Bozhnee sector

"Some hotshot Imperial Moff or admiral is stirring the pot way over in Bozhnee sector, and Ackbar's been shuffling forces like crazy to try and box him in somewhere."

- The commander of the task force assigned to liberate the planet Kal'Shebbol, to Lieutenant Judder Page, three days before heading out to Bozhnee sector

The Bozhnee sector was an area of space located in the Outer Rim Territories. Bordering several other sectors&mdash;including the Tungra, Videnda, Brema, Hadar, Juvex and Senex sectors&mdash;the Bozhnee sector boasted at least six sentient species that called planets within its borders home. One area of the sector, known as the Ninth Quadrant, had been part of the neighboring Senex-Juvex region until it was stripped from the rule of the region's Ancient Houses by the Galactic Republic several centuries before the Galactic Civil War.

An unimportant region of space, the Bozhnee sector survived various galactic wars relatively unscathed. The planet Belsavis, however, was the site of an ancient prison built by the Infinite Empire which was commandeered by the Galactic Republic during the Great Galactic War to house Sith and Mandalorian prisoners. The planet was later host to a secret Jedi enclave that sheltered younglings hiding from the Galactic Empire in the wake of the galaxy-wide purge of Jedi known as Order 66 following the Clone Wars. The enclave was destroyed in 18 BBY by Imperial forces, although the majority of the refugees escaped the planet. Several systems in the region had ties to slavery, including the Garnib, Ossel, and Brodogon systems. In the case of both the Garnib and Ossel systems, this was a holdover from the time when the Ancient Houses of the Senex-Juvex region controlled the Ninth Quadrant&mdash;in which these planets were found&mdash;and exploited the native populations for slave labor.

In 8 ABY, the Bozhnee sector was a source of contention between the remnants of the Empire and the fledgling New Republic. Supreme Commander Admiral Gial Ackbar deployed elements of the New Republic military to the sector in an effort to foil the strategic moves of an Imperial Moff or admiral attempting to stir up trouble in the region. In 12 ABY, Belsavis was the site of an attempt by former Emperor's Hand Roganda Ismaren to reconstitute the Empire with her son, Irek, at the head. The plot was foiled by the intervention of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, New Republic Chief of State Leia Organa Solo, and her husband, Han Solo.

Description
The Bozhnee sector was located in the Outer Rim Territories of the galaxy, in the region known as the Trailing Sectors. It bordered the Tungra, Videnda, Brema, and Hadar sectors, as well as the Ninth Quadrant, a region that was under the control of the Senex-Juvex&mdash;an autonomous area of space controlled by a cadre of Ancient Houses&mdash;until the Quadrant was forcibly taken by the Galactic Republic and placed within the borders of the Bozhnee sector. With its new territory, the Bozhnee sector's boundaries extended to abut both the Senex and Juvex sectors. At least three trade routes passed through the Bozhnee sector&mdash;the Velga Route, which started in the Juvex sector in the Velga system; the Anturi Reach, which connected the Senex sector to the Nothoiin Corridor; and the Belsavis Run, which connected the planet Belsavis in the Bozhnee sector to the planet Tekurr'k in the Senex sector. Stellar phenomenon in the area included the Greeb-Streebling Cluster, which was a mass of dust and protostars, and the Noopiths.

The Bozhnee sector contained a myriad of planets and star systems, several of which were home to sentient species. The most prominent planet was the icy world of Belsavis, which sat at the end of the Belsavis Run, and exported vine-coffee and vine-silk. Settlements on Belsavis were located in volcanic valleys, although they were sealed in domes to protect them from the frigid climate. Tens of thousands of years prior to Galactic Civil War, the Infinite Empire ruled a large portion of galaxy. Belsavis was one of the planets under their control, and the Empire established a prison on its surface that housed the most dangerous prisoners in the galaxy, secured within vaults and stasis fields. Although the Infinite Empire eventually fell, the prison remained. Around fifty years prior to the outbreak of the Great Galactic War in 3681 BBY, the Galactic Republic discovered the prison with the inmates still contained. The Republic stationed forces on the planet in an effort to contain any threat the inmates posed once the containment systems inevitably failed, and established a new Republic prison known as "The Tomb" on the surface. During the Great Galactic War, The Tomb was used to incarcerate captured Sith Lords, Mandalorians and Sithspawn. Although the Republic attempted to keep the location of the prison secret, Imperial Intelligence discovered the information, prompting the Sith Empire to send ground forces to the planet in an attempt to free their imprisoned brethren resulting in pitched battles being fought in and around the prison. Thousands of years later, Belsavis was home to a humanoid species known as the Mluki, and&mdash;following the Jedi Purge in the aftermath of the Clone Wars&mdash;became a temporary refuge to Jedi younglings who survived the massacre of the Jedi Order.

Two planets, Garnib and Ossel II, were originally located in the Ninth Quadrant, and were used by the Lords of the Senex-Juvex to procure slave species to be used throughout their holdings. With the forced annexation of the Quadrant by the Republic, the native species&mdash;the Balinaka and the Ossans respectively&mdash;came under Republic authority, although slave-breeding farms had been established on other worlds within the Senex and Juvex sectors. Garnib was another icy planet, and its main export was the highly prized, and possibly addictive, Garnib crystals. Run by the Garnib Crystal Corporation, the world was a haven for artists from all over the galaxy. Garnib was also the adopted homeworld of the Vernol, who emigrated to the planet in large numbers after their own homeworld was rendered uninhabitable. With the rise of the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY, Garnib came under Imperial rule. The planets Hultomo, Mastala, and Coomputu were also located within the Garnib system. Mastala later lent its name to a DP20 frigate that served the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. Ossel II was a swampy, high-gravity world that exported syp wood. The native Ossans regularly traded the syp wood for indentured service aboard trader vessels, refusing to take any other form of credits or barter.

Jankok was a warm planet that was home to the Srrors'tok species. Technologically primitive, the Srrors'tok lived in tribal hunting clans and employed an honor system that was akin to the life debts made famous by the Wookiees of Kashyyyk. The Sibilaar system was once the location of the homeworld of the Sibilaari. The planet underwent a cataclysm that destroyed the planet at some time, although the Sibilaari managed to survive by building shelters in the most stable parts of their world. When the planet was destroyed, large chunks of the planet survived, many with shelters containing Sibilaari safely ensconced within. The sector was also the location of the Brodogon system, which had ties to the slaving organization known as the Brodogon Consortium.

Early history
Located in the Outer Rim Territories, the Bozhnee sector originally bordered the Ninth Quadrant, a region of space on the edge of the Senex and Juvex sectors. The region had been annexed by the ruling Ancient Houses of the region in 700 BBY to provide a buffer zone against the creeping political and industrial influence emanating from the planet Eriadu that threatened to end their self-imposed isolation from the Republic. It was named the Ninth Quadrant since the original territories claimed by the Houses of the Senex-Juvex had been eight in number, four in each of the Senex and Juvex sectors. In the century following the marriage of the warlord Osted Picutorion to Princess Farasa Anturi&mdash;deranged heir to one of the weaker Senex houses&mdash;in 553 BBY, the Senex-Juvex region underwent several internal changes as the Houses realized that their isolationist nature had led them to fall behind the wider galaxy technologically. The alliance between Picutorion and House Anturi led them to defeat the combined forces of Houses Vandron and Petro, free the Hutlarians from slavery, and occupy the planet Karfeddion. With the so-called "Crimson Days" of conflict at an end, the Senex-Juvex had to deal with several crises. House Mekuun, noted for its rebellious nature, dissolved itself with the intent of reconstituting its holdings as a Republic sector and&mdash;more damagingly&mdash;the Republic was able to forcibly strip the Ninth Quadrant from the Senex-Juvex region, integrating it into the Bozhnee sector. However, the Houses of the Senex-Juvex still considered the Ninth Quadrant and its worlds to be part of the Mid Rim, while official listings assigned the region to the Outer Rim Territories. Spacers continued to use the term "Ninth Quadrant" to refer to the area.

At some point, the homeworld of the Sibilaari underwent a catastrophe. Although the species was warned of danger through their inherent connection to the Force, they lacked the technology to leave their planet. Instead, they built shielded chambers in the most stable parts of the planet and retreated into these safe havens. When the planet was destroyed, large chunks of the crust were thrown into space, many carrying comatose Sibilaari secured within the shielded areas. These chunks drifted through the galaxy with their dormant charges; at least one was discovered in 32 BBY in the Cularin system of the Expansion Region.

Around 50 BBY, a wave of immigration brought a large number of Vernols to settle on the planet Garnib. Their own homeworld had been rendered uninhabitable by a meteor strike, and they regarded Garnib as a safe, secure place to live. The native Balinaka allowed them to stay, although the two groups had limited contact.

A time of conflict
During the Clone Wars, the Bozhnee sector was inside Republic-controlled space. In 22 BBY, shortly after the Battle of Mon Calamari, Republic forces organized a mass evacuation of the citizens of the planet Argul, located in the D'Aelgoth sector. The rendezvous point for the evacuation transports was located near Belsavis. However, by 20 BBY, Belsavis was considered an undecided world with no allegiance to either the Republic or the separatist Confederacy of Independent Systems.

In the final days of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY, Republic Supreme Chancellor Palpatine&mdash;who was, in actuality, a Sith Lord plotting the downfall of the Republic and Jedi Order&mdash;declared Order 66, which stated that all Jedi were traitors to the Republic and were to be terminated on sight. The Jedi had led the Grand Army of the Republic as its senior commanders, and the majority of Jedi were killed across the galaxy by the clone troopers that they commanded in battle, although some managed to flee into hiding. A group of refugees, mainly younglings, headed to Belsavis, where the Ho'Din Jedi Master Plett had lived for some seventy years. Despite the younglings being under Plett's protection, the Empire learned of the enclave in 18 BBY. Originally, Emperor Palpatine commissioned a battlemoon, the Eye of Palpatine, to destroy the refuge. However, the superweapon was stopped by a pair of Jedi Knights in the Moonflower Nebula. A wing of Imperial starfighters assaulted the enclave as a contingency, but the attack only caused minimal damage and the refugees were able to escape.

During the reign of the Empire, Garnib came under Imperial rule. Governor Verus Carbinol was responsible for running the planet, and the native Balinaka put up no resistance to their new Imperial masters. They saw little point in waging armed conflict against an enemy they could not defeat, so they continued to live their lives as they had always done and paid their taxes on time. For the most part, the Imperial presence on the planet was low key; it was considered a safe and easy posting. Despite the Balinaka's pacifism, an anti-Imperial movement did take root on the planet. During the Galactic Civil War, these fighters attempted to assassinate Gam Rothwall&mdash;an Imperial Advisor who had ordered the kidnapping and execution of several important Garnib Crystal Corporation officials&mdash;during a surprise inspection tour to the world. The Empire also exploited Garnib for slave labor, placing it in the company of worlds such as Alzoc III and Trosh.

Following the death of Emperor Palpatine at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, the Empire fragmented as senior officials rushed to fill the power vacuum and established warlord empires. For at least two years, the Bozhnee sector came under the control of Superior General Sander Delvardus's Eriadu Authority. In 8 ABY, the Bozhnee sector was a point of contention between the New Republic and the remnants of the Empire. During the Republic's campaign to bring several Imperial warlord empires to heel, a senior Imperial official&mdash;tentatively identified as holding the rank of either Moff or admiral&mdash;began to stir up trouble in the region. With limited assets available to him, Admiral Gial Ackbar, Supreme Commander of the New Republic Defense Force, was forced to shuffle his task forces to box the Imperial official in and counter the threat. The task force that had been assigned to the liberation of the planet Kal'Shebbol in the Kathol sector was ordered to rendezvous with a fleet commanded by Sarin Virgilio in the Minos Cluster before heading to the area.

In 12 ABY, New Republic Intelligence received information from an informant on Nar Shaddaa that a shipment of Tenloss DXR-6 disruptor rifles bound for Belsavis had been stolen while the vessel they were being transported on was refueling at the Smuggler's Moon. New Republic Intelligence had no leads on who had stolen the rifles, or why they were headed to Belsavis in the first place.

However, in the same year, the former Emperor's Hand Roganda Ismaren began plotting to revitalize the Empire with her son, Irek Ismaren&mdash;whom she claimed was the son of Palpatine&mdash;at its head. She had been in hiding on Belsavis for seven years, instructing her son in the ways of the dark side of the Force. With the aid of a subelectronic converter, the boy was able to control machines by visualizing their schematics. Roganda Ismaren sought the support of the Ancient Houses of the Senex-Juvex, and used her son to reactivate the Eye of Palpatine, which had lain dormant for over thirty years in the Moonflower Nebula. She hoped that the combination of the lords' wealth and the military might of the battlemoon and other weapons she had amassed over the years would rally others to their cause. However, New Republic Chief of State Leia Organa Solo and her husband, Han Solo, were on Belsavis investigating rumors of the hidden Jedi enclave that Jedi Master Plett had run decades previously. Organa Solo was subsequently captured and held hostage.

The Eye of Palpatine, reactivated by Irek Ismaren, made its way to Belsavis. Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and a pair of his trainees had been captured by the automated battlemoon as it attempted to fulfill its mission parameters, which included picking up contingents of stormtroopers based on several planets. However, since thirty years had passed, the stormtroopers were either dead or gone. Undaunted, the Eye of Palpatine picked up native species from the worlds it visited, intending to complete its mission to destroy the Jedi enclave. Through separate efforts, the Ismaren plot was foiled by the Solos with the assistance of Mara Jade, while the Eye of Palpatine was destroyed when one of the Jedi students, Nichos Marr, sacrificed his own life to stop the battlemoon. The Ismarens managed to escape the planet, relocating to the Atravis sector.

By 137 ABY, the Bozhnee sector came under the authority of Darth Krayt's Sith-ruled Galactic Empire, which had risen to power after the Sith had manipulated the two dominant powers of the time, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances and the Fel Empire, into war with one another. Following the resolution of the conflict, which saw the Fel Empire defeat the Galactic Alliance, Krayt usurped the throne of Emperor Roan Fel and declared himself ruler of the galaxy.

Balinaka


The Balinaka were a species of amphibious mammals who evolved on the planet Garnib in the system of the same name. Native to an arctic planet, the Balinaka were covered in thick fur, and their amphibious nature gave them a dual lung/gill breathing system to allow them to survive on land and in water. Individualistic and agreeable, Balinaka had close ties to their family and community, and their daily lives revolved around the heswe, a large open area that served as a meeting place, market, and religious center. Inquisitive and curious, they were also a playful species who enjoyed the creative arts. Despite being a sentient species, some Balinaka were used as slaves by House Vandron in the Senex sector. Slave-breeding farms on the planet Karfeddion produced Balinaka slaves for use throughout the Senex-Juvex region.

Mluki


The Mluki were a species native to the planet Belsavis. They had short lifespans, growing to adolescence by the age of seven, and individuals were considered to be old by the time they had reached thirty. Mluki were hunchbacked, with their heads at the same level as their shoulders and a visible hump rising over the top of their heads. They had heavy brows on their foreheads. Mluki built settlements on Belsavis out of stone, and both farmed small areas of crops for themselves, as well as embarking on hunting expeditions out on the icy surface of their homeworld.

Ossan


The Ossan were a humanoid species from the planet Ossel II in the Ossel system. They led a primitive lifestyle but had contact with the wider galaxy by trading their services aboard the ships of the independent traders who visited their homeworld for syp wood. This usually meant that the Ossan would end up an indentured servant or slave, but the individuals in question believed this to be an excellent trade. Ossan fancied themselves clever negotiators, though this was usually not true. Many Ossan were released from their contracts early due to ineptitude. Breeding farms of Ossan were maintained on the planet Karfeddion in the Senex sector, where House Vandron used them as slaves throughout the Senex-Juvex region.

Sibilaari
The Sibilaari were a sentient Force-sensitive species that evolved on a planet in the Sibilaar system. Measuring around three meters in length, individual Sibilaari had five limbs: three on the lower part of its body, and two upper appendages. Each limb terminated in a four-fingered hand that could be used for fine manipulation. Sibilaari were black in coloration, and had six eyes that were arranged in a line between the two upper limbs. They had no other orifices. Sibilaari had the ability to metabolize sound to generate energy, so the areas immediately around them were completely silent. This ability also allowed them to absorb light to a limited degree, and made them sensitive to the Force. As a result, they could survive in any environment that contained either sound, light, or the Force. Their connection to the Force warned the Sibilaari about an impending threat that could have destroyed their homeworld. Lacking the technological expertise to leave the planet, they instead built shielded structures in stable parts of their world. They took shelter in these and when their world was finally destroyed, these shielded areas were flung out into space, with the Sibilaari inside them in a comatose state.

Srrors'tok


Native to the planet Jankok, the Srrors'tok were a bipedal felinoid race covered in a short pelt of golden fur. The structure of their mouths made it difficult for them to speak Basic, and their own language, Hras'kkk'rarr, was a combination of sign language, snarls, grunts, and clicks. They preferred warm climates, and wore little clothing while in these regions, only wearing belts and pouches sufficient enough to carry tools and weapons. They were, however, susceptible to cold, and had to wear layers of clothing to survive in frigid climates. Technologically primitive, Srrors'tok lived in tribal communities, and employed an honor-bound societal structure similar to that of the Wookiees of Kashyyyk.

Vernol


The Vernol were a race of squat humanoids who stood 1.5 meters tall on average, and had blue skin with orange highlights that bordered their eyes and mouths. The Vernol called the planet Garnib home, although it was not their original homeworld&mdash;they emigrated to the planet approximately fifty years before the Galactic Civil War, when their own planet was rendered uninhabitable by a meteor strike. They saw Garnib as a safe place to live, and although they shared the world with the native Balinaka, the two groups rarely interacted due to the Vernol's territoriality and their tendency to be skittish and fearful. Despite this, they were adept foragers, able to find food, water, and other things that they needed wherever they went.

Behind the scenes
The Bozhnee sector was first mentioned in the 1995 short story The Saga Begins, penned by Timothy Zahn, which served as the lead-in to The DarkStryder Campaign, published by West End Games. The sector went unreferenced until the 2009 publication of The Essential Atlas, which placed the Bozhnee sector next to the Senex and Juvex sectors and located the planet Belsavis within its boundaries. Furthermore, the online companion to the book, available at StarWars.com, listed several other planets that were within the sector boundaries.