 Name: Serroco
Region: Expansion Region
Sector: Ploo sector
System: Serroco system
Suns: At least 1
Grid square: N-7
Atmosphere: Type I (breathable for Humans)
Climate: Stormy
Terrain: Muddy plains
Surface water: Oceans
Points of interest: Camp Three
Flora: Trees
Native species: Stereb
Other species: Human
Description: Serroco, the homeworld of the Stereb species, was a planet in the Ploo sector of the Expansion Region. A muddy world, Serroco was constantly buffeted by ferocious storms and tornadoes that often forced the Stereb to retreat to underground shelters and catacombs. The world was dotted by the grand stone Stereb cities and newer settlements populated by Humans from the Galactic Republic. Serroco was a full member of the Republic, and when the galactic government went to war with the Mandalorian warrior clans in 3963 BBY, the planet became a flashpoint in the growing conflict.
Admiral Saul Karath, anticipating a Mandalorian advance on the planet, rounded up a sizable battle group to defend Serroco and placed camps among the Stereb cities. Disdainful of the location of the camps and seeing it as a dishonorable approach, the Mandalorians nuclear-bombed the planet directly when their force arrived at Serroco, destroying the cities entirely. One Republic Navy pilot, Carth Onasi, saved many Stereb lives by calling down false tornado warnings and sending them to their underground shelters, which shielded them from the blasts. Life on Serroco continued on despite the devastation of the planet, and a Republic military presence was reestablished there by the time of the Galactic War several centuries later. By the Imperial Period, a small population of Stereb continued to exist on Serroco.
Description
Serroco was a muddy, rainy world located in the Serroco system of the Expansion Region's Ploo sector. The homeworld of the Stereb species, Serroco had an atmosphere that supported other sentient life forms, such as Humans. Expansive dirt fields could be found on the planet, with patches of trees and other plants. It rained frequently on Serroco, and bigger storms often broke out, with tornadoes sometimes posing a threat to the Stereb.
The planet had multiple continents and revolved around at least one star. Serroco's land appeared green from space, with oceans covering a large part of the planet's surface. The Mandalorian nuclear attack on Serroco during the Mandalorian Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Mandalorian warrior clans had a great impact on the planet's landscape—the world's Stereb cities were destroyed, leaving only glass craters.
History
By the time of the Mandalorian Wars, Serroco was a full member of the Galactic Republic, and Human settlers from the Republic had put down roots on one of Serroco's nicer continents. The Republic Navy maintained an orbital watchstation above the stormy planet, issuing tornado warnings to the Stereb, who were not adept with the technology themselves. However, some personnel stationed at the watchstation found it to be a boring posting and amused themselves by calling in fake tornado warnings during festivals, sporting events, and other gatherings, a practice that ended when Serroco's senator complained. Multiple Jedi were also regularly assigned to the planet—during the Mandalorian Wars, one of the Jedi on Serroco was the Human Meetra Surik. In 3963 BBY, the Mandalorian warrior clans advanced on Serroco from the planet Jebble—anticipating an attack, Admiral Saul Karath assembled Battle Group Serroco and set up a staging area on the planet, with encampments among the Stereb cities. The camps were home to a great number of Republic Navy personnel, in addition to fringers selling food and other services to the soldiers. Camp Three featured the extremely popular Little Bivoli mess ship, which was run by two fugitives: Zayne Carrick, a former Jedi Padawan falsely accused of murdering his entire class on Taris, and Marn Hierogryph, a petty criminal believed to be his accomplice. Despite being two of the most wanted beings in the Republic, Carrick and Hierogryph were able to evade notice right under the nose of Karath and his battle group.
Karath and his team thought they were completely ready for the Mandalorians—they figured that the Mandalorians would not dare to attack the Stereb cities directly, for fear of wrecking potential loot. Karath set up a massive cordon of ships surrounding the planet, hoping to stop the Mandalorians dead in their tracks. On the planet below, however, Carrick had a Force vision of the Mandalorians destroying the Stereb cities and annihilating the Republic camps, and he decided that he immediately needed to warn Karath. In a rush, Carrick stowed away on hotshot Republic pilot Carth Onasi's ship, the Deadweight, convincing Onasi of his seriousness and hitching a ride with him to Karath's bridge on the warship Courageous. There, Carrick was recognized as the so-called "Jedi killer" and accused of being a Mandalorian spy. His warnings went unheeded. Soon, a Mandalorian force came out of hyperspace at the edge of the system. Disgusted by the Republic's "dishonorable" tactic of placing its camps so close to the Stereb cities, the invaders started off the proceedings by firing off nuclear missiles—to Karath's surprise, the missiles angled around the Republic ships, heading toward the Serroco camps. As Karath did not expect this to happen, the camps' missile defense systems were not online, and the planet was left defenseless.
Impacts were counted near twenty-seven populated areas. While the Human settlements sustained heavy damage, the Stereb cities were simply gone, turned into glass craters. Furthermore, only eight of the Republic ships on the surface escaped destruction, one of which carried the Jedi Knight Meetra Surik. Before the missiles were launched, Onasi had buzzed down tornado warnings to seventeen Stereb cities, hoping that their underground catacombs could protect them if Carrick's vision came true, an endeavor that saved many lives. Serroco was nearly annihilated, its surface covered in massive craters where once had been cities and settlements. The Republic immediately condemned the destruction of Serroco as a tragedy and a horrific crime, and the devastation was not soon forgotten. Republic propagandist "Benegryph Goodvalor" chose Serroco as the name of his imaginary warship in transmissions aimed at the Mandalorians, and the planet became the namesake of a real Republic ship by the time of the later Galactic War. "Goodvalor" was actually Marn Hierogryph, who, along with talented Trandoshan cook Slyssk, had narrowly escaped Serroco's destruction on a stolen troop transport, inadvertently saving half of a sleeping battalion. The Republic Defense Ministry turned the rescue into a propaganda story, with "Goodvalor" being feted as the "Hero of Serroco."
Life on Serroco still continued, and by the time of the Jedi Civil War several decades after the Mandalorian conflict, Serroco had a leader named Lelin-Dor, who was known as the First Patriarch. During the war, Revan, the Dark Lord of the Sith, had Lelin-Dor assassinated, believing him to be a destabilizing influence. By the time of the Cold War a few centuries later, a Republic military presence had been reestablished on Serroco. In that same time period, archaeologists discovered an intact Stereb shelter left over from the Battle of Serroco, containing many previously-lost Stereb artifacts. During the Imperial Period, thousands of years after the Battle of Serroco, there was still a small enclave of Stereb on the planet.
Inhabitants
Serroco was home to the Stereb species, who built the massive stone cities that dotted the planet's landscape. By the time of the Mandalorian Wars, however, Serroco had also been settled by Humans from the Republic, who lived on one of the planet's nicer continents. The Mandalorians' impending attack on Serroco also brought a significant population of Republic Navy personnel to the world, led by Admiral Saul Karath. Meant to defend the world from the Mandalorians, the soldiers lived in camps placed among the Stereb cities.
There were also fringers, or freelance tradespeople, who also came to the world with the Navy to sell their goods and services. Notable among these beings were Zayne Carrick and Marn Hierogryph, two of the most wanted fugitives in the Republic, who sold food in Camp Three without attracting any notice. Even before the Battle of Serroco, there was a Republic naval presence above the planet, as it fell to the Republic to operate Serroco's orbital watchstation and alert the natives of dangerous weather. Bored crewmen often amused themselves by calling in fake tornado warnings, a practice that drew the ire of Serroco's senator.
Locations
The Stereb built many stone cities across Serroco, with grand pyramidal buildings and large green columns rising from the earth, although they originally lived in underground catacombs, which the Stereb built to escape Serroco's vicious storms and were still maintained as shelters during the era of the Mandalorian Wars. The Republic set up its camps amongst the Stereb cities in preparation for the Mandalorian attack. One of these, Camp Three, featured the Little Bivoli mess wagon run by Zayne Carrick and Marn Hierogryph. Boasting the talents of the Trandoshan cook Slyssk, the Little Bivoli became popular amongst Republic naval personnel who were tired of the food from the commissary. A watchstation was located in Serroco's orbit was operated by the Republic Navy to monitor the planet's weather.
Places of Interest
Camp Three
Camp Three was a Republic Navy military camp that was established on the planet Serroco when the Mandalorian warrior clans threatened the world in 3963 BBY, during the Mandalorian Wars between the Republic and the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders. Placed near one of Serroco's Stereb cities by the order of Republic Admiral Saul Karath, Camp Three was host to the Little Bivoli mess ship, which quickly became extremely popular among the servicemen stationed at the settlement.
When the Mandalorians arrived at Serroco, they unleashed a barrage of nuclear bombs that annihilated the Republic camps, including Camp Three, out of contempt for what chief Mandalore the Ultimate saw as an honorless defense. Not everyone stationed at Camp Three was killed, however—Little Bivoli proprietor Marn Hierogryph and his cook, Slyssk, stole a Republic troop transport and escaped in the nick of time, saving many Republic soldiers in the process.
Description
Camp Three was one of the Republic Navy's military camps on the muddy and rainy planet Serroco during the Mandalorian Wars. As per Republic Navy strategy, the camp was located on the edge of one of Serroco's Stereb cities, large settlements of stone towers and pyramids constructed by the native Stereb species. The camp comprised a number of ships, both Republic and fringer, that served as barracks, restaurants, and other establishments for Republic soldiers. These ships included numerous Hammerhead-class cruisers, troop transports that housed naval personnel, and the Little Bivoli, a fringer mess ship that became extremely popular amongst the men of Camp Three.
Featuring the talented Trandoshan cook Slyssk, the Little Bivoli was actually run by two of the Republic's most wanted fugitives—Zayne Carrick, a former Jedi Padawan wanted for his involvement in the Padawan Massacre of Taris, and the Snivvian Marn Hierogryph, his "accomplice." Situated as the compound was on the "mudhole" Serroco, Republic personnel had trouble staying dry at Camp Three. Other than the soldiers, Serroco's native Stereb also wandered the camp, eating scraps. Air traffic to and from Camp Three was directed by a manned control tower, and surrounding loudspeakers alerted Republic servicemen to enemy forces in the system. In case of an attack, Camp Three, like the other camps on Serroco, was equipped with a missile defense system, but it was not kept online when no assault was expected.
History
In 3963 BBY, the Mandalorian warrior clans, in the midst of their campaign against the Galactic Republic, threatened the Expansion Region world of Serroco, a full member of the Republic. Anticipating a Mandalorian attack, Republic Navy Admiral Saul Karath organized a battle group and set off to defend Serroco. Karath's strategy involved placing his camps close to the Stereb cities, believing that the Mandalorians would avoid attacking them directly out of fear of wrecking valuable loot.
According to this edict, Camp Three was built on the edge of one of the Stereb cities, with spacelift jockeys like hotshot pilot Carth Onasi landing many of the ships that comprised the settlement. Karath personally gave Camp Three a walking tour when the place was settled. The Little Bivoli eatery rapidly became one of Camp Three's go-to spots, earning proprietor Marn Hierogryph a great amount of money—his partner, wanted Republic fugitive Zayne Carrick, still chafed, wanting the chance to clear his name. With the Mandalorians approaching, Carrick, who already had been trying to convince Hierogryph to raise shop, had a Force vision of the Mandalorians destroying Serroco.
Perturbed, Carrick decided that he needed to warn Karath, and he stowed away on Onasi's ship from Camp Three to Karath's flagship, the Courageous. Carrick made it to the ship's bridge but was recognized and detained—soon afterward, Mandalorian forces arrived in the system, setting off the proximity alarms at Camp Three. The Mandalorians started off the proceedings by firing a barrage of nuclear missiles, and Carrick could only watch as his vision came true. Initially appearing to be headed for Karath's ships, the missiles angled around the Republic fleet, aimed at the camps all along, Mandalore the Ultimate's way of punishing the Republic for what he saw as an honorless defense. The missile defense system at Camp Three was not operational at the time, and the camp was obliterated.
Despite the destruction of the camp, some were able to escape. Hierogryph and Slyssk from the Little Bivoli were able to charge aboard and steal a troop transport and get off Serroco in the nick of time, inadvertently saving half a sleeping battalion in the process. For this act, they were honored as Republic heroes.
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