Teek

"You nasty little bug-lover!"

- Noa Briqualon curses 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 two large upper incisors. As his species had an accelerated 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 Wystri 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 recovery, 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 Sanyassan 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 Galactic Empire. The Teek species was 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, which allowed him to run faster than any other being on Endor. 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
"What's that?" "Trouble!"

- Cindel Towani and Wicket on the arrival of Teek

In 3 ABY, Teek stumbled upon two lost companions in the woods; a female Human child named Cindel Towani, and an Ewok named Wicket. The two had been captured by a warlord named Terak, but had managed to escape. However, the Sanyassans were still determined to find Cindel, thinking that she would help them unlock the secret of a piece of technology they had stolen during an attack on her village which killed her family. Wicket was apprehensive at the sight of the furry being, but Cindel found Teek amusing, and decided to follow him, in the hopes that he would lead them to shelter and food. Teek led them to Noa's cabin, where the two children, mistakenly assuming the house was unoccupied, decided to stay, and began to clean up the house. However, they were soon interrupted when Noa returned home. He was furious at his friend for allowing strangers into the house, and told the children to leave. Noa refused to allow the children, who were camping nearby, back inside his house, though Teek kindly gave them some food. The old scout eventually had a change of heart, and allowed Cindel and Wicket to stay for one night only. Teek was awakened during the night by the crying of Towani, who had had a nightmare. Noa comforted her, and, taking more of a liking toward his guests, allowed them to stay in his bed, generously taking a place on the floor for himself. However, he told Teek that, come morning, they would have to leave. Teek accepted this, though he was greatly disappointed.

Cindel and Wicket were absent when Noa arrived home the next day. He mistakenly assumed the children had left for good, and tried to hide his disappointment, telling Teek he was glad they were gone. However, the two children returned, and despite his original terms, Noa allowed them to stay with him and Teek as long as they proved themselves useful and helped out around the cabin. The next day, curious as to where Noa continued to disappear, the two guests followed the bearded Human as he set off to work on the ship, despite Teek's best efforts. Noa discovered them, told them his story, and allowed them to stay in his house as long as they needed. In the early hours of the morning, Cindel was kidnapped by the Nightsister Charal, and after searching the surrounding forests, Wicket and Noa left to rescue the young girl. Teek, though apprehensive at first, eventually sped off to assist them.

Terak's Keep
The trio eventually arrived at Terak's Keep, where Cindel was being held by a Sanyassan warlord named Terak. When they reached the moat around the huge building, they opted not to swim across, as the waters were infested with all kinds of vicious beings. Instead they used Noa's grappling hook to climb atop the great wall, where Teek and Wicket incapacitated the patrolling guard, and helped Noa, who was significantly larger, up onto the wall. The three of them searched the castle for Cindel, and discovered she was imprisoned, along with a group of Ewoks, in a cell near to where Teek, Noa, and Wicket were. However, Cindel's cell was heavily guarded by several of Terak's men, whom Teek and his friends would not have passed undetected. Teek, though, managed to steal a guard's uniform, which the trio used to disguise themselves. They reached the dungeon where Cindel was being kept, though two additional Sanyassans, playing cards, sat close to Cindel. Teek once again showed his cleverness and initiative as he slipped one of the men'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 needed to free Cindel and the Ewoks.

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 sounded the alarms. 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. The old man took it, knowing it would enable him to return to his homeworld. 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 the Nightsister Charal, tracked them. Noa led them to his ship, though it would take him several minutes to power up the vessel. Teek was sent to scout the area, and to find out how far away the Sanyassans were, while the Ewoks assembled a powerful catapult near the ship. Teek found Terak's men, however, he inadvertently led them back to Noa's ship. The Sanyassans clashed with the Ewoks in the forest, and although Teek did not join the effort against Terak's warriors, he did deal the warlord a blow when he used flames to force Terak's two massive blurrgs to retreat.

Teek took control of one of the cannons on Noa's 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. Through the efforts of Teek, and Wicket, who inadvertently unlocked the dark magic in the warlord's ring, Terak was turned 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. 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 sneaked 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 flames to scare off Terak's 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 the secret of Noa's starship 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 when at full speed, he often looked as if he was out of focus. 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 George Lucas for Jim and Ken Wheat's made-for-TV film Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. The Endorian creature was played by a sixteen-year-old high school student named Niki Botelho, who wore a full body suit during filming. Teek's costume had two heads: an articulated one and a non-articulated one. The articulated head contained many devices which made Teek's eyes and face move, operated by several workers.

In the score of Battle for Endor, composer Peter Bernstein uses a specific musical theme to represent Teek. The fast-paced motif musically expresses Teek's playful nature and his speedy running ability. The theme appears on the soundtrack LP in the track simply titled "Teek."

A creature with the appearance of Teek appears in a Star Tours safety video, though it is unknown if it is Teek.

Appearances

 * Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
 * The Ring, the Witch, and the Crystal: An Ewok Adventure
 * Star Tours