Mustafar/Legends

"I am sending you to the Mustafar system in the Outer Rim. It is a volcanic planet. You will be safe there."

- General Grievous

Mustafar was a planet located in the Mustafar system of the Outer Rim Territories, coreward of Rutan, between the Hydian Way and the Ninth Quadrant.

The tiny world of Mustafar was a fiery volcanic world where lava was mined like a precious natural resource. It was also the last homeworld of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

Mustafar was a young and volatile world, torn apart by opposing gravitational forces of the gas giants Jestefad and Lefrani, with the former being the closer of the two. Astride thick-skinned lava fleas, the natives leapt across the lava fields to mine the planet's deadly natural resources. Mustafarians oversaw the smelting facilities constructed by the Separatists on Mustafar.

History
Mustafar was home to two varients of sapient Mustafarians&mdash;a tall, thin variety and a short, squat variety. Centuries ago, a cataclysmic eruption destroyed all Mustafarian settlements except for Fralideja.

At the time of the Clone Wars, the Techno Union had owned Mustafar for 300 years, harvesting minerals and energy from the 800-degree-hot lava. It was comparatively cool to most other lava due to the unusual mineral allotropes that became molten at a lower temperature. Regardless, the lava could only safely be mined when a repulsor field was placed to repress any eruptions and deflect heat away from those harvesting.

The main Separatist stronghold was located in a massive industrial complex located on a fiery cliff bracketed by two huge lava flows. Collection arms mined lava from the area, while durable industrial droids worked further afield. Within this facility lay a Separatist command center, one of the most secure bunkers in the Galaxy.

Later, Darth Vader, formerly Anakin Skywalker, stormed the Separatist base and slew the Separatist Council under orders from Darth Sidious. At this moment, Lefrani eclipsed Mustafar's sun. The duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader would also take place on the lava planet. During the duel, the controls to the mining complex were destroyed and the repulsor fields dropped, allowing the violent lava eruptions to overwhelm the complex. Vader suffered grievous injuries including the loss of his remaining limbs and the searing of his lungs when attempting to jump to higher ground from a platform on the lava river. He was later rescued by Emperor Palpatine, who brought him back to Coruscant where he was rebuilt into the feared cyborg executor of the Emperor at the Emperor Palpatine Surgical Reconstruction Center.

After the destruction of the Separatist Council and the Imperialization of the Techno Union, Mustafar was largely forgotten, until a Separatist stalwart, the fugitive Geonosian Gizor Dellso, holed up on Mustafar during the early days of the Galactic Empire and re-established an independent battle droid factory, requiring the attention of the loyal 501st Legion of stormtroopers to storm the hellish world.

It was rumoured that, during the time of the Galactic Civil War, several would-be Jedi found their way to the legendary world of Mustafar, and were apparently guided on their path to Knighthood by the spectral form of Obi-Wan Kenobi. A disturbance caused by a gathering of dark side energy drew Kenobi's spirit to the planet. Other explorers at the time apparently encountered the ancient assassin droid HK-47. How HK-47 came to be on the planet remains unknown.

Behind the Scenes


Mustafar was originally known as "Mufasta" in early drafts of Revenge of the Sith. The concept of a lava duel dates back to early versions of Return of the Jedi, in which Luke Skywalker battles Darth Vader over a lava lake in Palpatine's throne room in the lowest levels of the Imperial homeworld. Even back then, it was rumoured that Anakin suffered his grievous injuries at the hands of Obi-Wan during a battle over a lava pit, and the concept became an almost mythical tale among Star Wars fans, until finally realized over twenty years later.

The novelization of Return of the Jedi previously stated that the duel between Anakin/Vader and Obi-Wan which resulted in Anakin's terrible injuries happened on a volcanic planet.

Mustafar was designed to look like George Lucas's vision of hell.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Battlefront II
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:241
 * Star Wars Galaxies: Trials of Obi-Wan
 * Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen
 * Dark Nest III: The Swarm War