Almas (Star Wars)

Almas is a planet in the fictional Star Wars Expanded Universe. The planet is located in the Mid Rim of the galaxy.

The Planet

Almas is an oddity both because the world is seemingly worthless and also a contradiction to nature. Orbiting multiple suns in the Cularin system the planet, according to the current astronomical reasoning, should be lifeless and covered with ice. Nevertheless, Almas has a hot molten core and is said to be a terrestrial world, with an atmosphere containing heavy poisonous gases like methane and phosphorous. The planet was considered uninhabitable until the arrival of Darth Rivan.

Rivan's Work

Rivan was a Dark Lord of the Sith and built a grand fortress on the surface of Almas approximately 1,000 years before the Battle of Naboo featured in The Phantom Menace. The fortress was built partially underground and the massive structure was topped with a great dome. Rivan used the force and his knowledge of biology to create a new species of plant called Kaluthin. Rivan ensured it spread across the entire world, and designed it so it would take in the methane gases and release oxygen, slowly remaking the planet's atmosphere into a lush garden paradise.

After Rivan's Death

Rivan was killed just prior to the Battle of Ruusan, and his complex was demolished by the Jedi. Only the central fortress remains today, from it spreading a large radius where nothing, not even the Kaluthin, will grow. The Kaluthin plant now covers almost all of the surface, the roots binding with the soil and essentially making the planet into a near living organism. Traces of poisonous gases remain and anyone who visits the planet is cautioned to come prepared with breathing equipment, although the oxygen levels are quite high. The planet itself receives very little heat and light from its suns, instead the planet is lit by the glowing phosphorous content of the Kaluthin all over the planet. The few settlers that took root on Almas tap into the planet's underground lakes and manage to scratch a living.

Almas' Moon

The planet's single moon is named Dorumaa, which has become a popular tourist attraction due to its terraforming. The moon was once a planet in the inner orbit of the Cularin and was knocked out of orbit by a massive impact. The planetoid was captured by Almas, and the distance from the sun froze the vast oceans on the moon. Thawed by terraforming, the oceans were revived and investors built massive resorts on the remaining fifteen percent of the moon into a tropical paradise.

Sources

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=starwars/livingforce/swlfalmas