Vulpter/Legends

"They said Vulpter had once been a lovely planet. It didn't look lovely now: the skies had that polluted smoky haze that meant there were wonderful red sunsets here, and not much else to be grateful for."

- Ben Skywalker

Vulpter was the third planet of the Vulpter system in the Deep Core, and the homeworld of the sentient Vulptereen species. Originally an unspoiled world with a wide array of flora and fauna, Vulpter was transformed over the millennia into a massively polluted globe covered in waste and factories. This meant that the planet could not sustain itself in terms of agriculture, and was thus entirely reliant on importing foodstuffs from other worlds. The Vulptereen were among the founding members of the Trade Federation, an allegiance that would prove even more catastrophic for Vulpter's ecosystem. When the Federation seized control of the planet, the organization essentially turned it into an enormous junkyard.

Vulpter joined the galactic community at large between 20,000 and 15,000 BBY.

Description
Vulpter was the only habitable planet in the Vulpter system of the Deep Core. Despite this central location, it was historically considered insignificant by organizations such as the Trade Federation and the Galactic Empire, to the point where it was often omitted from maps. The planet was originally covered with grassy plains, forests, and a wide assortment of other types of terrain. However, over the millennia the native Vulptereen slowly turned Vulpter into a wasteland; the result of an intense focus on industrialization. Industrial centers, massive factories and waste pits became the dominant topographical features, and a thick smog enveloped the entire world. This caused agriculture to be unsustainable, with the inhabitants forced to import foodstuffs from other worlds.

The situation was only worsened when the Trade Federation seized control of the planet&mdash;the megacorporation turned the planet into a dumping ground for low quality goods and impoverished the natives. Immense underground caverns were dug by the Federation's driller machines, and much of the planet's air and water supply came to be considered toxic. Trash was shot into orbit around Vulpter, eventually forming massive, black belts around the world. Of particular note was the Orbital Advertisement Ring, an enormous advertisement billboard that surrounded the entire planet. The structure&mdash;consisting of kilometer-wide neon advertisements and assorted space debris&mdash;dominated Vulpter's skyline, and its shadow was large enough to ruin entire crops.

The acquired harsh climate of the planet ensured that five out of every six settlements were either abandoned or in gross disrepair&mdash;a good example of this was Benoga, a town that was both devoid of inhabitants and slowly falling apart. These empty cities often served as hiding places for criminals who wished to evade legal authorities, such as the Black Sun associate Harper Krass. Local rumor would have it that some of the abandoned settlements were haunted by ghosts. Inhabited cities included Charbi and Hpaq.

Vulpter fell, at various times, under the political hegemony of galaxy-spanning powers such as the Galactic Republic, the Galactic Empire, and Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire. However, the only major organization to actively rule the planet was the Trade Federation.

Early history
The planet was discovered by the Galactic Republic somewhere between between 20,000 and 15,000 BBY.

Both the Trade Federation and Arakyd Industries, a subsidiary of the Techno Union, set up operations on Vulpter during the last centuries of the Republic, with the latter taking the planet as its headquarters. The Vulptereen designed products for the droid and Podracer markets.

The planet was seen as so insignificant that it was often left off Trade Federation star charts, and this situation did not improve during the time of the Galactic Empire. Further, the Empire blockaded Vulpter following the Declaration of a New Order, not considering it worthy even of foodstuffs. Criminals even used Vulpter's abandoned cities to hide from authorities. Fortunately for the planet's inhabitants, the Alliance to Restore the Republic used the world as a safe haven during the Galactic Civil War, and the New Republic embarked upon a restoration project following the fall of the Empire. The Vulptereen aided greatly in the restoration, using technologies that proved successful on worlds such as Duro.

During the Second Galactic Civil War, Vulpter was the location of a secret meeting between Galactic Alliance Chief of State Cal Omas and Confederation leader Dur Gejjen to bring an end to the conflict. It was also where Ben Skywalker, acting under orders by Jacen Solo and the Galactic Alliance Guard assassinated Gejjen.

Appearances

 * Sacrifice
 * Sacrifice

Notes and references
Vulpter