Paodok'Draba'Takat Sap'De'Rekti Nik'Linke'Ti' Ki'Vef'Nik'NeSevef'Li'Kek

Paodok'Draba'Takat Sap'De'Rekti Nik'Linke'Ti' Ki'Vef'Nik'NeSevef'Li'Kek, also known as Paodok'Draba'Takat for short—and to most as Pao—was a male Drabatan who was born on the Outer Rim planet of Pipada in 31 BBY. During the Imperial Era, he would leave his homeworld and his dream of becoming an engineer behind after the Galactic Empire invaded the planet for resources to improve the Imperial Military.
Sometime after leaving his homeworld, he joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic to fight the Galactic Empire, and eventually reached the rank of corporal in the Rebel Alliance Special Forces. Pao took part in a demolition job to destroy a communications tower on the astronomical object of Foerost for the Alliance. The skills he used in that demolition job later assisted his placement of charges in the Battle of Scarif—a turning point in the Galactic Civil War for the Rebel Alliance.
In 1 BBY, Pao was among those who volunteered to join Rogue One, an unconventional team of rebels who looked to retrieve the plans for the superweapon known as the Death Star from the Imperial Center of Military Research. Upon arriving on the planet, Captain Cassian Jeron Andor—the leader of the mission—assigned Pao to main squad alongside Sergeant Ruescott Melshi and two former members of the Guardians of the Whills, Baze Malbus and Chirrut Îmwe. Pao helped cause a distraction to draw the stormtrooper garrison's attention with multiple other soldiers while fellow rebels Andor, Jyn Erso, and K-2SO snuck into the Citadel Tower and obtained the plans. Pao was killed before death troopers were deployed to the battlefield.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Paodok'Draba'Takat Sap'De'Rekti Nik'Linke'Ti' Ki'Vef'Nik'NeSevef'Li'Kek was a Drabatan born on the Outer RimStar Wars Galaxy Map planet of Pipada in 31 BBY. His shortened name was Paodok'Draba'Takat; however, he was known to most simply as Pao—as remembering and pronouncing his name was difficult for many. He studied structural dynamics and dreamed of becoming an engineer, but these wishes would remain unfulfilled when the Galactic Empire began an occupation of his homeworld after the Drabatan people protested its rule. One protester was Sa'Kalla, a young and popular singer who wrote songs denouncing the Empire. After her death, many Drabatan warriorsDawn of Rebellion such as Pao used her name in a war cry when charging into battle.
During the occupation, the Empire exploited the planet of its resources to further expand the Imperial Military and satisfy their fuel needs. The occupation caused most of the Drabatan people—including Pao—to abandon their homeworld.
===The Rebellion===
====A cry of rebellion====
Pao eventually gave up his wish of becoming an engineer and joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic in order to fight the Galactic Empire. After serving with the Alliance for some time, he became a corporal in the Rebel Alliance Special Forces. At one point, Pao undertook a demolition job to destroy a communications tower on the terrestrial astronomical object of Foerost.Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novelization
In 1 BBY, Cassian Jeron Andor—a Captain who was part of Alliance Intelligence—received secret Imperial information that reported the Galactic Empire had been constructing a superweapon named the Death Star, which had the power to destroy a planet. The Alliance had attempted to contact the lead engineer of the space station—Galen Walton Erso—through his daughter, Jyn Erso. She was extracted from Imperial capture by members of the Marine Corps led by rebel Lieutenant Ruescott Melshi and the reprogrammed Imperial KX-series security droid, K-2SO. Jyn was later brought to the Mid Rim moon of Jedha to make contact with rebel extremist Saw Gerrera and receive a message from her father about the rumored superweapon.
General Davits Draven recognized Pao for his fearlessness and self-awareness. For this reason, the Drabatan corporal was among those considered to be a part of a strike team to raid Saw Gerrera's Base on Jedha if Jyn was unable to complete her mission. General Draven recommended Pao, alongside the multiple other soldiers, to rebel ChancellorStar Wars (2015) 4 Mon Mothma as candidates for the strike team, with a larger squad potentially being built around them. However, Draven's strike team was not formed, as Jyn completed the task and later was able to speak directly to her father on the planet Eadu. She then brought the information back to the rebel base on the Outer Rim moon of Yavin 4.Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
====Battle of Scarif====
Jyn met with the Alliance Cabinet to discuss the information she had received from her father, stating that the plans for the Death Star were being kept on the Outer Rim planet Scarif. However, before her meeting with the Cabinet was even complete, Andor and Melshi began calling upon volunteers to partake in an unsanctioned mission to steal the Death Star plans from Scarif, even if it meant disobeying orders. Pao eagerly joined the newly formed Rogue One group, being one of the first people to respond to Melshi's call.Star Wars: Rogue One: Secret Mission He, alongside the nearly two dozen other volunteers, boarded the stolen Imperial shuttle SW-0608, with the Imperial pilot-turned-rebel Bodhi Rook as its pilot, and departed for Scarif. On the way to the planet, the soldiers exchanged war stories and talked amongst themselves.
The planet was protected by the orbital Shield Gate space station, which provided the only entry and exit from the surface to space. Using the shuttle's Imperial access codes, Rogue One was able to pass through the Shield Gate without incident and began their descent onto the planet. After landing on Landing Platform Nine, some of the troopers felt worried and expressed concerns about the task at hand, until Jyn gave a speech to the group, which motivated the rebels and gave them hope for the mission they were about to undertake. Captain Andor then instructed Pao, alongside Melshi and two former Guardians of the Whills—Baze Malbus and Chirrut Îmwe—to take main squad and plant charges along the base, with the goal of making it appear as if there were a hundred soldiers attacking as opposed to the small amount that were actually present.
While Pao and the rest of the soldiers prepared a distraction, Jyn and Andor donned Imperial disguises and ventured into the facility alongside K-2SO to retrieve the plans from the vault in the Citadel Tower. After the area was clear, Pao led the group as they snuck out of the ship. Taking cover behind a crate, he signaled for the other soldiers to follow in close to him, leaving five soldiers behind to protect the ship and Rook—who would be their only way off of the planet. The troopers quickly entered the jungle canopy and gathered together as Sergeant Melshi handed out explosives to each of the rebels, telling them to plant one at each pad. Pao received charges and placed one on the side of a barrel before setting more explosives in the barracks of the Scarif garrison.
====Chaos on the beaches====
Captain Andor soon gave Melshi the signal to blow to charges and begin the distraction. Explosions erupted all across the island, prompting Imperial director of Imperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research Orson Callan Krennic to order the Scarif garrison to be deployed in order to combat the rebels. Pao and the rest of the rebel fighters on the main platform immediately ambushed and engaged the shoretroopers and stormtroopers. He took cover from the oncoming fire behind a crate as his comrades began to fall. Amid the chaos, an All Terrain Armored Cargo Transport emerged from the smoke caused by countless explosions and started firing on the rebels. Pao let out a yell to alert his fellow troopers to the threat—incorrectly identifying the towering walker as an All Terrain Armored Transport—and started to retreat back into the shrubbery on the beach while continuing to fire at the approaching Imperials.
Soon after the AT-ACT attacked, the rebel fleet arrived above the planet to engage the Empire's ships stationed over the Shield Gate. The AT-ACT continued to chase the rebel foot soldiers out of the canopy and into an open beach with little cover. Pao leaped into a ditch, attempting to use it as cover, letting out his war cry of "Sa'kalla!" Twelve T-65B X-wing starfighters and one UT-60D U-wing starfighter/support craft of Blue Squadron were able to breach the Shield Gate before it was closed. Together, the squadron took down the Imperial walker, saving the fleeing rebels. Pao continued to run through the battlefield close to Melshi; however, despite being saved from the walker, he perished in the battle shortly before death troopers were deployed on the surface to combat the few remaining fighters.
===Legacy===
====Sacrifice not in vain====
Pao's actions and sacrifice provided Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor enough time to transmit the Death Star plans to the rebel Mon Cala capital ship Profundity, which was captained by the Mon Calamari Admiral Raddus. The Battle of Scarif was the first major victory for the Rebel Alliance. These plans eventually made their way back to the Rebellion's base on Yavin 4 and were used to bring the destruction of the Death Star at the hands of the Force-sensitive rebel pilot Luke Skywalker and Red Squadron at the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY. After the Battle of Scarif, some rebels had begun to notice that their commanders had started to feel almost embarrassed by the successful mission performed by the Rogue One group, despite most of the fighters involved had been killed.Star Wars (2015) 39 
When the Empire launched an attack on the Mako-Ta Space Docks in 1 ABY, Luke Skywalker named his group Rogue Squadron in honor of the members of Rogue One's efforts and sacrifice. Skywalker served as Rogue Leader and it was decided that the next pilot should not go by "Rogue One" but rather "Rogue Two." Rebel pilot Zev Senesca received this title, while the former was retired out of respect to the fallen.
====Remembered for decades====
The recommendation of Pao and other soldiers to a strike team was included in The Rebel Files, a collection of documents relating to the Rebel Alliance compiled by the archivist Hendri Underholt. After being lost during the Imperial bombardment of the planet Durkteel in 4 ABY,According to Star Wars: The Rebel Files, the bombardment of Durkteel took place at the same time as Battle of Endor. Since Star Wars: Galactic Atlas states that the Battle of Endor was fought in 4 ABY, the bombardment of Durkteel occurred that year. they were recovered years later in 34 ABYAccording to Star Wars: The Rebel Files, The Rebel Files were recovered thirty years after their loss during the bombardment of Durkteel, which took place at the same time as the Battle of Endor. Since Star Wars: Galactic Atlas states that the Battle of Endor happened in 4 ABY, it can be calculated that The Rebel Files were recovered in 34 ABY after a bomb squad crew who was assisting in excavating the planet unearthed the files. The documents eventually were passed on to General Leia Organa of the Resistance, and several Resistance members read them. Resistance officer and former rebel lieutenant Caluan Ematt read Draven's recommendation of Pao and his fellow soldiers and commented that Draven was on to something in selecting them, as evidenced by Pao's volunteering for the unsanctioned mission to Scarif that resulted in his death.
Pao's legacy was also recounted in an artist's journal as part of an entry on Drabatans, which referred to Pao as a notable member of his species. It also mentioned the presence of a Drabatan mechanic at the Resistance base on the planet D'Qar.Star Wars: Alien Archive At some point no earlier than 34 ABY, the journal came into the possession of the Graf Archive—a vast depository owned by the Graf family that contained documents that held historical importance.
==Personality and traits==
Pao was a male member of the amphibious Drabatan species with toughStar Wars: Rogue One: Ultimate Sticker Encyclopedia gray skin and amber eyes who stood at 1.72 meters. Although he understood Galactic Basic Standard, the wide structure of his jaw made it difficult for him to pronounce words. He often muttered oaths and curses in his native Drabatese. Due to his skills as a soldier, his squadmates were fine with him speaking in his native tongue, as relaying specific orders was not among his tasks. Pao did not let low odds of success deter him from his goals. His thirst for battle was only exceeded by his hatred of the Galactic Empire, which led to him being a fierce commando. As a Drabatan that thrived in freshwater, the saltwater on Scarif was unpleasant for him.
==Skills and abilities==
Pao was a demolitions specialist, and because he was amphibious, he was particularly skilled at underwater demolitions. He studied structural dynamics, which contributed to his ability to find the best place to set explosive charges on structures. As a Drabatan, Pao had enlarged lungs and strong diaphragm muscles that allowed him to speak with a booming voice and hold his breath for long periods of time. He used his booming voice to yell his war cry of "Sa'Kalla" that unnerved even his bravest opponents. Pao was not Force-sensitive, though he had high speed and fighting ability, average strength and intelligence, and low diplomacy skills.
==Equipment==
During his time serving in the Rebellion, Pao wore water-shedding fatigues with a dark gray vest over a tan smock with upper arm guards made of folded reeds from his homeworld of Pipada. He wore a protective tan colored cap on top of his head. He donned a pair of wrist gauntlets over dark fingerless gloves; the gauntlets held replacement galven barrels for his illegally tibanna-jacked black market boiler rifle, as it often needed repairs. Alongside his rifle, he utilized sonic grenades while in combat.Star Wars: Force Arena Pao carried a backpack equipped with a transmitter antenna featuring a mounted glowrod and protected by an armored sheath. He wore a belt around his waist with a square buckle featuring a design resembling the Rebellion's commander rank insignia. There were also two holsters attached to the belt that held cylindrical objects in each.
==Behind the scenes==
===Rogue One: A Star Wars Story===
====Concepts and casting====
Pao originated in a one-off sketch by artist Jake Lunt Davies during a creative brief for theThe Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 2015 sequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens that never made it to the final cut. The original sketch designed Pao with a large mouth, spiky glam-rock hair, a shredded shirt, and bones around his neck. It was later decided that Pao would be used in the Anthology Series film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and he was redesigned by Davies to fit more in the film's militaristic style, although Davies opted to keep the large mouth.
Pao was among the first alien designs that director Gareth Edwards responded to,Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - The Official Mission Debrief liking the idea of Pao being in the final battle and turning to his comrades to shout "Come on!" with his mouth opening far wider than expected. Edwards liked how Pao's eyes were subdued and almost shadowed in contrast to the large mouth. The trick was to have Pao seem introverted and then have his heroic nature revealed when the mouth opened.The Moviemaking Magic of Star Wars: Creatures & Aliens More art for Pao was created by Davies and costume concept artist Adam Brockbank. Creature effects supervisor Neal Scanlan began work to bring Pao to life.
Derek Arnold—who previously worked on The Force Awakens as the Tarsunts Lanever Villecham and Vober Dand, along with the hind legs of the luggabeast—was invited back to Star Wars to lend his talents once again. He was originally set to play Pao, Bor Gullet, a Mon Calamari, and another character. Due to a rewrite, Pao was moved up in the filming schedule while the other character and Mon Calamari were pushed aside allowing Arnold to focus primarily on Pao. After one of his first fittings, Arnold met with Gareth Edwards and had a half-hour conversation discussing Edwards' ideas for Pao. Edwards detailed how he had fallen in love with the design and wanted to play around with the design of the large mouth. Arnold and Edwards took the concept and developed Pao together from there.
====Plights of Pao====
Around four months before filming, Arnold went through several fittings for Pao, one including a moving tongue prosthetically fitted to his tongue that choked him during the attempt—leading to the crew abandoning the idea. The final head for Pao featured animatronic movements underneath two inch thick skin controlled by puppeteer Phill Woodfine using radio electronics and took around fifteen minutes to put on or take off. When wearing Pao's head, Arnold was rendered nearly blind and deaf to what was around him, only seeing around half an inch when the mouth was fully opened. Inside the head, just above the tongue, a space was cut out for Arnold's lower face—which was painted black—for him to breathe when not filming. However, during scenes, a prosthetic that mimicked the appearance of a throat was placed over the cutout.
Inside the head of Pao were many loud motors all controlling Pao's facial expressions. Arnold compared being inside the head to being in a loud echoing claustrophobic cave, while only a light humming was heard from outside of the head. When playing the part, he had to keep his eyes closed due to the motors bring in front of his face, taking away his focus. The head wasn't the only costume piece that caused discomfort however, as the backpack also presented a challenge. The pack pushed Arnold's shoulders back as he tried to push them forward to properly hold his blaster—which wasn't nearly as heavy—leading to his arms going numb after just ten minutes. The crew constantly reminded him to simply focus on not dying while running around explosions being deaf, blind, and not feeling his own arms. 
When the different costumes and creatures were being screen tested, within a minute the crew discovered yet again another issue with the costume; Arnold couldn't breathe while in the full outfit. To solve this issue, they created an air system with small fans inside one of the packs on his belt connecting to a tube that ran along his chest, pumping fresh air into the head. Unfortunately, this wasn't safe from incident either. One day after filming a battle scene, Arnold was with Pao's fabricator and caretaker Morna MacPherson. They were standing together when Arnold began to feel lightheaded and smelled something foul. They quickly realized they were standing next to the person blowing fire and a fan for the scene, and that the gear was pumping the fumes into the head, prompting MacPherson to rush Arnold away from the fuel. The longest Arnold stayed in the costume was six and a half hours.
====Filming====
All of Pao's scenes on Scarif were filmed at the former air base RAF Bovingdon in the United Kingdom over the course of around five weeks. The set built at the air base included a large lake, two thousand tons of sand, over sixty palm trees, and various greenery from the U.K. Unlike other performers, Arnold and the Pao costume never traveled to the Maldives in South Asia—much to Arnold's disappointment—where other scenes featuring Scarif were filmed. The reason for this was as Pao had such a complicated costume, it required Arnold and around five other people working on him at once, meaning it was simply too expensive.
Arnold and Pao's support team—Woodfine, movement director Paul Kasey, and others—always arrived on set before everyone else would to map out the set and get Arnold used to the area before shooting his scenes. MacPherson would arrive an hour even before the rest of the support team to ensure the Pao costume was prepared and functional for the performance ahead. MacPherson also occasionally ran with Arnold, providing him an umbrella and water.
Due to being unable to see or hear during filming, Arnold was instructed by Kasey and Woodfine through an earpiece in one ear, who gave commands such as left, right, or stop. In the other ear he had a separate earpiece for actors' dialogue for cues. Along with help from Kasey and Woodfine, the other actors assisted Arnold's navigation of the set. During the scenes where Pao would yell, Arnold yelled as well to ensure the body language was correct and avoid Pao being hunched over with an awkward hanging jaw.
====Release====
Pao was first revealed to the public during an exclusive trailer shown at Star Wars Celebration Europe, which ran from July 15 to July 17 in 2016. He was then later identified as Pao when the film—alongside the novel and junior novel adaptations of the film—was released on December 16, 2016. Pablo Hidalgo's Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide was also released alongside the film and revealed Pao's full name of Paodok'Draba'Takat Sap'De'Rekti Nik'Linke'Ti' Ki'Vef'Nik'NeSevef'Li'Kek. Hidalgo—who had grown close with Arnold—included his name in Pao's lengthy title as part of "Sap'De'Rekti."
Hidalgo stated that he believed Pao was more "gung ho" than most other Drabatans, but believed the rest of his people would be proud to call him a representative of their species. Alongside this, he stated that he planned to include a story in Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide speaking of how Pao had a mild-mannered civilian life as an engineer before joining the Rebellion.
====Edits and errors====
According to animatronic designer Christopher Clarke, Pao was originally set to only appear at the start of a battle, exiting a ship and sniffing out a battle before screaming to show off how wide the costume's mouth could open. However, he ended up having a slightly larger role in the movie. Pao also had scenes featured exclusively in trailers and other promotional material. In one, Pao is seen charging past the Iakaru rebel Bistan's downed U-wing on the beach, having seemingly lost his backpack antenna. Another features the Drabatan giving soldiers the signal to move forward during the Battle of Scarif. However, neither of these scenes appeared in the final theatrical release of the film. 
Another scene that was edited before final release involved Pao setting a charge on the side of a barrel. A longer scene was filmed where the Drabatan came out of the tree line, crept around a crate, and walked to the barrel before arming and placing the explosive. The scene was reshot several times, as the charge had a magnetic strip that needed to connect with the metal piece of the set, and being rendered blind hindered Arnold's ability to flawlessly pull it off. Arnold was forced to count his steps to the crate, and the scene took around ten to fifteen takes. The final cut of the film only included the charge being placed and cut the prior buildup.
In 2017, Pao was featured in the 2017 Topps Star Wars: Rogue One Series 2 card set produced by The Topps Company, Inc., in the 58th card "Pao Gives It His All," it incorrectly identifies Pao's battle cry as "Karabast" rather than the correct "Sa'kalla." Pao's name is spelled incorrectly in the Star Wars Encyclopedia booklet published by De Agostini, "The Heroes of Rogue One," first released in French on February 16, 2021 and was kept in the English publication. In the booklet, the third section of Pao's name is spelled incorrectly as "Nik'Linek'Ti'" as opposed to to correct "Nik'Linke'Ti'."
===Immortalized in plastic===
====Going rogue====
Pao was featured as a secondary character in the non-canon Star Wars Go Rogue series on the official Star Wars YouTube channel, released from August 31 to September 26, 2016. In the third episode, Pao was first seen as an action figure under blaster fire while scouting an Imperial crash site for the second set of Death Star plans, as the Rebellion had obtained the first one. Panicking, he requested backup and Jyn Erso answered the call, arriving with Cassian Andor, K-2SO, Chirrut Îmwe, and Baze Malbus. Erso requested a status report on the mission, and Pao informed her that the second instruction booklet for the Death Star was located in the wreck, stating that they would not be getting anywhere near it with the overwhelming Imperial forces present.
After Andor and K-2SO snuck behind the enemy and took remote control of an AT-AT, Pao joined the other rebels in rushing the wreck to retrieve the plans. A stormtrooper discovered the case that contained the booklet in the wreck and celebrated before they were knocked over by Malbus and stepped on by Pao. Erso grabbed the case and headed towards the group's U-wing. The stormtroopers captured Andor and discovered the ship and took back the first booklet before they destroyed the fighter. However, Erso had another plan.
====Going more rogue====
In the fourth and final episode, Pao—as well as the other characters—appeared as LEGO minifigures. While searching the wreck of the U-wing, Erso discovered Bodhi Rook, their pilot who survived the ship exploding. The crew built two ships using pieces from the destroyed U-Wing and escaped the astronomical object they were left on. The band of rebels reached the Death Star in hopes of recapturing the plans and saving Andor. Erso and Rook entered with the first ship and attempted to make a deal with Imperial Director Orson Krennic, who was holding Cassian.
When the plan failed, the other rebels came in with the second ship, with Pao in the gunner's position shooting at the Imperial forces. The ship was destroyed by blaster fire but everyone survived. In the chaos, both instruction booklets were destroyed in a shredder, preventing either side from obtaining their information. Andor was rescued and Rook commandeered Krennic's shuttle. Pao and the crew boarded the ship and escaped the battle station, celebrating their victory.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars: Force Arena
*Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 
*Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novelization 
*Star Wars: Rogue One: A Junior Novel 
*Star Wars: Rogue One: Secret Mission
*Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Graphic Novel Adaptation
*Rogue One Adaptation 4
*Rogue One Adaptation 5
*Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
===Non-canon appearances===
*
==Sources==
===Non-canon sources===
*LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary, New Edition
==Notes and references==
Category:Alliance Military enlisted personnel
Category:Alliance Special Forces personnel
Category:Drabatans
Category:Individuals with he/him pronouns
Category:Males
Category:Rogue One personnel