Vermilion

For other uses, see Vermilion.

"Vermilion Six was our wild card! We have to bet it, Kal. It was lucky earlier."

―Dodibin to Kaljach Sonmi^[4]

Vermilion was a fathier female father that participated in fathier racing at the Canto Casino and Racetrack on the casino planet Cantonica during 34 ABY. She was also the matriarch for a herd of fathiers that raced on Cantonica all the while she was still racing herself. Later that year, she and her herd raced through the buildings and streets of Canto Bight, the main city of Cantonica, after meeting the Resistance mechanic Rose Tico and former First Order stormtrooper Finn.

Biography

"So Vermilion wound up third after all, like Joris said."

―Kaljach Sonmi to Dodibin^[4]

Life of racing

Vermilion was born to the female fathier Cinnabar and the male fathier Crimson Pavane^[2] around 31 ABY. By 34 ABY,^[1] the fathier had begun participating in a fathier racing in the city Canto Bight on the casino planet Cantonica.^[2] That year,^[1] they were owned by the individual Fibs Nibbelt and raced at the Cantonica's Canto Casino and Racetrack.^[2]

Between races, Vermilion was kept in a stable near the racetrack run by the Cloddogran Bargwill Tomder who ruled the stabled with an iron fist. The Cloddogran employed at least three younglings, Arashell Sar, Temiri Blagg, and Oniho Zaya, as stable hands. The younglings spent their their days mucking out the stalls, feeding fathiers, cleaning saddles gear.^[5] Vermilion was the matriarch of the fathier herd held at the stables.^[3]

Lucky third

Wodibin-TLJUSC — Wodibin (pictured) caused an incident during one Vermilion's races

Before one of Vermilion's races that in 34 ABY, the Heptooinian Kaljach Sonmi and his companions the Lucky Three, three Suerton brothers named Dodibin, Thodibin, and Wodibin were deciding which fathier to bet on. When Sonmi noticed Vermilion, Dodibin proclaimed that they had to bet on her, as Vermilion Six was the wild card the group had while playing Kuari zinbiddle early that night. Over hearing the group, a fellow Heptooinian named Joris cautioned against voting on the Vermillion to win, instead suggestiong to bet that she finished just top three. During the conversation, Thodibin and Wodibin took Sonmi's money and used it to puchased the nearly blind fathier Time for Flatcakes for Sonmi and then bet a large sum of money on the fathier winning.^[4]

During during the race itself, Time for Flatcakes was behind when Wodibin accidentally knocked an exotic beverage out of the hand of a nearby spectator. The spilling liquid ignited when it came into contact with a smoking implement held by a Nautolan resulting her dress being set on fire. Panicking, the Nautolan removed the dress and threw it over the side of the grandstand into one of the racetrack's maintenance pits. The flames causes an small explosion in the pit, which in turn caused sparking energy to traverse a heavy wire leading out from the pit.^[4]

The energy made its way to connected light fixtures causing even more explosions. The sights and sounds of the explosions frightened the racing fathiers causing most of them to cowered in place, ran backward, or jumped the infield fence. Ultimately only four of the fathiers finished the race, with Time for Flatcakes coming in first and Vermilion coming in forth. However, Time for Flatcakes died as soon as he got off the track and the track vet discovered that the fathier had been getting injections of an illegal performance enhancer. The vet quickly released a report on the discovery, disqualifying Time for Flatcakes, and revising Vermilion's place to third.^[4]

Meeting Rose

Before another race, Vermilion had previously placed 1st, 1st, and "U" in its previous last three races. During the race itself, started at the fourth post while being ridden by the jockey Krin Kallibin. A racing guide distributed prior to the race; a copy of which was later collected by the Resistance mechanic Rose Tico and added to her diary while she was on a mission to Canto Bight^[2] in 34 ABY.^[1]

During the mission, Tico and the former First Order stormtrooper Finn were arrested for a parking violation. They were later able to escape into the city's sewers from the Canto Bight police headquarters with the help of the slicer DJ. They eventually emerged for the sewers in the fathier stables at the Canto Casino and Racetrack. In the stables, Vermilion poked her head out of her pen, startling Finn and making Tico smile. As the rest of the herd poke their heads out of their individual pens, Tico pressed a button near Vermilion causing her pen door to open.^[5]

Inside the pen, the stable hand Blagg was sitting next to Vermilion. When he saw Tico he reached for a button to call for help. Tico pleaded for him to stop cuasing him to pause with his hand near the button. She then showed the kid her resistance ring and explained that they pair was working for the Resistance, a military movement that opposed the fascist First Order. Shortly after members of the Canto Bight's police force arrived at the stables. As they begin to search the building, is the building's main door opened along with each of the fathier pen doors allowing the herd to race out; with Finn and Rose on the back of Vermilion.^[5]

A ride through the city

Now out of the stables, Vermilion and the herd ran around the racetrack as two police officer began following in their Zephyr GB-134 speeders. The herd then jumped the infield fence and eventually crashed through a glass window into the Canto Casino complex.^[5] Patrons fled as the herd stampeded through the casino and eventually through Café Raduli where they came out on to Cabranga Street. As they ride through the street, the herd destroys luxury speeders before turning off into a warren of narrow alleyways. They then leap onto the rooftops of the lower district before eventually crashing through the skylight of Zord's Spa and Bathhouse. When the herd reaches the city's wall, they leap over it and continue to run on the moonlit beach towards Finn and Tico's transport pod.^[3]

However as they herd approaches the pod, one of the Zephyr GB-134 speeder shoots it with its laser cannons, causing the starship to explode.^[5] The herd races pass the now wrecked ship and scale up a cliff to a grassy plateau.^[3] With the police speeders still chasing them, Tico steared Vermilion away from the herd and into a section of taller grass shrouding the humans and the fathier from the pursuing police. They group continues to ride and as it nears a cliff, Vermilion twists throwing its riders off and to the edge of the cliff. After recovering, the fathier approaches her former riders. Tico then removes her saddle before telling her to go and she runs off to join the herd on a nearby hill.^[5]

Personality and traits

Vermilion had chestnut colored fur, black eyes, and was classified as an "F" when racing.^[2] By the time Rico and Finn meet Vermilion, the fathier had gashes along the left side of its neck.^[5]

Equipment

Vermilion wore a racing saddle while she raced at the track and through the city with Finn and Tico.^[3]

Behind the scenes

Fathier BTS D23 — Vermilion in a stall in *The Last Jedi* behind-the-scenes footage from the D23 Expo

Vermilion first appeared in the novella "The Ride" written by John Jackson Miller^[4] and relased in December 5, 2017^[6] as part of the novella collection Canto Bight.^[4] The fathier was late pictured, though unamed, in the film Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi, directed by Rian Johnson, and released on December 15 of the same year.^[7] The reference book Star Wars: Complete Locations, New Edition^[3] released by DK Publishing on March 6, 2025^[8] confirmed that the fathier depicted in The Last Jedi was Vermilion.^[3]

In William Shakespeare's Jedi the Last: Star Wars Part the Eighth, a 2018 non-canon novelization of the film, Vermilion—identified as Fathier 1—was able to speak. In the book, the Vermilion recognized the Resistance symbol and offered to help Tico and Finn escape the stables if they promised to helped the fathiers escape the endless cycle of racing. After Tico removed Vermillion's saddle while on the cliffs, the fathier thanked the pair and stated that they were true friends.^[9]