Jorus Merrill
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OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: A gateway to the second-closest and probably second-largest companion galaxy, Companion Besh, known as Firefist.
- Image Credit: "Close Death" by Vadim Sadovski, found at
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/N8Kb1 - Canon: N/A
- Links: Based on the map of the Nagai-Tof War, 4 ABY
- Hyperlane Name: Nagai Trade Spine
- Hexes Crossed: 6
- Start Coordinate: 5, 18
- End Coordinate: 1, 20 (edge of the map)
- Route Points: Endor/Sanctuary Pipeline; Trenwyth; Koda Station; Virgillia; space between Rakata Beta and Dosuun; edge of the galaxy; Companion Besh (not on map)
- Speed: Average
- Accessibility: It’s not a household name, but it’s something your average shipping company or Outer Rim spacer would know.
- Route Hazards: You could divide the Nagai Trade Spine into three sections: the part that exists within the main galaxy; the long empty stretch between the galaxy and Companion Besh; and the part of the route that ventures into the companion galaxy. Messing around in a companion galaxy is a near-suicidal proposition if you put a foot wrong. Tof, Nagai, Faruun, and Maccabree ships create constant risks or opportunities, along with stranger species. The long, empty portion of the route between galaxies is hazardous for vessels with low capacity for carrying food, air, spare parts, and other consumables. The portion of the Trade Spine which exists within the main galaxy is subject to the usual hazards of Outer Rim and Wild Space travel. Also, leaving the galaxy through a breach in the surrounding hyperspace disturbance is a turbulent process.
- Rest Stops: Occasional refueling stations eke out a living along the lonely route. Silk Holdings HALCYON space trains run along the Trade Spine between relays.
The Nagai Trade Spine connects the Sanctuary Pipeline with Firefist, the second-closest companion galaxy. The Trade Spine is comparable to a railroad through frontier badlands: the route has its risks, and diverging from it is a great way to get lethally lost.
The Trade Spine goes back a long way, historically speaking. First carved out from Nagai invasion routes in the third century ABY, it was forgotten until the late 830s. The Lords of the Fringe, allied with the Rakata, explored and conquered the region almost up to the galaxy’s edge. It was they who found the breach point in the galactic hyperspace disturbance. By then, however, the Fringe Confederation was beginning its long decline, and only a few haphazard expeditions launched from Dosuun.
After the fall of the Fringe, the hyperspace explorer Jorus Merrill - an expert in breach points at the galactic edge - contracted with Silk Holdings to chart a stable route. He successfully reached Firefist, bartered modern hyperdrives with the Nagai, and left the newly re-charted Trade Spine to its own devices.
With the rise of the First Order, the Nagai Trade Spine has seen significant commercial and exploratory traffic in recent years. Firefist remains an obscure portion of the Unknown Regions, but curios and commodities still go back and forth across the intergalactic void. Few cargoes are valuable enough to risk the trip. Dedicated explorers and wandering merchants can easily spend a year on a single visit to one of the great unchartable frontiers. For an ambitious traveler - or, conversely, a curious Nagai - the possibilities are endless.
