The Ardok Ranch was located on the Chiss Ascendancy planet Ool and was owned by Cohbo'rik'ardok, known by the core name "Borika", and her husband Bomarmo. Caregiver Mitth'ali'astov "Thalias" traveled to the Ardok Ranch to meet Borika, having been provided with the location of the ranch on a data cylinder compiled by Mitth family Syndic Mitth'ras'safis "Thrass." Ardok Ranch was also home to the Seekers' Shadehouse, a facility of the Seekers program that trained the young girls of the sky-walker corps who used the ability known as Third Sight to navigate the space outside Ascendancy borders known as the Chaos.

Description[]

The Ardok Ranch was located on the planet Ool in the Chiss Ascendancy, the nation of the Chiss species. It was situated near a small town, wedged between a modest ranch of packbull—a non-sentient species domesticated by the Chiss—and a spring-fed lake. The ranch itself was built in the center of the fenced land, with the barns, feed storage, and other buildings spread around it. The Seekers' Shadehouse—a facility of the Seekers program that trained the young girls of the sky-walker corps, who used their abilities to navigate the space outside the Ascendancy's borders known as the Chaos—was also located on the ranch.^[1]

The nearest interstellar transport landing area was over a thousand kilometers away from the ranch. The ranch had a porch, and inside the ranch was a large, welcoming room. In one corner a pair of couches faced an entertainment center while another had a group of couches and chairs arranged in a circle around a firepit. At the end of the room were a dining table and six chairs, with a walkway to a half-seen kitchen.^[1]

History[]

Thalias' arrival[]

Sometime prior to^[1] 18 BBY,^[2] Cohbo'rik'ardok, known by the core name "Borika," and her husband Bomarmo took over the Ardok Ranch, and by extension the Seekers' Shadehouse. Mitth'ali'astov "Thalias," the caregiver of the Chiss heavy cruiser Springhawk's sky-walker, Che'ri, was given the location of Ardok Ranch on a data cylinder given to her by Senior Aide Thivik, senior aide to Mitth family Patriarch Thurfian. The data cylinder itself was compiled by Syndic Thrass.^[1]

Thalias came to Ool looking for the Seekers' Shadehouse, but as it was absent from all the guidebooks she had checked, the caregiver settled for the Ardok Ranch. Upon arrival, she was greeted by Borika on the porch of the ranch. The caregiver informed her host of her friend Che'ri, who was having problems. Borika quickly guessed that Che'ri was also a sky-walker, claiming that her lack of family name was a dead giveaway. Upon entering the house, Borika pulled a charric, a handheld Chiss weapon, on Thalias, demanding to see identification, which she did not have. Thalias handed Borika the data cylinder that was given to her by Thivik, which put Borika's mind at ease after taking a look at it. Borika asked why Thalias had come, and she explained the situation between Che'ri and the Magys, the leader of a species that resided in the Chaos, who gave Che'ri a boost in her Third Sight.^[1]

Truth behind the training[]

While explaining the story of how the Magys was brought aboard the Springhawk and how she connected with Che'ri, Borika and Thalias spoke about Thalias' past as a sky-walker, which prompted her to ask what part of the sky-walker training at the Ranch or its sister training sites removed the girls' memories; Borika refused to answer, quickly changing the subject to Che'ri and saying that she would look into it but was unable to make any promises. She added that if Thalias wanted to wait for a reply from the Shadehouse, there were a few inns in the nearby city Pomprey at which she could stay.^[1]

After Borika again refused to answer Thalias' question regarding her memories, the caregiver finally stated that she had come to Ardok Ranch for another reason: simply just to meet her. Thalias revealed that Borika was the older sister of Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo "Thrawn," the captain of the Springhawk, which she originally did not believe. After verifying what Thalias had told her, Borika informed her guest of the truth of the sky-walker training—the Seekers program wiped the sky-walker's memories to prevent them from leaving the program. Shortly after, the Springhawk's Mid Captain Samakro called Thalias and informed her that she was needed back at Csilla, the homeworld of the Chiss Ascendancy, right away, so Borika took Thalias to the Ibbian Spaceport.^[1]

Following Senior Captain Thrawn's last stand, where Thrawn's fleet won a decisive battle against the Grysk coordinator Jixtus's fleet, Thalias brought Che'ri to Ardok Ranch, and Borika informed them both she had been filled in on the story of the Magys and her effect on Che'ri and that she was already looking into it. She told Che'ri that she would have to stay at the ranch for a little while as sky-walkers were rare as it was, and Che'ri had the most unique record of them all. Che'ri initially did not want to stay at the ranch, but Thalias said she needed to tell Borika everything about the Magys while it was still fresh in her mind.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

The Ardok Ranch appeared in Timothy Zahn's 2021 novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil, the final installment of the Star Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy.^[1]

Appearances[]

• Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil (First appearance, simultaneous with Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil audiobook)
• Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil audiobook

Notes and references[]