Rugosa, also known by the moniker coral moon, existed as a temperate moon situated within the Sanbra sector. As one of the many worlds comprising the Infinite Empire, it was part of a vast galactic dominion. This empire was spearheaded by the Rakatan species around 30,000 BBY. Later, Toydarian scouts operating close to the Balmorra Run made the discovery of this moon. Due to its appealing environment and balmy oceans, it evolved into a secret Toydarian holiday destination, concealed from their Hutt masters. Upon the Hutts' discovery of the Toydarians' deception, they retaliated by unleashing a plague onto the moon, resulting in the desiccation of its oceans and the exposure of extensive coral landscapes.
During the era of the Clone Wars, Rugosa was chosen as the location for negotiations involving King Katuunko from Toydaria and representatives hailing from the Galactic Republic. However, the Confederacy of Independent Systems intercepted communications outlining the arrangement of this meeting, which led to an ambush on the Republic envoy. A small contingent of clone troopers, under the command of Jedi Master Yoda, successfully reached the moon and engaged the Confederacy in battle, ultimately securing victory and obtaining King Katuunko's allegiance.
Rugosa was a temperate moon that orbited a blue planet within the Rugosa system. This star system was itself situated in the Sanbra sector of the Outer Rim Territories, not far from the Balmorra Run. The moon was previously abundant with warm swamps and shallow seas; however, a Hutt-originated plague caused its oceans to dry up. This event exposed its coral formations and reefs, along with fossilized remnants of native species. Despite the plague, many plants and coral endured. The extensive coral structures exhibited diverse hues, ranging from green to blue and purple, and presented various shapes, including large fan-like structures, antler-like forms, and porous spheres. Certain formations were sufficiently large to allow starships, such as the Peregrine-class star yacht known as the Thief's Eye, to land on them comfortably. During the battle that transpired during the Clone Wars, several petrified coral formations sustained damage.
After the Hutt plague, rainfall gradually started to collect in the former ocean basins. Additionally, exotic fauna began to populate the moon, and juvenile neebray manta inhabited the coral formations as a stopping point during their migration through space.
Around the time of 30,000 BBY, the Rakata, an alien race, rose to become a dominant galactic power. Utilizing Force-based hyperdrives, they journeyed to numerous worlds across the galaxy that possessed significant Force signatures, unifying them into the Rakatan Infinite Empire. Rugosa was among these worlds, one of thousands subdued by a warlord known as "The Infernal One," whose name was etched into a region that became known as the Dead Corals. Following five millennia of galactic supremacy, a plague brought about the collapse of the Infinite Empire, ultimately leading to the Rakata's departure from the moon. "The Infernal One," who had held dominion over this world and many others, faded into legend.
In the aftermath of the Rakata's extinction, the moon remained uninhabited for millennia until Toydarians scouting near the Balmorra Run discovered it several centuries before the Clone Wars. The Toydarians originated from Toydaria, a planet in Hutt Space characterized by muck lakes teeming with dangerous predators. Rugosa's warm swamps and coral seas appeared to the Toydarians as a paradise. Their clan leaders transformed the moon into a vacation retreat, concealing its existence from their Hutt overlords. When the Hutts eventually uncovered this deception, they unleashed an ancient plague upon the moon as punishment for the Toydarians. Within a matter of months, the plague desiccated Rugosa's seas, transforming the once-lush moon into an arid landscape. Consequently, it gained the epithet "the coral moon" among some Toydarians.
During the Cold War, researchers from the resurgent Sith Empire consulted the Rakatan inscriptions found on the Dead Corals during their exploration of the Eternity Vault on Belsavis. These inscriptions provided clues regarding the identity of the Rakata imprisoned there, known as the legendary "Infernal One."
In the year 22 BBY, the galaxy became embroiled in the Clone Wars, a conflict between the Galactic Republic and the secessionist Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Confederacy achieved success in capturing numerous hyperlanes, prompting the Republic to seek alternative routes throughout the galaxy. Following the successful negotiation of a treaty with the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure for safe passage through Hutt Space in 22 BBY, the Republic aimed to establish a supply base in the region. Identifying the neutral Toydaria system as a suitable location, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine of the Republic personally contacted King Katuunko of Toydaria, requesting his world's allegiance to the Republic. To ensure that his people's support was not coerced, Katuunko insisted that the Republic dispatch a Jedi as an envoy. When Palpatine expressed concerns about sending a lone Jedi so close to enemy territory, Katuunko proposed Rugosa—a moon that reminded him of his homeworld—as a neutral meeting ground. Palpatine acquiesced, and Grand Master Yoda was subsequently selected to lead the negotiations. Spies working for the CIS intercepted information about the planned meeting. In an attempt to thwart the Republic's strategy, the Confederate Head of State Count Dooku dispatched Asajj Ventress—a disciple trained in lightsaber combat and the dark side of the Force—to either persuade or force the Toydarian King to align with the Confederacy instead.
Shortly after arriving on the moon aboard his personal star yacht, the Thief's Eye, Katuunko and his delegation were greeted by Ventress and a small squad of B1-Series battle droids. Ventress presented the King with a holo-message from Count Dooku, who questioned the Jedi's ability to safeguard Toydaria should the King side with the Republic. At that moment, a Republic Consular-class cruiser carrying Jedi Master Yoda emerged from hyperspace in orbit around the moon. The cruiser was ambushed by two Munificent-class star frigates, which jammed the ship's transmissions. Upon Yoda's instruction, the cruiser launched all its escape pods before fleeing the system. One of the escape pods, containing Yoda and three clone troopers—Lieutenant Thire, Jek, and Rys—crash-landed on the moon. Lieutenant Thire managed to connect to the King's communication system, informing Katuunko of the Jedi's survival. Confronted with Yoda's presence on the moon, Ventress proposed a challenge: she would dispatch her best troops to capture the Jedi. If Yoda managed to escape, the King would align with the Republic; however, if her droids were successful in defeating Yoda, the King would ally himself with the Confederacy. Yoda accepted the challenge, declaring his intention to reach the King's location by nightfall.
A Confederate C-9979 landing craft landed on the moon, deploying an entire battalion of droid forces. Under the command of OOM command battle droid 224, several large Armored Assault Tanks advanced towards Yoda's position; however, they were hindered by the moon's dense coral formations. Consequently, additional droid forces were deployed on foot. Yoda and the clones took a winding route to the meeting point, hoping to evade some of Ventress's forces. They soon encountered two patrols of B1 battle droids, which they successfully defeated, before encountering a complement of B2 super battle droids. These, too, were defeated by the Republic forces, although Thire sustained a wound from super battle droid artillery. A third skirmish, this time against several droidekas, ensued shortly thereafter, during which Master Yoda deflected their blaster fire into a nearby coral formation, causing it to collapse onto the droids. While the Republic forces were victorious once again, the clones had significantly depleted their ammunition after these three encounters and, along with Yoda, sought temporary refuge in a cave.
While the Republic forces recuperated, a Separatist column consisting of three Armored Assault tanks and accompanying infantry advanced down a ravine toward the Republic's position. Yoda ventured down into the canyon alone and destroyed the three tanks and a significant number of droids. As a last-ditch effort to eliminate the Jedi, Ventress dispatched several droidekas as reinforcements. Although the droidekas nearly caught the Jedi Master off guard, they were destroyed by Thire, who launched the clones' final missile at a rock formation overhanging the canyon. The resulting avalanche crushed the droids.
By this point, sunset was approaching. Dooku once again communicated with Katuunko via hologram. Having witnessed Master Yoda single-handedly destroy an entire battalion of droid forces from afar, Katuunko declared his intention to side with the Republic. Dooku responded by ordering Ventress to assassinate the Toydarian. The Dark Acolyte activated her lightsabers, striking at the King in a deadly blow. However, her attempted regicide was halted at the last moment by a Force grip employed by Yoda, who had just arrived with the clones at the meeting point. Yoda then offered Ventress the opportunity to surrender, but she refused and triggered a nearby explosion to provide cover for her escape. Impressed by Yoda's actions, King Katuunko allied his world with the Republic, symbolizing this alliance by presenting Yoda with the ceremonial sword of Toydaria. The Republic forces and the Toydarian delegation were evacuated from the moon shortly thereafter with the arrival of a Republic Venator-class Star Destroyer.
Rugosa was once the home of the Rakata. These humanoids possessed large, cone-shaped heads with eyes situated on short stalks on the sides. Disease ultimately led to the collapse of their civilization and the end of their presence on Rugosa. Millennia later, the moon served as a vacation destination for Toydarians, a diminutive species characterized by vaguely avian features and a stubby trunk. They possessed small wings that enabled them to fly, despite their plump appearance. Following the devastation of Rugosa by the Hutt plague, the Toydarians ceased using it as a vacation spot. Nevertheless, King Katuunko and his entourage visited the world during the Clone Wars.
Rugosa made its debut in "Ambush," the inaugural episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, which was broadcast on October 3, 2008. Rugosa has subsequently been integrated into supporting The Clone Wars materials, including The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Official Episode Guide: Season 1; the latter expanded upon Rugosa's history preceding the events of "Ambush." Rugosa has also been featured in other publications, such as The Essential Atlas.
Drawing inspiration from the Flash Gordon series, the moon was intentionally designed to present a distinctive terrain. Given that previous Star Wars films had already showcased desert, ice, jungle, and forest planets, the design team opted for a coral-based design to offer a novel environment. The term "rugosa" itself refers to an extinct order of coral. The moon was initially conceived with a reddish color palette; however, when the decision was made to release the episode earlier in the series than initially planned, Supervising Director Dave Filoni recognized that the color scheme would be too similar to that of the setting for "Rising Malevolence," the second episode to be released. As a result, Filoni directed that Rugosa's color scheme be modified to incorporate blue and green hues in order to create a distinct visual identity. Russell G. Chong, the artist responsible for illustrating the moon, is a scuba diver himself and incorporated his personal experiences into his designs.
According to The Essential Atlas Appendix, Rugosa is located within grid P-17. Nevertheless, all the maps contained within this book place Rugosa in O-17, as does the Essential Atlas Extra: Outer Rim Sectors feature. The June 11, 2010 update to the Star Wars: The Essential Atlas Online Companion—which had previously reiterated the Atlas's placement—rectified this error and listed its location as O-17.