These elite warriors of their race intended to free the rest of their kind and brutally attacked both the Sith forces and those of the Republic. They eventually managed to track down the bearer of the Key to the Vaults and acquire it for their own needs as they sought the rest of their imprisoned kin. The dangers posed by the Esh-kha became evident to the Empire when they slaughtered a large number of Operations Group Three under the command of Colonel Grang. The Imperial official later learned of the existence of the Key from Republic prison personnel and sought to prevent the Esh-kha from freeing more of their kind.