Janu Godalhi/Legends

"...a bunch of misguided idealists who were out to create anarchy..."

- Boba Fett's thoughts on the Tethan resistance

Janu Godalhi was a constable, historian, and Rebel from the planet Teth. Known for his law enforcement skills, Godalhi was known throughout the Outer Rim Territories for his thorough pursuit of justice. His skills, coupled with his exhaustive historical knowledge, made him a pioneer of several security techniques and measures.

His unorthodox style garnered the attention of several Coruscant security firms, which sought his advice. Upon visiting the capital, however, Godalhi was witness to the epic Battle of Coruscant. Surviving the chaotic struggle, Godalhi found himself disgusted at the security on Coruscant, and returned to Teth. Shortly after this, the New Order was formed, and the Galactic Empire effectively replaced Godalhi and his men on Teth. Outraged, Godalhi created a resistance movement, and eventually joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Following the Battle of Endor, however, Godalhi retired, along with his son, to pursue the chronicling of history further.

Service on Teth
Janu Godalhi considered himself a historian. History was his passion and his primary interest. In spite of this, he did not find himself spending hours in an archive for a living; rather, he spent his time chasing criminals on the streets of Teth. At some stage, Godalhi became a constable on Teth, where he managed to earn a reputation as a thorough and effective enforcer of the law. Teth being in the Outer Rim Territories, Godalhi's skills were always in use fighting criminal organizations. Despite this, his passion for history was not forgotten, and he would often apply his historical knowledge when devising new security measures and techniques for Teth.

At some stage, he worked with Jedi Master Plo Koon in the hunt for a group of local pirates. Their hunt was highly successful, with Koon and Godalhi departing as good friends. During the Clone Wars he also had to combat war opportunists, who took advantage of the nearby Confederate sieges. This did not deter the constable, as he was determined to keep the peace in the face of war.

The Battle of Coruscant
Godalhi's unique security methods garnered the attention of the wider peacekeeping community. In particular, security agencies on Coruscant invited Godalhi to speak during a week-long workshop, where he could lend his knowledge to law enforcement hopefuls. Unfortunately for Godalhi, General Grievous of the Confederacy of Independent Systems attacked Coruscant during the constable's visit. Though he offered to help, Godalhi was barred from the battlefront, as Coruscant's security was wary of offworlders. Though Grievous' attack was repelled by the Jedi Knights, the workshop was canceled, leaving Godalhi to find other ways to spend his time on the capital.

During his stay, Godalhi casually investigated the security measures in place on Coruscant, and was shocked at the fact that security forces were undermined or made redundant by clone troopers and similar forces. His opinion of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine fell upon seeing what he perceived as shoddy work being done to ensure the security of Coruscant's denizens. He was appalled at the fact that Grievous had been able to capture the Supreme Chancellor with relative ease (although several Jedi had in fact fallen defending Palpatine.) His investigations led him to believe that corruption was rife in the upper echelons of Coruscant society, particularly in the vicinity of Palpatine. He attempted to contact Senator Bail Prestor Organa to discuss the matter, but his calls went unanswered. To put his mind off the lax security issue, Godalhi used a voucher given to him by the organizers of the canceled workshop, viewing a performance of "Squid Lake" at the Galaxies Opera House. This, however, only deepened Godalhi's frustration, since in his opinion the Opera House's security was in poor form, even with the Supreme Chancellor himself attending. Disgusted, Godalhi returned to Teth.

Resistance on Teth and joining the Alliance to Restore the Republic
Shortly after Godalhi returned home, reports of Order 66 cut a swath through HoloNet News reports all over the galaxy. Godalhi was shocked by the concept of a "Jedi Rebellion", and was dubious as to whether Palpatine's claims were true or not. Godalhi had, after all, dealt with Master Koon before the Clone Wars, and believed that it was not in the nature of a Jedi to revolt against the government. His historical knowledge guiding him, Godalhi surmised that Palpatine was not all he seemed, and that it was likely he had manipulated events to position himself as Emperor of a New Order. Godalhi knew that the era of free speech was over, however, and kept his musings to himself.

The emergence of the Alliance to Restore the Republic piqued Godalhi's interest. He followed the exploits of Rebels such as Cody Sunn-Childe and former Imperial Senator Garm Bel Iblis closely, admiring their efforts to undermine the corrupt Palpatine. Inspired by their courage, Godalhi began hoarding weapons and munitions, preparing a Tethan resistance movement, which soon enough saw action as the Empire enforced their rule on Teth. The Imperials, who would eventually be under the control of Moff Sarn Shild, began installing their own security systems on Teth, forcing Godalhi to abandon his formal role. Bail Organa finally returned Godalhi's call of many years prior, asking him to commit the Tethan resistance to the Alliance wholesale. Godalhi agreed, committing his own resources, and having his son, Palob, join with him. In the ensuing years, the Galactic Civil War erupted, and Palpatine died his first death over the Forest Moon of Endor. Following this, Janu and Palob retired from service, writing a variety of historical texts chronicling the war together. Their works were highly regarded in the community with some even drawing favorable comparisons with the writings of Hextrophon and Na'al.

Personality and traits
Janu Godalhi was excessively interested in history, and saw no problem in mixing business and pleasure. He would often apply his exhaustive historical knowledge to the development of new security measures and programs, citing specific examples from eras gone by. This approach made him a name in the law enforcement community galaxy-wide, although it did not always make his expertise valuable in the eyes of foreigners. Godalhi was also prone to question the security techniques of alien cultures, and was no less than outraged upon surveying Coruscant's mechanisms. Although initially supportive of the bold policies of Palpatine, upon experiencing his influence firsthand, Godalhi began to doubt the motives of Palpatine, doubts which proved to be justified with the Declaration of a New Order. The sense of justice that had served Godalhi in his time as constable of Teth would also serve him during Palpatine's reign, when he at first created his own resistance movement, and then joined with the Alliance to Restore the Republic, to further the fight for independence.

Behind the scenes


The character of Janu Godalhi first appeared in George Lucas' Revenge of the Sith, wherein Pablo Hidalgo portrayed an unnamed background character. Despite the fact that his character is fleetingly seen, Hidalgo was forced to wear contact lenses for the role, due to the fact that Lucas did not want eyeglasses to be present in his film. The unnamed character's backstory was later expanded upon by Adrick Tolliver, "gohan316427", and "General Tarfful" through the What's The Story? feature on StarWars.com Hyperspace. Named "Janu Godalhi" for Hidalgo's father, Juan, the character was retconned to be the father of Palob Godalhi (itself a tuckerization of Pablo Hidalgo), a character from A. C. Crispin's Rebel Dawn. The Databank entry for Godalhi was later used, almost verbatim, in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Death in the Slave Pits of Lorrd