Lepi/Legends

"I ain't no rodent! I'm more what ya call yer basic Lepus Carnivorus&mdash;a meat eatin', rocket ridin' rabbit ta you junior!"

- Jaxxon rebukes Warto.

The Lepi or Lepus Carnivorus were a species of lagomorphs, ranging in color from green to dark blue. They were native to the planet of Coachelle Prime, their high reproductive rate forced them to colonize their entire starsystem. Lepi built their societies in extensive underground warrens.

The most famous Lepi was the smuggler Jaxxon featured in the holo-doc "Eight for Aduba-3: The Saga of the Starhoppers" for his part in defending a village on Aduba-3. Other notable Lepi included the the criminal Grubbat Fhilch and the Tatooine colonist Heff.

Biology and appearance
"Y'know how us rocket rabbit types are: we just can't stand still."

- Jaxxon



The Lepi or Lepus Carnivorus were a species of bipedal lagomorphs with large ears and feet. They had lanky frames, with males averaging 1.9 meters, while the smaller females averaged 1.6 meters. The strong legs of the Lepi were capable of great speeds as well as delivering powerful kicks, often used in fights to bludgeon their opponents. Lepi were covered in short fur that ranged from green to dark blue to white. Lepi also had tails, although they seemed to differ in length from stubby to quite long.

Lepi had large eyes&mdash;likely adapted for dark warrens&mdash;which gave them sharp vision. This occasionally led to the misconception that Lepi consumed space carrots known to improve eyesight. This was not the case, with most Lepi preferring Hambones. A number of long whiskers grew from short snouts. Long incisors jutted from their jaws (occasionally referred to as buck teeth), useful in their omnivorous diets. The long ears of the Lepi were very sensitive and occasionally coloured in different shades, such as pink fur.

The Lepi had a very high metabolism such that they were virtually always in motion, giving them an appearance of fidgetiness. This skittishness was also influenced by their evolution from high-strung herbivores; their "fight-or-flight" instinct very much favored flight.

Lepi sexually matured around age ten, at which age they were considered young adults. Females reproduced in prodigious numbers; mothers often having up to three dozen offspring in their lifespan. Lepi reached old age around 60 to 74, after which they were considered venerable.



Society and culture
"Never send a man out to do a rabbit's job."

- Jaxxon

Lepi society revolved around the vast warrens they built under the surface of their planets. The large Lepi families lived in smaller burrows. Lepi were fiercely loyal and proud of their families. They were quick to anger, especially in reaction to insults to their family or species. Their awkward appearance often led to insults and they were particularly sensitive to being referred to as rodents, often reacting violently to these slurs. Apart from these instances, they were typically a gregarious species, quick witted with a strong sense of humor. Lepi were often curious and impulsive, leading many to seek out adventure far from their homeworlds. This also stemmed from a desire to rise above the insults they often received. It was common among Lepi to find a determination to achieve great deed not only for personal fame, but also to redeem their species in the eyes of the galaxy.

The native language (both written and oral) of the Lepi was Lepese or Lepp. However, this quickly became secondary to Basic as the language of preference. Little is known of Lepi religion, but their exclamation "heavenly hutches" may suggest some belief in an afterlife.

History
"Like my mother told all eighty of us kids&mdash;it'd never work out. Marry a nice girl from a nice burrow&hellip;"

- Jaxxon

The Lepi evolved on the planet Coachelle Prime, part of the Silly Rabbit constellation in the Mid Rim. (The Silly Rabbit constellation was known for the vibrant colors it produced, most particularly raspberry red, lemon yellow, and orange orange. ) Due to their high reproductive rate, they soon filled their world to capacity and were driven to develop stardrives in order to avoid overcrowding. They swiftly colonized all five planets in the Coachelle system, along with its asteroid belt. This seemingly provided enough room for their species, although some Lepi were involved in other colonization efforts such as the planet Tatooine. The many colony ships of this endeavor were largely left intact and poorly guarded, capable of being stolen by an enterprising Lepi.

Lepi in the galaxy
"I even found one spacer who was adamant Jaxxon was a Gungan."

- Voren Na'al

The Coachelle system was sufficient to provide living space for the Lepi species as a whole. Despite this a number of individual Lepi ventured beyond their starsystem into the galaxy at large. They tended to stick to the fringe as scouts and tech specialists. However, some of the more aggressive became soldiers. Some Lepi adventurers had the capacity to become Jedi Knights, although none are recoded as having achieved this. One Lepi to leave the Coachelle system was Heff who was part of colonization efforts of the planet Tatooine during the early period of the Galactic Empire. Heff established a gift shop called Heff's Souvenirs in Mos Eisley and lived to be one of the last three surviving members of this colonization effort. There, he also raised a daughter Tebbi. However, Heff was killed in 0 ABY by the bounty hunter Jodo Kast who was hunting the Rebel Adar Tallon.



"Curse you Boba Fett! Damn you for tracking me to my warren and family and dragging me to Hutt "justice"!"

- Grubbat Fhilch curses Boba Fett

A less upright Lepi citizen was Grubbat Fhilch. He embezzled credits from the podracing operation of Jabba the Hutt. He was subsequently tracked down to his home warren by the bounty hunter Boba Fett who handed him over to the crimelord. Jabba had him thrown into a sarlacc pit as retribution. Fhilch was notable for possessing a long tail.

Perhaps the most famous Lepi of all was Jaxxon, who featured in the Tri-Nebula Entertainment holo-doc "Eight for Aduba-3: The Saga of the Starhoppers". He had a checkered past before his involvements in those events, originally raised on Coachelle Prime in a family of twelve siblings. After a youth spend in juvenile centres, Jax stole a freighter and ventured out to the Outer Rim. He lived on Nar Shaddaa for a time before joining a mercenary group in the Corus system. After the group was double-crossed in the Corporate Sector, he purchased a WUD-500 star yacht which he called the Rabbit's Foot. The dysfunctional ship forced him to land on Aduba-3 where he would make his fame. While there, he answered a call from Han Solo for warriors to protect the village of Onacra against local brigands.



Solo assembled a group of six mercenaries for the task, in addition to himself and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca. Wielding twin heavy blaster pistols, Jaxxon and his eclectic companions fought strongly against Serji-X Arrogantus and his Cloud Riders, finally repelling them with the aid of the Behemoth from the World Below which was summoned by a local shaman. With his reward credits, the green Lepi was able to leave Aduba-3, having teamed up with the Human woman Amaiza Foxtrain.

The ramifications of the Aduba event were not over for Jaxxon, however, as he was soon attacked by the bounty hunters Fud and Dafi, under orders of Beilert Valance. He was seeking one Jimm Doshun from Aduba-3, erroneously believing him to be Luke Skywalker. Jax was tortured, but showing typical Lepi resilience, gave up little information to the hunters. However, when they later inadvertently revealed the location of Jimm, the Lepi nobly returned to Aduba to fight off the hunters.

Another individual that was likely a Lepi, was the manic lagomorph that worked with Jedi Knight Kyle Katarn on one, perhaps two, occasions. Possibly called Max or Maximort, he was shorter than the average Lepi but otherwise virtually identical in appearance. He was present in Barons Hed, Sulon, when Katarn was on a mission there, and may have aided him in firefights using his Bryar pistol. He later aided Katarn in apprehending the Ketton spy Derrida while on the Space Station Kwenn. Between them, they almost destroyed the station.

Common Lepi names
Names that were common among the Lepi species included Augdon, Gagen, Javilla, Lupher, Maximort, Nevlin, Roonis, Saper, Zylo and Trixx.

Behind the scenes
Lepi first appeared in as Jaxxon in Star Wars 8: Eight for Aduba-3, the first Marvel story arc after the adaption of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The species was created by writer Roy Thomas, a clear homage to Bugs Bunny (who often addressed strangers with the generic nickname "Jackson" in his 1940's cartoons). He also bore a striking resemblance to two other characters: the cartoon character Bucky O'Hare who debuted shortly after the Marvel run, and Jazz Jackrabbit, a platform computer game character.

After his appearance in the Marvel story arc, Jaxxon went into limbo until the Star Wars Gamer  article The Starhoppers of Aduba-3 by Pablo Hidalgo (with Cory J. Herndon and Michael Mikaelian). This article gave a bio for Jaxxon as well as providing information on the species in general. Through providing example names for Lepi, it also retconned several rabbit-like individuals as Lepi. These included Heff (and by proxy, Tebbi) from Tatooine Manhunt and Grubbat Fhilch from the  Star Wars Tales comic  Fortune, Fate, and the Natural History of the Sarlacc .



The Lepi were then also featured in the Ultimate Alien Anthology which also provided some common Lepi names. Among these was Maximort which suggests a connection with the rabbit-like character Max, previously canonized by Abel G. Peña in The Dark Forces Saga. Max appeared as an unlockable cameo in Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II.

Since this time, Lepi have appeared in a couple of other sources. Jaxxon's appearance made it into the 20 Most Memorable Moments of the Expanded Universe as one of the goofiest moments.

The Starhoppers of Aduba-3 gave Trixx as a common Lepi name. This is a reference to the cereal Trix which featured a rabbit trying to the fruit-flavored food before being told "Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids." This joke was first made in Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon which described the Silly Rabbit constellation as "raspberry red, lemon yellow, and orange orange", the colors used to describe the cereal.

Appearances

 * Fortune, Fate, and the Natural History of the Sarlacc
 * Tatooine Manhunt
 * Rookies: Rendezvous
 * Star Wars 8: Eight for Aduba-3
 * Star Wars 9: Showdown on a Wasteland World
 * Star Wars 10: Behemoth from the World Below
 * Star Wars 11: Star Search
 * Star Wars 16: The Hunter
 * Underworld Appendix: Swoops, Spice, and Wretched Rogues
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II