Mid Rim

TheMid Rim, also known as theMid-Rim,Middle Rim,Mid-systems, or theMid Rim Territories, was a region ofthe galaxy located between theExpansion Region and theOuter Rim Territories.With fewer natural resources—and therefore a smaller population—than many neighboring regions, the Mid Rim was a territory where residents worked hard for everything they had. Severalplanets built up impressive economies, andpirate raiders often hid in the relatively unexplored spaces far from majortrade routes.

Inhabitants[]

The worlds of the Mid Rim were more sparsely populated than theCore Worlds, and as a result its people tended to be less comfortable in dense living quarters. TheGalactic Republic's expeditionary and colonialOutbound Flight Project required its planned complement of 50,000 passengers to live in tightly packed housing with little privacy aboard the sixDreadnaught-class heavy cruisers that would be joined together to form theOutbound Flight. The living arrangements at the project'sPreparation Center were deliberately cramped to replicate those that the expedition would provide. As a result, many peoplenative to the Mid Rim dropped out of the Outbound Flight Project prior to its launch^[7] in27 BBY.^[8]

History[]

Beginnings[]

During thePre-Republic era, theWookiees ofKashyyyk were ruled by the galactic-spanningInfinite Empire of theRakata, who terraformed the planet's surface for agricultural purposes. The collapse of their empire left the terraforming machines unattended, which resulted in the planet's abnormally large foliage. TheHutt Empire encompassed a number of Mid Rim worlds includingNal Hutta andNar Shaddaa.^[9] However, theBothans resisted Hutt expansion and carved up their own independent region of space, which evolved into theBothan sector.^[3]

The Mid Rim politically developed as a consequence of a colonization boom in theExpansion Region during theGreat Manifest Period (20,000–17,000 BBY). Profits from business ventures in the Expansion Region prompted severalInner Rim political systems and religious organizations to colonize and develop the worlds in the Mid Rim's portion ofthe Slice. This colonization boom attracted few corporations which chose to remain in the Expansion Region due to the region's business-friendly policies. Over the following millennia, colonization in the Mid Rim developed at a progressive albeit leisurely pace which provided successive generations of colonists with ample space to expand into. Due to the stronger presence of central government fromCoruscant, there was less criminal activity in the region than in the more distantOuter Rim Territories. The crime-dominatedHutt Space bordered the eastern fringes of the Mid Rim.^[3]

Around15,000 BBY, the factiousAqualish were discovered by theGalactic Republic following a violent first encounter which led to theAqualish–Republic War.^[10] Subsequently, the Aqualish joined the Republic after agreeing to abide by Republic law. In12,000 BBY,Ord Mantell was settled byCorellian colonists as a Republic military outpost. Circa8000 BBY, the Republic established an outpost onMalastare, which was home to the sapient quadrupedDug species.^[10] In4020 BBY, Kashyyyk was rediscovered by theCzerka Corporation, which renamed the planet G5-623 and subsequently Edean.^[11]

Circa4000 BBY the Mid Rim was known as the Frontier or Galactic Frontier, as it was the limit of the then explored galaxy. Most Mid Rim colony worlds became dependent on low-cost manufacturing and agriculture as the basis of their economies. However, this prosperity attracted the attention ofpirates who used unexplored space as a hiding place and staging ground for raids on colonies. This became a problem in the period following theSith Civil War.^[3]

During theMandalorian Wars, theMandalorians considered invading Kashyyyk and using it as a training center for their troops but later abandoned such plans. Later, the WookieeChuundar seized power asChieftain from his fatherFreyyr and banished his own brotherZaalbar. Chuundar actively collaborated with the Czerka Corporation by allowing them to exploit Wookiee slave labor in exchange for weapons. Freyyr went into self-exile to theShadowlands of Kashyyyk. In3956 BBY, Czerka's control of "Edean" was disrupted when the enslaved Wookiee populace, led byFreyyr and the former JediRevan, overthrew the local corporate headquarters and drove all outsiders off the planet, save from theEbon Hawk crew.^[11]

Around3951 BBY, theGrizmalltian QueenElsinoré den Tasia sponsored an expedition by theRepublic explorerKwilaan who discovered the planetNaboo. The planet became notorious amongst big game hunters who favored the indigenousveermoks, although it would be five decades before permanent Human settlement. Eventually, in approximately3900 BBY, Human refugees fleeing a violent revolution on Grizmallt settled in the mountains and great grass plains. Cultural differences between the Human colonists and the indigenousGungans led to tensions and conflict over the millennia.^[9]

In3700 BBY, the discovery of theHydian Way encouraged colonization in the northern and southern arcs of the region. By this time, the region was organized into structured government-zoned settlement districts. Following theGreat Galactic War, large portions of the Mid Rim came under the resurgentSith Empire after theTreaty of Coruscant in3653 BBY including loyalist worlds and species likeRodia and theBothans.^[3]

The Galactic Republic[]

TF Battleship — TheTrade Federation fleet blockade overNaboo in32 BBY

During theNew Sith Wars in1800 BBY, Republic forcesbombed theUbese homeworld ofUba IV and exterminated all life onUba I,II andV . This led to the near-extinction of the Ubese species who maintained an everlasting belligerence towards the Republic and the Jedi.^[3] Throughout this period,Gap Nine^[12] andAlmas^[13] were the sites of battles between the Republic and various Sith factions. In theLight and Darkness War, theBrotherhood of Darkness invaded Kashyyyk andTrandosha. However, theTrandoshans slaughtered many of the troopers. The Sith retaliated by invading their world and burning the homes of the Trandoshans, leading the surviving Trandoshans to save themselves from death by pledging loyalty to the Brotherhood. In1000 BBY, the lush world ofRuusan was the site ofseven epic battles which culminated in the destruction of the Brotherhood. Following the campaign, the Republic enacted theRuusan Reformations which increased the powers of theGalactic Senate while reducing the number ofsenators.^[9]

Circa 1000 BBY, Malastare was colonized byGran colonists fromKinyen, which resulted in a bloody and violent war. Using their influence in the Senate, the Gran settled the conflict in their favor and established the colonialGran Protectorate. The native Dugs were demilitarized and resettled on Malastere's western continent, where they were exploited by their Gran colonial masters over the millennia. Throughout the last centuries of the Republic, the Gran colonists dominated Malastare.^[14]^[15]

In32 BBY,Supreme Chancellor Valorum increased taxation of Outer Rim trade routes, prompting theTrade Federation to blockade and occupy Naboo. With the support of the Jedi and the Gungans, the Naboo QueenPadmé Amidala regained control of the planet during theNaboo crisis. Meanwhile, Trandoshan terrorists attempted to assassinate the Wookiee senatorYarua in protest of their homeworld being directly represented in the Senate by Kashyyyk. In23 BBY, further tensions between the two species led to a Wookiee blockade of Trandosha, and peace talks collapsed when it was revealed that the Trandoshans were seeking to obtain representation with Trade Federation backing.

In22 BBY, the secession of various Republic worlds intoCount Dooku's Confederacy of Independent Systems created a flow ofLoyalist refugees from Separatist worlds. TheRefugee Relief Movement organized the resettlement of these refugees on ten Mid Rim worlds including Naboo,Kalarba,Monastery,Cerea,Sneeve,Bimmisaari andDurkteel. The Aqualish government on Ando also joined the Separatists but were opposed by the rivalAndoan Free Colonies, which remained loyal to the Republic. Due to Jedi intervention, the backwater world ofAnsion remained within the Republic.^[9] Similarly, the Gran Protectorate on Malastare remained loyal to the Republic with itsSenator Ask Aak serving on theLoyalist Committee. An organization calledDugs-for-Democracy opposed theMilitary Creation Act and fought for the civil rights of Dugs.^[16]

During theClone Wars, control of the Mid Rim fluctuated between theConfederacy of Independent Systems and theGalactic Republic. The Confederacy took advantage of interspecies rivalry between the Wookiees of Kashyyyk and the Trandoshans by arming Trandoshan commercial raiders on attacks against Republic shipping. In22 BBY, the Separatists launched their first offensive against Kashyyyk with Trandoshan support but were repulsed by Republic forces. During theDark Reaper campaign, the Chiss mercenarySev'rance Tann raided a Wookiee colony onAlaris Prime. Due to its vital fuel reserves, Malastare was targeted by Separatist forces, who were repulsed by local Dug forces and Republic reinforcements underJedi General Anakin Skywalker, who accidentally awakened theZillo Beast.^[17]

In21 BBY, Separatist attempts to encourage the planetsJunction V,Bezim,Delaluna andVicondor to secede failed due to Jedi intervention. Republic forces under Anakin Skywalker also captured theTechno Union Foreman Wat Tambor onMetalorn and destroyed the Confederacy'scortosis battle droid project. In19.9 BBY,Armand Isard—theDirector of theSenate Bureau of Intelligence—deployed mutantstone mites on the backwater world ofOrleon in response to rumors of Separatist biolabs. While such rumors were later proven false, the stone mites destroyed much of the planet's infrastructure; prompting the planet's entire population to emigrate offworld.^[9]

In19 BBY, Separatist forces were repulsed atAzure. Towards the end of the war, most CIS forces were repulsed to the Mid and Outer Rims. Separatist forces also launched amassive invasion of Kashyyyk in an attempt to capture theClaatuvac Guild's secret archive ofhyperspace routes. Republic reinforcements underJedi Master Yoda crushed the droid army, but the Jedi were then targeted for extermination underOrder 66.^[9] Under theEmperor Palpatine's newGalactic Empire, Imperial forces invaded Kashyyyk and enslaved the Wookiees with the collaboration of the Trandoshans, who profited in theslave trade.^[18]

The Empire[]

Following theDeclaration of a New Order, a series of Imperial academies were established throughout the Mid Rim. It was heavily patrolled by theEmpire, which feared that it was ripe for theRebellion to set up bases there. The region's interstellar markets also profited from favorable trading incentives.^[3]As the Empire withdrew from the Rim following theirdefeat atEndor, the Mid Rim remained one of the few places unquestionably under Imperial control. After the Battle of Endor, it housed many hidden Imperial bases and makeshiftshipyards. Many rivalMoffs maintained "private empires" in this region on the condition that they supply troops and taxes to legitimate Imperial fleets in the region. During the time of the return of Palpatine in10 ABY, the Mid Rim was still a significant Imperial power base which kept their massive fleets supplied.^[3]

In11 ABY, Palpatine's final clone body and spirit were destroyed during abattle atOnderon. Following his demise, the Alliance's successor state the New Republic recaptured much of the Mid Rim. By19 ABY, the Empire had been pushed out of the Mid Rim into eighteen backwatersectors in the Outer Rim known as theImperial Remnant. During theCaamas Document Crisis, the Bothan capital ofBothawui was the site of fighting between various pro- and anti-Bothan factions. With the appearance of Imperial forces, these disparate factions united to defeat a common foe. Shortly afterwards, the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic signed theBastion Accords, which ended theGalactic Civil War.^[18]

Post-Empire[]

During theYuuzhan Vong War, much of the eastern Mid Rim was invaded by the extragalacticYuuzhan Vong. In25 ABY,Ithor was devastated by a Yuuzhan Vong bioweapon while New Republic and Imperial forces evacuated many refugees from Ord Mantell. In26 ABY, the Yuuzhan Vong conquered and devastated much of the region as part of their campaign to secure the strategicCorellian Run. Several worlds includingSriluur,Druckenwell, Falleen, Ando Prime, Rodia and Ansion were conquered and occupied.Kalarba was destroyed by using theYo'gand's Core tactic to draw down its moonHosk Station while Rodian captives were "shaped" intoVagh Rodiek warbeasts. The Yuuzhan Vong also invadedHutt Space, capturing Nal Hutta and Nar Shaddaa.^[9] However, they failed to penetrate the well-defendedBootana Hutta region. The region was also economically wrecked due to the collapse of the local economy and trade routes. A few worlds escaped invasion by aligning themselves with the collaborationistPeace Brigade only to be raided byNew Republic forces during the later stages of the war.^[3]

With the end of the war and therecapture of the galactic capital Coruscant, those Peace Brigade worlds were unpopular with theGalactic Alliance government—the successor state to the Republic. Rejecting foreign aid, the Mid Rimmers rebuilt their worlds and established new trade routes, which brought a post-war boom to the region. Meanwhile, the slave-tradingSenex andJuvex sectors encouraged the immigration of refugees.^[3] During theSecond Galactic Civil War,Bothan Space,Bimmisaari, theHalla sector andBeris sided with theCorellian-ledConfederation against the Galactic Alliance. Following acoup byDarth Caedus, Alliance forcesattacked Kashyyyk for sheltering Jedi. Orbital bombardment of Kashyyyk's forests created a firestorm that engulfed much of the planetwide jungle and killed many Wookiees. In response, the Confederation redirected fleets fromKuat in theCore Worlds to help the Wookiees which led to the repulsion of Alliance forces. Despite Confederation assistance, the Wookiees joined theJedi Coalition.^[19]

Following theSith–Imperial War in130 ABY,Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire seized control of much of the Mid Rim and sought to "divide and conquer" the various worlds and species. Viewing the Wookiees as a potential threat, the Sith Empire did not enslave the entire species as their predecessors but rather isolated Kashyyyk from the rest of the galaxy by destroying all spaceports and shipyards. No Wookiees were allowed to leave or visit Kashyyyk without an Imperial order andHoloNet transmissions to the planet were completely cut off. Supplies and traders still could come and go, after swearing under penalty of death not to provide Wookiees with information of the state of the rest ofthe galaxy, but the Wookiees themselves were completely isolated and largely left alone. In contrast, other species like the Trandoshans and Rodians prospered economically and militarily as "favored species." The Trandoshans prospered from the redirection of trade to their homeworld while Rodianbounty hunters claimed more Jedi bounties than their rivals.^[20]

Astrography[]

The Mid Rim comprised over 160 sectors, and a region of free-standing subsectors on its southwestern flanks.^[5] Sectors located in the Mid Rim included: