Het Nkik / Legends Het Nkik was a free - thinking male Jawa from Tatooine . Unlike most members of his species , he believed that the Jawas were not powerless and needed only to push themselves to be strong and fight back against their enemies — the Tusken Raiders and the Galactic Empire . Nkik had held unorthodox beliefs ever since he and his friend Jek Nkik had managed to repair an E522 assassin droid around 2 BBY and sell it to the crime lord Lady Valarian , despite the objections of other Jawas . This gave him the belief that Jawas could do anything they wanted to if properly motivated , a view only strengthened when he later managed to scare off several Tusken Raiders singlehandedly , saving himself from death . After Jek Nkik was killed by Imperial stormtroopers in 0 BBY , Het Nkik was motivated to avenge his friend ' s death and inspire his species to oppose the Empire . He purchased a DL - 44 heavy blaster pistol from a fellow Jawa and traveled to Mos Eisley , where an Imperial garrison was stationed . Once in the spaceport , Nkik spent a brief time in Chalmun ' s cantina , where he purchased a stimulant to build up his confidence . While there , he bought a Tusken battle talisman from the Ranat Reegesk . Nkik was unaware , however , that Reegesk had stolen his blaster ' s power pack . When he confronted a group of stormtroopers outside a short time later , his blaster failed to shoot , due to the missing power pak . Nkik noticed this too late and was shot dead by stormtrooper 1047 . Biography . Early life . Het Nkik was a male Jawa , a sentient species on the Outer Rim world of Tatooine . He had very unorthodox ideas for a Jawa , believing that his species did not have to act timidly and cower at the sign of any possible threat , as was their wont . Most Jawas believed that they were not strong enough to fight for themselves , while Het Nkik felt that they were only weak because they chose not to defend themselves . This belief was given great reinforcement when , sometime before 2 BBY , he and his best friend Jek Nkik discovered a starfighter wreck , and inside it , a damaged E522 assassin droid . After several months of work , the two were able to fix it up using spare parts that they found in the Jawa fortress where they lived . When they were finished , it no longer had the violent programming or weapons it had once possessed , but was fully functional as a messenger droid . Though other Jawas , namely the clan leader Wimateeka , attempted to discourage the two by telling them that no one would buy an assassin droid to use as a messenger , they were able to sell it to the crime lord Lady Valarian , who operated on Tatooine and had a reputation for being difficult to please . However , she was satisfied with their droid , much to the delight of the two Jawas . After this , Het Nkik swore that he would never listen to the doubts of others and would never believe the common school of thought about what Jawas could not do . Around this time , Het Nkik also encountered a group of Tusken Raiders — a species hostile to Jawas — while examining the wreckage of a T - 16 skyhopper . Though Het Nkik was fully aware that they could easily kill him and was therefore terrified , he forced himself to act . Nkik activated the skyhopper ' s security system , causing a loud screech that scared the Tusken Raiders away . This also opened his eyes to the fact that with the right attitude and weapons , the Jawas could be powerful . Becoming a martyr . By 2 BBY , Het and Jek Nkik had been separated into different clans , although they later met at the Jawa ' s annual swap meet , where Jawas exchanged goods and swapped stories among one another . By 0 BBY , Het Nkik became a legends . In the meet that year , Het Nkik ' s clan ' s sandcrawler was delayed by a sandstorm , causing them to arrive after much of the bargaining had already taken place . However , Jek Nkik and his clan were not present . Wimateeka — the leader of Het Nkik ' s clan — and other clan leaders feared that they had been attacked by Tusken Raiders , as had recently happened with the clan led by Eet Ptaa . Het Nkik insisted that the Jawas should unite to defend themselves , only for the clan leaders to mock him for his unorthodox ideas . Disheartened , Het Nkik wandered the aisles where items were up for sale . While examining the wares , he was approached by the Jawa Hrar Kkak , who , having heard of Nkik ' s unusual ideas , offered to sell him a DL - 44 heavy blaster pistol . Though a recent Imperial decree had banned Jawas from having such weapons , Kkak denied knowing of such a law . He placed a hefty price on the item , and although Nkik was forced to trade most of his possessions in return for the blaster , he greatly desired the illegal weapon and was able to purchase it . After Het Nkik ' s clan left the swap meet , he was able to persuade the sandcrawler ' s pilot to head along the route Jek Nkik ' s clan had likely taken on their way to the gathering . As they traveled along the detour , they encountered the wreckage of a sandcrawler . Nkik knew that it had been Jek Nkik ' s clan ' s vehicle and that his best friend was now dead . As the Jawas got out to investigate , they noticed an old man — the hermit Obi - Wan Kenobi , though the Jawas did not know his name — and two droids , R2 - D2 and C - 3PO , by the sandcrawler . Though some of the Jawas suspected that the old man had attacked the sandcrawler , Het Nkik believed that the notion was ridiculous , sensing that he was harmless . Noticing that the old man was burning the bodies of the dead Jawas , a Jawa ritual , Het Nkik approached him and began to question him , asking who he was . The man replied in fluent Jawaese , explaining that he tried to understand and respect all creatures and thus had learned the Jawas ' language and many of their traditions . The old man also agreed with Het Nkik that Imperial stormtroopers were behind the attack — not Tusken Raiders , as many of his brethren believed . Before the Jawas left , the man explained to Het Nkik that the Jawas could be strong if pushed to the breaking point . This caused a sudden revelation for Nkik , and he decided to go to the spaceport city of Mos Eisley and challenge the Imperial forces stationed there with his new blaster . Though he knew that he would almost certainly be killed , he was prepared to die to motivate his people to stand up for themselves , oppose the growing Imperial presence on Tatooine , and resist the Tusken Raiders . Het Nkik traded what remained of his possessions to another Jawa in his clan in exchange for a vehicle that could take him to Mos Eisley . Though it broke down twice , he was able to get the vehicle working again and arrive at the spaceport . Once there , he traded the vehicle to another Jawa , and then , realizing how close he was to actually accomplishing his goal , began to feel fear . Though his instinct told him to flee and hide , Het Nkik pushed on , forcing himself to go into Chalmun ' s cantina with the hope of getting a drink that could stimulate him and give him confidence . In there , he spotted the old man who had encouraged him earlier and took it as a good omen . While in the cantina , he sat with another Jawa , at least briefly . While sitting at a table , he was approached by the Ranat trader Reegesk . Ranats often traded with Jawas , and thus , Reegesk was eager to deal with Nkik . The Jawa only half - listened until Reegesk offered to trade him a Tusken battle talisman . Believing that it could make him strong and fearless like a Tusken Raider , Nkik was eager to trade for it , offering to pay part of the price now and the rest later , fully aware that he would likely be unable to pay the other installment . While examining the talisman , Nkik let Reegesk hold his blaster . Unbeknownst to the Jawa , Reegesk , seeking a power supply for his tribe ' s moisture vaporator , removed the blaster ' s power pack . After a moment , Nkik took his blaster back and headed outside with the DL - 44 and the talisman . Noticing a group of stormtroopers approaching , Nkik quickly hid in the nearby wreckage of the " Dowager Queen " , a crashed starship . As the stormtroopers walked towards the ship , Nkik thought over his plan . Though he knew that he would most likely die , he had accepted death in the hope that his passing would give the Jawas confidence and lead them to rebel against the Tusken Raiders and the Empire . Finally , the stormtroopers walked by the ship . Nkik leaped out from his hiding place , firing his blaster frantically . However , he noticed too late that the power pak was missing , and stormtrooper 1047 shot the Jawa dead . Despite his sacrifice , Het Nkik ' s dreams of dying as a martyr and inspiring his species did not come to fruition . Personality and traits . Het Nkik had very unusual ideas for a Jawa . He believed that Jawas did not have to be the weak creatures everyone believed and needed only to stand up for themselves . Though most Jawas believed that they were naturally weak and no match for Tusken Raiders or stormtroopers , Nkik disagreed with this perspective . Unlike most members of his species , he did not cower in fear or run and hide when confronted by danger , choosing instead to fight back . This courage was shown in several instances , such as when he successfully repelled the Tusken Raiders while scavenging the skyhopper . Nkik was tenacious , refusing to let the doubts of others stop him from trying new things , such as when he successfully repaired and sold an assassin droid , refusing to listen to the doubts of other Jawas . Nkik wanted to make a difference for his species and was willing to die in hopes that he would become a martyr and finally give his species the confidence they needed to stop being so timid . Behind the scenes . Het Nkik first appeared in , where he was briefly shown in Chalmun ' s cantina . He was played by an uncredited actor . It was not until the short story " " — written by Kevin J . Anderson , included in " Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina " , and published in 1995 — that he was given a name and a backstory . He would later be mentioned in reference guides such as " The Essential Guide to Characters " and " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " . " " , another story in " Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina " , mentions a Jawa walking into Chalmun ' s cantina around the time when Nkik enters , but this Jawa is never identified . Wizards of the Coast ' s Star Wars Trading Card Game identifies a Jawa on this card as Het Nkik . However , the image is from " " , which is evidenced by the presence of an Ugnaught on the . As that film takes place in 4 ABY , long after Nkik was killed , this is an error on Wizards of the Coast ' s part .