Het Nkik/Legends

"The Jawas are not powerless&mdash;if they do not wish to be."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi

Het Nkik was a free-thinking Jawa from Tatooine. Unlike most members of his species, he believed that the Jawas were not powerless, and needed only to push themselves to be strong and fight back against their enemies, the Tusken Raiders and Imperial stormtroopers. Nkik had had unorthodox beliefs since him and his friend Jet Nkik had managed to repair an E522 assassin droid around [2 BBY]] and sell it to the crimelord Lady Valarian, despite the objections of other Jawas. This gave him the belief that Jawas could do anything they wanted to if properly motivated, a view only strengthened when he later managed to scare off several Tusken Raiders singlehandedly, saving himself from death.

After Jet Nkik was killed by stormtroopers in 0 BBY, Het Nkik was motivated to get revenge for his friend and inspire his species to oppose the Empire. He purchased a DL-44 heavy blaster pistol from a fellow Jawa, and traveled to Mos Eisley, where an Imperial garrison was stationed. Once there, Nkik spent a brief time in Chalmun's cantina, where he built up his confidence. While there, he bought a Tusken battle talisman from the Ranat Reegesk. However, he failed to notice that Reegesk stole his blaster's power pak. When he confronted a group of stormtroopers outside a short time later, his blaster failed to shoot, thanks to the missing power pak. He noticed this too late, and the trooper 1047 shot him dead.

Early life
Het Nkik was a Jawa, a species on the Outer Rim world of Tatooine. He had very unorthodox ideas for a Jawa, believing that the species did not have to act timid and cower at the sign of any possible threat, as were their reputation. Other Jawas believed that they were too weak to defend themselves, while Het Nkik felt that they were only weak because they chose not to defend themselves. Sometime before 2 BBY, he and his best friend Jek Nkik had discovered a starfighter wreck, and inside it, a damaged E522 assassin droid. After several months of work, the two were able to fix it up, using spare parts that they found in the Jawa fortress. When they were finished, it no longer had the violent programming or weapons it had once possessed but was fully functional as a messenger droid. Despite the objections of other Jawas, the two were then able to sell it to the crime lord Lady Valarian, who operated on Tatooine and had a reputation for being difficult to please. However, she was satisfied with their droid, much to the delight of the two Jawas.

After this, Het Nkik swore that he would never listen to the doubts of others, and would never believe the common school of thought about what Jawas could not do. Around this same time, Het Nkik also encountered a group of Tusken Raiders, a species hostile to Jawas, while examining the wreckage of a T-16 skyhopper. Though Het Nkik was terrified, fully aware that they could easily kill him, he forced himself to act, activating the skyhopper's security system, causing a loud screech which scared the Tusken Raiders away. This also opened his eyes to the fact that with the right attitude and weapons, the Jawas could be powerful.

Becoming a martyr
By 2 BBY, him and Jet Nkik had been separated into different clans, although they would meet at the Jawa's annual swap meet, where Jawas would exchange goods and swap stories among one another. In 0 BBY, at that year's meet, Het Nkin's clan's sandcrawler was delayed by a sandstorm, causing them to arrive after much of the bargaining had already taken place. However, Jet Nkik and his clan were not present. Wimateeka, the leader of Het Nkik's clan, and other clan leader, feared that they had been attacked by Tusken Raiders, as had recently happened with the clan led by Eet Ptaa. Het Nkik insisted that the Jawas should unite to defend themselves. However, the clan leaders mocked him for his unorthodox ideas.

Disheartened, Het Nkik wandered the aisles where items where for up sale. While examining the wares, he was approached by the Jawa Hrar Kkak, who, having heard of unusual ideas, offered to sell him a DL-44 heavy blaster pistol. Though a recent Imperial decree had banned Jawas from having such weapons, Kkak denied knowing of such a law. Kkak placed a hefty price on the item, and although Nkik was forced to trade most of his possessions in return for the blaster, he greatly sought the illegal weapon and was willing to trade away most of his goods for it.

After Het Nkik's clan left the swap meet he was able to persuade the sandcrawler's pilot to head along the route Jet Nkik's clan had likely headed on their way to the gathering. As they traveled on the detour, they encountered a burned sandcralwethe wreckage of a sandcrawler. Nkik knew that it had been Jet Nkik's clan's vehicle, and that his best friend was now dead. As the Jawas got out to investigate, they noticed an old man and two droids by the sandcrawler. Though some of the Jawas suspected that the old man had attacked the sandcrawler, Het Nkik believed that this was ridiculous, sensing that he was harmless. Noticing that he was burning the bodies of the dead Jawas, a Jawa ritual, Het Nkik approached him, and began to question him, asking who he was. The man replied in fluent Jawaese, explaining that tried to understand and respect all creatures, and thus had learned the Jawas' language and many of their traditions.

He also agreed with Het Nkik that Imperial stormtroopers were behind the attack, not Tusken Raiders as many of his brethren believed. Before the Jawas left, the man explained to Het Nkik that the Jawas could be strong, if pushed to the breaking point. This caused a sudden revelation for Nkik, and he decided to go to Mos Eisley, and challenge Imperial forces there with his new blaster. Though he knew that he would almost certainly be killed, he was prepared to die to motivate his people to stand up for themselves, and oppose the growing Imperial presence on Tatooine, as well as their enemies, the Tusken Raiders.

Het Nkik traded what remained of his possessions to another Jawa in his clan in exchange for a vehicle that would allow him to make it to Mos Eisley. Though it broke down twice, he was able to get it working again and arrive in Mos Eisley. Once there, he traded away the vehicle to another Jawa, and then, realizing how close he was to actually accomplishing his goal, began to feel fear. Though his instinct told him to flee and hide, Het Nkik pushed on, forcing himself to go into Chalmun's cantina in hopes of getting a drink that would give him confidence. In there, he spotted the old man who had encouraged him earlier, and took it as a good omen. While in the cantina, he sat with an unidentified Jawa, at least briefly.

While sitting at a table, he was approached by the Ranat trader Reegesk. Ranats often traded with Jawas, and thus, Reegesk was eager to deal with Nkik. The Jawa only half-listened until Reegesk offered to trade him a Tusken battle talisman. Believing that it could make him strong and fearless like a Tusken Raider, Nkik was eager to trade for it, offering to pay part of the price now and the rest later, fully aware that he would likely be unable to pay the other installment. While examining the talisman, Nkik let Reegesk hold his blaster. Unknown to the Jawa, Reegesk, seeking a power supply for his tribe's Moisture vaporator, removed the blaster's power pak.

After a moment, Nkik took his blaster back, then, headed outside with the DL-44 and the talisman. Noticing a group of stormtroopers approaching, Nkik quickly hid in the nearby wreckage of the Dowager Queen, a crashed starship. As the stormtroopers walked towards the ship, Nkik thought over his plan. Though he knew that he would most likely die, he had accepted death in the hope that his death would give the Jawas confidence in themselves and lead to them fighting back against their enemies, the Tusken Raiders and the Empire. Finally, the stormtroopers walked by the ship, and Nkik leapt out from his hiding place, firing his blaster frantically. However, he noticed too late that the power pak was missing, and the trooper 1047 shot the Jawa [[death|dead[[. Unfortunately for Het Nkik, his dreams of dying as a martyr and inspiring his species did not come to fruition.

Personality and traits
Het Nkik had very unusual ideas for a Jawa. He believed that Jawas did not have to be the weak creatures everyone believed, but needed only to stand up for themselves.

Behind the scenes
Het Nkik first appeared in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, where he is briefly shown in Chalmun's cantina. It was not until Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, published in 1995, that he was given a name and a backstory. He would later be mentioned as reference guides such as The Essential Guide to Characters and The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

Appearances

 * Swap Meet: The Jawa's Tale
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Trade Wins: The Ranat's Tale
 * When The Desert Wind Turns: The Stormtrooper's Tale
 * At the Crossroads: The Spacer's Tale
 * One Last Night in the Mos Eisley Cantina: The Tale of the Wolfman and the Lamproid

Notes and references
Het Nkik Het Nkik