Rokur Gepta

Rokur Gepta was a male Croke who was Force-sensitive. This species originated from the planet of Crakull. He was born there at least 20,000 years before the Battle of Yavin. He developed skills in creating illusions and deceiving others, a trait for which his species was known. His illusion abilities and strong personality made him a formidable figure, rarely opposed by others. Before 5 BBY, he spent decades studying the Sharu, an advanced species from the Rafa system believed to be extinct. In 5 BBY, Gepta, a Force Adept, joined the Sorcerers of Tund, a secluded group of Force-users practicing dark Sith magic. He learned all their secrets, including creating an electromagnetic torpedo containing a bioweapon capable of eradicating all life. After learning everything, Gepta killed them all, using the weapon from the electromagnetic torpedo to destroy Tund, turning it into a wasteland. He would return to Tund to meditate in the years that followed.

After eliminating the Sorcerers, Gepta met Emperor Palpatine, the Galactic Empire's ruler. Palpatine, also a Sith Lord, wanted to learn from the Sorcerers. In exchange for secrets, Palpatine promised Gepta power. Gepta received a decommissioned Republic vessel, the Wennis, and was appointed Scrivinir, or leader, of the Centrality, a mostly ignored state in the Outer Rim Territories containing Tund. Palpatine's appointment granted Gepta, as Central Administrator, the authority to override Centrality officials and command Imperial Navy ships in the Centrality. He quickly made enemies, but they feared him.

Gepta dedicated time to searching for the Mindharp of Sharu, a mysterious artifact. He had learned of it through his research and explored ruins in the Rafa system, believing it would grant him control over all beings in the system. Unable to find it, Gepta decided to force someone else to find it. He partnered with Duttes Mer, governor of the Rafa system. Gepta told Mer the device would control the Toka, but Mer didn't believe him. The Governor secretly hired private investigators who had previously worked for Gepta. These investigators revealed the Mindharp's true power to the Governor, who kept this information from Gepta.

Legend stated a wandering stranger was needed to find the artifact. Without such a person, the Toka, descendants of the Sharu and keepers of the legends, wouldn't help locate the Mindharp. The duo hired Ottdefa Osuno Whett, an anthropologist, to investigate the system and wait on the asteroid Oseon 2795 for a suitable individual. He was to convince that person to go to Rafa IV, where Mer's office was. In 4 BBY, Whett met the gambler Lando Calrissian. After losing to Calrissian in sabacc and running out of money, he offered Calrissian his droid, Vuffi Raa, supposedly left in storage on Rafa IV. This was part of Gepta and Mer's plan—they had programmed Vuffi Raa to help the chosen individual find the Mindharp and then betray them.

Calrissian accepted and traveled to the Rafa system. After retrieving the droid and checking into a hotel, he was taken to Mer by policemen. The Governor played sabacc with Calrissian before discussing the Mindharp. Gepta, impatient, stormed into the office, upsetting Mer. The Croke explained his quest to Calrissian, claiming the Mindharp was merely a musical instrument. Calrissian would find it for them and then be allowed to leave with a cargo of valuable life-crystals. To prevent Calrissian from fleeing, Gepta disabled his ship.

The sorcerer also revealed that Calrissian would receive a key made by the Sharu, believed to unlock the Mindharp. Gepta explained the key had been taken from a museum outside the Rafa system, but didn't elaborate on how he acquired it. After handing over the key, the sorcerer sent Calrissian and Vuffi Raa to begin their search.

The Human and his droid spent four months searching for the Mindharp, aided by the Toka High Singer Mohs. Traveling to the Great Pyramid on Rafa V, Calrissian used the key to enter. Inside, he found the Mindharp and took it. Upon leaving the pyramid, he found himself on Rafa IV, where Vuffi Raa betrayed him, alerting a policeman to arrest him. The gambler was taken to the Governor, who seized the Mindharp and sent him to a nearby prison. Mer then contacted Gepta, who was in orbit aboard the Wennis.

Mer revealed the Mindharp and mocked the sorcerer, claiming he knew its true power and would use it to control the system. Enraged, Gepta boarded a fighter craft on the Wennis and headed to Rafa IV, pushing the vessel beyond safety limits. However, Mer had already begun using the Mindharp, hoping to master it before Gepta and rule the system alone. When Gepta landed, he found the planet experiencing groundquakes. He rushed to Mer's office and found the Governor entranced by the Mindharp before dissolving.

Gepta realized Mer couldn't master the Mindharp and would be killed by it. With the buildings shaking, the Croke fled. Leaving the Mindharp, he boarded his ship and returned to the Wennis. Before leaving the planet's atmosphere, his ship encountered the Millennium Falcon, Calrissian's freighter. They exchanged laser fire, and Gepta's ship was saved by debris. The Millennium Falcon escaped to hyperspace, angering Gepta. The sorcerer felt Calrissian had humiliated him and vowed revenge.

Gepta closely watched Calrissian, ensuring he failed to profit. He warned authorities the Millennium Falcon was a smuggler's ship, forcing Calrissian to pay bribes at spaceports. He manipulated prices of Calrissian's goods, like wintenberry jelly, preventing him from earning money. The Croke also had his men plant a bomb on the Millennium Falcon at Dilonexa XXIII, but it detonated early, failing to kill Calrissian. This failed assassination increased Gepta's desire to make Calrissian suffer. The Wennis then headed to the Oseon system, where Calrissian was going. Gepta went to the asteroid Oseon 5792, home of Bohhuah Mutdah, the galaxy's wealthiest being. As part of his plan to capture Calrissian, the Croke killed Mutdah and took his form, hiding the deception.

Gepta threatened Lob Doluff, Administrator Senior of the Oseon system, threatening his family unless he cooperated. Gepta arranged for Doluff to arrest Calrissian on Oseon 6845 for possessing a weapon. On Gepta's orders, Doluff offered Calrissian a deal: deliver a shipment of the drug lesai to Oseon 5792 and take security officers Waywa Fybot and Bassi Vobah to arrest Mutdah during the delivery, and he would be freed. Calrissian agreed, and the Millennium Falcon, with Fybot and Vobah, flew to Oseon 5792.

When the Millennium Falcon landed on Oseon 5792, Calrissian was led to Gepta, disguised as Mutdah. After delivering the lesai and receiving twenty million credits, Calrissian turned to leave. Vobah and Fybot then broke into the room, with Vobah declaring Gepta—believed to be Mutdah—under arrest. Fybot revealed his true allegiance by killing Vobah. Gepta praised Fybot for following orders before killing him, surprising Calrissian. Gepta pointed his gun at Calrissian and ordered him to put on handcuffs. When Calrissian asked why he wasn't simply killed, the trillionaire revealed himself as Rokur Gepta. He would now torture Calrissian to death.

Gepta knocked Calrissian unconscious, took him outside, and strapped him down for a torture session lasting weeks until he died. Using torture by chagrin and a special machine, Gepta made Calrissian relive and worsen his worst memories. Though Gepta would feel Calrissian's pain, he was willing to do so to inflict misery. Gepta taunted Calrissian with the twenty million credits he had possessed for only minutes, taking pleasure in causing anguish. However, after less than an hour, Gepta was interrupted when Oseon 5792 was attacked by Renatasians who mistakenly believed Vuffi Raa had destroyed their civilization and followed the Millennium Falcon.

Flying starfighters, the Renatasians damaged the asteroid's habitable dome containing Mutdah's mansion, exposing it to vacuum. Gepta was distracted by the explosion, allowing Calrissian to stab him in the eye with a piece of tinklewood he wore as a splint. The gambler escaped and fled back to his ship, while Gepta was in pain and unable to catch him. On board the Millennium Falcon, Calrissian escaped, while Gepta headed to his personal craft on the asteroid. Angered by his failure, the Croke vowed to kill Lando Calrissian.

Several months later, Gepta learned of an alliance offer from Admiral Klyn Shanga, leader of the Renatasian Confederation. The Renatasians wanted Gepta's help finding Vuffi Raa, who they believed destroyed the Renatasia system. Believing it would be mutually beneficial, Gepta met the Renatasians on Tund. Shanga and his men met the sorcerer in a dark cave, discussing the alliance. When Shanga asked why Gepta wanted Calrissian, the sorcerer said the gambler had offended him with his boldness, subtly warning Shanga not to overstep. Shanga revealed Calrissian was in the ThonBoka nebula, under Imperial blockade. The two sides agreed to ally and capture their targets.

After the meeting, Gepta hurried to ThonBoka. He was told the Millennium Falcon had been destroyed by an Imperial vessel while running the blockade. Gepta was furious and had the officer who delivered the news killed. Believing Calrissian could have survived, he continued searching. The Wennis remained in the system. Gepta soon learned the Millennium Falcon hadn't been destroyed and that the ThonBoka was inhabited by the Oswaft, large, manta-like sentients living in space. The Imperial Navy saw the Oswaft as a potential threat and blockaded the nebula to starve them. Calrissian had befriended one of the Oswaft and sought to save them, escaping through the blockade. Gepta enlisted Osuno Whett to learn about the Oswaft and manipulate them into handing over Calrissian or destroy them if they refused. Whett spied on the creatures and concluded they were highly advanced.

After Gepta had Bern Nuladeg, a Renatasian fighter squad member, imprisoned on the Wennis for trying to steal a fighter and attack the Millennium Falcon, Shanga confronted the sorcerer, feeling the imprisonment was unjust. After a heated argument where Gepta saw Shanga as insubordinate, Gepta agreed to free Nuladeg for the upcoming battle. After Shanga left, Gepta reflected that Shanga was the only person besides Calrissian to stand up to him in millennia. Soon after, Gepta decided to attack the Oswaft and get revenge on Calrissian.

Amidst the unfolding events of the ThonBoka conflict, Gepta issued an order for the Imperial vessels to cease their advance, and dispatched a message directed at the Millennium Falcon. He commended Calrissian on the resilience displayed by him and the Oswaft, yet asserted that victory would ultimately belong to the sorcerer, due to his willingness to sacrifice his own troops to ensure Calrissian's demise. Subsequently, he discharged a minute energy particle from his electromagnetic torpedo, directing the green energy towards a group of Oswaft, instantly obliterating them. Gepta then declared to Calrissian his intent to eradicate all life within the nebula using this very substance. However, he presented the gambler with an alternative: a lethal duel in the vacuum of space. A victory for Gepta would result in the release of a substantial quantity of the bioweapon, resulting in the extinction of the Oswaft. Conversely, should Calrissian prevail, the Imperial military force would withdraw.

Calrissian agreed to the Croke's proposition, donning a protective suit for space to withstand the vacuum. Following Gepta's suggestion, he would receive assistance from Vuffi Raa, given the gambler's lack of mystical abilities possessed by Gepta. Before venturing through his ship's pressure lock, Gepta commanded one of his subordinates to eliminate all life on ThonBoka, irrespective of the duel's outcome. To guarantee compliance, he dispatched a fighter towards the officer's birthplace, threatening the commander's family should his directives be ignored. Furthermore, he instructed his forces to prevent any interference, prompting the Wennis to destroy a Renatasian fighter attempting to engage Vuffi Raa and Calrissian.

Having conveyed his commands, Gepta ventured into the void, where he encountered the gambler and his droid companion. Gepta unleashed a series of energy blasts at Calrissian, who skillfully evaded them. In response, Calrissian discharged several shots from his energy pistol, which struck the sorcerer squarely in the back, yet passed through him harmlessly, much to the Human's astonishment. Gepta persisted in his energy attacks on Calrissian, while simultaneously contending with Vuffi Raa, who detached his tentacles to control them remotely. The droid utilized this ability effectively, successfully diverting the sorcerer's attention.

Simultaneously, Osuno Whett—the perpetrator of the Renatasia system's destruction—attempted to assault Calrissian, Vuffi Raa, and Gepta in his small spacecraft. Upon recognizing Whett's voice, Klynn Shanga realized that Whett, not Raa, was the infamous "Renatasia Killer," and ordered his troops to engage the pinnace. Evading the Wennis's energy beams, the Rentasians pursued Whett, causing him to crash into the Wennis. With the cruiser's energy defenses compromised, both the Wennis and Whett's ship were destroyed. Gepta, stunned by the loss of his vessel, was struck in the ankle by a shot from Calrissian's handheld energy weapon.

Calrissian rushed to Gepta's spacesuit, discovering that the seemingly human-like body had vanished. Within the leg, however, he found a diminutive creature resembling a dark mollusk—Gepta's true form. Calrissian seized the Croke in his grasp and crushed him, ending the existence of the last Sorcerer of Tund. As the Imperial Navy prepared to attack, they were suddenly confronted by the Silentium, sentient droid entities several thousands of meters in size that had just emerged from hyperspace. These droids, responsible for Vuffi Raa's creation, had arrived to reclaim him, appearing at ThonBoka at the opportune moment. They obliterated the cruiser Recalcitrant and warned the Imperials that any further hostile actions would result in immediate destruction. The Navy retreated, saving the Oswaft, and Calrissian was now liberated from Gepta and his vengeful intentions.

In the year 22 After the Battle of Yavin, Calrissian released his autobiography, How to Succeed in Everything, which featured Gepta. A segment dedicated to the Sorcerer was incorporated into Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force, a publication authored by Jedi Knight Tionne Solusar.

Rokur Gepta possessed arrogance and a relentless pursuit of power. He exhibited unwavering confidence in his own capabilities, aspiring to expand his sphere of influence and authority. Dissatisfied with merely controlling the Centrality, he sought legendary artifacts like the Mindharp of Sharu, intending to eventually seize control of the entire galaxy, a plan that ultimately failed. He perceived himself as devoid of warmth and vitality, finding no solace in wealth or companionship; only dominion and inflicting suffering on others provided him with gratification. Gepta viewed others as mere instruments to facilitate his ascent to power. He reveled in deception and considered himself a master of disguise.

Gepta was inherently cruel, deriving pleasure from the suffering of others. He occasionally executed his subordinates for their shortcomings, sometimes feeding their remains to his animal companions, carnivorous creatures confined within the Wennis. In one instance, Gepta allowed a subordinate who had delivered unfavorable news to believe he was escaping punishment, only to have one of his bodyguards seize and execute the man. Klyn Shanga observed that Gepta would readily eliminate even a highly skilled assistant who had failed him once. Gepta believed that witnessing the torture or execution of a colleague for failure would motivate the Wennis crew to perform better, hoping to avoid a similar fate. The Croke projected an intimidating presence, instilling fear in those who encountered him. Fellow Centrality government officials, such as Duttes Mer, harbored fear towards Gepta, despite their animosity.

During the ThonBoka skirmish, Gepta forbade Imperial Navy ships from deviating from his orders to maintain their positions—even if remaining in place meant certain destruction. He also executed the commanding officers and second-in-commands of the Upright, the Intractable, and the Vainglorious for questioning his directives during the battle. Furthermore, the Croke was prepared to annihilate an entire species standing between him and his target, without any remorse for their destruction.

Gepta developed an intense fixation on Lando Calrissian, seeking to inflict pain upon him, as the gambler had previously humiliated him. The Croke was willing to pursue Calrissian relentlessly, subtly undermining his efforts to profit. He was content to inflict torture on Calrissian, even if it meant sharing the pain felt by the gambler; as long as the Human suffered, Gepta was satisfied. After capturing Calrissian, only to witness his escape, Gepta's animosity towards the gambler intensified. Upon learning that an Imperial Navy cruiser had supposedly destroyed the Millennium Falcon, the sorcerer was consumed by rage, for while he desired Calrissian's death, he insisted on being the one to deliver it. Ultimately, this obsession with Calrissian led to Gepta's downfall.

Although he formed an alliance with Klyn Shanga, Gepta quickly grew weary of him, finding the Renatasian insubordinate and overly audacious. Shanga openly challenged Gepta's orders on several occasions, much to the sorcerer's anger and astonishment—no one had dared to address him in such a manner in millennia, he remarked at one point. On multiple occasions, the Croke nearly killed Shanga outright. However, the sorcerer prided himself on his patience, resolving to wait until he had eliminated Calrissian and Shanga's usefulness had expired. Following his dealings with Calrissian, Gepta intended to kill Shanga.

Despite his animosity towards Shanga, Gepta also found himself intrigued by the Renatasian. He concluded that despite being unafraid of death, Shanga genuinely enjoyed life—a characteristic not typically associated with those who claimed to be fearless of death, according to Gepta. The sorcerer—unaccustomed to confusion and thus angered—decided to contemplate the matter further after dealing with Calrissian. He also noted that if all Renatasians possessed the same boldness and courage as Klyn Shanga, the system could pose a threat to his plans, potentially necessitating the elimination of its inhabitants.

Gepta frequently spent time in a specially shielded chamber near the Wennis's propulsion systems, where his electromagnetic torpedo was stored. The sorcerer derived pleasure from envisioning the weapon's use against civilizations, often standing in the room and gazing at the glowing device. While he generally disliked light, he found the green glow aesthetically pleasing. At various points in his life, Gepta also returned to Tund, spending hours meditating in the dark caverns of the ruined world. He also harbored affection for his pets, the vicious carnivores. He disliked political maneuvering, and mandated that the Wennis crew wear uniforms devoid of rank insignias to perpetuate political myths. Although the crew disliked this, they rarely voiced their complaints due to their fear of Gepta.

During his impersonation of Bohhuah Mutdah, Rokur Gepta experienced a profound depression, as the real Mutdah had been a deeply melancholic individual. Gepta sought to emulate the authentic Mutdah, resulting in a state of severe depression, nearly losing his grip on reality and forgetting his true identity. Only his hatred of Calrissian enabled him to maintain his sanity and revert to his original form.

Gepta manifested in various forms to different beings, ranging from giants to dwarves. By 4 BBY, his preferred form was that of a humanoid figure cloaked in grey Tundan clothing wearing a turban, revealing only his eyes. This illusory form was slightly taller than Lando Calrissian. Calrissian observed that the sorcerer's eyes conveyed an insatiable hunger, giving the impression that he was an arthropod destined to be crushed by Gepta's focus. The gambler found Gepta's eyes intimidating, requiring him to force himself to maintain eye contact. In reality, Gepta was a Croke, a black, slug-like, illusion-casting sentient being approximately the size of a Human hand.

Gepta possessed exceptional skill in creating illusions, capable of manipulating the minds of others, as demonstrated when he subjected Lando Calrissian to torture by chagrin. He engineered an electromagnetic torpedo, utilizing it to destroy the planet Tund. He exhibited sensitivity to the mystical energy field, enabling him to inflict mental anguish on others, as he did on multiple occasions, including Lando Calrissian and an officer aboard the Wennis. He employed a specialized device to amplify the pain experienced by Calrissian during his torture session. Gepta acquired extensive knowledge from the Sorcerers of Tund, although his skills remained incomplete at the time of his death. When stabbed in the eye with Lando Calrissian's tinklewood splinter, Gepta mitigated the pain by briefly reverting to his true form.

The character of Rokur Gepta was conceived by L. Neil Smith for Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, the inaugural novel of The Lando Calrissian Adventures. Smith initially envisioned the character as a Sith Overlord akin to Anakin Skywalker, but Lucasfilm rejected this concept, asserting that the Sith Order were off-limits for his novel. Consequently, Smith created the Tund Wizards as a substitute, designating Gepta as a member of their order.

The Essential Guide to Characters erroneously spells his name as "Rakus Gepta." While The Lando Calrissian Adventures depict Gepta wearing only grey robes, his New Essential Guide illustration (displayed at the beginning of this article) portrays him wearing grey robes with red trim.