Argus VIIII

Argus VIIII was a dry, arid planet, and the ninth in the Argus system, in the Far Outer Rim. The planet was home to a reptilian species called the Dess. First discovered 1100 BDK, by the Old Republic. The planet was viewed as fairly mysterious, and later, gained a cursed reputation, as Dess and alien visitors began disappearing while on the planet. Argus VIIII was infamous for creating deadly Dess assassins, and Arkani-combat masters.

Geology
Argus VIIII was made up of mostly sand and rough granite canyons, although it did have several rivers, legs, and oasis'. The planet had very few mountains, and except for inside canyons, caves were virtually non-existent. In many places, the sand was baked by the sun into hard ground, rather than soft sand. However there are several areas, like the dry ocean, where the sand dunes are high enough to create temporary shelter from the hot winds, and burning sun.

Most of Argus VIIIIs' cities are built inside the canyon walls, allowing easy acess to the under ground, and above ground water sources, which the Dess trade with other cities. The only city not located inside a canyon, is the capital, Deviss. The planet had large canyons, formed thousands of years before any sentient population arrived on ArgusVIIII. Common theory is that the two moons affected the weather, causing massive storms, and floods, that eventually wore through the layers of sandstone to create the numerous canyons all over the planet.

A natural phenomenon is glass-stone. This brittle rock forms over dips and sinkholes, and is often a danger to non-natives of the planet. The native Dess insist that those few visitors to their world take Dess guides with them, if they are planning on leaving the city, due to the fact that sand often covers the glass-stone, making it nearly invisible.

History
Argus VIIII was always a dry, arid planet, with little surface water, besides the oasises scattered throughout the desert plains. However, during the four months that make up the wet season on the planet created large canyons, that dry up during the dry season. The planet may have been wetter in earlier eras' resulting in the vast canyons. Or, the canyons could have been created by shifting of tectonic plates. The first record of sentient life on Argus VIIII, was in 2,000 BDK, by the Dess, which lead survey teams to beleive that the Dess may have originated on the planet, or developed space travel fairly early in their races history. The population of the planet in 1 ADK, was assumed to be around 140,000. By 25 ADK, the population had only risen to about 200,000, although the Dess inhabited several more planets in the Argus system.

The Dess adapted well to the planet, their reptilian skin becoming harder, and more resilient to the boiling temperatures and cooler wet seasons, although most Dess on the planet came to prefer the warmth of the sun, although they donned long, hooded robes, during the peak of the day. The planet was first approached by the Galactic Interplanetary Alliance  in 14 ADK, during the Imperial- GIA war. The Dessani preferred to remain neutral, although they did allow several several Jedi knights to stay in the planets cities, which lead to serious repurcussions, once the Empire discovered the Force users, and sent Purge troopers to the planet, which caused wide spread devastation. Despite this, the Dessani still remained neutral, although after the war, they petitioned to join the Alliance.

Argus VIIII, along with the rest of the system, was conquered by the Empire nearly a century later, in 110 ADK, when the resurgent Empire once again struck from their corner of space. Rather than risk the devastation to their cities, as when the Purge troopers had arrived earlier, the majority of the planets population surrendered, although some fled into the canyon caves, engaging Imperial troops in guerilla warfare. When the planet was finally liberated in 150 ADK, the Dessani once again joined the Alliance, and Argus VIIII was home to a garrisson of GIA troops. In 170 ADK, the Dessani ruling council heard murmurs of an extra galactic enemy, and along with several other planets, attempted to get additional protection for the Argus system. Their request was denied, and when the Montrosh fleet arrived, it easily destroyed the meager GIA fleet, and landed thousands of ground troops. As they had done before, the Dessani engaged the Montrosh in guerilla warfare, and continued fighting, despite the Montrosh bombarding several cities from orbit. The system rejoined the Alliance once again, after a massive fleet forced the invaders out of the sector.