Teezl

"The teezl could have increased Imperial communications a thousand-fold. I do not take its destruction lightly."

―Darth Vader

A teezl, also referred to as a screamer, was a non-sentient, bluish, luminous, swirling creature that could be used as a natural hyperspace communications amplifier. A living example of a teezl was discovered by the Galactic Empire in the Valtha Divide during the Galactic Civil War, its abilities caused the Empire to immediately recognize its potential as a difference-maker in the ongoing war with the Rebels. However, a resulting Rebel operation to prevent the teezl's integration into the Imperial war machine resulted in the teezl's destruction, and the death of the only known member of the mysterious species.

Biology and appearance

"The teezl is a freak of nature—an organic communicator, able to take electrically supplied information input and transmit it at the speed of thought to any receptor in the galaxy!"

―Mils Giel

Found deep within the distant Valtha Divide, the the many-spined teezl—colloquially known as a "screamer"—was a non-sentient creature noted for its unique abilities as an organic communicator, able to transmit electronically submitted information to any receptor in the galaxy instantaneously. It also had significant powers to disrupt communications: it could be prompted to interfere with signals on all but a selected wavelength. This interference manifested itself as sort of a psychic shriek, which manifested a powerful blanket of static. The teezl obediently followed orders transmitted to it with a sort of electronic prod. The enigmatic teezl appeared as an enormous blue oval with hundreds of intersecting white circles within its mass.

History

"Though the teezl is nonsentient, nonfeeling, perhaps not even intelligent, it is alive. And for the glory of the Empire—not to mention the continuation of my own career—I fully intend to keep it that way!"

―Mils Giel

The teezl is ordered to disrupt Rebel communications.

During the Galactic Civil War, scouts from the Galactic Empire discovered a living example of a teezl within the Valtha Divide, quickly learning of its prodigious abilities. Believing the teezl to be the only one of its kind, the Empire formed a large secret armada under the command of Admiral Mils Giel to transport the creature to the Imperial capital of Coruscant. The teezl itself was kept within Giel's flagship, the Praetor Mark II-class battlecruiser Helmsman. Giel saw the teezl as potentially a game-changing edge in the war with the Rebel Alliance, as the creature's use could allow for instantaneous coordination of every part of the war effort.

However, the Rebels learned of the creature's existence, and launched a clandestine initiative called Operation Earplug to make sure the teezl never reached Coruscant. A small group of Rebel pilots led by Commander Luke Skywalker obtained several rebuilt TIE fighters from weapons dealer Orion Ferret, and used them to infiltrate Giel's armada. The Rebel squadron attacked from within and caused a frenzied firefight amongst the Imperial ships, one that only got more chaotic when Giel commanded the teezl to interfere with the Rebels' radio signals. However, that didn't deter Skywalker, who managed to destroy the teezl's transport cage and destroy the creature, taking much of Giel's Helmsman with it.

Behind the scenes

The teezl first appeared in Star Wars 61, written by David Michelinie, illustrated by Walter Simonson and released in 1982.

Appearances

• Star Wars 61 (First appearance)
• Star Wars 63 (Mentioned only)

Sources

• "Arbra: Sanctuary In the Storm" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• "Beheboth: Blood and Water" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link) (Mentioned only)
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Forgotten War: The Nagai and the Tofs on Hyperspace (article) (content removed from StarWars.com; backup link) (Indirect mention only)
• The Essential Guide to Warfare