Ghess was a Trandoshan individual who served as the Record Keeper of the Ascendant cult that opposed the Sith during their reign of the galaxy. A member of the cult's Bar'leth Group, Ghess was given permission by Miril, a Chadra-Fan co-founder of the cult, to name everything within the Ascendant. At one point, Ghess and the Chadra-Fan visited an Ascendant temple on the astronomical object Pyrr IX to reconnect with Miril's former left hand, the Twi'lek Ilith. While there, the Sith's Darkseekers attacked the temple and Ilith was killed.

Sometime later, the Sith attacked the Ascendant at the cult's main temple on the planet Bar'leth. During the fight, Ghess tried to persuade Miril to escape, but she refused and told them to take the other members to safety. The attempt failed, as Ghess and the others were slaughtered by the Sith, and the Chadra-Fan sacrificed her life to kill the Sith and seal away the Spark Eternal artificial intelligence she had created. After the Spark was unsealed centuries later, the rogue archaeologist Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra witnessed memories of the Spark Eternal, including the actions of Ghess.

Biography[]

Ascendant Record Keeper[]

Ghess was a Trandoshan individual who lived during^[2] the reign of the Sith over the galaxy.^[4] They were a member of the Ascendant,^[2] a cult^[4] that opposed the Sith^[3] and attempted to replicate the effects of the Force with technology.^[4] Ghess served as the Ascendant Record Keeper and was part of its Bar'leth Group on^[3] the planet^[5] Bar'leth, where the Ascendant had its main temple named the Tomb of the Spark Eternal.^[6] Ghess was allowed by Miril—a Chadra-Fan co-founder of the cult—to come up with names for everything within the Ascendant. At one point, the Chadra-Fan created^[3] an artificial intelligence^[7] that Ghess dubbed the Spark Eternal.^[3]

Eventually, the Twi'lek Ilith, who was Miril's left hand and the other founder of the cult, came to believe that the Chadra-Fan would not be able to do what needed to be done to defeat the Sith and left the group. He then created his own group based out of an Ascendant temple on the astronomical object Pyrr IX. Sometime afterward, Miril had Ghess pilot her to Pyrr IX where^[3] she^[2] intended to reconnect with Ilith. As they approached Pyrr IX, Miril unsuccessfully attempted to sync with the Spark, and Ghess asked "Lady Spark" if she had had any luck. Although the Trandoshan was insistent that the Chadra-Fan was worthy of a name that befitted her status in the Ascendant, she reminded the Record Keeper that she had a name already and continued to reject Ghess' suggestions. The Record Keeper attempted to counter that Miril was a boring name and stated that no one would read the cult's documentation if it did not sound mysterious or exciting.^[3]

The Ascendant's fall[]

As the ship landed on Pyrr IX and the two exited, Miril and Ghess spoke of the former's hope for Ilith's help developing her Spark Eternal to be alive like the Force. The Chadra-Fan also informed the Record Keeper of increased attacks against them by the Sith Darkseekers—a group of Sith that hunted threats to themselves. As the two were greeted at a door by Ilith and two others, Ghess voiced their doubts about asking a heretic for help. They then made their way through the temple, in which they encountered a Sith prisoner that the Twi'lek was torturing, immediately angering Miril. Ilith then revealed he had created his own version of the Spark Eternal to operate like both aspects of the Force, which Ghess was stunned at watching.^[3]

The Darkseekers eventually tracked the Ascendant members to Pyrr IX and launched an attack on the temple. Ghess took a lightsaber from Ilith's Spark Eternal and handed it to Miril and then took one for themselves, and they began to attack the Sith. During the battle, Ilith utilized his Spark to kill the Sith, and believing that all of the assailants had died, Ghess cheered the Twi'lek's action. Unbeknownst to the three, one of the Darkseekers had survived and stabbed the Twi'lek through the chest. As Ilith lay dying, the Trandoshan attacked the Darkseeker. Once the fighting concluded, Ghess and Miril stood beside Ilith's corpse.^[3]

Sometime later, the Darkseekers found the Ascendant at the latter's temple on Bar'leth. Within^[2] the Unyielding Heart^[6] sanctum of the temple, Miril made her way to an altar despite Ghess trying to persuade her to run and protect the Spark, informing the Chadra-Fan that their group would all buy her time to escape. Miril nevertheless refused and told Ghess to get them to safety. The Chadra-Fan then synced with the Spark Eternal and used it to take control of a number of the Sith's lightsabers to kill some of the Sith. However, she was unable to protect Ghess and the other cult members as the remaining Sith slaughtered them. The Sith then surrounded Miril, and in response, she spoke the Ascendant's Mantra, sacrificing her own life while killing the Sith and ultimately sealing away the Spark Eternal.^[2]

Legacy[]

Centuries later,^[2] during the future rogue archaeologist Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra's time at the University of Bar'leth^[4] from 11 BBY to 3 BBY,^[1] she and fellow archaeology student Kho Phon Farrus learned about the Ascendant and its history during their studies under Sava Iglan'tine Nos.^[4]

Between 3 ABY and 4 ABY,^[8] Miril's Spark Eternal was unsealed, and it possessed Aphra. The archaeologist was shown^[2] Miril's^[3] memories by the intelligence, and she witnessed the night of the Ascendant's fall, including Ghess' actions.^[2] In the same time period,^[8] Aphra and the Spark traveled to Pyrr IX, where Aphra witnessed the events surrounding the Sith's attack and Ghess' actions there.^[2]

Personality and traits[]

Ghess had yellow eyes and green skin.^[2] The Trandoshan liked the role of naming everything in the Ascendant and wanted the names to be mysterious and exciting to ensure the documentation would be read. They considered Ilith to be a heretic for his torture methods and was unsure of asking for his help. As the Twi'lek showed off his Spark Eternal, Ghess stood and watched with an awed expression.^[3] During the Sith's slaughter of the Ascendant, Ghess tried to persuade Miril to run and offered to stay behind to buy her time to escape, but she refused.^[2]

Skills and abilities[]

The Trandoshan could pilot a starship and had the skill of wielding a lightsaber to fight the Sith Darkseekers when they attacked the Ascendant temple on Pyrr IX.^[3]

Equipment[]

Ghess wore black^[2] Ascendant robes.^[7] During the attack by the Sith on Pyrr IX, the Trandoshan used a lightsaber.^[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Ghess first appeared, in flashbacks, in the twenty-second issue of the 2020 comic series Star Wars: Doctor Aphra. The issue was written by Alyssa Wong, illustrated by Natacha Bustos and Minkyu Jung, and published by Marvel Comics^[2] on July 27, 2022.^[9] In the twenty-ninth issue, also written by Wong, illustrated by Bustos, and published by Marvel^[3] on February 22, 2023,^[10] Ghess is continually referred to as "Ghes."^[3] This article follows the original spelling of Ghess' name.

Appearances[]

Explore all of Wookieepedia's images for this article subject.

• Doctor Aphra (2020) 22 (First appearance) (In flashback(s))
• Doctor Aphra (2020) 29 (In flashback(s)) (as Ghes)

Sources[]

• Star Wars Inside Intel: The Ascendant on StarWars.com (article) (backup link) (Indirect mention only)

Notes and references[]