Triffian/Legends

"Ebe E. Endocott has come out of nowhere to challenge the best Podracers today. This confident Triffian boasts three semi-pro titles on Malastare."

- Beed

The Triffians were a species of sentient humanoids characterized by furry bodies and large, triangle-shaped appendages, called thermoregulator flaps, that protruded from the shoulders and helped regulate body temperature. Other physical characteristics exhibited by members of the species were three-fingered hands, webbed feet, claws, and colorful fur and skin.

Since integrating into galactic society by the latter days of the Galactic Republic, Triffians were present on planets such as Kiffex and Coruscant, the galactic capital. They were represented in the Galactic Senate by Senator Eelen Li. The species boasted their own celebrity in the person of Ebe E. Endocott, a Podracer known for a string of victories on the planet Malastare and his personal panache. Endocott placed fourth in the 32 BBY Boonta Eve Classic race on the planet Tatooine, beating his rival, the Dug Sebulba.

Biology and appearance
Triffians were furry humanoids whose stature stood them shorter than many other sentient species. For instance, the Triffian Podracer pilot Ebe E. Endocott stood only 1.22 meters tall. The Triffian body could grow quite plump in some members, although the limbs remained thin. The torso and belly generally sported a thin coat of fur, either light-colored or gray, that allowed details of the skin, such as nipples and scars, to show through. Dark, shaggy fur covered the back and hung from the long arms. The hands both terminated in three light-colored or brown fingers apiece, each sporting dark gray claws. The fur on the heels was dark in some Triffians, light in others. Members of the species stood on flat, webbed feet, each with three prominent toes and a fourth recessed on the outside edge. Each lower-limb digit sported a sharp, yellow claw. The feet were digitigrade, with ankles folded back toward the posterior. A long, thin tail, covered in dark fur but tipped in a lighter color, emerged from just above the buttocks. The rump itself was colored brightly in blue or another shade.

Two large, furred thermoregulator flaps extended from the shoulders and framed the round face like a mane. When fully erect, the flaps resembled large, dark-colored triangles with wisps of lighter hair at their uppermost vertices and below the snout; in this configuration, they allowed for dissipation of excess body heat. Bright-yellow or green eyes with irises and pupils of a darker shade flanked a short snout with long, angled nostrils. The face and snout were multicolored, with one hue of fur&mdash;such as blue or brown &mdash;for the nose, between the eyes, and across the forehead and brow, and another&mdash;such as white or brown &mdash;for the eye sockets, cheeks, and lips. In some specimens, another color such as yellow was intermixed as well, coloring the lips and eyelids, for example.

The Triffian species was divided into two sexes, male and female. Despite the sizable paunch that might extend so far forward as to overshadow the feet, Triffians were capable of great flexibility, bowing deeply at the waist, for instance. Indeed, many female Triffians found the rotund Podracer Endocott physically attractive. At least some male Triffians had deep voices in spite of their small size.

Society and culture
From ancient times, Triffians possessed artworks such as a stone carving of a Triffian figure. By the time of the Invasion of Naboo, members of the species were comfortable moving about galactic society either nearly nude or clothed with items such as dark pants, jumpsuits, belts, and body armor. Triffians were capable of utilizing standard galactic technology, such as blaster weapons, and of operating more advanced machines, such as Podracers. They had the capacity to learn to speak Huttese. At least one member of the species hailed from the planet Triffis.

History


A stone carving dating to the species' earliest history attested to their long presence on Triffis. The world was represented in the Galactic Senate by Senator Eelen Li, who served alongside her Human colleague, Senator Palpatine of the planet Naboo. When Li learned of Palpatine's love for old artifacts, she retrieved the carving from a museum on her homeworld and presented it to him as a gift.

By 32 BBY, a Triffian daredevil named Ebe E. Endocott had left his homeworld, Triffis, to race landspeeders on the planet Boonta. At the suggestion of his personal clerk, he switched to Podracing, a more dangerous sport but one for which the potential winnings were much higher. Endocott quickly earned a name for himself by winning three straight semi-professional Podracing tournaments on the planet Malastare. Flushed with new fans &mdash;many of them females who found his looks handsome &mdash;Endocott's ego ballooned, and he modified his JAK Racing J930 Dash-8 Podracer to place him high in the seat and therefore more visible to spectators. He also used his semi-pro winnings to purchase a Corellian freighter to transport himself to other races on worlds such as Baroonda with panache. In 32 BBY, Endocott flew to the planet Tatooine to participate in the professional leagues as an entrant in the Boonta Eve Classic. Nevertheless, he proved less skillful or lucky than he felt and came in fourth. Although not a win, Endocott was content to have bested the non-finisher Sebulba, a Dug Podracing darling of Malastare whom Endocott considered a washed-up boaster. Endocott continued his Podracing career after the Boonta, racing at least once more on Malastare.

Two years later, in 30 BBY, a Triffian helped defend the town of Deadend on the planet Kiffex from outsiders under the command of the Aqualish criminal Gorto Zaga, who had ordered the defenders to shoot dead any who attempted to enter after dark so as to protect his illegal blaster importation business. When the Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos, Master Tholme, and their guide, the Devaronian Vilmarh Grahrk, attempted to enter the walled town, the Triffian joined others in the band in opening fire on the outsiders. The Jedi leapt over the walls and attacked the Triffian's group, overpowering them and securing entry for themselves and Grahrk. The Triffian guard survived the encounter.

By 22 BBY, the Triffian Ony Bobissia had become a regular at the Coruscant eatery Dex's Diner. Bobissia was standing outside the diner that year when the Human Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi consulted the diner's Besalisk owner, Dexter Jettster, about an assassination attempt against Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo.

Behind the scenes
The Triffian Podracer pilot Ebe E. Endocott was created during preproduction of the film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, which was first released in 1999. Concept artist Terryl Whitlatch designed the character, and her sketches date back as early as 1996. Whitlatch's ideas included both thin and plump versions of the character and feature prominent teeth that have not been visible in later Triffian illustrations, but her concepts otherwise match the final look of the species as it was realized in a detailed character maquette. Despite the elaborate preproduction designs of Endocott, the Triffian appears only as a low-resolution character, seated in the cockpit of his Podracer, in The Phantom Menace.

The maquette, naked to allow Industrial Light & Magic animators to use it for anatomical reference, has since been used to represent the character in various sources. The computer-generated model of Endocott was later reused for the 2002 film Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones to represent Ony Bobissia, a distant background character visible during a scene set on the planet Coruscant at Dex's Diner.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Anakin's Speedway
 * Star Wars: Episode I Racer
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Podracing Tales
 * Star Wars: Republic 33: Darkness, Part 2
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones