The Quesoth were a sentient insectoid species native to the Unknown Regions planet Quethold and spoke the Quesoth Common Speak language. Divided by castes, several races followed the reigning Quesoth Queen, the Queen of the Red, White, or Black, which changed periodically, blindly. The Quesoth Soldiers, who understood the Quesoth Soldier Speak tongue spoken by their monarch, the Midli caste—who oversaw the Workers—and the Circling, a caste composed by several subgroups formed by the Queen's advisers and breeders, carried their Queens across their respective cities: the Red City, the White City, or the Black City.

In an attempt to rule forever, the reigning Queen of the Red in 8 ABY allied herself with alien warlord Nuso Esva—whose species were nicknamed the "Storm-hairs" by the Quesoth—and promised to help him in his campaign against the Empire of the Hand and Grand Admiral Thrawn. The warlord promised to murder the future Queen of the White, allowing the Queen of the Red to rule, while she would allow him to use the manufacturing facilities beneath the White City after capturing the location with the juggernauts they would steal from Thrawn. Unfortunately for her, during a battle against the Grand Admiral's forces, Esva killed her fearing treason.

Biology and appearance[]

The Quesoth, an insectoid sentient species, had two abdomens and six limbs: two arms and four legs. Members of the species had blue–colored eyes and the Quesoth Soldiers were nearly as tall as Empire of the Hand Grand Admiral Thrawn,^[1] who stood at 1.8 meters,^[2] and strong according to Stromma Council Liaison Nyama. The Soldiers followed their Queen unquestioningly, while the Quesoth within the Midli and Circling castes—which oversaw Workers and advised the Queen and bred more members of the insectoid species—could think on their own and could handle equipment in a limited capacity. The Quesoth Soldiers understood their Quesoth Soldier Speak language, which their monarchs exclusively spoke thanks to their unique set of vocal cords and resonance cavities, while the rest spoke Quesoth Common Speak.^[1]

Society and culture[]

The Quesoth were ruled by a Queen, and their society was divided by castes, which were divided by smaller ones. The Circling were divided into two subcastes, the Circling of the Red—the Circlings in the Red City ruled by the Queen of the Red—the Circling of the White, from the White City. The Circling of the Red had seven subgroups, one of which was the Circling of the First of the Red, of which Circling Borosiv was part of. The Midli caste was likewise divided, with the Midli of the Seventh of the Red being the lowest one socially. The highest position a Midli could achieve was the position of bowlcarrier, which was occupied by the Quesoth who carried an ornated bowl of nectar for their Queen.^[1]

The Queens of the Quesoth changed periodically, with the Circlings, Midlis, Soldiers, and Workers traveling to the next city to live with their new Queen. The Queen of the Red ruled the Red City, and once she died and the "air changes," her people—excluding the Circling of the Red, who would stay in the Red City's citadel and breed a new Queen that would arise once the Queen of the White and the Queen of the Black died—traveled to the next city.^[1] In 8 ABY,^[3] the Queen of the Red's reign would end, and she would die, in two years.^[1]

History[]

In 0 ABY,^[4] Senior Captain Thrawn shared alien warlord Nuso Esva's boasts with the Quesoth through the DeepWater freighter Lost Reef's comm in an attempt to prevent them from joining Esva.^[5] In 8 ABY,^[3] however, the reigning Queen of the Red allied herself with Esva, whose species were nicknamed "Storm-hairs" by the people of the Red City. Esva would capture Thrawn's juggernauts which he would bring to the White City, there, he would break the city's barriers and would murder its ruler, allowing his ally to rule forever. With control of Quethold, the monarch would allow him to use the manufacturing facilities between the settlement to build ships so his Chosen warriors and him could leave and bring war to their enemies.^[1]

The bowlcarrier, Trevik, served nectar for her Queen while her entourage entered the Dwelling of Guests building, where a Chosen pledged his life to her, as mandated by Quesoth custom, and the Queen of the Red and her ally spoke about the destruction of Grand Admiral Thrawn. On his way home, Trevik was intercepted by a Circling, who brought him to the Circling ring of the Red City, where Jirvin—Trevik's brother and the overseer of the Workers who managed electricity in the city—told him to record the artwork Esva had brought to the Dwelling so that it could be shared with Thrawn. With the art, the Chiss would be able to determine whether or not the Queen of the Red was a willing ally of Esva, and unbeknownst to the bowlcarrier, the warlord would gain the upper hand in the coming battle, as Thrawn would devise his tactics according to the artwork brought to him.^[1]

Trevik accepted, and recorded Esva's paintings, bringing the recordings to Jirvin in the afternoon. The next day, the battle between Esva's Chosen, the Soldiers, and Thrawn's juggernauts and stormtroopers began. The Quesoth forces overwhelmed the stormtroopers, who hid inside buildings while a group of Soldiers rushed to the juggernauts to capture them. Imperial starfighters flew over the cities, destroying or deactivating the speakers used to transmit the Queen's orders in Quesoth Soldier Speak, as a normal comlink could not transmit them. Trevik was informed by the Queen of the Red—who was discussing the battle with her ally within the Dwelling of Guests—that she knew he was a traitor, but when Thrawn was able to modify the speakers to send an order commanding the Soldiers to protect Esva, the Storm-hair did not know of the order's meaning, and killed the Queen fearing treason. He was iklled shortly after, as were his Chosen.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

The Quesoth were first mentioned in Timothy Zahn's novel Choices of One,^[5] which was published on July 19, 2011.^[6] The species later made its full appearance in the novella Crisis of Faith, also written by Zahn^[1] and published on September 6 of the same year^[7] as part of the 20th Anniversary Edition of the 1991 novel Heir to the Empire.^[1]

Appearances[]

• Choices of One (First mentioned)
• "Crisis of Faith" — Heir to the Empire: The 20th Anniversary Edition (First appearance)

Sources[]

• The Essential Reader's Companion

Notes and references[]