Xerexi

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The Xerexi were bioengineered creatures created by Atha Prime on the moon of Veeros during the Republic Era. Between 40 BBY and 34 BBY, Jedi Grand Master Yoda and Jedi Knight Vetna Mooncrest discovered the Xerxei on Veeros and had them destroyed. Unbeknownst to the Jedi, Atha Prime had stored dozens of Xerexi aboard his starship before escaping Veeros.

History

"I assume these creatures are your perversion…Atha Prime."
"You should have left as intended. My quarrel is not with you."
"Then why an army of monsters, have you grown?"
"My Xerexi. Are they not glorious? Mindless. Obedient. Deadly. My scalpel to wield against the galaxy's ills."
―Yoda and Atha Prime[1]

The Xerexi were created by Atha Prime within the lower chambers of his private palace on Veeros with the intention of using the created species as weapons to shape the galaxy as he deemed fit. In order to cover up his creation of the Xerexi on Veeros, Atha Prime began a massive public agricultural program that produced fields of bioengineered crops known as bio-fields.[1]

A horde of red Xerexi

A horde of red Xerexi

Despite his attempt to cover up the creation of the Xerexi, Prime's palace was visited by emissaries of the Galactic Republic who had come to investigate the rumors of a secret experiment[1] between 40 BBY and 34 BBY.[2] Two of these emissaries, the Jedi Grand Master Yoda and Jedi Knight Vetna Mooncrest, discovered the lab the Xerexi were being kept in, which prompted Prime to release a horde of Xerexi upon the Jedi. Yoda and Vetna defeated the Xerexi yet were unable to capture Atha Prime, who successfully escaped aboard his starship. After alerting the Jedi Order to the threat of the Xerexi lab, a task force of Jedi, including Mace Windu and Adi Gallia, were dispatched to exterminate the remaining Xerexi within the Veeros facility and dismantle the lab. The Jedi Order believed the extermination was successful, however Atha Prime had secretly smuggled dozens of Xerexi in vats out of Veeros within his starship.[1] At some point earlier, the Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi had a Force vision of the fighting between Mooncrest and a Xerexi.[3]

Biology and appearance

"Damn near unkillable…"
―Vetna Mooncrest, on the Xerexi[1]

The Xerexi were designed to be mindlessly obedient to Atha Prime's orders and possessed an exo-skeleton that was resistant to lightsaber strikes; yet their stomachs were soft enough to puncture. Because of the thickness of their exo-skeletons, the eye sockets of the Xerexi were shrouded in shadow, making it impossible to see their eyes. The exo-skeleton of the Xerexi appeared either black or red and the creatures also had horns protruding out of their temples which came in green or purple.[1]

Behind the scenes

The Xerexi first appeared in a vision in the first issue of the 2025 comic series Star Wars: Jedi Knights,[3] before making their first proper appearance in the following issue.[1] Both issues were written by Marc Guggenheim and drawn by Madibek Musabekov and Luis Guerrero.[3][1] The design of the Xerexi in the vision in issue 1 is missing[3] the horns on the sides of their skulls that are present in their final appearance in the next issue.[1]

Appearances

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Jedi Knights 2
  2. ↑ Jedi Knights 1 states the events of Star Wars: Jedi Knights take place during the time Finis Valorum is Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, while Jedi Knights 5 establishes the series is set at least two years before the Battle of Naboo. As Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy states that a Supreme Chancellor served four-year terms, and the flashback section of Tarkin that mentions Valorum's re-election is dated to 36 BBY by Star Wars: Timelines, Valorum must have begun serving as Chancellor in 40 BBY. Timelines also dates the Battle of Naboo to 32 BBY, meaning Jedi Knights must take place between 40 BBY and 34 BBY.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Jedi Knights 1