did you get your personal conquest point goal of 100,000 points when that happened? the rakghoul event is the conquest week, and you'll get that regardless whether you've started doing stuff on tatooine or not
There's a fairly easy way to complete the mission these days, by taking the heroic mission against the sandpeople near it, which takes you right to the antidote
I think, at least on the companion aspect of a future Galactic season. i'd like to see the Kel Dor be a possible companion, since the race is not viable to be used as a player