Kul Teska

Kul Teska, a Skakoan male hailing from the planet Skako, served as a scientist for the Techno Union. He possessed exceptional knowledge in the field of cybernetics and was recognized as one of the most brilliant minds within the organization. However, an accident involving his pressure suit resulted in irreparable damage to his body. Overcome with shame due to his disfigurement, Teska departed the Union to dedicate himself to personal experiments involving gravity and commenced the development of the gravitic polarization beam, a superweapon of immense power capable of causing a star to collapse. In addition to his research endeavors, Teska utilized his expertise in cybernetics to rebuild his suit, equipping it with a wide array of weaponry, and became a mercenary in order to acquire the funds necessary to support his research. Ultimately, Teska's reputation rivaled that of the Duros bounty hunter Cad Bane. This, coupled with his research into gravity technology and his previous position as a brilliant Techno Union scientist, attracted the attention of Count Dooku, the Head of State of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

During the Clone Wars, a conflict between the Confederacy and the Galactic Republic, Dooku enlisted Teska's services as both a scientist and an unofficial Separatist "military commander," allowing him to continue his research within a Techno Union base situated on the planet Behpour in the Naboo system. By 22 BBY, the gravitic polarization beam had been completed and was ready for testing. Two identical copies of its critical component, the Gravitic Core, were scheduled for delivery to Behpour aboard a Munificent-class star frigate. However, Teska's rival, Cad Bane, infiltrated the frigate while it was in orbit above the planet Alzoc III and stole one of the crates containing the Core. To conceal his actions, the bounty hunter detonated the other crate, resulting in the destruction of the starship carrying it. The frigate subsequently crashed on Alzoc III, creating a gravitational anomaly. In an effort to recover the stolen component, Teska devised a plan to trace the Core by detecting its unique energy signature. To achieve this, the Skakoan initiated an attack on the Republic space station Juma 9, which possessed a powerful radar system suitable for this purpose. Separatist droid forces under Teska's command engaged in combat with clone troopers stationed at Juma 9, and the scientist also rigged the entire station, including escape pods, with explosives. As the battle progressed, he infiltrated the station's communications room and initiated a radar search for the Core. Teska soon discovered that the Core was located on the planet Ryloth, where remnants of the local Separatist army were still fighting the Republic.

Teska contacted Dooku, requesting that the remaining droid forces on Ryloth create a sufficient distraction for the Republic, allowing him to retrieve the weapon core. As the Skakoan scientist prepared to depart, he was confronted by Plo Koon and Obi-Wan Kenobi, two Jedi Masters who happened to be present at the station during the Separatist attack. Activating their lightsabers, Kenobi and Koon informed Teska that he was under arrest, but he ordered them to remain still and displayed a remote detonator connected to the explosives. The Jedi complied, lowering their weapons, but Teska—remarking that they were "no fun"—detonated the explosives regardless and fled deeper into the station using his rocket boosters, saluting his adversaries as he moved. Eventually, Kenobi and Koon caught up with Teska, cornering him within one of the station's chambers and sealing the only door to prevent his escape. The Skakoan refused to surrender easily and brandished his detonator once more, threatening to destroy the escape pods, which the clone troopers were using to evacuate the exploding station.

At that precise moment, however, Teska's attention was diverted by the sound of an explosion, enabling Kenobi to use the Force to remove the detonator from the Skakoan's grasp. In response, he attacked the two Jedi with his extensive arsenal of weapons. After a prolonged battle, Teska was defeated and propelled into a glass window; the glass shattered, exposing Juma 9 to the vacuum of space. He was nearly pulled out of the station but managed to cling to the edge with his hand. The vacuum also caused Teska's fallen remote detonator to drift towards him. The Skakoan attempted to reach for it, but Kenobi hurled his lightsaber at the detonator, severing it in half. Koon then threw his own weapon at a nearby control panel, causing an emergency blast door to descend; Teska released his grip and was sucked out of the station. His suit allowed him to survive the vacuum, and he veered off in the direction of Ryloth, leaving Kenobi and Plo Koon stranded on the station without their weapons, which had also been pulled outside.

Upon arriving on Ryloth, Teska discovered the Gravitic Core still in the possession of Cad Bane, who had been apprehended by Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano. The two Jedi and their "prisoner" were en route to Bane's Telgorn dropship, the Sleight of Hand, which they intended to use to escape Ryloth and secure the Core for the Republic. Teska ambushed them, emerging from a pile of debris surrounding Bane's starship. After exchanging insults with the Duros, he demanded that Bane return the Core. Teska then used his built-in grappling hook to seize the crate containing the Core and pull it towards himself. However, Skywalker asserted that the Core was not Bane's to give and used the Force to throw the crate into the bounty hunter's ship. Bane then attempted to flee the scene, but Tano trapped him beneath a slab of metal.

Teska attacked the Jedi, and after a brief skirmish, he managed to confine them within an energy field. At that moment, two clone troopers, CS-2207 and CT-7567, arrived and engaged the Skakoan. Following a shootout with the clones, Teska decided to retreat and activated the force field, which began to shrink, threatening to crush the two Jedi inside. Teska then presented the clones with a choice: they could either pursue him or rescue Skywalker and Tano. The clones chose the latter, and the scientist boarded the Sleight of Hand, departing Ryloth and heading towards Behpour, where he planned to use the gravitic beam to collapse the Naboo star. Meanwhile, senator Padmé Amidala, acting on rumors of a Separatist presence in the Naboo system, infiltrated Behpour and located the Techno Union base there. She was quickly captured but had managed to send a message to the Jedi beforehand.

Following Amidala's message and the information they had obtained on Juma 9, the Jedi launched an assault on Behpour, hoping to destroy the Separatists' new superweapon and liberate the senator. After Skywalker and Tano infiltrated the Techno Union base, Teska contacted them via the comm system and demanded that they surrender under the threat of killing Amidala. Skywalker seemingly complied and went to Teska, who had tied Amidala in the gravitic beam's core room and was suspending her from the ceiling. Upon Skywalker's arrival, the Skakoan ordered him to surrender his lightsaber—which Teska wished to study—and warned the Jedi against using any "tricks." After Skywalker relinquished his weapon, Teska placed it on his belt and proceeded to inform Skywalker that he considered his surrender to be an act of cowardice. He added that he would normally suspect a trick, but in Teska's opinion, Skywalker had exhausted all other options. However, the scientist then noticed Skywalker glancing behind him and turned to look. He saw Ahsoka Tano, who had been attempting to move Amidala to safety using the Force while Teska was speaking with Skywalker.

Enraged, Teska fired at Tano with his quad cannon, but she deflected all of his shots with her lightsaber. Simultaneously, Skywalker leaped forward, seizing Amidala and moving her to safety before instructing her to sabotage the scientist's weapon. Furthermore, Tano used the Force to retrieve Skywalker's lightsaber from Teska's belt and returned it to her Master; both Jedi then confronted the Skakoan. As their duel progressed closer to the room's central platform, the superweapon's firing system was activated, and the gravitic beam began to power up for its devastating shot. At that moment, Cad Bane—who had escaped from the Jedi on Ryloth and had arrived on Behpour—appeared in the room and fired at Teska's rocket boosters, stranding the Skakoan on the room's central platform.

Having exacted his revenge on his hated rival, Bane departed the scene. Nevertheless, Kul Teska remained confident in his eventual victory and continued to attack Skywalker and Tano from the central platform until he was defeated and thrown into the gravitic beam itself. Destroyed by the beam's power, Teska's pressure suit malfunctioned, and the Skakoan perished; his final words were that the Jedi had already lost. Amidala, however, had successfully sabotaged the beam. Instead of collapsing the Naboo sun, it destroyed the Behpour laboratory, moments after the Jedi and the senator had evacuated the premises in Skywalker's G9 Rigger freighter, the Twilight.

Kul Teska was a Skakoan with green skin. He was an extremely intelligent, creative, and highly motivated individual. As a distinguished scientist, Teska possessed a natural talent for cybernetics, which allowed him to construct his modified pressure suit. As a mercenary, Teska was known for his ruthlessness and extreme methods, leading to direct competition with fellow bounty hunter Cad Bane. Teska was also frequently arrogant and possessed a brash attitude with a quick temper. He was not intimidated by anyone and believed that no enemy, clone, or Jedi could match his strength. He frequently declared himself unbeatable and considered Cad Bane's attempt to steal the Gravitic Core from him foolish. During combat, Teska often taunted his opponents, claiming that their cause was hopeless and that they would soon be dead, and also belittled the Jedi's skills with the Force and their faith in the Republic Clone Army. He was self-assured, believing that Skywalker had no other options on Behpour. The Skakoan viewed Skywalker's surrender as an act of cowardice, only to discover that the Jedi had, in fact, tricked him.

If an opponent gained the upper hand over Teska, he would acknowledge his enemy's prowess to some extent. Both Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano found this trait irritating and believed that Teska talked too much. Kul Teska was not afraid of mass slaughter, and he intended to destroy the escape pods, killing the clones on Juma 9, and collapse the Naboo sun, which would have had catastrophic consequences for the entire Naboo system. He had no interest in collecting trophies like Count Dooku's dreaded enforcer, General Grievous. Nevertheless, Teska admitted that he had always wanted to examine a Jedi Knight's lightsaber.

Kul Teska's pressure suit was equipped with a diverse array of weaponry and tools. The suit itself allowed him to survive the vacuum of space. It was fitted with rocket boosters, allowing Teska to hover in midair and even fly, a technique he often employed in battle. Teska's right arm was equipped with a rotary quad blaster cannon and a grappling hook. Two rocket launchers were mounted on the suit's shoulders, along with concealed blasters, and a powerful laser beam weapon was located in its chest. Teska was also capable of generating a shockwave that knocked all opponents away from him. The defensive systems of the suit included a shield generator, which created an energy shield to protect Teska from enemy fire.

Although Teska was capable of quickly repairing it even during battle, the suit was prone to malfunctions. The boosters, in particular, were unreliable, as they malfunctioned when Bane fired at them. In addition to the equipment built into his suit, Teska also utilized other mechanisms. During the battle on Juma 9, he used explosives, which he had planted throughout the station. On Ryloth, Teska trapped Skywalker and Tano inside an energy field with the aid of a portable generator.

Kul Teska was created as an antagonist for the 2009 video game Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes, in which Troy Baker provided his voice. The game, developed by Krome Studios and published by LucasArts, serves as a tie-in to the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series. According to the game's assistant producer, Chris Lee, the creation of Teska's character was a collaborative effort between Krome Studios, LucasArts, and Lucasfilm Animation and was intended to create a unique and intriguing new villain for The Clone Wars universe. The production team envisioned Teska as a classic villain, but one with his own motivations. The developers aimed to create a character that players could both love and hate, a character shrouded in mystery that would inspire interest in learning more about him.

Teska's fight against Skywalker, Tano, and the clones on Ryloth is omitted from the PlayStation Portable version of the game, as Teska retreats aboard the Sleight of Hand immediately after Skywalker throws the Gravitic Core there. In 2010, Hasbro released a Toys "R" Us exclusive action figure of Kul Teska.

Teska was also featured in the Nintendo DS edition of Republic Heroes, developed by Lucasfilm Animation Singapore. As revealed in the final cutscene, this version of the game is intended to serve as a prequel to all other versions of Republic Heroes. In this version, as the Confederacy prepares to retreat from Ryloth, they plan to destroy the city in which they are based using bombers. The Republic attempts to prevent the massacre but is unable to contact its fleet to request assistance due to a Separatist tower-mounted jamming device in that city. To address this, Jedi Master Mace Windu infiltrates the city and reaches the top of the tower containing the device. Kul Teska suddenly appears, attempting to prevent Windu from destroying the jammer. After a brief battle, Windu defeats the Skakoan by deflecting his blaster shots back at him using his lightsaber. Teska is forced to retreat, and Windu destroys the jamming device.

Later in the game, General Grievous attempts to overthrow his master, Count Dooku, by acquiring a biological superweapon on the planet Mustafar. His plan fails, and the Jedi defeat the droid commander, forcing him to flee back to the Separatists. Upon discovering his treachery, Dooku spares Grievous, stating that the Jedi's preoccupation with Grievous's rebellion gave him time to develop his own weapon on Behpour, hinting at Teska's development of the gravitic beam. However, the overall storyline of the Nintendo DS version is confusing and contradictory, and incorporating it would require excessive fan-based speculation. Therefore, this article assumes that the events portrayed in the NDS version are non-canon.