System Description:

Sun: Hachuris
Sun type: Yellow, G3
Position: fourth of five
Moons: three
Astronomical anomalies: none

Places of Interest:

1 Freeport
2 Fortress
3 Outlands
4 Faraway
5 Landsend
6 Eastern
7 Hydro City) Freedom
8 (Arctic City) Independence
9
10 [ruined cities]

Planetary Description

Location: Outer Rim Territories

Sector: Axon

Climate: Tropical with no major temperature extremes between seasons

Tech Level: Nearing Galactic standard

Major Exports: Food, chemicals and pharmaceuticals [many of which are used by Imperial interrogation units] processed from chemical rich ocean kelp beds and creatures.

Major Imports: Metals and technology

Government: Purgatory is divided into five areas, each controlled by one of the five remaining autonomous Houses [Averrine, Harfax, Regina, Tyrphon, and Chaldis].

Religion: No established religion.

Loyalties: Imperial, but too busy with survival really to be political either way.

Population: C. 7 million

Nickname: Slimy mudhole

Planetary History:

Purgatory was founded two hundred years ago in one of the Old Republics last colonization spurts by people who found out too late that the planet was no ones idea of heaven. The mineral poor planet soon lost contact with the Republic as they struggled to survive against the native wildlife, and regressed to a largely non-mechanized culture.

Seven Houses formed and over the next two hundred years, engaged in constant territorial disputes against each other, and war against the unusually large and hungry fauna of Purgatory that dominates the oceans and so called land masses. Mostly reptiles and insects with a few amphibian species, the native life [which commonly grows in excess of several meters] kills several hundred persons a year. No imported life forms introduced into the ecosystem have yet survived.

Twenty years ago, Imperial scouts rediscovered Purgatory and quickly decided the planet was not worth the effort of bringing under Imperial domination. All seven Houses signed trade treaties with the Empire and Purgatory became in essence a vassal world. The Empire took over Purgatorys education system, built a spaceport in a neutral area which came to be known as Freeport, and placed a garrison there as well.

Technology became available once more and has slowly but surely been spreading among the population, however, wind-powered sailing vessels and swords are still in common usage alongside skimmers, vibroblades and blasters.

The first generation of children to graduate from the Imperial run school system is loyal to the Empire and often impatient with even the most progressive elders. Exposed to the lure of other worlds and Imperial propaganda, many have joined the Imperial Navy and gone on to serve the Empire far from Purgatory.

Some Houses actively encouraged their children to do so, and three years ago House Danthos, one of the larger Houses, had maneuvered its own people into command of a small Imperial fleet which they brought to Purgatory to aid House Danthos in a bid for total control of Purgatory.

Some old-timers, unhappy with the gradual loss of the old ways, founded two cities, Arctic City Independence and Hydro City Freedom, from which these isolationists began bombing outworlder installations and murdering offworlders, particularly the Imperial-sent diplomats attempting to negotiate a peace between Danthos and the other Houses.

House Iracan was destroyed and House Averrine, now the second strongest House, managed to get a message through the Danthos/lmperial blockade to the regional governor. Before the Empire could respond to this unauthorized use of personnel and equipment blockading Purgatory, an Alliance task Force appeared over the planet. The Danthos captain, realizing that if he engaged the Alliance he would then be forced to provide an explanation for his presence, recovered his troops and left. House Averrine and House Harfax together destroyed House Danthos, incorporating the former Danthos and lracan territories and survivors into their own Houses.

Alliance cells on Purgatory destroyed the Imperial garrison before evacuating the planet. The Isolationist terrorists destroyed the spaceport at Freeport, killing the remaining Imperials and offworlders who lived there, preferring to stay in civilization.

The Houses have continued to meet their production schedules, but with the loss of the spaceport, transport offworld to the Empire is almost at a stand still. Small independent freighters have helped, but often at exorbitant prices.

House Averrine has begun building a new spaceport at Fortress, the new Averrine capital, and has come under heavy attack by the isolationists for doing so. Both sides, isolationists and the coalition of Houses, have begun buying advanced weaponry [something the Empire strictly controlled on Purgatory] from black marketers and are at war with each other. To buy the weapons they need, the isolationists have turned to theft and extortion on a massive scale.

Never safe at the best of times, Purgatory is in the process of being declared off limits to travelers as an unsafe planet.

Update: A diplomatic mission to Purgatory (led by Anrit ar Lincaet and Duchess Kather Organa) led to an end to the civil war upon Purgatory. The diplomats were kidnapped by the leader of the outlaws, and held for a time allowing negotiations to take place. Purgatory was assigned a Governor, the elderly Lady Averrine, assisted by a Lt Governor, her long time (and much younger) House rival in a power sharing arrangement. A second landing area was completed and Purgatory reopened to galactic travel and shipping.

A more recent Imperial Intelligence file on Hachuris IV (Purgatory), Axon Sector, Eastern Rim

Description: Water world. Mineral poor. Five small land masses compromise 7% of the planets surface. The land masses are comprised of swamps.

Technology: After 15 years of Imperial aid, has risen to standard Imperial levels although in the backwater areas, more primitive technology is used as well.

Assets: Native flora and fauna produces a number of important chemicals used to make pharmaceuticals, including many used by the Empires interrogation units.

Fauna: Mostly reptiles and insects although there are a number of amphibian species as well. Purgatory is not a tamed world and the native life kills several hundred persons a year. No imported lifeforms introduced into the eco-system have yet survived.

Government: Feudal system under two ruling Clan Houses.

Population: c. 7 million

History and Information:

Settled 200 years ago by seven Clan Houses (Danthos, Iracan, Averrine, Harfax, Regina, Tyrphon, and Chaldis).

Each House controlled an area of the oceans of Purgatory. Extensive kelp farms and fishing vessels provide the food to support the population. Harvesting either of these is dangerous, however, due to the large predators residing in the oceans of Purgatory, and due to interclan rivalries and skirmishes.

Fifteen years ago the Empire remembered Purgatory* and created a neutral area on the largest island. They built a starport and the city of Freemarket using offworld workers, thus reopening Purgatory to the galaxy.

Purgatory had lost spaceflight capabilities and regressed to using projectile weapons and swords. Housing tended to be stone, and transportation was primarily aboard large sail vessels or by heavily armed caravan. Flight technology existed but was limited. Border skirmishes were common and from time to time small conflicts would break out over ownership disputes, but the hostile nature of Purgatory made warfare impossible with the then current technology.

The Empire made trade agreements with all of the houses and gave them advanced technology in return. The SAG Education division of COMPNOR established schools across Purgatory with impressive results. The younger generation considers the older generations too old fashioned, and many now serve the Empire in the military.

Malcontents unable to assimilate the new ways and new technologies founded the cities of Freedom and Independence in 83**. It is suspected that these persons are responsible for the murder of several diplomats that occurred in Freemarket in 92.

The most powerful House, Danthos, gained access to current Imperial military hardware and using connections in the Imperial navy, launched an all out attack on House Averine in the summer of 92. The diplomats sent in to resolve the conflict made it worse until eventually Averine and Iracan (the two next most powerful Houses) destroyed Danthos.

The Alliance stepped in*** to protect the planet from the Imperial fleet Danthos had control of (the Captain of the Imperial fleet was named Danthos. He has since been executed) and in the process Alliance cells on Purgatory destroyed the Imperial garrison in Freemarket, wiping out the Imperial presence on the planet.

Further information on Purgatory is limited, but it is believed the Alliance retreated back after the Imperial presence was destroyed, and that the remaining Houses are at an armed peace.

Note: Samantha Connelly, the Emperors ward, was raised here [See file] as was Princess Raven Palpatine [See file]

Alliance Appendix to Imperial File on Purgatory

* At this time, Alliance sympathizers on Purgatory were recruited by Alliance personnel among the offworld technical crews. An unknown number of cells were created. The Alliance was unable to equip these cells and so they did little in the way of sabotage and tended towards espionage activities.

** Alliance Representatives made overtures to these two groups but the heads of Freedom and Independence wanted NO offworlder interference, Alliance or Imperial, and nothing came of it.

*** House Averrine smuggled a message out with a smuggler named Aretta Fariss. This message eventually reached the Alliance and a task force was assigned to protect Purgatory before it came totally under Imperial domination. Alliance cells had gained material and during the confusion of the civil war, managed to, with the help of the taskforce, destroy the Imperial garrison. The Alliance attempted to evacuate its personnel but the Imperial blockade destroyed several ships before it was lifted. Longtime Alliance Intel officers Jero and Amanda Connelly were killed in one such attempt to run the blockade, but had passed on to the Alliance nearly complete plans for the new Imperial Super Star Destroyers. The Alliance team located their young daughter, Samantha Connelly, and retrieved the two remaining disks from her.