INFO: The Caamasi (pronounced /k??'m?si/) were a species of furred humanoids known for their compassionate and peace-loving nature; indeed, the name Caamasi came to mean "friend from afar" and "stranger to be trusted" in some languages across the galaxy.
RACE: Caamasi
HEIGHT: 1.8 Meters Tall
SKIN (FUR): Brown to golden
DISTINCTION: Snouts, memnii
LANGUAGE: Caamasi
HOMEWORLD:Caamas was a highly populated and marsh-covered Core World in the Cirius system, the second planet orbiting the star Cirius. It was notable for the devastation it suffered during an Imperial orbital bombardment which destroyed its ecosystem and nearly wiped out the native Caamasi.
Caamas was once a temperate, hospitable world of jungles, marshes, steppes, and rolling hills. Its dense rainforests and jungles teemed with life. After the Imperial bombardment, nearly all flora and fauna either disappeared or were mutated beyond recognition. Caamas became a barren waste, and without vegetation to release oxygen, the atmosphere became toxic and unbreathable. Bombardment kicked up smoke and dust into the air, and the surface became wracked by dust storms and falling soot, eroding the surface and sending dirt and mud into the oceans. The waters, once teeming with sea life, became muddy, polluted, stagnant, and lifeless.
Caamas was the homeworld of behemoths and the sentient Caamasi people. Around 30,000 BBY during the Pre-Republic era, Caamas was ruled by the space-faring Rakata. Using Force-based hyperdrives, they traveled to many worlds around the galaxy that possessed significant signatures in the Force, uniting them to form the Rakatan Infinite Empire. After five thousand years of galactic dominance, the Rakata retreated to their homeworld. Whether they enslaved the native Caamasi as they had done with other species is unknown.
In 25,053 BBY, Caamas was one of the Core Founders of the Galactic Republic. Some legends claimed that the early Jedi learned morality from the Caamasi, whose name came to mean 'friend from afar' or 'stranger to be trusted' in various languages used throughout the galaxy. Despite these legends, few Caamasi ever learned the ways of the Force under the Jedi. There was, however, a Jedi Temple established there for contemplation, learning, and teaching proper moral judgment, and at least one Caamasi did become a Jedi, Ylenic It'kla, who served during the Clone Wars.
The planet was represented in the Galactic Senate by Eeshrin Ot'Hyne, who opposed the Military Creation Act. Despite this, Caamas remained loyal to the Republic during the Clone Wars that followed. Pacifistic by nature, the Caamasi found war distasteful, possessing a deep empathy and respect for other beings, including their enemies.
DESTRUCTION:Although Palpatine appreciated the loyalty of Caamas, he found their adherence to the principles and values of the Old Republic intolerable. The Empire had the planet subjected to a planetary bombardment in 19 BBY shortly after the Clone Wars, after the powerful and heavily guarded planetary shields were infiltrated and lowered by Bothan agents. The Jedi Temple on Caamas was ruined, suffering many direct hits at Palpatine's direction. Many survivors fled to other worlds including, ironically, Alderaan. It was here that one of the largest communities of the Caamasi Remnant settled, hoping to find sanctuary, only to die when that planet too was destroyed by the first Death Star. The Royal Library on Alderaan contained a great deal of information on the attack. In later years other communities of Caamasi survivors were formed on Kerilt and Susevfi.
Several years after the destruction of Caamas, a meteor hit the planet and carved a massive crater in its surface.
Under the New Republic, a few Caamasi founded Refuge City on Caamas, from which they hoped to decontaminate and rescue their blighted world. They were aided by the Ithorians, who were naturally drawn to such projects, as they were with the reconstruction of Telos IV many centuries prior. Some of the Ithorians, however, arrived when their herdship crashed on Caamas under mysterious circumstances, and the xenological jungle it contained took root on Caamas' smallest continent in the southern hemisphere. The existence of this herdship was known only to a few Ithorians. The ruined Jedi Temple was located in this impenetrable alien jungle.
Just south of Refuge City lay a crater that had been caused by a meteor strike shortly after the devastation. The Bothans paid Caamas 50,000 credits a year to use this location as a waste dump. The funds went directly to decontamination efforts. It was virtually unknown that Bothan Debris, Inc., who rented the location, was a front for the Bothan Spynet, run by an agent named Kursk Te'tell.
BOTHAN COMPLICITY:In order to devastate the surface of Caamas, Palpatine had to ensure the planetary shield generators were deactivated. To that end, he hired a group of Bothan operatives, an action that did not come to light until the Caamas Document was uncovered from the remains of Mount Tantiss in 19 ABY, prompting a major crisis in the New Republic. To add to the confusion, a copy of the document was altered shortly after its discovery by Grodin Tierce to implicate Bothan clans who had had no involvement in the operation, a copy which was given to Lando Calrissian by a fake Grand Admiral Thrawn.
LATER HISTORY:In 130 ABY, it was the site of the final battle of the Sith-Imperial War. The choice of the system hints that it may have been one of the planets terraformed during the Ossus Project.
BIOLOGY AND APPEARANCE:Caamasi had a spicy, woody body scent that was similar to that of Corellian whiskey. They had long arms with thin, three-fingered hands[1]. They also had extremely acute senses of smell.
Caamasi had the interesting ability to share vivid memories called memnii with their near relatives and Jedi. A memnis was as vivid to one who received it as it was to the one participated in the event remembered.
CULTURE AND HISTORY:Caamasi possessed great moral strength and respect for others. They were among the galaxy's finest diplomats and mediators, often solving severe conflicts in a matter of days. Senior Anthropologist Hoole witnessed the Caamasis' prowess firsthand when they negotiated peace between the Kubaz and the Verpine.
Unfortunately, the Caamasis' pacifism was at odds with Emperor Palpatine's New Order, and they suffered greatly under Imperial rule. A few months after the end of the Clone Wars, the surface of their homeworld, Caamas was bombarded, killing millions. After the destruction of their planet's environment, many refugees moved to Alderaan, Kerilt and Susevfi.
The bombardment was aided by a group of Bothans who sabotaged Caamas' shield generators. The Caamas Document detailed their involvement. Although many demanded that the Bothans purchase an uninhabited planet and terraform it according to Caamas' specifications, the Caamasi chose to forgive those who had betrayed them.
It was said in ancient legend that at the dawning of their age of existence, the Jedi came to the Caamasi for instruction on how to dictate the moral use of their powers, which could explain why the teachings of the Jedi Code have a great deal in common with the oft-inherit wisdom of the Caamasi, and perhaps another reason Palpatine felt it necessary to eliminate them.
APPEARANCES:Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Destroyer
Point/Counterpoint: Military Creation Act—HoloNet News Vol. 531 47
Kashyyyk/Trandoshan Talks to Shaky Start—HoloNet News Vol. 531 48
Kashyyyk / Trandoshan Talks Break Down—HoloNet News Vol. 531 50
Shots Fired in Andoan Space—HoloNet News Vol. 531 50
"Elusion Illusion" - Star Wars Insider 66
CIS Shadowfeed Dispatch 14:2:14 Edition
Hero of Cartao (Mentioned only)
MedStar I: Battle Surgeons
Star Wars Republic: Trackdown (Vision to Quinlan Vos)
Labyrinth of Evil (Mentioned only)
Coruscant Nights II: Street of Shadows
Rebel Dawn
First Impressions
X-wing: Isard's Revenge (Mentioned only)
I, Jedi
Specter of the Past (First appearance)
Vision of the Future
Star Wars: Union
Survivor's Quest (Mentioned only)
Dark Tide I: Onslaught
Dark Tide II: Ruin
Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial
Destiny's Way
Force Heretic I: Remnant
The Unifying Force
SOURCES:The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide
Coruscant and the Core Worlds
The Essential Guide to Alien Species
The New Essential Guide to Alien Species
Power of the Jedi Sourcebook
The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
The Essential Atlas
Eg'ros Akala in the Databank
Elegos A'Kla in the Databank
I would like to thank Wookieepedia for this info.
