Laigrek

"I locked the door in here. I thought I was gonna be laigrek compost."

- Jorran

Native to Dantooine, laigreks were insectoid predators which infested the dark, dank, subterranean regions of the planet. Not seen around Dantooine at 3,956 BBY, and only seen at the Jedi Enclave ruins thereafter suggests that they were not common to the area, and were mostly likely summoned by some unknown source to that place. They terrorized the mercenaries who tried to raid the enclave, commonly killing them or their companions, though they never ventured out of the sublevel.

Description
Laigreks were insectoid in appearance, with a layered exoskeleton and six scythe-shaped legs similar to those of an acklay. They were about one meter in height when standing on their four hind legs, with the back of their layered armor in shiny black, and the belly a fiery red. Two small black cerci jutted from the top of its back end, and thorn-like projections adorned its sides. Its legs had two joints, a trait common to most insectoids, and the inner edge of its knife-like lower legs were toothed. The creature's head sported two large black compound eyes with smaller red eyes within them, giving rise to the saying "redder than a laigrek's eye." Two thorn-like antennae extended from the crown of its head. The laigrek had an animallike mouth that hinged on a jaw instead of mandibles. It was highly ridged and lumped, with the top jaw similar to a sharp beak.

History


Though native to Dantooine, the laigrek could not be found in the caves in the area around the Jedi Enclave&mdash;later Khoonda&mdash;area at the time of Revan's second training there as an amnesiac, though kinraths were plentiful. However, their sudden swarming only in the Dantooine sublevel after the enclave's destruction merits an explanation, though few are sure.

In reality, it was the Jedi Padawan Kaevee who sent for the insectoids to aid her in keeping the treasures and secrets the ruined enclave held within its battered walls. She had been in the training stage when the attack on Dantooine had been destroyed. She was still young and was not knowledgeable enough to discern between the dark and light sides of the Force. When the Sith assaulted the Jedi Enclave, seeking Revan&mdash;and asking questions only about Revan&mdash;Kaevee tried hiding in the Matale estate, only to see Shen Matale and other Matales die and their house burn. Thus, she took residence in the Enclave sublevel, thus giving her reason to summon the laigreks, as she could not accomplish her task alone. She became attached to the creatures, calling them her pets in her hermitage as the protector of the ruins.

As mercenaries saw a golden opportunity to raid the ruins of the Jedi Enclave, more and more flooded into it to loot the place of valuables, which were plentiful. However, because of the laigreks, to dare to journey into the sublevel was extremely dangerous, and usually got one killed by the aggressive creatures. This is what happened when a mercenary group traveled down to get some of the valuables; though most got away, one was left in the sublevel, where he managed to find an empty room and lock himself within it, safe from the laigreks. The man, whose name was Jorran, was later found by the Jedi Exile in her hunt for Jedi Master Vrook. In the process, she'd killed all of the laigreks in the sublevel, thus freeing him.

Characteristics
Laigreks were a fast and deadly predator, well capable of hunting down and killing their prey, making them fierce opponents to all but a well-equipped Jedi. Normally they wandered aimlessly around, constantly attentive for intruders, which they quickly spotted, and via an unknown kind of communication alert the other laigreks of the disturbance, thus swarming their prey in a game of winning by overwhelming numbers. When attacking, they clawed and bit at their victims. They were usually found in small swarms, and were not commonly found alone. When they ran or walked, they lowered themselves, allowing them to move faster by allowing their front two legs to touch the ground. They emitted a chirping shriek.

Another subspecies of the laigrek was much more deadly, thus giving it the nickname of deadly laigrek. It had the capacity to breathe fire and endure high temperatures, adding an additional level of danger to the already formidable creatures.

Behind the scenes


The ambiguous parts of the article were originally to be in the game, but were cut due to time constraints, leaving several loose ends, including the origin of the laigreks.

An explanation for the laigrek's only being in the enclave has not been canonically answered. Though in the cut part of the game it was because of Kaevee summoning them, other explanations may also suffice. One such explanation could be that, like the kinraths, the laigreks were not so plenteous before the destruction as afterwards, as there were fewer to control them, though this does not explain their relegation to the enclave sublevel. This could, however, be attributed to them being in competition with the kinraths, who took the main part of the caves, leaving the laigreks with the sublevel.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords