This article is nominated to be highlighted as a Featured article! Feel free to review this article's entry and voice your opinion.

Vernid was a planet located in an Outer Rim Territories and New Territories star system with at least two moons. Home to mud plains and bruising rain, its inhabitants, considered barbaric by some, included worm farmers that worked dig-rigs. In 4 ABY, Soran Keize, a former major in the Galactic Empire's 204th Imperial Fighter Wing who had begun a new life as "Devon Lhent," found work in Vernid's dig-rigs, working there for several weeks.

During a visit to a cantina, Keize saw news of his old Imperial unit having suffered a defeat to the New Republic at the planet Pandem Nai, leading him to have a drunken outburst about the New Republic in front of the rest of the cantina. Having drawn attention to himself, Keize was worried that his life on Vernid had become compromised, but was assured by his dig-rig colleague Klevin the next day that no one cared about his politics.

However, the New Republic Intelligence was able to trace Keize to Vernid, with two agents making their way to the town of Bakerstown while Keize and his colleagues celebrated the Red Moon Festival there. The agents confronted their quarry, attempting to take Keize away with them. The standoff became a skirmish where Keize, with the help of Klevin, killed the two agents. While Klevin offered to help cover up the incident, Keize concluded that his life on Vernid was over and left to reunite with the 204th.

Description[]

Vernid was a terrestrial planet located in a star system within an intersecting portion of the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories^[1] and New Territories.^[2] It was situated near the Veragi Trade Route,^[4] at the coordinates M-4 on the Standard Galactic Grid.^[3] The world had at least two moons in orbit, the second moon glowing a red color on certain occasions. Vernid was considered a squalid^[1] mud heap,^[5] with its landscapes including mud plains. Vernid's weather brought rain that was heavy and swift, able to bruise bare skin and flood every crack and crevice in the landscape.^[1]

History[]

Devon's new life[]

In 4 ABY,^[6] during the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and New Republic, the overseer of the dig-rigs in Vernid's worm farming industry maintained contact with "the Harch," a female Harch who ran a repair crew aboard the Lormar-class space station Whitedrift Exchange. Around that time, one of the Harch's crew, "Devon Lhent," approached his employer about leaving the space station. Lhent's real identity was Soran Keize, a major in the Empire's 204th Imperial Fighter Wing who had deserted his unit following its part in the campaign Operation: Cinder, believing that his side had already lost the war.^[1]

The Harch chose to sent Keize to Vernid, and made arrangements with the dig-rig overseer, who offered "Devon" a place in a dig-rig crew, which included the crew hauler Klevin, the crew rigswoman Nanchia, the crew cranksman Vi'i'che, and the boy Tyros. After a few weeks working in the crew, Keize became accustomed to Vernid and its environment and culture and notably hauled the worker Grahamos out of a mucking pit. One night, after the evening shifts had finished, the ex-Imperial joined Klevin, Nanchia, Vi'i'che, and another crewmember at their local cantina, with Tyros opting to take a shuttle to a nearby town to meet a crush of his.^[1]

Keize sat with the other four crewmembers, who passed around a bowl of the alcoholic sludge mijura and discussed Tyros's absence and made orders. When one cantina patron asked for a viewscreen to be brought online, the ex-Imperial became distracted by the screen, as it showed news of a New Republic victory against the 204th at the planet Pandem Nai. Keize, under the influence of the mijura, called the New Republic "bastards," claiming that they had no mercy on the Imperial forces. His outburst drew him unwanted attention across the room, and he promptly left the cantina before an altercation could take place.^[1]

The past catches up[]

Forgetting the past[]

The next day, Keize went about his work with his crewmates, acting as if the incident the night before had not taken place and working the signaling lights on the dig-rig. When the shift ended that evening, Klevin approached "Devon" and asked if he was joining the rest of them at the cantina. Keize was reluctant, still worried about the aftermath of his outburst at the cantina, and told his colleague that he would leave if he made too much noise. Klevin, though, colleague reassured "Devon" that no one on Vernid cared about his politics as long as he did not whine about it. Keize thus joined his crewmates at the cantina, noticing that there was no trouble from the night before as he socialized with the other crewmembers.^[1]

Meanwhile, Caern Adan, an agent in the New Republic Intelligence, had some of his people look into the background of Yrica Quell, a former lieutenant in the 204th, who Keize had convinced to defect to the New Republic when he deserted the fighter wing. Through their work, they found a lead that Keize was alive and traced him to Vernid.^[5] The night after visiting the cantina again, the ex-Imperial joined his colleagues on a trip to town of Bakerstown for the Red Moon Festival, where a crowd celebrated around a small set of stalls hosting food and drink games.^[1]

The past was not forgotten[]

Simultaneously, two New Republic agents entered Bakerstown in search of Keize, approaching Klevin to find their target. Keize eventually had enough of the celebrations and began making his away towards a public speeder at the edge of town to return home. That was when Klevin approached "Devon" with the two agents along one of the catwalks. Confirming that they were talking to "Devon Lhent," the pair revealed that they knew who the ex-Imperial was and asked him to come with them. Keize assured them that he was not a threat and promised not to be one if they left him alone. The agents were reluctant to be lenient with their quarry, who questioned whether the New Republic was really trying to be better than the Empire.^[1]

Noticing one agent reach for their weapon, Keize leapt off of the catwalk, evading their blasterfire. The agents attempted to pursue, but Keize grappled one of them and made the spy fatally shoot himself by accident while Klevin attacked the other. The ex-Imperial then disarmed the second agent and killed her with her own blaster. Klevin, knowing that the agents had attacked first, offered to help "Devon" cover up the incident. However, Keize had become frustrated that his past kept catching up with him and told his colleague to tell the overseer he killed the agents, affirming that he would leave Vernid forever. Departing the scene, Keize chose to abandon the identity of Devon Lhent and^[1] returned to the 204th, becoming the unit's new commanding officer in the wake of the its loss of leadership at Pandem Nai.^[7]

After learning that Keize was leading the 204th^[5] in 5 ABY,^[8] Adan's working group, Alphabet Squadron, looked into his past through the files the New Republic Intelligence had on him. One member, Captain Nath Tensent, recounted the intelligence on Keize's time on Vernid, with another, Starfighter Commander Wyl Lark, questioning whether Keize was trying to live a normal life. When later engaging with Keize in a dogfight above the planet Chadawa that year, Lark questioned his adversary on his time on Vernid, which Keize described as "fleeting."^[5]

Inhabitants[]

Inhabitants on Vernid included human and alien worm farmers who worked dig-rigs during their harvest season, laboring until nightfall unless it was the height of the harvest. They wore waterproofing to deal with the rainy weather. Vernid's populous was considered by some to be barbaric, with festivals being scarce on the planet, save for ones like the Red Moon Festival when the second moon glowed red. One cultural tradition on Vernid was the drinking of mijura, a steaming alcoholic sludge.^[1]

Locations[]

Vernid had a single spaceport as well as a number of towns, including Bakerstown, where the residents traveled via metal catwalks that were suspended a meter above the muddy ground.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

Vernid first appeared in the 2019 novel Alphabet Squadron, the first installment of Alexander Freed's Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron trilogy.^[1]

Appearances[]

• Alphabet Squadron (First appearance, simultaneous with audiobook)
• Alphabet Squadron audiobook
• Victory's Price (Mentioned only)
• Victory's Price audiobook (Mentioned only)

Sources[]

• Star Wars Galaxy Map
• SWCA 2022: 7 Things We Learned from the Lucasfilm Publishing Behind the Page Panel on StarWars.com (backup link)

Notes and references[]