Rugosa/Legends

"Let me propose a neutral meeting ground. Shall we say&hellip;Rugosa, yes? Three days' time. The coral moon shall do."

- King Katuunko

Rugosa, also known as the coral moon, was a temperate moon in the Sanbra sector. It was one of the worlds that made up the Infinite Empire, a galactic power led by the Rakatan species in approximately 30,000 BBY. The moon was later discovered by Toydarian scouts working near the Balmorra Run, and because of its attractive climate and warm oceans, it became a Toydarian vacation spot. The Hutt overlords of the Toydarians punished them by releasing a plague onto the moon, drying up all its oceans and exposing vast expanses of coral.

During the Clone Wars, Rugosa was selected as the site for negotiations between King Katuunko of Toydaria and representatives of the Galactic Republic. However, when the Separatists intercepted communications arranging the meeting, they ambushed the Republic convoy. A small group of clone troopers, led by Jedi Master Yoda, made it to the moon and engaged the Separatists in combat, eventually defeating their forces and gaining the allegiance of King Katuunko.

Description
Rugosa was a temperate moon orbiting a blue planet in the Rugosa system&mdash;a star system located in the Sanbra sector of the Outer Rim Territories &mdash;near the Balmorra Run. The moon was once covered in warm swamps and shallow seas; however, a Hutt plague dried up its oceans, leaving its coral formations and reefs exposed, as well as fossil remains of native species. Many plants and coral survived the plague: the massive coral formations varied in color, from green to blue to purple, and included various forms, from large fan-shapes to antler shapes and porous spheres. Some were large enough for starships such as the Thief's Eye to comfortably land on them.

Following the Hutt plague, rainfall slowly began to accumulate in the ocean beds. Exotic fauna also arrived on the moon, and baby neebray manta lived among the coral formations as a stop along their migration through space.

History
Around the year 30,000 BBY, an alien species known as the Rakata became a significant galactic power. Using Force-based hyperdrives, they traveled to many worlds around the galaxy that possessed significant signatures in the Force, uniting them to form the Rakatan Infinite Empire. Among these worlds was Rugosa. After five thousand years of galactic dominance, plague caused the collapse of the Infinite Empire and eventually the end of the Rakata presence on the moon.

Following the Rakatan extinction, the moon was uninhabited for thousands of years until it was discovered by Toydarians scouting around the Balmorra Run some centuries before the Clone Wars. The Toydarians were native to the Hutt Space planet, Toydaria, which was covered in muck lakes filled with dangerous predators. To them, Rugosa's warm swamps and coral seas appeared a paradise. Their clan chiefs turned the moon into a vacation spot, keeping its existence hidden from their Hutt overlords. When the Hutts discovered the deception, they released an ancient plague on the moon in order to punish the Toydarians. Within months, the plague had dried up Rugosa's seas, turning the verdant moon into a dry world. Consequently, it earned the nickname "the coral moon" among some Toydarians.

The Clone Wars
"If Yoda is indeed the Jedi warrior you believe he is, let him prove it. Allow me to send my best troops to capture him. If he escapes, join the Republic. But should my droids defeat Yoda, consider an alliance with the Separatists."

- Ventress to Katuunko

During the Clone Wars, the moon was chosen by King Katuunko of Toydaria as a neutral meeting place to negotiate with an envoy from the Galactic Republic. This particular world reminded him of his homeworld, so he requested a Jedi meet him there as the Republic emissary. Jedi Grand Master Yoda was subsequently chosen to open the negotiations with the king. However, word of this meeting was intercepted by spies of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. In order to disrupt the plan, Confederate Head of State Count Dooku dispatched his disciple, Asajj Ventress, to convince or coerce the Toydarian king to become a Separatist ally instead. Yoda was ambushed en route, but he still managed to crash land on the moon with three clone troopers. He managed to report his survival to the king when one of the clones, Thire managed to patch into the king's communication system. With Yoda's survival revealed, Ventress made a bet with Katuunko that if Yoda could make it to the king alive, the Republic would gain Toydaria's allegiance; if not, Toydaria would become an ally of the Separatists.

Ventress then dispatched droid forces under the command of 224 to kill Yoda. The dense coral impeded the path of the main droid column, preventing the passage of their large Assault Tanks. Yoda and the clones took a circuitous path to the rendezvous point, hoping in this manner to avoid some of the droid forces, but were still confronted by successive companies of B1 battle droids, B2 super battle droids, and droidekas. After these three encounters, the Republic forces took refuge in a cave to rest.

Emerging from the cave, Yoda and the clones saw a final compliment of droids in a narrow canyon below. Yoda ventured down into the canyon on his own, destroying three tanks and a large number of droids. As a last ditch effort, Ventress dispatched several droidekas to eliminate the Jedi Master. At this point, Thire launched the last of the rockets at an overhanging rock above the canyon, causing an avalanche to crush the droids. Despite Ventress's best efforts, Yoda, together with the three clone troopers&mdash;Lieutenant Thire, Jek, and Rys&mdash;managed to reach the king. Attempting to go back on her deal, Ventress was ordered by Dooku via hologram to kill the king. She swung her lightsabers in a killing strike, but they were halted at the last instant by Yoda's Force grip. Ventress subsequently fled the moon, and King Katuunko, impressed with Yoda's deeds, signed a treaty with the Republic, allowing it to establish an outpost in his territory.

Inhabitants
Rugosa was once inhabited by the Rakata. These humanoids had large, cone-like heads with eyes on short stalks on the sides. Plague eventually caused the collapse of their civilization and the end of their presence on Rugosa. Thousands of years later, the moon was used as a vacation spot by Toydarians, a short species with vaguely avian features and a stubby trunk. They had small wings with which they could fly, despite their tubby appearance. Once Rugosa was ruined by plague, the Toydarians stopped using it as a vacation spot; however, King Katuunko and his entourage still visited the world during the Clone Wars.

Behind the scenes
Rugosa featured in "Ambush," the first episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, and was the primary location for the episode's action. Rugosa was later included in supporting The Clone Wars material, as well as The Essential Atlas.

Inspired by the Flash Gordon series, the moon was designed so as to offer a unique terrain; in previous Star Wars movies, desert, ice, jungle, and forest planets had already been presented, so the design team settled on a coral design to offer a new environment. The word "rugosa" itself is an extinct order of coral. The moon was initially designed with a reddish color palette; however, when it was decided to release the episode first, rather than later in the series as originally planned, Supervising Director Dave Filoni realized that the color would be too similar to that of "Rising Malevolence," the second episode to be released. Filoni then decided to modify its color scheme to blue and green hues to create a distinct look. The artist Russell Chong, who worked on illustrating the moon, was himself a scuba diver and drew on these experiences in his designs.

According to The Essential Atlas Appendix and its online companion, Rugosa is located within grid P-17; however, all the maps within this book place Rugosa in O-17, suggesting that this may merely have been a typographical error. This is also necessary for its placement in the Sanbra sector, as depicted on the Essential Atlas Extra: Outer Rim Sectors feature. Consequently, the location of O-17 has been followed in this article.

Appearances

 * The Clone Wars: Prelude
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Forces of Darkness
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Forces of Darkness