Drakka

"It's me, Drakka! Skelly! You know me!" "You say that like it's a good thing!"

- Drakka discovers Skelly in the back alley of his diner

Drakka was a male Besalisk who owned and worked as a chef in a diner on the planet Gorse. His skill at cooking kept the business going for several years, as did his strength, which scared away criminals like the Chagrian Charko. Drakka was forced to close his dinner for a day when an Imperial Lambda-class shuttle landed in front of it, and hoping to get revenge for the inconvenience, Drakka later aided the demolitions expert Skelly in meeting with the Imperials. Drakka's Diner was destroyed when the Imperial shuttle exploded, after which the Besalisk confronted the Imperials about the damage to his property.

Biography
"Besalisks have a saying, when your neighbors trouble you, send your rodents to their nest."

- Drakka decides to help Skelly infiltrate Moonglow to see the Imperials

The male Besalisk Drakka lived on the planet Gorse where he owned and cooked for a diner in Gorse City known as Drakka's Diner. The diner was located on Bogan Boulevard meters away from Moonglow Polychemical, a company owned by Drakka's cousin Lal Grallik, whose husband Gord Grallik served as Moonglow's security chief. The establishment was open for many years, including several in which business was poor; however, the Besalisk's strength and skill at cooking kept the diner from closing down. Kanan Jarrus, a pilot who worked for Moonglow, sometimes visited the diner and became familiar with Drakka. Around five years before the Battle of Yavin, Jarrus was eating at Drakka's when the Chagrian criminal Charko attempted to goad him into leaving the building for a fight. Charko dared not enter the diner for fear of Drakka, and when the Besalisk moved to arm himself, the criminal quickly fled. Jarrus remained and finished his meal, before deciding to confront Charko, but forgot to pay before leaving, causing Drakka to grab him after he exited the establishment. Later that day, the Imperial Lambda-class shuttle Cudgel landed in Bogan Boulevard in order to collect the fugitive demolitions expert Skelly from Moonglow where he was being captive. The shuttle's location meant that it entirely blocked the entrance to Drakka's Diner, preventing customers from reaching the establishment and forcing Drakka to close the diner. The Besalisk then found Skelly, who had been freed from captivity by the Twi'lek pilot Hera Syndulla, in the diner's back alley. At first Drakka was unhappy to see Skelly due to the man's reputation, but when the demolitions expert explained he wanted to use a sewer grate in the alley to sneak back into Moonglow and see the Imperials, Drakka decided to aid him in the hopes it would cause the Imperials trouble. He pulled the sewer grating open for Skelly and threw the man down before he could thank him.

The choice to aid Skelly turned out to have been a poor one for Drakka, as the demolitions expert later set charges on the Cudgel after a disastrous meeting with the Imperial Count Denetrius Vidian in which Skelly was nearly killed. The explosion caused by the charges set fire to Drakka's Diner and caused a freezer unit to fall on the Besalisk and trap him. Jarrus eventually found Drakka and managed to free him, after which the chef confronted the Imperials over the destruction of his property, a discussion which did not go well.

Personality and traits
"I'll miss these great conversations."

- Jarrus jokes about how little Drakka speaks

Drakka was an volatile individual, which prevented him from gaining employment at his cousin's mining company. He successfully ran his diner, managing to keep it open during hard times due to his good cooking&mdash;which included the ability to make a tasty stew&mdash;and his strength, which stemmed from his enormous size and four hugely muscular arms. Drakka's strength and blasters was enough to keep Charko from even entering the Besalisk's diner, and the Chagrian was quick to flee at the first sign of Drakka reacting to his presence.

Drakka spoke little, even to customers like Jarrus who he was familiar with, although he would sometimes growl, which caused the flesh sac below his chin to wobble. The Besalisk chose to aid Skelly in reaching the Imperials in hopes of getting revenge for the Imperials forcing him to close his business for the day. After the destruction of his diner Drakka confronted the Imperials he believed responsible for the fire. He had a beige head crest.

Equipment
Drakka kept four large blasters behind his bar, one for each of his arms. He also used an iron skillet as a makeshift weapon when he found Skelly in his back alley.

Behind the scenes
Drakka first appeared in A New Dawn a novel written by John Jackson Miller and released in 2014.

Appearances

 * A New Dawn