Elis Helrot

Elis Helrot

Elis Helrot was aGivin who worked as apilot,smuggler,merchant, andslave trader during theGalactic Civil War. A native of theplanetYag'Dhul, he possessed an analytical mind and was considered a ruthless and unscrupulous businessman by others. Helrot operated from his personally modifiedstarship, theHinthra, and often made slaving andspice runs from thedesert world of Tatooine to the planetsRyloth andPavilion. A longstanding feud developed between Helrot and theMorseerian smugglerNabrun Leids during the Givin's career. Both were inChalmun's Spaceport Cantina on Tatooine one day in0 BBY when theJedi MasterObi-Wan Kenobi and the smugglerHan Solo were involved in separate skirmishes with othercantina denizens.

In3 ABY, Helrot and the crew of theHinthra took part in a competition organized byMal Biron, aVigo of theBlack Sun criminal organization who hoped to discover new and loyal allies. TheHinthra was one of seven smuggling vessels that moved along theSisar Runhyperlane in a race to deliver secret cargo to theluxury linerDestination: Adventure!. When he received his cargo at theNwarcol Pointspace station, Helrot opened its sealed container and found unarmedmagnetic pulse warhead inside. He smelled profit and, after arriving at theDestination: Adventure!, offered 10,000credits to another smuggling crew for their identical cargo. The conversation was overheard by Biron, whose enforcers responded bystunning Helrot and his crew intounconsciousness.

Biography[]

Time on Tatooine[]

AGivin, Elis Helrot hailed from theplanetYag'Dhul,^[1] hisspecies'homeworld.^[3] During theGalactic Civil War, he was active as apilot,smuggler,^[6]merchant,^[7] andslave trader.^[1] Helrot operated out of hisstarship, theHinthra, afreighter^[4] that he himself heavily modified. He often transported slaves andspice toKala'uun,^[2] acity on the planetRyloth,^[8] as well as to the planetPavilion.^[4] Over the course of his career, Helrot developed a rivalry with theMorseerian smugglerNabrun Leids.^[9] During the war, Helrot was often on thedesert world ofTatooine, scouring theMos Eisleyspaceport for information on slaves and spice that needed transport^[10] and spendingtime atChalmun's Spaceport Cantina.^[1] He frequently collected cargo on the desert planet and made many deliveries from Tatooine to Ryloth.^[2]

On a day in0 BBY, Helrot was inChalmun'scantina concurrently with a number of other smugglers and criminals, including Nabrun Leids.^[6] The Givin played a card game with theAbyssinMyo and theTalzMuftak,^[11] but he eventually left the game and sat down at a booth with theGotalFeltipern Trevagg and theH'nemtheM'iiyoom Onith.^[12] The two were preoccupied with discussing a forthcoming sexual encounter and paid him little mind. TheJedi MasterObi-Wan Kenobi entered the cantina shortly thereafter and was harassed by thepiratesPonda Baba andDr.Cornelius Evazan. When it escalated into a physical encounter, Onith grew frightened, and she and Trevagg left the establishment.^[5] Helrot was then joined by theDurosOhwun De Maal, and the pair were speaking when the smugglerHan Solo shot andkilled thebounty hunterGreedo at a nearby table.^[13]

Running the Sisar[]

In3 ABY, Helrot and his crew of three aboard theHinthra—twoother Givins and aHuman male—were invited to the planetSriluur'sMeirm City by theShistavanen smugglerMal Biron, who was seeking out competent and trustworthy allies. Helrot heeded the call and took theHinthra to Sriluur, where the ship's crew touched down and, following instructions sent to theirdatapad by Biron, made their way to Meirm City'sDocking Bay 42. Therein, they joined a larger group ofspacers who had all been invited; Nabrun Leids was among those present. Adroid served the motley crew food and drinks, and they ate an uncomfortably silent lunch as they waited for Biron to arrive. During the meal, Biron's Duros assistant,Kalend Thora, surveyed thecaptains present and recorded their identities. Biron eventually descended theboarding ramp of his docked freighter, theEyeshine, and with little preamble told the smugglers what he had planned for them.^[4]

The Shistavenan claimed that he needed important cargo moved along theSisar Runhyperlane, and that he had assembled the diverse group to ensure at least some of it arrived at its destination. 5,000credits would be paid to each crew for making the Sisar Run, with an additional 5,000 awarded to the first crew to deliver their payload. The crews were to make their way to a secret location to receive their cargo before moving to theSalin Corridor and rendezvousing with theluxury linerDestination: Adventure!, where they would drop off their load. With his instructions complete, Biron greeted each of the crews in turn. None of them were aware that he was aVigo of theBlack Sun criminal organization, or that the forthcoming task was in fact a test of their skills and loyalty in preparation for a larger operation that he had planned. Helrot and his crew returned to theHinthra and plugged their datapad into the ship'snavigation computer. A secret file of Biron's then opened and revealed their first destination: theNovolek Beacon, aneutron star in thePeriphery region ofspace.^[4]

TheHinthra arrived at the beacon around the sametime as the six other smuggling vessels it faced. Helrot received a signal from a nearbycommunications satellite, but the neutronstar's presence was disrupting the signal, and the gathered starships raced to thesatellite, all vying for the opportunity to be the first to discover their next destination. It wasNwarcol Point, a refuelingstation located at the intersection of the Sisar Run and the Salin Corridor, and after intercepting the satellite's signal, Helrot and his crew fled intohyperspace. They soon after arrived and docked at Nwarcol, where they were informed by Biron's datapad file that the coordinates forDestination: Adventure! would be provided to them in thirtyminutes. They located their cargo aboard the station within that time and loaded it aboard theHinthra; although it was sealed inside a cargo pod, Helrot peeked inside and discovered that the cargo consisted of several unarmedmagnetic pulse warheads.^[4]

When they received their next coordinates, Helrot and his crew traveled along the Salin Corridor toward the luxury liner and emerged from hyperspace concurrently with their opponents—the race remained tight. AnImperialstarfighter patrol that consisted of sixTIE fighters and aGuardian-class light cruiser stood between the smugglers and their destination, but when three pirate ships emerged from hyperspace behind the smugglers, the Imperials, who were being paid off by Black Sun, allowed the smugglers to pass andengaged the pirates. TheHinthra was not the first ship to arrive, but Biron nevertheless greeted Helrot and his crew after they docked. He then awarded the winning crew 5,000 credits and suggested that everyone retire to the luxury liner's lounge for free food and drinks. Once there, Helrot approached the winning crew and invited them into a back hallway, where he told them what he had seen inside the cargo pod. Helrot had calculated the value of a completedwarhead to be a high price and offered 10,000 credits for the other crew's cargo, so that he might arm the weapons himself and reap the consequent profits.^[4]

The smugglers declined his offer, but Helrot and his crew nonetheless made their way to the luxury liner's cargo area. There, they discovered that the cargo had been taken to theDestination: Adventure!'s galley, where they found it being loaded into a large freezer. Before the group could enter the freezer, they were ambushed by Biron and his enforcers, who had overheard Helrot's earlier conversation via plantedlistening devices. Biron's enforcers firedstun bolts at Helrot and his crew and knocked themunconscious. Kalend Thora then announced that the traitors would be interrogated.^[4]

Personality and traits[]

A smuggler,^[6] merchant,^[7] and slaver,^[1] Elis Helrot was considered by others to be an unscrupulous individual^[4] with ruthless and airtight business practices.^[7] He regularly scoured Mos Eisley in search of slaves to be transported,^[10] and, while working for Mal Biron, he was prepared to betray the Shistavenan in order to make a handsome profit.^[4] During his smuggling career, Helrot was involved in a longstanding feud with rival smuggler Nabrun Leids.^[9] Possessed of an analytical mind, he was not easily impressed and was solely concerned with a situation's bottom line. Helrot disliked being ignorant of the contents of any cargo that he transported^[4] and was willing to beg, borrow, or steal a weapon if he required its use.^[1]

Helrot was an able pilot^[4] and also showed prowess as amechanic, having made a number of modifications to his ship, theHinthra.^[2] Like all members of his species,^[3] he revered mathematics. Solving numerical puzzles was one of his favorite pastimes. Another trait that Helrot shared with all Givin was the ability to seal hisexoskeleton and survive exposure to thevacuum of space.^[1] Thewhite andhairless exoskeleton included a pair of sunken blackeyes.^[2] Feltipern Trevagg found Helrot to be "ghoulish" in appearance.^[5]

Behind the scenes[]

The character who would eventually be known as Elis Helrot^[2] was created to be a background character in the cantina scene of the1977 filmStar Wars, later renamedA New Hope.^[12] The character's rubber mask was constructed by makeup artistRick Baker,^[15] whose design was based on concept art by artistRalph McQuarrie.^[14] The mask was worn by an uncredited extra during supplemental shooting for the cantina scene, which was filmed during the movie's post-production when directorGeorge Lucas decided to liven the scene with more action and additional characters.^[15]

The alien was nicknamed "Skull Head" on-set and was going to officially be named "Kull," but the idea was ultimately abandoned.^[14] During filming, "Skull Head" sat in a booth with two characters^[12] who would later be christened M'iiyoom Onith and Feltipern Trevagg,^[11] but only the two of them are clearly visible on-screen in the final cut of the film. The back of Helrot's head does appear later in the cantina scene, however, visible behind a seated Greedo.^[13] Set photos of Helrot at the table with Onith and Trevagg later appeared in severalExpanded Universe sources.^[16][17][18]

The name "Elis Helrot" was developed for the1995 release of theDecipherStar Wars Customizable Card Game'sPremiere Limited set.^[2] Helrot has additionally been mentioned in several sourcebooks and encyclopedias,^[3][6][10] as well as in2001'sJedi Knights Trading Card Game, which established a rivalry between Helrot and Nabrun Leids,^[9] another character fromA New Hope's cantina scene.^[13] During gameplay, playing a Helrot or a Leids card against the other will force either one or both of the cards to be discarded.^{[7][9][19][20]} In2007, a 3 ¾ inch action figure of Helrot was released byHasbro as part of itsStar Wars: 30th Anniversary Collection toy line.^[1]

Secrets of the Sisar Run, a1997 sourcebook designed to supplementWest End Games'Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, includes Helrot as a non-playable character in the adventureRunning the Sisar, which fleshes out his character and allows the players opportunities to interact with him. Several aspects of Helrot's role in the adventure depend on choices made by both the players and thegamemaster. When the smugglers journey to Novolek Beacon, theHinthra is definitely one of the first five ships to arrive, and it is among the top four if the player characters experience a slow journey. During the race to the communications satellite, the beacon will be fired upon by the treacherousAz-Iban if the gamemaster designates him the first to arrive. If Az-Iban succeeds in destroying it, theQuor'savKal'Falnl C'ndros will intercept the signal in time and share it with the others, including Helrot, for a fee.^[4]

As the adventure dictates that the player characters be the first to deliver their payload, the gamemaster is encouraged to establish that any ships which arrive at theDestination: Adventure! ahead of the players—possibly including theHinthra—are fired upon and damaged by the pirates, thus allowing the players to overtake them. When Helrot later attempts to strike a deal with the player characters, they have the option to accept his offer, in which case they stumble into Biron's trap alongside Helrot and his crew. Such a scenario prevents the players from successfully completing the adventure, and as such, this article assumes that they decline.^[4]

In addition to his canonical appearances, Helrot makes a brief cameo in thenon-canon story "The Emperor's Court," which is included in thecomic bookStar Wars Tales 14. In the story, he is among the various denizens of the Mos Eisley Cantina who attend a trial of Han Solo, accused of shooting first in his murder of Greedo. Helrot and the other spectators watch as Solo andGreedo's mother present evidence respectively based on theSpecial Edition and the original, unaltered version ofA New Hope.^[21]

Onith is absent in some ofA New Hope's adaptations—the cover ofThe Mos Eisley Cantina Pop-Up Book depicts Onith and Trevagg as being seated with Muftak instead of with Helrot, and its interior shows Onith sitting with Greedo and Ponda Baba.^[22] However, Helrot does appear, wearing a different outfit than inA New Hope, in a1979drunk-driving PSA set in the Mos Eisley Cantina.^[23]

Appearances[]

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• "Nightlily: The Lovers' Tale" —Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
• "Nightlily: The Lovers' Tale" audio drama
• Star Wars: Episode IVA New Hope(First appearance)
• The Star Wars Storybook
• "Running the Sisar" —Secrets of the Sisar Run

Non-canon appearances[]

• Star Friends
• "The Emperor's Court" — Star Wars Tales 14

Sources[]

Notes and references[]