Bal'demnic

"The galactic economy is a hypercomplex system, full of unexpected movements and ill-discerned effects, where the flutter of a pigeon on Trantor may create a typhoon on Bal'demnic."

- The Golden Emperor of Prekaz

Bal'demnic was an ocean planet littered with rocky tropical islands in the Bak'rofsen system of the Auril sector, located within the Outer Rim Territories. The planet's native populace, the Kon'me, was divided into a loose class structure, and they were largely derisive of offworlders. As such, while the planet would normally have been a tourist destination for foreigners, it was generally avoided. The Kon'me themselves resided in bubble-like structures, attached to the planet's ocean-side cliffs on islands of note.

Bal'demnic did not figure into pan-galactic politics until the Clone Wars. The Confederacy of Independent Systems discovered that Bal'demnic played host to a bountiful cortosis reserve. Since cortosis could be used effectively against the Jedi lightsabers of the Confederacy's opponents, they decided to invade and exploit Bal'demnic to bolster their own war effort. However, the Kon'me eventually rose up against the invaders, just as they were about to be liberated by the Galactic Republic. As a result, the natives drove off both the Republic and the Confederacy, although the former maintained a significant naval presence in the system following the battle.

Description
Located in the Bak'rofsen system, which was in turn found within the Outer Rim Territories' Auril sector, Bal'demnic was considered a planet of stark yet rugged beauty. Almost entirely covered by ocean, the world was pockmarked with small tropical beach islands; a feature that made the planet's climate and landscape desirable to foreigners.

The upper-class Kon'me resided in large, bubble-like structures that were attached to ocean-side cliffs on the more prominent islands, whereas the lower class lived in thatched beachside dwellings. The cliffs of the larger mountains contained the rare cortosis ore&mdash;a property that later made Bal'demnic a point of contention during the pan-galactic Clone Wars.

History
Inhabited by the native Kon'me, Bal'demnic eventually played host to a variety of disparate structures built by the reptilians, dictated by class. Though Bal'demnic had the potential to be one of the galaxy's most sought after tourist destinations, the general nature of the Kon'me prevented such an enterprise from properly blossoming. Bal'demnic was removed from major galactic events on the whole until the advent of the Clone Wars, several years prior to the Declaration of a New Order.

Scouts from the Commerce Guild&mdash;a key player in the Confederacy of Independent Systems&mdash;were dispatched to Bal'demnic during the war. In the course of their expedition, they discovered trace amounts of cortosis, which was one of the few ores resistant to the blade of a lightsaber. The lightsaber being the weapon of choice for the Jedi Generals of the Galactic Republic, the Confederacy saw the occupation of Bal'demnic as vital to the war effort.

Fitting in with their campaign to direct Republic forces away from the Core, the Confederacy descended upon the ocean world during the third year of the Clone Wars. The invading force ordered the native Kon'me to either allow cortosis mining operations to begin, or be destroyed. The upper-class cliff-dwelling Kon'me consented to Confederate occupation, and allowed the operations to begin. In spite of this, the beachfront Kon'me were outraged, and began to develop small pockets of resistance against the invaders.

Confederacy transmissions relevant to the Bal'demnic situation were eventually intercepted by the Republic. Jedi Master Mace Windu realized the potential danger of a Confederate monopoly on Bal'demnic's cortosis reserves&mdash;as a result, the Jedi Council dispatched a task force led by Jedi Knights Halagad Ventor and Sha Koon to investigate and sabotage the Confederate operation. The Republic force, however, found Bal'demnic in chaos. The Kon'me had risen up and cast off the yoke of Confederate rule, using high-tech weaponry that had been smuggled to them by war profiteers. With mounted weaponry in their bubble-like cliff dwellings, the Kon'me were pitted against the combined armor of the Confederate droids. The Confederacy, in turn, dispatched OG-9 homing spider droids to overrun the Kon'me positions. When Ventor and Koon's clone troopers landed, the situation only escalated, resulting in the natives firing on all offworlders, regardless of affiliation. Due to the unusual and unfamiliar island terrain, both the Confederate and Republic forces retreated. With the Confederacy no longer able to harvest the cortosis, the Republic left an orbital fleet above Bal'demnic to dissuade any further incursions from their adversaries.

The planet was mentioned by the Golden Emperor of Prekaz, in his commentary on the state of the galactic economy. The Emperor's quote was later included as an epigraph in Doctor Gabrel Treon writings on House Praji for the Byblos Journal of Historical Science, entitled Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Praji: A Cartel of Genes.

Inhabitants
The reptilian Kon'me were the only known sentient species native to Bal'demnic. Their disposition was notorious offworld for being abrasive and isolationist, and they had a class-structure illustrated by location of residence. For instance, the upper-class Kon'me resided in more opulent structures on larger islands than their lower-class counterparts. The cliff-dwelling Kon'me made planetary decisions, such as the acceptance of a Confederate occupation during the Clone Wars, whereas the lower-class was destined to bear the brunt of such decisions. As a result, a rift grew between the two classes during the war, with the beach-dwellers establishing a resistance against the Confederates that their upper-class counterparts had welcomed.

Behind the scenes
"I really wanted to come up with a name that sounded both unique and believable; hopefully I succeeded."

- Arthur Papadam

Bal'demnic first appeared in "Chapter 22," an episode of Star Wars: Clone Wars. It was shown fleetingly in a montage of Confederacy of Independent Systems invasions across the galaxy. It was later named, and elaborated on by Arthur Papadam, under the pseudonym "Arf Maul", through StarWars.com's Hyperspace feature, "What's The Story?" Papadam derived the name "Bal'demnic" from the word "condemn," while also making it similar to "demonic," suggesting that the planet's inhabitants were not as innocent as they might have appeared. The first syllable, "Bal," was derived from one of Papadam's friend's nicknames: "B'daniel." In his entry, Papadam also connected the planet to various other disparate elements from the Expanded Universe, including Halagad Ventor from West End Games' Domain of Evil adventure supplement, and Sha Koon from The Stark Hyperspace War, an arc from the Star Wars comic line. In addition to this, Papadam placed Bal'demnic in the Auril sector as he wished to reference the planet Khuiumin IV, as a way of paying homage to one of his favourite Star Wars games, Star Wars: Rebellion. Papadam's placement stemmed from the fact that Khuiumin was also located in the Auril sector, however, his reference to Khuiumin was cut during the editorial process, and did not feature in the final entry.

Bal'demnic was later referenced by Abel G. Peña in his final draft of Underworld Appendix: Swoops, Spice, and Wretched Rogues, but was cut out of the final release. Papadam's writings were later used for Bal'demnic's entry in 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. In 2009, Nathan O'Keefe referenced Bal'demnic in an epigraph used in his article Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Praji. Later that year, in The Essential Atlas (written by Daniel Wallace and Jason Fry), it was confirmed that the Battle of Bal'demnic occurred during the third year of the Clone Wars. The Essential Atlas also provided a placement for Bal'demnic on the galactic map.