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- "View of the Torch Nebula from the Nebula Hotel, Shownar"
- ―Captions on Oro Freatt's line of souvenir holocubes
The Torch Nebula, also known as the Torch sector, was a large nebula within the Outer Rim Territories. It formed a sector that contained the Piluvia system and was crossed by the Llanic Spice Run and Five Veils Route hyperlanes.
By 3640 BBY, some biologists believed the Torch Nebula contained the homeworld of the amphibian lurker creatures. During the reign of the Galactic Empire, the sector was governed by Moff Pelles, and by that time, the spectacular view of the nebula in the nearby planet Shownar's sky served as a major attraction for tourists.
Description[]
The Torch Nebula,[1] also referred to as the Torch sector,[6] was an expansive nebulosity[5] that was located within the Outer Rim Territories.[1] It was composed of various gases and chemical elements related to the makeup of stars and was considered a celestial oddity. The nebula dominated the night sky of the nearby Parmic sector's planet Shownar, where it manifested as a spectacular display of fiery blue and red lights.[5]
Lurkers were believed by some biologists to be native to the Torch Nebula.
The Torch Nebula contained the Piluvia system,[1] which shared its name with the phenomenon known as the Piluvian salamander-storm.[7] At the edges of the nebula lay a nameless jungle world, which,[2] by approximately 3640 BBY,[8] was believed by biologists serving the Hutt Cartel to be the homeworld of the bipedal amphibians known as lurkers.[2]
By 0 ABY, the Torch Nebula constituted a regional sector of the Galactic Empire[9] and was governed by Moff Pelles.[5] The nebula bordered the Parmic sector Coreward and the Thuris sector spinward and Rimward, while sharing the trailing border with the Sujimis sector.[9] The Llanic Spice Run hyperlane passed through the sector,[4] as did a segment of the Five Veils Route.[3]
History[]
During the time period between 0 ABY and 4 ABY,[10] Moff Pelles wished for a higher level of security in the Torch Nebula given that the vital Llanic Spice Run crossed the sector's borders.[5] Pelles voiced those concerns in the form of criticism aimed at Moff Abran Balfour and his lack of involvement in governing the Parmic sector, which contained the endpoint of the Llanic Spice Run.[5]
The Torch Nebula was a spectacular sight in the sky of Shownar.
The Torch Nebula was considered to be the most impressive sight for tourists on Shownar during that time, with the planet's renowned Nebula Hotel offering a breathtaking view of the celestial phenomenon. The remarkable imagery caused by the nebula in Shownar's skies was made famous by a highly popular line of souvenir holocubes created by Shownar's preeminent businessman, Oro Freatt.[5]
Dr. Callow Batta, a former professor of governmental and political history at the University of Sanbra who had turned to piracy after he had been fired by Imperial authorities, led a successful raid on a Galaxy Tours cruiser within the Torch Nebula[6] at some point between 1 ABY and 2 ABY.[11]
Behind the scenes[]
The Torch Nebula was first mentioned in Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim, a 1993 sourcebook written by Simon Smith and Eric S. Trautmann for West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.[5] The 2009 reference book The Essential Atlas placed the nebula within grid square P-19.[12]
The 1995 Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game sourcebook Alliance Intelligence Reports introduced the "Torch sector."[6] Given that The Essential Atlas Extra: Outer Rim Sectors depicts the Torch Nebula as a sector,[9] this article assumes that the two terms are synonymous.
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (Mentioned only) (Codex entry)
Sources[]
- Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim (First mentioned)
- Alliance Intelligence Reports (First identified as Torch sector)
- The Essential Atlas
Star Wars: The Essential Atlas Online Companion on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Star Wars: The Essential Atlas Online Companion on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3
Star Wars: The Old Republic — Codex: "Lurker"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Essential Atlas Extra: Outer Rim Sectors on StarWars.com (article) (backup link) depicts a hyperlane running through the Torch Nebula that is connected to the Skynara system. Jason Fry, co-author of The Essential Atlas, has identified the hyperlane as the Five Veils Route. See:
The Essential Atlas and Galactic Cartography: Official Discussion on the Jedi Council Forums (Literature board; posted by jasonfry on May 16, 2013; accessed August 24, 2018) (backup link)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Essential Atlas Extra: Outer Rim Sectors on StarWars.com (article) (backup link) depicts a hyperlane running through the Torch Nebula, which The Essential Atlas identifies as the Llanic Spice Run.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Alliance Intelligence Reports
- ↑ MedStar II: Jedi Healer
- ↑ Per the reasoning here, Act III of Star Wars: The Old Republic takes place between 3641 BBY and 3640 BBY. Since the Codex entry for lurkers can only be discovered on Belsavis, which is visited by all classes in Act III, the information contained therein can be dated to some point by 3640 BBY.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 The Essential Atlas Extra: Outer Rim Sectors on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
- ↑ Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim is set in the time period between the Battle of Yavin and the Battle of Endor. The New Essential Chronology dates those two battles to 0 BBY and 4 ABY, respectively, while establishing the Battle of Yavin as the final event before the beginning of 0 ABY.
- ↑ Alliance Intelligence Reports represents a collection of in-universe reports from "one year before the Battle of Hoth," which corresponds to 2 ABY, according to The New Essential Chronology. Furthermore, Alliance Intelligence Reports states that Callow Batta had become a pirate "about a year ago," placing the start of his criminal activities at no earlier than 1 ABY.
- ↑ The Essential Atlas
