Poletec

The planet Skako Minor was the origin of the Poletecs, a species of slender humanoids with purple, red, or beige skin. They were native to the world. A noticeable lack of hair, coupled with sharp jaws, characterized their appearance. Their physical features included elongated fingers, and protruding spikes, similar to eyebrows.

Many Poletecs carried a primitive, crustacean-like weapon on one forearm that discharged black projectiles when swung. The red-skinned Poletecs appeared to be more numerous than the beige ones, while the purple skin tone seemed to be exclusive to the few Poletecs who rode on keeradaks.

Poletecs were a primitive society, living in villages. They were known to revere the winged reptiles called keeradaks, utilizing them as mounts for transport. By 19 BBY, they spoke only in their native language, their only tongue. At the time of the Clone Wars, Poletecs maintained a primitive way of life, with many using spears as weapons. They were also wary of outsiders. Initially, the Poletecs were hesitant to involve themselves in the Clone Wars, viewing it as a conflict between outsiders. Wat Tambor, the Skakoan foreman of the Techno Union, considered the Poletecs to be inferior.

In 19 BBY, Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, Clone Captain Rex, and Clone Force 99 encountered the inhabitants of a Poletec village during a mission to rescue the clone trooper Echo. After Skywalker was captured by the Poletecs, a brief clash erupted when the clone troopers attempted a rescue. However, with Tech acting as a translator, Skywalker successfully convinced Qin Yazal, the Poletec leader, that they were not a threat and that the Separatists were their real enemy. Despite their reluctance to participate in the Clone Wars, the Poletecs provided the Galactic Republic forces with two scouts.

These scouts agreed to escort the offworlders to the city of Purkoll, but no further. Skywalker and the clones managed to escape back to the Poletec village on the backs of keeradaks, earning the respect of the Poletec villagers. Subsequently, Skywalker and the clones persuaded the Poletecs to join them in fighting against the droid forces of the Techno Union.

The Poletecs initiated the battle by creating a diversion, rolling a large stone down a slope to ambush the Separatist forces. Despite their initial advantage, many Poletec warriors were killed during the fighting by the highly advanced Octuptarra tri-droids and D1-series aerial battle droids. By the end of the battle, the Republic forces had saved the chief's life on multiple occasions. Ultimately, Clone Force 99 and the surviving Poletecs, aided by Skywalker, secured victory, with the survivors celebrating in their native tongue. The Poletec chief later expressed gratitude to the Republic for their assistance, assuring them that they would always have an ally on Skako Minor.

Poletecs were first seen in "A Distant Echo," an unfinished story reel episode of The Clone Wars series that is considered canon. The episode debuted on April 17, 2015, and was soon after made available on the official Star Wars website as part of The Clone Wars Legacy. The finished version of the episode was released on Disney+ on February 28, 2020.

Dee Bradley Baker, who voices all clone troopers in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, created the Poletec language through improvisation, drawing inspiration from the backwards speech used in the red room of the series Twin Peaks.

"On the Wings of Keeradaks" was initially released as an unfinished story reel in 2015 before the completed version premiered on Disney+ in 2020. In the story reel version, Wat Tambor used a Poletec test subject as a demonstration of the organic decimator to intimidate Anakin Skywalker into surrendering, however, the scene was cut from the final version of the episode.