Ronika

"There's no place like home&mdash;and this isn't it."

- Jori Daragon

Ronika was a world in the Empress Teta system, which was used as a prison colony around the time of the Great Hyperspace War. Ronika was the eighth planet in the system, and had one moon. First settled around 5,000 BBY, the harsh landscape was not conducive to settlement; to prepare the planet for large-scale colonization, Empress Teta, the ruler of the system, used prison labor to terraform Ronika. After the conclusion of the Unification Wars, many members of the rebels of Kirrek were imprisoned on Ronika. Later that year, hyperspace explorer Jori Daragon, convicted of a wide variety of charges, was sent to Ronika. However, intending to warn Teta of the looming Sith threat to invade the Galactic Republic, Daragon stole an ore shuttle and escaped. Daragon's forebodings proved to be true; just days later the Sith attacked the Republic. Teta appointed Llaban, former leader of the Kirrek rebels to lead a defense army on Kirrek, and reinforced his ranks by freeing his former soldiers on Ronika. The freed prisoners played a large role in a Republic victory at the Battle of Kirrek.

Description
"I don't suppose Ronika is much of a resort world."

- Jori Daragon

Ronika was the eighth planet of the Deep Core Empress Teta system, revolving around the star Koros. Ronika had one moon. The planet had a harsh landscape, dominated by brightly-colored rocky cliffs and desert sands, which caused Ronika to appear red from orbit. To survive on Ronika, one needed a fully stocked survival pack, including allergy pastes, anti-venom ampules, emergency scab bandages, and ultraviolet eye shields. The high radiation levels on the planet and the bright, hot sun required visitors to the planet to stay tightly bundled up at all times. One of the native species was the stinger moth, a highly venomous flying insect.

History
"Prisoner! Halt!"

- Guards attempt to stop Jori Daragon's escape

Ronika was first settled around 5,000 BBY, and was used as a prison colony world by Empress Teta, the ruler of the then-Koros system. Teta shipped criminals from the system to Ronika to pay off their debt to society by preparing the arid world for large-scale settlement. That year, rebels on the planet Kirrek fought against Teta's military in the Battle of Kirrek. After their defeat, many of the rebels were sentenced to labor on Ronika, where they worked smashing rocks and collecting the valuable ore inside. Later in 5,000 BBY, hyperspace explorer Jori Daragon was sent to Ronika after being arrested on an outstanding record and convicted. Daragon was desperate to leave as her brother, Gav Daragon, had been captured by the long-isolated Sith Empire; also, Daragon had discovered Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow's ambitions to invade the Galactic Republic. However, her protests and warnings fell on deaf ears and Daragon hatched a plan to escape from the planet.

Spontaneously falling to the ground, Jori Daragon cried out that one of the native stinger moths had stung her, distracting the guards who came to assist her. As the guards left their posts to help, Daragon sprang up off the ground and stole one of the Drone ore shuttles that were on the planet collecting ore. An experienced pilot, Daragon was able to keep pursuing ships at bay until she reached Koros Major's capital city of Cinnagar. Although the guard ships destroyed the shuttle, Daragon safely ejected and was able to warn Teta of the Sith threat. Daragon's forebodings proved true when, just a few days later, Naga Sadow's invasion force attacked the Republic. With a part of Sadow's force poised to attack the Koros system, Teta enlisted Llaban, former leader of the rebels on Kirrek, to command a defense army in a battle for Kirrek. Teta also promised to free some of his former rebel soldiers on Ronika to aid him. Teta kept her promise, and the freed prisoners from Ronika proved pivotal in the Koros victory in the Battle of Kirrek. Eventually the Republic was victorious in the war.

Inhabitants
"Sometimes I wonder if the courts are eager to sentence war criminals just to have cheap workers for their colony planets."

- Jori Daragon

Upon first settlement, Ronika was not suitable for large-scale colonization, due to the arid climate, harsh environment, and poisonous native species. In order to prepare Ronika for settlers, the Koros government brought many criminals to the planet to help terraform Ronika's surface. The prisoners were not allowed to leave the planet, and were constantly watched by guards. At regular intervals, drone shuttles came to the planet to collect ore that the prisoners had extracted from the rocks.

Locations
"I gotta get out of this place."

- Jori Daragon

Ronika was a very barren world, with little but cliffs and deserts. Several large man-made structures could be seen on the planet, however. Also, there were several large clearings to accommodate landing ore ships.

Behind the scenes
The planet Ronika first appears in Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire, a story arc of the Tales of the Jedi comic book series, written by Kevin J. Anderson and released in 1997. Ronika only directly appears in the arc's second issue, Forces in Collision, where it is illustrated by Dario Carrasco, Jr. However, the planet is later mentioned in the third issue, First Encounter, and the fourth issue, The Dogs of War. More information on the planet is given in the 2005 Wizards of the Coast Star Wars Roleplaying Game supplement Byss and the Deep Core, and in 2008, Ronika was given an entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. A continuity issue is raised by Byss and the Deep Core; in Forces in Collision, Ronika is shown as being in a binary star system, but Byss and the Deep Core places Ronika in the Empress Teta system, which has just one star. However, The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia confirms that Ronika is in the Empress Teta system.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire 2: Forces in Collision
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire 3: First Encounter
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire 4: The Dogs of War