Pili Walde

Pili Walde was a botanist who resided on the planet Koboh and worked at Pyloon's Saloon for Greez Dritus.
==Biography==
Pili Walde was a talented botanist and plant geneticist whose talent catapulted her to the forefront of her field at a young age. Her work became a passion and soon she stumbled upon an innovation - hybridizing diverse genotypical specimens within novel macrocosmetic environments which she would describe simply as growing new plants in new places. When she discovered she could not have children, her interest in botany increased as she liked to watch things grow. The one plant she couldn't grow was a rare sub-species of a Poola blossom which she found to be quite stubborn. Her frustrations continue to grow as no matter what she did, the plant refused to grow. Due to this, she eventually realized that the species only grew in the wild on its own.
She stopped her research when the Empire occupied her planet and she lost her nursery. Her laboratory was repurposed into a biochemical weapons facility and her research was used as a means for death. Despite efforts to persuade her, Walde refused to cooperate and escaped the planet on an unlicensed shuttle. However, her parents and siblings, whom she described as soft-spoken and defiant, did not survive the Imperial occupation. Walde believed all she had left was her plants and that they were defiant in their own ways.
She eventually ended up on Jedha, where she tended to plants even though very little grew there. Walde was hoping for a new direction after feeling aimless since leaving her homeworld and attempting to tend to the struggling seeds in the harsh desert environment. Ultimately, she knew her efforts were futile, but saw her duty as a botanist was to help even if she didn't want to admit the desert wasn't the best condition for life to thrive.
In 9 BBY, whilst attempting to continue her research on Jedha, she encountered Jedi Knight Cal Kestis. She bemoaned the lack of progress she had made on the planet, and Kestis suggested she travel to Pyloon's Saloon on Koboh to pursue her endeavors, which she later did.
After settling on the planet, she felt Koboh had been a welcoming home. She was drawn to the energy on the rooftop of Pyloon's and saw her new life as an opportunity to grow alongside the garden. She utilised the rooftop of the cantina to grow and tend to seeds and plants provided by Kestis during his travels across Koboh. With each seed he provided, Walde would describe the plant to him in detail.
Walde bemoaned the presence of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer over Koboh following Kestis' defeating the Bedlam Raiders, stating that the shade it provided did not help with the growth of her plants. She believed the Empire could be defeated, but it would take time.
Following the Mantis crew's mission to Tanalorr, Pili took Kata Akuna under her wing and taught her the basics of gardening, with the youngster particularly enjoying pruning. She would tell Kata that trees grew one ring at a time, and that she will learn as she also grew.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars Jedi: Survivor 
==Sources==
*Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
==Notes and references==
Category:Biologists
Category:Individuals of unidentified species
Category:Individuals of unspecified gender
Category:Individuals with she/her pronouns
Category:Pyloon's Saloon staff