INFO: Gerbs dwell on Yavin Thirteen, one of the many moons orbiting the immense gas giant Yavin. They share their world with the snakelike Slith.
RACE: Gerbs
HEIGHT: 1.3 to 1.7 Meters Tall
SKIN (FUR): Silver to dark grey (with inside of the ears being light pink to dark pink)
DISTINCTION: Long ears, strong kick, claws
LANGUAGE: Gerbese
HOMEWORLD:Yavin 13 was one of the three habitable moons of Yavin Prime. Yavin 13 had a hot and arid climate, and was mainly covered in deserts, rocky plains and cacti forests. However, the moon also had grassy plains and much of its southern hemisphere was covered by open, shallow seas which spread what little moisture there was on the moon into the atmosphere.
Yavin 13's surface also resembled Byss cheese from space. Yavin 13's two sentient species were the rodentlike Gerbs and the serpentine Slith species.
Yavin 13 had no planetary government and was instead governed by separate tribes. Due to its remote location in the Outer Rim, Yavin 13 had no allegiance to any galactic government though it was occasionally visited by treasure hunters including the Rodian Suz Tanwa, who became a famed xenoarchaeologist in the New Republic era.
The Slith had a nomadic hunter-gatherer society and were mainly concentrated on the moon's rocky regions while the Gerbs lived in tiny communities in underground warrens and farmed the moon's grasslands. The two separate species were able to live in peace and often left each other alone. Both species also knew nothing or little about offworld affairs and technology since none had left Yavin 13.
Following the capture of the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4 by the Peace Brigade and the Yuuzhan Vong in 26 ABY, the Yuuzhan Vong presumably conquered Yavin 13. The fate of the native species is unknown though they may have been enslaved or killed as on many other worlds conquered by the extragalactic invaders.
BIOLOGY AND APPEARANCE:Gerbs have short fur, manipulative arms, and long hind legs developed for leaping and running. They have metallic claws designed for digging in the rocky ground, and long tails, which serve to balance their bodies.
They lived in small underground warrens consisting of ten families. The Gerbs moved by hopping and jumping , and practiced simple farming on the few grasslands of the desert moon. Gerbs spoke the squeaking Gerbese language, though they could also speak the hissing Slithese language which was spoken by the moon's other sentient species, the serpentine Slith.
CULTURE AND HISTORY:Gerbs have more of a community and settling spirit than their wandering counterparts. This is because, unlike the Slith, the Gerbs have moved beyond a hunting and gathering society to an agricultural one, which requires the establishment of permanent settlements.
Most Gerb communities are on the small side, and consist of approximately 10 families. Each family dwells in a cool, underground burrow, which is often expanded and linked to the other burrows via adobe walls and domes. When a community grows too large for the available food supply, a small segment of younger Gerbs will split off, and searching the rocky plains and mesas for an oasis or stream which will form the nucleus of a new village.
The Gerbs were able to live in peace with the Slith and both species often left themselves alone. Gerbs were also immune to Slith bites which were venomous to most other species. Both species also knew nothing or little about offworld affairs and technology since none had left Yavin 13. There were approximately 24 million Gerbs and 19 million Slith, altogether totaling 43 million sentient beings.
As part of their efforts to crush the New Jedi Order, the Yuuzhan Vong invaded and conquered the Yavin system. In addition to razing the Jedi temple on Yavin 4, they wiped Yavin 13 and Yavin 8 clean of life—causing the extinction of the Gerb.
APPEARANCES:None
SOURCES:Galaxy Guide 2: Yavin and Bespin, First Edition (First mentioned)
Galaxy Guide 2: Yavin and Bespin, Second Edition
Alien Encounters
Yavin: The Big Red One, Part 2 on Wizards.com (article)
The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
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