Tefaun

Tefauns were a blue-skinned, sentient humanoid species with ridged heads and bulging eyes. The Tefaun banker Kelek purchased the Wheel, a space station gambling resort, launching a brutal gladiatorial competition called the Big Game. When the Wheel lost clientele and experienced reduced revenues, Kelek borrowed money from the InterGalactic Banking Clan to win back customers but was unable to meet her payment schedule, forcing her to sell her shares to businessman Dominic Raynor. During the Galactic Civil War, Soth Petikkin from Tefau served as a persuasive recruiter for the Rebel Alliance, using his contacts in crime lord Jabba the Hutt's Palace on the planet Tatooine to gain support for the Alliance.

Biology and appearance[]

The sentient humanoid Tefaun species had two arms and legs, a torso, a neck, and a head. One individual had blue skin, bulging eyes, and a ridged, disc-shaped head.^[1]

Society and culture[]

At least one Tefaun wore a robe as clothing, along with a necklace.^[1]

History[]

Kelek was a Tefaun who lived during the last years of the Galactic Republic. She became a banker, purchased the space station gambling resort known as the Wheel, and launched the Big Game, a brutal gladiatorial competition that was held aboard the station. Kelek, who had by then also gained both the nicknames Kelek the Blue and Kelek the Insensate, was the Wheel's third owner following the death of her predecessor, the J'feh crime lord Skijid Vrescot. The large number of scoundrels frequenting the facility deterred wealthy clientele from visiting the station, and the Wheel experienced reduced revenues. As a result, Kelek borrowed money from the InterGalactic Banking Clan, hoping it would help regain lost customers. However, after Kelek became unable to meet her payment schedule, the Banking Clan called in her loan, and she was forced to sell her shares in the station to the businessman Dominic Raynor.^[2]

Later, during the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Soth Petikkin was a Force-attuned Tefaun who possessed limited precognition. Native to Tefau, he served as a persuasive recruiter^[3] for the Alliance.^[4] Petikkin used his contacts in^[3] the crime lord^[5] Jabba the Hutt's palace^[3] on the desert planet Tatooine^[5] to find support for the Alliance.^[3]

Behind the scenes[]

The Tefaun species' origins date back to the production stages of the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. A number of alien maquettes were designed for possible inclusion in the film's Jabba's Palace scenes but were scrapped before the final film's release. Among them was a robed biped known only as "Alien 25," who might have been a candidate for one of Jabba's aides.^[1] In 1998, the character Soth Petikkin was created on a card for the Star Wars Customizable Card Game's Special Edition Limited set, which used a manipulated image of the "Alien 25" maquette and brought the species into canon.^[3]

In September 2013, the species was first named as "Tefaun" when the Kelek character was created for the Star Wars Blog article "Viva Space Vegas! The History of the Marvelous Wheel" on StarWars.com.^[2] Abel G. Peña, one of the article's authors, confirmed on his Facebook page that the Tefauns were indeed the same as Soth Petikkin's species.^[6]