Uwana Buyer The Uwana Buyer was a SoroSuub Corporation Luxury 5000 space yacht owned and operated by the Human smuggler chief Talon Karrde . Heavily modified by Karrde to suit his needs , the " Uwana Buyer " was the most extravagant and luxurious vessel in Karrde ' s fleet . He used it to impress potential clients whom he considered to be gullible enough to be amazed by wealth and riches , but rarely spent much time aboard himself , preferring to operate from aboard the Action VI transport " Wild Karrde " . Karrde operated the " Uwana Buyer " through the Galactic Civil War , and he employed it as an incentive for his associates ; those who served him well were assigned to crew the yacht to take advantage of its comforts . In 8 ABY , Karrde and his Human second - in - command , Quelev Tapper , took the " Uwana Buyer " to the planet Varonat to investigate the operations of a Krish crime lord named Gamgalon . During the mission , Tapper was killed , and Karrde saved by a Human woman named Mara Jade . Description . The " Uwana Buyer " was a SoroSuub Corporation Luxury 5000 yacht owned by Human smuggler chief Talon Karrde which was worth 1 , 000 , 000 credits new , and a half - million credits used . A 65 - meter elongated crescent with two forward sweeping mandibles , the Luxury 5000 was split into two decks . Karrde gutted the ship ' s original interior and rebuilt the entire vessel to serve his purposes . He added extra cargo space along the curved bulkhead s — enough to carry 150 metric tons — and appointed the rest of the interior as opulently as a luxurious hotel . Four staterooms dominated the lower level , as well as two crew rooms . On the port aft side , Karrde added a gourmet kitchen and dining room , and a well - appointed conference room . On the starboard aft side , an exercise room and a medical bay were added , as well as a fully equipped spa and massage room . The rear of the deck was dominated by two engineering sections , and a small casino — which included two sabacc tables and a bar — was located between the two . An aft lounge led directly off the casino . Three boarding ramps served the deck ; one for passenger boarding , and one on each of the forward mandibles designed for cargo . The ship ' s airlocks were also located on the lower deck . The upper deck was smaller than the lower one . It also contained engineering sections at the rear , as well as the majority of the crew quarters and amenities , such as refreshers , a kitchen , and a galley . The bridge was at the fore of the deck , flanked by the gunwells to the forward mounted weapons . A single lift tube allowed access between the two decks . Karrde upgraded the ship ' s hyperdrive to a Class One , with a slower Class Eight as back - up , and replaced the original aging realspace engines with six Corellian Engineering Corporation Starchaser Mk . III s . Although Karrde intended to use the vessel as a place to meet and negotiate , he did not skimp on the weaponry , adding a pair of heavy laser cannons that flanked the bridge , an ion cannon , and a single proton torpedo launcher . The " Uwana Buyer " was nominally crewed by five people — a pilot and a co - pilot , as well as three gunners . However , it could be handled by only two people when the need arose . It had room for sixteen passengers and could store enough consumables to last six months . History . The most luxurious and extravagant ship in Talon Karrde ' s fleet , the " Uwana Buyer " was so named to satisfy Karrde ' s sense of wordplay when christening ships . Despite its luxury , Karrde spent little time on the ship , preferring his office and quarters aboard one of his other vessels , the Action VI transport " Wild Karrde " . The smuggler chief used the " Uwana Buyer " as a showroom , a place to take prospective clients that he felt were gullible enough to be dazzled by his wealth . In addition to that role , Karrde used the ship as a reward for his employees . Those associates who performed well for Karrde would be assigned to the ship so that their next voyage would be a comfortable one . Karrde operated the " Uwana Buyer " during the height of the Galactic Civil War . In 8 ABY , Karrde and his second - in - command , the Human Quelev Tapper , took the ship to the planet Varonat on the Ison Corridor . Karrde and Tapper were investigating the operation of a Krish crime lord , Gamgalon , on the planet , who was using a Morodin - hunting safari as a cover for illegal activities . Karrde , ever mindful of new business opportunities , wanted to see if Gamgalon ' s activities were something on which he could cut himself in . Posing as a representative of the Sif - Uwana Council , Karrde had one of his associates , a Human named Chin , gimmick the " Uwana Buyer " hyperdrive by mis - aligning the power flux connector by four degrees . That gave Karrde and Tapper a legitimate excuse to land on Varonat , and while waiting for the hyperdrive to be fixed , participate in one of Gamgalon ' s safaris . During the investigation , Karrde ' s and Tapper ' s covers were blown , and Tapper was killed . Karrde was saved by the hyperdrive mechanic whom they had hired . Like Karrde , the Human woman was operating on Varonat under an assumed name . She had suspected Karrde was more than a bored , wealthy bureaucrat upon hearing the name of his ship and the aliases that he and Tapper had used — Syndic Pandis Hart and Captain Seoul , respectively . The mechanic , whom Karrde knew as " Celina Marniss , " revealed her true name to Karrde as the pair escaped Varonat aboard the " Uwana Buyer " : Mara Jade . Commanders and crew . Talon Karrde owned the " Uwana Buyer " , but preferred to travel aboard the " Wild Karrde " , leaving the command and crewing of the ship to his associates . Quelev Tapper crewed the ship during the Varonat mission , and Karrde employed a full - time Twi ' lek masseuse to run the on - board spa . She was a medical student paying her way through school by working aboard the " Uwana Buyer " , and she doubled as the ship ' s doctor when the need arose . Behind the scenes . The " Uwana Buyer " first appeared in " First Contact " , a short story written by Timothy Zahn for West End Games ' " Star Wars Adventure Journal 1 " in 1994 . " First Contact " was later reprinted in " The Best of the Star Wars Adventure Journal , Issues 1 - 4 " in 1996 , " Tales from the Empire " in 1997 , and on " " . The ship was mentioned in " Crimson Bounty " , published in 1997 ' s " Star Wars Adventure Journal 14 " by Charlene Newcomb and Rich Handley . The " Uwana Buyer " was mentioned in " The Essential Guide to Characters " in 1995 , and was featured in the article " Ships of the Smuggler ' s Alliance " , published in " Star Wars Gamer 4 " in 2001 , which provided the first visual image of the ship by Jeffery Carlisle and expanded on its history . It later received a mention in 2008 ' s " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " .