Talisman (artifact)

"Starlog 3-24-1 from the bridge of the cruiser RS Revenge, Captain Kazan reporting. We are awaiting the return of Captain Han Solo and his first mate, Chewbacca, who are long overdue on a delicate mission to acquire the mystical talisman which has been sought by our forces and by the Empire."

―Captain Kazan

The Talisman was an artifact believed to be able to turn things invisible, but actuality spread a sleeping virus that affected Humans. Sometime between 0 ABY and 1 ABY, the talisman was sought by the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance, and was found by Alliance operatives Chewbacca and Han Solo. Solo was affected by the virus and was tied upside down by Chewbacca to keep him alive by ensuring blood flow to his head. Chewbacca destroyed the talisman in an incinerator aboard the Millennium Falcon, though not before Luke Skywalker was affected. Skywalker and Solo were both saved thanks to a serum aquired by Boba Fett.

Description

"The talisman. It makes things invisible, I think."
[squeals]
"Yes even you. Which I think might be an improvement."

―C-3PO and R2-D2

The talisman was gray in appearance and seemed to glitter. It had a round base with the protruding shape of an insectoid creature sticking out from it. Some writing was inscripted on the talisman below the inectoid. It also had a purple ribbon attached to it. The talisman was believed to have the power to make things invisible, but it actually spread an Imperial sleeping virus that only affected Humans.

History

"R2-D2 has detected contamination, it must have come from the talisman."

―C-3PO

Between 0.5 ABY and 1 ABY, during the Galactic Civil War between the Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, the talisman was sought by both factions. Han Solo and Chewbacca went on a mission to recover it for the Alliance, which they succeeded at, with the bounty hunter Boba Fett allowing it in a plan to locate the Rebel's new base. However, the Human Solo was affected by the sleeping virus and hung upside down by Chewbacca inside their ship, the Millenium Falcon, to allow the blood to flow to his head, preventing Solo's death. The Millennium Falcon nearly collided with a Rebel base that it was overdue to return to, before crashing on the moon Panna Prime. Solo's friend Luke Skywalker left to rescue them along with the droids C-3PO and R2-D2.

After Skywalker found the Millennium Falcon with the help of the mysterious bounty hunter Boba Fett, he walked in on Chewbacca depositing the talisman in a trash chute. While calling out for the Wookiee to stop, Skywalker became affected by the sleeping virus. Chewbacca explained to the droids, who translated for Fett what had happened and tied Skywalker up next to Solo. Fett and Chewbacca then travelled to Panna City to find an antidote, which they used to cure the two Humans. The entire incident with the talisman was described by C-3PO as an Imperial plot, and it was later portrayed in a cartoon narrated by the Alliance Captain Kazan.

Behind the scenes

The talisman appeared in The Story of the Faithful Wookiee, a cartoon written by George Lucas and produced by Nelvana Studios. It originally aired on television in 1978 as part of The Star Wars Holiday Special. The 1995 reference book The Essential Guide to Characters stated that part of Fett's motivation—as revealed during a transmission made to Darth Vader in Panna City—was to acquire the talisman for himself, in contrast to the events portrayed in the cartoon, where the talisman had already been destroyed by that point.

Appearances

• The Story of the Faithful Wookiee (First appearance)
• The Story of the Faithful Wookiee Little Golden Book

Sources

• The Essential Guide to Characters
•  Fett, Boba in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
• "Classic Moment" – Star Wars Insider 106