Carosite

"Eat right and live right."

- A Carosite philosophy.

The Carosites were a mammalian sentient species originally native to the planet Carosi IV. However, when the star Carosi began to rapidly expand, they were forced to evacuate their entire population to the outer planet Carosi XII and rebuild their civilization.

Carosites were renowned throughout the galaxy for their medical skills. Their medical academies attracted some of the galaxy's greatest doctors to study and teach, drawn by their significant advancements in the treatment of mental illnesses and in medical droid technology. Carosites were generally pacifists, although on occasion flew into berserker rages to protect their patients. Their reverence for life and medical acumen culminated in their famous hospital ship, the Sudden Restoration. Throughout the Galactic Civil War it provided free health care to all, without regard to political affiliation.

Biology and appearance
Carosites were humanoid mammals, standing between 1.3 and 1.7 meters tall. Their heads, on unusually long necks, sported long snouts and small beady eyes. Carosites were slim in build and had extremely nimble hands due to the peculiar arrangement of their digits; two opposable thumbs flanked three central fingers. Their bodies were covered in short, fine fur that kept them warm, and they often grew long goatees on their chins. Carosites had particularly acute senses.

Carosites could only reproduce twice in their lifetimes, on each occasion producing a litter of up to six young. Families were the only social unit in their communities, and often included older relatives unable to live independently. The Carosite lifespan was 120 standard years.

Healing and medicine
"The business is ailing, but may be healed with proper treatment."

- An example of how medical terminology influenced all Carosite culture.

Due to their infrequent reproduction, the Carosites developed a great reverence for life; each being’s life was regarded as sacred. This influenced their society in numerous ways, most particularly in their strong medical tradition. They made advances in the recognition and treatment of mental illnesses, with their sanitariums known for their emphasis on healing the individual rather than confinement. They also made many innovations in the field of medical droid programming. As such, upgrading medical droids on Carosi XII cost only a fraction of what it did elsewhere. To maintain their medical facilities, the Carosites traded heavily with the Ebranites for lu-ramin, an oil vital for several of their medicines. Carosites charged for their healing services commensurate to the patients’ ability to pay. One distinctive feature of their care was their refusal to install prosthetic replacements.

Carosites also enjoyed passing on their medical heritage and so a number of medical academies were established on their planet, such as the Carosi XII Academy of Medicine. These institutions attracted many famous doctors, scientists, and surgeons to study or teach. The Carosite language was also influenced by this heritage, with medical metaphors commonly used to describe business deals, galactic politics, and other non-medical areas of life.

Their reverence for life also produced a strongly pacifist culture, although an exception was made for the protection of the feeble, the helpless, or of their patients. Under such circumstances, Carosites were known to fly into a berserker state, sometimes called a "life saving fanaticism". Furthermore, the Carosites abhorred any form of interrogation or brainwashing, regarding private thoughts as inviolate. However, a vocal minority argued for more aggressive action against oppressors such as the Galactic Empire. This group called themselves "The Preventers", arguing that assertive action would save lives in the long run.

Government
The Carosites developed a form of democracy whereby every ten years they elected a leader who held absolute authority. This leader relied on eleven counselors for advice, selected from the eleven major families. Carosite society valued truth, and so considered verbal and written agreements completely binding. As a manifestation of their eternal optimism, they extended this expectation to offworlders, who frequently abused this trust and failed to uphold their bargains.

Carosites disliked alcohol due to its harmful effects on sentients, both in the short and the long term. This led their government to tax liquor sales heavily and minimize the number of liquor outlets on their planet. This paternalistic attitude also led Carosites to frequently offer unsolicited dietary advice. Visitors often regarded this doting as worse than that typical of protocol droids.

History
The Carosite species originally evolved on the planet Carosi IV in the Carosus system. However, in 200 BBY, their sun began an unusually rapid expansion that threatened their homeworld. This led to a major upheaval in Carosite society, and over the course of twenty years, they evacuated their entire civilization to Carosi XII, an ice planet further out in the system. The expanding sun consumed the first five planets of the system, and soon increased the temperature of Carosi XII to merely "cool," rendering the world more hospitable. The Carosites slowly terraformed Carosi XII over the next two centuries, making use of a number of scientists and other specialists to rebuild their world.

The sole city on Carosi XII was Newlife Point, which was home to most of the two million Carosites living on the planet. The city was established on the shores of the Avuae sea, where the original refugee ships had landed. The sea was rich in marine life, which provided a good source of protein, and the Carosites were fond of swimming in the icy waters. Just south of this city were a number of hot pools, heated by underground volcanic activity. The hot springs were known to aid in the healing process and so the Carosites linked it to Newlife Point with an underground transrail system.

The Carosites were deeply affected by their turbulent dislocation, and struggled to find their bearing in the galaxy for many generations. It caused many to value old traditions and rituals, producing a veneration of the past. However, a small fragment of their society pushed for the forging of new traditions to meet their new circumstances. This caused heated debate among the population.



During the Galactic Civil War, the Carosites were loyal to the Rebel Alliance, but their respect for life led them to be undiscerning in who they treated, often providing medical care for Imperial survivors as much as Rebels. The Carosites had little military strength and maintained only a small navy and merchant fleet. As such, when the Empire used the "Jade Moon" orbiting Carosi XII as a manufacturing site for AT-ATs and blaster rifles, it was the forces of the Rebel Alliance, led by Rogue Squadron, that destroyed it. Led by the defector Kasan Moor, they provided cover while a team of Rebel SpecForce commandos destroyed the base. When the New Republic was established, the Carosites continued their support, and allowed a Republic base to be established on the planet.

Later during the New Republic era, the Carosites established many pleasure domes on Carosi XII, some making use of expensive synthdroids, which increased travel to the planet such that the starport was in constant use. The Loronar Corporation also established a synthdroid factory on the moon of Carosi XII, which was visited by Chief of State Leia Organa.

Carosites in the galaxy
Carosites were most frequently encountered in the galaxy as physicians and doctors, such as the pair that worked as medics at the Galactic Outdoor Survival School. A notable Carosite physician was Tamo Lan. Trained in medicine on Carosi XII, Lan decided to join the Rebel Alliance after killing a Twi'lek who threatened one of his patients. He served the Alliance on Baes Logia and the Massassi temple on Yavin 4 before joining Shroud Team as a medic. When his best friend, the Aqualish Karlon, was killed on Bresnia, he took in his sister Gondara.

Not all Carosites were so selfless; the cyberneticist Dr. Parnath was a notorious exception. Exiled from Carosi for his unethical practices and wholesale pursuit of credits, he moved to the Vergesso Asteroids where he would perform any cybernetic enhancements requested of him, provided the payment was good.

Even more prominent than these individuals were the Carosite physicians aboard the hospital ship, the Sudden Restoration. A modified Kuat Drive Yards HS-1 hospital ship, it traveled the galaxy providing free medical care to all, and acquired a legendary patient recovery rate. It was given its name because it often visited the sites of recent battles, appearing out of nowhere to care for the wounded and civilian populations. The ship's reputation was tarnished somewhat when one of its physicians was blackmailed by the Empire into serving as their agent. He was putting Republic officers into comatose states and then jettisoning their "dead" bodies into space where the Imperials later picked them up for interrogation.

The Sudden Restoration offered medical care to the sick and wounded, regardless of their political affiliations. Because of this liberal approach, it was largely free from attack, with pirates known to hunt down any who dared attack the ship. However, on one occasion the ship was attacked by a bounty hunter. He had been hired by a crimelord to assassinate an Imperial officer that was receiving treatment on the ship. After events such as this, the New Republic insisted on stationing some X-wings aboard to provide some small fighter cover to the ship. The ship was so successful that the Carosites considered producing more like it. Many of its patients were later transferred to Carosi Alpha Hospital on Carosi XII itself.



The Sudden Restoration was open to different methods of healing, and for a time the Ewok shaman Keoulkeech served aboard it. A Carosite transport on its way to Yir Tangee had encountered the Ewok while on a stopover at Salfur's Trading Post on Endor. Recognizing his ability, they had transferred him to the Sudden Restoration. The Carosites were aware of the Force, and desired to learn more about it. However, no Carosite was ever trained as a Jedi, as their curiosity revolved around using it to promote healing and recovery, rather than for other purposes. This attitude was typical of the innovative Carosites, some of whom even tried to find ways to harness blaster technology to promote healing.

The Carosite relationship with the New Republic was further strengthened by Omo Taj, the Carosite leader during the early years of the New Republic. It was he who authorized the construction of a secret base on Carosi XII, and he subsequently maintained good relations with the base commander, Balderik Rajana. However, this base did draw Imperial attention to Carosi XII. On one such occasion, an agent trained rinacats, native predators, to hunt the base operatives.

During the Galactic Civil War, the Empire captured a particularly unfortunate Carosite smuggler. Darth Vader then used the dark side of the Force to burn his mind, transforming him into a feral beast, driven by fear, and used him as a fanatical guard. In 12 ABY, Han Solo and Chewbacca encountered him on Belsavis in the underground catacombs.

Behind the scenes
The Carosites first appeared in Planets of the Galaxy, Volume Two. The majority of their appearances since then have been in other roleplaying game sourcebooks by West End Games. However, the computer game Star Wars: Rogue Squadron also used their moon as the site of a battle against the Empire, and two Bantam novels have also made brief reference to the Carosites and Carosi.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
 * Children of the Jedi
 * Planet of Twilight