Stend system

The Stend system, a part of the Outer Rim Territories' Juris sector, contained the planets Stend IV and Stend VI. The former was a tropical jungle world with several oceans on its surface and a population of a low technology level. The latter was a temperate planet of mountains, plains, and urban areas and served as a manufacturing and processing site for the Galactic Empire.

Shortly after the Battle of Naboo, a group of individuals hired by the the anti-technological eco-terrorist group Army of Life traveled to the Stend system aboard the freighter Majestic Gundark. After an intense skirmish on Stend IV against several parties aiming to stop the group, it eventually succeeded in its mission—the release of a batch of eggs of the highly invasive clodhopper creatures into the planet's environment. During the Empire's reign, several swoop gangs arose on Stend VI, leading to daily skirmishes in the planet's skies, although the first real local gang, the Skulls, eventually relocated to the Hook Nebula.

Description[]

The Stend system was a part of the Outer Rim Territories' Juris sector.^[1] It lay on the hyperlane known as the Five Veils Route, which connected it to the Ninzam and Vergesso systems.^[2]

The fourth orbital position in the system was occupied by the tropical planet Stend IV.^[3] It had at least one^[5] jungle-covered continent on its surface as well as several oceans. White clouds in its atmosphere obscured much of the planet's surface when it was viewed from space.^[3]

The terrestrial planet Stend VI occupied the sixth orbit of the system. It had an orbital period of 230 local days, each of which was twenty-three standard hours long, and had three moons. The planet had a temperate climate, and its surface featured mountains, plains, and urban areas.^[4]

History[]

Decades before the Galactic Civil War, Stend IV was settled by Gran colonists from the fellow colony world of Malastare.^[6] Shortly after the Trade Federation invasion of the planet Naboo ended in 32 BBY,^[7] the anti-technological eco-terrorist group Army of Life conspired with^[3] the Humanocentric terrorist group Knights of the Core that wanted to target a continent on Stend IV inhabited by Gran and Elomin colonists.^[5]

This section of the article assumes a specific path in the roleplaying adventure "Operation: Clodhopper". Alternate paths may be noted in the "Behind the scenes" section. The events in this section may or may not have been confirmed as canonical within the Star Wars Legends continuity.

The Army of Life hired a group of individuals to transport four hundred stolen eggs of clodhoppers—omnivorous pests infamous for destroying whole planetary ecosystems due to a voracious appetite and rapid rate of reproduction—aboard the freighter Majestic Gundark from Naboo to the largest settlement on Stend IV and release them into the environment. The freighter successfully traveled to Stend IV,^[3] albeit pursued by a government-tasked group of individuals on a mission to stop the terrorist plot.^[5]

When the Majestic Gundark arrived in the Stend system, its crew did not detect any other starships in the entire system. On Stend IV's surface, the group faced both^[3] the government-recruited team^[5] and a group of local Gran settlers led by Jedi Guardian Dree-Tekes in an intense skirmish but was ultimately successful in releasing the clodhopper eggs into the environment.^[3]

Assumption ends here.

During the reign of the Galactic Empire, several swoop gangs arose on Stend VI, leading to daily skirmishes in the planet's skies. The group considered to be the first real gang was the Skulls.^[4] By 2 BBY,^[8] the Skulls had relocated to the Hook Nebula, though a new gang known as the Razers emerged on Stend VI and resumed the Skulls' campaign of terror. At some point, the Corellian scoundrel Cohden K'Reye^[4] and the captain Nuendo Rash^[9] each visited the Stend VI cantina known as The Pits.^[4]

Inhabitants[]

By the time the Invasion of Naboo was repelled,^[7] Gran settlers had colonized Stend IV. The colony world was at a low level of technology.^[3] One continent on Stend IV's surface was also home to Elomin colonists.^[5]

Stend VI had a population of 2.2 billion, most of which were Humans. The inhabitants of the Outer Rim world were governed by a representative democracy allied with the Galactic Empire, in which the planet served the role of a manufacturing and processing site. The society on Stend VI had access to space-level technology and maintained an Imperial-class starport. The planet exported consumer goods to other worlds while at the same time importing foodstuffs from elsewhere.^[4]

Locations[]

ArgumentInThePits — The Pits on Stend VI

There were only a few isolated settlements on Stend IV, of which the only one large enough to be considered a town was Gev-Toosa. It did not have a spaceport, instead relying on an automated signal that instructed new arrivals to land outside the town and walk to the settlement.^[3]

A prominent location on Stend VI was the swoop racer bar known as The Pits. It was owned by the legendary swoop racer Blizz Pinnix, while the establishment's day-to-day operations of The Pits were overseen by the Herglic businessman Kaylo NaKuda. NaKuda also owned the adjacent vehicle repair garage and dealership Kuda's Compound, which—unbeknownst to Pinnix—sold mostly stolen vehicles and parts and was staffed by slaves. The latter included Sil Vaturha, a Twi'lek orphan who possibly had some of the greatest technological skills of the inhabitants of the^[4] Juris^[1] and neighboring sectors.^[4]

Behind the scenes[]

The Stend system was first depicted in illustrations of Stend VI's night skies included in Wretched Hives of Scum & Villainy, a 1997 sourcebook written by Paul Danner for use with West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.^[4] The first proper appearance of the system and the introduction of its name came in "Operation: Clodhopper," a roleplaying mini-adventure authored by Cory J. Herndon and published on Wizards.com on February 22, 2001 for use with the Wizards of the Coast Star Wars Roleplaying Game.^[3] The 2009 reference book The Essential Atlas placed the Stend system in grid square P-17.^[2]