Bestine IV was a water-covered planet located in the Inner Rim Territories' Bestine system. One of the key members of the Galactic Republic by the time of the High Republic Era, it served primarily as an agricultural world, hosting starship manufacturing facilities as well. Bestine was also part of a lommite ore shipping route that connected the planet Eriadu to the Core Worlds. During the rise of the Separatist Alliance, the Separatist leader Count Dooku expressed threats to the security of the lommite shipping route via Bestine to Eriadu's governor, Wilhuff Tarkin.

Bestine IV remained loyal to the Republic during the Clone Wars against the Separatists, hosting a Republic Navy fleet. After the war ended with the Separatists' defeat, the Republic became the Galactic Empire and brutally annexed Bestine. The new government built a naval shipyard on the local island of Jahnae to help quell potential rebellions in the Inner Rim. The new base was unpopular with the locals and forced many, including the merchant Jek Porkins, to leave. During the Galactic Civil War, in 3 ABY, the Rebel Alliance's Twenty-First traveled to Bestine as part of a coordinated rebel effort.

In Bestine IV's Bsellis City, Sergeant Mey Kilrow of the local Bestine Security Force kept a protection deal with the planet's most ruthless gang, the Nova Razors. A warrior visited the neighborhood where the gang operated and attacked its headquarters, defeating the gang leader and many of his thugs. Learning of Kilrow's corruption, the warrior then sought to end it.

Between 3 ABY and 4 ABY, the criminal syndicate Crimson Dawn hired a crew of bounty hunters led by T'onga to help insurgents on Bestine IV stop an Imperial munitions shipment. The Empire learned of the syndicate's plan, and a team led by the cyborg mercenary Beilert Valance was sent to set a trap for the attackers. The trap was sprung during the attack, and Valance and T'onga, two old allies, found themselves in a confrontation. There, T'onga revealed to Valance that the people the latter was working with the Empire to protect had already been taken or killed.

Angered about being lied to by the Empire, Valance killed the Imperial shipment's shoretrooper security force and had the transport fly into the base on Jahnae, destroying it. Valance used the base's destruction as bait for the Sith Lord Darth Vader, who arrived on the planet to confront the mercenary. The two fought, with Vader ultimately defeating Valance, and TIE/sa bombers bombed the village on Jahnae. Imperial Lieutenant Jyala Haydenn then shot the mercenary, sending him dropping off a cliff. T'onga and her crew then found Valance alive and took him offworld.

Description[]

Bestine IV,^[3] also known simply as Bestine, was a terrestrial planet^[4] in the fourth orbital position of^[3] the Inner Rim Territories'^[1] Bestine system,^[2] near the Kestic Station trading outpost.^[11] Situated in grid square M-14 of the Standard Galactic Grid, the world lay along the Corellian Trade Spine between the astronomical object Foless and^[1] the world Mechis III.^[12] Appearing blue and brown-green from space, Bestine was a water-covered world that hosted a number of islands.^[4] It possessed agricultural capabilities,^[8] with its terrain including hills, cliffs, caves, flat plains,^[4] and island spires.^[7] It had a type I atmosphere,^[5] breathable to humans and other species, and its weather included thunderstorms.^[4]

History[]

Loyal to the Republic[]

Garnering importance[]

By the time of the High Republic Era, Bestine IV was considered a key member world of the Galactic Republic. At the Republic Fair on the planet Valo^[7] in 231 BBY,^[13] those members were represented respectively by World Pavilions, with Bestine's island spires being shown as a symbol of what the Republic had to offer. The fair fell under attack by the Nihil pirate marauders, who destroyed the World Pavilions.^[7]

Under the Republic, Bestine IV was primarily an agricultural world but also hosted starship building facilities.^[8] In addition, it was part of a shipping route that saw lommite ore flow from^[14] the planet^[15] Eriadu to the Core Worlds via^[14] the planet^[16] Fondor,^[14] circling around Bestine along the way,^[17] which strengthened the world's importance.^[14] An alliance of pirate gangs in the Seswenna sector, headed by Q'anah of Q'anah's Marauders, began raiding convoys of lommite shipments^[17] that used the shipping route until they were crushed^[14] in 46 BBY^[18] by the Outland Regions Security Force due to the efforts of Lieutenant Wilhuff Tarkin. Q'anah's defeat and subsequent execution ensured the safety of space around Bestine IV.^[14]

Allegiances tested[]

After the Separatist Alliance was founded following the Raxus Address^[17] in 24 BBY,^[19] Eriadu, which had become a major trading center in the years after the Naboo Crisis^[17] of 32 BBY,^[13] was put under pressure to join the new faction as nearby sectors seceded from the Republic over time. In a final attempt to recruit Tarkin, who had become Eriadu's governor, Separatist Head of State Count Dooku revealed his understanding of the significance of the shipping route via Bestine by warning that the route would soon be sabotaged by the secession of its critical planets, such as Fondor, from the Republic.^[17]

Just weeks later,^[17] in 22 BBY,^[13] the Clone Wars began between the Republic and the Separatists. Eriadu^[17] and Bestine remained loyal to the Republic,^[8] and a fleet of the Republic Navy was based at the latter world.^[10] In 21 BBY,^[13] while hunting the Separatist General Grievous at his fortress on^[10] the moon Vassek 3^[20] with the Jedi Kit Fisto and Nahdar Vebb, Clone Commander Fil ordered the clone troopers Bel and Niner, who were guarding their squad's shuttle outside the fortress, to inform the fleet at Bestine IV that they had engaged Grievous and required reinforcements. However, some of Grievous's IG-100 MagnaGuards destroyed the shuttle, along with the two clones, before they could make the communication. Fisto was ultimately the only member of the group to survive the mission to Vassek 3.^[10]

Decline under the Empire[]

A bad reputation[]

The Clone Wars ended in 19 BBY with the fall of the Separatists and the Republic's transition into the Galactic Empire.^[13] The Empire conducted a brutal annexation of Bestine IV^[22] and established a military base^[8] on the island of Jahnae^[4] in order to quell further rebel incursions in the Inner Rim following the Separatist activity there during the war.^[23] Publicly a major^[4] naval shipyard,^[23] the military installation was rumored to also serve as a research and development facility that produced weapons of war.^[4]

The locals disliked the Empire's presence,^[24] and many denizens were ultimately driven off Bestine IV.^[4] One such native was the independent merchant Jek Porkins, whose long-lasting disgust with the Empire's authoritarianism had reached a breaking point^[8] after witnessing the government's abuses during the construction of the base.^[25] After leaving his homeworld, Porkins joined the Rebel Alliance against the Empire as a pilot.^[8] One village remained on Jahnae as a place of residence for the staff at the military base. An insurgent group also stayed to fight the Empire, reportedly hiding in the village.^[4] Consequently, the Empire struggled to keep the peace on Bestine IV.^[24]

In 3 ABY,^[26] during the Galactic Civil War between the Alliance and the Empire, the Alliance's Twenty-First was present on Bestine IV as a part of a coordinated effort to distract forces and allow the Alliance fleet to complete its withdrawal from the Mid Rim Territories. News of the operations reached the Alliance's 61st Mobile Infantry, where Sergeant Maximian Ajax updated First Sergeant Hazram Namir about the actions of the Twenty-First and other rebel units.^[21]

Corruption in Bsellis City[]

Elsewhere on Bestine IV, the Bestine Security Force operated in Bsellis City. However, the spice gang known as the Nova Razors, the most ruthless of Bestine's criminal gangs, operated out of a tenement building in the city's market district named Blue Garden Homes and enslaved locals and forced them to refine their spice. Nova Razors' leader had a protection deal with the corrupt security Sergeant Mey Kilrow that allowed the gang to operate without interference by the security force.^[9]

At one point, a warrior passed through the neighborhood, learning about its troubles with the spice gang and the Bestine Security Force corruption. The warrior was also approached by a child named Hawk, a resident of Blue Garden Homes who offered them low-grade spice. In the middle of their conversation, Kilrow arrived, dismissing the boy, and introduced herself to the warrior, explaining where Hawk was from and that gang activity there was too dangerous for the Bestine Security to patrol.^[9]

The warrior spotted Hawk selling spice again within hours, with the child leading them to Blue Garden Homes and identifying the Nova Razors' headquarters. They fought their way into Blue Garden Homes, defeating gang members and freeing those enslaved by them. Working up the floors, the warrior found the gang leader and his lieutenants. They defeated the leader, who revealed his protection deal with Kilrow, and subsequently, the warrior attempted to make sure the corrupt security officer did not set up a similar situation again.^[9]

Crimson Dawn strikes[]

Dual preparation[]

Between 3 ABY and 4 ABY,^[27] a shipment of munitions traveled to Bestine IV's military base in order for it to finally put a stop to the local insurgent activities. Having learned of the shipment and the unrest on the planet, the criminal syndicate Crimson Dawn hired a crew of bounty hunters led by T'onga to intercept the transport^[24] in hopes that it would spark chaos in the relations between the Empire and the world's populace.^[4]

The Empire, however, had simultaneously also learned of Crimson Dawn's plans to attack the transport. The Sith Lord Darth Vader sent the cyborg mercenary Beilert Valance with^[4] the Revengers, a trio of fighters seeking revenge on Crimson Dawn,^[28] to stop the attack as a test of their loyalty.^[4] Valance was being blackmailed by Vader, who knew the location of Yuralla Vega and Cadeliah, two people the mercenary wanted to keep safe.^[29] The group of four were told that the transport was taking medicine and supplies to the village, convincing them that they were helping the locals.^[24]

Clash and revalations[]

T'onga and Valance briefed their separate crews and arrived on Bestine IV. While T'onga and her cohorts met with the local insurgents, Valance and the Revengers arrived aboard the Imperial transport and prepared to defend it. T'onga's strike team made their run on the transport using the insurgents' speeder bikes and eliminated a number of Imperial shoretrooper sentries before the Revengers engaged the bounty hunters in combat. The shoretrooper force also sprung a trap on the insurgents, leading to a firefight. The insurgent leader attempted to reach the transport's bridge with T'onga, only to be shot down by Valance. The mercenary, though, recognized T'onga^[4] as an ally from the past.^[30]

Valance and T'onga spoke, surprised at each other's allegiances. After Valance explained his situation with Vader, T'onga revealed that Crimson Dawn had taken Cadeliah while Vega had been killed in an Imperial attack, leading Valance to break down over his failure to protect them. Meanwhile, the Revengers and the Imperial security forces captured the rest of T'onga's bounty hunter crew and awaited further orders from Valance. Valance, though, had changed his mind about working with them, and when he returned to the security, he began massacring them in a fit of rage. He further revealed to the Revengers that the transport was shipping explosives instead of medicine.^[30]

Base or bait[]

Two TIE fighters arrived to intervene, but Valance used a thermal detonator to destroy one of them. The other was destroyed by the Edgehawk, the starship of T'onga's crew that was piloted by the droid bounty hunter 4-LOM. Meanwhile, Vader and Valance's commanding officer, Lieutenant Jyala Haydenn, were aboard the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Righteous Fist in Bestine IV's orbit. Valance contacted Haydenn, with whom he was engaged in a romantic relationship, confronting her about her lying to him about Vega being alive. Afterward, the mercenary let the Imperial munitions transport accelerate toward Bestine's military base, with himself, the Revengers, and the bounty hunters all escaping^[30] to the village.^[31]

The base reported the transport's acceleration shortly before it crashed into the facility, destroying it in a fireball that was cheered on by the village's residents. Valance, however, had additionally intended for the explosion to serve as bait for Vader. The Sith Lord indeed then arrived on a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle with Haydenn by his side.^[30] Valance confronted and fought Vader, with the pair's skirmish being seen from the village, where the Revengers had taken refuge. Having sent her crew back to the Edgehawk, T'onga attempted to intervene with a speeder bike but was swiftly stopped by Vader, and one of her crew had to rescue her when Haydenn attempted to pursue.^[31]

Punishment[]

The fight ended with Vader throwing Valance to the ground with the Force. At that time, TIE/sa bombers arrived and bombed the village, with the Revengers having to flee into a cave. The Sith Lord moved in to kill Valance, but Haydenn stepped in to do it herself. Despite Valance's pleas for them to flee together, she shot the mercenary in the head, sending him falling off the cliff and into the burning village. Displeased that Valance's body had gone beyond their reach, Vader had Haydenn send a recovery unit to search for the mercenary's body. Valance, however, had survived the shot and the fall and fled on the Edgehawk after T'onga's crew found him first.^[31]

With the recovery team failing to recover Valance,^[31] Vader spoke with Haydenn again aboard the Righteous Fist^[12] above Bestine IV,^[31] advising her to send the Empire's best trackers to find the mercenary.^[12] At Vader's request, she summoned the special forces unit Inferno Squad and briefed them on a mission to find Valance and wipe his memory to remove any classified Imperial secrets he might have witnessed.^[31] In 34 ABY,^[32] a partial map of the galaxy that indicated Bestine's position was displayed on several screens aboard Chandrila Star Line's Star Cruiser Halcyon.^[33]

Inhabitants[]

Bestine IV was home to humans like Jek Porkins,^[8] as well as a Dowutin, Twi'lek,^[9] and the Shahkirin mechanic Yipsit, who grew up on Bestine's cliffs before joining the Resistance.^[6] The Bestine Security Force operated in Bsellis City during the time of the Empire, with one of their officers being the corrupt Sergeant Mey Kilrow.^[9] Bestine IV's Imperial base maintained a complement of security forces, including shoretroopers.^[30]

Locations[]

Bestine IV's islands included Jahnae, where an Imperial^[4] naval shipyard^[23] was located, accompanied by a village for its staff^[4] in a nearby valley.^[31] Among the world's settlements was Bsellis City, which had a market district where the housing tenement Blue Garden Homes was located.^[9]

Behind the scenes[]

Origins[]

Bestine IV, first known as simply Bestine, originated in "Tosche Station," a deleted scene of George Lucas' 1977 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.^[34] The prior year, the line mentioning Bestine was adapted in the film's novelization, written by Alan Dean Foster.^[35]

Bestine IV's full name was first given in Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope, a Star Wars Legends supplement to West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game released in 1989.^[36] The world's first appearance in that continuity was in the 1993 LucasArts video game Star Wars: X-Wing.^[37]

Canon developments[]

In the current Star Wars canon, Bestine was first mentioned in "Lair of Grievous," the tenth episode of the first season of the animated television show Star Wars: The Clone Wars,^[10] which first aired on December 12, 2008.^[38] Its full name, Bestine IV, was introduced into canon through Jek Porkin's card for Base Series 1 of the Topps mobile game Star Wars: Card Trader,^[39] released on March 11, 2015.^[40]

Knights of Fate,^[9] a 2018^[41] Fantasy Flight Games sourcebook published as part of the Star Wars: Force and Destiny roleplaying game system, includes an adventure idea that is set on Bestine IV and designed for a group of player-characters including a representative of the Warrior class. The suggested scenario culminates with a multi-choice objective to confront Mey Kilrow and stop her from continuing to make corrupt deals. The suggested choices of approaching the confrontation include intimidating her, setting her up for apprehension by local authorities, or fighting her. She will immediately call for backup if attacked, forcing the player-characters to flee—including from the attention of the Imperials if they openly use Force powers. Kilrow herself prefers to flee over fighting to the death. This article assumes the adventure scenario plays out as described.^[9]

In the 2019 video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, a light-blue-and-white cosmetic skin named "Bestine" can be unlocked for use by the in-game droid companion, BD-1. Located in the Ice Caves of the planet Zeffo, the collectible is guarded by a Purge Trooper and a scout trooper commander.^[42] Bestine IV's first appearance in canon was in the twenty-eighth issue of Marvel Comics' Star Wars: Bounty Hunters series of comic books. The issue was written by Ethan Sacks, illustrated by Paolo Villanelli,^[24] and published on November 2, 2022.^[43]

Inconsistencies[]

The twentieth issue of De Agostini's Star Wars: Build Your Own X-Wing magazine series,^[11] which was released in January 2019,^[44] establishes that Bestine IV was located near Kestic Station.^[11] However, "Pilots of the Rebel Alliance," an issue of De Agostini's Star Wars Encyclopedia magazine series^[25] released on March 4, 2022,^[45] states that Kestic Station was instead a location on Bestine itself.^[25] This article assumes the information from the former source is correct.

Appearances[]

• The High Republic Adventures (2021) 1 (Picture only) (Based on correspondence between the galactic map and maps in other sources)
• The High Republic: The Rising Storm (Mentioned only)
• The High Republic: The Rising Storm audiobook (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Lair of Grievous" (First mentioned)
• Tarkin (Mentioned only)
• Tarkin audiobook (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (Mentioned only) (In deleted scene(s))
• "Desert Son" — From a Certain Point of View (Mentioned only)
• "Desert Son" — From a Certain Point of View audiobook (Mentioned only)
• Battlefront: Twilight Company (Mentioned only)
• Battlefront: Twilight Company audiobook (Mentioned only)
• Bounty Hunters 28 (First appearance)
• Revelations (2022) 1 (Vision to Darth Vader)
• Bounty Hunters 29
• Bounty Hunters 30
• Bounty Hunters 31
• Bounty Hunters 32 (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser (Pictured on screen only) (Based on correspondence between the galactic map and maps in other sources)

Sources[]

Notes and references[]