Gektls, sometimes written as Gecktls, represented a sentient species of two-legged reptilian beings. Their origin was the planet of Hoszh Iszhir. They were considered resilient survivors, possessing the ability to shed their skin and even their tails to evade threats. As a long-standing element of galactic civilization, they were celebrated for their mastery of art and literature. Notably, their painted eggs were globally admired as exquisite and highly sought-after works of art. The Gektl homeworld benefited from a planetary shield, safeguarding its abundant strategic metals from potential invaders.
Stafuv Rahz, a Major within the Imperial Military, belonged to this species. Rahz committed treason against his own planet by giving the Empire the necessary codes to penetrate Hoszh Iszhir's shield in return for his officer rank. Subsequently, he was placed in command of an operation intended to draw out and ensnare Rebels by executing a schoolteacher along with her students.
Gektls were a species of sentient reptiles that walked on two legs, typically exhibiting a stooped posture with bent knees. Their backs were covered in green scales, while their bellies were adorned with yellow scales. Their hands featured four clawed fingers, and their feet had three clawed toes and a clawed heel. They possessed lengthy, flexible tails covered in concentric scales that formed a jagged ridge along the top. Gektl faces were elongated and somewhat flattened, and the tops of their heads had three small crests of scales. They had yellow eyes and a long, slender, pink tongue.
The Gektl homeworld, Hoszh Iszhir, presented a hazardous environment. One hemisphere was a desolate desert, while the other was enveloped in a toxic atmosphere. Both halves teemed with lethal predators. Consequently, Gektls were inherently survivors. These reptilians were robust and physically resilient. A Gektl's innate defenses included the ability to shed skin that was grabbed, revealing lighter green skin underneath. They could also detach their tails. The discarded skin could even serve as a decoy.
Despite their natural survival skills, Gektls had been celebrated for their literary works and other artistic pursuits for thousands of years. Gektl painted eggs held particular value, being among the most esteemed collectibles in the galaxy. When illuminated correctly, each egg depicted scenes from significant Gektl historical events. Showing their teeth in what appeared to be a smile was considered a challenge among Gektls.
The Gektls originated from Hoszh Iszhir, a planet located within the Gekto system. Situated in the Uoti sector of the Core Worlds, the planet integrated into the broader galactic community during the early years of the Old Republic. Rich in valuable metals like guerrerite, the Gektls established a planetary shield system to protect their world and its resources many generations before the Galactic Civil War.
Following Palpatine's ascension to Emperor, he coveted the resources of Hoszh Iszhir. An opportunity presented itself when Stafuv Rahz, the maintainer of the planet's shield system, journeyed to Coruscant to seek an audience with the Emperor. Rahz offered Palpatine the shield codes in exchange for a position of authority. Palpatine granted him a commission in the Imperial Military and tasked him with maintaining order among the planets in the Gekto system. Subsequently, the Emperor dispatched a fleet of Star Destroyers to bombard Hoszh Iszhir into submission, enslaving the Gektls and forcing them to mine the world's resources.
During the Cold War that ensued after the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant, Dao Stryver, a female Gektl and Mandalorian, attended an auction hosted by the Hutt Tassaa Bareesh. The Hutt was offering a navigation computer and another enigmatic item for sale. Stryver fought the other attendees for the prize, eventually securing the navicomp and pinpointing the origin world of the other mysterious object, which was revealed to be a nest of hex droids, a perilous droid type. There, the Gektl persuaded the Republic and Sith Imperial forces to unite for a mission to destroy the hexes before they could seize control of the galaxy. The mission was successful, and the hex droids were eliminated.
Throughout the Galactic Empire's rule, many Gektls were subjugated and forced to extract ore from their homeworld's mines. Rahz was an exception, and after betraying his people, he rose to the rank of major in the Imperial Military. He oversaw a raid on the mist-covered world of Kar'a'katok and the capture of a native Shimholt, Ampotem Za, who later became the slaver known as the "Suprema."
Rahz continued his service within the Empire, becoming involved in an Imperial operation on Harix. Darth Vader dispatched him to abduct the teacher Myoris Lin and her students, but her son Berd escaped with Luke Skywalker. Vader instructed Rahz to announce the captives' impending execution as bait to trap members of the Rebellion. Skywalker brought Berd to a Rebel-aligned spaceport, where the child enlisted Rebel smugglers to execute a rescue plan using target drones as decoys to mislead the Imperials. Berd also forewarned the Rebels of the Imperials' trap, having learned of it through a dream. Skywalker and Han Solo then destroyed Rahz's ambush force concealed behind the Talhu Slotted Peaks. Faced with the destruction of his force and the jamming of communication channels, Rahz attempted to carry out the executions using his sonic beam projector weapon. However, Skywalker ambushed him and the Rebel smugglers restrained him, having defeated Rahz's stormtroopers. Rahz shed his clothing, skin, and tail to escape, rushing toward the projector. Berd reconfigured the weapon's power, causing Rahz to be killed when he attempted to fire it.
Other Gektls turned to crime. One such criminal claimed to have been targeted by the bounty hunter IG-88. He managed to escape by shedding his skin, supposedly inspiring IG-88 to create decoy shells to simulate his destruction.
Russ Manning created the Gektls, starting with Imperial Major Rahz in Bring Me the Children, a story arc from the Star Wars comic strip published in 1980 and reprinted in Classic Star Wars: The Early Adventures 7 in 1995. Aside from reprints of Manning's comic, Gektls were only mentioned once in the following two and a half decades, as a brief mention in the second edition of Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back in 1996. In that book, the species name was written as "Gecktl."
In 2007, Aliens in the Empire, an article co-authored by Abel G. Peña and Rich Handley, was released in two parts as online supplements to Star Wars Insider 96 and 97. The first part briefly revisited Stafuv Rahz in the context of his capture of Apotem Za, the Suprema. Part two provided a comprehensive profile of Rahz, including details about the Gektl homeworld and culture. Handley created these details, as well as much of Rahz's biography. The species is mentioned in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, published in 2008, and a Gektl character named Dao Stryver appeared in the novel The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance in 2010.