Malakili

"I have no value to you. Kill me. My creature, Pateesa, is dead. All my beasts are gone&mdash;"

- Malakili, to Cobb Vanth

Malakili was a male human from Corellia who worked as a beastmaster in Hutt circuses before being sold into slavery after an incident on Nar Shaddaa. Purchased by Jabba the Hutt, Malakili served as a caretaker to the creatures in Jabba's Palace on Tatooine. During that time, Malakili became fond of Jabba's rancor, Pateesa, and it saved his life during a Tusken Raider attack. Shortly before the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker of the Rebel Alliance attempted to rescue Han Solo from the palace. However, Skywalker was tricked into Jabba's rancor pit, and the Rebel killed the creature. Upon witnessing the death of Jabba's prized rancor, Malaliki wept.

Early life and career
Malakili was a male human born on Corellia, a planet in the galaxy's Core Worlds, and he lived in the slums of the Outer Rim moon Nar Shaddaa from a young age. Skilled with handling beasts, Malakili spent his childhood training vicious creatures called gugverms to stop stealing from local food stores; with time, the gugverms became Malakili's pets, friends, and protectors. Eventually, Malakili was hired as an animal trainer for travelling Hutt circuses, in which he domesticated and taught a variety of creatures including sand dragons, kill-wings, costumed womp rats, and later on, rancors&mdash;monstrous creatures no one else could tame. However, the human's circus career ended after a show on Nar Shaddaa, when one of his dangerous beasts got loose and killed audience members. As a result, Malakili was made a slave and sold to Jabba Desilijic Tiure, a Hutt crime lord on the desert planet Tatooine.

Slave to the Hutts
Serving as a caretaker in Jabba's Palace, Malakili was responsible for tending to Jabba's menagerie of creatures, including the Hutt's prized rancor, Pateesa (Huttese for "friend"). Pateesa was purposed with eating prisoners, and Malakili would tend the wounds it received doing so. One day, when Malakili was attacked by Tusken Raiders, Pateesa saved his life. During Malakili's time at Jabba's Palace, he became very fond of the rancor, and he, along with the Kadas'sa'Nikto Giran, considered it to be their favorite of Jabba's creatures.

Shortly before the Battle of Endor, Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, a commander in the Alliance to Restore the Republic, attempted a bargain with Jabba to save the life of his captured friend, Han Solo. However, Jabba declined the offer and tricked the Jedi&mdash;and an unfortunate Gamorrean guard&mdash;into a trap door leading to the palace's rancor pit. While the guard was promptly eaten by Pateesa, Skywalker evaded the beast's claws and ran under the pit's gate towards a windowed back door. When the Rebel reached the exit, he discovered it was locked from the other side and would not open for him. Malakili and Giran, who sat at a table on the door's opposite side, quickly stood up, and Giran yelled at Skywalker, jabbing a spear at him. As the rancor approached Skywalker, the cornered Jedi picked up a skull, and he used the Force to propel it towards the gate's utility panel. The skull crushed the button, causing the panel to short-circuit and release the several ton gate of iron and steel down on the rancor's head. Pateesa was slammed to the ground, and its skull was crushed. Shocked, Malakili opened the door, rushing past Skywalker to Pateesa's side, and he wept upon seeing it was dead. Whimpering, Malakili turned away from the fallen beast, placing an arm around Giran for comfort.

Following the event, Jabba demanded that Skywalker and his friends be taken to the Dune Sea and executed in the Great Pit of Carkoon, the resting place of a sarlacc, a dangerous creature and one of Jabba's favorite pets. While Jabba left aboard his sail barge, the Khetanna, to witness the execution, Malakili remained in the palace with several others. However, the rebels escaped, killed Jabba, and destroyed the sail barge, leaving the palace residents unsure of what to do.

Seeking a purpose
The inhabitants of Jabba's Palace said that a new Hutt would come to take the castle, so Malakili remained, waiting for his new employer to arrive. After a time, the palace began to run out of food and water, but Malakili and many other residents still stayed. However, some of the palace dwellers realized that no Hutt was coming, creating rumors that changes in the galaxy had started fighting among the Hutts in an underworld war. As many of the tenants left, Malakili became one of the last to remain in the otherwise empty fortress, but one day he also left, placing the palace (and the unmoved carcass of Pateesa) behind him.

Feeling purposeless without Pateesa and his other creatures, Malakili set out towards the Great Pit of Carkoon, creating an ultimatum for himself: successfully tame the sarlacc, or&mdash;if unable to&mdash;commit suicide by throwing himself inside the monster's mouth. However, when Malakili reached the sarlacc, he found it to be injured; the Khetanna's destruction had sent burning wreckage onto the creature, partially exposing its massive body from the sand, and Jawas had slit open its stoma-tubes to scavenge weapons, armor, droids, and tools. Upon seeing the sarlacc wailing, trying to fend off pillagers, and deprived of its sole purpose (as he himself had been), Malakili wept, and he wandered further into the desert.

In the months after Jabba's death, Malakili wandered towards Mos Pelgo, and one day he was found by two thugs of the Red Key Raiders, a criminal syndicate which posed as a mining company. Malakili ran from the gang, but he was older and slower than he used to be, and a thug hit him from behind, sending him to the ground. The thug pressed a boot onto Malakili's neck, and the criminal removed Malakili's hood, pushed a blaster into the back of his skull, and ripped Malakili's satchel from his shoulder, emptying its few contents. One of the thugs then took Malakili's waterskin, drank what was left, and introduced himself as Bivvam Gorge. Asking Malakili what else he owned, Gorge declared that the area was the territory of the Red Key, and Lorgan Movellan&mdash;the leader of the syndicate&mdash;deserved his cut of Malakili's possessions. Gorge then threatened Malakili, adding that Movellan's "cut" could be Malakili's ears or tongue if he had nothing better. As the second thug chuckled, Gorge reinforced the warning by stabbing a knife into the sand. Immediately after doing so, a blaster bolt struck and killed Gorge, and the remaining thug began firing at the attackers before being shot himself. Malakili determined that the killers of the thugs must be even worse, so he played dead, a trick he learned from many of his beasts.

As Malakili laid in the sand, he heard footsteps and a man's voice telling him he could get up. A woman's voice added that they were not raiders, but law. Confused, Malakili rolled over and sat up, seeing a man in worn, Mandalorian armor Malakili believed to look familiar, and a tall, scarred Twi'lek woman. The Twi'lek identified herself as Issa-Or, and the man removed his helmet, identifying himself as Cobb Vanth, a lawman and de facto mayor of Freetown, the town formerly known as Mos Pelgo. Issa-Or elaborated, saying that Freetown was a place for good people willing to work and resist the syndicates. Malakili did not understand what she meant, but he nodded in reply. Kneeling down, Vanth studied Malakili, saying he looked familiar. When Malakili stated that he was no one, Vanth told him that everyone was someone. Explaining that the requirement for living in Freetown was usefulness, Vanth asked Malakili if he was useful. Malakili believed he was no longer useful to anyone, and his eyes teared up as he admitted that he had no value or desire to live without Pateesa and his other creatures. When Malakili mentioned that, Issa-Or asked if he was a beastmaster, and Malakili nodded, saying that he trained beasts. Looking at the Twi'lek, Vanth chuckled and informed Malakili that they had a couple of rontos in need of taming. Offering the job to Malakili, Vanth added that the position would include payment and a homestead if he wished. Hearing of the opportunity, Malakili suddenly felt a new purpose in his heart, and he accepted the offer. Issa-Or added that there was one more job available, and Vanth leaned in close to Malakili, helping him up and asking if he knew much about Hutts. Malakili affirmed that he knew a good amount, prompting Vanth to ask if he could train one. Hesitant, Malakili protested, saying that Hutts were sentient beings and not pets. Vanth, amending his offer, asked Malakili if he could "teach" one. The trainer responded that he could, but he wanted to know why, so Issa-Or said that they had one in Freetown. Vanth explained that the Red Key had tried to bring a baby Hutt into the empty palace, but Vanth and his partner had interrupted the syndicate's plan and captured the young Hutt. Restating the offer, Vanth asked Malakili how it sounded, and Malakili replied that is sounded like purpose, and he thanked the man. Vanth retorted that thanks could be given by doing the job. With the deal complete, Issa-Or prompted the two to move on, leaving the Red Key corpses behind to show others that law was being reinstated.

Personality and traits
"You know much about Hutts?''" "I know quite a bit." "You think you could train one?" "I&hellip;they are sentient beings, not pets." "Fine. Teach one, then." "''I could. I believe."

- Vanth and Malakili

Malakili was a giant, burly, male Corellian with blue eyes and light skin, and he stood at a height of 1.72 meters. Despite his brutish, tough, and crude personality, Malakili cared deeply for his creatures, and he wept with shock when the rancor was killed.

Equipment
As a rancor keeper, Malakili wielded a gaderffii stick, and he used cages for transporting young rancors. At the time of Skywalker's arrival, Malakili wore a dark, sweat-soaked rag belt, ancient circus pants, a brown headdress, spiked armbands, and wrist guards. While wandering in the desert, Malakili carried a satchel which contained a waterskin, a lucky braid of bantha fur and teeth, a small water shiv made out of dewback bone, and a few droid gears and shiny chits to pay off Jawas or Tusken Raiders.

Behind the scenes
"I like the idea that everyone loves someone. And even the worst, most horrible monster you can imagine was loved by his keeper. And the rancor probably loved his keeper."

- George Lucas

Malakili first appeared in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, the final film in the original trilogy, which was released on May 25, 1983. Malakili was created by George Lucas over a year before the film's release, as Lucas liked the idea of someone loving the rancor. The character was portrayed by Paul Brooke, and his sobs were provided by Ernie Fosselius; neither Brooke nor Fosselius were credited in the film.

In Return of the Jedi, Malakili was unnamed, listed in production notes as the "human rancor keeper" or the "rancor keeper that cries"; he was later given the name "Malakili" in the Star Wars Roleplaying Game of the Star Wars Legends continuity. Malakili's name was first canonized by Star Wars: Galactic Defense, a tower-defense mobile game released by DeNA Co., Ltd. for iOS and Android platforms on October 30, 2014. In Galactic Defense, Malakili, alongside Luke Skywalker, were unlockable Champions available during the limited-time event "Enter the Pit." Players who won Malakili were able to use him on missions, and they could use his Champion Skill of summoning a young rancor to help fight enemy forces. According to The Force Awakens: Head-to-Head, a young readers book by Pablo Hidalgo, Malakili would likely lose in a theoretical fight against Bobbajo, a storytelling Nu-Cosian who trained various critters.

On July 12, 2016, Malakili appeared in the novel Aftermath: Life Debt, the second installment to The Aftermath Trilogy by Chuck Wendig. For the novel's audiobook, the narration and character voices (including Malakili's) were performed by Marc Thompson.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Galactic Defense
 * Star Wars: Episode VI ''Return of the Jedi
 * Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!
 * Aftermath: Life Debt