Serroco

"You were at Serroco, when they turned the Stereb cities into glass craters."

- Atton Rand, to Meetra Surik

Serroco, the homeworld of the Stereb species, was a planet in the Ploo sector of the Expansion Region. Serroco was a muddy world constantly buffeted by ferocious storms and tornadoes that often forced the Stereb to retreat to underground shelters and catacombs. Serroco was dotted by the grand stone Stereb cities and newer settlements populated by Humans from the Galactic Republic. Serroco was a full member of the Republic, and when the galactic government went to war with the Mandalorian warrior clans in 3963 BBY Serroco became a flashpoint in the growing conflict. Admiral Saul Karath, anticipating a Mandalorian advance on the planet, rounded up a sizable battle group to defend the planet, and placing camps among the Stereb cities. Disdainful of the location of the camps, seeing it as a dishonorable approach, the Mandalorians nuclear bombed the planet directly when their force arrived at Serroco, destroying the cities entirely. One Republic Navy pilot, Carth Onasi, saved many Stereb lives by calling down false tornado warnings and sending them to their underground shelters, which shielded them from the blasts. Life on Serroco continued on despite the devastation of the planet, and a Republic military presence was re-established there by the time of the Galactic War several centuries later. By the Imperial Period, a small population of Stereb continued to exist on Serroco.

Description
"Hard enough keeping clean in this mudhole without this stuff happening!"

- A Republic soldier on Serroco, after a serving droid spilled food on his uniform

Serroco was a muddy, rainy world located in the Serroco system of the Expansion Region's Ploo sector. The homeworld of the Stereb species, Serroco had an atmosphere that supported other sentient life forms, such as Humans. Expansive dirt fields could be found on the planet, with patches of trees and other plants. It rained frequently on Serroco, and bigger storms often broke out with tornadoes often posing a threat to the Stereb. The planet had multiple continents, and revolved around at least one star. Serroco's land appeared green from space, with oceans covering a large part of the planet's surface. The Mandalorian nuclear attack on Serroco during the Mandalorian Wars had a great impact on the planet's landscape&mdash;the world's Stereb cities were destroyed, leaving only glass craters.

History
"Let them see what such a defense deserves. Let them burn."

- Mandalore the Ultimate

By the time of the Mandalorian Wars, Serroco was a full member of the Galactic Republic, and Human settlers from the Republic had put down roots on one of Serroco's nicer continents. The Republic Navy maintained an orbital watchstation above the stormy planet, issuing tornado warnings to the Stereb, who were not adept with the technology themselves. However, some personnel stationed at the watchstation found it to be a boring posting, and would amuse themselves by calling in fake tornado warnings during festivals, sporting events, and other gatherings, a practice that ended when Serroco's Senator complained. There were also multiple Jedi regularly assigned to the planet&mdash;during the Mandalorian Wars, one of the Jedi on Serroco was the Human Meetra Surik. In 3963 BBY the Mandalorian warrior clans advanced on Serroco from the planet Jebble &mdash;anticipating an attack, Admiral Saul Karath assembled Battle Group Serroco and set up a staging area on the planet, with encampments among the Stereb cities. The camps were home to a great number of Republic Navy personnel, in addition to fringers selling food and other services to the soldiers. Camp Three featured the extremely popular Little Bivoli mess ship, which was run by two fugitives: Zayne Carrick, a former Jedi Padawan wanted for the murders of his entire class on Taris, and Marn Hierogryph, a petty criminal believed to be his accomplice. Despite being two of the most wanted beings in the Republic, Carrick and Hierogryph were able to evade notice right under the nose of the Admiral Karath and his battle group.

Karath and his team thought they were completely ready for the Mandalorians&mdash;they figured that the Mandalorians would not dare to attack the Stereb cities directly, for fear of wrecking potential loot. Karath set up a massive cordon of ships surrounding the planet, hoping to stop the Mandalorians dead in their tracks. On the planet below, however, Zayne Carrick had a Force vision of the Mandalorians destroying the Stereb cities and annihilating the Republic camps, and decided that he immediately needed to warn Admiral Karath. In a rush, Carrick stowed away on hotshot Republic pilot Carth Onasi's ship, the Deadweight, convincing Onasi of his seriousness and hitching a ride with him to Karath's bridge on the warship Courageous. There, Carrick was recognized as the so-called "Jedi killer" and accused of being a Mandalorian spy. His warnings went unheeded. Soon, a Mandalorian force came out of hyperspace at the edge of the system. Disgusted by the Republic's "dishonorable" tactic of placing their camps so close to the Stereb cities, the invaders started off the proceedings by firing off nuclear missiles&mdash;to Karath's surprise, the missiles angled around the Republic ships, heading toward the Serroco camps. Not expecting this to happen, the camps' missile defense systems were not online, and the planet was left defenseless.

Impacts were counted near twenty-seven populated areas. While the Human settlements sustained heavy damage, the Stereb cities were just gone, turned into glass craters. Furthermore, only eight of the Republic ships on the surface escaped destruction, one of which carried the Jedi Knight Meetra Surik. Before the missiles were launched, Onasi had buzzed down tornado warnings to seventeen Stereb cities, hoping that their underground catacombs could protect them if Carrick's vision came true, an endeavor which saved many lives. Serroco was nearly annihilated, its surface covered in massive craters where once had been cities and settlements. The destruction of Serroco was immediately condemned as a tragedy and a horrific crime by the Republic, and was not soon forgotten. Republic propagandist "Benegryph Goodvalor" chose Serroco as the name of his imaginary warship in transmissions aimed at the Mandalorians, and the planet would be the namesake of a real Republic ship by the time of the later Galactic War. "Goodvalor" was actually Marn Hierogryph, who along with talented Trandoshan cook Slyssk had narrowly escaped Serroco's destruction on a stolen troop transport, inadvertently saving half of a sleeping battalion. The rescue was turned into a propaganda story by the Republic Defense Ministry, with "Goodvalor" being feted as the "Hero of Serroco".

Life on Serroco still continued, and by the time of the Jedi Civil War, Serroco had a leader named Lelin-Dor, who was known as the First Patriarch. During the war, Revan, the Dark Lord of the Sith, had Lelin-Dor assassinated, believing him to be a destabilizing influence. By the time of the later Cold War, a Republic military presence had been re-established on Serroco. In that same time period, archaeologists discovered an intact Stereb shelter left over from the Battle of Serroco, containing many previously-lost Stereb artifacts. During the Imperial Period, thousands of years after the Battle of Serroco, there was still a small enclave of Stereb on the planet.

Inhabitants
Serroco was home to the Stereb species, who built the massive stone cities that dotted the planet's landscape. By the time of the Mandalorian Wars, however, Serroco had also been settled by Humans from the Republic, who lived on one of the planet's nicer continents. The impending attack on Serroco by the Mandalorians also brought a significant population of Republic Navy personnel to the world, led by Admiral Saul Karath. Meant to defend the world from the Mandalorians, the soldiers lived in camps placed among the Stereb cities. There were also fringers, or freelance tradespeople, who also came to the world with the navy to sell their goods and services. Notable among these beings were Zayne Carrick and Marn Hierogryph, two of the most wanted fugitives in the Republic, who sold food in Camp Three without attracting any notice. Even before the Battle of Serroco there was a Republic naval presence above Serroco, as it fell to the Republic to operate Serroco's orbital watchstation and alert the natives of dangerous weather. Bored crewmen often amused themselves by calling in fake tornado warnings, a practice that drew the ire of Serroco's Senator.

Locations
"We still haven't heard from anyone&mdash;but those catacombs go pretty deep. They used to live there. They can do it again."

- Carth Onasi, after the Battle of Serroco

The Stereb built many stone cities across Serroco, with grand pyramidal buildings and large green columns rising from the earth, although they originally lived in underground catacombs which the Stereb built to escape Serroco's vicious storms and were still maintained as shelters during the era of the Mandalorian Wars. It was amongst the Stereb cities that the Republic set up their camps in preparation for the Mandalorian attack. One of these, Camp Three, featured the Little Bivoli mess wagon run by Zayne Carrick and Marn Hierogryph. Featuring the talented Trandoshan cook Slyssk, the Little Bivoli became popular amongst Republic naval personnel who were tired of the food from the commissary. Above Serroco was an orbital watchstation operated by the Republic Navy that monitored the planet's weather.

Behind the scenes
The planet Serroco was first mentioned in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, a video game released in 2004. The planet and its destruction at the hands of the Mandalorians were mentioned as part of the background of the game's main character, Meetra Surik &mdash;they would not actually appear until Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Days of Fear, a comic arc written by John Jackson Miller and released in 2007. Serroco was mentioned in a number of Knights of the Old Republic issues, and in a number of other sources, such as Miller's novel Knight Errant, the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG, The Essential Atlas and an entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 14: Days of Fear, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 15: Days of Fear, Part 3
 * The Taris Holofeed: Siege Edition
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Nights of Anger
 * The Taris Holofeed: Invasion Edition
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 19: Daze of Hate, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 21: Daze of Hate, Part 3
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 22: Knights of Suffering, Part 1
 * The Admiral's List: Karath Home Safely
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 24: Knights of Suffering, Part 3
 * Galactic Republic Defense Ministry Daily Brief KD0092
 * Interference
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 31: Turnabout
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 32: Vindication, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 42: Masks
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 47: Demon, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 50: Demon, Part 4
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic
 * Knight Errant