Minch Minch was a male member of a short - statured tridactyl species , who served in the Jedi Order as a Knight of the Galactic Republic . Seven hundred years prior to the Battle of Yavin , Minch was assigned by the Jedi Council , along with his Zabrak Master , T ' dai , on a mission with a group of Knights in the Bpfassh system to find and suppress the destructive rampage of several Bpfasshi Dark Jedi . When they boarded a Commerce Guild space station in Bpfassh space , Minch managed to corner one of the Dark Jedi and engage him in lightsaber combat . He lost the duel just before the darksider killed himself at the sight of Minch ' s companions . Intent on proving himself in battle , Minch then pursued the Dark Jedi ' s Master to the planet Dagobah against the orders of T ' dai . Minch tracked the Bpfasshi to a cave , where he fought and slew him , which resulted in the cave becoming a place tainted with the malevolent energies of the dark side of the Force . Biography . Mission to the Bpfassh system . Minch was a male Jedi of a small tridactyl species who served the Galactic Republic . As a Padawan , Minch studied under a Zabrak Jedi Master named T ' dai , who trained the young learner successfully to Knighthood . In 700 BBY , the Jedi Council received word that the Bpfassh system was being terrorized by several Dark Jedi . Minch was selected by the Council as a member of a team of Jedi Knights led by Master T ' dai to venture into Bpfassh space and end the violence instigated by the Dark Jedi . Minch and his team ' s hunt led them to a trading station owned by the Commerce Guild , where Minch was able to intercept one of the Dark Jedi alone on the station ' s fifth level . He engaged the Dark Jedi in combat , but was looked down upon by his opponent , who believed that Minch was nothing more than a mere Padawan because of his small physical appearance . Minch continued to duel while professing that he was more than a simple apprentice . However , the Bpfasshi — who still doubted the Jedi — was able to disarm , and in doing so , defeat Minch . Minch was rescued when Master T ' dai and the rest of the teammates arrived to corner the Dark Jedi while demanding to know the whereabouts of his Master , who had thus far eluded capture . The Bpfasshi conceded defeat and refused to divulge anything to the Jedi regarding his leader , before killing himself by plunging his own lightsaber into his gut . Minch ' s own Master then received a comm from their ship , the " Takara " , advising that a small craft had escaped the space station while they had been otherwise occupied . T ' dai deduced that it must be the Dark Jedi Master , and Minch was ordered alongside his comrades to take to their own starfighters in pursuit . The Jedi chased the Bpfasshi Master through the Sluis sector to the Dagobah system , where he headed to the namesake planet . While his teammates maintained orbit around the world in their fighters and awaited the " Takara " arrival , Minch broke formation to follow after their quarry . He was ordered to stand down by T ' dai , who cited that Dagobah ' s lack of technology , massive lifeforms , and severe weather conditions were ample reasons to wait for reinforcements . Minch , however , was driven to prove himself to those whom he felt discounted his miniature proportions ; he ignored T ' dai ' s instructions and followed the Dark Jedi Master ' s ion trail into Dagobah ' s atmosphere . The Dark Side Cave . The storms of Dagobah that T ' dai had identified were indeed perilous , and Minch ' s starfighter was disabled by a bolt of lightning upon entry . His ship crash - landed in a swamp , but he survived otherwise unscathed . Master T ' dai had Minch ' s coordinates and ordered him to stay put as the " Takara " was only a parsec away . Minch had other plans , though , and immediately sensed the dark presence of the Bpfasshi Master . He began to survey the area , and it was not long before he came upon the Dark Jedi , who fled capture as Minch approached . The diminutive Jedi lost sight of the Bpfasshi , but his Force sense eventually guided him to a dark cave overgrown with brush . He ignited his green - bladed lightsaber to clear a passage for himself and , upon entering the cave , demanded that the Dark Jedi surrender in the face of defeat . Scorning Minch , the Bpfasshi Master stated that there would always be those who would be willing to embrace the dark side of the Force and that perhaps Minch was one of them . Minch affirmed his status as a Jedi , but the Bpfasshi derided him as nothing more than a small child full of fear and anger . Minch attacked at that moment , intent on proving that his size was not a measure of his skill . In response , the Dark Jedi grew to an enormous height and towered over Minch . Stricken with fear , Minch lashed out with his lightsaber and struck his adversary , but the Bpfasshi did not die , much to Minch ' s surprise . Instead , he changed into hundreds of smaller versions of himself and began to overwhelm Minch , who thrashed about with his lightsaber in blind terror while his enemy repeatedly attempted to seduce him into accepting the power of the dark side . Minch ' s panic finally subsided to reveal that the Bpfasshi had been dealt a fatal blow . As he too lay on the ground , Minch was mocked again by the Dark Jedi , who proclaimed himself the victor , dying with the belief that he had successfully driven Minch into using the dark side of the Force to achieve his goal . Minch then received a comm from T ' dai stating that the " Takara " had landed on Dagobah and that he needed to prepare for extraction . The Jedi told his Master that he had slain the Bpfasshi and promptly left the cave to rejoin his comrades . The shedding of the Bpfasshi ' s blood and subsequent death at the hands of Minch within the cave on Dagobah tainted that location with the dark side , and over time , transformed it into a focal point of malevolent Force energy . Personality and traits . Minch was a short - statured , green - skinned Jedi , with eyes of the same color and brown hair that he wore pulled back in a long braid . Minch was underestimated by his opponents because of his diminutive stature ; he was mistaken for a Padawan by the first Bpfasshi Dark Jedi he fought , and was even patronized by the Dark Jedi ' s Master as a child while dueling him on Dagobah . To this end , Minch sought to prove himself as a capable Jedi Knight . He was courageous , yet impulsive , evidenced when he single - handedly attacked the Bpfasshi on board the Commerce Guild Station . His determination to prove himself combat - ready caused Minch to disobey a direct order from Master T ' dai , his superior , when he chose to break formation in pursuit of the Dark Jedi Master to Dagobah . According to the Bpfasshi Master , Minch ' s feelings were quite transparent ; he was able to sense Minch ' s anger and fear and even sought to capitalize on the young Jedi ' s emotional weakness by attempting to turn Minch to the dark side of the Force . Though Minch resisted the seductions of the darksider , his fear and anger did guide him into slaying the Bpfasshi . Upon death , Minch ' s opponent assured him that such feelings would guarantee his fall into darkness — eventually . Powers and abilities . Minch wielded a green - bladed lightsaber in an aggressive two - handed style . Even though he was able to duel opponents of greater size than himself , his skills proved insufficient in his battle against the lone Dark Jedi on board the Commerce Guild station ; the Bpfasshi broke through Minch ' s guard , causing him to both drop his lightsaber and fall to the ground . Minch displayed a talent with Force sense and was able locate the Bpfasshi Master on Dagobah by searching for him through the Force . Though unsuccessful against the learner , Minch was able to defeat the Dark Jedi Master in combat , even though his fear nearly consumed him while doing so . Minch was also a capable starfighter pilot . Behind the scenes . Minch first appeared in author Paul Lee ' s " Heart of Darkness " , which was featured in " Star Wars Tales 16 " . It was later compiled into a trade paperback version , " Star Wars Tales Volume 4 " . Plausible stories in " Star Wars Tales 1 " – " 20 " were initially considered S - canon until referenced in a non - " Tales " source , at which point the subject matter was elevated to C - canon . In the story treatment for , " Minch " was attributed as the given name of Yoda , and early drafts saw only " Minch " used . This was subsequently dropped in favor of simply " Yoda " . Lucasfilm official Leland Chee later stated that Minch and the Jedi Master Yoda are not one and the same , nor was Minch a part of the latter ' s name . Minch later received his own entry in " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " , simultaneously treating him as a unique character and raising his existence in " Heart of Darkness " to C - canon .