Charon

[Marcus Starkiller]

The mysterious Charon came from a region outside the Galaxy known as "Otherspace".

History:
Their original home system was close to a black hole, which threatened to drag their homeworld into its gravitational clutches. In the face of imminent destruction, a death-worshipping religion arose. The Charon Death Cult held that as all life must eventually return to the Void of Death, it was the holy duty of the Charon to speed all life towards this end. All life, including the Charon themselves, was viewed as blasphemy. After eradicating all of the unbelievers on their homeworld, the Prophet of the Void became leader of the Charon civilization.

Ironically, it was only then that the Charon developed the capacity for interstellar travel, which they could have used to move to a safe system. Instead, they destroyed all remaining life on their homeworld and dispersed throughout Otherspace, exterminating any lifeform they came across.

Physically, the Charon resembled large arachnids, but with three body segments — a head, an upright thorax with four arms and four legs, and an abdomen containing web-spinning organs. These webs were used to trap prey, and also to provide latticework structures for the Charon to climb on. Charon were biologically divided into two main castes: a warrior caste and a bioscientist caste. All Charon technology was based on specially grown organisms rather than machines or computers (much like the Yuuzhan Vong). Standard Charon technology did not include hyperdrives, however, thus confining the species to Otherspace.

During the Galactic Civil War period, Charon were considered little more than legends. Most of the information on them was gathered from spacer's tales and rumors in cantinas by Imperial sentientologist Obo Rin on behalf of Darth Vader. However, a group of Rebel operatives, as well as a group of Imperial prisoners of war led by Grand Moff Ravik, encountered the Charon and their Prophet, Ber'asco. This encounter eventually led to the Battle of Stronghold.

Shortly after the Battle of Endor, a new leader calling himself the "Illuminated One" appeared among the Charon. This faction, calling itself the Cult of Light, rejected the traditional worship of death. Constructing hyperdrives, they escaped into the outside universe.

The Charr Ontee of Kathol were related to the Charon.

Castes:
Like the Ssi-ruuk and the Yuuzhan Vong, the Charon were divided into different castes:

Warrior; this caste looked like eight legged spiders with dark exo-skeletons, allowing them stealthy movement in dark locations. It is this caste that joined the Cult of Death so fervently, killing millions in their native dimension.
Bioscientist; smaller than their counterparts with brightly colored cilia on their forelegs, this caste were slower but far more agile then the warriors. These Charon were a caste of scientists who mastered the creation of biological constructs which lacked the free will and vitality of other lifeforms.