A salmaca, a specific type of creature, inhabited a cave situated on the planet of Batuu. Approximately around the year 379 BBY, this particular salmaca initiated a series of incursions into the dwellings of Peka, a nearby settlement. These repeated raids persisted for a number of weeks, and during one of these incidents, the salmaca caused the death of a local resident named Tuntis, who had attempted to resist its actions. Upon the arrival of Jedi Padawan Rooper Nitani in Peka, which occurred during her Jedi Trials, she became aware of the village's predicament involving the salmaca and offered her assistance. Subsequently, she journeyed to the salmaca's cave, where she actively defended the creature from an assembled group of villagers. Following this event, she successfully persuaded the villagers to provide discarded items for the salmaca, thereby resolving the issue that had plagued the village.
A creature of the salmaca species made its home on the planet Batuu, eventually choosing a cave as its dwelling, located close to the village of Peka around 379 BBY. It began to hunt a local population of gant spiders—a poisonous type of arachnid—and started to break into homes in Peka during the night to collect valuables and discarded items for its nest. These raids by the salmaca went on for several weeks, and in one instance, it caused the death of a villager named Tuntis. Tuntis attempted to fight back, but the salmaca tore off his arm with its beak, leaving him to die from blood loss in his destroyed home.
When Jedi Master Silandra Sho paid a visit to Peka, she spoke with a villager named Pieto, who informed her about the salmaca. Following an examination of the salmaca's tracks by Sho, she left her shield in a tree for the salmaca to take, and then she went back to the Batuu Jedi temple. During that night, the salmaca raided Peka once more, taking both the shield and Dee-Twelve, a droid owned by the family of Jerlyn, a Peka resident.
The following day, Sho's Padawan, Rooper Nitani, arrived in Peka. She was there to find the shield as part of her Jedi Trials. She met Jerlyn, who told her about the salmaca's nightly raids and her Master's visit from the day before. Nitani agreed to find Dee-Twelve and went with a group of four villagers to the salmaca's cave. Among the villagers was Kaxx, a Weequay and friend of Tuntis, who wanted to get revenge on the salmaca.
Nitani asked the villagers to wait outside, and then she went into the cave with P3-7A, a church droid who was with her during her trials. Inside, she saw the salmaca sleeping in its nest, and a makeshift storage area with the dead bodies of several gant spiders. Nitani realized that the salmaca might have been protecting Peka from the spiders, which could have become a danger to Peka if they were allowed to reproduce.
After seeing Dee-Twelve under the salmaca's paw, Nitani used the Force to project peaceful and calming thoughts into the salmaca's mind, causing it to sigh with contentment and turn over, which allowed Nitani to free the droid. She then noticed the shield, but before she could take it, the villagers entered the cave and shot at the salmaca with blasters, burning its scales. Using the Force again, Nitani used the shield to block the blaster shots, protecting the salmaca. The salmaca then shrieked and charged at Kaxx, but Nitani used the shield to hit its beak, disorienting it. She then told the villagers to leave. After they left, the salmaca looked at Nitani, who felt its anger and sent calming thoughts at it. The salmaca decided that Nitani was not a threat, and went back to sleep.
After going back to Peka, Nitani told the villagers about the gant spider colony that the salmaca was eating from and how it was protecting them by controlling the spiders' population. The villagers agreed to leave discarded items outside each night for the salmaca to take so that it would no longer need to raid homes. She then returned to the Batuu Jedi temple, and told Sho about how she had solved the village's problem with the salmaca.
The salmaca had tough gray scales, claws on its big paws, and a line of sharp, bony spikes coming out of its back. Its head was cone-shaped with a hooked beak and pink tongue, and it had a bad smell. Nitani said its size was at least three times the size of a dewback, a type of reptile that is usually two meters tall.
The salmaca was usually peaceful and would not attack people unless it was made angry. It became angry after being attacked by the villagers, but Nitani was able to calm it down.
The salmaca was first seen in the short story "Shield of the Jedi," which was written by George Mann and released in the 2023 young-adult collection The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life as part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project.