Planet and Locations of the Old Republic Lore Entries

Hutta

Location: Hutta (Planet)

Adopted homeworld of the notorious Hutt Cartel, Hutta is a planet of semi-toxic swampland broken up by industrial facilities and urban centers. Hutt-aligned gangs control the civilized regions, forever warring over territory and resources. In the swamps, the native Evocii struggle against their Hutt rulers with limited success.

The Hutts are officially neutral in the conflict between Empire and Republic, and welcome visitors. Pirates, slavers and spice dealers are all common sights in Hutt palaces, while corporations often establish themselves on Hutta’s moon, Nar Shaddaa. Newly arriving shuttles on Hutta are directed to the town of Jiguuna.

Fa’athra’s Palace

Location: Hutta

Like the palace of Nem’ro, Fa’athra’s palace is modeled after the capitol building in the Hutta city of Bilbousa. Unlike the palace of Nem’ro, Fa’athra’s home is a veritable deathtrap–built with warfare and defense as its primary purpose, rather than business and luxury.

Fa’athra employs several different mercenary groups to patrol the palace grounds and corridors. Each mercenary organization is given information only about its own territory and has no information about the rest of the palace’s defenses. Fa’athra’s paranoia guarantees that no single betrayal can cause his downfall, but it may also be his greatest weakness.

Hutta Swamps

Location: Hutta

Outside the settled and industrialized sectors of Hutta are the swamps–land occupied only by the desperate and foolhardy. Mutated animal life and crazed bog people are a threat to all ground transport; the Hutts normally travel by air, leaving their humanoid servants to move by foot or landspeeder.

Swampland covers nearly half of Hutta’s surface, uninhabitable by galactic standard due to the level of pollutants in the water and air. This wasn’t always the case–before the Hutts migrated to the planet, most of what is now swampland was jungle and ocean. Over centuries of intentional planetary engineering and simple neglect, however, the jungles died and the oceans were drained and chemically converted.

Jiguuna

Location: Hutta

Hutts are notoriously territorial creatures, and their settlements reflect this. Enormous urban centers inhabited by thousands of Hutts are few on Hutta; instead, the planet’s industrial towns are scattered across the globe, ruled like city-states by whichever Hutt rises to the top.

Jiguuna is one such industrial town, serving as an operational hub for nearby factories, mines and processing centers. Booming and influential two centuries ago, Jiguuna fell into anarchy when its founder, Bakuush the Hutt, died in a mechanical accident. Afterward, Jiguuna’s population of humanoid enforcers, workers and slaves fought for scraps under a succession of would-be ganglords.

Eventually, a Hutt called Nem’ro eliminated his competitors and declared himself Jiguuna’s new ruler. Since then, Jiguuna has been on an upswing, facilitating the distribution of shvash gas, spice and weapons. Competition with neighboring Hutts has brought gang warfare back to town, but business goes on, and Nem’ro controls the locals with bribes and brute force.

Nem’ro’s Palace

Location: Hutta

The palace of Nem’ro the Hutt is half-fortress, half-monument-to-hedonism. Anyone who does business in Jiguuna is expected to come to the palace and pay his or her dues, but Nem’ro himself stays hidden behind multiple layers of security; most visitors are lucky to speak to one of his lieutenants.

Still, a visit to the palace has its privileges. In addition to the fully stocked cantina and the right to socialize with traveling traders, pirates and businesspeople from across the galaxy, the pleasures of the fighting pit and the private suites await those of a particular temperament.

Murder and theft aren’t unknown in the palace, either–but acts performed without Nem’ro’s blessing can have gruesome repercussions.

Rust Yards

Location: Hutta

The Rust Yards, according to common wisdom, are where old industrial facilities go to die. Over the decades, many factories have been constructed, operated and run into the ground here–only to be rebuilt and repurposed. Ore refineries become droid recycling plants when the ore supply runs dry; weapons assembly lines become toxic chemical storage bays when the arms dealing business is slow.

Nem’ro the Hutt has traditionally controlled the businesses in the Rust Yards–never by official contract, but by virtue of having the largest armed force in the area and by coaxing plant foremen into cooperating. Recent brutal attacks have shifted control of the Rust Yards to Nem’ro’s rival, Fa’athra, who keeps the area locked down with his own mercenaries and security droids. The local workforce has little choice but to cooperate.

The Old Muckworks

Location: Hutta

The facilities at the Old Muckworks process the enormous quantities of chemicals and liquid pollutants in the waters of Hutta. Unfortunately, this “processing” doesn’t necessarily clean the water. Although the facilities do prevent the planet from becoming entirely lethal to non-Hutt life, their primary job is to filter any valuable compounds from waste dumped into the swamps. These compounds are drained into enormous factory vats. Whatever useless chemicals remain afterward go right back into the swamp water.

The original Jiguuna Muckworks was replaced by new Muckworks–built some distance west of town–several decades ago, but the successor facility went into critical failure shortly after its installation. The “Old Muckworks” returned to use, and the name stuck.

Evocar

Location: Hutta (Lore)

Prior to the Hutts’ arrival, Hutta was known as Evocar by the native Evocii. It was a temperate planet characterized by lush rainforests, expansive oceans and towering mountain ranges. Natural resources were plentiful, a fact that no doubt attracted the Hutts as they searched for a new homeworld to settle. The Hutts’ occupation of Evocar led to centuries of strip-mining and unchecked consumption that forever altered Evocar, transforming the once-idyllic planet into a polluted, bog-infested wasteland.

Evocii Exile

Location: Hutta (Lore)

When the Hutts resettled on Hutta, they quickly bought up the entire planet and forced the native Evocii offworld. Lacking any reliable means of interstellar travel, the Evocii had no choice but to allow the Hutts to facilitate their relocation to the orbiting moon of Nar Shaddaa.

Countless Evocii were herded onto Hutt cruisers, the Hutts cramming as many natives into each ship as possible. The Hutt shipping containers were not designed to transport living cargo, however, causing thousands of Evocii deaths during the voyage. Worst of all, Nar Shaddaa proved to only be a temporary refuge for the Evocii, as the Hutts already had plans to annex the moon and use the Evocii as cheap labor.

Evocii History

Location: Hutta (Lore)

While no written record exists concerning the Evocii prior to the Hutts’ arrival, it is known that they were a simple and primitive species with a tribal society. When the Hutts discovered Evocar–the planet that would become Hutta–they bartered with each tribe individually, offering wondrous technology in exchange for land until they effectively owned the entire planet. Those Evocii who had refused to sell their freedom were herded onto ships and relocated to Nar Shaddaa, where they were kept as a ready source of cheap labor.

The Hutts’ dominion over the Evocii continued unchallenged for centuries until a charismatic Evocii named Ejal led an uprising against the Hutts. Ejal’s revolt gained unprecedented momentum until he was betrayed by one of his tribesmen and delivered to his foes. Ejal met a gruesome end while the traitor was awarded his freedom and showered with riches. Even today, the Hutts are fond of this tale, as it reminds the Evocii of the rewards for obedience… and the price of defiance.

Evocii Tribes

Location: Hutta (Lore)

Although most Evocii remember little of their culture now, it is certain that the Evocii once existed in hundreds of tribes scattered throughout Hutta’s (then known as Evocar) once-lush surface. Usually ruled by a married couple acting as paired chieftains, the Evocii tribes traded and competed with each other, building monuments as proof of their comfort and superior resources.

The most honored members of the tribe were rarely the chieftains themselves; the Evocii placed higher value on healers, trackers, and those who could predict Evocar’s intemperate weather. The tribes were not entirely peaceful, though; the Evocii preferred cunning guerilla attacks and raids to assaulting their enemies directly.

The Hutts ignored the structure of Evocii society when they obtained control of the planet. Tribes were split up and intermingled, eventually losing their identity altogether. Only fragments of Evocii tribal culture remain, mostly in the communities that resisted Hutt rule and vanished into Hutta’s swamps.

The Great Hunt (Bounty Hunter)

Location: Hutta (Lore)

A recent Mandalorian tradition stretching back only a few hundred years, the Great Hunt is considered one of the keenest tests of a professional warrior’s skill. While the competition has evolved over the centuries, incorporating more complex rules and greatly expanding its scope, two things have not changed: The challengers hunt each other as often as they do their quarries.

To the modern Mandalorians, the title of Grand Champion is second only in prestige to that of Mand’alor–the Mandalorian leader. In order to earn the title, a competitor must best everything the galaxy can throw at him or her. It’s not entirely uncommon for a Great Hunt to end without a surviving competitor left to hold the title. As such, the number of beings who can claim that honor is slim.

Varl

Location: Hutta (Lore)

The ancestral homeworld of the Hutts, Varl was destroyed thousands of years ago. No accurate record of the planet’s destruction exists, but Hutt mythos suggests that one of Varl’s two suns was pulled into a black hole; according to legend, the resulting cataclysm devastated Varl’s atmosphere and rendered the entire system uninhabitable.

Several inconsistencies in the story have led many to suspect that the Hutts themselves were responsible for the planet’s destruction. Regardless, the Hutts fled the ruined planet and–after displacing the native Evocii–resettled on Hutta.

Soovada

Location: Hutta (Event)

Soovada (“Spoils of War” in Huttese) is an annual celebration of total extravagance in Hutt culture, originally celebrated in the summer season of Varl after successful military campaigns. Rival clans compete to prove their superior wealth, attempting to sponsor the most parties, pit fights, bounties, gambling, and every other public display of fortune and excess imaginable.

Popularized among outside cultures during visits to Nar Shaddaa, this exuberant holiday is now celebrated on hundreds of worlds across the galaxy, where it’s simply known by its Huttese name; any connection to ancient wartime looting is largely ignored.

Bog People

Location: (Organization)

Even on Hutta, even in communities built around theft and violence, there are outcasts. People who cross a line, committing acts so vile that their fellow criminals don’t dare retain them; people who lose everything, and have nowhere to turn; people who outrage their Hutt overlords. These people are exiled to the swamps, and most die quickly… but not all.

Survivors learn what it takes to endure in the swamps–respirators to cut down on toxic gas inhalation, medicinal compounds to counteract absorbed chemicals, specially treated clothes to alter one’s scent, and blasters, of course, for self-defense. But no one can escape the changes wrought by living submerged in poison, and survivors suffer from paranoia, delusions and hallucinations. They become, as locals say, “bog people.”

For the most part, bog people aren’t organized–but they form packs and adopt new exiles to teach them the ways of the world. They are invariably violent (and most always were, even before becoming pariahs), and target anyone of any species in hopes of obtaining supplies.

Renegade Evocii

Location: (Organization)

Not all Evocii have accepted the Hutts’ tyranny; many Evocii prefer to fight, rather than kneel, when they first taste the foreman’s lash. These radicals are typically shunned by their tribesmen, who fear that associating with rebels will incur the Hutts’ wrath.

Such outcasts often band together to form small, informal tribes that work together to overthrow the Hutts. While these renegade Evocii are rarely able to confront the Hutts directly, Cartel enforcers and foremen alike have learned to fear these bloodthirsty outlaws.

Balmorra

Location: Balmorra (Planet)

Once an independent corporate and manufacturing world, Balmorra was defended by the Republic and conquered by the Empire during the war. Now the corporations have mostly fled, local collaborators have been rewarded with positions in the Empire’s puppet government, and an entrenched resistance opposes Imperial rule.

After a prolonged absence, the Republic has returned to Balmorra to aid the resistance movement. Droid factories and industrial waste sites have become battlegrounds, and the Imperial military is responding with a buildup of its own.

Balmorra

Location: Balmorra (Planet)

Once an independent corporate and manufacturing world, Balmorra was defended by the Republic and conquered by the Empire during the war. Now the corporations have mostly fled, local collaborators have been rewarded with positions in the Imperial puppet government, and an entrenched and well-armed resistance opposes the Empire’s rule.

Despite brutal retaliation by the Imperial military against military and civilian targets, the battle to eliminate the resistance drags on. Droid factories and industrial waste sites have become battlegrounds. The main Balmorran spaceport is in the city of Sobrik, an Imperial military stronghold heavily fortified against resistance attacks.

Balmorran Arms Factory

Location: Balmorra (Imp)

The Balmorran Arms corporation has been one of Balmorra’s largest and most influential manufacturers of weapons, military equipment and droids for over a century. Its products cemented Balmorra’s reputation as a producer of high-quality technology, and shortly before the Imperial invasion, the company built a new factory headquarters–at the time, declared the most state-of-the-art arms production and research facility in the galaxy.

When the Empire invaded, however, the Balmorran Arms Factory found a different purpose. The compound’s massive walls and production facilities became the core of the Balmorran resistance effort, giving Republic troops and Balmorran soldiers an impenetrable fortress with a nearly endless supply of resources and weaponry. In the years since, the factory has been under constant siege, but has never fallen. Rumor has it that the resistance has even taken advantage of the factory’s research facilities, developing devastating new technology to drive the Empire off Balmorra.

Bugtown

Location: Balmorra (Imp)

Bugtown represents the deadly, shattered remnants of Balmorran technological pride–ground zero for the planet’s Colicoid infestation. Known originally as Lab 352, the genetic research facility came to be known as Bugtown when the Empire invaded. One of the Empire’s many acts of sabotage involved releasing the results of Lab 352’s biological experiments: the vicious, mutated Colicoids. The insects quickly overran the area, killing the facility’s staff.

Since the initial invasion, the Colicoids have gradually spread from the Bugtown ruins out across the planet. Why the Balmorrans were mutating Colicoids is unknown–everyone behind the experiments seemingly died when the creatures were set free. Still, if answers are to be found, they will be found in Bugtown’s databanks.

Ghost Town

Location: Balmorra (Imp)

One of many small, unnamed factory towns on Balmorra, the place now known as Ghost Town was the site of experimental industrial farming operations meant to produce man-made, dense, nutrient-rich plants capable of feeding hundreds with only a small quantity.

Ghost Town saw all its inhabitants massacred during the Imperial invasion. Since then, the resistance has crept into the area, using the abandoned buildings to launch guerrilla attacks on Imperial forces and a nearby cave system as a base for anti-aircraft assaults on Imperial squadrons. The small gardens have also been brought back into operation, supplying food for the resistance.

Hazard Vault 305 (Inquisitor)

Location: Balmorra (Imp)

To protect their thriving industrial world, the Balmorran government commissioned a series of tightly sealed underground vaults for storage of the toxic waste produced by the planet’s many factories. One of these, Hazard Vault 305, was built into a pre-existing cave to collect the waste from the Balmorran Arms Factory; the Balmorran government did not suspect that the cave had been used by the Sith Lord Tulak Hord to hide one of his artifacts.

During the Imperial invasion of Balmorra, missile barrages damaged the hazard vault, causing its contents to leak and providing a way inside for anyone capable of surviving the deadly waste.

Okara Droid Factory

Location: Balmorra (Imp)

Prior to the Imperial invasion, Balmorra was one of the galaxy’s foremost producers of military droids, due in no small part to the Okara Droid Company. When the Empire invaded, its technicians uploaded a virus to the company’s manufacturing center–the massive, automated Okara Droid factory–in hopes of turning the factory against the Balmorrans.

The virus worked too well, and the factory’s defense droids and systems took over entirely, resuming production operations and attacking any and all life that came near. The Empire is currently making efforts to bring the factory under control, but so far has had little success.

Outpost Traken-4

Location: Balmorra (Imp)

Named for the old Traken-4 ChemWorks, Outpost Traken-4 is now held by the Balmorran resistance. The ChemWorks were destroyed in the Imperial bombardment of Balmorra, and the entire area surrounding the outpost is covered in pools of deadly chemical waste.

The toxic pools have been a boon to resistance defenders at the outpost–the choke points leading around the pools are well defended, making a large-scale assault impossible. Resistance fighters stationed at the outpost must rotate to other locations on Balmorra frequently, however: the long-term effects of exposure to the chemical waste are unknown.

Outpost Victory

Location: Balmorra (Imp)

Built into one of the craters created by the Imperial bombardment, Outpost Victory began as a small outpost of resistance fighters. Over the years, however, it has grown into one of the resistance’s major outposts, guarded by enormous anti-aircraft guns and shields to defend against orbital strikes. Imperial prisoners captured by the resistance are often held in Outpost Victory, and lately there have been unconfirmed rumors of a Republic presence at the outpost.

Sobrik

Location: Balmorra (Imp)

Sobrik was the original capital of Balmorra before the more advantageous location of Bin Prime was chosen to replace it three hundred years ago. Since then, the city of Sobrik has first shrunk, then been almost entirely obliterated by bombing runs and rebuilt by Imperial engineers.

Sobrik was one of the last cities to hold out during the Imperial invasion of the planet; because of this and its close proximity to the state-of-the-art Balmorran Arms and Okara Droid factories, the Empire has made Sobrik the headquarters of its occupation, maintaining tight control over the remaining civilian population.

Troida Military Workshop

Location: Balmorra (Imp)

The Troida Military Workshop epitomizes the “new” Balmorra. Ostensibly an independent business, it nonetheless answers to the Empire and serves as a supply depot and weapons manufacturer for Imperial headquarters in Sobrik. Its overseers are expected to worry about Imperial edicts first, and profit last.

Not surprisingly, its workers have been known in the past to harbor resistance sympathies. Nevertheless, its production remains strategically vital to the Imperial war effort, and caravans between Sobrik and Troida have been subjected to frequent guerrilla attacks by the resistance in an attempt to cut off the lifeblood of the Empire on Balmorra.

Balmorran Arms Factory

Location: Balmorra (Rep)

Built shortly before the Imperial invasion by the prestigious Balmorran Arms corporation, the Balmorran Arms factory is unrivaled in its weapons production and research capabilities. It was designed to construct military equipment ranging from personal arms and armor to droids and heavy vehicles, all with top-notch quality and efficiency.

Due to its tremendous manufacturing capacity, the fortress-like factory was one of the last holdouts of the resistance during the Imperial invasion, providing an almost inexhaustible supply of weapons and supplies to the besieged Balmorran people. Once the Empire finally gained control of the factory, however, the Imperial military wasted no time in putting the facilities to its own use.

Bugtown

Location: Balmorra (Rep)

Once a genetic research facility called Lab 352, this complex became known as “Bugtown” after the Colicoids–mutated insectoids used as experimental bioweapons–were released from the facility by Imperial saboteurs. The Colicoids took over the area surrounding the laboratory and began to infest the rest of the planet.

Republic forces have managed to retake the old laboratory, clearing out the Colicoids and establishing a forward outpost. While much of the Colicoid infestation remains, the population has been contained by the Imperial and Republic fighting; for now, the Republic can keep its unorthodox base.

Camp Conquest

Location: Balmorra (Rep)

The former site of the resistance’s “Outpost Victory,” this base was built into a crater formed during the Imperial bombardment of Balmorra. Losing the outpost was costly for the resistance, and the Empire renamed it to remind the Balmorran people of the consequences of defiance.

Camp Conquest now serves as a forward base and prison camp for the Empire, housing several command and control centers alongside holding cells for high-value prisoners. Well-guarded by turrets and shields and boasting a significant terrain advantage, the camp is a symbol of Imperial oppression and domination.

Camp Jacent

Location: Balmorra (Rep)

Camp Jacent was established in the ruins of a Balmorran factory town, formerly used by the resistance to launch guerilla strikes against the Empire. Now, it is a strategically placed and defensible supply base for Imperial troops.

Before the Imperials set up camp, the area was occasionally referred to as Ghost Town, as every last inhabitant had been massacred during the Imperial invasion. Buildings were left abandoned and damage sustained to the town went unrepaired, leaving it a graveyard of scrap metal and scorched ground.

Okara Droid Factory

Location: Balmorra (Rep)

Another victim of the Empire’s many acts of sabotage during its initial invasion, the Okara Droid factory was one of the most productive droid manufacturers on Balmorra. Imperial technicians uploaded a virus into the automated factory’s system, turning its military droids against the Balmorran population. But the virus was too successful–the droids fully secured the factory and continued production, forcing the Empire to take it back through military action.

Now, after several hard-fought battles, Imperial soldiers have moved into the factory and established a base of operations there. Technicians are hard at work reversing the damage they caused, and hope to resume production of military droids to supplement the occupation force.

Sobrik

Location: Balmorra (Rep)

Troida Military Workshop

Location: Balmorra (Rep)

For most of the Imperial occupation, the Troida Military Workshop kept supplies and goods flowing into Imperial headquarters in Sobrik. Balmorran resistance members often staged raids on Troida convoys, denying the Empire resources while securing much-needed supplies for themselves. But Troida’s workers–ordinary citizens forced to work under Imperial oppression–also harbored resistance leanings, resentful that their independent company answered only to the Empire’s directives.

As the resistance on Balmorra crumbled, Troida became a rallying point for surviving resistance fighters. Imperial control was cast off, and now the workshop is the largest remaining base for the persistent Balmorran freedom fighters.

Colicoid Creation Nest

Location: Balmorra (Flashpoint)

The Colicoid Creation Nest is the nexus of Colicoid droid manufacturing, technological research and trade. Although the nest is often described as a corporation, the translation does not fit exactly–the nest’s hierarchy resembles that of a Colicoid hive and its activities center on research rather than profit. Rivals like Czerka Corporation and Systech often hire specialists to help them understand the complex nature of the nest; many of these “specialists” have been devoured by the Colicoids as part of their standard business practices.

Despite its oddities, the Colicoid Creation Nest is considered one of the galaxy’s technological and manufacturing powerhouses. Among its many other achievements, the nest is responsible for several pioneering droid models and an advanced ion cannon that has half the power consumption of Republic designs. Unfortunately, the Colicoids are well aware of the value of their technology, and they demand a heavy price for it–a price not always counted in credits.

Balmorran Corporations

Location: Balmorra (Lore)

Prior to the Empire’s invasion, Balmorra was one of the galaxy’s leading independent industrial worlds. It maintained a close relationship with the Republic, but remained aloof of most galactic struggles due to the strength of its corporations–including Okara, Balmorran Arms and Traken Industries. As a leading weapons and droid manufacturer, Balmorra was a corporate-run oligarchic democracy, centered on the capital of Bin Prime.

The Empire took pains to leave the corporate hierarchies intact when the occupation began in an effort to smoothly transition back to full industrial production. Corporate executives who refused to cooperate were forcibly removed and replaced, and today’s Balmorran corporations are puppets for the Empire–sometimes eager, often not.

Balmorran Pollution

Location: Balmorra (Lore)

As a thriving center of industry, Balmorra has never been a pollution-free planet and has grappled with the problem of waste produced by its many factories for many years. Still, unlike many of the similarly industrial Hutt worlds, Balmorra and its corporations have continually sought ways to safely dispose of its waste and keep the planet habitable.

For these reasons, facilities such as the Traken Waste Processing plant and the hazard vaults–a system of underground sealed storage facilities for toxic materials–were created. During the Imperial bombardment, however, many of these facilities were destroyed, releasing the toxic byproducts of Balmorran industry into the environment and destroying huge swathes of land.

Colicoid Queen (Bounty Hunter)

Location: Balmorra (Lore)

While Colicoid society is not as rigidly hive-oriented as that of some insectoid species, Colicoid physiology ensures that a fertile queen will always hold a privileged position in life. Despite the fact that most Colicoid queens spend their lives being served tirelessly by their drones, workers and warriors, queens are extremely dangerous and often more than twice the size of even the largest warrior breeds.

Queens are also the only Colicoids to sport a unique poison stinger that–combined with their size and strength–make them the most deadly defenders of a nest. Fortunately, a queen will usually only fight when her young are threatened.

Imperial Military on Balmorra

Location: Balmorra (Lore)

The Imperial military presence on Balmorra is understaffed and undersupplied. After the incredible success of the initial bombardment, the Imperial military has been harassed at every turn by Balmorran resistance fighters while more pressing conflicts elsewhere in the galaxy draw the attention of Imperial High Command.

The military makes its headquarters in Sobrik, where it is commanded by the thirteenth Imperial governor of Balmorra since the bombardment–along with those officers unfortunate enough to have been assigned to the military quagmire.

Imperial Subjugation

Location: Balmorra (Lore)

After the initial invasion of Balmorra, the Empire found itself facing immense opposition. Many former members of Balmorra’s army remained on the planet in the form of a loosely organized resistance force, taking advantage of their superior numbers and knowledge of the terrain to wage an ongoing guerrilla war. Resistance soon came in other forms, as well: rebellious citizens, treacherous factory foremen, saboteurs posing as allies and terrorist cells all tried to thwart the Empire’s attempts to fully control the industrial world.

In response, the Empire has placed the territories it controls under strict lockdown, using a combination of propaganda and military policing to subjugate the unruly Balmorran population. Curfews are enforced and all citizens must apply for official IDs–a process that tests their loyalty to the Empire–or else be marked as resistance sympathizers and arrested. Punishments for attacks on Imperial infrastructure are regularly meted out against perpetrators’ families, or even against the entire population; the lesson must be taught.

Operation: Blackout (Agent)

Location: Balmorra (Lore)

Category: Infiltration / Threat Elimination
Location: Balmorra
Date: Classified
Primary: Cipher Nine
Secondary: Station Chief Lekern Renald, Sanju Pyne

Operational Summary: Planet Balmorra hosted anti-Imperial terrorist cell–part of the Eagle’s network. Cell specialized in recruitment and training of terrorist assets; assets would gain experience as part of Balmorra’s resistance before being sent to support cells elsewhere in the galaxy.

By infiltrating the local cell, Cipher Nine successfully neutralized the terrorist leader Gray Star (see details for method and suggested follow-up). Cost of infiltration was within acceptable range.

Cross-reference: Gray Star, Zenith, Eagle, Dominator, Lachris

The Invasion of Balmorra

Location: Balmorra (Lore)

The Empire launched a two-pronged attack on Balmorra during the war, believing Balmorra’s weapons production facilities and proximity to the Core Worlds to be of great strategic importance. The first prong of the attack involved slicing and reprogramming the networked security systems that guarded the planet’s factories, lab facilities and weaponry–in effect, turning Balmorra’s defenses against itself.

The second prong was direct bombardment, aided by Balmorra’s compromised orbital defense towers and satellites. This attack devastated the planet’s primary military forces and central government, leaving a unified response nearly impossible.

Eventually, the Empire landed a full invasion force. By this time, the Republic had come to Balmorra’s aid but was forced to abandon the planet with the Treaty of Coruscant–after which, the Imperial military declared victory and established its headquarters in Sobrik. The Balmorran resistance proved more wily than the Empire anticipated, however, and Balmorra’s factories proved difficult to control, leading to a years-long morass in which the Empire is still mired.

Balmorran Corporations

Location: Balmorra (Lore)

Balmorran Pollution

Location: Balmorra (Lore)

Imperial Subjugation

Location: Balmorra (Lore)

The Empire’s long occupation of Balmorra has been marked by overt brutality against the citizenry and near-constant battles with resistance forces. Although the planet was conquered through ingenuity and highly original tactics, the subjugation of its people has followed standard Imperial doctrine: suspension of civil liberties, establishment of brutal prison camps and summary public executions of known rebels.

Where most worlds crumble into slave-like obedience after only a few months of such oppression, Balmorra’s people refuse to surrender after years of suffering. The resistance has outlasted the predictions of both the Republic and Empire and survived multiple purges carried out by ambitious Moffs and sadistic Sith Lords. Indeed, the Empire’s experience on Balmorra has forced it to re-evaluate its approach to conquest and dominance.

Republic Relations with Balmorra

Location: Balmorra (Lore)

The Republic government’s relationship with Balmorra’s people has been a complex, turbulent affair. Before Balmorra’s conquest, the planet was a proudly independent trading partner of the Republic; when the war came to Balmorra’s doorstep, the Republic offered troops and ships to help protect its ally.

But Republic protection wasn’t enough. Balmorra was conquered, and after the Treaty of Coruscant the Republic officially withdrew its forces. For years afterward, small contingents of Republic troops left behind on the planet continued supporting the resistance in secret, but the Balmorran citizenry, as a whole, felt misused and abandoned.

A recent covert operation involving small groups of SIS agents, Jedi and military advisors ended in disaster when the Empire hunted down these interlopers and forced the Republic to once again abandon the oppressed citizenry. Now that the Republic military has fully committed its forces to the planet, the resistance fighters and their government-in-exile are understandably wary of fully embracing the alliance.

The Barrager

Location: Balmorra (Lore)

One of the great conundrums facing modern war strategists is how to defend a planet from orbital bombardment without encircling it in a costly permanent defense fleet. Most major governments employ planetary shields as a countermeasure, but these offer no protection against dropships bearing armies whose first objective is to destroy shield generators.

The war technologists of Balmorra spent decades researching an offensive method of protecting their planet. The result is the Barrager superweapon, a series of planetary scale turbolasers that can target and destroy whole enemy fleets in orbit, neutralizing both bombardment vessels and landing parties in one fell swoop.

For years, the primary obstacle preventing completion of the Barrager was the enormous power costs associated with such a weapon. How its engineers overcame this dilemma is unknown, but at last report the weapon was nearly ready to go online.

The Invasion of Balmorra

Location: Balmorra (Lore)

Balmorran Resistance

Location: (Lore)

Since the Republic was forced to withdraw from Balmorra following the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant, the fight against the Empire has been carried out by a diverse group of native Balmorran resistance fighters. The resistance, led by many former members of the Balmorran army, has carried out repeated guerrilla strikes against Imperial forces, using their superior knowledge of the planet to harass the invaders.

Joined occasionally by mercenaries from sympathetic worlds and–according to popular rumor–supplied by the Republic, the resistance has single-handedly ensured that the Empire is unable to claim complete control of Balmorra, holding and fortifying such vital tactical locations as the Balmorran Arms Factory and Outpost Victory.

Balmorran Resistance

Location: (Lore)

Balmorra’s resistance fighters are more than patriotic guerilla warriors. People from all walks of life, from farmers and teachers to poets and musicians, risk everything to keep the dream of Balmorran freedom alive. Part of the Empire’s lack of success rooting out these rebels is due to an inability to detect such nondescript enemies until it is too late.

Over the years, thousands of ordinary people have made the ultimate sacrifice for Balmorra, learning to hoist a blaster, training in burnt-out factories and toxic wastelands, and willingly dying to strike a blow against the hated Empire. To much of the citizenry, the resistance is made up of heroes–friends and neighbors who refused to suffer in silence. Other Balmorrans, however, wish the resistance would fade away, and believe it is past time to peacefully accept Imperial governance.

Nar Shaddaa

Tythos Ridge

Location: Tython

The primitive Flesh Raiders have turned the once-lush mountains of Tythos Ridge into a horrific camp from which to launch their raids on the other denizens of Tython. The ground is black and barren; the trees and foliage burned away. The air is thick with the stench of death, and piles of bones desecrate ancient Tythonian pillars, mute testament to the countless victims of the Flesh Raiders’ appetites.

Tythos Ridge was never fully studied during the early stages of Tython’s Jedi reoccupation; Master Bestros proposed its use as a meditation retreat, but since then, the increasing number of Flesh Raiders has made exploration impossible. It is unclear whether a small Flesh Raider village was the seed for this now-vast settlement, or whether the Flesh Raiders migrated to the ridge en masse–but either way, for Jedi Masters seeking to understand the creatures, further reconnaissance of the ridge is an absolute necessity.

Club Vertica Casino

Location: Nar Shaddaa

On a world full of bright lights and glamorous casinos, Club Vertica was quick to establish itself as an exclusive experience. Run by a mysterious wealthy backer, Club Vertica strictly monitored admittance for its first several years. As a rule, only the wealthiest, best-dressed and most beautiful patrons were allowed entrance; exceptions were made only as they suited the fancy of Club Vertica’s owner.

Recently, the restrictions were loosened, sparking rumors that Club Vertica had been sold. Still, much of its old reputation remains; if you want to seem important on Nar Shaddaa, you talk about going to Club Vertica.

Corellian Sector

Location: Nar Shaddaa

Although individuals from many planets and species live in the Corellian Sector, it’s humans of Corellian descent who made the area what it is today: a pro-Republic criminal’s paradise. There is no cargo that can’t be offloaded here and no job so dirty that someone won’t take it. The families of migrant workers live alongside grizzled Republic veterans who settled on Nar Shaddaa to retire in style, happily turning a blind eye to the darker activities around them.

Over the past decade, the gangs and pirates of the Corellian Sector have become overshadowed by the presence of the Exchange. Once a group mentioned primarily in HoloNet information crime reports, the Exchange crime syndicate has found an army of able recruits on Nar Shaddaa willing to back its slicers and spice-refiners with muscle–much to the dismay of the Hutt Cartel.

Duros Sector

Location: Nar Shaddaa

The glitz and glamour of Nar Shaddaa hides an uglier side. One of the poorest sectors on Nar Shaddaa, the Duros Sector hosts men and women who’ve been exploited and left behind–refugees of war and casualties of the immense wealth hoarded by Nar Shaddaa’s Hutt masters.

The peoples of the Duros Sector–the majority Duros, but with a mixed minority of Evocii and other alien species–have watched Nar Shaddaa’s wealth grow and seen none of it for themselves. Some have lived in the sector for generations, while others are recent immigrants desperate for any work they can find. The residents’ unrest has been stirred by charismatic leaders in the past, from Jedi Masters to would-be warlords.

Lower Industrial Sector

Location: Nar Shaddaa

Factories and corporate offices cover much of Nar Shaddaa’s surface, and the Lower Industrial Sector houses some of the oldest industrial facilities and warehouses still in use–some dating back hundreds of years to the Evocii’s construction of the city. But layers of rust haven’t prevented new tenants from making use of these resources.

The Empire operates a series of front corporations out of Nar Shaddaa, concentrated in the lower levels. These companies are used to provide experimental weaponry and technologies to the Empire at a discount rate, facilitate the slave trade that fuels Imperial labor across the galaxy, and serve as a clearinghouse for cargo, credits and individuals being moved through non-Imperial space.

The Hutt Cartel also maintains an interest in the sector –buildings not leased to the Empire store spice, adrenals and implants. The warehouses are heavily guarded, and some are rumored to hide the special projects of individual Hutts from their rivals.

Network Access

Location: Nar Shaddaa

As the technological heart of the galaxy, Nar Shaddaa is home to Network Access, a vital HoloNet hub that governs all HoloNet operations on Nar Shaddaa and much of Hutt Space. Billions of transactions and communications are processed each second by Network Access computer systems, ensuring the proper functioning of communications throughout the sector.

Boasting the galaxy’s most state-of-the-art security protocols, Network Access is the ultimate challenge for enterprising slicers. The wealthy and powerful pay good money for information pirates to break into Network Access and recover data, redirect communications or simply “tweak” the truth. As one of the most heavily guarded places on Nar Shaddaa, anyone who manages to infiltrate Network Access’s inner workings earns the status of legend.

Nikto Sector

Location: Nar Shaddaa

Nar Shaddaa has ever been an attractive world for Nikto enforcers seeking employment with the Hutt Cartel. The Nikto Sector, as it is now known, began as a place where Nikto warriors came to attract the attention of prospective employers, but the sector was formally bequeathed to the Nikto Horoth Gendi by his Hutt master when he saved the Hutt’s life and business in an act of quick-thinking bloodshed.

Horoth Gendi used the opportunity to found his own gang and free himself from servitude to higher powers. Since that time, the Nikto Sector has fallen under the control of a succession of Nikto gangs seeking a bigger piece of Nar Shaddaa’s underworld business–the latest of these gangs being the formidable Kintan Kings.

Red Light Sector

Location: Nar Shaddaa

For this year’s proven, high-quality implants and neuro-stim technology, visitors to Nar Shaddaa go to the Promenade. For next year’s innovations, they go to the Red Light Sector. The bodily enhancements available in the Red Light Sector are almost uniformly illegal, untested, highly dangerous or all three.

Athletes looking for an undetectable edge, opportunistic gang members and adrenaline junkies alike all come in search of the new and death-defying. Some of the technologies sold in the Red Light shops eventually make it to market in legitimate form, while others become staples of the high-risk, high-reward underground implant scene.

Alongside the surgical and bioenhancement shops, other shady businesses preying on sentient appetites tend to bloom. In particular, slavers and spice dealers often offer products here, taking advantage of Red Light Sector customers’ wealth, desperation or moral flexibility, as appropriate.

Shadow Town

Location: Nar Shaddaa

At first glance, Shadow Town resembles an ordinary Nar Shaddaa slum. Its population makes it unique. Rather than housing underworld gangs or powerful Hutts, Shadow Town is home to imprisoned individuals who were once useful to the Empire and who may be useful still–scientists, assassins and genetic experiments too valuable to kill and too dangerous to release.

Cranial implants designed to explode upon leaving Shadow Town’s borders are implanted in prisoners’ heads. Secondary prisons manned by Imperial personnel store prisoners who must be kept docile. Many residents of Shadow Town make the best of their early, forced retirement, cooperating with Imperial authorities and living relatively “ordinary” lives… but nearly all would flee, given an opportunity.

The Empire pays the Hutt Cartel a considerable sum to keep Shadow Town running. For the Hutts, the risk of keeping prisoners even the Empire doesn’t want inside its borders is offset by the considerable rewards.

Star Cluster Casino

Location: Nar Shaddaa

The Star Cluster Casino certainly wasn’t the first casino to be built on Nar Shaddaa, but every casino since has tried to match its sleek design, pulsing lights and various entertainment options. The Star Cluster was the first to debut live dancers, the first to feature sabacc and the first to hire scantily clad girls as waitresses.

Owned by a conglomerate of Nar Shaddaa industrialists (including Czerka Corporation executive Yem Leksende), the Star Cluster Casino is an attraction for tourists and weary working stiffs alike. Some have derided it as just another way in which the rich steal from the poor on Nar Shaddaa, but that hasn’t stopped business from booming.

The Promenade

Location: Nar Shaddaa

The Promenade is Nar Shaddaa at its most lavish and inviting. Divided into upper and lower levels, the area is covered by the Hutts’ strict no-fighting policy and offers a rare respite from the conflict that wracks the rest of the galaxy. Rivals and sworn enemies are expected to put aside their differences here–or else be brutally handled by Hutt Cartel enforcers.

Clubs, entertainment venues and high-end shopping line the arrival points from Nar Shaddaa’s spaceports, and casual visitors can find everything they need at Promenade vendors. Speeders are available to many of Nar Shaddaa’s districts, but by far the most popular routes lead to the Club Vertica and Star Cluster casinos.

Upper Industrial Sector

Location: Nar Shaddaa

The Upper Industrial Sector is the center of manufacturing and industry for Republic corporations on Nar Shaddaa. Here, centuries-old droid construction facilities stand next to the cluttered offices of startup firms desperate for resources and space. The companies share a common need for heavy security and compete for similar clientele, ensuring that this sector remains a choice location–but are otherwise wholly independent.

For a corporation headquartered in Republic space, Nar Shaddaa is a convenient place to develop technologies restricted by Republic laws–or from which to deal with foreign parties. The Senate frowns on these activities, but just as often turns a blind eye when these same corporations bring their innovations back to Republic worlds.

Data Slicing

Location: Nar Shaddaa (Lore)

Data slicing is one of the less advertised, though very profitable, industries thriving on Nar Shaddaa. For the right price, computer and electronics experts can be hired for a variety of services. Traditionally, these include corporate espionage, personal information-gathering (whether as part of an investigation or for use in blackmail) and security enhancements. However, with the escalating tension between Republic and Imperial forces, skilled slicers are now often employed as code breakers and saboteurs.

Some of the best slicers in the galaxy are self-taught independent operators. Advantages of employing outside experts in covert military operations include plausible deniability and the option to forego rescue operations when a mission asset is compromised or captured. Whether this offsets the risk of a slicer switching sides for a better offer is a matter of debate.

Exo-technology (Consular)

Location: Nar Shaddaa (Lore)

A very rare and highly specialized field, the study of exo-technology focuses on items or devices believed to originate somewhere beyond the borders of the galaxy. Understandably rare, these advanced and complex items are constructed using unique materials and radical engineering otherwise unknown to Republic and Imperial scientists.

Whether these items are relics of ancient civilizations that disappeared long ago or artifacts from thriving cultures waiting to be discovered is almost always unclear, as are the explanations for how the technology found its way to known space.

Operation: Glass Echo (Agent)

Location: Nar Shaddaa (Lore)

Category: Information Gathering / Threat Elimination
Location: Nar Shaddaa
Date: Classified
Primary: Cipher Nine
Secondary: Watcher X

Operational Summary: Chatter indicated that Nar Shaddaa was the source of weapons, supplies, stimulants used by the Eagle’s terrorist network. Retired asset Watcher X was chosen to assist primary (Cipher Nine) due to extensive local knowledge.

The terror cell was identified as operating out of VerveGen, a local medical corporation. Leadership was eliminated and data retrieved.

Notes: Watcher X’s part in this operation is covered in [redacted].

Cross-reference: Watcher X, VerveGen, Eagle, Dominator, Shadow Town, Cyclone, Protean

Power Guards (Knight)

Location: Nar Shaddaa (Lore)

Power Guards are synthetically augmented supersoldiers created by a secret Republic research project. Ethical and legal restrictions against experimenting on living soldiers required the Republic military to conduct the research as a black ops project on Nar Shaddaa; on the virtually lawless Hutt moon, those in charge could easily acquire technology and resources that were banned in the Republic without raising suspicion in the Senate. However, being located on a non-Republic-controlled world left the project vulnerable to enemy attack or infiltration in the event of discovery.

Slave Trading on Nar Shaddaa

Location: Nar Shaddaa (Lore)

The slave trade is one of the most profitable and pervasive industries on Nar Shaddaa. Although slavery is officially condemned by the Republic, rapid Imperial expansion has caused a boom in the number of potential buyers. Recognizing the demand, the Hutt Cartel, the Nar Shaddaa Labor Alliance and others established Nar Shaddaa as the galaxy’s premier location for slavers to display and sell product.

In addition to the expected slave markets and auction houses, entrepreneurs have built up an entire business infrastructure to facilitate the practice of buying and selling living beings as property. Intrepid businessmen offer inspection and appraisal of goods, security and transport services, and even long-term carbonite storage facilities.

The Ark

Location: Nar Shaddaa (Lore)

Hidden within the Giant’s Spear mesa is the answer to surviving the devastation of Makeb: a gigantic starship with vast holds that could contain millions of people, known as the Ark. The Ark project has suffered from delays and mismanagement thanks to its corrupt foreman, Veedrig, and is still not quite spaceworthy.

Although the Ark seems enormous while it is empty, transporting millions of frightened refugees to safety will be a logistical nightmare. Bringing basic food, water and medical supplies will necessitate packing people like cargo. Nevertheless, with no options left, transports and caravans are already being sent to evacuate Makeb’s residential districts and bring people to the Ark.

The Spice Business

Location: Nar Shaddaa (Lore)

The term “spice” refers to a wide variety of substances trafficked throughout the galaxy. Some types of spice are primarily medicinal, refined into lifesaving painkillers or used to treat mental illness; more often than not, however, spice traders deal in addictive, recreational chemical compounds with unpredictable and dangerous physical and psychological effects.

Spice is tightly regulated–or completely banned–on most Republic and Imperial worlds. On the Hutt-controlled moon of Nar Shaddaa, however, spice is openly imported, processed, refined and packaged for both local and offworld distribution. Nar Shaddaa’s spice trade is split among numerous gangs and petty crime lords who use the profits to fund other, often violent, activities.

In recent years, the Exchange crime syndicate has offered several key players cut-rate distribution of product on Republic worlds through their existing criminal networks. The newly forged alliances have finally given the Exchange a foothold in the spice trade, much to the chagrin of the Hutts.

Nar Shaddaa

Location: Nar Shaddaa (Planet)

The so-called “smuggler’s moon” is best known for one thing: anything can be bought here if the price is right. Nar Shaddaa orbits Hutta, homeworld of the Hutt Cartel, but exists as a power in its own right. Criminal organizations and legitimate enterprises operate side-by-side, regulated only by the Hutts’ whims. Gleaming skyscrapers house corporations, casinos, technology shops, spice houses and every other type of business imaginable.

Although no other world offers Nar Shaddaa’s unique services, the city has a notorious murder and disappearance rate. Gangsters, pirates, slavers and worse crowd the streets, and Republic and Imperial representatives compete for influence with the local powers. Strangers should be extremely cautious.

Duuba the Magnanimous

Location: Nar Shaddaa (Event)

Growing up on Hutta as a ward of the Cartel, Duuba has seen some of the worst poverty, crime, and violence in the galaxy. Despite being associated with the Cartel, Duuba firmly believes he can use his position and relative power to do good in the galaxy. He counts himself lucky to have made it into a position to help others, and he feels he has an obligation to help solve some of the issues he’s seen on less privileged worlds. Duuba often faces criticism both from within his own organization and from those who doubt his motives, but he remains determined to use his resources to help, and to change the culture of the Cartel.

Gaboorga the Abundant

Location: Nar Shaddaa (Event)

A wealthy Hutt hailing from the upper echelons of Nar Shaddaa, Gaboorga has led a pampered life, thanks to his family connections within the Hutt Cartel. After meeting Duuba the Magnanimous through a mutual acquaintance, Gaboorga was intrigued by the idea of founding an event that could capture the giving spirit-and the credits-of people across the galaxy. Less interested in the charitable side of the event, Gaboorga focuses on building mutually-beneficial relationships and soliciting donations from the wealthy and powerful on worlds that host the Feast. If, coincidentally, he commits an altruistic act along the way, he doesn’t mind, but he sees the Feast first and foremost as a means to an end that benefits him.

The Chevin Conglomerate: The Grand Acquisitions Race

Location: Nar Shaddaa (Event)

Governing the Chevin homeworld of Vinsoth, the Chevin Conglomerate is a pervasive presence in the galactic underworld, with connections to mercenary groups, Hutts, slavers and other undesirables. However, unlike the Hutts, the businesslike Chevin remain at a distance from the conflict between the Republic and the Sith Empire, as their military might is negligible. The announcement of their Grand Acquisitions Race brought the Chevin into the spotlight, as they offered unmatched riches and power in return for a number of strange items their own agents had been unable to find.

As fortune-seekers and adventurers across the galaxy sought these curiosities, both the Republic and the Empire became curious about the Chevin Conglomerate’s motives. Soon the truth was revealed: the items being gathered were intended as a tribute to buy the favor of the Gree, one of the most ancient species in the galaxy. Through their contacts, the Chevin learned that a Gree fleet is returning to known space, bringing not only the normally isolationist aliens but their legendary technology.

Although believed to be non-hostile, the Gree discovered hyperspace travel untold ages ago; a single piece of Gree technology is considered an irreplaceable treasure. For centuries, their influence has been felt only through their emissaries. The reason for their fleet’s return is unknown.

The Feast of Prosperity

Location: Nar Shaddaa(Event)

Founded by Gaboorga the Abundant and Duuba the Magnanimous, the Feast of Prosperity serves as a chance for the Hutts to share their wealth–and attract political attention–by throwing lavish parties on planets throughout the galaxy. Food is provided for free to those who can’t afford it, and flashy galas featuring banquets packed with rare and exotic dishes attract donations from the well-to-do who want to give back–and build relationships with the event’s founders. The two Hutts hope to spread the event across the galaxy, though their opinions about exactly how to continue expanding the event are sometimes at odds.

Statue of Karagga the Unyielding

Location: (Lore)

Forged from solid gold and sculpted by no less than eighty-three artisans, the statue of Karagga the Hutt embodies its subject’s opulence and grandeur while taking center stage in the Promenade of Nar Shaddaa. The statue itself was commissioned by the Hutt Cartel as a gift to its ruler on Karagga’s 800th birthday. Every year since, revelers gather around the statue to honor Karagga’s birth in a debauched celebration befitting the Supreme Mogul of the Hutt Cartel.

Critics have disparaged the statue’s poor resemblance to Karagga, but they do so without appreciation of the Hutts’ artistic traditions. Reflections of reality are shunned. Instead, the truly great statues capture the idealized Hutt form and portray the glorious mass of their subject. From its golden tail to ornate helmet, there exists no finer Hutt statue than that of Karagga the Unyielding.

Alderaan

Location: Alderaan (Planet)

Alderaan is a mountainous world of lush forests and grasslands, ruled by an assembly of noble houses and an enlightened and advanced citizenry. A founding member of the Republic, Alderaan has been traditionally admired for its wealth, its art and its thinkers, while the deadly intrigues and politics of the nobility have been downplayed.

Recently, those intrigues erupted into civil war, and Alderaan–now officially withdrawn from the Republic–sees conflict it hasn’t known in ages. The Republic is backing House Organa’s quest for the crown, whereas the Empire backs the former House Thul exiles. Palaces and fields have become pockmarked by cannon fire, and house armies clash on the battlefield.

Kaamos Territory

Location: Alderaan

The Kaamos Territory is the ancestral homeland of House Thul, one of the major houses of Alderaan and a contender for the throne. After Thul returned from exile with its Imperial allies, the nobles set about rebuilding on the grounds of the ancient Thul palace–abandoned long ago but not entirely destroyed, ready to be returned to glory. Thul’s grip on the territory is still tenuous, as the house faces incursions from both the native Killiks and enemy houses.

The Lerantha Dam is also located in the Kaamos Territory–a long-standing landmark and generator plant built at the edge of the Lerantha Lake. Currently, House Ulgo controls the dam, threatening the edges of House Thul’s territory.

King’s Pass

Location: Alderaan

Thousands of years ago, before the noble houses had united to form the Alderaanian parliament, the warring families gathered for a decisive battle at the ravine now known as King’s Pass. Before the fighting could commence, Darrus Alde, the head of House Alde, parleyed with the other noble families and convinced them to abandon their centuries-old rivalries. His decisive leadership ended generations of strife and led to the construction of the Elysium, where Darrus was elected and anointed as the first king of Alderaan.

In recent years, the native Killiks have repopulated the area, provoking increasingly violent skirmishes with the neighboring Alderaanians. The ravine’s strategic location has also made it a hotbed of violence between the major noble houses as they struggle for control.

The Apalis Coast

Location: Alderaan

South of the Juran Mountains, the Apalis Coast is a rich green flatland separated from the sea by a sheer cliff face. The ancestral home of House Organa, it has been a reliable source of wealth for generations, as the noble family has made the coast into productive farmland.

Unfortunately, this fruitful land has now been marred by invaders from House Thul. After a failed assault on House Organa itself, Thul forces have dug up Organa’s fertile farms and turned the area into a massive army camp. Thul forces are there to stay, a constant challenger in the face of their rivals.

The Elysium

Location: Alderaan

For millennia, the Elysium has served as the symbolic center of Alderaanian politics. Years before the capital city was founded, the various noble houses met in the Elysium to elect and anoint their first king. Until recently, every dispute over succession in Alderaan’s history had been peacefully resolved within its stone walls, and the houses’ greatest treasures were placed in Elysium vaults as a symbol of trust.

When Gaul Panteer was assassinated and Alderaan’s ailing queen passed on in a mysterious transport crash, the parliament assembled in the Elysium to elect a new sovereign. It was then that House Thul made its move, returning to Alderaan after decades of exile. Violence and accusations erupted almost immediately, and since then, the Elysium has remained an empty, forgotten symbol of Alderaanian unity–its ancient halls cracking as distant bombs fall, and its beauty quickly fading.

The Glarus Valley

Location: Alderaan

Glarus Valley has long been the ancestral home of House Panteer, the royal family of Alderaan, and the site of the Elysium and Castle Panteer itself. The valley was once the seat of culture and democracy on Alderaan, a place where squabbling nobles could resolve their disputes peacefully.

Like so much of Alderaan, the land is now ravaged by war. Castle Panteer has fallen to House Ulgo, and the Elysium is all but abandoned. Although House Thul and House Organa maintain a small presence in the area, the disciplined soldiers of House Ulgo tighten their hold every day. There are rumors that the royal family is still in hiding somewhere in the valley, but even Ulgo has been unable to find them.

The Juran Mountains

Location: Alderaan

The majestic Juran Mountains have been the site of many conflicts in recent years. During the Battle of Alderaan, Republic resistance fighters sought refuge in the mountains, using the natural cover to hide from the invading Imperial forces. It was here that Captain Jace Malcom led Havoc Squad in an ambush against Darth Malgus; with the help of Satele Shan, the Republic troopers were able to triumph over the powerful Sith Lord.

After a few short years of peace, violence has once again erupted in the area. House Ulgo, backed by its vassals in House Rist, has occupied the region and is locked in a brutal conflict with the forces of House Thul and House Organa.

Battle of Alderaan

Location: Alderaan (Lore)

Countless star systems fell to the Empire during the Great War, yet many in the Republic believed the Core Worlds were safe from attack. That all changed when the Empire invaded Alderaan; the Sith Lord Darth Malgus led the attack, timing his invasion with a feint that drew the Republic’s fleet light years away.

Unknown to Malgus, a small contingent of Republic soldiers was stationed on Alderaan. The soldiers were outnumbered and disorganized, but among them were the members of Havoc Squad, the Republic’s most decorated military unit. Under the leadership of Captain Jace Malcom, the Havoc Squad commandos rallied the Republic troops and waged a fierce guerrilla campaign against the Empire.

The resistance fighters harried the Imperial forces constantly, delaying their advance long enough for the Republic fleet to race back and repel the invasion. In the end, Darth Malgus was defeated and the Empire was driven from Alderaan. The victory was a costly one, though; Alderaan would not soon forget the devastation.

History of Alderaan

Location: Alderaan (Lore)

Originally inhabited by the insectoid Killiks, Alderaan’s pre-colonial history is lost, save for in the hive mind of the aliens. By the time the first human colonists came to Alderaan from Coruscant–about 2,500 years before the founding of the Galactic Republic–the Killiks had migrated into deep space, leaving only a scattered few nests hibernating underground and the empty shells of their hives.

Alderaan’s pristine beauty attracted thousands of settlers, and the human colonies quickly developed into thriving provinces. The Alderaanian monarchy made preservation of the environment a top priority in the planet’s development, a policy that holds true today.

Later, the planet would become one of the Core Founders of the Republic and among the most powerful voices in the Senate. The princes and princesses of the ruling family typically served as Alderaan’s representatives, though other members of the Alderaanian nobility have held the position as well.

Alderaan’s recent departure from the Republic and the resulting civil war are among the darkest moments in a bright and optimistic history. Whether the planet will ever regain its former glory is an open question.

Jedi Diplomacy (Consular)

Location: Alderaan (Lore)

Galactic diplomacy and the Jedi Order have been intertwined for thousands of years. Renowned for their sense of justice and wide cultural awareness, Jedi negotiators are in high demand. Sometimes a Jedi will represent the interests of the Republic or the Jedi Order, but Jedi often act as a neutral third party between two factions; an outsider who can be trusted to arbitrate disputes fairly.

The talents of the Jedi and their adherence to the Jedi Code make them well suited to diplomatic endeavors. Jedi are trained in galactic law and history, often understand obscure languages and customs, and are famed for their devotion to peace. In addition, anyone trying to bribe or lie to a Jedi diplomat will be met with polite amusement at best–and at worst, heavy sanctions and criminal charges from the Republic.

Joiners and the Killik Hive Mind

Location: Alderaan (Lore)

Joiners are non-Killik individuals who have been absorbed into the Killik hive mind. Prolonged exposure to the powerful pheromones released by Killiks causes an alteration of the subjects’ brain chemistry, making them subservient to the nest’s desires. Long-term exposure can turn a subject’s eyes completely black, though this appears to be the extent of visible physiological changes.

Initially, Joiners retain many characteristics of their own personality, as well as some sense of individual identity. At this point Joiners often describe the relationship as symbiotic, feeling they gain more from the Joining than the Killiks. Over time, however, their personalities become more and more subsumed, until they cannot conceive of any existence away from the hive mind.

In turn, a nest also absorbs the knowledge, skills and personality traits of its Joiners. A single Joiner rarely changes a nest’s nature, but a nest that Joins an army of warriors may become war-like, and a nest that Joins a party of explorers may gain a degree of curiosity and wanderlust.

It is possible to medically reverse the Joining process even in the later stages. However, most Joiners–even those experiencing the initial transformation–refuse to willingly submit to the procedure.

Noble Houses

Location: Alderaan (Lore)

The nobility of Alderaan is responsible for ruling the planet and choosing the reigning monarch in often vicious, always intricate games of local politics. Each noble house bears the family name of its original founders, and many nobles can trace their lineage back over hundreds of generations. However, noble blood is not a requirement for house membership; in less traditional houses, it is not unheard of for an ambitious servant or farmer to rise above his or her station.

Three main houses currently compete for Alderaan’s throne: House Organa, House Thul and House Ulgo. Although these three are the most powerful houses on Alderaan, might is not the only path to survival. In many cases, a larger noble house will take a smaller, like-minded one under its protection. Referred to as a “vassal,” these smaller houses typically provide support and fealty to the larger. A strategic alliance can mean the difference between ultimate ambition or permanent extinction.

Operation: Silverplate (Agent)

Location: Alderaan (Lore)

Category: Information Gathering / Threat Elimination
Location: Alderaan
Date: Classified
Primary: Cipher Nine
Secondary: Vector Hyllus

Operational Summary: Funding for the Eagle’s terrorist network was traced to Alderaan; Cipher Nine was sent to identify and eliminate source. Imperial Diplomatic Service member Vector Hyllus was chosen to assist despite uncertain status (see cross-reference).

Cipher Nine and Vector Hyllus identified local negotiator Denri Ayl and Baroness Chay Cortess as primary funders of the terrorist network. House Cortess was not implicated as a whole; however, appropriate responses and precautions have been taken. Vector Hyllus was flagged as an asset, and permanent transfer from the Diplomatic Service was granted.

Cross-reference: Cortess, Vector Hyllus, Killik, Protean, Eagle, Dominator

The Death Mark (Knight)

Location: Alderaan (Lore)

A top secret Republic prototype, the Death Mark is an orbital platform that fires an incredibly accurate beam of superconcentrated energy at a specific individual, resulting in instant death. The energy beam can penetrate virtually any structure or shield, making escape almost impossible.

The orbital platform tracks individuals who have been marked with a special targeting device. The targeting device is only effective at extreme close range, meaning an operative must get within several meters of an intended victim to use it. The targeting process is undetectable, and once marked, an individual can be tracked indefinitely, allowing the killing blow to be dealt hours or even days later.

In theory, the Death Mark could save hundreds of lives, as key enemy leaders could be eliminated without the need for armies or the risk of collateral damage. In the wrong hands, however, the Death Mark becomes a weapon of terror, raining murder down from the sky.

The Head of Darth Bandon (Smuggler)

Location: Alderaan (Lore)

The apprentice of the legendary Darth Malak–the Sith Lord responsible for the destruction of Taris–Darth Bandon was a promising young Padawan before he joined the Sith Order. He was slain by the Jedi Knight Revan during the Jedi Civil War, but his remains were confiscated by a group of particularly fanatical Sith acolytes who (for reasons best left unexplored) used Sith alchemy to preserve Bandon’s head.

After Revan cut down Darth Malak and ended the war, the leaderless and disillusioned Sith turned to Bandon’s head for guidance, claiming they could use it to communicate with the deceased Sith Lord. The cult eventually caught the attention of the Jedi during a misguided attempt to find Bandon a fresh body; the Jedi dismantled the cult, but found no trace of the fabled head.

The War for Alderaan’s Throne

Location: Alderaan (Lore)

Despite its arguable necessity, the Treaty of Coruscant was extremely controversial. Senator Gaul Panteer, heir to the Alderaanian throne, opposed the treaty and arranged Alderaan’s withdrawal from the Republic in protest. Gaul was said to be secretly negotiating the terms of Alderaan’s return, but he was assassinated before he could do so; his ailing mother, the queen, died days later in a mysterious crash, leaving Alderaan without a ruler and without Republic protection.

The ensuing power vacuum allowed House Thul–now supported by the Empire–to return from exile. With the nobility in chaos and a possible Imperial takeover on the horizon, Bouris Ulgo, a former Republic general, declared himself king. House Panteer challenged Ulgo’s rule, but its estates were quickly overrun and destroyed. House Organa, still loyal to the Republic, opposed House Ulgo diplomatically until it could marshal its forces. It wasn’t long before all-out war broke out between House Ulgo, House Organa and House Thul, with all three families and countless lesser houses vying for the Alderaanian crown.

Infinite Army

Location: (Organization)

Since its destruction, many have sought to own pieces of the fabled Star Forge–an automated Rakata shipyard capable of infinite manufacturing. A Selkath experimenting with cybernetic applications using Rakatan technology was one of those looking to harness the Star Forge’s immeasurable power. With the shipyard’s self-replicating properties, the Selkath theorized implementation of its parts could allow his test subjects to survive the grafting process, and to achieve virtual immortality. When the Order of Revan made a piece of the Star Forge available to him, the Selkath was able to prove his theories and the Infinite Army was born.

This is not the first time the notion of an Infinite Army was conceived. A tormented Jedi looking to destroy the Sith Emperor once appropriated a long-abandoned Rakata foundry built into an asteroid. However, his reputed plan to use the foundry to build an “infinite army” of extermination droids was ultimately prevented.

Rakata Tribes

Location: (Organization)

In the face of near-extinction and the mysterious loss of Force sensitivity among most of their kind, the Rakata retreated to their homeworld, where they focused their cruel aggressions on one another, descending further into ruin. When the dust of global war settled, all that remained of the galactic tyrants was a collection of barbaric and ruthless Rakata tribes that has dominated the planet for more than twenty thousand years.

Some tribes reside in isolation, hidden deep within the jungle islands of Rakata Prime. Others are more aggressive, seeking to conquer and assimilate as many other tribes as possible, uniting the world under their rulership–an echo of their technologically advanced ancestors’ attempt at galactic supremacy. Eventually, the dominating tribe’s control becomes stretched too thin and the sub-tribes revolt, breaking free until the cycle inevitably repeats.

House Alde

Location: (Organization)

Alderaan’s oldest surviving noble house by far, House Alde is obsessed with antiquity and lineage. Its nobles studiously avoid polluting their bloodline with foreign influences, preserving the blood of King Alde, the first ruler of Alderaan.

These practices have left the family isolated and eccentric, but its scholarly grasp of history and Alderaanian lore is equal to none. Its obsessions are widely considered unusual, but not dangerous–Alde pride and pomposity rarely devolves into genuine arrogance. For over a century, Alde has stayed closely allied with House Organa, appreciating Organa’s devotion to Alderaan’s historical ties with the Republic.

House Baliss (Smuggler)

Location: (Organization)

A relatively minor noble family, House Baliss has amassed much of its influence currying favor with the larger houses. Many aristocrats joke that Baliss has served as vassal to every noble family of any significance. Baliss remained neutral when war broke out between the major houses, preferring to wait for a decisive victor to emerge before declaring any allegiances.

Recently, the Baliss estate was overrun with Killiks, forcing the nobles to abandon their home. Baliss sought refuge with another minor family, House Teraan; the head of House Baliss, Duke Yun, decided to capitalize on the chaos engulfing Alderaan and make the Teraan estate the new Baliss home.

House Girard (Bounty Hunter)

Location: (Organization)

Girard is a relatively minor noble house that remained independent in the grand scheme of Alderaanian politics until the recent civil war left it dangerously exposed. Since then, House Girard has pledged its resources and influence to House Thul (and Thul’s Imperial backers) in exchange for protection.

The whole of House Girard’s nobility now resides in a wing of the Thul estate. There, the Girard nobles await their inevitable victory and the reclamation of their imperiled lands–along with the receipt of new territories as reward for their loyal support.

House Organa

Location: (Organization)

House Organa is perhaps the most respected noble house on Alderaan. Organa ancestors were among the first to settle the planet and were pivotal in the formation of the Galactic Republic. The Organas have remained vocal supporters of the Republic for millennia, believers in patient negotiation over aggression, and were outraged when Senator Gaul Panteer announced Alderaan’s independence.

The current Duke Organa epitomizes what the house is known for. During the war, the duke was a fierce opponent of the Empire and the Sith who saw his family treated brutally during the Empire’s short-lived invasion of Alderaan. This neither soured the duke and his house on peace, nor weakened their resolve to battle evil; when Alderaan’s civil war began years later, Organa was among the last houses to take up arms… but the duke had privately trained a talented and honorable battalion for such an eventuality, and readily turned to the Republic for advice and assistance during the crisis. Today, Organa remains the Republic’s fiercest ally on the planet.

House Panteer

Location: (Organization)

Arguably the most blue-blooded of the noble houses, House Panteer has put more kings and queens on the Alderaanian throne than all other families combined. Panteer rulers have been called both patriots and pragmatists–traditionally, they have been believers in the beauty of Alderaan and patrons of the arts who nonetheless accept that a lie, a betrayal or even a dagger can be a sad political necessity. The last uncontested ruler of Alderaan was a proud Panteer queen who had earned the respect–if not always the love–of both friends and adversaries.

When Bouris Ulgo declared himself king, House Panteer immediately challenged his rule. Ulgo responded by burning the Panteer estates to the ground and forcing the survivors into hiding, bringing the family low after millennia. While many nobles still see the Panteers as rightful heirs to the Alderaanian throne, and many others seek Panteer’s blessing to legitimize their own claims to the crown, the Panteers remain suspicious–wondering about the circumstances behind their downfall, and hoping to reclaim lost glory.

House Rist

Location: (Organization)

Legendary assassins and spies, the members of House Rist trace their roots to an Exchange crime lord who provided illicit services to the Alderaanian nobility. After years of underhanded dealings, the crime lord was granted his own lands, and the Rists were legitimized as a minor noble house. Rather than abandon their criminal roots, however, the Rists continued to discreetly ply their murderous trade while enjoying the trappings of privilege, earning favor and leverage with the other nobles in the process.

Eventually House Ulgo sought and acquired House Rist’s pledge as a vassal. The promotion was a controversial move, but a shrewd one, as the Ulgos now had sole claim to the Rists’ vast underworld resources. The recent death of Gaul Panteer has cast suspicion on Rist and Ulgo alike, as many believe Rist assassins were responsible for the Senator’s demise.

House Teral (Consular)

Location: (Organization)

Closely related to the royal House Panteer, House Teral enjoyed several generations of growth and prosperity through trade and its connections to the royal family. Unsurprisingly, House Teral’s troubles began after House Ulgo usurped the throne and effectively obliterated House Panteer. Seeing that House Teral’s trade fortune could allow its Panteer cousins to rebuild, House Ulgo began a campaign against Teral’s holdings and property. King Bouris Ulgo used his influence to shatter House Teral’s trading contacts and forced Teral–never a military house–to raise massive armies to face Ulgo attacks.

Today, harried and nearly bankrupt, House Teral is a shadow of its formerly prosperous self. The last straw was the recent death of its diplomatic delegate. Although officially judged an accident, no one is fooled; it is clear that House Ulgo will be satisfied with nothing less than Teral’s utter destruction.

House Thul

Location: (Organization)

The members of House Thul are descended from a wealthy and ambitious merchant who bought his way into the nobility. The Thuls considered this a point of pride, specializing in brokering trade and acting as caretakers of Alderaan’s economy–yet for generations, the relative youth of the Thul house carried a stigma.

Unable to marry a Thul into royalty, the house made a desperate bid for the throne–Thuls switched an Organa infant with a Thul baby and supported the changeling as a potential bride for the crown prince. A young Jedi exposed the treachery and stopped the wedding, creating a scandal that led to the disgraced Thul’s exile from Alderaan.

Thul maintained its pride and its culture in exile, though the house became impoverished and isolated in its offworld estates. It was decades before Thul nobles were contacted by the Imperial Diplomatic Service; the Empire promised to restore Thul to its rightful glory, to train its soldiers and educate its children and one day help it return to Alderaan.

At last, in the aftermath of Alderaan’s withdrawal from the Republic and the death of its queen, a generation of Thuls raised alongside the Empire came home–eager to restore the family name and take vengeance against Thul’s enemies. Thul has already gained the allegiance of a number of lesser houses, and with Imperial support stands as a true contender for the throne.

House Ulgo

Location: (Organization)

The noble House Ulgo has a long history of military excellence. The family values discipline and duty above all else, and Ulgos pride themselves on forsaking the pampered, aristocratic lifestyles the other noble houses have gravitated toward. The Ulgo tradition of requiring every member to serve in the military has produced generations of distinguished officers.

In recent years, the Ulgos became increasingly frustrated with the political stalemate in the Alderaanian parliament. When the queen died and House Thul returned from exile with the support of the Empire, General Bouris Ulgo pleaded with the collected nobles to act quickly to push Thul back off the planet. When it became clear the nobles were too fractured to stop what he saw as a second Imperial invasion, Bouris Ulgo declared himself king and declared war on House Thul. Unfortunately, grabbing the crown forced the hand of the other noble houses and they declared war against Ulgo. House Ulgo now finds itself beset on all sides as it struggles to defend the crown and brutally reinstate order on Alderaan–no matter the cost in blood and resources.

Hoth

Location: Hoth (Planet)

Few life-forms can survive on the ice planet Hoth. Between its subzero surface temperatures, shearing winds and frequent whiteouts, the environment should be considered extremely hostile even to properly outfitted individuals; mechanical equipment and communications technology are prone to freeze and malfunction as well, making any minor setback potentially lethal.

During the war between Republic and Empire, the Hoth system was the site of a major fleet battle. This resulted in a large number of starships falling into Hoth’s gravity well and crashing on the planet surface. These derelict ships have become the base of operations for a large group of pirates, as well as a center of dispute between Republic and Imperial forces.

Chilling Death Spire

Location: Hoth

The Hailstorm Brotherhood is a fringe group of White Maw pirates who abandoned the starship graveyard’s plunder to form a permanent settlement on Hoth. These men and women are more than mere survivalists, however. They are artisans and warrior-poets shaping Hoth’s natural landscape according to their own designs.

The massive ice spire towering above the Glacial Fissure sector was painstakingly carved from an ancient mountain by the Hailstorm Brotherhood. No one knows how many of the group’s members perished making the spire a reality, but the achievement stands as a testament to these warriors’ iron wills–and a warning to all who might oppose them.

Clabburn Tundra

Location: Hoth

The Clabburn Tundra sector has become a key battleground in the three-way war for Hoth. The rolling snow dunes of the drift hills and the spectacular frozen geysers of the jagged plains were initially claimed by the Republic military, which saw the region as an excellent artillery staging area. However, strategic mismanagement allowed both White Maw and Imperial forces to invade and establish their own camps.

Recent reports indicate some of Hoth’s most hostile wildlife calls the Clabburn Tundra home, and these beasts are not happy to see their habitat invaded. Whitefangs, wampas and even the occasional tribe of attacking skels prey upon whole squads of soldiers.

Crescent Canyon Facility

Location: Hoth

The Crescent Canyon Facility was established decades ago by the Czerka Corporation to explore mining opportunities beneath Hoth’s frozen tundra. The operation was eventually deemed too costly to pursue and Czerka personnel abandoned the sprawling base. Later, Ortolan explorers seeking to establish a permanent settlement on Hoth moved in and took over the structures.

The current conflict between Republic, Empire and White Maw has turned the facility into a battle zone. Reports indicate the Empire has invaded and enslaved the helpless Ortolans living there. Because of the facility’s proximity to the Republic’s Aurek Base, an immediate and strong military response is required.

Glacial Fissure

Location: Hoth

The sector designated as the Glacial Fissure is almost entirely White Maw territory. The deep ice canyons and extensive underground cave networks provide shelter and staging areas for the vicious pirate forces. When the White Maw’s leaders saw the Republic and Imperial militaries arriving on Hoth, they immediately established well-defended camps and supply routes throughout the area.

Traveling through the Glacial Fissure is suicide for all but the most well-armed and highly trained operatives. The White Maw pirates do not fight conventionally, preferring to set ambushes and traps for their victims. Both the Republic and Imperial militaries have sustained heavy losses here, demonstrating the extraordinary threat the pirates represent.

Highmount Ridge

Location: Hoth

Initially home to Ortolan settlers, the Highmount Ridge sector is now contested territory where both Republic and Imperial military units contend with the White Maw pirate army. These deadly cutthroats have seized control of an extensive geothermal plant, giving them a well-defended staging area from which to conduct their assaults.

Fierce battles rage on the ridge’s open areas, making the sector especially dangerous for travel. White Maw ambushes are common, but Republic and Imperial forces are managing to hold their own and establish footholds in the territory. Whether or not they can keep these positions is another matter.

Icefall Plains

Location: Hoth

When the Empire’s forces scouted Hoth for a landing site, both Imperial and Chiss tacticians agreed that the Icefall Plains sector was the best location for a military staging ground. The easy but defensible access to White Maw pirate territory rendered it ideal for both offensive sorties and a defensive fallback. More importantly, once the Republic committed to Hoth and the salvage operation in the starship graveyard, it would become the perfect place from which to launch assaults and drag out the conflict forever.

Dorn Base, the heavily defended main Imperial complex, is protected by powerful shield generators and turrets. A series of smaller forward bases stand ready to alert commanders of any impending assault. Nonetheless, Republic commandos have made extensive inroads into the sector and now threaten to isolate the Icefall Plains from resupply and reinforcements.

Star of Coruscant

Location: Hoth

The greatest prize in Hoth’s starship graveyard is a behemoth of a vessel called the Star of Coruscant. At the time of its crash, this superdreadnought was the most advanced ship in the Republic fleet–a project years in the making, shepherded along by one Colonel Omas. Its experimental weapons and breakthrough technology could have turned the war’s tide, had the Empire not devoted every resource to trapping and destroying it. Not even the long fall from orbit to Hoth’s hard-packed ice plains could shatter the Star of Coruscant’s hull. The ship remains intact, and White Maw pirates have spent considerable effort reactivating its internal power systems and shields. Indeed, the ship is now a veritable fortress on the planet’s surface.

Starship Graveyard

Location: Hoth

Starship Graveyard Decades ago, Imperial starships led the Republic fleet into a deadly trap above the remote ice planet of Hoth. The Republic’s fabled prototype superdreadnought, the Star of Coruscant, was the Empire’s primary target, but many other warships suffered the same terrible fate. The remains of these vessels fell to the planet’s surface in a tightly-packed radius, creating an awe-inspiring graveyard of derelict ships. Republic vessels were not the only victims of this devastating space battle, however. Several noteworthy Imperial ships were also destroyed, their cracked hulls raining down among the enemy’s remains. Years of heavy snowfall and shifting ice have obscured the many wrecks to the point that sorting Republic from Imperial ships is often an impossible task.

The Ambria’s Fury Crash

Location: Hoth

Among the Empire’s losses in Hoth’s fabled space battle was a sleek, fast warship designated the Ambria’s Fury. Until recently, the ship’s manifest had remained a mystery to all but the highest Imperial echelons. The only certainty was that the Imperial Moffs were most distressed at the ship’s loss.

The wreck of the Ambria’s Fury was recently discovered by Imperial and Republic forces, prompting a rush to secure the crash site and recover whatever secrets the ship has kept for so many years….

Tromper Crags Geothermal Plant

Location: Hoth

The Ortolan settlers on Hoth needed a renewable energy source to power their habitat in the Crescent Canyon Facility and help them expand their territory, so Ortolan engineers constructed a massive geothermal plant tapping directly into Hoth’s underground volcano network. The Tromper Crags plant provided more than adequate power and heat to keep the Ortolans in relative comfort… until the White Maw came.

The pirate army’s leaders understood the value of controlling the most abundant power resource on Hoth and quickly stormed the geothermal plant. Any Ortolans who did not immediately submit to White Maw authority were summarily executed. Now that the Republic and Empire have come to Hoth, the Tromper Crags facility has become hotly contested territory.

Whiterock Wastes

Location: Hoth

The Republic established its primary military lodgment, Aurek Base, in the Whiterock Wastes sector with cooperation from the nearby Ortolan settlement in Crescent Canyon. The Ortolans aided the Republic military’s engineers and helped construct their mountain fortress in return for protection from the White Maw pirates.

Had Republic military strategists foreseen the Empire’s real plan–not to claim technology from the starship graveyard, but to draw Republic forces into an unwinnable fight–they might have reconsidered establishing anything in the Whiterock Wastes. The vast snowy plains stretching out from the mountain base provide unimpeded access to enemy forces. In retrospect, the Empire’s violent invasion of the Whiterock Wastes was inevitable.

Caught Between Two Foes

Location: Hoth (Lore)

The Republic finds itself in the worst possible military position on Hoth as it battles both Imperial forces and White Maw pirates. Each of these enemies poses significant individual challenges; combined, they are a nightmare scenario for Republic war strategists. It appears impossible to adopt a battle plan that effectively defends against both, much less offers any hope of victory over them.

The Empire employs classic high-aggression tactics while protecting its units within heavy fortifications, while the unpredictable White Maw pirates favor hit-and-run attacks that take advantage of Hoth’s natural landscape for maximum effect. Should these two enemies ever join forces, the Republic’s survival on the planet would likely be measured in hours.

Hoth: No Place for Vehicles

Location: Hoth (Lore)

The bitter cold of Hoth is no friend to small vehicles, which do not generate enough heat to keep their mechanical parts from freezing and their power generators from failing on a regular basis. High-end speeders mostly avoid these issues, but mass produced military bikes and many shuttles, starfighters and other transports fail on a regular basis.

For large-scale transport of troops and supplies–when a few select, customized speeders won’t suffice–two options remain. First, large vehicles such as armored walkers and heavy dropships can be outfitted to survive the cold, so long as they are well maintained. Second, there is the tauntaun–a bipedal animal that has evolved to survive Hoth’s harsh environs and to navigate even during whiteout conditions.

Imperial War Strategy: Quagmires

Location: Hoth (Lore)

The Empire, vastly outnumbered by the Republic, knows it cannot win every battle it fights–so more creative tactics are in order. By sending diversionary forces to the deadly ice world of Hoth and generating intelligence chatter about the search for a vital weapon, the Empire hopes to lure the Republic into a military quagmire–a battle the Republic cannot win, but cannot abandon due to its importance. In so doing, the Empire will divert precious Republic resources away from its true objectives.

This is not the first time the Empire has employed such a strategy. Centuries ago, during the Empire’s initial expansion into the sectors surrounding Dromund Kaas, quagmires were used to effectively paralyze minor alien worlds while nearby resources were gathered. Since then, the strategy has remained a valued weapon in the Imperial military arsenal.

Keeping Warm: Do’s and Don’ts

Location: Hoth (Lore)

Hoth’s natural predators, pirates and military forces are nothing compared to its weather. Intense cold remains the greatest danger to anyone unlucky enough to travel on the planet, and many manuals have been written on how to keep warm, offering tips on taking advantage of rare nodes of geothermal energy when staking out camp and how to rely on underground cave systems to keep out of the wind.

Specialist cold-weather gear has been designed to allow survival in short bursts on Hoth’s bitterly cold surface. In the absence of such gear, one guide even suggests that–in the event of becoming stranded in one of Hoth’s famous whiteouts–the innards of a freshly slaughtered pack animal or predator can provide enough heat to stretch out survival for a few hours.

Salvaging Starships

Location: Hoth (Lore)

Hoth has never been a friendly planet for spacefaring people. Its strong magnetic pull and icy atmosphere have spelled death for many a pilot, and crashed vessels have long littered the planet’s surface. But after the Battle of Hoth brought huge numbers of warships down–including the Republic superdreadnought, the Star of Coruscant–Hoth became home to a massive starship graveyard. The graveyard, in turn, became a very attractive destination for pirates looking to salvage a technological edge from the wreckage.

Salvaging starships in Hoth’s blizzards is a deadly occupation that can reap great rewards. One of the first pirates to scope out the starship graveyard famously made millions of credits selling Republic and Imperial weaponry back to the Republic and Empire. Now, both governments and freelancers brave Hoth’s wilderness, and many salvagers meet their ends among the cold and unstable ruins of dead ships.

The Battle of Hoth

Location: Hoth (Lore)

During the height of the Great War, a vital battle was fought above Hoth–a battle many credit with forcing the Republic to accept the terms of the Treaty of Coruscant. It began when Imperial Intelligence uncovered evidence of a massive Republic fleet buildup near Hoth. Prototype battle cruisers constructed with cutting edge technology formed the backbone of an armada hundreds of ships strong–an armada believed to have been designed for a full-scale invasion of the Imperial capital world of Dromund Kaas.

The invasion never happened. The Empire moved to ambush the Republic super-fleet first. The battle raged for days and found its epicenter in the Hoth system. The greatest starships and some of the greatest warriors in both fleets were destroyed, and high technology and scorched metal rained down onto the ice fields. In the end, the Empire succeeded in its goal; the Republic had been robbed of its chance at victory, and the tide of the war turned.

The Scorekeeper (Bounty Hunter)

Location: Hoth (Lore)

Deity of the Trandoshan species, the Scorekeeper watches over her brood, savoring their victories and shunning their failures. According to Trandoshan belief, no creature in existence is beyond her judgment, and the only means for a Trandoshan to improve his standing in her eyes is to dominate another living thing–to hold a creature’s life in his claws and show the Scorekeeper that he is more worthy of survival.

The Scorekeeper’s measure of worthiness is called Jagannath, and upon a being’s death it is tallied by the Scorekeeper to determine his place in the afterlife. To be captured or dishonored on a hunt is to have one’s Jagannath stripped by the victor, leaving nothing for the victim to show the Scorekeeper in death and dooming his spirit to oblivion.

The Umbra Encrypter (Trooper)

Location: Hoth (Lore)

Since the beginning of the Great War, one Imperial cipher has defied every attempt at decryption. Code-named “Umbra,” it has become a legend in the galactic cryptography community; the Republic even allowed scraps of Umbra transmissions to be released surreptitiously as “unbeatable puzzles” to university students in the hope of finding someone–anyone–who could crack the code.

With theoretical efforts yielding no results, the Republic eventually took on a more direct approach, launching dozens of covert missions to capture one of the Empire’s Umbra encryption devices. None has succeeded.

Rift Alliance Coalition Forces (Consular)

Location: (Organization)

When the pirates led by Captain Valon began raiding Rift Alliance-controlled shipping lanes, a request for help from the Republic military was answered with only a small number of soldiers due to the Republic’s commitments elsewhere. Incensed, the Rift Alliance managed to call together supplementary forces from its own worlds to stop the pirates, claiming this as more proof that the Republic could no longer defend its own citizens.

While not as well-trained or equipped as standard Republic military troops, the coalition force has adapted surprisingly well to the harsh conditions on Hoth and quickly become a cohesive and flexible unit. Unfortunately, the pirates have the advantage of manpower and a detailed knowledge of the terrain. With their numbers dwindling, the coalition force has been gradually pushed back; to the beleaguered soldiers, victory has now become second to survival.

The Hailstorm Brotherhood

Location: (Organization)

Republic forces first noted a radical subgroup of the White Maw pirates when scanners detected a massive ice spire rising above the Glacial Fissure sector. Scouts sent to investigate the sculpture reported encounters with half-naked warriors wearing wampa furs and screaming poetry as they charged into battle.

The Hailstorm Brotherhood represents an extreme version of “going native.” Originally a murderous cult from a nameless ice planet, the brotherhood became a legend when its White Maw members relocated to Hoth, abandoning all pretenses of civilization and instead embracing the call of the wild. They are more than a tribe of survivalists, however. There is a strong spiritual aspect to the Hailstorm Brotherhood that makes them dangerously fanatical.

The White Maw Pirates

Location: (Organization)

The army of thugs, mercenaries and murderers operating beneath the White Maw banner is actually composed of many smaller pirate crews, joining forces to pillage one of the greatest “buried treasures” in the galaxy: Hoth’s starship graveyard. As often happens in criminal confederacies built on greed and violence, members of the White Maw vie for power and settle old scores even as they battle Republic and Imperial forces.

The White Maw might have collapsed into anarchy years ago if not for its powerful leadership, a legendary group of cutthroats who rule their subordinates with a zero tolerance policy. While mutinies still occur, the risks often outweigh the rewards.

Voss

Location: Voss (Planet)

Voss was first discovered only a few years ago, and the rocky, lightly forested planet remains absent from many star charts. Two distinct cultures inhabit the world, both at a pre-spaceflight stage of development.

The first culture, known as the Gormak, is a xenophobic and violent species that dominates most of the planet surface. The second culture, known as the Voss, has been amenable to contact with outsiders and welcomes visitors to the mountain city of Voss-Ka. The Voss have a highly ritualistic society and are notable for their unusual aptitude with the Force. The Republic and the Empire have sent representatives to Voss-Ka to explore the possibility of an alliance.

Alien Enclave

Location: Voss

To the Voss, all outsiders–Imperial and Republic, diplomat and pilgrim–are ranked equally. As such, offworld visitors are all grouped together in the Alien Enclaves, specially-designated areas of Voss-Ka where outsiders can do business. This also allows the Voss to keep an eye on their visitors and control their movements within the city.

With Voss commandos constantly on guard, tensions in the Alien Enclaves run high. Nearly everyone there has the same goal–gaining the favor of the Voss–but they are also conscious that the Voss can order them offworld if they cause an incident. Ambassadors from the Empire and the Republic are icily polite; independent traders and captains carefully compete to sell their wares; Jedi and Sith walk large circles around one another. In the chaos of war, the Alien Enclaves represent islands of peaceful cooperation, albeit socially awkward ones.

Gorma-Koss

Location: Voss

The Gormak are normally a tribal people, their population spread across numerous nomadic clans numbering a hundred individuals each. However, deep in the Gormak lands lies Gorma-Koss, a massive settlement of tens of thousands of Gormak who have united their tribes in a sprawling expanse of huts, tents, high-tech defenses and amazing technological devices at the base of an unnamed mountain.

Gorma-Koss–literally “the Gormak kingdom” in the old Voss language–is rumored to be ruled over by a single powerful leader, and the Gormak who dwell in the makeshift city seem to be organized for some greater purpose. Instead of scavenging random cast-off pieces of technology, they seem to be searching for very specific items and components, as if gathering material for a massive, unknown project.

Gormegan-1

Location: Voss

Despite their incredible affinity for technology, the Gormak are still a backward species in many ways. Although they are capable of repairing, modifying and improving tech created by more advanced cultures, they are mired in a pre-spaceflight culture and confined to their homeworld.

Now, under the guidance of Jokull–a visionary warrior who has risen up to lead his people–the Gormak are approaching the dawn of a new age. Hidden away inside Gorma-Koss, dozens of tribes have united to build a starship capable of interstellar flight. Using pieces and equipment salvaged from the Empire, the Republic and even the Voss, they have made slow but steady progress, marching towards the future.

Should the Gormak successfully complete the vessel, it will forever alter the destiny of their people by making them a force within greater galactic culture. The long-term consequences of such a radical breakthrough are difficult to predict, but the Gormak firmly believe their first starship is the key to their ultimate survival.

Nightmare Lands

Location: Voss

Said by Voss and outsiders alike to cause insanity in those foolish enough to venture there, the Nightmare Lands are a dangerous region far from Voss-Ka, overgrown with twisted forests. The weather there is unpredictable, and strange sounds and lights have been reported by distant observers. No one knows what caused the corruption of these lands, but many Jedi and Sith claim to sense a powerful dark presence within.

Despite the dangers–and numerous warnings from the Voss–some outsiders still brave the Nightmare Lands to loot the ruins or investigate secrets. A few daring Mystics have also made pilgrimages there in an attempt to heal whatever plagues the land. Most of these explorers are simply never seen again; the rest are left to wander the forests, broken and mad. The Nightmare Lands are a blight on Voss; unfortunately, they are a blight nobody seems able to cure.

Shrine of Healing

Location: Voss

While many visitors to Voss seek guidance from the Mystic visionaries, a few desperate pilgrims come to risk the treacherous road to the Shrine of Healing. Imposing and ancient, the shrine houses the Mystic healers, whose incredible curative abilities are said to knit bones, purge disease and mend the mind and spirit.

The Shrine of Healing is not a simple hospice, but a monastery and retreat for Mystics. One of the few Voss buildings outside Voss-Ka to have survived the ages, it has rooms–even entire floors–whose purpose is known only to the healers. The shrine is protected by its own cadre of Voss commandos, who patrol the nearby hills vigilant for any Gormak.

The upper floors of the Shrine of Healing are reserved for the Trials, tests of faith and duty for Mystics and the most dedicated outsiders. Those foreigners who succeed at the Trials are highly regarded by the Voss, but these successes are rare.

The Dark Heart

Location: Voss

The ruin the Voss call the Dark Heart lies deep in the twisted Nightmare Lands. The few surviving texts on the Dark Heart describe the complex as a maze of chambers–some sealed, others seemingly broken open from within–and vast underground corridors. It is said to be a place of corrupted monsters and ancient secrets, and based on orbital reconnaissance scans may be the oldest structure on the planet.

The Sith Lord Nerrethel spent two years researching texts concerning the Dark Heart and formulated several theories. He claimed its architecture resembled that of the ancient Sith on Korriban, and made a detailed study of the Dark Heart’s orientation relative to Voss’s constellations. After attempting to visit the Dark Heart in person, however, Lord Nerrethel was found dead on the border of the Nightmare Lands. His notes from the expedition contained only the words “it sees.”

The Gormak Cannon

Location: Voss

The Gormak hatred of the Voss is difficult to comprehend for outsiders. More than a simple cultural conflict, the Gormak view the Voss as a blight that must be completely wiped from the face of their world. To this end, the Gormak have begun construction of a massive weapon: a cannon aimed directly at the city of Voss-Ka.

The logistics of creating a weapon capable of launching devastating attacks on a city perched atop a mountain are difficult to imagine, but the resourcefulness of the Gormak should not be underestimated. Leveraging scavenged technology and using only primitive mining techniques, the deadly project is rapidly approaching completion and the Gormak’s long-awaited day of reckoning is fast approaching.

The Ruined City

Location: Voss

Far below Voss-Ka, at the base of the mountain atop which the city was built, are the remains of an ancient metropolis. The architectural style of the mysterious ruin is far removed from that of the Voss, and far beyond anything the primitive Gormak could create, leaving scholars to wonder who built it.

Despite the archeological evidence to the contrary, local legends hold that the ruins were indeed built by the Voss. When pressed as to why they would abandon the location for Voss-Ka, the Voss can provide no further details. It is clear that the ruins are shunned; culturally it is a place synonymous with mistakes, failure and regret, though not even the Mystics seem to recall how that reputation was forged.

The Step of Harmony

Location: Voss

Many offworld visitors have commented on the lovely view from a certain long platform in Voss-Ka that stretches out over the mountain. Few realize that this platform, the Step of Harmony, is the Voss’s method of handling individuals unable to abide by Voss’s simple laws–the violently deranged or the truly heretical. Those who commit particularly grievous offenses “take the Step of Harmony” by being cast over the edge of the mountain.

Despite its grim purpose, the Voss do not view the Step of Harmony as a place of execution. To the Voss, deviant behavior is a result of being “wrong-minded”; removing such people from the city is a positive act that restores order. The Step of Harmony also serves as a powerful symbol, emphasizing that, to the Voss, there is no greater punishment than being permanently expelled from Voss-Ka… whatever route the offender takes.

Voss-Ka

Location: Voss

Atop a sacred mountain stands Voss-Ka. The only true Voss settlement on a planet overrun by the tribal Gormak, the city is spread across several peaks, accessed by bridges spanning the vast gorges below. Notable landmarks include the Tower of Prophecy, the Alien Enclaves and the buildings assigned as impromptu embassies for Republic and Imperial ambassadors.

Under the administration of the Three, life in Voss-Ka is tranquil and orderly. Most Voss live peacefully there, caring for their families, cultivating the plants growing wild on the mountain and maintaining equipment for the Voss commandos in the war against the Gormak.

There is no dissent in Voss-Ka, and little crime. Many Exchange and mercenary visitors have tried to take advantage of the city’s lack of regulation and serene attitude to law enforcement; however, persistent breaches of the peace in Voss-Ka are punished decisively, with dangerous offenders taking the “Step of Harmony” off the mountain.

Black Codex: Operation: Shining Man (Agent)

Location: Voss (Lore)

[Data reconstructed from the Shining Man’s databanks and files retrieved from the Tytun Rings HoloNet archive.]

The Mystics are a wildcard; they must be brought under control before the endgame. Any other opportunities Voss presents–a chance to train operatives against the Force in a controlled environment, a bauble to distract the Republic and Empire, even a base of operations–are secondary.

Follow the plan. Become what they require and make your case. We don’t need to make allies; we just need them out of the way while we resolve the matters at hand.

I wish you could be here for the last days, but our “prophecy” must be sealed by sacrifice and we can’t risk another layer of deception. Your time as enforcer will be remembered in the codex, and Hunter will be an able successor.

[Reconstruction ends here.]

Dream-Walking (Inquisitor)

Location: Voss (Lore)

The spirit healers and dream-walkers of Voss are a strange group, even by Voss standards. Preferring to spend most of their time meditating in the wilderness of the Old Paths instead of in Voss-Ka, these Mystics work on healing the mind rather than the body.

Using the ritual of dream-walking, the Mystics enter their own minds and face their own fears, hopes, loves and rages, seeking spiritual balance and health. Such spirit healers are few, but there is evidence of their existence throughout Voss history, and an archive of their writings is kept for spirit healer initiates in the Shrine of Healing.

Gormak and Voss Origins

Location: Voss (Lore)

In the beginning, the Gormak were the only species on Voss–semisentient humanoids marked with a strong, though undeveloped, affinity for the Force. However, the history of the Gormak was forever altered several thousand years ago when they were discovered and enslaved by a small group of Sith.

A minor Jedi contingent of explorers arrived soon after. Bowing to pressure from a group of Gormak elders who had escaped the Sith, the Jedi taught a handful of the tribes the ways of the Force. They had no way of knowing that doing so would alter the path of their natural evolution so that they underwent profound physical and mental changes over the next several generations. The creatures ceased to be Gormak and became something else entirely–the Voss.

The Jedi preached temperance and defense but the newly formed Voss immediately attacked the Sith who still lurked among the Gormak primitives. The Voss destroyed the Sith, but in the process they were touched by the dark side, further altering their radically sensitive evolutionary path. Later the small group of Jedi explorers disappeared, having gone home or dying to accident or Voss aggression. Whatever the case, the strange happenings on Voss were never recorded in any archive.

Ascending to the top of Voss’s tallest peak, the new species turned to its most powerful Force-users for leadership. Myths about their origins began as the newly ordained “Mystics” tried to explain what had happened and eventually it was believed that the Voss had simply always been. In time this myth became the accepted truth, until even the Mystics themselves forgot the real origins of their people.

Law and Order on Voss (Smuggler)

Location: Voss (Lore)

The legal system of Voss can be especially perplexing to offworlders, many of whom are surprised to discover criminal gangs like the Exchange operating openly on the planet. Calls by Republic officials to close down these centers of illicit trade have been met with puzzlement and refusal by the Voss, who see no harm in encouraging free trade between their people and offworlders.

Crime among Voss is nonexistent, and Voss law is a much simpler affair than the regulations governing Republic and Imperial worlds. Voss laws are established by the Mystics, enforced by the commandos and judged by the adjudicators. This last group was recently formed solely for offworlders, as no Voss citizen would ever violate their rulers’ edicts.

Legend of the Shining Man (Agent)

Location: Voss (Lore)

The Voss do not, as a rule, welcome outsiders. They see themselves as unique in the galaxy, chosen by prophecy, and believe that non-Voss play another role altogether.

The Shining Man–who called himself Albathius upon his arrival–is the only known exception. He was first seen in the plazas of Voss-Ka, haggard and seeking food. No holocam or ship manifest recorded how he came to the planet, and he offered no explanation.

In a matter of days, the Shining Man ingratiated himself with the Voss, living and working among them. To the intelligence services observing, it was clear Albathius was more than he appeared–but by the time they began a detailed investigation, the Shining Man had become part of the culture, participating in Voss rituals and being adopted into a Voss family.

When the Shining Man died in his home, his status was cemented as a near-holy figure. If he had been assassinated, his enemies had made a martyr of him.

If he had chosen death himself, he had made the ultimate commitment to his cover. The only question was “Why?”

Mystic Visions

Location: Voss (Lore)

For the Voss, a Mystic’s vision is a rare and solemn event. While visions are always believed to serve the greater good of the Voss people, in the short term they can mean great upheaval and suffering. Following the visions of their Mystics, the Voss have waged bloody war on one another, torn down and rebuilt half of Voss-Ka and spent centuries digging underground in search of sacred crystals–but experience has shown that those who ignore visions do so at their peril. The predictions of the Mystics have never been wrong.

For these reasons, a Mystic’s vision is treated with great care. No Mystic determines himself how the Voss act upon his vision; instead, the vision is described to the experienced interpreters at the Tower of Prophecy. The interpreters debate its meaning and meditate before they present their analysis, and the Three–or another to whom the vision is directed–act on the interpretation, confident in the knowledge that whatever action is necessary, it is ultimately for the benefit of all Voss.

Potential Mystics (Consular)

Location: Voss (Lore)

Voss Mystics are both born and made. Children who show signs of talent in either prophecy or healing are sent to the Tower of Prophecy for training and study. When these potentials are old enough, they may go on a pilgrimage across Voss where they visit holy sites, fast and meditate on their future roles.

A potential’s training does not end until he either performs a great act of healing or experience a vision. If a potential Mystic begins his training but fails to complete it, he is allowed to re-enter Voss society and is referred to as a “lost potential.” Although there is no stigma to failing Mystic training, lost potentials are often left feeling isolated from other Voss due to their long study and experience of the rituals at the Tower of Prophecy. What greater role lost potentials will fulfill in the Voss prophecies is still an unanswered question.

The Deep Cradle (Consular)

Location: Voss (Lore)

“All that is Voss comes from Voss,” run the words of an ancient Voss creation myth. According to tradition, the ruin known as the Deep Cradle marks the site where the Voss were born from the substance of the planet itself. Later stories tell of how one Voss returned to the Deep Cradle and drank from the fire at the planet’s heart; he knew he would perish, but that his sacrifice was necessary for the greater good. His prophetic dying words are said to have guided the ancient Voss safely through the wilderness, until they discovered the mountain where Voss-Ka now stands.

The altars of the Deep Cradle, meditated upon by potential Mystics, reflect these myths. The Altar of Life celebrates the existence and survival of the Voss despite all odds. The Altar of Death represents the irrevocability of one’s actions. Finally, the Altar of Duty stands for both the ability to choose, and the responsibility that comes with choosing correctly.

The Forbidden Ritual (Inquisitor)

Location: Voss (Lore)

Little is forbidden on Voss, where life is directed by the infallible visions of the Mystics. Yet one ritual, practiced by ancient spirit healers and believed to be powerful enough to restore even the most fractured mind, was locked away within the Shrine of Healing and guarded by a Voss apparition.

The so-called “Forbidden Ritual”–its true name long lost to history–involves dream-walking alongside one of the hated Gormaks. By uniting both Voss and Gormak, it can heal the mind of its “nightmares.”

The Imperial Attack on Voss

Location: Voss (Lore)

When the Empire first learned of Voss–a primitive world with powerful Force-sensitive Mystics–it was quickly marked for conquest. “Ambassadors” sent to the capital reported that Voss-Ka appeared wholly undefended. Soon after, the Imperial General Khypes arrived with a battle cruiser and several army divisions to demand that the Voss surrender.

Before any official communication could be sent to the Voss government, Khypes’s battle cruiser exploded. Its escorts were destroyed moments later, whether caught in the cruiser’s blast or eliminated through other means. The invasion was over before it had begun.

In the hours that followed, both Imperial and Republic forces scrambled to determine what had happened. No trace of an energy discharge was found, suggesting planetary defenses were not involved. The Empire suspected Republic sabotage or secret Voss weapons. The Republic theorized that the destruction was the result of Sith infighting. The Voss called it destiny.

Regardless, the Empire realized it had underestimated the Voss and hastily recalled its forces, claiming General Khypes was a rogue acting without orders. Soon, the Empire began to attempt more diplomatic overtures to the Voss people.

The Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Healing

Location: Voss (Lore)

Tales of the miraculous powers possessed by the Mystics at the Shrine of Healing have spread across the galaxy, and many offworlders have flocked to Voss in the hopes of being cured of their various ailments and afflictions. Before they can petition the healers, however, those seeking aid must embark on a dangerous and arduous pilgrimage to the shrine’s remote location.

This journey is more than merely symbolic. Facing the trials of the pilgrimage purifies the spirit of the petitioner–an essential requirement, the Voss say, for those seeking aid. Voss healing rituals disperse an affliction across multiple individuals, diluting it until it no longer has any ill effects. If the ritual is performed on one who has not been purified, the Mystics believe there is a chance the malady will instead infect all involved in the ritual, making the necessity of the pilgrimage readily apparent.

The Three

Location: Voss (Lore)

Many outsiders believe that the Voss are directly governed by their Mystics; an understandable mistake, given the Mystics’ importance. In fact, the Mystics’ visions are first interpreted, then conveyed to the Three–the secular governing body based in Voss-Ka, who base their executive orders upon the visions’ interpretations.

The Three are chosen by Mystics after meditation or according to visions, but have little direct contact with the Mystics on a day-to-day basis. Working from the Tower of Prophecy, the Three administer Voss-Ka, make policy decisions and coordinate the endless war against the Gormak.

Depending on the advice of the Mystics, appointment to the Three can last a lifetime or just hours. The current members of the Three are the calm, authoritative Sonn-Vi; Gunta-Mer, who was chosen by the Mystics only weeks ago; and Nen-Ji, the longest-serving member, who has been part of the Three since childhood.

The Voice of the Emperor (Warrior)

Location: Voss (Lore)

For centuries, the Emperor’s Voice has delivered the Sith leader’s commandments to his servants. In fact, to converse with the Emperor’s Voice is to have an audience with the Emperor himself, whose power and consciousness have been placed within the Voice’s body.

Although the audible voice never changes, the physical individual who does the speaking has assumed many forms–various accounts describe the Emperor’s Voice as anyone from a young human female to an elderly full-blooded Sith male. Regardless of physical appearance, however, the Emperor’s Voice can always be identified by its emotionless, precise and controlled manner of speaking. Some have privately described conversations with this entity as extremely disturbing; there is often the sense that the Emperor’s Voice is listening to another conversation even when he or she is speaking.

Voss-Gormak Alliance

Location: (Organization)

After centuries of bitter conflict, the Voss and Gormak formed an uneasy truce to defend their homeworld against a new foe–the Eternal Empire. Their alliance has proven surprisingly effective, with the meditative reserve of the Voss complimenting the ferocious strength of the Gormak to form a formidable army. However, tension divides their ranks.

A particular point of dispute is the ratio of Gormak casualties, with most Gormak leaders claiming their own losses are far too low. Casualties among the two species are nearly equal even though the bulk of the frontline troops are Gormak.

This may be because Voss strategy is shaped by an ancient decree from the Mystics stating “the last Gormak must not die.” But as one Gormak shaman complained, “Gormak fight. Gormak die. Gormak win. Voss stop Gormak dying, Voss stop Gormak winning.”

Gormak Shamans

Location: (Organization)

All Gormak possess a natural affinity for technology, but those who are particularly adept often assume the role of shaman–a position of great respect and responsibility within each tribe. Like their kin, the shamans are fierce warriors driven by the desire to purge their homeworld of both the Voss and outsiders, and much of their knowledge and expertise is focused on devising better ways to kill the enemies of the tribe.

Other Gormak also look to these techno-priests for leadership and guidance–not just in matters of technology, but in their daily lives. In return, a shaman works tirelessly to maximize the value of any and all equipment collected by the tribe, transforming broken junk into tools and machinery to improve the quality of life for the entire group.

Mystics

Location: (Organization)

No Voss are more revered than the Force-sensitive Mystics. Individuals with extraordinary gifts of healing and prophecy, Mystics most often live in seclusion, using their talents to guide their people.

Mystic visionaries experience prophetic visions, which are carefully studied by interpreters at the Tower of Prophecy before being passed on to the ruling Three; it is said that no Mystic’s vision has failed to come true, giving immense weight to any statement by a Mystic visionary. At the Shrine of Healing, Mystic healers use intense meditation and rituals to cure their patients, often of ailments that resist any other treatment.

Becoming a Mystic is a difficult path. After years of training, the most promising potential Mystics go on a pilgrimage across Voss, visiting holy sites in the dangerous Gormak lands and learning from their elders. Even then, not all potentials succeed. The very few who come into their full power as Mystics return triumphantly to Voss-Ka to be recognized by the Three.

Voss Commandos

Location: (Organization)

There is no real distinction between the Voss people and their armed forces. As the Voss are a small, isolated population surrounded by millions of belligerent Gormak, a term of military service as a Voss commando is mandatory for all adults. The commandos defend Voss-Ka and its people against the endless Gormak hordes and act as the city’s arbiters for minor disputes. Some Voss commandos choose to continue their service once their terms are over, ascending to the rank of officer.

The simple fact of the Voss’s survival in the face of overwhelming Gormak numbers and hostility speaks to the skill of the Voss commandos. They are expert hand-to-hand combatants and peerless scouts, and because every Voss serves, every Voss adult is trained in self-defense. Having seen the Gormak menace firsthand, all adult Voss also understand and accept the sacrifices necessary for their society to survive.

Belsavis

Location: Belsavis (Planet)

Officially, Belsavis is a sparsely populated Republic world dominated by arctic plains. Its only notable feature is the rare tropical rifts that break up the expanses of ice, heated by natural geothermal vents and home to a surprising diversity of plant life.

In truth, Belsavis is an ultrasecure prison colony established by the Republic. Until recently, the prison’s existence was top secret, but its discovery by the Empire has resulted in rumors spreading throughout the galactic underworld. The prison is now in a state of lockdown, and both Republic and Imperial militaries have a presence on the scene.

High Security Section

Location: Belsavis

The High Security Section of Belsavis prison contains cell blocks along with the medical, scientific and engineering centers for the facility. Necessities ranging from fresh water to electricity are produced here, and the science and medical teams work to better contain and better subdue the prison’s more unusual residents.

The cell blocks in the High Security Section are designed to hold small communities of nonhuman prisoners with similar cultural or physiological needs. Although many species can and do survive among near-humans, official policy states that prisoners kept in species-tailored conditions (with select food, atmospheric mixtures, and so on) are often more tranquil.

The High Security Section has a dark reputation among Belsavis’s inmates. Prisoners sent to the medical centers often don’t return, the rumors say, and the Republic’s scientists experiment with dangerous technologies drawn from Belsavis’s ancient vaults. Whether any of these rumors are true, even the guards can’t say; information, like everything else on Belsavis, is tightly restricted.

Maximum Security Section

Location: Belsavis

The Maximum Security Section hosts prisoners too dangerous, too uncooperative or too unusual to be permitted to gather in any number. Many Maximum Security inmates are kept in near-permanent solitary confinement, and the Maximum Security cells are customized for each occupant so that shapechangers, cyborgs, Force-sensitives and other powerful beings can be effectively restrained.

The Maximum Security Section also contains the entrance to the deep levels of the prison–known as “the Tomb”–built by ancient aliens who used Belsavis as their own prison long ago. The Republic has explored only portions of the deep prison, studying the primeval droids that patrol the old, sealed cells. Nowadays, the ancient droids have grown used to the Republic, willingly accepting modern prisoners transferred into their care and depositing them in vaults far below the surface.

Minimum Security Section

Location: Belsavis

By the standards of any other prison, Belsavis’s Minimum Security Section would be considered escape-proof–a tightly controlled, heavily monitored maze of cell blocks, guard towers and work yards. By Belsavis standards, the Minimum Security Section is just what the name implies–the absolute minimum level of security acceptable for holding the worst criminals in the galaxy.

The inmates in the Minimum Security Section consist mainly of murderers, pirates, gangsters and other violent criminals who possess a humanoid physiology and a willingness to communicate (if not cooperate) with prison authorities. Prisoners who require specialized holding facilities are shipped to higher-security areas, but here, inmates are permitted to gather and to work, albeit under strict supervision.

When the Empire inserted its forces onto the planet, it converted the remains of a camp used by early Republic explorers into a fortified lodgment. From there, Imperial forces have made surgical strikes to breach cell blocks and obliterate dividing walls. The Republic has since pulled many of the Belsavis guards and their families to relative safety in the prison’s security and administrative centers.

The Tomb

Location: Belsavis

Thousands of years before the Republic conceived of the notion, a species known as the Rakata turned Belsavis into a prison planet. From what little scientists have learned by studying ancient writings and from the decaying memory banks of Rakata warden droids, Belsavis was built to hold monsters, warlords and so-called “lords of the infinite”–anything the primeval and incredibly powerful Rakata feared.

The Belsavis prison administration calls the Rakata section of Belsavis “the Tomb.” Here, prisoners are held in eternal stasis, frozen in place and denied movement and thought by ancient technologies. Not all the inmates are ancient, however–many were given by the Republic to the warden droids for safekeeping, when no other cell could hold them.

Through the use of droids, remote-controlled probes and rare exploratory teams, the Republic has set up a series of monitoring and communication stations throughout the Tomb. Despite this, only a tiny portion of the Tomb has been explored; this is the domain of the ancients.

The Fatality Crash

Location: Belsavis (Section x)

Years before the recent invasion of Belsavis, a lone Imperial warship–the Fatality–launched an apparently suicidal attack on the planet’s prison complex. Republic security forces managed to shoot the warship down before it could inflict lasting damage, and the Fatality was believed to have been completely destroyed when it crashed into the area known as Section X.

In truth, the badly damaged ship had merely sunk into the ice along with its tremendously valuable cargo: a legion of deactivated HK-51 assassin droids, the galaxy’s most advanced extermination machines. Although originally programmed to be loyal to the Empire, these inactive droids could almost certainly be repaired and reprogrammed to serve any master….

Belsavis Automated Security

Location: Belsavis (Lore)

Belsavis’s automated security systems consist of a complex web of logic programs, identity databases, mechanical interfaces and emergency overrides. Computers control everything from coma gas ventilation to laser turrets to holocameras to energy field lockdowns, along with far more obscure technologies.

What makes Belsavis’s security unusual is its distributed nature. Different sections of the prison and different types of responses are controlled by entirely separate computer systems. This ensures that damage or corruption to one system cannot compromise the entire prison, but it also makes untangling errors difficult at best.

Some of Belsavis’s security systems are even tied into rumored alien technology in the deep levels of the prison; this allows them to access systems of unusual power, but also causes occasional eccentricities when outside protocols override modern programming. Usually, these eccentricities are harmless–a computer displays its interface in an unknown language, or indoor humidity rises uncomfortably–but the prison technicians fear that far worse is possible.

Belsavis Prison Break

Location: Belsavis (Lore)

The Empire’s attack on Belsavis came as a complete surprise. So far as the Republic knew, the prison’s location was an absolute secret–and even if the secret were exposed, the planet seemed unlikely to become a top-priority military target. In this, the strategists were mistaken.

The Empire began its attack by delivering a small team of Sith and elite soldiers onto the planet surface. Their first task was to free as many prisoners as possible and throw the prison into chaos. Some of the prisoners (including long-lost Imperial prisoners-of-war) allied with the Empire, while others joined the riots and attacked all parties. As the Republic scrambled to respond, the Empire established a makeshift base of operations on the surface and brought a mobile battle platform into orbit.

The Empire’s position on Belsavis is precarious, but until the Republic can alter its focus from the prisoners to the invaders, the situation is unlikely to change.

Belsavis Prison Personnel

Location: Belsavis (Lore)

The personnel who run the Belsavis prison come from a variety of backgrounds. Many are Republic military, but others are decorated members of planetary security forces or staff transfers from maximum security prisons elsewhere. All receive extensive training upon acceptance into the Belsavis forces, and are experts at riot control, siege tactics and asymmetrical combat. Some are also skilled interrogators, negotiators and psychologists.

Augmenting the staff is a veritable army of Republic security droids, including many built and maintained on Belsavis. The Belsavis warden droids are designed specifically for prison work, and can move through parts of Belsavis where no living guard is permitted.

Belsavis Vaults

Location: Belsavis (Lore)

Scattered across the surface of Belsavis are ancient structures built from an unknown material, practically impervious to weapons and scanners. Engraved on the walls and doors of these structures are strange warnings in ancient languages, imploring anyone who finds the structures to stay away and not unseal their contents.

Republic science teams have opened a handful of these alien vaults, finding others broken open before their arrival. The vaults’ contents are classified even to most prison personnel, but rumors suggest that they contain ancient weapons, machines and even living creatures–some perfectly preserved, others ruined. After several science teams were lost, further exploration was halted. Protection of the sealed vaults is one of the administration’s top priorities.

A few vaults–seemingly empty and opened long ago–have been converted for use by the Republic as additional holding facilities or secure storage. In addition, stories persist among both the inmates and the low-level prison staff of much larger vaults of similar design in the prison’s Maximum Security Section.

Black Codex: Origins of the Star Cabal (Agent)

Location: Belsavis (Lore)

[Data reconstructed from the SCORPIO databanks and the personal recollections of Megasecurity Ward 23 inhabitants.]

The Great Hyperspace War was a turning point for civilization. For the first time, the galaxy itself was imperiled, and every living being put at risk. History nearly ended. And why?

Because the Jedi and the Sith–ordinary people with extraordinary might–went too far, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop them.

We cannot change the nature of ordinary people. But we can control them.

We have assembled the best men and women of our generation, individuals with the power and the will to effect change. Some of you see yourselves as rivals elsewhere, but here we are partners.

Our goal is not to conquer or to punish, but to preserve civilization as we know it. We will work in secret, so that no one may fear us. We will conceal the Sith from the Jedi, and the Jedi from the Sith so long as we can, and we will let them command the world that they see.

But they will see only what we let them see.

[Reconstruction ends here.]

Esh-Kha Culture

Location: Belsavis (Lore)

To outsiders, the Esh-kha appear to be a savage and violent people, caring only about the destruction of all other species. In fact, the Esh-kha closely resemble a hive society. Although each individual has his own thoughts and aspirations, every Esh-kha is born in his place, bred for a role and eager to fulfill it. Their society is divided into castes: the Force-sensitive but simple-minded savants; the skilled, determined warriors, who are the most numerous and who watch over their savant brethren; and the patriarch, whose wisdom shapes the decisions of the Esh-kha as a whole.

The Esh-kha’s hatred for all other sentient species may stem from their tightly-knit society; Esh-kha are simply unable to tolerate or adapt to the existence of thinking beings who are not Esh-kha. But this savagery only extends to outsiders. Esh-kha are only violent with each other under the most extreme circumstances.

Esh-kha are not named at birth, but earn their names through action. An Esh-kha who proves particularly cunning might become “Razor Mind” or “Water Thinker.” This may partly explain the Esh-kha zeal in battle, as young warriors seek not only victory, but the opportunity to claim a name and forge their own identity.

History of Belsavis Prison

Location: Belsavis (Lore)

Over twenty thousand years ago, the alien Rakata turned the jungle planet Belsavis into a prison. There, they entombed indescribable monsters, heretics and warlords, weapons to shatter stars, whole species… anything they feared or treasured above all reason. And when the Rakata’s age of glory ended, the droids they left behind maintained the seals.

Many millennia later, after the rise of the Republic, Belsavis became known as an unremarkable planet in the middle of an ice age, populated by only a handful of primitives. It was only happenstance that caused Republic scouts to notice first the tropical rifts that defied the freezing temperatures, and then the strange vaults and the alien structures burrowing into the core of the planet.

Top-secret expeditions attempted to explore the alien vaults, until the extent of the dangers became apparent. At last, select Senators worked with the Strategic Information Service to construct Belsavis prison–a facility with two purposes. First, to guard, contain and study the terrible alien structures on the planet. And second, to create a prison for the Republic–one where the most powerful offenders could be placed within the Rakata’s cells, and where lesser threats could be isolated on the most secure planet in the galaxy.

Mind Trap

Location: Belsavis (Lore)

The ancient Rakata built mind traps as the ultimate prison. These strange devices leave the victim’s body intact, but draw the psyche into an otherworldly “white room”–a virtual environment created by the mind trap’s power. While inside the white room, the victim does not hunger or age, and his thoughts are not impaired–but he can have no contact with the outside world until another being accesses the device. It is entirely possible for the victim’s body to die and the victim’s psyche to suffer immortality inside a white, featureless void. Certain technologies allow a mind trap’s victims to holographically project into the real world, though whether the Rakata intended this is a mystery.

During the height of the Infinite Empire, entrapment was reserved as a punishment for Rakata only. At other periods, however, other dangerous beings have been placed within the devices.

Primeval Beasts

Location: Belsavis (Lore)

The creatures imprisoned beneath Belsavis defy easy classification. Many resemble animals found elsewhere in the galaxy, but possess traits that make them far more dangerous than their “ordinary” counterparts. Republic scientists theorize many were enhanced through direct genetic alteration, but such techniques go far beyond current science.

Although most of the creatures in the prison have been kept in stasis through the centuries, a few sealed cell blocks hold surviving colonies that have bred over generations, feeding on supplies delivered by caretaker droids or on one another. Strangest of all, a handful of alien etchings refer to creatures living outside of stasis but without need of food or water, raging and awaiting their chance at escape.

Rakata Technology

Location: Belsavis (Lore)

The ancient Rakata combined proficiency with the Force with a mastery of technology and bioengineering. Massive weapons of war–such as the Star Forge, a space station powered by the dark side and capable of manufacturing whole fleets–were among their largest-scale achievements, but not every Rakata creation was so grandiose.

Rakata mind traps are capable of containing the psyche of an individual in a virtual environment. Creatures bred and enhanced by Rakata life-shapers can survive both hard vacuum and baradium explosives. Rakata droids possess weaponry capable of breaking apart most forms of matter at the atomic level.

Rakata relics–even nonfunctional ones–are desperate sought after by those few scientists and archaeologists aware of their existence. Urban legends among smuggling rings tell of ancient devices that wreak havoc on their owners, and both Imperial Intelligence and the Strategic Information Service monitor these rumors with interest. One stray Rakata artifact can change the course of history.

The Domination Experiments

Location: Belsavis (Lore)

Code-named “Project Noble Focus,” the domination experiments are one of the Republic’s darkest and best-kept secrets. Instituted by Senator Tudos, the project’s purpose is to analyze the military capabilities of countless alien species by pitting prisoners against each other in closely monitored combat scenarios. Aliens are divided into test groups, armed and equipped appropriate to their species, and forced to battle. Winners receive better supplies and better treatment–temporarily.

Although only a select few in the Republic’s political and military echelons are aware of the project’s existence, the project has come to involve several dozen personnel on Belsavis. Most of the prison staff members are unaware of the experiments, but authorized higher-ups along with the scientists and guards who maintain the project have, apparently, managed to silence their consciences.

The Infinite Empire

Location: Belsavis (Lore)

Over twenty thousand years ago, the Rakata ruled an empire hundreds of worlds strong. They enslaved armies of lesser beings, but slavery and war were only incidental to the Rakata way of life. Their Infinite Empire was built on the promise that the Rakata could reshape existence to suit themselves–they would warp space, peer through time, create and destroy species at a whim. To humanoid minds, the Rakata of old were mad hedonists and philosophers without conscience.

For all their arrogance and their eventual fall (and they did fall, in time, when their power mysteriously faded and their slaves revolted en masse), the Rakata were supreme at their peak. They effortlessly merged their strength in the Force with technological genius, creating nightmarish and brilliant devices. Their achievements may never be matched; perhaps this is for the best.

The World Razer

Location: Belsavis (Lore)

Almost nothing is known of the ancient being known as the World Razer. No one has seen or spoken to the creature for thousands of years; the Rakata’s cryptic warnings suggest the World Razer is Belsavis’s oldest prisoner, and that the prison was first constructed to hold the terrible entity whose hunger consumed a thousand worlds.

According to the Rakata inscriptions in the Tomb, it took the combined might of the Infinite Empire to subdue the World Razer, and an entire planet to contain its fury. If such a creature were ever released, its rage might very well shatter the galaxy.

Section X

Location: Belsavis (Planet)

The prison world of Belsavis remains in turmoil. Though the Republic has managed to gain tentative control over much of the main prison complex, agents of the Empire have succeeded in freeing many of their captured comrades and continue to recruit new forces from among the prisoner population to bolster their armies.

In the midst of this continued chaos, a previously-untouched area of the prisons known as Section X has come under brutal assault by minions of the Dread Masters, a cadre of incredibly powerful Sith who have abandoned the Empire to pursue their own mysterious goals. Having experienced the chaos unleashed by the Dread Masters elsewhere, neither faction is interested in waiting to see what they might do with something dug up from the ancient Rakata prison….

Belsavis Prisoners

Location: (Organization)

Prisoners are sentenced to Belsavis for two reasons: they are too dangerous or too difficult to imprison anywhere else. In the former category are some of the most treacherous beings in the galaxy–master assassins, hardened pirates, war criminals, slavers, Sith Lords and others.

The second category is broader–Belsavis contains escape artists, slicers and shapechangers whose crimes are relatively minor compared to the destructive madmen who dwell alongside them. Gang leaders and syndicate leaders can fall into this category as well, placed in Belsavis to isolate them from their web of criminal contacts.

The prison administration attempts to separate prisoners of like affiliation–members of a single gang, for example, are often divided among multiple cell blocks–but prisoners not in isolation quickly form their own alliances inside Belsavis. Murder and assault are common inside the prison, and for many, protection comes in numbers.

New Men

Location: (Organization)

The New Men began as a cyberneticist cult on the planet Metellos, where its founder, Teha Zero, advocated the merger of man and machine. The cult foresaw an era where scarcity and physical limitations ceased to exist, and all people lived in peace.

Teha’s apprentice Bezar One, who assumed leadership after Teha’s death, took the cult in a new direction. The New Men began a series of violent raids to procure equipment, murdering anyone who interfered, and began plans for a city-wide “electric ascension” that would have empowered the cyborgs and cost of millions of lives.

The plot was thwarted, and Bezar One and his lieutenants were imprisoned on Belsavis. Since then, the New Men have recruited new members, improvising cybernetic implants by stealing droid parts and performing surgery in secret. Amazingly, relatively few of the New Men’s recruits die during their initiation–for all their madness, the cultists know what they’re doing.

The Circle (Inquisitor)

Location: (Organization)

Cast into the Republic’s secret prison on Belsavis for slicing into the Strategic Information Service’s classified records, the slicer gang known as the Circle is a tight-knit clan of tech-obsessed Nikto, led by the manic and hyper-intelligent Bolan.

Whereas other Nikto see raw might as the key to dominance, the Circle sees technology as the only power in the galaxy to rival the Force, possessing the ability to transform lives, societies and cultures, and to determine the outcome of wars. Since the Belsavis prison break, the Circle members have applied their tireless ingenuity attempting to seize control of Belsavis’s security systems and the strange technologies hidden in the deeper parts of the prison.

The Condemned

Location: (Organization)

Righteous and ideological, the Condemned is a gang of prison inmates united by a common past–unlike their fellow inmates, none of the Condemned have ever been convicted of a crime. Instead, the Condemned are all descended from criminals and dissidents imprisoned on Belsavis. The Republic, fearing exposure, refused to grant amnesty to any prison-born offspring, effectively passing the parents’ life sentences on to their children.

These “cell inheritors” were divided and directionless until a young and charismatic Kaleesh named Nyranos united them. Nyranos, whose father was convicted of destroying a Republic embassy on Kashyyyk, grew disillusioned with his imposed imprisonment and petitioned Warden Playt for parole. When his petition was denied, Nyranos rallied his fellow Condemned as they swore to take their freedom by force.

The Dread Masters

Location: (Organization)

The Dread Masters are powerful Sith Lords who have served the Sith Emperor for centuries as prophets, generals and advisors. Their name was earned when they studied the power of the Phobis devices, artifacts that have driven even the most depraved Sith mad with terror. This power allowed the Dread Masters to destroy entire Republic fleets during the Great War, until they were captured and imprisoned on Belsavis.

The Dread Masters were known to spend years in secluded meditation on Dromund Kaas, emerging only to bring their wisdom to the Emperor or accept gifts from supplicants. Over the decades, they have become inseparable, their immense strength in the Force coming only from all six masters working in unison. Should the Empire ever succeed in freeing them from Belsavis, the galaxy will tremble before them again.

The Followers of the Hallow Voice (Consular)

Location: (Organization)

In the years before their imprisonment by the Infinite Empire, the Esh-kha had wiped out countless species and expanded onto their conquered worlds. With so much living space, the Esh-kha population exploded. Eventually, a new patriarch was born while the old one was still healthy, something never seen before. This new patriarch, Hallow Voice, also had peculiar new ideas of how the Esh-kha should cooperate with other species.

The Esh-kha realized their group had grown too large and needed to split. Hallow Voice’s birth and his unfamiliar ideas were clearly intended to divide their society and keep it from collapsing. As Esh-kha warriors were born who declared themselves for Hallow Voice, the young patriarch agreed to take his followers away from the main group. They settled on a distant world and began reaching out to nearby cultures.

However, the Esh-kha had become known for violence and mass destruction. Only a few tentative alliances were achieved before the Infinite Empire imprisoned the Esh-kha on Belsavis. Still, Jedi historians now wonder if a particular legend of grey-skinned warriors told in the Outer Rim–once thought to concern the Taung–might be a faint memory of Hallow Voice’s followers.

The Imperial Guard

Location: (Organization)

The ultimate non-Force sensitive fighters in the Empire serve the Emperor and the Emperor alone. Although most citizens know them as protectors of the Sith Academy on Korriban and the sanctum of the Citadel on Dromund Kaas, the guardsmen’s mandate takes them wherever the Emperor requires. Even the Dark Council has neither control nor oversight of the guard’s activities.

Clad in blood-red robes and armor, Imperial Guardsmen serve for life. Chosen for duty and initiated through deadly tests and traditions, those too old for active duty become instructors for the next generation until their skills deteriorate to the point where they are inevitably slain by a new recruit during training.

Fanatic in loyalty and unmatched in martial skill, even a lone Imperial Guard is a formidable opponent capable of standing toe-to-toe with a Jedi… or a Sith, should the occasion arise.

The Scourge (Smuggler)

Location: (Organization)

The Scourge is the largest, best organized and most violent prison gang on Belsavis. Its members are suspected not only of the deaths of multiple prisoners, but also of several Republic guards. It is rumored the Scourge gang controls all illicit trade within the prison. Anyone who wishes to survive on Belsavis must submit to the Scourge’s authority.

The gang’s vicious leader is Jaardu Raax, a Rodian crime lord and mass murderer. Jaardu killed over three hundred innocent citizens when he set off thermal detonators on a busy Coruscant market street while trying to escape Republic law enforcement. He was given a life sentence on Belsavis, but that has not stopped his violent ways.

Quesh

Location: Quesh (Planet)

Once a lush tropical swamp, Quesh’s atmosphere became toxic after a series of quakes released dangerous chemicals contained below the planet surface. Most of the native wildlife died off, and Quesh became poisonous to virtually all higher species.

Quesh’s toxicity is also its source of value–the chemicals that poisoned the atmosphere are usable in the most powerful adrenals and stimulants. The Republic, with the aid of the Hutt Cartel, has staked a claim to Quesh and is attempting to establish chemical mines. Upon learning of Quesh’s existence, the Empire quickly established a presence of its own.

Adrenal Synthesis Factory

Location: Quesh

The source of the Three Families’ wealth is their adrenal synthesis factories, which convert the Republic’s processed Quesh venom into precious adrenals. The length of the process depends on the quality of the adrenals required; military grade adrenals take a week or so to produce, while cheaper ones can be created in days.

The Three Families guard the secret of adrenal creation very closely, meaning access to the factories is strictly regulated. All Republic personnel working there have to be carefully vetted and vouched for, and are subject to search without warning by Three Families enforcers. To keep its partnership with the Three Families harmonious, the Republic employs harsh punishments for theft; it is not uncommon for thieves of a single adrenal canister to be jailed and fined the cost of an entire vat.

Broga’s Palace

Location: Quesh

As head of the Three Families, Broga the Hutt considered it his right to have his own private home and base of operations separate from the Three Families Palace. Stocked with well-trained slaves and imported luxuries from Nar Shaddaa, Broga’s Palace gradually became a power center in its own right, which made the Empire’s siege and capture of the palace all the more humiliating.

Now held by the Imperial Moff Dracen, the defenses and strategic position of Broga’s Palace have been turned against the Republic. With the Republic military focused on defending Quesh’s miners and the Three Families protecting their mines, Broga has discussed hiring offworld mercenaries to retake his home… or to at least to reclaim his beloved wine cellar from Imperial hands.

Chem-Basin Mine

Location: Quesh

The Chem-Basin Mine has only been open for four years, but it has already earned a reputation for accidents and mismanagement. The original survey team was almost suffocated when the members accidentally released a pocket of evaporated Quesh venom, and substandard materials meant the initial tunnels had to be re-propped and re-dug after a major collapse. Ever since, problems have dogged the site and slowed venom production.

Strangely, the miners who work at Chem-Basin exhibit a degree of pride in their mine. They claim any fool can work at the Grancha Lakand site and get results, but Chem-Basin calls for a degree of finesse that is scarce on Quesh. The subject is guaranteed to come up whenever Grancha Lakand and Chem-Basin miners are drinking together.

Grancha Lakand Venom Mine

Location: Quesh

Grancha Lakand is the largest and oldest venom mine on Quesh. Built through a fissure created by the Quake, the mine is named for its first explorer, who was trapped by a rockfall during his initial survey. By the time he was rescued, Grancha Lakand’s adrenal countermeasures had worn off and he had been breathing Quesh venom fumes for some time.

Lakand excitedly told his rescuers that he had had an epiphany while trapped. The biggest supply of Quesh venom on the planet lay beneath the fissure somewhere, and Lakand knew exactly where to find it. He was dismissed as a venom-intoxicated madman, but when Lakand recovered, he returned to the fissure and, after weeks of surveying, located a huge reservoir of Quesh venom. While not necessarily the largest on the planet, the reservoir has supplied the Grancha Lakand mine for several years without the venom running dry.

Imperial Garrison

Location: Quesh

When the Empire arrived on Quesh, its tacticians believed one swift strike would devastate the sparsely populated world. Instead, the Imperial forces managed to capture only a few mines and one processing station before they found themselves pushed back by the Republic. The captured processing station and its warehouses were soon converted into a garrison which remains the Empire’s base of operations on Quesh today.

The headquarters of Moff Dracen and his commanders was once a storage warehouse for the processing station’s chemicals. It has been thoroughly cleaned and furnished to the standards demanded by Imperial officers, though the lingering smell has never been fully removed.

Quesh Venom Refinery

Location: Quesh

As the Republic’s main source of processed Quesh venom, the Quesh Venom Refinery is one of the most secure locations on the planet. Cut by droids from a ravine created by the Quake thousands of years ago, the stone quarried was used to build the high walls around the refinery. The main courtyard is under constant guard, and access is restricted to dignitaries and scientific experts. This refinery is actually the second that the Republic built on Quesh. The first was destroyed when contaminants polluted the refining process, causing the processed Quesh venom to eat through the vats and then the lower refinery floor. The high walls around the current refinery are not only for defensive purposes, but to contain any future accidents or acts of sabotage.

Quesh Imperial Outpost

Originally intended to be the Empire’s base of venom research on Quesh, a variety of setbacks and concerted attacks by the Republic hampered the Empire’s scientific studies at this outpost. Hutt Cartel forces have since been stationed here at the Empire’s request, guarding the scientists and using the outpost as a staging point and repair center for their battle droids.

Although the Empire’s research is now considered safe from the Republic, the strong cartel presence has made some of the Imperial scientists uneasy. The cartel has repeatedly offered to help the Empire with its study of Quesh venom, but Imperial commanders are concerned that the outpost half-belongs to the cartel already.

Republic Operational Headquarters

Location: Quesh

The Republic’s center of operations on Quesh was established roughly ten years ago. Initially housing civilian miners, medical professionals and scientists, these workers gradually moved on to smaller camps elsewhere. When the Empire attacked Quesh, the old miners’ quarters were quickly converted into a barracks and the entire site was turned over to the Republic military.

Many newly arrived soldiers remark upon the Operational Headquarters’ light defenses, especially considering the high-level personnel stationed there. In fact, the headquarters’ best protection is the large Quesh venom pipelines nearby. In a dire emergency, the pipelines can be vented, causing a massive biohazard to slow any aggressors while personnel are evacuated.

Three Families Palace

Location: Quesh

Freed from the Hutt Cartel’s watchful eye, the Three Families have grown immensely wealthy on Quesh–and as their influence grows, the Three Families have begun solidifying their power base. A large portion of their profits from the adrenal refineries was spent building a lavish palace, complete with all modern conveniences and an impressive security network. Much more than a simple defensive position or status symbol, the Three Families Palace is intended to be a clear statement that the Three Families are wholly committed to defending Quesh.

The Palace has generally been kept off-limits to Republic personnel, especially the local military officials. This is partly for security reasons, as the Three Families keep their sensitive files close at hand. Portho the Hutt’s indulgence in adrenals has also become something of an embarrassment in recent years. After several inappropriate comments from Portho to the Republic commanders, the Three Families prefer to simply keep him out of sight.

Three Families War Camp

Location: Quesh

When the Empire attacked Quesh, the Three Families initially coordinated the defense from their palace, but quickly realized they needed a more efficient operational post. They poured money into establishing a defensive point between their headquarters and the Republic base, and in a matter of days, the war camp was set up, supplied and staffed–an object lesson in how Hutts react when their credits are at stake.

Broga, the head of the Three Families, spends much of his time at the war camp since his private palace was captured by the Empire. His role is twofold: firstly, overseeing his forces as they coordinate with the Republic military, and secondly, ensuring that Republic forces are not passing on any of the Three Families’ secrets concerning the handling of Quesh venom.

Yuna Bore Venom Mine

Location: Quesh

The Yuna Bore mine was once known for two strange treasures: Quesh venom and bones. The first miners found a fossil bed containing remains of Quesh’s prehistoric creatures, preserved by rising silt and venom deposits after the big Quake. Since the Republic was only interested in the Quesh venom, the miners were free to recover the bones, ship them offworld and sell them to collectors and paleontologists on Coruscant.

This turned out to be immensely profitable. Many miners were able to buy out their contracts on profits from the fossils alone. Even today, with the fossil bed cleared, the Yuna Bore remains productive, as the miners’ attempts to discover more bones have driven the tunnels on well ahead of schedule.

Atmosphere of Quesh

Location: Quesh (Lore)

Quesh venom is one of the most toxic substances in the galaxy. When the great Quake split the ground millennia ago and released the venom from beneath Quesh’s surface, the venom’s evaporation destroyed the planet’s once-pleasant air and made the atmosphere more hazardous to breathe than some biowarfare chemicals. The native fauna quickly died off, leaving only bones behind.

Although the toxicity has faded over the years, it is unsafe to wander Quesh without powerful adrenal countermeasures, special implants or a breath mask. The only beings who can comfortably endure Quesh’s atmosphere are Hutts, who claim not to understand what the fuss is about.

Quesh’s miners have also discovered that the harsh atmosphere takes a toll on their equipment, causing droids to rust and tools to degrade more quickly. Fortunately, the vast profits gained from mining Quesh venom make up for the exorbitant running costs.

Discovering Quesh Venom

Location: Quesh (Lore)

Like many great scientific advances, Quesh venom’s immense value was discovered by chance. After its initial discovery, the planet Quesh was dismissed as a toxic wasteland. Orbital chemical scans languished in a file for decades until they were unearthed by a junior Republic chemist named Bardian Aelto. After working briefly on adrenal research projects, Aelto had been assigned to review planets likely to be classified as uninhabitable.

When Aelto studied Quesh’s chemical scans, he was surprised to recognize a molecule chain from his work on adrenal stimulants. Quesh’s atmosphere had properties almost identical to “Hutt venom”, the primary ingredient in the galaxy’s most high-grade adrenals. Aelto realized a relatively simple chemical process could convert this “Quesh venom” into a usable–and exceptionally valuable–compound. Thanks to one late-night session in a Coruscant laboratory, Quesh had become one of the Republic’s most valued resource worlds.

Hutt Neutrality

Location: Quesh (Lore)

With their vast fortunes, access to mercenary armies and ownership of resource-rich worlds, support from individual Hutts–or the Hutt Cartel itself–can mean the difference between victory and defeat in a galactic conflict. But Hutts are businessmen at heart. Why tie yourself to one side of a quarrel when you can remain aloof and profit from both? Thanks to their long lifespan, Hutts who choose sides also risk embroiling themselves in centuries-old grudges.

The Hutt Cartel is officially neutral in the galactic struggle, and it attempts to redress any egregious offenses committed by its members. Pragmatism and personal inconvenience aside, however, the Hutts have no vested interest in seeing either the Republic or the Empire permanently gain the upper hand. In peace, both sides would seek to regulate the Hutts; while the two factions are at odds, the Hutts can be assured of both autonomy and a steady, comfortable income.

Military Adrenals

Location: Quesh (Lore)

Most commanders prefer to rely on rigorous training and good equipment to succeed, but no advantage can be ignored when soldiers’ lives are at stake. Since the Great War, the use of military adrenals–safe, nonaddictive stimulants that improve a soldier’s endurance, stamina or reflexes–has become more common. A good stock of adrenals can keep a company fresh and on its feet during a forced march, or save wounded individuals from succumbing to their injuries before help arrives.

Naturally, military adrenal stocks are carefully regulated and, if possible, reserved only for emergencies. It is possible for soldiers to rely on adrenals too much and overstress themselves. Theft and sale of military adrenals, which are of the highest quality, has also become a thriving cornerstone of the galactic black market, especially on worlds like Ord Mantell.

Quesh Venom

Location: Quesh (Lore)

Quesh’s sole natural resource is a substance properly known as venenit queshaaga. Nicknamed “venom,” the liquid form of the substance can–when properly refined and processed–create extremely potent military-grade adrenals that safely increase a soldier’s combat abilities for a limited time. With galactic tensions rising, Quesh venom has become one of the most valuable substances in the universe and a key to military victory for both the Republic and the Empire.

Unprocessed, Quesh venom is a virulent toxin. In its purest form, it is found seeping out of fissures created millennia ago by an ancient quake; it is these fissures that are mined by Republic and Imperial work crews. Over the centuries, significant amounts of Quesh venom have evaporated and tainted the planet’s atmosphere, rendering the entire world poisonous to most forms of life.

The Quake

Location: Quesh (Lore)

Quesh’s rugged landscape is a result of the Quake, a massive geological event that occurred some fifty thousand years ago. Technically a series of groundquakes that lasted for three hundred years, the Quake caused Quesh’s continents to move several meters apart, creating massive fissures in the ground. This in turn allowed the poisonous Quesh venom to rise up from the depths of Quesh and seep to the surface, leaving the atmosphere toxic to this day.

Quesh has been geologically stable for thousands of years now, but this has not stopped the Three Families from investing heavily in early warning systems; tremors one one-hundredth the size of the Quake could wipe out their refineries. Republic geologists have considered exploring the deepest caves exposed by the Quake, but until the caves are mined clear of Quesh venom, they are far too toxic to enter.

The Three Families

Location: Quesh (Lore)

When the Republic began mining Quesh venom, its scientists soon realized that, while they could refine the venom into a non-toxic compound, converting it into usable adrenals was much more problematic. After many expensive failures, the Republic appealed to the Hutt Cartel for expert help and was refused.

But three Hutt families, salivating at the potential profits–led by the Hutts Broga, Jeelta and Portho–broke from the cartel and offered their services. Although this was technically a breach of the Hutt Cartel’s carefully established neutral position in the galaxy, generous kickbacks to the cartel kept its members looking the other way.

Today, the Three Families run Quesh’s refineries and processing plants while the Republic controls the mines. This arrangement allows the Three Families to carefully guard the secret of adrenal creation, and it has made them incredibly wealthy. However, the Families’ split from the Hutt Cartel also means the Empire can target them without fear of reprisal.

Tatooine

Location: Tatooine (Planet)

A harsh desert planet off all the major trade routes, Tatooine is known for its heat, its sand, its dangerous wildlife–and little else. Only a few settlements dot Tatooine’s endless wastes, inhabited by handfuls of traders and moisture farmers. Tatooine’s obscurity has also attracted a small but significant criminal population, here to hide from galactic authorities.

Tatooine lacks any central government or allegiance to Republic or Empire. There are rumors of an Imperial occupation taking place in one of the frontier settlements, but nothing has been confirmed.

Anchorhead

Location: Tatooine

One of the first outsider settlements built on Tatooine, Anchorhead started as a desperate mining colony and has, over the centuries, grown into one of the largest spaceports on the planet. Anchorhead plays host to pirates and smugglers looking for a place to lie low, merchants and businessmen integral to the survival of the city’s outlying moisture farms, and permanent residents who eke out a living running cantinas, fixing machines and otherwise maintaining the cultural infrastructure.

The mining industry has faded away altogether in and around Anchorhead. It was Czerka Corporation that was most resolved to unearth valuable metals several centuries ago, and even after it became clear that no profit was forthcoming, Czerka maintained offices in Anchorhead on and off for centuries–committed not to write the planet off as a total loss.

Jundland

Location: Tatooine

Stretches of sand pockmarked by canyons and rocky outcroppings, the Jundland Wastes mark the border between the great Dune Sea and the spaceports of Anchorhead and Mos Ila. Home to a scattered few outposts and moisture farms along with Sand People, wild beasts and the kind of criminal scum unwelcome even in Tatooine’s most disreputable settlements, the intense heat is far from the only danger.

Jundland’s cliffs are festooned with cave systems extending kilometers below ground, but mechanical problems related to the pervasive heat and sand mean they have never been properly mapped. Every once in a while, a brave individual builds a permanent shelter inside one of these caves. There’s rarely anything left after a month, thanks to the predators of Jundland.

Lightspring (Smuggler)

Location: Tatooine

Deep in Tatooine’s most desolate reaches, where neither travelers nor hunters dare to go, lies a natural site of incredible beauty and serenity. The Lightspring is a huge underground cavern containing a massive pool of water lit from beneath by a strange glow, casting rippling shadows and reflections on the walls. It’s considered a holy site by the native Sand People, never to be disturbed or contaminated.

Now, the sanctity of the Lightspring has been desecrated by the crime lord Diago Hixan, who has claimed it as the seat of his criminal empire. He’s filled the cavern with his vain collection of trinkets and baubles, turning the once-pristine landmark into his personal junkyard.

Mos Ila

Location: Tatooine

Before the Empire converted the city into a garrison, Mos Ila was a settlement largely overrun by Exchange outlaws and smugglers. The local farmers and traders who made up the bulk of the population were at the mercy of the crime syndicate, which found Tatooine to be a perfect base of operations. When Imperial troops landed unannounced and swept all opposition out of the city, the residents reacted with mixed emotion–glad to see the Exchange gone, less certain of their new Imperial masters.

This is not the first time Mos Ila’s local authority has been deposed. The settlement was originally built as a trading post with the assistance of local Jawas and was governed by a Jawa council. The non-Jawa population had no problem with this arrangement, despite the unpredictability of the Jawa-built machines; rather, it was the arrival of the Exchange that forced the Jawas out and soured outsider-Jawa relations in the region.

Outlaw’s Den

Location: Tatooine

Of all the wretched and lawless regions that dot the sun-bleached surface of Tatooine, there’s one forsaken strip of desert that even the most hardened wanderers avoid: the Outlaw’s Den. A ghost town whose sad history consists only of conquest, desperation and despair. Dozens of gangs, pirate crews and even native raiders have claimed the blighted region over the years, but never for long as the place seems to attract the criminal element like a lure. Some say the land is cursed, others say it’s the ghosts of the murdered settlers who drive trespassers to violence, all that’s really known is that no one is ever truly safe in the Outlaw’s Den.

The Dune Sea

Location: Tatooine

A vast ocean of sand stretching endlessly into the horizon, the Dune Sea is the image that springs to mind when most think of Tatooine–even those who’ve settled on the planet. Few dare to wander too far into the wasteland, fearful of Sand People, hideous monsters and worst of all: the utterly unknown.

Particularly brave Jawas have retrieved salvage during journeys into the Dune Sea, returning with puzzling devices and broken gadgets. No one is entirely sure how these scraps ended up in the wastes, but the occasional piece bears the worn, faded emblem of Czerka Corporation.

The Wound

Location: Tatooine

In the middle of the Jundland Wastes, the land is split by a deep chasm known only as the Wound. The bottom is impossible to see from the upper ridge, and the rim of the Wound is dotted with the camps of Sand People. The Sand People seem to revere the Wound and are occasionally seen casting the dead into its depths.

Most people consider the Wound a natural formation, but some fringe geologists believe otherwise. They speculate the Wound was created during a violent orbital bombardment in ancient times. Their evidence is thin, however, and many wonder why anyone would bombard such a remote and desolate world.

History of Tatooine

Location: Tatooine (Lore)

Thirty thousand years ago, Tatooine was the lush, vibrant homeworld of the Kumumgah–a technologically advanced species believed to have been wiped out in a forgotten war. Ultimately, the war ended with Tatooine’s devastation by one faction or another–the details are long since lost.

Most researchers aware of the story believe the Kumumgah were wiped out in the attack that transformed their planet into a desert wasteland. However, some xenosociologists believe the Jawas and Sand People who dwell in the dunes may be descended from the world’s original rulers. The stories of the Jawas and Sand People themselves, however, are largely confused and contradictory.

Human settlement of Tatooine came much later, but colonization never truly took hold despite several efforts by the Republic (including a brief period during which Tatooine was considered a Republic protectorate, and a failed attempt by Czerka Corporation to set up planetary mining operations). The native population had little use for outsiders, and so the world became a haven for pirates, smugglers and general scum seeking a place to disappear.

Jedi Cultural Immersion (Consular)

Location: Tatooine (Lore)

One of the goals of the Jedi Order is to foster greater understanding among the species of the galaxy. To that end, Jedi sometimes leave the order and live as part of another culture, often for years at a time, to learn its customs and study its languages. This cultural immersion follows a key tenet of Jedi diplomatic policy: To be reasonable, one must see all points of view.

Such immersion carries its dangers. Some Jedi have lost their lives undergoing rites of passage or by accidentally offending a rigidly polite alien society. The Jedi Order looks on these losses somberly as hard-earned lessons. However, most Jedi return with new skills and a fresh perspective on life. A few bring unusual habits or tastes, as well; after decades living in a Kubaz hive, for example, Master Arjur developed a craving for dried moon moths.

Krayt Dragon

Location: Tatooine (Lore)

Enormous predatory lizards that prowl the dunes of Tatooine, krayt dragons are both feared and revered by the Jawas and Sand People that share their world. Slaying one of the fearsome beasts was once a rite of passage for young Sand People warriors, and the Jawa believe krayt bones possess mystical properties.

For all their importance to Tatooine’s native cultures, however, krayt dragons are extraordinarily rare and quite possibly extinct–no living krayt has been seen in decades. Nonetheless, their towering skeletons are a testament to their power and majesty, and a pilgrimage to the legendary krayt graveyard remains a holy ritual in many Sand People tribes.

Operation: Ghostbreaker (Agent)

Location: Tatooine (Lore)

Category: Recruitment / Threat Elimination
Location: Tatooine
Date: Classified
Primary: Cipher Nine
Secondary: None

Operational Summary: Informant (Mia Hawkins) contacted Intelligence from inside elite terrorist organization “ghost cell” and agreed to help dismantle the organization. Cipher Nine located ghost cell training grounds and eliminated the leader, known as the “Old Man,” despite enemy attempts to replace the Cipher with a disguised ghost cell operative.

Notes: The ghost cell’s training techniques are exceptional. See associated files for details; however, be aware that not all ghost cell operatives were identified during this sweep. Individuals able to use the cell’s holographic disguise technology may still be active elsewhere, appearing as anyone. They should be considered a threat, but their methods, if duplicated, would be valuable to Imperial Intelligence.

Cross-reference: Mia Hawkins, Neyla Hawkins, Cobalt Flag, Eagle, Dominator, Ghost Cell

Operation: Stoneduster (Trooper)

Location: Tatooine (Lore)

Mission Objective: Capture or neutralize Vanto Bazren, AKA Fuse
Objective Status: Complete
Operation Notes:

Assistance of local personnel key in initial phases of the mission. Continued interaction with local personnel may be advisable in future operations, particularly current Anchorhead mayor Oleg Klerren.

Objective notably (and intentionally) revealed own location via holo, and proved invaluable in uprooting hidden Imperial military testing activities. Future records should reflect same.

Sand Rot (Consular)

Location: Tatooine (Lore)

The common Tatooine name for a condition seen on many desert worlds, Sand Rot is a sickness developed after spending long periods of time in the deep desert. Sufferers develop a distinctive cough and begin to lose feeling in their hands and fingers. Sand Rot is treatable, preferably by taking the sufferer offworld, but few on Tatooine can afford the expense.

Many have wondered if Tatooine’s native Sand People can catch the Sand Rot, as they never leave the desert wastes. Although it is difficult to know for certain, some desert guides believe the Sand People’s distinctive masks and wrappings protect against the sickness and will pay good credits for intact garb.

Shock Drum (Knight)

Location: Tatooine (Lore)

A prototype superweapon developed in secret by the Republic on Tatooine, the Shock Drum has the potential to destroy an entire planet. Designed to emit a series of sonic bursts, the initial stages of activation disable droids and other electronics in an ever-widening circle with the Shock Drum at the epicenter.

The sonic bursts become progressively more intense, with the second stage causing damage and even death to organic life. Left unchecked, the ever-stronger vibrations of the Shock Drum can eventually destabilize a planetary core, causing a world to literally fracture.

The Sarlacc

Location: Tatooine (Lore)

Extremely rare creatures that defy classification, semi-sentient sarlaccs have been identified on a handful of worlds scattered across the galaxy. Xenobiologists estimate the lifespan of an average sarlacc to be anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 years, with virtually all of that time being spent at a single location.

Sarlaccs typically bury themselves deep below the ground so that only their great mouths are exposed, making them virtually invulnerable to standard weapons. The mouth resembles a massive pit lined with spiny protrusions. From the center, long tentacles can lash out to grasp prey near the edges of the pit, dragging it down into the creature’s stomach where the unfortunate victim is slowly digested. Victims may survive for a period of weeks or months, kept alive by the sarlacc’s unique stomach fluids, but total digestion can take centuries.

Tulak Hord’s Madness (Inquisitor)

Location: Tatooine (Lore)

Incidents of Sith Lords imbuing their most precious possessions with some fragment of their dark power appear throughout Sith history. Such ritual imbuement can be used to inflict all manner of trouble on those who would steal these terrible treasures.

The Dark Lord of the Sith Tulak Hord was especially known for this practice, and many possessions of Tulak Hord’s have driven their discoverers to madness throughout the years. Tulak’s Madness is unique in who it affects, however; ignoring whether a person’s spirit is dark or light, it afflicts only the weak-willed, driving them to delusions of grandeur and eventual self-destruction.

Womp Rat Fever

Location: Tatooine (Lore)

Womp rat fever is the common name for a bacterial infection carried by the womp rats of Tatooine. Typically spread through the bite of an infected rat, womp rat fever is rare but extremely dangerous–early symptoms include decreased natural health regeneration (due to hemorrhaging from wounds) combined with coughing fits, muscle aches and chills. If untreated, womp rat fever is invariably fatal.

Stim vendors on Tatooine carry injectors containing an antibacterial formula that can cure womp rat fever with one-hundred percent effectiveness. Anyone bitten by a womp rat and exhibiting signs of the fever should procure the cure as soon as possible. The formula also acts as a short-term vaccination, providing immunity to womp rat fever for a brief period.

Alliance Intelligence Report: The Dust Vipers

Location: (Organization)

Subject: Dust Viper Gang
Status: Dormant

For most of its existence, the Dust Viper gang was a minor criminal organization operating out of the Jundland Wastes on Tatooine. Their members primarily conducted raids on moisture farming settlements. Their most “successful” ambush outside Mos Pelgo resulted in the theft of a dozen astromech droids, most of them hours away from the scrap pile. The Dust Vipers were destined to be forgotten until noted criminal Bel Nerodia took command of the gang.

Under Nerodia’s leadership, the Dust Vipers became a significant threat to the local population–and eventually the entire system. They established a new base near Anchorhead and struck major trade routes. Over several months, they established a small pirate squadron and attacked convoys across the Outer Rim. As the Dust Vipers gained wealth, more criminals flocked to their ranks. The amateur group had evolved into a significant criminal threat.

One question remains: how did the Dust Vipers–a dangerous but ultimately primitive organization–manage to successfully intercept a secret Alliance patrol and steal classified security data? Luck may be a factor, but their coordination suggests otherwise. Intelligence will continue to investigate.

Twin Suns

Location: (Organization)

A loose affiliation of pirates, smugglers and thugs, the Twin Suns are found almost exclusively on the desert world of Tatooine. Those who join the Twin Suns typically fall into two categories: independents and exiles.

Independents are individuals or small gangs seeking protection from more established criminal organizations like the Exchange or the Hutt Cartel. Exiles are former members of these established syndicates that have been forced out for reasons ranging from suspected betrayal to mental instability to simply choosing the wrong side in a power struggle.

The Twin Suns rely on brinksmanship to offset their small numbers. Reacting to even the smallest perceived threat to their people or territory with a completely inappropriate level of violent response has convinced larger criminal organizations to mostly avoid them. Should the Twin Suns try to expand beyond Tatooine, however, they would quickly be crushed by their much stronger rivals.

Imperial Reclamation Services

Location: (Organization)

The greatest strength of the Empire comes not in the form of weapons or armies, but in the awesome power of the dark side. Understanding this, the Dark Council created the Imperial Reclamation Service to scour the galaxy in search of legendary Sith artifacts. Since its early days, the service has expanded its mission to include any ancient object, technological or religious, from any culture–so long as it empowers the Empire.

Technically a division of the military, the Reclamation Service is comprised of a mix of scholars and archaeologists working alongside experienced officers given a crash course in history. Although sometimes regarded with suspicion or derision by the rank-and-file soldiers, the Sith Lords and senior officials understand the Reclamation Service has the potential to single-handedly change the galactic struggle.

On Imperial-controlled worlds, the service has the resources and authority to oversee massive excavations if evidence suggests valuable artifacts may be unearthed. On neutral and Republic-aligned worlds, however, they must rely on covert methods to claim lost treasures before they fall into the hands of the enemy.

Corellia

Location: Corellia (Planet)

One of the founding worlds of the Galactic Republic, Corellia nonetheless prides itself on its independence. Some of the finest starships in the galaxy are made on Corellia, along with their daring pilots–men and women looking to explore, to trade or just stay ahead of the law. The cities, like the people, are distinctly Corellian, incorporating the natural landscape into their design despite a heavy manufacturing base.

The Corellian government recently agreed to turn over power to the Sith Empire. This has resulted in riots in the streets and open revolution despite Imperial claims of legitimacy, and the capital of Coronet City has become a battlefield.

Axial Park

Location: Corellia

A major point of differentiation between Coronet City and other metropolises–like those of Nar Shaddaa and Coruscant–is the Corellian appreciation for nature. Amid Corellia’s towering structures and high speed trams, one can always find a small tree-lined park or quiet reflection pool. Axial Park is the grandest expression of Corellia’s desire to remain connected to the natural world.

At a cost of over seventy billion credits, Coronet City’s civil engineers set aside valuable real estate for the creation of several museums and landmarks separated by beautiful parklands. For some, one of the greatest tragedies of the war is to see such beauty spoiled by bombardment and the park’s grand museums converted into bunkers.

Beharen Droid Factory

Location: Corellia

Droid manufacturing is one of Corellia’s most successful industries, with almost ninety thousand droids produced every day in Labor Valley alone. The Beharen Droid Factory specializes in hazardous maintenance units designed specifically for disaster relief and recovery operations; these droid models are built to withstand high radiation, extreme temperatures and falling debris.

The founder of the Beharen Droid Factory recently perished during the Empire’s attack on Corellia. The high-rise tower containing his residence was clipped by a damaged Imperial warship, collapsing several floors and nearly toppling the structure. The factory founder’s body has not yet been recovered from the rubble.

Blastfield Shipyards

Location: Corellia

Corellia has numerous spaceports, but few as extensive as the Blastfield Shipyards. Before the Imperial invasion, thousands of ships were built or serviced here on a daily basis by hundreds of local businesses. Mercenaries flying in from the Outer Rim to have their ships’ engines tuned by a legendary Corellian mechanic would land next to construction yards for enormous luxury yachts catering to the galaxy’s wealthiest nobles. Dozens of cantinas and small-scale entertainment districts nearby served the needs of visitors and workers seeking a break from spaceflight or daily labor.

Now that war has come to Corellia, the Blastfield Shipyards are the main point of entry for Republic forces, from troop drop ships to battle cruisers in need of repair. The Empire has made numerous attack runs over the sector, leaving scorched starship wreckage and twisted scaffolding scattered through the streets, but the Republic military knows that losing the shipyards means losing Corellia. Every effort must be made to keep them secure.

Coronet Shipping

Location: Corellia

Trade goods from across the galaxy pass through Corellia every day, and Coronet Shipping has always been the busiest trade hub on the planet. Before the war, all manner of freighters visited its landing pads, bearing goods both legal and otherwise. Millions of credits worth of commerce occurred there every day.

When the Republic established its beachhead at the Blastfield Shipyards, the Empire was quick to secure Coronet Shipping for itself as a rapid-response staging area. The main ground approach to these landing pads was destroyed by Imperial forces, rendering the area inaccessible to infantry and walker units. Aerial patrols keep Republic assault shuttles at bay and protect the Empire’s elite troops.

Coronet Zoo

Location: Corellia

The fabled Coronet Zoo is renowned across the galaxy for its amazing animal exhibits. Every year, nearly extinct species are rescued from forgotten worlds and preserved in multimillion credit wildlife enclosures; the greatest xenozoologists in the Republic vie for a few coveted positions as curators.

The Empire’s assault on Corellia shattered several enclosure walls and sent alien wildlife running free in the city streets. This has resulted in scenes of great beauty–like the sight of a herd of kybucks proudly galloping down a major promenade–but it has also unleashed terrible predators that now stalk humanoid prey in the steel canyons. Unconfirmed reports of a rancor on the loose remain a hot topic on the comm channels.

Decimus’s Rise

Location: Corellia

Darth Decimus, mastermind of the Corellian invasion and leader of the Empire’s planetary forces, has established his central command in the former offices of the planet’s Trade Tariff Service. Moff Tarandon recommended the building’s use on the grounds that its function was now obsolete, and that enemy forces would likely ignore it in favor of attacking the Legislature Building.

Darth Decimus wasted no time transforming the former government office into an Imperial fortress. The structure’s main entrance is under heavy guard and the only access to Decimus himself is via a single secure turbolift. The few Corellian bureaucrats in the building when Imperial forces arrived either pledged themselves to the planet’s new government, or fled their offices via any route possible.

Government District

Location: Corellia

The fighting on Corellia has reached its apex at the planet’s seat of political power: the Government District. Republic and Imperial forces wage fierce battles around the heavily-guarded legislature and the famous Drall Library–now a makeshift bunker. Dozens of politicians huddle in their private estates to wait out the fighting even as the fabled Green Jedi mount a desperate defense against Imperial units bent on the rebels’ annihilation.

Before the war, the Government District was the grandest part of Corellia–a bright testament to its wealth and freedom. Few suspected the influence of the Empire was taking root within a place of such prosperity, and no one–Imperial or Republic–knows what will become of the district after the war.

Green Jedi Enclave

Location: Corellia

The Green Jedi Enclave has been the Empire’s top target since invading Corellia, but initial attempts to destroy it failed utterly. The enclave’s inhabitants appear to have learned from what happened to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and taken steps to avoid a similar fate.

Powerful shields fueled by internal reactors protected the structure from the first assault, giving the Jedi time to erect offensive cannons. An Imperial warship sent to attack the structure was shot to pieces over the sector, and although a large chunk of the vessel crashed into the enclave, it did not inflict heavy casualties or substantially weaken the structure. The Green Jedi Enclave remains a dark blot on the Empire’s otherwise nearly flawless invasion.

Incorporation Islands

Location: Corellia

Corellia’s economy is built on free trade, and the major corporate entities established on the planet post trillions of credits in profits each year. The business transactions occurring on Corellia affect every other corner of the galaxy–including the Empire. In retrospect, Imperial invasion of Corellia was not merely inevitable–it was a necessary step toward the Republic’s defeat.

The largest and most prosperous business entities occupy a series of massive towers nicknamed the “Incorporation Islands.” Most of the sector is wholly owned and controlled by different galaxy-spanning enterprises, and many have responded with hostility to the Imperial takeover. Some of the fiercest fighting on Corellia has been against highly-paid corporate security forces and their armies of droids.

Labor Valley

Location: Corellia

Corellian-manufactured high-tech goods–particularly starships and starship parts–are considered some of the finest in the galaxy. The planet’s Labor Valley sector is home to dozens of interconnected industrial factories producing everything from raw durasteel to hyperdrives and thermal detonators. Millions of middle-class Corellians found their livelihoods in Labor Valley before war devastated the area.

Republic and Imperial forces are battling for control of key factories and destroying anything they can’t hold for themselves. Vital plants lay in ruins and a massive fire rages out of control at a major fuel refinery. What was once an industrial paradise has become an apocalyptic inferno. Corellia’s citizens can only look on in horror as everything they’ve built is methodically obliterated.

Museum of Corellian Industry (Inquisitor)

Location: Corellia

During a protracted period of economic depression two hundred years ago, the Corellian government commissioned a morale-building museum to celebrate the planet’s greatest technological and industrial achievements. Twenty years and hundreds of millions of credits later, the Museum of Corellian Industry finally opened to tepid public response.

When Republic forces regrouped in Axial Park, they quickly secured this remote and mostly-abandoned museum as a staging area. Darth Thanaton, sensing opportunity, personally eradicated the Republic forces occupying the sturdily built structure. Rather than reporting this victory to Imperial leaders, he instead made the museum his own private bunker.

Museum Republica

Location: Corellia

Whereas the Republic Foundation Museum in the Government District is considered a scholarly resource of priceless antiquities, Axial Park’s Museum Republica was designed with tourists in mind. Combining the refined presentation of more traditional museums with display exhibits best described as carnival-like, the Museum Republica tries to offer something for everyone.

Before the Imperial Guard raided the museum and transformed it into a base of operations, the museum displayed many items of disputed provenance: a cybernetic lower jaw allegedly belonging to Darth Malak, a pair of boots worn by the fabled Jedi Cay Qel-Droma and a deactivated G0-T0 infrastructure planning droid said to have been recovered from the Malachor Five asteroid field.

Republic Foundation Museum

Location: Corellia

One of the largest archival resources on Corellia is the Republic Foundation Museum, a monument to the multi-millennial history of the Empire’s greatest enemy. Priceless antiquities and invaluable records rest within the museum’s vault-like walls, protected by high-security energy shields–now augmented to withstand Imperial bombardments. Morale is high among the rebel forces clustered inside, despite a life under siege; many of the soldiers and Jedi find the surroundings inspirational.

Once the Empire has crushed all resistance on Corellia, its first order of business will be to storm the Republic Foundation Museum and remove all of its wonders. Moff Tarandon has proposed that the museum be converted to a celebration of Imperial culture, while Diplomatic Service officials hope the museum can be used to teach Republic history from a more honest perspective. Other proposals include setting fire to the museum’s contents in a public square and broadcasting the destruction across the Empire.

Tears of Taris

Location: Corellia

One of the most storied Imperial vessels orbiting Corellia is the legendary “Tears of Taris,” a modified dreadnought built, in part, from the remains of a Centurion-class battle cruiser from the time of Darth Malak. The Centurion was part of the fleet that bombarded the Republic world of Taris over three hundred years ago; it changed hands many times over the centuries that followed, but it has always served the Sith in one form or another.

When Darth Charnus became aware of the Centurion, he ordered it disassembled and its key elements integrated into his new dreadnought–an act to honor the vessel that had survived for so long. Now, it is a formidable ship built to besiege planets and deploy troops. Corellia is its greatest challenge yet.

The Bastion (Trooper)

Location: Corellia

A fortress without equal, the Bastion has stood as a center of Republic military planning and analysis for centuries. Massive subterranean databanks contain information on every strategic asset at the Republic’s disposal (official or otherwise) as well as extensive data on every species, government and organization in the known galaxy.

Before the onset of the Great War, the Bastion’s databanks were used to support elaborate simulated war games, with the military’s top officers attempting to use the documented resources in unexpected ways to better prepare the Republic for any threat that might appear. Unfortunately, none of these scenarios even approximated the savagery and brilliance of the Sith Emperor’s grand invasion plan.

The Guardian Holds (Jedi Consular)

Location: Corellia

In warfare, capturing an objective is theoretically simple; holding it is not. This principle was applied to the defense of Corellia’s Coronet City with the creation of the Guardian Holds.

Key sites were carefully chosen–manufacturing centers, easily fortified buildings, hospitals and underground bunkers. These sites were then furnished with heavy defenses, armaments and elite Republic troops. In the event that Coronet City was sacked or captured, these impenetrable Guardian Holds would become fortresses from which the Republic could retake the city. The number and locations of the Guardian Holds is a closely-guarded secret held by the Republic’s military leaders and the Jedi Council.

Some have questioned why so much expense has been invested specifically in protecting Corellia. The fact is that Corellia has strategic, economic and symbolic value to the Republic; the effort involved in the creation of the Guardian Holds only serves as evidence of the planet’s importance.

The Black Hole

Location: Corellia (The Black Hole)

Indisputably the most corrupt man in the Corellian government, Councillor Torvix gladly signed on to join the Empire when it invaded Corellia. The councillor used his shadowy network of organized criminals and pirates to enforce order in the so-called “Black Hole”–a dangerous section of the Corellian Labor Valley used to process hypermatter, the key fuel for lightspeed travel.

Now both the Republic and the Empire seek to purge Torvix and his forces from the Black Hole. For the Republic, it’s a chance to put an end to major conflict on Corellia. And for the Empire, this is an opportunity to squeeze every ounce of value from the war-torn world….

Meridian Complex Shipyard

Location: Corellia (Flashpoint)

Corellia is already a prominent home for shipbuilding, but none of its myriad starship construction facilities can compare with the innovations of the newly-constructed Meridian Complex shipyard. Nestled along the shoreline near Coronet City, the facility’s structure is like most others: a grand, sweeping shell filled with the promise of fleets of ships soon to launch toward the stars. Its high corridors snake their way inward like a metallic labyrinth, eventually terminating at the primary production spire. The towering structure looms high above Corellia’s surface, a monument to its engineers’ recent achievements.

Rumored to be derived from the advanced technologies of Iokath, this facility is capable of producing warships three times faster than its predecessors while requiring only a fraction of the energy consumption. This alone makes it a crucial addition to the Republic’s assets in a time of severely limited resources, and a severe threat to the war efforts of the Sith Empire.

A Culture of Freedom

Location: Corellia (Lore)

Corellia and Coruscant have served as supporting pillars of Republic civilization for millennia, providing its foundational systems of commerce and government, respectively. However, while Coruscant attempts to provide a model of responsible and orderly democracy, Corellia’s culture emphasizes free trade and individual privilege over the strict rule of law.

Corellian citizens enjoy a profound amount of personal freedom to pursue their livelihoods, and they exercise that right with a relaxed leisure that belies their fierce refusal to surrender it. Those who mistook the Corellian citizenry’s casual attitude for laziness or indifference were surprised when the Empire’s occupation was met with armed resistance.

Black Codex: The Star Cabal’s Endgame (Agent)

Location: Corellia (Lore)

[Data reconstructed from fragmentary transmissions traced back from the Star Cabal’s airship.]

There will be horrors undreamed of. Worlds will be broken, and neither the Jedi nor the Sith will fall without dragging anything in their grasp into ruin.

But it will end, Hunter, more quickly than anyone expects, because we have ensured that each player knows the weaknesses of his opponent. The Jedi intend to move against the Emperor himself, and all that’s left for us is to clear the way.

Afterward, we return to our lives. We reconstruct civilization from our places of strength, and the cabal will, fate willing, fade into obscurity as the years go by. Let the Creeper keep his vigil and our elderly friend write her books, and I will nurture the people I love. You may finally find peace. There will be no more wars between men who think they are gods.

A golden era awaits us, built upon the bones of trillions. At last, I can accept this.

[Reconstruction ends here.]

Corellian Government

Location: Corellia (Lore)

Corellia is a world that experiments with its system of government on a regular basis. Although it has most often been regarded as a monarchy due to the presence of royal rulers of some kind, these leaders’ direct hand in affairs of state has varied wildly throughout history. At various points, Corellia has been everything from an anarchic kleptocracy to a parliamentary democracy.

The present Corellian government is composed of an elected council representing the planet’s major population districts. These men and women are led by a prime minister chosen by a council vote. Since the council’s alliance with the Empire, however, its members have earned lifetime appointments to their posts; what other changes the Empire may enforce is still uncertain.

Coronet City

Location: Corellia (Lore)

Nicknamed “The Jewel of Corellia,” Coronet City is the center of government and commerce on the planet. Although Corellia’s urban development is negligible compared to Coruscant’s, it is commonly accepted that Corellia’s cities–Coronet included–are cleaner, greener and friendlier than any place on Coruscant. Indeed, the tourism industry on Corellia is almost twice the size of that of the Republic capital.

Celebrated author Custo Ramak’s final work, “Nights of Ryscate and Diamonds,” is a deeply sentimental account of his luxurious, hedonistic lifestyle in Coronet City. Ramak’s deathbed composition has long been embraced by young artists flocking to the city in search of fame and fortune. The author himself remains on display in the Museum of Fine Art, his funeral ashes compressed into a diamond per Corellian custom.

Firestorm Lasers (Knight)

Location: Corellia (Lore)

Although the Desolator superweapon was destroyed in orbit above Tython, the legacy of Darth Angral and his son Tarnis lives on. Imperial scientists have adapted the Desolator technology into a new form: the Firestorm Turbolaser. These cannons superheat the atmosphere in a targeted area, literally setting the air on fire and incinerating anyone unfortunate enough to be caught within the area of effect.

The Firestorm Turbolasers have one key weakness: they must be deployed relatively close to the battlefield. This leaves the artillery units vulnerable to counterattack and destruction. Indeed, the only way to remain safe from these deadly weapons is to ensure they are never fired.

First-Class Corellian Bloodstripes

Location: Corellia (Lore)

The legendary Corellian bloodstripes are only awarded to heroes who have faced certain death not in the heat of the moment, but after careful deliberation and full foreknowledge of the sacrifice. Although this recognition can technically be bestowed for any reason, the usual one is courage under fire during a military conflict.

Corellian bloodstripes are traditionally worn as conspicuous colored piping running the length of the recipient’s trousers. A popular urban myth states that awardees who catch someone wearing unearned bloodstripes may kill that person without legal reprisal, but there are no records of such an event occurring.

History of Corellia

Location: Corellia (Lore)

Corellia’s history is intertwined with that of the Galactic Republic itself. It was Corellians who were among the very first humanoids to develop faster-than-light space travel, and who–in partnership with the Duros–eventually engineered hyperdrive technology and made full exploration of the galaxy possible.

With hyperdrive travel linking the Core Worlds, Corellia became one of the Core Founders of the Republic. Emerging trade routes like the Corellian Run and the Corellian Trade Spine took their name from not only the planet itself, but the number of Corellian trade vessels that carried goods across the galaxy.

As Corellia’s importance grew, its primary industry–shipbuilding–expanded into orbital spacedocks. The capital, Coronet City, was largely founded on the credits of Corellia’s many starship manufacturers. Even to this day, Corellia is best known for its proud spacefaring and trailblazing heritage.

Invasion of Corellia

Location: Corellia (Lore)

The Empire’s takeover of Corellia was carefully orchestrated over a period of years by Sith Lord Darth Decimus and his agents. Imperial spies identified key politicians in Corellia’s highest government echelons and the Empire methodically recruited these individuals by promising them lifetime power in exchange for their loyalty. Eventually, the entire Corellian Council was secretly allied with the Empire.

As the Treaty of Coruscant ended and war resumed, Corellia’s government orchestrated a faked emergency that cleared the planet’s hyperlanes and closed down its spaceports. The council then voted unanimously to place the world under the Imperial banner as Darth Decimus’s fleet appeared in the skies above Coronet City. The invasion was over, but the war for Corellia was only beginning.

Medal of Imperial Glory

Location: Corellia (Lore)

Only members of the Dark Council and the Minister of War possess the authority to create official Imperial awards for distinguished service. On Corellia, Darth Decimus exercised this power by establishing the Medal of Imperial Glory to recognize the heroism of his elite forces in the battle for that world.

When the leader who creates a particular medal dies, that reward is officially removed from service and never offered again. Collectors of Imperial military memorabilia highly prize certain badges of honor that were only awarded to a select few individuals before their creators met an untimely demise.

Starship Manufacturing

Location: Corellia (Lore)

Corellia’s number one trade export is starships. Dozens of advanced shipyards orbit the planet, and dozens more stand planetside, working around the clock. All manner of vessels are constructed by Corellia’s renowned shipwrights, from tiny scout pods to massive military dreadnoughts. Corellian-built starships are prized by buyers as diverse as the Republic Stellar Cartography Service and the Hutt Cartel.

Corellia’s dominance in the galactic starship market is also one reason why the Empire favored a political takeover of the planet. A world that makes the very best warships and trains some of the greatest pilots in the galaxy always keeps plenty of both for planetary defense.

The Bakvalen Family (Consular)

Location: Corellia (Lore)

Claiming descent from the early heroes of the Republic, the Bakvalens are a family of nobles who have lived on Corellia for centuries. Bakvalen Hall, their ancestral seat, has become a landmark on the borders of Axial Park.

Several generations ago, the family suffered something of a scandal when Jhaka Bakvalen, then the eldest daughter, turned her back on life as a noble and joined the Republic military as a lowly starfighter pilot. Disowned by her father, she changed her surname to the more common “Bakarn” and became a renowned fighter ace.

Jhaka eventually led her squadron to glory against a dangerous warlord in the Outer Rim, but she was killed in the final assault. Overcome with grief and pride at his daughter’s heroism, her father changed the family name to Bakarn–the name their scions are known by to this day.

The Fall of Tol Braga (Knight)

Location: Corellia (Lore)

Once a respected member of the Jedi Council and its most fervent advocate for peace, Master Tol Braga now willingly serves the Sith Emperor. His confrontation with that foe showed him the nature of true evil and revealed a powerful force he had grossly underestimated. Master Braga’s failure to redeem the Emperor broke his spirit. With his pride and faith shattered, he succumbed to nihilistic despair.

Unlike Warren Sedoru and Leeha Narezz, Master Braga did not require the Emperor’s oppressive domination to remain obedient. He knowingly surrendered to the power of the dark side, believing it was his punishment for allowing pride to blind him to the Sith’s true nature.

The Kaggath (Inquisitor)

Location: Corellia (Lore)

The Kaggath is an ancient, but rarely employed rite of the Sith. One part duel, one part large-scale dejarik-match, the Kaggath pits Sith against Sith unto humiliation and death. The challenger sets the arena, whether a planet, a star system or the entire galaxy. The two combatants must then muster their full power bases to outwit and outmaneuver each other and defeat or win over each other’s forces.

When the Dark Lord of the Sith Tulak Hord fought and won his one and only Kaggath, he declared that the name of his opponent would be stricken from history–and his command was fulfilled. The Kaggath has the power not only to destroy an individual Sith, but to obliterate his entire legacy.

The Legislature

Location: Corellia (Lore)

The exquisitely expensive Legislature building houses the council, the current ruling body of Corellia. Throughout the planet’s experiments with different government systems over the ages, the Legislature has alternately been a house of parliament, a corporate boardroom and a royal council chamber–usually being renamed each time. Regardless of the form the government has taken, it has always kept the spirited, unrestrained flair Corellia is known for.

Centuries ago, during a passionate debate about subsector zoning bypass regulations, Councilor Brecourl angrily challenged his opposition, Chairman Durand, to a duel in front of all in attendance. Durand won the duel over the hotheaded Brecourl, and the occasion is famously remembered as the only time someone was killed on the floor of the Legislature.

The Lucky Lancer (Trooper)

Location: Corellia (Lore)

By far the biggest attraction at the Corellian Museum of Starships is the assault shuttle “The Lucky Lancer.” This Rendaran-class vessel–a predecessor to the modern Fortitude class–flew over one hundred combat missions during the last war; by comparison, the second-most famous starship on display survived ten missions. Whether through the quality of her crew or the whims of fate, The Lucky Lancer more than lived up to her name.

The ship’s most celebrated mission involved delivering a payload of improvised short-range torpedoes created from transparisteel tubing and hundreds of thermal detonators. The Lucky Lancer threaded a deadly gauntlet of Imperial starfighters to close to within a kilometer of the enemy’s flagship. The payload was delivered directly into the Imperial vessel’s engines, destroying it in one shot.

The Rocket Tram System

Location: Corellia (Lore)

Coronet City’s rapid public transit system is a symbol of Corellia’s economic and industrial power, as well as its commitment to a relatively clean urban environment. Providing cheap and fast transport to all corners of the city, the rocket tram is easily one of Corellia’s most popular services. Corporations viciously compete for contracts to add their own technology and resources to the system, as well as for advertising space inside the trams.

The sprawling network of city-wide tram rails has long since become too complex for the Corellians to control, and so direction of the system has been handed over to specially designed droids. Some wonder if such a high level of automation is truly safe, but the only recourse would be reducing the functionality of the entire system.

Corellian Corporate Council (Bounty Hunter)

Location: (Organization)

Corellia is dominated by galaxy-spanning corporate interests that earn trillions of credits, and the planet’s government has always claimed a significant share of those profits. It was only natural that the corporations would demand influence commensurate to their contributions. The world’s most important business leaders formed the Corellian Corporate Council, a political policymaking coalition with representatives to every government committee.

This group’s stated goal is “to ensure the smooth flow of trade between Corellia and the rest of the galaxy.” In reality, this means negotiating in back rooms to limit the government’s commercial regulations and negotiate favorable tax breaks. It is no coincidence that every council chairman has been accused of fraud at least once in his career.

Corellian Engineering Corporation

Location: (Organization)

The Corellian Engineering Corporation claims to be the longest-operating business entity in galactic history. While some may dispute this assertion, no one argues with the quality of CEC’s products. The Republic’s smartest and most forward-thinking scientists and engineers flock to this company and create advanced new starships, droids and other technologies.

Before the Empire’s invasion, Imperial Intelligence operatives quietly infiltrated the massive network of office buildings that makes up CEC’s portion of the Incorporation Islands. The plan was to take control of the company’s formidable defenses just prior to the Empire’s arrival in case of corporate resistance. Something went wrong and none of the agents have been heard from since. Now, the CEC poses a major threat to Imperial ambitions on the planet.

Corellian Security Force (CorSec)

Location: (Organization)

The Corellian Security Force, commonly referred to as CorSec, is the planet’s primary law enforcement agency. It employs officers in such diverse fields as computer science, diplomacy and armed tactical response. CorSec’s famed Special Operations Unit enlists some of the galaxy’s best infiltration specialists, tasking them with penetrating criminal organizations and dismantling them from within.

Despite CorSec’s advanced training, it was unable to detect or stop the Empire’s conspiracy with the Corellian council to seize control of the planet. When Darth Decimus’s fleet arrived above Coronet City, CorSec leaders sent an immediate panic alert to all its officers and sent them underground. Many law enforcement operatives from CorSec now actively collaborate with the Republic military.

The Corellian Rebellion

Location: (Organization)

The resistance forces opposing the Imperial takeover of Corellia have been surprisingly successful, especially given their irregular and disorganized nature. These mostly civilian guerilla fighters are composed of freighter crews, unemployed mercenaries and patriotic citizens of all species who are all willing to fight for Corellian freedom. CorSec, the Corellian police force, has played a particularly vital role in coordinating and training the rebels.

During the invasion’s first days, Corellian rebels successfully assassinated over a dozen high-ranking Imperial officers and bombed shipyards used as landing pads for the Empire’s fleet. Leaders of the invasion force quickly learned to think twice before allowing “cooperative” Corellians access to Imperial bases.

The Green Jedi

Location: (Organization)

Corellia’s sworn protectors, the Green Jedi, comprise an elite and reclusive group with only loose ties to the main Jedi Order. Green Jedi place their allegiance to Corellia above the Republic, refusing to be drawn away from their homeworld and wearing green robes to symbolize their devotion to the ancient Corellian flag. For this reason, the Jedi Council considers the group unreliable and potentially suspect. Regardless, the Green Jedi are a formidable foe to the Empire.

Although few in number, the Green Jedi are working closely with their planet’s CorSec defenders to disrupt Imperial war efforts. Led by Master Arfan Ramos, these warriors operate within a nigh-impenetrable enclave that has already survived multiple Imperial attacks. Some speculate that without the Green Jedi, Corellia would have fallen already.

The Outer Rim Jedi Forces (Knight)

Location: (Organization)

As the war reaches new heights on Corellia, the Republic’s brave Jedi protectors are among the hardest hit. The order has sustained its heaviest losses since the Sacking of Coruscant–many powerful Jedi have sacrificed their lives to give Corellia’s defenders a fighting chance.

In desperation, Grand Master Satele Shan has recruited Jedi from remote Outer Rim systems. Some are still only Padawans, while others have defended their worlds for years. Although the Outer Rim Jedi fear leaving their homes unguarded, they know that if Corellia falls, the Empire will soon dominate the rest of the galaxy.

Ilum

Location: Ilum (Planet)

The mountainous ice planet Ilum is home to one of the Jedi Order’s most distant outposts. Nestled between snow-covered crags is an enclave used by the Jedi for generations, a shelter from the cold and a launching point for journeys into Ilum’s exotic crystal caves. These caves produce some of the most rare and powerful lightsaber crystals in the galaxy.

Ilum hosts no indigenous population, although a number of larger animals survive in its environment. Its temperatures fail to reach the extremes of Hoth, but it has never been a target for colonization or occupation.

Ilum Landing Zone

Before the war, what’s now the largest space traffic hub on Ilum was only a barren field of snow, ice and crystal. With the Empire’s return, Ilum became less of a remote temple world for Jedi pilgrims and more of a Jedi holdfast against the encroaching invaders. Ilum’s unknown location and hard-to-navigate hyperspace lanes made it ideal for hiding important assets and launching sneak attacks, though its primary value was in providing lightsaber crystals for the suddenly militarized Jedi. As Ilum’s military value increased, so did the size of its landing zones.

Now that the Empire has come to Ilum, the landing zone has become a fortified complex of considerable dimensions and a vital target for Imperial attacks.

Fort Salvo

Location: Ilum

Nicknamed by the soldiers who first erected the base, Fort Salvo is the Republic’s main artillery and munitions outpost on Ilum. Fort Salvo’s gunners are some of the best in the galaxy, and have claimed dozens of Imperial troop carriers; they train by shooting down stray meteorites. The installation of a protective ray shield offended Fort Salvo’s more maverick gunners, who saw it as impugning their ability to handle incoming hostiles.

As the Empire presses the Republic forces harder on Ilum, Fort Salvo has become an increasingly important position. Members of the Republic’s alien coalition have begun transferring forces there in earnest; this also allows them to claim their share of munitions before anyone else.

The Ilum Temple

Location: Ilum

In the distant past, when the Jedi Order was first venturing into the galaxy, the order sought to establish a new home and training grounds on the planet Ilum. These ancient Jedi built a new Jedi Temple above Ilum’s network of crystal caverns, and while the planet’s climate was far from idyllic, its isolation and supply of lightsaber crystals made it an ideal place for schooling Padawans.

Careful to protect Ilum against the darkness that had threatened them on Tython, the ancient Jedi kept the hyperspace routes to Ilum secret from the rest of the Republic. The preferred means of learning the route required Force sensitivity and became the first trial of many an aspiring Jedi. But warfare with the Sith under the fallen Jedi Exar Kun led to the destruction of the training grounds, and in the centuries since, Ilum has been home to only a select few.

The temple became a place for young Jedi to travel and build their lightsabers, and where they might meditate in silence. It was a place of beauty and tranquility and crystalline perfection.

Until today.

Fray Landing Memorial

Location: Ilum (Gree Event)

In the early days of the Empire’s invasion of the planet Ilum, Republic forces at the Fray Landing Base fought desperately to hold their position against an overwhelming tide of Imperial attackers. Though they were eventually overrun and killed, these brave heroes of the Republic have not been forgotten by their comrades, who have since placed a humble memorial to commemorate the many lives lost at the site.

“Remember Fray!” became a rallying cry among Republic troops and the public alike, allowing the then-newly elected Supreme Chancellor Saresh to press for the largest increase in military spending since the Treaty of Coruscant.

Ilum Crystals

Location: Ilum (Lore)

But while it has long been believed that Adegan crystals had the potential for other uses, serious research into the subject was not pursued until the outbreak of the latest war with the Sith Empire. The Empire and the Republic have both sent teams to Ilum to extract the crystals and discover their military applications–most notably, the potential for stealth technology of unprecedented effectiveness. (Lore)

The Adegan lightsaber crystals of Ilum were originally discovered by ancient Jedi, who made pilgrimages to Ilum to study and meditate on the Force amid Ilum’s harsh wintry environs and to select the Force-resonant crystals for their lightsabers.

Location: Ilum

Pilgrimages to Ilum

Location: Ilum (Lore)

Distant, frozen and dangerous, Ilum has nonetheless attracted Jedi visitors for centuries. The vast crystal caves beneath Ilum’s surface draw those seeking to improve their weapons, meditate in seclusion or test themselves against the natural hazards there.

One pilgrimage to Ilum nearly ended in disaster when Master Seta-Le, trekking through Ilum’s mountains to a meditation site, fell through a patch of ice into a cavern. Trapped and with her lightsaber broken in the fall, she eventually managed to apply the lightsaber’s components to a nearby crystal formation. The resulting scattered beam melted through the ice wall of the cavern, allowing Master Seta-Le to escape. The complex, fragile ice formations created from the beam have become another point of interest on Ilum for Jedi pilgrims.

Stealth Technology and Warfare

Despite the obvious advantages, in wartime cloaked ships and individuals are usually only deployed for small, covert operations. Cloaking an entire division or fleet would not be practical. But periodically, researchers or military leaders obsessed with the possibilities attempt to develop technology to allow mass-cloaking, knowing it would change the face of warfare forever. Given the amplification properties discovered in Ilum crystals, perhaps the time for change has finally come. (Lore)

Stealth field generators allow individuals to effectively become invisible and have been in common use for centuries, most often seen in modern times in the possession of professional spies and underworld figures. Invisibility is also possible on a larger scale; occasionally private starships employ cloaking devices, but the costs involved mean they are reserved for the very rich, or those willing to seize such devices by force.

Location: Ilum

The Battle for Ilum

During the fighting on Corellia, Republic SIS operatives recovered evidence of the Empire’s plans to use these crystals and develop stealth technology on an unprecedented scale. The Republic gathered its fleets and allies–both old and new–and raced in defense of Ilum. The aid of the Jedi has allowed the Republic to establish strong bases, but the Empire is determined not to lose such a valuable world. The battle for Ilum promises to be long and bloody. (Lore)

To the Jedi, Ilum is a sacred world invaded and ravaged. To the Empire, it represents vital resources and the chance for a powerful symbolic victory. After learning of the value of Ilum’s crystals in the years after the Sacking of Coruscant, the Empire sent a small group of Sith to investigate the planet. With only a handful of Jedi scattered across the ice plains, the Sith were able to avoid or defeat their foes and begin quietly harvesting Ilum’s crystals.

Location: Ilum

The Republic’s Alien Allies

Location: Ilum (Lore)

The renewed war with the Empire and the fight for Corellia brought the Republic to the brink, prompting it to call on a variety of allies and member worlds. Now the battle on Ilum and the chance the Empire may gain the massive advantage of a stealth fleet have reaffirmed the need for wide support. Duros, Talz, Ongree and Wookiee shock troops have all lent their soldiers, munitions and fleets to the fight. More unusual is the presence of Kaleesh mercenaries; these masked, highly skilled warriors have come to the fiercest battleground in the galaxy seeking honor and glory.

Ordinarily, keeping such diverse forces working together would be a challenge. But the harsh conditions on Ilum, the furious onslaught from the Empire and the knowledge of the consequences of defeat have served to unify the Republic’s forces and kept disagreements to a minimum.

Tonvarr Pirates

Location: (Organization)

Composed of survivors and outcasts from dozens of defunct pirate groups from around the galaxy, the Tonvarr have banded together under a simple Weequay battle principle: “Enter with the best weapons, leave with the best spoils.” Tonvarr raiding parties have struck weapon manufacturing centers, xenotechnology research labs, and even ancient dig sites, gathering the most impressive arsenal of advanced and exotic weapons technologies in the entire galactic underworld.

The group’s intelligence gathering abilities are also far beyond the level of other pirate organizations; no one is entirely sure how the Tonvarr have the expertise to locate and make use of such a wide variety of complex technologies. It’s possible that their broad knowledge is a side effect of the group’s diverse membership: raiders from many different species have been spotted among the Tonvarr ranks.

Deep-Miners

Location: (Organization)

Deep-miner technology has been in development for over a decade. These exceptionally powerful drilling devices were originally conceived by the Imperial machinist Jelven Donn, who was investigating ways to keep mining worlds profitable. Able to drill down to previously unreachable depths, deep-miners would be able to reach resources long thought depleted–in theory. However, Jelven Donn was never able to solve the problem of the deep-miners’ power consumption, and lost half a dozen units to overloaded batteries.

With the discovery of Ilum and its unique crystal deposits, Jelven Donn realized that the amplifying capabilities of Adegan crystals could make deep-miner power supplies a viable prospect at last. Deep-miners have since become a staple of Imperial mining efforts on Ilum. However, their deployment close to Ilum’s core has concerned some Imperial scientists, who have picked up recent fluctuations in seismic activity.

Kaleesh Mercenaries

Location: (Organization)

The Kaleesh as a species are known for their strong warrior culture, grounded in a religious belief that great deeds in battle place one on the path to godhood after death. It is not typical, therefore, for Kaleesh to sell themselves as mercenaries, as doing so is often viewed as dishonorable.

With the outbreak of the latest war between the Republic and Empire, however, mercenary work has become too plentiful for the Kaleesh to ignore. Many clans of Kaleesh have formed armies-for-hire, throwing their lot in with the alien-friendly Republic–and charging a high price. Still, the Republic’s way of waging war leaves little room for the valiant acts of heroism that form the backbone of Kaleesh religion, and it seems likely that should the Empire move beyond its alien prejudices, the Kaleesh might be persuaded to switch sides.

Questions or comments? Feel free to send me a message on Twitter @swtorista, Reddit /u/swtorista, Youtube Swtorista channel or by e-mail at the same name with gmail.com at the end. Have fun out there and may the Force be with you. ~ Swtorista

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