Pepan Manja

"I guess that's what I should expect from a creature that eats dung and dirt."

- Pepan Manja

Pepan Manja was a mentally-unstable male culinary arts student living on. His cultural practices and insectivore diet drove him to kill insectoid citizens. The disappearances of the victims went largely unnoticed as they were homeless, living off the radar in the. After his expulsion from school due to an incident with a classmate, Pepan's violence escalated and he turned his anger toward the public, starting with the murder of a  food critic. After the deaths of a engineer, and  stockbroker, Pepan was tracked down and apprehended, his residence searched, where the remains of several other victims were found. He was charged with nine counts of homicide, deemed criminally insane and was incarcerated in a.

Early life
Pepan Manja was a, an insectivore species from the. Cultural practices ingrained in his brain dictated his views of any and all species solely as a food source— whether they are  or otherwise. A prodigy in the culinary arts, Pepan left to pursue an education at one of the 's finest cooking schools on. He became close to his dormmate Darellius Bucher, heir to the family-owned meat market franchise Bucher's Quality Meats. To pay for his education, Pepan accepted a job at Bucher's shop, processing game and livestock.

Pepan was considered by his classmates and instructors to be socially awkward. He was quiet and withdrawn, avoiding unnecessary interaction with anyone aside from Bucher. He often shied away from insectoid classmates, trying to overcome the inborn temptations to devour them. The urges gnawed at Pepan, he attempted to quell them by focusing on his schooling, devising new recipes and preparation techniques. He was proud of his skill, his classmates considered him to be a master and encouraged him to enter into a regional competition. Pepan signed up for the local Durasteel Chef competition and worked hard on his presentation.

Pepan received fair reviews from all but one judge, a food critic named Nik'tak, who claimed the dish was a "slimy brine" and the meat was "rubbery boot leather". The loss of the competition stung, but the Riileb's review cut Pepan to the core. He deemed that Nik'tak lacked taste and culture, stating that only a "creature that eats dung and dirt" would find fault with his cooking. The only way Nik'tak would have good taste, Pepan surmised, would be if the Riileb were to be served in a stew.

Descent into madness
The defeat and criticism stayed with Pepan. He became more withdrawn, moving out of the dorm and into a small apartment in a dingy neighborhood. He continued his education, though he no longer worked at Bucher's Quality Meats, taking a custodial job with a waste-management company to pay rent and student loans. Cooking was Pepan's release, he focused all his energy toward creating the perfect dish.

Left alone with his growing anger and resentment toward the Riileb food critic, Pepan's view of other insectoid species gradually became more distorted. He began to see them as game animals to be hunted. Soon, the local population of homeless began to thin out, starting with a beggar. The Verpine used to be a common sight on the street corner, often holding a grubby sign and asking for food. The beggar's disappearance largely went unnoticed, many assumed that it was either taken to a shelter or relocated to another part of Coruscant.

Pepan occasionally used Bucher's shop, claiming school projects and cooking competitions. His instructors and classmates did not notice anything amiss and continued to laud him as a master chef. Local dining establishments sent scouts to recruit Pepan, promising job security and a comfortable financial future. Pepan signed a contract with the regional branch of, his career ready for him when he graduated.

His future decided, Pepan looked forward to his graduation. His final project would have been no trouble for him, until he was assigned to work with a classmate. Pepan requested a different partner, afraid he would be unable to resist his culturally-ingrained desire to devour his classmate, but was denied. The final project progressed, Pepan keeping mostly to himself until his partner slipped while chopping vegetables, cutting off the Geonosian's finger. Pepan was overcome with his urges and took the digit, grinding it up and using it as a seasoning. He was proud of his innovation, and when his instructor sampled the dish, he announced his secret ingredient.

The instructor was appalled, classmates disgusted, and Pepan was expelled for endangering the health of students and staff.

Escalation
"I relish the day when my tongue will scrape the flesh from 's carapace..."

- Pepan Manja

Pepan was devastated, his future shattered. He turned his anger toward the public. The disappearance of homeless insectoids and drifters continued unabated. The local news reported his expulsion due to the circumstances surrounding it and the Riileb food critic Nik'tak commented that Calliandro's customers were "spared from finding out what true 'finger food' is". The comment was the final nail and Pepan snapped.

Within a few days, Nik'tak disappeared. An employee found the remains of the critic's processed carcass floating in a stew pot at Calliandro's. The killings did not end there. A engineer vanished soon after visiting Bucher's Quality Meats, making Darellius Bucher a prime suspect. Bucher claimed innocence, saying that he had nothing to do with the killings. His alibi was seen as flimsy and he was placed into custody. Authorities thought that they had their killer, until the disappearance of a stockbroker. This time, however, the abduction was caught by a security, the perpetrator identified as Pepan. A bounty was promptly posted.

Pepan eluded capture for a time, hiding in the. He was eventually tracked down by the Gand  who caught Pepan in the midst of another murder. Pepan was apprehended and his apartment raided. Inside, authorities discovered a scene that most would have felt to have belonged better in a horror movie. The apartment resembled more a workshop than a residence. Equipment stolen from the meat market was arranged throughout, the air thick with the stench of processed flesh. In the freezers, authorities discovered stacks of meat wrapped in butcher paper. Coroners determined the meat to be the processed remains of at least eight different victims, including the Vratix engineer and Gand stockbroker.

Pepan was brought to nine charges of homicide, including the killing of Nik'tak, and sentenced to life imprisonment in a for the criminally insane. Pepan swore revenge on Zuckuss for his capture, wanting nothing more than to "scrape the flesh from that bug's carapace" with his tongue.

Personality and traits
Pepan Manja was an experienced chef. Withdrawn and socially inept, he kept mostly to himself, refusing to associate with anyone other than Darellius Bucher. Pepan was proud of his culinary expertise, criticism was something he did not handle well.

Pepan's cultural practices caused him to view insectoid species as a potential meal, which made it difficult for him to interact with certain classmates and instructors. Having his cooking skill and later himself criticized by a Riileb was too much for Pepan to handle. His unstable mental health and disregard for insectoid sentience made it easy for him to progress to hunting and killing others without remorse. To him, his victims were a food source. Being captured by a Gand drove Pepan further over the edge. He obsessed over getting revenge, describing to anyone who would listen exactly how he planned to kill and devour Zuckuss if given the chance.

A chef by trade, Pepan found release in cooking. While incarcerated, he was instructed to keep a journal, which he filled with recipes. The therapists found the cookbook to be disturbing, as the recipes targeted sentient species and included marinades and preparations to remove the taste from Gand flesh.

Behind the scenes
Pepan Manja was written as an extreme take on how the Kubaz view insectoid sentient species. The author, Trak Nar, felt that such an ingrained mindset would be rife for psychosis. A fan of crime drama such as Law & Order and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Nar drew upon stories and characters from those shows for the creation of Pepan.

Pepan's name was derived from "peptic", pertaining to the stomach, and his surname is the Italian word for "eat". The name was indicative of Pepan's culinary background and desire to eat insectoids.