During the closing years of the Tionese War, a conflict spanning from 24,000 BBY to 23,900 BBY between the Galactic Republic and the Honorable Union of Desevro & Tion, there existed a male person. This individual spent their early life on Little Atullus, but as a child, they relocated with their parents to Okator VIII, where the family had acquired some land. They established a farm there, raising a herd of whellays and cultivating various crops. The boy was involved in the farm's operations, herding the whellays with the aid of several shakwulfs. Over time, they grew accustomed to and found happiness in the active rural existence.
However, in the months preceding the Tionese War's conclusion, the boy's life took a dramatic turn when Tionese ships of war arrived at Okator VIII, intent on eradicating the Republic settlements present. While away from the farm at the time of the attack, the boy witnessed the destruction of several inhabited areas before urgently returning home to prevent its destruction. Tragically, they were too late, as a warship had already set the farm ablaze, leaving the boy to helplessly observe the loss of their home and the death of their family's whellays, including their beloved shakwulf, Brun.
Some weeks later, the boy journeyed to the Republic planet of Abhean to enlist in the Republic Military. Just a few months after transitioning from a farm-boy to a Republic soldier, the Tionese War came to an end, and they were eventually stationed on the Republic fortified planet of Falang Minor. While there, the soldier was responsible for monitoring starship activity, intelligence reports, and communications originating from the Tion Cluster. After twelve years of service on Falang Minor, the soldier created a record of the attack on Okator VIII, which was then imprinted onto a Baragwin sense lattice. This record was preserved in the Palace of Memnii on Caamas for twenty millennia.
A child was born into a Republic family residing on the Inner Rim world of Little Atullus during the Tionese War, a century-long conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Honorable Union of Desevro & Tion that began in 24,000 BBY. Sometime later, the boy's parents used their savings to acquire land on the Divide world of Okator VIII, offered by traders hailing from the Core Worlds planet Brentaal. Eventually, the boy and their parents relocated from Little Atullus to Okator VIII, where they began building a farm in a valley.
While the parents constructed a cabin and cleared fields, the boy's initial task was to capture the local creatures known as whellays by setting out bait in Okator VIII's forests. On their first day, the boy captured six of these creatures, naming each one, as their parents neglected to inform them that the whellays were intended to be cooked and eaten by the family.
Eventually, the boy adapted to the demanding lifestyle of the farm. The family maintained a whellay herd, and the boy was tasked with shepherding them, aided by domesticated shakwulfs. Each morning, the boy would release the whellays, accompanied by a shakwulf, and then signal the creature to return the herd after lunch. The afternoons were typically spent grooming the whellays' fur, inspecting their hooves, monitoring for signs of estrus, and researching their family history to determine the best pairings. During shearing season, the boy would assist their parents in the barn late into the night.
In addition to caring for the whellay herd, the boy's morning responsibilities included tending to the various plants the family cultivated. The boy weeded saria, harvested nectar from charsby orchards, and tapped loam for ripe galt-gourds. After dinner, the boy would engage in repairs and learning. Occasionally, the boy and their family would visit the local town to hear updates on the Tionese War.
In the months leading up to the war's conclusion around 23,900 BBY, the boy, accompanied by their favorite shakwulf, Brun, was searching for a lost whellay in Okator VIII's forests when they witnessed the arrival of Tionese warships intent on destroying the Republic settlements on the planet. The boy heard the approach of one warship and then saw two more ships. One of the ships destroyed Derway Township using a pressure bomb, and the resulting explosion knocked the boy down and temporarily impaired their hearing.
Following their training to protect the whellay herd from danger, Brun ran back toward the farm. After observing the Tionese destruction of the Duny Gap and Shillagh Hollow settlements, the boy noticed a warship hovering over the farm and followed Brun. They arrived just as the farm, including the animals and plants, was being set on fire by the Tionese vessel's attack, after which the warships departed Okator VIII.
Five weeks after the Tionese attack, the boy managed to flag down a scoutship that allowed them to leave their adopted home planet permanently. Although encouraged to share their experience on Coruscant, the Republic's capital, the boy declined and instead traveled to the Republic world of Abhean to enlist in the Republic Military.
Eventually, the young man became a Republic soldier. However, four months later, before they could engage in combat against the Tionese, the war ended in a Republic victory. The soldier was then assigned to Falang Minor, one of a series of Republic fortress worlds situated along the Coreward borders of the Tion Cluster. Under the command of Jedi watchmen, the soldier's responsibilities included monitoring starship traffic, intelligence, and transmissions originating from the star cluster. After twelve years of service on Falang Minor, the soldier created an anonymous audio-visual account on a Baragwin sense lattice, documenting their early life and the Tionese attack on Okator VIII.
The sense lattice containing the soldier's account eventually became one of the oldest records preserved in the Palace of Memnii on Caamas. Although the structure was destroyed in 19 BBY, a copy of the soldier's account survived in the possession of a traveling memnii exhibit.
Regarding their original home of Little Atullus, the boy who would become a Republic soldier acknowledged that they partially agreed with the prevailing sentiment that colonists could find better lives on worlds beyond the Rim. The boy described the traders who sold their parents land on Okator VIII as "hotshot."
After their family moved to Okator VIII, the boy initially felt isolated but eventually grew accustomed to farm life. Over time, they forgot about Little Atullus, only recalling it in their dreams. At first, the boy merely tolerated their daily routine, resenting the lessons they had to take after a day of farm work. However, they eventually realized their happiness in their new life, fueled by their deep connection to their environment. When they captured six whellays on their first day, the boy imagined themselves as a god of the forest. The boy had known Brun since the creature's birth as a blind pup. Brun became the boy's favorite shakwulf companion, and the boy believed that Brun loved them more than anything in the galaxy.
During their childhood, the Republic soldier was aware of the atrocities committed by the Tionese against the Republic, as well as the possibility of Republic retaliation. However, the boy believed that Okator VIII's distance from the Tion Cluster made the threat of war irrelevant, despite the Tionese having penetrated as far as the Core Worlds at the beginning of the conflict. Additionally, the boy believed that Xim, the Human ruler of a large interstellar empire centered in the Tion Cluster who had died over a thousand years earlier after being defeated by the Hutt species in a war, had been eaten by the Hutts. The boy referred to the Hutts as "devil-slugs" and believed they had consumed Xim to gain his powers.
After witnessing the destruction of their family's farm during the Tionese attack on Okator VIII, the soldier believed that the worst aspect of the experience was arriving in time to see the farm just before its destruction. As a result, they had noticed that Brun had brought their whellay herd back home, which proved to be the creature's doom. As the boy witnessed the animals being set on fire, their suffering seemed prolonged, and they wished the creatures would stand still to hasten their death.
Following the attack, the boy declined the suggestion of sharing their story at the Republic's capital, instead enlisting in the Republic military to fight the Tionese who had destroyed their home. The war's end denied the soldier this opportunity, and they were eventually stationed on Falang Minor, where they helped monitor the Tion Cluster. They disliked the world's barren landscape and harsh climate, and they lamented the passive nature of their assignment, which allowed for too much introspection. Although the soldier initially hated the Tionese, this disposition made them feel constantly ill, and they eventually let go of the hatred.
Ultimately, the soldier felt it was their duty to fulfill their responsibilities, believing they were chosen for the task when the Tionese warships arrived to destroy the Okator VIII settlements. The soldier deeply distrusted those who had destroyed their home and believed that everyone in the Republic should share this distrust. In an account of the attack on Okator VIII recorded after twelve years on Falang Minor, the soldier's grim attitude toward the Tionese led them to express their conviction that Republic agents would always monitor the Tion Cluster.
During their time on their family's farm, the Republic soldier became intimately familiar with their surroundings. They could identify individual trees in the forests, every outcropping in the hills, and every detail of the farm's orchards. Over time, the boy also learned to recognize each of their family's whellays by their individual smell and whicker.
Additionally, the boy became familiar with the sounds of tradeship and courier engines regularly visiting Okator VIII. This knowledge allowed them to immediately recognize the foreign nature of the Tionese warships, and their understanding of the Tionese War allowed them to identify the warships as Tionjacks upon sight. During their service in the Republic Military, the soldier acquired the skills necessary to perform their duties, including monitoring starship traffic, intelligence, and transmissions.
The unnamed Republic soldier was originally intended to be the narrator of an in-universe section in the 2012 reference book The Essential Guide to Warfare by Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart; however, the section, titled "A Soldier's Story: Lights in the Darkness," was removed before the book's publication. The section, described as "poignant" by both Fry and Del Rey editor Erich Schoeneweiss and further described by Fry as "one of my favorite bits of writing that wound up on the cutting-room floor," was later renamed "The Watchman's Tale" and released in 2014 as part of Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author's Cut, a series of articles on the StarWars.com Blog featuring cut content from The Essential Guide to Warfare.
- Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author's Cut, Part 4: The Rise of the Republic on StarWars.com (article) (backup link) (First mentioned)
- Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author's Cut, Part 12: Tales of the New Republic on StarWars.com (article) (backup link) (Indirect mention only)