Ronyards

"Welcome to Ronyards. Welcome to the Body of the Living God!"

―Brother Fivelines

Ronyards, also known as the Body of the Living God by its droid inhabitants, was a junkyard planet located in the Ronyards system of the galaxy's Inner Rim. Ronyards was a common dumping ground for obsolete, inoperative and unwanted droids, and was covered in metal piles that could reach up to five miles deep. Ronyards was home to a large population of active droids who worshipped Ronyards itself—and their "living god" was known to defend its inhabitants when they were threatened by outsiders.

Description

"I hate doing this run. You know what I mean? This place gives me the screaming kroobles."

―A starship crewman dumping droids on Ronyards

Located in the Ronyards system of the Inner Rim, along the Hydian Way, Ronyards was a planet completely covered in scrap metal, as the result of years of dumping of damaged, obsolete and inoperative droids and other machines by passing ships. The accumulation of droid remains created a distinctive, eerie landscape of twisted metal spires and canyons set against the planet's ochre sky—at some points, the metal piles were up to five miles deep. The droids that inhabited Ronyards maintained that it was not a planet at all, but a living god, and Ronyards itself was known to violently defend its worshippers when they were threatened by outsiders.

History

"But you have failed to realize the truth at the heart of the mystery which is Ronyards. You see, Ronyards isn't a planet... Ronyards is the Living Body of God."

―Brother Fivelines, to C-3PO

During the Clone Wars, the Galactic Republic designated Ronyards as a war-refuse world. In the aftermath of the war, Ronyards became infested with Colicoid Creation Nest buzz droids that had been left over from the fighting, which were put to use stripping rusted remains for valuable parts. By the Galactic Civil War, Ronyards had become one planet-wide scrapyard, its landscape completely dominated by soaring piles of scrap metal. However, not every droid dumped on the planet was inoperative. A number of active droid inhabitants left on Ronyards banded together and formed a religious society that worshipped the planet itself, referring to Ronyards as the "Living Body of God."

The "living god" rises up to defend its worshippers.

As the war between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance progressed, Ronyards became a target of interest from the Empire, which desired to mine the planet's metal for the war effort. In response, Rebel hero Luke Skywalker dispatched his two droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, to warn the planet's droid inhabitants and rally them to defend their home. However, Brother Fivelines, one of the cult's leaders, rejected their entreaties, choosing instead to trust in their "living god." When a complement of Imperial stormtroopers arrived shortly thereafter, they destroyed Fivelines, prompting a violent upheaval within the planet itself that caused the death of all organic visitors and the destruction of their Star Destroyer.

Ronyards' unique composition, and the unexplained, almost living properties of its mechanical surface, later drew the attention of researchers turned onto the subject after the discovery of the gargantuan construct known as the Great Heep. After studying the planet, some were led to believe that Ronyards might actually have been a planet-sized example of the Abominor, a droid race that had infiltrated the galaxy after warring with the Yuuzhan Vong.

Behind the scenes

Ronyards appeared in Rust Never Sleeps, a comic story appearing in 1982's The Empire Strikes Back Monthly 156, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Alan Davis.

Appearances

• "Republic HoloNet News Core Edition 14:7:02" – Star Wars Insider 68 (Mentioned only)
• "Rust Never Sleeps"—The Empire Strikes Back Monthly 156 (First appearance)

Sources

• Droids, Technology and the Force: A Clash of Phenomena on Hyperspace (article) (content removed from StarWars.com; backup link)
• The New Essential Guide to Droids
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Essential Atlas
• The Droids Re-Animated, Part 2 on StarWars.com (article) (backup link not verified!)
• Spain's Droids and Ewoks Novelizations, Part 2 on StarWars.com (article) (backup link not verified!)

Notes and references

In other languages

• Deutsch