Blockade of the Hydian Way

After conducting an overwhelmingly successful campaign for dominance over the Outer Rim Territories early in the Great Galactic War, the Sith Empire failed in their attempt to take the Mid Rim world of Bothawui in 3671 BBY. The massacre of nearly 50,000 Imperial Army units at Bothawui and the defeat of the Sith in the Battle of Alderaan in 3667 BBY forced the Imperials to re-evaluate their warpath and re-examine the strategies that had served them well up until that point. The Sith Emperor himself was humbled by the tenacity of the Galactic Republic's defenders, as he had hoped that after the Empire's return to the galaxy, his victory in the Great War would be achieved in short order. Much to his chagrin, the war was well into its third decade with no immediate resolution in sight, even in light of consecutive Imperial victories prior to the Battles of Alderaan and Bothawui.

Until this point in the war, the Emperor had widely ignored the need for allies, and instead blazed a path of conquest across the galaxy with Sith and Imperial forces alone. This independence was the primary point of reform that Imperial tacticians focused on when they began to rework their strategies in 3667 BBY. In that year, representatives of the Imperial Diplomatic Service began to actively solicit crime lords, criminal syndicates, assassins, and bounty hunters for assistance in their war. Along with the Hutt Cartel, these groups had been debating whether to support the Republic or the Empire since the start of the war, and active courting by Imperial diplomats did little to alter their indecisive demeanor.

During this time, the Imperial Diplomatic Service also tried to convince individual mercenaries of the disbanded Mandalorian warrior tradition to serve the Sith. Although the Mandalorians of the era were disparate and divided, many of their peoples still maintained a long-standing resentment of the Galactic Republic and Jedi Order in light of their brutal treatment at the end of the Mandalorian Wars three centuries prior—a characteristic that made them ideal tools of the Sith. Several Mandalorians, including the bounty hunter Shae Vizla, signed on to serve alongside regular Imperial forces, but the vast majority of the warriors rejected the Sith offer, opting instead to remain independent nomads. Although Vizla and her compatriots served faithfully, the Imperials still sought to stack the deck in their favor by gaining the allegiance of all Mandalore's warriors.

The duty of bringing the resistant Mandalorians into the Sith fold eventually fell to the Empire's Ministry of Intelligence—a highly effective and well-trained espionage agency staffed entirely by non-Force-sensitive Imperials. Imperial Agents focused their efforts on one individual: a young Mandalorian who had taken a career as a gladiator in the arenas of the Outer Rim world of Geonosis. The operatives used their power and influence to rig the gladiator's bouts, either by buying off his opponents, drugging them, or even by entering themselves in the bouts. As the young man's reputation spread, they began to leak rumors around kennels and cantinas that the new champion was poised to become the next Mandalore—the legendary title of the warrior-king that led the Mandalorian people. Despite there not having been a Mandalore for many decades, the agent's whispers spread quickly, becoming chants in the arena crowds. In doing so, the Imperials ensured that the young man owed his rise to them, and that he would therefore be little more than a puppet for Sith interests.

In 3665 BBY, shortly before he would have been forced to retire from arena combat, the gladiator resigned on his own accord. It was then that he formally accepted the title of Mandalore and summoned his people to Geonosis to reconstitute the Mandalorian armies. Heeding their ancient traditions, Mandalorians from across the galaxy flocked to the Outer Rim and jumped at the opportunity to fight as one against their worthy long-time adversaries: the Jedi and the Republic. One year later, shortly before he would have been forced to retire from arena combat, the gladiator resigned on his own accord. It was then that the new Mandalorian army left Geonosis and initiated a series of engagements and skirmishes with the Jedi and Republic Military over the course of the following three years.

After three years of minor battles between Jedi and Mandalorians, the warrior nomads initiated their primary operation. At the behest of the Imperials to whom he was beholden, the Mandalore gathered his people to form a small armada of war cruisers and support ships in 3661 BBY. The warrior-king took his new fleet to the Hydian Way—a super-hyperroute that connected the far northern reaches of the galaxy in the Tingel Arm to the southern Outer Rim via the Core Worlds. The Republic relied heavily upon the hyperlane as a passage for goods and resources produced in the Outer Rim Territories to support its bastion worlds in the Core, particularly its capital of Coruscant; furthermore, the Republic Military utilized the lane to move war materiel from the Core to battlefronts of the Great War in the deep Outer Rim. With his new fleet of war cruisers and shock troops, Mandalore initiated a blockade of the Hydian Way in the southern section of the route between the planet Devaron in the Colonies and the long-embattled worlds of the Minos Cluster in the southern Outer Rim.

The blockade came as a shock to Republic officials, who had been uncertain of the exact size and strength of the Mandalorian forces. Although the Republic Navy would normally have been able to quickly deal with the relatively small blockade, the fleet was still reeling after a devastating engagement with the Imperial Navy above the planet Hoth four years prior. With its commercial and military lifeline in a Mandalorian stranglehold, the Galactic Republic began to falter after years of success in the war. Assets in the Outer Rim which had successfully stood up against Imperial subjugation for years began to fold under the dual pressures of Sith attacks and supply deficits. Republic fighters in the Minos Cluster lost considerable ground, and the Empire's Rim Campaign was able to make considerable headway on the planet Ord Radama, as significant reinforcements were prevented from reaching the local forces battling Sith invaders. Additionally, critical supplies produced in the Outer Rim and Colonies were prevented from reaching the Core, drying up shipping ports and creating a severe food shortage crisis on worlds such as Coruscant.

The few supplies that were available within the Core disappeared rapidly, worsening the considerable economic depression that the Republic had been suffering through since the start of the war. As starvation began to sweep the planet's lower levels, the Galactic Senate appealed to the High Council of the Jedi Order to take action against the Mandalorians. The Jedi were hesitant to agree, as they were wary of pulling their Knights away from conflicts with the Sith. Furthermore, their history of conflict with the Mandalorians led them to believe that the warrior nomads were only blockading the Hydian Way in order to goad the Jedi into a fight; the Councilors had moral reservations about rewarding the Mandalorians with a battle they were so eager to wage, but felt they had a duty to try to alleviate the crippling famine that was striking Coruscant's poor. Deciding that they could ignore neither the economic crisis, the suffering of civilians, nor the boon that the blockade was giving the Imperial war effort, the Jedi agreed to launch an attack.

Under the leadership of Jedi Masters, including the Kel Dor Jedi historian Gnost-Dural, a group of Jedi pilots moved against the blockade in Aurek-class tactical strikefighters. The battle was short but fierce, and ultimately proved to be an embarrassing defeat for the Jedi Order. While the few survivors limped back to regroup at Devaron, the blockade continued unimpeded. When news of the Jedi defeat reached Coruscant, starving residents of the lower city began to stage mass riots in demand of food and economic support. The situation continued for weeks on end, with famine growing more severe and the rioters becoming increasingly violent and desperate. Seeing their Republic starved and torn apart from within, many senators—even the most ardent war hawks—began to suggest that surrendering to the Sith may be the only viable recourse. At some time during the blockade, a Mandalorian ship known as the Beskad vanished and was thought to have been lost in a black hole; however, it was discovered decades later that the ship had actually crashed elsewhere.

Into this climate stepped Hylo Visz, a Mirialan smuggler captain and rising underworld star who was looking to profit from the galactic crisis. Recognizing that the Republic would pay any price for much-needed goods, Visz gathered together a band of criminals and miscreants—including the adventurous young Human Zale Barrows, Visz's Devaronian partner Tyresius Lokai, and his friend Quan—on the moon Nar Shaddaa, where they agreed to form a small fleet and launch an operation to run and ultimately break the Mandalorian blockade of the Hydian Way. Hylo's band of smugglers recruited pirates and mercenaries to aid them and, with financial backing from the criminal Hutt Cartel, began to assemble a fleet of massive freighters loaded with cargo from across the Outer Rim Territories. This convoy, destined for Coruscant to relieve the starving residents, was piloted directly toward the Mandalorian blockade. The unarmed freighters halted within a single parsec of the picketed cruisers—a position and action that puzzled the Mandalorians. The warrior's cruisers hailed the vessels to demand that they turn back, but after receiving no response they moved to intercept the freighters.

It was at this moment that Visz and her allies sprang their trap; as the Mandalorians were distracted by the curious freighters, hundreds of small vessels and transports dropped out of hyperspace and launched a surprise assault on the blockade. Visz's band was initially highly successful in their attack, as their small starships easily outmaneuvered the large Mandalorian cruisers. However, despite the element of surprise and the advantage of speed, the smugglers were still outgunned by the Mandalorians. This changed when the Republic's Strategic Information Service learned of the battle and dispatched elements of both the Republic Navy and the Jedi Order's starfighter fleet to ensure the attack's success. Among the ships dispatched was a Valor-class cruiser named the Fortitude, a ship that gained popular fame for its role in the fighting. The combined forces of the smugglers, the Republic, and the Jedi eventually overcame those of the Mandalorians, forcing the surviving warrior nomads to flee the battle. With the cruiser fleet routed, the Hydian Way was released from the grip of the blockade.

Shortly after the battle, Hylo Visz and her band of miscreants landed on Coruscant with the freighters and were greeted as heroes. The group sold their goods to the Republic at highly inflated prices, but few in the government cared; the blockade had been broken thanks to Visz, so their payment would double as a reward. The Mirialan earned incredible wealth in the days that followed and a was even honored by the Galactic Senate with a medal ceremony. She chose not to attend the event, however, and fled Coruscant with her riches before anyone learned of her destination. With the blockade broken, the Republic was able to resume the war effort against the Sith Empire, albeit in a diminished capacity. Naval forces finally succeeded in traversing the Hydian Way and reaching Ord Radama, where they reinforced the local defenders in their desperate stand against the Sith. The battle there quickly turned into a route, and the Republic was able to follow the fleeing Sith back to the cradles of their civilization: Korriban, Ziost, and Ashas Ree.

As had happened after Bothawui and Alderaan, the Republic rallied in response to the surprising upset of a victory on the Hydian Way. One veteran of the attack, smuggler captain Zale Barrows, decided that instead of fleeing Coruscant as Visz had, he would take up employment as a freelance naval commander for the Republic. Acting as admiral of the privateer Free Spacers Fleet, Barrows helped to defeat the Sith Empire's Third Fleet at the Battle of Dantooine and later removed the Seventh Fleet from Imperial service as well. However, unlike previous feats of spirit and dedication, the success of the attack on the Hydian was measured against both the damage that the blockade caused, as well as the Republic's other staggering defeats in the war. It was widely conceded that the breaking of the blockade served only to prolong the Republic's survival—not to move it any closer to victory.

In the immediate aftermath of the blockade's end, the defeated Mandalorians scattered once more, with some pursuing solo careers while others remained alongside their new Mandalore. Despite their failure on the Hydian Way, the Mandalorians and Sith maintained their alliance for decades after the war. The Sith, however, had reached a breaking point with regards to their willingness to continue waging the Great Galactic War. In response to the blockade's failure, the Emperor and his Dark Council sought to bring a quick end to the conflict, ultimately leading to more desperate and risky Imperial tactics, such as a peace ruse on the planet Alderaan and the violent and devastating Sacking of Coruscant.

The Blockade of the Hydian Way was created as part of the Great Galactic War, which makes up the background story for LucasArts' and BioWare's 2011 massively multiplayer online video game, Star Wars: The Old Republic. The Blockade of the Hydian Way was first mentioned in the second installment of the Galactic Timeline, an in-universe account of the history of the galaxy prior to the Treaty of Coruscant. This intallment, titled The Mandalorian Blockade is Broken introduces the character of Hylo Visz and is the first source to bring the Mandalorian warriors into The Old Republic media. The timelines are narrated by actor Lance Henriksen as Jedi Master Gnost-Dural, and are available on the Holonet feature on the Star Wars: The Old Republic official website.

It was originally established that the Hydian Way was charted around 3000 BBY; however, this was later changed to have taken place around 3700 BBY so that the route could be used in The Old Republic.

• The Essential Atlas
• The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural
• Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side
• Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia