Loje Nella Loje Nella was an intelligent cliffborer worm who worked as an assistant accountant to the Nimbanel Mosep Binneed , in service to the crime lord Jabba the Hutt . In 4 ABY , she watched the Max Rebo Band perform " Lapti Nek " in Jabba ' s Palace on the planet Tatooine . Nella and the Hutt ' s court later caught Princess Leia Organa trying to rescue the smuggler Han Solo from imprisonment in the palace . Biography . A reluctant employee of the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure , Loje Nella served as an assistant accountant to the Nimbanel Mosep Binneed . However , she purposefully misappropriated Jabba ' s credits to obstruct his criminal activities . In the year 4 ABY , Nella watched the Max Rebo Band perform the song " Lapti Nek " in the main audience chamber of Jabba ' s Palace on the planet Tatooine from between the Human Jess and Quarren Tessek , two members of the Hutt ' s court . Later , Princess Leia Organa of the Rebel Alliance infiltrated the palace in disguise to rescue the captive smuggler Han Solo from the Hutt ' s clutches . However , Jabba learned of her deception and lay in wait with members of his court to catch Organa in the act . Between Max Rebo and Droopy McCool of the Max Rebo Band , Nella was hidden in a curtain ed lift shaft when the group caught Organa , having just freed Solo from carbonite in the connecting audience chamber . The Hutt and members of his entourage later attempted to execute Solo , along with his allies Chewbacca the Wookiee and the Jedi Luke Skywalker , at the Great Pit of Carkoon , though much of the court was killed in the ensuing battle , including Jabba himself . Personality and traits . An intelligent cliffborer worm covered in green moss , Nella had brown skin and eyes . She was reluctant to work for Jabba and intentionally mismanaged his funds . Nella laughed when Jabba ' s court captured Leia Organa during her failed rescue attempt of Han Solo . Behind the scenes . Conception and portrayal . Originally created for the 1983 film , Loje Nella was portrayed via a puppet operated by Mike Quinn and given the production nickname " Toadstool Terror " by the creature creators of the Industrial Light & Magic Monster Shop . She was officially named by the " Loje Nella " card from the 1998 " Jabba ' s Palace Limited " expansion set of the " Star Wars " Customizable Card Game , published by Decipher , Inc . " Who ' s Who in Jabba ' s Palace , " a 2002 article written by Daniel Wallace for " Star Wars Insider " 60 , mistakenly claimed that Nella was cut from " Return of the Jedi " , despite being present in the background of the final film . Cut footage of Nella was later used in , a music video distributed by in 1983 to accompany the release of the . Continuity . There existed a period of confusion surrounding the identity of Loje Nella ' s species . The " Star Wars " Customizable Card Game described her as having " descended from a species of cliff boring worms , " in keeping with " The Illustrated Star Wars Universe " , a 1995 reference book written by Kevin J . Anderson , which depicted the cliffborer worm using a production sketch of Nella by Joe Johnston . Despite this , an image of Nella was edited by Cliff Nielsen and featured on the cover of " " , a 2000 young - readers novel written by Jude Watson , intended to represent a member of the Rutanian species . To further complicate matters , Leland Chee , manager of Lucasfilm ' s Holocron continuity database , initially claimed on the now - defunct StarWars . com Message Boards that Nella was a Riorian , another species based on concept art of the worm creature that would become Nella . However , Chee would later debate the accuracy of this and said that the identity of Nella ' s species should be determined in a future source . " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " , released in 2008 , ultimately confirmed that Nella was an " intelligent cliff - borer worm . " While " Who ' s Who in Jabba ' s Palace " referred to Nella using masculine pronouns , " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " referred to the character as female . Given that " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " is the more recent source , this article treats its material as the correct version .