Verpine/Legends

"They're supposed to be geniuses at fixing and reassembling high-tech devices."

- Luke Skywalker to Lando Calrissian

Verpine were an insectoid sentient species from the Roche asteroids. Best known for their technological aptitude, the Verpine were considered to be among the finest starship engineers in the Galaxy.

Biology
Verpine were thin bipedal insectoids, standing 1.9 meters tall on average. Unlike many insectoids, they had only four limbs (two arms and two legs.) Their heads were dominated by large, black, compound eyes. They also had two antennae, one located behind each eye. Their hardened carapace, composed of a green chitinous substance called carahide, was as flexible as the skin of other creatures, yet tough enough to deflect a blade or even absorb a glancing blaster bolt.



Verpine eyes were keen enough to pick out microscopic details. Their antennae contained tympanic nerves which picked up sound. Their antennae were also sensitive to radio waves, giving Verpine the natural ability to sense and transmit radio waves to communicate with another Verpine in their language over distances on the order of one hundred kilometers. Some observers mistook this nearly instant, silent communication for true telepathy. Thanks to their natural radio communication network, their colonies were run as a consensus democracy, with all Verpine instantly consulted on questions affecting the hive.

Given their reliance on radio communication, Verpine frequently suffered negative consequences when their antenna were damaged. While researching the Verpine, Leia Organa noticed that virtually all Verpine criminals suffered from a set of damaged antenna.

Verpine came in two types &mdash; intelligent, hermaphroditic Verpine and unintelligent worker drones. At the time of their entrance into Galactic society, only five percent of Verpine were intelligent, but the demands of technological civilization required the Verpine to restructure their society. After the change, egg-laying Verpine used a special enzyme to ensure all eggs laid developed into intelligent Verpine. Any drones needed by a Verpine hive were produced via cloning.

When a Verpine hive needed more members, some of the fertile Verpine would be asked to lay eggs, while others would be assigned to fertilize them. The eggs were cared for in colony incubators, and hatchlings were cared for by the entire hive.

The fungus Magenge, which grew inside the asteroid colonies of the Verpine, formed the basis of the Verpine diet.

History
The Verpine people did not evolve in the asteroids of the Roche system. Each inhabited asteroid was only made livable through the creation of artificial, self-sustaining environments in the interior. Their original homeworld was unknown. Some observers thought that the Roche asteroids were the remains of a Verpine homeworld which had broken up either slowly through natural forces, or suddenly as a result of a catastrophic civil war. Others theorized that the Verpine were descended from extra-galactic nomads who settled in the Roche asteroid field.

Whether it was due to the after-effects of this ancient civil war, or because of the political uniformity and egalitarianism of their civilization, the Verpine were a peaceful people, expert arbitrators who preferred compromise to conflict.

By the time of the Jedi Civil War, the Verpine were part of the Galactic community. High-quality Verpine-manufactured items ranging from ion blasters to cardio-regulators was widely used. Some of these designs were adapted and improved from other species, such as the Bothans or the Arkanians. Contemporary rumors were suspicious of the Verpine, however. Extrapolating from the Verpine practice of testing ion blasters on active droids, some Verpine weapons and medical technology were thought to have been tested on live sentients.



In later years, Verpine engineering was exemplified by the starship manufacturer Slayn & Korpil, which built the famous V-19 Torrent starfighter for the Galactic Republic and the B-wing starfighter for the Rebel Alliance. Their shipbuilding skills were attributed to the need to produce vessels which could safely navigate the Roche asteroids. The Roche Hive Mechanical Apparatus Design and Construction Activity for Those Who Need the Hive's Machines, more commonly known simply as "Roche", was a Verpine-owned droid manufacturer which met with limited success with models like the 8D smelter droid and the J9 worker drone.

During the Galactic Civil War, the Verpine were openly sympathetic towards the Rebel Alliance. However, they did not officially join the Rebellion as a whole, partly due to their natural pacifistic idealism, and partly due to the Imperial "advisors" posted in their system. After the Empire fell, however, the Verpine became supporters of the New Republic, with a close relationship with its military.

In 8 ABY, the Verpines broke a number of contracts with the Barabels to produce starships. They claimed that a "mad" hive mother had taken the ships, and given the nature of their society they were under no obligation to retrieve the ships. The Barabels did not see it in the same light, and began negotiating with Kubaz chefs for the sale of Verpine body parts to use in their cuisine. In responce to this, the New Republic planned to send Leia Organa to mediate the situation. However the situation deteriorated rapidly when a Barabel ship was discovered with frozen Verpine parts. A fleet was sent to avert a war between the species, and Mon Mothma herself traveled to mediate.

During the Swarm War, some Verpine who were addicted to the Gorog Nest's black membrosia acted on the side of the Killiks, including procuring B-wings and Verpine shatterguns for the Killik forces. The Killiks attempted to invade the Verpine capital asteroid, Nickel One, and overthrow their government. The attempt was foiled by the actions of the Jedi Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade Skywalker and Jacen Solo.

During the Second Corellian Insurrection, the Verpine accused the people of Murkhana of breaking trade agreements by producing technology similar to theirs. The signed a non-aggression pact with the Mandalorians because of their fear that the Mandalorians would expand their borders once again and invade Verpine territory again. The treaty was simple, the Mandalorian's would supply their best export, military strength, while the Verpine's would supply defense technology and quality control.

Verpine in the Galaxy


Many of the Verpine who left their home system found work as starship technicians. Most of them met with success, though some of them would get in trouble for continually making unauthorized, sometimes dangerous, "improvements" to the equipment they maintained. Others used their experience with Verpine communal decision making to act as professional arbitrators and negotiatiors. At least one Verpine became a Jedi, and managed to survive Order 66, killing a large amount of clone troopers in the process.

Han Solo and Chewbacca befriended a Verpine priest of the Sacred Way on Aduba-3 after rescuing the clergyman from an angry mob. Years later, Solo, Lando Calrissian, and Lobot worked with a Verpine slicer named Moegid on an ill-fated mission to recover a copy of the Caamas Document from Bastion. Zraii, Rogue Squadron's mechanic, was also a Verpine.

Behind the scenes


The insectoid priest Han Solo met in Marvel Star Wars 7 was not identified by species, though Solo referred to him as an "Insect-guy" and a "Buggie" (the latter nickname was also used by another character). The retcon identifying the priest as a Verpine was established in Star Wars Gamer 4.

This character has a yellow-green exoskeleton and large green eyes, but no visible antennae. The priest was also addressed as "Pera", meaning "Father" in High Galactic, even though other material refers to Verpines as hermaphrodites. This may be explained by the Verpine assuming a male role when interacting with other species, much like some Hutts.

It is possible that "Buggie" is a common nickname for Verpines &mdash; possibly a derogatory one, since Solo used the more respectful "Pera" when addressing the priest directly. According to Leia Organa Solo in The Joiner King, Solo had been uncomfortable with insectoid species since his encounter with Kamarians (as seen in Han Solo's Revenge).

Notes and references
Verpinen