Panha Panha was a female Chiss explorer at the time of the Yuuzhan Vong War , a pan - galactic conflict that began in 25 ABY when the Yuuzhan Vong species attacked the Outer Rim Territories . Partnered with the Wookiee Sarkkin , Panha operated a starship , the " Pythea " , alongside her companion , with the two explorers acting as the vessel ' s sole crewmembers . In the opening months of 25 ABY , having intercepted a transmission from the last survivor of a recently devastated race alerting the galaxy to the arrival of a powerful species of invaders known as the Yuuzhan Vong , Panha recognized the name due to the fact that the Yuuzhan Vong had attacked her own people on a prior occasion . Aware of the danger faced by the galaxy , Panha and Sarkkin piloted their vessel to the nearest world , Artorias , in order to forewarn them of the imminent arrival of a Yuuzhan Vong armada . Panha barely managed to make contact with the planet ' s communication center and warn its lone monitor of the approaching warfleet before a Yuuzhan Vong cruiser disabled the " Pythea " and dispatched troops to board the vessel . In the resulting skirmish , Sarkkin was badly wounded and , although Panha and her Wookiee companion managed to kill all of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors , they decided that rather than be captured they would attempt to inflict at least some damage against the Yuuzhan Vong fleet . The explorer piloted the " Pythea " into the prow of an approaching Miid ro ' ik cruiser , sacrificing herself and Sarkkin . Biography . Exploring the galaxy . Panha was a female explorer whose species had , in the distant past , fought an aggressive and warlike species known to them as the Far Outsiders . Having become an explorer in her adult life , partnered with the Wookiee Sarkkin , Panha was used to piloting the exploratory starship " Pythea " in which she and her friend traveled . Together , the two explorers they journeyed through the galaxy . Panha had a good - natured relationship with her fellow explorer , with whom she shared a home together . In the early months of 25 ABY , Panha and Sarkkin were piloting the " Pythea " in the Outer Rim Territories during their exploration of the galaxy . On one occasion when the Chiss explorer arrived in the vessel ' s bridge , she found the pilot chair empty , despite the fact that Sarkkin was supposed to have been flying the craft . Once she had called out his name and ascertained that the Wookiee was in the bridge ' s small communications center , Panha climbed the ladder to join her companion , while playfully teasing him for the smell she had detected during the last several days . Sakkin , however , had been investigating a weak communications signal the " Pythea " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s array had picked up and was trying to boost the signal in order to receive the message . Once he had been able to do show , Panha remained silent next to the Wookiee as an unidentified warrior began relating the nature of his species ' culture and history . The unknown speaker told of how his race had a society oriented around martial conflict and warfare but that against an overwhelming invading force , which he referred to as the Yuuzhan Vong , these cultural aspects had little relevance . The warrior ' s species had been devastated in the attack ; he urged recipients of the message to flee the oncoming Yuuzhan Vong invasion force while they still could , as attempting to fight the species was futile . Sacrifice . Recognizing fearfully the name of the Yuuzhan Vong , Panha rushed down to the pilot controls , ignoring Sarkkin ' s confused questions . She took the controls and powered up the engines , telling Sarkkin to check the long range scanner s in case the Yuuzhan Vong were closer than they expected . Sarkkin soon informed her as the " Pythea " sped away that there was a large mobile mass on the scanners , which Panha gravely confirmed was a Yuuzhan Vong armada . Realizing that worlds in the path of the oncoming fleet had to be warned , Panha asked Sarkkin to relay data on the closest inhabited world . When the Wookiee replied that the closest such planet was Artorias but that they were too far away to communicate the news , Panha simply stated that they would have to move closer to Artorias , despite the danger such a trajectory would place them in the path of the armada . As Panha and Sarkkin piloted the " Pythea " to Artorias , the Yuuzhan Vong fleet continued on its course ; Panha explained that whether or not she and Sarkkin were placed at risk , what mattered most was that the inhabitants of Artorias were warned of the imminent threat to their existence . The Yuuzhan Vong fleet , however , dispatched several vessels , including a miid ro ' ik cruiser , to intercept the " Pythea " . Deciding that escape was an impossibility , Panha asked Sarkkin to re - route power to the communications system in order that they could warn Artorias before their own destruction . The Yuuzhan Vong force closed in and Panha desperately tried to contact Artorias , receiving no response . A yorik - vec assault cruiser fired a plasma burst at the " Pythea " , breaching the starship ' s hull . Just as Sarkkin reported the damage , an individual on Artorias finally responded . Panha hurriedly informed the man of the approaching invasion fleet and of its prior conquest , urging him to evacuate . Gratefully , the individual wished her luck on behalf of the planet ' s populace . Panha and Sarkkin then turned to the pressing issue of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors who had boarded the " Pythea " . As the warriors neared the bridge , Panha drew her blaster while Sarkkin prepared to attack the warriors with brute strength . During the brief skirmish that ensued , Panha was able to down several Yuuzhan Vong warriors , though Sarkkin was stabbed through the midsection with an amphistaff . The two explorers realized as they fought that the Yuuzhan Vong were attempting to take them alive . In the end , the entire enemy boarding party was vanquished , although Sarkkin lay badly wounded among the slain warriors . All the while , the Yuuzhan Vong cruiser drew closer to the starship . The two friends agreed that they would not face capture ; leaving Sarkkin wounded , Panha took the controls for the last time and drove the starship into the prow of the Yuuzhan Vong cruiser , immolating herself and Sarkkin along with the " Pythea " . Personality and traits . Panha was a selfless being , who first risked her life , and then gave it up entirely , in order to warn strangers of their imminent peril . Aware of the threat of the Yuuzhan Vong , the explorer acted in haste and panic to alert Artorias to the threat , while remaining practical enough to realize the situation in which she and Sarkkin had found themselves . Rather than face capture , Panha chose to fight a numerically superior enemy before sacrificing herself and her companion in order to inflict greater damage against the foe . The explorer had a companiable relationship with Sarkkin , lightheartedly teasing him for his personal hygiene and for his abandonment of the controls during ther exploratory travels aboard the " Pythea " . She cared for the Wookiee and they knew one another well enough to come to an agreement over their final course of action . Although Panha was an explorer , she was not without a home entirely . Behind the scenes . On 7 February 2009 , the official " Star Wars " website announced that Dark Horse Comics would be releasing a new comic series titled " " , revolving around the events of the Yuuzhan Vong War , which itself had been the focus of Del Rey ' s nineteen - book . The comic was released in July of the same year , with two eight page previews released online in the months of May and June , respectively , as a prelude . The first of these installments , " Invasion 0 , Part 1 " , was released on May 8 , and introduced Panha and her companion Sarkkin . Panha ' s role in the series was brief , however , as the second half of the sixteen page comic featured the suicidal sacrifice of the two explorers . In the comic , Panha was drawn by artist Colin Wilson and colored by Wes Dzioba .