Sim Aloo

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"I can't hear you, Fond, but I can guess what you're asking. It's simple, really. I wanted your farm and I saw a way to get it. Which I will. It'll be cheap, what with the farmhouse and outbuildings destroyed and your family and all your workers dead. And it'll be the first of many farms I'll take."

―Sim Aloo, as he kills Fond Dachris^[1]

Sim Aloo was a human male businessman and bureaucrat who served as one of several advisers in Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine's inner circle during the Galactic Civil War. Once the owner of the Aloo family farm on Noomis Riga, Sim Aloo greedily engineered the industrialization of his homeworld, using tactics ranging from deceit to outright murder to supplant his neighboring farmsteads during the Clone Wars, fought between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Using the battle on Noomis Riga to his advantage, Aloo claimed his neighbors were Confederate sympathizers, guaranteeing their destruction and allowing him to take over their lands. Aloo was decorated for his assistance to the Republic Military, and, when the Republic transformed into the Galactic Empire at the end of the war, he sold his vast holdings on Noomis Riga to the Imperial Agriculture Ministry.

Working his way up the ranks of the ministry, Aloo relocated to the Imperial capital of Coruscant and had a daughter, Alinka, through his second marriage, all the while further depopulating Noomis Riga to reap the benefits of his mass industrialization. His rise in status continued with his addition to the Imperial Ruling Council, where he entered Emperor Palpatine's inner circle. As one of Palpatine's advisers, Aloo took charge of the day-to-day governance of the Empire, as well as duties from Palpatine, secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, to locate Sith artifacts across the galaxy alongside his daughter, whom he planned to elevate to a position of prominence. Late in the Galactic Civil War, Aloo and his fellow advisers joined Palpatine on the second Death Star to oversee its construction before the Battle of Endor, but Aloo and his peers were killed when the Alliance to Restore the Republic destroyed the battle station.

Biography[]

Lifelong on Noomis Riga[]

"We've had some spoilage at our place of course, what with everything stuck in the silos. But the new circulator droids have cut the spoil percentage significantly. My workers have needed some persuading, but when they see what it means for their bonuses they'll come around."
"They're from Noomis Riga. They won't come around no matter how many credits a bunch of tinnies add to their accounts."

―Fond Dachris and Sim Aloo^[1]

The human male Sim Aloo was born on Noomis Riga, an agricultural world pocked with large farming plantations, one of which belonged to the Aloo family. Because of his birthright, Aloo was considered a "lifelong" by his fellow Noomis Rigans, a pastoral people who greatly distrusted outsiders, called ootmians, who did not understand their spiritual traditions and work ethic. Alongside his first spouse, with whom he had a difficult and unsatisfactory relationship, Aloo came to operate his family's farm by the time of the Clone Wars,^[1] an intergalactic war fought by the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems between the years 22 BBY and 19 BBY.^[8] Aloo grew wheat on his lands, yielding large amounts of kernels that he kept in large silos. Like his fellow lifelongs, Aloo did not employ droids on his farmlands, instead relying on organic workers and himself. By the start of the Clone Wars, however, Aloo coveted his neighbors' farms, wanting to industrialize Noomis Riga and enrich himself by increasing the lands under his control.^[1]

During the Clone Wars, Noomis Riga aligned with the Republic, and one of Aloo's fellow lifelong farmers became a liaison to the government. Though a rural backwater world, Noomis Riga,^[1] like other Republic granaries such as Ukio,^[9] became a target of the Separatist Droid Army, which attempted to invade several times during the war. Each time, a detachment from the Grand Army of the Republic was sent to contain the incursions. As a result of the battles, an old agriculture route that went through Noomis Riga was shuttered, leaving Aloo and other farmers unable to refresh their kern harvests, which spoiled in their silos. In spite of the battles, Aloo continued plotting to take over neighboring farms and crafted a mental list of which farmers needed to be killed to ensure his future prosperity. First on his list was Fond Dachris, who had established a farm with his family and was promoting a mixed workforce of organic employees and droids to the lifelongs, who did not take kindly to the ootmian.^[1]

The first farm[]

"Seconds to sink, minutes to suffocate, hours to recover the body. What you're experiencing is the lateral pressure of the kern around you—feel how it squeezes a little tighter every time you breathe out?"
"My family knows I came here. Pull me out. Pull me out and we'll forget this ever happened."
"I don't think so. Those blasts just now? That was Republic artillery hitting your farm. Apparently there was a tip about Separatist activity there."
"What? But I'm no Separatist!"
"Of course you aren't. But people won't remember it that way. They'll talk about how Fond Dachris loved his tinnies and wanted them to take away our work. That's probably why our Republic liaison believed me when I told him I'd seen battle droids on your farm, hidden amid the circulator units. He's another lifelong, you know."

―Sim Aloo and Fond Dachris^[1]

Wanting to take over Fond Dachris's lands, Aloo plotted to use the Separatist activity on Noomis Riga to his advantage. He falsely informed the Republic liaison that he had seen Separatist battle droids hidden among the circulator droids on Dachris's farm, knowing that the lifelong would already be suspicious because of Dachris's affinity for droids. Aloo believed that the Republic artillery would target the farm, potentially making the land cheaper when destroyed. Later that evening, as Aloo planned, Dachris visited his farm to inform him that the Republic Army was close to defeating the remaining Confederate forces, after which the clone forces would be transferred to Ukio. Dachris suggested that the closed kern routes could reopen for the next harvest once the Separatists were no longer on Noomis Riga, which Aloo nonchalantly agreed would be a good measure. Dachris used the mention of the kern harvest to talk about his droid workers, telling Aloo that his mechanical laborers had cut the spoilage rate of his stored kern significantly.^[1]

Dachris added that his organic workers would come around to the shared labor once they saw how it affected their bonuses, but Aloo countered that, since the workers were Noomis Rigans, they wouldn't grow accustomed to Dachris's different management style no matter how much money they earned. Undeterred, Dachris asked if he had thought about his offer to supply him with droid workers, which Aloo secretly hoped he would. His plan working thus far, Aloo told Dachris that he would accept the droids, but only if he did something in return. Aloo asked Dachris if he had ever walked kern, making the young ootmian stop walking in alarm. Dachris replied that he had not and that it was too dangerous for an organic, but Aloo argued that he would have to learn the old, traditional ways of the lifelongs to earn the respect of his workers and convince them of his proposals. Aloo told Dachris that he had spoilage clumps in Silo Besh he needed to be broken up, but his workers were already home for supper.^[1]

In return for Dachris's help breaking the clumps, Aloo promised he would give the "tinnies" a trial during the next harvest season and, if impressed, tell his neighbors to incorporate them as well. As insurance, Aloo informed Dachris that his answer would be no otherwise, reminding him that the word of one lifelong was worth a dozen ootmians. Frustrated, Dachris silently agreed to help Aloo. Inside Silo Besh, Aloo pulled harnesses out of the equipment locker on the catwalk and showed Dachris how to properly tighten the straps and test the security of the lifeline. He handed Dachris a two-meter steel prod and told him to use it to break up the spoilage clumps, and the younger man stepped onto the kern and began working. Dachris asked if Aloo would be joining him, but Aloo replied that he was not and drew his utility knife. To Dachris's surprise, Aloo cut the lifeline with one slash, then pushed him down into the kern using another prod. Dachris lost his balance and fell into the loose kern, and within seconds had sunk to his knees.^[1]

Dachris yelled out that Aloo had almost killed him, but Aloo simply responded that he had killed him and he had not noticed yet. As Aloo teased Dachris, telling him he would never be able to pull himself free from the kern, a series of booms permeated the silo, which Aloo recognized as the Republic bombing Dachris's farm. Dachris begged him to pull him free, warning that his family knew he came to Aloo's farm, but Aloo gleefully informed him that his farm had been destroyed due to a tip of Separatist activity there. When the frantic Dachris exclaimed that he was not a Separatist, Aloo smiled and agreed before saying that the Noomis Rigans would not remember him that way and would instead remember him as an ootmian farmer who wanted to replace their work with droid labor. Dachris continued to sink into the kern, and Aloo sadistically informed him that it was not the lateral pressure but the kernels that would kill him since they would fill his lungs and suffocate him.^[1]

While Dachris sunk further, leaving only his head above the kern, Aloo explained his takeover plans to him. Aloo told Dachris that he had killed him because he wanted his farm and that having the land razed by the Republic would make it cheaper. As Dachris sunk below the kern, Aloo smiled and warned that his farm would be the first of many he'd acquire, then used his prod to push Dachris's synthetic hat, which had bothered him as a lifelong since Noomis Rigans wore traditional wherry-hide hats, into the kern as well. Raising his voice so it could permeate the top layer of kernels, Aloo mentioned that finding new workers to employ on his new farmlands would be difficult, especially since Noomis Rigans were superstitious about working near graves. In one final jab at Dachris, who would be suffocated by the kernels within a matter of minutes, Aloo pointedly stated that he had an alternative plan for hiring more workers for his soon-to-be-bought farm: he would buy droids.^[1]

Rise in the Empire[]

"The father, Sim Aloo, is someone really big in the government. And not the local government. He's like the Imperial whizbag or something."

―Han Solo^[7]

After murdering Fond Dachris and paving the way for the devastation of his family and farmlands, Aloo continued with his plans to acquire his neighboring farms. He was ceremonially decorated for his assistance to the Republic Military in identifying Separatist sympathizers, a step in his plot to grow his influence. By the end of the Clone Wars^[1] in 19 BBY,^[8] Aloo had successfully assimilated many farms on Noomis Riga into his holdings and profited greatly from the mergers. Just as he told Dachris on the day he murdered him, Aloo introduced droid labor to his homeworld. Despite betraying the traditions and beliefs he continued to have nostalgia for as a "lifelong," Aloo's influence on Noomis Riga had become immensely powerful,^[1] and he walked around like a god on his homeworld.^[10] At the end of the Clone War, the Galactic Republic, headed by Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, was transformed into the first Galactic Empire, an authoritarian government ruled by Palpatine, who declared himself the Galactic Emperor.^[8]

Seeing the opportunities the new^[1] fascist^[11] state could afford him, Aloo looked for new ways to advance his status. Already enormously wealthy, he decided to sell his holdings to the Imperial Agriculture Ministry, buying himself a prominent position in the organization and the Empire in return for his lands on Noomis Riga. No longer a lifelong farmer, Aloo separated from his spouse and relocated to Coruscant,^[1] the ecumenopolis capital of the Empire located in the Core Worlds.^[12] There, he began climbing the ranks of the Agriculture Ministry, celebrated a second marriage to a spouse he considered more suitable, and had a daughter, Alinka. Capping his meteoric rise through the Empire, Aloo was elevated to the Imperial Ruling Council, a collective body of bureaucrats consisting of Emperor Palpatine's trusted advisers.^[1] Despite his relative newness to Palpatine's inner circle, as some of his fellow advisers, including Janus Greejatus, Sate Pestage, and Ars Dangor, had served Palpatine since the Clone Wars,^[13] Aloo set about establishing himself.^[1]

As a member of the Ruling Council, Aloo and his fellow advisers were granted varying powers by the Emperor, but Aloo understood that they were merely interchangeable ministers whose powers waxed and waned at Palpatine's whim.^[1] Despite this, Aloo quickly stood out with the Emperor,^[4] in no small part to his greater height than his peers, and soon was given a leading role in the day-to-day governance of the entire Imperial polity, allowing Palpatine to enjoy dominating it without worrying about boring admin.^[14] As part of his duties, Aloo was granted power over issues involving industrialization. He forged a path of entire worlds remade or used up and discarded, including his homeworld of Noomis Riga. The integration of Noomis Riga's farming industry had left the farmlands worked by massive harvester droids, and, as a sitting member of the Imperial Ruling Council, Aloo signed a final order expelling its remaining population, leaving it uninhabited by organics.^[1]

Aloo's executive duties also meant he was able to streamline the sclerotic central authority, allowing Palpatine to further dismiss the Imperial Senate, which Aloo considered bothersome and antique.^[1] As a result of his high station, Aloo and his family became one of the wealthiest in the galaxy, and his vast riches dwarfed even the fortunes of the Hutts of the criminal Hutt Clans. His wealth was reflected in how he raised his daughter Alinka, whom he spoiled greatly.^[7] While she was a child, Aloo promised that everything would be hers,^[1] a promise he kept as he gave her whatever she asked him for. At the height of his powers, Aloo owned several residences in the Coruscant system, including a penthouse tower reserved solely for Alinka and a separate residence on the moon Centax-3 that cost upwards of 20,000 credits. He also became the owner of several warehouses worth of treasures stolen from across the galaxy, including the sacred Mola Oktaro from Oktaro. His daughter, too, had a collection of priceless valuables, all gifted by her father.^[7]

Among his other orders from the Emperor, Aloo and his fellow advisor, Janus Greejatus, whom he had a rivalry with, were tasked with locating Sith artifacts.^[1] Palpatine, secretly the Dark Lord of the ancient Sith Order, Darth Sidious,^[8] had a collection of Sith artifacts,^[7] and he had Aloo and Greejatus compete for years^[1] to find more as he willed it.^[7] In 1 BBY, amidst the slowly growing Galactic Civil War between the Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic,^[8] the Emperor heard rumors of a book of dark power guarded by monsters in a forest on the planet Ushruu and expressed interest in having it for himself to Aloo and Greejatus. While Greejatus rushed the job, sending an unprepared group of Trandoshan hunters, Aloo enlisted his daughter for the task, and she formulated a plan to retrieve the book from Ushruu using hired mercenaries. Despite her plan, Alinka's efforts failed when the Rebel Alliance sent two of its agents, Captain Cassian Andor and K-2SO, to secure the book as part of an operation to curb the Aloo family's dealings.^[7]

Death above Endor[]

After the Battle of Hoth, the Emperor allowed the enemy Rebel Alliance to learn that the second Death Star, a planet-killing battle station, was being constructed in orbit over the forest moon of Endor. In order to entice the Rebels into a trap, Sidious personally traveled to the Death Star to oversee the final phases of its construction.^[6] Along with Greejatus^[15] and four other advisers, Aloo accompanied the Emperor to the Death Star. Their arrival was greeted by Darth Vader, the Emperor's apprentice; Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod, the station's commander; and an assemblage of stormtroopers and officers.^[6]

GreejatusAndFriends-ROTJ — Aloo and Greejatus meet with the Emperor and Vader aboard the second Death Star.

Once aboard the Death Star, the Emperor spent his time in his throne room, and his advisers conferred with him there. Aloo, Greejatus, and the Emperor were having a gathering when Vader and Jerjerrod interrupted them. The advisers waited silently as the Emperor shrugged off the concerns of Vader, who knew the Alliance Fleet was massing near the planet Sullust. The Emperor ordered Vader to move the Imperial fleet surrounding the Death Star to the far side of Endor, where he intended for it remain until the Rebel attack. Confident that his trap would successfully see the end of the Rebel Alliance, Sidious dismissed Vader and Jerjerrod, resuming his gathering with Aloo and Greejatus.^[6]

The Emperor's plan to destroy the Rebels, as well as to convert Vader's son, Luke Skywalker, to the dark side of the Force, ultimately failed. Skywalker redeemed his father, who killed the Emperor shortly before Skywalker escaped, and the Rebels destroyed the Death Star.^[6] Aloo perished along with the five other dignitaries on board.^[3]

Personality and traits[]

A skeletal-looking individual clad in flowing purple robes and a tall Imperial dignitary hat, Sim Aloo was a human male^[4] who had pale skin and blue eyes.^[6] He was the tallest and thus the most recognizable of the Emperor's advisors.^[16] In the Emperor's presence, the adviser behaved with much humility and obedience, cowering near the Imperial throne. Although Sidious tended to use him more as an errand boy, Aloo walked around like a god on his homeworld.^[10]

Aloo's family was very rich. He owned warehouses full of books, artwork, jewelry and more items from all across the galaxy. Because Aloo was often busy with his governmental duties, he frequently had his daughter oversee the day-to-day running of the family business.^[7]

Behind the scenes[]

"On Jedi, one of the most exciting things from a design point of view was the advisers who surround the Emperor. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what they might look like because I thought it was important that through them you might understand what the Emperor's world is like. Coming from a Catholic background, I sort of made a joke, and that's why they look like bishops. So they wear red, and they have elaborate headgear. This was a challenge because it wasn't in the script, and you see them only briefly in the movie."

―Nilo Rodis-Jamero, on the designs of Sim Aloo and the other Imperial advisors^[17]

Sim Aloo first appeared as an unnamed Imperial advisor in the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, in which the character has no dialogue.^[6] The character, who was portrayed by Anthony Lang,^[18] went unnamed until the name "Sim Aloo" was used in the Star Wars Legends Star Wars Customizable Card Game pack Death Star II Limited.^[19] The name was then canonized in Aloo's Databank entry.^[4]

Aloo's costume was designed by Nilo Rodis-Jamero. Rodis-Jamero felt that the look of the Imperial advisors was one of the most exciting designs from Return of the Jedi and thought their design would need to convey an idea about the kind of world that the Emperor lived in. Rodis-Jamero based the look on that of Catholic bishops, with red coloring and ornate headpieces.^[17]

The Databank entry of Sim Aloo doesn't specify his death, simply stating that presumably he was still aboard the second Death Star when it was blown up by the Rebel Alliance.^[4] However, the tenth issue of the Star Wars Helmet Collection stated that Aloo did die aboard the second Death Star.^[3]