Early in the Garwian history, the Lioaoin Regime conquered one of their outer worlds.
During the Lioaoin Regime's turn to piracy, the Garwian Unity colony world of Stivic (specifically, a merchant-hub station orbiting the planet) was attacked by a group of four Lioaoi pirate vessels. Security Officer Frangelic sent a distress signal, to which the Chiss Senior Commander Mitth'raw'nuru (Thrawn) would answer. Thrawn, who was temporarily in command of the Chiss patrol cruiser Parala (normally commanded by Senior Captain Irizi'ar'alani (Ziara)), arrives at Stivic. The Chiss are obligated not to interfere, due to their strict preemptive strike protocols. However, Thrawn hopes that the mere presence of the Chiss ship would deter the pirates. When the Parala arrives, however, nothing changes. However, the Garwians receive an encoded message sent from the Parala's ranging lasers (secretly sent by Thrawn). Thrawn's military analysis of the Lioaoi helped the Garwians turn the tide of the battle. The Garwians begin a corkscrew maneuver and are able to defeat the pirates by exposing and attacking their ventral plates. Only one of the four Lioaoin pirate ships escapes Stivic into hyperspace.
After this attack, the Garwian Unity was inspired to launch a new campaign of conquest into the Lioaoin Regime, aiming to reconquer their lost outer world and potentially another Lioaoin world. The Garwians invited Thrawn and Ziara (now Commodore Ar'alani) to Solitair to meet with the Ruleri. They hoped to manipulate the Chiss into reveling more Lioaoi tactical information and weaknesses. At the same time, the Garwians would launch their attack on the Lioaoi. The Lioaoi experienced loses to the Garwians and sent two diplomatic ships to Solitair to negotiate surrender. Upon arriving at Solitair via the Chiss ship Destrama, Thrawn and Ar'alani were treated as honored guests and were shown one of the Garwian Creators' Markets. Later, the Lioaoin diplomats would arrive, but the Garwians would frame the arrival as an attack and would, "in defense", attack the diplomats. Emergency sirens were sounded and the Chiss were led to an underground situation room. There, the Garwians attempted to coerce Thrawn into giving them more information about Lioaoi weaknesses and tactics. Before Thrawn can reveal the information, Ar'alani, recognizing the situation, stopped him and revealed that the Garwians were jamming their communication with the Destrama. Angry, Thrawn asked Ar'alani if the Destrama would be permitted to fire upon the Garwians' defense platforms. Ar'alani, although tempted, refused, citing the Chiss' non-aggression protocols. Before departing, Ar'alani warned the Garwians not to cross the Chiss again, noting that Thrawn's ability to analyze an opponent's tactical weaknesses would also apply to them. By the time of the Nikardun conquests, this conquest had concluded.
At some point during the Nikardun conquests, Thrawn would return to Solitair to redeem a favor from now Second Defense Overload Frangelic. Thrawn and Frangelic would discuss the conquests of the Nikardun. Thrawn sees that the Lioaoin Regime, the Paccian Governance, the Tower Dimension, and the Paataatus Hiveborn have all been subjugated or allied with the Nikardun, and Frangelic reveals two more systems that have suspiciously changed their ways of communication with the Garwians (indicating a Nikardun takeover). Thrawn has come to Solitair to ask to covertly travel on a Garwian ship to one of four nations to determine if they have fallen to the Nikardun. Frangelic proposes that he join a diplomatic mission to the Vak Combine homeworld of Primea, and Thrawn accepts.
When the diplomatic mission arrives at Primea, Thrawn, under the false name of Artistic Master Svorno, would attend a diplomatic reception, where he would have a conversation with General Yiv the Benevolent, the Nikardun leader. Frangelic and the Garwians, potentially influenced by a decision from Thrawn, would decide to leave Primea a day earlier than expected. Their ship's navigator, a Pathfinder named Qilori of Uandualon, had expected Yiv to attack the Garwian ship to capture or kill Thrawn. However, Thrawn was nowhere to be found on the Garwian ship. In actuality, Thrawn guessed that Yiv would try to capture or kill him. He used a medium-sized shipping container, provided by Frangelic, to infiltrate a Vak spaceport, where he would commandeer a Vak patrol ship to escape with. Upon learning of this, Qilori became afraid of Yiv attacking the Garwian ship for no reason. Looking to inform Yiv that Thrawn was not aboard, Qilori suggested that Frangelic contact Yiv, noting that Thrawn had talked to him at the diplomatic reception. Frangelic, wanting to maintain an illusion of ignorance about Thrawn's plan, listens and contacts Yiv about Thrawn's whereabouts. Upon learning that Thrawn is nowhere to be found on Primea, the Garwians leave Primea.
The Ruleri was the ruling supreme body of the Garwian Unity, acting as a legislature as well.
The Garwian Unity had a military that defended it interests, which was composed of a group of officers. Second Defense Overlord was a position within the military.
The Garwian Unity controlled areas of space in the Unknown Regions from Solitair, the Unity capital-world, which had several colonies, including Stivic, a major commerce world for the Unity.