Chubbit The Chubbits were a species of bipedal , sentient reptiles indigenous to the desert world of Aridus in the Expansion Region . The average Chubbit stood shorter than a fully grown Human . Their skin was green or yellow , although some featured red or black spots . Their nervous system was easily crippled by ultra - strong frequency waves . On their dry homeworld , the Chubbits made use of indigenous technology such as wind - runner s , wheeled vehicles that were propelled by large sails . The Chubbits suffered after the rise of the Galactic Empire . In 19 BBY , numerous Chubbits were held as slaves by gangs on the planet Telerath and one of its moons . The fugitive Jedi Dass Jennir freed many of these Chubbits . Meanwhile , Imperial troops on Aridus found valuable natural resources there . However , when mining outfits attempted to extract these raw materials , Aridus ' s ionized atmosphere rendered their equipment inoperable . The Empire thus approved construction of the Iron Tower , a massive power transformer and signal amplifier to rectify the technological problems ; the Empire paid little heed when the tower ' s strong frequency waves crippled the nervous systems and even killed many of the planet ' s natives . The Chubbits responded by waging a guerrilla war on the Empire , armed with blasters , repulsor tanks , and crawler tanks supplied by sympathetic Yutrane - Trackata workers and the Alliance to Restore the Republic . Other offworlders provided support as well , including the Human Wrenga Jixton and a man who claimed to be the Human Jedi Master Obi - Wan Kenobi . In 0 ABY , the Kenobi impersonator destroyed the Iron Tower when the devotion shown him by the Chubbits and the Rebel Alliance hero Luke Skywalker prompted him to thwart a ploy by the Sith Lord Darth Vader to lure Skywalker into a trap at the Iron Tower . In the aftermath of the structure ' s fall , Jixton swore his services to Vader in exchange for an Imperial retreat from the Chubbit homeworld , and in 4 ABY , the New Republic sought an alliance with the species . The Yuuzhan Vong later conquered Aridus around 27 ABY during their invasion of the galaxy . Biology and appearance . A species of small reptiles — the average adult came up to a typical Human ' s waist — Chubbits were sentient lizard s . The Chubbit body followed a roughly humanoid plan , with a head , torso , two arms , and two legs . Each hand featured either five or four digits , including an opposable thumb , while their feet gave the species a digitigrade gait on wide , splayed toes . While some Chubbits sported a stocky build , others had a lanky frame . Skin coloration varied from light green to yellow , with the top of the head often sporting mottling of another color , such as red or black . Each Chubbit possessed a broad , flat head that tapered to a blunt snout in the front . Two nostrils pierced the top surface of the muzzle , and a wide mouth split its anterior surface . This toothless maw housed a pointed , green tongue and pink gums . The two Chubbit eyes were placed far apart on either side of the head . They were colored either white , green , or red and their pupils could appear as either small circles or vertical slits . With some Chubbits , a red tympanic membrane was visible directly behind each eye . While many Chubbits were bald , others sported a tuft of hair at the back of the head , tresses that came in shades of black , red , blond , or white . The Chubbit anatomy included a nervous system that was susceptible to powerful technological emanations of the sort given off by the Iron Tower , a structure built by the Galactic Empire on the Chubbits ' homeworld of Aridus . The effects of these invisible forces crippled the Chubbit neurological system and eventually proved fatal for many individuals . Society and culture . The Chubbits inhabited the deserts of the planet Aridus , a remote world considered a backwater by the rest of the galaxy . Members of the species traveled the sands on domesticated long - necked lizards known as droffi steed s , which Chubbit riders controlled via saddles , stirrups , and bridles . Others used wind - runner s , large , ground vehicles that rolled about on wheels and were propelled by winds caught in their large sails . By 0 ABY , the Chubbits were at ease with advanced weaponry , including blaster rifles and proton grenade s , although these arms had to be smuggled onto their world . On Aridus , Chubbits often wore loose - fitting clothing , which included cloaks , cowls , baggy trousers , headwrap s , and boots . Others wore clothing typical of spacefaring species , including long - sleeved shirts , trousers , vests , and boots . Offworld Chubbit regalia was similar , with the addition of loose tunics , belts , short pants , and slippers . Chubbits who grew out their hair often bound it into a topknot . Chubbits could be suspicious of outsiders , but they were intensely loyal to those who earned their trust . Indeed , their appreciation for those who helped them could border on adoration . The Chubbit language was known as Chubbini . The tongue was characterized by the widespread use of " / S / " and " / Z / " sounds . History . Early history and Imperial occupation . The Chubbits were native to Aridus , a world of deserts and lava flows in the Flarestar system . The system was first reached by galactic explorers during the Great Manifest Period ; it had become part of the known galaxy by 15 , 000 BBY . The Chubbit homeworld eventually became part of the Narvath sector of the Expansion Region , and it was reachable via the Gamor Run hyperlane . From 1004 to 1000 BBY , as the New Sith Wars raged , the Chubbit home planet was located in territory controlled by the Galactic Republic . Centuries later , during the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems , Aridus was again allied with the Republic . The Republic ' s fall and resurrection as the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY brought Aridus to newfound prominence . The Chubbits could only stand by idly as the Empire scouted out valuable mineral resources on Aridus and then sent teams of miners to exploit them . When the offworlders discovered that their equipment — everything from mole miners to comlinks — was useless on the world due to the planet ' s ionized atmosphere , they obtained Imperial approval to construct an enormous structure , dubbed the Iron Tower , to act as a signal amplifier , power transformer and power source for Imperial hovertrain s , which transported the ore . Mining started back up , and the Chubbits discovered that the Iron Tower ' s emissions had a devastating effect on their nervous systems ; the neurological effects were so critical that many Chubbits even died . Rather than remain passive victims , the Chubbits formed a resistance movement to fight the Empire and drive it from Aridus . They struck a deal with the Alliance to Restore the Republic , which clandestinely smuggled weapons and munitions to the Chubbit freedom fighters . Some of the board members of the Aridus - based company Yutrane - Trackata secretly supported the Chubbit resistance after taking clandestine payments from the Alliance ; while the company made mining gear specifically for Imperial operations on Aridus , it provided T2 - B repulsor tanks and other matériel to the Chubbit freedom fighters by turning a blind when Chubbit forces raided its factories . Other outsiders supported the Chubbit cause as well ; for instance , the Human smuggler Wrenga Jixton , hiding out on Aridus , befriended the natives . The Iron Tower . In 0 ABY , the Chubbit resistance provided a convenient cover story for a ruse by the Sith Lord Darth Vader to trap Luke Skywalker , the young Human who had destroyed the Empire ' s Death Star battlestation in the Battle of Yavin . Vader had an actor surgically altered to resemble Obi - Wan Kenobi , Skywalker ' s deceased Jedi Master . The actor then joined the Chubbit resistance and ingratiated himself with the reptilians . The Chubbits accepted the fake Kenobi as the genuine article , and his exploits with them earned their awe and admiration . When Imperial stormtroopers broke up a Rebel arms deal with the Chubbits , Vader ' s gambit escalated ; the actor stepped in , apparently to let the Rebel gunrunner escape . In reality , the man ' s escape enabled him to flee back to the Rebel base on the moon Yavin 4 and to tell Skywalker about his encounter with " Ben Kenobi . " Skywalker took the bait and traveled to Aridus . As a band of Chubbit resistance fighters attempted to assault an Imperial hovertrain , Skywalker and his protocol droid , C - 3PO , joined them and threw bags full of proton charges at the target , causing it to crash . Skywalker was injured in the attack , so the Chubbits and the Kenobi impersonator tended to his wounds . The fake Kenobi put Skywalker aboard a Chubbit wind - runner for his safety and then led the Chubbits in a raid on an Imperial outpost — another calculated fraud to gain Skywalker ' s trust . When Skywalker and his droid rejoined the Chubbit resistance fighters , the actor insisted that the time had come to target the Iron Tower — a task he and Skywalker would accomplish alone . To that end , he ordered the Chubbits to bring C - 3PO back to Skywalker ' s starship lest the droid detect the technological fakery that enabled the actor to approximate the real Kenobi ' s Force powers . The gambit was designed to bring Skywalker to Vader , who was waiting in the Iron Tower , but the awe shown Kenobi by both Skywalker and the Chubbits caused the actor misgivings about the plan . The Chubbits ignored the actor ' s orders to stay behind to instead secure an elevated position and attack the Imperial forces at the tower to provide cover for the two infiltrators . However , the Chubbits failed to spot an incoming Imperial landspeeder headed for their location . Although the actor urged Skywalker to hurry into the tower , the Rebel ' s insistence on saving the Chubbits broke the actor ' s resolve ; since the real Kenobi would help the small reptiles , he disabled the speeder and saved the freedom fighters . During the subsequent mission within the Iron Tower , the actor ' s betrayal of Vader was complete : to help the Chubbits , he pulled a control lever and disabled the tower ' s systems . The decision cost the actor his life . Later history . The ensuing explosion knocked Vader unconscious from his perch within the tower . Wrenga Jixton found the Sith Lord ' s body and brought him aboard a starship that enabled Vader to escape . Jixton then used the leverage his act earned him to strike a deal with the Dark Lord : the Empire would abandon its operations on Aridus in exchange for Jixton ' s services in the future . Vader agreed , with the caveat that if Jixton ever failed to live up to his end of the bargain , Vader would rain death upon the desert world . The Chubbits survived Vader ' s threat ; in 4 ABY , months after the Dark Lord died and the Galactic Empire fragmented , the Chubbits received a diplomatic delegation from the Empire ' s successor as galactic hegemon , the New Republic . That government sought to enter an alliance with the Chubbits so that the New Republic could protect the species from the remnants of the Empire . The Human diplomat Leia Organa , daughter of the deceased Vader , led the delegation , fully aware that the Chubbits were still wary of offworlders due to the turmoil they had experienced under Imperial rule . Vader ' s other offspring , Luke Skywalker , also accompanied the expedition , and during initial talks , Organa learned that many of the Chubbits still fondly remembered Skywalker ' s exploits on Aridus . Nevertheless , the New Republic Jedi left the delegation to seek out more information about his father on the planet Tatooine . The Flarestar system had between one and ten million sentient inhabitants circa 25 ABY . By 26 ABY , the planet had fallen under the control of the Yuuzhan Vong during their invasion of the galaxy ; it remained so in 27 ABY . By 137 ABY , Aridus fell within territory controlled by the Sith Lord Darth Krayt as part of his Galactic Empire . Chubbits in the galaxy . Several years before 19 BBY , a war was fought on a desert planet over possession of a legendary artifact known as the Jebble Box . Chubbits fought in the war using blaster rifles , and some perished in the conflict . By 19 BBY , several Chubbits toiled as slaves on the archipelago of Noua on the planet Telerath in the Inner Rim . The Chubbits were held captive by rival gangs , including a band of Chagrian slavers and a group of T ' surri spice runners . While the Chagrians used their Chubbit captives to act as retainers and carry their swords , the T ' surri forced them to perform hard labor such as lifting and carrying goods . The Human Jedi Knight Dass Jennir discovered the plight of Telerath ' s Chubbit slaves when he fled to the world to escape Imperial persecution after the declaration of Order 66 , making the Jedi enemies of the Empire . He was hired by the Human woman Ember Chankeli to take out the slavers , but she was secretly allied with the spice - runners , who wanted complete control of the Noua underworld . During Jennir ' s first encounter with the Chagrian slavers , he feigned interest in joining them . When Jennir met the gang ' s leader , the Chagrian Mors Demanna , a Chubbit slave carried Demanna ' s sword ; another Chubbit later ran to the aid of the Human fisherman Dado when Demanna chopped off the boy ' s hand for daring to think he could join the gang . When Jennir began to suspect that the spice - runners kept slaves as well , he infiltrated one of their camps on Telerath ' s second moon , where he found large numbers of Chubbits and Nosaurians forced into hard labor . The Jedi wreaked havoc on the gang ' s spice refineries at the base , making the destruction seem like a gang attack . The Chubbit and Nosaurian captives fled in the slavers ' ships upon Jennir ' s urging . Jennir later returned to Demanna ' s slaver gang and asked to join ; the same Chubbit retainer took his sword from him before his meeting with Musori , the gang leader . However , the Musori gang discovered Jennir ' s machinations and beat him severely . Meanwhile , Ken - Kiba ' s gang took the offensive and captured and killed all of Musori ' s gang but Demanna himself . When Ken - Kiba ' s T ' surri gangmembers herded various townspeople and the prostitutes who worked for Chankeli into Chankeli ' s brothel ; there enslaved Chubbits continued to serve their T ' surri masters . Jennir infiltrated the establishment , killed the T ' surri guards , and freed the inmates , including the Chubbits , telling them to flee the town . Behind the scenes . Writer Archie Goodwin and artist Al Williamson created the Chubbits for " The Return of Ben Kenobi , " a storyline for their weekly " Star Wars " comic strip ; the Kenobi story was distributed to newspapers by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate from May 17 to July 5 , 1982 . In 1993 , Dark Horse Comics colorized , reformatted , and reprinted the strips in comic book form as part of its " Classic Star Wars " series . The colors , provided by Steve Buccellato , revealed the skin pigmentation of the Chubbits , a detail not present in the original newspapers strips . Williamson ' s Chubbits closely resemble a character named Gribbet , who plays a prominent role in another Goodwin – Williamson serialized story , " The Bounty Hunter of Ord Mantell " , syndicated from February 9 to April 19 , 1981 . However , a poster released with the magazine " Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 6 " in 1996 identifies Gribbet as a member of the Rybet species . Author Ryder Windham borrowed elements from Goodwin and Williamson ' s tale for two of his own " Star Wars " stories : the comic book " Shadow Stalker " , first published in 1997 , and the young adult novel " " , first published in 2009 . In the former , Windham brought in the Human smuggler Wrenga Jixton , first introduced in the 1996 comic " Shadows of the Empire 2 " , written by John Wagner , and explained the fate of the Chubbit ' s home planet , Aridus , after the events of Goodwin and Williamson ' s story . In " The Life of Luke Skywalker " , Windham tied up more loose ends from the comic strip story by framing the bulk of the book — a biography of Luke Skywalker — as a diplomatic visit from the newly formed New Republic to the Chubbits . Nevertheless , the book does not reveal the outcome of the diplomatic talks . In 2009 , artist Douglas Wheatley designed a more detailed visual depiction of the species when he included Chubbit characters in the " " comic book for Dark Horse Comics . His version of the species mostly resembles Williamson ' s , but he added more detailed features , such as wrinkled skin around the lips , more elaborate mottling on the head , skin folds around the eyes , and tympanic membranes behind each eye . " " features two Chubbits fighting in a war over the Jebble Box . The characters appear in a flashback , and the world is not named ; however , its depiction is consistent with that of Aridus , the Chubbit homeworld . The 2008 reference work " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " mentions the Chubbits in several entries , but it does not capitalize the word " chubbit " in the main entry for the species . However , the entries for the planet Aridus and the Iron Tower do capitalize the species ' name .