Alternative Aurebesh numerals

The title of this article is conjectural.

Although this article is based on canonical information, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

An alternate form of Aurebesh numerals was used in the galaxy. Completely different from regular Aurebesh, the numbers were used on Coruscant, Daiyu, Kessel, Lothal, Nevarro, Nur and Plazir-15; on credit chips and in Tech's visor; by the Galactic Empire and their senate, and the New Republic; on the console of the Razor Crest, on a monitor in the Providence and Ahsoka Tano's shuttle, on the Eye of Sion' special galactic coordinates calculation monitors, in the rank insignia of the First Order, and in the Star Yacht Libertine's databank.

Description[]

The numerals were completely different from regular Aurebesh numbers, using an alternate numerical system based on dots and lines.^[4]

History[]

Republic Era[]

In 232 BBY,^[12] these digits were inscribed on a set of Republic credit chips that Ansen Strung, a bounty hunter, used to purchase sap beverages for himself and a band of Jedi Initiates who had assisted him in locating a missing kibbin. The credits bore the numbers "8 4 2".^[13]

Alternate numerals Marauder — Alternative numerals on a monitor in the *Marauder*

At the time of the Clone Wars, alternative numerals were engraved on the credit chips used by Jedi Master Yoda to pay Anthen for information on a mysterious Separatist weapon project called Operation: Titan.^[14] They also appeared on a map of destinations on the subtram in the Coruscant Underworld.^[15]

Imperial Era[]

After the Clone Wars ended, the numbers were used on monitors in the repulsorpods in the Imperial Senate, although regular Aurebesh numbers were also in use.^[3]

Also during this time period, Clone Force 99 member Tech wore a special visor that could be used to scan his surroundings. When used in Cid's mine, the scan resulted in "IPSIUM DETECTED", followed by a list of alternate numerals.^[6]

A set of credit chips in a case that Omega handed to Lanse Crowder as payment for a tree-shaped artifact, had "845" engraved on them in these numerals. During the exchange, Hunter was playing a game of sabacc with a Bith, with the credit chips lying on the table saying "9 99", using the same numbers.^[16]

Kessel gate — Door in the spice mines of Kessel, reading "D7 X371K"

The control panel in the cockpit of the Marauder displayed these numbers as Tech was teaching Omega how to fly. When Tech had to alert the rest of the team with some serious news, two lengthy chains of digits emerged on an alternate screen.^[17] The same data appeared on the screen while Tech briefed the rest of Clone Force 99 about his search through the Republic and Imperial files for information about the Advanced Science Division.^[18]

As CX-2 tracked Phee Genoa's starship, Providence, a blue monitor aboard Genoa's ship displayed a long list of Aurebesh numbers.^[19]

Several years later, a sign over a door in the spice mines of Kessel used these numerals, reading "D7 X371K".^[8] They also appeared on monitors in Daiyu spaceport,^[7] and on blueprints of Fortress Inquisitorius available on the underwater stronghold's computers.^[2]

Prior to the outbreak of the Galactic Civil War, these numerals were used in 7189, a wall mural in the Capital City of Lothal.^[9]

During the Galactic Civil War, the numbers "042 1792-46" appeared on the display of a pair of binoculars used by Kes Dameron to spy on a Scarabi safe house during the rescue of Rebel Alliance leader Mon Mothma.^[20]

New Republic Era[]

After the fall of the Galactic Empire, the console aboard Din Djarin's ship, the Razor Crest, used the same kind of numbers.^[21] They also appeared on a red monitor on the console of his N-1 starfighter, which said "ALT 51" and "PSI 11";^[22] and on a small blue monitor on the opposite side of the console, which listed every number from 1 to 9. Curiously, the latter was upside-down.^[23]

Shortly afterward, the monitor on the control panel of a Six-O-Two Mitigator used by the New Republic Amnesty Program, listed every alternative numeral from 1 to 9, which represented different voltage levels.^[24]

The plaque on the statue of IG-11 in Nevarro City on Nevarro used these digits, while a local cafe 's prices were written in these numerals.^[10]

Plazir-15 camera — Security camera footage from Plazir-15, using alternative Aurebesh numerals

The security camera monitoring room in the peacekeeping zone on Plazir-15 used alternative numerals, with "CAMERA 7709-739" appearing on on three different monitors, while another monitor said "SECTOR 7G". The also appeared on the business sign of Premium Droid Rentals, which said "D7X"; on spark pads, which read "2311 PLAZIR 86"; and on the console used by the lab tech.^[11]

When Sabine Wren tried to crack into a HK-87 assassin droid's memory banks, the inscription on both sides of the datapad she used said "ABC 1112 34", using these numerals.^[25]

When Ahsoka Tano sent Wren to man their shuttle's tail gun during an attack, these digits appeared on a monitor that Wren turned on in the gunner seat, reading "1 2 3 4 5 6".^[26]

The Eye of Sion's monitors used a special system to determine the hyperspace coordinates for its journey to Peridea; these were calculated using this numerical system.^[27] As the ship approached Peridea, these numbers appeared alongside regular Aurebesh letters on the monitor used by the Star Navigator Droid.^[28]

At Hera Syndulla' hearing in the New Republic's Defense Council building on Coruscant, a large panel was mounted on the wall. The headline on the left said "NEW REPUBLIC", and below that, there were red and blue cells labeled with alternative Aurebesh numerals. The headline on the right said "HALL OF JUSTICE DOCKET". The scrolling Aurebesh below the headline appeared to be a list of case files: Most of the names appeared to be nonsense, but a few lines on the list had the word "CASE" beside a random mixture of letters and alternative numerals.^[5]

Shortly before the outbreak of the First Order-Resistance War, the logo of 8Key contained the number 8 written in this script.^[29] The business was advertised on the chassis of R4-G77,^[30] an astromech droid owned by Hype Fazon, a racer pilot on the Colossus refueling station.^[31]

During the war, rank insignia of the First Order utilized this system, with the numbers appearing in the insignias for sergeant ("Ro 8") and squad leader ("Hal 4").^[1] The "Hal 4" insignia was worn by Lank Paze, while the "Ro 8" insignia could be seen on Armitage Hux's First Order monitor. The databank of the Libertine, which DJ gained access to after he stole the Star Yacht in Canto Bight, used these numerals to list prices in the owner's catalog of starfighters for sale.^[4]

Rex, an RX-Series pilot droid who provided musical entertainment i Oga's Cantina on Batuu, had an inscription, "RX24," on his chest.^[32]

Behind the scenes[]

"I can't recall which came first, Stock Ships or Gamemaster Screen Revised, but I worked on both and both have that chart."

―Pablo Hidalgo on Twitter^[33]

New Aurabesh numbers — A representation of the alternative numerals

Aurebesh was originally created by Stephen Crane of West End Games, for the 1993 book Star Wars Miniatures Battles Companion. Crane based the alphabet on an unidentified script seen on the on the monitor readouts on the second Death Star at the beginning of the 1983 movie Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. However, Crane never created numbers for the Aurebesh alphabet, because the Death Star monitors in film show regular Arabic numerals.^[34]

However, an unrelated numerical system made up of dots and lines first appeared in the West End Games sourcebook Platt's Starport Guide, which features a graphic called "Current transponder code profile", with the numerals along both axes of a graph. Unlike later appearances, numerals for 0 through 16 are represented.^[35] The graph was reused for the West End Games publication Star Wars Gamemaster Screen, Revised,^[36] and the West End Games sourcebook Stock Ships.^[37]^[33]

These numerals were digitized by Star Wars fan Peter Schuster in 1998, as part of an alternate Aurebesh font that Schuster named New Aurabesh,^[38] which can be downloaded online.^[39] Although most canon appearances of Aurebesh use Arabic numbers, the alternative font has also appeared in various Star Wars media, although it has never been named.

Subtram map — A subtram map created for "To Catch a Jedi", using alternate Aurebesh numerals

In Star Wars canon, these numerals first appeared on a map of destinations on the subtram in the Coruscant Underworld, created for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "To Catch a Jedi."^[15] However, although the map does appear on-screen in the episode, it is too far away to decipher.^[40]

The only Star Wars canon media to map any of the alternate numbers are the 2014 Episode Guide for Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion on StarWars.com, whose Concept Art Gallery includes a translation for a sign on Lothal, containing the numbers 7, 1, 8 and 9;^[41] and the 2017 reference book Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia, which presents an Aurebesh font which includes two examples of Aurebesh numbers, 3 and 7.^[42] Both these sources use West End Games' alternate font.

Concept art for the Star Wars Resistance episode "Descent" on StarWars.com reveals an unused design for two First Order officers wearing a rank insignia on their sleeve, which says "HAL 4".^[43] However, the insignia do not appear in the finished episode.^[44]

Costume concept art by Glyn Dillon in the behind-the-scenes book The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker shows Finn wearing a yellow jacket with Aurebesh on the back, reading "FN 2187", "FINN"/"TICO". The inscription is written in an alternative Aurebesh font and alternative numerals.^[45]