Pru Sweevant

The ancient edifice known as Maz’s castle sits on the shore of a lake on Takodana, a site rumored to have been a battleground for the Jedi and Sith. The castle is simultaneously aged and state of the art, with sensor grids and advanced communications gear sprouting from worn stone battlements. Inside Maz’s castle, pirates, smugglers, spies and all manner of scoundrels mix and mingle, searching for loans, information, equipment, repairs -- or kicking back to enjoy music, food and drink or games of chance. All must obey their host’s prohibitions against politics or war. The First Order raided Takodana shortly before the Battle of Starkiller Base, leaving the castle in ruins and its proprietress indignant.

A lush green world in the galaxy’s Western Reaches, Takodana has long served as the base of operations for the diminutive pirate queen Maz Kanata, whose ancient castle is a haven for smugglers, brigands, scouts and spies from numerous worlds. Takodana has been largely spared war over the centuries, remaining neutral as galaxy-ruling regimes come and go around it.

Maz Kanata is more than a thousand years old, a diminutive being with vast experience at surviving in the underworld. From her castle on Takodana, Maz has seen galactic powers rise and fall and felt the Force ebb and flow, seeking an elusive balance between darkness and light. She has given many a young smuggler a start by offering credits, equipment or connections, and helped many an old friend rediscover a lost path.

Variously known as the Crimson Corsair, the Blood Buccaneer and the Red Raider, Sidon Ithano is the captain of the pirate ship Meson Martinet. A Delphidian, Ithano keeps his face concealed behind a red Kaleesh helmet. The Crimson Corsair rarely speaks, leaving the talking to his first mate, Quiggold. But his exploits speak for themselves: spacers whisper of his deeds in the Lost Clusters, at Adratharpe 7, and in Ponemah’s Sea of Sand, to name just a few adventures.

The Gabordin first mate of the Meson Martinet, Quiggold is loquacious where his captain, Sidon Ithano, is typically silent. Quiggold is notable for his peg leg (made from a fuel funnel) and his ever-present prayer beads (made from hyperdrive plotter pins). Quiggold did the talking when Finn met with him and Ithano at Maz’s castle, seeking a place in the Martinet’s crew.

A vac-suit-clad Blarina, Wollivan is an interstellar scout, blazing new hyperspace trails between the galaxy’s far-flung stars. A common sight in Maz’s castle, he could often be found selling navigational data and trinkets – or sometimes gambling them away -- to fellow castle guests.