The Tale of Palleus Chuff
During the era of the Galactic Republic, there existed a male actor known as Palleus Chuff. From a young age, his greatest desire was to act, particularly to embody heroic figures. His diminutive stature, standing less than a meter tall, initially confined him to playing less-than-honorable characters. Nevertheless, he achieved significant success with his self-penned play, Jedi!, in which he played Jedi Master Yoda. Later, in 19 BBY, Chuff, at Yoda's own request, impersonated the Jedi Master on a secret assignment to the planet Ithor within the Ottega system. This impersonation was intended to conceal Yoda's true mission to Vjun.
Upon his arrival in the Ottega system, Chuff was ambushed by the Last Call, the personal starship of Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress, who mistakenly believed him to be the real Yoda. Ventress soon realized that the occupant of the starfighter was not Yoda. She then devised a scheme to sow confusion among her adversaries by staging Yoda's death and holding Chuff captive to prevent him from revealing the truth. Some days later, after a transaction with the FIII Footman droid Solis, Ventress learned that Yoda was en route to the Phindar Spaceport. Deeming the actor inconsequential, she left him aboard her ship while she attempted to assassinate the Jedi Master. However, Chuff activated the ship's hyperdrive, sending it on a random hyperspace jump.
Emerging from the ship, the actor encountered the genuine Yoda. Because the ship was secured to the landing platform by five high-pull magnets, Yoda understood that firing the engines would cause catastrophic damage to the entire spaceport. Yoda, adhering to his Jedi principles, prioritized destroying the magnets to avert this disaster. As he neared completion, battle droids launched an attack on Yoda, compelling him to entrust Chuff with the task while he dealt with the droids. They separated, and Chuff successfully destroyed the final magnet, thus saving the spaceport.
Palleus Chuff spent much of his youth engaged in role-playing activities. Within these games, he frequently assumed the roles of starfighter pilots, [Jedi Knights](/article/jedi_knight-legends], or daring adventurers. From his earliest years, he harbored a fear of confined spaces and air travel. Driven by his profound love for role-playing, he resolved to pursue a career as an actor. Due to his limited height—less than a meter—producers were hesitant to cast him in heroic roles. Consequently, he often found himself portraying villainous, scheming dwarfs. Disheartened by this, he conceived a play where he would embody the diminutive Jedi Master Yoda. To accurately portray Yoda in Jedi!, Chuff dedicated several months to studying the Jedi Master's mannerisms. This allowed him to effectively convey Yoda's emotions in various situations. This dedication proved fruitful, as the play received enthusiastic reviews and garnered him considerable respect among his fellow actors.
In 19 BBY, Jedi Master Yoda, accompanied by Masters Maks Leem and Jai Maruk, as well as their respective Padawans Whie Malreaux and Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy, embarked on a mission to the planet Vjun. Their purpose was to meet with Count Dooku, the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, for peace negotiations. Simultaneously, Chuff was engaged to impersonate Yoda on a mission to the planet Ithor in the Ottega system at the behest of the Galactic Republic.
The actor was scheduled to travel to Ithor aboard a Seltaya-class fast courier, a type of starfighter manufactured by Hoersch-Kessel Drive. Four pilots in Tavya-class armored pickets escorted him to provide protection during starfighter combat. The objective of this mission was to deceive the galaxy into believing that the real Yoda was present on the Ithorian homeworld. Despite his fear of flying, Chuff accepted the assignment, considering it disrespectful to refuse a request from the government. However, he requested an R2 droid to navigate his Seltaya-class fast courier, relieving him of the burden of piloting the starfighter. Additionally, an emergency override was in place, allowing the control tower to remotely pilot the starfighter. Shortly before departure, he grew anxious and imagined that his R2 droid had been compromised by the Trade Federation, a member of the Confederacy. As he departed from the hangar, Chuff lacked the courage to respond to the questions posed by local journalists, instead offering a smile and waving his walking stick at the reporters.
The Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress resolved to ambush Chuff and his escorting pilots, recognizing that the death of Yoda—a symbol of hope for many in the galaxy—would be a devastating blow to the Jedi Order. By the time Chuff arrived in the system, Ventress had already eliminated three of the four pilots. Unfazed, the actor instructed his astromech droid to engage Ventress' ship, the Last Call.
Ventress sensed through the Force that the occupant of the starfighter was not Yoda, and she formulated a new strategy to confuse her enemies by capturing Chuff and leaving the wreckage of his craft at the battle site. The Ithorians, mistaking the debris for Yoda's, disseminated news of his death throughout the galaxy. As a prisoner aboard Ventress' ship, Chuff was gagged and bound to a seat. At one point, the FIII Footman droid Solis contacted Ventress, offering information regarding Yoda's next destination, gleaned from spying on one of Yoda's companions, in exchange for 734,995 credits. Ventress, still focused on eliminating Yoda, was eager to conduct business with the droid.
Upon their arrival at Yoda's location, the spaceport on Phindar, Ventress deemed Chuff harmless and left him unattended on the ship. Seeking retribution, Chuff initiated a ten-minute countdown to engage the ship's hyperdrive for a random hyperspace jump. As he exited the ship, he was confronted by the real Yoda. Concerned for the Jedi Master's safety, Chuff immediately informed him of the Dark Jedi's plans, including his manipulation of the hyperdrive.
Upon hearing this, Yoda expressed mild displeasure with Chuff. Because the ship was anchored to the deck by five high-pull magnets on the bottom of the support legs, activating the hyperdrive could cause the spaceport to be torn apart. To avert this catastrophe, Yoda attempted to sever the support legs one by one, intending to then push the ship out of the docking bay to minimize damage to the spaceport. However, after Yoda had destroyed only four of the five legs, Chuff observed battle droids attempting to attack the Jedi Master. Yoda determined that it would be more efficient for Chuff to take responsibility for the last support leg while he engaged the attacking droids.
Now solely responsible for the fate of the spaceport, Chuff was determined not to disappoint Yoda. After successfully severing the final support leg—an easy task—the actor proceeded directly to the turbolifts outside the spaceport, as Yoda had instructed. Moments later, Yoda rejoined Chuff, when suddenly the ignition of the engines created a powerful suction that pulled everything near the ship into space. Only Yoda and Chuff were able to maintain their position, as Yoda used the Force to prevent a disaster.
Palleus Chuff yearned to embody heroic figures. Limited by his height, he was often relegated to portraying scheming characters, which frustrated his ambitions. Consequently, he sought to achieve recognition by writing his own play, Jedi!. To authentically portray Jedi Master Yoda, he dedicated months to studying his mannerisms. Following this period of study, he gained a solid understanding of Yoda's emotions and how to apply them appropriately. This dedication paid off, as the play's premiere proved to be a resounding success. Furthermore, his colleagues acknowledged his witty qualities.
From childhood, Chuff suffered from a fear of flying and claustrophobia. These fears prompted him to pray before the departure of his courier. However, in his mind, serving the government took precedence over avoiding his fears, leading him to accept the mission. Following his time aboard Ventress' ship, the actor harbored resentment toward the Dark Jedi and sought revenge by causing her ship to execute a random hyperspace jump. Chuff, confident in his plan, recognized—after Yoda's explanation—that it had flaws he had not considered. As Yoda and the actor worked to sever the support legs, Chuff initially felt a shaky courage. However, he lost his bravery just before the ignition of the engines, fearing his own death. Chuff eventually regained his confidence when Yoda arrived to rescue him.
Palleus Chuff's sole appearance was in the 2004 novel Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, penned by Sean Stewart. In The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Chuff's first name is incorrectly rendered as Pelleus.