Thranta Rider Thranta Riders , also known as wing riders , were humanoid sapients who tamed flying thrantas and rode them , performing aerial circus - like shows around the world of Bespin . They liked to paint or tattoo themselves with complex patterns . During the New Jedi Order era , Jacen Solo fell down from Cloud City while being hunted by some Black Sun followers . If not for one of the Thranta Riders that saved him , he would have fallen down and been crushed from the pressure . Biology and appearance . The mysterious sentients known as the Thranta Riders were smooth - skinned humanoids with four limbs : two arms ending with four - fingered hands , and two legs ending with two - toed feet . Their bodies were lanky and bony , with all their muscles outlined . The riders usually went naked , showing their smooth skin on which no hair grew . Their skin was of a natural ochre yellow hue , but they used to paint it with other colors , including red , pale yellow , blue , pale purple and green . They breathed the same air as Human beings and were capable of shedding tears as a response to an emotional state of sorrow . Many of them were dolichocephalic , with the head much longer than it was broad , while others had more Human - like cranial proportions . Though they lacked fleshy external ears , the thranta - riding people had ear holes on the sides of their head , which were left exposed . Their faces sported two forward - facing eyes , some of which were almond - shaped with yellow irises , while others were black and globulous , with no apparent iris . In the middle of their elongated visage , they had two tiny pug - like holes as a nose , and some individuals sported a long , pointed chin . The Riders had high - pitched , singing voices that came in handy to communicate with their domesticated thrantas . At least one known individual had shining ebony teeth that resembled polished gem stones . Society and culture . A mysterious race , the Thranta Riders were discreet about their obscure yet fascinating culture . They usually remained silent , and , as such , only a few lucky visitors ever got a glimpse of their secrets . Even the Councilman Po Ruddle Lingsnot , who when he was part of the ruling bureaucrats of Cloud City , knew little about them . Lingsnot barely mentioned the Riders in his report describing the city , devoting a single paragraph and two brief side notes to them . One of the few details known about their intimate culture is that they referred to each other as " Air Brother . " The Riders would often paint or tattoo themselves with complex skin patterns and whorls of colors that made them look like optical illusions . Prior to going into a battle , they would apply war paints different from the regular ones . Although they usually wore no clothes at all , some of the Thranta Riders were noted for wearing fur loincloth s and puttees . Their lives revolved around the breeding and keeping of thrantas , which they trained to perform " sky rodeo " spectacles , a combination circus , air show , and rodeo . In the skies around Cloud City , the Riders performed once per month , displaying their unique acrobatic feats to the public . The alien riders would leap out into the open sky , only to be caught again by their thrantas swooping down below them . Each of the Air Brothers shared a bond with his mounts , to the point where thrantas viewed their trainers as “ head thranta ” of their herd and guarded him from potential threats . Wranglers communicated with their thrantas through whistles or high - pitched electronic noise emulators , with different pitches or brief musical phrases being used as the signals for particular tricks . Despite their general secrecy toward strangers , the Riders were compassionate enough to assist those in danger . When the trainee Thranta Rider M ' kim saw Jacen Solo , a young Jedi apprentice , fall from a Cloud City platform , he did not hesitate before swooping down and catching him . M ' kim also expressed deep sorrow by the memory of other people falling . They were also willing to accept members of other species in their midst . Where this happened , the Riders would defend their new Air Brother as if he or she had always been one of them . When fighting became necessary , the Thranta Riders wielded wood en , club - like maces to beat off the attackers . History . When the Corellian entrepreneur Lord Ecclessis Figg commissioned the building Cloud City around 400 BBY , he ordered a group of young thrantas to transplanted from their native Alderaan to Bespin ' s atmosphere . Figg ' s wife being an Alderaanian , he wished to give her the thrantas as a gift to remind her of her homeworld . With the thrantas , Lord Figg also brought several Riders so they could take care of the flying creatures . By 27 BBY , the Riders and their mounts had become a popular attraction thanks to their monthly performances of sky rodeo . That year , a shape - shifting Shi ' ido employed by the Twi ' lek Dark Jedi named Reess Kairn traveled to Bespin and insinuated himself into a troupe of Riders . However , the bounty hunter Aurra Sing , who had been hired to eliminate Kairn and his minions , located the changeling impostor and hopped on an airhook in order to kill him . When the Shi ' ido cried for help to his new Air Brothers , the Thranta Riders drew their clubs and prepared to fight Sing . One of them successfully threw the bounty hunter off her vehicle , but another was killed when Aurra Sing dropped down on his thranta to stop her fall . In spite of their efforts , the Riders could not stop the bounty hunter , and the Shi ' ido was murdered . Over five decades later , in 24 ABY , the trainee Rider M ' kim saved the life of a young Human by catching him out of the sky when he fell off Cloud City . That Human was none other than Jacen Solo , an apprentice to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker , who was chased by Black Sun agents and plummeted into the atmosphere while trying to escape them . Solo and M ' kim then became friends , and the latter provided vital information Czethros — a cyborg who was one of the more powerful lieutenants in the Black Sun at the time . Behind the scenes . As part of the concept art designed by Ralph McQuarrie but ultimately not used for " " , the Thranta Riders were known as " What - Nots . "