Khetanna

Did...did you see Lugubrious perform?"
"Yes. It was quite an act. She had a scaled replica of Jabba's sail barge built—though it was so gaudy it's hard to believe anything like it had ever existed.G'kolu and Teal

The Khetanna was an LO-KD57 luxury sail barge manufactured by Ubrikkian Industries that was modified to suit the needs of the Hutt crime lord Jabba. After the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker killed Jabba's pet rancor Pateesa, the crime lord demanded Skywalker and his companions Han Solo and Chewbacca be executed at the Great Pit of Carkoon. The Hutt and his entourage traveled to the pit in Khetanna in order to view the executions, but the prisoners managed to board the sail barge and kill Jabba, destroying the sail barge as they escaped.

Characteristics

KhetannaInterior — Interior of the *Khetanna*

The Khetanna was fitted with two large sails that were designed to protect its crew from Tatooine's harsh sunlight. It had a large double laser cannon mounted on the upper deck and could have several heavy blasters mounted to its guardrails. Inside, there was a large banquet room that Jabba used as an audience chamber for him and his guests. The Hutt also decorated the interior of the barge with a bas relief of himself.^[7]

History

Republic Era

At some point, Jabba the Hutt purchased the Khetanna^[9] from Ubrikkian Industries, with the company's artisans custom-building the barge specifically for Jabba's use.^[10]

Octopus ship capture — *Khetanna* under attack

During the early part of the Clone Wars, the Khetanna was carrying the Hutt's infant son, Rotta back to his palace. However, it then came under attack by a Trident-class assault ship commanded by Asajj Ventress, acting under orders from Separatist leader Count Dooku and his ally, Jabba's uncle Ziro. The Khetanna was grabbed by the ship and Rotta was taken by Ventress to Teth. The sail barge survived the attack.^[11]

Imperial Era

During the Galactic Civil War between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire, Jabba continued to use the Khetanna. He used it when Lord Vader visited him and used its cannons to massacre a party of Tusken Raiders.^[12]

Khetanna boom — The destruction of the *Khetanna*

Shortly before the Battle of Endor, Princess Leia Organa, Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, and the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 staged a rescue attempt of Han Solo, who was frozen in carbonite inside Jabba's palace. However, the attempt ended up failing and Organa was forced to become Jabba's slave, while Skywalker, Solo, and Chewbacca were sentenced to death by being consumed by the sarlacc in the Great Pit of Carkoon. Jabba, accompanied by Organa and his entourage, traveled to the pit in the Khetanna to witness the execution. However, R2-D2, who was still aboard the sail barge, launched Skywalker's lightsaber into the air, allowing the Jedi to catch it and fight back against Jabba's thugs, while Organa went on to kill the Hutt. Skywalker soon managed to board the Khetanna, and after neutralizing the guards on top, told Organa to aim the vessel's main blaster cannon at the deck. The pair proceeded to swing across to one of the nearby skiffs while the cannon fired at the barge, starting a chain-reaction and causing it to explode.^[7] Its remains ended up burying the sarlacc, allowing Jawas to scavenge them for their business.^[13]

Legacy

KhetannaWreckage-BoBFCh4 — The wreckage of *Khetanna* next to the Great Pit of Carkoon.

After the Khetanna's destruction, Lugubrious Mote, a performer who claimed she was present during the rescue of Han Solo, had a scaled replica of the vessel created that she used during performances. After seeing Mote perform with the sail barge, a youth named Teal commented the replica was so gaudy that she found it difficult to believe such a ship had ever existed.^[8] The remains, mostly picked clean, were still somewhat visible when former bounty hunter Boba Fett escaped the sarlacc pit^[14], and later when he and Master Assassin Fennec Shand revisited the pit and killed the sarlacc inside, in a failed attempt to retrieve the former's armor.^[15]

Behind the scenes

When the Special Edition of the Star Wars original trilogy was in development, the scene of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope in which Jabba met Han Solo at Mos Eisley was restored replacing Declan Mulholland with a CGI Jabba. As such, artist Claudia Mullaly pitched an idea of featuring Jabba mobilizing in a miniature version of the Khetanna with a control column at the bow for steering. However, as incorporating it into the original footage would have been difficult (especially when Solo steps on Jabba), this idea went shelved.^[16]