Night - Soarer The Night - Soarers were a sentient species from the planet Tyluun . They were bipedal in form , and large wings extended from their ribcages and arms , making them capable of independent flight . Night - Soarers earned a reputation in the galaxy as assassins through their stealth and cunning . Some Night - Soarers participated in gladiatorial games , such as the Tandem Open on Jervo ' s World or death matches aboard The Wheel . Biology and appearance . The Night - Soarers were a sentient species , of either blue or brown skin pigmentation . They had pointed ears and a bald head with a central cranial projection . The Night - Soarers were bipedal in form , and their arms ended in five - fingered hands that were tipped with sharp claws . Their most distinguishing characteristic was a pair of membranous wings formed by webbing that extended from their ribcages . For some Night - Soarers , these wings extended out to about the elbow , whereas for others , the wings extended well beyond their wrists . These wings were strong enough for the Night - Soarers to achieve independent flight . Some Night - Soarers wore garments only on their lower half , while others also wore armless tunics . They were capable of speaking Galactic Basic Standard . History . Galactic Republic . The Night - Soarers originated from Tyluun , a gloomy planet located in the Juvex sector of the Mid Rim . They were part of the wider galaxy by as early as 3963 BBY . In that year , two Night - Soarers competed in the Tandem Open on Jervo ' s World , a space station orbiting Pantolomin . The Tandem Open was one of the feature events at the station , in which all competitors were airborne ; working in pairs , they attempted to defeat all other opponents using non - lethal weapons , until only two participants were left standing in each heat . Those two survivors then progressed through to the next round . One of the Night - Soarer players was knocked out in the semi - final round while trying to eliminate two other players — a Mandalorian going by the name of " Spikes , " and Goethar Kleej , a Gotal veteran of the competition — who were fighting each other on the ground . The Night - Soarer and his jetpack - using partner approached them from the air , believing them to be too distracted to notice their arrival ; however , Goethar and Spikes saw them coming and shot them both out of the air , eliminating them from the event . The second Night - Soarer — considered to be among the meanest Franchise players in the competition — survived through to the final . For that round , the organizers had a vested interest in ensuring certain finalists were eliminated : Goethar and his son Aubin , who was trying to expose the inhumane training and recruitment practices behind the franchise running the tournament , as well as Spikes and Zayne Carrick , against whom one of the organizers , Jervo Thalien , carried a grudge . In order to facilitate those players ' elimination , the organizers soaked the Night - Soarer ' s claws in venom . He then proceeded to attack Goethar directly while the Gotal was riding his swoop . However , when Goethar accelerated into his attacker , the Night - Soarer was pinned to the front of the vehicle as Goethar crashed through one of the windows overlooking the course . The Night - Soarer was eliminated from the Tandem Open , with Spikes eventually declared the winner . Republic Dark Age . During the Republic Dark Age , large numbers of Night - Soarers served in Sith Lord Malakite ' s Menagerie forces . The technology - hating Sith Lord bred them in large numbers since his strategy involved using large waves of organic troops to overwhelm technologically - superior enemies . They saw action during the Second Battle of Skarpos where they ferried Malakite ' s Mutate soldiers . Galactic Empire . By the time of the Galactic Civil War , Night - Soarers had earned a reputation throughout the galaxy as cunning and stealthy assassins , making them invaluable to the criminal underworld . In 0 ABY , a Night - Soarer participated in a death duel aboard The Wheel , a space station and gambling haven located in the Besh Gorgon system of the Mid Rim . Held in a zero gravity arena filled with explosive planetoids , the Night - Soarer was one of the last four surviving gladiators . Knowing that two of the other competitors — a smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee companion , Chewbacca — would work together , the Night - Soarer hid behind a planetoid , waiting to strike when they were committed to attacking other opponents . When it appeared that Chewbacca had struck down Solo , the Night - Soarer moved in on the Wookiee from behind , wanting to get close enough to ensure a clean kill . His plan failed , however , when Solo — only faking his own death — signaled to the Wookiee that the Night - Soarer was approaching . Chewbacca spun around , shooting the Night - Soarer with his blaster and killing him . Behind the scenes . The Night - Soarer species first appeared in two successive issues of the " Star Wars " comic series published by Marvel Comics in 1979 . The two issues , " " and " " , were written Archie Goodwin and penciled by Carmine Infantino . Following this , the Night - Soarers were absent from Star Wars continuity for almost 30 years , until receiving an entry in " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " , which clarified the correct capitalization ; prior to this the species had only been spelled all in capitals . The next year , Night - Soarers appeared in two successive issues of the " " comic books published by Dark Horse Comics in 2009 . These two issues , " " and " " , were written by John Jackson Miller and penciled by Brian Ching . In his production notes for issue 41 , Miller reveals that this story arc was in part a tribute to the work of Goodwin , hence the re - appearance of the Night - Soarers as well as other elements such as a Mandallian Giant and the spectator riot that occurs at the close of the comic . Night - Soarers also appeared in " " and " " , the thirteenth and fourteenth issues of " " , which were released on August 8 and September 12 2012 . In this story arc , they appeared as minions of the Sith Lord Malakite , a lesser antagonist within the series . Their story plot was also written by Miller and they were penciled by Marco Castiello .