Soden Petigar

Soden Petigar was a human engineer who served as a colonel in the Imperial Officer Corps of the Galactic Empire. He was tasked with developing the next steps and expansion of the Imperial occupation of the planet Aldhani, where the Empire had arrived in 18 BBY and liberated the Alkenzi Air Base before damming up the Nasma Klain river and establishing a garrison in the dam, which acted as a depot for supplies, weapons, and the sector's Imperial payroll.

Over the following thirteen years, the Empire relocated the native Dhani people who lived in the valleys around the garrison to work in factories in the Enterprise Zone in the Lowlands of the world. There was discussion of tearing down the dam and moving the airbase to replace it, with plans made for Petigar to travel from the Imperial capital of Coruscant to visit Aldhani in 5 BBY. In preparation for his arrival, the garrison began mapping an old trail for him, resulting in increased patrols in the area known as Stone Canyon. Lieutenant Gorn, a member of the garrison who was secretly working with a rebel infiltration team planning to steal the payroll from the garrison, ensured that the patrols ceased two days before the engineer's scheduled arrival and refocused the Imperials' attention on the Lowlands, informing the team's leader, Vel Sartha, about Petigar when she asked about the patrols.

Other preparations were made for Petigar's arrival, with Gorn ordering that a gantry inside the dam be painted before the engineering officer arrived and got involved in their business. When the gantry still had not been painted on the day that the colonel was due to arrive, Gorn threatened to have his subordinates paint it during the upcoming celestial event known as the Eye of Aldhani but agreed to have it completed after Petigar arrived so that the men could view the event.

The morning after his arrival, Petigar met with Gorn and Commandant Jayhold Beehaz, commander of the garrison, in an observation tower on the dam. Gorn brought the colonel and the commandant a drink as Beehaz explained to Petigar about how the Imperials had manipulated the native Dhani and reduced the number that would attend the Eye of Aldhani event in Akti Amaugh, the valley in which the dam was built.

Petigar asked if the Dhani knew that it would be the final time they visited the sacred valley, and Beehaz admitted that they were unaware but attempted to reassure Petigar that they had provided a replacement Imperial viewing event in the Enterprise Zone, pointing out that the Dhani would eventually return to the valley as laborers for Petigar's plans. The engineer then asked Gorn, who had served longest at the dam, if he thought that the Dhanis would react violently to the new facility being built. Gorn pointed out the Dhanis would have no choice but to be peaceful, and Beehaz then changed the subject to tell Petigar about how spectacular the Eye was to witness, with the colonel revealing that he was looking forward to the event.

After leaving Petigar to exit the dam, Beehaz, who hoped to impress Petigar so that he and his family could be transferred to a more pleasant world, asked Gorn's opinion of the colonel; however, the lieutenant warned the commandant that he would not be able to charm the engineer despite his attempts. Petigar, meanwhile, moved to an alcove in the dam and set up a survey scope, using it to watch the descent of a meteor over the valley. When Gorn then passed by, the colonel asked him if the meteor signaled that the Eye had begun, but the lieutenant explained that the Dhanis believed that it never ended, and so the event had certainly started.

Petigar then joined Beehaz and his family inside the dam, where Gorn delivered a pile of goat hides that Beehaz was to present to the Dhanis arriving to watch the Eye. The commandant explained to Petigar that the hides would buy them another three-year lease and warned him that the natives would smell, although the engineer had already been informed. The group then left, with Petigar glancing out of the window and then smelling the goat hides as he passed, which caused him to grimace.

The colonel then accompanied Beehaz and his family down to the Nasma Brani temple in front of the dam to meet the Dhanis, briefly stopping on the way for Beehaz to inspect a group of Imperials that he was told were from Alkenzi, although they were in fact Gorn's rebel allies. At the temple, the Dhani chieftain permitted Petigar and the rest of the entourage to enter, after which the engineer watched the tense exchange of pelts between the Imperials and the natives.

With the ceremony complete, Petigar returned to the dam with Gorn, Beehaz, and the commandant's family, escorted by the group of disguised rebels. As they walked, Beehaz complained to Petigar that it was the older Dhanis that caused all the problems and as they entered the dam, he claimed things would soon be much easier with the days of trading pelts behind them. Once the group were all inside bar Gorn, the rebels locked the doors behind them and raised their weapons, ordering an Imperial sentry present to drop his weapon. The sentry complied and the commandant's family dropped to the floor as a shocked Beehaz questioned what was happening. As the rebel Karis Nemik then moved past Petigar, the engineer pulled out his blaster pistol and aimed it at Nemik, creating a standoff as the other rebels trained their weapons on him.

The colonel demanded that the rebels release Beehaz's son, Leonart Beehaz, more loudly reiterating his command when the rebel Arvel Skeen pushed the muzzle of his blaster rifle into the back of Leonart's neck. The commandant then pleaded with Petigar to stand down as the rebel Cassian Andor tried to assure him that no one need die, but at that moment, the rebel Cinta Kaz, who had infiltrated the facility separately, shot Petigar as she descended into the room. Petigar was killed, firing as he fell and narrowly missing Nemik when the shot went wide.

The rebels then left Petigar's corpse where it had fallen as they continued with their plan to steal the payroll and hurried Leonart and the other hostages away. Petigar was the first, but far from final Imperial casualty of the heist, which also claimed the lives of the commandant and several other Imperial personnel as well as Gorn, Nemik, and the rebel Taramyn Barcona. Despite their casualties, the rebels ultimately succeeded in stealing the payroll credits.

Soden Petigar looked forward to witnessing the Eye of Aldhani while on the planet but was concerned that the locals would violently oppose his project there. He smiled when Commandant Beehaz discussed manipulating the Dhanis, though Gorn was confident that the engineer could not be charmed. When held at blaster point, he risked drawing his own weapon to try and demand the release of the only child present, costing him his life. The colonel had light skin, gray hair, brown eyes, and spoke Galactic Basic Standard with an aristocratic accent.

Soden Petigar wore a gray Imperial officer's uniform with a code cylinder on each breast and a rank insignia plaque with a row of five orange squares denoting his engineering background, and then a red square furthest to his left. When heading outside the dam, he wore an Imperial kepi with an officer's disk, a dark green overcoat, and black gloves. He made use of a blaster pistol carried in a holster on his left hip and a survey scope.

Soden Petigar was created for the Disney+ series Andor and was first revealed in the teaser trailer for the show released on May 26, 2022. He was then first indirectly mentioned in the show's first season within its fourth episode, "Aldhani," which aired on September 28, 2022. The character then appeared in the sixth episode, "The Eye," which aired on October 12, 2022. He was portrayed by Richard Katz in the episode and only identified as Colonel Petigar. Exterior scenes on Aldhani were filmed at the Cruachan Dam and the surrounding mountains in the Scottish Highlands, with filming taking place during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. The character's first name of Soden was later revealed in the 2023 reference book Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide, which was written by Pablo Hidalgo and Emily Shkoukani.

• Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide
• Andor: The Complete First Season — Featurette: "Aldhani: Rebel Heist"