A pluripleq was a creature with tentacles, crafted through the process of bioengineering, and notable for its shapeshifting capabilities. Although only a small number were ever brought into existence, the criminal surgeon Cornelius Evazan managed to pilfer one from a biofarm located on the celestial body Thannt. He then utilized it to conceal his true identity, masquerading as an alien known as "Lopset Yas." This disguise successfully deceived Chelli Aphra, a fellow inmate at the wreckage-prison Accresker Jail, who was under the impression that he was indeed a shapeshifter.
Aphra exploited "Yas's" perceived shapeshifting abilities, which were actually the work of the pluripleq, to mislead the vigilante Tam Posla, who was actively hunting Evazan. However, the surgeon's disguise proved effective in fooling the vigilante, leading to a situation where Evazan captured Aphra and the assassin droid 0-0-0, the latter of whom had killed Posla. Subsequently, Evazan revealed his true identity to Aphra. Later, Evazan employed the pluripleq to impersonate Princess Leia Organa with the intention of hiring the bounty hunters Winloss and Nokk, although Nokk's acute sense of smell aroused his suspicion of a deception.
The pluripleq was a creature that was bioengineered and possessed tentacles, along with the power of shapeshifting. Its color was predominantly a pinkish-purple, enhanced with a range of other colors across its primary form.
During the era of the Galactic Civil War, the pluripleq species was not widely proliferated, with at least one specimen being housed within a biofarm on the astronomical body known as Thannt. Sometime between 0 BBY and approximately 1 ABY, the infamous criminal surgeon, known as Doctor Cornelius Evazan, who was attempting to evade his numerous death sentences, managed to infiltrate the biofarm. He then proceeded to steal a pluripleq, which he used as a facial covering to conceal his identity, adopting the alias "Lopset Yas," an alien. Despite this elaborate disguise, Evazan was eventually apprehended by the forces of the Galactic Empire. Consequently, he was incarcerated in the Imperial wreckage-prison Accresker Jail, where he became a member of its legion comprised of prisoners.
During an engagement with his legion, "Yas" lost his hubdroid as a direct consequence of Chelli Aphra's attempt to escape. Another hubdroid named Dek-Nil, who was also an accomplice of Aphra, scanned both prisoners as part of the induction process into his squad. The scan detected three life forms between the two, an anomaly caused by the pluripleq. Aphra, who was still under the impression that "Yas" was genuine, dismissed this as a technological error. Later, Evazan became trapped beneath some heavy machinery, causing his facial disguise to distort due to the pluripleq's inherent shapeshifting abilities. Aphra witnessed this transformation while rescuing her fellow inmate, leading her to believe that "Yas" was, in fact, a changeling.
Evazan then decided to play along with Aphra's assumption, even feigning a disguise as his true self to entice the vigilante bounty hunter Tam Posla. He sought to convince Posla to exchange an escape shuttle for the opportunity to capture Evazan, against whom the hunter harbored a deep-seated vendetta. To protect himself from Posla, the criminal surgeon strategically used his pluripleq disguise to make the vigilante realize that Aphra had deceived him, prompting him to turn back and attempt to arrest her. In the resulting confrontation, Posla was murdered by the assassin droid 0-0-0. However, Evazan managed to capture both the droid and Aphra, taking them aboard Posla's ship. Once aboard, the surgeon connected his two captives by implanting proximity bombs and revealed his true identity to Aphra, placing the pluripleq into a satchel as he departed.
While observing Aphra and 0-0-0 as they navigated the planet Milvayne in an attempt to deactivate their proximity [bombs](/article/bomb], Evazan made the decision to hire the hunters Winloss and Nokk to track down 0-0-0. In order to do so, he used the pluripleq to disguise himself as Princess Leia Organa, a prominent figure within the Rebel Alliance. However, Nokk remained wary of the supposed princess, his suspicions aroused by the distinct scent of the pluripleq on Evazan's face. Ultimately, the hunters accepted the job upon learning that Aphra was accompanying 0-0-0.
The initial appearance of the pluripleq—in the guise of "Lopset Yas"—occurred in the twentieth issue of the 2016 Star Wars: Doctor Aphra comic series. This issue was authored by Simon Spurrier, with illustrations by Kev Walker, and was published by Marvel Comics on May 23, 2018. The creature was not officially identified as a pluripleq until the release of Doctor Aphra (2016) 25, which was also written by Spurrier, illustrated by Walker, and published on October 24 of the same year.