Maerdocian sector

The Maerdocian sector was a sector in the Mid Rim, within the galactic region known as the Slice and west of Hutt Space. Its rimward side was traversed by the Gamor Run hyperlane, while the sector's coreward boundary marked the end of the Expansion Region.

The proximity of Hutt Space made the area a contested territory between the Galactic Republic, which had swollen to include the sector by c. 5,000 BBY, and the Hutts, who eventually annexed parts of it by the years preceding the Invasion of Naboo, only to lose it during the Imperial Period.

Following the rise of the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY, the Chroma Zed system became a source of slave labor. In 4 ABY, Nagai and Tof forces moved across the sector towards Zeltros in the Inner Rim. The same year, the New Republic advanced in a similar manner towards Kashyyyk from Bothawui. The Maerdocian then experienced a period of peace until the Yuuzhan Vong War, which saw the Deneba system fall to the extra-galactic invaders in the first year of the conflict. Eventually, the sector fell under the sway of Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire by 137 ABY.

Description
The Maerdocian sector was located in the Mid Rim portion of the Slice, a region that spanned most of the space between the Rimma Trade Route and the Corellian Run. Its coreward boundary was the Expansion Region itself, with the other neighbors being&mdash;clockwise&mdash;the Eclorar, Daalang, Aida, Noolian and Fei Hu sectors.

The Gamor Run, a hyperlane between the Corellian Run and Daalang, traversed the sector near its rimward side, with at least four systems being situated on it. Out of these, the Shador system was home to a notable shadowport.

History
The year 20,000 BBY marked the beginning of the Great Manifest Period. During this time and the subsequent Indecta Era, the settlement of the Trailing Sectors began, while a vast portion of the Slice between the Rimma Trade Route and the Corellian Run was explored, including the territory of the future Maerdocian sector.

Parts of the tract of space containing the sector were under Galactic Republic government by the onset of the Great Hyperspace War in c. 5,000 BBY, while the rest of the sector became part of the civilized galaxy by 4,000 BBY. The Republic managed to preserve its control over the area until the Draggulch Period, when large portions of the Rim were abandoned to slow Sith advance.

In 32 BBY, following an unsuccessful meeting on Eriadu and the assassination of four of its leaders, the Trade Federation began its military buildup in earnest, with war matériel from Colla and Charros being moved to Enarc through the sector. By this time, Hutt Space had expanded as far as to include Gyndine in the Expansion Region, annexing most of the sector.

By 22 BBY, the Hutt "bulge" in the eastern Mid Rim and Expansion Region became contested space. The newly formed Confederacy of Independent Systems sought to take the territory north of the Nanth'ri Route, while the Galactic Republic attempted to reassert its influence over the southern part, which included the sector.

After the Galactic Empire emerged, it committed several atrocities on worlds such as Mon Calamari and New Plympto. The Chroma Zed system in the northwestern Maerdocian sector also became a source of slave labor.

A number of extra-galactic factions launched attacks on the galaxy in 4 ABY, following the crippling of the Empire at Endor. The Nagai and their Tof pursuers&mdash;two species hailing from Companion Besh&mdash;broke into the Rim territories at the intersection of the Hydian Way and the Corellian Trade Spine. A secondary force of the two alien species advanced north, then turned east, racing across the Expansion Region and the Mid Rim and going through the Maerdocian sector before reaching Zeltros in the Inner Rim. The sector was spared of conflict for the next eleven years.

In 25 ABY, the Yuuzhan Vong, a warrior race from another galaxy, invaded known space at a location called Vector Prime, where their worldships were able to break the galactic barrier. During their advance, they attacked Mid Rim systems from the north, eventually capturing the Deneba system in the Maerdocian sector by c. 27 ABY. However, they surrendered a year later, when the galactic capital world of Coruscant was recaptured by Galactic Alliance forces and riddled of vongforming.

By 137 ABY, the sector fell under the authority of Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire.

Behind the scenes
The Maerdocian sector was mentioned several times in the appendix of The Essential Atlas. Eventually, Star Wars: The Essential Atlas Online Companion established its location with Modi's map of the sectors of the Mid Rim.