Raygar

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Doctor Raygar was an Argazdan scientist affiliated with the Galactic Empire. In 3 ABY, he traveled on the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer commanded by Admiral Kazz to the Endor system, with Emperor Palpatine's approval. There, Raygar hoped to obtain the fabled Sunstar, a powerful gem. Taking his Imperial Reconnaissance droids to the Forest Moon of Endor, he was able to find and attack Bright Tree Village. While doing so, he was attacked by the Ewok shaman Logray, who used the Sunstar to destroy Raygar's droids. The doctor retaliated by swiftly stealing the Sunstar, before returning to Kazz's Star Destroyer.

Back in his lab, Raygar began studying the Sunstar and came to the realization that by harnessing its power, he could remove Palpatine and install himself as the Galactic Emperor. He began creating a powerful cannon with the Sunstar's powers, speculating that it would be the most devastating weapon the universe had ever seen. He planned to test his weapon on the captive Ewoks Latara and Teebo, but was thwarted by Wicket W. Warrick. Inadvertently, he fired upon the Emperor's personal shuttle instead, but the hit was only glancing. Palpatine survived, and Kazz subsequently arrested Raygar, charged with high treason. The Emperor then oversaw the doctor's punishment personally.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Background 1.2 Hunt for the Sunstar 1.3 Attack 1.4 Vaulting ambition 2 Personality and traits 3 Behind the scenes 4 Appearances 5 Sources 6 Notes and references 7 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Background

Doctor Raygar was an Argazdan scientist aligned with the Galactic Empire. In defiance of the views of his Argazdan and Lorrdian contemporaries, he was not ashamed of his people's actions during the Kanz Disorders of 3,970–3,670 BBY. In the Qatamer Perfomance Square, Raygar publicly wore the costume of the Argazdan slave masters who had oppressed the Lorrdian people during the conflict, outraging Lorrdian and Argazdan alike.^[1]

[edit] Hunt for the Sunstar

Doctor Raygar sought to obtain the legendary Sunstar, a powerful gem that he believed was on the Forest Moon of Endor. He requested permission from Emperor Palpatine to launch an expedition to retrieve the Sunstar, and his request was subsequently granted. Admiral Kazz ferried Raygar to the Endor system in 3 ABY in his Imperial I-class Star Destroyer. Kazz was highly dubious of the mission's value and had little but scorn for Raygar. The doctor was not deterred, however, and assured the admiral that the Sunstar was quite real and very powerful.^[2]

Setting out with PD-28 and a detachment of large droids in his ship, Raygar landed on the moon and laid a trap with which he hoped to catch a wandering Ewok. He then intended to interrogate the Ewok and determine the location of Bright Tree Village, where the Sunstar was kept. His trap instead caught a fircle, but the creature's constant braying attracted the attention of the Ewoks Wicket W. Warrick, Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka, Teebo, and Latara. In attempting to free the beast, Latara was sucked into the trap, prompting Teebo to use his Ewok magic to free her. In doing so, the Ewoks attracted the attention of one of Raygar's droids, who quickly seized Teebo. At that moment, Raygar himself arrived, riding a floating weapons platform.^[2]

[edit] Attack

Wasting no time, the doctor attacked the princess with an incapacitating energy ray. Warrick reacted by attempting to attack the droids with a stick, but Raygar quickly shot the makeshift weapon out of the young Ewok's grasp. Moving in closer, he demanded that Warrick reveal to him Bright Tree's location, while threatening to destroy Kintaka and Teebo. Relenting, Warrick gave him directions, but the doctor did not take any chances and ordered that the four Ewoks be incarcerated in his ship. Making sure that his prisoners were secure and ordering that they were not to be fed, Raygar had two of his droids accompany him as he moved against Bright Tree Village.^[2]

Attacking the village, Raygar severely damaged some of Bright Tree's structures. A retaliation was launched by Chief Chirpa, but Raygar was able to ward them off with his repeated fire. Catapults were used in further attempts to down Raygar's platform, to no avail. The doctor, however, was soon met with more formidable resistance—shaman Logray, wielding the Sunstar. The shaman quickly dispatched Raygar's droids, forcing the doctor to reevaluate his position. He fired at Logray, destroying the walkway the shaman was standing on. As a result, the Sunstar fell to another walkway below, from which Raygar retrieved the gem. His mission seemingly complete, he raced back to his ship.^[2]

[edit] Vaulting ambition

Returning to the Star Destroyer, Raygar was welcomed by Kazz. The doctor refused to show the admiral the Sunstar, insisting that he would only present it before Palpatine. Taking the gem back to his lab, he began studying it and came to the realization that its powers were unlimited. He surmised that he would not need to present it to Palpatine, and instead could use the Sunstar to claim the title of Galactic Emperor for himself. As he ranted and raved, Latara and Teebo, disguised as droids, entered his lab. Seeing through the ruse quickly, he used the Sunstar to incapacitate the duo, before accelerating his bid for galactic domination.^[2]

With the Sunstar, Raygar began fashioning and forging a cannon that he believed would be the most powerful weapon in the universe. He then intended to test it on his two new captives, before using it on the Emperor himself. Placing Teebo and Latara in an escape pod, he launched them out into space. Before he could fire his new weapon, Warrick and Kintaka entered his lab. As he fired on them, his droid PD-28, who had informally defected to aid the Ewoks, tried to attack the doctor. Raygar, unfazed, shot PD-28, but then had to contend with Warrick. The young Ewok warrior flew at Raygar's face, and the doctor could do little more than scream in terror. As he grappled with the Ewok, he accidentally activated his new weapon.^[2]

Inadvertently, the weapon's blast missed Latara and Teebo's pod, and instead hit the Emperor's personal shuttle, which was approaching the Star Destroyer at the time, since Palpatine hoped to inspect the Sunstar. The shot only clipped Palpatine's craft, however, effectively thwarting Raygar's hope of a successful coup. Realizing that his plans had failed, he began viciously squeezing Warrick. Kintaka, hoping to save her Ewok ally, blasted Raygar with the Sunstar, freeing Warrick from the doctor's grasp in the process. As his enemies moved to escape his lab, Raygar repeatedly shot at them with his blaster, but missed. In turn, Warrick rounded on the doctor with the Sunstar, disarming and incapacitating him. When Raygar came to, he chased after them once more, only to be met by a squad of stormtroopers sent to arrest him.^[2]

Brought before Kazz, Raygar was subsequently charged with high treason against the Galactic Empire. At first, the doctor protested, but eventually resigned himself to his fate. Asking what Kazz was going to do to him, Raygar soon learned that his punishment would be carried out by Palpatine himself. Howling in protest once more, Raygar was taken to Palpatine's shuttle and was subsequently dealt with by the Emperor.^[2]

[edit] Personality and traits

Doctor Raygar was an ambitious man, prone to speculating far beyond reason. He was looked upon with disdain by people such as Admiral Kazz, and was described as a man of evil by the Ewoks. While studying the Sunstar, his aspirations grew significantly greater, as he believed he would be able to assassinate Emperor Palpatine. When faced with the prospect of arrest, he displayed, in quick succession, indignation, resignation, and fear, as he begged for Kazz's mercy.^[2]

He took particular delight in the thought of obtaining the Sunstar, and did not even balk at the prospect of harming woklings to achieve his goal. Though skilled in creating weaponry in a short space of time, he was a poor shot, and his deficiency in that area eventually cost him his position in the Empire. Raygar had a tendency to describe events as they had happened, and would also see fit to inform prisoners of the details of his various schemes.^[2]

[edit] Behind the scenes

Raygar's first and only appearance was in the Star Wars: Ewoks episode "Battle for the Sunstar," which was written by Paul Dini and directed by Raymond Jafelice. In the article A Star Wars CELebration: Ewoks and Droids Episode Guide, published in Star Wars Insider 27, the character's name is given as "Raegar." Leland Chee later confirmed that the correct spelling is "Raygar."^[3] Both spellings were used in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

[edit] Appearances

• Death in the Slave Pits of Lorrd
• Star Wars: Ewoks - "Battle for the Sunstar" (First appearance)

[edit] Sources

• "A Star Wars CELebration: Ewoks and Droids Episode Guide" - Star Wars Insider 27
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

•  Raygar in the Completely Unofficial Star Wars Encyclopedia