Tatooine

Tatooine (pronounced /tætu'in/) was a desert world and the first planet in the binary Tatoo star system. It was part of the Arkanis sector in the Outer Rim Territories. It was inhabited by poor locals who mostly farmed moisture for a living. Other activities included used equipment retailing and scrap dealing. The planet was on the 5709-DC Shipping Lane, a spur of the Triellus Trade Route, which itself connected to the Sisar Run. The planet was not far from the Corellian Run. It had its own navigation system. However, it would still play a role in galactic events, serving as the home of Anakin Skywalker. It was here that Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn recognized Anakin's potential to become a Jedi and where he introduced him to Obi-Wan Kenobi, his future master and mentor. Tatooine was also the home of Anakin's son, Luke, where he lived until his early adulthood. The planet built up a very bad reputation, often being viewed as the cesspool of the galaxy due to the high-level of criminals who could be found onworld.

Geology:
Tatooine is thought to have been one of the oldest planets in known space and was composed of a molten core with a rocky mantle and silicate rock crust. Fossil records suggest Tatooine was once covered in large oceans, which dried up, leaving behind many pre-arid geological formations, including Beggar's Canyon, formed around 2,000,000 BBY, back when Tatooine was lush. Other notable geological features included the Dune Sea, enormous sodium-rich desert, Mushroom Mesa, a vast formation of giant standing stones, and the Jundland Wastes, a rocky region. There was a settlers' saying that one's eyes burn out faster by staring straight and hard at sun-scorched flatlands than by looking directly at the suns.

Climate:
Tatooine orbited two suns, Tatoo I and Tatoo II and was covered in deserts and rock formations, so the days were extremely arid and bright, especially during double noon. In fact, it was so brightly lit by the suns from space it could appear to be a star itself. This was the case for the people who discovered Tatooine as they first thought Tatooine was in fact a star until they approached and discovered that it was a desert planet. The planet circled the suns far enough to develop a stable, but very hot climate. Due to the extreme conditions, only a relatively mild region of its northern hemisphere was habitable, and less than 1% of the planet was covered in surface water; the average humidity level was 5.4%.

One of the many extraordinary features unique to Tatooine was the mysterious mists, which rose regularly from the ground where desert sands met cliffs and mesas. Various theories of this moisture's origin were disputed by meteorologists and geologists, like water suspended in sandstone veins beneath the sand and complex chemical reactions which made it rise when the ground cooled, then fall underground again with the double sunrise.

Tatooine's harsh arid climate caused Humans to show signs of accelerated aging.

The atmosphere could not have had helium, as it would have killed any mynocks that lived there.

Fauna:
Despite the planet's extreme aridity, many forms of life thrived on Tatooine; flora included the razor moss, funnel flowers, deb-debs, and Hubba gourds. Non-sentient life indigenous to Tatooine included:
■Anooba
■Bantha
■Bonegnawer
■Cu-Pas
■Dewback
■Eopie
■Galoomp
■Ibian
■Jerba
■Krayt dragon
■Kreetle
■Logra
■Massiff
■Mynock (possible non-canon)
■Rill
■Rock wart
■Ronto
■Sand bat
■Sandjigger
■Sandswimmer
■Sandworm
■Sarlacc
■Scalt
■Scurrier
■Scyk
■Sevorrt
■Sketto
■Squill
■Tatooine Howler
■Urusai
■Womp rat
■Woodoo
■Worrt
■Wraid


HISTORY:
 
Jedi Civil War:
At the time of the Jedi Civil War, the planet was practically controlled by the Czerka Corporation. They were attempting to mine ores from Tatooine, although they soon discovered the ores had strange magnetic properties which made the metal corrode very fast and thus useless for production. Later, Revan came to Tatooine during his quest to locate the Star Forge, via the Star Maps, as there was one on Tatooine. He discovered that Czerka Corporation was attempting to eradicate a nearby tribe of Sand People due to attacks on Czerka's sandcrawlers. With the help of the recently purchased droid HK-47, Revan was able to communicate with the tribe and negotiate a truce after infiltrating their settlement. It was revealed to Revan that the Sand people considered the Czerka to be invaders on their land, which was the reason for the frequent attacks. Revan later learned the history of the Sand People from the tribe's history keeper, by giving a Krayt dragon pearl to the cheiftain.

Lost Era:
Czerka’s mining involvement in the Anchorhead settlement proved fruitless, and the company began Czerka’s Secret Weapons division on the planet, due to no restrictions from the Republic. Sometime between Revan’s visit and 3,641 BBY, Czerka completely pulled out of Anchorhead, abandoning the Secret Weapons complex. Unlike the corporations before Czerka, Czerka's presence was replaced with a vacuum for a long time, this left the planet to plunder into complete anarchy. Authority on the world had an extreme informal control by disorganised criminals, but they were later united by a group of dissidents, who called themselves the Hutt Cartel. The Republic had yet again began to use the planet for a supply stop. During the Cold War, the Sith Empire also set up a small outpost near Anchorhead in an effort to discover the secrets of the Czerka Secret Weapons division. Some time after the trio of wars had ended, the Republic left the planet for a third time and it was forgotten until the Republic rediscovered it in 1,100 BBY. However, the Republic had withdrawn from Tatooine for a fourth time, but this led to an increase of immigrated inhabitants. Sometime later Gardulla established her empire on Tatooine and based herself in her palace.

The Clone Wars:
In 32 BBY, Queen Padmé Amidala and her companions, including the Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, arrived on Tatooine in the Dune Sea after escaping the capture of Naboo. They talked on how to repair the hyperdrive of her starship. They couldn't pay for it in the currency that the dealer with the replacement, Watto, wanted. Darth Maul landed on Tatooine with his Scimitar after being sent by his master Darth Sidious to locate, spy and destroy the two Jedi as well as the Queen in which he sent Sith Probe Droids to both Mos Espa and its sister city Mos Eisley. It was on the world at the time that the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO first met. Anakin Skywalker, one of Watto's slaves, decided to enter the upcoming podrace, the famous Boonta Eve Classic, and use his winnings to pay for the hyperdrive. He became a local legend in Mos Espa by being the first Human ever to win a podrace. After winning the race, Qui-Gon, Padmé, Anakin, R2-D2, C-3PO and Jar Jar Binks returned to the cruiser after narrowly escaping an assassination from Darth Maul. During their departure from the world, Qui-Gon introduced Anakin to and Obi-Wan and took him to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant for him to join the Jedi Order. For Watto, he eventually lost his shop.

In late 32 BBY, Jango Fett came to Tatooine and, on behalf of Jabba, disposed of Gardulla and subsequently her empire, giving Jabba a virtual monopoly on the rule of Tatooine's criminal underworld. However, Jabba's monopoly was eventually challenged by Whiphid crime queen, Lady Valarian. In 31 BBY, Jabba gave birth to his son Rotta in his palace.

In 22 BBY, Anakin Skywalker, sensing his mother, Shmi Skywalker, was in terrible pain, returned to Tatooine with Padme from Naboo. He was roughly informed of her location and on his way to the Tusken village, Anakin fought many tuskens and their dogs. When Anakin arrived he found that Shmi had been tortured by the Tusken Raiders and later died in his arms and was too late. Later he left Tatooine with Padme and the droids to rescue Obi-Wan on Geonosis this had ultimately began the Clone Wars.

During the Clone Wars, the Republic tried to re-establish a presence on the world by constructing a Republic spaceport, but Confederacy General Sev'rance Tann, allied with the minor Hutt crime lord Boorka, wiped it out and established her own fortress. Jabba protested Boorka's direct involvement in the Clone Wars, and betrayed the fortress's location to Echuu Shen-Jon, who wiped it out. In truth, helping Echuu was simply Jabba's way of eliminating Boorka, since Jabba himself got directly involved in the Clone Wars: he shipped cortosis ore through Tatooine to Metalorn for the Techno Union to build cortosis droids. This operation was ended by Anakin Skywalker. Sometime before or during 19 BBY, X1 and X2 formed a garrison here with Jedi Master Ferroda. However the CIS came shortly after they arrived but the Galactic Republic garrison held them off successfully and X1 and X2 were awarded medals for their efforts.

In 21 BBY, Anakin who was besided with his apprentice Ahsoka Tano, was reluctant to return to Tatooine, via the Twilight, due to Jabba allowing the Republic access over the secret Hutt Hyperlanes against the CIS for rescuing his son Rotta on the Teth Monastery. The Jedi emerged victorious at delivering Rotta to Jabba's Palace, despite sabotage from Asajj Ventress and Count Dooku. Thus Jabba's Empire and subsequently the Hutt Cartel, became an ally of the Republic, as well as the Clone Army been allowed safe passage through Hutt Space and the Arkanis sector.

Later during that year, Jabba sent Cad Bane to free his uncle from the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center on Coruscant. Ziro was then imprisoned in Gardulla the Hutt's Palace on Nal Hutta where the Hutt Grand Council said he was to collect the bounty of Ziro for betraying him. The targeted Hutt was freed by his girlfriend Sy Snootles and taken to Teth where he visited his father's hidden grave.

In 19 BBY, following Order 66 and the Great Jedi Purge, Obi-Wan Kenobi went into hiding on Tatooine, found himself a abandoned hut and began keeping a close eye on young Luke Skywalker, whom Kenobi entrusted to Shmi's stepson, Owen Lars, and his wife Beru Lars, who continued to live in their homestead.

The Rise Of The Galactic Empire:
Shortly before the destruction of Alderaan, the Star Destroyer Devastator captured Princess Leia Organa aboard the Tantive IV above Tatooine. This began the First Extermination of the Battle of Tatooine. Leia had been trying to contact Kenobi, to ask him to help the Rebel Alliance resolve the crisis of the Death Star, as she had been instructed by her foster father Bail Prestor Organa, a former compatriot of Kenobi. Leia did not realize the secret Bail and Obi-Wan shared: she was Anakin Skywalker's daughter. As stormtroopers boarded the corvette, she gave the recently received plans for the Death Star to R2-D2, who escaped to the surface of Tatooine with counterpart C-3PO. Moments later, Darth Vader had Leia captured alive, not knowing she was his daughter.

Vader, the former Anakin Skywalker, had Commander Nahdonnis Praji's stormtroopers, placed under the command of Brenn Tantor and Grand General Malcor Brashin, scour the planet for the droids,[24] ignoring the protests of local Governor Tour Aryon. The droids were captured by Jawas and purchased by Owen Lars, but R2-D2 ran away seeking Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke Skywalker and C-3PO gave chase. They were attacked by Tuskens, but rescued by Kenobi, who emulated the sound of Tatooine's vicious monsters, the Krayt Dragons. The Tuskens were scared off but would soon return in greater numbers. Obi Wan began to teach Luke about the Jedi, although hiding the truth about his father, making him think that Anakin Skywalker had been murdered by Darth Vader. He gave Luke a lightsaber that had belonged to Anakin.

Meanwhile, the Imperial search party, following the droids' trail, had slaughtered the Tuskens who had attacked Luke and used their banthas to disguise their tracks as those of a Tusken raiding party. They attacked the sandcrawler which had rescued R2-D2 and C-3PO, interrogating and killing the Jawas. They proceeded to the Lars homestead, where they interrogated and ruthlessly murdered both Owen and Beru, as well as badly damaging their homestead. The Imperials also ran into a local Rebel cell in the Dune Sea, beginning a brutal skirmish, with the Empire triumphing. The Imperials blockaded Tatooine to prevent the droids from escaping, and began a thorough search of Mos Eisley. This led into a second skirmish with some of the inhabitants.

In Mos Eisley, however, Kenobi and Luke hired Han Solo and Chewbacca to take them to Alderaan with the droids. Solo's Millennium Falcon fled Mos Eisley and broke the Imperial blockade, a jump that would change the Galaxy forever.

Either in conjunction with the above events or shortly afterward two Rebel X-wings piloted by Rookie One and Ru Murleen took out a portion of the AT-ST garrison stationed in Mos Eisley. Turning their sights skyward, the pair then led an only partially successful attack on the Star Destroyer Devastator still in orbit around the planet. Though the Devastator was heavily damaged, both Rebel pilots abandoned their target in order to pull back to the Rebel base on Yavin 4 in time for the Battle of Yavin.

Ambush At Mos Esiley:
Ever since Rebel pilot Luke Skywalker became a thorn in its side by destroying the Death Star, the Galactic Empire kept an eye on his homeworld of Tatooine. Acting on a tip from an unsavory bounty hunter, the Empire dispatched probe droids and bombers to root out Skywalker's squadron by terrorizing civilians and searching for clues to Skywalker's whereabouts.[2]

The Battle:
Cleanup Of Imperial Patrols:
Six months after the Battle of Yavin, the newly formed Alliance to Restore the Republic starfighter unit Rogue Squadron visited Mos Eisley on the planet Tatooine. Commander Luke Skywalker, the Rogue Leader, initially planned to simply patrol the outskirts of the spaceport. As three squadron members flew in an early morning run through the area, Wedge Antilles, one of the Rebel pilots, spotted several Viper probe droids opening fire on a number of homesteads. The pilots were caught off guard, and one member of the squadron was shot down near Jabba's Palace, headquarters of the gangster Jabba the Hutt, but the pilot survived the crash-landing. Rogue Squadron fanned out and destroyed most of the eighteen probe droids in the area. The squadron flew by two civilian T-16 skyhoppers in Beggar's Canyon.[1]

Bombing Of Mos Eisley:
After the probe droids were taken out, a six-fighter squadron of TIE Bombers began an attack on Mos Eisley, flying in a circular pattern to drop proton bombs on vital parts of the city. Skywalker ordered Rogue Squadron to assist, and they quickly flew overhead; the bombers were no match for Rogue Squadron's T-65 X-wing starfighters, and all the bombers were shot from the sky.

Aftermath:
After the ambush force was destroyed, Skywalker thought that the newly formed Rogue Squadron would go on to make a name for itself. With the success of their mission, the Rogues were assigned to escort supplies on the planet Barkhesh shortly afterward.

Following this disaster, the Empire increased its presence on Tatooine. At some point in 0 ABY, Luke returned to Tatooine, this time to recruit some CR90 corvette pilots to aid the Rebels in their evacuation from Yavin 4.

Some time between 0 ABY and 4 ABY, C-3PO and R2-D2 returned to Tatooine with a Rebel agent and Holocam E to destroy a hidden assassin droid factory of the Empire by infiltrating a Jawa Sandcrawler. They succeeded in turning all the Imperial IG-model Assassin Droids into harmless dancing droids.

In 3 ABY, Boba Fett brought Han Solo, frozen in carbonite, to Jabba's Palace, and collected his bounty. A year later, Luke returned to Tatooine to rescue Han. Before undertaking the endeavor, he built a new lightsaber, the one Kenobi gave him having been lost on Bespin. Luke, Leia, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca and the droids infiltrated Jabba's Palace and freed Han Solo from the carbonite, but the Skywalker siblings and Han were captured. Jabba tried to feed Luke and Han to the Sarlacc at the Great Pit of Carkoon, but they turned the tables on him as they defeated him in a long sturggle battle against him with the friends esaping the planet in one piece.

The New Republic:
In 14 BBY Jaden Korr arrived on Tatooine and his first mission was to investigate some mercenary activity. Arriving in Mos Eisley, the Raven's Claw and the Millennium Falcon were trapped by tractor beams under the control of the cultists. Jaden released the ships with the help of Chewbacca.

Jaden Korr's second mission to Tatooine for the New Jedi Order was to visit the planet once more while investigating a mysterious Sith Cult known as the Disciples of Ragnos. Jaden visited the dunes when a moisture farmer overheard a group of smugglers talking about a Sith cult in a bar and had his R5 droid record the conversation. Unfortunately, he became afraid and sold the droid to some Jawas before leaving Tatooine. Jaden went for the droid who was held captive by a group of Tusken Raiders in a Sandcrawler. He broke in, slew them all with his lightsaber and Force powers, got out the shoot with the droid before the Jawas assisted him by wiping its memory and returned to the Academy.