The Rivaldi Brothers

Rivaldi Brothers
"The pressure of survival in the big city will make you lose sight of your dream... Hang in there."
Historical Information
Founder	Jon Altobello
Established	unknown
General information
Current head	Alexis Rivaldi (missing)
Members	Jon Rivaldi Alexis Rivaldi
Headquarters	Hutt Space
Affiliation	Tibano Snatchers (prior)
Homeworld	Corellia
Species	Corellian

Born Jon and Alexis Altobello, the Rivaldi brothers were notoriously famous for their record times in the InterGalactic Kashyyyk Run. They hail from the planet Corellia, but their passion for racing came from living on the streets of Coruscant. The ships they used, two customized Einstar APOSTRO-9's named Branch and Drop, are to this date still very well respected in the galactic racing scene.

Childhood on Corellia

A young Jon, ready to take care of his family.

Their father, Linko, was a smooth criminal, lifting pockets and making shady deals left and right. After a deal gone bad with a underworld crime lord, he was executed and dumped at the bottom of a Tibrin ocean. This left Jon, the eldest of three children in the Altobello family, to provide for his family at only the age of nine years old. He had his two younger siblings, and a ryll addicted mother to take care for, so he followed in his father’s lucrative footsteps soon after his death. Being able to bring in barely enough money to tie ends together, the young and fearless Corellian decided to steal a batch of guns from the notorious gang ‘The Tibano Snatchers’. Because of inexperience and sheer bad luck, Jon quickly got caught. The leader of the gang, Posso Decuto, admired the spirit of the young thief, and promised to keep him alive if he served him. Jon had no other choice than to accept, and was now a member of the Tibanos.

Everything went well for the Altobello family. Jon was able to provide for them, and his younger siblings, the three year younger twins Alexis and Rilla, were able to learn how to write, a privilege that was not given to every poor Corellian kid. It was due to the sacrifices of their older brother, that the twins were able to take an apprenticeship at the age of 14 with an engineer. Quickly it became clear that they were gifted in engineering, fixing tech all around their neighbourhood. These profits, together with the money Jon saved from working for the Tibanos, made for just enough money to escape the life they had been living. It was especially Jon himself, that could not stand to steal or kill anymore. He wanted to become a pilot, travelling the galaxy. In search of this better life, the three siblings convinced their mother to come with them, on the first ride out of Corellia. Jon was offered a great job at a transport company on Coruscant, and he got them all tickets to the capital of the galaxy.

Portrait of Rilla, days before she was murdered.

The Altobello family had their whole future planned out, but on the day of their departure to Coruscant, Posso stormed their house with his grunts. Threatening the life of their mother, he demanded that Jon came with him. With a blaster to her head, their mother confessed that she had tipped off the Tibanos in exchange for more ryll. The siblings, deeply disappointed in their mother, submitted, and Jon was kept prisoner in Posso’s quarters. Alexis and Rilla however, came up with a plan to save Jon. With help from their mentor, they were able to sabotage the speeders in front of the Tibanos headquarters, making them all explode. While the gang went outside to see what was happening, Alexis managed to free Jon, while Rilla kept watch. The moment Alexis was about to call Rilla off so they could all return home safely and get off the planet, she got caught. Posso executed her without mercy. The surviving brothers fled towards their home, only to find their mother executed in the same style as Rilla. The grunts waiting for them almost caught them, but they could escape, barely.

Streets of Coruscant

Portrait of Alexis, during their time on Coruscant.

Jon and Alexis managed to get off Corellia, but were scarred for life. The brothers also had to change their names, into Rivaldi, to get away from Posso forever. Jon blamed himself for what happened, and fell in a downwards spiral. It was Alexis, using his gift for engineering, that kept them alive in the Underworld of Coruscant.

A couple of years passed by, and the brothers managed to hang on, barely surviving on the money that Alexis made. Until one day, Jon came across a poster that said: “Daredevils sign up here! Racer wanted for the Vikantu Speeder Gathering!”. He immediately signed up, the ultimate prize being a hefty sum of credits. The now reckless Corellian knew what he was getting into though… No one but the winner survived the race. Jon used some of his smooth talking skills he inherited from his father, to get a sponsorship from one of the local businesses. After that, he convinced Alexis to modify his speeder, which ultimately helped him win the race.

Things were looking up again for the brothers, and especially Jon could not get enough of the racing. They did race after race, and won them all. Though their methods were not always as honest (some say Alexis sabotaged speeders from other contestants), the results were undeniably amazing. They managed to accumulate quite a fortune and one heck of a reputation after a year. Jon, now 22, also fell in love for the first time. He met Palma, a Coruscanti girl, when he was on the top of his fame. Together, they enjoyed the wealthy life they’ve fought for.

“I swear if you don’t sell me this part cheap, I will have Jon rip you in half.” - Alexis to an unknown trader.

Ghosts of the Past

Portrait of Posso, on his 'visit' to the brothers.

Time progressed, and due to his fame, Jon got caught up in many parties. One day after a heavy night out with Palma, he missed the start of his next race. Alexis, who was waiting for his brother at the start of the race, decided to race the speeder himself. A mix of jealousy and envy made Alexis get on that speeder, determined to prove that he could do what his older sibling could. Beating all odds, the engineering prodigy beat all other contestants with a record time. Being an indomitable duo, the Rivaldis were known all over the Underworld. Either one of them could race, each with their own strengths. No one could stop them.

As all things in life, the golden age of the Altobello brothers came to an abrupt end. Posso found the brothers. The crime lord had not forgotten about their betrayal, and was there to take his revenge. Once again deploying his less than honourable tactics, Posso waited in their home, keeping Palma as hostage. When Jon and Alexis came back home, they found the Tibano leader holding a knife to her throat. Jon immediately surrendered, and begged him to spare her life, but take his. Alexis hesitantly fell to his knees as well, prepared to help his brother. Posso however, slit her throat without mercy. He wanted Jon to suffer. After his cruel action, the criminal claimed they were even, even at last. He walked away, and the brothers never saw him again.

Racing in the Rim

To escape the pain they endured on Coruscant, and not able to return to their native one, the brothers decided to seek happiness one last time, in the vast territory known as the Outer Rim. They sold everything they had, and together with all of the money they saved up from racing, Jon and Alexis bought a freighter, and two small racing ships. The freighter, a YV-666, was named ‘The Obses’, which meant ‘hostage’ in an old and forgotten language. The two racing ships docked in it, both Einstar APOSTRO-9’s, were named ‘Branch’, and ‘Drop’. Branch was Jon’s ship, and was named after Palma, which meant branch in the same old language, and thus honouring the love of his life. Alexis named his ship Drop, a more subtle reference to his sister, Rilla. Her favourite thing in the whole world was the ocean, and this name was a hint to that. Before they left, their racers also got a custom paintjob, a green one for Jon’s ship, and a blue one for Alexis’.

Jon's racing ship, Branch.

They used The Obses to get to Hutt Space, where they settled down on a quiet and almost uninhabited planet. They made supply runs to bigger planets, mainly to gather engineering supplies for Alexis. To say they were happy would be a blatant lie, but they were safe. They were not living, but they were at least surviving. Jon often went racing, making the most dangerous manoeuvres, getting the fastest times. Once again, he got notoriously famous in the area, but this time, people were also questioning his sanity. The eldest of the Rivaldis did not care for his own life anymore. He just wanted to feel alive again. Alexis did not care for racing as much, but he liked testing out the motors on their Einstars. He often modified them, making them faster, gave them better handling. He always would remove the modification as soon as Jon went to a race however, to keep him safe.

Playing with the idea of getting revenge on Posso, Jon started stacking up on armour and weapons during his supply runs. Alexis did not suspect anything, and during one supply trip, Jon simply left him a message he was going to kill the crime lord, and get revenge for their loved ones. Alexis had no other choice than to let him go, having no access to ships to follow Jon back to Coruscant.

Weeks passed without any communications from Jon. Alexis was almost ready to mourn another person, but then he saw The Obses descending. The cargo bay opened, and Jon stepped out. He dropped Posso’s head in front of Alexis, and never spoke of it again.

“Now, now we are even.” - Jon to Posso, right before he shot him.

Finally Free

Portrait of Jon, during the last years in his life.

Jon finally seemed to settle down, and years passed. The racing diminished, and he decided to pick up farming. Alexis was glad his brother was finally at peace. The engineering whiz kept on modifying the ships, out of sheer interest in the mechanics.

One day however, Jon got in his modified Einstar, and while he was starting the pre-flight procedure check, Alexis came running to the ship, warning him to not fly it. The modifications on it were too strong, and he was unsure what the actual speed limit was. Jon did not listen to his brother, and started his engines. He gave Alexis a choice, either join him in going to the InterGalactic Kashyyyk Run, or stay here and live the life he always wanted: quiet and peaceful. Alexis refused to let him go alone, and fired up Drop. Together, they were going to race in the IKR.

Alexis' racing ship, Drop.

To no real surprise of anyone, the Rivaldi brothers were expected to win the race. The way they won however, no one saw coming. Due to the hefty modifications on their ships, they were much faster than the other bunch of ships. Quickly, the brothers left their contestants behind. Jon pushed his ship to the limit, now racing against his brother. Through comms, Alexis warned him that he was approaching the fastest possible speed for a human to survive. Jon made Alexis clear though, that he had no interest in slowing down, and that this his way was to go out. The younger brother tried everything he could to stop him, but to no avail. Soon after, comms went out, and Jon died because of the immense G-force his body had to endure.

The brothers did set a record, that will probably never be broken again.

“This is my final race. Safe travels little brother, and may we meet again.” - Jon to Alexis, seconds before he died.

No Happy Ending

After the InterGalactic Kashyyyk Run, no one ever heard of Alexis again. It’s rumoured he’s back at Corellia, fixing ships, helping people. But never will he race a ship or speeder again. Now though, Branch and Drop have been restored to their former glory, and some say a rich and wealthy sentient keeps them for his private collection, in honor of the Altobello clan.