Rakririan

"Buy? Buy! Oh, come, sir, and see-see-see! Any pet worth having is to be had at Sabodor's, best in the Sector."

- Sabodor

The Rakririans were sentient arthropods indigenous to the planet Rakrir. The sentients were distinctive in appearance, with five pairs of limbs and stalk-mounted eyes. They rarely left their homeworld, finding the wider galaxy too unrefined for their sophisticated tastes. Notable Rakririans that bucked this trend were the athlete Mogoyu, the fencer of stolen goods Endrigorn, and the exotic pet store owner Sabodor.

Biology and appearance
Rakririans were an insectoid species with tubular bodies, divided into many segments. Adult bodies ranged in length from 1.8 to 3.6 meters long, with five sets of limbs spaced along their central body segment. While they typically stood upright on the last two sets of limbs, they were able to run on all five sets if necessary. Atop their body was a pair of eyestalks that moved incessantly. They had a tiny mouth and notable olfactory cluster. A cantilevered vocal organ was located in the middle of their midsection. Rakririans had three genders: males, females, and facilitator drones which were in between.

Society and culture
The Rakririan homeworld was the planet Rakrir, sometimes alternatively known as Ballikite. Rakririans developed into highly refined and cultured beings, seen by some as excessively finicky and meticulous. As a result of this, few ever left their homeworld, failing to find sufficiently sophisticated locations in the wider galaxy. Those that did tended to either be extremely wealthy, or work for the extremely wealthy in the service industries. Rakririans did not wear any clothes, although some wore bracelets for personal ornamentation.

Non-Rakririan found it difficult to read their body language, although certain movements did convey their frame of mind. For instance, slow opening and closing of their mandibles could mean either that they were in a receptive frame of mind, or, alternatively, that they were preparing to defend themselves. Although they could speak Galactic Standard Basic, it was often with a strong buzzing accent that some found difficult to understand.

Rakririans in the galaxy
While few Rakririans ventured off their homeworld, there were a few notable exceptions. A famous Rakririan athlete was Mogoyu, who finished second&mdash;in a holocam finish&mdash;in the "decaped-plus" category of the Mobquet Presents: Fastest Land Beings event held on Teyr in 22 BBY. A few years later, Endrigorn, a Rakririan facilitator drone, worked as a fence in the lower levels of Coruscant. There, it dealt primarily in stolen light sculptures, holo-art, and precious gems. It bought a hypergem off Kaird, a Black Sun Vigo, hoping Endrigorn would pass it on to his rival Xizor.

Another well-known Rakririan who left his homeworld was Sabodor, who set up Sabodor's, an exotic pet shop on Etti IV. One of the numerous pet shops that catered to the whims of Etti's wealthy, Sabodor's was considered the best. There he catered to the wealthy, providing them with unique pets to demonstrate their wealth. Sabodor once sold a dinko to Han Solo who gave it to Ploovo Two-for-One as a "gift."

A common Rakririan export to the galaxy was their Burnout Sauce. Extremely spicy, most sentients used it only in trace quantities to avoid potential side effects, such as burns to the mouth and throat. The Jedi Knight Plo Koon was known to use Burnout Sauce on rare occasions.

Behind the scenes
Rakririans were created by Brian Daley in his novel Han Solo at Stars' End, published April 1979. They were later included in the Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook. While both these sources established the Rakririan homeworld as Rakrir, Alien Encounters claimed it was Ballikite.

Rakririans have subsequently appeared in HoloNet News Vol. 531 52 and Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight.

Appearances

 * Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight
 * Han Solo at Stars' End
 * Star Wars Galaxies
 * Han Solo at Stars' End
 * Star Wars Galaxies