Taris

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Taris was an urban planet in the Outer Rim Territories. Its ecumenopolis quickly developing over a century of prosperity, the planet suffered from massive overpopulation. Once a galactic nexus, Taris' importance declined with the introduction of improved trade routes, and the planet rapidly fell into decay. The remainder of the planet's history was wrought with civil disorder and social unrest. As it turned to industry as a means of compensation for its economic troubles, its oceans became polluted, eliminating the planet's main food source. Famine spread among the lower classes while the rich hoarded what few supplies remained. The resulting strife led to the Tarisian Civil War, the start of lasting prejudices between the Humanocentric Tarisian nobles and the largely alien poor. The city became segmented, and the lower classes were banned from living in the upper levels of Taris.

During the Mandalorian Wars, Taris served as a crucial rallying point for dissident Jedi who had decided to fight against the invading Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders. As the lower classes were crushed beneath the rich, crime became rampant, and the Tarisian government did little in response. This caused a mining company which employed half of the planet's lower class in its operation, Lhosan Industries, to leave Taris. The millions left unemployed rioted against the government, kidnapping the planet's senator in the Galactic Senate as well as the local constable. This caused the local Jedi to leave Taris as well, leaving Taris in a state of anarchy, as the war raged on around it.

By the time of the Jedi Civil War, order had been restored, but swoop gangs and crime still held sway over the Lower City. During the war, Taris was conquered by the Sith Empire, which quarantined the planet in an attempt to capture Jedi Bastila Shan. As the search continued fruitlessly, the Sith leader Darth Malak, ordered the bombardment of Taris, killing countless civilians. This act had huge political repercussions for the Sith and changed the tone of the rest of the war, showing Malak and the Sith's desire to achieve victory at any cost.

Over the next few millennia the planet managed to rebuild and recover from its devastation, though never reaching the extent of its former glory. Similar to other ecumenopoli like Coruscant and Nar Shaddaa, the upper levels were safe and secure, inhabited by the wealthy, the lower levels were frequently plagued by gang warfare, inhabited by thugs and the poor.

Contents 1 Description 1.1 Terrain 1.2 Flora and fauna 2 History 2.1 Growth 2.2 Civil war and anti-alien prejudice 2.3 Decay 2.4 Mandalorian Wars 2.5 The Jedi Civil War 2.5.1 Battle over Taris 2.5.2 Sith conquest 2.5.3 Destruction of Taris 2.6 Rehabitation 3 Locations 3.1 The Upper City 3.2 The Middle City 3.3 The Lower City 3.4 The Undercity 4 Culture 5 Behind the scenes 6 Appearances 7 Sources 8 Notes and references

[edit] Description

[edit] Terrain

Taris was a ecumenopolis, at least in that all its landmasses were covered in a large city. However, unlike other ecumenopoli, Taris had a large ocean that covered much of the planet's surface. This ocean was green, most likely due to industrial pollution. The ocean once possessed massive kelp farms that were used to sustain the planet's immense population. However, these farms were poisoned by pollution, leading to problems in the city.^[1]

The city itself was formed over a century of prosperity,^[1] a remarkable feat considering other ecumenopoli such as Nar Shaddaa took many centuries^[5], even millennia, to form, albeit these, for the most part, did not have massive oceans covering much of their surface. Nodding towards the planet's prosperity, the towers of the city were tall and gleaming, possessing a unique, universally-rounded appearance not found on other ecumenopoli. However, below the planet's initial pristine exterior lay the result of many years of lawlessness and oppression. In the Lower City of Taris, the largely non-human population lived in total poverty and desperation, prevented from entering the safer Upper City, almost totally inhabited by the rich. Following the bombardment of Taris at the hands of the Sith Empire, much of the city was left in ruins, and although much of the city would be rebuilt in the following centuries, many ruins remained, a grim reminder of how corrupt civilizations often ended up.^[1]

[edit] Flora and fauna

Being an ecumenopolis^[1], Taris was relatively devoid of animal or plant life. There were however several important species.^[1][3]

In the upper levels of Taris there was a unique species used almost exclusively for pet use. These feathered dogs could be seen on leashes as their owners took them out on walks through the promenades of Taris. There were also large lizards that were domesticated and used to pull refuse through the Lower City.^[3]

One of the only wild animals on Taris were the simian Tach. The Tach possessed a unique gland in their heads that, when powdered, could be used to make Tarisian ale, a major export on Taris.^[1]

Arguably one of the fiercest and most terrifying species on Taris, the rakghoul, inhabited the Undercity. They were mutated humans that attacked anything on sight. Contact with these rakghouls caused a sentient to contract the rakghoul disease, a terrible affliction that would cause the victim to turn into rakghouls themselves.^[1]

Although it is unknown if any plants inhabited the continents of Taris, it was known that large amounts of kelp were once harvested to provide food for the Tarisians. There were also several kinds of marine life in the oceans that were used similarly.^[1]

[edit] History

[edit] Growth

Circa 4,300 BBY Taris was situated on a major hyperspace transport hub not far from the Hyperlane known as the Perlemian Trade Route, and was called the "Coruscant of the Outer Rim". Taris became an ecumenopolis, with all landmasses eclipsed with a world-spanning city. The city's grandeur was once said to rival the galactic capital, Coruscant, itself. However, the planet wasn't truly a planet-wide city, since much of it was actually a large ocean,^[1] thus differentiating Taris from both Coruscant and Nar Shaddaa, another city-planet.^[5]

[edit] Civil war and anti-alien prejudice

Since there were no land areas dedicated to agriculture, the native populace harvested kelp and sea life from the ocean. However, industrial waste polluted this once pristine ocean, destroying the kelp farms and killing off the marine life. Famine swept the planet. Panicking, the greedy Tarisian nobles hoarded the remaining food for themselves. In 4,156 BBY, the starving lower-class, largely comprised of alien species, engaged the nobles in a massive civil war. Ultimately, the human nobles triumphed, yet the Tarisian prisons couldn't hold all the rebels, so the nobles began the tradition of banishing criminals to the Under City. Also, because the rebels had been largely comprised of aliens, the human nobles became prejudiced against non-Humans, and banished them from the Upper City, punishing any that dared to enter the upper levels. Thus began the long oppression by the human-centric Tarisian nobility of the non-human lower class.^[1]

It was believed that the swoop bike first originated on Taris.^[4] It was here that swoop racing captured the imagination of the galaxy around 4,000 BBY. Using an intricate system of hyperspace beacons, Tarisian race organizers broadcast the results of their swoop races throughout the galaxy which eventually gave rise to a huge and profitable gambling operation. Taris remained a hub for swoop racing for decades, becoming the center of the Galactic Swoop Racing Circuit.^[1]

[edit] Decay

In 4,086 BBY Taris also received an extremely harsh review in Trampeta's Star Guide, as it was given the lowest possible recommendation. According to the author, T3 droids working in one of Taris' starports stole his baggage.^[6] While probably not having any influence on the development of the planet itself, it was nonetheless a reflection of the decay that Taris was undergoing. Soon, new hyperspace routes rendered Taris largely obsolete in terms of its relevance to intragalactic trade.^[1]

[edit] Mandalorian Wars

Around the year 3,964 BBY, Captain Saul Karath commanded the Republic fleet that protected Taris during the Mandalorian Wars. Due to Taris' close proximity to the Mandalorian War front, it had been granted Republic membership in 3,966 BBY and it became the heart of the Republic's defense for the region. The planet served as a staging point for dissident Jedi and their allies for campaigns against the Mandalorians.^[3]

Meanwhile, Taris had compensated economically for its decaying importance to trade routes by negotiating with Lhosan Industries, which employed over half of the Lower City residents in its mining activities. However, due to increasing swoop gang activity, Lhosan was considering pulling it out, and going to a world that was safer domestically. The local authorities assured Lhosan Industries that they had the swoop gangs fully under control, and would take care of them with the assistance from the local Jedi. However, after a fugitive Jedi Padawan named Zayne Carrick was accused of murdering the entire graduating class of new Jedi Knights and escaped twice from Jedi custody in the Jedi Tower, Lhosan made its decision, and abandoned Taris.^[3]

This left a massive amount of Tarisians unemployed, and angry citizens began rioting all over Taris, setting entire sections of skyline on fire. The riots soon spilled out into the Middle City, and the local senator that represented Taris in the Galactic Senate disappeared, and the planet's constable and her family were kidnapped. Due to the political anarchy, the Jedi based Taris also abandoned Tarisians to their fates. Taris was also largely abandoned by the Republic military, maintaining only a small military base on the planet's surface. It was made largely apparent that neither the Jedi nor the Republic cared whether the Mandalorians invaded Taris or not.^[3]

[edit] The Jedi Civil War

[edit] Battle over Taris

Though the Republic held a small military presence on Taris, it had not been viewed with any military importance since the first First Battle of Taris. This changed when the Sith succeeded in overrunning nearly the entire Outer Rim, leaving Taris perhaps the last valuable planet in that region still under Republic control. The galactic senators decided to make a stand there and the ship Endar Spire soon arrived above the planet to bulk up the existing garrison.^[1]

In 3,956 BBY several important members of the Republic war effort were onboard the Endar Spire such as Carth Onasi, Bastila Shan, and an amnesiac Revan (who was currently under the impression that he was a Republic soldier). While on a mission over Taris, the Endar Spire was ambushed by Sith warship. While Bastila Shan was famous for her affinity to the Force and her skill with battle meditation, she was unable to use her powers during the ensuing battle. As a result, the Sith troops quickly overran the ship in an attempt to capture Bastila, in order to use her Jedi powers for their own goals. Bastila and several other crewman were able to escape the ships in escape pods, however. With Bastila gone, the Sith destroyed the Endar Spire.^[1]

Several of the escape pods, including Bastila's pod, landed outside the Undercity of Taris, while others crashed in the Upper City. While many Upper City citizens gave over injured Republic soldiers to the local healer, Zelka Forn, the Black Vulkars, a swoop gang of the Lower City, swarmed over the Republic escape pods in the Under City, salvaging what was left of them. Bastila had been unable to exit her escape pod in time and was subsequently captured by the Vulkars. Revan and Carth Onasi's pod had landed in the Upper City and they were able to find an abandoned apartment to hide out in.^[1]

[edit] Sith conquest

Meanwhile, the rest of the Sith fleet had arrived above Taris, and began landing their troops on the planet. There was little to no resistance from the Tarisians, and the Sith were able to take the Republic military base without much trouble.^[1]

Now master of the planet, Darth Malak, leader of the Sith armada, enacted a planet-wide quarantine, preventing any ships from landing on or leaving Taris. The Sith also programmed their orbiting fleet to auto-target any ships that attempted to do so. This was all part of Malak's plan to capture Bastila. Sith troops questioned the Upper City residents about the escape pods in the Upper City, searching for any surviving crew from the Endar Spire. Malak also sent Sith patrols into the Undercity to look for Bastila, using the rakghoul serum to protect them from a mutating disease spread by rakghouls, vicious mutants that made their home in the Undercity.^[1]

Meanwhile, the quarantine kept many offworlders who were on business on Taris from leaving the planet. Since aliens were forbidden to live in the Upper City, off-world aliens were ordered into a slum while the quarantine was active. Although, when aliens did venture out into the city, it was obvious that the Sith did little to enforce this edict.^[1]

Meanwhile, a local gang war between the Hidden Beks and the Black Vulkars further hindered the Sith's efforts to find Bastila. In an attempt to encourage recruiting into his gang and crush the Beks once and for all, the leader of the Black Vulkars, Brejik had a prototype accelerator stolen from the Beks, which would allow the Vulkars to win the swoop season opener on Taris, even offering Bastila up as a prize to raise the stakes.^[1]

This was Carth and Revan's opportunity to rescue Bastila. Cooperating with the Hidden Beks, Revan stole back the swoop accelerator and won the Taris swoop championship. Brejik, unwilling to give up his prize, retracted Bastila from the competition. While Revan protested, Bastila freed herself and a brawl erupted. In the end Brejik was killed, and Revan escaped with Bastila.^[1]

Canderous Ordo, a Mandalorian enforcer for Davik Kang, the local crime-lord and subordinate of the Exchange, and future leader of the Mandalorian clans gave Revan a droid T3-M4, allowing him to break into the Sith military base and steal the codes necessary to bypass the Sith blockade. Canderous then took Revan and his company to Davik's estate, meaning to steal Davik's ship, the Ebon Hawk.^[1]

[edit] Destruction of Taris

Meanwhile, greater events unfolded in space. On his flagship, the Leviathan, Darth Malak, impatient with the search for Bastila and fearing her possible escape, ordered his fleet to bombard the entire planet, in what was arguably the most horrific event during the Jedi Civil War.^[1] Taris however was unnecessarily destroyed because Revan and his crew had escaped the bombardment. It is assumed that most of the upper city citizens were killed while only a few citizens, most notably Calo Nord, survived the destruction.

[edit] Rehabitation

Many millennia following the planet's devastation, Taris was finally resettled by Human colonists. These settlers were famed for their ship-building. The settlers rebuilt some of the planet's former cities, though much of the surface was left in ruins.^[2]

Historians attempted to excavate ruins across the planet, looking for proof that the swoop bike originated on Taris.^[4] By the time of the Galactic Empire, Taris's corruption that had begun in 4,156 BBY had been forgotten. It was believed by most historians that its prosperity was cut off by the orbital bombardment in 3,956 BBY. In reality, its two hundred year long corruption had been brought to an end with the orbital bombardment and subsequent destruction of Taris.^[2]

It is unknown if the Human colonists made any attempt to restore the oceanic environment. Thus it is unknown if the new Tarisian food and water system relied on its own natural resources or if it used imported resources, similar to the methods of Coruscant.^[2]

There is evidence that a battle was fought on Taris during the Galactic Civil War.^[4] By 3 ABY, much of the planet had been rebuilt, but the scar left on the planet by Darth Malak would never go away. Some time after Taris recovered, the planet became a member of the Hydian Way Hyperlane. Taris escaped the notice of the Yuuzhan Vong and emerged from the war unscathed.^[2]

As of 40 ABY, the famed bounty hunter Boba Fett owned a private residence on Taris. He had once taken a bounty down in the Undercity and obtained bad memories from the experience. He returned to the planet to research the possible whereabouts of the Kaminoan Taun We, and unknowingly met his granddaughter.^[7]

[edit] Locations

The city of Taris was divided into four levels: the Upper City, the Middle City, the Lower City and the Undercity.^[1] Each possessed unique inhabitants, lifestyles and problems.^[3]

[edit] The Upper City

The Upper City was a beautiful area inhabited by rich and powerful people, dwelling in the highest reaches of the towering skyscrapers that dominated the planet's landscape. Here, the privileged classes surrounded themselves with the trappings of prosperity, oblivious to the suffering and oppression of those forced to dwell far below them. Access to the Upper City was restricted so that only Humans were allowed, although notable non-Humans found in the Upper City included a Twi'lek droid merchant Janice Nall, Ajuur the Hutt, and a Rodian duelist named Twitch.^[1]

At some point prior to or during the Mandalorian Wars, the Jedi Order established a satellite training academy on Taris, ostensibly as a means of preparing its students for the more rigorous duties of patrolling the Outer Rim. Such was the mutually-beneficial relationship between the Jedi and the Tarisian authorities that the planetary constabulary sought in vain for even more Jedi to be stationed there. The pressing threat of the Mandalorians, however, rendered this wish untenable, with all enclave graduates earmarked for front-line combat duty. It is presumed that the academy—under the leadership of headmaster Lucien Draay—was either destroyed or abandoned at some point during or after the year 3,964 BBY, before the later Sith occupation.^[3]

The Upper City featured a cantina famous for its dueling ring owned by Ajuur the Hutt, and Zelka Forn's medical facility, which possessed a reputation for being able to heal all diseases but the infamous rakghoul plague. During the Second Sith War, a Sith military base was also established in the Upper City, and its roads were heavily patrolled by Sith troopers.^[1]

[edit] The Middle City

The Middle City was the most populous level of Taris. It contained the middle class and working citizens of the planet's Human population. Many small business owners lived here, and most average people came to the Middle City to conduct business. Swoops and air speeders traversed through the air-traffic ways that cut through the many avenues of the Middle City towers. The Middle City was also the largest area, since a large portion of buildings were included in the jurisdiction of the "middle area". After the second escape of fugitive Jedi Zayne Carrick, massive riots rocked the Middle City, causing extensive damage. Although not entirely devoid of crime, the Middle City was more notably peaceful than other levels of Taris, though not to the extent of the Upper City.^[3]

[edit] The Lower City

The Lower City was home to the lower class people who had not been born into the privileged classes of Tarisian society, and aliens were common here, as this was one of the few areas on Taris where they were legally allowed to live. A popular lower city attraction was Javyar's Cantina run by Javyar. Here, another Hutt named Zax placed bounties and rewarded successful bounty hunters on behalf of his de facto boss, Davik Kang. Control over the Lower City streets was the subject of rivalry between swoop gangs. Gangs whose pilots competed in swoop racing, a popular sport on Taris and some other planets (among them Tatooine and Manaan) since 4,000 BBY. The most notable swoop gangs were the Hidden Beks, led by Gadon Thek, and the Black Vulkars, led by Gadon's adopted son Brejik, who was characterized by Mission Vao as a traitor because he was a former Hidden Bek. Mission and Gadon believed Brejik to be responsible for the ongoing street war between the Beks and the Vulkars. Descending into the slums of the Lower City, the signs of urban decay became undeniable. Filth and refuse littered the streets, and burned out vehicles and shattered windows served as stark reminders of the violent wars of the swoop gangs fighting for control. Denizens of the Lower City struggled to survive amidst the urban wasteland.^[1]

[edit] The Undercity

The Undercity, a village on the ground level beneath the immense skyscrapers of Taris, was a dark, wild area inhabited by the Outcasts—people whose predecessors were banished from the city for their crimes. The Outcasts never saw the sky in their miserable lives, and nobody hoped that their lives would ever turn for the better…except Rukil, an old man who was considered crazy by the rest of the village because of his stories about the Promised Land, a self-sufficient colony built long before the founding of the Undercity. Nobody believed in these stories, and most villagers considered them tales created with the purpose of giving people false hope. According to one account, the amnesiac Revan assisted Rukil in discovering the location of the Promised Land, allowing a great number of the Undercity's people to travel there. However, many Outcasts died from starvation and disease, and the rakghouls killed even more.^[1]

The wilderness around the Undercity village was extremely dangerous because of rakghouls, semi-humanoid beasts that could infect Humans with the rakghoul disease. The Outcasts had to keep infected people isolated from the rest of the society because they would inevitably mutate into rakghouls.^[1]

Circa 4,000 BBY, Taris became a base of smuggling operations for the Exchange and its representative, the local crimelord Davik Kang. Davik was quick to send his personal bounty hunters—among them such notable figures as Calo Nord and Canderous Ordo—to deal with those who could not pay what they owed him.^[1]

[edit] Culture

Taris was a very segmented society, naming the layers of the cities where each class of citizen lived, Middle City, etc. After the Civil War, the humans on Taris banned all non-humans from the Upper City, making it exclusive only for wealthy humans, although any human could come to the Upper City.^[1] Most aliens that ventured into the Upper City were arrested. The Middle City had mostly humans in it as well, but had many aliens here too.^[3] Conversely, the Lower City was mostly aliens, and crime was rampant. The Undercity was avoided at all costs, and only the outcasts dwelt there.^[1]

The law was rigidly enforced in the Upper City, and most criminals were imprisoned for a short time, or banished to the Undercity, depending on the severity of the crime. The Lower levels, while heavily-crime stricken,^[1] was occasionally patrolled by surveillance droids.^[3]

The law-enforcing division of the government was known as the Taris Civil Authority, headed by a Constable. During the Mandalorian Wars, the Civil Authority had several patrol ships in orbit.^[3]

One of Taris societies few reliefs was swoop racing. As the rumored birth place of the swoop bike itself, swoop racing was huge on Taris, and some of the best swoop racers came out of Taris. The Galactic Swoop Racing Circuit started on Taris with the Tarisian Season Opener. When Taris was bombarded by the Sith during the Jedi Civil War, some of the galaxy's best racers were killed, as most were present for the Season opener.^[1]

[edit] Behind the scenes

In Star Wars: Empire at War, Taris is displayed with the generic ecumenopolis planet template,^[4] which resembles Coruscant.^[8] This conflicts with the established view of Taris, which features a massive ocean,^[1] and it would not be realistic for the ocean to have been built over, while other portions of the pre-existing landmass still lay in ruins.^[2]

Taris was created for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, an in-depth Star Wars based role-playing game on the Xbox and the PC. It is the player's initial starting point and is the only planet where the player cannot use Force powers of their own, since they are not Jedi yet. Taris is also the only planet where the player can duel.^[1]

Taris is also a recurring setting in the comic series based off of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.^[3]

[edit] Appearances

• Shadows and Light (Vision to Duron Qel-Droma)
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 0: Crossroads
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Commencement
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Flashpoint (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 9: Flashpoint Interlude: Homecoming (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Reunion (Mentioned only)
• Labor Pains (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Days of Fear (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 16: Nights of Anger, Part 1 (Vision to Raana Tey)
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 17: Nights of Anger, Part 2 (Mentioned only)
• The Taris Holofeed: Invasion Edition (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 20: Daze of Hate, Part 2 (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 21: Daze of Hate, Part 3 (Mentioned only)
• The Taris Holofeed Special Proclamation
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Knights of Suffering
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 25: Vector, Part 1
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 26: Vector, Part 2 (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (First appearance)
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars Dark Times 11: Vector, Part 5 (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: Empire at War
• Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
• Bloodlines

[edit] Sources

•  Rakghoul on Wizards.com
• Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds
• The New Essential Chronology
• The New Essential Guide to Droids
• Adascorp Fiscal Period Financial Report and Outlook
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Handbook
•  Carth Onasi in the Databank
•  Canderous Ordo in the Databank
•  Davik Kang in the Databank
•  Zaalbar in the Databank
•  T3-M4 in the Databank
•  Mission Vao in the Databank
•  Ebon Hawk in the Databank

[edit] Notes and references