Flitter (planet)

Flitter was the codename for a Rebel Alliance safe world in the Tierfon system during the Galactic Civil War. Flitter became a graphic example of why the Rebellion needed to keep its safe world locations secret after an Imperial starship captured an Alliance transport bound for the planet and discovered its existence. The Empire responded by leveling Flitter's cities and poisoning its ecosystem with air-dropped toxins. Because the Imperial attack occurred in the dead of one of Flitter's harsh winters, the Empire merely stationed a pair of corvettes in orbit and left the rest of the planet's refugees to die. By the next spring, 95 percent of Flitter's population of over 40,000 had succumbed to starvation or exposure.

Description

The planet Flitter was located in the Tierfon system of the Sumitra sector, within the Trans-Hydian portion of the Expansion Region. Flitter was a temperate world with a cool temperature, a moist hydrosphere, very cold winter seasons, and terrain primarily comprising mountains, plains, glaciers, and forests.

Flitter featured a Type I atmosphere breathable for Humans and standard gravity. A day on Flitter lasted twenty-five standard hours, and a year 378 local days. Flitter's fauna included grubs.

History

Rebel Alliance safe world

During the Galactic Civil War, agents of the Galactic Empire routinely eliminated family members of known Rebel Alliance personnel as a form of terror. In response, the Alliance Support Services branch established a number of remote safe worlds, where Rebel sympathizers and their families could safely live free of Imperial oppression. "Flitter" became the codename for one of these safe worlds, located in the Tierfon system, which also included the planet Tierfon, home of the Tierfon Rebel Outpost.

Eventually, Flitter's population swelled to over 40,000 men, women, and children, more than twice the average population of a Rebel safe world, and the planet became a prominent producer of ores for conversion into fuel. However, an Alliance Support Services transport was captured by an Imperial starship en route to Flitter, and the transport's pilot talked under Imperial interrogation, revealing the safe world's location to the Empire.

Imperial discovery

Within one month's time, the Empire laid waste to Flitter. An Imperial fleet destroyed many of the planet's cities and poisoned all of the nearby land and forests with air-dropped toxins, contaminating much of Flitter's ecology. The Imperial attack came in the dead of winter—rather than dispatching ground troops to the planet surface, the Empire simply posted a pair of corvettes in orbit and let Flitter's elements take their toll. By the time spring arrived, more than 95 percent of the safe world's population had died from starvation or exposure. The remaining survivors scattered and hid in caves, subsisting on grubs and tree bark.

By 2 ABY, Flitter's population numbered only 1,000. The Rebellion desperately wished to rescue the Flitter survivors but as of that year was unable to muster enough firepower to challenge the Imperial blockade around the planet. Flitter thus became a graphic example of the Rebellion's need to keep its safe worlds secret.

Inhabitants

Flitter's refugee population ranged from Humans to many other species, and the populace lived at a feudal technology level, with no starports. Following the Imperial attack on Flitter, the planetary government degraded into anarchy, and Flitter itself afforded no major imports or exports.

Locations

Flitter hosted one major city for its refugee population, which was summarily turned into rubble following the Imperial attack on the planet. A number of other cities were similarly destroyed.

Behind the scenes

The planet Flitter was created for the October 1990 West End Games The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, written by Paul Murphy for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. Rebel Alliance Sourcebook presented Flitter as an example of a Rebel Alliance safe world.

Sources

• The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook (First mentioned)
• The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, Second Edition
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia