Venan civil war

"Are you certain that Baroness Omnino wasn't followed from the Vena system?" "Yes, Chancellor. Every precaution was taken. But since the Baroness has been marked by assassination by the Vena Isolationists, it is regrettable that she rejected a Jedi escort."

- Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum and Staff Aide Sei Taria

A bloody civil war was fought in the Expansion Region's Vena system during the waning years of the Galactic Republic. With Baron Kindoro's ascension to the throne in the planet Vena in 57 BBY, the Vena system opened up to free trade, marking an abrupt change from the customary policies constituted throughout its history. Built on the traditions of independentism and isolationism, Venan society strongly opposed this measure, and reactionary groups took up arms against the Venan royal family. With the death of Kindoro, his wife, the Baroness Omnino, rose to power, which considerably deteriorated the state of affairs.

Omnino proved to be an even more intolerant and ruthless ruler than her late husband, and adamantly led the efforts to crush the insurgency until her death in 37 BBY at the hands of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn on the planet Ord Mantell. Jinn, along with his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, had unraveled a large, illegal scheme to have Vena admitted as a Republic world and gain support from the Galactic Senate against the Isolationists. When confronted with the truth, the Baroness threatened to kill Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, to which Qui-Gon Jinn responded by swiftly beheading Omnino. Up until her death, the civil war raged for at least twenty years.

Prelude
"I suspect they want to open a trade route to Vena. But if that is the Baroness' goal, she will first need our help to bring unity to her own troubled star system."

- Staff Aide Sei Taria to Chancellor Finis Valorum



Descended from early Hapan explorers, the inhabitants of the planet Vena, located in the system of the same name in the Nojic sector within the Expansion Region, had a historical tradition of maintaining an independent and isolationist stance on their star system. They remained unaffiliated from the Galactic Republic, even though Vena and the Republic shared a good relationship, and the Venans would occasionally trade with the nearby Hapes Cluster for items they could not produce on their own. Other than that, Venans preferred to be left on their own.

Around 57 BBY, the rise of Baron Kindoro and Baroness Omnino to power on Vena changed this historic position. Because Kindoro and Omnino had previously both been ambassadors to the Core World planets of Coruscant and Alderaan, respectively, their contact with foreign cultures and goods exposed the Barons to certain amenities that were inaccessible from their home system. For this reason, Kindoro implemented economic deregulation and pursued ratification of trade agreements with other worlds, in order to make commodities available exclusively to the Venan royal family. Since the Baron and his family controlled shipping, this course of action initially did not find resistance.

Armed conflict
"Death to the Baroness!"

- A mind-controlled Senate Guard shortly before attempting to kill Omnino on Coruscant

This radical shift towards economic and cultural openness eventually evoked a commotion among many Venans, who resented not just the fact that only the royal family was benefitting from the new influx of foreign products, but also that their newly-imported extravagant lifestyles were dissonant from traditional Venan conduct. The commoners, who rallied together as the Vena Isolationists, called for a return to their closed borders and old-fashioned values, in opposition to the flamboyant way of life their rulers were adopting. The regents, unwilling to give in to the demands of the protesters, imprisoned the movement leaders and sent them to labor camps. This move aggravated tensions and motivated the remaining members to manufacture weapons, stage terrorist strikes against Venan nobility, and to sabotage cargo ships.

The terrorist attacks, however, only worsened the situation. The royal family deplored the commoners' intrusion into their affairs, while the populace refused to back down. The conflict further deteriorated after the naturally-occurring death of Baron Kindoro, while traveling in Republic space. Baroness Omnino, next in line, ascended to the throne and proved herself even more unmerciful than her husband, as she set as her top priority the quelling of the insurrection, even if it meant neglecting raising her son, Baron Sando. She waged bloody war for years against her subjects, who, although facing the Venan government, still wielded a good deal of political power. The Isolationists marked Omnino for assassination, forcing her to take extensive precautions when traveling from the Vena system to avoid tails and possible attacks.

Throughout the war, the Baronness heavily invested in illegal brain-wave projection technology&mdash;mind control devices&mdash;in order to influence events outside of her system in her favor, since the devices were unable to effectively manipulate the movement leaders into turning themselves in.

Baroness Omnino's Republic campaign
"You fabricated an assassination attempt... killing a Senate Guard and your own guardian... to gain sympathy from the Galactic Senate?" "And have my way with them. Now, Vena is a member of the Republic, and I have unlimited access to Ord Mantell."

- Qui-Gon Jinn and Omnino

The war, however, did not halt Omnino's ambitious side plans. In 37 BBY, she orchestrated a false flag assassination attempt by using the mind control device against one of the Senate Guards protecting her so that he would try to murder the Baroness upon her arrival on Coruscant for a meeting with Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum. This plot had the objective of gaining sympathy and support from the Galactic Senate against the Isolationists, as well as commencing membership negotiations for the planet Vena into the Galactic Republic. Individuals close to Chancellor Valorum such as Staff Aide Sei Taria believed this visit was part of a strategy to help the Baroness have a new trade route established between Vena and the Galactic Republic, although even the Chancellor himself conceded that, if true, this would be a lucrative deal for the Republic for many generations to come.

The attack, which took the lives of the aforementioned Senate Guard and another bodyguard that tried to protect the Baroness, successfully garnered commiseration from the Galactic Senate. Omnino, secretly threatening the Chancellor's life, made Valorum efficaciously lobby for the adhesion of the Nojic sector planet into the Republic.

Her off-world plot to have Vena admitted as a Republic world and gain the upper hand against the Isolationists was ultimately thwarted by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, who investigated from the beginning and unraveled her elaborate scheme.

Omnino had made use of her investment in brain-wave projection technology when she gave a mind control device to land baron Taxer Sundown, so he could provide a supply of Mantellian Savrip meat &mdash;considered a delicacy by the Venan royal family &mdash;from the Mid Rim Ordnance/Regional Depot planet Ord Mantell to Vena, after her plan to breed Savrips on her homeworld failed. The Baroness meant for Sundown to do so by killing the existing land barons, usurping their operations and seizing power on Ord Mantell for Omnino, goals he successfully accomplished.

Jinn and Kenobi were at the shipment loading rendezvous point just as the Baroness arrived at the Ordnance/Regional Depot on her personal shuttle, the Benevolent III, to haul the next batch of Savrip meat. After Qui-Gon Jinn confronted Omnino with the truth, she threatened to kill the Chancellor, who was on board her transport and under the effects of the mind control device. In a quick succession of events, Qui-Gon Jinn distracted her and swiftly beheaded the Baroness using the sai cha technique of lightsaber combat.

Aftermath
"You do realize the senators will insist on an investigation?" "Of course, Chancellor. Meetings will be held, delegations will be sent to Vena and Ord Mantell."

- Exchange between Finis Valorum and Qui-Gon Jinn after the incident on Ord Mantell

Up until Baroness Omnino's passing, the civil war had been dragged on for a least around twenty years. Chancellor Finis Valorum and Qui-Gon Jinn predicted that her death would resonate with the Republic, generating meetings and delegations to Vena and Ord Mantell to investigate the incidents that led to her beheading.

During this period, the Venan rulers, despite popular outcry, successfully connected the Vena system to a major hyperlane: the Lesser Lantillian Route, which spanned four galactic regions, the Inner Rim, the Expansion Region, the Mid Rim and the Outer Rim Territories. Although Omnino was killed 37 years before the Battle of Yavin, the Venan monarchy itself was not overthrown altogether after her passing, still existing around 1 or 2 BBY, as evidenced by the use of the nobility title of Royal Margravine by Abominelle during the Galactic Civil War.

Behind the scenes
The Venan civil war was first hinted to in Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan: Last Stand on Ord Mantell, a comic series written by Ryder Windham and drawn by Ramón F. Bachs. The series, which was composed of three issues released in December 2000, and in February and March 2001,  featured a conversation between Staff Aide Sei Taria and Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum in which Taria fleetingly says that Baroness Omnino is marked for assassination by the Vena Isolationists.

The web-exclusive article Before the Rise, published on the Wizards of the Coast website on April 16, 2002 and written by J.D. Wiker as a scenario supplement for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game later expanded the back-story behind the reason why she was wanted dead by the Isolationists, serving as a tie-in prequel to the comic series, albeit without indicating the outcome of the civil war. The article also covered three other political factions: the Galactic Senate, the Jedi Order and the Hutts, all during the Rise of the Empire era.

Appearances

 * Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan: Last Stand on Ord Mantell 1