The talisman was a false artifact used by the Galactic Empire in a plot to bait the Rebel Alliance with rumors of its invisibility-granting qualities. In actuality, it was infected with a sleeping virus that only affected Humans. Sometime between 0.5 ABY and 1 ABY, the talisman was found by Rebel 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 a trash chute aboard the Millennium Falcon, though not before fellow Rebel Luke Skywalker was affected. Skywalker and Solo were both saved thanks to a serum acquired by the bounty hunter Boba Fett, who was on a mission from the Sith Lord Darth Vader to find the Rebel base.
The talisman was a false artifact that 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 inscribed on the talisman below the insectoid. 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 a sleeping virus engineered by the Galactic Empire that only affected Humans.
The false talisman was infected with the sleeping virus by the Empire at the behest of the Sith Lord Darth Vader, who hoped to find the location of various bases associated with the Alliance to Restore the Republic, with whom the Empire was at war. Various reports were then spread about the talisman's invisibility powers, attracting the attention of the Alliance, who also believed that the Empire sought the talisman. Between 0.5 ABY and 1 ABY, Vader tasked the bounty hunter Boba Fett with finding the bases, and therefore Fett allowed Rebel agents Han Solo and Chewbacca to recover the talisman. The Human Solo was affected by the sleeping virus and hung upside down by the Wookiee Chewbacca inside their ship, the Millennium Falcon, to allow blood to flow to his head and prevent his death. Chewbacca steered the Millennium Falcon nearly to a base past its expected arrival time, and eventually crashed the vessel on the moon Panna Prime. Solo's friend Luke Skywalker left to rescue them along with the droids C-3PO and R2-D2.
Han Solo (left) and Luke Skywalker tied up after exposure to the sleeping virus by the talisman.
Fett encountered Skywalker on the moon and helped him locate the Millennium Falcon, where they 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 the situation—in his native Shyriiwook language—to the droids, who translated for Fett. Together, the droids concluded that the virus originated from the talisman. After they tied Skywalker up next to Solo, Fett and Chewbacca then traveled to Panna City to find an antidote, as Vader had planned. The Imperial plot was foiled when C-3PO and R2-D2 intercepted a transmission between Vader and Fett. The incident was later portrayed in a cartoon narrated by the Alliance Captain Kazan. Records of the incident were later classified.
The talisman first 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 in a transmission to Vader—was to acquire the talisman for himself and capture the Rebels. This conflicted with the events portrayed in the cartoon, where Fett's mission was to find the Rebel base and no reference was made to him looking for the talisman. This article follows the cartoon's version of events.
- The Essential Guide to Characters
- "A State of Nelvana" — Star Wars Insider 73
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. I
- "Classic Moment: Boba Fett Encounter" — Star Wars Insider 106