Dressellian/Legends

Dressellians were a tall, thin, humanoid species with elongated, hairless skulls, wrinkled skin, and teal-colored blood who valued freedom above anything else. For most of their history, they lived a peaceful and isolated lifestyle on their homeworld, Dressel, until the Galactic Civil War forced them into closer contact with the rest of the galaxy as supporters of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and later, the New Republic.

History
Dressellians evolved in the sub-equatorial grasslands of Dressel's main continent, Breehara. Two centuries before the Galactic Civil War, the Dressel system was discovered by Bothan scouts. At the time, the Bothan Clan Askar decided to leave the low-tech natives of the planet alone, restricting their activities to mining the Dressellian Asteroid Belt. The Dressellians did have limited contact with the Galactic Republic, however, as a Dresselian named Reeft, was inducted into the Jedi Order and became a Jedi Knight during the last years of the Galactic Republic.



Dressel's isolation ended after the Galactic Empire took control of the system around 10 BBY. The Imperials descended on the planet, moving to set up bases and exploit Dressel's natural resources. The Dressellians, despite having only a loose political organization and barely industrial-level technology, formed a resistance movement. At first, their resistance groups had limited effect on the Imperials. As time wore on, however, the Dressellians became masters of guerrilla warfare, making the continued occupation of Dressel very costly for the Empire. Dressellian guerillas armed themselves with a mixture of their own equipment and captured Imperial weapons and repulsorlift vehicles. Later, the Bothans threw their support behind the rebellion, smuggling equipment, weapons, and mercenaries to train the Dressellians. The Dressellian projectile rifle was designed during this period, and was produced in large numbers and used to great effect. In the end, the Imperials decided the occupation was not worth the cost, and abandoned Dressel.

The most prominent Dressellian during the Galactic Civil War was the Rebel commando Orrimaarko, a veteran of his homeworld's rebellian. Orrimaarko was present in the briefing room aboard the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser Home One before the Battle of Endor, and later participated in the battle as part of General Han Solo's strike team.

After their homeworld was liberated, Dressellian society returned to its former state, with the former underground leaders becoming the leaders of Dressel's array of loosely organized participatory democracies. As they had for centuries, the Dressellians preferred to keep to themselves; they became members of the New Republic, but their Senatorial delegation frequently skipped votes unless coaxed into participating by their old Bothan allies. This changed during the Yuuzhan Vong War, when many Dressellians once again took up arms to defend their homeworld and the rest of the galaxy.

Behind the scenes
For a time, some fans assumed that the "prune face" aliens in Return of the Jedi were in fact the Bothans. However, the Expanded Universe has made the Bothans into an entirely separate species. Galaxy Guide 12: Aliens — Enemies and Allies was the first to identify the Dressellians by name.

Appearances

 * Darth Plagueis
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Rising Force
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Captive Temple
 * Jedi Apprentice Special Edition: Deceptions
 * MedStar I: Battle Surgeons
 * Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight
 * Star Wars Dark Times: Blue Harvest, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Rebellion (video game)
 * Star Wars Adventures Volume 2: Princess Leia and the Royal Ransom
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Specter of the Past
 * The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime
 * The New Jedi Order: Edge of Victory II: Rebirth
 * Star Wars Legacy 36: Renegade
 * Star Wars Legacy 36: Renegade
 * Star Wars Legacy 36: Renegade