This Star Wars-related article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. Please help rewrite it to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. (October 2009)

Bespin is a fictional planet, a gas giant in Star Wars films and books. The planet was first seen in the 1980 feature film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Since its introduction, Bespin has gained more specific characteristics in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

In The Empire Strikes Back, Bespin's floating city Cloud City hovers suspended by an anti-gravity pod.

Description[link]

Bespin is a major source of tibanna gas, which is refined for production and transport in Cloud City and used in hyperdrive coolant for starships, as well as in the production of blasters. It is home to several million individuals, including humans and Ugnaughts.^[2]

The planet is a gas giant that is about 118,000 kilometres (73,000 mi) in diameter. Like most gas giants, it has a solid core that consists of metal followed by layers of metallic gases. Many of the layers of gas are poisonous, and the pressure and temperature are far above what a human could tolerate. But from approximately 150 to 180 km (93 to 110 mi) down from outer space, there is a habitable layer known as the Bespin Life Zone. This layer has an oxygen atmosphere with the temperature and pressure that makes it ideal for human life. It is in this layer that Cloud City is located.^[3] Bespin has a number of moons. It has a 12-hour day, and completes an orbit around its star about every 14 earth years (10,220 Bespin days).

By Han Solo's admission, his starship Millennium Falcon barely made it there from the Anoat system without the hyperdrive. Lando Calrissian, the previous owner of the Millennium Falcon, administered Cloud City and provided "well-paying" jobs for the Ugnaughts until the Galactic Empire occupied the system.

During the Galactic Civil War, Darth Vader captured Cloud City (as seen in The Empire Strikes Back) in what became known as the Occupation of Bespin, after blackmailing Calrissian into turning over Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa to him.

The Jedi Knight Streen, an old gas prospector, was discovered on Bespin by Luke Skywalker and recruited to be part of the first class of the Jedi Academy. He had lived in the abandoned Tibannopolis complex as a hermit for years, trying to stay away from the larger galaxy.

In Star Wars: Battlefront, Cloud City is a playable level in which the player can pilot the cloud cars.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bespin in the Star Wars Databank
• Bespin on Wookieepedia: a Star Wars Wiki

This Star Wars-related article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. Please help rewrite it to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. (February 2008)

Lando Calrissian is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. He also appears frequently in the Star Wars "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books and video games, including a series of novels in which he is the primary protagonist.

Appearances[link]

[edit] Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Lando Calrissian first appears in The Empire Strikes Back as the administrator of Cloud City, concerned primarily with keeping the Empire out of his affairs. One day, Darth Vader arrives and threatens Calrissian to take over the city unless he gives his old friend Han Solo over to the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Unwilling to leave the city in the hands of the Empire, Calrissian reluctantly betrays Han, but his conscience gets the better of him when Vader goes back on his word and takes Princess Leia Organa and Chewbacca as prisoners. In the ensuing evacuation of Cloud City, he helps Leia, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO escape. He then assists Leia in rescuing the maimed Luke Skywalker from the underside of Cloud City. Afterwards, he joins the Rebel Alliance and promises Leia he will find Han.

[edit] Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

In Return of the Jedi, Calrissian goes undercover to help Luke Skywalker rescue Solo from Jabba the Hutt. During a heated battle with Jabba's henchmen, Han saves Calrissian from being devoured by a Sarlaac; in return, Calrissian helps Han and his friends destroy Jabba's barge. For his heroics, he is made a general in the Rebel Alliance. He then takes the pilot chair in the Millennium Falcon and leads the attack on the second Death Star. He leads the Rebels to victory by destroying the gigantic battle station and, with it, the Empire.

Expanded Universe[link]

[edit] Pre-Empire Strikes Back

Calrissian's life prior to The Empire Strikes Back is chronicled in The Adventures of Lando Calrissian series of novels. Early in his career, Lando is a prodigious gambler and wins the Millennium Falcon in a game of sabacc. He also wins a strange star-shaped droid named Vuffi Raa, who would be his friend and ally on many occasions. After acquiring the Falcon, and under the tutelage of his friend Han Solo, Calrissian begins to develop his skills as a pilot.

In Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, he is conned by the Sorcerer of Tund, Rokur Gepta, into hunting down the titular object in the Rafa system. When he arrives, he finds it totally covered in sand and plastic pyramids, and inhabited by a dull and slow-witted society, the Toka. Lando eventually finds the mindharp, but the human governor of Rafa IV activates it. Majestically, the pyramids crumble and the Toka are revealed as the Sharu, an ancient civilization that had drained their intelligence away for safety. Once the Sharu are resurrected, they drive out all the humans. Lando is forced to return to Rokur empty-handed.

In Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka, Lando tries to save a space-borne species called the Oswaft. During the mission, strange spherical droids appear and take Vuffi Raa away, for he is actually a scout for this strange culture. Then, he enters the sabacc championships, and loses to Han Solo. Han makes off with the Millennium Falcon.

In Rebel Dawn, Calrissian helps Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Solo's old flame Bria Tharen (then a Commander in the Rebel Alliance) in a raid against the Hutt-controlled slave world of Ylesia. During the raid which promises generous rewards to Han and his compatriots, Tharen's Red Hand Squadron double crosses Lando and the rest of Han's friends. In the ensuing chaos, Han is branded an accomplice and a traitor. Back on Nar Shaddaa (then Solo's home) word soon spreads, and Calrissian punches him out. The two do not see each other again until The Empire Strikes Back, set three years later.

Later, he wins the mining facility of Cloud City from its current ruler, Baron Raynor. He becomes a responsible leader, keeping his operations out of the eyes of the Galactic Empire. These events are chronicled in the comic book story "Lady Luck," written by Rich Handley and Darko Macan, and its sequel, "Lando Calrissian: Idiot's Array," by Rich Handley.

[edit] Pre-Return of the Jedi

The Star Wars comic book series released by Marvel Comics featured Calrissian as a prominent character following The Empire Strikes Back. In the comic series, he has a crime lord arch nemesis named Drebble, and Calrissian will frequently make use of his foil's name as a cover identity so that any animosity he generates while using the alias will be brought against the real Drebble, not Calrissian himself. Drebble features in the comic story "Lady Luck," in which he receives a first name, Barpotomous. Calrissian's use of Drebble's name backfires when the alliance hears how much trouble "Drebble" has been causing the Empire, and orders Calrissian to find and decorate him.^[1]

[edit] Post-Return of the Jedi

Following the events of Return of the Jedi, he builds a mining complex on the Nkllon called Nomad City. The city consists of an old Dreadnaught carried across the landscape on the night side of the planet.

Nomad City is destroyed during Grand Admiral Thrawn's campaign against the New Republic, portrayed in The Thrawn Trilogy. When Emperor Palpatine reappears in Dark Empire and begins his own campaign against the New Republic, Calrissian rejoins the Republic's military at his previous rank. After Palpatine is finally destroyed in Empire's End, Calrissian leaves the military. When Kessel is abandoned following Admiral Daala's attack on the planet in Darksaber, Calrissian takes over the planet, converts its prison into a mining complex, and mines spice from the planet for a number of years.

During The Corellian Trilogy, Calrissian goes on a galaxy-wide hunt for a rich wife. The businessman, reasoning that marriage is partly a financial relationship, meets Tendra Risant, whom he marries. With his inlaws' money and his entrepreneurial abilities, he opens a mining facility on the planet of Dubrillion on the Outer Rim. On the side, he unofficially runs an asteroid training facility for smuggler pilots.

In Vector Prime, Calrissian asks Solo and Chewie to help him with a business transaction on the planet of Sernpidal. During this trip, Chewbacca meets his demise, saving Solo's son Anakin from the moon the Yuuzhan Vong sends crashing onto the planet. Solo, Anakin, and the thousands of people they saved head to Dubrillion, where the first major clash between the biological Vong and the mechanical New Republic occurs. Calrissian's ground defenses, as well as his newly-created shielding technologies, help save Dubrillion from the initial assault. When the Vong retreat, the Skywalker family launch a desperate attack with the Star Destroyer Rejuvenator and its task force. Calrissian serves as gunner for Solo on the Falcon, but the Rejuvenator and most of her complement of ships are destroyed.

In Dark Tide: Onslaught, Calrissian helps the Solos organize an escape route for Skywalker's Jedi Academy. He poses as a citizen of the besieged world Talfaglia in order to deliver 17 Jedi "hostages" to the Yuuzhan Vong; this is actually a strike team, which attempts to destroy the cloning facilities on the worldship orbiting Myrkr. He also creates Yuuzhan Vong Hunter Droids, two of which prove crucial in the assault on Myrkr to destroy the voxyn queen, and dozens more are used in assaults on Vong strongholds throughout the war.

In Star By Star, Calrissian's efforts are crucial in delaying the Vong victory in a battle on Coruscant. Instead of using mines to attack the Vong piecemeal, he lets them into the minefield, then turns them on the approaching enemy. Over one thousand of the Vong are destroyed or damaged. He also rescues the kidnapped Ben Skywalker from the clutches of the treacherous Senator Viqi Shesh.

In Enemy Lines: Rebel Dream, Calrissian leads the ground troops to a quick victory, then volunteers to lead a small task force to destroy Vong ambushes of convoys and find out how they tracked said convoys. These efforts are wholly successful, with large Vong capital ships destroyed with minimal effort, time, fuel, and munitions.

Finally, when the newly located Galactic Senate on Mon Calamari sets out to vote for a new Chief of State, Calrissian and Talon Karrde provide "incentives" such as silence, money, and blackmail to convince a group of corrupt senators to vote for Cal Omas, who supports the Jedi. When Omas is elected, Calrissian, Karrde, and Star Destroyer owner Booster Terrik lead the Smuggler's Alliance, with Han Solo commanding, to victory over a massive Yuuzhan Vong force in the rout at Ebaq 9.

Calrissian eventually retires to private life after proving crucial in the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar and creating a new Holonet to replace the one the Vong destroyed.

In the seventh novel of the Legacy of the Force series, Fury, Calrissian announces to Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo that he and Tendra are having a child.

Reception[link]

Lando Calrissian was chosen as the 11th top Star Wars character by IGN and^[2] the character was chosen as the 12th top Star Wars hero by Jesse Schedeen.^[3] Schedeen also said that Calrissian was one of the characters he would most like seeing in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars Databank
• Lando Calrissian on Wookieepedia: a Star Wars Wiki

v t e Star Wars Main films Original trilogy Episode IV: A New Hope · Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back · Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Prequel trilogy Episode I: The Phantom Menace · Episode II: Attack of the Clones · Episode III: Revenge of the Sith See also Sequel trilogy · Changes in theatrical and video releases Spin-off films Caravan of Courage · The Battle for Endor · The Clone Wars Television series Droids · Ewoks · Clone Wars · The Clone Wars · Underworld Television specials Holiday Special · The Great Heep Documentaries The Making of Star Wars · SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back · Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi · From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga · Empire of Dreams · Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed Other media Books · Comics (List) · Manga · Radio · Computer and video games (List) · Games · Music · Expanded Universe · Knights of the Old Republic · Shadows of the Empire · The Force Unleashed · Lego Star Wars Films · Star Tours · Star Tours: The Adventures Continue · Star Wars: In Concert · Star Wars Insider · Star Wars Celebration · Star Wars Weekends Related topics Architecture · Canon · Cast · Characters · Conflicts · Creatures · Cultural impact · Holiday · Jedi census · Languages · Locations · Opening Crawl · Philosophy and religion · Physics · Vehicles · Weapons (Death Star) · Comparison to Star Trek Book · Category · Portal · WikiProject

Paul Antonio Ortiz is a guitarist and musician from Colchester, UK. He is most famous for his work under his solo project name of Chimp Spanner. Both his 2004 album Imperium Vorago and his 2009 album At The Dream's Edge are entirely self produced in Ortiz' home studio. Ortiz also composes for computer games, advertising, television and radio, and his clients range from Red Bull to Dolby Laboratories.

Music productions[link]

Chimp Spanner[link]

Ortiz categorises the work under his Chimp Spanner moniker as an ambient/progressive metal project, combining heavy guitars with ambient textures, electronica and melodic elements, whilst also demonstrating his guitar virtuosity. Chimp Spanner has often been labelled as Djent, although most listeners consider his music as being progressive metal. 2004 saw the release of his debut album Imperium Vorago, which as well as being self financed and produced, was also distributed by Ortiz himself, without the backing of a distribution company. Ortiz released his second album entitled At The Dream's Edge in December 2009. The album is available to buy in a physical format and as a download.

On 5 March 2010 Paul Ortiz's project Chimp Spanner signed a deal with Basick Records ^[1] to release the album 'At the Dream's Edge', which was officially released April 10, 2010.

With the signing to Basick Records, Ortiz began to perform live under the Chimp Spanner alias. The live Chimp Spanner lineup consists of himself, guitarist Jim Hughes, bassist Adam Swan (also of Monuments) and drummer Boris Le Gal.

Blessed Inertia[link]

In October 2009, Ortiz unveiled a new project under the name Blessed Inertia. Classed as technical progressive metal on its Myspace page, Blessed Inertia is a more straightforward, guitar-driven project. Ortiz stated that Blessed Inertia would be his live band, and although currently instrumental, would incorporate a vocalist at a later date. The project is currently on hiatus due to Ortiz's commitments to Chimp Spanner. Alongside Ortiz, Blessed Inertia currently only consists of one other member, Chimp Spanner's live guitarist Jim Hughes. Both Ortiz and Hughes are cited as playing guitar, bass and drums.

Monuments[link]

Ortiz was a live guitarist for Monuments before they secured Olly Steele (formerly of Cyclamen) as their full time second guitarist.

Equipment[link]

Studio[link]

Ortiz uses various Ibanez guitars. Most of his material is played on a 7 string guitar, with some songs played on an 8 string. Unlike most "Djent" artists, he does not tune down, preferring to stick to standard tuning. However, he did experiment with using a 7 string tuned a whole step down on At the Dream's Edge (these songs are played in standard tuning live). His home recording suite consists of Line 6 Pod units (X3 and HD pro), Native Instruments Guitar Rig 4 Pro, Steinberg Cubase Studio 5, Propellerhead Reason 5, Native Instruments Kontakt 4 and an M-Audio FW410 soundcard. He uses Superior Drummer, a software drum simulator made by Toontrack, to program drums for his Chimp Spanner releases.

Live[link]

For live performances Ortiz has experimented with various different setups, which also make use of Line 6 equipment. His current live setup consists of a Line 6 POD HD500 running directly into the PA. He has previously used a Line 6 Vetta II head and an experimental setup where his POD HD pro was run through the effects loop of his POD X3 unit, allowing him to use either the X3, HD pro or a combination of both if he desired.

Discography[link]

As Chimp Spanner[link]

External links[link]

• Chimp Spanner official website
• Chimp Spanner on Myspace
• Chimp Spanner on Soundclick
• Blessed Inertia on Myspace

References[link]

Concord Dawn, is a New Zealand drum and bass group, active since mid 1999. It consists of Matt Harvey (aka Matty C) and Evan Short (aka Kiljoy).^[1] They were courted by local electronic music label Kog Transmissions and released their first album, Concord Dawn, in July 2000.

After touring the album throughout New Zealand they released their second album Disturbance in April 2001 and received "Best Electronic Album" and "Best Independent Release" at the 2001 bNet Music Awards. Following this they started working on their third album: Uprising. Tracks like "Morning Light" and "Don’t Tell Me" found very high international acclaim well before the album’s release. Uprising was released in New Zealand in September 2003 and reached gold sales status in three months, going on to eventually reach platinum sales in New Zealand.

Concord Dawn have become established internationally and their catalogue is distributed worldwide. They went off on a world tour, traveling through the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. At the 2003 BNet music awards "Morning Light" won "Best Song" and "Most Radio Play". At the 2004 bNet music awards Uprising received "Best Album" and "Best Electronic Release". Concord Dawn were nominated for "Best Electronic Act" at the 2004 New Zealand music awards.

Work on their long-awaited fourth album was completed in early 2005 and was titled Chaos By Design by the two to express the album’s musically eclectic nature. The album and singles won critical acclaim worldwide with various tracks off the albums being signed to some big and respected drum and dass labels such as Metalheadz, Ram Records and Hospital Recordings.

Concord Dawn were nominated for "Best Tech DJ", "Best International Act" and "Best Producer" at the 2009 UK Drum and Bass Awards. Chaos by Design achieved Gold sales status in New Zealand.^[2] Concord Dawn have two of the top 20 selling records of all time at www.chemical-records.co.uk, "Dont Tell Me" and "Morning Light", both released on Timeless Records.

Concord Dawns live sets are well regarded as encompassing the full spectrum of drum and bass music, and this has seen constant tours and performances in Europe, Russia, Australasia, Asia and North America since the turn of the century.

Concord Dawn now only features member Matt Harvey,^[3] Evan Short left the group for reasons unknown. He released the first Concord Dawn EP entitled "The Race To Zero EP" (also titled "The Race To Zero Volume 1" on 5 September 2011.^[4]

Discography[link]

Other songs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Amplifier.co.nz - Concord Dawn
• Muzic.net.nz - Concord Dawn
• Concord Dawn's MySpace profile
• Concord Dawn's Biography
• Concord Dawn discography at Discogs
• Concord Dawn at rolldabeats