Leffingite

"Here's an old Leffingite favorite, made fresh from juicy, Kessinnamon-spiced Almakian apples baked to perfection in a golden pom seed flour crust."

―Menu for Dex's Diner^[3]

The Leffingites were a sentient species from the planet Almak. They were characterized by a tall, narrow head; a large, flat nose with two gaping nostrils; two large, fan-like ears; and large jaws from which protruded a smattering of small teeth. Four brown horns extended from above their goggle eyes; two of these growths were relatively short, while two others were longer. The head extended at a perpendicular angle to the body and was covered in loose, wrinkled skin.

The all-Almakian apple pie was an example of Leffingite cuisine widely favored by the species. At least one Leffingite left his homeworld; Magaloof operated as a small-time crook in the gang run by the crime lord Hat Lo on the planet Coruscant during the waning years of the Galactic Republic. The Leffingites later resisted the rise of the Galactic Empire but were quelled in a battle during which the newly established galactic government attacked them on their homeworld with AT walkers.

Biology and appearance[]

Leffingite dentition — Leffingites exhibited several widely spaced teeth.

The Leffingites were a sentient species distinguished by ovine features.^[1] The species' cranium was tall and flattened, with a rounded base that tapered to a pointed apogee. Four horns sprouted from the skull in two pairs; one pair was relatively short and grew from knobby growths between the eyes, while the second was longer and extended from behind the eyes. In at least one specimen, the horns were dull brown in color. Two prominent ears extended outward from either side of the head; the auditory organs were narrow at the base and flared outward in a leaf shape before they narrowed to a point. Two smaller, rounded ear-like appendages adorned the top of the skull. The nose was long and tall; its wide base, perforated by two cavernous nostrils, narrowed to a thin bridge that extended to the top of the head. Eyes protruded from the face as two round orbs, pale in some specimens, that slanted downward from the top of the nose to the base of the ears; these sensory organs were covered by heavy lids.^[2]

The mouth, located immediately below the nose, was M-shaped, its midpoint located between the nostrils. The inside of the orifice was a grayish pink, and several sharp, white teeth filled the maw. The dentition was such that two fangs grew downward from the center of the upper jaw, and two more each extended from the widest points of the upper and lower mandibles. These teeth protruded even when the mouth was shut. The face was covered in loose, wrinkled skin that hung from the jaw in strips that continued down the neck. In at least one Leffingite, the skin was a light brown. The species' head hung at a ninety-degree angle from the neck and torso, an arrangement that lent them a hunched posture.^[2] Leffingites were relatively short;^[1] the one named Magaloof stood 1.4 meters tall, for instance. The species had both males and females.^[4]

Society and culture[]

The planet Almak was the Leffingite homeworld.^[5] At least some members of the species wore clothing. Leffingites were capable of learning to fly airspeeders and to speak Basic.^[2] A favorite dish of the Almakian Leffingites was all-Almakian apple pie, a desert made from the Almakian apple. Dexter Jettster offered the pastry at his diner on Coruscant for 2.5.^[3]

History[]

Almak sector and environs — The Leffingites hailed from Almak, in the Almak sector.

The Leffingites evolved on Almak,^[5] a planet that became incorporated into the greater galaxy as part of the Almak sector of the Mid Rim some time between 1000 and 25 BBY.^[6]^[7] At some point between 19 and 0 BBY, the Leffingites resisted the dominion of the Galactic Empire, the newly constituted galactic government, over their home system. In retaliation, Imperial forces invaded Almac with All Terrain walkers. In the ensuing battle, the Leffingite resistance was defeated. The results of the confrontation convinced the Imperial officer Nahdonnis Praji that, while inelegant, AT walkers still served a purpose.^[8]

Leffingites in the galaxy[]

"What the—"

―Magaloof^[2]

At least one Leffingite emigrated into the greater galaxy: Magaloof, an individual who worked as a small-time crook on Coruscant, the capital of the Galactic Republic.^[4] In 22 BBY,^[9] he stole an airspeeder in Galactic City and went on a joyride.^[4] Despite a near-crash with Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was hurtling through Coruscant traffic hanging from a courier droid,^[2] Magaloof landed the vehicle and sold it to the crime lord Hat Lo. The Leffingite became a regular member of Lo's gang, a capacity in which he came into contact with a thief named Achk Med-Beq. After a series of capers together, Med-Beq urged his Leffingite partner to rob a jewelry store in Coruscant's CoCo Town. After the job, Magaloof ran into a Human who identified himself as a Republic Security Force officer named Dannl Faytonni; the man confiscated the stolen goods and let the Leffingite go with a warning. When Magaloof was unable to find Med-Beq and was arrested again shortly thereafter, he realized that he had been conned by his former partner. After a three-year sentence in the CoCo Penitentiary, Magaloof returned to Almak to start his life anew.^[4]

Behind the scenes[]

"The name of Magaloof's species was inspired by Lee Leffingwell, who had recently been elected to the Austin, Texas City Council when this submission was written. For whatever reason, his name stuck in my head and ended up in the entry. I've always wondered if Council Member Leffingwell is aware of his fame."

―Gregory Walker^[10]

The Leffingite character Magaloof appears in the 2002 Star Wars prequel film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones.^[2] Although the character and his species both went unnamed in the movie, Gregory Walker, writing under the screen name NarbFlick,^[10] first identified the species as part of his entry for Magaloof as part of the StarWars.com What's The Story? feature.^[4] Walker named the species for Lee Leffingwell, a politician whose campaign and election to the Austin, Texas, City Council in 2005 had placed the name Leffingwell in Walker's mind as he wrote his submission. Walker also established Almak as the species' homeworld; the name of the planet was simply a random assemblage of syllables that the author thought pleasant sounding.^[10]