Deathstick

Deathstick was a female Dathomirian assassin and daughter of the Nightsister Shelish, active during the reign of the Galactic Empire. She originally started out as a street criminal, but once she became known for her skills as an assassin for the Crimson Dawn and Kouhun, few later sought an audience with her.
Deathstick was a contributor to the rise of Crimson Dawn years after the death of its leader, former Sith Lord Maul, under the instruction of new Lady Qi'ra. Deathstick and her Kouhun joined the Uprising and helped fight the Empire in the Anoat sector of the galaxy.
==Biography==
===Early life===
The mysterious woman known as Deathstick was the daughter of Shelish, a member of the Nightsister coven of Dathomiri witches native to theStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Outer Rim TerritoriesStar Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary planet Dathomir. In 20 BBY,Star Wars: Timelines during the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, after having been abandoned, the former Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress rejoined her long-lost family of the Nightsisters and, aided by them, attempted to assassinate her master, the Separatist Head of State Count Dooku, and the Kaleesh warlord General Grievous and the Separatist Droid Army were dispatched by Dooku to completely wipe out the Nightsisters in retaliation for the machinations of Nightsister Mother Talzin against him.
After the battle only several Nightsisters remained,Ghosts of Dathomir including Deathstick. At that time, her mother had left her homeworld long before her people were slaughtered. As a child, Deathstick carried the weight of knowing that she was once part of something larger than herself that was taken away from her.
Growing up in the Anoat sector of the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories, Deathstick began her criminal career as a hired assassin. Through a series of spectacularly public murders of gang leaders, she ended up moving into the drug trade. At some point, she had a run-in with the Galactic Empire that cost her a great deal of her face, causing her to have an entire prosthetic lower face. This prompted her to wear a mask that only left her eyes visible.
===Imperial Era===
====Leading the Kouhun====
By the time of the Galactic Civil War, Deathstick was the leader of the Kouhun, a highly secretive and structured order of assassins based on Mataou. Under her leadership, the Kouhun murdered several high profile individuals in the sector, including the wife of Governor Ubrik Adelhard.
====Working for Crimson Dawn====
In 3 ABY,Star Wars: Timelines dates the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover to 3 ABY. Deathstick was hired by Lady Qi'ra of Crimson Dawn to join her as an assassin. She told Deathstick that Emperor Palpatine was behind the death of her people, and that by joining her she could see the Empire fall. She was tasked to hunt down the bounty hunters Beilert Valance and Dengar on Nar Shaddaa. While Valance conversed with arms dealer, Devono Vix on his knowledge about Crimson Dawn, Deathstick shot Vix's head off, killing him. She then shot Valance in the arm, wounding him and damaging his core.
Valance and Dengar managed to escape in a ship. They then thought they saw Deathstick aboard the ship, but they played it off as being nothing. However, Deathstick quickly tracked them to the hideout of Mama Stammoch and her crew. Upon reaching the hideout, she overheard Stammoch warn Valance and Dengar that the assassin would kill them all. When Dengar suggested that she was overreacting, Deathstick blew up the entrance to the hideout and assured Dengar that she wasn't. Upon entering the hideout, Deathstick and her droids laid waste to most of Stammoch's crew, forcing her, Valance, and Dengar to make an escape. Throwing a thermal detonator, they managed to blow a hole through the wall and flee from the hideout in a landspeeder. The three of them were chased by Deathstick's droids, but they jumped out of the speeder as it crashed, getting the droids off their trail. However, Deathstick had still not lost her targets and kept an eye on them as she contacted Qi'ra. When she insisted on killing them, Qi'ra told her that herding them in the right direction was an important part of her plan. She then assured the assassin that she would get to kill them soon enough.Bounty Hunters 14
Deathstick then traveled to Coronet City on the planet Corellia where she entered the Unbroken Clan safe house. She helped herself to the spice wine while waiting for Unbroken Clan General Vukorah to enter the room she was in. When Vukorah and her Mimbanese underling entered the room, Vukorah shot the Mimbanese with suspicion that he either sold her out or was incompetent. Deathstick gave Vukorah an invitation from the Crimson Dawn to the Auction for Han Solo, an auction for various crime syndicates to bid for the carbonated body of smuggler Han Solo.War of the Bounty Hunters 2 She then travelled to the city of Canto Bight on the planet Cantonica. She ambushed Dengar and Valance who were looking for someone to tell them the location of the Auction for Han Solo. She kicked Dengar and not allowing Valance to get a clear shot. Deathstick threw a thermal detonator. After kicking Dengar into a crate and Valance of the edge of the platform, Deathstick took an emergency contact device and left. However, Dengar swiped a device off of her with the location of the auction.
Heading to theBounty Hunters 16 ice planetStar Wars (2020) 14 of Jekara where the Crimson Dawn starship, the Vermillion was landed, Deathstick saved Dengar from a zugorak that was about to attack him. In exchange for saving him, Dengar gave Deathstick a drive with the location of Cadeliah on it.
Deathstick then boarded the Vermillion, where she hid and watched as Gallin Crae, Just Lucky, and Ariole Yu engaged in combat. While Lucky pointed a sniper rifle at Crae, Deathstick suddenly threw multiple bladed projectiles containing Dathomirian poison from the shadow of the ceiling at Lucky, one slicing off part of his blaster and others inflicting cuts all over him. Deathstick leaped down from the ceiling, pointing her blaster rifle at Lucky and Yu, and suggested to Crae to keep only one of the two alive. Gallin refused her request and she proceeded to shoot Lucky and Yu with a stunning harpoon to disable both of them. She then told them how Lucky will be dead in ten minutes to the poison inflicted from her throwing blades if they do not surrender.Doctor Aphra (2020) 13 She then had the two locked up in a cell, however they escaped with help from Doctor Aphra and Sana Starros. When the four entered the art gallery of the ship, they found Qi'ra and Margo talking, unaware of the intruders. When Qi'ra left however, Deathstick appeared at the scene again leaping down from the ceiling readying for an attack, while Lucky shot at her to no avail.Doctor Aphra (2020) 14 
Lucky, Yu, Starros, and Aphra hid behind display cases in the gallery, as Deathstick went on the offensive and shot viciously at them with her blaster. Deathstick then charged at them with a massive leap, throwing bladed projectiles in Aphra and Lucky's direction, missing them barely but causing them to stumble out of their cover. Aphra fled as Deathstick leaped to chase her and threw more blades at her, successfully pinning Aphra to the wall by her clothes. Deathstick then put her knife coated with the Dathomirian poison to Aphra's throat, cautioning her from moving and cutting herself to the poisoned blades. However, Yu and Starros rallied behind Deathstick and began shooting at her, causing her to swiftly disengage and disappear. Deathstick then alerted Crimson Dawn guards to reinforce the situation at the gallery, re-engaging in combat. Amidst the shootout, Aphra noticed a thought dowser in the gallery and used her electro-tattoos to activate it. The mind-controlling device caused Deathstick and the Crimson Dawn guards to freeze and fetch Deathstick's poisoned blades from her belt-pouch and to stab themselves with them against their own will, giving time for the four to escape while taunting Deathstick as she was enduring the stab wound and poison on the ground. However, Aphra and Starros abandoned Lucky and Yu in the hangar during their escape.Doctor Aphra (2020) 15 Shortly after, wounded Deathstick and Gallin Crae stumbled after them into the hangar. Deathstick surviving her own deadly poisons, still questioned why she still could not kill them, when Qi'ra walked in and refused Deathstick's requests and instead invited Lucky and Yu for a chat.Doctor Aphra (2020) 16 Deathstick was later present in the room when Qi'ra chatted with Lucky and Yu, observing silently from the background while sipping Alderaan Starlight brandy.Doctor Aphra (2020) 21
Sometime after the events involving Doctor Aphra and her company in the gallery, Qi'ra had gathered Deathstick and other prominent Crimson Dawn members together and briefed them on the upcoming "Reign."War of the Bounty Hunters 5 Deathstick withdrew to her residence, meditating privately and readying herself for the next mission anticipated by Lady Qi'ra. Deathstick contacted a member of Crimson Dawn and continued their plot to capture Cadeliah. The transmission was intercepted by a group of bounty hunters. Deathstick was later notified about the interception of transmissions and told the Crimson Dawn member to assume the bounty hunters know everything.Bounty Hunters 20 Later on, Deathstick went to meet Qi'ra for a mission assignment aboard the Vermillion, where she met Ochi briefly on her way to the meeting. The two showed mistrust against each other during the tense banter and Deathstick noted to herself afterwards that Ochi was a crazy bastard.
She then entered the offices to meet Qi'ra, Margo, and Trinia who briefed her about the current war between the criminal syndicates in the galaxy. Qi'ra gave Deathstick a datacard that had information about her next target, Cadeliah, who would be taking refuge and hiding with the Rebel Alliance from the Imperials. The target surprised Deathstick and prompted Qi'ra to ask Deathstick if there was some kind of a problem with it, in which she answered that there is none as long as she gets her credits.
Deathstick left the Vermillion and camped alone in the woods on her way to Cadeliah, examining her hologram from the datacard in the gloom of the evening. Sometime later Deathstick managed to find the location of the rebel base within Panisia in the Outer Rim Territories. She scouted the base from a distance with binoculars, searching for any signs of Cadeliah, finally finding her sitting idle in the open. Noting the large amount of rebels bustling within the base, Deathstick resorted to contact anonymously the Imperial Anti-Terrorism Watchline and reveal the location of the rebel base to the Imperials to cause a distraction and opportunity to reach Cadeliah in the ensuing chaos. She would then successfully capture Cadeliah, who tried to defend herself with a knife to no avail.
Deathstick returned to the Vermillion with a captured Cadeliah and handed her over to Qi'ra. Deathstick curiously inquired from her about what she would do with Cadeliah, in which Qi'ra answered that her job was to only deliver the girl to her and now on Cadeliah's fate would belong to Qi'ra.
When Qi'ra and the Archivist were preparing to use a device called Fermata Cage once again against Darth Vader and Darth Sidious despite losing several valuable Crimson Dawn allies in the events surrounding the previous attempt, Qi'ra asked this time Deathstick to defend the Archivist while the device was operated. Deathstick wished Qi'ra well and told her that she was no warrior nor a guard, but an assassin, and that she had already done everything she had asked of her. Deathstick then refused to aid Qi'ra further with her plan, telling her to find someone else for the job.Hidden Empire 4
====Part of T'onga's crew====
After ending the partnership with the Crimson Dawn Deathstick spent time in the Bounty Hunters Guild Social Club at a black-market district on the planet D'assem. When T'onga arrived at the club to meet Khel Tanna to negotiate about hiring a new crew for her mission, a bar-brawl ensued where Deathstick allied with Durge to beat everyone up. After Khel Tanna saw the two be the last ones standing, she was impressed and hired Deathstick and Durge to T'onga's crew.
Now part of T'onga's crew, Deathstick travelled along side the others to go after Boba Fett. On the Enigma Catalyst she watched the other crew members bicker with each other and thought this new crew should be fun. Deathstick broke inside T'onga's personal quarters in the ship when T'onga was resting to briefly chat with her, and warned her that Boba Fett would be unusually dangerous this time around as he had a big bounty on his head put on by the Black Sun Syndicate.
Later T'onga's crew successfully tracked and found the hiding Boba Fett on the Rishi Moon, which ensued into a fight against him. After Boba Fett had taken out several crew members during their fight, Deathstick saw her chances and disarmed Boba Fett of his knife with a throwing blade as he was busy brawling with Bossk'wassak'Cradossk, but was swiftly after caught in a stun net when Boba retaliated against her. Eventually, T'onga revealed that they were actually there to hire Fett for a job, which he accepted. However, Fett claimed that the group would have to do a job for him first.
After forming up a partnership with Boba Fett, the crew and Deathstick travelled on Slave I to the moon Quantxi to assist Fett deal with a Black Sun gangster Lord Xanak Grunseit, who had put the bounty on his head. The crew pretended to have captured Boba Fett and delivered him to the Black Sun leader. While the crew escorted Fett into the base of the gangsters to claim their reward on the capture of Boba Fett, the Black Sun betrayed them and held the crew at gun point, intending to eliminate them all instead of paying up. Boba Fett would then be the first one to act and initiate violent confrontation with the Black Sun, managing to instantly assassinate Xanak by throwing Syntox at his face. In the ensuing battle Deathstick vaulted around, felling gangsters with her throwing blades and blurted that she knew this crew would be fun indeed. After surviving the mission on Quantxi and having helped Fett with his bounty, Fett rewarded T'onga with coordinates to Tarr Kligson, a cyborg fixer, and claimed that this man would be able to help save Beilert Valance, which had now became the main goal for T'onga's crew.Bounty Hunters 36
The bounty hunter crew went on to travel on Enigma Catalyst to the coordinates that Boba Fett had given them and found a large space station floating in the remote location within Outer Rim Territories. They entered the docking bay of the space station and were immediately welcomed in by Telemak, the guardian of the station, and a group of other accompanying droids. The droids then took Beilert Valance further inside the station for treatment, but requested that the bounty hunters should wait in the docking bay in the meantime. The crew started to get bored waiting as the hours went by and there were no news of Valance, which prompted the crew to start investigating despite Telemak's request to stay put. T'onga told Zuckuss and 4-LOM to break off from the crew to get intel from the droids deeper in the station, while Deathstick and the rest of the crew would still stay waiting in the docking bay for the time being.Bounty Hunters 37
While 4-LOM and Zuckuss continued their secret investigations and were soon caught for it by the droids of the station, the station's guardian Telemak appeared back in the docking bay to inform the crew that they were of course welcome to visit the haven, but that it would have been preferred for them to wait in the docking bay. T'onga then chastised Telemak for letting the hours go by without news about the condition of Valance, demanding update on the situation, which prompted Deathstick to ask Durge if he too got the feeling that they will be blasting their way out soon before this all is done. Unbeknownst to the crew, Tarr Kligson had controlled Telemak all their time on the station and perceived everything through the droid. He then asked the bounty hunters to wait for a little bit longer and assured them that T'onga would see Valance soon again.Bounty Hunters 38
After more waiting, Telemak shut down in the docking bay, causing the bounty hunters to investigate and bicker with each other. Soon Deathstick would inform the crew that something is happening, as the door to the docking bay opened and revealed Beilert Valance accompanied by Tarr Cligson himself. Once again, unbeknownst to the crew, Cligson had secretly reprogrammed Valance into a vessel for the Scourge,Bounty Hunters 39 who then suddenly turned against his friends and went on to blast Catak with his palm blaster as he tried to calm Valance down and converse with him disguised as Yuralla Vega. The Scourge-infected Valance quickly departed the station, leaving Cligson to the mercy of the bounty hunters. 4-LOM was also separated from Zuckuss, escaping into the galaxy at Zuckuss's urging to flee the Scourge.
====Part of Tanna's crew====
Deathstick secretly agreed to overthrow T'onga and install Tanna as the crew's new leader. Just as the crew reached Valance's current location on the planet Epikonia, Deathstick, Durge, Bossk, and Tanna turned on T'onga and Zuckuss, who were both thrown from the Enigma Catalyst and onto the Scourge-infested world.Bounty Hunters 40 As Deathstick and her compatriots took up a new life under Tanna's leadership,Bounty Hunters 41 T'onga and Zuckuss, aided by T'onga's wife Losha Tarkon and former foe Vukorah, were actually able to restore Valance to his senses and back up his memories up to the Attack on the Executor thanks to data provided by defected Imperial officer Jyala Haydenn.
Deathstick and her allies embarked on a successful bounty hunting career. One week after the Death Match on Tatooine carried out by Valance and his allies, who had reunited with 4-LOM by that time, Deathstick and the rest of Tanna's crew were celebrated one of their successful bounties in a cantina, where Deathstick noticed Durge had finished his drink. As Deathstick, Durge, and Tanna discussed that, however, Bossk remained by himself, pondering if he had made a mistake in betraying T'onga and Zuckuss. At some point, Deathstick and her allies returned to the Bounty Hunters Guild Social Club on D'Assem, where Valance and many of his allies also happened to be.
====Iron Blockade====
Several months into the Iron Blockade between 4 ABY and 5 ABY, Deathstick was introduced at the Shadow Market on Bespin, to the Smuggler, a young scoundrel from Burnin Konn who had forged an alliance with the Ivax Syndicate and the Noble Court-in-exile. Shortly thereafter, the Smuggler underwent and passed the initiation rites of the Kouhun. Although Deathstick did not think the scoundrel could embrace the Kouhun's philosophy, she nonetheless agreed to join the anti-Empire alliance, which came to be known as the Uprising. As their first major joint operation, the Nobles, the Syndicate and the Kouhun made plans to abduct Commander Bragh, leader of the deadly Imperial Purge Troopers. It was Deathstick who outlined the plan and provided some of her assassins.
However, the planned ambush went awry as the Smuggler's sister Riley and the Ivax Syndicate sold out the Uprising and exposed their plan to the Imperials in hopes of having their death marks removed. In the ensuing fight on Anoat between the Uprising and the Imperials, many members of the Kouhun and other allies were captured, while Deathstick managed to escape and go into hiding. Soon after the incident she contacted the Smuggler through a communicator. As the Smuggler began to explain the unfortunate turn of events, she told him that if she wanted him dead, he would already be painfully and possibly hilariously dead. Deathstick then asked him if it was the Ivax Syndicate who betrayed them, in which the Smuggler responded that it did not matter and told Deathstick to leave Riley alone. Getting a sufficient enough confirmation out of the Smuggler, Deathstick ended the call abruptly with a goodbye.
Deathstick would later appear suddenly in a communicator call between the Smuggler and Loathe when they both were in the middle of rescuing the members of the Uprising from the Crypt. Taking part in the rescue operation herself, she assigned Loathe to delay the Imperial forces as the prisoners made their escape, stating that no Kouhun should live to be captured and that Loathe's sacrifice would redeem the rest. Deathstick would then admit she was too quick to dismiss the Smuggler earlier, expressing her gratitude for saving the members of the Kouhun from the Crypt. Once the Smuggler objected about sacrificing Loathe, she told him that he was not of Kouhun and it was not his business to involve in their internal matters.
Deathstick then contacted Riley and told her that her Kouhun were causing chaos within the Crypt and transmitted the location Loathe had acquired of Her Majesty's prison cell to Riley and the Smuggler for their rescue mission.
Soon after the Uprising were successful in the rescue mission and partially successful in their original objective in taking out Commander Bragh, Deathstick was present during the meeting in Paradise Atrium between the members of the Uprising, including the Rebel Alliance led by Tam Bastion, to discuss about the future of their allied resistance movement and the looming threat of Adelhard's Imperial remnant. While the accusations flew around and the tensions between the groups ran high, she would joke during the meeting about giving into her temptations and try killing all the others, especially Voras, whose Ivax Syndicate was accused of betrayal by many others of the various groups present. The Smuggler managed to reason with the groups and defuse the situation, and when he demanded acknowledgment from everyone for why their Uprising had been successful in the first place, Deathstick gave a hint that their mutual co-operation within the Uprising was a key to success, prompting Smuggler to successfully persuade others to the cause. Alongside all the other groups present, Deathstick would then accept the invitation from the Smuggler to keep continuing their Uprising with him acting as the leader, stating only mysteriously that she and her Kouhun had their reasons to be in with the alliance.
==Personality and traits==
Deathstick was interested in powerful and capable people who had the knack for survival, though she occasionally liked toying with and taunt such individuals in humorous fashion. Sometimes she offered such individuals an opportunity to challenge themselves to go through the initiation ritual of Kouhun, observing their capabilities and potential.
Deathstick killed, because after the massacre of her people, she felt alone and wanted other people to feel that way as well. She also claimed to Qi'ra that she wasn't a chatty type of person and many times had a habit of having her arms crossed across her chest when she stood idle or conversing with other people.Hidden Empire 4Bounty Hunters 35Bounty Hunters 36Bounty Hunters 38
Deathstick was impatient at times. When she was hired by Crimson Dawn, Deathstick asked Qi'ra why she could not just kill Beilert Valance and Dengar when she had a clear shot, questioning the plan. Deathstick did not like when operations or plans took too long, and would take control in order to speed it up. Deathstick was also very self-assured and amoral, and occasionally had a clipped manner of speech.
Deathstick loved physical conflicts and believed in acting because it was possible, not for family or money. She also loved collecting exotics.
==Skills and abilities==
Deathstick was talented in combat, knowing how to use exotic weaponry. She was also adept in unarmed hand-to-hand combat, being able to take on multiple opponents at the same time, and had extraordinary agility that made her able to evade blaster fire directed at her and do daring leaps and vaults. She favored the usage of shadows and guile when confronting her opponents, and her skills also extended to the usage of various gadgets, like droids and explosives.
Deathstick was also a skilled infiltrator and tracker, capable of breaking into safe-houses and following her targets throughout the galaxy. She was also quite observant, noting changes in respiration rate of others and deducing information based on that;Bounty Hunters 35 and being usually the first one to notice if there was a sudden change coming up in situations.Bounty Hunters 36Bounty Hunters 38 She also had skills in leadership roles and in strategy, devising assassination plans and directing the members of the Kouhun order.
Despite being a daughter of a Force-sensitive Dathomirian Nightsister, it was unclear whether or not Deathstick herself possessed any Force powers, although when the young Smuggler from Burnin Konn wished to pursue and learn dark side powers from Shelish, he found out that Deathstick had risen to her current mysterious power stature through her mother during the events of Iron Blockade. She was also seemingly able to just appear and vanish in places on a whim.Bounty Hunters 35Doctor Aphra (2020) 15
==Equipment==
Deathstick had an arsenal of weaponry like various bladed melee and throwing weapons, and she had a unique scoped blaster that could shoot debilitating harpoons capable of stunning or outright killing the target. She also utilized a staff for close combat and sometimes coated her blades in Dathomirian poison.
==Behind the scenes==
Deathstick first appeared the 2015 mobile game, Star Wars: Uprising, developed by Kabam. She was voiced by actress Sara Cravens. In early concept art by Brian Matyas, Deathstick had green eyes and the right side of her face was prosthetic as well. Ethan Sacks, writer of Star Wars: Bounty Hunters comic books series, decided to bring Deathstick back because he felt that she had a backstory fitting nicely into what was happening with Crimson Dawn.
Uprising portrays Deathstick as a Dathomirian Zabrak. Multiple comics set earlier in the timeline, however, depict Deathstick as a human. Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy later affirmed that Deathstick was Dathomirian. This article assumes the original depiction is accurate.
In Crimson Reign 2, Qi'ra states that Deathstick and Shelish escaped the Battle of Dathomir. However, this contradicts Uprising and Dawn of Rebellion, which both state that Shelish left years before the event even happened.Dawn of Rebellion This article assumes that the latter mentioned sources are accurate.
==Appearances==
==Sources==
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*The Art of Star Wars: Uprising
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*Star Wars: Timelines
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*Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
==Notes and references==
==External links==
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Category:Crimson Dawn personnel
Category:Cyborgs with prosthetics
Category:Dathomirians
Category:Females
Category:Members of Khel Tanna's crew
Category:Members of T'onga's crew
Category:Members of the Kouhun
Category:Nightsisters