Galus Vez

"The station's owned by Galus Vez, a unpleasant Besalisk who manages to "obtain" spare ship parts through discreet channels&mdash;parts which we now need to fix the Ghost."

- Hera Syndulla tells Ezra Bridger about Vez

Galus Vez was a male Besalisk who owned the space station Osisis Station during the reign of the Galactic Empire. He often worked with a group of rebels from the planet Lothal, but after Imperial inspections of facility increased he no longer wished to be associated with them. Upon the groups next visit he refused to sell them the starship parts they needed, instead challenging the group's pilot, Hera Syndulla to a race around his own private course, the Fool's Run. Should Syndulla win the race Vez promised to hand over the parts, but should he win then he would turn the rebels over to the Imperials. Syndulla agreed and managed to beat him in the race, causing the Besalisk to retract his offer and attempt to capture the rebels anyway. Prepared for the betrayal however, the group destroyed one of Vez's cargo vessels with explosives and used the distraction to disarm Vez and take out his men, forcing the Besalisk to hand over what they needed.

Biography
"We'll race each other in Fool's Run. If I win, I take your ship and you lose everything. But if you win, you get your ship, the parts you need and you get to go on your merry way."

- Vez challenges Syndulla

The male Besalisk Galus Vez lived during the reign of the Galactic Empire. During Imperial rule, he worked as the owner of the space station Osisis Station, which orbited a planet in the Regani sector and acted as a hangout for the sector's lowlifes. Vez used discreet channels to obtain parts for starships, which he would then sell to those visiting his station. Many visitors also raced the Besalisk on his personal race course, which was known as Fool's Run and ran between the asteroids in the nearby planet's rings. Vez won every race, though sometimes through the use of secret asteroid thrusters he had installed in the course, which he could use to drive asteroids in to his opponents ships. One group he worked with was a cell of rebels who were active on the planet Lothal, who he maintained a relationship with for a long period of time. About five years before the Battle of Yavin, Imperial inspections of Osisis station doubled following a visit from the Lothal rebels. Each time the Imperials arrived, Vez and his staff had to make sure that no traces of the rebels remained on the station to avoid suspicion. Unaware of the trouble they were causing the Besalisk, the rebels made another trip to Osisis following an raid on an Imperial supply yard in which they had damaged their ship, the VCX-100 light freighter Ghost. Hoping to buy parts, the rebels found the doors onboard the station left open, which was unusual for Vez, but continued with the meeting and provided the criminal with a list of what they needed. Vez greeted the group, but refused their request, informing the rebels of the increased Imperial patrols. He considered handing the group over to the Empire, before thinking better of it and challenging the rebels' pilot, Hera Syndulla, to a race around the Fool's Run. Syndulla accepted, much to the surprise of the rest of her crew, but stipulated that no weaponry was to be used, terms to which Vez agreed.

Vez took to the course in his starship Splendor, while Syndulla piloted the Ghost alone with the astromech droid C1-10P. The Besalisk began the race in the lead, but was overtaken after Syndulla employed a series of fancy maneuvers. To retake first place, Vez activated his asteroid thrusters, which rammed a large rock into the Ghost and caused the VCX-100's stabilizers to malfunction. Seeing the use of the asteroid thrusters from onboard Osisis station, the Jedi Kanan Jarrus and his padawan Ezra Bridger&mdash;two members of Syndulla's crew&mdash;used the Force to drive asteroids into Vez's ship to even the odds. After C1-10P boosted the Ghost's engines, Syndulla managed to pilot the damaged ship past the Splendor and claim victory. Once back on the station, Vez renegaded on his deal and had his men draw their weapons on the rebels, declaring that he would hand them over to the Imperials. Before he could act however, and explosion rocked the station and distracted the Besalisk, allowing Jarrus to disarm Vez while the other rebels shot his men. With the rebels now in control, Vez was forced to hand over the parts they needed and watch them escape. Once the Ghost was gone, the Besalisk had all footage and evidence of the group's visit edited or destroyed so that the Imperials would find nothing on their next inspections; however, unbeknown to Vez, Wren had painted the starbird insignia on the exterior of the station before leaving.

Personality and traits
"I could turn you all over to the Empire and earn a tidy profit, but because we go back a long way I'm going to give you a chance."

- Vez offers the crew of the Ghost a chance to get the parts they need

Galus Vez was a brown skinned Besalisk with a brown beard and yellow eyes. Despite a long working relationship with the Lothal rebels, he was unwilling to continue business with them after Imperial inspections of his space station increased. Due to their history together though, Vez was willing to not hand the rebels over to the Imperials as long as they accepted his challenge, but cheated during the race in an attempt to assure his victory. After losing he betrayed the group and tried to capture them. Upon meeting the fourteen year old Bridger for the first time, Vez commented that the rebels must be getting desperate if they were hiring children.

Equipment
"This is the Splendor standing-by. You still want to do this, Twi'lek?"

- Vez speaks to Syndulla from his gauntlet fighter

Vez used two blaster pistols in combat and piloted the Gauntlet fighter Splendor while racing. He wore blue pants and a green jacket, with silver rings in his beard.

Behind the scenes
Galus Vez was created for the canon comic strip "Ring Race" which was written by Martin Fisher and illustrated by Bob Molesworth. The strip was published in the first issue of the Star Wars Rebels Magazine series, which was released on January 28, 2015.

Appearances

 * "Ring Race" in Star Wars Rebels Magazine 1