Teek

"Nah-nah!"

- Teek

Teek was a male member of the Teek species, and a native of the Forest moon of Endor. He was a playful, mischievous being, with scruffy, white fur and too large front teeth. As his species had a very fast metabolism, he could move extraordinarily fast, and was often seen as a blur. Teek was the only companion of a stranded Human scout by the name of Noa Briqualon, whom he shared a cabin with on Endor. Noa spent most of his time attempting to repair his damaged ship, and was generally hostile toward any outsiders who stumbled upon his home. The two lived together in isolation for many years, with little or no interaction with other sentient beings.

However, in 3 ABY, a Human girl named Cindel Towani and her Ewok companion Wicket W. Warrick, stumbled upon the house of Teek and Noa, who eventually formed a close bond with the two children. Several days after their first encounter, Cindel was kidnapped by Sanyassan warlord Terak, and Teek and his friend aided Wicket in her rescue. Teek proved vital to the rescue, using his superior speed to great effect, and after they rescued Cindel, he helped fight Terak's warriors in the woods. Teek eventually saved his companion's life when he attacked Terak, who was ready to strike the helpless Noa with his sword. Wicket then finished off the bloodthirsty warlord. Teek was ultimately left behind when Noa and Cindel departed on the ship, which the old Human had finally managed to repair, though he found a home with the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village, many of whom had aided him in the skirmish with the Sanyassans.

Early life


Teek was a member of the species of the same name, born on the Forest moon of Endor some time before the Rise of the Empire. The Teek species were extremely rare, and although Teek was thought to be semi-intelligent, at least one other Teek was declared sentient by Galactic Republic officials before the time of the Empire. They were generally avoided by Ewoks and the other inhabitants of Endor, because of their tendency to scavenge and steal various trinkets from animal nests and Ewok dwellings, which they stored in baggy, pocketed clothing. In appearance, Teek had scruffy white fur, with a pair of close-set eyes and two oversized, buck-teeth, and often spoke through giggles. He was less than a meter tall, and due to his fast metabolism, he had extremely quick speed, with allowed him to run almost in a blur. Teek eventually became the companion of Noa Briqualon, an old Human male, who had been stranded on the moon ever since his ship crashed there. The two lived together in a small cabin, near where Noa's ship lay. Noa was extremely reluctant to speak with any other people on the moon, and spent most of his time working on fixing his ship. Teek, however, opted to stay away from the ship, and usually spent his time perched in trees as Noa worked relentlessly to restore function to his vessel.

Wicket and Cindel
One day in 3 ABY, Noa was off repairing the ship, and Teek was sitting in a large tree when a lost female Human child, named Cindel Towani, and her Ewok companion, named Wicket, wandered towards him. Wicket was apprehensive at the sight of the ape-like being, but Cindel found Teek amusing, and stopped her brown-furred companion from beating him with a stick. Cindel told Wicket that Teek could help them and lead them to shelter and food. Teek then led them to Noa's cabin, though because he was running at a speed far faster than either of the two children could manage, he almost lost them several times. Eventually, however, the three of them reached Noa's hut. Teek invited the pair into the house, which Cindel found to be very messy. Thinking that the house was, except for Teek, unoccupied, Wicket and Cindel decided to stay there; they began cleaning their new home and cooked some food. However, they were soon interrupted when Noa returned home, furious at his friend for allowing strangers into the house. He removed the children from his house, and roared at Teek for bringing them there in the first place.

Later, Noa was feeling guilty at having shouted at Teek, and told him he knew that he became lonely sometimes, but that the strangers would do them nothing but harm. They ate the porridge and muffins made by Cindel, though Teek made sure to stuff some into his pockets for Cindel and Wicket. Though Noa forbade him to, Teek used his immense speed to take several of the muffins to the children as Noa turned his back. Cindel and Wicket were sitting around a hundred meters away, though somehow Teek managed to give them the muffins and return home before Noa turned around again. The old man eventually relented, and summoned them to return to the house, where he, taking more of a liking to his visitors, lit them a fire and allowed them to stay for one night only. Teek kindly gave the two cushions and covers for them to sleep on, and bade them goodnight, though he was woken during the night by Cindel's crying, after she had had a nightmare. Noa showed her a sort of hospitability he had not shown earlier, and let her and Wicket sleep in his bed. After they fell asleep, Noa told Teek that they had better things to do than mind two kids, and that, come morning, they would have to go. Teek accepted this, though he was greatly disappointed.

The next morning, Teek was left behind as Cindel and Wicket went to gather flowers for a pie. Noa arrived home to find the house deserted but for Teek, and mistakenly assumed the children had left for good. He was saddened at this, though he tried to cover it up: he pretended the two mattresses he had come home with were for Teek, while in actual fact they had been for Cindel and her friend. To old Noa's great surprise, Cindel and Wicket arrived back at the house soon after, and together they made the pie, which was enjoyed by everyone, especially Teek, before they all went to bed once again. In the morning, the two guests, curious as to where Noa continued to disappear to, followed the bearded Human as he set off to work on the ship, despite Teek's best efforts.

The duo ended up finding out about the ship, and Noa discovered them&mdash;he was initially livid, but eventually told them his story and allowed them to stay in his home. Later on, all four of them played music together in Noa's cabin, with Teek playing his flute expertly. After, Cindel told them of the death of her parents, and how she missed them, but Noa successfully comforted the young girl, before putting her to sleep for the night once again. Teek was woken in the early hours of the next day by the animate Wicket&mdash;Cindel had disappeared during the night, though Teek stayed behind while Wicket and Noa went searching for the little girl. They soon returned without her, as she had been kidnapped by Nightsister Charal. Noa and Wicket gathered their weapons and left for a rescue attempt, and Teek, though apprehensive at first, sped off to assist them.

Terak’s Keep
They eventually arrived at Terak’s Keep, where Cindel was being held by a bloodthirsty warlord named Terak. When they reached the moat around the huge building, Wicket suggested they swim, but Noa, knowing that the waters were infested with all kinds of vicious beings, decided to use his grappling hook to enable them to climb over the river and avoid the murky waters. Teek went first, and once he reached the top of the wall he helped Wicket climb up; he and Wicket then hid as one of Terak’s brutal Sanyassan guards walked along. He watched in horror as the guard spotted Noa below, and prepared to fire at him with his primitive rifle. Teek and Wicket managed to save Noa though, pushing the guard into the moat. They helped Noa up and began to sneak around the Keep, searching for Cindel. In a dark cellar, Teek and his friends found a den of drunken guards, with lord Terak sitting on his throne at the far side of the room. Wicket knew Cindel and some of his fellow Ewoks were in cells through a door on the far side of the room, though both he and Noa knew they would be unable to make it across the room without being seen by one of the Sanyassans. Teek, however, had other ideas, and used his speed to sneak across the room undetected, stopping every few meters to hide behind one of the stone slabs the guards were using as seats, and snatched the uniform belonging to one of the drunken guards.

Teek returned with the guard's clothes, and the trio used them to disguise themselves as one of the guards, with Wicket on Noa’s shoulders and Teek trailing slightly behind them. After successfully passing through the throne room, they shedded their disguise and proceeded on to the dungeons where Cindel was being kept. The only guards between them and Cindel were two Sanyassans playing cards nearby, one of which had a bunch of keys at his waist. At Noa's request, Teek ran silently over to the guard, but just as he was about to take the keys, Cindel called out his name, startling the guards. They did not notice Teek, but the little ape-like creature ended up with one of his hands stuck underneath the guard, who had sat back down after Cindel's outburst. His hand stuck, Teek once again showed his cleverness and initiative as he slipped one of the beast's cards into his sleeve: when the other player noticed this, a fight ensued, leaving the two Sanyassans dead and Teek with the ring of keys. Wicket and Noa unlocked the cells of Cindel and the other Ewoks, though Teek busied himself by playing with some of the food on the table. With all of the other Ewoks freed, the group of them, including Teek, began to sneak back out of the Keep. However, Terak had heard them escaping, and confronted them in a dark corridor, though he soon retreated after Wicket shot him in the foot with one of the dead guards's blasters. He returned to the throne and sounded the warning bell, and ordered his men to go after the group who had escaped. Teek and the others eventually reached a dead end, but Noa used some explosives he had packed earlier to blow a hole in the wall. The Sanyassans, led by Terak himself, soon reached the group, who were swinging across the moat on Noa's rope one by one. As Noa and Cindel left, the young girl spotted a crystal oscillator, the only remaining part Noa needed to get his ship up and running. Although the guards fired several shots at them, Teek, Noa, Cindel and the Ewoks escaped, however Terak did not give up, and sent dozens of his men after the group.

Skirmish with Terak’s warriors
They managed to reach a forest, though Terak’s soldiers, aided by Charal, tracked them. Noa led them to his ship, and told them that if they could hold off the marauders for a time, he could power up the vessel. While several Ewoks set up Noa's powerful catapult outside the ship, Teek began scouting to see how far back the Sanyassans were. He eventually spotted them, though one of the guards had seen him, and grabbed hold of him. He managed to escape, though several marauders fired at him, and followed him back toward the ship. The Sanyassans eventually fought with the Ewoks, who used their primitive weapons effectively, defeating many of Terak's men. Teek found one marauder alone, and used his speed to tie the man to the bark of a great tree. He continued causing trouble&mdash;he lit a small fire at the feet of one of Terak’s giant blurrgs, causing the animal to retreat, which dealt a serious blow to Terak's efforts to re-capture Cindel. He arrived on the ship just as Noa got it operational, with Terak's men ceaselessly firing a portable cannon at it. Teek took control of one of the cannon’s on the ship, and began firing back at the marauders. Through the efforts of Teek, Noa, Wicket and the other Ewoks, Terak’s warriors were eventually driven back to the keep, though the warlord himself remained to fight with Noa. Teek, perched high in a tree, watched in horror, as Terak stood over a helpless Noa with his sword raised. However, the furry creature intervened, and saved the life of his companion by jumping on Terak’s head, unbalancing him. Terak, however, soon shrugged Teek off, and sent him flying through the air toward a bush, which broke one of Teek's arms. Wicket, though, managed to defeat Terak, inadvertently unlocking the dark magic in the warlord’s ring, which turned him to stone.

Goodbyes
"I love you and I will miss you."

- Noa Briqualon says goodbye to Teek

With Terak defeated, Cindel and Noa decided to leave Endor, though Teek opted to stay behind and live with the Ewoks in Bright Tree Village. Noa said his emotional goodbyes to Teek, who was extremely sad that he would not see his companion again. Teek was also sad at the loss of Cindel, though she vowed to return and see him and Wicket again. The ship successfully took off, and Teek, alongside Wicket, saw his friend leave the planet for good. He spent the rest of his life with the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village.

Personality and traits
"You're a sweet spirit."

- Noa Briqualon

In nature, Teek was very friendly and hospitable toward others, and often went out of his way to help them. He showed his friendliness when he first met Cindel and Wicket, leading them to his home, and offering them food and shelter, while Noa was far less accommodating. He also performed many kind acts for his friends. One example of this was when, worried for the two children, he snuck several muffins out for Cindel and Wicket, even though Noa had specifically told him not to.

Teek was also quite optimistic and mischievous (though he never knowingly caused another being harm), and spent much of his time laughing and giggling with others, something that Noa discouraged. He also displayed a strong sense of mischief, such as when he threw nuts at Wicket. Teek was extremely inventive, often doing things that others would not have expected, though always effectively. He showed his inventiveness when he framed the Sanyassan gambler, almost single-handedly getting the group past that particular obstacle. He once again proved his inventive nature when dealing with Terak&mdash;Teek may have been smaller than the warlord, but he managed to find a way to incapacitate him. These were not his only inventive moments: he used the flames to scare off the blurrgs, and cleverly stole the guard’s uniform in Terak’s Keep.

Teek was also very brave, and a loyal friend to Noa, Wicket and Cindel. He tried to hide Noa’s secret from the two guests, and later, risked his life on several occasions during the rescue of Towani. Teek also stayed with his companions when he could easily have used his immense speed to quickly get to safety.

Talents and abilities
Like all members of his species, Teek was extremely quick, and could often be seen as little more than a blur. He used his speed as both an amusement, as well as a weapon of sorts&mdash;he once used his speed to tie a Sanyassan to a tree on Endor. He could also play a type of flute, which he used with Cindel, Noa and Wicket when they played music and danced together in Noa's house.

Behind the scenes
Teek was created by Jim and Ken Wheat for the made-for-TV film Ewoks: The Battle for Endor.

Teek was played by a sixteen-year-old high school student named Niki Botelho, who wore a suit resembling Teek during filming.

Teek's costume had two heads: an articulated one and a non-articulated one. The articulated one contained many devices which made Teek's eyes and face move, operated by several workers.

Appearances

 * Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
 * Star Tours