Iktotchi

Last Updated: 1/10/2024

Name: Iktotchi

Humanoid: Yes

Classification: Near-Human/Beast (Ovine)

Homeworld: Iktotch

Coloration: Tan, Pink, Orange, and/or Red

Biology: The Iktotchi were a species fairly closely related to Humans, although they had a few very notable physiological differences. Their skin was known to be incredibly thick and nearly impenetrable by most conventional means, usually taking on a pink or orange pigmentation hue, although it could sometimes been pure red as well. The species had evolved from goat-like creatures who dwelled on the windy world of Iktotch many millennia ago, and while they had long since lost any semblance of fur or bodily hair, the strong skin required to live among their homeworld’s windswept mountains still remained.

Their body was generally the same shape, size, and height as the average Human, and it would seem they also supposedly shared the same or very similar internal and reproductive organs. However, it is unclear if the two species could mate and produce Human-Iktotchi hybrids, as we currently have no records of such an instance. Their hands and feet were noticeably larger than that of Humans, and their fingers formed into distinct points. Their skin also had the appearance of wrinkles often found with age on other species, although Iktotchi seemed to posses them generally, no matter how old they were. Their average lifespan seemed to be around the same as a Human’s as well, if not a tad longer.

Iktotchi heads were slightly larger than that of that of a Human’s, and still usually sported all of the wrinkles found on the rest of the body. Their cranium was slightly oblong, and they had two very distinctive, downward turning horns, one protruding from a fleshy mount on each side of their head. The horns on male Iktotchi were noticeable larger than those on the females, although both sexes did posses them. Iktotchi foreheads were somewhat bulbous, and were reinforced under their skin, allowing them to execute powerful headbutts on the hardest of objects without sustaining any real cranial damage. The species also possessed sharp teeth, and their Human-like eyes were somewhat naturally sunken into their heads.

One of the major facets that separated the Iktotchi from other humanoid species was their aptitude for telepathy and precognition, which was innate to all Iktotchi regardless of their midi-chlorian count (but was still said to be linked to the Force in some way). The Iktotchi had developed precognition due to the constant storms and harsh conditions of their planet, allowing them to sense or even see events that would take place in the future, in turn letting them prepare and ensuring the survival of the species. Unfortunately, they couldn’t really control these visions, and they may manifest more consistently or clearly to some Iktotchi while not to others. The further an Iktotchi strayed from their homeworld, the more these abilities were dampened, is it is speculated that the species may actually possibly share some sort of symbiotic, almost collectively familial relationship with the planet Iktotch itself.

The species also possessed the natural ability of telepathy, being able to communicate with each other to a limited capacity via their minds, as well as being able to communicate with other non-Iktotchi species in a one-way telepathic channel of sorts. Generally, Iktotchi had high baseline midi-chlorian counts, which only strengthened the already immense psionic abilities they possessed. Iktotchi Jedi or Sith were sometimes capable of seeing entire events play out years into the future, which made them incredible assets to their respective factions. While they could communicate via telepathy, this was limited in both intricacy and distance, and so they did possess their own verbal language as well, known as Iktotchese. Despite this, they also had no problems speaking Galactic Basic Standard.

On rare occasions, Iktotchi could develop incredibly strange bodily mutations, including something simply called “two-face” syndrome. These Iktotchi possessed three eyes, two noses, and two mouths, while still maintaining their usual dual horns. Despite these vastly different and bizarre genetic anomalies, the Iktotchi could function just with no apparent impairments or issues, and usually did not suffer from any serious debilitating effects. This may possibly be attributed to their high attunement to the Force and it’s subsequent natural healing or sustaining properties.

Lore: The Iktotchi were regarded as a very menacing looking race too nearly all offworlders, but were actually a very genuine and humble people. Due to the galaxy’s general fear of them, they were oftened forced to mask their outgoing sides for fear of startling others, instead attempting to maintain stoic and stern composure. Their precognitive abilities didn’t help, as most creatures, especially during the era of the Empire, were terrified of forces they didn’t understand. Iktotchi were actually banned from gambling and other sports, and were often profiled as criminals because of their ability to predict the future and escape tricky situations. However, there were almost no recorded Iktotchi criminals, and instead they were often innocent bystanders who may have been exploited by actual criminals. Because of all of this, the Iktotchi rarely left their homeworld and almost never interacted with offworlders, as people rarly intentionally traveled to Iktotch.

Despite all of this, the Iktotchi generally held no hard feelings against the rest of the galaxy, and understood why they may have been mistakenly feared. They loved studying and integrating aspects of other cultures into their own, and when an offworlder showed genuine interest in visiting Iktotch, they were always welcomed with open arms.

Iktotchi were some of the first sentient species to evolve in the galaxy, tens of millennia before the decisive Battle of Yavin. Early into their societal development, they were visited by an even more ancient and mystic race known as the Kwa, who taught the then still savage Iktotchi all about the ways of the Force. This kickstarted their desire for spirituality and learning, and helped them reign in and hone their telepathic and precognitive abilities. The Kwa empire eventually collapsed and the Iktotchi completely forgot of their existence over time. The only thing that remained of their legacy was the Iktotchi’s innate skills and interest in the Force.

The Iktotchi remained the only sentient species in their entire star system for hundreds, if not thousands of years, and used this time to build up their massive civilization and sharpen their “future-vision.” They were even able to develop a rudimentary form of space travel, although they never created any form of lightspeed technology on their own.

Many thousands of years after their encounter with the Kwa, and approximately four thousand years before the Clone Wars, an “Old Republic” exploration team finally reached Iktotch. They were surprised to see that the Iktotchi has prepared for their arrival weeks in advance, setting up great celebrations, feasts, and even carving the Republic insignia into the planet itself. These explorers first mistook them for a long lost Republic colony, but eventually realized the Iktotchi simply had incredibly perception abilities, and reported their findings back to the Jedi Order shortly thereafter.

The Jedi were able to quickly swoop in and set up a temple on the world, beginning to teach some of the most prominent Iktotchi leaders how to further focus their natural abilities by utilizing their existing knowledge of the properties of the Force. Unfortunately, the Sith Order also arrived on the heels of the Jedi and had a great influence over a certain sect of Iktotchi as well. During this time, a massive number of Iktotchi had begun to expand out into every corner of the galaxy. However, they quickly found that other species were terrified, or at the very least, paranoid of them, either because of their appearances, their unexplainable abilities, or the fact that a rumor had been started claiming they were carrying with them an incomprehensible sickness known as the “Omen Disease.”

Because of the apprehension they experienced, many offworld Iktotchi isolated themselves, and some began turning to the Dark Side of the Force for strength, feeding off of the fear and hatred that encircled them. Of these individual, one even became the renowned Sith Lord known as Darth Cognus. Still, many more aligned themselves with the Galactic Republic, and in turn the Jedi Order. Around this time, it was revealed that because of their abilities, they had a surprising aptitude for being pilots, as they could foresee their opponents next moves before they even happened. Many space pirates and raiders considered Iktotchi to be a symbol of luck and victory, and sought to have them as part of their crews.

Sometime still during the latter days of the Old Republic, the Iktotchi all began to experience visions of the Clone Wars, the fall of the Jedi, and the rise of the Galactic Empire. Their diplomats began to try to warn the Republic Senate and the Jedi, but their pleas and predictions fell on deaf ears, as what they were saying was still thousands of years away. Because they wanted to avoid the ensuing carnage that was to come, and the collapse of the Galactic Republic as they knew it, the Iktotchi seceded from the Republic and began retreating back to Iktotch in droves. As they flocked back from every corner of the galaxy by the millions, the Iktotchi government actually had a difficult time sustaining all of the immigrants, and were forced to restructure their orbital installations, creating colonies aboard numerous space stations orbiting the overflowing planet.

The majority of the population then remained on Iktotch during the entirety of the Clone Wars, and through the rise of the Empire. A handful of Iktotchi Jedi did remain in the Order, as their perception had been clouded by the growing corruption of the Order itself and the influence Dark Side of the Force that had begun seeping it’s way into every vein of the Republic. However, it was relatively rare to see an Iktotchi just out and about in the galaxy, aside from the occasional pilot-for-hire.

Interestingly, you would think the Emperor would have immediately seen them as a threat, just as he had done with species such as the Squamatan or the Yinchorri, and have either Darth Vader or a large contingent of the Imperial Navy go in and wipe them out or harshly suppress their populous. But surprisingly, they remained almost entirely untouched during the entirety of the Galactic Civil War. Palpatine was apparently satisfied with their past retreat, and knew they were a peaceful people who posed no true threat, so he simply placed a small Imperial blockade around the edges of their system and, more-or-less, called it a day. The Empire didn’t even bother deploying a single garrison or appoint an Imperial Governor to the planet, as they saw no need to expend the resources. And for the most part, the Emperor was correct.

The occasional bold Iktotchi slipped past the loose blockade to join up with the Rebel Alliance, but for the most part, the species remained on their homeworld, trying their hardest not to involve themselves with the Galactic Empire for fear of the destruction and terror they foresaw would and had seized the rest of the galaxy. And that is how they would remain until the collapse of the Empire. Once the Iktotchi knew they were safe, and all of their dark premonitions had ceased, they contacted the outside galaxy once more and were actually one of the first planets to join the burgeoning New Republic. They assisted the New Republic politically, although they still did not venture far from their homeworld or engage further conflicts. It had become much more common to see an Iktotchi pilot, pirate, or bounty hunter during the days following the Imperial Remnant’s utter defeat.

Legends/Canon: Iktotchi were introduced many years ago within Star Wars Legends, and sadly, almost none of the information above has officially been canonized as of yet. The Kwa have also not be reintroduced into Canon, and it is unclear if they ever will, as they have somewhat been replaced by the Zeffo, although there is room enough in the galaxy for both. In the EU, Iktotchi also participated in the war against the Yuuzhan Vong, and were nearly wiped out in Legends. It is interesting to note that their precognitive powers could not detect the Yuuzhan Vong, although the reasons for this remains unknown. The only information above that has been canonized so far is pretty much everything listed in the “Biology” portion of the article, although there aren’t many conflicts between what is documented in the “Lore” tab and what we’ve witnessed in Canon, so it would be possible to re-introduce most this history fairly easily.

Unexplored: There is a whole lot that has already been laid about the Iktotchi throughout the years, at least within Legends, but there is still so much more to be explored. This is only considering the context that we continue with the bulk of their established lore treated as Canon, because if you don’t, then you’re pretty much free to explore any aspect of the Iktotchi with no retroactive conflict.

I think the first thing that will need to be explored is the influences of the Jedi and Sith on their culture back on Iktotch, and how they may have battled each other for dominance. We can dive more into the Iktotchi societal structure and how their political systems works. We can explore what the Iktotchi Jedi thought of the rest of their people fleeing back home in fear, and what the Iktotchi people thought about their Jedi foolishly ignoring the premonitions and continuing on within the Order. We can also explore what they thought of the Empire and their blockade, as well as how they received news from the outside galaxy. There is a lot of room to delve into the lives and characterizations of the few Iktotchi who went against their better knowledge and escaped to join the Rebellion. And, of course, we can still explore their dynamic within the New Republic, what they thought of being a part of the galactic community again, and how they dealt with the eventual destruction of the New Republic at the hands of the First Order (if we’re sticking strictly to canonical events). Did they assist the Resistance and fight at Exegol, or did they recede once more in preparation of the upcoming threat, possibly even predicting Palpatine’s inevitable return?

Additional Notes: There is so much incredible potential to be found within the Iktotchi, and I have come to gain a newfound respect for the species after researching extensively for this article. Yes, most of their history has technically been wiped clean at the moment, but there’s no reason why most of it cannot be reinstated because it is incredibly unique and doesn’t conflict with too much of what’s been established within Canon so far. It’s clearly possible to create tons of interesting and powerful Iktotchi characters, so be creative, utilize their pasts to drive their goals and ambitions, and tell some amazing stories regardless of the era or continuity you have chosen to set you work in!

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