Skritt

Skritt was a Peasle male who was a technician in the crew of Lina Graf. A nervous individual, he was able to roll up into a ball when he was afraid. Along with the rest of Graf's crew, Skritt was aboard the Auric when it was forced to land on Mustafar.
==Biography==
===The tales of Fortress Vader===
====Out of the fire…====
The Peasle male Skritt served as a technician in the Rebel Alliance during its conflict against the Galactic Empire. By around 1 BBY, he was a member of the crew led by Commander Lina Graf, alongside the reformed thief Lieutenant Thom Hudd, the former bodyguard droid XM-G3, and Graf's droid companion, CR-8R. Around that year, Skritt and the rest of Graf's crew undertook a secret fact-finding mission to the Outer Rim for the AllianceStar Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle 2 in the YT-1760 Small Transport Auric.
During the mission, the Auric came under fire from Imperial TIE fighters in the vicinity of the planet Mustafar, sustaining damage. Skritt worriedly informed Graf that the TIEs had damaged their port thruster while the latter piloted the Auric, and Hudd told the Peasle to calm down. Requiring somewhere to land the starship, the crew resorted to heading for Mustafar, despite the heavy Imperial presence on the planet. The Auric crashed into lava near a large fortress—unknown to the crew, the castle of the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader.Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle 5 Skritt rolled himself into a ball out of fright, and was carried by CR-8R when the crew evacuated the ship before it sank into the lava. With the crew marooned on Mustafar, Graf resolved to head for the fortress in order to find a way to escape the planet.
====…and into the fortress====
While the crew planned to head toward the fortress, Hudd told a cautionary tale about the Jedi and Sith defeating Lord Ravna on the planet Bray during the Clone Wars, but CR-8R noted that a scary story was unlikely to encourage Skritt to emerge from his shell. As the others discussed a way inside, Skritt emerged to ask if they were safe, being congratulated by CR-8R for doing so. However, upon sighting a force of Imperial lava troopers heading their way, Skritt called out in panic. CR-8R initially assumed Skritt was panicking unnecessarily before also noticing the stormtroopers and alerting Graf as the troopers opened fire.
Graf instructed Hudd and Skritt to head for the fortress, and the former thief complied, carrying the frightened Peasle. With XM-G3 holding off the troopers, Hudd sliced the door and the rebels entered, intending to head for a base that Graf had spotted to secure transportation. Skritt feared that they were walking into a trap and being watched; although Graf reassured him, an Imperial probe droid was indeed watching the rebels. CR-8R suggested that Graf tell the Peasle a story to calm his nerves, and though the commander was reluctant, Skritt agreed that it would help. Graf recounted a story about the pilots Han Solo and Chewbacca encountering Zalla, the "Emerald Witch" of the planet Rendel, though the tale did little to assuage Skritt's fears.
====Splitting the party====
Although Hudd told Skritt to control his nerves, the arrival of XM-G3—who had defeated the stormtroopers, but not without sustaining damage—frightened the Peasle, who hid behind Graf as she reassured him. When XM-G3 noticed that Hudd had gone missing and the lieutenant screamed, having been captured while attempting to steal from the fortress,Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader's Castle 1 Graf rushed to find him, with Skritt and the others following. The rebels found no sign of Hudd, however, and Graf ordered her crew to split up to find him, sending Skritt with XM-G3.
When Skritt expressed that he was not suited for sneaking around, XM-G3 instructed him to be brave. Skritt wished that he could, noting XM-G3's strength, and the droid told him that size did not equal courage. XM-G3 suggested telling a story to help Skritt overcome his fear, although the Peasle was doubtful after the previous tale. Regardless, XM-G3 told Skritt a story of the Ewoks of the forest moon of EndorUltimate Star Wars, New Edition averting a sacrifice to the Gorax; once again, Skritt was not calmed by the tale, noting that he would be unable to sleep again if anyone kept telling him stories.
====Enter Vader====
The pair soon encountered Vaneé, a servant of Vader. XM-G3 confronted him, although Vaneé was unafraid. Skritt watched in horror as XM-G3 was lifted into the air and torn apart with the Force by Vader. Skritt fled, contacting Graf and informing her of XM-G3's destruction, but the communication cut out. As Graf attempted to contact Skritt and the Peasle tried to explain, the two almost ran into one another in a corridor. Skritt told Graf what had happened to XM-G3, believing that the castle was haunted. As Graf reassured Skritt, a group of droids disguised as suits of armor activated at the same time as Vaneé arrived to confront the rebels.
Vaneé claimed that the fortress was haunted by victims of Vader, including Hudd, telling the rebels of an attempted raid on the castle by the Mustafarians that had been ended by his master. Although Graf claimed that Vaneé did not scare them, Skritt admitted that he was scared. At that moment, Vader himself arrived, throwing a damaged CR-8R into Graf while Skritt cowered behind her leg. Vader resolved to kill the rebels, but CR-8R distracted the Sith Lord by pushing Vaneé into him, allowing Skritt and Graf to escape. Although Graf was reluctant to leave CR-8R, Skritt claimed they had no other choice. He attempted to find somewhere to hide, but instead led the pair into more of the droids. Graf, inspired by Hudd's tale, reprogrammed the droids to assist them. When Vader arrived, Skritt and Graf fled as the droids attacked him.
====Moral of the story====
The two rebels emerged into a hangar to find a number of vessels, and Skritt was eager to escape. Graf, however, did not want to leave CR-8R behind, instructing Skritt to find a ship—and, if necessary, escape to get word of the fortress to the Alliance—while she returned to rescue the droid. Skritt was unsure of his chances against the many Imperial lava troopers; however, having been inspired by the stories his friends had told him, Skritt was able to overcome his fears. Spotting a larva of the Kubaza beetle, Skritt threw the grub at the troopers, summoning its mother as a distraction. The Peasle then charged at a pair of troopers, rolling into a ball to knock them down.
Skritt commandeered an All Terrain Scout Transport, using its weaponry to fire on the fortress. His actions allowed Graf to escape Vader's grasp with CR-8R's head, although he drew the attention of the Sith Lord. Vader used the Force to lift Skritt's walker into the air and throw it into the lava outside of the castle. Emerging from the walker as it sank into the lava, Skritt recognized that he should have expected the result due to the sting in all of the tales, hoping that he had at least helped Graf to escape. However, rescue soon arrived for Skritt in the form of Graf herself in a stolen TIE fighter. Skritt boarded the starfighter and, along with Graf and CR-8R, escaped from Mustafar.
Although Skritt and the rest of Graf's crew were unaware of Hudd's fate when they escaped, the lieutenant was held prisoner and tortured by Vaneé in Vader's fortress. Months following Hudd's capture, he was able to briefly free himselfStar Wars Adventures: Return to Vader's Castle 4 and transmit a message to Graf. After Graf received Hudd's message, Skritt accompanied her and CR-8R on a mission to return to Mustafar and rescue their comrade. The rebel crew commandeered a Sentinel-class landing craft, with Graf infiltrating the fortress disguised as an Imperial Inquisitor. Although Vaneé saw through Graf's disguise, she was able to free Hudd and the pair returned to the waiting shuttle, with Skritt at the helm. Graf ordered Skritt to take off and the Peasle complied, flying the shuttle out of the fortress and escaping once again.Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader's Castle 5
===New Republic, old enemy===
====Dreams and nightmares====
After the Imperial defeat—including the death of Vader—at the Battle of Endor and the formation of the New Republic from the Rebellion in 4 ABY,Star Wars: Timelines Skritt continued to serve the nascent government. However, unknown to Skritt and the rest of Graf's comrades, Vaneé still lived; believing that he could resurrect his master, Vader's former servant captured Graf's brother, Milo Graf,Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader's Castle 1 by controlling CR-8R and inflicted nightmares onto several of the crew members to lure them to Mustafar.Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader's Castle 5 At some point between 4 ABY and 5 ABY, Skritt was stationed at a former Imperial outpost on the Inner Rim astronomical object Karken alongside Hudd, tasked with rewiring the base so the New Republic could utilize it.
While the pair worked on Karken, Skritt reminisced about old times and the adventure that their life had once brought, leading Hudd to bring up his torture. Skritt questioned him, and Hudd claimed that he was merely tired; Hudd added that their job was useful, though his tone did not convince Skritt, who asked if he missed their old life at all. However, the two were interrupted by the emergence of a mynock, leading Skritt to curl up in fright. Hudd tossed the curled-up Skritt at the mynock, scaring the creature away. Unfurling, Skritt wished to find another way to handle future mynocks, suggesting that he throw Hudd instead.
Recognizing his friend's recent mood, Skritt asked what was wrong. Hudd explained a recurring dream in which he and the Jedi Luke Skywalker undertook a mission to the planet Dagobah. Although Skritt gave him a look when he mentioned he was accompanying Skywalker, Hudd described encountering a spirit of the swamp and witnessing visions of Vaneé and the skeletons of Skritt and the rest of the crew. Skritt questioned the dream, and Hudd suggested it was a sign or warning before accidentally disturbing more mynocks. As the pair cowered from the swarm, the mynocks were scattered by the arrival of the WUD-500 star yacht Rabbit's Foot, captained by the Lepi smuggler Jaxxon T. Tumperakki, who Lina had recruited for transportation to Mustafar to rescue Milo.Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader's Castle 2 Skritt, criticizing the state of the yacht, approached with Hudd as Graf emerged and informed the pair that they needed to accompany her back to Vader's castle.
====A return and a resurrection====
Skritt, along with Hudd, boarded the Rabbit's Foot and headed for Mustafar with Graf and Tumperakki. On the way, Graf fell asleep and had a dream that briefly featured Skritt arguing with Tumperakki as the vessel was attacked by Imperial TIE fighters. The real Rabbit's Foot, however, arrived safely on Mustafar, and Skritt and the others disembarked near Vader's fortress, with the Peasle noting the castle's decrepit state.Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader's Castle 4 The four approached the fortress, where Hudd attempted to override a door. When Graf received a communication that was seemingly from her brother, Tumperakki resolved to instead kick the door down; Hudd was disappointed, but Skritt told him that getting inside was what mattered.
The group were quickly confronted by a lightsaber-wielding Vader—in reality, CR-8R under Vaneé's control and dressed to resemble the Sith Lord. When blasters proved ineffective, Skritt rolled into a ball and insisted that Hudd throw him. Hudd was skeptical, but did so, and Skritt knocked the supposed Vader down, revealing CR-8R and freeing him from Vaneé's control. After CR-8R revealed Vader's servant was alive, Hudd was worried, but Skritt reassured him. CR-8R led the group to Milo, where Vaneé, lying in wait, incapacitated them. Skritt and the others were restrained while Vaneé attempted to perform a ritual to resurrect Vader and use Lina as the vessel for his master's spirit.
====Seeing ghosts====
After the group awoke, Vaneé revealed that he was the one who had manipulated their dreams, surprising Skritt. Vaneé released lava fumes that he believed would return Vader, but Lina deduced that the Sith servant had merely been driven mad by the vapors, which caused one to see what they feared most; indeed, the fumes began to cause the others to hear Vader's voice and see hallucinations. Lina pretended as if she had been possessed by the reborn Vader and demanded that Vaneé release her, but instead used the lightsaber to free Skritt and the others.
Milo restrained Vaneé and the group left the Sith servant trapped within the fumes. Their vision obscured, Skritt and the others spotted a lightsaber through the smoke and, assuming it to be Lina, followed the figure to safety, the Peasle urging Hudd on. Lina emerged behind them, revealing her lightsaber had previously run out of power. As Skritt and the others boarded the Rabbit's Foot and took off, the group speculated about the figure they had followed, unaware that they had been assisted by the Force spirit of Anakin Skywalker, the redeemed Vader, who watched them as they departed Mustafar.
==Behind the scenes==
Skritt was introduced in the first issue of the Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle comic series, written by Cavan Scott and published by IDW Publishing on October 3, 2018. Skritt featured in the series' framing story, illustrated by Derek Charm. Prior to the comic's release, he was first mentioned, albeit indirectly, in an article detailing the announcement of Tales from Vader's Castle at San Diego Comic-Con, published on StarWars.com on July 20 of that year. Charm enjoyed working on the series, particularly being able to design largely new characters, describing the rebel team as a distinct group.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle 1 
*Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle 2
*Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle 3
*Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle 4
*Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle 5
*Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader's Castle 5
*Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader's Castle 1 
*Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader's Castle 3
*Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader's Castle 4
*Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader's Castle 5
==Sources==
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==Notes and references==
Category:Alliance to Restore the Republic members
Category:Individuals with he/him pronouns
Category:Males
Category:New Republic individuals
Category:Peasle
Category:Technicians