Merel sector

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"Ten sectors were sealed away behind a barrier that prevents hyperspace jumps into the Exclusion Zone. Communications in and out of this region have failed, and the Nihil have begun to expand their presence in the Outer Rim. Wherever they rule, horrific brutality follows."
―Harli Cogra about the Occlusion Zone sectors, in Chronicles of the Jedi[2]

The Merel sector was a sector in the Outer Rim Territories that contained the Ragnar system. It bordered the Lol, Skine, and Tolonda sectors. During the High Republic Era, the sector fell within the Galactic Republic's Galactic Frontier exploration region. The Merel sector became part of the Occlusion Zone following its formation in 230 BBY as one of ten sectors sealed behind a barrier preventing hyperspace travel.

In 228 BBY, the monster hunter Ty Yorrick visited the Merel sector planet Temerancé and rescued several Force-sensitive children who had been taken from settlements on the world, including the child Lene. Later that year, the Stormwall's fall dissolved the Occlusion Zone.

Description

The Merel sector was a space sector located in the Outer Rim Territories[1] and the Trailing Sectors.[3] The sector bordered the Lol, Skine, and Samix sectors.[1] The sector contained the Ragnar system and Rekai systems, which were situated in grid squres Q-18 and Q-19 of the Standard Galactic Grid, respectively.[4] The sector's Rekai system,[5] also known as the Temerancé system,[6] contained the planet Temerancé.[5]

History

Harli Cogra documented the formation of the Occlusion Zone, of which the Merel sector was part of, in Chronicles of the Jedi.

Harli Cogra documented the formation of the Occlusion Zone, of which the Merel sector was part of, in Chronicles of the Jedi.

During the High Republic Era, the Galactic Republic designated a section of the Outer Rim—which included the Merel sector—as the Galactic Frontier, locations considered removed far enough from the galaxy's center to send explorers there.[2] In 230 BBY, the Nihil marauder organization formed the Occlusion Zone—an area of space in the Outer Rim's Frontier that was situated behind the Stormwall barrier preventing hyperspace travel.[7]

As one of the ten sectors forming the boundary of the Occlusion Zone, the Merel sector was cut off from the rest of Republic space[1] and the worlds within it were forced to pay tributes to the Nihil.[8] Weeks afterward, in 229 BBY,[9] the Vurk Jedi Master Harli Cogra wrote a book titled Chronicles of the Jedi, which detailed the Jedi of the High Republic Era. In the book's afterword, Cogra lamented the formation of the Nihil's region and the ten sectors it affected.[2]

In 228 BBY,[10] the Nihil surrendered to the Republic following the Stormwall barrier's fall, which dissolved Occlusion Zone as a territory. The worlds of the Occlusion Zone,[11] which included those in the Merel sector,[1] were welcomed back into the Republic if they wished. However, some opted to retain their independence, while others remained under the control of individual Nihil warlords.[11]

Locations

"The Nihil…they're not just taking things. They're taking children, but only those with special abilities…only those touched by the Force…like you. Our oldest daughter was taken in the last raid. I don't care if you call yourself a Jedi or not…Lene needs your help. They all do."
―The Altiri Sula to Ty Yorrick, about the Nihil raids on the Merel sector planet Temerancé[5]
Temerancé, a planet in the Merel sector

Temerancé, a planet in the Merel sector

The Merel sector[6] planet Temerancé had forested terrain[5] and a breathable, Type I atmosphere.[12] By the time of the High Republic Era, the planet was home to[5] the Osler community[13] and a settlement with residents of several species. At one point after Temerancé fell within the Occlusion Zone, it was attacked by a Nihil Cloud and the Force-sensitive child Lene was taken by the marauders, prompting the local residents to reach out to the monster hunter Ty Yorrick for assistance.[5]

In 228 BBY,[14] Yorrick met with the residents and initially declined to assist,[5] but changed her mind after hearing children had been captured. After leaving her droid KL-03 and apprentice Drewen to repair her ship, Yorrick interrupted a Nihil raid occurring elsewhere on Temerancé and rescued several children, including Lene.[13] Shortly after departing the world, Yorrick sensed Lene's extreme fear, prompting her to return to Temerancé and find the child's settlement under attack. Yorrick swiftly found the child and escaped off Temerancé, dodging an encounter with a Nameless controlled by one of the Nihil's Children of the Storm,[15] who, unbeknownst to her at the time, was her former Jedi Master Cibaba.[16]

Behind the scenes

In the current canon, the Merel sector was first identified in the first issue of the 2023 Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures comic series.

In the current canon, the Merel sector was first identified in the first issue of the 2023 Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures comic series.

In the current Star Wars canon, the ten sectors forming the Occlusion Zone were first mentioned, albeit unidentified, in a flashback in the second issue of the Star Wars: The High Republic: Eye of the Storm comic-book miniseries. The issue was written by Charles Soule and released by Marvel Comics[17] on March 2, 2022[18] as part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project's Phase I.[19] The Merel sector was later identified by name and specified to be one of the Occlusion Zone sectors via a map in the first issue of the 2023 comic series Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures. The issue was written by Daniel José Older, illustrated by Harvey Tolibao and Nick Brokenshire, and published by Dark Horse Comics[1] as part of Phase III on December 6, 2023.[20]

The Merel sector originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it was first mentioned in Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim, a 1993 sourcebook written by Simon Smith and Eric S. Trautmann for West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.[21] In 2012, the sector was first visually depicted on a map designed by Modi and published in The Essential Atlas Extra: Outer Rim Sectors, a feature of[22] the StarWars.com Online Companion to the 2009 reference book The Essential Atlas.[23]

Appearances

Sources

Notes and references

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 The High Republic Adventures (2023) 1
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Star Wars: The High Republic: Chronicles of the Jedi — Based on corresponding data for the Occlusion Zone
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 StarWars.com Star Systems of the Galaxy on StarWars.com (current version) (backup link) (previous version) places the Ragnar system, and therefore the Merel sector, in the area of space StarWars.com Star Wars Galaxy Map on StarWars.com (article) (backup link) establishes to be part of what Star Wars: The Galactic Explorer's Guide identifies as the Trailing Sectors.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 StarWars.com Star Systems of the Galaxy on StarWars.com (current version) (backup link) (previous version)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 The High Republic Adventures – Saber for Hire 1
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 StarWars.com Star Systems of the Galaxy on StarWars.com (current version) (backup link) (previous version) — Based on corresponding data for the Temerancé system
  7. ↑ Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia
  8. ↑ The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness
  9. ↑ Star Wars: The High Republic: Chronicles of the Jedi establishes that the in-universe book Chronicles of the Jedi was written weeks after the destruction of Starlight Beacon, which Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia dates to 230 BBY. The issuing of the Guardian Protocols, dated by The High Republic Character Encyclopedia to 229 BBY, are depicted in The High Republic – Shadows of Starlight 1 as taking place one week after Starlight Beacon's destruction. With this, Chronicles of the Jedi must have been authored no earlier than 229 BBY. Chronicles of the Jedi further establishes that Pra-Tre Veter is still a Grand Master of the Jedi Order, meaning it was written before his death, which The High Republic Character Encyclopedia states took place in 229 BBY. Therefore, Chronicles of the Jedi must have been written in 229 BBY.
  10. ↑ Chapters 5–23 of The High Republic: Trials of the Jedi, which feature the Nihil's surrender, are set concurrent to the Battle of Eriadu, which takes place in 228 BBY per the reasoning here.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 The High Republic: Trials of the Jedi
  12. ↑ The High Republic Adventures (2023) 1 establishes that Temerancé had a breathable atmosphere that Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 43 Secrets of Spaceflight: Types of Atmosphere classifies as Type I.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 The High Republic Adventures – Saber for Hire 2
  14. ↑ Star Wars: Timelines dates Starlight Beacon's destruction to 230 BBY. The implementation of the Guardian Protocols, which Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia places in 229 BBY, took place one week after Starlight Beacon's fall according to The High Republic – Shadows of Starlight 1. As The High Republic Adventures (2023) 4 takes place one year and two weeks after the destruction of Starlight Beacon, it must be set in 228 BBY. Since the events of The High Republic Adventures (2023) 6 are set immediately following the fourth issue and depict the expansion of the Stormwall, the expansion must have taken place in the same year. Meanwhile, the events of "Tales from the Occlusion Zone: No Big Deal" include the Stormwall's expansion and also depict the start of Pikka Adren's pregnancy. A later story, "Tales from the Occlusion Zone: Sparks Fly," states that Adren is eight months pregnant during its events, indicating that it is set eight months after "No Big Deal," and therefore one year, eight months, and two weeks after the fall of Starlight Beacon. "Sparks Fly" is set during the Battle of Eriadu, an event that begins in The High Republic Adventures Phase III - The Wedding Spectacular. As StarWars.com Star Wars: The High Republic Chronological Reader's Guide on StarWars.com (article) (backup link) places The High Republic Adventures – Saber for Hire 1 between the events of "No Big Deal" and The Wedding Spectacular, its events must also be set in 228 BBY.
  15. ↑ The High Republic Adventures – Saber for Hire 3
  16. ↑ The High Republic Adventures – Saber for Hire 4
  17. ↑ The High Republic: Eye of the Storm 2
  18. ↑ Marvel-TemplateLogo Star Wars: The High Republic - Eye of the Storm (2022) #2 on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
  19. ↑ StarWars.com Star Wars: The High Republic Chronological Reader's Guide on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
  20. ↑ HorselessHeadman Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures Phase III #1 on Dark Horse Comics' official website (backup link)
  21. ↑ Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim
  22. ↑ StarWars.com The Essential Atlas Extra: Outer Rim Sectors on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
  23. ↑ StarWars.com Star Wars: The Essential Atlas Online Companion on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)