Osuno Whett

"It is I, the Ottdefa Osuno Whett. I'm going to end this farce, destroy the robot and the gambler—and perhaps Rokur Gepta, in the bargain! None of them are fit to—"

―Osuno Whett's last words^[1]

Ottdefa Osuno Whett was a gray-skinned Human anthropologist and university professor who also worked as a spy for Centrality Intelligence during the Imperial Era. In 13 BBY, Whett played a direct part in the brutal Centran subjugation of the isolated Renatasia system—having made first contact with the lost Human colony under the guise of the meek assistant to his droids Vuffi Raa, he gathered data that was vital to the Centran eventual domination and genocide. Whett was later assigned to work under and spy on Sorcerer of Tund Rokur Gepta, Scrivinir of the Centrality, aiding Gepta as he attempted to claim the Mindharp of Sharu. Gepta's grudge against the gambler Lando Calrissian eventually led them to the ThonBoka nebula, with a vigilante group of surviving Renatasians as backup. During the ensuing battle Renatasian commander Klyn Shanga suddenly recognized Whett from his part in his home system's devastation, and led his men in killing the Ottdefa.

Biography

The "Butcher of Renatasia"

"Well, robot, the great moment has arrived! This will alter the history of Renatasia forever—"
"It will bring history to an end in this system, sir, not alter it."

―Osuno Whett and Vuffi Raa^[1]

A gray-skinned Human male, trained anthropologist Osuno Whett pursued a career in academia, taking a job as an associate professor in the University of Lekua V's Department of Comparative Sapient Species.^[1] Whett eventually acquired the title of Ottdefa, an academic honorific conveyed to professors in the Lekua system.^[3] Whett found that his academic credentials proved to be the perfect cover for a spy—Centrality Intelligence recruited the Ottdefa after he had achieved academic prominence, and Whett found the work stimulating. Whett received his most fateful assignment in 13 BBY, when he was assigned to establish official communications with a previously unknown Human colony in the Renatasia system, which had sat completely isolated in the remote Open Sea for generations. Although Whett was accustomed to working alone, his superiors assigned him a partner for the Renatasia assignment: a starfish-shaped droid of indeterminate origin called Vuffi Raa.^[1]

Whett was content to stay out of the spotlight, using sophisticated plastics to make Raa appear to be an organic creature and posing as the droid's secretary and assistant as they made first contact with the Renatasians, who had only recently begun exploring their star system and hd no knowledge of life beyond. While Raa was enthusiastically welcomed and feted at numerous galas and international conclaves, Whett worked in his shadow, making in-depth observations and estimates regarding Renatasian civilization and military strength. After nearly two years amongst the Renatasians, Whett transmitted all of his gathered information to a waiting fleet of the Galactic Empire, which aided the Centrality in launching a brutal invasion and occupation of the Renatasia system that ultimately resulted in the death of two-thirds of the system's population.^[1]

Whett immediately attempted to put as much distance between him and the Renatasian affair as possible, going so far as to radically alter his own appearance, having arduous surgery to have four inches of bonemer implanted in his arms and legs to increase his height, while also losing 40 kilograms in weight as his hair turned white. In time, his handlers ordered him into another high-stakes operation, one that would take him to the wealthy Oseon system.^[1]

The great droid gambit

"On Rafa IV, Captain. I left it in the custody of a storage-locker company, intending to sell it there or send for it—now, please don't get angry! I have here the title and an official tax assessment indicating its true value. You may take these with you, or use them to get a fair price for the robot here!"

―Osuno Whett, upon losing Vuffi Raa to Lando Calrissian^[3]

In 4 BBY, Whett was placed under the employ of Rokur Gepta, a feared Sorcerer of Tund^[3] whom Emperor Palpatine had appointed Scrivinir of the Centrality.^[5] Gepta became obsessed with the Mindharp, an ancient artifact purported to be sacred to the vanished Sharu people of the Rafa system, and that Gepta believed would allow him to control the minds of all within the system. As Gepta was at the head of the regime controlling the Centrality, he surmised that it would take a complete outsider unconnected with his rule to earn the trust of the native Toka people and learn how to obtain the Mindharp, but one who was unaware of the Mindharp's true power lest they attempt to use it for themselves. Gepta tasked Whett with finding this patsy, and the Ottdefa came up with a plan: once he found someone he thought promising, he would "lose" Vuffi Raa to them in a sabacc game, compelling them to travel to the Rafa system to obtain their winnings.^[3]

Whett began his assignment by traveling to the Oseon, purporting that he was studying life among the poorer people of a rich star system on a sizable Imperial grant, and frequently hosting sabacc games attended by a coterie of miners and local officials. At last, Whett eventually found a suitable mark: a passing gambler named Lando Calrissian, who stopped on Oseon 2795 for a game of sabacc. Whett placed the bait by steering the conversation to the fabled Rafa treasure, then laid his trap—claiming that he was out of money for the next hand, he placed Vuffi Raa on the line, failing to mention that the droid was located on Rafa IV. When Calrissian won the hand, Whett revealed the far-off location of his prize, and succeeded in getting the Human to travel to the Rafa system and set Gepta's plan in motion.^[3]

Whett had played his part, and Gepta's plot nearly went off without a hitch. Calrissian overcame multiple obstacles to take possession of the Mindharp, and as programmed, Vuffi Raa immediately betrayed him to Gepta once they returned to Rafa IV. But two things went awry at the end: first, Raa had come to enjoy serving at Calrissian's side, and saved the gambler from certain doom once Gepta had obtained the Mindharp. Then, Gepta learned that the Mindharp did not do what he thought it did—rather than grant him control over the minds of the Rafa system's inhabitants, it restored the primitive Toka people to their previous forms, the technologically advanced Sharu.^[3] Gepta was forced to flee the system,^[6] and Whett rejoined his service on his flagship, Wennis.^[1]

Death in the ThonBoka

"This is Zero Leader! Get that pinnace—the man we seek is aboard! I'll explain later, if we live!"

―Klyn Shanga, after realizing that Osuno Whett was the true Butcher of Renatasia^[1]

Whett remained tasked with keeping watch on Gepta over the coming months, as the sorcerer grew ever more obsessed with exacting revenge on Calrissian, especially after Calrissian and Vuffi Raa escaped his clutches again in the Oseon system. By 3 BBY, Gepta had formed a tenuous alliance with vigilante Klyn Shanga and his Renatasian Confederation, formed of survivors of Renatasia's destruction and sworn to take vengeance on Raa, whom they named the "Butcher of Renatasia" and named responsible for the calamity that befell their home. Having tracked Calrissian's Millennium Falcon to the isolated ThonBoka nebula, Whett personally met with Shanga to brief him on the local sentient species, the Oswaft, which had only been recently discovered and were in the midst of a clash with the Galactic Empire—although Whett came face-to-face with Shanga, he went unrecognized as Vuffi Raa's "aide." Although Gepta was infuriated by what he saw as Shanga's insubordination, he came to an agreement for the Renatasians to travel with them to the ThonBoka and to lend him their starfighter firepower.^[1]

Gepta called on Whett several more times on the journey to the ThonBoka, asking him for more information as the anthropologist delved further into the Oswaft—a unique space-dwelling species that had the remarkable ability to make hyperspace jumps naturally. Meanwhile, Whett stepped up his efforts to spy on Gepta directly, placing microscopic devices on Gepta's person and even once going so far as to don an space suit and climb onto the outside of Gepta's personal W325 in order to track the sorcerer's movements.The presence of the Renatasians continued to unsettle Whett more and more as the trip dragged on, and the scholar-cum-spy resolved to destroy Calrissian and Raa himself once they reached the ThonBoka, to remove the last remaining link between him and Renatasia. However, Shanga—who had initially been fooled by Whett's cosmetic alterations—slowly began to realize that he had seen the man somewhere before.^[1]

A large battle broke out upon the Wennis's arrival in the ThonBoka, with the Imperial forces, Shanga's Renatasians and the Wennis opposed by the Oswaft and the Millennium Falcon. Whett retreated to the safety of a pinnace during the fighting, waiting for a critical moment where he could dispose of Calrissian, Gepta and Raa in one fell swoop. He thought that moment had come when he found his three targets engaged in hand-to-hand combat outside of their respective ships, but a transmission Whett made declaring his intent caused Shanga to have an epiphany. Suddenly recognizing Whett from his time on Renatasia, the Confederation's commander realized that Whett was the "Butcher" they had sought all along. Directing his remaining fighters to focus all their efforts on Whett's pinnace, the Renatasians forced it to collide into the Wennis, destroying both vessels and killing Whett.^[1]

Personality and traits

"Sir, I am an anthropologist, the very same who unraveled the impenetrable mysteries of the Sharu of Rafa. I have lived among and studied the asteroid miners of the Oseon, I—"
"The way I heard it, Mister Associate Professor, the Sharu sort of unraveled themselves!"
"My title, Admiral, is Ottdefa, an honor conferred by my home system, and I would thank you to—"

―Osuno Whett and Klyn Shanga^[1]

Above all else, Osuno Whett was a master of deception, the only skill at which he professed to truly be a master.^[1] Whett presented a public face as a dithering, nervous academic uncomfortable in unfamiliar situations, traits that those around him often found annoying.^[3] His physical appearance bolstered that image—after having cosmetic surgery following the Renatasia affair,^[1] Whett was extremely tall and spindly, with a gray head of hair and a high-pitched voice. However, Whett used that as a cover to cause would-be foes to underestimate him—in truth, Whett could be as cunning and ruthless as any.^[3]

Whett saw himself as a consummate survivor, using his talent at carefully laid deception to keep himself moving forward. A strident intellectual who was passionate about learning about different cultures, Whett easily became indignant at jabs towards his education. And although that education was one of the reasons he generally found himself well-suited towards his work, Whett found himself plagued by occasional pangs of paralyzing guilt in his later years, even though he had made an active effort to push down any lingering shame. Whett lived in fear of Rokur Gepta, whom he saw as evil despite the fact that the Sorcerer of Tund generally treated him with respect. Whett was dismissive of the idea that the sorcerer actually had magical powers, believing such superstitions as a failure of scientific detachment and personal integrity—however, as he continued to spy on Gepta, he found to his growing fear that he was starting to believe.^[1]