Pyke

"Spice dealers connected to all the crime families on Coruscant.''" "''The Pykes. They will be the next to join us."

- Pre Vizsla and Darth Maul

The Pykes were species of sentient humanoids native to the planet Oba Diah. The species was distinguished by their unsettling appearance, having large heads and undersized faces. A notable group of Pykes was the Pyke Syndicate, the galaxy's preeminent suppliers of spice, a narcotic substance mined by slaves on the planet Kessel.

Biology and appearance
A sentient species, the Pykes were humanoid, although slimmer and taller than most humans. They had two long, lanky legs, and two arms that ended in three-fingered hands. Their heads were large and elongated, with a tapered skull and an undersized face, a feature which some other species found unsettling. Pykes had two narrow, almond-shaped eyes which could be magenta or blue in color. The species had two sexes, male and female.

Society and culture
"We're going to Oba Diah. To see the Pykes."

- Asajj Ventress, to Quinlan Vos

Pykes hailed from Oba Diah, a terrestrial planet marked by obsidian cliffs. Visitors to Oba Diah viewed both the population and terrain as unwelcoming. The Pyke homeworld served as the headquarters of the Pyke Syndicate, a criminal organization which profited from distributing spice, an illicit substance harvested by slaves in the spice mines of the planet Kessel. To deliver spice to their customers, such as crime families on Coruscant, the Pyke Syndicate relied on smugglers and freighter captains to complete the dangerous Kessel Run.

History
During the Clone Wars, the Pyke Syndicate, led by Lom Pyke, joined the Shadow Collective, a criminal alliance formed by Sith Lord Darth Maul. The collective aimed to defeat the Galactic Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems by uniting the galaxy's criminal underworld. Under Maul's guidance, the Pykes, the Black Sun cartel, and the Mandalorian extremists of Death Watch launched a takeover of Mandalore, which resulted in a planet-wide civil war.

Behind the scenes
The Pykes were developed by George Lucas for the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The species debuted in the season five episode "Eminence," which first aired in 2013. The upcoming 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story will feature the Pyke character Quay Tolsite, marking a live-action debut for the species.

Appearances

 * Darth Maul, Part II
 * Darth Maul, Part III
 * Darth Maul, Part IV
 * Dark Disciple
 * Darth Maul&mdash;Son of Dathomir, Part One
 * Darth Maul&mdash;Son of Dathomir, Part Two
 * Darth Maul&mdash;Son of Dathomir, Part Four
 * Solo: A Star Wars Story
 * Darth Maul&mdash;Son of Dathomir, Part One
 * Darth Maul&mdash;Son of Dathomir, Part Two
 * Darth Maul&mdash;Son of Dathomir, Part Four
 * Solo: A Star Wars Story