Het Patchateeka

Het "Patches" Patchateeka
Biographical Information
Race	Jawa
Homeworld	Tatooine
Mother	Khea Patchateeka
Father	Akkit Patchateeka
Born	Year -6 Day 157
Physical Description
Gender	Male
Height	1 meter
Eye Color	Yellow
Political Information
Affiliation	Patchateeka Publishing

"Yukusu kenza keena."

— Het Patchateeka

Het "Patches" Patchateeka is a Jawa from Mos Eisley, Tatooine. Born on a sandcrawler that was visiting the city, Het earned his nickname at a young age when he tore his robes while assisting the rest of his clan defend their sandcrawler against a krayt dragon. Despite trading with non-Jawas and understanding many languages, Het cannot speak Basic. Instead, when talking with non-Jawas, he uses the Jawa Trade Language or his droid Eyeta. Het is an accomplished repairman, cartographer, and inventor, and has been known to construct a wide variety of useful tools, weapons, and droids. Often times he can be found in his shop aboard his clan's sandcrawler. When the sandcrawler stops for any reason, you can expect Het to be out and about testing his new inventions. Het has also been known to use his knowledge as a prospector to discover mineral veins for mining companies.

Early Childhood

Het's clan is a typical Jawa trading clan, one that travels between cities in a sandcrawler. Before he was born, his clan was comprised of thirteen Jawas, all adults from various other clans. Both of his parents originated from a clan that was nearly destroyed by a krayt dragon. They fled the sandcrawler and sought refuge with their current clan and soon after, Het was born.

The fourteenth Jawa of his clan, Het worked hard since a very young age to obtain necessary skills to assist his clan. He learned to understand and write Basic, Huttese, and other languages. Het became an author and wrote several books detailing life in the clan, aboard the sandcrawler, and fictional tales of heroic Jawas.

Within a year of learning Basic, Het authored "A Jawa's Life", a detailed biography of himself. Of course, the book wasn't more than one hundred pages long, but he was proud of his work. He continued to write, and later he authored "Jik and the Dragon", a tale about a Jawa that dedicates his life to killing the krayt dragon that slayed the character's parents. Other tales Het authored include "The Sandcrawler", "Travel Guide to Mos Eisley", and "All the Chief's Jawas".

A Young Adult Jawa

"Kebee'oto, Gomjam Waff’mla."

— Het Patchateeka

After reaching the age of 13, Het was given his first blaster (one that he did not build) by his father. The chief expected Het to assist in defending the sandcrawler from attacks. Whether the attacks would be coming from sand people or from krayt dragons, Het was expected to defend his clan and home. A year later, his resolve was tested.

The Krayt Dragon Attacks

The krayt dragon that attacked Het's clan's sandcrawler.

Het had never seen a krayt dragon before. He heard stories from other Jawas, but never had Het seen one of the giant beasts. When he was 14, Het was watching the port side of the sandcrawler when he noticed a small sand cloud. A few moments later, the sandcrawler shook as the krayt dragon rammed the port side. After hours of fighting to defend the sandcrawler from the krayt dragon, the exhausted Jawas rallied and managed to fend it off. The krayt dragon retreated and hasn't been seen since. Het managed to document a few notable distinctions that may allow him to identify it at a later date should he run across one. He's been keeping an eye out for the same krayt dragon, hoping to get revenge on the beast when he can.

The damage from the krayt dragon was extensive. Het was tasked with repairing a few of the droids that were knocked over and damaged. It was then that he learned of his love of tinkering with droids. After repairing the protocol droids he was tasked with repairing, he went a step further and made modifications to their vision sensors and motorized limbs. The rest of his clan noticed his abilities and the Chief authorized a large room in the sandcrawler to be Het's workshop.

Het's First Swap Meet

"Ikeen nwab ba Ah-lyo ooh Ah-ho peetwooza?"

— Het Patchateeka, asking another Jawa about his wares.

Jawas from all over Tatooine gather at the Great Swap Meet.

Every Jawa knows of the annual Great Swap Meet in the Dune Sea. It is there where the true test of a Jawa trader is observed. Jawas must navigate trades and ensuring they make good deals. Jawas are notorious for their ability to strike a deal in their favour and while it seems easy for a Jawa to be on the better end of the deal when selling to non-Jawas, Jawas trading with each other tend to be more difficult to construct. Het was determined to become a good trader though, and set his sights on the Great Swap Meet.

The Great Swap Meet is like no other. Nearly all of the clans on Tatooine, totalling hundreds of Jawas, all gather in the Dune Sea. It was exciting and terrifying for Het. How can he manage to sell anything to some of the greatest traders in the galaxy? More importantly, what would he sell?

Het began to gather parts of droids and began reconstructing them. He even went so far as to paint many of them to give them new, fresh appearances. He gathered gems from some of the mineral veins he discovered, and crafted jewelry from most of them. Necklaces, rare exotic flowers, rings, droids, toys, and articles of clothing were Het's unique items he was going to trade or sell.

Sure enough, Het's shop was frequented at the Great Swap Meet. Het's books became well known throughout the Swap Meet, where Jawas bought copies in both Basic and Jawaese. Het's book, "Jik and the Dragon", sold over three hundred copies. Many Jawas congratulated Het on his tale, showing that Jawas can be just as brave as any other species. His jewelry was also well received in terms of popularity, and he sold a number of them to Jawas hoping to make a profit off of the humans in nearby cities that care about such things. The toys he sold went to young Jawas, providing them with a lot of joy. He obtained a number of droids for the trades he made, and he later traded those for his own sandcrawler; one that would accompany his clan's sandcrawler to provide him and his clan additional room and a backup sandcrawler. He also obtained a number of blasters and other necessities.

An Unhappy Moisture Farmer

Weeks passed since the Great Swap Meet. Het's clan was on their way to Mos Eisley to sell some of the wares they acquired during the trading. Along the way, a human ran into the path of the main sandcrawler, causing both sandcrawlers to come to a halt. Most of the Jawas, including Het, exited the sandcrawler to investigate.

The man was a moisture farmer and was displeased about a vaporator a Jawa clan sold to him. It broke within two days. Mistakenly, he thought Het's clan was this same Jawa clan. He shouted at Het who was attempting to describe his mistake. The moisture farmer reached for his blaster. Believing the man was going to harm one of the Jawas, the clan Chief shot him. The moisture farmer was left on the ground, dead, as the Jawas continued on their journey to Mos Eisley.

Reaching Mos Eisley

Mos Eisley, the largest city on Tatooine, is a city of commerce.

The Jawa clan reached Mos Eisley a few months through the journey. Of course, sandcrawlers were not allowed into the city and so the clan decided to send a small group of Jawas into the city while the rest remained with the sandcrawlers. Het volunteered to be a part of the team of six to enter the city.

As the Jawas disembarked from the sandcrawler, they could hear the sounds of the city beyond the walls. They walked through the gates of the city and decided to further split into three groups of two to maximize the number of transactions their clan can make. Het went with his cousin Nkek to travel to the spaceport to see if they could sell some astromechs to pilots.

Het's droid, Eyeta, is his translator when dealing with non-Jawas.

While walking down one alleyway, they met a human trader. He was also selling an astromech, but this one was a type that Het had never seen before. A R4 model astromech with a modified translator, capable of speaking a number of languages. Het was immediately interested, much to the disapproval of Nkek. Het offered a straight trade: one of their R5 series astromechs for the R4 model. When Het showed some of the modifications he made to the R5 series, including the ability to procure water from the atmosphere as if it was a moisture farm, the human agreed. Het named his new droid companion Eyeta which means friend in Jawaese.

They continued through the alleyway and into the main street. A number of humanoid soldiers walked by. They looked very out of place, and Het didn't understand who they are or why they were in Mos Eisley. Was it the police? No, he thought, as Mos Eisley is far too corrupt for even the police to handle. He asked Nkek to continue on to the spaceport while he investigated the soldiers. Nkek agreed, likely tired of Het's distractions.

"Join the New Republic and the Galactic Alliance! Defend Tatooine against pirates and Imperial forces!"

— The Rebel Soldier

Het was greatly confused. Who was this man, what was the New Republic, what was the Galactic Alliance, and why are they defending Tatooine against so-called Imperial forces?

Exploring the Galaxy

Het Patchateeka never imagined flying among the stars. Even in his dreams, the thought of flying seemed incredibly outlandish. Still, on Year 14 Day 239, Het signed a contract with JUGANOTH Mining Corporation as a prospector. Het believed his unique gifts and experiences on Tatooine would prove useful.