Peace Park

Peace Park was a stylized rooftop garden terrace located in Sundari, the capital city of the planet Mandalore. Dedicated to the New Mandalorian values of peace and pacifism, the park became a target for the terrorist group Death Watch, who opposed the rule of Duchess Satine Kryze. Peace Park was also targeted by the Shadow Collective when the criminal organization supplanted Kryze's regime, and was later destroyed during the Siege of Mandalore, a joint venture by Bo-Katan Kryze and the Galactic Republic to oust the leader of the Shadow Collective, Maul, from Mandalore.
==Description==
===Symbol of peace===
Located in the Mandalorian city Sundari,Collapse of the Republic the birthplace of the New Mandalorians, Peace Park was a public garden terrace dedicated to the efforts of the pacifistic movement. Peace Park was built along several rooftops of Sundari's uniquely designed geometric towers. The park was designed to resemble an island chain, using Sundari's architectural style, which heavily utilized translucent glass, to symbolize water. At the heart of the park was a raised opaque "island," and along the borders of the rooftop were similarly designed seating areas. These nontransparent areas featured large stones and bushes, as well as highly sculpted palmlike trees that reflected Sundari's geometric patterns. Multiple staircases along the central island of the park led to lower terraces.
On one end of the park's main promenade stood the Memorial Shrine, a monument erected during Mandalore's reconstruction period following the Mandalorian Civil War between the New Mandalorians and the traditional warrior rulers for control of the planet. The Memorial Shrine was a large structure, with an oval base dominated by a split spire. The shrine was dedicated to all who had died during the civil war, which had nearly devastated the planet and wrought a massive death toll.
==History==
===Rule of Duchess Satine===
Mandalore was a planet with a long and proud history of warriors, but as time went on the usefulness of this culture of war came into question. Seeking to reform Mandalorian culture to ensure future prosperity, the New Mandalorians rose to prominence in the city of Sundari. The New Mandalorians sought to channel the best aspects of the Mandalorian people and rebuild their society along peaceful and creative lines. They realized that the mercenary expertise in warfare that brought Mandalore infamy was of no lasting benefit to the majority of the people and began to grow in strength and number to challenge the minority of traditional warriors. These traditionalists held onto power with violence while Duchess Satine Kryze spearheaded the New Mandalorian movement. This battle of ideology exploded into war in 42 BBY,According to , the Mandalorian Civil War took place around 20 years before the Clone Wars. As Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates the beginning of the Clone Wars to the year 22 BBY, it can be determined that the Mandalorian Civil War took place circa 42 BBY. a brutal conflict that led to a New Mandalorian victory at the cost of an immense death toll. The death and destruction of the war left Duchess Satine with a fierce hatred of violence, and she embraced pacifism, a belief she would hold for the rest of her life.
With the New Mandalorians in power, Duchess Satine began a period of reconstruction to realize her hopes for a peaceful world. Sundari became the new capital of Mandalore, taking the place of Keldabe, which was destroyed during the war. Peace Park, a symbol of the New Mandalorians' efforts since it's construction, gained the addition of the Memorial Shrine as a place of remembrance for the lives lost in their struggle. Although Duchess Satine was successful in rebuilding Mandalore into a peaceful culture, a group of exiled warriors banded together in secret and plotted to supplant her regime. Known as the Death Watch, this group saw Peace Park as the perfect target for their early vandalistic attacks given it's dedication to New Mandalorian values and its status as one of Duchess Satine's favorite locations.
===Death Watch bombing===
In 22 BBY, the galaxy was thrown into chaos with the outbreak of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems.Star Wars: Galactic Atlas Duchess Satine, not wanting her people to be drawn into another war, declared Mandalore neutral and became an outspoken critic of the conflict. Both Satine and the Death Watch were opposed to a Republic presence in the Mandalore Sector, and as Death Watch began targeting Republic forces, rumors started circulating in the Republic that Satine was building an army for the Separatists. The Jedi High Council sent Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had met Duchess Satine during the civil war, to investigate these rumors. After a tense first meeting, the duchess softened and invited Kenobi to join her in a walk around Sundari. The two, accompanied by Satine's guards, traveled to Peace Park. While the strolled on the central island, Satine and Obi-Wan had a proper reunion and talked about the Death Watch. While they debated the role of a peacekeeper, they approached the Memorial Shrine. Suddenly, the monument exploded. While Kryze and Kenobi were out of the blast range, numerous citizens were knocked over by the explosion. Duchess Satine ran to the injured people and began helping when she and Kenobi noticed a hologram marker depicting the sign of the Death Watch. The Jedi Master began issuing commands to Satine's guards, ordering the duchess to be returned to the royal palace and all present civilians to remain at Peace Park for questioning. While the citizens regained their bearings and did as he asked, one bystander broke from the crowd.
The man ran behind the wreckage of the broken Memorial Shrine, where he entered the staircase to the terrace below. Kenobi closely followed, and cornered the bomber at a balcony. The man took out a blaster and fired at the Jedi Master, who deflected his shots with his lightsaber. Kenobi deflected one shot into the bomber's hand, knocking his blaster away. Duchess Satine ran down the terrace just as the bomber ran to the balcony edge. Standing on the guardrail, the man shouted in Concordian and fell backwards, landing on the glass terrace below and eliciting screams from the civilians there. Duchess Satine and Kenobi descended to where the man had fallen. Satine approached the dying man, and the two spoke softly in Concordian until he died. While the people on the terrace gathered around the dead man, Duchess Satine solemnly planned with Kenobi to investigate the moon of Concordia for signs of the Death Watch.
Duchess Satine ordered that the broken Memorial Shrine, whose tall spire was now split into two fragmented halves, be left in its state as a warning against pointless violence. While the shrine was damaged, the rest of the park was not and continued in its role as a popular destination.
===Fall of the new Mandalore===
Although Duchess Satine managed to halt Death Watch's plans to usurp her rule with a Republic occupation, the Death Watch continued to plot against her despite their fall from influence. The group encountered the rogue Sith Lord Maul, and quickly they fell in with each other and their respective vendettas. Maul overhauled Death Watch leader Pre Vizsla's plans to take on Kryze, and instead of facing her head-on he gathered multiple crime syndicates to aid Death Watch take over Mandalore. With a new criminal alliance, the Shadow Collective, complete, Maul and Vizsla began preparations to simultaneously take hold of Sundari and discredit Duchess Satine in the eyes of the people. The Shadow Collective's forces arrived at Sundari, and began battle with the New Mandalorian law enforcement. One group of thugs, led by Black Sun leader Ziton Moj, attacked Peace Park and began shooting the police stationed there. Moj yelled out to the crowd at Peace Park that they were now slaves of the Black Sun, and his forces opened fire on several civilians as they ran to the terraces below the Memorial Shrine. Moj and his enforcers closed in on the escaping citizens, who had made their way to the lower gardens with the aid of police. Before Moj could continue his advance, Maul and Vizsla began the second phase of their plan: with Sundari in chaos, Death Watch would enter the fray and "rescue" the Mandalorians from the Shadow Collective, something Duchess Satine's law enforcement could not. Satine's estranged sister, Bo-Katan Kryze, led her Death Watch warriors to Peace Park, where they "captured" Moj and his forces. Keeping the charade up, Bo-Katan and the Death Watch helped several Mandalorian citizens out from hiding and then left with the Shadow Collective thugs.
Death Watch's plan worked, and Duchess Satine and the remaining New Mandalorian leaders were deposed and arrested. Vizsla, content with having taken Mandalore, double-crossed Maul and had him arrested as well. Maul repaid the favor by challenging him to a duel later, during which Vizsla was killed and Maul claimed his place as ruler. Bo-Katan and those loyal to Vizsla defected from Death Watch, and later joined forces with Duchess Satine's allies to break her from prison. Although Satine was recaptured, she managed to send a message to Obi-Wan on Coruscant. When Obi-Wan attempted to free the duchess from prison himself, both he and Satine were captured by Maul. Maul killed the former ruler and sent Obi-Wan to prison, but Bo-Katan intercepted his transport and helped him escape Mandalore, which had fallen into another civil war between Maul's forces and those loyal to Vizsla, Kryze, and Mandalore itself. Bo-Katan hoped that news of Satine's death would spur the Republic into action, and she later got her wish when the government allotted the 332nd Division to aid her in laying siege to Mandalore. During the battle, Peace Park, once a symbol of peace, became a battleground and was nearly destroyed in the fighting. Although the remnants of the Memorial Shrine and the structure of the tower the park was built on remained intact, the glass rooftop and walls were shattered and the building was severely damaged. In the aftermath of the fighting, Bo-Katan looked on at the charred remains of the park and lamented that she would not be able to help Mandalore as Satine could have.
===Imperial Era===
At the end of the Clone Wars shortly after the Siege of Mandalore, the Republic transformed into the Galactic Empire. Although the Republic had helped Mandalore, the Empire used the forces still stationed on the planet to begin an occupation. It was during this occupation that the Empire had what was left of the Memorial Shrine entirely removed.
==Appearances==
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==Sources==
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*Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
*Collapse of the Republic
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==Notes and references==
Category:Parks and gardens
Category:Sundari locations