Rayt (civilian)

Rayt was born on a planet situated somewhere within the galaxy, and he initially perceived his world as a peaceful and ordinary place. Eventually, this male Human took a job at a bank, where he befriended a colleague named Trillan Katos, and later formed a bond with the brothers Wes and Bryn Apice. Rayt spent several years working at the bank, and Katos extended an invitation for Rayt to dine with his family, consisting of Katos' wife and their two sons. Katos enjoyed Rayt's company so much that he invited him back for dinner on multiple occasions. Sometime before or during the Clone Wars, an intergalactic war that commenced in 22 BBY, Rayt resigned from his position at the bank. Concurrently, his world aligned itself with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a major participant in the war. The planet's governors began to channel funds to the Confederacy, while safeguarding other Separatist treasures within heavily guarded vaults.

Around 21 BBY, or perhaps later, the Clone Wars forcefully descended upon the planet, with the clone armies of the Galactic Republic, the Confederate's adversary, arriving to seize control and empty the banks of Confederate treasure and money. As the battle intensified, Rayt's affection for his world dwindled, and he held the Republic armies responsible for disrupting the planet's tranquility. Increasingly disillusioned, Rayt ultimately resolved to abandon his homeworld altogether. Joining forces with the Apice brothers, who shared his perspective, the trio planned to hire a pilot to transport them off-world. The Apice brothers managed to negotiate a deal with the owner of a dilapidated hauler to carry out the task. On their designated departure day, the three headed towards their meeting point, only to encounter a vast battlefield strewn with the corpses of clone troopers and the wreckage of battle droids.

With their path seemingly obstructed, Rayt began to contemplate their next move. However, as Rayt considered pushing through the debris, Bryn overheard a Republic broadcast on a communicator, requesting all available troops to assist in acquiring Separatist resources. Unsure of the broadcast's meaning, Bryn asked Rayt to explain the actions of their planetary leaders and their agreements with the Confederacy. No longer interested in escaping, at least for the time being, Bryn swiftly conceived a plan to raid the vaults themselves, reasoning that they would be relatively unguarded due to the ongoing conflict. While Wes was quick to dismiss the idea, Rayt supported it, believing it could be a straightforward task, that the theft would go unnoticed, and that they could use the stolen loot to finance their escape. To evade Republic guards, Bryn suggested disguising themselves as clone troopers. Wes remained unenthusiastic but ultimately complied.

After scavenging armor from the deceased, Rayt managed to locate a functioning speeder. They eventually arrived at a city where the Confederate droid army continued to clash with the clones. Sneaking past droid and clone sentries, Wes and Bryn attempted to guide the way to the nearest bank. However, neither knew the route, leaving Rayt to point out the correct path. Navigating through wreckage, the trio overlooked a city plaza featuring a droid cannon positioned on an embankment, firing at a group of entrenched clones. In the midst of the action, taking cover by a statue, were Trillan Katos and his entire family. Although Rayt initially considered abandoning the Katos family to their fate, he ultimately decided to intervene and help them. However, Bryn quickly restrained him, unwilling to embark on a suicide mission. Bryn and Rayt argued for a moment while the last of the clones were eliminated. Wes, tired of their bickering, stepped forward with his sniper rifle and shot the cannon's supply of explosive ammunition, triggering an explosion that destroyed the entire embankment. Bryn and Rayt briefly stared at their comrade's shot before leaping over the wreckage to reach Katos.

As Rayt approached the family, Katos' wife spotted Rayt—still clad in clone armor—and opened fire. Rayt attempted to identify himself, but she couldn't hear him. The rest of the family joined in the attack, prompting Bryn to return fire. Rayt halted Bryn's counter-attack, and the trio made their escape.

Eventually, the exhausted trio reached the nearest bank, which had a gaping hole in its entrance. The vault was just inside, open and ready for looting. Bryn was immediately captivated by the scene and remarked that they should have attempted to rob the bank years ago, much to Rayt's annoyance. Bryn quickly entered the vault, grabbing more than he could realistically carry. Meanwhile, Rayt and Wes stashed their loot into carry bags. Upon seeing Bryn struggling with his armful of treasure, Wes reprimanded him and reminded him that excessive treasure would hinder their escape. Bryn, dropping his treasure, began to argue with his brother. Bryn and Wes started to become physical, but before a fight could break out, a detachment of the clone army arrived, led by their clone trooper commander. Rayt, attempting to save face, claimed that he and the others were the only survivors of the earlier cannon skirmish. The commander acknowledged their claim, informing them that he had just heard of their victory over his comlink, although he didn't know who exactly had destroyed the cannon.

Having cleared out the remaining droids, the commander arrived to empty the last bank of its treasures. The three grabbed what they could, and along with the rest of the clone army, they were marched to the clone's Acclamator-class assault ship, where they deposited the treasure. The ship eventually took off, leaving the world behind. Left to linger on the ship, surrounded by millions of credits he couldn't access, Rayt pondered his predicament, noting that while their robbery had been unsuccessful, they had managed to escape off-world as planned.

Rayt was generally a likeable individual, often presenting himself with a calm demeanor. Despite this, he was willing to take risks if he believed they were necessary or easily achievable. Although Rayt wanted to avoid the war as much as possible, he agreed with Bryn to attempt to rob a local bank before escaping the planet using the acquired funds. However, the plan involved Rayt and his friends raiding the corpses of fallen soldiers for armor to disguise themselves with, something none of Rayt's friends seemed to object to, except for Bryn, who couldn't find armored pants that fit him. Rayt also frequently acted as a voice of reason during Wes and Bryn's constant arguments, although he never managed to alienate either of them. A loyal friend, Rayt ultimately decided to risk his life to save his old friend Trillan Katos when he was caught in the crossfire between clone and droid forces. Although he considered abandoning Katos to his fate, Rayt ultimately chose to help them, even though Bryn quickly restrained him, leaving Wes to save the Katos family. When Katos began to fire at the group, he chose to flee rather than return fire, as Bryn attempted to do.

Upon arriving at the bank, Rayt wasn't particularly greedy and only attempted to fill his carry bag, unlike Bryn, who tried to carry as much treasure as possible. When the group was cornered by a clone trooper commander, Rayt was quick to respond, telling the trooper the truth while concealing their true identities, gaining the trooper's trust. In the end, he was concerned that he and his friends might not escape the Republic troops without revealing their disguise, although he was satisfied with the fact that he had managed to escape his planet.

Rayt had black hair that he kept short in a flat-top style, along with sideburns. Rayt had light skin and brown eyes.

When Rayt went undercover as a clone trooper, he scavenged Phase II clone trooper armor from a deceased clone, which was customized with blue markings and blue shoulder pads. For a weapon, Rayt found a discarded DC-17 hand blaster with a barrel extension, which he carried while disguised. He never fired the weapon during his adventures and eventually disposed of it before boarding a Republic cruiser. Rayt was also skilled at speeder piloting and managed to find a working speeder hidden among a devastated battlefield. The speeder was a dull dark-green color with a lighter interior. He later used a carry bag to store his stolen treasure.

Rayt and his friends were created by Jeremy Barlow for his short story This Precious Shining. Rayt was illustrated by Matthew Fillbach and his brother Shawn, with colors by Ronda Pattison. This Precious Shining was one of four stories compiled into the seventh volume of the Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures trade paperback series. Rayt later received brief mentions on the StarWars.com Databank and in 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. Both mentions appeared in articles about the Apice brothers.