths of numerous and stormtrooper slavers, they returned to Rakhuuun. Kowrrilop's mechanical aptitude ensured him employment at Rakhuuun's shipyards, and he endured the taunts and discrimination of the Imperial personnel there by reminding himself that he and his wife were still free. Nonetheless, both Wookiees covertly passed information to the Rebel Alliance about Imperial movements in the Mytaranor sector.

Home again, home again
After the, the Imperials withdrew from Kashyyyk and Kowrrilop and Nrragalarr returned home. They were overjoyed to discover their two children had escaped from slavery and were waiting for them there, having been part of a covert insurrection based in the Shadowlands. When the Empire returned the next year, Kowrrilop's family joined the resistance against them, and they later fought in the that saw the death of.

With Kashyyyk finally free of Imperial interference for a time, Kowrrilop settled down to help rebuild the Claatuvac Guild. Over the following decades, he alternated between working at home and spending time with Nrragalarr and journeying through the galaxy, helping to recover lost Claatuvac knowledge and find new spacelanes. Unlike many Wookiees, who refused to have anything to do with the after their attempted invasion of Kashyyyk, Kowrrilop sought to learn more about them and discover hyperspace routes into their home  galaxy.

In the decades after the Liberation of Kashyyyk, Kowrrilop's son and daughter both married and had children of their own. His daughter's husband, like Kowrrilop himself, was often away from Kashyyyk, and Kowrrilop and Nrragalarr helped to raise her children.

The life debt
In 80 ABY, Kowrrilop was on Rakhuuun on business for the Claatuvac when he was attacked by a band of Trandoshan slavers. Though he resolved to die fighting rather than become a slave again, he was grossly outnumbered. The decision was taken out of his hands when Rin Sakaros and Keltrayu happened upon the scene. Rin the Trandoshans without overwhelming terror and casually began ; as they died around her, she did not move. Kowrrilop could only watch in amazement. Two Trandoshans gathered enough fortitude to fight, but Keltrayu quickly dispatched them both with his lightsaber.

Awestruck, Kowrrilop could not deny that Rin's intervention had saved him from slavery or death. Conscious of the traditions and obligations of his people, he pledged a to Rin. He could tell that she was initially uncomfortable with the idea and promised to follow and protect her wherever she might go. Eventually Rin accepted Kowrrilop's vow and the Wookiee became the her companion, but insisted that Kowrrilop accompany them directly without giving word of his vow to his family. Though pained by the idea, Kowrrilop honored his life debt and obliged. He used his mechanical abilities to upgrade Rin's, the Wanderlust, making it much faster and better-armed. He also aided Rin in the purchase and modification of a pair of combat droids, altering them for lightsaber combat so Rin and Keltrayu could practice.

Over the following three years, Kowrrilop found himself journeying to strange and dangerous worlds as part of Rin's odyssey through the galaxy. At Rin's request, Kowrrilop taught her secret Claatuvac hyperspace routes, including those through the. The trio visited and, but the damage to the  made a trip to  impossible. Kowrrilop was frightened at Rin's next diversion, a trip close to the of the supermassive  at. She was able to sense when they were drifting too close and the Wanderlust left before it was trapped, but Keltrayu and Kowrrilop were both relieved to go.

After Rin and Kowrrilop piloted themselves out of the Deep Core, they next journeyed to the. Kowrrilop still bore a deep grudge against the Empire for enslaving his world, but Rin's telepathic abilities kept stormtroopers from asking any questions about him. They visited and numerous s before a more unsettling visit to. As they journeyed through the ancient Sith ruins, Kowrrilop began to realize that he might be able to aid and serve Rin, but she would never need any protection he could provide. Nonetheless, he remained resolved to contribute whatever he could to her for the rest of his life.

The Force users
Rin was on a journey to explore the traditions of the various Force-sensitive orders of the galaxy, and while she did not share all her purposes with Kowrrilop, he could easily intuit the need for secrecy. After their first three years together, the group got back to this mission, spending a few months on where Rin and Keltrayu learned from the. Kowrrilop insisted on watching over the pair as they blindfolded themselves to train in, ensuring the Miraluka meant them no harm.

After Alpheridies Rin took her companions to the. Kowrrilop experienced hallucinogenic visions in the rift, but Rin was undeceived and made contact with the. Again Kowrrilop was left as a companion and protector while Rin and her apprentice learned new Force techniques, though he approved of the Aing-Tii and their blatant contempt for slavers and slavery. When the Aing-Tii attacked a small slaver convoy and Rin used her illusion-weaving powers to paralyze the slavers' minds with terror, Kowrrilop manned one of the Aing-Tii weapons emplacements and helped to destroy the ships.

Rin's search of the for the fabled  was in vain, but it started her on a course of investigation about the hyperspace disturbance at Galactic West. Kowrrilop helped Rin illicitly access facilities on  and Kashyyyk, though this provided no more information. Using her power to divert the minds of others, Rin helped Kowrrilop check up on his family to ensure they were safe.

The debt forgiven
At Keltrayu's request, the group went to so Keltrayu could study the. Kowrrilop participated in this training, and while he had little patience for the Echani emphasis on grace and artistry in battle, he could appreciate their understanding of combat as a means of communication. The trio also visited and, amassing information about battle tactics.

After their time among the s, Rin took the shuttle back to Rakhuuun, and Kowrrilop found her distant and uneasy. When they arrived, Rin informed Kowrrilop that the rest of her journey was one on which he could not follow her; Kowrrilop was aghast and protested. His heart ached when Rin promised that if he followed her he would never see his family again, but he was determined to honor his life debt even at that price. Sighing, Rin gave him a hug, then reached up to touch his cheek with her hand…and the next thing Kowrrilop knew, he awakened alone on Rakhuuun with no memory of the last three-and-a-half years of his life. He found he could remember new, uncharted hyperspace routes into the Deep Core and Kathol Rift, but had no idea why.

A new path
Deeply puzzled, Kowrrilop returned to Kashyyyk to a joyous welcome from Nrragalarr and his children, who had feared him dead. They were concerned that he could not remember anything since leaving them, but he was obviously in good mental and physical health otherwise, so the concern over his disappearance faded in time. He resumed his work with the Claatuvac Guild and shared his inexplicable knowledge of Deep Core and Kathol Rift routes.

Kowrrilop spent several of the next few years on Kashyyyk, becoming a senior member of the Claatuvac in the process. In 94 ABY, he became one of the few beings outside the millennia-established controlling families to be invited to join the Bureau of Ships and Services. Having no memory of helping Rin hack their database over a decade before, he had no reservations about accepting the position. He initially served offworld, but was able to arrange a transfer to Kashyyyk after a few years.

During the, blockaded Kashyyyk, and Kowrrilop was stuck on the planet. With Kashyyyk's shipyards and spaceports destroyed, there was no work for BoSS agents, and Kowrrilop helped to keep secret the Claatuvac hyperspace knowledge and did odd mechanic work in his village instead, waiting for the end of the war.

Skills and abilities
Kowrrilop was an expert starship mechanic, specializing in - and -sized craft. He was able to expand on or improve nearly every component and system of the Wanderlust. His work on Rin Sakaros's YVH 1 combat droids suggests he had more than passing knowledge of droid mechanics as well.

The Wookiee preferred to use a in combat, although he was formidable in hand-to-hand combat due both to his native strength and his training under the Echani; while he did not remember the details, he retained the muscle memory of Echani fighting techniques.

Though his vocal chord structure restricted him to speaking only his native, Kowrrilop also understood and.

Appearance and personality
Slightly taller than the Wookiee average at 2.20 meters (7'3"), Kowrrilop had shaggy brown fur and eyes nearly the same dark color. He rarely wore clothing besides a toolbelt.

Kowrrilop was deeply devoted to his family. Though he, like many male Wookiees, spent a significant portion of his adult life away from Kashyyyk, he loved his wife Nrragalarr and his children. He enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren as well, teaching them Wookiee customs and history.

In touch with his culture, Kowrrilop was a firm believer in Wookiee customs such as the hrrtayyk ceremony and the life debt. He was even willing to leave his family behind forever to faithfully serve his life debt to Rin Sakaros, although she spared him that decision.