Odenji The Odenji were a sentient species indigenous to the planet Issor , which they shared with their cousin species , the Issori . Originally a nomadic underwater society , the Odenji moved to the land after being discovered by the Issori , with whom they formed a merged society . The two species advanced together and colonised the rest of their native star system , after which they were discovered by the rest of the galactic community . Members of the species could breath on land and in water , due to possessing gills and lungs , and instead of a nose each Odenji possessed four olfactory flaps . The Odenji suffered a long period of species wide depression known as the melanncho , during which their population was severely reduced . Following the disastrous period , the Odenji became a sad and pitiful species , rarely displaying happiness and taking a more apathetic role in their homeworld ' s society . Individual Odenji continued to suffer personal melanncho long after the period of species wide depression was over . Biology and appearance . The Odenji were a sentient species of medium - sized hairless , aquatic , bipeds which on average stood between 1 . 5 and 1 . 8 meters tall . The species was adapted to life underwater with both gills and large webbed hands and feet , although they also possessed lungs and so were perfectly capable of living and breathing on land . Odenji had normal upright humanoid posture , with two arms and two legs , the former of which ended in four - fingered hands . These limbs allowed the species to be capable swimmers . An Odenji ' s face included two large black eyes positioned above four horizontal flaps of skin with the same olfactory purpose as a nose . The species also possessed a protrusion on either side of their chin . Their skin was smooth and ranged from dark brown to tan in color . They were cousins to the Issori species , with whom they shared their homeworld . Society and culture . The Odenji were originally a nomadic culture which dwelt entirely within the oceans of their homeworld Issor , using feudal technology to survive . This changed upon the discovery of the Odenji by the Issori , who persuaded the Odenji to relocated their entire society onto the land . There the Issori and Odenji lived together , sharing the Issori ' s more advanced technology and eventually creating a space program which allowed them to colonise other worlds . The merged society in which the Odenji lived was governed by the Tribes of Issori and Odenji , which also came to govern the worlds the two species colonised . After the Odenji and Issori made contact with the rest of the galactic community , they imported large amounts of off - world technology , bringing them up to speed with other cultures . For the most part the Odenji allowed the Issori to handle all trade within the galactic community , although the species still aided in the production of the goods they traded . During the period of melanncho depression and violent crime reached an all time high within the Odenji species . Following the disastrous period , the Odenji became a sad and pitiable people , with few ever expressing happiness , joy or humor unless with very close friends of family . Due to the sadness , most Odenji behaved in an extremely apathetic manner , and many refused any positions of authority . Despite this outward attitude many Odenji wished to be more joyful , and some devoted their time to pursuit of happiness against the seemingly insurmountable odds . Any Odenji could fall into a personal melanncho after a tragic or disturbing event in their life , including the death of a friend of family member . When some Odenji came to believe that the melanncho had been caused by the species migration away from the oceans , they returned to their watery home , shunning all technology beyond the feudal devices their ancestors had used beneath the waves . History . Native to the Outer Rim Territories world of Issor , located in the Arkanis sector ' s Issor system , the Odenji ' s first developed culture was nomadic and totally aquatic . They lived in this manner until they were eventually discovered by their land - dwelling Issori cousins , who shared their feudal technology with the aquatic beings . The Odenji were then persuaded to move their society onto the land , leading to the two species soon living in unison and working together under a combined Tribes of Issori and Odenji . Within a few centuries of the two species cooperating they had reached information level technology due to a hugely increased rate of scientific advancement . Together with the Issori the Odenji started a space program to search for other intelligent life , and soon the two had colonised all of the other planets within their system including Trulalis where they established dominance over the Human population living there . The region of space in which Issor fell was first widely explored between 20 , 000 BBY and 15 , 000 BBY , and some years after the Odenji and Issor space program had begun , they were contacted by a Corellian scout team who landed on their planet , and although initially surprised at finding other sentients , the two partner species quickly joined the galactic community and gained access to far superior techonology to their own . The Issor system became the economic powerhouse of the entire Arkanis sector in terms of legal trade , with Issor becoming an industrial world . During the period between 11 , 000 BBY and 12 , 000 BBY the Odenji ' s homeworld fell within a region controlled by the Galactic Republic , but by 1004 BBY it was within the region known as Hutt Space , which was controlled by the Hutt species , and itself apart of Sith controlled space during the New Sith Wars . Several centuries prior to 0 ABY , the Odenji were nearly wiped out during a period known as the melanncho , in which they suffered an unexplained species - wide sadness . The sadness was so great in some individuals that it drove them to insanity and eventually death . The Odenji survived , but despite Issori attempts at helping , their population was severely reduced , leaving the Issori as the far more populous species on their shared homeworld . Even after the species wide melanncho subsided , many individual Odenji continued to experience it and various theories eventually arose as to what had caused the great depression . Some believed that the Odenji had been infected by a virus or strain of bacteria , and that the sadness was a symptom of the disease . This view was held by the Issori smuggler Fahs Oxsor , who mentioned the melanncho when his friend Toob Ancher came down with the disease known as Bitter Winter , which was similar to melanncho . Some Odenji started to believe that the depression had been caused by their migration from the sea , and as such small communities of Odenji began to move back under the water , much to the horror of the Issori . The region of space within which the Odenji lived was taken over from the Hutts by the newly formed Galactic Empire in 19 BBY . A new theory as to the cause of the melanncho period was created by Imperial scientists , who claimed the depression was merely a genetic default in the species which would of wiped them out had it not been for the intervention of Human medicine . Issor was no longer considered to be in Imperial space by 4 ABY . In the year 25 ABY , the Odenji homeworld fell within a region of space with an average of population per planet of between one million and ten million sentients . By 137 ABY The Odenji ' s homeworld fell within the Galactic Empire of the Sith Lord Darth Krayt . Odenji in the galaxy . Some Odenji did leave their homeworld and travel the galaxy , although not in as greater numbers as the Issori . Those that did leave could often be found on ocean worlds or in marine - related professions . Odenji who began suffering from melanncho while away from home would usually return to Issor and spend the remainder of their days living in the planet ' s oceans . Behind the scenes . The Odenji were first mentioned in " A Bitter Winter " , a short story written by Patricia A . Jackson and published in 1995 in " Star Wars Adventure Journal 5 " . The species later received an entry in the " Alien Encounters " article series , which was written by Brian Smithson and published in " Star Wars Adventure Journal 13 " . This entry included roleplaying stats for the species use in the West End Games " " , and an image of the species . A shortened version of the " Alien Encounters " article entry was included in 1998 in " Alien Encounters " , a book compiled by Paul Sudlow , which also included a new illustration of the Odenji .