Basilisk war droid/Legends

The Basilisk war droid was a powerful, semi-sentient combat droid, designed by the Basiliskan race native to the planet Basilisk, located in the Core Worlds. Following the Mandalorian Crusaders' conquest of Basilisk in 4017 BBY, the Mandalorian warriors pillaged the powerful war droids for themselves. To the Mandalorians, the Basilisk droid was known as the Bes'uliik—the "iron beast" in the Mandalorian language of Mando'a—and came to be valued as animal-like companions. Measuring several meters in height, Basilisk droids resembled a cross between a Zalorian rock-lion and a Karran beetle, though there were those that noted the similarity between the war droids and their reptilian Basiliskan creators. Basilisk war droids were armed with an array of weapons in and on their armored frame, including laser and pulse-wave cannons, shockwave generator rods, and shatter-missile launchers. The Mandalorians were known for riding Basilisk war droids down into the atmosphere of a world from space at tremendous speeds, using gravitational force and the element of surprise to overwhelm their foes. Over time, the warrior culture adapted the droids to suit different combat roles, and developed new iterations of the Basilisk that included enhanced features such as a closed cockpit.

With the Basilisk war droids under their control, the Mandalorian Crusaders struck at worlds across the galaxy, conquering Kuar and assaulting the shipyards of Foerost. Aligned with the Sith Lords Ulic Qel-Droma and Exar Kun during the Great Sith War, the Mandalorians rode their Basilisks into combat during an attack on the galactic capital of Coruscant, and again during the fighting at Ossus against the forces of the Galactic Republic. At Onderon, the Mandalorian Basilisk riders flew in opposition to the world's famed Beast Riders.

Description

A beast-like droid, the Basilisk war droid visually resembled a mechanical cross between a Zalorian rock-lion and a Karran beetle, standing on its six legs—two clawed, powerful front legs, and four smaller hind legs—at a height that varied from 2.98 meters upward to closer to five meters, depending upon the model. The Basilisk's droid brain gave it a rudimentary, animal-like self-awareness of a semi-sentient degree, and though they could operate independently, the war droids most often took the role of loyal mounts to direction-giving riders, and had to be powered up or shut down externally in a process that took seconds. Basilisk droids formed powerful empathetic relationships with their riders.

A Basilisk war droid and its rider in battle

The bodies of Basilisk droids were heavily armored and often colored in shades of green, though others were known to display hues of gray, or red with gold. Mandalorian riders, who controlled the beast-like droids from protective armored saddles atop the Basilisks, were known to garnish their mounts with an assortment of their personal weaponry strapped to the droid's body, including axes, swords, and flashpistols. The war droid's open combat models were, themselves, armed with a powerful array of artillery: pulse-wave cannons and auto-firing laser cannons, shatter-missile launchers, and concussion missile launchers with a four-missile payload could all be found on or under the armored plates of Basilisks. At the droid's nose resided the Basilisk's primary weapon, a cluster of shockwave generator rods that together could form a burst of plasma capable of ripping through the hulls of starships. Even the droid's heavy claws that adorned it's two front legs, used mostly as landing struts or for walking on the ground, could be used for brawling, crushing obstacles, or tearing open the body of an opponent. Basilisk droids often carried a pair of deployable space mines, and war droids of the combat type could tow volatile atomic compression bombs between them, catapulting the nuclear bomb into an enemy ship or space station. Mandalorian tinkering eventually spawned countless customized variants of the Basilisk, such as the two-seated bomber, which accommodated both a pilot and gunner, while the designated stealth configuration bore lighter armament and supplementary engines.

Basilisk droids could operate effectively on the ground, in the air, or in the vacuum of space, and sensor clusters located at the fore and aft of the war droid allowed the Basilisk to detect threats from all directions. On the ground, Basilisk droids were typically slow and lumbering, but could move at faster speeds when required. In aerial combat, the Basilisk's rear armored wing plates—typically tucked against their bodies while at rest—would lift up to expose a set of high-boost engines that allowed the Basilisk droid to fly at speeds up to 550 kilometers per hour. However, while the war droid could reach great speeds, especially during bombing runs, it was slow to turn, weighted down by its heavy armor, and without the stabilizer fins at the tip of the droid's tail section, a Basilisk in flight was hard to control.

Role

With a level of intelligence slightly above that of typical domesticated creatures, the animal-like Basilisk droids formed strong empathetic bonds with their Mandalorian owners. These bonds allowed the droids to react almost preternaturally to the commands of their riders, and act as extensions of their own bodies. They were loyal companions, and were capable of serving as mechanical beasts of burden, carrying heavy equipment or towing large sleds laden with cargo.

In spite of their mechanical beast-like appearance and animal-level intelligence, a Basilisk acted more often as a gunship than a droid. Capable of operating in the vacuum of space—their Mandalorian riders dressed in pressurized suits of vacuum-sealed Mandalorian armor—Basilisk war droids were carried aboard Mandalorian warships, held in place by magnetic locks until being launched from drop bays, where they could participate in fleet engagements alongside other Mandalorian craft, even using their claws to latch onto opposing vessels. Pairs of war droids were able to coordinate the deployment of towed bombs against enemy starships or space stations. Basilisk droids could also enter a planet's atmosphere, and it was not uncommon for Mandalorian riders to direct their mounts in a surging dive directly from orbit to the planet's surface, using the rapid rate of descent to confuse the targeting computers of opposing ground cannons.

Within the atmosphere, Basilisk droids were used to conduct high-speed bombing runs, or provide strafing air support for ground troops while hovering. On the ground, the typically lumbering war droids were capable of significant bursts of speedy movement, and could use their heavy claws to batter or slice the body of a hostile.

History

Mandalorian war mounts

Among the most unique weapons in the galaxy, the Basilisk war droid became a frequent sight among the forces of the Mandalorian Crusaders. The Mandalorians came to view their acquired war mounts as close companions, forming strong empathetic bonds with their droids. Known in the Mandalorian language of Mando'a as bes'uliike, or "iron beasts", only the warriors of the highest standing in a clan were given the honor of piloting a Basilisk droid. The Mandalorians took to feeding their Basilisks a combination of locap plasma and unrefined Mandallian Narcolethe, and when a Basilisk droid fell in battle, it was given the funeral rites of a warrior before being sent to rest in the heart of a star.

With the Basilisk war droids under their command, the Mandalorian Crusaders conquered Kuar, and raided the borders of Krath space near the Empress Teta system. There, the Mandalorians came into conflict with the fallen Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma: Qel-Droma and Mandalore the Indomitable agreed to a challenge of single combat to take place on Kuar. Amidst the duel, Mandalore the Indomitable mounted his Basilisk war droid in combat against Qel-Droma, only to be defeated and forced on his honor to swear loyalty to the recently anointed Sith Lord. In service to Qel-Droma and his Sith Master, Exar Kun, the Mandalorians under Indomitable rode their Basilisk war droids into battle in an attack on Foerost that allowed them to claim the fleet of vessels being constructed at the planet's shipyards. Shortly thereafter, the Mandalorian Crusaders' Basilisk riders were part of the Qel-Droma's assault on the galactic capital world of Coruscant. Though the Mandalorians were ordered to retreat following the false declaration of Qel-Droma's death, they struck at Onderon atop their Basilisk droids, intent to conquer the world for Qel-Droma when they learned he had indeed survived. During the fighting at Onderon, however, a Galactic Republic frigate opened fire on Mandalore the Indomitable's war droid, leaving the Mandalorian leader to crash on Onderon's moon, Dxun, where he perished at the hands of the indigenous beasts. Upon finding the ceremonial Mask of Mandalore, Mandalore the Indomitable was replaced by a new warrior as the Mandalorian leader. Although the Great Sith War ended soon after, the new Mandalore had his own plans for the Mandalorians and their Basilisk droids.

Behind the scenes

Basilisk schematics from The Essential Guide to Droids ("Basilisk War Droid")

Some ambiguity over the origins of the war droid's name have arisen since it first appeared. When introduced in the Tales of the Jedi comics, the Basilisk name was given with no explanation, and may have been a reference to the basilisk of real-world myth. Later, with the release of The History of the Mandalorians reference article in the eighty-sixth issue of Star Wars Insider, Abel G. Peña linked the Basilisk droids with the Basiliskan race of the planet Basilisk, implying that the Basilisk name was a descriptor based upon its creators. However, Karen Traviss, while developing the Mando'a language, created the Mandalorian word bes'uliik in reference to the war droids, a name which meant "iron beast". There is, as yet, no canonical explanation of the apparent homonymy of the name of the planet and the Mando'a term, though various solutions are possible.

Appearances

• Tales of the Jedi – The Sith War 1 (First appearance)
• Tales of the Jedi – The Sith War 2
• Tales of the Jedi – The Sith War 5
• Tales of the Jedi – The Sith War 6

Sources

• The Essential Guide to Droids ("Basilisk War Droid")