Progress on Ruusan Terraforming

On a return trip to Russan to view the progress of the terraforming, reporters Daana Kira and Rakiko Lowtide met again with Sir Evo of the New Order of the Jedi (NOJ). Sir Evo was able to give the pair a tour of the progress being made on the Ruusan surface which was quite extensive. Not only were large tracts of land already planted with vegetation, the air was breathable without a mask for at least short periods of time. The reporters were pleased to see that life was returning to this new Ruusan.

Ruusan surface

We found some time and decided to use it wisely and returned to Ruusan to check up on the progress being made with their terraforming projects.  Much of the area other than the station was still off-limits to most, Jedi of the New Order of the Jedi (NOJ) were kind enough to offer us a tour. Even though we had to wait for passage to the surface, once we got there we were given a lot leeway to explorer and view what had been done.

Sir Evo

After surfacing a Jedi Knight by the name of Sir Evo showed us around and answered our questions.  From the first impressions  one can only use a word like amazing to describe what has transpired over such a short period. This is definitely no the Ruusan of old, as exotic and lush plants dotted the landscape, though Sir Evo did assure that the different ecosystems such as the desert and plains were being reintroduced on the planet surface. But where the Jedi were to make their base, the atmosphere was that of a forest if not jungle. Sir Evo was vague about the types of creatures that would be introduced rather stating that the original fauna would be the basis of the new ecosystems.

Since much of the reshaping of the planet was in the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong, security has been a number one priority from the day the NOJ had decided to re-terraform their planet. Historically, Yuuzhan Vong terraforming technology has been controversial back from the times of the Ossus Project, with some believing the Yuuzhan Vong themselves had caused the failures while other believed that certain Sith factions had sabotaged the efforts. Sir Evo and presumably most of the Jedi held the latter view, though Evo did reassure us that everything had progressed enough in secret that the threat of possible Sith involvement had all but disappeared now. The terraforming is progressing so well that Evo was even confident that the native Bouncers, who he presumed had found a way to survive, would be returning soon to the surface at their leisure.

Ruusan surface

For specifics, Evo describe the Yuuzhan Vong technology as a staged process.  First, new seeds were introduced with single cell organisms that were then dispersed into the atmosphere to cover the area. Then other plants and organisms were introduced to help the new life take hold, then an accelerated farming technique to quickly re-grow the area. Once life had taken a hold then the shapers as they were called would then tweak and manipulate each area for the best results, reforming what was once a dead planet into an alive active ecosystem in a very short time.

Ruusan surface

NOJ scientists have also been studying for ways to cope with similar disasters in the future. Since Ruusan lies close to a nebular where new stars are forming, it was still at risk for the type of catastrophes that have plagued it recently.  Most notably they’ve been building up on the Yuuzhan Vong terraforming techniques to find and help spread plants that can spring back quickly, are hardy, and are easy to work with.  The Jedi would live in harmony with nature and what Evo described as the will of the force,  flowing with any changes that might take place.

As we walked around the area finding new and different life popping up everywhere, we were just left speechless about the progress that had taken place and could only wonder what the final result would be. We will certainly be covering the progress plus focus on the technical, political, and ecological ramifications in future articles with the soonest one hopefully covering the viewpoint from the Yuuzhan Vong themselves

— Rakiko and Daana