Tchaka


Tchaka was a student at the University of Kalla and a political activist who vocally opposed the Corporate Sector Authority. For expressing opinions held in disfavor by the leaders of the Authority, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Stars' End penal facility. Tchaka's disappearance inspired Rekkon, his uncle, to form a network dedicated to finding the Authority's secret prison facility, and the prisoners held there.

Biography


Tchaka spent much of his early life in the Corporate Sector primarily because his father had moved there to work as a programmer of entertainment software. Although life was comfortable for Tchaka and his family, his parents grew concerned by the lack of commitment Tchaka had to his studies. When Tchaka's uncle, Rekkon, came to live in the Corporate Sector to teach at the University of Kalla, he led Tchaka to develop an interest in the areas of history and philosophy, which helped to alleviate his apathy. Tchaka was still young when his parents died, so Rekkon took him under his wing and raised him as if he were his own son. Due to his position as a respected member of the faculty at the University of Kalla, Rekkon was able to ensure that Tchaka received a higher education. At the University, Tchaka witnessed the heavy-handed tactics the Corporate Sector Authority used to clamp down on critics and others it deemed to be troublemakers and he spoke out against the Authority's injustices to his fellow students.

Rekkon, Tchaka's uncle and father figure.

Rekkon, Tchaka's uncle and father figure.

Although he held views similar to those of Tchaka, Rekkon felt it would be unwise of his nephew to vocally oppose the policies of the Authority. Despite his misgivings about Tchaka's behavior, Rekkon felt he could not ask Tchaka to ignore his conscience and instead decided to undertake what he termed an "ignoble compromise"—he planned to resign his position in order to draw the Authority's attention away from his nephew's activities. Rekkon's fears were not unfounded—many of the students at the University had parents who held considerable influence within the Authority, so Tchaka's activism did not go unnoticed. Tchaka's criticism of the Authority led to him being included on a list of critics, criminals and other troublemakers compiled by the Security Division's Executive Viceprex, Mirkovig Hirken. Before Rekkon could put his plan into motion, Tchaka was arrested by Security Police who had been tasked with apprehending the specified dissidents. Like the others, Tchaka was shipped to the Stars' End penal facility, catalogued in a document entitled Transient Persons, interrogated and held in a stasis booth so that he could be preserved should the need for further questioning arise.

Troubled by Tchaka's disappearance, Rekkon contacted the Security Police, but he ascertained that they would do nothing to help him find Tchaka. Rekkon learned of others whose relatives had vanished as a result of their oppostion to the authority and formed a network dedicated to the recovery of the missing dissidents. Eventually Rekkon gained the services of Han Solo, Chewbacca, Bollux and Blue Max through his connection with Jessa Vandangante, an outlaw tech whose father Klaus "Doc" Vandangante, had also disappeared under mysterious circumstances. With the help of Blue Max, Rekkon was finally able to pinpoint the location of the Authority's secret prison. Rekkon was murdered by a traitor before he could see Tchaka again, but Solo, Bollux, Blue Max and two other members of his group, Atuarre and Pakka, managed to infiltrate Stars' End. After he and many other inmates were rescued from the prison, Tchaka was taken in by Doc and Jessa. Greatly saddened by his uncle's death, Tchaka chose to continue his studies and vowed to honor Rekkon's memory by opposing the Authority, albeit in a less brazen but more effective manner.

Personality and traits


Originally unmotivated in his studies, Tchaka was greatly influenced his uncle Rekkon, who raised him like his own son after the death of his parents. Rekkon instilled in his nephew an appreciation for history and philosophy, while also passing on his personal values: Tchaka quickly became a fervent believer in liberty and freedom of expression, set against the backdrop of the oppressive Corporate Sector. But while his uncle had years of experience walking the line of subtly undermining the Corporate Sector Authority without attracting attention, Tchaka did not have that hard-earned wisdom. His rashness and open preaching against the Authority got him into trouble, and ultimately led to his imprisonment. Rekkon's death weighed heavily on Tchaka after he was freed from Stars' End, but he ultimately found new purpose without his father figure: honoring his uncle's memory by following in his footsteps.

Behind the scenes


Tchaka's first and only appearance was in the 1979 novel Han Solo at Stars' End, written by Brian Daley. In Archie Goodwin and Alfredo Alcala's 1980 comic strip adaptation of the novel, Tchaka was only mentioned, and in this case, he was incorrectly referred to as Rekkon's son— one of a number of discrepancies between the comic strip and the novel. Tchaka was later given a name and his background was somewhat expanded upon by Michael Allen Horne in Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook.

Sources


  • A Guide to the Star Wars Universe
  • Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook
  • A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded
  • Star Wars Encyclopedia
  • A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded
  • The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia

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