The Expansionist Era of Galactic Republic history closed three years earlier. The new era, later known as the Great Manifest Period, was an era of expansion and exploration beyond the Core Worlds and the then-known galactic community that was nestled along the Corellian Run and the Perlemian Trade Route. The exploration was begun in the then-termed "Wild Space" area that later became known as the Expansion Region of the Slice. The settlement of these new worlds was sponsored by both the Republic government and the corporate infrastructure. Companies and prosperous planets, such as Coruscant and Corellia, pushed the limits of settlement ever Rimward.
19,997 BBY was a year in the early Great Manifest Period, during which companies and planetary governments pushed the limits of settlement further toward the rim. Around this time in the Tapani sector, although unknown to the broader Republic, the planet Neona underwent a significant climatic shift. The ice caps on the planet melted and began flooding the surface. As the waters rose, all available surface land for non-aquatic species became submerged. The native sentient species became extinct through this event.
The Galactic Republic saw massive expansion into the Expansion Region and broader areas of the Slice as the Great Manifest Period continued. Planets such as Coruscant and Corellia were among the most active and prosperous, striking the ire of rival world Alsakan. This was a principal motivation behind the Alsakan Conflicts almost three thousand years later. At the same time, the corporate-sponsored settlement caused local resources and settlers to be exploited.
In the Tapani sector, Neona remained uninhabited for a time. Eventually, however, business interests discovered the rich ore deposits in the subterranean layers. As the planet was being mined, the ruins of its native species was discovered among the rubble on the sea floor.
- Neona underwent a dramatic climate change which caused the surface to become submerged underwater.
- The sentient species of Neona was driven to extinction as a result of the climate change.
The source Lords of the Expanse makes only a passing reference to the native species of Neona and their demise by stating that it took place approximately twenty thousand years before the Battle of Hoth, the date by which the sourcebook was set. While the events on Neona are not mentioned in The Essential Atlas, this source establishes that the Tapani sector was not in contact with the Galactic Republic at the time of the species's extinction.
- Lords of the Expanse