Besalisk

The Besalisks evolved from large flightless avians native to Ojom, a cold ocean world located in the Deep Core. Ojom's surface is covered in titanic glaciers that move slowly across the planet's face, and each glacier supports a small Besalisk commune. Many space stations orbit the planet — most of them larger than any planet-based commune — and these stations fill the role of Ojom's spaceports, being more hospitable to outsiders than the surface itself.

Despite their flightless avian ancestry, Besalisks are often mistaken for reptilians by those unfamiliar with the species. Their stocky build, thick limbs, four-fingered hands and feet, bony three-pronged headcrest fringed with short feathers, and a wide mouth with a large elastic sack hanging from it give them a distinctive silhouette. Skin tones range from green to orange to brown; hair, when present, is typically black or brown on both face and head. The average Besalisk stands about 1.8 meters tall, though heights between 1.88 and 2.36 meters are documented. Male Besalisks have four arms; females may have as many as eight. Their bulky frames store reserves of food and water sufficient to carry them through prolonged hardship — water for days, food for over a week. The same physiology leaves them visibly uncomfortable in warmer climates, where they sweat profusely; the species is simply accustomed to far cooler temperatures than most other galactic peoples.

Besalisks have never sought representation in the Galactic Senate, and generally seem content to go about their business and leave galactic affairs to politicians and bureaucrats of other species. Communities on Ojom are sparsely populated, and few offworld colonies of Besalisks exist in any era. Although Besalisks have contributed comparatively little to the galaxy in terms of resources or technology, they integrate easily into almost any civilized society and have no trouble using what other species have to offer. During the reign of the Galactic Empire, Besalisks narrowly avoided enslavement by calling in favors with influential underworld connections; many remain in those debts, especially those foolish or desperate enough to seek aid from the Hutts.

The galaxy has come to know the species through several prominent individuals. Dexter Jettster, owner of Dex's Diner on Coruscant, was a friend of Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, and at the start of the Clone Wars he successfully identified a Kamino saberdart for the Jedi by recognizing the cuts on its side from his earlier days as a prospector. A grimmer reputation belongs to Pong Krell, a Jedi Master whose unique four-armed physiology allowed him to wield two double-bladed lightsabers in combat. Prior to the Battle of Umbara, Krell had a vision of the demise of the Jedi Order and the Republic; convinced that survival lay in the dark side, he immersed himself in it and attempted to sabotage the Umbara campaign so he could become the Sith apprentice of Count Dooku. The clones of the 501st Legion uncovered the betrayal after Krell sent them against their own brothers, and Krell — after being stunned by clone trooper Tup — was executed by clone trooper Dogma.

By the time of the Galactic Empire, a Besalisk subcommunity had taken root on the planet Gorse: Drakka owned Drakka's Diner, Lal Grallik served as the enterprising chief of the mining-and-refinery firm Moonglow Polychemical, and her husband Gord Grallik served as Moonglow's security chief. Both Gralliks were murdered by Denetrius Vidian of the Empire; several other Besalisks worked for Vidian at the Calcoraan Depot on Calcoraan. Later under Imperial rule, the starship-parts dealer Galus Vez owned the space station Osisis, where he raced rebel pilot Hera Syndulla and lost — and then attempted to capture the Spectre crew anyway, only to be disarmed and forced to hand over the parts the rebels had come for. During the Galactic Civil War, the Besalisk Gadren served as a member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic's 61st Mobile Infantry, and lost one of his four arms at the Siege of Inyusu Tor. Some years before the Battle of Yavin, the bearded Wan'yek Whett captained the fishing vessel Grapnel until he was tracked down and defeated by Skoova Stev on the third moon of Antine.

Besalisks who leave Ojom are often drawn — sometimes without realizing the gravity of the situation — into smuggling, gunrunning, and organized crime; just as often, they abandon those ventures abruptly when their own interests pull them elsewhere, much to their former employers' dissatisfaction. A common Besalisk saying captures the temperament: "If your neighbors trouble you, send your rodents to their nest."

Besalisks are stocky humanoid sentients descended from large flightless avians, though they are commonly mistaken for reptilians. They stand between 1.88 and 2.36 meters tall, with thick limbs, four-fingered hands and feet, and a wide elastic-sacked mouth set beneath a bony three-pronged headcrest fringed with short feathers. Skin tones range from green to orange to brown. Male Besalisks have four arms; females may have as many as eight. Their broad torsos are built to hold reserves of food and water, and they perspire heavily in any climate warmer than their frozen homeworld.

Despite their gluttonous reputation, Besalisks are sociable, gregarious, and keen-witted — quick to spot an angle and quicker to make a deal. They are industrious and hardworking, and integrate easily into almost any civilized society. Most have little interest in galactic politics, preferring to mind their own business and let other species sort out the affairs of the Senate. Many Besalisks who leave Ojom drift into smuggling, gunrunning, or the underworld, often without realizing how deep they have stepped — and just as often walking away from the work on a whim. A common Besalisk saying captures the temperament: "If your neighbors trouble you, send your rodents to their nest."