Harch

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"[…] and the least [sic] said about about the Harches the better. Those guys are literally giant spiders for pity's sake."

―Jaxxon^[5]

Harches were an imposing humanoid, spider-like sentient species^[2] native to the planet Secundus Ando, in the Mid Rim.^[4] They had six arms^[2] and six red eyes,^[1] and a pair of chelicerae^[6] near their mouths.^[2] The Harch were also a long-lived species.^[7] Harches had grey skin and were covered in brown^[1] or white hair.^[4] Harches also had a habit of making clicking noises sometimes when they talked. Admiral Trench of the Confederacy of Independent Systems was a male Harch.^[8] Trench was one of the largest members of his species.^[6]

Biology and appearance[]

Admiral Trench — The Harch were a species with multiple arms and two legs.

With physiology derived from arachnid ancestors that made intricate webs, the sentient Harch species were genetic cousins of the Aqualish. Shorter and stockier than the average human, Harch weighed about the same due to a tough exoskeleton that was coated in hair ranging from brown to pale gray. Members of the species had eight limbs: six fully functional arms and two legs. The arms ended in furless, three-fingered, dark pink hands, and the legs ended in furred two-toed feet.^[4] Harches had a long lifespan and remained strong for well over a century.^[7] It was rumored that a Harch could live for multiple centuries.^[4]

Their heads included two large primary eyes below two pairs of smaller eyes and above two, large, protruding jaws or chelicerae. The eyes were all red and the smaller eyes were excellent at sensing movement and changes in light, but were less able to see color or detail. The species was genetically diverse, with many subspecies, and some inherited spinerets or venom from their arachnid predecessors. Harch were capable of eating solid meat and vegetation, and did, but preferred a diet of liquid proteins.^[4]

Society and culture[]

VolGaratStance-EdgeOfBalance-Precedent — Vol Garat, a Harch bounty hunter.

Harch were traditionally individualistic, exacting, and aggressive creatures, with each belligerently pursuing their own interests and avarice with little concern for their homeworld or cultural identity. As such, they resisted developing a monolithic Harch identity, and a vast number of different cultural groups developed with greatly differing cultural norms. The species' individualism obstructed the organization of larger armies and meant only smaller groups banded together to skirmish with enemies. This meant that there was no war in traditional Harch society, although the species was just as capable of violence as any other.^[4]

Harch society was led by ruling nests, families who could trace their lineage back for generations despite not technically being aristocracy. The members of these nests had cultivated training and interests in the social arts, diplomacy, negotiation, and leadership. Unbeknownst to the Harch public, for centuries the nests manipulating Harch society toward militant patriotism and war, with their end goal being a Harch empire that they could rule as true aristocratic dynasties.^[4]

The Harch lived on their homeworld Secundus Ando, a temperate cavern-riddled planet in the Mid Rim's Lambda sector. The wealthy ruling nests dwelt within massive, craggy trees that were rooted in the loamy earth of the planet's ecologically protected parks. The cost of living in such parks was so high that the average Harch citizen could not afford real estate there in their lifetime. As such, the majority of Harch on the planet lived in industrial megacities that resembled mechanical versions of the ruling class's preserved arboreal homes, with giant spires and cloudcutters spewing waste gas into the upper atmosphere from war factories on the ground. So great was the Harch people's craving for war that the war industry even expanded onto artificial islands in their oceans, partly due to how much land fell within the protected territories of the nests.^[4]

The nests united the Harch in a common goal after the Andoan Wars, with societal attitudes shifting rapidly toward pro-homeworld and antigalaxy sentiment. Those Harch who had stayed on their homeworld were more predisposed to cooperation and social hierarchies and formed a powerful information network to serve the ruling nests. They also worked well with offworld Harch, who traded information and contacts to them that the ruling nests used to improve Secundus Ando or support offworld members of the species.^[4]

Trench-TCWOCE — Admiral Trench (pictured) was regarded as a god-like figure to his people.

The shift even affected Harch language. For centuries, the species had primarily spoken Aqualish due to the influence of their nearby Aqualish neighbors, with Galactic Basic Standard as a close second, although the Harch spoke both languages with an "accent" in the form of rapid clicking. After the Andoan Wars, the Harchic language was made the official language of Secundus Ando and became the primary language of the species, although older generations still tended to use Aqualish or Basic. Younger generations instead made Harchic their only language, although this inconvenienced Harch homeworlders who wished to explore the species' allegiance with the Confederacy of Independent Systems.^[4]

During the Clone Wars, the Harch supported the war with near-fanatical jingoistic fervor, elevating heroes and military leaders, such as Admiral Trench, to near deific levels. Despite this, most Harch actually had little interest in an empire, not having put any thought into maintaining one while caught up in the war effort, an ignorance that the ruling nests intended to capitalize on. Instead, most Harch had focused on wanting the spoils, which would require the razing of the Andoan Free Colonies, and the prestige and profit of being recognized by the ruling government, be it Republic or Separatist, and becoming major players in galactic politics.^[4]

History[]

AdmiralTrench-TCWs2BR3 — Admiral Trench served as an Admiral in the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

When the Harch began expanding out from Secundus Ando into the galaxy, with the ruling nests as the primary motivators, they discovered that their belligerence and avarice synced up well with their home sector's totalitarian government, the Spiverelda. Over the decades, the ruling nests backed the Spiverelda in exchange for additional wealth and information. More than twenty years before the Clone Wars, the Harch ruling nests decided to back the Spiverelda in the Andoan Wars against the Andoan Free Colonies. Dreaming of a "Great Harch Prosperity," the species turned the industry of Secundus Ando toward warfare, a militarization that would likely have subsided had the Republic not stepped in and backed the Free Colonies, sparing them from their foes.^[4]

Insulted and believing that they were being denied profits and the spoils of war, the Harch continued building weapons of war rather then returning their economy to peacetime production. Ignoring Republic restrictions, they sold the weaponry they produced to corporate interests, beating the drums of war for two decades until the Confederacy of Independent Systems offered them a place in their government and a reason to join the Clone Wars against the Republic. With the ruling nests negotiating the conditions for joining, the Harch leapt in without looking back, seeing an opportunity for justice and to express their wounded pride. Around this time, the Harch organized their first planet-wide standing army.^[4]

During their alliance with the Confederacy the Harch thrived, although they still maintained their distrust of other species. They believed that they should have an equal partnership with the Separatists, expecting them to support the new Harch ascendancy. The ruling nests fully intended to turn on their allies if the Separatist government ever did anything that appeared disadvantageous to the Harch, believing it to be their right.^[4]

Harch in the galaxy[]

In earlier times, individual Harch wandered the galaxy alone in order to make their fortunes, their loyalties divided by corporations rather than nationalism. Most had no more allegiance or loyalty to other Harch than they did friends and peers of other species. Some did occasionally return to their homeworld, while others established communities on new worlds that often incorporated local culture into their own. Even during the species' cultural shift after the Andoan Wars, many solitary and individualistic Harches remained scattered across the galaxy. These Harch had a more galaxy-spanning view of politics, but were still infected with pro-homeworld, antigalaxy sentiment, and began working more closely with Harch society back on Secundus Ando, selling information and contacts to the rulings nests and in return receiving support from the ruling class.^[4]

The Harch Vol Garat worked as a bounty hunter during the High Republic Era. Partnering with the Path of the Open Hand cult, Garat fought the Jedi Order during the Night of Sorrow and noticed how something had the ability to bring even the Jedi to their knees. Garat hunted for the power and, one hundred and fifty years later, partnered with^[7] Path descendant^[9] Marchion Ro in finding the journal of Jedi Azlin Rell, who had written about the threat to the Jedi:^[7] a species of beings that "ate" the Force dubbed the "Nameless."^[10] However, Jedi Master Arkoff, whom had fought Garat over a century earlier during the Night of Sorrow and in its aftermath, intervened and retrieved the journal before Garat could escape with it.^[7]

Behind the scenes[]

Harches first appeared in "Cat and Mouse," the sixteenth episode of the canon animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars' second season.^[1] The species was first identified in Admiral Trench's entry in the now-discontinued Encyclopedia,^[11] an entry that is also present in the Encyclopedia's replacement, the Databank.^[8]