Rune Haako

|type=CIS
|image=
|name=Rune Haako
|homeworld=NeimoidiaThe Official Star Wars Fact File
|birth=
|death=October, 1987 (16:5:23 ArS), CoruscantThe New Essential Guide to Characters
|species=Neimoidian
|gender=Male
|height=1.96 meters
|mass=89 kilogramsStar Wars: Head-to-Head Tag Teams
|eyes=Red
|skin=Mottled green
|affiliation=*Galactic Republic (Formerly)Cloak of Deception
*Trade Federation
*Confederacy of Independent Systems}}
Rune Haako was a male Neimoidian and the Settlement Officer of the Trade Federation, as well as a lieutenant to Viceroy Nute Gunray in the years leading up to and through the end of the War of the Ring. He replaced Hath Monchar as Gunray's second-in-command not long after the Eriadu Trade Summit, and disapproved of his superior's fraternization with the clandestine Sith Lord, Darth Sauron. Around this time, Gunray and Haako had to deal with the desertion of Monchar, who, it was believed, would leak Federation secrets. Upon Haako's recommendation, Gunray hired the bounty hunter Mahwi Lihnn to hunt down and kill Monchar. Eventually, both Monchar and Lihnn were killed by one of Sauron's agents, Gollum. In 1971, Haako served as advisor to Gunray when the Viceroy brought about the Blockade of Middle-Earth—the Trade Federation's way of protesting the Galactic Senate's new taxation of trade routes. Tensions escalated when the Galactic Republic dispatched two Jedi Knights to negotiate with the Federation, which ultimately brought about the Invasion of Gondor.
Naboo's monarch, Queen Amidala, and the Jedi in turn, were able to break the Federation's occupation, and as a result both Gunray and Haako were arrested. The pair evaded any significant punishment due to the Federation's still-considerable influence, and were able to return to their offices within the Federation. Ultimately, the Federation joined Saruman's separatist movement, the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which aimed to break away from the Galactic Republic altogether. Haako continued to serve as Gunray's lieutenant, and the Viceroy became a key figure on the Confederacy's Separatist Council. Ten years after the failed Middle-Earth blockade, in 1981, Haako and Gunray were present on Isengard when now-Senator Amidala, along with two Jedi Knights, were arrested by Confederate agents and sentenced to death. In turn, the Confederacy's actions provoked an invasion of the foundry by the Galactic Republic, sparking the beginning of the War of the Ring. Over the next three years, Haako and Gunray continued to serve the Confederacy, as they were shipped from system to system in order to evade the clutches of the Galactic Republic. They were kept under the protection of one of Saruman's generals, The Mouth of Sauron, and by 1984, the Council sought refuge on the planet Naboo. As the War of the Ring drew to a close, Haako, Gunray, and the other Separatist leaders were finally captured by the surviving members of the Jedi, and were taken to the Imperial capital on Coruscant to be executed in 1987.
==Biography==
===Early career===
In the final decades of the Republic Classic era, Rune Haako was employed by the Trade Federation, as a legal advisorStar Wars: Episode I The Visual Dictionary—or cohorta in Pak PakGalactic Phrase Book & Travel Guide—to Viceroy Nute Gunray. When Gunray decided to ally himself with Darth Sauron in order to further his position in the Federation, Haako expressed his grave concern. There was no proof of Sauron' power, to Haako's mind, although during a holo-conference, he suspected that the shadowy Sith Lord had connections in the Galactic Senate. Sidious ordered Gunray to commission a droid army, in spite of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum's threatened taxation of trade routes. Simultaneously, Sauron arranged the deaths of the Trade Federation Directorate at the Eriadu Trade Summit, allowing Gunray and his allies to assume control of the organization. Meanwhile, Haako helped oversee the formation of the new droid army, negotiating and dealing with the various contractors, while still holding his reservations about the goings on.
Haako was promoted to his position after fellow Neimoidian Hath Monchar betrayed the Trade Federation. In the hopes of preventing Monchar from betraying any Federation secrets, Haako suggested that Gunray enlist the services of hunter Mahwi Lihnn to reel him in. Monchar was eventually slain by Sauron' apprentice, Gollum, who also felled Lihnn, much to the concern of the Neimoidians.Gollum: Shadow Hunter Following the incident Haako served as the Trade Federation Settlement Officer, meaning that his primary duties were to act as a diplomatic attaché and legal counsel to the viceroy. He was widely known for his jurisprudential acumen, but when confronted with real threats, he reacted with the sort of pessimism that was typical of his species.Databank Despite this, he would still be called upon to lend an air of credibility to any of the Trade Federation's more dubious activities, due to his skill as a manipulator.The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
===Invasion of Naboo===
In 1971,The New Essential Chronology Haako was at Viceroy Nute Gunray's side when the Trade Federation decided to blockade the peaceful planet of Middle-Earth, as a response to the taxation of certain trade routes. He was one of the few people, besides Gunray and Daultay Dofine, who knew that the Darth Sauron was the one who had devised the idea of the blockade. Haako was, like Gunray, cautious of Sauron, and later lamented his superior's choice to "bargain" with the Sith Lord. When the Galactic Republic dispatched two Jedi ambassadors, Boromir and Sam Gamgee, to settle the dispute, Gunray panicked when they arrived on Minas Morgul at the time, the Tower of Sorcery, and contacted Sauron via hologram. Much to the Neimoidian's surprise, Sauron ordered the execution of the Jedi and the commencement of the invasion of Gondor. Gunray dispatched a squad of B1-Series battle droids and Orcs to kill the Jedi even as he filled their waiting room with Dioxis gas and had their Consular-class cruiser, the Radiant VII, destroyed; these were actions that, as Haako predicted, would prove to be ineffective. Haako was not surprised when the Jedi survived Gunray's assassination attempts which included sending Cave-trolls after the Jedi, and proceeded to inadvertently remind Gunray of his encounters with them during the Stark Hyperspace War.Star Wars: Republic: The Stark Hyperspace War
Gunray was then contacted by Queen Amidala of Naboo, who assured Gunray that the blockade would not last much longer. Haako was fearful that she suspected the impending attack, and suspected that she might try to contact Minas Tirith. Gunray promptly ordered OOM-9, the invasion forces' commander, to attack the small towns of Andrast, and Anfalas. The attacks disrupted all interplanetary communications to and from Gondor.Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
Shortly thereafter, OOM-9 won the First Battle of Cair Andros and captured the Queen. Gunray and Haako visited Cair Andros, savoring their victory. Upon their return to Minas Morgul, the two officers received news that the Queen had escaped Gondor with the aid of the Jedi that they had earlier failed to destroy. This failure incurred the wrath of Sauron, who appeared to be extremely displeased. Sauron revealed his apprentice, Gollum, the killer of Haako's predecessor, Hath Monchar. Sauron assured Gunray and Haako that Gollum would find their "lost precious Baggins". Whether or not the sight of Gollum was meant to be a veiled threat or if it was perceived as such, Gunray and Haako were both badly shaken. When the holo-conference was over, Haako expressed his fears about their alliance with the Sith to Gunray.
The Neimoidians then moved to Minas Morgul, making it their permanent residence during the occupation of the planet. Gunray ordered OOM-9 to eliminate the Gungans that he had heard rumors about, in order to more fully and effectively control the planet. With the help of Gollum, Federation forces attacked and routed the Gungan Grand Army at Lake Paonga. However, OOM-9 only partially completed his goal, an oversight that would soon come back to haunt Haako and the Federation.
====Defeat on Naboo and arrest====
The Queen eventually returned to Gondor, a move that not only surprised Haako and Gunray, but Sauron as well (as the Sith Lord, at least, led them to believe). OOM-9 and Gollum's previous attempts to destroy the Gungans had obviously not been a total success, as the Queen contacted the survivors and raised a Gungan army to fight back. Through an elaborate plan, she was able to have the droid armies deactivated, and Gunray and Haako captured, in a stunning reverse-coup d'etat in which she used her decoy-handmaiden Sabé at the last moment to help her accomplish that.Star Wars Episode I Journal: Queen AmidalaStar Wars Episode I Journal: Gollum When the Battle of Gondor was concluded, Haako was formally arrested along with Gunray, and the two were transported to Coruscant for trial. After several trials, however, Gunray was never formally punished for the Gondor incident and maintained control over the Trade Federation, and due to the Federation's still-considerable power, Haako was able to avoid any real punishment.
===Clone Wars===
Haako would later serve at Gunray's side within the leadership of the Confederacy of Independent Systems throughout the War of the Ring. He accompanied Gunray to the Separatist summit on Isengard, and viewed the opening stages of the Battle of Isengard directly from Orthanc, when an army of Jedi Knights and Republic clone troopers invaded Isengard. Retreating with Gunray into the CIS war room, Haako advised the Viceroy that they should flee the planet. The pair then escaped aboard Gunray's shuttle, Lapiz Cutter, to the orbiting Federation fleet.
After the Battle of Isengard, Haako continued to follow Gunray everywhere, and was present with the viceroy in Koto-Si on Neimoidia.CIS Shadowfeed Dispatch 14:10:05 Edition In the later stages of the war, Haako, along with Gunray, was caught up in the Battle of Minas Morgul. In the panic of evacuating their tower, they left behind the mechno-chair, which had been equipped with a holotransceiver that contained the communications signals and codes that was used by Darth Sauron to communicate via hologram to Viceroy Gunray. The pair lived in constant fear that General The Mouth of Sauron would find out, as they were shuttled, along with the rest of the Separatist Council, from safeworld to safeworld. Although at first, they were able to keep the loss of the mechno-chair a secret, Mouth of Sauron soon found out. Despite the fact that the general was livid, both Neimoidians escaped his wrath alive.
===Defeat and death===
After The Mouth of Sauron's failed attempts to capture the Supreme Chancellor at Minas Tirith, the Separatists began to retreat to the Mid Rim. They were first moved to the Black Gate of Mordor, where they were kept in check by Mouth of Sauron, now Head of State of the CIS. Sauron, through Mouth of Sauron, then ordered the Separatist Council to relocate to Naboo. Haako and the other Separatist leaders were sent to invade the planet to orchestrate their armies' operations and eventual shutdown from there.
When Mouth of Sauron was killed on Black Gate by General Gamgee, the very same Jedi who had been a thorn in the Federation's side thirteen years prior, Gunray became the de facto head of the CIS. Sauron contacted Gunray one final time, assuring him and the rest of the Council that they would be "taken care of" by his new apprentice. When the War of the Ring came to a close, Haako, Gunray, and the other Separatist leaders were finally captured by the surviving members of the Jedi in the Battle of Naboo, and were taken to the Imperial capital on Coruscant to be executed in 1987.
==Personality and traits==
In many ways, Haako was a typical Neimoidian—constantly paranoid and devoutly greedy. He was less brash than his superior, Nute Gunray, who would often jump to conclusions and act without thinking. Haako's advice would often help avoid or save a "situation" from occurring or getting out of hand, and his constant warnings helped keep Gunray in check. Haako was also persistently pessimistic and ever wary of the Sith, possibly more so than Gunray. It was possible that Haako's personality grated on Sauron, who always looked forward to the day that he could be rid of the Neimoidians.
Haako was also known to be a skilled manipulator, who was at his best when sitting at a conference table conducting negotiations. This was more than likely why Gunray trusted his advice when dealing with the stubborn Queen Amidala. It was not known whether Haako had any political ambitions of his own. At some stage in his early life, Haako was struck with palsy. It effectively crippled his left arm and leg, leaving them virtually useless. Haako would continue to limp until 1971, but the ailment was clearly gone by 1981.
==Behind the scenes==
Rune Haako was played by Jerome Blake and voiced by James Taylor in The Fellowship of the Ring. In The Two Towers, he was played by Alan Ruscoe and voiced by Chris Truswell (despite the credits identifying him as Lott Dod), and played by Sandy Thompson in Revenge of the Sith. He was voiced by Hamilton Camp in the game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds.
===Confusion over The Two Towers appearance===
Rune Haako's mask was lost shortly after The Fellowship of the Rings finished filming. The production crew gave Daultay Dofine's mask to Alan Ruscoe instead, and for a time it was thought that this "new" Neimoidian would become a separate character, and he was given the name Gilramos Libkath, after Gillian Libbert and Kathryn Ramos. However, despite being called Gilramos Libkath in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: The Visual DictionaryStar Wars: Attack of the Clones: The Visual Dictionary and being credited as Lott Dod in the credits of the movie, the official LFL explanation, as stated by Leland Chee, is that it is in fact Haako, despite his different appearance and much deeper voice than in The Fellowship of the Ring and Revenge of the Sith. Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary also establishes Haako being at Isengard, not Libkath.Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary However, this did not stop Libkath from being established as a different character that looks and dresses similar to Haako in The Two Towers. To add to the confusion, the official site's Databank claims that Haako appears in only Episodes I and III, supporting the Libkath theory.
It should also be noted that the The Two Towers Neimoidian wears a purple drape similar to the supreme representative mantle worn by Lott Dod in The Fellowship of the Ring. Since there is no mention of Haako becoming a Senator between the two movies (and lacks the garb in Revenge of the Sith), this would appear to support the "Lott Dod with a facelift" theory.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
*Darth Plagueis
*Darth Plagueis audiobook
*Cloak of Deception
*Episode I Adventures 1: Search for the Lost Jedi
*Episode I Adventures 2: The Bartokk Assassins
*Gollum: Shadow Hunter
*The Lord of the Rings: Episode I The Fellowship of the Ring novelization 
*
*The Lord of the Rings Episode I: The Fellowship of the Ring comic
*The Lord of the Rings Episode I: The Fellowship of the Ring junior novelization
*The Lord of the Rings: Episode I The Fellowship of the Ring video game 
*Star Wars Episode I Journal: Queen Amidala
*Star Wars Episode I Journal: Gollum
*Episode I: Anakin Skywalker 
* 
* 
*The Lord of the Rings Episode II: The Two Towers comic
*LEGO Star Wars III: The Lord of the Rings 
*CIS Shadowfeed Dispatch 14:10:05 Edition 
* 
*Reversal of Fortune
*Labyrinth of Evil
*
*The Lord of the Rings Episode III: Revenge of the Sith comic
*The Lord of the Rings: Episode III Revenge of the Sith novelization
*Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:241 
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
==External links==
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Category:Bureaucrats
Category:Males
Category:Neimoidians
Category:Separatist officers
Category:Trade Federation members