Note: Brentaal IV
Astrographical information
Region: Ringali Shell, Core Worlds
Sector: Bormea sector
System: Brentaal system
Suns 1: Brenta
Orbital position: 4
Moons: 2
Grid coordinates: L-9
Trade routes
-Hydian Way
-Corsin Run
-Brentaal–Denon Route
-Perlemian Trade Route
-Commenor Run
Rotation period: 23 standard hours
Orbital period: 342 standard days
Physical information
Class: Terrestrial
Diameter: 11,242 kilometers
Atmosphere: Breathable
Climate: Temperate
Gravity: Standard
Primary terrain: Urban, ice caps, mountains
Surface water: Large oceans
Points of interest
-Cormond Museum of Arts
-Favis Resort
-Grand Oradin Hotel
-Votrad Stadium
Fauna: Kundril
Societal information
Immigrated species: Humans
Primary language(s)
-Old Brentaal
-Galactic Basic Standard
Government: Brentaal Houses
Population: 65 billion (88% Human)
Demonym: Brentaalan
Major cities
-Cormond (capital)
-Curovao
-Oradin
-Votrad
-Vuultin
Major imports: Trade goods, foodstuffs
Major exports: Trade goods, financial services
Brentaal IV, known more commonly as Brentaal, was a planet in the Brentaal system of the Core Worlds's Bormea sector and one that occupied what was arguably the most valuable location in the entire galaxy: the intersection of the Hydian Way and the Perlemian Trade Route, two of the galaxy's major hyperlanes. The fourth planet in orbit around the star Brenta, Brentaal had two moons and was located in the Ringali Shell, a string of star systems along the Perlemian that were near the Ringali Nebula. An arid world with warm and temperate weather, Brentaal featured two large polar caps and an equator marked by deserts and steaming oceans; most of the planet's available land was dominated by warehouses, cargo holding facilities, commerce exchanges, and other trade-related structures. Brentaal's capital of Cormond and its Trade Hall were the seat of power on the planet, with the hundreds of Brentaal Houses—the influential families that ran the planet's trade guilds—represented the citizens in Brentaal's democratic government.
As a result of its location along the Perlemian Trade Route, Brentaal was a major commerce hub that became an economic power when it joined the Galactic Republic sometime before 22,000 BBY, as it served as a checkpoint for traffic entering the Republic along the Perlemian. A Brentaalan hyperspace scout named Freia Kallea further bolstered her homeworld's affluence and economic power when she charted the Hydian Way around 3700 BBY, making Brentaal the only planet to sit at the intersection of two galactic superhighways. Brentaal's economic importance made it a frequent target of military conquests; conflicts such as the New Sith Wars, the Clone Wars, the Galactic Civil War, and the Yuuzhan Vong War all saw the planet become a battleground at least once as various governments and factions fought to control Brentaal's vital hyperspace junction.
DESCRIPTION
The fourth planet in orbit around the star Brenta in the Brentaal system of the Core Worlds' Bormea sector, Brentaal IV was often called simply Brentaal. Brentaal IV lay in the Ringali Shell, a string of star systems along the Perlemian Trade Route that took its name from the nearby violet-colored Ringali Nebula that lit up the nighttime skies of planets in the region. A terrestrial world with a temperate but arid climate and two moons, Brentaal occupied one of the most valuable locations in the galaxy—the intersection of the Perlemian and the Hydian Way, two of the galaxy's major hyperlanes. Brentaal's northern and southern poles were marked by large ice caps, and the rest of the planet was dominated by a chain of particularly salty seas that separated Brentaal's eight continents. The planet had a rotational period of 23 standard hours and an orbital period of 342 standard days, and a diameter of 11,242 kilometers.
The Commenor Run was another hyperlane that terminated at Brentaal, linking the world with Caamas, Alderaan, Kattada, and Commenor. A number of space stations orbited the planet, including a dozen or so XQ2 Platforms that were built by Bengel Shipbuilders decades before 19 BBY. A dry and relatively young planet, Brentaal featured a large number of mountain ranges that had been raised by groundquakes and volcanic activity, and most of the planet's volcanoes were dormant by the time of the Galactic Republic's founding. The planet's weather was largely warm and temperate, though the equatorial band featured deserts and steaming oceans. Most of the planet's settlements were located in valleys, canyons, and deltas in the livable bands between the two ice caps and the equatorial regions, and they suffered from frequent overcrowding, though the planet's spaceports and storage facilities were primarily built atop flattened mountains.
Brentaal's original colonists largely erased the planet's native flora and fauna over the course of many generations, replacing them with ecological systems found on other Core Worlds. One of the few native species to survive was the kundril, a massive, multisegmented flying insect that lacked eyes and hunted by sound. A number of variations of kundril existed, with most hunting fish and seagoing mammals in Brentaal's seas, and most of the land-based kundrils were wiped out by the planet's inhabitants over the decades. The large amphibians known as scranges, native to the planet Dagobah, could also be found in Brentaal's sewers. Air pollution was once a major concern on Brentaal, but the environmental damage was largely repaired, and the planet's air was made safe again, though it smelled slightly of methane.
INHABITANTS
Brentaal's society was focused entirely around commerce, with the hundreds of Brentaal Houses controlling the planetary economy and political environment. On Brentaal, politics were a means to advance one's interests in the commercial world, not a way to gain power, and the planet was ruled by a participatory democracy. Representatives of each Brentaal House met daily in the central Trade Hall in Cormond, where they made public policy and coaxed the economy in desired directions. The Houses, which were connected by thousands of intricate alliances and factions, were nearly all organized by family, as the ability to own a controlling stake in a Brentaal guild or House was originally restricted to family members and family-controlled businesses. A complex system involving permits and exchanges of massive numbers of credits later opened access to some foreigners limited access to certain Houses. Houses Kallea, Brentioch and Okeefe, Hall Ju'oda, and the Dajaal Family were among the more successful and influential Houses on Brentaal.
With a population of approximately 65 billion, Brentaal was primarily populated by Humans, as they made up 88% of the planet's inhabitants, and the planet's primary language was Galactic Basic Standard. The popular Brentaalan folkhero was one who fearlessly trail-blazes new hyperspace routes as a spacefaring merchant, and Freia Kallea became a legendary figure in Brentaalan society for doing just that. Many major megacorporations maintained their headquarters on Brentaal, particularly in the capital of Cormond, and the planet also had a very well-regarded cuisine that was the result of thousands of years of interaction with other cultures. The architecture of Brentaal's cities was functional and stark as befitted a culture based on commerce, but as the Brentaalans favored organic-looking architecture, many offworlders considered their buildings to be oddly beautiful. As a result of its position at the junction of the Hydian and the Perlemian, Brentaal was home to many shipping companies and also had a thriving criminal underworld and black market.
LOCATIONS
Brentaal's inhabitants lived primarily in cities that were primarily filled with spaceports, trade markets, financial markets, industrial centers, and warehouses. The city of Votrad was home to the Votrad Independent Downport, an enormous spaceport, and the Votrad Stadium, which was large enough to hold 100,000 patrons. The Brentaal Academy and the Brentaal Commerce Academy were two learning institutions on the world; the Commerce Academy trained children for the planet's commerce-focused society, with some courses including advanced stock tracking, distribution theory, and speculative investing. While the planet's equatorial regions, plateaus, and flatlands were dominated by the commercial starports and warehouses essential to Brentaal's commercial society, the planet's polar regions were primarily devoted to recreational pursuits.
Brentaal's capital, Cormond, lay on the coast of the Suporro Sea near the Gravaal Mountains, and it was home to the Trade Hall—the center of Brentaal's commercial interests and the seat of government. The Trade Hall featured a number of expansive trade floors, thousands of offices, gardens, and shipping centers, in addition to a private spaceport. While the rest of Brentaal was largely devoted to handling cargo, Cormond was responsible for directing the commerce as a result of the presence of the Trade Hall. The city of Oradin was located on a coast and was home to an Imperial-class spaceport, making it far more strategically valuable than the large city of Vuultin, which was located to the west in a forest and lacked a spaceport. Oradin was home to dozens of resorts and hotels, ranging in size from tiny hovels to the large upscale luxury of the Grand Oradin Hotel, which was known as the Grand Imperial Hotel in the years before the Battle of Brentaal IV during the Galactic Civil War.
The Curovao family, which ran the shipping company Curovao ImpEx, lent its name to the city of Curovao, though Simith Gorofila, head of the so-called Brentaal Dissidents League, accused the family and the city of corrupt dealings with the Republic. The Favis Resort was an artificial island anchored in Brentaal's mild south polar sea, and it was one of the resort communities where Brentaalan nobles and guild officers retired to when the planet's heat became oppressive during summertime in the southern hemisphere. Numerous casinos, luxury hotels, and sports stadiums could be found at the Resort, and yacht regattas and glacier-climbing expeditions were conducted regularly. However, the Favis Resort also had a reputation for being the site of corporate espionage, as Brentaalan merchants rarely ever left their work behind while on vacation.