The Battle of Bespin occurred during the Mandalorian Wars, although it is not yet known during which year the skirmish took place. During the opening phases of the Mandalorian Wars, forces loyal to the Old Republic were highly dependent upon Tibanna gas resources mined in the atmosphere of the gas giant Bespin, located in the star system bearing the same name in the Anoat sector of the Greater Javin region of the Outer Rim Territories.
Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, the rulers of the Empress Teta system had established working gas-mining operations there in the wake of the planet's discovery by the Hyperspace Navigator's Guild. Such matériel flowed back to the Republic, who used the highly-volatile, spin-sealed gas in the production of blaster technology, both for small arms as well as for ship-mounted weapons. Seeking to disrupt their enemies' wartime production efforts, a Mandalorian fleet struck the Tetan mining operations within the Bespin system, destroying the entire mining infrastructure, and ensuring that such operations would be discontinued thereafter for the duration of the war.
Following this assault, very few mining corporations would subsequently possess the time or the financial resources to even attempt another Tibanna gas-mining venture at Bespin. This ultimately resulted in the planet remaining unclaimed and fallow until 1989 BBY, with the recolonization of the planet by the Republic, followed by the establishment of Cloud City by Ecclessis Figg, circa 400 BBY.
Sources[]
- Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide (First mentioned)
- The Essential Atlas