Jaxxon T. Tumperakki
Jaxxon T. Tumperakki, known as Jax, was a male Lepi smuggler who captained the vessel Rabbit's Foot. He knew Han Solo, a smuggler who became a celebrated figure in the Rebel Alliance, but considered Solo a less skilled pilot. After intervening in a dispute on the moon of Endor between the Duloks and the Ewoks, Tumperakki came to be worshiped as a god by the Duloks.
Biography
Early life
Jaxxon T. Tumperakki, a male Lepi, first drew breath on the Mid Rim planet called Coachelle Prime. Like many of his species, he came from an exceptionally large family. He had a staggering 167 aunts and uncles, and his cousins numbered in the hundreds—somewhere between 300 and 400. Among them were five named Reegor, Peeta, Arvi, Benji, and Maxx.
Tumperakki eventually entered the world of smuggling, traversing the galaxy on the Rabbit's Foot, a run-down WUD-500 star yacht, accompanied by Mel, an old maintenance droid. During his time as a smuggler, he crossed paths with well-known individuals like the Corellian smuggler Han Solo, the Socorran gambler Lando Calrissian, and the bounty hunter Dengar. Tumperakki and Calrissian shared several adventures. On one occasion, Tumperakki betrayed Calrissian to Renza the Hutt, though the Lepi insisted it was just a joke. On another, he informed the legendary pirate queen Maz Kanata that Calrissian had stolen the hypercoils from her starship Corsair. However, the real thief was Amaiza Foxtrain, Tumperakki's partner at the time, and the stolen hypercoils had somehow ended up in the Rabbit's Foot's power core.
At one point, Tumperakki journeyed to the rocky world of Enujut. There, he engaged in a dispute with an Ugnaught merchant, influenced by a group of Zemerin travelers who instigated conflicts to feed on the resulting negative energy. The local peacekeeper Evor Haris intervened to resolve the situation.
Smuggling Prizzi's eggs
Sometime after the Battle of Yavin, Tumperakki and Foxtrain were contracted by Prizzi, the Queen of Livorno, to safely transport the last eggs of her species to Princess Leia Organa of the Rebel Alliance. Once aboard the Rabbit's Foot, Tumperakki and the queen discovered that the eggs were not hers when they hatched, revealing dangerous flying creatures. It became clear that Foxtrain had betrayed him, making off with the actual eggs.
Nonetheless, Tumperakki managed to locate her at the space-based casino known as the Wheel, where she was attempting to sell the stolen eggs to the highest bidder. A three-way conflict ensued between Tumperakki, Foxtrain, and an agent of the Galactic Empire. After unleashing the flying pests from earlier on his former partner, the long-eared smuggler escaped with the eggs. He then delivered the valuable cargo to Organa and Han Solo.
Upon receiving Organa's gratitude, Tumperakki instructed his droid Mel to present the precious eggs, which the robot promptly dropped. While everyone reacted with shock, Tumperakki realized that he had been sent on a fruitless mission and that those eggs were also fake. The Rebels then confessed that, knowing the Empire was closing in on the eggs, they used Tumperakki's mission as a diversion while Solo smuggled the real ones in his own ship, the Millennium Falcon. Nevertheless, Tumperakki was pleased to learn that not only would the Alliance pay him what he was owed, but that Solo himself would have to repair his ship.
Too Many Lepi
Following his falling out with Amaiza Foxtrain, Tumperakki journeyed to the planet Rekelos, where he tried to cheat the Gloovan gangster Scram at a game of sabacc. However, the Lepi was caught cheating and attempted to flee the cantina where the game took place, pursued first by Scram and his gang, and then by Dengar, who revealed that Jaxxon had a bounty on his head.
After escaping onto the street, Tumperakki encountered the heroes of the Rebellion, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Luke Skywalker, who took him aboard the Millennium Falcon.
The Rebels possessed a holorecording of Amaiza Foxtrain stealing Imperial transit chips with the assistance of a Lepi associate. Tumperakki immediately denied any involvement and identified the Lepi as his cousin Reegor, who bore a striking resemblance to him except for a distinctive scar. Since the Rebels were determined to acquire the stolen chips, Skywalker persuaded Tumperakki to participate in a deception. The Lepi smuggler confronted his cousin and, with Chewbacca's help, forced him to reveal Foxtrain's hiding place.
Using face paint to simulate his cousin's scar, Tumperakki impersonated Reegor as he entered Foxtrain's hideout. Although she was not fooled by Tumperakki's disguise, having heard about his ship landing on the planet, he revealed that he was wearing a tracker, summoning Imperial forces as well as Dengar to attack the location. In the chaos, he seized the chips. When Foxtrain pointed out that this would not help him as the Empire would simply target him, he revealed his final distraction: the rest of his cousins running around the place, confusing the Imperials who did not know which Lepi to shoot. With that, Tumperakki escaped while Foxtrain had to contend with an enraged Dengar, who intended to collect the bounty on her instead.
After taking down his cousin, he was able to retrieve the chips, and was able to use his other cousin to confuse his pursuers and delivers the chips to the rebellion. When Skywalker asked how Jaxxon was able to convince his cousin into helping them, he explained that he offered the services of Han Solo and the legendary Millennium Falcon for as many jobs as they needed, much to Solo's anger.
Tumperakki Haulage
Around 3 ABY, inspired by Lando Calrissian—who had become baron administrator of Cloud City—Tumperakki resolved to become a legitimate businessperson. He planned to establish the Tumperakki Haulage Company, whose fleet of freighters would transport goods legally across the galaxy. Needing initial funding, the Lepi traveled to Cloud City hoping to persuade his old friend Calrissian to invest. Dressed in cheap imitations of luxury clothing, Tumperakki arrived at the baron administrator's office only to discover that he was one hour late for his appointment due to a misunderstanding between Mel and Calrissian's aide, the cyborg Lobot.
Although Calrissian was occupied with another visitor, a Troglof named Corovene Manakor, the Lepi was permitted to see him, but his proposal was met with only scorn and rejection. When Tumperakki attempted to insist one last time, Calrissian had a sudden, uncharacteristic outburst of anger. Tumperakki left, but not before overhearing the baron administrator mutter into his comlink what he was going to do next. Suspecting Calrissian was involved in a heist, he crept towards a meeting room only to find a group of stormtroopers and Darth Vader waiting. Upon seeing Vader, he quickly closed the door and fled from the dining room, pursued by stormtroopers. While he did escape, he accidentally tripped and knocked himself out. When he woke up, Lando was ordering the people to evacuate from Cloud City.
Determined to exact some form of revenge, he broke into Calrissian's office and stole the suitcase full of ingots. After stealing the ingots and hiding in a maintenance closet, he met Corovene and his family. That was where he learned Corovene was part of the group that cause the heist on Scipio but only so he can get the funds to liberate their homeworld of Najiba from the empire but was left empty handed. With Lando promising to help move Corovene and his family to somewhere safe (With the case of ingots to pay for a pilot) so they can start a new life on Lysatra. Feeling guilty, Tumperakki got rid of the ingots and hid the family in the suitcase and made a breakaway to the Rabbit's Foot. Once inside his ship, he let the Troglof family out of the suitcase and promised to take them to Lysatra.
Rescued by Lando
Following the Battle of Endor, Tumperakki was hired to liberate Rekk's Chancellor, [Asera](/article/asera], on Rekkana. Unfortunately, he was captured by Commodore Visler Korda and his forces. Tumperakki was imprisoned but managed to send out a distress signal. He was subsequently freed from the prison by New Republic General Lando Calrissian. Together, they freed Chancellor Asera. She informed them that they needed to retrieve the Totem of Saglanost in order to restore the Rekk's hope. Tumperakki and Calrissian took Asera to the Millennium Falcon, but were attacked by several stormtroopers. Despite that, Tumperakki was convinced by Calrissian to steal one of the Empire's new Scuttlers. He used it to fight Korda and his troops until the scuttler fell apart. Tumperakki, Calrissian, and Asera were able to reach the Falcon, but chose to take the Rabbit's Foot to Hanna City on Chandrila.
Mission to the Palpatine Archive
In Hanna City, Tumperakki participated in a meeting with Han Solo, Leia Organa, Lando Calrissian, C-3PO, and R2-D2 regarding the Totem's location at the Palpatine Archive in the Coruscant system. There, Tumperakki volunteered himself and his ship for the mission.
Accompanied by Calrissian and Asera, Tumperakki took the Rabbit's Foot to the Archive. After landing his ship in one of the station's hangars, the Lepi, dressed in the uniform of an Imperial officer, pretended to be delivering a valuable sculpture, which was actually a collection of droid parts and scrap metal. Although the analysis droid that greeted him was suspicious from the beginning, it did not raise the alarm until the poorly disguised smuggler attempted to steal an artifact known as the Golden Agrooba of Metlok IV.
Tumperakki was then attacked by several Imperial Guards, who pursued him. However, it was all part of the plan, as the Lepi was only meant to serve as a distraction, allowing Calrissian and Asera to emerge from the so-called sculpture. He somehow managed to incapacitate one of the guards and steal his or her uniform without anyone noticing. Tumperakki and his "fellow" guards then returned to the hangar, where Calrissian and Asera were ready to board the Rabbit's Foot, having retrieved the totem. Ending the charade, Tumperakki called for Mel, who knocked over the Imperial guards and the curator droid, and the Rebel strike team was able to escape the Archive with the totem.
Tumperakki, Calrissian, and Asera were able to return to Rekkana. There, Tumperakki, Calrissian and the Rekks were able to sabotage Korda's computer-controlled TIEs and force his troops to surrender. Tumperakki was given his credits but was forced to give up the artifact he stole from the Archive to Calrissian. Tumperakki was convinced by Calrissian to consider joining the New Republic.
Journey to Fortress Vader
On Emita, Tumperakki was approached New Republic Captain Lina Graf after having a nightmare about Kashyyyk's Festival of Bounty. He told the bar's patrons and Graf about the nightmare and was told that she and her brother Milo had similar nightmares. He agreed to help her get to Mustafar and use the Rabbit's Foot to pick up Thom Hudd and Skritt on Karken. En route, the Rabit's Foot came under attack by several TIEs. After taking care of the TIEs, Tumperakki landed on Mustafar outside of Fortress Vader. He and Hudd woke Graf up from her nightmare and proceeded to approach the Fortress. As they entered the Fortress, Tumperakki and the others were contacted by Milo. Tumperakki came under attack by an apparition of Darth Vader. The apparition was revealed to be Crater who revealed that he was Vaneé's control.
They discovered that Vaneé was attempting was to resurrect Vader by using Milo's body in Vader's bacta tank. Tumperakki and the others were stunned by Vaneé.
Serving the New Republic
Tumperakki ultimately enlisted in the New Republic as a starfighter pilot, achieving the rank of captain. He was once assigned to a secret diplomatic mission to Endor. Accompanied by the protocol droid C-3PO, entrusted to him by the New Republic Diplomatic Corps, the Lepi found himself in the midst of a full-scale civil war between factions within the Ewok Bright Tree tribe. After knocking the Dulok king Gorneesh unconscious with a kick to the face and rescuing the kidnapped Chief Chirpa from the Duloks, Jaxxon brought an end to the Ewok Civil War. The Duloks then constructed a statue of him and worshipped him as a deity. As they danced and praised their effigy of Jaxxon, the Duloks referred to their new god as 'Jaxxon the Hitchhiker' and 'Jaxxon the Great Green One' in their tribal chants.
Personality and traits
With his elongated ears, prominent buck teeth, and short green fur, the Lepi Tumperakki physically resembled a green rabbit, earning him nicknames like "cottontail" or "green-ears." He was slender and tall, standing at 1.83 meters. He had a fondness for dewback steaks.
Despite projecting an image of self-assurance, even calling himself "the galaxy's greatest smuggler," Tumperakki harbored insecurities, feeling that he could not measure up to individuals like Amaiza Foxtrain, whom he considered a "class act." He also resented the fact that Han Solo's fame overshadowed his own. In fact, even a passing mention of Solo annoyed him and could provoke him to action.
Skills and abilities
In terms of combat skills, Tumperakki was capable of wielding two blasters simultaneously. He also employed hand-to-hand techniques, such as delivering a powerful kick to his opponent's chest, and jump-kicking his opponents in the face. He was agile, able to perform various gymnastic maneuvers over or on various obstacles, such as walls and buildings.
Behind the scenes
Jaxxon made his initial appearance in Star Wars canon in "The Lost Eggs of Livorno," a comic written by Cavan Scott and illustrated by Alain Mauricet, which was featured as the secondary story in Star Wars Adventures Annual 2018 on April 18, 2018. Jaxxon's complete name was revealed in the short story "Fake It Till You Make It," penned by Cavan Scott for the 2020 anthology From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back. Jaxxon was originally conceived for the Star Wars Legends Star Wars 8, a 1977 comic authored by Roy Thomas and drawn by Howard Chaykin. He was created as an homage to the Warner Brothers cartoon character Bugs Bunny. In the 2012 The Clone Wars episode "A Sunny Day in the Void," the skeleton discovered in a crashed shuttle wears a suit similar to Jaxxon's. The skull even possesses elongated incisors. This is acknowledged in the Legends reference book Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Episode Guide.
As early as 2014, Marvel Comics' Star Wars writer Jason Aaron cited the "giant bunny rabbit" as the Legends character he most desired to bring into canon. Jaxxon has also been featured on several variant covers, including one of Star Wars (2015) 1, created by artist John Tyler Christopher, one of Vader Down 1, made by Chip Zdarsky, and one of Poe Dameron 1, illustrated by David Nakayama. Cavan Scott advocated for Jaxxon's return ever since he was hired to write Adventures, Jaxxon being a favorite character of his.
On March 19, 2018, a character resembling Jaxxon was sighted on Ord Mantell in "Bounty Hunted," the sixth episode of the canon animated micro-series Star Wars Forces of Destiny's second season. The same model appeared again in the episode "Triplecross."