Gelesi

"You look like an offworlder. My names Gelesi. I'm a checkpoint Captain in the Merchant Quarter."

- Gelesi

Gelesi was a Human male military officer who lived in Iziz, a major city on Onderon, with his wife and daughter. After his superior and good friend, Sullio, was murdered outside of the Iziz Cantina, he was given her rank and assignment, verifying cards that allowed passage on and off the planet&mdash;called starport visas&mdash;at the entrance to the Merchant Quarter from Iziz Starport. At the time Onderon was enmeshed in a political struggle between the ideals of beings loyal to Queen Talia, the Onderon Royalists who wanted to stay with the Galactic Republic; and those loyal to her cousin General Vaklu, the Onderon separatists who wanted to secede from the Republic, as they felt being a part of it had forced them into too many costly conflicts over the years. Gelesi was torn between the two groups due to his loyalty to the queen and his distrust of the Republic, as well as sympathy for the separatist view that Onderon had been drawn into too many battles. He was among the soldiers that verified a visa belonging to the Jedi Exile, a woman in search of any surviving Jedi High Council members to help her in eliminating the leaders of the Sith, as she was leaving the planet. After the beginning of the Onderon Civil War&mdash;a full-scale militaristic coup attempt by Vaklu&mdash;Gelesi made the choice to support Talia's faction, and fought in the Battle of Onderon, a final assault by Vaklu's forces on the Iziz Royal Palace in an effort to kill Queen Talia.

Biography
"Sullio was captain of the checkpoint for years. I never knew why she came here every night until I got her job."

- Gelesi

Gelesi lived in Iziz, the walled city of the planet Onderon, with his wife and four-year-old daughter. In 3,951 BBY, he was promoted, to Captain of the Guard in the Onderonian military and was the youngest of three&mdash;Captains Bostuco and Riiken being the others&mdash;after his predecessor and good friend, Sullio, was murdered in the streets. Gelesi was shaken by the murder of Captain Sullio, as he was also unwillingly given her post, and became paranoid, afraid he would suffer the same fate. Though the murderer was never caught, his fears proved to be unfounded.

The city of Iziz was locked in controversy surrounding the ways of Onderon's Queen, Talia, and her unwavering support of the Galactic Republic after it had involved the planet in several wars in the years prior. Many believed that Onderon should secede from the Republic, and those people rallied behind Talia's cousin, General Vaklu, who led the separatist&mdash;often called Vakluist&mdash;movement. This infighting came to a boiling point directly after a skirmish in Onderon's orbit was reportedly started by the Ebon Hawk, a Republic-licensed freighter. However, in actuality the Hawk was attacked by the Onderon Military in order to frame the ship, and by association the Republic, for starting the conflict. Vaklu labeled this event as an unwarranted assault by the Republic against Onderon, and used it as leverage in his political campaign against the Republic. Gelesi was unable to choose definitively between the political groups, as he was fiercely loyal to the Queen, but he acknowledged the Vakluist view that the Republic was unnecessarily dragging Onderon to war with them.

Gelesi was one of the soldiers to verify a starport visa&mdash;required to leave the planet&mdash;owned by the Jedi Exile, a former Jedi Knight who was searching the galaxy for Jedi Masters to help her in her quest to stop an organization of Sith, called the Sith Triumvirate, that had already virtually succeeded in eliminating the Jedi Order. Because her meeting with Kavar&mdash;a Jedi Master and Jedi High Council member who had gone into hiding due to the Triumvirate's crusade&mdash;was interrupted by an attack by Vaklu's men, as Kavar was a high-ranking Royalist, the Exile was in a rush to escape the planet. By the time the Exile returned after receiving word that Kavar had been trying to contact her, Onderon had fallen into full-scale civil war between the Royalists and Vakluist faction. The Exile was asked to take a military command of the Royalist forces and pressed across the Sky Ramp, a walkway to the Iziz Royal Palace, fighting her way to the top of the ramp alongside Bostuco and his men to defend the Queen. Once inside, they met up with Gelesi, who was among the Royalist soldiers to fight against Vaklu's army and defend the palace from the insurgents.

Personality and traits
"I have a wife and daughter to look after. And I feel like a target now. I'm tempted to just grab my family and take the first shuttle out of here."

- Gelesi

Gelesi was a member of the Onderon Military and an overall neutral officer, divided by his distrust of the Republic as well as his sympathy for some beliefs of Vaklu's faction and his support for Queen Talia. Following her murder, Gelesi was unwillingly assigned to his friend Sullio's post at the docks at Iziz his primary duty was to scan starport visas.

After his appointment to Sullio's former post, he grew nervous and feared for the lives of himself and his family. He had always wondered why his predecessor went to the cantina after all her shifts&mdash;until he got her job and started doing the same. The stress and worry made him feel like he was being targeted all the time and even a bit paranoid in his own opinion. It got to the point where he considered leaving his post and leaving the planet with his family, though he decided against it.

Behind the scenes
Captain of the Guard Gelesi was created for the Obsidian Entertainment video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords in 2003.

Gelesi's face is actually one of the faces a player could chose from when customizing Revan, the protagonist of the original game entitled Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. This face did not return as a choice for the Jedi Exile. The face models from the first KotOR are used commonly for minor non-playable characters throughout the game and some can be used for the Exile. If the face is chosen for the Exile, all instances of that face on NPCs would be replaced by another face model choice for the Exile, including Gelesi.

There is a non-canonical path in the game. At the request of a Vaklu supporter named Anda, the Exile can remove the three captains of the Guard in order to weaken the Royalist military in preparation for the attack on the Royal Palace. Anda is willing to pay the Exile 2500 credits for each one she removes. However, supporting Taila's faction is considered the canonical flow of events. In the Vakluist version, the Exile meets Gelesi in the cantina in the Merchant Quarter of Iziz, persuading him, possibly using Jedi mind tricks, to leave the city to protect his family. Another way to remove him is to have Panar, a Beast Rider working under Bakkel who frequented the Beast Rider's Den in the cantina, threaten to kidnap and marry Gelesi's four-year old daughter if she chooses to support General Vaklu. If persuasion fails, there is a group of thugs outside the cantina that can be hired to attack Gelesi, after which he leaves the planet, fearing for his family's safety. If the latter option is chosen, Anda becomes angry because she wanted the captains of the Guard removed quietly; however, she will still pay the Exile. An in-game system that keeps track of the players responses, if the player chooses kinder options the player earns light side "points," if the player chooses aggressive or otherwise cruel actions the player earns dark side "points" and more neutral expressions earn no points either way. This side quest is only available if the Exile supports Vaklu during her initial visit to Iziz and is not guaranteed to be dark-sided.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords