Viidaav

Last Updated: 11/30/2023

Name: Viidaav or Viidaavs

Humanoid: Yes

Classification: Near-Human/Alternative

Homeworld: Viidaav

Coloration: Green or Orange

Biology: The Viidaav were a green humanoid race hailing from the planet of the same name. They had the same general height, build, and lifespan as that of humans, but there were also a number of key differences. They were all rather thin and most were nearly indistinguishable from each other in appearance (although on rare occasions, their skin color could be more orange in pigmentation than green). Noticeably, they had two-toed feet and three-toed fingers. Their eyes were large and expressive, having massive black pupils that made it appear as though their eyes were almost completely solid. They lacked a visible nose, and had very distinguished lips. The top of their head was covered with spikes of flesh that took on the appearance of hair, although Viidaavs were actually considered hairless.

Lore: Despite being a widespread and ancient species, the Viidaav were still very primitive when compared to the rest of the galaxy. This is especially evident in their manor of dress, architectural style, and methods of communication, although their technological advancements were disproportionately modern. Their planet, also known as Viidaav, was covered in large rocky outcrops. Near every outcrop you could find a small Viidaav settlement surrounding it. The Viidaav settled near these because of the minerals housed inside and underneath them, as the race’s main export and driving economical force was the rare resources mined all across the planet. Despite being spread far and wide in incredibly small villages, the Viidaav were all allied very closely with each other and there was generally nearly no infighting found among them.

The Viidaav were found approximately 15,000 years before the start of the Clone Wars, located in the Mid Rim “Bryx Sector” in an area of space nicknamed “the Slice.” They were dragged into the Jedi Civil War approximately 11,000 years later, being governed by Darth Revan’s expansive Empire. Because of this, they held a great disdain for the Jedi for thousands of years to follow.

During the Clone Wars, the Republic attempted to usurp the sector into their fold, however, for fear of being controlled again, the Viidaav quickly swore their allegiance and all of their mining resources to the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS). Due to all of the metals and ores they had mined, they were able to construct weapons, explosives, and most importantly, some of the CIS’s starships and cruisers. This made them a vital location during the war, and the Grand Army of the Republic swiftly began to shift their focus towards the rebellious people. In return for all of this crucial technology, the Separatists sent the Viidaavs thousands of Battle Droids to help reinforce their already massive local militia. In turn, some Viidaav were actually employed by Separatist dignitaries and senators as waiters, butlers, maids, and other personal staff.

During the final year of the Clone Wars, the Republic made their move. The GAR deployed almost all of their available forces from across the galaxy, making this one of the largest and most crucial planetary battles of the war, and the population of billions of Viidaav were slaughtered until only around 100,000 remained planetwide. The Viidaav and few remaining droids were all driven to one final mining facility where they held in place, knowing they would either have to fight to the death or flee. They began planning for a planetary evacuation, but soon realized they had too few ships, as most had been seized by the Separatists. They decided it would be best to only evacuate the remaining women and children, and the few remaining militia remembers would stay behind and try to take down as many Clone Troopers as possible.

At this moment, Count Dooku ordered all of the remaining battle droids on the planet to place and arm mining charges across the entirety of the planets surface. If detonated, this would kill everything on the entirety of Viidaav, including the remaining Viidaav people and Clone Troopers alike, cracking the crust and leaving the planet all but inhabitable. The Viidaav realized Count Dooku had betrayed them, as they were able to recognize their own explosives being armed, and the survivors valiantly went to disarm the bombs via a terminal in the main Separatist HQ. Their militia fought until there was only one Viidaav and one Clone Trooper remaining. Moments before the Clone killed the final survivor, the lone Viidaav was able to destroy the controls, and the war was promptly over.

The few surviving Viidaav were pushed to the brink of extinction after this decisive victory for the Republic, and it took them many years to even begin to rebuild their once massive presence on their homeworld. They did not participate any further in the Clone Wars after this battle, and were mostly looked over during the Empire, as they posed little to no threat and their planet had been nearly mined dry. After the collapse of the Empire, a small band of ex-Imperials traveled to Viidaav and fortified themselves, once again ruling the people in a warlord-like state. This occupation lasted for almost four years, until the New Republic finally came and defeated the Imperials, potentially freeing the Viidaavs once and for all.

Legends/Canon: The Viidaav unfortunately only exist within Star Wars Legends, and all of the aforementioned information is not Canon. Above I only included what could be easily added into Canon, but in additional Legends lore, it was revealed that the Viidaav were also conquered by Darth Krayt and his Galactic Empire hundreds of years after their crushing defeat in the Clone Wars.

Unexplored: As per usual, with non-canonical species, you can really take them in any direction and make it work. However, if you want to treat the above information as Canon, or want to write a story set completely within the EU, then you can explore what drove them to have such disdain for the Republic. What happened on Viidaav in the thousands of years between the Jedi Civil War and the Clone Wars? And why did they develop vastly in the field of technology while still remaining thousands of years behind in every other cultural regard. What happened to all of the Viidaav who were serving Separatists when their planet was lost? And was Count Dooku’s treachery ever revealed to those who dwelled offworld?

You can also explore what happened to them during the Galactic Civil War and beyond, as they were seldom mentioned, even in Legends. Did they quickly travel back to their homeworld and resume life as if nothing had happened, or did the loss of so many men and resources scar their people forever? Had they expanded throughout the galaxy, and did they ever migrate back to their homeworld to repopulate? Or did the Viidaav forever remain on the brink of extinction and exclude themselves from the outside galaxy? Did their mining endeavors continue, or did they lack the manpower to restart their economy, leading to a societal collapse? And what happened after the Galactic Civil War, while they were occupied by the Imperial Remnant? Did that push them towards the New Republic? And did they participate in the Resistance against the First Order? There’s a lot here to be explored!

Finally, I think we can all agree that this species needs to be explored more visually and artistically. What would they look like realistically? Did they make any advancements after the Clone Wars, and would that have affected their style of dress? Were their more variations than the green and occasional orange ones that we have been shown? Someone definitely needs to explore how they would look alongside other species, and especially make sure that they remain visually distinct from the very similar Ho’Din species (unless they are somehow related, of course).

Additional Notes: When I first saw this species, I didn’t think anything of them aside from the fact that they were probably a one-off species from a random comic. But dang… they have one of the more tragic backstories I’ve seen in the Star Wars universe so far. I think as a people, or even individually, after their defeat at the hands of the Republic they have a whole lot of potential for future story telling. I definitely want to know what lies in wait for them as they continue to recover from so many devastating events, and I am relieved they would no longer have to persevere through the Yuuzhan Vong or Darth Krayt canonically, although the First Order could very well make up for those horrors in some capacity should they ever enter Star Wars Canon.

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