Genarius

"Within the clouds of Genarius, anything is possible."

- The first overseer of Friz Harammel

Genarius was a gas giant in the Cularin system. Much like Bespin, it had floating cities, including a manufacturing city built by SoroSuub Corporation 32 BBY. The floating cities of Genarius were viewed as relatively lawless by the standards of the rest of the Cularin system.

The mixture of gases in Genarius was unusually rare for the Galaxy, with many existing in stable form due to mixing with others and the presence of radiation from the planet's core. Argon mixed with heavy beskium, and three distinct carbon isotopes in gaseous form, creating a blend of blue and orange in the atmosphere. In addition, over 150 elements existed in the atmosphere in trace amounts (less than 50 parts per million). Tibanna and irolunn gas could also be found on Genarius.

Genarius gave off its own glow, along with heat and energy. Its core was a producer of low-energy fusion, with temperatures as hot as protostars though not great enough to turn the planet into a star. Storms of extremely forceful winds and deadly radiation would sweep up from below and could devastate unprotected cities.

Unlike most gas giants, Genarius had native animal life: the jellyfish-like cochlera. This species was hardy and able to adapt to a wide range of conditions on Genarius. However, no specimen was able to survive for more than one standard day if taken away from Genarius' unique mix of atmospheric gases.

History
During the Great Galactic War, a group of Imperial fighters known as the Bane Brigade and their Sith commanders attacked the planet and purged the Jedi Enclave there.

After Reidi Artom discovered the Cularin system in 232 BBY, it did not take long for entrepreneurs to come to the system. The earliest efforts at settlement focused on the four moons of Genarius. Once the stability of the planet's atmosphere was determined, the attempt to build a city in the atmosphere began.

Nub Saar was the first city built. It was constructed hastily and was not prepared for the intense radiation storms. It had almost been abandoned by the time it was hit by a storm so hard, most of the cities' structures fell and the residents that remained were disintegrated. Though it was a setback in settling the planet, the lessons learned from Nub Saar were applied to future cities. Radiation shields were a priority, and the buildings were made strong enough to resist the intense winds.

There were other cities constructed that failed, but Friz Harammel, built by Daedalus Gas Mines Corporation, was the first city to succeed. It was expected to be a disaster in the making, but the lessons of Nub Saar had been properly applied, and after a year of mining operations, the city's overseer was able to announce staggering profits. Her speech not only renounced the city's critics, but it was worded to incite more interest in Genarius from other businesses: More trade meant more profit. External investors would came during centuries, among them being Qar Jalunn. By 188 BBY, there were multiple cities floating in the orange and blue-hued clouds of Genarius. It was these cities that Dark Jedi Kibh Jeen attacked to begin the Dark Jedi Conflict. Thousands died. The Conflict moved on from Genarius, and Jeen's forces were eventually defeated in 181 BBY.



After Riboga the Hutt came to the Cularin system in 110 BBY, he had the city of Tolea Biqua built at his command, which became his part-time home. He did not want to give the independent cities of Genarius the opportunity to gang up against him, so he organized them first. He presented to the city leaders that together, they presented a united front and could make more money than independently.

Riboga created a Central Council with two members each from the major cities of Genarius, those cities accounting for only half of the planet's population but 90% of its wealth. The other cities paid the Council tribute for protection. Riboga led the Council himself initially, but once he was satisfied with the Council's attributations and status quo, he allowed them to elect their own leader. New representatives were chosen every two years. While each city still operated pretty independently, trade decisions had to pass through the Council.

After Riboga left the system, Nirama did not concern himself with the Council, so they began to be the body that Riboga had initially described. They still accepted tribute from the smaller cities without granting them seats, and only paid attention to their own concerns. When Ipsus and Edic Bar were created, the wealth and prestige Naescorcom and SoroSuub brought gained these cities each two seats on the Central Council almost immediately.

Each city on Genarius focused on a different industry. Edic Bar produced starfighters, Friz Harammel did gas mining and radiocarbon harvesting, Ipsus manufactured diverse supplies, and Tolea Biqua and Varna Biqua provided vice without restrictions. Rorkee, originally intended as a study center, based its economy in the tourism it could gather using a faitful reproduction of an archaelogical site from the moon of Dorumaa after the Dorumaa Investment Group restricted access to the original one. Depatar, officially a "neutral ground" for whatever parts looking for such a place, was a recognized black market, probably the biggest in the Cularin system; and it also generated a handsome income through its internal bureaucracy. The Genariusan cities as a whole were the biggest centers of business, manufacturation and distribution in the Cularin system as of 31 BBY.

In 31 BBY, a fallen Jedi called Karae Nalvas secretly built an armored flying city, similar to the others in Genarius, but he also endowed it with firepower enough to destroy almost any of the Genariusan cities. Nalvas's enemy Alec, a Jedi Knight, theorized that Nalvas wanted to take over or destroy the cities, collapsing the economy of the system and breaking out a war. Alec stole the blueprints of such a weapon of mass destruction and hid in Depatar, but Nalvas managed to recover the documents.

Nalvas hid his city, the Conkesta, near the planetary core to avoid detection. Alec detected it anyway and recruited several people, including Dr. Shilaea Motacc and several adventurers, all of whom had worked for Nalvas unaware of the dark Jedi's real plans. Alec asked some of his allies to raid the Conkesta and upload a virus to end with its threat, while he was busy tracking Nalvas. The virus sent the Conkesta to the core of Genarius, where it was destroyed, apparently with a great burst of dark side energy that Nalvas could not hope to control. Nalvas left the Cularin system, but Genarius was safe and the Conkesta was never really used against any of its cities.

After the Clone Wars a terrible war broke out between the government of Genarius and the group known as the Coalition. When the Coalition's main warship collided with the city of Tolea Biqua, the planet was rendered nearly uninhabitable due to the instability of the atmosphere.

Behind the scenes
When the Living Force Campaign Guide discussed Riboga setting up the Central Council, the "result" was said to be a council with representatives from Ipsus, Edic Bar, Tolea Biqua, Varna Biqua, and Friz Harammel. However, Ipsus and Edic Bar were not founded until after Riboga left the Cularin system, so the five cities listed would be seen as the ultimate result as of 31 BBY. What is unknown is if the original Council represented only three cities, or if Ipsus and Edic Bar forced out two of Genarius' lesser cities from representation.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Old Republic