Rango Tel

"For every bounty hunter that can do the job, there are a thousand more who think they can."

- Crime lord saying

Rango Tel was a Human male bounty hunter who hailed from Sernpidal. Growing up as a street ruffian, an instance of pure and utter luck led him to believe that it was his life's calling to become a bounty hunter. Defeating a drunkard in an unruly bar brawl, Tel ended up collecting a bounty he never pursued. Swindled into wearing an inappropriate vac-exposure suit that he believed was Mandalorian, and with the Pa'lowick smuggler Aneesa Dym at his side, he sought to find and kill Kam Nale for local crime lord. His career, however, ended before it began, with Nale killing the hapless Tel in a back alley in Mos Espa.

Tel, or "Tank Head" as he was known by his contemporaries, was not particularly quick witted, and was prone to violence. His naiveté caused him to pay top dollar for an inadequate suit that he thought was Mandalorian, and of high quality, and his inexperience led to his death. The circumstances under which he died also point to an ineptitude for combat, which was generally regarded as being unwise amongst the bounty hunting community.

Early life
Born and raised on the Outer Rim world of Sernpidal, Rango Tel lived his young life as a disenfranchised street ruffian. After several years, as a young man, he was drawn into a cantina brawl, where he inadvertently incapacitated a patron with a bounty on their head. Though Tel had initially been unaware of the bounty, he claimed it, and began to believe that it was his destiny to enter the profession. The client had been Aneesa Dym, and the mark had been her father's murderer. Dym, grateful, became smitten with Tel, and offered herself as a pilot in his new undertaking. Leaving Sernpidal in Dym's heavily modified freighter, the Dusty Duck, Tel sought his first bounty, and his break in the bounty hunting industry.

Bounty Hunter
In his journeys, Tel came across a junk dealer of ill-repute, and sought to purchase equipment for his new endevaour. Going on stories he had heard as a child, Tel asked for some Mandalorian armor, which led the junk dealer to doubt Tel's intelligence. Passing off a vac-exposure suit as the genuine article, the dealer gleaned a handsome sum from Tel, and Tel, due to his ungainly appearance, earned the nickname "Tank Head".

Tel contacted a crime lord, seeking work. Although the mob boss had already had his hit on Borzu Nale successfully competed, he offered Tel a bounty on Nale's son, Kam, in order to ensure that the Fluggrian didn't take up his father's work. Tel was eager to impress and get his start in the business, so he accepted the job with a minimum of fuss.

The hunt for Kam Nale
With Aneesa Dym in tow, Tel began tracking Nale. Although he had no desire to follow in his father's footsteps, Nale used a series of aliases to elude capture and death. Although Tel knew that Nale had no ill intent towards his employer, he persisted, locating Nale, or "Elan Mak" on the Outer Rim world of Tatooine in 32 BBY. "Mak" was to participate in the Boonta Eve Podrace, and it was there that he hoped to corner and kill Nale.

Leaving Dym behind to oversee repairs to the Dusty Duck, Tel set off into Mos Espa in search of his mark. After hunting for several days, Tel was able to corner Nale in a back alley, hoping to kill the elusive Fluggian and claim his first bounty. But Nale was too fast, his heavy blaster pistol making short work of Tel and his substandard equipment.Tel was killed before his career had even begun, and Nale walked away unscathed, continuing to podrace under the "Elan Mak" alias. Dym never learned of Tel's fate, as she would be murdered shortly after by the Sith Lord Darth Maul in an unrelated incident.

Personality and traits
Tel grew up in a harsh environment, living as a street ruffian on Sernpidal, and yet, he did not seem to develop any street smarts. He clearly did not believe in coincidence, as he used sheer happenstance to decide upon his career. He also lacked prior knowledge going into the bounty hunter trade, and was of the belief that Mandalorian armor was easy to come by. Tel's ignorance was further shown in the fact that he payed a copious amount for a suit that was clearly not of Mandalorian make.

He made use of the services offered to him by Aneesa Dym, but it is not known if he took any steps to protect her, or even if he cared for her. It is known that he left her alone, undefended in the relatively hostile Tatooine while he hunted for Nale, although this may again have been a product of his naiveté. He was also overconfident, in that he thought himself capable of murdering Nale. This overconfidence, however, proved to be his fatal weakness.

Aneesa Dym
When her father was fatally stabbed by a dissatisfied customer, Aneesa Dym relentlessly hunted the man, despite placing a bounty on his head. The bounty was claimed by Tel, and as a result, Dym fell in love with him. Together they pursued Tel's one and only bounty in the Dusty Duck, with Dym providing her services as a pilot of her late father's ship. Their relationship persisted until 32 BBY, when both perished on the same day under unrelated circumstances.

Behind the scenes
Rango Tel first appeared in George Lucas' Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, where he is seen briefly during the introduction of Mos Espa. One of the first characters to have his back story elaborated on through the "What's the Story?" Star Wars Hyperspace feature, Tel's StarWars.com Databank entry was written by Aaron Sinner, with the name provided by "Captain Daultay Dofine". Tel's story was later tied into Aneesa Dym's with Greg Mitchell's Dusty Duck entry in the Databank. Mitchell later elaborated on his entry with his story The Smuggler's Daughter in the fan-made magazine, Star Wars Outsider, in which further information of Dym just prior to her meeting with Tel featured.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace