Noa Briqualon

In the waning decades of the Galactic Republic, a Human male named Noa Briqualon served as a scout of some note. He dedicated years to this profession and also engaged in trading. Sometime before 26 BBY, Briqualon partnered with Salak Weet to map out the Moddell sector. On their initial expedition, the two explorers reached the Monsua Nebula within the sector, transmitting a responder signal. However, their star cruiser soon crashed on the moon of Endor. The cruiser joined the ranks of numerous ships lost to the moon over time, due to the interference from nearby stellar debris and gravity shadows. With a damaged crystal oscillator, the star cruiser became unusable, and the two explorers concealed their vessel beneath the dense foliage of the forested moon before attempting repairs. Eventually, Weet departed to seek a replacement oscillator, while Briqualon remained with the ship.

Weet never returned alive; he was captured by a group of Sanyassan Marauders who were also stranded. Upon learning of the star cruiser's ability to travel through space, Terak, the Marauders' King, killed Weet, desiring the "power of the stars" for himself. Although Briqualon eventually realized Weet would not return, he initially refused to accept it. He carved a hut out of a hollowed tree, making it his home. At some point, he befriended a furry Teek, known only as "Teek," who became his only companion. Briqualon regularly visited the crashed star cruiser to continue repairs, but the ship remained grounded without a working oscillator. He secured the area with traps, preventing even Teek from following him there. Meanwhile, Weet's father organized a large search-and-rescue operation for the lost explorers, but after four unproductive years, he was forced to declare bankruptcy and abandon the search in 22 BBY.

Briqualon and Teek resided in their home for decades, and the scout lost track of how long he had been marooned on Endor. One day in the latter half of 3 ABY, he returned from his star cruiser to find Cindel Towani, a young Human girl, and her Ewok friend, Wicket Wystri Warrick, in his hut, brought there by Teek. Briqualon reacted with anger, expelling the newcomers. With nowhere else to go, they settled on a log outside the hut. Grumbling, Briqualon finished cooking the dinner they had started, instructing Teek not to share any food with Towani and Warrick. However, when Teek used his speed to deliver muffins to the children, Briqualon watched silently through a window. Towani and Warrick then built a fire, prompting Briqualon to bring them inside, claiming the fire was unsafe. Both children slept on the floor, but when Towani awoke screaming from a nightmare, Briqualon gave up his own bed.

The following morning, Briqualon left for his star cruiser, telling Warrick to leave. Nevertheless, he prepared two child-sized sleeping mats while he was out, and he was disappointed to find his guests gone upon his return. However, the children soon returned from gathering flowers, and Briqualon helped them bake a pie with the flowers. After dinner, he tucked them into their new beds, allowing them to stay another night. In the morning, he instructed them to clean the hut, but instead, the curious children followed him to the star cruiser. Briqualon discovered their presence when an alarm sounded inside the ship, and after rescuing Warrick from a snare trap, he reluctantly brought both children aboard.

With his defenses down, the scout shared his story with the children, finally admitting to himself that Weet was not returning. Towani's family had also been murdered by the Marauders, and Briqualon invited her and Warrick to stay with him permanently. Back at the hut, he entertained his new companions with a song played on a flute. Towani danced happily, but soon grew sad over the loss of her family, and Briqualon comforted her. The next morning, Warrick awoke Briqualon, reporting that Towani was missing. Searching for her, the scout and Warrick found Towani being carried away on the stallion of Charal, a Human woman allied with King Terak. Briqualon immediately returned to his hut for a blaster pistol, an ascension gun, and some thermal detonators. With Warrick and Teek, he set out after Towani.

The trio tracked Charal to Terak's Keep, the Sanyassan Marauders' castle in the Dragon's Pelt savanna. Instead of swimming through the black waters of the moat, Briqualon used his ascension gun to fire a grappling hook to the top of a wall. He climbed the rope last, his ascent hastened when Warrick tied the rope's end around the ankle of a Sanyassan guard and pushed him into the moat. Sneaking through the castle, they reached King Terak's throne room, filled with dining Marauders. Teek retrieved some robes, Briqualon donned them and placed Warrick on his shoulders. Teek stayed close to Briqualon's legs, and the disguised trio shuffled past the Marauders unnoticed. Their next destination was the dungeon, where two guards were engrossed in a card game. Briqualon tasked Teek with stealing the keys from one guard, and Teek also slipped a card up the guard's sleeve. When the other Marauder noticed it, an argument erupted, ending with both men shooting each other.

Briqualon used the keys to free Towani and a group of Ewoks, captured during the raid on their village in which Towani's family was killed. Warrick and his father, Deej, grabbed the downed guards' blasters as the group tried to escape, but an encounter with a guard forced them back into the dungeon. As Wicket and Deej Warrick covered him, Briqualon set a thermal detonator, blasting a hole in the dungeon wall. He then tossed his grappling hook at a monolith outside the castle, and as the Ewoks swung to safety, Towani pointed out Weet's skeleton hanging on the dungeon wall. Learning that Weet had been killed for the "power thing," Briqualon noticed the crystal oscillator from the Towanis' star cruiser, taken during the Ewok village raid. Charal had kidnapped Towani, hoping she could use it to magically grant the Marauders spaceflight. Briqualon grabbed it, and after everyone escaped, he led them back to his ship. Guided by Charal, who had used a magical ring to metamorphose into a raven, the Marauders followed closely.

At his star cruiser, Briqualon tasked Warrick with using his traps to delay the Marauders. He then brought Towani and four Ewoks aboard to help install the oscillator, hoping to make the cruiser fly. After several attempts, Briqualon powered up the ship, while Teek and the Ewoks battled the Marauders using traps and crude weapons. With power restored, the scout manned a quad laser cannon, firing at his enemies. Overwhelmed, the Marauders fled, except for Terak, who grabbed Towani after she rushed out to free Warrick from a trap.

Terak sent Wicket and Deej Warrick into the cruiser, demanding "the power" in exchange for Towani's safety. Briqualon brought the oscillator to Terak, proposing a fight for it in exchange for Towani's release. Terak agreed, and Briqualon attacked with his walking stick. Terak, wielding a sword, gained the advantage, but when he knocked Briqualon down, Teek jumped onto Terak's head. As the King continued to attack a defenseless Briqualon, Warrick desperately fired a stone at Terak with a sling. It struck Charal's ring, breaking it and unleashing energy that burned Terak to death.

After the battle, Briqualon offered to take Towani with him when he left Endor on his functional star cruiser, and she accepted. After several days of preparation, Briqualon said goodbye to Warrick and Teek, and after Towani bid farewell to Warrick, the star cruiser departed Endor. Briqualon and Towani traveled the stars, and the scout eventually retired in the Mid Rim of the galaxy. Towani moved to Coruscant, the galactic capital world, and became a journalist.

As young men, Noa Briqualon and Salak Weet embarked on their journey with the intention of "tearing up the galaxy." After Weet's disappearance on Endor, Briqualon lived as a hermit for decades, with Teek as his only companion, growing fond of the creature and saddened to leave him behind. Despite Teek's companionship, Briqualon grew lonely over the years and lost track of time. He initially reacted with hostility when Cindel Towani and Wicket Wystri Warrick arrived at his hut, sending them away despite their lack of shelter. Reluctant to make new friends after so long alone, he softened and brought them inside, citing the unsafe fire as his reason.

Despite his gruff exterior, Briqualon had a kind heart, which began to show when he comforted Towani after her nightmare. He bought sleeping mats for Towani and Warrick, but pretended to be relieved when they were gone, maintaining his unwelcoming facade. Partly due to Teek's influence, Briqualon eventually allowed the children to stay permanently. He grew protective of Towani, developing a grandfatherly bond, and his comfort helped her cope with her family's recent deaths. Towani, in turn, helped Briqualon accept Weet's death. He merely tolerated Warrick, but by the time he left Endor, Briqualon considered the Ewok a fine warrior whom he was proud to know.

When Charal captured Towani, Briqualon stormed Terak's Keep to rescue her. When Terak later captured her, the old scout attacked the sword-wielding Marauder King with only a walking stick. Prior to Terak's attack, Briqualon commanded his Ewok troops, directing them to defensive positions. He also possessed starship repair skills. In 3 ABY, Briqualon had brown hair streaked with gray, a balding head, and a long beard. He had light skin and brown, piercing eyes behind spectacles, an ample belly, and simple robes.

George Lucas created Noa for the 1985 television movie Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. Inspired by watching Heidi with his daughter, Lucas conceived the plot in which Cindel Towani—who had appeared in 1984's Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure—becomes an orphan and lives with a grumpy hermit in the woods. Lucas explained his vision to Jim and Ken Wheat, who directed the movie. Despite ABC Entertainment's suggestion of Tom Selleck for the role, Wilford Brimley, a veteran actor, played Noa. Brimley clashed with the Wheat brothers, refusing to work with them, so Joe Johnston, the second unit director, shot all of his scenes.

A rumor claimed Noa swore while powering up his star cruiser in the movie's climax, but the eighty-ninth issue of Star Wars Insider debunked this, citing the subtitles of the 2004 Ewoks: The Battle for Endor DVD release as proof that the line is "Aw, come on." A StarWars.com article from 2000 suggested that Noa and the other characters spoke a language translated for viewers, not Basic, the Star Wars equivalent of English. This claim is based on Wicket Warrick's ability to speak and understand Basic in the movie, which he cannot do in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, set shortly after.

A soundtrack by Peter Bernstein covering both Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor includes two tracks about Noa: "Noa & Terak" and "Noa's Ark." Various reference books and the StarWars.com Databank provided further information on Noa over the years, and a 2002 issue of the HoloNet News website by Pablo Hidalgo and Paul Ens detailed his crash on Endor. Noa's last name, Briqualon, first appeared in the ninth issue of Star Wars Gamer magazine in 2002 and was mentioned in his Databank entry by 2004.

A light-hearted article by Bonnie Burton on StarWars.com in 2007, later published in Star Wars Insider 100 in 2008, listed Briqualon and Teek as unlikely candidates for Hasbro's Star Wars Unleashed toy line, including a sketch of them in "unleashed" poses by Pablo Hidalgo. In 2010, IGN ranked Briqualon #95 on their top 100 Star Wars characters list, citing Wilford Brimley's portrayal, his introduction of spectacles to the Galaxy Far, Far Away, his protection of an orphaned girl, and his attack on King Terak with only a walking stick.