The Stellan were a sentient species originating from the Outer Rim planet named Stellan. This race, fiercely dedicated to isolationism and peace, maintained their tranquility by abandoning those children deemed excessively aggressive. These unfortunate children, such as Jeigh Esse, were cast adrift into space. Esse, in particular, was later found by Rodians and subsequently adopted their profession as a bounty hunter.
The Stellan were a sentient species of humanoid form. A large mouth, filled with square, white teeth, dominated their facial features. Extending from their jaws were two black, pointed protrusions that curved elegantly. Their eyes, appearing as narrow, black wedges devoid of pupils, contrasted sharply with their pale white skin. Jeigh Esse, a Stellan, possessed three black shapes sprouting from the top of her head; one on each side near her small ears, and one directly on top. Stellan hands possessed four fingers and an opposable thumb, allowing them to manipulate objects with ease.
The Stellan possessed a generally peaceful civilization, and actively rejected any members exhibiting excessive aggression. At a young age, all Stellan children underwent screening, and those deemed mentally unstable, violent, or a threat to the Stellan way of life were labeled "ter-Stellan" and sent into space, left to the mercy of chance encounters. This practice was rooted in the Stellan belief surrounding the "Vain Goddess," who, according to their beliefs, instigated an endless galactic war as an offering of love and worship. The Stellan feared that succumbing to the Vain Goddess's allure would result in the eternal loss of the Stellan soul. Stellan society was intensely isolationist, governed by a theocratic system headed by a priest-king.
The Stellan originated on the planet Stellan, situated in the northwestern region of the Hunnoverrs sector within the Outer Rim Territories. Once the Stellan practice of child exile became known, numerous pirates and slavers from nearby worlds like Tatooine and Rodia began venturing into Stellan's orbit to exploit the abandoned Stellan. One such Stellan child, deemed too aggressive, was Jeigh Esse. Esse was notorious on Stellan as one of the most cunning and ruthless of the ter-Stellan, having framed numerous other Stellan for her own wrongdoings, leading to the exile of many innocent Stellan children. Eventually, she was launched into space, where a group of Rodians discovered her. Rodia, their traditional homeworld, was located merely two sectors galactic west. They raised her as one of their own, training her in their profession as bounty hunters. Esse evolved into a deadly hunter. Her arsenal included a polarizer modified from a BlasTech EG-7 blaster.
Chris Cowdrill, a fifteen-year-old at the time, conceived the Stellan for his entry in the Design An Alien contest featured in the Star Wars Galaxy Magazines during 1995. Cowdrill secured second place in the under-16 category, and his submission was published in Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 7 in 1996. Leland Chee, the Keeper of the Holocron, has since confirmed that the published "Design an Alien" entries are considered canon. The Essential Atlas acknowledged the Stellan by including their homeworld in its appendix. The StarWars.com blog post The Not-So Magnificent Seven, authored by Greg Mitchell, provides further insights into Stellan society and establishes "Stellan" as the plural form of the species, instead of "Stellans".
- " Design An Alien " — Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 7 (First mentioned)
- The Not-So Magnificent Seven on StarWars.com (article) (content now obsolete; backup link)