Vuffi Raa Vuffi Raa was a specially designed and constructed droid thought to be an agent of the extra - galactic droid species known as the Silentium , who created him to explore the galaxy and learn about other civilizations for his " parental " droids . In one of Vuffi Raa ' s early encounters , he was reprogrammed by the shape - shifting Croke sorcerer Rokur Gepta . Gepta gave him to an agent , Osuno Whett , who used him in the field . He served Whett until asked to perform an operation that had him labeled as a " butcher " and sought refuge on a desolate planet . It was there that he encountered Lando Calrissian , who had won him in a game of sabacc , and after serving out a program to betray Lando , began his new life as a vagrant wanderer and partner to Calrissian . Vuffi Raa was programmed by his creators to be completely non - violent , and even piloting a starship in battle stressed him . However , he eventually became one of the few droids to overcome his own programming , and became able to attack in defense of himself and his friends . Description . Vuffi Raa was a mixture between sentient life and advanced droid technology , designed to resemble the original creators of his " species . " He had been created by an interstellar being known as The One for the purpose of exploring the rest of the galaxy and learning about other civilizations . Vuffi Raa stood one meter tall and resembled an attenuated starfish with five elongated chromite tentacles . His main body was pentagonal in shape and made of polished chromite . In the center of his body was a powerful multi - frequency photoreceptor capable of seeing in ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths . Vuffi also had a range of other sensors and a miniature vocabulator hidden in his underside . Furthermore , he was powered by a microfusion pile , a near - infinite source of power . His five tentacles each tapered into a point at the end , and then divided into five - tentacled hands , with one tiny optic sensor in each palm . At the end of each tentacle , Vuffi Raa ' s fingers continued to split into microscopic strand fingers which allowed him to manipulate minuscule objects . He could also direct heat into his tentacles , and was able to detach all five from his body and control them remotely . These functions were facilitated by a thick , blood - like liquid that circulated throughout the droid ' s systems , keeping them lubricated and allowing coagulation in the event the outer shell was ever punctured . He could also repair himself . Vuffi Raa ' s name was actually a number in the language of the extinct species who designed his droid progenitors , and he detested being referred to as just " Vuffi " . Biography . Early life . Vuffi Raa was an intricately - designed and constructed droid that was thought to be an agent of the extragalactic species known as the Silentium . This starship - sized race of droids were able to fly from one side of the galaxy to the next , and built their culture around the primary numbers of one , five , seven and eleven . They had been manufactured by an asteridian species who had gone extinct when the sun of their planet went supernova ; their droids lived on and eventually achieved full sentience . Members of his kind included beings referred to as The One and The Other ; others were collectively called The Rest . Long ago in their home galaxy , the droids of the Silentium waged a protracted war against the Abominor , another droid species that was based upon asymmetry and chaos . Vuffi Raa was created to explore the galaxy and learn about other civilizations for his parental droids . Early in his career , he was captured and reprogrammed by the shape - shifting Croke Rokur Gepta , a Sorcerer of Tund and the Scrivinir of the Centrality . Rokur Gepta then gave Vuffi Raa to his agent " Ottdefa " Osuno Whett . On one occasion , following the rediscovery of the Renatasia system — a lost Human colony founded by ancient settlers from Grizmallt — shortly after the foundation of the Galactic Empire , Whett was tasked by the Empire and the Centrality to win the trust of the Renatasian s so as to make them easy targets for the armed forces to subdue . Covering the droid with an organic exterior , he posed as Vuffi Raa ' s assistant and presented themselves as representatives of a galactic civilization eager to welcome the Renatasians . Vuffi Raa and Whett toured the world and helped the Renatasians form a unified world government . Then , after 700 days , Whett transmitted all of his data , beginning the invasion by Imperial and Centrality forces . Because of the massacre that followed , Vuffi Raa was nicknamed the " Butcher of Renatasia , " as none of the Renatasians realized he was a droid and that Whett was behind the event . Fearing for his life , Whett radically changed his appearance . He lost forty kilograms , added four centimeters of bonemer to each of his arms and legs , and added a vertebra . He also changed the style of his hair , which turned itself white from worry . Whett hid Vuffi Raa on Rafa IV , in the Rafa system . A new master . Later , Whett played sabacc with Lando Calrissian during Lando ' s visit to Oseon 2795 , in which Lando won Vuffi Raa , though he had to travel to Rafa IV to acquire the droid . However , before he could depart , he was arrested on trumped - up charges by Governor Duttes Mer and forced to aid Rokur Gepta in locating the Mindharp of Sharu . Provided with a transdimensional key , Calrissian chose to begin his search on Rafa V , location of the largest Sharu pyramid in the Rafa system . He was ambushed by several Toka , who tied him to one of the crystalline lifetree s , hoping he would freeze during the night . Even though the lifetree was robbing him of intelligent thought , Calrissian was able to free himself , though his feet were severely frostbitten and required light bacta treatment in a portable gel - bath kept on the Falcon . Later , Calrissian and Vuffi Raa investigated the largest pyramid and located the Mindharp , and were promptly teleported back to Rafa IV . Vuffi Raa , who in fact had been programmed to betray Calrissian before he had even been " won , " promptly turned Calrissian in to Governor Mer . Mer took the Mindharp and sentenced Calrissian to a lifetime of hard labor , but Vuffi Raa , having fulfilled his imperative to betray Calrissian , rescued the gambler just as Mer activated the Mindharp . As the two fled Rafa IV , the transdimensional artifact ' s subharmonic emanations restored the Toka into the Sharu that they once were , and the great pyramids of the Rafa system crumbled , leaving alien cities in their wake . Calrissian and Vuffi Raa entered hyperspace with a full hold of the last Rafa life - crystal s to leave the Rafa system ; this valuable cargo netted Calrissian nearly 250 , 000 credits . Further adventures . Returning to Nar Shaddaa , Calrissian bought a used - starship lot from a Duros , but discovered the business was expensive and difficult to run . He was pondering selling it off when the Empire arrived in the system . Calrissian donated his inventory to his fellow outlaws , and Vuffi Raa piloted the " Millennium Falcon " in the resulting Battle of Nar Shaddaa . The attack was diverted , but less than ten percent of his stock was still space - worthy . Calrissian sold ninety percent ownership in what was left of his lot to Roa at a loss . Calrissian sought a way to recover his losses , and saw an opportunity in the regional sabacc championships that were soon to be held at Cloud City ' s Yarith Bespin casino . In order to raise the ten thousand credit buy - in , Calrissian and Vuffi Raa returned to the Centrality and attempted to haul legitimate cargo ; but tariffs , fees , and licensing cost him more than he made , leaving him with nothing . Flamewind of Oseon . Thus , when an opportunity to play sabacc in the Oseon system during the Flamewind arose , Calrissian accepted , and Vuffi Raa accompanied him . Soon after arriving at Oseon 6845 , Calrissian was assaulted and forced to shoot his assailant in self - defense with his stingbeam . The Administrator Senior of the Oseon System , Lob Doluff , informed Calrissian that the penalty for possessing a deadly weapon was death by exposure , but since the administrator admired Calrissian , he arranged for him to instead participate in a drug bust against the lesai - using wealthy industrialist Bohhuah Mutdah . Posing as Mutdah ' s dealer , Calrissian and Vuffi Raa transported two agents , Bassi Vobah and Waywa Fybot , through the maddening radiation of the Flamewind to Oseon 5792 . Mutdah turned out to be Rokur Gepta in disguise , who promptly killed Fybot — who was corrupt and had himself killed Vobah — and planned to kill Calrissian after forcing him to endure a machine that made him relive all the painful moments of his life , but the latter was saved by the intervention of Renatasian starfighters , whose goal was to kill Vuffi Raa . During the chaos surrounding his escape , Calrissian grabbed Mutdah ' s drug payment — twenty million credits . He deposited small sums in bank s on several worlds , including fifty thousand credits into the Bank of Aargau , which he planned to use for covering the entry fee for the Bespin sabacc tournament . However , his attempt to deposit the bulk of the money on the Centrality ' s primary financial planet , Dela , interrupted a pirate attack being committed by the " pirate queen " Drea Renthal . Despite Calrissian ' s charm , Renthal kept the remainder of Mutdah ' s money . Saving the Oswaft . Soon after , Calrissian and Vuffi Raa encountered Lehesu , a young member of the space - dwelling , hyperjump - capable Oswaft species , whose curiosity had carried it from its home in the ThonBoka Nebula ( or StarCave ) to a desolate part of the Centrality . After halting attempts at communication , Lehesu finally communicated to the crew of the " Millennium Falcon " his need for sustenance . Calrissian emptied the contents of the ship ' s recyclers into space , which Lehesu eagerly consumed . Some months later , the Empire and the Centrality blockaded the entrance to the sack - shaped ThonBoka with five hundred capital ships modified to contaminate the " interstellar plankton " drifting into the nebula , intending to starve the entire Oswaft race into extinction . Lehesu used a transceiver provided to him by Vuffi Raa to contact the " Millennium Falcon " and plead for help . Calrissian penetrated the blockade , using a ruse that he was a trader plying his wares to the very ships that were his obstacle . Though the " Falcon " was inspected , no one below the rank of Admiral was informed of the reason for the blockade , so no one suspected that the ship ' s real cargo was the ordinary waste carried in its trash and toilet recyclers . After working his way to the front of the blockade , Lando made a break for the mouth of the ThonBoka . Vuffi Raa had rigged a device containing metal flakes on the aft hull of the " Falcon " to make the ship appear to disintegrate when hit by blasts from the blockade ships . Inside the ThonBoka , they contacted Lehesu and the Oswaft Elders , and they began making plans while other Oswaft went to negotiate with the picket fleet . However , as the Empire ' s goals were complete extermination , the Empire merely killed the negotiators ; in the process , one of them " shouted " at the unshielded cruiser " Courteous " , destroying it with its maser voice - stream . The fleet , seeking retribution , raised their shields and entered the ThonBoka , but were called back by Gepta , who sought to destroy Calrissian . When Gepta arrived , the fleet mobilized and entered the nebula . Fortunately , their pause had given Calrissian time to suggest a battle plan . The Oswaft excreted heavy metals from their pores and then hyperjumped , leaving decoys placed between the enemy cruisers and resulting in massive friendly fire casualties among the fleet ; meanwhile , they " shouted " at the starfighters , destroying them with their powerful masers . After the fleet ' s forces had been reduced by eleven percent , the battle ceased , and Gepta offered Calrissian an ultimatum : engage Gepta in personal combat , or he would fire an electromagnetic torpedo into the nebula , killing all life therein . Calrissian and Vuffi Raa , who was allowed to participate because Gepta believed he could reprogram the droid to betray his master , faced off against the Sorcerer of Tund in the vacuum of space . After much maneuvering and several ploys , Calrissian landed a stray shot in Gepta ' s ankle as one of Vuffi Raa ' s detached tentacles engaged Gepta . The Sorcerer ' s form withered as he cried out , landing a stray shot that injured Vuffi Raa ' s torso . Calrissian searched the space suit and found an injured Croke where his shot had landed — Rokur Gepta had not been a humanoid , but a Croke from Crakull , a planet in the Unknown Regions which Lando had once visited . Calrissian squeezed the alien until the last Sorcerer of Tund was little more than a stain on his gloves . At that , the Battle of ThonBoka renewed , but for only a moment ; out of nowhere , a multitude of fifty - kilometer self - aware droids appeared , issuing a demand on all channels : " " Cease fire immediately or be destroyed ! " " . They were The One , The Other and The Rest , who had come for Vuffi Raa . The Imperial fleet , faced with thousands of gigantic ships , retreated from their genocidal mission . Vuffi Raa ' s progenitors repaired the little droid and departed with him into the Unknown Regions , and Lando departed the ThonBoka with a hold filled with valuable Oswaft - synthesized gemstones . Continuing Relationship . Although Vuffi and his Master parted ways , the droid would again encounter Calrissian on a number of occasions after their last adventure . When Kyle Katarn met Lando aboard " Star of Empire " in 1 BBY , Calrissian was accompanied by his former droid companion . Personality and traits . Vuffi Raa was programmed by his creators to be completely non - violent , and even piloting a starship in combat stressed his circuits ; this was evidenced by the stress he suffered when piloting the " Millennium Falcon " during the defense of Nar Shaddaa . However , he eventually became one of the few droids to overcome his own programming , and became able to inflict injury in the defense of himself and his friends or master . He was very loyal to his owners , particularly Lando , with whom he had developed something of a bond . Behind the scenes . Vuffi Raa was created by L . Neil Smith for the novel " Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu " , and featured prominently in its two sequels , " Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon " and " Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka " . Though the above images are accepted as being the most canon ical depiction of Vuffi Raa , a different version of him could be seen on the cover of " Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu " , the original source material for the character . Vuffi Raa ' s " hands , " which branch repeatedly from finger - sized appendages down to the microscopic level , were evidently modeled on the concept of the " . " first envisioned the concept of " a robot that looks like a tree , with a big stem , repeatedly branching into thinner , shorter and more numerous twigs , finally ending up in jillions of near - microscopic cilia " in 1980 , shortly before Smith began writing his books . The concept of the bush robot has continued to be explored , and in 1999 Moravec and Jesse Easudes presented a final report to on " Fractal branching ultra - dexterous robots . "