Écparz

Écparz was planet in the Écpe system, located in the Expansion Region. It was the homeworld of the Écparzi, a race of near-Gossam, as well as the possibly extinct Pok’bortboir species.

Early History
Circa 250,000 BBY Écparz was united by a single ruler of its only native sentient species called the Pok’bortboir. They achieved space travel and colonized every planet in the Écpe system and the neighboring Zetamari system by 100,000 BBY. Because they knew nothing of hyperdrives, it took nearly eight years for their ships to travel between the systems and it was eventually decided that each system would have its own government. In 31,268 BBY the duo Pok’bortboir civilizations were conquered by the n.

A ship full of nearly ten thousand arrived in 26,991 BBY. They settled on the planet and built several architecturally fantastic cities on the planet such as Messorill and New Ossuga. By this time, the Pok’bortboir on Écparz had gone extinct and almost all trace of them had disappeared. Over time the Gossam settlers evolved into a new race that would be called the Écparzi.

The Old Republic Era
Écparz joined the Republic in 21,873 BBY. During the, the planet was conquered in a battle that cost nearly one billion Écparzi their lives. Later, in the height of the, an agent of the Sith Empire attempted a coup. After it failed, the agent managed to place the blame on the species of nearby. The tattered Écparzi government created a large military and disastrously attempted to invade the Zexx homeworld but was utterly defeated. Only the intervention of a band of heroic smugglers and a Republic agent caught in the middle of the conflict managed to make peace between the two worlds, although the Zexx forever disdained the Écparzi afterward.

In 743 BBY the Écpe-Zetamari Shipwrights Testing Facility was built over the Pok’bortboir Memorial Grounds, upsetting the Messorill Archeological and Paleontological Society. Mass protests erupted across the planet and Derimzo crime lord Terablin Kilkawn sent his thugs around the cities to incite riots and widespread looting. Then the criminal made off with several schematics from the new testing facility but he was apprehended by the Jedi Knight, Jeks Tuk-awani, and the rioting on Écparz came to end.

A few hundred years later, in 304 BBY, the Écparz power grid was severely damaged by a sun flare that overloaded the planetary shield resulting in the greatest power failure in the history of the Écpe system. It took several months for power to be restored, during which time the planet had to accept aid from neighboring star systems. Old resentments against the Zexx flared when Prazhi refused to lend support.

Several terrorist attacks took place on Prazhi between 240 BBY and 127 BBY and, although they were linked to Écparz, no action was taken by either the Republic or the Jedi. Then, in 97 BBY, the Zexx ambassador to Écparz was murdered and a new war was nearly started between the two races but it was averted by Jedi Master and her apprentice, a  named Caba Cesh.

The Clone Wars
Écparz was one of the first worlds to join the, along with their neighbors in the Zetamari system. Several droid factories were constructed in the Écpe system and many Écparzi citizens began to receive civil defense training. When the Clone Wars broke out, the planet immediately began arming itself and sending resources and personnel to support the Confederacy. The droid factories began producing weapons and battle droids for the Separatists. The Zetamari system fell to the Republic fairly early in the war but Écparz remained untouched, even after supporting two failed CIS invasions of the Zetamari system.

Finally, in 19 BBY, the Jedi convinced planetary leaders to meet with her to discuss returning to the Republic in the wake of Count Dooku’s death. However, a Separatist agent from Erayyxa named Jaxe Minzo arrived and caused chaos and confusion among the general population and then, with the help of a bounty hunter, assassinated Soara Antana.

Imperial Period
As the confusion following the assassination settled, the Clone Wars came to an end. Écparz, like most of the former CIS worlds, suddenly found itself occupied by the stormtroopers of the new Empire. Represented in the Imperial Senate by a Zexx, the Écparzi found themselves under the heavy burden of taxation and low employment. For the first time in nearly one thousand years, starvation was rampant all over the planet. Harsh immigration laws and new and difficult to acquire travel visas prevented most of the populace from leaving and those who did made for the Outer Rim, throwing themselves at the mercy of the Hutts rather than the Empire. Food riots became common and crime rates began to increase.

The first major sign of trouble with the Empire occurred in 12 BBY, when protesters in the city of Póczer Square began throwing stones at security forces. Very quickly, the rioters became too much for the police to handle and they retreated to the security station to barricade themselves in against the crowd. Widespread vandalism and looting began to occur. Demonstrators began to rally outside of the government buildings and the Imperial officials took notice. Soon enough, Imperial troops were marching into the city and many dissenters were beaten and arrested. In all, nearly two thousand Écparzi were arrested and transported offworld to internment camps around the galaxy as an example.

The Póczer Square incident only added fuel to the fire and the over following days some five hundred million protesters in cities across the planet marched through the streets demanding the release of the Póczer two thousand. Despite holonet reporters being on the scene, Imperial troops once again attempted to quell the demonstrations. But this time, in the city of Jythuczép, Imperials fired on the marchers and in the confusion, several hundred beings lost their lives. The entire planet exploded into chaos afterward and, despite a planet-wide weapons ban having been in effect since Imperials first occupied Écparz, a significant number of small arms seemed to rapidly find their ways into the hands of outraged citizens. This began the year long Écparz Independence Movement.

Fall of a World
By 11 BBY, Imperial troops had taken nearly four thousand casualties against the revolutionary forces and talks of abandoning the Écparzi world began. Another three months passed and the Imperial casualties nearly doubled. It was decided to pull out and troops began leaving the planet, boarding Star Destroyers and troop transports to leave the Écpe system behind. Seeing themselves as victorious, the Écparzi insurrectionists began to celebrate and the fighting began to dissipate.

The last Imperial garrison, located in the town of Kazloc, was emptied out in the fifth month of the year. For a day, the planet seemed to hold its breath as the Imperial fleet stayed in orbit. Then, one after another, Imperial ships began to leave the system until only fourteen Star Destroyers remained in orbit. For three days, the Star Destroyers were watched by ground observers who were wondering what would happen next. Then they waited no longer as the ships began to bombard the planet. In a matter of hours, most of the planet was reduced to slag and not one city or village remained intact. The Imperials exited the system with ninety-nine percent of the population of Écparz extinguished.

Aftermath
For the next few weeks, all travel into the Écpe system was restricted by the Empire. Only a few aid workers managed to obtain the help of smugglers to gain access to the planet and they found very few survivors to assist. In all, only a few hundred sentients were rescued. Later, in 8 BBY, an Imperial base was built on the ruined Écparz to help bolster the Imperial forces of the sector. In 0 ABY, encouraged by the destruction of the Death Star, a group of ninety-one Écparzi captured the base with the help of the Rebel Alliance’s brave Group MT50 to symbolically liberate their planet from the Empire.