Raff Raff was a male Yuuzhan Vong who served as a battle tactician for Commander Tla during the early stages of the Yuuzhan Vong War . When Shedao Shai died at Ithor , Tla was promoted and on Raff ' s advice assaulted the library world of Obroa - skai . At Obroa - skai , Raff monitored the collection of the wealth of intelligence obtained from the planet ' s libraries , and entered into a discussion with a priest , Harrar , over the importance of the Jedi to the galaxy ' s inhabitants . It was in this way that Raff tentatively became involved in Harrar ' s plot to assassinate the Jedi . In accordance with the plan , High Priest Jakan ' s daughter Elan " defected " to the New Republic , and a lengthy series of false re - capture attempts and battles were staged in order to make the defection seem sincere . Against his better judgment , Raff counseled Tla in expending resources and time in the support of Harrar ' s scheme , assured by the priest and his confederate , the executor Nom Anor , that it would eventually bear fruit . Ultimately , Elan ' s treachery was uncovered and she died during a pitched space battle , the ploy an abject failure . Supreme Commander Nas Choka punished Tla and Harrar , recalling them in shame to the Outer Rim Territories , but not before Raff had provided his opinion that Hutt Space was viable as the next target for the fleet . Biography . Before Obroa - skai . To become a Battle Tactician , a breed of warriors dedicated to Yun - Yammka , Raff underwent advanced escalation processes . He spent much time in communion with yammosk s , telepathic Yuuzhan Vong creatures which served to coordinate military forces , as well as dovin basal s , gravitic devices which empowered the fleet ' s vessels . Raff had his bald , misshapen head adorned with swirling tattoos to illustrate the complexities of his thoughts , and over the years developed his capacity for retaining an extraordinary repository of knowledge . By the time of his species ' invasion of the the galaxy promised to the Yuuzhan Vong by Supreme Overlord Shimrra , Raff was well versed in the capabilities of the forces of the New Republic and its allies . The tactician was assigned to the newly promoted Commander Tla , whose escalation had come following the failure of Commander Shedao Shai at Ithor . The defection of Elan . In 25 ABY , Raff advised Commander Tla to attack the library world of Obroa - skai , believing that the wealth of information , including charts , maps and other data , would be vital to the course of the Yuuzhan Vong campaign . Tla led the swift assault , and soon Obroa - skai was conquered ; Raff set to work reading through the content of the captured libraries . Interference came from the priest caste , members of which had been assigned to oversee the sacrifice of captives taken during the assault on the planet . Tla grudgingly tolerated the presence of the priest Harrar at Obroa - skai , and Raff , continuing his perusal of library contents , showed the priest the information which had been so far recovered . Harrar , having held a discussion with a captive H ' kig Gotal , took particular interest in the Jedi , and bade the tactician explain further on the nature of the mysterious Jedi Order . Raff and Harrar discussed the purge which they correctly supposed had exterminated thousands of Jedi almost half of a standard century prior to the Yuuzhan Vong invasion . Along with several others , Harrar and the tactician went on to observe via villip the sacrifice of thousands of captives , and Raff promised the priest that he would search the villip ' s images for portents and relay the information to Commander Tla , who held little stock in the priest caste . The tactician , however , grew nervous when Harrar ' s pre - occupation with the Jedi persisted ; the priest concocted a scheme which demanded time and resources from both Tla and Raff . Utilizing Elan , the daughter of High Priest Jakan , as an agent , Harrar planned to stage a phony defection . Elan would claim to have knowledge concerning the illness suffered by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker ' s wife — an illness in fact engendered by Yuuzhan Vong executor Nom Anor — and thus infiltrate the Jedi before wiping them out by means of a lethal virus , bo ' tous , which incubated in her lungs . Raff , on the other hand , believed not only that the plan would come at an inordinate cost in terms of resources and time , but also that Elan ' s success was by no means guaranteed , as Jade Skywalker ' s continued survival was testimony to the strength of the Jedi . The tactician eventually deferred to Harrar and the scheme ' s other architect , Nom Anor , but his misgivings remained . Elan faked her defection during a brief skirmish with the New Republic in the Meridian sector . As Raff predicted , this success came at a price ; Harrar had demanded that the ship which Elan " escaped " from be destroyed to confer realism upon the Yuuzhan Vong defeat . Commander Tla was furious at the loss , and Raff became highly dubious of the plot in general , chiding Harrar for the priest ' s belief that Elan was already trusted by the New Republic . There was a victory of sorts , however , as Elan led the Yuuzhan Vong to the hidden New Republic world of Wayland , where a second staged conflict was enacted ; an assassin from Domain Shai attempted to kill Elan . Thus Elan ' s credibility rose , and when she provided information to New Republic Intelligence that Ord Mantell was the next target of Tla ' s forces , she was believed . Thus Raff accompanied the fleet to Ord Mantell , where the fleet struck so as to provide Elan with an even greater degree of credibility . In service to Harrar ' s scheme , several ships were lost before Tla called for a retreat . Although retribution was exacted upon Ord Mantell and the New Republic forces present , it remained a defeat in Raff ' s eyes , albeit a calculated one . The arrival of another commander , the decorated Malik Carr , gave the plotters a chance to discuss the progress of the invasion . Raff concurred with Harrar that caution was vital , as the shipyards at conquered Sernpidal and Belkadan were overtaxed and an extension would cost the Yuuzhan Vong dearly . The tactician provided Carr with information on other viable targets , and Tla apprised the other commander of the plan to eliminate the Jedi , admitting that several minor victories had been granted to the defenders . Failure and its aftermath . To Tla ' s glee and Raff ' s vindication , Harrar ' s scheme soon came undone . A collaborative organization known as the Peace Brigade , ironically founded by Nom Anor himself , attempted to return Elan to the Yuuzhan Vong , believing her to be an actual defector . During the resulting battle on the outskirts of the Bilbringi system , Anor desperately tried to prevent a Peace Brigade shuttle from returning Elan , while at the same time deploying his forces as though he wished her to be recaptured , so as not to alert the New Republic to the bogus nature of the prized defector . As Harrar and Anor struggled to maintain control of the situation , Raff provided advice , and was ignored . Thus the ignorant Peace Brigade operatives managed to recover Elan in the face of Anor ' s constrained actions . In the complications which arose during the battle , Elan died , having failed to kill a single Jedi . On Obroa - skai , Supreme Commander Nas Choka made contact with the architects of the defectio , and Harrar was forced to explain himself to Elan ' s father , High Priest Jakan . Raff remained silent as Harrar was reprimanded , but Tla could barely restrain himself from gloating over the priest ' s failure . However , when Choka summoned Tla and Raff forward to deliver their side of the report , he directed his address to the latter . The tactician criticized the scheme , citing the loss of support vessels and scores of coralskippers as overly costly . Raff proposed either cannibalizing the larger vessels to replenish the losses , or halting the invasion altogether until further resources could be obtained , claiming that there was an opportunity in Hutt Space to find such resources . Although Choka dismissed the idea of destroying larger vessels to replenish the fleet , he did dispatch Malik Carr into Hutt Space . To Raff ' s information that the New Republic were developing tactics to defeat Yuuzhan Vong biotechnology , Choka gave no regard . He punished Harrar and Commander Tla by recalling them to the Outer Rim ; Nom Anor escaped this fate , as the executor fell under the charge of Drathul , a prefect of the intendant caste . Coincidentally , Malik Carr joined Tla in disgrace several months later , after suffering a major defeat at Fondor . Commander Carr was recalled to Selvaris , a conquered backwater , where for the next two years he brooded unfavorably on his time with Raff , Harrar and Tla . Personality and traits . Raff ' s intelligence and memory had been greatly enhanced , and as such the tactician often gave input and advice to others around him . His obvious temperament for analysis demonstrated itself in a streak of nervousness , and a tendency to voice his concerns , yet his cadaverous appearance and lisping tones often prompted those he addressed to ignore what he said , instead asking their own questions . Nevertheless , Raff was a cunning and shrewd member of his caste , and managed to remain at arm ' s length from Harrar ' s scheme . Testimony to his intellect , Raff foresaw the phony defection ' s failure long before the events at Bilbringi occurred . Thus , in an attempt to limit his punishment , Raff delivered his report to Nas Choka objectively , choosing not to focus on his own considerable involvement with the plot . Behind the scenes . Out of the three novels James Luceno wrote for series , Raff appears only in the , and is mentioned in passing in the third , " " . His fate following the failure of Harrar ' s scheme is not specified ; while Tla , his commander , is recalled to the Outer Rim , Raff ' s punishment is not mentioned by Choka , leaving it uncertain as to whether the tactician accompanied Tla , or remained on the front lines . That the Yuuzhan Vong usually tended to punish only individuals rather than their commands , the latter event is more likely . The picture used in the article ' s infobox was provided in " Star Wars Gamer 8 .