Ibbe
Ibbe, a little-known planet of the terrestrial type, was situated at the edge of Wild Space. It served as the homeworld for the Ibbeets, a peaceful and sentient species, as well as predatory lomba lizards. The planet's environment was characterized by lush vegetation, including expansive, leafy whirli-yup trees, frequent rains, and a humid, balmy atmosphere.
Although largely unknown, this planet maintained a connection to a family that, by 228 BBY, had been trading with the Ibbeets for centuries. Furthermore, the pirate, Tanabi Yar, had visited Ibbe sometime before 229 BBY, and in that year, she suggested that the Jedi, Vernestra Rwoh, should also visit the planet to recover from trauma. Rwoh took this advice and spent several months living with the native inhabitants of Ibbe in a village. The subsequent year, when her friend Avon Sunvale arrived, Rwoh departed to assist in the rescue of Sunvale's Padawan, Imri Cantaros, who had previously been presumed dead.
Description
Ibbe was a terrestrial planet located near Thelj on the fringe of Wild Space. A sun illuminated Ibbe, which had a Type I atmosphere suitable for breathing by humans, Mirialans, and the native Ibbeets. The planet was verdant and thriving, and the Force permeated its large leafy trees and the streams that flowed beneath their roots. Its forests featured rapidly growing whirli-yup trees, which experienced even faster growth during the planet's regular rains, forming a dense, branching canopy. The atmosphere contained pale green clouds, and the climate was humid and balmy. The terrain was uneven, marked by the exposed roots of the tall trees. The surface water included small rivulets, and at least one pond was present. The planet's fauna included predators like the lomba lizard.
History
Contact with the galaxy
A Jedi once lived on Ibbe, constructing a nest within an Ibbeet village sometime before 228 BBY. By 229 BBY, Tanabi Yar, a Togruta pirate from the Shili royal family, visited Ibbe when she needed time for contemplation. She thought it was a suitable place to process tragic events and find healing. In 228 BBY, the explorer Leric Schmireland described Ibbe in his work, Journeys in the Wildest Space. Also, by that year, the family of the Chadra-Fan hauler Santos had been engaged in trade with the Ibbeets for centuries, providing them with essential medicine and supplies in return for baskets crafted from whirli-yup trees.
By 229 BBY, the planet was largely unknown and remote from significant galactic happenings. In that year, Yar advised Jedi Vernestra Rwoh to visit Ibbe to recover from the trauma caused by the destruction of the Galactic Republic space station Starlight Beacon, an idea that Rwoh decided to act on. The Togruta also provided Rwoh with a token to give to Santos, who would agree to take her to Ibbe if she mentioned that Yar sent her. Rwoh spent the subsequent month traveling on various starships to reach Thelj, paying for her passage by assisting the ships' crews. On Thelj, Rwoh encountered Santos, who agreed to take her to Ibbe in exchange for her promise to protect the Ibbeets. Upon arriving on Ibbe, Rwoh was welcomed by the natives and settled into the nest previously built by the Jedi. Over the following months, Rwoh honed her skills with her lightwhip and helped the Ibbeets with various tasks in their impoverished village, in return for their hospitality. She viewed the planet and her time there as an escape from sorrow.
Avon Sunvale's visit
During a morning rain in 228 BBY, a lomba lizard attacked the village where Rwoh was staying, destroying a section of its branch walkway and several nests. Rwoh arrived just in time to distract the predator from the Ibbeets who were struggling on the ground, allowing them to escape. She provoked the lizard into chasing her, leading it to a waterfall. There, Rwoh used the Force push to send the lomba over the cliff, causing it to fall into the pond below.
On her return to the village, Rwoh passed by the clearing that Santos used as a landing area, where she noticed an unfamiliar starship. Approaching the ship, she was surprised to see her friend Avon Sunvale—a child prodigy who had been presumed dead after the destruction of Starlight Beacon. Sunvale told her that Jedi Knight Reath Silas had helped her reach Ibbe in order to find Rwoh, and that Imri Cantaros—Rwoh's Padawan, also presumed dead—was alive but trapped in the Occlusion Zone, an area of space controlled by the pirate group known as the Nihil. Determined to rescue her Padawan, Rwoh joined Sunvale's mission and left Ibbe, after saying goodbye to the Ibbeets with whom she had lived.
After departing Ibbe, Rwoh reflected on her time on the planet on several occasions, mentally noting how much had changed during her self-imposed sabbatical after learning about the events that had transpired in the galaxy while she was away. She attributed her improved skill with her lightwhip to the months she spent in Ibbe's forests.
Inhabitants
Ibbe was the home of the Ibbeets, a sentient species also known as the Ibbe, who lived in harmony with the planet's environment. These small beings lived in nests suspended in the treetops, rarely descending to the surface, and instead used a network of connected branches for movement. Ibbeets were unable to speak Galactic Basic, communicating instead through a language of chirps and trills. Vernestra Rwoh, a Mirialan, spent several months living on Ibbe, and the Togruta Tanabi Yar also spent some time there.
Locations
A village existed on Ibbe, consisting of numerous nests hanging in the treetops, including one built by a Jedi long before 228 BBY. Near the village was a clearing used by Santos as a landing area during his visits.
Behind the scenes
Ibbe was initially mentioned in the short story "The Force Provides," penned by Justina Ireland and featured in the 2023 young-adult anthology The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life as part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project. The planet later appeared in the 2024 young-adult novel The High Republic: Defy the Storm, authored by Ireland and Tessa Gratton and released as part of the multimedia project's Phase III.