Phuii

"I am here to&hellip; a recent incident in the Phu system. We are still analyzing the data from the attack, but we can confirm that General Ares Nune's task force did encounter enemy forces on patrol."

- A Republic admiral

The Phuii were a species of sentient, dinosaur-like bipeds with sagging, wrinkled skin. Their anatomy featured a long, swooping neck, lanky arms, and stubby legs. Some Phuii had long tails, while others did not. Members of the species had a fleshy crest on top of the head and a pronounced growth under each eye. Their needle-pointed snouts were full of blunt teeth. The species hailed from Phu, a planet located in the Colonies region of space that was renowned for its gaming.

Over the millennia, Phuii integrated into the greater galaxy. One of these was Nep Chung, a Vigo in the Black Sun criminal organization, who was killed in 33 BBY by the Sith Lord Darth Maul. Other Phuii entered the fast-paced sport of podracing. Among them was Mars Guo, regarded as an arrogant blowhard by his colleagues. Guo entered the Boonta Eve Classic of 32 BBY, but he was taken out of the race due to the machinations of rival racer, Sebulba. Another Phuii podracer crashed and died during the Ungasan Cross Country on Ando Prime, and Chros-filik also podraced on the planet Tatooine. During the Clone Wars, the Phuii Jedi Ares Nune patrolled his home system as a general of the Galactic Republic; he was killed when the Separatist warship Malevolence ambushed his patrol.

Biology and appearance
Phuii were sentient bipeds with thin, dinosaurian bodies. Members of the species were characterized by a long, curving neck with deep-set wrinkles running down its length; and by stubby legs that bent backward to allow the Phuii to walk on small, three-toed feet. Some Phuii had four fingers per hand, while others featured three. Although some Phuii sported a long tail, others did not. Phuii stood about 1.5 meters tall; one of 1.42 meters in height might weigh 35 kilograms. For locomotion, members of the species hopped from place to place.

The Phuii neck swooped forward to place the small head directly in front of the rest of the body. The eyes, located at the sides of the head, came in shades of red, orange, yellow, and white, with a blue sclera in some individuals. These were surrounded by heavy, baggy wrinkles with a fleshy growth under each. A narrow, dagger-like snout projected forth, filled with white, peg-like teeth and pink gums. From the area of the head between the eyes rose a fleshy, lumpy crest. This growth was bulbous toward the front of the head, but it shortened to two raised bumps along the top of the cranium before extending to a point at the back of the head. Other patterns of bumps and crevasses covered the sides of the skull.

The wrinkled skin of the Phuii featured shades of green, yellow, gray, and brown. Although some of the dinosaur-like beings had skin of a single hue, others had distinctive markings. For example, an individual might have had one major skin tone with another for the area around the eyes, the lips, the front of the neck, the belly, and other stripes and mottling.

Society and culture
"Well, hello, Twi'lek! Pull up a seat next to Mars Guo?''" "Forget it. I'm with Sebulba." "''Big deal! Listen, if I win the Boonta, let's you and me skip Tatooine!"

- Mars Guo and Ann Gella

The Phuii hailed from Phu, a planet in southwestern quadrant of the Colonies region. Their homeworld was famed for its gaming industry. Phuii were capable of using galaxy-standard technology. A style of clothing favored by several members of the species was a set of coveralls with horizontal straps that left the shoulders and upper chest exposed. A Phuii could employ its beak to peck at an opponent in combat.

The symbol of the planet Phu was an orange crescent with a loop between its two points, set against a green field; the podracer Mars Guo flew this flag at the Boonta Eve Classic podrace of 32 BBY. Members of the species could speak Basic and Huttese. Phuii had two-part names. In some, the two elements were completely separate. Examples included Nep Chung, Mars Guo, and Ares Nune. Others hyphenated the two parts to form a name such as Chros-Fillik.

History
"General Ares Nune reporting. Am commencing another sweep of the Phu system and surrounding area. Still no sign of any Separatist activity. It's like the great slug from that old story, eh, Commander Kite? The one that's lurking out there, waiting to be found."

- Jedi General Ares Nune

The Phuii first encountered visitors from another planet sometime between 5000 BBY and 3000 BBY. However, their world lay beyond the regions of space that were thoroughly integrated into the greater galaxy until at least the Clone Wars, which ended in 19 BBY.

At the outbreak of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, Phu lay beyond the borders of any supraplanetary entity, such as the Galactic Republic or Confederacy of Independent Systems. Despite this isolation, the Phuii Jedi General Ares Nune was assigned to patrol the Phu system for Separatist activity for part of the war. He came under fire from an unknown enemy&mdash;the Separatist ship Malevolence&mdash;and lost shields on his Star Destroyer, Laudable. He was killed along with his crew. A different Phuii served the Confederacy during the conflict, as a lieutenant aboard a starship captained by Commander Aviso.

The population of the Phu homeworld fell somewhere between 10 and 100 million circa 25 ABY. The planet had fallen within territory considered part of Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire by 137 ABY.

Phuii in the galaxy
Despite their homeworld's relative isolation from galactic affairs, Phuii spread from Phu to make their way in the greater galaxy. At least a decade before 33 BBY, the Phuii Nep Chung had become a Vigo in the Black Sun criminal organization. Chung and his Phuii bodyguard attended a meeting of the Vigos in the fortress of Alexi Garyn on Ralltiir that year to discuss the assassinations of two other Vigos. When the assassin, a Zabrak Sith Lord named Darth Maul, arrived to kill the rest of the Vigos, Chung's bodyguard confronted him along with other enforcers for the assemblage. Maul killed the bodyguards and continued into the chamber where Chung and the other Vigos were hiding. He then slew the Vigos as well.

Some members of the species found employment in the fast-paced sport of podracing. One such Phuii was Mars Guo, who began his career in the minor rim leagues. He had proven a favorite in the Spice Mine Run of Mon Gazza, and he had just won the Baroonda Fire Mountain Rally when he moved up to the professional circuit with his entry into the Boonta Eve Classic on Tatooine in 32 BBY. Guo's slaves found him to be a cruel master, and his colleagues found him to be an egotistical braggart. This behavior got him into trouble the night before the race when Guo had too much to drink and hit on Ann Gella, an enslaved Twi'lek masseuse owned by a rival podracer, Sebulba. During the race, the Dug flung a piece of scrap into the engine of Guo's Collor Pondrat Plug-2 Behemoth racer. Guo crashed, and he was eventually placed in a medcenter. Another Phuii podracer entered the Ungasan Cross Country on Ando Prime sometime before 27 BBY. This racer fatally crashed in the Juaka Canyon. Years later, the remains of his pod were the site of a fight between the Twi'lek Ree and a group of Ando Prime's native Talids. Chros-filik was another Phuii podracer active in the latter years of the Galactic Republic. He entered a race on Tatooine in 22 BBY.

Behind the scenes
"How do you take a Podracer pilot seriously who looks like this and whose species is called Phuii? Clearly, you don't!"

- Stephen J. Sansweet

The podracer pilot Mars Guo was the first Phuii to appear in a Star Wars story. The character was designed by concept artist Terryl Whitlatch for the Boonta Eve Classic sequences of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, a film released in 1999. Concept sketches of the species include a long, tapered tail, an element removed in the final design. Unlike most of the other podracer characters, the Phuii was an articulated puppet for closeup shots. However, for wide shots of Guo in his pod, the character was computer-generated. For the DVD release of The Phantom Menace, Industrial Light & Magic animated an additional scene featuring Guo as a fully computer-generated character. In the sequence, Guo salutes the crowd after his name is announced over the loudspeakers by Fodesinbeed Annodue. However, an oblivious Jar Jar Binks upstages the Phuii by standing in front of him and trying to get the attention of another podracer, Anakin Skywalker. Guo appears as a playable character in the video game Star Wars: Episode I Racer; his podracer has a top speed higher than his competitors, but he has only average or low ratings at acceleration, air brakes, and cooling. In contrast, in the Star Wars Roleplaying Game from Wizards of the Coast, Guo lags behind most of his competitors in piloting and repair skills; his pod is slow, albeit fairly durable. Guo appears in the Podracing portion of Kinect Star Wars as a contestant in the Destiny Hub race, although not as a playable character. Early plans for Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones called for a Phuii to be among the patrons of Dex's Diner on Coruscant, but such a character never made it to the final film.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Darth Maul 3
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul 4
 * Episode I Adventures 6: The Hunt for Anakin Skywalker
 * Star Wars: Anakin's Speedway
 * Podracing Tales
 * Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (novel)
 * Star Wars: Episode I Racer
 * Star Wars: Racer Revenge
 * Kinect Star Wars
 * Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
 * Boba Fett: Hunted
 * The Clone Wars: Decide Your Destiny: Dooku's Secret Army
 * The Clone Wars: Decide Your Destiny: Dooku's Secret Army
 * The Clone Wars: Decide Your Destiny: Dooku's Secret Army