Geonosian

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"You know, another thing most beings fail to realize about the Geonosians is that it's in your nature to be industrious."

―Orson Krennic^[8]

Geonosians were a winged, semi-insectoid species native to the planet Geonosis that created nests in large, spire-like colonies on their homeworld. The Geonosians would fight on the side of the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars, defending their planet on multiple occasions. After contributing to the construction of the Death Star, they were nearly exterminated by the Galactic Empire. Only a single Geonosian, nicknamed Klik-Klak, survived the Imperial sterilization of their planet, but there was hope during the New Republic Era that some eggs could have also survived, creating hope that a new Geonosian hive could arise.

Society and culture[]

"Geonosians do not hold life to be as precious as you humans do, Lieutenant Commander."

―Archduke Poggle the Lesser to Orson Krennic^[8]

Poggle Geo — Poggle the Lesser was an Archduke.

A caste-based species separated by positions that included drones, warriors, and elites,^[9] Geonosians were born into hives with each led by a queen. The queen laid eggs for the hive, and provided orders to the public leaders of Geonosis.^[10] One such queen, Karina the Great, was even able to control sentient beings, including her own kind, via the use of brain worms.^[11] It was believed by some that "Karina the Great" was the name assigned to every reigning queen, instead of being the name of one specific individual,^[12] but one queen only called herself "Karina" because of her own insanity.^[13] No matter the case, Geonosian queens resided underground in the catacombs of Geonosis. From here, they commanded an army's worth of Geonosian drones.^[12] Queens took no more than two years to grow from a small egg to a considerable size.^[14]^[15]

Drones were capable of becoming warriors if they proved themselves worthy by successfully defeating other drones in an arena.^[8] Geonosians of the warrior caste were known as Geonosian warriors. They had wings and a thick exoskeleton, and they were dedicated to warfare.^[16] Among Geonosian broods, the alpha was known as the Geonosian Brood Alpha.^[17] Geonosians also had two sets of mandibles, outer and inner, which they used to gesture. For example, clicking the outer mandibles twice meant "Work Harder," and clicking both sets meant "Die."^[18] Geonosians also celebrated Meckgin, a day in which they celebrated the virtues of industry, and believed themselves to be have been blessed by a being known as "the Creator."^[8] Geonosians would get drunk by eating a special fungus which reacted with their stomach fluids to create a body odor which created euphoria.^[18]

The Geonosians had yellow-colored blood.^[19] Naturally industrious and barbaric, they were also known to take upon construction projects from outside parties, as was the case when Baktoid Armor Workshop approached them to design factories for the Trade Federation. Productivity was key to Geonosian society, and if not kept in check with enough tasks, hives could devolve into civil war and result in the deaths of thousands of Geonosians.^[8]

The Geonosians showed a certain mistrust towards bounty hunters. Nevertheless, they allowed the Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett, who was under the employ of Count Dooku, into their hives during the Separatist Crisis.^[4]

History[]

Pre-Clone Wars[]

Long ago, the Geonosians inhabited Geonosis' surface. However they were driven underground by a series of mass extinctions caused by meteorites and radiation storms.^[20]

Clone Wars[]

GeonosianUndead-LoT — Geonosian zombies during the Second Battle of Geonosis.

By 32 BBY,^[21] a Geonosian named Poggle the Lesser had risen from the drone caste to that of archduke^[8] with help from the Sith Lord Darth Sidious.^[22] During the reign of Poggle, Geonosis became a member of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Separatists used the Geonosians to help create the Separatist Droid Army^[4] after the Separatist Head of State, Count Dooku, personally arrived to negotiate the agreement.^[8]

This eventually led to a large battle between the Galactic Republic and the Separatists on Geonosis, marking the official outbreak of the Clone Wars. The Geonosians were the ones responsible for creating the plans for the Death Star.^[4]^[5] Later in the Clone Wars, Geonosis was the site of another major battle, which saw Poggle the Lesser captured and the Geonosis primary droid foundry destroyed.^[23] Sometime after this second battle, the Republic's Strategic Advisory Cell began to build the battle station that would one day be known as the Death Star, with Lieutenant Commander Orson Callan Krennic enlisting Poggle the Lesser to make the Geonosians serve as the Republic's workforce. Poggle appeared to agree, but, sometime after he returned to Geonosis, he arranged a Geonosian riot and escaped the Republic flotilla to return to the Confederacy.^[8]

Imperial Era[]

"The Geonosians are a servant species. They are forbidden from breeding freely."

―Darth Vader, to Orson Krennic^[24]

Following the Clone Wars, the Geonosians were forced by the Galactic Empire to assist in the construction of the Death Star. Though a new archduke was appointed to lead the Stalgasin hive, the Geonosians became an enslaved^[8] servant species to the Empire and were forbidden from freely breeding.^[24] When the Geonosians were unable to work out how to refine the superweapon's superlaser, the Empire brought in Galen Walton Erso to finish the job.^[8] The Geonosians of the Korakanni Mound attempted to sabotage the project and reach out to Erso for help, but they were crushed by Darth Vader.^[24]

After the Death Star's hyperdrive was operational, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin ordered the Imperial Weapons division to sterilize Geonosis using Imperial gas canisters,^[14]^[25] destroying all but one of the planet's population^[26] of approximately 100 billion—the largest genocide ever committed by the Empire to keep the weapon a secret.^[18]

Post-sterilization[]

In 2 BBY, Saw Gerrera,^[27] the Spectres, and Captain Rex uncovered evidence that the Empire had perpetrated genocide against the Geonosian species. They also helped Klik-Klak,^[14] the sole survivor of the sterilization,^[26] escape with the last Geonosian queen egg into the depths of Geonosis. The rebels informed Senator Bail Organa and Commander Jun Sato who believed that news of the Empire's atrocities on Geonosis would sway more worlds to the rebellion.^[14]

Unfortunately for Klik-Klak,^[14] his plan didn't last.^[7] Although the egg did eventually hatch into a queen who called herself Karina,^[13] the last known Geonosian Queen^[14] was rendered sterile. Karina used the vast technological resources of Geonosis to attach herself to a portable droid factory. From this, she generated specially modified B1-series battle droids, which were made to resemble her people. Although they were artificial mockeries of the Geonosians, Karina considered them to be her children.^[7]

Karina ultimately lost this womb and many of her children when Darth Vader, accompanied by Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra, assassin droid 0-0-0, and BT-1 assassin droid BT-1, arrived and stole it from her in order to build his own droid army shortly after the destruction of the first Death Star. Even so, Karina survived the encounter and proclaimed that this set back would not be the end of her empire.^[7] Another Geonosian, a hunter named Pehk, was alive in the galaxy but killed during the hunt on X3-299-11.^[28] Rumors persisted into the New Republic Era that a small number of Geonosian eggs could have survived, lending hope to the idea that a new hive could one day emerge.^[29]

Geonosians in the galaxy[]

During the Clone Wars, the Geonosians were part of a Confederate plot on Rishi involving the material exonium.^[30] A Geonosian colony was established on a moon. By the time antiques dealer Antron Bach went into hiding on the moon, the colony had long been abandoned.^[31]

Pehk was a Geonosian hunter who gained notoriety for being the first person to headbutt a gundark. However, he was hired by Doctor Aphra for the hunt on the world of X3-299-11. Aphra wanted to be rescued from the Shadowfang Beast, but Pehk was caught in a tractor beam trap. After monster hunters Winloss and Nokk were hired by Aphra and arrived, Pehk was killed by the creature.^[28]

Behind the scenes[]

Concept and development[]

"Doug e-mailed me a picture Iain had done for the Neimoidian face from Episode I, and I went from there. That design was too good not to use."

―Dermot Power, and mentioning Iain McCaig as well^[32]

When George Lucas was coming up with concept art for the Geonosians, Lucas was dealing with a termite infestation in his house, which inspired the Geonosians. Lucas then gathered specimens and showed them to concept artists.^[33]^[34] The basic design of the Geonosians originated from unused orignal concept art of the Neimoidians which resembled B1 battle droids. This art was created before it was decided that they would be played by masked actors.^[35]^[34] The Geonosian language that was known as "Geonosian hive-mind" was created from three sounds recorded by Matthew Wood under the direction of Ben Burtt while in Australia. In the city of Melbourne, Wood recorded the mating cries of penguins at a reserve. In the city of Cairns, Wood recorded a group of fruit bats fighting over a banana. While in Australia, Wood also recorded the sounds of flying foxes. Burtt mixed all of these sounds and created the Geonosian language.^[36]^[34]

According to concept artist Doug Chiang, before the final design for the Geonosians was pitched, George Lucas originally desired to have the species to take on a chameleon-like quality and be able to change colors based on their surroundings. Though that idea eventually got nixed, the texture and color of the Geonosians do match that of their homeworld Geonosis.^[34]

The inspiration for the Geonosians' role as the ones assigned to construct the Death Star came from a scene in the 1994 film Clerks, in which the main characters ponder over the lives of the "independent contractors" during the construction of the second Death Star.^[37]