Carida

Orbital position

4^[4]

Moons

2^[4] (inc. the Mascot Moon)

Grid square

M-9^[2]

Rotation period

25 standard hours^[4]

Orbital period

357 local days^[4]

Class

Terrestrial^[4]

Diameter

18,324 kilometers^[4]

Atmosphere

Type I (breathable)^[4]

Climate

Temperate^[4]

Gravity

Heavy (1.98 Standard)^[4]

Terrain

Forests^[4]
Deserts^[4]
Glacier^[4]
Jungles^[1]
Arctic tundra^[1]

Points of interest

Fauna

Combat arachnid^[1]

Native species

Caridan^[4]

Other species

Human^[4]

Primary language(s)

Government

Council of Merchants^[4]

Population

25 million (75% Caridan, 23% Human, 2% droids)^[4]

Major imports

Foodstuffs^[4]

Major exports

Military personnel^[4]
Military technology^[4]
Industrial equipment^[4]

Affiliation

The Alliance must recruit Carida or contain it as part of our long term plan for weakening the Empire's military infrastructure."
"Very long term, I'm afraid. Recruiting Carida is out of the question. Containing it? Difficult but possible. We will never conquer Carida.Mon Mothma and General Carlist Rieekan, commenting in the Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide

Carida, originally known as Ord Carida, was a planet of the Colonies region of the galaxy, near the Perlemian Trade Route, and the homeworld of the Caridan race.

Features

This large, high-gravity world was covered in everything from rocky mountains and frozen ice fields, to rain forests full of carnivorous plants, and deserts. As such, this planet was the perfect training ground for combat in difficult terrain. It was an exporter of food, and was ruled by the Council of Merchants, which later shared power with a military administration.

History

The Old Republic

Originally known as Ord Carida, the planet was colonized by the Galactic Republic as a Ordnance/Regional Depot some time circa 12,000 BBY.^[10] During the Pius Dea Civil War, which ended Pius Dea domination over the Galactic Republic, the Republic's Rocket-Jumper Elite Advance Unit played an important role in the Jedi victory over the Pius Dea garrison there.^[11] During the time of the Cold War, a proxy conflict between the Sith Empire and Galactic Republic, some foragers discovered a crude tunnel burrowing under Carida's largest mountain range, believing it to be the entrance to a fabled ancient city. Eventually, someone was sent to check the foragers' findings.^[12]

Carida was the site of a major military training facility, the Academy of Carida. The training facilities were offered to the Galactic Republic for training an army created by the Military Creation Act before the Clone Wars.^[13] This selfsame facility was converted willingly by the population to an Imperial training center and was home to the Empire's most important stormtrooper program, along with several hundred B3 ultra battle droids.^[14] The planet remained loyal to the Republic during the Clone Wars and was an adamant supporter of the Galactic Empire until the bitter end.^[15]

Clone Wars

Unidentified Abafar Jedi cruiser — Separatist forces attempted to destroy the *Valor* during a strategy conference.

In 22 BBY, the first year of war, the planet was the site of a victory for the Confederacy of Independent Systems over the Republic. The Republic's loss at Carida, coupled with other recent defeats, led Jedi Grand Master Yoda to believe that the Republic needed another major victory.^[8]

Sometime later in the war's course, Carida was once again under Republic control. The Republic operated a space station, known as the Valor, within orbit of Carida and it was the site of a Republic strategy conference^[7] around 20 BBY.^[16] The Separatists, under a super tactical droid, unsuccessfully tried to destroy the station during the conference using a derelict bomb-laden Jedi cruiser,^[7] the Renown.^[17] Near the end of the war, Republic forces seized a Techno Union factory on Tar Morden and acquired many crab droids, which were then sent to Carida.^[14]

Imperial Period

We denounce your foul rebellion of lawbreakers and murderers. You have tried to impress me with the number of other weak-minded systems that have joined your Alliance, but no amount of rabble can erase your crimes against the Empire. Carida will never surrender to your so-called New Republic.Furgan

Acadamy of Carida IH — Imperial Academy on Carida

The planet also had numerous rancors on it that had been transplanted from other worlds. They were often used for training exercises, pitting stormtroopers or Imperial vehicles against them.^[19] The planet was also the site of the Battle of Carida, between forces under Grand Admiral Thrawn and ships of the Zann Consortium.^[20]

The MT-AT "Spider Walker" was developed and manufactured here. General Veers also tested the first AT-AT there. Carida was also the homeworld of Admiral Kendal Ozzel.

Carida originally had two moons, one of which, the Mascot Moon, had the Academy's logo carved into its surface. In 8 BBY, Mako Spince attempted to remove the logo using antimatter. Instead of achieving this goal, the moon was destroyed.

After Emperor Palpatine's death at the Battle of Endor, control of Carida fell to Imperial Ambassador Furgan.^[18]

At some point after the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance, namely Mon Mothma, considered either recruiting or otherwise containing Carida as part of their long term plans of weakening the Empire's military infrastructure, although Carlist Rieekan expressed that they can only contain the planet in the best case scenario, as recruiting it is out of the question.^[9]

In 11 ABY, Carida had refused to accept the reality the Empire was gone, and was held by its vestiges. Imperial scientists at Carida successfully created nano-destroyers, an artificial virus keyed to a _target's genetic makeup that was not only incurable but also completely undetectable by conventional medical means.^[3] When Carida was invited to Coruscant to meet with Mon Mothma, Ambassador Furgan attended and managed to infect Mothma by splashing a drink containing the nano-destroyer on her during a party, after which he denounced the New Republic and stated that Carida had no intention of joining them.^[18]

Destruction of Carida

Let me talk to Ambassador Furgan now or your planetary system is going to be the galaxy's newest bright spot. I've already blown up a nebula to wipe out a pair of Imperial battle cruisers—don't you think I'd destroy one minor star to get rid of a planet full of stormtroopers?Kyp Durron to Dauren

The planet was destroyed in 11 ABY by Jedi Kyp Durron, under the influence of the spirit of Sith Lord Exar Kun, using the Sun Crusher, a superweapon that fired torpedoes into a star, causing it to go supernova. Beforehand, Durron requested information on his brother, Zeth, who had been forced into the stormtrooper program. The Caridans falsely told him Zeth was killed in a training maneuver. In a rage, Durron fired a resonance torpedo at the system's sun, and announced they had two hours to evacuate before their world was destroyed. Before its destruction, Lieutenant Dauren contacted Kyp and alerted him that Zeth was in fact, still alive. As the sun came closer to going supernova, many Imperials, including Furgan, evacuated from the planet.^[3]

Kyp raced to the surface to find Zeth, who had been called up to the control room to prove to Kyp that he was still alive, as the Caridans incorrectly believed that Kyp could call off the resonance torpedos and would do so upon learning the truth about his brother. As the sun was close to exploding, Kyp blasted a hole in the roof of the control building using the Sun Crusher and landed in it. Zeth attempted to board the ship but Dauren hit him from behind, causing him to fall. As Dauren attempted to board the ship instead, Kyp sealed the door, preventing him from entering. Zeth shot and killed Dauren with his blaster but was unable to regain enough strength to board the ship, due to Dauren's blow to his head. The sun collapsed and exploded in two massive shockwaves. As Kyp watched, Zeth's body disintegrated in the first wave. Kyp escaped as the second wave cracked the planet in half.^[3]

Behind the scenes

A rancor on Carida

The PC game Star Wars: Rebellion mistakenly places Carida in the Fakir sector of the Core Worlds. The Fakir Sector is actually located in the Inner Rim Territories. The Clone Wars: Wild Space stated that early on in the Clone Wars, Carida was conquered by the Separatists. However, the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season Five episode "Point of No Return" shows Carida heavily cordoned by Republic warships, thus back under the Republic banner. Until a source clears up this discrepancy, this article reconciles information from all source material by assuming that Carida fell back under Republic control sometime between these events.