Clantaani

The Clantaani, alternatively known as Clantaanis, were a species characterized as sentient, lean humanoids whose skin displayed a range of coloration, from blue to orange, often marked with pink and white patches. Their hands featured four fingers. A prominent feature of the Clantaani face was a heavy, expressive brow that overshadowed their relatively small eyes. A pinkish nose protruded from just below the eyes and above their elongated jaw. The somewhat flattened snout terminated in a mouthful filled with pink flesh and white, peg-shaped teeth. Long, floppy, and pointed ears extended outwards from each side of their head. Some Clantaani individuals developed white mustaches.

Clantaani society was structured around nomadic tribes, relying on banditry and warfare as means to compete for the scarce resources found on their homeworld, Clantaano III. Clantaani typically wore clothing common among humanoid species across the galaxy. For example, the Clantaani Longo Two-Guns was known for his rings, a leather vest and chaps, trousers, boots, and dual blaster pistol holsters. A typical accessory for a Clantaani was a leather guard worn at the back of the head. Clantaani possessed the ability to learn and speak Basic. Their ears would twitch while speaking, and they were known to laugh when amused. The species recognized at least one gender: male.

Originating on the arid planet Clantaano III, the Clantaani evolved to withstand its dry environment. This planet was situated within the Clantaano system, which became part of the wider galaxy sometime between 1000 and 25 BBY. Eventually, the world was integrated into the Albanin sector within the Outer Rim Territories, accessible via the Triellus Trade Route, and considered part of the Slice. By approximately 20 BBY, Clantaano III was located in a region of space under the control of the Hutts, although their influence diminished by 14 BBY. Around 25 ABY, the average population density in a system within the Clantaani's region was between 10 and 100 million individuals. By 137 ABY, Clantaano III was located within what was known as the Hutt dependencies.

It was common for Clantaani to leave their homeworld, navigating the spacelanes to plunder from galactic criminals, and then return with their stolen gains. When away from Clantaano III, they sought out planets that offered dry conditions similar to their native world. Furthermore, their inclination towards raiding and looting led them to favor planets with significant criminal presences. These factors combined to make Tatooine a particularly attractive destination. Clantaani pirates were operating in the galaxy as early as 32 BBY.

By that year, Longo Two-Guns, a Clantaani, had established a reputation as a skilled gunslinger, even proclaiming himself the "fastest gun in the galaxy." As his name suggested, he wielded a blaster pistol in each hand. After gaining notoriety as a gang leader on Clantaano III, Longo set up a base on Tatooine, from which he commanded a group of outlaws primarily composed of his relatives, including long-time associates Radd Hardwikk and "Deadeye" Klintee. His gang also included non-Clantaani members, such as Nikto, Trandoshans, and Weequay. The gang's operations extended throughout the Outer Rim, with activities occurring in locations such as Mos Espa, Nal Hutta, and Mos Gamos. Two-Guns and his crew targeted other criminal enterprises, encroaching on their business and accepting regular assignments from Gardulla the Hutt.

In 32 BBY, rumors spread that Two-Guns had designs on the criminal empire of Jabba the Hutt, and that Gardulla had contracted the Clantaani to attack towns on the fringes of Jabba's territory as part of a death stick distribution scheme. Jabba responded by placing a bounty on Two-Guns. Simultaneously, several of Two-Guns's associates had bounties placed on them for provoking the crime lord.

Jabba targeted "Black-Eye" Cahoon for the kidnapping of enslaved Twi'leks, Klintee for a similar kidnapping and for killing three of the beings enslaved by the Hutt, "Dusty" Rengo for embezzling money from the profits of a Tatooine protection racket, Clem "Trigger" Vaneer for defaulting on a sixty percent loan, and "Wrong-Way" Wint for skimming money from the profit earned by a Mos Espa protection agency, and Hardwikk for distributing explosive chubas at a podrace in an attempt to assassinate Jabba in Mos Eisley. This final act, along with suspicions of involvement in the distribution of illegal goods and communication technology, also resulted in Hardwikk being targeted by the Mos Eisley Security Force. The gang managed to evade Jabba's hired enforcers for a while, leading Longo to become arrogant, boasting that he was the "fastest blaster on Tatooine" and detailing his plans to seize more territory from the Hutt. Jabba increased the bounty on the Clantaani gunslinger to 50,000 credits, whether he was brought in dead or alive.

Bounty hunter Jango Fett took notice and decided to claim the reward, which led to a meeting with Jabba to gather further information on the Bando Gora cult. Fett tracked the Clantaani criminals to their hideout, the Mos Gamos township on Tatooine. Fett systematically eliminated Longo Two-Guns's men: Wint in a docking bay, Hardwikk in an arena, Rengo in a building, Vaneer and Cahoon in courtyards, and Klintee in a cantina. To do so, Fett had to fight through Clantaani thugs and muscle from other species. The bounty hunter finally confronted Two-Guns, who was holed up in a podracer hangar. In the resulting fray, Fett defeated the Clantaani gunslinger and claimed Jabba's bounty on him, bringing him in alive. Rumors suggested that Jabba ended the Clantaani's life by unleashing his Gamorrean executioner Lomrokk on him.

The earliest official depiction of the Clantaani species is an image of Longo Two-Guns, which was published in April 2002 as part of a preview for the LucasArts video game Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. The game itself, which was first released in December 2002, includes Clantaani in its fifth level, where the bounty hunter Jango Fett faces off against Longo Two-Guns's gang on Tatooine. While defeating Two-Guns is the level's primary objective, some of his associates appear as optional, secondary bounties. One of them, "Deadeye" Klintee, is named after an effects artist who worked on the game.

The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, published in December 2008, contains entries for the species itself, as well as for Hardwikk, Klintee, and Two-Guns. These entries confirm that Fett claimed the bounties on Hardwikk and Two-Guns, but they do not specify whether he captured them dead or alive. Given that Hardwikk's bounty was higher for capture than for killing, the above account assumes that he was captured alive. The defeat of the other Clantaani depends on fully completing Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, and the above account assumes that each bounty was claimed in the way—dead or alive—that yielded the greatest reward. In the cases of Wint, Rengo, Cahoon, and Klintee, capturing the target alive provided Fett with a larger reward. However, for Vaneer and Two-Guns, the rewards were the same regardless.

While researching the Expanded Universe lore surrounding Tatooine and the Gamorrean species for the background story of their character Lomrokk, the artistic team at Sideshow Collectibles incorporated one version of Longo Two-Guns's fate into their non-canonical Star Wars Mythos line of statues. In the accompanying fiction and illustrations for the Gamorrean executioner, Jango Fett brings Longo to Jabba the Hutt to collect the bounty. Jabba then drops Longo into the pit beneath his throne, where the Clantaani encounters Lomrokk and meets his demise. In "So Uncivilized: Great Gunslingers in Star Wars," an article on the StarWars.com Blog, author Ed Erdelac mentions this story in his description of Longo Two-Guns, referring to it as a rumor about the Clantaani's possible end.