Danta Belissa

Danta Belissa, active around 1 ABY, was a merchant specializing in food and souvenirs. He operated a modest souvenir and antique shop situated in Cloud City on the planet Bespin. During this time, Belissa's business encountered difficulties when Wonn Ionstrike, a criminal, dispatched thugs to demand protection money from Belissa's establishment. To compound the merchant's woes, upon reporting these crimes to the Bespin Wing Guard, one of their officers, Jerrol Blendin, opted to further exploit Belissa for money.

Subsequently, as Belissa began liquidating his shop's assets, he stumbled upon an exposed gas conduit used to transport harvested tibanna to various levels within Cloud City. Recognizing a chance to improve his family's and business's financial situation, Belissa installed a siphon on the conduit and secretly commenced selling the tibanna gas to pilots and rogues. He managed to conceal his illicit business from both Ionstrike and Blendin. However, Belissa's ultimate fate during the Galactic Empire's occupation of Bespin in 3 ABY remains unknown.

Biography

Initial business and troubles

Jerrol Blendin, a Wing Guard officer who proved no different than the criminal Wonn Ionstrike in extorting Belissa

Danta Belissa, a Human male, worked as a merchant of both food and souvenirs. He was a wife's husband and a daughter's father before the Galactic Civil War, a conflict fought between the Alliance to Restore the Republic and the Galactic Empire. By approximately 1 ABY, he was the proprietor of a small souvenir and antique shop in Cloud City, a city located on the planet of Bespin. This shop was situated on level 120 within Cloud City's Port Town, where it offered rich, spicy Corellian cuisine to the administrative staff of that level. The shopkeeper's wife and daughter were primarily responsible for the cooking in an adjacent restaurant, while Belissa managed the shop's operations and oversaw five full-time employees. At one point, Belissa made reference to a rare antiquity that he claimed originated from the days of the Old Republic.

Around 1 ABY, Wonn Ionstrike, a criminal figure operating in Port Town, dispatched thugs to Belissa's shop to demand protection money. The shopkeeper reported these crimes to the Bespin Wing Guard; however, one of its officers, Jerrol Blendin, proved to be just as unscrupulous as the criminals and individually extorted the merchant. Consequently, Belissa's money was given to both Ionstrike and Blendin.

Bootleg tibanna gas sales and occupation of Bespin

Wonn Ionstrike, who remained unaware of Belissa's discrete siphon sales in response to the criminal's extortion

Initially, Belissa began the process of packing up his shop. During this process, while moving one of his storage room's fryer units, he discovered an exposed gas conduit used for piping harvested tibanna to other levels of Cloud City. By inserting a small siphon into this pipe, Belissa was able to sell bootleg tibanna gas to pilots and rogues. The money he earned from these sales was sufficient to keep his store in business. By 3 ABY, the shopkeeper had successfully kept his tibanna bootlegging activities a secret from both Ionstrike and Blendin.

In 3 ABY, the Empire occupied Bespin with the specific intention of capturing the freighter known as the Millennium Falcon. After the occupation, Lando Calrissian, the planet's Baron Administrator, issued an announcement instructing the city's occupants to evacuate. Belissa's fate following these events remains unknown.

Personality and traits

Danta Belissa's height was 1.65 meters.

Skills and abilities

Belissa possessed knowledge of business and galactic history. He also had bargaining skills, along with the intuition to financially support his family and business by identifying the opportunity to discreetly siphon tibanna gas for profit. Furthermore, he demonstrated the ability to conceal his bootlegging activities from Ionstrike and Blendin. He was also capable of operating a cloud car and its repulsorlift system.

Equipment

Belissa's equipment included a credit changer. Furthermore, he wore a jumpsuit and boots.

Behind the scenes

The character Danta Belissa was originally conceived for the 1989 first edition of Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back, a sourcebook published by West End Games. He was presented as a typical Cloud City citizen and provided with roleplaying statistics.

Sources

Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back (First mentioned)
Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back, Second Edition