- "…I can't claim to be an upstanding citizen."
- ―Celot Ratua Dil
Celot Ratua Dil was a male Zelosian smuggler. Sentenced to a life of hard labor on the prison planet Despayre for theft, he escaped to the Death Star, which at the time was being built above the planet. He lived there for nearly two years, falling in love with the Twi'lek Memah Roothes. After the destruction of Alderaan, he joined a group of beings aboard the battlestation who planned to defect to the Rebel Alliance. They escaped just before the Battle of Yavin, where the Death Star was destroyed.
Biography[]
Criminal life[]
- "I was a smuggler. Among other things. Nothing violent."
- ―Celot Ratua Dil
Celot Ratua Dil, a Force-sensitive Zelosian male,[2] was the son of Nagat Keris Ratua and Feelah Derin, a rich family who ran a large real-estate business on Coruscant. His parents owned properties such as Coruscant's Netaluma Tower. However, Ratua was not fond of property management, so he left to become a smuggler. Several years before 0 BBY, Ratua was arrested on Trigalis, along with a pirate gang. Although he was not a member of the gang, he had been associating with them at the time, attempting to sell stolen meelweekian silk. Though he insisted he was innocent, the presiding judge refused to allow him to undergo a truth-scan, saving the cost to taxpayers, and Ratua was convicted and transported to the Slashtown Prison Colony on Despayre, an Imperial prison planet. Above Despayre, a battlestation known as the Death Star was being constructed. As such, there was a great deal of Imperial activity in the sector, and the superweapon was guarded by a number of Imperial ships while under construction.[1]
As the planet was home to many ruthless killers, a large number of Imperial guards were stationed on the surface. Though he was considered a criminal, Ratua was only a smuggler and was occasionally bullied by other prisoners. However, he largely avoided this due to his keen business sense and ability to find useful items, trading them to others and making a profit. Ratua also survived partly due to his ability to move much faster than other beings, using this talent to avoid predators and to intimidate potential enemies during the martial arts demonstrations. Through this talent, and his ability to avoid danger, he made friends with some other beings on the planet, including the guard Nova Stihl. Stihl taught a Teräs Käsi class, which Ratua frequently attended. Ratua had very quick reflexes, allowing him to make contact marks on Stihl with a practice knife.[1]
Between 2 and 1 BBY, Ratua escaped with the assistance of a fellow prisoner named Brun. Brun, who was guarding the docking bay, allowed him to sneak aboard a supply craft, which he rode to a Machine Tool Storage Unit in orbit near the Death Star. From there he reprogrammed a service droid to include the crate he was in on the next cargo transport run to the Death Star.[1]
On the Death Star[]
- "Here I am, seeking sanctuary, trying to stay out of trouble…"
- ―Celot Ratua Dil
Once aboard the Death Star, Ratua assumed the alias of "Teh Roxxor" and hid in plain sight. Pretending to be a civilian contractor who built garbage bins, he created a makeshift home for himself in an unused trash compactor. Thanks once again to his scavenging skills, he collected items that he could trade, often to unsuspecting Imperial stormtroopers. He later met the Twi'lek Memah Roothes in the Hard Heart Cantina, located in Deck 69 of the Death Star's Sector N-One and owned by Roothes. Ratua was immediately attracted to her, and as time passed, she found herself falling for him. After nearly two years of living a simple yet pleasant life aboard the Death Star, during which time Ratua spent much of his time at the Hard Heart, he spotted Nova Stihl in the cantina. Unaware that he had been transferred to the station, he fled from Stihl, fearing the guard would turn him in. Around this time, Ratua developed a scheme that would allow anyone on the station to view normally restricted entertainment programming such as smashball. Through this, he and Roothes were watching Despayre when the Death Star destroyed it. This act of, in their opinion, cruelty, by the Empire left a lasting impression on the two.[1]
The group of defectors escapes the Death Star destruction.
Shortly afterward, Ratua once again encountered Stihl in the Hard Heart, who recognized him as an escaped prisoner. Although Ratua admitted to being a fugitive, Stihl did not turn him in, as he felt he did not owe anything to the Empire anymore due to the horror he felt at learning of Despayre's destruction. After the destruction of Alderaan a short time later, Ratua met Stihl, Doctor Kornell Divini, pilot Villian Dance, architect Teela Kaarz, cantina bouncer Rodo, and archivist Atour Riten in the cantina along with Roothes. All had come to the opinion that the Empire was evil, and they planned to escape from the Death Star soon.[1]
The group, aided by codes illegally acquired by Riten, would take an E-2T medical shuttle to freedom. They launched their plan during the Battle of Yavin. However, the plans were changed when Riten was forced to stay behind to allow the shuttle clearance to leave, and they were confronted by stormtroopers in the docking bay. Stihl and Rodo, both masters of Teräs Käsi, stayed behind and fought the Imperials, giving the others time to escape. During the fight, Ratua saved both of their lives by using his speed to attack a trooper armed with a blaster.[1]
Though the shuttle was able to leave the Death Star during the battle, it did not get far before it was confronted by Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader in his TIE Advanced x1. Vader sensed that the shuttle carried deserters and ordered them back to the station. To ensure they followed his orders, he flew over to their shuttle. However, Dance escaped with a simple maneuver. Before Vader could pursue them, he was called back to the battle. The shuttle was free, only to be captured by a tractor beam immediately afterward. Seconds after the shuttle was caught, the Death Star exploded, destroyed by a Rebel pilot. The ship was freed and fled to escape the shock wave from the explosion.[1]
Afterward, the rest of the group decided to join the Rebellion. Ratua suggested going back home to his family and asked Roothes to go with him, revealing to her his affluent origins. While angry at him for not informing her of his wealth earlier, Roothes agreed to go and meet his family.[1]
Personality and traits[]
- "I was young and rebellious, and I wanted to do something more interesting."
- ―Celot Ratua Dil
Despite being a criminal, Ratua was kind. His benevolent nature caused Memah Roothes to fall in love with him while he fell in love with her. Ratua was attracted to her and was not afraid to show his feelings. Though he originally did not care one way or the other about the Empire, the destruction of Despayre began to convince him that the Empire was evil. When Alderaan, a planet full of innocent civilians, was destroyed, Ratua became disgusted with the Empire and developed a desire to escape the station, and when he found a group of beings who felt the same way, he did not hesitate to agree to the plan, dangerous though it was.[1]
Ratua was an excellent scavenger and trader, something he used to help him survive on Despayre and later the Death Star. Ratua sought his own path in life, which was why he left his family to become a smuggler, despite the fact that they were very rich.[1]
Ratua had very quick reflexes. He often participated in Stihl's Teräs Käsi classes on Despayre, where his exceptional speed let him best even Stihl, a veteran in the arts of fighting.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
Ratua's only appearance to date is the 2007 novel Death Star by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry, where he serves as one of the story's primary protagonists. Though this novel hints at the fact that Ratua is Force-sensitive, it was not explicitly revealed until the release of The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia in 2008. Ratua was first pictured in the 2012 The Essential Reader's Companion, but he was erroneously depicted as fair-skinned.
Ratua's alias of Teh Roxxor is an Internet slang term meaning "excellent."[3]
Appearances[]
- Death Star (First appearance)
Sources[]
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- The Essential Reader's Companion (First pictured)