24.12.08

Back again... Nerfs

Nerfs, not the foam footballs in this case, are four-legged herbivores with four horns, found all over the galaxy. Averaging a little over four and a quarter feet at the shoulder, the males are a bit bigger than the females, and, due to their aggressive nature, are kept apart from the rest of a herd. The fur coat of a nerf tangles ridiculously, and, hence, is a haven for insects and other such small objects, which makes these herbivores smell horrific. To enhance this disgusting first impression, black, sticky spit constantly hangs out of their mouths as they chew with incurable manners. It was certainly an insult to Han Solo when Leia said to him in The Empire Strikes Back:
"Why, you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder!"
In the wild, nerfs are constantly in danger of manka cats and taoparis. To help them avoid these predators, including Gungans, in some cases, nerfs have very good night vision. Nerfs are eaten in lots of different ways, including nerf tenderloin, nerf steak, and nerf sausage. As a result of the adaptive nature of the nerf, several subspecies have become distinct over the years: the Grizmallt nerf, the mountain nerf, the wildernerf, the larkin nerf, and the wooly nerf. Nerf-throwing, an illegal sport, is a contest to see who can throw a nerf the farthest and most accurately. Nerf-pox was a superficial infection found in the children of Alderaan.

5.6.08

Dactillions

Related to the varactyl, dactillions are reptavians native to Utapau. Unlike the varactyl, however, they are equipped with wings and are much skinnier. Dactillions used to prey on the Utapauns until they were subdued with fresh meat supplied by the natives from a less destructive source. Now, the short, pink Utai serve as wranglers for the dragonmounts (varactyls and dactillions). The average wingspan of this species is almost 80 feet, and they are around 20 feet tall. During the Battle of Utapau the dactillions served as war mounts for the Pau'ans. Only when food supply is low in the sinkholes, or when a dactillion is seeking a mate, will they venture out to the surface of the planet.

1.5.08

Krayt Dragon

Nearly 150 feet long, krayt dragons (CRATE DRAG-uns) can live to be up to 100 years old, and weigh over two tons. On top of their colossal dimensions, their teeth and spines secrete fatal venom. This carnivourous, reptilian, nonsentient species was made up of two species, the first, the canyon krayt dragon, possessed the aforementioned size. The second species, however, was much bigger and much less common: this krayt can measure over 300 feet, and needs all ten legs to support all that weight. C-3P0 walked past a greater krayt dragon spine and skull at the beginning of A New Hope, after he separated with R2-D2, who insisted upon going another way. Greater krayt dragons usually hunt sarlaccs and banthas, and, like all other krayt dragons, they develop a pearl in their gizzard; pearls from greaters are bigger and thus more valuable than those from canyon krayts. These dragon pearls can also be used by Jedi, after shaped, as focusing crystals--the crystals that focus the blade in a lightsaber. The weaknesses of krayts are few, but undeniably there: krayts have trouble with two-dimensional images, and sometimes react to shadows and the like. Also, a shot from a skilled gunman can, through the weak sinus cavity, reach the brain, killing the dragon instantly. Before a Sandperson could be accepted as an adult in the tribe, they were abandoned in the desert and not allowed back in until they had killed a krayt. Also, Jawas brave and successful enough to obtain krayt bones, which they believed to possess magical properties, were highly regarded among their people. The skeleton used in the filming of A New Hope was left at the site after the scene was shot, and when the crew for Attack of the Clones visited the Tunisian Desert, where they had left the fake skeleton, it was still there. Isn't that cool?

28.4.08

The Rule of Two

The Rule of Two is the unwritten code that states that, "Always two, there are--a Master and an apprentice," as Yoda observed.

Remember: power alone is not enough. Patience. Cunning. Secrecy. These are the tools we will use to bring down the Jedi. The Sith are only two now--one Master and one apprentice. There will be no others.
This Darth Bane said to his apprentice Zannah.

The Sith Code is as follows:
Peace is a lie; there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.

The users of the Dark side of the Force can undergo serious physical changes, including the change of the eyes from their normal color to an acid yellow. The skin, as in Palpatine's case, can also become gray and overly wrinkled. But these users can change between their original appearance and their current appearance, as Palpatine and Anakin have done.

Utapau

Utapau (OO-tuh-POW), visited in Revenge of the Sith, is a sinkhole-ridden planet that lies approximately 51,000 lightyears from the Core, inhabited by the Utai and the Pau'ans, together called the Utapauns. Orbiting a solitary sun, unlike Tatooine, and orbited by nine moons, the core of this planet is molten metal, and less than a percent of Utapau's surface is covered in water. The water that once covered more of the planet leaked into underground caverns that were at one time magma chambers. This leakage caused the sinkholes that now dot the planet in abundance. In times ridden with conflict, this planet struggled to retain neutrality. Of the two races of near-humans that inhabit this Outer Rim planet, the tall, gray-skinned Pau'ans make up only about a third of Utapau's population; they assumed the more government-associated possitions in the Utapaun society, while the Utai served as janitors and lion tamers for varactyls and their dactillion relatives, both referred to as dragonmounts. The Pau'ans remained at the surface, and the Utai tended to live underground; but thanks to the former, the two now live in harmony, their cities built into the sides of the magnificent sinkholes. The native creatures here are the aforementioned dragonmounts, and the nos monster, a carnivorous, water-dwelling reptile.

24.4.08

Varactyl

You might recognize a picture of this reptavian herbivores, known not only as a varactyl (vuh-RACK-dull), but also by the name dragonmount. Herbivores, this semisentient species is native to Utapau, but is found on Kashyyyk--they are called dragonmounts because Wookiees ride them here--and a few other planets as well. A varactyl named Boga served as Obi-Wan Kenobi's transportation on Utapau in Revenge of the Sith, and a dragonmount call can be heard during the battle on Kashyyyk in this movie, as well. There faces are adorned with beaks, and the rest of their bodies with scales, thus, "rept-,"and feathers, thus, "-avian." These two fragments make up the word "reptavian," referring to creatures such as varactyls and bonegnawers that have both reptilian and birdlike characteristics. Females sport irridescent shades of blue and green, while males are decked instead with brown and occasionally orange. Fast, agile, and with claws made for Utapau's exploration, dragonmounts are well suited to traverse Utapauan terrain and are therefore impeccable steeds for those unfamiliar with the planet. It is stated that a dwarf subspecies was brought to Tatooine; this dwarf varactyl has four wings.

28.2.08

Midi-chlorians

Midi-chlorians (MID-ee CLOR-ee-uns), the residents of all living cells, are the enablers of life and knowledge of the Force. They are responsible for the perception of the Force and the ability to manipulate it or be controlled by it. Anakin Skywalker, his son Luke Skywalker, and Yoda are the three Jedi with the highest concentration of midi-chlorians in their cells. They were known to have more Force-induced visions or premonitions then other Jedi with similar ability. A higher-than-normal count of midi-chlorians usually indicates Force-sensitivity, while some nonsentient species are connected to the Force anyway: vornskrs, ysalamiri, voxyn, and dashta eels, and all but the eels are native to Myrkr. The midi-chlorian rate for normal, non-Force-sensitive creatures is about 2,000-2,500 midi-chlorians per cell, and Anakin had over 20,000 per cell. One particular non-Jedi Force-sensitive human was Nova Stihl, an Imperial sergeant, at over 5,000 midi-chlorians per cell. Some have experimented with artifically imbuing a creature with midi-chlorians, or transferring them. A Dark Jedi called Desann transferred dark Force energy into people to give them Force-sensitivity, too.

26.2.08

Bonegnawer

Native to Tatooine, bonegnawers are immense birds of prey whose wingspans could be 25 to 30 feet wide. Admired and feared by others of the planet, bonegnawers are speedy and their jaws, beaked and toothed, can crunch rock. "Gnawlets," as they are called, are not able to see immediately, but are able to emit sounds after a couple of hours. They eat the parents' catch's bone marrow, as they will for the duration of their lives. After mating, a male and female stay together and don't join company with any others of their kind. A pair's territory reaches out about 20 miles in every direction from the nest, and a solitary male's is about half that. Females, if not paired with mates, will form flocks with other females, and won't try to defend the immediate landscape as territory. Solitary males or pairs, however, will defend their land fiercely. Adults have vivid red plumage on both their chest and tail, and their beaks are black. Females' wings are brown or gold, and males' plumage consists of blues and purples. Nests are carved out of rock, and they were usually used for a long time, because unless faced with severe changes or weather, they'll stay put. Bonegnawers hunt womp rats, small or sick banthas, and even humanoids. Due to the bonegnawers' swift and silent flight, the prey is unlikely to escape. After capture, the prey is eaten at the site, but the bones are brought back for the marrow, which is fed to young or eaten by the adults. Bonegnawers mate only about three times, maybe four, in their lives. Due to natural and poaching dangers, only three to six of the eight to ten laid by the female will survive the incubation phase, which lasts 14 months. Due to the imprinting of gnawlets, these giant birds make great guard animals and hunters. Poachers took great risks to get gnawlets because of the profits possible of making in the business.

25.2.08

Massiff

These reptilian predators are nonsentient natives of Geonosis, and residents of Tatooine (Attack of the Clones). On Tatooine, they were domesticated by the Tusken Raiders, and on Geonosis, if the Geonosians supplied the shelter, the massiffs (MAS-siff) will rid the hives of pests and other such creatures. You can tell the age of a massiff by the number of antlers down its back. It is believed that a ship carrying massiffs crashed in one of Tatooine's infamous sandstorms, and the massiffs were nearly killed off by the Tusken Raiders. Some of the Sand People, however, kept them. Because their senses, specifically for Geonosis, were near useless on Tatooine, what with all the sand and visibility issues, they were kept as camp guards, attacking intruders upon sight.

20.2.08

Aayla Secura

Aayla Secura (AY-lah seh-CURE-uh), or Aaylas'ecura, was a Rutian (blue) (RUE-shun) Twi'lek (TWY-leck) Jedi, born on Ryloth. Though she led a very short life--she was killed on Felucia by clones at 16--she was alive long enough to have a close run-in with the dark side, briefly under the command of a Dark Lord. She was one of few survivors of the fight in the Geonosian execution arena, but was killed on Felucia by her own clone troopers.

19.2.08

Darth Maul

When Darth Maul (I hope you know how to pronounce that) was young, Darth Sidious (SID-ee-uss) took him from Iridonia (eye-ri-DOH-nee-uh), his home planet, to mentor him in the dark side of the force. During his tutelage, Darth Sidious saw him as a useful tool for his ambtious nature. Darth Maul was outfitted with Sith tattoos all over his body by adolescence, and was fairly loyal; he only ever considered killing his master until what is called his "final test." Sidious pitted Maul against another Force-user, one he considered taking on as his apprentice, but the young Zabrak (ZAB-rack) won. After a month of abandonment, Sidious returned to challenge Maul to a duel. When Darth Maul lost, he was so enraged by his master's contempt that the evil Dark Lord of the Sith told the Zabrak he was to be Darth Maul, because of his "biting" show of hatred of his master. (For, of course, Maul bit him.)

Though Darth Maul was very successful in all the assassinations he carried out, he wished to duel with and kill Jedi. When he dueled with Master Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, however, he did emerge victor over Qui-Gon, but, in underestimating the skill in his apprentice, was chopped in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi.

R2-D2

R2-D2, or just Artoo, you should all know. (At least, you would know unless you have just stumbled upon my blog by accident, and know nothing about Star Wars.) He is a simple astromech droid, a robot programmed to repair and sometimes help control a ship, as is the case with a small starship. He belonged, for a time, to the Royal House of Naboo (in The Phantom Menace), and even spent a short time under Jabba the Hutt (Return of the Jedi), but he was, for the most part, under the Skywalkers. R2-D2 saves the lives of a friend in need in all six of the movies--heroic, don't you think?

Just a tidbit of interesting, useless information: in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Artoo appears on the wall of the Well of Souls, in what appears to be just an Egyptian mural on the wall. Go to http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Image:Oldr2.jpg to see that picture. He is right in the middle, but fairly hard to see.

7.2.08

Handy Wookieepedia Tricks

Here are wonderful tricks on Wookieepedia. Without the category links, I had to pull up an article and click on the categories at the bottom of the page.

Saphira

General Grievous

I know it seems silly that I haven't blogged about this character yet, what with my obvious obsession with him. Well, here he is.

General Grievous was a Kaleesh cyborg, formerly known as Qymaen jai Sheelal (QUEE-men JY shuh-LOLL). The warlord from Kalee had a shuttle crash, and was given the robotic skeleton of a Krath war droid to supplement what little remained of his biotic self: his brain, sensory organs, and his nervous system. He was quite arrogant due to his skill and tact in combat, but often ran when in sight of defeat--to many, such as Jedi Master Mace Windu, he was viewed as a coward.

As a young Kaleesh warrior, he was famous for his marksmanship against the Huk, technically called the Yam'rii. By eight he had slain more than forty, and by twenty-two the number was so great that he was considered a demigod.

He was shot several times by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of the duel between the two and his organs ignited, killing the Kaleesh cyborg. He was worshipped on Kalee after his death. His parts were salvaged and used to create N-K Necrosis, a masculine combat droid that lived a relatively short life, to be destroyed and gutted by an unidentified group of spacers.

Saphira

6.2.08

TC-14

Programmed a female, TC-14 was seen in The Phantom Menace, dishing out protocol on the Saak'ak. In case you're wondering, Saak'ak is the ship in which Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi held the "negotiations" regarding trade disputes concerning the planet of Naboo. It was she who informed Nute Gunray of her suspicions that the Negotiators were Jedi--she was right. She also "distracted" the Jedi with pleasantries while Gunray and another Neimoidian.

Saphira

The Jedi Code

These are several versions of the Jedi Code. The first is older, and the second better known, but the third is used as well.

Emotion, yet peace.
Ignorance, yet knowledge.
Passion, yet serenity.
Chaos, yet harmony.
Death, yet the Force.

There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.

(This version was written by Jedi Master Odan-Urr. He did not write the Code, but rather refined an existing version.)

Jedi are the guardians of peace in the galaxy.
Jedi use their powers to defend and to protect.
Jedi respect all life, in any form.
Jedi serve others rather then ruling over them, for the good of the galaxy.
Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training.


Saphira

5.2.08

C-3PO

C-3PO, See-Threepio, or just Threepio, first belonged to Anakin Skywalker, his creator, and his owners included Jabba the Hutt, who owned Threepio just briefly, Luke Skywalker, Padme Amidala, Owen and Beru Lars, and even Leia, at one point. He was often abused and found himself missing limbs and other extremities, but he is a lovable, if often irritating, droid.

As he often introduced himself, "I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations." And he boasted this a number of times: "I am fluent in over 6 million forms of communication."

He started out as "naked," but was eventually given silver and then brasslike gold coverings. Although he hated spacetravel and overall anything remotely adventurous, he participated in those kinds of things frequently, being involved constantly with battles of the Galactic Republic or the Rebellion. Go to http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/C-3PO if you wish to know more about this protocol droid.

Saphira

4.2.08

MagnaGuard

Grievous's personal body guards, MagnaGuards (MAG-nuh GARDS) are build specifically to fight Jedi. Their energy-enfused staffs are called electrostaffs, and are made of phrik metal, which are resistant to lighsaber blades. Their capes were similar to Kaleesh who served Grievous when he was fully biotic. Technically called IG-100 MagnaGuards, they came in blue, alabaster, black, and, rarely, gray. MagnaGuards were able to speak, and often taunted their opponents in battle. They could fight while missing a head, as demonstrated by the MagnaGuard that fought Obi-Wan Kenobi on the Invisible Hand (the ship on which Chancellor Palpatine was rescued from Count Dooku and General Grievous by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan), due to an extra "eye" (photoreceptor) on their chests. Grievous, unsatisfied by their combat programming, erased their minds and trained each individual in lightsaber fighting techniques. The general also disallowed all repairs to the MagnaGuards, intending to intimidate oponents with the scarred and/or maimed combat droids.

Saphira

30.1.08

Yslamiri

Ysalamiri (ee-SA-luh-meer-ee) (plural) are Force-immune, nonsentient, furry, arboreal creatures from Myrkr. They have developed this Force-free bubble in response to the attack method of the vornskr: the Force. Adults are 90 to 120cm long and almost grow into the olbio trees they live on. With its claws embedded in the tree, it is very hard to detach an ysalamir from its tree; however, Talon Karrde's crew know how, and told Thrawn's men how. The Force-neutralizing bubbles are about 10m across, when supplied by one ysalamir, but when the numbers grow, so do the bubbles: when a group is found together, the bubble can extent for miles.

Saphira

25.1.08

Bouncers

Although they seem merely cute, fuzzy green balls with tails, Bouncers are actually sentient inhabitants of Ruusan (roo-SONN). Pushed along by the wind, they ricochet off of various objects to obtain greater heights. Contrary to appearance, these green little orbs are simply very light, and the Ruusan breezes are obviously more than enough to shift them. To soar higher, they just aimed for rocks or the like with built-in skin flaps and bounced off of them. Found on this nocturnal creature's face were two huge eyes. It is debated whether the Bouncers could indeed control the Force to approximately the degree of an ordinary Jedi, but they were certainly aware of it, and other Force-users could sense them. The Force was kind enough, however, to give the Bouncers dreams and visions, which were very accurate, both for the near future and for things farther into the things to come. However, weak Bouncers could be killed by "dark" dreams. These were telepathic to a mild degree, sensing the emotions of those around them, Bouncer or not.

Once, a Bouncer wrote to Kyle Katarn, "Blowing wind steady. All right will be." Almost like Yoda, I think.

Since the Bouncers communicate among themselves with whistling and warbling, they could only communicate through written language with other species. They also highly valued life. They healed and comforted and saved whenever they could.

Saphira

24.1.08

Dioxis

"Dioxis!"
--Qui-Gon Jinn
He was right! Dioxis (dye-OX-iss), better recognized as merely poison gas. Used frequently by the Neimoidians involved in the Trade Federation, it was mentioned in The Phantom Menace. Obi-Wan Kenobi ran into this fatal toxin twice--above Naboo, when sent to negotiate with Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation with Qui-Gon Jinn, and thirteen years later on Cato Neimoidia, though this is not set in stone; it was also identified as swamp gas. Go to http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dioxis for more.
Saphira

23.1.08

Sebulba

Sebulba (seh-BULL-buh), believe it or not, was once a slave, like Ani, his eternal enemy. This Dug (DUG), from Malastare (MAL-uh-stare), bought his way out of custody with his skill with a podracer. Even though he perpetually cheats, he is too highly thought of to be punished. After Anakin's victory, Sebulba bought the podracer his rival had piloted in the Boonta Eve Classic race, and continued to race. Before his defeat, however, the Dug's pod had had various competitive additions made, and at times the vehicle could chuck nails at the opponent, and at another had a flamethrower. An impressive figure, overall.

Sorry it's not longer, but I have to go.

Saphira

17.1.08

Mitth'raw'nuruodo (Thrawn)

Mitth'raw'nuruodo, better known as Grand Admiral Thrawn, was a male Chiss, a Near-Human race with blue skin and red eyes, and was a brillian tactician. He led the remnants of the Imperial military until he was assassinated by his bodyguard, a Noghri called Rukh. Thrawn employed Noghri as his assassins and bodyguards; one of the killers sent to capture Princess Leia detected Darth Vader's scent on her, demonstrating an extremely attuned sense of smell common to this race. In Heir to the Empire, I have seen Thrawn's brilliance. I have very limited understanding as far as battle tactices and maneuvers, but even I can sight his brains through that haze of ignorance. Even though he's on the Imperial side, I am in awe of whoever thought up his moves!

Saphira

16.1.08

Arkanians

I got this from the featured article on http://www.starwars.wikia.com/, so it may seem a little random. The featured article was on a male Arkanian, so I clicked Arkanian--a little variation, you know? You can't learn everything from the movies.

But anyway, Arkanians (ar-KAY-nee-uns) are from--you guessed it!--Arkania. They are white-skinned humanoids with white eyes and four-fingered, clawed hands. They can also see in the infrared spectrum, which reminds me of the Kaminoans who can see in ultraviolet light. Since many Arkanian scientists are experts at genetic modifications, the Arcanian species is now divided into a number of subspecies. This race is known to be arrogant, thinking higher of themselves than those around them. Their adjustments led to the Xexto species being turned into the Quermian species.

Saphira

10.1.08

Sando Aqua Monster

As Qui-gon said, "There's always a bigger fish." Not so! The sando (SAN-doh) is very mysterious, as very little is known about it. In The Phantom Menace, a sando aqua monster attacked an opee sea killer that tried to make a meal out of the Gungan sea transport carrying Jar Jar, Qui-gon, and Obi-wan. This species out-does even the colo claw fish, the crocodilian-looking sea monster that also attacked the above-mentioned transport.

Since I have little time today, that is all I have time for, so sorry everybody.

Saphira

9.1.08

Zam Wesell

This purple-outfitted Clawdite assassin and bounty hunter is quite a sight. Killed by Jango Fett as a ploy to keep himself anonymus, Obi-wan Kenobi took the liberty of taking off Zam Wesell's (ZAM weh-SELL) right arm from the elbow down. Zam comes from Zolan, and can shapeshift into similar--but not by any means normal--forms. She had reddish-blonde hair in human form, but was, in reality, a reptilian humanoid--a Clawdite changeling.

As Anakin said, "I think he is a she. And I think she is a changeling."

The last words of Zam Wesell were Huttese; she was cursing her employer Jango Fett in Huttese. She preferred her blaster pistol, but used a projectile rifle to keep herself hidden (blaster bolts kind of glow), if only at the insistence of Fett.

Saphira

8.1.08

Plo Koon

This Kel Dor (KELL DOOR), contrary to information from my misled neighbor, was actually killed over Cato Neimoidia (KAY-to neh-MOID-ee-uh), not Coruscant, which is where we thought he was killed. Plo Koon (PLO KOON) was a member of the Jedi Council until he was killed by Clone Troopers under his command, obviously as a result of Order 66. When Emporer Palpatine, or Darth Sidious, told the Clones, "Execute Order 66," I thought that "execute" was part of the name of the order, not that he was telling them to execute the order called Order 66. Anyway, he was shot down by the Clone Troopers formerly under his command, ending the Jedi life that began on Dorin. His niece was also a Jedi, and helped the Jedi communicate with the rest of the Republic's force during the Stark Hyperspace War. Since Plo's race cannot breathe in an atmosphere with so much oxygen, he was forced to don a mask and goggles, the former of which provided him with air friendly to his lungs. Mentored by Tyvokka (tie-VOCK-kuh) and mentoring Bultar Swan (BULL-tar SWAN) and Lissarkh (lis-SARK), he was a skilled swordsman and loyal Jedi.

Saphira

7.1.08

Mustafar

Sorry; I was very preoccupied with returning to the real world after lots of vacation.

Mustafar (MUST-uh-far) is a volcanic world with no moons and one sun, 53,000 light years from the Core. It was, from what I understand, wrenched apart gradually due to opposite gravitational forces from Lefrani and the closer Jestefad. Because of the great pressure, I suppose faults formed, and, in turn, volcanoes and lava rivers. Mustafarians and Mustafar lava fleas are the natives species to this volcanic planet, the latter being the nonsentient mounts of the two subspecies of the former. Mustafarians are divided into the northern subspecies and the southern. The northern half of this race is tall and thin, and the southern half is shorter, and a bit stockier. The Mustafarians used the shells of the lava fleas for armor, due to heat-protective qualities, and treasured them as agile mounts. Even without the lava flea's pelts, Mustafarians' skin was hard enough to withstand normal blaster beams. This planet is very well-known because of the Duel on Mustafar, the last confrontation for a mostly human Jedi we all know very well. Because most of Anakin retired on Mustafar, this battle was the last for Darth Vader before he donned the suit.

Saphira