Fridays generally mean one thing for Star Wars: The Old Republic fans, and that is updates to the official site. Today is no exception since BioWare has introduced Tatooine as the next playable planet and released Threat of Peace #22.

We all know Tatooine is destined to be the home planet for both Anakin and Luke Skywalker, but keep reading after the jump to discover how the Czerka Corporation made the Anchorhead outpost a "lawless haven for smugglers." Of course, Obi-Wan Kenobi might prefer the phrase "a wretched hive of scum and villainy" when it comes to describing some of Tatooine's more colorful characters.

Desert Wasteland at the End of the Galaxy

Far in the Outer Rim, the sands of Tatooine bake beneath the glare of two bright suns. Small pockets of barely civilized communities dot the desolate landscape, surrounded by the endless expanse of barren dunes and rocky canyons that have silently slain so many of those who ventured out into desert. Among the small shantytowns and settlements that persist, travelers may find shelter from the brutal climate, but trust is as rare as water on this lawless world. Visitors and locals alike must constantly watch their backs in Tatooine’s townships.

For centuries, Tatooine was of little interest to the rest of the galaxy – until the Czerka Corporation showed up five hundred years ago, seeking to exploit the natural resources they believed were beneath Tatooine’s surface. Czerka’s efforts to mine Tatooine ended in failure, but the planet’s hostile environment proved to be the perfect place for Czerka’s Secret Weapons division. Able to operate with no restrictions, Czerka brought alien technologies and experiments too horrible or dangerous to be allowed on any other system in the galaxy. While the full scope of how far Czerka went with their research remains unknown, it’s clear that suddenly, and without warning, Czerka completely pulled out of Tatooine, leaving their Secret Weapons complex to be swallowed by the sands.

The former Czerka outpost of Anchorhead has now become a lawless haven for smugglers, pirates and anyone else who wants to drop off the radar. Though Anchorhead often serves as a pit stop for Republic starships in the Outer Rim, the Republic has no official presence. Unbeknownst to the Republic however, the Imperial military has established a presence on Tatooine, to explore the old Czerka labs. The Empire has garrisoned a small force in the town of Mos Ila where industrious Jawa had restored a spaceport hoping to encourage trade, only to see their hard work taken over by Imperial troops who drove the Jawa back into the desert. This puts the Imperials only a short distance from the main community at Anchorhead.

Between the two, a terrible secret sleeps in the sand.