"Yeah, well, a lot of spying goes on. And Bothawui is one of the more active hubs for operatives from around the galaxy. The Empire has its own spies here; so does the Alliance, and they've all pretty much decided to let the place be neutral territory."
Bothawui (pronunciation(help·info)) was a cosmopolitanplanet, located in the center ofBothan Space in theMid Rim. It was thehomeworld of theBothan race as well as a major hub for information trafficking. It was also the center of theBothan Spynet, widely agreed upon to be the best network of information gathering inthe galaxy. TheImperial name for the planet wasBothawui Proper.
Bothawui was the fourthplanet from thestarBoth in theBoth system[2] of theMid Rim region ofthe galaxy[1] and was also within the region known as theSlice.[3] It was situated at the junction of four majorhyperlanes,[2] including theBothan Run, theKaaga Run, theReena Trade Route, and theManda Merchant Route.[3] Due to a slight wobble in its axial plain, Bothawui experienced numerous small ice ages, which expanded and retracted across the planet's higher latitudes in seventy-year cycles. Bothawui was also affected by the destruction of the third planet in its system.[2]
A terrestrial worldorbited by threemoons, Bothawui had a day that lasted 27 standard hours and a year that consisted of 351 local days.[2] The planet was 9,000kilometers in diameter[3] and possessed a breathableatmosphere, standardgravity, a temperate climate, and a moderate hydrosphere. Bothawui was a bright blue-green incolor[2] and its terrain included urban areas, rich equatorial forests, large polarice caps, many rugged mountain ranges, andgrassy savannas that spanned the areas between rocky glacier fields.[2] Bothawui's mountains and ridges were separated by deep, wide valleys that were inhabited by dangerous wildlife.[15]
Due to the presence of mountainous terrain, large tracts of wilderness on Bothawui remained undeveloped and devoid of settlements. Snow covered mountain tops on Bothawui,[2] and as a result of cyclical ice ages, large areas of land on the world would be covered by ice sheets for decades, transforming savannas into rocky wastelands.Krak'jyas dominated Bothawui's animal life,[2]skar'klas were native to the world's higher elevations, andganjukos lived throughout the ice sheets of Bothawui's arctic wastelands.[2]
A city on Bothawui.
A major trade world, Bothawui was the center of the trade of technology in itssector and was the home of many trade houses and megacorporations[2] while also boasting strong shipping, communication, and transportation industries. The industrial center andBothan colony ofKothlis, which was only a fewlight-years away from Bothawui, supported Bothawui's technology trade.[16] Annual operating taxes on Bothawui were very low, ranging from 8,000credits for small businesses to more than 250,000 credits for large manufacturing facilities. Bothawui's tax rates, combined with minimal bureaucratic regulations, enticed many galactic concerns into maintaining satellite offices on the planet, and establishing a new business on Bothawui was a simple process.[2]
Assassinations, espionage, and sabotage were as commonplace on Bothawui as debates and typical legislation were on other worlds, and theBothan Spynet developed into the foremost information-gathering network in the galaxy because of the suspicious and treacherous nature of life on Bothawui.[15] Espionage represented an unofficial industry on Bothawui, with spies from industries, governments, trade organizations, andcrime lords traveling to the world to collect intelligence for their employers.[2] Bothawui was considered an industrial world[17] and possessed a reputation as a neutral ground for trade arrangements, diplomatic negotiations, and information-gathering operations.[16]
Bothawui was governed by theBothan Council, in which 18 council members represented the nation states of Bothawui.[2] The Bothan Council was based on Bothawui along with various ministries that regulated commerce and government in Bothawui's colonies.[16] On Bothawui, strict policies restricted the use and ownership of lethal weapons, and special permits issued by the Bothan Council were required to possessblasters or explosive ordinance. Bothawui lacked an independent navy, but possessed advancedplanetary shields and a large, well-equipped civil defense army. The defense grid featured numerous backup systems and redundancies.[2]
Bothawui became the capital of theBothan sector.[12] The planet was home to grain farms and wasmined for indigenous ores such aslidium.
History[]
Early history[]
Bothan civilization originated in the equatorial forests of Bothawui.[2] Bothawui was absorbed into theGalactic Republic sometime during the period oftime between17,000 BBY and12,000 BBY, andPers'lya, a native of Bothawui, becameChancellor of the Republic by11,987 BBY.[18] Bothawui was later attacked by forces fromOrd Masterra during theTwenty-Third Pius Dea Crusade in11,198 BBY.[18] A longtime member of theGalactic Senate,[19] in which it achieved considerable influence, Bothawui became one of the most recognizable and heavily-trafficked planets in the Galactic Republic, and many bureaucratic committees of the Republic met on Bothawui to discuss governmental matters. Information regarding the expansion of the known galaxy flowed through Bothawui as the Bothans sent agents to join the populations of newly-discovered worlds.[12]
Old Sith Wars[]
"The Republic fleet obliterated the Imperial squadron, and the Battle of Bothawui became the Republic's first major victory in the war."
During the turbulent time of theGreat Galactic War, the galaxy faced a deadly threat in the form of the resurgentSith Empire which began conquering system after system. In3671 BBY, after a string of victories in the Outer Rim, the Sith turned their attentions to the Both system with the intention of conquering it. This culminated in theFirst Battle of Bothawui, when a squadron of Imperial warships attempted to conquer the planet, but they were ambushed by Republic forces, who achieved their first victory in the Great Galactic War.[13]
Fortifying the planet with aplanetary shield generator, the Republic left a garrison force of 84Jedi Knights and 4,000Republic soldiers led byJedi MasterBelth Allusis to protect the world which they did from a renewed Sith attack who deployed 50,000 soldiers to take the Bothan homeworld. It was only the heroic sacrifices of hundreds of Jedi Knights and Republic soldiers who fought against impossible odds. The Republic defenders were killed in the struggle, but the losses they placed on the Sith Empire forced the enemy to retreat.[13]
Bothawui was outside of Republic-controlledspace during the final years of theNew Sith Wars, but was also beyond the borders ofSith territory.[3]
Clone Wars[]
On his way to conquer Bothawui, Grievous got no further than therings ofGolm.
In themonths preceding the beginning of theClone Wars,Polo Se'lab, theSenator of Bothawui, expressed desire to avoid Bothawui's involvement in the onset of open warfare.[19] In an address directed towardCountDooku during theSeparatist Crisis,Supreme ChancellorPalpatine named Bothawui as a potential site for negotiations.[20] Defended by its own small planetary defense forces, Bothawui was a neutral planet during the Clone Wars and was largely untouched by the conflict, although Bothawui's neutrality did little to deterSeparatist and Republic representatives from attempting to recruit the world to their respective causes. However, hostile interactions between Republic and Separatist agents on Bothawui were rare.[19]
Despite its neutrality, abattle took place in the Both system, withGeneralGrievous attempting to invade the planet. The Republic forces on the ground were tired out after hard combat, when a fleet ofMunificent-class star frigates entered the system to reinforce their own troops.Anakin Skywalker used a strategy for stopping them that sawAT-TEwalkers deployed on local asteroids in therings of thegas giantGolm, ambushing the warships from behind. TheMunificent's unshielded sterns were bombarded and the battle ended with a win for the Republic.[21][22]
Galactic Civil War[]
"Bothawui remains neutral as always, though many clans have openly sided with the Rebels, my clan has found the Imperial coffers deep enough for our loyalties. I am sure one such as you can understand."
The Bothans negotiated limited neutrality for Bothawui when theGalactic Empire came to power and secured it position inside the Empire and enjoyed representation in theImperial Senate, and the world and its colonies were left relatively free from Imperial tyranny.[24] Imperial involvement in the planet's economy was minimal, with the Empire's presence consisting mostly of a small consulate and routine patrol sweeps conducted by the sector fleet.[2] The Empire also monitored an advanced communications andsensors station,[16] and agents of theImperial Security Bureau who participated in a counterintelligence operation aimed toward the Bothan Spynet were stationed at an Imperial complex on Bothawui. Under Imperial rule, Bothawui, though somewhat marginalized, remained a quiet and content world.[24]
Although Bothawui had no need for a prominent military force, as the planet showed little outward evidence of affiliation with theAlliance to Restore the Republic,[16] who maintained a presence on Bothawui, operating a safe house in the foothills surroundingDrev'starn that served as an intelligence headquarters and as an operations center for the sector.[2] A figure-headgovernor and a small contingent ofstormtroopers was the only outward sign that the world was under supposedly Imperial governorship. During the early years of the conflict,Imperial Security Bureau AgentMar Barezzintercepted Rebel agentTiree atMesa 291 on Bothawui while Tiree was recruiting support for the Rebel Alliance, but failed to capture or kill him.[6] Both the Imperial and Rebel Alliance intelligence services apparently decided to let the planet serve as neutral ground, where they could both spy on one another with no open conflict.
Despite its neutrality, upon learning that Bothan spies had acquired theDeath Star plans and given them to rogue ImperialMoffKalast, who in turn delivered them to the Rebels,Emperor Palpatine traveled to Bothawui with twoRoyal Guards. The Emperor personallyslaughtered hundreds of Bothans. Learning from one begging for his life that the plans were to arrive atTatooine, Palpatine dispatched his servant,Darth Vader, to theTatoo system to retrieve them.[25]
Shortly before theBattle of Endor in3.5 ABY, the Bothan SpyNet and its leader,Koth Melan, discovered evidence revealing that the Empire was transporting afreighter supposedly carrying fertilizer fromCoruscant to Bothawui, which, in fact, was transporting a closely guardedcomputer core containing plans to a top secret Imperial construction project. Luke Skywalker, along withDash Rendar, traveled to Bothawui to aid in the capture of the plans.[26]
Accompanied by Rendar in hisYT-2400 light freighter, theOutrider, and twelveBTL-S3 Y-wing starfighterspiloted by eleven Bothans sympathetic to the Rebellion and Alliance pilotAce Azzameen, Skywalker, in his personalX-wing, led anattack to intercept the freighter as it exitedhyperspace on the fringes of theBoth system. When thesquadron intercepted the freighter, named theSuprosa, and demanded its surrender, theship unveiled its heavy armaments andshields. Before Skywalker and Azzameen could disable the ship, the freighter had destroyed six of the Y-wings. After the computer was secured, it was taken to the Bothan colony world ofKothlis where a special team would attempt to decrypt it.[26]
After a series of conflicts with theImperial Navy immediately thereafter, the plans were finally delivered to theMon Calamari Star CruiserIndependence, where it was revealed that theplans were the construction details to a new, more powerfulDeath Star. It would turn out that the Emperor had intentionally allowed the plans to fall into the hands of the Alliance in order to lead them into a trap at the Death Star II construction site over the moon ofEndor, where he would finally attempt to destroy them once and for all.
During theCaamas Document Crisis, Bothawui was the subject of many anti-Bothan riots.Leia Organa Solo andHan Solo were caught up in one of theseattacks at a record center. Han was blamed for killing one of the rioters, though it was really anImperial agent.[4]
During theYuuzhan Vong War, Bothawui and the other worlds of Bothan Space were protected by theFifth Fleet of theNew Republic Defense Fleet. This kept the Fifth Fleet out of much of the actual fighting, asChief of State Borsk Fey'lya wanted to make sure that his home sector was safe. Still, the Bothan people served in the war in many roles, from soldiers and naval officers in the Defense Force to intelligence operatives. Their most notable contribution to the war was the famedBothan Assault Cruiser, a powerful warship that served in New Republic fleet and later theGalactic Alliance Navy. In26 ABY,Kyp's Dozen moved to protect the planet following theBattle of Ithor.
Bothawui
The world was an important member of theGalactic Alliance, thoughextreme fundamentalist views of some Bothans in regards to the defeatedYuuzhan Vong would cause some friction. In40 ABY, although originally hesitant to ally withCorellia in theSecond Galactic Civil War,Jacen Solo's mass assassination of Bothans onCoruscant caused them to prepare three cruiser fleets for Corellian service. The Galactic Alliance was quick to dispatch a scout screen to the planet in order to monitor the fleets. However,Sith LadyLumiya not only persuaded intelligence chiefTathak K'roylan that the GA had conclusively been behind and backed the assassinations, but also arranged for the scout screen to be disabled. The Bothans were able to send their fleets to Corellia and there they helped break theblockade. Following this outbreak of hostilities, Bothawui became a founding member of theConfederation. Following the end of theSecond Galactic Civil War Bothawui rejoined the Galactic Alliance; in43.5 ABY,Tiurrg Drey'lye was a senator representing the Bothan sector as well as being the head of theSenate Unification Preparations Committee for theUnification Summit.
By137 ABY, Bothawui was within territory controlled by theGalactic Empire ofDarth Krayt,[3] who ordered thatImperial Intelligence base its operations on Bothawui and instructed hisMoffs to offer prestigious positions throughout the Empire to Bothans who possessed influence on Bothawui. Unrest and civil conflict arose on Bothawui as a result of Imperial indoctrination of Bothan nobles and spies.[28]
Bothawui was thehomeworld of the Bothanspecies. Its population of 2.5 billion also includedHumans and other species,[2] who each comprised 1% of the total population.[3] Many off-worlders were drawn to Bothawui by the planet's economy and business climate.[2]Bothese andGalactic Basic Standard were spoken by Bothawui's inhabitants.[3] Settlers from Bothawui established colonies on the planet Kothlis.[15]
Locations[]
Drev'starn, the capital and largest city of Bothawui, was located in a long, broad valley near the world's equator.[2] The world's primarystarport was located away from the capital,[16] and theTiaran'grastsling racing course was located 40 kilometers south of the capital.[2] Bothans maintained a smallstarfighter base, which featured 12Y-wings and their support crews, outside of the city.[16]
Behind the scenes[]
In earlier sources, Bothawui was only known asBothan's Planet or even asBothan.[29]
