The Poletecs were a species of purple, red, or beige-skinned, lanky humanoids native to the planet Skako Minor. During the Clone Wars, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Clone Captain Rex, and Clone Force 99 encountered the inhabitants of a Poletec village while on a mission to rescue their fellow clone trooper Echo. Later, the Galactic Republic troopers were forced to visit the village a second time to ask for aid from the Poletec leader, Qin Yazal. The chieftain was reluctant at first, however he was eventually convinced. Both clones and Poletecs fought advancing droids from the Separatist army. With help from Skywalker, the day was won for the Galactic Republic, and the Poletec chieftain told the Jedi that the Republic would always have an ally on Skako Minor.
The Poletecs were a species of purple, red, or beige-skinned, lanky humanoids native to the planet Skako Minor. They seemed to lack any form of hair, and their jaws were shaped sharply. They had elongated fingers, and protruding spikes, similar to eyebrows.
Many Poletecs carried on one forearm primitive crustacean-like which fired black balls when swung. The red-skinned Poletecs seemed to be in greater numbers than the beige, and the purple seemed to be exclusive to the few Poletecs who rode on keeradaks.
The Poletec leader consulted with his tribesmen.
The Poletecs were a primitive people who inhabited villages. They were said to worship the winged reptiles known as keeradaks, which they used as mounted steeds for transport. By 19 BBY, they had developed a native language, speaking only in their native tongue. By the time of the Clone Wars, Poletecs still led a primitive lifestyle, with several using spears as weapons, and were wary of offworlders. The Poletecs did not want to get involved in the Clone Wars initially, regarding it as an outsiders' conflict. The Skakoan foreman of the Techno Union, Wat Tambor, regarded the Poletecs as inferior beings.
The Poletecs varied greatly in the color of their skin.
The Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Clone Captain Rex, and Clone Force 99 encountered the inhabitants of a Poletec village while on a mission to rescue the clone trooper Echo in 19 BBY. Skywalker had been captured by the Poletecs, and when the clone troopers attempted to rescue Skywalker, a brief skirmish broke out. However, with the trooper Tech serving as a translator, Skywalker managed to convince the Poletec leader, Qin Yazal, that they did not pose a threat and that their true enemy was the Separatists. While the Poletecs did not want to get involved in the Clone Wars, they provided the Galactic Republic forces with two scouts.
The scouts agreed to accompany the offworlders to the city Purkoll but no further. Skywalker and the clones managed to escape back to the Poletec village on the wings of keeradaks, earning the respect of the Poletec villagers. Skywalker and the clones then convinced the Poletecs to help them fight against the Techno Union's droid forces.
The Poletecs during the battle.
Rolling a large stone down a slope, the Poletecs were able to create a distraction to ambush the Separatist forces, beginning the battle. Despite their initial success, many Poletec warriors were killed by the highly advanced Octuptarra tri-droids and D1-series aerial battle droids during the fighting. By the battle's end, the Poletec chief's life had been saved several times by the Republic forces. Eventually, the battle was won by Clone Force 99 and all surviving Poletecs, with the help of Skywalker, and the survivors cheered in triumph in their native tongue. The Poletec chief later thanked the Republic for their help, and said that they would always have an ally on Skako Minor.
Concept art for the Poletec chieftain by Darren Marshall.
Poletecs first appeared in the canon but unfinished story reel episode of The Clone Wars series, "A Distant Echo." The episode premiered on April 17, 2015, and was released on the official Star Wars website soon after, as part of The Clone Wars Legacy. On February 28, 2020, the final version of this episode was released on Disney+.
Dee Bradley Baker, the voice of all clone troopers in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, improvised the Poletec language and used the backwards speech from the red room in the series Twin Peaks as inspiration.
The episode "On the Wings of Keeradaks" was first released in 2015 as an unfinished story reel before the completed version premiered on Disney+ in 2020. In the story reel version, Wat Tambor demonstrated a deadly device, the organic decimator, on a defenseless Poletec test subject in an attempt to intimidate Anakin Skywalker into surrendering. However, the scene was not included in the final version of the episode.