Drongar

Drongar
Astrographical information
Region	Outer Rim Territories
System	Drongar system
Suns	Drongar Prime
Orbital position	1
Moons	2
Grid square	T-5
Rotation period	Over 23 hours
Physical information
Class	Terrestrial
Diameter	12,518 km
Atmosphere	Oxygen-rich
Climate	Humid (90 percent) Nearly tropical
Gravity	Standard (1.2)
Terrain	Jungles Rainforests Bota fields Swampland Savannas
Surface water	Oceans Lakes
Points of interest	Great Jasserak Swamp Jasserak Highlands Jasserak Lowlands Kondrus Sea Poptree Forest Qarohan Steppes Republic Mobile Surgical Units RMSU-1 RMSU-3 RMSU-5 RMSU-6 RMSU-7 RMSU-9 RMSU-12 RMSU-14 Sea of Sponges
Flora	Avedame fruit Bota Broadleaf Croaker bush Pink shortgrass Poptree Purple stingwort Saw grass Snarlvine
Fauna	Fire gnat Land shrimp Rontu Scavenger moth Swamp snail Wingstinger Wriggler
Other lifeforms	Mold Mildew Mushroom-like vegetation Red-dish Unidentified red spore strain
Societal information
Native species	None
Major exports	Bota
Affiliation	Galactic Republic Confederacy of Independent Systems

"Drongar, as I'm sure you know, is a positive sump of exotic pathogens."

―Tarnese Bleyd

Drongar was a mostly uninhabitable tropical planet in the Outer Rim Territories, with the native airborne spores causing death to those who were not protected from them. The climate was characterized by common monsoons with devastating electrical storms, soaring temperatures, and humidity over 90%. There was also a large atmospheric oxygen content. The planet had two small moons and was located in its system with another three planets. Natural features of Drongar included the Sea of Sponges, Great Jasserak Swamp and the Qarohan Steppes.

The planet was discovered by a Nikto survey team around 220 BBY. During the Clone Wars, this planet became important and was fought over by both the Galactic Republic and the Separatists because it was the only planet that could produce bota, a highly valuable miracle drug. When, in 20 BBY, the bota mutated and became worthless, both forces pulled out of Drongar.

Description

Astrography and atmosphere

Den Dhur: "I was wondering if that storm was the start of the monsoon season."

Jos Vondar: "It doesn't start, because it never stops. Except for the poles, the whole planet is like this."

Den Dhur: "You mean it's like this all the time?"

Zan Yant: "Pretty much."

Tolk le Trene: "Actually, this is a rather nice day. Only one lightning storm so far."

―Den Dhur, Jos Vondar, Zan Yant and Tolk le Trene discuss the weather of Drongar

Drongar was a terrestrial planet located in the Drongar system of the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories. A remote and a relatively young world, far from the known hyperlanes, Drongar occupied the first orbital position around its star Drongar Prime. In turn, the planet was orbited by two small asteroids that were considered moons despite their size. In addition, the planet was shielded from meteorites and comets by the three gas giants in the outer reaches of the system. Drongar had a diameter of 12,518 kilometers, a rotational period just over twenty-three standard hours, and its gravity was 1.2 times the standard.

The atmosphere of Drongar was rich in oxygen, higher than that found on most worlds habitable for Humans and humanoids, which caused dizziness and hyperoxygenation for non-native organisms, and corrosion even for the incredibly tough durasteel alloy. The clouds of spores were constantly adrift in the upper atmosphere, which caused the main spore strata to form about a thousand meters above the surface, while the air below was relatively clear. Due to these clouds, the sky appeared with a sickly copper tint from the surface of the planet. When viewed from space, it appeared as a vile, pestilential green-and-blue world.

Due to the heat from Drongar Prime, the planet had a nearly tropical climate with the humidity over 90 percent. The temperature on the planet rarely dropped below the human body temperature, even at midnight. Drongar's axial tilt and the lack of a large moon to stabilize it led to extreme seasonal variations. Monsoon seasons were never-ending, except in the poles of the planet, with big, devastating electrical storms, howling winds, and constant rain. These atmospheric conditions made repulsorlift vehicles inoperable. It was estimated that in a few hundred million years, Drongar could become a frigid planet similar to Hoth due to the unstable axis.

Geography

The landscape of Drongar had oceans and primarily consisted of vast, continent-spanning jungles and marshlands. The southern hemisphere consisted of two landmasses, the bigger one was known as the Tanlassa. There were also several small hillocks and the dry planetary poles.

Biosphere

"This entire planet is one huge transgenic experiment. Given all the cross-pollination of the spores and the undifferentiated potential of the local DNA, I'm only surprised it remained stable for this long."

―I-5YQ

The biosphere of Drongar consisted of life-forms known for its mutagenic and adaptogenic qualities. They exhibited a constant, and extremely rapid rate of evolution, rather than punctuated one. According to scientific studies, they possessed DNA that granted undifferentiation properties to nearly every cell of the organism, allowing it to adapt to environmental threats in an extremely short period of time. Among these were spores, bacteria, viruses, RNA-ersatz, and millions of other undiscovered tiny life-forms.

The main spore strata in the upper atmosphere was home to multiple strains of spores, including various tints of pale green, yellow, blue, red, and other hues. Some of them were bioluminescent during the night. Because the most damaging concentrations of the spore swarms occurred in the strata, the incoming and outgoing ships had to move quickly through the atmosphere to avoid spore-rot of the hull and passengers catching one of the deadly Spore Sicknesses. However, relative safety was allowed at the ground level. The aforementioned adaptogenic qualities allowed the spores to develop the immunity to spore disinfectants in one standard month.

Drongar's flora and fauna also had adaptogenic qualities. The few isolated fields across the planet were home to bota, a rare highly adaptogenic plant. The largest fields were located in the swamps of Tanlassa, with several on the opposite side of the planet. Other flora included a fungus-like tree that grew in the Jasserak Highlands and bore an avedame fruit; clinging clusters of snarlvines in a swamp near the Kondrus Sea of the Jasserak Lowlands. One of the most dangerous examples of the flora was the purple stingwort, a venomous plant that could paralyze its prey with the potent toxin or cause anaphylactic shock and death. Broadleaf trees, poptrees, waxy-leaved croaker bushes, pink shortgrass, and saw grass also grew on Drongar.

Drongar was home to a number of invertebrates, including many insect species. The latter included fire gnats, scavenger moths, and wingstingers. About five meters long and half a meter thick, wrigglers were considered the largest of all known land-based lifeforms on the planet. Other animals included a large rontu, and hand-sized land shrimp. The oceans were believed to be home to the variety of large aquatic creatures.

Other life on Drongar included mold, mildew, and the mushroom-like vegetation. The funga displayed different shades and shapes, and included red-dish fungus.

History

Clone Wars

"The Battle of Drongar is over. There's nothing left down there to fight for now. We came out of it with about two metric tons of bota, which our droids are sealing in carbonite as fast as they can. No intel yet on how much the Separatists got."

―Erel Kersos

The planet Drongar and the Drongar system were discovered by a Nikto survey team around 220 BBY. During the Clone Wars, this planet became important and was fought over by both the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems because it was the only planet that could produce bota, a highly valuable miracle drug. Republic Admiral Tarnese Bleyd had been assigned to the MedStar-class frigate MedStar Nineteen stationed in orbit of Drongar, that fielded fifteen Republic Mobile Surgical Units on the planet. Chief Surgeon Jos Vondar, a scrub nurse Tolk le Trene, and a surgeon Zan Yant served at the Republic Mobile Surgical Unit 7 under command of Colonel D'Arc Vaetes, which was located in the Jasserak Lowlands of Tanlassa near the Kondrus Sea. Quartermaster Filba and Admiral Bleyd secretly collaborated with the Black Sun, supplying some of the bota grown on the planet to the criminal syndicate. The Black Sun's YT-1300f light freighter took the bota out of the system unnoticed by the blockades of both the Confederates and the Republicans.

The strengths of the Republic and Separatist armed forces were more or less evenly matched on Drongar. The atmospheric spores made airborne warfare impossible, so the fighting on the planet was limited mostly to the ground, where the problems soldiers on both sides encountered were monsoons, devastating electrical storms, extreme temperatures, and high humidity. In particular, the high concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere caused dizziness and hyperoxygenation for non-native organisms, and rusting for Separatist battle droids; it also limited military engagements to small arms such as sonic pistols, small blasters, slugthrowers, and others, as risk of fires from laser and particle beam armament was too high, especially near the valuable bota fields.

Barriss Offee destroys a B2 super battle droid on Drongar.

After the battle in Poptree Forest in 20 BBY, a Mirialan Padawan and healer Barriss Offee arrived at RMSU-7 to assist the doctors there using her abilities in the near-constant treatment of wounded clone troopers, but also prevent bota trade on the black market. Meanwhile in his office on the MedStar Nineteen, Admiral Bleyd reminisced on his assignment to Drongar. As he looked at the planet from orbit, Bleyd was reminded of the veldts of Sakiya and compared them to Drongar's bota fields. As he stepped away from the viewport, Bleyd looked at the hologram of Drongar and reviewed the astrographical information of the planet. As the hologram faded, Bleyd thought that Neimoidia and Sakiya together could not match Drongar's large fetid area.

As the battle continued, an Equani Separatist spy Klo Merit, who had been operating covertly as a minder in the RMSU-7 for the previous two standard months, sabotaged a transport that was carrying a load of processed bota to be taken off the planet. Soon after the sabotage, the Black Sun agent Mathal visited Bleyd and demanded a larger supply of bota. Not wanting to take a risk, Bleyd decided to murder Mathal, passing off what happened as an accident. When Bleyd visited RMSU-7 for an inspection tour, the Sullustan journalist Den Dhur used the moon moth espionage droid to spy on conversation between Filba the Hutt and the admiral. Remotely via the droid, Dhur witnessed the death of Filba, poisoned by Klo Merit. However, Admiral Bleyd noticed the spycam and destroyed it. He immediately regretted it, and began search for the one who could expose his connections to Black Sun, and remained in RMSU-7 for a few more days in a newly-built personal command module. Another Black Sun agent, the Nediji Kaird, soon arrived on Drongar and met with Merit and Bleyd. Eventually, Kaird discovered that Bleyd was responsible for Mathal's death, so the admiral tried to kill him, but Bleyd fell from the poisonous blade of the Nediji.

A few days later, the RMSU-7 staff members were warned of an imminent evacuation. A CIS strike force of more than eight hundred droids was spotted less than ten kilometers away, and the clone troopers could not set up a defensive line close to RMSU-7 due to the wet ground. However, for the same reason, the droids moved slowly towards the camp, and the RMSU-7 staff had time to evacuate. The RMSU-7's main generator failed shortly after particle weapons started firing on the shields, at which point the backup generator came on. The backup generator for the energy shield soon overloaded. Under the command of Colonel Sar Omant, the strike force attacked the personnel who were making their way to the evacuation shuttles using thermal bombs. Doctor Zan Yant, a friend of Vondar's, was killed when one of the evacuation shuttles was hit. RMSU-7 was set up in the three local days eighty kilometers southeast of the previous location in the Jasserak Highlands of Tanlassa, near the Qarohan Steppes.

When the bota mutated and became worthless, both the Separatist and Republic forces pulled out of Drongar.

Later history

"Drongar was a young world of steam fissures and lightning strikes with no plant life more advanced than fungus."

―A Galactic Alliance historical document

Drongar was mentioned in the personal file of Barriss Offee filed by clone trooper lieutenant Galle in an incident report #890-F that documented her death. It would later be included in an Order 66 report compiled by Moff Marcellin Wessel and presented to Emperor Palpatine. Colonel Maximilian Veers mentioned superiority of the walkers to the repulsorlift vehicles on worlds with the atmospheric conditions that prohibit them, such as Drongar and Jabiim, in authoring a "Vehicles of the Imperial Army" chapter of the Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide, a manual distributed by the Galactic Empire to its officers immediately before the Battle of Yavin.

The role of Drongar in the Clone Wars was recorded in a historical document published in 36 ABY by the Historical Council of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances.

Locations

"Even if you found it in the Jasserak Swamp, I still couldn't afford it."

―Jos Vondar

An algae-covered Kondrus Sea bordered the Jasserak Lowlands of the Tanlassa continent. The Jasserak Lowlands were also home to the Jackhack Slough, an ancient dried-up riverbed.

The plateau of Jasserak Highlands, which formed the border of the Jasserak Lowlands, was mostly covered with strange fungus-like trees that produced avedame fruit. The Jasserak Highlands had ripe and fecund smell. The second body of water, the Sea of Sponges, lay over a thousand kilometers between the Rimsoo Three and Rimsoo Seven after the latter's relocation to the Jasserak Highlands. A region of Qarohan Steppes lay around eighty kilometers southeast of the previous location of the RMSU-7 near the Kondrus Sea in the Jasserak Lowlands.

The Great Jasserak Swamp was a swamp covered in fungal growth. The Poptree Forest was a forest covered with poptrees. Two kilometers from the RMSU-7 was a region of severe ecological blight, the Rotfurze Wastes.

Behind the scenes

Drongar first appeared in MedStar I: Battle Surgeons, a 2004 Clone Wars novel written by Steve Perry and Michael Reaves as the first part of the MedStar Duology. While the Battle Surgeons establishes that Drongar occuped first orbital position, with the outer reaches of the system containing three gas giants, the 2008 reference book The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia states that Drongar was fourth planet of its system. This article assumes The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia is in error.

Appearances

• Jedi: Count Dooku (First mentioned)
• MedStar I: Battle Surgeons (First appearance)
• "MedStar: Intermezzo" — Star Wars Insider 83
• MedStar II: Jedi Healer
• Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight (Mentioned only)
• Coruscant Nights II: Street of Shadows (Mentioned only)
• Coruscant Nights III: Patterns of Force (Mentioned only)
• Death Star (Mentioned only)

Sources

• The Official Star Wars Fact File 139 (WOR1-2, Worlds of the Clone Wars)
• The New Essential Chronology
• "Order 66: Destroy All Jedi" — Star Wars Insider 87
• The New Essential Guide to Droids
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Essential Atlas
• Justiss, Kai in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
• The Essential Reader's Companion
• Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook
• Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Core Rulebook
• Star Wars: Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide
• The Official Star Wars Fact File Part 61 (OFF5, Barriss Offee)
• Worse Than Hibernation Sickness: 7 Deadly Star Wars Diseases on StarWars.com (backup link)

Notes and references

In other languages

• Deutsch
• español
• magyar
• polski