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- "Coruscant, the capital of the Republic. The entire planet is one big city."
- ―Ric Olié
Coruscant (pronounced /'kɔɹəsɑnt/), also known as Imperial Center during the reign of the Galactic Empire, was a planet that served as the galactic capital and seat of government of the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire, and was the homeworld of the human species. Coruscant was notable for its vast urban sprawl covering the entire planet called Galactic City that was constantly awake as airspeeders and starships moved in the flow of Coruscant's skylane traffic. Skytowers reached far into the atmosphere and, in the most dense areas of the city, hundreds of levels were built on top of each other. The highest surface was Level 5127, and the lowest was Level 1, which was deemed uninhabitable. The lowest levels of Coruscant were called the underworld which had been cut off from the surface for thousands of years, forcing its inhabitants to breathe toxic fumes, and was accessible only by huge portals reaching ever downward.
Coruscant had a cosmopolitan atmosphere, and as the seat of galactic government, it was also the center of galactic culture. Laws and galactic policies were decided by the Galactic Senate, and the Supreme Chancellor had his residence on Coruscant. It was also from Coruscant that Sheev Palpatine established his rule as emperor. After the destruction of the Death Star II by the Rebel Alliance, Coruscant's population rejoiced, overwhelming the planet's stormtroopers and pulling down statues of Palpatine to much accord. Fierce fighting ensued and the Rebels were able to take the remaining hold-out garrison in CoCo Town. After the war, the New Republic opted to move the capital from Coruscant and instead member worlds would rotate hosting the Senate.
Description
- "Not everyone on Coruscant lives in a luxurious temple on the surface."
- ―Asajj Ventress, to Ahsoka Tano
The cityscape of Coruscant.
Located in the Coruscant subsector of the Corusca sector within the Core Worlds region, Coruscant was a planet covered in a dense urban landscape.[1] The skyscrapers were built on the planet's surface called Galactic City, itself dense urban blocks with inner levels. Coruscant was the center of galactic culture and the capital of the governments of both the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire. It was from Coruscant that the Galactic Senate, led by the Supreme Chancellor would meet to discuss issues and pass legislation. Later the Galactic Emperor established his rule from Coruscant. Coruscant was also home to the Jedi Order. Symbolized by the lightsabers they wielded, they were a monastic group who utilized the the Force and served as peacekeepers and guardians of the Republic.[4] The planet's residents were known as the Coruscanti.[8]
Beyond the politics, Coruscant was also home to many different species and creatures. Traffic was a constant with airspeeders moving through the skylanes that wove in between skyscrapers.[4] Crashes were extremely rare as most vehicles have an auto-navigation system that moves the speeders along preprogrammed routes. Coruscant air taxis are able to travel at 191 kph and drivers can receive special permission to leave the programmed skylanes and take shortcuts.[3] Pedestrians could walk along the streets that ran alongside the various levels or on top of the urban blocks themselves. Entertainment districts with night clubs, bars, theaters, and other business throughout the city catered to the population. Some serviced high end customers though many could be found in the lower levels and in seedy districts favored by the criminal underworld.[12] Citizens who lived in the upper levels were able to breathe air that was filtered and clean. Sunlight never reached the lower levels which had to be lit by artificial light and the inhabitants were forced to breathe the air of toxic fumes from factory and vehicular waste.[3]
Underneath the surface structures of Galactic City, were thousands of levels generally known as the Coruscant underworld. The highest surface on Coruscant was Level 5127 and the lowest was Level 1 which was deemed uninhabitable.[15] Accessible by huge portals, the underworld was a massive city beneath the city. Dwellings and smaller buildings were squeezed in between massive towers and infrastructure that serviced the planet. Streets and alleyways were narrow and large sections contained warehouses and massive buildings largely abandoned and built upon from the levels above.[6] Trains serviced the population to move them from one area to the other. While airspeeders were used, they were a less common sight than on the surface levels.[6]
History
The waning Republic
- "I will not let this Republic that has stood for a thousand years be split in two. My negotiations will not fail."
"If they do, you must realize there aren't enough Jedi to protect the Republic. We are keepers of the peace, not soldiers." - ―Palpatine and Mace Windu
The Senate Building on Coruscant
Coruscant was the center of political and cultural life of the galaxy. In the ancient past, the Sith built a shrine on Coruscant. When the Jedi ousted them, they built their temple over it.[8] The Galactic Republic government, which had established a peaceful rule of the galaxy for over a thousand years, maintained Coruscant as its capital.[4] It was towards the end of this time that Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, hampered by a bloated government and a corrupt Senate, was unable to respond to an invasion of the planet Naboo. Valorum dispatched two Jedi Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, who were able to retrieve Queen Padmé Amidala and bring her to Coruscant. Upon their arrival, Valorum met them and promised swift action on the issue. Later, Senator Sheev Palpatine of Naboo maneuvered Amidala into believing Valorum incapable of action. During the following session of the Galactic Senate, Amidala called for a Vote of No Confidence in Valorum. The resulting election saw Valorum removed from office and Palpatine gained the majority vote to become Supreme Chancellor.[2]
Several years later a crisis erupted when Count Dooku, under the direction of Palpatine who was secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, led several systems to break from the Republic and form into the Confederacy of Independent Systems with himself as its leader. Many commercial organizations pledged their droid military forces to the Confederacy, commonly called the Separatists. As the Jedi too few to fight a galactic war, the Senate pushed for a vote to create a military to defend the Republic. Upon arriving in Coruscant to vote on the matter, former Queen Padmé Amidala, now Senator of Naboo, narrowly avoided an assassination attempt as her shuttle exploded on the landing platform and several persons were killed. Amidala met with Palpatine in the Senate Office Building were he had been meeting with members of the Jedi Council. In response to the attack on Amidala, Palpatine delayed the vote and at his suggestion to Jedi Grand Master Yoda, had the senator placed under the protection of Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, her old allies from the Battle of Naboo.[12]
The Jedi chase Wesell through Coruscant.
That evening, a bounty hunter named Jango Fett met with Amidala's would be assassin, Zam Wesell. Informing her that Fett's client was impatient, Fett gave Wesell two deadly worms. Wesell took the worms, placing them inside a droid. While on guard in Amidala's apartment, the Jedi sensed that there was a threat to Amidala's life. As the Jedi charged into a bedroom, they were in time for Skywalker to kill the worms that had entered through a hole in the window that the droid had cut. Kenobi crashed through the window, grabbing on to the droid, as it made its way back to Wesell. The assassin fired a shot at Kenobi who began to fall before he was caught by Skywalker who had requisitioned a speeder. They chased Wesell through Coruscant's skylanes with Skywalker maneuvering around the Coruscant air taxis, transports and other speeders. Skywalker took a route through a tunnel to where he was able to cut off Wesell, jumping on top of her speeder. The two grappled and Skywalker was able to disable Wesell's speeder causing it to crash into the street and narrowly avoiding the throngs of pedestrians. Wesell melted into the crowd however Skywalker spotted her, pursuing her on foot to a club that she fled into.[12]
Kenobi met up with Skywalker at the entrance to the club. They split up, searching for the assassin in the throngs of patrons. Kenobi moved to the bar where a patron attempted to sell him death sticks but Kenobi used the Force to dissuade the patron from selling and to go home. Wesell attempted to surprise and shoot Kenobi who was standing at the bar, however they Jedi sensed her coming and severed her weapon arm with his lightsaber. The Jedi carried the injured Wesell into the alley to question her. Initially reluctant to give any information about who had hired her, Wesell replied that it had simply been a job. As Skywalker pressed her, however, Wesell prepared to reveal the information. Suddenly, a , who had been observing the situation, fired a toxic dart into Wesell's neck, killing her and revealing her true form as a Clawdite.[12]
Dex's Diner
The next day Kenobi went to Dex's Diner to see his old friend Dexter Jettster in the hopes that Dexter could identify the poison. Dex was able to provide information on the dart as well as its originating location, the planet Kamino. Later Kenobi went to the Jedi Archives to research Kamino. However, the Temple's Archives had no information of the planet. Kenobi left Coruscant to investigate, finding the planet and the clone army being created there for the Republic and transmitting information on it back to Coruscant. Meanwhile Skywalker escorted Senator Amidala off the capital and back to Naboo. Kenobi tracked Fett to Geonosis finding a droid army and the Separatist leadership planning an attack on the Republic, as well as discovering that Viceroy Nute Gunray was behind the attacks on Coruscant against Senator Amidala. Kenobi transmitted the information back to Coruscant informing members of the Jedi Council, the Senate, and Chancellor Palpatine of his findings. Before he finished, Kenobi was attacked and his transmission ended. Jedi Master Mace Windu ordered Skywalker to stay with Amidala while the Jedi would respond from Coruscant to assist Kenobi.[12]
A capital at war
- "The shroud of the dark side has fallen. Begun, the Clone War has."
- ―Yoda
Chancellor Palpatine accepts emergency powers from the Senate
Seeing that the Senate would not be able to vote on accepting the clone troopers as a military, Palpatine and his Vice Chair Mas Amedda discussed ways around the situation with Amedda proposing that a Senator put a bill giving Palpatine emergency powers, allowing him to approve an army. Representative Jar Jar Binks of Naboo, feeling he would do what Amidala would want him to do, then made a speech to the Senate for them to give Palpatine emergency powers. The Senate approved the motion and Palpatine used his power to create the Grand Army of the Republic. Under Jedi leadership, the Grand Army arrived on Geonosis and engaged the Droid Army, beginning the Clone Wars. After the battle, Separatist leader Count Dooku, revealed as a Sith Lord, retreated in secret to Coruscant. In an abandoned complex in Coruscant's industrial sector, Dooku met with Darth Sidious and brought him the news that the war had truly begun.[12]
The Clone Wars became one of the most turbulent times in galactic history[4] and the first, full scale war in over a thousand years.[12] As the capital of the Republic, Coruscant, already a hotbed of political intrigue, became a target for both military and political reasons. Situations and events that were unthinkable centuries before became commonplace.[4] Even prior to the beginning of the war, changes could be seen in the Republic. The Senate, already corrupt and bloated found it difficult to respond, delegating emergency powers to Palpatine. The Chancellor himself brought changes such as implementing the use of his personal Red Guards instead of the Senate Guards.[12] As the Grand Army and the Republic Navy spread across the galaxy to defend the Republic, the Jedi, long taking the stand of being peacekeepers not soldiers, took charge of the military as commanders and generals. The dramatic changes were noted by both the Jedi and the Republic's citizens,[16] specifically on Coruscant.[17] Unknown to everyone except a select few, Coruscant was from where the entire war was continually manipulated by Palpatine. As Supreme Chancellor, he took overall charge of the Republic military and directed the war effort from his office in the Senate Office Building.[18] As Darth Sidious he directed Dooku's actions designed to continue the war and further his plans.[19]
Sidious talking with Bane in his Coruscant apartment
The Jedi Temple, long the sanctuary and fortress of the Jedi Order, became the target of Cad Bane and his group of bounty hunters. Thought by most to be impenetrable, Darth Sidious hired Bane to steal a holocron from the Temple archives. Sidious gave Bane a map layout of the Temple as well as information on its security systems and the Temple's vaults. Bane, with the assistance of his droid Todo 360 and a Clawdite name Cato Parasitti moved forward with his plan. Parasitti took the form of a dead Jedi name Ord Enisence and entered the Jedi Archives. From there he transmitted a weak point in the Temple's shielding and jammed the Jedi's scanners, allowing Bane and his droid to enter. However, Master Yoda sensed the disturbance and placed the Temple on high alert. Parasitti was able to knock librarian Jocasta Nu unconscious and took her form, continuing to guide Bane and Todo through the ventilation systems. Meanwhile, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi began tracking Bane. Padawan Ahsoka Tano discovered Parasitti's ruse and engaged her in a lightsaber fight and was able to arrest her. However Bane managed to gain access to the vault and took a holocron that would allow him to read the Kyber crystal that contained a list of all known Force-sensitive children in the galaxy.[19]
Rampage on Coruscant
- "Stay with General Kenobi. I'm on my way."
"Better hurry, sir. You're missing all the fun." - ―Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex during the Zillo Beast rampage
The Zillo Beast rampages across the capital
After discovering the last known Zillo Beast during the battle on Malastare, the Republic's scientific community and Chancellor Palpatine both desired to study the beast's invulnerable scales to create impenetrable armor for the Republic's clone troopers. However, they decided to conduct this study on Coruscant, and subsequently transported the heavily-sedated beast to the Republic Science and Technical Center. Doctor Sionver Boll, throughout the course of her examination of the beast, found that she couldn't remove the Zillo Beast's scales without harming it. On briefing Palpatine of this, he ordered her to kill it, angering the Zillo Beast. Later, during the attempted execution, the beast escaped from the facility and began a rampage across Coruscant. The Beast's rampage caused severe damage; buildings exploded, airspeeders fell to the streets, and walkways were destroyed as the civilian population fled in terror or were killed. Military ships responded and fired at the Beast but were also destroyed. As alarms began wailing across Coruscant, orders were given for the Senate staff to evacuate to the lower levels. Upon the Zillo Beast's arrival at the Senate Office Building, looking for the Chancellor, Palpatine agreed to evacuate as well.[20]
Accompanied by Senator Padmé Amidala, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, R2-D2, and C-3PO, they left the Chancellor's office through an emergency escape tunnel and boarded the Executive shuttle that was piloted by a Senate Commando. As the shuttle left the docking bay, it was seized by the Zillo Beast. Skywalker cut the shuttle in half, loosening the passenger compartment from the beast's grip. However, the Commando and Palpatine were unable to jump from the falling shuttle. Upon it landing on the ground, the Zillo Beast noticed the Chancellor and the Commando and moved towards them just as R2-D2 arrived. Seeing the Zillo beast come towards them and knowing that R2-D2 could not carry both of them, the Commando forced Palpatine onto the droid to be carried to safety, sacrificing himself as the beast slammed its foot down on top of the shuttle's remains, killing the Commando. With the Chancellor in safety, Republic forces began a bombardment of poisonous gas, killing the beast. The next day, Palpatine ordered the dead beast to be cloned.[20]
Murders, kidnappings, and hostages
- "Morning, Senators. You should all consider yourselves to be in my power. As long as everybody behaves, this will be quick and painless. Do nothing, and it will all be over soon."
- ―Cad Bane
Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his padawan, Ahsoka Tano, made an arrest of a suspect in Coruscant' Slum district G17 when Tano's lightsaber was taken from her during the confusion. In an attempt to find it, she requested Jedi Master Tera Sinube—an expert in the workings of Coruscant's criminal underworld—to assist in the investigation. They were able to track the lightsaber to a Trandoshan assassin named Nack Movers. They found him dead in his apartment and Tano began pursuing Cassie Cryar who she saw with the lightsaber. Master Sinube notified the authorities to respond to the scene and began questioning Ione Marcy, Mover's girlfriend who was still in the apartment. He was able to identify Marcy as being involved in the death and she fled as the police arrived though not before Sinube placed a tracking device on her. Both suspects were eventually traced to a train station, where they were confronted by the Guardian police droids and the Jedi. Marcy was apprehended, and after a brief attempt at taking hostages, Cryar was arrested as well. The incident resulted in the dismantling of two Coruscant police droids by Cryar when she used Tano's lightsaber to try to escape.[21]
Monument Plaza
Coruscant police forces were patrolling the Coruscant streets when the Duchess of Mandalore, Satine Kryze, was found next to the body of a Republic Ministry of Intelligence agent, Davu Golec. Although a Death Watch assassin had murdered Golec, the police probe that found Kryze noticed that she had a weapon and identified her as a suspect. The Duchess fled, resulting in a chase by the Coruscant police droids and Coruscant Guard troops as well as the Death Watch assassin himself. Kryze was able to elude them by tricking them into believing that she had escaped in an airspeeder in a different direction. While the police kept searching for her, she met with Jedi Master Kenobi in Coruscant's Monument Plaza and gave him a video concerning Republic aid for Mandalore. With the information in secure hands, she surrendered to Senate Guards at the Senate Building. The video was played for the Senate, resulting in the Duchess's exoneration and the resolution of the situation.[9]
Police Lieutenant Tan Divo of the Coruscant Security Force was called to investigate the kidnapping of Chi Eekway and Che Amanwe, the daughters of the Pantoran Chairman Papanoida. However, in their search of Papanoida's apartment, the police failed to realize that Papanoida's Icon of the Moon Goddess had been misplaced and so missed the trace amount of blood, left there by the kidnappers, underneath the statue. After the police left the apartment, Chairman Papanoida discovered the blood when replacing his idol. An analysis of the blood showed it to be that of Greedo, a Rodian bounty hunter from Tatooine. Papanoida and his son, Ion, recovered Chi Eekway on Tatooine, and Che Amanwe was found aboard a Trade Federation battleship by Senator Riyo chuchi and Jedi Padawan Tano, who had been instructed by her Master, Anakin Skywalker, to assist unofficially in the investigation since the Jedi could not officially interfere with a matter delegated to the local police.[22]
Senators are taken hostage.
The Grand Hutt Council hired the bounty hunter Cad Bane to seize the Senate Office Building and force Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to issue a pardon for the Hutt crime lord Ziro the Hutt, who was imprisoned in the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center. Bane formed a team of bounty hunters and infiltrated the Executive Building, disposing of multiple Senate Commando guards along the way, the team took a small group of senators hostage. Bane trapped Palpatine and Senator Orn Free Taa in the Chancellor's office by shutting down the building's power. Bane then demanded Ziro was to be released or the senators would be executed. To secure the Hutt's release in exchange for the senators' lives, Bane ordered Taa to take a pardon disc to the Detention Center to release Ziro.[11]
Taa reluctantly complied and was taken to the Detention Center by Bane's accomplices where the shock troopers on guard released Ziro. As final leverage against Palpatine, the bounty hunters set up a system of lasers around the senators that would trigger explosives with the slightest touch before leaving the building. Clone troopers of the Coruscant Guard led by Clone Commander CC-1010 arrived and stormed Palpatine's office then moved to apprehend Bane's team on the landing platform. However, with the still-trapped senators Palpatine ordered the bounty hunters to be allowed to escape with Ziro.[11]
Terrorism on Coruscant
- "The bombing of the power generator has been confirmed to be a Separatist attack!"
- ―Senator Gume Saam
When Senator Padmé Amidala visited Confederate Senator Mina Bonteri on Raxus, together with Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano, Bonteri recommended the start of peace negotiations. The Separatist Parliament approved this initiative and Amidala returned and announced the same proposal in the Galactic Senate. Count Dooku became alarmed, and tasked General Grievous with disturbing the process. Demolition droids were sent to execute the operation. These machines were capable of transforming into sweeper/maintenance units to infiltrate a location or combat units armed with two blaster cannons to secure a demolition points. Two such droids could connect into a bomb which exploded after a given time. The units, camouflaged as Coruscant Sanitation Department sweeper droids, arrived on Coruscant and encountered members of the Coruscant Guard who were checking the identification of a group of Coruscant power generator engineers. The droids displayed their holographic permission, which stated that their task was "generator maintenance". The clones allowed them through and droids arrived at the Coruscant power generator.[23]
Coruscant in flames during the black out after the bombing.
Meanwhile, Padmé Amidala and Ahsoka Tano visited Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in his office, attempting to persuade him to accept the Confederacy's peace offer so that no more orders for clones would have to be paid. The Chancellor, however, replied that their past efforts at ending the conflict had been fruitless, as the Separatists rejected their previous proposals, but agreed to put the vote to the floor after Padmé told him that this particular suggestion originated from her old mentor, Mina Bonteri. As the dialogue proceeded, the demolition droids reached the generator's vicinity. After one of the engineers standing near the entrance of the control room questioned the need for their presence, the droids transformed into combat mode and began to slaughter the personnel in and around the area without loss, connecting into bombs as soon as they secured the room.[23]
As the Separatist machines killed the engineers operating the generator, Senator Padmé Amidala was addressing the Galactic Senate, stating that there was no need for deregulating the banks or ordering further clones due to the start of the negotiations. As the Senators began to enter their vote, the process was interrupted by the blackout caused by the explosion of the demolition droids, which destroyed the generator. Large areas of the city turned dark in moments, and fires broke out in the vicinity of the Senate Building as the system was overloaded. Later on, it was announced that the attack had been confirmed as a Separatist one, and it was proposed to vote on the military spending bill to deregulate the banks allowing for more Republic troops.[23]
Amidala is pursued by the bounty hunters.
A short time later, several Republic senators were attacked in an attempt at intimidation to not vote on the military spending bill. One attack was against Senator Padmé Amidala by the bounty hunters Chata Hyoki and Robonino, whom the Separatist Head of State Count Dooku had hired to kill her. Two police droids, seeing Amidala being attacked outside of Senator Christo's apartment, interfered, although the thugs shot them and destroyed them by beating their heads on the ground. Amidala escaped in a speeder, with the two assailants in pursuit. Amidala was able to shake off Robonino and Hyoki as she fled past two police droids holding a position in a Coruscant police speeder. They noticed the speeding Amidala and also took after her, identifying her speeder was officially stolen.[24]
Several other police speeders joined the chase and surrounded the senator, stopping her for the theft of the speeder. Amidala was released from their custody after the situation had been explained, but the two thugs had already escaped. Later, Hyoki and Robonino attacked Alderaan Senator Bail Organa in the Senate Building parking area. Organa called for help, and his guards engaged the attackers. The police immediately responded to the scene, and upon arriving in the hanger, one of the police droid–driven speeders slammed into Robonino, knocking him unconscious. The police droids engaged Hyoki and overwhelmed him at which point Hyoki was also taken into custody.[24]
Homicide in the Senate
- "What makes you think it was murder?"
"Poison, of course. The politicians' preferred method. Found a chemical in his bloodstream, killed him right away. It's an obvious case. Politicians always have something to hide, and it always comes back to haunt them, am I right? Oh, look who I'm asking. Room full of politicians." - ―Padmé Amidala and Tan Divo
Coruscant Police Lieutenant Divo investigates
Immediately thereafter, the Senate continued debating to decrease military spending. After a speech by Senator Amidala promoting the bill, the proponents of the legislation—including Senators Onaconda Farr, Mon Mothma, and Bail Organa, along with Farr's assistant, Lolo Purs—withdrew to Amidala's office. While enjoying refreshments, Farr choked on his drink and died. The Coruscant Security Force was called in and responded to investigate the suspicious death and Divo was assigned as the inspector on the case. Samples were taken of the drinks, and the forensics report concluded that a poison had been given to the Senator, thereby classifying the death as a homicide. After the Senator's funeral, Farr's political allies were summoned to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's office in the Senate Office Building. There, Divo revealed that Farr had not died of natural causes but had in fact been murdered. Amidala suggested that Farr had been killed because of someone who was angry over the proposed military spending reduction bill. Divo was dismissive of that idea and told the senators to stay out of his investigation.[25]
Not convinced by Divo's assurances, Amidala decided to pursue her own theory. She began by questioning Farr's political enemies, Senators Mee Deechi and Halle Burtoni. Deechi revealed that he had Farr followed to dig up dirt on the Senator and that the night before his death, Farr had gone to the Coruscant docks for a clandestine meeting. Though reminded by her friends that Divo had ordered them to stay out of the investigation, Amidala went to the docks with Organa. There, they were ambushed and shot at though they did not know the identity of the attacker. The disturbance alerted Coruscant police forces and they responded and secured the crime scene. After arriving on the scene himself, Divo expressed his annoyance at Amidala's actions that not only had she failed to inform him of her lead at the docks, but she had also made his job more difficult by alerting the killer to the fact that the investigation was closing in on the culprit. During the conversation, Amidala came to believe that Deechi might have been responsible for the attempt on her life, as he was the one who had told her about the docks. Though Divo tried to tell her to slow down, she ignored him, and the frustrated inspector followed her and Organa back to Deechi's office. There, they found Deechi stabbed to death in his chair.[25]
In order to secure the lives of the individuals involved in the case including Senators Amidala and Organa as well as Farr's assistant Lolo Purs, Divo gathered all of them together at the Senate Building and told them they would be placed under the protection of Coruscant police and Senate Guard forces. However, Lolo Purs refused and left the room. Divo questioned the remaining persons about who else had been aware that Amidala and Organa were going to the docks. In response, Amidala stated that the only other person who had known was Senator Burtoni. Though Divo tried to locate Burtoni, she was nowhere to be found.[25]
Lolo Purs is revealed as the murderer.
Divo returned to the senators in time for Purs to burst in and claim that Burtoni had attacked her. Divo ordered the Senate Guards and Coruscant police droids to find Burtoni, and the police conducted a search of her office, without success. Eventually they were able to capture her and bring her to the Chancellor's office, where several individuals involved with the case, including Amidala and Organa as well as Chancellor Palpatine, were waiting. Initial questioning by Divo led Burtoni to deny any involvement in both Farr's murder and the attack on Purs. Divo then revealed that a forensics report indicated that the poison used to kill Farr, one that was lethal only to Rodians, was Kaminoan-made in origin. With that evidence in hand, Divo ordered Burtoni taken away.[25]
However, at that point, Amidala noticed that since the poison must have been in everyone's drink, Purs should have died as well, as she was also Rodian. Amidala then remembered that Purs had not drunk anything. Purs, feeling revealed and exposed, pulled out a small blaster and took Amidala hostage. When asked why by Amidala, Purs answered that she had killed Farr because of the war he had brought to Rodia and that a new and morally stronger leader was needed. As Deechi had known about the meeting, Purs had felt that he had to be removed as well. Her confession validated Divo's original theory, as it had been a mistake from Farr's past that had led to his murder. During the conversation, Divo, unnoticed by Purs, discreetly activated the police droids outside of the Chancellor's office. They surprised Purs at the door, allowing Amidala to break away and knock her unconscious. The police droids and Divo then took Purs into custody.[25]
Intrigue of the Jedi
- "Looks like the Jedi are after one of their own."
- ―A Coruscant police officer, discussing Ahsoka Tano
The Temple is bombed.
Towards the end of the war, the opinion of the public, as represented by the citizens of Coruscant, began to turn against the Jedi. Protesters would gather in front of the Temple, blaming the Jedi for the military losses and the Jedi's loss of perspective as keepers of the peace. It was at that time that an explosion occurred at the Jedi Temple docking complex that killed six Jedi and several clone troopers and Temple employees. The investigation by crime scene analysis droid, Russo-ISC and Jedi Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, found that Letta Turmond, the wife of Temple employee Jackar Bowmani, had fed him volatile nano-droids which then exploded killing Bowmani and causing the bombing at the Temple. Turmond was arrested and held at the Republic military base.[26] When Tano went to visit her, Turmond was killed using a Force choke making Tano seem to be the murder. Though unknown to all, the true murderer was rogue Jedi Barriss Offee. However, Tano was arrested by the Coruscant Guard and placed in a cell.[27]
However, Tano managed to escape with, to her unknown, the assistance of Barriss Offee. During the escape, several Coruscant Guards were killed by a lightsaber leading the pursuing troopers to believe it was Tano.[27] In response to this, the Jedi Council ordered Tano's arrest. The Coruscant police was told that she had been last seen fleeing to the lower levels, and so the underworld police divisions were also put on high alert. Tano managed to temporarily avoid notice by using a cloak to hide her identity. However, at one point two officers boarded a train that Tano was on and they began checking IDs of the passengers. As Tano attempted to leave the train at the next station, she ran into three more officers on the platform. The cops identified Tano and moved in to arrest her. Tano pushed the officers away using the Force, throwing one back onto the platform. He signaled ahead to other units as the train left the station and the remaining four officers gave chase.[6]
Dodging passengers, Tano fled through the train cars. A civilian attempted to hold her and the police officers managed to briefly overpower her. However, Tano fought them off during the scuffle and opened a door of the train. She then jumped onto the adjacent platform as the train passed. Believing herself safe, Tano began walking away. Three officers standing on the platform then noticed her and ordered her to stop. Tano fled from the station and towards an open turbolift door. The cops, seeing they were about to loose their quarry, opened fire on her with their blasters, but Tano had already entered a lift by that time had escaped the officers' shots.[6]
Coruscant police officers fight Ahsoka Tano
Tano then met up with bounty hunter Asajj Ventress. Hoping to make a deal, Asajj left Tano on Level 1315 at a warehouse to give her clues on the murders and attack on the Temple. Asajj was ambushed later and her helmet was taken from her by Barriss Offee. Offee, with Ventress' mask attack Tano and their fight caused an explosion. The search had continued meanwhile and two police officers spotted the explosion and alerted a search group composed of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Master Plo Koon, and Coruscant Guard troopers. Responding to the warehouse they were able to capture Tano as Offee, still unidentified by Tano, escaped.[6]
Tano was placed on trial at the Republic military base. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine presided as the judge and members of the Senate were seated as the jury. Admiral Tarkin served as the prosecutor while Padmé Amidala served as Tano's defense. As the court deliberated, Anakin Skywalker continued investigating in the underworld. He was able to locate Ventress and in talking with her, was able to focus his investigation on Offee. Confronting her in the Jedi Temple, Offee revealed her true colors. The two engaged in a lightsaber fight and Skywalker overwhelmed her. He took her under escort with the Jedi Temple Guard to the tribunal chambers. There Offee admitted her crimes and Tano was set free.[28]
War's end
- "Well, there's a sinister plot in the works against the Jedi! I have proof of it! I can prove that everything I know is true beyond the shadow of a doubt!"
- ―Fives attempts to explain his findings to Skywalker and Rex
Coruscant street outside the 79's clone trooper bar
During the Battle of Ringo Vinda, Clone trooper Tup shot and killed Jedi General Tiplar. Tup was brought to Kamino under Fives' watch, but died from complications involving a tumor and the rotting of an implanted control chip. To cover up a Sith plot, Kaminoan Doctor Nala Se injected Fives with a drug that would slow his reaction.[29]
On Coruscant, Fives was framed by Chancellor Palpatine of attacking him and escaped from the medical base. Fives took a cab to 79's, a clone bar where he ran into his friend Kix and asked him to pass a message onto the commanding officers of the 501st Legion, Anakin Skywalker and Clone Captain Rex to meet him so he could tell them what he learned in an attempt to clear his name. Unknown to Fives, he had been spotted and followed down to the meeting area by and the Coruscant Guard had been sent to capture him.[29]
Skywalker and Rex arrived at the location Kix had given them and were ordered by a hiding Fives to throw down their weapons. Tossing away their weapons, Fives enclosed them in a ray shield. Both Skywalker and Rex wanted to help Fives, but neither seemed to believe his story, his drug-hazed state not helping his cause. Commander Fox and a squad of shock troopers ambushed the rogue clone, pointing their weapons at him. Fives, not wanting to go back, grabbed a blaster pistol and attempted to hold them back. In retaliation, Commander Fox shot Fives through the chest. Skywalker and Rex were freed from the ray-shield and Rex went directly to Fives. Fives explained he was just trying to do his duty before reiterating Tup's final words before he too, died.[29]
Throughout the Clone Wars, Palpatine had remained a popular leader, remaining in office at the will of the Senate for far longer than his term technically allowed.[30] Throughout this period, Palpatine continued to consolidate and centralize his own power.[31][24][32] It was then that under the command of Count Dooku, General Grievous, in a daring move, launched a surprise attack on Coruscant. As the Republic military moved to engage the Confederate fleet, Grievous entered the capital and kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine. Returning to his flagship, the Invisible Hand, the general secured Palpatine in the observation deck. Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi were immediately sent to rescue Palpatine. Fighting their way through the vicious battle between the two fleets, they were able to board Grievous' ship. Upon arriving at the observation deck, the Jedi were confronted by Count Dooku. They engaged in a vicious lightsaber fight during which Kenobi was rendered unconscious. Skywalker, tapping into the Dark side of the Force, defeated Dooku and cut off his hands. Palpatine, manipulating Skywalker, ordered the Count killed. After hesitating briefly, the Jedi relinquished and executed the Confederate leader by severing his head.[30]
As the Chancellor and Jedi, Kenobi having regained consciousnesses, make their way to the hanger bay they are captured and brought to Grievous on the ship's bridge. There they overwhelmed the droid guards though Griveous managed to escape. During the commotion, the ship began a free-fall towards Coruscant's surface. Skywalker seized control of the ship and crash landed it on an industrial landing platform assisted by Coruscant's emergency firespeeder. The Jedi returned Palpatine to the executive building and with Dooku dead, the Confederate military fled Coruscant's space, ending the battle. During several meetings, Palpatine would further manipulate Skywalker closer and closer to the dark side. On one occasion, Palpatine appeared at the Galaxies Opera House to attend a performance. There he met Anakin Skywalker telling him the story of a Sith Lord called Plagueis the Wise who was able to cheat death before his apprentice killed him. Skywalker, having had nightmares that he had reveal of Palpatine of his secret wife, Padmé Amidala, dying, asked how to obtain the knowledge to which Palpatine responded that it would not be from the Jedi, implying that Palpatine had the knowledge. Palpatine was also able to insist that Skywalker be placed on the Jedi Council as his representative. The Council acceded, but refused to grant Skywalker the title of Master. While discussing this with Skywalker, Palpatine revealed himself to be the Sith Lord Sidious. Angered and confused, Skywalker left to report the discovery to the Jedi Council.[30]
Birth of the Empire
- "So this is how liberty dies... with thunderous applause."
- ―Padmé Amidala, to Bail Organa following the declaration of the Empire in the Senate
Palpatine declares the formation of the Empire
Skywalker reported to Jedi Master Mace Windu of Palpatine's true identity as Sidious. Master Windu and three other Jedi went to attempt to arrest Sidious and a brief but vicious fight ensued in which several Jedi were killed at Sidious’ hands, and Sidious himself was visibly injured in the struggle. The intercession of Jedi Anakin Skywalker, who was a personal friend of Palpatine’s, and already disillusioned with both the Order and the war, ensured Palpatine’s victory over Master Windu who was killed. Skywalker was turned to the dark side of the Force and Palpatine immediately seized the opportunity to order the clone army to enact Order 66: to exterminate the Jedi commanding forces across the galaxy.[30] With this command programmed into the clones since their beginnings on Kamino,[33] the Republic clone troopers immediately turned on their Jedi commanders, and exterminated the vast majority of the Jedi Order in an instant.[30]
At the same time, Palpatine ordered his new apprentice, now christened Darth Vader, to capture the Jedi Temple. Vader invaded the Temple with the 501st Legion, killing all the Jedi and younglings inside and setting the Temple on fire. Palpatine then sent him to wipe out the Separatist leadership hiding on Mustafar. Skywalker said good-bye to, Padmé Amidala, who was unaware of what exactly had occurred, and left Coruscant. Now able to demonstrate threats to the Republic from both within and without, a visibly injured and scarred Palpatine addressed the Galactic Senate to announce the reforms which had been his endgame since the beginning. To the thunderous applause of the Senators, Palpatine announced that in order to ensure safety and security, the Republic would be reorganized into the Galactic Empire.[30]
After narrowly escaping their assassination attempts, Jedi Grand Master Yoda and Jedi Master Obi-wan Kenobi were able to enter Coruscant with the assistance of Senator Organa. Having been informed of an emergency session of the Senate, the Jedi made plans to enter the Jedi Temple. After killing several clone troopers who had been left there to guard it, they discovered Skywalker's fall and subsequent actions. Determined to put an end to the Sith, Kenobi met Amidala and then secretly stowed aboard her ship as she went to find Skywalker while Yoda confronted Sidious at the Senate Building. Defeating his Royal Guards easily with a wave of the Force, Yoda engaged Sidious in a lightsaber duel inside the Senate rotunda's chamber. However, Yoda, having fought Sidious to a standstill and unable to defeat him, retreated and with Bail Organa's help fled the planet. Sidious ordered the Coruscant Guard to continue searching for the Jedi Master and then. Then, sensing Vader's distress who had been defeated by Kenobi and left injured and burned on Mustafar, Sidious ordered the Coruscant Guards to prepare his shuttle. Retrieving Vader, they returned to Coruscant where at the Grand Republic Medical Facility Vader was put into a life-sustaining suite and helmet that he would wear for the rest of his life.[30]
Imperial might and downfall
- "Only some secrets are well kept on Coruscant."
- ―Rear Admiral Nils Tenant
After Palpatine's accession to power and the fall, changes came quickly to Coruscant, formally renamed as Imperial Center or Imperial City.[34] The Jedi Temple and its surrounding serene complex became the home of the new Emperor. While the spires of the Temple remained in place, the rest of the structure was heavily remodeled and expanded with sloping facades and block-shaped additions. The entire area was known as the Federal District with the Imperial Palace forming one point of the so called supreme trianagle. The other two points were the byzantine like COMPNOR arcology which contained the headquarters of the Imperial Security Bureau and the new Naval Intelligence Agency headquarters, a near-windowless complex which formerly housed the Republic's strategic center. The city-scape of Coruscant changed as well with buildings stripped of its elegant Republic dressings in favor of sleek lines and block-like surfaces. Smaller buildings became engulfed into larger building. The changes in some areas were so quick and dramatic that they were not recognizable to those who had seen them only a few years before.[8]
Coruscant celebrates the defeat of the Empire
It would be several decades later, that during a large battle on the planet Endor, the Alliance to Restore the Republic managed to defeat the Empire. During the battle, Vader's son, Luke Skywalker having learned the Jedi arts from Obi-wan Kenobi and Yoda, confronted both Vader and Emperor Palpatine aboard the second Death Star. There, Luke turned Vader back to light side of the Force and the now Anakin Skywalker grabbed Palpatine and hurled him down a ventilation shaft of the Death Star, killing the Emperor. However Skywalker was too injured by the Emperor's force lightning and subsequently died as well shortly before the Alliance destroyed the Death Star. With both the Emperor and his apprentice dead, the citizens of Coruscant rejoiced, pulling down statues of Palpatine, overwhelming the stormtroopers on the streets, and setting off chimes and fireworks.[35]
During this, police forces on speeders entered the plaza and opened fire on the crowds without warning, killing many who were present. The Coruscanti erupted into rioting and some climbed edifices to jump onto the police speeders. One officer was flung from his speeder to the plaza's ground while another was struck in the head with thrown debris. The other police speeders retreated as blaster fire and fighting erupted across the capital between Coruscanti and the Imperial security forces. Rorak, a Coruscanti who was present with his twelve year old son Jak, was killed by Imperial Commander Orkin Kaw. Jak, determined to seek vengeance, joined the Anklebiter Brigade, a group of children familier with the inner workings of the city who passed on information to Rebel fighters on Coruscant. He then staged a rescue from police custody of Lazula, the women of Level 1313 crime lord Talvee Chawin, in order to gain the crime lord's favor. Using the favor as leverage Jak negotiated the procurement of an EMP device that he planned to place at the abandoned Dex's Diner to disable the power grid underneath the Imperial forces fighting the Rebels for control of Coco-Town. Jak hoped to use the loss of power and the subsequent Rebel attack as a distraction to kill Kaw and take revenge for his father's death. The Rebels were eventually able to capture Coco Town from Imperial forces the captured the remaining Imperial hold-out garrison. In the wake of the Empire's defeat, the New Republic was formed and a temporary capital established on Chandrila.[36] However, to bring in disaffected worlds and prevent the Old Republic's abuses, the New Republic opted to not seat the government on Coruscant and instead member worlds would rotate hosting the Senate and serving as the capital.[14]
Inhabitants
- "Buildings are just buildings. What really makes a city are the inhabitants that live in it."
- ―Clone trooper Waxer
Although Coruscant was homeworld of the human species,[13] its population was as varied as the galaxy itself, especially as one journeyed below the surface of the skyscrapers and into the underworld.[6] Over a trillion beings resided on the planet,[1] and humans made up sixty eight percent of the population..[3] As the capital of the Republic and the Empire to follow, members of senators and delegates of every represented planet had a residence on Coruscant. From there they would spend there days either working in the Senate or hosting events such as parties and political meetings.[2][24] Additionally, the planet served as the home of large communities of various species, some who rarely returned to their original homeworld. Many of those communities of species that were not human resided in the lower levels of the city. With the formation of the Empire, even those humans whose home planet had fallen out of favor with the Imperial government, such as Alderaan, were forced into enclaves in the underworld.[37]
Coruscant's wealthy and influential attend an opera.
On the surface levels of Coruscant, skyscrapers served as homes and businesses for the wealthy, powerful, and politically connected. They were ferried by private speeder or an air taxi from one tower to the next or to the various theaters, clubs, operas, and other entertainment areas of Coruscant.[12] Some journeyed to the surface street levels or Coruscant's surface parks to conduct clandestine meetings[9] or to mingle in the crowds of people that streamed through the walkways of the residential and commercial areas. Among the rich and powerful of the planet were the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic and members of the Galactic Senate.[12] The influential and wealthy of Coruscant thrived in lavish lifestyles, attending meetings and social gatherings in highrise apartments,[2][24] dining in fine restaurants overlooking the city,[38]partying in the entertainment districts,[12] and viewing large scale shows in theaters and operas.[30] Even as the Republic decayed, the Clone Wars raged on, and the average citizen became disenfranchised,[26] Coruscant's wealthy continued their lifestyle seemingly oblivious of the rest of the galaxy.[30]
On the streets of the city in the shadows of skyscrapers teemed the planet's blue collar working population.[39] Many lived in the various housing blocks of the surface structures in relative comfort though not nearly as extravagant as the planet's wealthy and powerful. Many worked on the upper and lower surface levels or enjoyed the entertainment and restaurants that were more catered to their financial abilities.[12][24][40] Below the housing blocks and surface levels was the population inhabiting the Coruscant underworld. A term used to describe both the thousands of levels underneath the surface, and, Coruscant's criminal population, the underworld was home to millions of the planet's population who were too poor to move upward or were hiding from the attentions of the authorities. The citizens who lived here rarely if ever during their lifetime saw the surface of the planet. Living between vast buildings and infrastructure that supported the surface, they carried on their lives at the mercy of the violence, decay, and constant threat of death.[6][37][41]
Government
- "Enter the bureaucrats―the true rulers of the Republic."
- ―Palpatine
Coruscant, as the center of the galaxy, thrived on the rule of government. It served as the capital of the Republic which kept the peace and prevented a major war in the galaxy for over a thousand years. The Republic was governed by the Galactic Senate and it served as the symbol of the Republic's power to maintain peace through diplomacy. In its last years, the Senate became corrupt, bloated, and ultimately ineffectual though some continued to fight in the belief of its ability to govern.[2][12] With the formation of the Empire, the Senate transitioned into a limited role, providing council and legislation[30] but ultimately at the power of the Emperor. Several years later, Palpatine would disband the Senate altogether and giving what little power they had left to the regional governors.[42]
Coruscant was the seat of the Senate and the galactic government
The Supreme Chancellor of the Republic was the leader of the Senate who would elect one of its members to serve in the post under term limits.[30] However, the Chancellor still had to bow to the overall legislative authority of the Senate. As the Republic decayed, the abilities of the both the Senate and the Chancellor to govern effectively became hampered by endless motions and procedures that were managed by career bureaucrats.[2] It was in this environment that Palpatine was able to manipulate his way to become elected as Supreme Chancellor promising to reform the Republic's government.[2] As the Clone Wars erupted under his guidance, he pulled more power to himself[12] paving the way for the removal of the Jedi and declaring himself as Galactic Emperor. Palpatine then made Coruscant his throne world from which he ruled the galaxy.[30] At the end of the Galactic Civil War, the New Republic did not return the government to Coruscant, choosing instead to rotate the capital among the various member worlds.[14]
Under the Old Republic, the Chancellor and the Senate served also as the government of Coruscant itself and issues that effected the planet's citizens also became the cares of the Republic government. This was also true for the Coruscant's citizens who were directly affected by issues concerning the Republic government.[20][21][24][23][17] Coruscant was policed by the Coruscant Security Force which utilized police droids on the upper levels together with sentient officers and detectives,[25] and the burly underworld police who patrolled in the cutthroat environment of the lower levels.[6] The Senate had its own protectors, the Senate Guard. Serving under a long tradition, the Senate Guard was a reminder that though the Republic did not have a standing army, it was not defenseless.[43] As the Clone Wars erupted, the clone troopers of the Coruscant Guard worked as peacekeepers and military police, providing a constant reminder of the expanded power of the government, specifically Palpatine.[44] With the formation of the Empire, the Coruscant Guard and Imperial stormtroopers took over the functions of the Senate Guard,[43] with stormtroopers directly responsible for security on the planet, alongside the civilian Coruscant police.[37]
Locations
Senate District
- "I was not elected to watch my people suffer and die while you discuss this invasion in a committee!"
- ―Queen Amidala, to the Galactic Senate
The Senate District with the Senate Building looming behind the executive building in the foreground
One of the most well known was the Senate Building, located at the heart of the Senate District. The Senate Building, also referred to as the Senate rotunda, was the seat of the Galactic Senate. It was here that delegates would meet during sessions of congress to discuss legislation and galactic policy. Many senators had their offices inside the Senate Building. At the center of the building was the large Senate chamber. Each senatorial delegation had their own hover platform which they could detach from the walls of the chamber. They could then float it throughout the cavernous hall to be recognized by the Senate chair or to debate the issue at hand. In the center of the Senate chamber was the Chancellor's podium. Seated in it would be the Supreme Chancellor and the Senate's Vice Chair who would lead sessions of congress.[2] The podium could be lowered to a office used by the Chancellor below the chamber. Directly adjacent to the Senate Building was the Senate Office Building. The executive building had docking bays that wrapped around the building, allowing Senators to land their private shuttles and walk inside. Within the building contained mostly offices and meeting rooms for members of the Senate but also held the offices used on a day-to-day basis by the Supreme Chancellor. During Palpatine's term, the Chancellor's office was decorated with red floors and walls as well as several statues. A lobby led to the Chancellor's public use office which contained a grand desk and large window that overlooked the cityscape. To the side, another hallway led to Palpatine's inner private office.[30]
Jedi Temple/Imperial Palace
- "I can't believe a Jedi would attack a place this sacred."
- ―Ahsoka Tano
The Jedi Temple, later, the Imperial Palace
As the galactic capital, Coruscant was also home to the Jedi Order, guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. An order of Force sensitives, the Jedi Knights served the Republic for thousands of years as keepers of the peace. Their home was the Jedi Temple. Built on a plain of low lying urban blocks, the Jedi Temple was easily recognizable on the Coruscant cityscape with its distinctive five spires. Part school and part monastery, the Temple was the hub of all Jedi activity throughout the galaxy.[7] In one of the spires sat the Jedi Council, led by the Grand Master of the Order, which directed the actions of the Jedi and served as advisers to the Senate and Chancellor.[45] The Temple held a large lobby and chambers with statues of famous Jedi[12] and also contained numerous facilities including hanger bays for starships and speeders utilized by the Jedi,[30] sleeping and living quarters, rooms for meetings and instruction,[12] a medical facility,[46], prisoner cells,[26] and communications and security stations.[30] The Temple also held the famous Jedi Archives which stored the largest collection of information on the galaxy[12] as well as a vault containing the valuable holocrons containing the Order's Force knowledge and secrets.[19]
During the Clone Wars, the Jedi, serving as generals and commanders of the Grand Army, coordinated their efforts from the Temple. However, as the war began to conclude, the Jedi became more separated from the hierarchy of the military command and establishment.[26][6] When Palpatine was revealed as the Sith Lord the Jedi had been searching for, he ordered the execution of Order 66 and sent his new apprentice Darth Vader to the Jedi Temple. Entering with the 501st Legion, Vader and the clone troopers seized the Temple, killing all the Jedi and younglings inside and setting the monastery ablaze. Later, Masters Yoda and Kenobi infiltrated the Temple to discover what had occurred. It was there they reconfigured a distress signal transmitting from the temple to any surviving Jedi asking them to return (into a Sith trap), and learned the truth Skywalker's fall and Palptine's identity as Lord of the Sith.[30] After the war, Palpatine turned the Temple into the Imperial Palace, using it as his new home. The Temple's spires remained intact though the rest of the Temple was heavily remodeled and expanded. The hallways were stripped of all statues and Republic-era ornaments. Where they had once been quiet and solemn, they became filled with busy government worker and functionaries. A large landing courtyard allowed for shuttles and starships to land. The entire Palace complex was watched over by the red-robed Imperial Royal Guards. The center spire was converted into the Emperor's throne room with a ten-meter tall podium in the center accessible by the Emperor from his residence via a private turbolift.[8] The structure remained standing on Coruscant throughout the Emperor's reign.[35]
CoCo Town
- "I should think that you Jedi would have more respect for the difference between knowledge and wisdom."
- ―Dexter Jettster to Obi-Wan Kenobi inside Dex's Diner
The surface streets of CoCo Town
CoCo Town was a dilapidated industrial area of Coruscant. Home to mostly hard working laborers, CoCo Town was located on a surface area of the city.[5] The area however was as run down as other heavy industrial surface districts and contained relatively well maintained streets, speeder lanes, and a shuttle bus route.[12] On one of the main streets built on top of the urban blocks was a eatery called Dex's Diner. Owned and operated by Dexter Jettster, a Besalisk with a colorful background, it served mostly hard workers from the area. The diner offered home-style cooked meals and freshly brewed ardees. Jettster worked as the cook and employed two waitresses, Hermione Bagwa and a her service droid partner, WA-7.[5] It was shortly before the Clone Wars that Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi came to Dex's Diner to see if his old friend, Jettster, could identify a poisoned dart. Jetterster was able to identify it as originating from the planet Kamino which he knew of from his days as a prospector.[12]
Coruscant underworld
- "And to do that, we must go to the lower levels. The underworld."
- ―Plo Koon
The Coruscant underworld
Beneath the top level structures, streets and glistening lights of the city surface was Coruscant's underworld. it was accessible by huge portals that additionally served as ventilation shafts. The underworld was a massive city beneath a city with hundreds of levels built on top of each other. On each level, dwellings and smaller buildings were squeezed in between massive towers and infrastructure that serviced the upper levels. The streets and alleyways were narrow and large sections contained massive buildings and warehouses, largely abandoned. Sunlight never reached the lower levels which had to be lit by artificial light. The population was able to move them from one area to the other with the assistance of Coruscant trains that ran below and above the planet's surface. While airspeeders were used, they were a less common sight then on the surface levels. The underworld, containing a vast population of the poor and criminal, was a dark and violent place. Those who wanted to disappear to hide from the authorities or to conduct illegal transactions could blend in despite the presence of cam droids and other monitoring technology.[6] Patrolled by the underworld police division of the Coruscant Security Force, the underworld was where large populations of species not loyal to the Emperor were relocated to after the formation of the Empire. Uprisings and riots became common with stormtroopers frequently called in to assist the Coruscant cops in putting down any dissent with ruthless violence.[37]
Republic military base
- "Can't say I blame you, Commander Tano, but all the same, you're under arrest."
"I—n-no. I did not do this." - ―Commander Fox and Ahsoka Tano, after Letta Turmond was killed while Tano was in her cell
The Republic's military base
Towards the end of the Clone Wars, the Republic constructed a large military base in close proximity to the staging areas. Outside of the complex was an airfield with Venator-class Star Destroyers, HAVw A6 Juggernauts, and other ships. A memorial was also located just outside of the main entrance to the base. The base was protected by shock troopers of the Coruscant Guard. Inside was a military prison. The cells had two options for entering. The first was sliding a keycard. The second was pressing a button on the outside of each cell. The cells had ray shielded doors to make sure prisoners did not escape. Inside the cells there was a bed and bowls for water and food. Another area in the prison was a medium circle room with a fairly large computer for scanning people before they entered the base, a crate for weapons and communication devices, and a red button to start the red alert sequence. In the last half of the war the prison held Whorm Loathsom, Poggle the Lesser, and Wat Tambor. It was also here that Ahsoka Tano escaped when she was suspected of killing Letta Turmond.[27] Additionally, inside of the compound there was a military tribunal courtroom of which the court decided on the fate of dangerous criminals. It was a tall room, with platforms extending into its center for the accused, prosecution, and defense. There was seating along its walls for the presiding official, jury, and other trial participants and onlookers.[28]
Behind the scenes
In early drafts of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, the Imperial capital planet was set to appear under the name Had Abbadon. During the development of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, George Lucas officially adopted the name Coruscant for the planet, a name that was created by Timothy Zahn for his June 1991 novel Heir to the Empire. The planet first appeared in the 1997 Special Edition of Return of the Jedi, showing scenes on Coruscant of a jubilant population celebrating the demise of the Emperor, with its name first mentioned in The Phantom Menace. The prequel trilogy and the Star Wars: The Clone Wars film and television series showed Coruscant as a major center of activity and action within their stories.
