Jakku

Jakku, a solitary planet situated within the Jakku system and the Western Reaches of the galaxy's Inner Rim, was once a thriving world characterized by lush forests and abundant [water](/article/water]. However, a catastrophic event transformed it into a desolate wasteland of parched badlands and shifting sand dunes. The Wheel Races were held in the northern regions, while mining operations were scattered across the planet. In the southern buttes, lichen could be harvested for the creation of the alcoholic beverage Knockback Nectar. Individuals could embrace the life of an Anchorite by adhering to specific vows, while luggabeasts were frequently employed by scavengers to transport goods across the desert terrain.

Settlements such as Tuanul, Reestkii, and Cratertown could be found on the planet, but the trading post known as Niima Outpost was considered the primary settlement, overseen by the stern Constable Zuvio and his Niima Outpost Militia. Due to the absence of a communications network, Niima Outpost, possessing the only navigational beacon, often attracted spacers seeking to escape debts, begin anew, or simply explore the galaxy. However, not all inhabitants were scavengers; the isolated villagers of Tuanul practiced the Church of the Force, an underground faith of Jedi followers concealing themselves from the Galactic Empire.

Due to its remote location, the planet served as a launch point for warships entering the Unknown Regions during the later stages of the Galactic Civil War. Jakku was located near Ogem and Ponemah Terminal, the latter of which was connected to Jakku via the Burke's Trailing hyperspace route, which also provided a link to Adrathorpe. The space surrounding Jakku presented numerous navigational challenges, and the hyperspace routes fell below the minimum safety standards set by the Bureau of Ships and Services.

In the distant past, Jakku was a planet teeming with plant life and bodies of water. At some point, the planet was transformed into a desolate, barren desert. However, the core of the planet still contained a vital spark of life, which Sheev Palpatine found repulsive. Approximately 1,000 standard years before the Battle of Yavin, the Plaintive Hand plateau was the location of an event that Palpatine considered significant. He believed that the site would regain its importance in the future.

Galli, a human boy, spent his childhood on Jakku. As an orphan, he was raised in an orphanage run by Kolob, an Anchorite who lived a life of simplicity and strict obedience. Galli resented Kolob's supervision and yearned to travel to a better world. In 25 BBY, Palpatine and his Adviser Yupe Tashu visited Jakku to oversee an archaeological excavation on the Plaintive Hand plateau. During this visit, Palpatine encountered Galli, who was twelve years old and had hidden aboard his yacht, the Imperialis. He adopted the young boy as his protégé and assigned him the task of guarding the excavation site from intruders.

For the next ten years, Rax guarded the Plaintive Hand plateau, which became the site of the Jakku Observatory. The Observatory was a component of Palpatine's Contingency plan, designed to destroy the Galactic Empire in the event of his death. Palpatine did not want to leave his Empire to a successor and tasked Galli with carrying out the Contingency upon his death. The Jakku Observatory housed computers that projected routes into the Unknown Regions, a collection of Sith artifacts, and a borehole that led to the planet's core. Palpatine instructed Galli to use the borehole to detonate the planet and the remnants of the Empire. Galli adopted the identity of Gallius Rax and later became a Fleet Admiral in the Imperial Navy.

At some point during the Age of the Empire, the Galactic Empire established a secret research base. Later, Niima, a Hutt crime lord, established a presence on Jakku and controlled several slaves. Around 5 BBY, Heert, an Imperial Officer from the ISB, brought an incident to the attention of his superior, Dedra Meero, concerning targeting consoles from Jakku. This was one of many incidents throughout the galaxy that had aroused his suspicion and suggested a coordinated effort against the Empire.

In the months following the Battle of Endor, Corwin Ballast, a war refugee, traveled to Jakku, believing it to be an insignificant rock in space and therefore of little importance to the galaxy-wide conflict between the New Republic and the Empire. He hoped that Jakku would be a place to escape the war. After learning about Fleet Admiral Rax's connection to Jakku, Rae Sloane, a Grand Admiral, and Brentin Lore Wexley, a rebel, traveled to Jakku to find and kill Rax. Shortly thereafter, Rax declared himself Counselor to the Empire and led the remnants of the Imperial Navy to Jakku.

Counselor Rax established a base beyond the Goazon Badlands and the Sinking Fields. Claiming that the harsh desert world would test the spirit and courage of his Imperial forces, Rax implemented a rigorous and brutal training program for his stormtroopers and officers. For several months, the Imperials gathered their forces while awaiting the New Republic's attack. In addition, Rax made a deal with Niima to guard the pass leading to the Observatory and to kidnap local orphans from the Anchorites. Brendol Hux, the former Commandant, trained these orphans to become Rax's personal guard of child soldiers. Rax also settled scores with his former guardian, Kolob, killing him as a sacrifice to the dark side of the Force.

While searching for Sloane, Norra Wexley, a New Republic operative, her son Temmin Wexley, Sinjir Rath Velus, Jas Emari, and Mister Bones, a B1-series battle droid, discovered the Imperial remnant forces above Jakku. Temmin and Sinjir escaped on their starship, the Moth, back to Chandrila to warn the New Republic. Norra and Jas took an escape pod to Jakku's surface to continue their search for Sloane. Under Temmin's orders, Mister Bones took another escape pod to Jakku to look after his mother, Norra. Norra and Jas were captured by Imperial forces and separated.

Norra eventually escaped Imperial custody with Mister Bones's help. She then reunited with Jas, who had escaped Niima's custody, and the trio continued their search for Sloane. Meanwhile, Sloane and Brentin learned about Rax's origins from Kolob and later convinced Niima to take them to the Plaintive Hand plateau, which Niima believed housed a weapons facility. However, Rax learned of Sloane's presence and bombarded Niima's convoy with turbolasers. Before Norra and Jas could catch up with Sloane, Rax's Imperial forces captured Sloane and Brentin and brought them to his headquarters.

After the Galactic Senate of the New Republic voted to intervene on Jakku, the New Republic dispatched military forces to the planet. Several New Republic figures, including Ackbar (Admiral), Kyrsta Agate (Commodore), Wedge Antilles (Captain), Temmin Wexley, and Jom Barell, participated in the cataclysmic Battle of Jakku. The battle took place one year and four days after the Battle of Endor. It was the last major stand of the Galactic Empire and the final major battle of the Galactic Civil War. In secret, the Battle of Jakku provided Rax with a pretext to execute the final stage of the Contingency.

During the Battle of Jakku, Imperial and New Republic forces fought in both space and on land. The Imperial fleet formed a tight defensive formation around the Super Star Destroyer Ravager. The New Republic Defense Fleet was unable to breach this strong defense until the Star Destroyer Punishment broke formation and rammed the Starhawk-class battleship Amity. This explosion created an opening that allowed the Amity's sister ship, the Concord, to bombard the Ravager. Despite being crippled, Agate, the Concord's commander, used her ship's powerful tractor beam to pull the Super Star Destroyer down to the surface, which turned the tide of the battle in favor of the New Republic.

Meanwhile, New Republic ground forces under Brockway (Lieutenant General) assaulted the main Imperial base and weapons facility. Many soldiers from both sides were killed or crushed by falling debris from the space battle. Mister Bones was destroyed during the battle after reuniting with Temmin. In an attempt to prevent New Republic forces from capturing her ship, Ciena Ree (Captain) crashed her Star Destroyer, the Inflictor, onto the planet's surface. She was rescued by Thane Kyrell, her lover and a New Republic pilot. Meanwhile, Norra joined forces with Sloane and Brentin to hunt down Rax.

After launching the battle, Rax traveled to the Observatory with Yupe Tashu, Brendol, Armitage Hux (his son), and the child soldiers to initiate the final stage of the Contingency. While the Huxes and the child soldiers boarded a replica of the Imperialis, Rax and Tashu entered the Observatory to initiate the planet's destruction. After performing a Sith ritual, Rax threw Tashu, who was wearing Sith artifacts, down the borehole to Jakku's core. Before he could escape, Rax was killed by Sloane with the help of Norra and Brentin. Sloane managed to prevent the planet's destruction by sealing the borehole. She then joined the Huxes and the child soldiers on their journey to the Unknown Regions, where they met up with the Super Star Destroyer Eclipse.

While the battle was taking place, Mon Mothma, the New Republic's Chancellor, and Mas Amedda, the Imperial Grand Vizier, signed the Galactic Concordance on Chandrila, formalizing the Empire's surrender and ending the Galactic Civil War. However, Imperial forces on Jakku and elsewhere continued to fight the New Republic for several months. As the battle turned against them, the Imperials locked tractor beams onto the ships of the New Republic Starfleet, crashing them into the surface below in a desperate gamble. New Republic forces eventually captured the base after fierce fighting. Due to the Battle of Jakku, the planet's surface was littered with wrecked starships and weapons. Niima established a black market operation based on selling recovered weapons, computers, and engines.

Following the Battle of Jakku, debris from the battle was scattered across a region of the desert known as the Starship Graveyard. Some time after the battle, Niima the Hutt established Niima Outpost to scavenge the remaining wreckage from the destructive battle.

In 34 ABY, the First Order, the rising successor state to the Galactic Empire, deployed the Finalizer (Resurgent-class Star Destroyer) to Jakku in an attempt to retrieve a fragment of a map that led to Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master), who had gone into self-imposed exile after a failed attempt to rebuild the Jedi Order. The First Order forces, led by Kylo Ren, attacked the village of Tuanul, where Lor San Tekka, a mystic, lived and kept the map to Skywalker. However, San Tekka was able to give the map to Poe Dameron, who then hid it in his droid, BB-8, before Dameron was captured by Kylo Ren.

The attack resulted in the desertion of FN-2187 (stormtrooper), who helped Dameron escape from the Finalizer in a stolen TIE/sf space superiority fighter. Ultimately, FN-2187, who Dameron nicknamed "Finn," escaped the planet with Rey, a girl who was unknowingly Force-sensitive.

By 35 ABY, Jakku was in open rebellion against the First Order, with at least one Star Destroyer burning and crashing into Jakku's Starship Graveyard.

The inhabitants of Jakku, consisting of settlers and war refugees, fashioned clothing from scavenged, recycled materials, as they could not afford to waste money on clothes when water and food were so expensive. The use of happabores as pack animals was a common practice in the Jakku junk trade.

Jakku was featured in the 2015 film, Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. The Jakku scenes were filmed in the Rub' al Khali desert, which spans Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen. Production took place in the UAE portion near the Liwa Oasis, which falls under the jurisdiction of Abu Dhabi.