Gupat Roshti

"The simple truth is there is not a warrior among us, Master Yoda. An armed conflict will destroy us. We will negotiate with Count Dooku if we are able."

―Gupat Roshti^[2]

Gupat Roshti was a Togruta male who served as the governor of the planet Kiros during the Clone Wars. His colony of 50,000 Togruta were kidnapped and sold into slavery after Count Dooku formed an alliance with Zygerrian slavers. Eventually, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, his Padawan Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Master Plo Koon, and the 104th Battalion arrived at the Zygerrian slave processing facility on Kadavo, rescuing Roshti and the surviving people of Kiros. On Admiral Coburn's Venator-class Star Destroyer, the emancipated king thanked the Jedi and the Galactic Republic for saving his life and those of his people. He then spoke to Tano in private and told her the people of Kiros were going to join the Republic.

Biography[]

Separatists invade Kiros[]

SeparatistArrival-Kidnapped — Roshti telling Yoda that the Separatists had already arrived.

Gupat Roshti^[4] was the governor of the planet Kiros during the Clone Wars. He spoke with Yoda on a hologram and explained that there was not a warrior amongst the people of his Togrutan Artisan colony and an armed conflict would destroy them. Yoda warned Roshti that he could not trust Dooku. However, it was already too late as the Separatists had already arrived. Roshti and two colonists went to speak with Count Dooku, the Zygerrian Commander Darts D'Nar and Dooku's battle droids. Roshti reminded Dooku his people had chosen to remain neutral in the war and asked why Dooku had launched an invasion. Dooku insisted the occupation was peaceful for the protection of Roshti and the colonists until the conflict had ended. Roshti then told Dooku he heard of the tragic stories of worlds trapped between the Separatists' droids the Galactic Republic's clone troopers.^[2]

Roshti asked Dooku what reassurance he could give the colonists, to which the Count replied he was helpless to stop the fighting but could offer a sanctuary or "a safe haven until the conflict ended." Roshti thanked Dooku, who grabbed his shoulder saying he insisted, then escorted him away. D'Nar, on behalf of the Zygerrian Slave Empire, instructed an AAT Driver Battle Droid to have the droids round up all the other colonists, so they could be kidnapped and enslaved. As a result, Roshti's Togrutan Artisan colony was taken over, with D'Nar setting up in the Governor's tower.^[2]

When the plight of Roshti and his people reached the Galactic Republic, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Padawan Ahsoka Tano, Clone Captain CT-7567 "Rex," Clone Commander CC-2224 "Cody," and clone troopers from the 501st and the 212th attempted to help the Togrutas. However, it had already been ten rotations since Yoda's transmission. They landed in the colony and were ambushed by the droids, defeating them, disarming D'Nar's bombs and capturing D'Nar. Unfortunately, Roshti and his people had already been taken off world and brought to Zygerria.^[2]

Enslaved on Zygerria[]

BrezakEscape-SOTR — Roshti, Kenobi, and Rex trying to escape the slave pits.

On Zygerria, the Togrutas were auctioned off. Rex and the Jedi had pursued Roshti and his people to help free them. In the capital city, a disguised Rex and Kenobi spotted Roshti detained in one of the slave pits. Kenobi jumped down into the pit to speak with the governor, who had been weakened and broken. The governor panicked and rejected Kenobi's help, until Kenobi removed his helmet and confirmed he was a Jedi, there to help. Kenobi asked Roshti where his people were. Roshti began to reply but fainted. In response, Kenobi carried the governor and jumped out of the pit. Kenobi told Rex he still did not know where the other colonists were located, and they had to get Roshti out of the Zygerrian capital. Kenobi Force jumped to a brezak above them and threw the Zygerrian guard into one of the pits. Rex and Kenobi carried Roshti to the brezak, while the guards were alerted. As the brezak ran across the slave pits, the guards opened fire on them. Roshti and Kenobi were shot and captured, while Rex escaped on the brezak.^[5]

At the slave auction, Roshti was the first slave to be offered, as a sample of the Togrutan people. The slave auctioneer confirmed Roshti's colony had 50,000 members, all of whom were to be auctioned. As incentive he also reiterated Roshti's people were virtually untrained in combat and would therefore be incapable of rebellion. Soon after, two Zygerrian royal guards escorted Kenobi to the auction. Skywalker, Tano, and Rex attempted to free Kenobi and Roshti, with the help of R2-D2. However, their attempt was foiled by the Queen of Zygerria, Miraj Scintel, and her royal guards. Roshti, now joined by Kenobi and Rex in servitude, was transported to the slave processing facility on Kadavo. Upon arrival, Roshti exclaimed that they found his people.^[5] All 50,000 Togrutan colonists had also been transported to the deplorable mining installation on Kadavo, which was a grueling facility fueled by the toil of slaves.^[3] After exiting the Zygerrian ship, Keeper Agruss congratulated Kenobi on being the first Jedi detained in his "educational center." Agruss then dropped several Togrutas to their doom, to prove his point and warned Kenobi it would be Roshti and the Togrutan people who suffered if Kenobi attempted to defy him.^[5]

Kadavo and rescue[]

"Ahsoka, you have done a great deed for your people today."
"You're sad?"
"Well, you and the Jedi have done your best, but I do not think our people will recover from this horror anytime soon."
"I understand. But in the end, surviving this will only strengthen the people."
"Perhaps. And perhaps the people of Kiros will also join the Republic."

―Governor Roshti and Ahsoka Tano after the liberation of the people of Kiros^[6]

At the Kadavo facility, Roshti was assigned to work in the mines. At one point, the Zygerrians warned Kenobi and Rex that talking was forbidden. As punishment, one of the Zygerrian pulled out his electrowhip and began to torture Roshti. Kenobi directed the attention back to him saying it was his mistake and to leave Roshti alone. In response, a Zygerrian rammed his electrostaff into Kenobi's shock collar. The Zygerrian then told Kenobi a slave was not permitted to give him commands. He pulled his whip back out and ordered Kenobi to beg for forgiveness before Roshti died because of Kenobi's actions. After Kenobi followed the Zygerrian's orders, the guards chuckled mockingly and walked away. Kenobi checked on the beaten Roshti, who told him to keep away from him, as Jedi only made things worse.^[6]

Later, Roshti and several Togrutas were barricaded in a room in the at the bottom of the Kadavo facility. A rescue party eventually arrived, consisting of Skywalker, Tano, Plo Koon, the Wolfpack, and Admiral Coburn's fleet. Not too long afterward, Keeper Agruss electrified the walls of the room, to Kenobi's dismay. Agruss opened a hatch, sliding the floor away from the entry point to the room, destroying the controls in the process. Soon after, Tano arrived on the platform and recommended bringing that Admiral Coburn brought the Arquitens-class light cruiser the Hand of Justice under the facility, to rescue Roshti's people. In response, Coburn ordered Commander Wolffe, Sinker, Comet, and a few Wolfpack troopers to exit the topside of the Hand of Justice with jetpacks and cabled guns. After the Wolfpack was in position, Tano instructed the Togrutas to climb down the cables in groups. Roshti was the first to climb down, with his people following afterward. After they were all safely on the deck of the Hand of Justice, Wolffe warned the facility was breaking up. They all ran to the interior of the cruiser, which then moved itself away from the facility. Once the cruiser was clear, Koon ordered the remaining gunships to open fire and destroy the facility.^[6]

Ahsoka Tano and Governor Roshti — Ahsoka Tano speaks with Governor Roshti after the Battle of Kadavo.

Later, Roshti was seen on board Coburn's Venator-class Star Destroyer, alongside Tano, Skywalker, Kenobi, and Koon. Roshti thanked the Jedi and the Republic for saving his life and that of his people. Skywalker replied Tano was the real hero and without her creativity, he did not believe Roshti's people would have been brought to safety. In private, Roshti told Tano she had done a great deed to her people. Tano questioned why Roshti was sad. He replied that he was relieved that she and the Jedi did their best. However, he did not believe his people would not recover from the horrors they just went through anytime soon. Tano replied that surviving the endeavor would only strengthen Roshti's people. Roshti smiled and replied that the people of Kiros were going to join the Republic, to which Tano replied that was a wise choice.^[6]

Personality and traits[]

Similar to most Togrutas, Roshti was peaceful, quiet, dependent on others,^[5] and reserved.^[3] He refused to let his people go to war and believed that peace was the answer. Roshti cared deeply about Kiros and his people and would do anything to keep the Togruta safe.^[5] He only wanted peace for himself and his people.^[3] Roshti stood at 1.98 meters tall (6 feet, 6 inches),^[4] and had orange eyes and yellow skin with white markings and blue stripes.^[2]

Skills and abilities[]

Roshti was known for his skills in diplomacy and as a leader, ruling Kiros as the governor of the artisan colony. He was also known for his art.^[4]

Equipment[]

Roshti wore a long-sleeved shirt that was dull green in color. White segments adorned this shirt, while intricate, golden patterns decorated these white segments. A thick, sturdy brown belt was worn around his waist; one rectangular, closed pocket was placed on the right side of this belt. Draped over Roshti's shoulder was a thin, wrinkled purple piece of material.^[2]

Tight, dark purple pants were worn over his legs while white, metal boots were worn on his feet. The boots reached up to Roshti's knees and were sealed up by dark yellow buttons.^[5]

Behind the scenes[]

Gupat Roshti first appeared in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Kidnapped," the eleventh episode of the show's fourth season.^[2] He was first identified as "Gupat" in the 2021 reference book Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Character Encyclopedia - Join the Battle!, written by Jason Fry.^[4]

According to Dave Filoni, the script originally had Roshti knowing or having known Ahsoka Tano's parents as a means to imply that Ahsoka's instinct to save people is motivated by that. However, the idea was dropped as the crew didn't want to flesh out that scene and Filoni personally felt that Roshti saying that to Ahsoka would sound like something "mean."^[7]