Aing - Tii The Aing - Tii were a secretive species of alien monks who hailed from a world within the Kathol Rift and resided near that area of space . Many members of the species were Force - sensitive ; these were the only Aing - Tii who ever left their planet , traveling about the Rift in large , organic starships and using advanced weaponry to destroy those who opposed them . The Aing - Tii were very reclusive ; they often used violence to dissuade outsiders from probing too far into their business , although a report based on a crashed Aing - Tii ship provided the galaxy with some details on their culture . Their belief system held that all events were not necessarily predetermined , but rather " guided . " Unlike the Jedi or Sith , the Aing - Tii held that the Force had neither a light nor a dark side , but was full of many colors , like a rainbow . The Aing - Tii monks only ever left their territories to attack slavers ; they believed slavery to be a great evil and were relentless in their persecution of those who thrived from it . The Jedi Order learned of the Aing - Tii at some point , and several years before the Battle of Yavin , the Jedi Master Yoda sent a smuggler named Jorj Car ' das to visit the monks so that he could be healed . Car ' das spent many years with the Aing - Tii , and his reports on them eventually found their way into the archives of the New Jedi Order . Jacen Solo spent several years learning from the Aing - Tii after the Yuuzhan Vong War ; his and Car ' das ' s reports were compiled by Tionne Solusar and printed sometime after 130 ABY , though Solo kept much of what he had learned about the monks a secret . However , when Jedi Luke Skywalker and his son Ben visited the Aing - Tii in 43 ABY , they discovered many details about what Solo had learned and how it had caused his fall to the dark side . Biology and appearance . The Aing - Tii were a species of sentient , toothless mammals who stood about two meters tall on average . They stood erect on two clawed feet , and they had two spindly arms , each with three large digits . Their bodies were covered entirely in jointed protective coverings of white , bony plates , which extended up past their necks and onto their heads , where they acted and appeared like a protective helmet . The Aing - Tii head was small and jutted out perpendicularly from their chest . The head featured two large eyes and a series of long , thin tongues that extended around half a meter from their mouths . Each Aing - Tii had a long , prehensile tail that could be used in self - defense . The Aing - Tii each had a set of painted motifs covering their entire bodies , though the patterns were unique to each Aing - Tii . The species did not communicate through speech , as they were incapable of producing sound . Instead , they conveyed information via tasting , smelling and touching each other with their six long , thin green tongues . Society and culture . The Aing - Tii were native to a planet whose location in the Kathol Rift was a closely guarded secret . The rift itself was a dangerous area of space , although by the time of the Galactic Empire they had developed space travel and many had taken to living in their semi - organic starships . The majority of Aing - Tii never left their homeworld nor had any contact with members of other sentient species . Those who did — commonly called Aing - Tii warrior monks — were highly xenophobic and reclusive , attacking any who tried to learn more about them . Although most aspects of Aing - Tii culture were not known to the wider galaxy , it was documented that all Aing - Tii seen offworld were Force - sensitive . They believed that their Force talents were gifts from their deities , " Those Who Dwell Beyond the Veil , " although they generally preferred not to use the Force when they could avoid it . They saw the Force as sacred , something that was not to be meddled with . The monks spent their entire lives performing errands for their gods , traveling through the dangerous Kathol Rift — which they also viewed as a holy place — and performing pilgrimages in the hope that they would receive " an answer " from them . The monks did make occasional use of the Force , mostly to fuel their cavernous ships . The Aing - Tii had a different view of the Force from that of other Force - users : they believed that even one who was not Force - sensitive could manipulate the energy field to do his or her bidding . Although Aing - Tii avoided using these " gifts , " the monks could instantaneously move an object — ranging in size from small items to 300 - meter - long ships — from one location to another , an ability not mastered by even the most powerful of Jedi or Sith . They were also able to teach this power to non - Force - sensitives . The Aing - Tii believed that , while life was not predetermined , everything was somehow guided by the Force . Unlike the Jedi and Sith , the warrior monks did not believe in the light or dark sides of the Force . Instead , they held that there were many different aspects to the Force . The monks were able to use myriad other Force powers , one of which was known as flow - walking . Skilled practitioners of the technique could surrender their emotions to the Force and center themselves in its flow , thus transcending time itself . An Aing - Tii could therefore use flow - walking to observe events in the past or future , so long as the monk knew the location at which the event had occurred or eventually would occur . By allowing their senses of detachment to fade , and letting their emotional selves return , however , practitioners could impose themselves upon the passage of time and begin to influence and change the course of events . Such alteration was only possible to an extent ; the Force itself was unable to be substantially altered and would ensure that events continued as they were pre - destined to do so . With its manipulation of the fabric of time , flow - walking was a complex , esoteric ability , and it remained a little - known secret among the Aing - Tii . The Aing - Tii held a deep hatred of slavery , and they often attacked slavers who roamed the Kathol Outback . Due to the sheer power of their technology , the Aing - Tii traveled in groups of three to five ships , ramming vessels laden with slaves and destroying slaver ships that were free of slaves at the time . Few outsiders realized what was behind such attacks , thinking them simply random , although those who had dealings with the Aing - Tii learned quickly of this hatred . Although Aing - Tii were quick to respond to pleas from residents of the Kathol Outback , the species kept to themselves and discouraged any attempts by others to pry into their business . They did allow a small amount of information about themselves to surface , though only to scare off any who would seek to learn more . Technology . The Aing - Tii developed a form of semi - organic technology early in their history , using it to build massive , 100 - being ships . These vessels , named Sanhedrim ship s , over 300 meters long , were used by Aing - Tii warriors to embark on pilgrimages in the Kathol Rift , to attack slavers , and to respond to distress calls sent by the people of the Kathol Outback . Each Sanhedrim was unique , with numerous symbols painted on the hull and dozens of conical exhaust ports and thruster pods jutting out at random places . Each Sanhedrim was roughly ovoid in shape and covered in thick hull plates , not unlike the imbricated hides of an Aing - Tii themselves . Sanhedrims had weaponry that , in comparison to that used by the Galactic Republic and Galactic Empire , were extremely advanced and deadly . Over 60 gunners on each ship used energy web generator s and null - burst projector s to destroy enemy ships with ease , although the Aing - Tii often rammed other vessels instead . The monks used non - deadly weapons to dissuade those who had taken an interest in them ; the mysterious weapons altered the victim ' s perception of time , allowing the Aing - Tii to escape to their home territory . Aing - Tii ships usually traveled in groups of three or four , although it was not uncommon for a ship to wander by itself . The Sanhedrims were also able to evade being picked up by other ships ' sensors . The Aing - Tii were reported to have a sort of symbiotic connection with the ships they served on . The Aing - Tii developed a method of moving from one destination to another , which was barely comprehensible to anyone but the monks . They used the Force in conjunction with their unique technology to instantaneously move their ship through space . It was this technology , combined with their natural ability as navigators , that allowed them to travel through the dangerous Kathol Rift unhindered . Another piece of Aing - Tii technology was the " Vor ' cha " stun stick . These appeared to be wooden sticks wrapped in some kind of wire that could deliver a powerful energy charge , rendering a victim unconscious . The " Vor ' cha " were able to penetrate armor and electrocute a victim regardless of what he or she was wearing . History . The galaxy knew very little of the Aing - Tii ' s early history , and for centuries their existence was known only to a select few who had seen them in the flesh . The species ' reclusive nature meant that they rarely interacted with the other inhabitants of the Rift , and even then only to banish slavers or answer pleas for help . Their rumored powers piqued the curiosity of spacers , who made several attempts to learn more about the monks . One group managed to sneak a micro - espionage droid onto an Aing - Tii ship during the time of the Galactic Republic ; this provided the rest of the galaxy with its first images of the reclusive species . This attempt was eventually halted by the monks , although around the same period an Aing - Tii vessel crashed on a remote world and provided the denizens of the Kathol Sector with much information on the species and their technology . Nevertheless , knowledge of the monks was always scarce . The Jedi Order had learned of the Aing - Tii by the time of the Ruusan Reformation and the species received an entry in the Jedi training manual " " , although the Aing - Tii themselves were indifferent towards Jedi . Some time before the Battle of Yavin , the Jedi Master Yoda sent Jorj Car ' das , a former smuggler whose health was deteriorating , to the monks so that he could be healed . The Aing - Tii agreed to heal Car ' das , though only on the condition that he spend his life learning of their ways . Although Car ' das was not Force - sensitive , he learned of their abilities and studied under them for decades . They eventually allowed him to leave and live out his life on Exocron . At some point , the Aing - Tii began searching for the Codex , a pyramidal construct made of ancient DarkStryder technology . They saw the Codex as sacred , and their culture dictated that an Aing - Tii could not physically touch the item , which could enhance one ' s ability to use the Force . They believed it was a remnant from " Those Who Dwell Beyond The Veil , " and that it granted the ability to contact the mysterious beings . Desperate to get their hands on it , the monks kidnapped a Human named Makezh around 7 ABY and reprogrammed him , subconsciously teaching him to locate and retrieve the Codex , as he was not bound by their customs . The Aing - Tii had a limited knowledge of the Human psyche , and Makezh suffered from a state of mild insanity , and the near eradication of his memories as a result of the brainwashing . Makezh joined the crew of the New Republic vessel " FarStar " at Danoor ; they required a navigator to traverse the Kathol Rift as they were tracking a rogue Imperial Moff named Kentor Sarne . Before the vessel could enter the Rift , however , they were engaged by an " Imperial II " - class Star Destroyer and a CR90 corvette named the " Lialic II " . During the battle , an Aing - Tii Sanhedrim ship assisted the " FarStar " in defeating the Imperial force . During the " FarStar " trip through the Rift , they encountered an alien construct . A mission group went aboard , and while searching the construct , they discovered the Codex , although they were not aware of its purpose or significance to the Aing - Tii . Makezh , aware of the Codex ' s presence , was compelled by his programming to steal it , and he absconded from the ship over the planet Demonsgate , traveling to the surface to present it to the Aing - Tii . Nevertheless , Makezh was pursued by Imperial stormtroopers and bounty hunters , forcing the Aing - Tii into a confrontation wherein they used their " Vor ' cha " to incapacitate the soldiers . The Aing - Tii eventually took the device for themselves ; rather than repaying Makezh for all he had gone through to get the Codex for them , they took him , along with many of the unconscious Imperials , onto their ships to study . The Aing - Tii were later involved in the Battle of Kathol System , an engagement between the " FarStar " and her allies against Moff Sarne ' s Imperial forces . Some reports claim that the Aing - Tii were responsible for the destruction of the " FarStar " during the battle , but the New Republic attempted to keep the ship ' s mission secret , and details on it were kept quiet . Around the same time , an elderly female Bith trader named Maddie Macatten put great effort into tracking down the Aing - Tii and discovering their homeworld . The monks had previously freed her from slavers , and she wished to find them and thank her rescuers face - to - face . Macatten discovered a large amount of accurate information on the monks , although she was extremely old and most considered her insane , shrouding her findings in questions about their accuracy . The Aing - Tii also made an enemy during this period : the government of Sapella held a grudge against the monks after one of the Aing - Tii Sanhedrim collided with and destroyed one of their defense vessels . It was in actuality an accident , although the people of Sapella claimed that the Aing - Tii had attacked them on purpose . Jorj Car ' das , the smuggler whose life the Aing - Tii had saved , kept in contact with his former hosts and occasionally called in favors from them . In 19 ABY , the Aing - Tii attacked a fleet of slavers commanded by a Rodian named Rei ' Kas , who had assaulted Exocron . The monks destroyed the slavers at Car ' das ' s request and transported his ally Talon Karrde to Bastion on one of the monks ' rare journeys away from the Kathol Outback . Car ' das later bade the Aing - Tii use their ships to transport him when he completed various errands . The Aing - Tii ships would later be compared to those of the extra - galactic Yuuzhan Vong after their assault on Obroa - skai in 25 ABY . After the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War in 29 ABY , the Jedi Knight Jacen Solo journeyed to the Kathol Rift to study with the Aing - Tii monks . He learned much from them . By the time of his departure the monks had come to view Solo as a flawed student , but they did impart to him the knowledge of flow - walking , guiding and instructing the traveling Jedi Knight in the use of the intricate ability . When Solo returned to the New Jedi Order , he made a report based on his findings , which , along with an essay on the monks written by Talon Karrde , was published by Tionne Solusar in her guide to the Force . Solo , however , kept much of what he had learned from the monks secret from his fellow Jedi , and Karrde had learned little from Car ' das , so the Aing - Tii remained largely unknown to the wider galaxy . In 43 . 5 ABY Luke Skywalker and his son Ben traveled to the Kathol Rift , hoping to learn more about what caused Jacen Solo ' s fall to the dark side . They arrived on the Aing - Tii homeworld and were met by Tadar ' Ro , the monks ' liaison . Over the next few days the Skywalkers were taught the arts of flow - walking and Force teleportation . They were also brought into the Embrace , a series of caves and caverns below the planet surface where the Aing - Tii kept sacred objects , which they called relics . Luke was allowed to touch the object known as the Codex , which he hoped would grant him some sort of revelation . While the relic held no answers for him , Luke did sense a mass of dark energy that he believed originated from The Maw . Their visit proved inconclusive , so the two Skywalkers left the planet soon thereafter . Behind the scenes . The Aing - Tii were created for " The DarkStryder Campaign " , a West End Games " " adventure series released in 1995 . In the supplement , gamemasters are encouraged to feature the Aing - Tii as either enemies or allies , and they play a recurring role in the campaign ' s storyline . Timothy Zahn , who was involved in the " DarkStryder Campaign " , reused them in his novel " Vision of the Future " in 1998 , providing them with their first non - game appearance . Since " Vision of the Future " , the Aing - Tii have been mentioned in a number of sources , including James Luceno ' s " " , Troy Denning ' s " " , the " Legacy of the Force " series , and " " . They are featured heavily in the second " " novel , " " .