View source for Brea Tonnika/Legends

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{{Character
|type=Criminal
|image=[[File:Tonnika_sisters.jpg]]
|name=Brea Tonnika
|homeworld=[[Kiffex/Legends|Kiffex]]<ref name="EGC">''The Essential Guide to Characters''</ref>
|birth=
|death=
|species=[[Kiffar/Legends|Kiffar]]<ref name="EGC" />
|gender=[[Gender/Legends|Female]]<ref name="EGC" />
|height=1.6 [[Imperial standard meter|meters]]<ref name="EGC" />
|mass=
|hair=[[Color/Legends|Black]]<ref name="EGC" />
|eyes=Green<ref name="EGC" />
|skin=Fair<ref name="Lightsaber Lost">{{TCW|Lightsaber Lost}}</ref>
|cyber=
|affiliation=[[Tonnika sisters/Legends|Tonnika sisters]]<ref name="Lightsaber Lost" />
|masters=
|apprentices=}}
{{Quote|There are times when one realizes how convoluted the galactic underworld is. One such occasion was researching the Tonnika Sisters on Mos Eisley.|Alliance historian [[Voren Na'al/Legends|Voren Na'al]]|The Movie Trilogy Sourcebook}}
'''Brea Tonnika''' was a [[Kiffar/Legends|Kiffar]] [[Gender/Legends|female]] and identical twin of [[Senni Tonnika/Legends|Senni Tonnika]]. The two were known as the '''[[Tonnika sisters/Legends|Tonnika sisters]]''' and became infamous [[Con artist/Legends|con artists]] under the [[New Order/Legends|New Order]].

In [[0 BBY/Legends|0 BBY]], they earned additional fame for being in the [[Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina/Legends|Mos Eisley Cantina]] when [[Luke Skywalker/Legends|Luke Skywalker]] first met [[Han Solo/Legends|Han Solo]], but in fact, the "Tonnika sisters" in the Cantina were the [[Mistryl Shadow Guard]] warriors [[Shada D'ukal]] and [[Karoly D'ulin]], masquerading as Brea and Senni in the course of a mission.

==Biography==
The best-known source of information on the Tonnika sisters is a biographical entry written by [[Alliance to Restore the Republic/Legends|Rebel Alliance]] historian [[Voren Na'al/Legends|Voren Na'al]]. However, his account contains a number of inadvertent inaccuracies, and it is unclear how far it can be trusted.

===Early years===
[[File:Brea_Tonnika_mugshot.png|thumb|left|200px|A mugshot of Brea Tonnika viewed in the [[Jedi Archives/Legends|Jedi Archives]] on [[Coruscant/Legends|Coruscant]] during the [[Clone Wars/Legends|Clone Wars]]]]
According to Na'al's account, the sisters were [[near-Human]] "Kiffu" who grew up on the colony of [[Kiffex/Legends|Kiffex]]; although "abandoned" by their parents in early childhood, they were raised by the colonists in safety and with affection, but they were led astray through a desire for money which their homeworld could not offer. When a young scout pilot arrived on Kiffex to take on provisions, the teenage twins persuaded him to take them offworld with them, claiming falsely that they had been maltreated by the colonists.

Several problems with this version of events must be noted straight away. [[Kiffu/Legends|Kiffu]] is not the name of a species, but of a planet, the homeworld of the [[near-Human]] [[Kiffar/Legends|Kiffar]]; the settlement on Kiffex was a notorious prison colony, an infamous den of lawlessness and depravity strictly interdicted by the local security forces. It can be inferred that the sisters grew up on Kiffex, and escaped in their teens through the help of a scout pilot who had landed at the colony; it may even be true that they were treated with relative affection and compassion by the criminals among whom they spent their formative years; but the entire timbre of the standard account must be treated with caution.

As early as the Clone Wars, Brea was already a criminal wanted for murder. At the time she had been spotted on Coruscant.<ref name="Lightsaber Lost" />

===Career as con-artists===
Over the following years, the Tonnika sisters acquired a reputation among [[The galaxy/Legends|the galaxy's]] leading [[Con artist/Legends|con artists]], running several notorious scams against high-society targets, ranging from [[Crime lord/Legends|crime lords]] to members of the [[Galactic Empire/Legends|Galactic Empire's]] new elite. On one occasion, they conned [[Grand Moff/Legends|Grand Moff]] [[Argon (Grand Moff)|Argon]] out of twenty-five thousand [[Galactic Credit Standard|credits]], and in [[0 BBY/Legends|0 BBY]], just before the [[Battle of Yavin/Legends|Battle of Yavin]], they were on [[Tatooine/Legends|Tatooine]] to attend a party thrown by [[Jabba Desilijic Tiure/Legends|Jabba Desilijic Tiure]] at his palace on the edge of the [[Dune Sea/Legends|Dune Sea]]. In this much, at least, Na'al's account would appear to be broadly accurate.

However, Na'al was incorrect in his claim that the twins were arrested in [[Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina/Legends|Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina]] in [[Mos Eisley/Legends|Mos Eisley]], a few hours before [[Alderaan/Legends|Alderaan]] was destroyed. Although he later acknowledged this mistake, he remained ignorant of the true identities of the women who had been in the [[Cantina/Legends|cantina]]: the [[Mistryl Shadow Guard]] warriors [[Shada D'ukal]] and [[Karoly D'ulin]]. Masquerading as the sisters, they were arrested by Imperial [[Colonel/Legends|Colonel]] [[Parq]], who was hunting the real twins, but subsequently released by Rebel agent [[Riij Winward]].

The Tonnika sisters themselves eluded capture, despite the efforts of Argon's agents, and continued to operate as con artists. The true identities of the Mistryl "Tonnika sisters" were not disclosed in Winward's report to the [[Alliance to Restore the Republic/Legends|Rebellion]], and would go unrevealed to Rebel/[[New Republic/Legends|New Republic]] personnel until D'ukal petitioned [[Leia Organa Solo]] to join the New Republic during the [[Caamas Document]] crisis.

===Identical twins===
[[File:TonnikaSisters-PoV.jpg|thumb|left|The Tonnika Sisters]]
Many of the stories told about the Tonnika sisters turn on the difficulty of telling them apart. They often masqueraded as a single woman named Bresenni, and [[Vul Tazaene]], a Kiffar [[Security officer/Legends|security officer]] searching for them, was in love with one of them, but did not know which.

One of the best-known&mdash; and perhaps most reputable&mdash; stories about the sisters involves [[Han Solo/Legends|Han Solo]], and a scam on [[Lando Calrissian/Legends|Lando Calrissian]]. Solo had come to know the sisters through his dealings with [[Jabba Desilijic Tiure/Legends|Jabba Desilijic Tiure]], and persuaded them to help him play a trick on the smooth-talking [[scoundrel]]. Solo arranged for Calrissian to meet "Bresenni" in [[The High Stakes Casino]] on the planet [[Balfron]], and although Calrissian thought that his new "girlfriend" suffered from severe personality shifts as the sisters swapped around in the role, he genuinely believed that he was growing close to her when Brea and Senni revealed the deception. As he watched a [[Hologram/Legends|holo]]-message from Han, Calrissian was at first dejected and angry, but quickly softened, although he vowed to get even with Solo for the stunt.

==Behind the scenes==
[[File:Tonnika1.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Karoly D'ulin]] and [[Shada D'ukal]] disguised as the Tonnika sisters.]]
In [[Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope|''A New Hope'']], two tall girls appear together in the Cantina scene, wearing matching catsuits, and with braided hair piled high on their heads. Played by real-life friends [[Christine Hewett]] and [[Angela Staines]], they were known by the simple production nickname "Space Girls"<ref name="CantinaRollCall">{{SWArchive|url=episode-iv/bts/article/f20030502/indexp5.html|text=Cantina Roll-Call: Shedding Light on Some Alien Aliases - And the Band Played On|archivedate=20041209222901}}</ref>

[[Christine Hewett]] has since been identified as portraying [[Shada D'ukal]], disguised as Brea Tonnika<ref name="StarWars.com Message Boards">{{SWBoards|url=thread.jspa?threadID=152583&start=1545|thread=Holocron continuity database questions|user=[[Leland Chee|Tasty Taste]]|date=2007-09-26|archivedate=20091128092741}}</ref> with [[Angela Staines]] portraying [[Karoly D'ulin]], disguised as [[Senni Tonnika/Legends|Senni Tonnika]] in [[1977]]'s [[Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope|''Star Wars'': Episode IV ''A New Hope'']].<ref name="StarWars.com Message Boards" />

It is sometimes thought by fans that the girl who kisses Han in the ANH rough-cut is one of the Tonnika sisters. In fact, this "Cantina Girl" is a different character known only as [[Jenny/Legends|Jenny]], played by actress [[Jenny Cresswell]].

In ''[[Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope]]'', these characters were identified as the interplanetary con-artistes Brea and Senni Tonnika, but the article insisted that the sisters were identical twins, both 1.6 meters tall, while the characters seen on screen were visibly different in height and appearance.<ref name="Nerf">{{Cite_web|url=http://www.nerf-herders-anonymous.net/images/SenniBreaBW.jpg|title=SenniBreaBW.jpg|work=[http://www.nerf-herders-anonymous.net Nerf-Herders Anonymous!]|archivedate=20090226031108}}</ref> Hence, [[Timothy Zahn]]'s short story ''[[Hammertong: The Tale of the "Tonnika Sisters"]]'' established a [[retcon]] that identified the girls in the Mos Eisley Cantina as [[Shada D'ukal]] and [[Karoly D'ulin]], disguised as the Tonnika sisters.

This retcon was possible due to the original ''Galaxy Guide'' material being presented from an [[in-universe]] perspective, as the work of [[Voren Na'al/Legends|Voren Na'al]]. Subsequently, however, the ''Galaxy Guide'' version of events has been further undermined by the depiction of [[Kiffex/Legends|Kiffex]] in the ''[[Star Wars: Republic]]'' comics, particularly in the [[Star Wars: Republic: Darkness|''Darkness'']] storyline, which is largely set on the prison-world.

==Appearances==
*{{TCW|Lightsaber Lost}} {{C|Mugshot}}
*{{WEGCite|book=Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope|story=Double Vision|stext=''Double Vision''}}
*''[[Hammertong: The Tale of the "Tonnika Sisters"]]'' {{Mo}}
*{{Shortstory|story=Empire Blues: The Devaronian's Tale|book=Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina}}
*{{SWG|An Empire Divided}} {{C|Cut content}}
*{{SWGTCG|set=The Price of Victory|scenario=''Double Trouble'' promotional scenario}}
*''[[The Mandalorian Armor]]''
*''[[Specter of the Past]]'' {{Mo}}
*[[Specter of the Past (unabridged audiobook)|''Specter of the Past'' unabridged audiobook]] {{Mo}}

==Sources==
{{Mediacat|imagecat=Images of Brea Tonnika}}
*''[[Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope]]'' {{1stID}}
*''[[Galaxy Guide 7: Mos Eisley]]'' {{Imo}}
*''[[The Movie Trilogy Sourcebook]]''
*[[Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope (Second Edition)|''Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope'', Second Edition]]
*''[[The Essential Guide to Characters]]''
*{{CCG|set=Premiere Limited|link=Premiere-Dark/large/tonnikasisters.gif|cardname=Tonnika Sisters}}
*''[[Star Wars Trilogy Sourcebook, Special Edition]]''
*{{CCG|set=Jabba's Palace Limited|link=JabbasPalace-Light/large/laudica.gif|cardname=Laudica}}
*{{CCG|set=Jabba's Palace Limited|link=JabbasPalace-Light/large/vultazaene.gif|cardname=Vul Tazaene}}
*{{SWArchive|url=episode-iv/bts/article/f20030502/indexp5.html|text=Cantina Roll-Call: Shedding Light on Some Alien Aliases - And the Band Played On|archivedate=20041209222901}}
*''[[Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided Quick Reference Guide]]''
*''[[Star Wars Galaxies: The Total Experience: Prima Official Game Guide]]''
*{{InsiderCite|95|Ask Lobot|Q&A}}
*''[[The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia]]''
*{{SWArchive|url=theclonewars/guide/episode211.html|text=''The Clone Wars'' Episode Guide: Lightsaber Lost|archivedate=20110615135637}}
*{{DB|character|tonnikasisters|Tonnika, Brea & Senni|archivedate=20110913184426}}
*''[[The Essential Reader's Companion]]''
*{{SW|url=series/clone-wars/lightsaber-lost-trivia-gallery|text=Lightsaber Lost Trivia Gallery}}

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

{{Interlang
|ru=Брия Тонника
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonnika, Brea}}
[[Category:Criminals]]
[[Category:Females]]
[[Category:Kiffar]]