Rothana

Rothana was a planet located in the Outer Rim Territories. It had arctic regions that were home to the arctic horny whelmer. The world was sold to the Kuat Drive Yards (KDY) vehicle building company around 800 BBY and hosted the KDY subsidiary Rothana Heavy Engineering (RHE). The subsidiary had its hand in technological developments, and the KDY corporate-security starfleet also defended Rothana's star system from any espionage from the Trade Federation corporation.
From around 31 BBY, Kuat and Rothana were secretly contracted by the Kaminoans to develop new vehicles for the Galactic Republic's new clone army. RHE designed a number of new vehicles, with the Acclamator-class assault ship being the company's first starcraft and the All Terrain Tactical Enforcer being inspired by Rothana's arctic horny whelmers. These vehicles made their debut at the outbreak of the Clone Wars against the Separatist Alliance in 22 BBY.
After the end of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY, Rothana continued to contribute to the Galactic Empire, the Republic's successor, but was a shadow of its former self and began to specialize in ground vehicle production primarily. The world continued to contribute to the Imperial Military's war efforts, including against a rebel cell in 14 BBY. The Rebel Alliance against the Empire considered Rothana's Imperial facilities as a possible target in 3 ABY.
In 5 ABY, all Imperial personnel on Rothana were redirected to the planet Jakku, where the Empire met its demise. After the Empire's fall, Rothana's shipyards remained abandoned until a salvager crew infiltrated the facility with the help of one of its former security, the ex-stormtrooper Terex. The crew stole an array of abandoned Imperial ships, including the mothballed corvette known as the Carrion Spike.
==Description==
Rothana was a terrestrial planet located in a star system within an intersecting portion of the Outer Rim Territories and the Slice. It was situated at the coordinates T-15 on the Standard Galactic Grid. A primarily arctic world with mineral-rich soil, Rothana appeared orange-brown from above. The arctic regions of the world included icy cliffs and strong wind gusts. The world was home to the arctic horny whelmer, a ten-legged creature found in Rothana's arctic regions that hunted in packs, wearing their prey out with persistence.
==History==
===Republic era===
====Corporate politics====
Around 800 BBY, Rothana was sold to the Kuat Drive Yards (KDY), a vehicle manufacturing company headquartered on the planet Kuat.Battlefront: Twilight Company KDY established its subsidiary Rothana Heavy Engineering (RHE) on Rothana's rich soil, which bolstered the company's profits. Over the years, RHE was among a number of technology companies in the galaxy that were developing gravitational manipulation technology,The Star Wars Book and the company was developing walker vehicles by the High Republic Era. One experimental walker was sent from Rothana to the Republic Fair on the planet ValoThe High Republic: The Rising Storm in 231 BBY,Star Wars: Timelines where many different cultural and technological marvels were brought to display from across the galaxy. The walker was used as cover by some dignitaries, including Supreme Chancellor Lina Soh of the Galactic Republic, when the Nihil marauders attacked the fair, but it was eventually destroyed by the attackers, injuring some of the dignitaries. The walker's part in the attack was mentioned in the fourth chapter of Jedi Master Harli Cogra's Chronicles of the Jedi publication in 229 BBY.
In 33 BBY, states that the Eriadu trade summit took place thirty-three years prior to the events of , which corresponds to 33 BBY according to Star Wars: Timelines. leading Kuati executives were assassinated at the Eriadu Conference, an incident that saw a Neimoidian takeover of the Trade Federation corporation and a failed assassination attempt on Republic Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum. The industrialists at Kuat Drive Yards were outraged with the Trade Federation afterward, and Rothana Heavy Engineering itself kept no friendship with the corporation. Rothana's star system was additionally defended by the KDY corporate-security starfleet, with mines being deployed inventively in Rothana's inbound hyperspace routes. Those measures, along with Rothanian etiquette for outsiders, kept the system clear of any Trade Federation espionage.
====Building for an army====
After the Kaminoans began secretly making a clone army for the Republic in 32 BBY, the Kuat Drive Yards received an order from a secret buyer to produce masses of weapons in 31 BBY. As Rothana was not far from the Kaminoan homeworld of Kamino, the Kaminoan government secretly commissioned Rothana Heavy Engineering to develop starships and ground vehicles to support an army. RHE's factories and orbital shipyards at Rothana secretly produced an array of vehicles for the Republic.
The Acclamator-class assault ship was the first starcraft developed by RHE and was built on Rothana under Project Icefang. The assault ships were also the first intergalactic warships to be built in decades. Other notable vehicles developed by the company included the Low Altitude Assault Transport, the All Terrain Tactical Enforcer, and the Self-Propelled Heavy Artillery Turbolaser.Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles The All Terrain Tactical Enforcer's design was inspired by Rothana's native arctic horny whelmer, taking on multiple qualities of the creature, such as its ability to withstand strong winds when crossing icy cliffs.
====Limitations in war====
The Trade Federation and other corporate bodies like the Techno Union, while officially holding a neutral political stance, became founding members of the Separatist Alliance, a rival government to the Republic that was formed following the Raxus AddressRise of the Separatists of 24 BBY.Rise of the Separatists states that the Raxus Address took place two years before the First Battle of Geonosis, which Star Wars: Timelines dates to 22 BBY. Therefore, the Raxus Address must have occurred in 24 BBY. Kuat Drive Yards' grudge with the Trade Federation led to the company, along with Rothana, aligning with the Republic.
The new vehicles designed and built by Rothana Heavy Engineering made up an overwhelming majority in the Grand Army of the Republic. In 22 BBY, the Jedi Grand Master Yoda went to Kamino to inspect the clone army. During Yoda's mission, a fleet of twelveStar Wars: Complete Locations Acclamator-class assault ships were sent straight from Rothana to pick up the clone forces before being deployed against the Separatists in the First Battle of Geonosis, the outbreak of the Clone Wars. The battle was the debut for the new vehicles developed by Rothana for the Republic and the use of the Acclamators was successful enough that the Republic ordered several more from Rothana Heavy Engineering. As the war continued, limitations to some of RHE's vehicles became more apparent. While existing ones were upgraded, the Acclamator-class assault ship was largely replaced by the more combat-orientated Venator-class Star Destroyer developed by Kuat Drive Yards.
===Imperial era===
====Changes in power====
At the end of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY, the Republic transitioned into the Galactic Empire. While the Kuat Drive Yards came to gain a near monopoly on warship contracts for the Imperial Navy, Rothana Heavy Engineering became a shadow of what it had been, beginning to specialize in ground effort and repulsorlift armored vehicles. It produced products for the Empire such as the TX-225 Occupier line,Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide the All Terrain Personal Transport,Savage Spirits and the Scout-class 2-M repulsor tank.Starships and Speeders Rothana still made some flight vehicles like the Imperial Dropship Transport,Forged in Battle with Kuat Drive Yards licensing the company to manufacture the Onager-class Star Destroyer. The Imperial shipyards above Rothana served to repair and construct Imperial starships, including starfighters from the TIE fighter series. 
In 14 BBY, a rebel cell led by the ex–Republic Intelligence officer Berch Teller stole the Carrion Spike, the personal corvette of Imperial Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. In the Empire's hunt for the Carrion Spike, which attacked multiple Imperial facilities, the Imperial Navy redirected ships from as far as Rothana and the gas giantStar Wars: Galactic Atlas Bothawui under the Imperial Admiralty's counsel. Imperial forces eventually recovered a damaged Carrion Spike. After Tarkin's death in 0 BBY,Star Wars: Timelines dates Wilhuff Tarkin's death to what Star Wars: Galactic Atlas identifies as 0 BBY. the corvette was mothballed at Rothana's shipyards.
====War effort====
By the time of the Galactic Civil War between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance, the Rothana Imperial Shipyards were among the Empire's most major shipyards.Star Wars: The Rebel Files After the Alliance's 61st Mobile Infantry caught early success in a campaign named Operation Ringbreaker that sought the eventual sabotage of the Kuat Drive Yards in 3 ABY, General Crix Madine considered potential future targets for the Alliance should the 61st's campaign succeed. He made a map of the Empire's major shipyards, drydocks, and key mining centers, with Rothana being marked as a high-priority, high-security target. The map was included in a report on Madine's proposal, which was sent to the Alliance's Commander-in-Chief Mon Mothma. Operation Ringbreaker ultimately failed to reach Kuat.
In 4 ABY, the Empire suffered a catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Endor in which Emperor Sheev Palpatine was killed. The Alliance reorganized into the New Republic and defeated the Empire in many subsequent battles. In 5 ABY, Grand Admiral Gallius Rax began redirecting Imperial forces to the planet Jakku in preparation for a final battle. The Empire abandoned the Rothana shipyards, taking all operational starships as well as all Imperial personnel, including the stormtrooper Terex. The shipyards were, in turn, shut down, with auto-security being activated and droids staying as guards.
===New Republic era===
The New Republic defeated the Empire at Jakku and won the war thereafter. Having escaped the engagement, Terex and fellow stormtrooper Corlac fled Jakku around 6 ABY. Knowing Terex's past deployment at Rothana's shipyards, Corlac liaised with two of his contacts, the ship salvagers Bett and Wenda, on the planet Kaddak. Corlac introduced Terex to his contacts, and they discussed using the latter's expertise on the Rothana shipyards.
Corlac promised Terex that they would use the ships to help regroup scattered Imperial forces, but in reality, Corlac and the ship salvagers were looking to amass a pirate fleet.Poe Dameron 10 Corlac and the salvagers infiltrated the shipyards above Rothana with Terex's help, salvaging many vessels and ship parts, including the Carrion Spike. Corlac, Bett, and Wenda intended on betraying Terex to start their pirate business, but Terex learned of their true intentions in 7 ABY and killed them first. Nevertheless deciding that Imperial order could never be returned to the galaxy, Terex used their team and the resources from Rothana to form a pirate group known as the Ranc Gang.
==Inhabitants==
Those native to the world were known as Rothanians, and they had a complex etiquette that made outsiders stand out. Rothana Heavy Engineering's workforce was famed for its diligence.
==Locations==
Rothana included a number of underground factories, as well as honeycombed orbital shipyards.
==Behind the scenes==
Rothana was introduced to the current Star Wars canon when it was mentioned in James Luceno's 2014 novel Tarkin. The world made its first appearance in a flashback in the ninth issue of Marvel Comics' Star Wars: Poe Dameron comic-book series, written by Charles Soule, penciled by Phil Noto, and published on December 14, 2016.
The planetThe Essential Guide to Warfare Rothana originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, first being mentioned in the name of Rothana Heavy Engineering in HoloNet News Vol. 531 #52, an in-universe news issue that was written by Pablo Hidalgo and Paul Ens and released on the HoloNet News website on April 18, 2002. Rothana was first mentioned separately in the reference book Star Wars: Attack of the Clones Incredible Cross-Sections, written by Curtis SaxtonStar Wars: Attack of the Clones Incredible Cross-Sections and published five days later. Rothana was first illustrated by John Van Fleet in the 2012 reference book The Essential Guide to Warfare, written by Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart.
==Appearances==
*The High Republic Adventures (2021) 1 
*The High Republic: The Rising Storm 
*Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel 
*Tarkin 
*Poe Dameron 9 
* 
*Ghosts of Dathomir 
==Sources==
===Non-canon sources===
*LEGO Star Wars Awesome Vehicles 
==Notes and references==
Category:Galactic Empire planets
Category:Galactic Republic planets
Category:Ice planets
Category:Outer Rim Territories planets
Category:Planets with shipyards
Category:The Slice planets