Carosite

The Carosites were a humanoid mammalian species, known for their sentience, with heights ranging from 1.3 to 1.7 meters. They possessed unique physical characteristics, including long snouts, small, beady eyes, and unusually elongated necks. Their bodies were slender, and their hands were remarkably agile due to a distinctive arrangement of digits: three central fingers flanked by two opposable thumbs. Short, fine fur covered their bodies, providing warmth, and they often sported long goatees on their chins. Carosites were also known for their particularly heightened senses.

The Carosites had a limited reproductive capacity, capable of producing offspring only twice in their lives, with each instance resulting in a litter of up to six young. Families were the core social unit within their communities, frequently including elderly relatives who required assistance with independent living. The typical Carosite lifespan was 120 standard years.

The Carosites' infrequent reproduction led to a profound reverence for life, with each individual's existence considered sacred. This deeply held belief significantly influenced their society, particularly their robust medical traditions. They achieved breakthroughs in identifying and treating mental illnesses, with their sanitariums emphasizing individual healing rather than mere confinement. They also pioneered advancements in medical droid programming. Consequently, upgrading medical droids on Carosi XII was significantly cheaper than elsewhere. To sustain their medical operations, the Carosites relied heavily on trade with the Ebranites for lu-ramin, a crucial oil in many of their medicines. Carosites charged for medical services based on the patient's ability to pay. Notably, they refused to install cybernetic enhancements, but they were willing to provide prosthetic replacements that did not augment the patient's capabilities.

The Carosites were passionate about sharing their medical knowledge, leading to the establishment of medical academies on their planet, such as the Carosi XII Academy of Medicine. These institutions drew renowned doctors, scientists, and surgeons to teach and learn. Their language reflected their medical heritage, with medical metaphors commonly used to describe business transactions, galactic politics, and other non-medical aspects of life.

Their reverence for life fostered a strong pacifist culture, with the exception being the protection of the vulnerable, helpless, and their patients. In these instances, Carosites were known to enter a frenzied state, sometimes referred to as "life-saving fanaticism." Furthermore, they vehemently opposed any form of interrogation or brainwashing, considering private thoughts sacrosanct. However, a minority advocated for more forceful action against oppressors like the Galactic Empire. This group, known as "The Preventers," argued that proactive measures would ultimately save more lives.

The Carosites were aware of the Force and sought to understand it better. However, no Carosite ever trained as a Jedi, as their interest lay in using it for healing and recovery, rather than other applications. Their approach to the Force was characteristic of their innovative nature, with some even exploring ways to adapt blaster technology for therapeutic purposes.

The Carosites practiced a democratic system where a leader with absolute authority was elected every ten years. This leader relied on the counsel of eleven advisors chosen from the eleven major families within their society. Truth was highly valued, making verbal and written agreements completely binding. Reflecting their inherent optimism, they extended this expectation to offworlders, who often exploited their trust by failing to honor their agreements.

Carosites disapproved of alcohol due to its detrimental effects on sentient beings, both in the short and long term. This led their government to heavily tax liquor sales and limit the number of liquor outlets on their planet. Their paternalistic tendencies often resulted in unsolicited dietary advice. Visitors often found this unsolicited care even more intrusive than that of typical protocol droids.

Newlife Point, the only city on Carosi XII, was home to the majority of the planet's two million Carosites. Established on the shores of the Avuae Sea, it marked the landing site of the original refugee ships. The sea teemed with marine life, providing a valuable source of protein, and the Carosites enjoyed swimming in its icy waters. Just south of the city, a network of hot pools, heated by underground volcanic activity, were known for their therapeutic properties. The Carosites connected these hot springs to Newlife Point via an underground transrail system.

The Carosite species originated on Carosi IV, a planet in the Carosus system, situated within the Nembus sector of the Outer Rim Territories. Their original homeworld was strategically located near the Hydian Way, a crucial hyperlane in that region of the galaxy, within an area of space that was explored between 5,000 and 3000 BBY. Carosites ventured offworld as early as 3638 BBY, a period encompassing the Galactic War between the Galactic Republic and the resurgent Sith Empire.

In 200 BBY, the Carosites faced a crisis when their sun began an unusually rapid expansion, threatening their homeworld. This event triggered significant social upheaval, leading to a twenty-year effort to evacuate their entire civilization to Carosi XII, an ice planet located further out in their system. The expanding sun consumed the first five planets and warmed Carosi XII, making it more habitable. Over the next two centuries, the Carosites gradually terraformed Carosi XII, utilizing the skills of scientists and other specialists to rebuild their world.

The Carosites were profoundly affected by this traumatic displacement, struggling to regain their footing in the galaxy for many generations. This experience led many to cherish old traditions and rituals, fostering a veneration of the past. However, a small faction within their society advocated for the creation of new traditions to adapt to their changed circumstances, sparking intense debates among the population.

During the Galactic Civil War, the Carosites were aligned with the Rebel Alliance, but their respect for life led them to treat all wounded, including Imperial survivors. Lacking significant military strength, they maintained only a small navy and merchant fleet. In 0 ABY, the Alliance launched a major strike against the Empire in the Carosus system. After the Rebel Alliance became the New Republic, the Carosite relationship with the government was further strengthened by Omo Taj, the Carosite leader at the time. He authorized the construction of a secret base on Carosi XII and maintained positive relations with the base commander, Balderik Rajana. However, the base attracted Imperial attention to Carosi XII, leading to incidents such as an agent training native rinacats to hunt base operatives.

Later, during the New Republic era, the Carosites established pleasure domes on Carosi XII, using expensive synthdroids, which increased traffic to the planet, keeping the starport constantly busy. The Loronar Corporation built a synthdroid factory on a moon of Carosi XII, which was visited by Chief of State Leia Organa Solo.

Carosites often served as physicians and doctors throughout the galaxy, such as the pair who worked as medics at the Galactic Outdoor Survival School. A notable Carosite physician was Tamo Lan. After training in medicine on Carosi XII, Lan joined the Rebel Alliance after killing a Twi'lek who threatened a patient. He served the Alliance on Baes Logia and the Massassi Temple on Yavin 4 before joining Shroud Team as a medic. After his best friend, the Aqualish Karlon, was killed on Bresnia, he took in Karlon's sister, Gondara. Another esteemed Carosite doctor disappeared during a mission in the Galactic War. He reappeared five years later, around 3638 BBY, with no memory of his whereabouts, suggesting he had been abducted.

Not all Carosites were altruistic; the cyberneticist Dr. Parnath was a notable exception. Exiled from Carosi for his unethical practices and relentless pursuit of credits, he relocated to the Vergesso Asteroids, where he performed any cybernetic enhancement for sufficient payment.

Even more renowned were the Carosite physicians aboard the hospital ship Sudden Restoration. This modified Kuat Drive Yards HS-1 hospital ship provided free medical care throughout the galaxy and was known for its exceptional patient recovery rate. It was named for its tendency to appear unexpectedly at recent battle sites to treat the wounded and civilian populations. The ship's reputation was somewhat tarnished when one of its physicians was blackmailed by the Empire into serving as an agent. He induced comatose states in Republic officers and ejected their "dead" bodies into space, where the Imperials recovered them for interrogation.

The Sudden Restoration offered medical assistance to all, regardless of political affiliation. This impartial approach largely protected it from attack, with pirates known to punish anyone who threatened the ship. However, on one occasion, a bounty hunter attacked the ship, hired by a crime lord to assassinate an Imperial officer receiving treatment. Subsequently, the New Republic stationed X-wings aboard to provide fighter cover. The ship's success led the Carosites to consider building more like it. Many patients were later transferred to Carosi Alpha Hospital on Carosi XII.

The Sudden Restoration embraced diverse healing methods, and the Ewok shaman Keoulkeech served aboard it for a time. A Carosite transport en route to Yir Tangee encountered Keoulkeech during a stopover at Salfur's Trading Post on Endor. Recognizing his abilities, they transferred him to the Sudden Restoration.

During the Galactic Civil War, the Empire captured a Carosite smuggler. Darth Vader used the dark side to break his mind, turning him into a feral beast driven by fear, and used him as a fanatical guard. In 12 ABY, New Republic agents Han Solo and Chewbacca encountered him in the underground catacombs of Belsavis. Carosite beakers were also used by the genetic terrorist Zeta Magnus during his occupation of Skye during the Clone Wars.

The Carosites were first introduced in Planets of the Galaxy, Volume Two, by West End Games in 1992. They were subsequently mentioned in various sourcebooks for WEG's Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. The species and their homeworld were also referenced in two Bantam Spectra novels, Children of the Jedi and Planet of Twilight.

In 2009, The Essential Atlas placed the Carosi system, providing context for the species and planet's history. Star Wars: The Old Republic: Rise of the Hutt Cartel, a 2013 update, featured a Carosite doctor as a possible quest assignment for player companions.