Kaleesh

The Kaleesh were a race of reptilians native to the planet Iminec IV. For many generations, the Kaleesh were at odds with their planetary neighbors, the insectoid Huk. Much of the conflict remained within their systems, which were remote enough to avoid the notice of the Old Republic. The Kaleesh fought bravely against the Huk, until the conflict reached its head several years before the onset of the Clone Wars.

In the full-scale war that broke out, the Kaleesh launched massive attacks against the Huk, hoping once and for all to win their freedom. With leaders such as General Grievous, the Kaleesh were nearing a victory when the Huks appealed to the Old Republic to mediate the "dispute." The Huks claimed that the Kaleesh were trying to eliminate them in order to take control of the resource-rich Huk worlds, and the Kaleesh were powerless to defend themselves.

A group of fifty Jedi Knights was sent to Kaleesh to negotiate a truce, and they ultimately ruled in favor of the Huk. The Kaleesh were sent back to Kalee and punished by the Republic for their aggression. Without support from the Republic, the Kaleesh society went into a severe recession, and hundreds of thousands of Kaleesh died from starvation and disease in the aftermath before the InterGalactic Banking Clan arrived on Kalee and offered the Kaleesh funding and trade concessions in exchange for General Grievous. Grievous, having suffered a career-ending injury, agreed to leave with the IBC in order to save his people.

As a race, the Kaleesh were humanoid in stature, although their orange-scaled skin pointed to more reptilian origins. Their long skulls ended with a pair of heavy tusks at the chin, and a thermochemical receptor gland located between their eyes allowed them to "see" into the infrared spectrum. Each hand ended in four clawed fingers, with two fingers opposable to the other pair.

The Kaleesh were nomads, moving about the surface of Iminec IV in search of hospitable environments and good hunting grounds. They always wrapped or covered their bodies, ostensibly to shield themselves from the planet's harsh sunlight. The only parts of the body that remained visible to the naked eye were the hands, which allowed a Kaleesh to use them to hunt. Otherwise, exposed skin was frowned upon.