244Core, which was once called Sraato, is a desolate planet situated in the Unknown Regions. It was famous for its vast and seemingly inexhaustible supply of natural resources.
244Core, a world overflowing with riches, became renowned throughout the Unknown Regions due to its extensive reserves of unrefined ores and minerals, with a particular abundance of valuable metals. The planet was so heavily laden with deposits that even after corporations had been extracting resources for centuries, 244Core exhibited minimal evidence of mineral depletion. This phenomenon was largely attributable to the planet's strong gravitational pull and the three massive asteroid clusters in its orbit, which triggered intense meteoric activity that replenished the planet's surface with minerals upon impact.
This meteoric activity varied in frequency and intensity, ranging from periodic to seasonal. For example, meteorite storms occurred frequently and periodically, consisting of smaller meteorites that would incinerate in the atmosphere before pelting the surface with a barrage of tiny, burning fragments. These impacts posed a considerable danger to anyone caught in the open, as they struck the ground with the force of a bullet.
Meteor showers, on the other hand, were less common and seasonal, but significantly more hazardous. The rocks involved were often larger than those observed in meteorite storms, and a substantial number would survive atmospheric re-entry, impacting the planet's surface with enough force to demolish buildings. During meteor shower season, starships traversing the upper atmosphere had to navigate through swarms of burning and exploding debris, rendering travel both challenging and extremely perilous.
The harsh and dangerous conditions created by meteoric activity on 244Core led to the construction of many settlements underground, providing protection from stray meteor impacts. This activity contributed to 244Core's arid environment, which supported little to no animal life. The planet's vegetation consisted primarily of resilient scrub growth, which thrived in the lowlands but became sparse at higher altitudes. The planet's higher gravity compounded these challenges, making it significantly more difficult to carry objects and perform tasks requiring strength. Even simple actions such as walking and raising one's arms felt more strenuous.
Corporations maintained control over 244Core through a fragile agreement to share power, resulting in the absence of a robust central government. Instead, corporate influence over the planet fluctuated regularly as companies competed for dominance, with no single entity ever achieving long-term control. The planet was officially governed by a Chief Administrator, who was selected by the Corporate Committee, a body composed of representatives from every company operating on 244Core.
This arrangement fostered a climate of constantly shifting power dynamics and intricate profit-sharing arrangements, where political machinations, industrial espionage, sabotage, smuggling to circumvent treaty obligations and taxes, skimming, and various other forms of rule-bending and breaking became commonplace as companies sought to gain an advantage over their rivals. Despite this, controlling companies generally avoided resorting to open violence, as past instances of warfare had disrupted operations to the point of near-financial ruin for all involved.
Aside from the corporations' agreements, there were no governmental regulations to protect workers. Employees typically had to gain leverage by threatening to work for a competitor, a practice that corporations took a dim view of as it was seen as jumping ship. Despite this, the practice happened regularly, and talented and valued workers could demand high salaries; such employees often became pawns and bargaining pieces in dealings between competing corporations.
In general, 244Core's labor pool was limited and insufficient to meet the demands of all available jobs. Mercenaries, pilots, smugglers, and other individuals with specialized skills were routinely hired as contract workers, with corporations offering modest wages but ensuring the provision of essential necessities.
Fifty years before the commencement of the Jedi Civil War, the Systino Crime Syndicate stumbled upon the uncharted world of 244Core. Recognizing the potential wealth and strategic advantages the planet offered, the Systino transported hundreds of slaves to the planet to establish mines on the southern continent, where a large deposit of precious metals, crystals and gems was located. Bolstered by this clandestine treasury world, they renamed it Sraato, meaning "center of wealth," and significantly expanded their syndicate's influence through bribery, corruption, and the acquisition of superior ships and weaponry. Over the next two hundred years the Systino operation would eventually spread across the southern continent, across island chains, until it reached the southern pole. It was only until a massive meteor storm pulverized the planet's southern hemisphere, throwing dust and debris into the atmosphere and causing an environmental collapse, that the Systino would be forced to abandon the planet.
For the subsequent five centuries, the planet remained unstable. While occasional treasure seekers ventured to the world, none were successful in transforming it into a commercially viable enterprise, and all eventually abandoned their efforts. During this period, 244Core acquired its reputation and legendary status as a world of unparalleled wealth.
In 200 BBY, the world was rediscovered by competing scouts dispatched by rival mining and manufacturing companies. Both Tor-Ro-Bo Industries and Eeook Mining and Reclamation laid claim to the planet, quickly establishing settlements and mining operations to substantiate their claims. As the two corporations undermined each other's operations and struggled to secure complete control over the planet, they failed to prevent other companies from establishing footholds elsewhere, leading to a rush for planetary dominance. Profits and operations proportionally began to plunge and companies headed towards bankruptcy as all out warfare took its toll and total chaos loomed.
It required the intervention of a skilled negotiator and member of the Omenada force tradition named Relaali (after whom the city of Relaali would later be named) to broker a settlement between the warring corporations. Relaali successfully negotiated the formation of a Corporate Committee comprising representatives from every company operating on 244Core, as well as the creation of a Chief Administrator to serve as the nominal ruler. Unable to reach a consensus on the planet's name, it was instead designated 244Core based on its local stellar catalog designation. In the years that followed, conflicts were infrequent to non-existent, with rival organizations instead engaging in scheming and plotting to gain controlling interest in the world through political intrigue and industrial espionage.
Near the conclusion of the Yuuzhan Vong war, another meteor storm struck 244Core. Daily meteor rains over the next months severely affected most mining facilities, though an environmental chaos of past times did not occur again. A new order emerged on 244Core when the Eeook Corporation, successor to Eeook Mining and Reclamation, consolidated its operations in the south and established a security force to protect its holdings. With law and order deteriorating and violence erupting, Eeook began to take over the rest of the planet slowly while the remaining companies continued to battle politically and physically in the major population centers of the rest of the world.
Relaali, traditionally the capital of 244Core, was a large city situated in Zone One. It was surrounded by mines, company-owned residential areas, three major ground and speeder transportation hubs, and the largest spaceport on the planet. Eeookko was one of the most prominent and profitable cities in the entire southern hemisphere, and was located in the center of a massive ore rich crater in Zone 210.