Plett

"He was a botanist and a savant, a Jedi Master of great age, we've heard; a Ho'Din from the planet Moltok. [&hellip;] Legends say he could talk to birds and animals as well, and send away the storms that periodically swept down even into the valleys."

- Jevax

Plett was a male Ho'Din from the planet Moltok who served as a Jedi Master during the final decades of the Galactic Republic. A talented botanist and ecologist, he settled on the remote Outer Rim world of Belsavis, in an isolated valley that came to be known as Plett's Well. There, he practiced his botanical skills for seventy years, genetically tailoring plants to the unique environment. At the time of the Great Jedi Purge, he provided refuge to dozens of students from the Jedi Temple within his compound.

Once Emperor Palpatine discovered the location of the Jedi refugees, he dispatched the Eye of Palpatine, a large battlemoon, to raze the enclave. However, the battlemoon was sabotaged by Callista Ming and Geith, two Jedi who had spent time on Belsavis, before it reached the planet. Plett and the Jedi were then able to defeat a small secondary strike force before fleeing Belsavis and scattering. Plett also wiped the memories of the native Mluki, in order to hide all traces of the Jedi's presence there.

Jedi Master
"This&hellip;this is all Plett's Well."

- Jevax

Plett was a pale-green Ho'Din born on Moltok, an Outer Rim world in the Atrivis sector. Eventually growing to a height of 2.5 meters, he was trained as a member of the Jedi Order during the final decades of the Galactic Republic, eventually attaining the rank of Jedi Master. Around 88 BBY, he traveled to the little-known planet Belsavis, located in the Ninth Quadrant near the Senex sector, attracted to the planet's unique flora. Belsavis was covered by many kilometers of icy glaciers, which were interspersed with rift valleys that were warmed by volcanoes. Plett chose to settle in one of the valleys, partly because the glacial winds and atmospheric conditions limited both access and scanning by visiting spacecraft. He established a small compound with a four-storied tower, inner courtyard, and laboratory, all surrounded by extensive gardens. He also converted a number of caverns into greenhouses for his experiments. Underneath the compound, he developed a crypt accessed through thermal vents. This valley eventually took the name Plett's Well, which was later corrupted to Plawal. As was common among his species, Plett was a skilled botanist and ecologist; he applied these skills in the valley, genetically tailoring many plants to the rift's unique conditions of geothermic heat, low light, and microclimates of high acidity. During his years on the planet, he had some interaction with the native Mluki; years later, those Mluki in the Wutz and Bot-Un rifts passed on legends of his time there.



Plett spent some seventy years undisturbed on the planet, watching with the rise of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine with dismay, before he was joined by a group of refugees from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The group included dozens of children, mostly Humans, although there were also Wookiees, Bith, a Twi'lek, and an Ithorian among the group. The children were cared for by a few older trainees, such as Margolis Mingla. The refugees converted a number of the Ho'Din's greenhouse caverns into living quarters, making the best they could out of their safe haven; the direness of their situation was ameliorated by numerous pet pittins and mandolin music. Plett provided some training for the children, using a number of Jedi toys to stimulate their progress. Plett also took some precautions to protect the children; he shielded a number of tunnels with mental barriers that induced dread in those that approached, as well as sealing several cupboards with the Force. Unfortunately for the small enclave, their sanctuary was not to last; Emperor Palpatine discovered their location and commissioned the battlemoon known as the Eye of Palpatine to eradicate it.

The battlemoon was dispatched to Belsavis eighteen years before the Battle of Yavin; however, the Jedi Knights Callista Ming and Geith infiltrated the battlemoon en route as it passed through the Moonflower Nebula. When Geith realized that stopping the battlemoon would cost him his life, he opted to try and escape the station and warn Plett. However, he was destroyed while attempting to flee the Eye. Ming, who stayed aboard, managed to disable the ship at the cost of her own life, saving Plett's life and those of his wards. When the Eye never attacked Belsavis, the Emperor ordered a small backup fighter wing of interceptors to attack. Using Y-wings, the Jedi managed to defeat this force. Following this attack, Plett and the Jedi erased the Mluki's memories of their time in the valley and fled Belsavis, eventually going their separate ways.

Within a year of his escape, Plett passed on the coordinates of Belsavis to three corporations known for their social responsibility and respect for natives: Brathflen Corporation, Galactic Exotics, and Imperial Exports. Galactic Exotics developed shalaman and podon orchids, while Imperial Exports cultivated the cash crops vine-coffee and vine-silk. Together, they domed over the valley, based on a plan prepared by Plett. This investment brought significant economic development to the Mluki.

Legacy
"Subjects departed."

- Imperial report on the mission to Belsavis

Following the Jedi's escape, the Empire bombed Plett's Well with TIE bombers, reducing the Ho'Din's enclave to broken walls and shattered arches. The Emperor also corrupted some smugglers into crazed dark side beings that he trapped in the tunnels under the valley in order to protect the site from visitors. Of the scattered Jedi refugees that Plett sheltered, the siblings Lagan and Roganda Ismaren were captured by Inquisitor Ameesa Darys. She killed Lagan and subverted Roganda to the dark side. Another of the Jedi children, Nichos Marr, later trained as a Jedi at the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4 for a short time before succumbing to the fatal Quannot's Syndrome. Among the other survivors of the Jedi children, knowledge of Plett's Well was suppressed, although its existence was known of by the House of Organa.

Following the death of Emperor Palpatine at the Battle of Endor, Rogana Ismaren returned to Belsavis with her son Irek. There she took shelter in Plett's house, training her son with some of Plett's toys that had survived the bombardment. Eight years later, Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo visited Belsavis pursuing a rumor of the "Children of the Jedi." By this time, the Mluki had begun to recover memories of the Jedi presence on the planet. While Solo and Organa were ultimately unable to track down Plett or the younglings, they did foil an attempt by Ismaren to form a military alliance with the powerful Ancient Houses of the Senex sector. They also recovered Plett's training tools and Jedi toys that were previously unknown to the New Jedi Order. These were later used to train a new generation of Jedi children.

Personality and traits
By the time the Jedi refugees arrived on Belsavis, Plett was advanced in age, his head tresses having faded almost to white. He radiated calm to others and, although worn by struggles over the years, deep strength. He had a strong conscience that compelled him to provide shelter to the Jedi children even at risk to his own life. This also extended to concern for the native Mluki; after he departed the planet, he arranged for corporations with good reputations to learn of the location of the planet, ensuring economic development for the Mluki while protecting them from unscrupulous exploitation. Plett frequently wore the black cloak of Jedi mastership.

Powers and abilities
As a Jedi Master, Plett was proficient in diverse Jedi arts. He was able to effect individuals' memories, which he did to the entire Mluki village living within Plett's Well, causing them to forget the presence of the Jedi within the valley. The effect of this persisted for over twelve years, and was described as preventing those Mluki from thinking about their past. The Jedi Master also created mental barriers using the Force that induced dread in those that approached. This was used to keep the Jedi children out of numerous caverns that contained the dangerous kretch insect. For even greater security, Plett sealed off passages using the Force. According to Mluki legends, the Ho'Din was also able to speak to birds and other creatures and affect the storms that periodically swept down the valleys. Plett was also skilled as a scientist; his genetic modifications he made to the plants in his valley thrived even decades after his departure.

Behind the scenes
"He'd been living here for some seventy years before the other Jedi brought their spouses and children here to hide."

- Jevax

Plett was created by Barbara Hambly for her novel Children of the Jedi. Written before the release of the prequel movies and their taboo on marriage, the "Children of the Jedi" were originally understood as spouses and children of Jedi Knights. However, The New Essential Guide to Characters, published after the prequel movies, retconned the children into younglings from the Jedi Temple. A second post-prequel source makes oblique reference to Plett: HoloNet News Vol. 531 52 has a story written from Plawal Dome on Belsavis. This is unusual in that the news story was written in 22 BBY when Plett was still on the planet. The strong implication in Children of the Jedi is that the name "Plett's Well" was corrupted to "Plawal" only after the Jedi had wiped the natives' memories and fled the planet.

The Ultimate Alien Anthology, which lists Plett as a common Ho'Din name, depicts a yet-to-be-identified Ho'Din Jedi. Standing roughly 2.5 meters in height, with green skin and garbed in a black cloak, this image is consistent with the description of Plett given in Children of the Jedi.

Appearances

 * Children of the Jedi