Miestassanturasiv adatas buti ardytijas!
—Neo-Tsisocentrist slogan meaning "The city of the offworlders needs to be destroyed." [1]
Lune /'lʊn/, variously known as Naktiszibeti (from the Old Sith naktis meaning "evening" and zibeti meaning "star"[1]) and the Crossroads Moon, was the sole moon of the Outer Rim planet Azarac, itself the only world of the Seven Deaths system of the East Spinward sector. Though little more than a moon-sized asteroid devoid of both native lifeforms and a naturally-occurring atmosphere, Lune served as the legislative capital of the Tsis Worlds and the meeting place of the Qabbrat.
As a minor center of Outer Rim commerce occasionally referred to as "Little Nar Shaddaa," the moon hosted a continent-spanning city, the Miestasasmenysiv (from the Old Sith miestas meaning "city" and asmenysiv meaning "of Asmenys"[1]), that was inhabited by traders, merchants, mercenaries, and outlaws from across the Unknown Regions.[2] Due to Tsis legislation restricting offworlders from setting foot on Azarac's surface without sponsorship, Lune was often the closest a non-Tsis visitor could ever get to the planet.
Description[]
Lune was a moon-sized and moon-shaped asteroid, the largest of several such satellites that orbited the planet Azarac in the Seven Deaths system of the East Spinward sector. At a distance of roughly 40,000 km from its planet, Lune was tidally-locked to Azarac, which resulted in the fact that one side of the moon always faced its parent planet, while the other side was perpetually faced towards empty space.
Devoid of both native lifeforms and a naturally occurring atmosphere, Lune was originally settled by Rakatans of the Infinite Empire who had traveled to the system with the intent of terraforming Azarac, a world rich in the Force and easily accessed by the Force-powered hyperdrives of the Rakatan ships.[3] Making use of the Rakatan terraforming space station and Rakatan xenoforming station, two wonders of the Infinite Empire of the same caliber as the Star Forge and Foundry,[4] the Rakatans provided Lune with a breathable atmosphere and artificial gravity system suitable for temporary habitation, but went to no effort to transform the moon further.
With the complete terraformation of Azarac, most of the research facilities on Lune were abandoned as the Rakatan scientists moved their operations to the planet surface. The moon eventually hosted a pair of naval bases established to refit Rakatan starships for the journey to and from Lehon, both of which were abandoned with the fall of the Infinite Empire in 25,200 BBY[5] and restored twenty millennia later by the Tsis.
With the signing of a non-aggression agreement and trade alliance with the True Sith Empire and Chiss Ascendancy, the moon was settled by traders, merchants, and thrill-seekers from across the galaxy, leading to the construction and growth of the continent-spanning city Miestasasmenysiv, Old Sith for "City of Asmenys."[1] Growing to be a minor center of Outer Rim commerce, the moon came to be called "Little Nar Shaddaa" for its cityscapes and dour environment. Due to its relatively small population in comparison to world-cities like Nar Shaddaa however, Lune did not possess the "vertical cities" that characterized the prevailing architectural paradigm of the Smugglers' Moon,[6] nor did it possess an extensive Undercity of its own.[7] Its skyscrapers, though larger than any on the surface of Azarac, were small in comparison to those on other ecumenopoleis like Taris[8] or Coruscant[9], and the moon's surface was readily visible in unpaved sections of the city.
History[]
The moon of Lune was surmised to have once been a part of a larger satellite that once orbited Azarac, long before the system was discovered by any galactic civilizations. The moon was first discovered around 28,000 BBY by Rakatans of the Infinite Empire, led to the system by a Force hound who detected Azarac's strong connection to the Force.
Through a dual application of the Rakatan terraforming space station and Rakatan xenoforming station, a pair of orbital platforms on par with the Star Forge and Foundry in terms of power,[4] Lune was provided with a breathable atmosphere and artificial gravity system suitable for temporary habitation. The moon served as a temporary headquarters for the Rakatan terraformation effort, hosting several research bases on its surface.
With the successful terraformation of Azarac, the moon was abandoned as its residents departed for the planet's surface, where they resided for the next few millennia until their expulsion from the system. Towards the end of the Empire, the Rakatans constructed a pair of naval bases on the lunar surface, where Rakatan ships bound for Lehon were refitted and refueled. With the uprising of their Red Sith slaves and the hasty withdrawal of the Rakatans from the system, the Infinite Empire abandoned the military bases, with many of them still containing disassembled starships, starfighters, and weapon stores.
Lune was once again deserted for the next twenty thousand standard years, as the remaining residents of the system, the former Red Sith slaves, scratched out a living on the devastated surface of the planet below. Evolving into a separate subspecies of Sith, the Tsis of Azarac eventually united and turned their eyes to the stars, attempting a handful of voyages to Lune using solar sail-equipped ships. They eventually restored the decaying Rakatan vessels still parked in Lune's naval bases and put them to use scouting the surrounding systems.
Lune was the site of a continent-spanning city called Miestasasmenysiv.
For the next few millennia, Lune served as a jumping off point for Tsis expeditions into the East Spinward sector as the species expanded outward from the Seven Deaths system. With a thin but breathable atmosphere, the moon came to be inhabited by the Tsis, though its initial populations were small and heavily reliant on resources and support from Azarac.
The rediscovery of the system and the sector during the lead-up to the Great Galactic War brought many offworlders to Lune in their attempts to gain access to Azarac. As the Tsis made trade partnerships with hegemonic superpowers like the True Sith Empire, Chiss Ascendancy, and Galactic Republic, the moon was settled by growing numbers of outlander traders, merchants, and outlaws. Since Tsis legislation and superstition forbade "unworthy" non-Tsis from setting foot on sacred Azarac's surface, Lune was chosen instead as the location of external nations' embassies and pan-galactic corporations' headquarters, leading to the establishment of cities that eventually grew together into one continent-spanning ecumenopolis.
This city, called the Miestasasmenysiv or "City of Asmenys"[1] after the legendary warrior of the Tsis, became the capital of the Tsis Worlds. Home to offworld embassies and Tsis government facilities, it was ruled by a gerasgrafas (Old Sith for "king" or "high duke"[1]) who held the title "King of the Crossroads" and sat on Qabbrat. Though the King of the Crossroads post was historically held by Tsis alone, the title was one of the first to be held by a non-Tsis Force user during the erosion of Tsisocentric speciesism that characterized Tsis Worlds culture prior to the Golden Age of the Old Republic.
By the Golden Age of the Republic, Lune had become a hotbed of conflict between Neo-Tsisocentric radicals and the largely non-Tsis population. The influx of millions of Sith Purebloods and Humans seeking asylum in the Tsis Worlds following the collapse of the True Sith Empire had been responsible for the continued decline of the Tsis as the majority race of the region. Many radical Neo-Tsisocentrists, threatened by their shrinking influence in matters of law and the shaping of public policy, had thus sought to "purge" the Tsis Worlds of outsider influence through violent means. As the oldest outsider settlements in the East Spinward sector, the cities of Lune were frequent targets of such violence.
Culture[]
Though its culture was primarily Tsis in origin, the society of Lune was shaped significantly by those regional powers, races, and individuals responsible for its colonization. Though little remained of the Rakatan settlements on Lune apart from some isolated ruins, early Red Sith structures located beneath the plazas of downtown Miestasasmenysiv were preserved under plexiglass platforms and occasionally made available to tourists.
As the first trading partner of the Tsis Worlds was the True Sith Empire, many of the oldest inhabited structures in the Miestasasmenysiv downtown area were characterized by the Neo-Imperial architectural style and shared aesthetics with Imperial buildings on Dromund Kaas. As a token of Imperial favor, Sith ambassadors to the Tsis Worlds gifted the Tsis with a colossal statue of their legendary emancipator Asmenys, the ancient Red Sith who united the Sith slaves against their Rakatan masters. Long after the fall of the True Sith Empire, the Colossus of Asmenys continued to stand in a place of honor in downtown Miestasasmenysiv .
Behind the scenes[]
Lune, originally Magna Luna, was created by Sebolto as a way for the xenophobic people of Azarac to have some connection to the outside galaxy. As no outsiders were permitted to the planet's surface, any spaceport would have to be in orbit around Azarac. Lune was conceived as an appropriate means of housing offworld embassies and structures that would serve as an in-between zone for the people of Azarac and the greater galaxy.