Wookieepedia

READ MORE

Wookieepedia
Register
Advertisement
Wookieepedia
This article covers the Canon version of this subject.  Click here for Wookieepedia's article on the Legends version of this subject. 
TPMCGYoda

Master Qui-Gon, more to say, have you?

It is requested that this article, or a section of this article, be expanded.

See the request on the listing or on this article's talkpage. Once the improvements have been completed, you may remove this notice and the page's listing. No reason has been supplied; please provide a reason on the template or talkpage

"Umbara was one of the major Separatist planets. The locals fought pretty hard, and got stomped pretty solidly."
―Eli Vanto — (audio) Listen (file info)[3]

Umbara, known as the "Shadow World" due to the lack of sunlight on its surface, was a planet located within the Expansion Region. The planet was also an exporter of doonium, a metal utilized in the construction of starships. During the Clone Wars, the planet was initially part of the Galactic Republic before seceding to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems. It proceeded to host one of the larger battles of the Clone Wars and eventually fell to the Republic. After the fall of the Republic, the planet fell under the power of the Galactic Empire. During the Imperial Era, Captain Thrawn suppressed an uprising on Umbara that had been engineered by the shadowy insurgent leader Nevil Cygni.

Description[]

Umbara was a planet in the Expansion Region that experienced no sunlight on its surface, earning it the name "Shadow World." Situated within the occluding Ghost Nebula sector, Umbara was cut off from the rest of the galaxy. This resulted in the development of advanced technologies that far exceeded the galactic standard by the native Umbarans.[1]

Umbara sported a variety of predatory animal and plant life.[1][13] The plant life on Umbara was particularly aggressive, and bioluminescence was a common trait, found in both Zabrak Spines and death's embrace.[14] Umbara also had large doonium reserves, which led to the emergence of a substantial mining and refining sector in its economy. The planet was also known to have several moons including an outermost one.[3]

History[]

Republic Era[]

Umbarans-SWE

Umbaran soldiers during the Battle of Umbara.

The Umbarans had been members of the Galactic Republic since the government's founding, but, despite their long history of taking part in the galaxy's politics, they always prioritized their homeworld over the galactic government.[11] The Sith-obsessed Umbaran Sly Moore lived on Umbara until she was kidnapped by the Sith apprentice Darth Maul, who brought her to the Cron Drift[15] asteroid field.[16] She would ultimately become an ally to the Sith Order she was so fascinated by.[15] Despite their past of prioritizing Umbara and its people's reputation of being deceitful and employing self-serving schemes, Umbara displayed faultless loyalty to the Republic during the Separatist Crisis, a time of political crisis where thousands of star systems seceded from the Republic and joined Count Dooku's Confederacy of Independent Systems. When the Clone Wars broke out between the Republic and Separatists, Umbara remained a staunchly loyalist world.[11]

Umbara was represented by Senator Mee Deechi in the Galactic Senate of the Republic,[17] who aggressively supported for increased military spending.[11] However, following Senator Deechi's assassination, Umbara defected to the Confederacy. In response, the Grand Army of the Republic would launch an invasion of the Shadow People's homeworld. Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi, Saesee Tiin, Anakin Skywalker, and Pong Krell led the assault with the 501st Legion and the 212th Attack Battalion. During the fighting, the clones battled against the might of the Umbaran's advanced military technology, struggling to combat their mobile heavy cannons, Impeding Assault Tanks, Umbaran hover tanks, and Zenuas 33 Umbaran starfighters.[1]

JesseOnUmbara-DOU

Clone troopers Jesse, Tup, and Dogma during the battle.

Shortly after landing, Anakin Skywalker was called back to Coruscant at the request of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Krell assumed command the 501st in Anakin's absence.[7] The Umbaran's unique and powerful weaponry and militia made the fighting long and costly for the clones on the planet's surface while battles continued in the skies between the Republic and Separatist fleets. As the fighting progressed, men of the 501st noted and began to grow sour with Krell's casualty-heavy tactics despite their successful results. Shortly after capturing an Umbaran airbase, Krell ordered the execution of clone troopers CT-5555 "Fives" and CT-5597 "Jesse," who had hatched their own plan to take out a Separatist supply ship. Later, Krell betrayed the 501st Legion by telling them that the soldiers of the 212th Attack Battalion were actually Umbarans disguised as clone troopers, and Clone Captain CT-7567 "Rex" realized Krell was working for the Separatists. Led by Rex, the 501st and 212th united to take down Krell, who was stunned by clone trooper CT-5385 "Tup" and taken into custody. CT-6922 "Dogma," feeling betrayed, killed Krell when Rex began to interrogate him, and was himself taken into custody. Republic forces soon reclaimed Umbara.[13]

Imperial Era[]

During the early months of the Imperial Era[18] in 19 BBY,[19] the Galactic Empire dealt with surviving pockets of resistance, including on Umbara.[18] Eventually faced with a debt it had no way to pay to the Empire, Umbara was one of many worlds that surrendered its remaining independence, fully placing the planet under the power of the Empire.[12]

The pirate and insurgent leader Nightswan instigated an uprising on Umbara in order to facilitate the Imperial takeover of Umbara's mining and refining sector. Nightswan thought it would be easier to bribe the Imperial inspectors rather than their Umbaran counterparts. Despite resistance from leftover Separatist forces, namely, vulture droids, Captain Thrawn helped secure an Imperial victory by convincing Commander Alfren Cheno, who was part of the task force, to bombard a ground-based transmitter on Umbara's outermost moon despite Admiral Carlou Gendling's orders not to. Gendling was furious with Thrawn, and Cheno eventually retired due to the incident.[3]

At one point during the Imperial Era, a new pocket of doonium was discovered on Umbara. With the Empire in constant need of new raw materials for its construction projects, the Mining Guild was ruthless in its exploitation of the doonium deposit, and Umbara was one of several planets to suffer such a fate.[20]

Society and culture[]

Umbaran Society was ruled by a council consisting of members from a royal caste called the Rootai. Ordinary Umbarans could rise up through many of these social castes by spying, subterfuge and assassination. The Umbarans were with the Galactic Republic for centuries prior to joining the Confederacy of Independent Systems and were considered to be suspicious. Notable Umbarans included Sly Moore who replaced Sei Taria as Palpatine's Chief Administrative Aide, Mee Deechi who was the Senator representing Umbara in the Galactic Senate prior to his death[2] and Sorc Tormo who was a crime lord that led the Haxion Brood during the Imperial Era.[21] The Umbaran Jedi Master and Wayseeker Orla Jareni operated during the High Republic Era before dying[22] in 230 BBY[23] during the Destruction of Starlight Beacon.[22]

Due to their isolation from the rest of the galaxy, the Umbarans achieved great technological advances, in technologies such as military technology. Among these breakthroughs was a gas that stimulated soldiers to fight longer and harder, the creation of sophisticated military vehicles utilised by the Umbaran Militia and the introduction of advanced blaster pistols. Non-Umbarans found that it was very difficult to use their technology.[1] Umbarans also spoke their own native language called Umbarese.[11]

Traditional Garments such as the Umbaran shadow cloak were worn by Umbarans.[24] Umbaran glass was a type of glass, with Greez Dritus using it to cover a terrarium aboard the Stinger Mantis.[21]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Darkness on Umbara"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Build the Millennium Falcon Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 60 (Guide to the Galaxy: Umbara – Shadow World)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Thrawn
  4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens Beginner Game
  5. StarWars Umbara in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
  6. TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Plan of Dissent"
  7. 7.0 7.1 TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The General"
  8. StarWars "Carnage of Krell" Episode Guide | The Clone Wars on StarWars.com (backup link)
  9. StarWars-DatabankII Vixus in the Databank (backup link)
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 StarWars-DatabankII Umbara in the Databank (backup link)
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Rise of the Separatists
  12. 12.0 12.1 Leia, Princess of Alderaan
  13. 13.0 13.1 TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Carnage of Krell"
  14. Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
  15. 15.0 15.1 Topps logo 2015 Topps Star Wars Chrome Perspectives: Jedi vs. Sith – Sith Information Guide (Card: Sly Moore) (backup link)
  16. Nexus of Power
  17. TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Senate Murders"
  18. 18.0 18.1 Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel
  19. Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide states that Galen Walton Erso was recruited into Project Celestial Power by Orson Callan Krennic 19 years before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. As the events of Rogue One are dated to 0 BBY by Star Wars: Galactic Atlas, Erso was recruited in 19 BBY. Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel depicts the recruitment in the same chapter Krennic mentions the rebellion on Umbara, meaning the rebellion must have also taken place in 19 BBY.
  20. SWZ01 logo Star Wars: X-Wing Second EditionMining Guild TIE Expansion Pack (Card: Mining Guild Surveyor)
  21. 21.0 21.1 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
  22. 22.0 22.1 The High Republic: The Fallen Star
  23. Star Wars: Timelines
  24. Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded
Advertisement