Morseerian

Essentially humanoid in form, Morseerians were a sentient, two-legged species. The primary distinction was their possession of four arms, in contrast to the two typically found in humanoids. The upper pair of limbs were comparable in size to those of a Human, while the lower pair, originating from a secondary set of shoulders, were slightly smaller. These additional limbs enhanced their climbing abilities, facilitated multitasking, and proved advantageous in combat for grappling or wielding multiple weapons. While all Morseerians possessed opposable thumbs, the number of digits on their hands varied among individuals, with some having five, others four, and some only three.

Their heads were oblong and conical, covered in overlapping scales that ranged in color from brown and gray to white, green, purple, or tan. The remaining areas of their bodies were covered in greenish, translucent skin, providing a view of their internal organs and the flow of blood. Their large, black eyes lacked pupils and were positioned above a small nose and a triangular mouth slit. Certain members of the species exhibited exceptional hearing. Both males and females had slender physiques similar to those of adolescent Humans, with breasts serving as a distinguishing feature for adult females. Morseerians typically stood between 1.5 and 1.7 meters in height. They reached adolescence at thirteen years of age and adulthood at eighteen, with a life expectancy of eighty standard years.

Due to their biological requirement for methane-rich gas for respiration, Morseerians needed to take specific precautions in standard atmospheres, which made them appear unusual to outsiders. Exposure to an oxygen-rich, methane-deficient atmosphere resulted in suffocation within minutes. Consequently, Morseerians encountered by those from other species were almost always seen wearing full environment suits. These protective suits, which could be form-fitting or looser, included a sophisticated breath mask that supplied a methane-rich atmosphere similar to that of their homeworld. The masks incorporated goggles for eye protection and straps for securing them to the head, resulting in a mechanical alteration of the wearer's voice, resembling that of a droid's vocoder. These durable suits were designed with redundant air pockets and filtration systems, ensuring continued protection even if punctured or torn, and rarely required repair or replacement. While somewhat cumbersome, the suits also provided additional defense against airborne toxins. However, they were vulnerable to fire, which could ignite the methane supply.

The Morseerians were characterized by their introverted, taciturn, and secretive nature. They generally preferred isolation and only engaged in conversation with strangers to gather information. This solitary disposition led them to avoid confrontations, although they were prepared to defend themselves when necessary.

Their obsession with secrecy was particularly evident in their guarding of the name and location of their homeworld. The planet remained uncharted by anyone other than the Morseerians, although it was rumored to be located in the Outer Rim Territories. A Morseerian would rather die than reveal its location. As a result, little was known about their native culture and customs. The Morseerians were nominally under the protection of the Drackmarian species. While the specifics of this relationship were unclear to outsiders, some Morseerians entered into individual contracts with Drackmarian overlords. Violating such agreements resulted not only in the enmity of the Drackmarian master but also in a bounty being placed on the Morseerian's head.

The Morseerians communicated using a language bearing the same name. Many also learned Basic or Huttese, although these skills were not universally acquired. Morseerian names consisted of two parts, as exemplified by Chall Bekan, Myor Devker, Shalthan Leeru, Nabrun Leids, Bargeth Relb, Nilek Rillion, and Flyrl Sacorbel.

The species possessed access to advanced technology and manufactured hyperspace-capable starships. Morseerian vessels were oval-shaped and varied in size from small shuttles to large bulk freighters. These ships provided a methane-rich atmosphere for their crew and passengers, allowing them to move freely without the need for environment suits.

The Morseerians originated on a planet known exclusively to them, rumored to be situated somewhere in the Outer Rim. They existed on the periphery of the galactic community for over 12,000 years prior to the Battle of Yavin. At some point, they mastered hyperspace technology and expanded beyond their homeworld, successfully concealing its location from outsiders. They also refined their starship designs. The Morseerians carved out a niche on the fringes of galactic society, with many becoming galactic traders. They eventually encountered merchants from the Squib species and established favorable trade relations. The Morseerians established colonies, whose locations were not as closely guarded as that of their homeworld. They became known as Morseerians, named after the colony world of Morseer, located in the Morseer system of the Outer Rim Territories. They favored environments suited to their physiology; Morseer, for example, had a methane-rich atmosphere with vegetation unfamiliar to species accustomed to the flora of worlds with nitrogen–oxygen atmospheres.

At some point, the Morseerians entered into conflict with the Drackmarians, another methane-breathing species. These reptilians conquered the colony of Morseer, and the Morseerians became a client species under Drackmarian rule as part of the larger Quelii sector.

During the Galactic Civil War, the Drackmarians opposed the Galactic Empire but were ultimately defeated and subjugated. Morseer was among the worlds seized by the Empire as spoils of war, although the Morseerians officially remained clients of the Drackmarians. The new Imperial government initiated a campaign to locate the Morseerian homeworld, prompting the four-armed species to secretly provide the Rebel Alliance with intelligence on Imperial troop and fleet movements. Despite this, few Morseerians openly supported the Rebellion, and some even assisted the Empire. Ultimately, the efforts of the Rebel sympathizers proved successful, and the species' home system remained concealed. Following the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, Morseer and the Quelii sector came under the control of the Imperial warlord Zsinj, only to be annexed by the remnants of the Empire upon Zsinj's death. By 137 ABY, Morseer was located within a region of space controlled by Darth Krayt as part of his Sith Empire.

While not commonly encountered and rarely seen beyond the Expansion Region towards the Core Worlds, Morseerians could be found on their colonies and on the fringes of society across various worlds. Morseerian spacers favored ships of their own design or older freighters from other manufacturers that had been modified to provide a methane atmosphere. The crews of these vessels typically consisted of other Morseerians or members of species comfortable in such conditions, such as Chadra-Fan and Gand.

Given that many Morseerians in the broader galaxy engaged in trade, merchants were often the public face of the species. They preferred to conduct business with partners with whom they had established positive relationships and shared past successes, particularly Squibs. Morseerians were observed in cantinas and spaceports throughout the galaxy, including those in Mos Espa on Tatooine, Void Station, the Lazy Bergruutfa Cantina on Betha II, StarForge Station, the Power Dive on Ord Mantell, and Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina on Tatooine. Some Morseerians even ventured into the Unknown Regions and joined the nomadic Ebruchi pirates, adopting their culture in the process.

A Morseerian guard was employed by the Black Sun Vigo Darnada in 33 BBY; like the rest of Darnada's entourage, this Morseerian was killed in an attack by the Sith Lord Darth Maul. A pair of Morseerian pirates maintained a base on Tatooine and occasionally traded with the Toydarian trader Watto for spare parts. In 32 BBY, these pirates had amassed a substantial collection of hard currency in various denominations. While in an adjacent room, they overheard activity in their treasure chamber but initially dismissed it as a womp rat. However, they soon heard the unmistakable sound of someone rummaging through their treasure chest. They discovered a young Human boy—unbeknownst to them, a nine-year-old slave named Anakin Skywalker, who was leading a group of escaped slave children to a rendezvous with smugglers who would transport them off the planet. The child attacked them with a beamdrill, the flame of which threatened to ignite the methane supplies in their suits. The boy escaped with a portion of their loot into the sewers, where the narrow entrance prevented the Morseerians from pursuing him. During the Clone Wars, a Morseerian orphan was among ten younglings abducted from Abregado-rae by the Twi'lek Kuvuta Pindi for transport to the Neimoidian criminal Dool Pundar on Foless, where they were to be sold into slavery. The Twi'lek tricked the Jedi Knight Nuru Kungurama and his partner, Big Gizz, into assisting her by claiming she was taking the children to a Republic Children's Aid placement center. However, upon arrival at Foless, the Foless Spaceport Authority alerted Kungurama and Giz to Pindi's scheme. The two rescued the Morseerian and the other orphans, who were then placed with families.

Another notable Morseerian spacer was Nabrun Leids. Despite his qualifications as a fighter pilot, he breached his contract with a Drackmarian warlord named Omogg who operated in the Quelii sector. Leids earned a bounty for his transgression and fled to the Outer Rim, exchanging a life of high-speed dogfights for one of smuggling. Leids piloted a modified Ghtroc Industries 720 freighter called the Scarlet Vertha and specialized in transporting cargo between the Sisar Run and the Triellus Trade Route leading to Tatooine. For a suitable price, he offered transport services to passengers traveling to various destinations. Leids eventually formed a partnership with the Bimm smuggler Rycar Ryjerd. Although they eventually separated and competed for the same cargo, they maintained a competitive camaraderie. Both Leids and Ryjerd were present at the Mos Eisley Cantina in 0 BBY when Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker hired Han Solo and Chewbacca to transport them to Alderaan. In 3 ABY, Leids and his crew participated in a smuggling race against Ryjerd and others. They accepted a cargo from the Shistavanen Mal Biron on Sriluur with the understanding that the team who delivered their cargo first would receive a larger and more lucrative cargo later.

Chall Bekan was another Morseerian residing on Tatooine. During the Galactic Civil War, he led a group of non-Human informants, reporting on the activities of both Jabba the Hutt and the Rebel Alliance.

Sometime after the establishment of the New Republic, two Morseerians were present in a cantina frequented by Han Solo on an unidentified planet. One was seated at the bar, while the other entered the cantina and seized a young Human who had been playing sabacc with Solo. This Morseerian claimed that the boy, the son of Senator Amara, was being taken hostage for the Black Sun criminal organization. However, Solo killed the Morseerian with his blaster and freed the prisoner.

No established Force-using tradition existed among the Morseerians, although some were rumored to be Force adepts capable of tapping into the energy field. No Morseerian was ever known to have become a Jedi, nor were there any records of encounters between the species and the Jedi Order. Nevertheless, the fact that Morseerians were rarely seen without environment suits meant that the possibility of a Morseerian Jedi could not be entirely dismissed.

The Morseerian species was initially conceived as one of the background characters for the cantina scene in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, released in 1977, but the alien's first actual appearance occurred in the second issue of Marvel Comics' adaptation of the film, published fifteen days before the film's release. An early production sketch depicted the species without a gas mask, with pointed ears, and with two double-jointed arms rather than four Human-like ones. Two Morseerian characters were created. During production and principal photography in London, England, the four-armed aliens were referred to as "Plutonians" or "Squid Heads," the latter nickname later being applied to another squid-like alien during the filming of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. The four-armed alien's official name was intended to be "Quidultii." One of the characters is visible in the film near the bar, while the other is seated in a booth. The Morseerian at the bar was portrayed by a female extra.

In 1995, the game company Decipher identified the character as a male pilot named Nabrun Leids and a member of the Morseerian species. The Truce at Bakura Sourcebook by Kathy Tyers and Eric S. Trautmann in 1996 provided additional details about the species, including the connection between the Morseerians and the Drackmarians. The species' background was further developed in Alien Anthology, a 2001 release by Steve Miller and Owen K.C. Stephens. Subsequent appearances of the species have been either cameos (including the non-canon stories "The Emperor's Court" and "Smuggler's Blues") or recreations and flashbacks of the A New Hope cantina scene. In 2010, author Daniel Wallace included a reference to the Morseerians in the Wizards of the Coast book The Unknown Regions. In his blog, Wallace revealed that this was because the Morseerians are an "Unknown Regions species." He also expressed regret for not expanding upon the species more fully in the book.

Although Morseerian characters appeared in West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, the species was never presented in a format suitable for players wishing to portray them. In the game's rules, Morseerians received an extra action each turn due to their four arms. The Wizards of the Coast version of the game, the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, explicitly allowed Morseerian characters. Such individuals had no significant differences from Humans except for their four limbs and dependence on methane. Special rules governed Morseerians who wished to grapple foes in combat, as their four arms provided them with advantages over two-armed species.

Episode I Adventures Game Book 8: Trouble on Tatooine allows a player to assume the role of one of the characters from the novel version of the story as the children navigate the sewers of Mos Espa. The player can choose to portray Anakin Skywalker or his friends, Arawynne, Dorn, Kitster Banai, or Pala Kwi'teksa. The main sequence of events remains consistent with the novel version, although details may vary depending on the player's success or failure in various tasks. The choice of character also influences whom the Morseerian pirates encounter. This article assumes that the novel version of the events is canonical.

Characters resembling Morseerians appear in two issues of the Marvel Star Wars comic book, but their species is not definitively identified. One of these is seen fleeing from Han Solo and Chewbacca after a blaster fight on Aduba-3. The second is the boyfriend of a woman Solo refers to as "Pig-face," who engages in a bar fight with the smuggler on Aduba-3 to defend his girlfriend.