Duttes Mer

Duttes Mer (&mdash;4 BBY) was Governor of the Rafa system. As opposed to many Governors, who flaunted their wealth in ostentatious displays in their offices, Mer's own office in Teguta Lusat on Rafa IV was relatively spartan. His desk, however, was one giant life-crystal, which said more about the power at his command than any amount of glitzy objets d'art ever could.

Due to the constitutional setup of the Centrality, which was a somewhat loose confederation, Governors had more power than their counterparts in the Galactic Empire. As Rokur Gepta, current Scrivinir, actually hated politics and rarely took part in them, their unofficial power was even greater. And with the prestige of the life-crystals and life-orchards in the Rafa system, Mer was arguably the most powerful politician in the Centrality (in purely political terms).

So it was that when Gepta approached Mer with a plan to uncover the Mindharp of the Sharu, it was as fairly equal partners rather than as a ruler and his subordinate, although Mer was indeed terrified of the Sorcerer of Tund's powers. Mer had Captain Myle Jandler and several of his men rough up Lando Calrissian, who had just arrived, and bring him and Vuffi Raa in. He and Gepta then briefed them on their plan to recover the Mindharp, a plan which needed Calrissian and Vuffi Raa, as together the two seemingly fulfilled a Toka prophecy.

After the briefing, and being intimidated by Gepta into offering Calrissian an entire hold of life-crystals for his trouble, the smuggler left for Rafa V to explore the largest of the ancient Sharu ruins. Gepta, in his own personal fighter, circled the planet to wait.

Thus Mer seemingly had the advantage when Calrissian and Vuffi Raa, thanks to the Sharu's teleportation technology, suddenly materialized back on Rafa IV with the Mindharp. Mer had Calrissian imprisoned and kept the Mindharp; Vuffi Raa he merely considered a piece of mindless property, like all droids. The Governor called Gepta to gloat about having the Mindharp, and that he knew its "true" purpose&mdash;to control the minds of everyone in the Rafa system, and from there perhaps even further, to the ends of the galaxy itself.

After hearing this, Vuffi Raa made his escape and freed Calrissian. Mer, meanwhile, began to play the Mindharp. However, no minds were controlled, save his own, enchanted by the possibilities; instead, massive tremors began to shake every planet in the Rafa system. Desperately, he tried to play it again and again, knowing he had to control Gepta's mind before his arrival or all was lost.

But all was lost anyway. Every pluck of the strings simply caused more destruction, for the Mindharp had nothing at all to do with mind control, save for the spell of greed and lust for power that sentient beings cast on themselves when trying to control it. It was simply an elaborate lure, letting the Sharu know that whatever threat had nearly destroyed them was gone, and that it was safe to cast off their disguises as the Toka. It also reactivated the ancient Sharu computers and brought their hidden cities to the surface.

When Rokur Gepta arrived, it was too late for Duttes Mer. As he opened the door to his office, the Mindharp began to glow so brightly that even the mighty Sorcerer of Tund could barely look at it. Then, the "Ultimate Instrument of Music" and the Governor of the Rafa system both began to melt, ending up nothing more than a puddle on the floor.

Appearances

 * Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu