User:Lewisr/T'onga

T'onga was a human female bounty hunter who was the twin sister of fellow hunter T'ongor. The two were part of a crew led by the Nautolan hunter Nakano Lash until around 10 BBY when T'onga became engaged to the human female Losha Tarkon. Afterward, T'onga retired from the life of bounty hunting and went to live as a farmer on the Moon of Logal Ri with her wife. After learning that her brother was killed during a job, T'onga was deeply affected, and blamed Lash for his death, coming to resent her former mentor. T'onga briefly returned to her past life to work with the scoundrel Khel Tanna. During this time, Tanna's crew were hired to recover what they were led to believe was the ashes of the crime lord Jabba the Hutt's archrival, though they were ultimately unsuccessful, and T'onga returned to her farm.

In 3 ABY, when Lash resurfaced with a bounty on her head, T'onga swore to hunt her down in revenge for T'ongor's death and departed the moon, leaving her wife behind. She found Lash with the help of her former crewmate Beilert Valance, but was incapacitated by the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Narrowly escaping death, T'onga was healed on the planet Ruusan, where she was reunited with Tarkon. The two then set out to find Cadeliah, the heir to the Mourner's Wail and Unbroken Clan crime syndicates. After assembling a crew with the support of Cadeliah's grandfather, Lord Khamdek of the Mourner's Wail, they eventually reached Cadeliah aboard the Vermillion, the flagship of the criminal syndicate Crimson Dawn. Despite T'onga's attempts to persuade the girl to go with her, Cadeliah chose to remain with Crimson Dawn.

Sometime after, T'onga and her crew took a job from Crimson Dawn to help an insurgent group on the planet Bestine IV attack an Imperial shipment of munitions. During the mission, T'onga again reunited with Valance, who was now forceably serving the Empire. After she informed her friend of the fate of his loved ones, the cyborg went rogue from the Empire and T'onga's crew helped him escape off-world. The team were then pursued by the Imperial Special Forces unit Inferno Squad, who successfully caught up with them and wiped Valance's mind and memories due to the Imperial secrets he possessed.

Desperate to help her friend restore his memories, T'onga turned to her old mentor Tanna for help. After they gathered up a crew, they set out to find the cyborg fixer Tarr Kligson. After Kligson turned Valance into a killing machine, he left to be part of the Scourge's ultimate plans, forcing T'onga to keep to a promise she had given her friend of killing him if such a need arose. When the crew arrived at the planet Epikonia, Tanna and several of the crew betrayed T'onga, and left her stranded on the planet with the findsman Zuckuss. The two were captured by droids and brought before Valance. T'onga's old friend imprisoned the two and had them set up to be experimented on as part of the Scourge's final steps in his evolution.

During the New Republic Era, T'onga and her crew still operated. Around 9 ABY, they captured the former Black Sun criminal syndicate member Stolak Vandello at the request of his former employers aboard the Halcyon Star Cruiser.

Biography

First career as a hunter

Early life and career

Born as the twin to T'ongor, T'onga and her brother worked in the galaxy as bounty hunters.^[1] The two siblings were associates of the Nautolan hunter Nakano Lash, accompanying her to discuss business with the Abednedo technician Jhorstek^[2] at some point after 10 BBY.^[12] As they talked in Phelar Port on^[2] the planet^[13] Eriadu, the criminals noticed a young thief plead for help as he was apprehended by stormtroopers. Although Lash wanted to help the child, Jhorstek cautioned against it, not wanting to be arrested. When T'onga asked her brother if they should help the boy, he sided with the Abednedo. The group looked on as the ex-Imperial soldier Beilert Valance rose up to attack the troopers. Lash then came to Valance's aid, helping the cyborg when he was shot down.^[2]

Death of T'ongor

Some time later, T'ongor was killed after a botched mission on^[1] the planet^[13] Corellia. Although she was not involved with the mission, T'onga was able to feel her brother's death as it happened and blamed Lash, who was responsible for the mission's failure. T'onga later retired from bounty hunting, became a farmer, and settled at a homestead on the Moon of Logal Ri with her^[1] wife Losha Tarkon,^[4] promising her that she would never return to the life of a hunter.^[1]

A brief unretirement

Heist on Galator III

Between around 8 BBY and 2 BBY,^[14] T'onga came out of retirement to work with^[15] the human female^[16] scoundrel^[9] Khel Tanna for a payday the scoundrel promised her. T'onga joined Tanna's crew, working alongside the human Akko and the Thisspiasian Ooris Bynar.^[15] During this time,^[14] the crew were hired by the Hutt gangster^[5] Jabba Desilijic Tiure^[17] to carry out a heist on the casino planet Galator III. For the heist, the crew were to work with the smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca, who were also in the employ of the Hutt. The two smugglers brought T'onga and the rest of the crew to Galator III aboard their^[5] YT-1300 light freighter, the Millennium Falcon. (find sources for full names to use)

Hunt for the urn

Vengeance

Tracking Lash

In 3 ABY,^[13] Lash resurfaced following a period of hiding with a large bounty on her head, attracting the attention of several bounty hunters.^[1]

When T'onga learned about the Nautolan's resurgence, she attempted to depart the moon to hunt Lash down before being stopped by Losha, who wished for her to stay behind and live the rest of her days as a farmer. After touching foreheads with Losha, T'onga explained the special bond she had with her brother, stating that she felt his death and wanted to restore her family's honor by exacting her revenge on Lash as a result. Despite Losha reminding T'onga of the hunter's promise to retire from bounty hunting, she told the farmer not to worry and stated that there would not anything left to bury if she were to fail, before leaving on her starship.^[1]

T'onga traveled to Dotharian, where the headquarters of the Mourner's Wail Syndicate was located, seeking information on Lash's return. After infiltrating the fortress and killing several guards, she was apprehended by Lord Khamdek, the leader of the Syndicate. Khamdek, who assumed she had come to assassinate him, was impressed by her skills, and allowed her to speak before he would have her killed. T'onga kneeled before him and vowed to kill Lash for the Syndicate, as the Nautolan was also responsible for the death of Khamdek's son, Khamus. She requested all the information the Mourner's Wail had in regards to Lash, promising to avenge both Khamus and T'ongor.^[2] This lead her to the Graveyard Planet of Galmerah, where she snuck onboard Beilert Valance's ship the Broken Wing.^[18]

Onboard, T'onga held Valance at gunpoint, forcing him to wear a restraining bolt as they followed Lash's path to Ruusan, where they found the corpse of Ooris Bynar, another hunter on her trail. From there, they moved onto a village looking for information, but were attacked by a nexu belonging to an ally of Lash, hoping to protect her. After the skirmish, the man realized Valance was a friend, and gave up Lash's location, in the shipwrecks orbiting the world. In orbit, Valance and T'onga finally found Lash, protecting the child heir of both the Unbroken Clan and Mourner's Wail crime syndicates, trying to end the war between the two. Lash also revealed that she was terminally ill, and planned to protect the girl until she passed. Upon realizing the truth about Lash motivations, T'onga felt jaded about her mission. Just after she decided to return home to Losha, Boba Fett arrived, and blasted her through the abdomen, incapacitating her.^[3][19]

Resurgence

On Ruusan, Losha Tarkon arrived, following the trail of her wife. There, she found T'onga in a hospital bed, being treated for her injuries.^[4] Once T'onga had recovered more, the two state their love for each other, and decide to track down and bring Nakano Lash's killers to justice. The man who healed T'onga then offered the pair his Nexu for help.^[20] Soon after, they observed that Jabba the Hutt placed a bounty on Fett's head.^[21]

Back on Dotharian, T'onga and Tarkon visited the Fortress of the Mourner's Wail, and found devastation there, with scorch marks all over. T'onga ventured inside, only to find Khamdek and several soldiers, who warned her to leave as soon as she can. This warning was too late, however, as Crimson Dawn was already inside the building.^[22] A battle ensued as the two syndicates faced off. At one point, T'onga, aiding the Mourner's Wail, was knowcked over and pinned down by a Crimson Dawn enforcer, but was saved by the Nexu and Tarkon. The team together took out several more Crimson Dawn enforcers, as T'onga went to an injured Khamdek's side. She informed the man that he has a granddaughter, and he instantly felt remorse for the situation. He then hired the wives, enlisting them to assemble a crew and rescue Cadeliah.^[23]

Hunt for Cadeliah

Puttin' together a crew

T'onga and Tarkon recruited Tasu Leech from the Fighting pits of Nar Kanji, and Zuckuss from the Gand floating sanctuary.^[6] In the Edgehawk, the crew arrived on the planet Jekara, where Crimson Dawn was holding an auction for Han Solo, finding the location through Zuckuss's tracking skills. The team discovered a bound Bossk, who tricked Zuckuss, stealing his knife and revealing that Valance was there as well to a shocked T'onga.^[24]

New Republic Era

By around 9 ABY,^[25] T'onga and her crew, which now included the Aqualish Wooro, were part of the Bounty Hunters' Guild.^[7] Around that year,^[25] the crew were hired by the Black Sun criminal syndicate via the guild to capture or kill the Balosar Stolak Vandello, a former member of the syndicate who had borrowed credits from his employers so his lover, a fellow Balosar named R'Tess, could have a better life away from the two's homeworld, Balosar. In order to capture Vandello, T'onga and the crew traveled aboard a ship to the Star Cruiser Halcyon and boarded the vessel, except for Tarkon, who remained aboard their ship.^[7]

After Bossk and 4-LOM were unsuccessful in their attempts to either capture or eliminate the former Black Sun member, the two Balosars ran into T'onga, Zuckuss, and Wooro, the latter who punched Vandello in the face to prevent him for escaping. T'onga then told the Balosar to not think about running, and Zuckuss light heartedly suggested that they shoot his legs off to prevent it from happening. After Wooro asked if he could eat Vandello, T'onga shot down the idea. The Balosar instead surrendered himself to the crew, and tried to explain his actions to the three hunters, stating that he had wanted to give R'Tess the chance to see a Sungrazer-comet before the two had to part ways. T'onga informed Vandello that he was welcome to show R'Tess the comet, though warned him that if he tried to anything, the only celestial event his lover would see was a black hole through his chest. Wooro then spoke again, and T'onga told the Aqualish to ease up, as he had surely been young and in love before like the two Balosar, and after his response, T'onga stated that it had given her a visual she didn't need.^[7]

After Vandello and R'Tess watched the comet, they kissed each other, and Vandello handed himself over to the hunters. As they began to walk away from R'Tess, the former Black Sun member thanked the crew for granting his request. T'onga told him to not mention it, which Zuckuss repeated, as if they Black Sun found out they could cut the crew's rate. With this, T'onga sighed, and commed Tarkon, to inform her that the bounty had been acquired and to prepare their ship for immediate takeoff. T'onga and the crew eventually delievered the Balosar to the Black Sun.^[7] Years later, in 34 ABY,^[25] R'Tess, who was still aboard the Halcyon, told the story of how Vandello had been captured to the Tholothian Cimina and the logistics droid D3-O9. During her retelling, R'Tess admitted she almost fired on the bounty hunters to save Vandello, though she was unable to find the courage to shoot them, something she agonized over for years, as she could have possibly saved him. R'Tess also informed the two that she did not see her former lover again, adding her suspicion that he had been executed by the syndicate.^[7]

Personality and traits

T'onga was a human female with black hair, brown eyes, and dark skin. As a retired bounty hunter and farmer, T'onga deeply cared for her brother, maintaining a bond that she considered "special" among the twins of her people. When leaving the Moon of Logal Ri, she stated to Losha that she felt T'ongor's death and vowed to hunt his killer down to restore her family's honor, going so far as to break her original promise of living as a farmer.^[1]

T'onga spent time with Valance trying to track down his suspected killer. This lead to her being supposedly killed by Boba Fett.^[18][3][19] She demonstrated her survivalist tendencies by somehow surviving the interaction in the orbit of Russan,^[4] and reuniting with her beloved, as the two set off to assemble a crew and hopefully bring peace to the galactic underworld.^[20][21][22]

After she was shot by Fett, T'onga became afraid of the hunter, even to the point, as noted by the assassin Deathstick, that when his name was mentioned her respiration rate raised. She admitted to Fett that she had spent a significant amount of time being scared of him, though she was ultimately able to overcome this fear when she and crew confronted him on the Rishi Moon.^[9]

T'onga was desperate to save Valance's memories, though when he requested that she kill him if he was not able to be saved, T'onga was completely stunned, telling her friend that he could not ask that of her. In the end, her friend convinced her that there would be nothing left of him to be saved if he became a killing machine, and T'onga promised him that if it came to it then she would kill him. When Valance left The Haven after the exact scenario he had warned her about came to pass, T'onga informed her crew of her intention to carry through on her promise of killing Valance.^[26]

T'onga considered her long term associates, such as the Trandoshan Bossk who she had run together with since they were both part of Nakano Lash's crew, as family. When Bossk betrayed her on Epikonia along with her former mentor Khel Tanna, Deathstick, and Durge, T'onga was hurt by his betrayal, calling him a "kriffin traitor."^[27]

Skills and abilities

Equipment

While leaving the Moon of Logal Ri, T'onga wore a green shirt under a brown coat and a blue scarf around her neck. She also wore brown pants and black boots with a holster around her waist. T'onga possessed at least two weapons, one that was holstered on her right hip and another that she wrapped in cloth. Boarding her personal starship, she carried a black backpack with her.^[1] She also possessed gadgets given to her by the technician Jhorstek, which allowed her to set off proximity alarms within the Fortress of the Mourner's Wail.^[2] At one point, T'onga used a restraining bolt on Valance as she tracked down Nakano Lash with the cyborg.^[3]

Behind the scenes

T'onga first appeared in the first issue of Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, a comic book series written by Ethan Sacks, illustrated by Paolo Villanelli, and published by Marvel Comics^[1] on March 11, 2020.^[28]

Appearances

Sources

Notes and references