Vardos

Vardos, a planet located in the Jinata system within the Core Worlds, was filled with Imperial facilities, training areas, and military outposts, and was also home to millions of citizens who were devoted to the Empire. It was often referred to as an "Imperial utopia." The planet's striking red soil was visible from space, in addition to its mountain ranges and expansive oceans. However, the crown jewel of Vardos was Kestro, the capital city serving as a central Imperial hub. Additionally, it housed the Future Imperial Leaders Military Preparatory School and the headquarters of Jinata Security.

During the Imperial Era, Garrick Versio aligned himself with the Empire and introduced the Galactic Empire to Vardos. As a result, he was celebrated as a hero, and a statue was erected in his honor. He married Zeehay Versio, an Imperial propagandist. They had a daughter named Iden, but their marriage ended in divorce when she was very young. Iden went on to train as an Imperial soldier. She attended the Future Imperial Leaders Military Preparatory School, where she encountered Gideon Hask and received guidance from Gleb, the leader of Jinata Security.

Following the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the Death Star, Garrick Versio established Inferno Squad with the goal of preventing similar disasters. He instructed them to infiltrate the Dreamers, a surviving faction of Saw Gerrera's Partisans. As part of the mission, Iden feigned disloyalty to the Empire. After making treasonous statements, she was sent to Vardos for hard labor, residing at Gleb's house during this time. Gleb, aware of the mission, ensured that the Dreamers discovered her. Eventually, the Dreamers "rescued" her, and her team successfully eliminated the Dreamers. During this period, Zeehay passed away, but she learned that Iden was not a genuine traitor.

Following the destruction of the second Death Star and the Emperor's death, Operation: Cinder, his contingency plan, was initiated. Aboard the Eviscerator above Vardos, Admiral Versio briefed Iden on Operation: Cinder. He dispatched Inferno Squad in their ship, the Corvus, to Fondor to acquire climate disruption array satellites. After a battle against a rebel assault, the satellites were secured on the Dauntless, which then journeyed to Vardos. The Corvus arrived shortly after, only to discover that the satellites were poised to attack Vardos. Iden was enraged and stormed onto the bridge of the Eviscerator, where she was horrified to learn that Admiral Versio was willing to target Vardos, despite it being his home planet and a loyal supporter of the Empire. The satellites were activated, and Iden was tasked with extracting Protectorate Gleb from the planet as devastating storm systems rapidly formed. The Corvus landed at Bay 2, and Inferno Squad proceeded to the Archive to rescue Gleb. Along the way, they observed stormtroopers struggling to manage the population, who were growing anxious due to the storms and requesting permission to leave. These requests were denied, and warnings were issued that any unauthorized departures would be met with force.

As they neared the Archive, the storms intensified, and Kestro was battered by lightning strikes. Inferno Squad began to argue about the morality of Operation: Cinder. Iden and Del Meeko felt deeply uneasy about the prospect of slaughtering innocent civilians and loyal Imperials, while Hask remained indifferent, believing that the Empire was always justified in its actions. Upon reaching the Archive, they encountered Gleb and a large group of civilians seeking shelter from the storm, some of whom were nearly injured by falling debris caused by a lightning strike. Iden and Meeko decided to evacuate the civilians to the Corvus. However, Hask intervened and refused to disobey orders. Hask attempted to shoot Iden, but she shot him in the leg before he could. After Iden and Meeko departed, Hask contacted Admiral Versio, who instructed him to return Gleb to him while he dealt with the traitors.

Iden and Meeko discovered that they had been marked for death, forcing them to fight their way to safety. Simultaneously, the civilian population realized they were being abandoned and erupted in riots, with many attempting to flee the planet in their ships. The Empire's anti-air batteries responded by firing on escaping civilian vessels. Iden and Meeko commandeered an AT-AT and battled through numerous Imperial forces, destroying the relay that controlled the anti-air batteries. As they made their way to the Corvus, the walker was struck by lightning and destroyed, but the two rogue agents escaped unharmed and boarded the Corvus, fleeing Vardos alongside many escaping civilians. Meanwhile, Hask successfully returned Gleb to the Admiral and was promoted to Commander.

After stealing the Millennium Falcon from Han Solo, Gannis Ducain traveled to Vardos to meet his employer, who informed him of significant plans within the galaxy's new ruling order.

As a result of Operation: Cinder, Vardos was transformed into an uninhabited, desolate world, with its once-great cities reduced to ash-covered ghost towns, a consequence of the storms generated by the satellites. Following the Empire's defeat at Jakku, Vardos became a base for Project Resurrection, which involved the abduction of children for conversion into First Order stormtroopers. After Meeko's death, who had learned about the Project on Pillio, Hask, now a First Order officer, returned to Vardos to set a trap for his former Inferno Squad Commander. Iden, along with her former New Republic comrade and friend in the Resistance, Shriv Suurgav, and her and Del's daughter Zay, embarked on a search for Meeko, eventually arriving on Vardos.

Believing that Gleb had captured Meeko, Iden and Shriv headed to the Archive, the same location where Inferno Squad had disbanded thirty years prior, while Zay remained on the Corvus. Shriv initially mistook the ash for snow until Iden explained that it was the aftermath of Operation: Cinder. En route to the Archive, they witnessed the destruction of the Hosnian system in the sky, although they were unaware of what it was.

However, they both correctly deduced that the First Order was responsible. Upon reaching the Archive, they discovered that Hask had killed Gleb. His troopers captured Iden and Shriv, and Hask revealed that the New Republic was gone and that he had murdered Meeko. He then forced them to watch as his Resurgent-class Star Destroyer, the Retribution, destroyed the Corvus in an attempt to eliminate Zay. Hask ordered his troopers to determine what the pair knew about the Resistance and then raze the city.

As Iden and Shriv were being escorted, they managed to break free and found themselves in the midst of a battle between Jinata Security and the First Order, triggered by Hask's murder of Gleb. Iden and Shriv fought their way through the ruins of the city, under fire from both Jinata Security and First Order forces. They searched the wreckage of the Corvus and eventually found Zay. After clearing the area of enemies, they informed Zay about her father Meeko's fate. The trio then devised a plan to board the Retribution in order to gather information about the First Order and deliver it to General Leia Organa, a close friend of Iden and Shriv and the leader of the Resistance.

As the fighting subsided and the attacking Jinata Security members were eliminated, the First Order prepared to depart. Iden, Shriv, and Zay stole two TIE fighters and joined the other First Order fighters in formation around the Retribution. They were soon identified as imposters, and the First Order starfighters attacked them. Despite this, they managed to board the ship before the Retribution exited the atmosphere and jumped to hyperspace.

The planet was first unveiled at Star Wars Celebration Orlando in 2017. Both Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: Traveler's Guide to Batuu and Star Wars Droids Guide to a Galaxy Far, Far Away place Vardos at grid square K-9; however, Star Wars Galaxy Map places Vardos at L-10. According to Jason Fry, its placement in Traveler's Guide to Batuu was based on mapping done for the mobile game Star Wars: Rise to Power.