Bob Vitas is a native of the planet Terros, a small world on the fringes of the Inner Rim
Territories, opposite the Perlemian Trade Route. Thus, Terros was virtually undiscovered
until the Golden Age of the Galactic Republic was nearing its end.
The older son of
hard-working parents, not bold or overly handsome, Bob nonetheless grew up wanting to learn
and eager to please. His childhood was marked by the usual bumps and bruises kids get, but
also by continual leaps in his intelligence and scope of knowledge. Where his brother
excelled in sports and business, Bob excelled in the classroom. He also had a deep love
for fantasy, and spent much of his spare time watching old horror movies on television or
going to the theater to see the latest science fiction flick.
Bob also proved to be
something of a gatherer, and had several collections which became renowned in his village.
Coins from around the world, books of every shape and subject, and trivial information
found there way into his private sanctuary. He lived to find a rare coin in his change, or
obscure reference at the local library, and somehow always managed to know the most unusual
facts. Bob also had a great appreciation for science, although he prefered to delve into the
more obscure or unpopular subjects. He had his own telescope, but rarely saw more than
Terros' pock-marked moon or the occasional comet.
After graduating second in his
class at Amsterdam (N.Y.) High School, then graduating with honors from Clarkson University,
he went to work for a firm which produced computer products. He got married, had two
daughters, and thought life would be one boring episode after another. That was when the
Galactic Republic stumbled upon Terros.
In one swift transformation, Terros became
swept up in the galaxy's incredible membership. Unfortunately, it also became caught in
the deadly whirlpool which precipitated the New Order's rise.
Over the next several
years, Bob worked to understand everything he could about the huge galaxy around him. His
knack for collecting facts allowed him to accumulate a vast store of knowledge about the
planets and races which suddenly became known to the natives of Terros. In time, he had a
small compendium of information that he had created. Then, the Trade Federation took notice
of Terros, and things changed for the worse.
In a swift barrage of orbital bombardment
and planetary operations, Federation forces took control of Terros' major governmental
centers and its technology centers. In a single day, Terros went from being a free world
to a tiny cog in the Federation's profit-generating machine. The primitive technology of
Terros was easily adapted to the production of explosives and other artillery, but the
planet did not bow without a fight. During a skirmish between the Federation's droid forces
and the local militia, Bob managed to flee Terro with his wife and children by stowing away
on an Federation transport.
Upon landing, Bob's family found themselves suddenly
thrust into the center of Jabba the Hutt's operations on the planet Tatooine. After
avoiding servitude and slavery, he found employment with the local branch of IBM - the
Intergalactic Business Machine - and sought refuge with a pair of traders named Ravskel
and Urza in the spaceport town of Mos Eisley. They allowed him access to the local
newsfeeds, and soon he had placed his entire collection of galactic knowledge into their
computer system. It was during this time that Bob learned he had an aptitude for the Force,
and began formal training with the Jedi on Coruscant.
After receiving the rank of
Jedi Knight, Bob returned to Mos Eisley to continue his search for knowledge. The Jedi
Council granted him the freedom to travel the galaxy in search of any form of new
information, provided that it be contained with the Jedi archives. Over the years, his
encyclopedic reference grew in size, and would have gained intergalatic notice if not for
the birth of the Empire. As a Jedi, Bob hid in the Outer Rim Territory with his family,
avoiding the Jedi Purge twice by going into a deep coma-like trance and shutting down his
connection to the Force. The operation in Mos Eisley was targetted several times by
Imperial censors, but no formal charges were ever filed. Several times, the Mos Eisley
residents were forced to hide out in order to avoid Imperial entanglement, and they
managed to escape with their operations intact.
After the Battles of Yavin and
Endor, and with the Imperial yoke removed, Bob returned to Tatooine and the work he had
begun in Mos Eisley. His encyclopedia once again began to grow. Soon, the New Republic
recognized it would someday rival that of Alliance historian Arhul Hextrephon, and they
enlisted his aid in recompiling the Encyclopedia Galactica. During its writing, though,
Bob prefered to avoid comparisons to the fabled reference, instead maintaining that his
compilation was unofficial at best.
Bob also took a Padawan learner, shortly after
the Battle of Bilbringi, in an effort to keep alive his vast encyclopedia. The Padawan was
known as Keifer, and was his wife's sister's son. Keifer is well on his way to learning the
Jedi arts, and both Bob and Keifer have been in contact with the Jedi praxeum on Yavin 4
regarding additional training.
***** Last updated August 31, 2000 *****