Pijal

Pijal was a terrestrial planet located in the Pijal system of the Inner Rim Territories and the Interior that was situated in grid square L-8 of the Standard Galactic Grid. Millennia before the Republic Era, several hyperspace routes connected to the Pijal system. After the formation of the Byrnum Maw nebula, these routes became unusable, cutting off most hyperspace travel to the world. In 40 BBY, hyperspace anchors stabilized a section of the Byrnum Maw and established the hyperspace route known as the Pijal Hyperspace Corridor, reconnecting Pijal and nearby worlds with the wider galaxy. Pijal had one sun and one richly forested moon nearly as large as itself. Roughly every decade, extreme solar flares from Pijal's sun impacted the world's surface.

Pijal's moon illuminated the world's night sky in silver light. The planet featured a Type I atmosphere breathable to several species. Pijal's temperate climate fostered the growth of lush green hills during the planet's summer season. The planet's surface consisted of small green-and-gold island continents that were situated along its equator and tropics and were surrounded by broad, blue oceans. Pijal's coastlines predominantly featured jutting cliffs of white stone and stretches of sandy beaches. The world's topography included numerous mountain ranges, caves, and meadows. Though part of Pijal's terrain consisted of rugged hills, other areas typically remained muddy. The planet had several deposits of mineable minerals that planetary scans could detect.

The flora on Pijal included tall, slender conifer trees commonly found in the world's dense forests, high grasses coating the world's grasslands, abundant underbrush that flourished in the planet's loamy woodlands, and thriving vineyards. The planet's fauna included Pijal varactyls, a crimson-feathered variant of varactyl that was suitable for racing. The world's wildlife also included seabirds that flew along Pijal's coastlines in the mornings.

Several millennia before the reign of the Galactic Republic, Pijal's first settlers traveled to the world using spherical soulcraft starships. In their founding years, the pilgrims adopted a form of Force worship that promoted frequent trips into Pijal's orbit in soulcraft to experience outer space's darkness and lack of gravity. As space travel often proved dangerous, the settlers constructed sacred Celestial Watchtower forts to watch over the soulcraft and established the religious Skykeeper position to manage the ships' docks and perform other ceremonies. Over the following centuries, Pijali citizens instituted the absolutist Pijali monarchy under a royal charter. Subsequently, settlers constructed the Pijali palace complex and its ceremonial Celestial Chalice temple near the world's capital city for the use of the reigning monarch and their court. Several hyperspace routes linking Pijal and nearby worlds were established, leading to the rise of the planet's economy. The planet's capital city expanded its infrastructure around this time, building many theaters and temples.

The Czerka Corporation commenced commercial mining operations on Pijal and its moon, further increasing the world's prosperity. Due to the corporation's influence on the planet, the Pijali monarchy permanently established a place at court for the currently serving Czerka sector supervisor and allowed the company to sponsor several coronation events for each monarch-to-be. At the height of its prominence, Pijal became one of the first worlds to adopt planetary shield technology in the form of twelve clay-colored shield generators stationed in the planet's orbit that were intended to protect its surface from solar flares affecting Pijal roughly every decade.

Centuries after the world's initial settlers arrived, the explosion of a star formed the Byrnum Maw nebula and disrupted the hyperspace routes connecting Pijal's region of space to the wider galaxy. Though Republic scientists attempted to find a stable path through the nebula, they proved unsuccessful. Over time, the planet became relatively isolated, resulting in the world's trading economy dwindling due to the lack of hyperspace traffic. In the following decades, Pijal remained minimally involved with the affairs of the Galactic Republic while continuing to do business with Czerka. Meanwhile, Czerka constructed numerous offices and factories across the world, bringing in enslaved laborers to operate them.

Pijal's Iltan clan imported varactyls from the Outer Rim Territories planet Utapau to gain an advantage in a Grand Hunt, a hunting event that served as a ritual rite of passage symbolizing a ruler's ability to provide for their people. Over several decades, Grand Hunt riders bred the varactyls into Pijal varactyls, a variant considered particularly well-suited for participation in sport racing events. During their isolation from the wider galaxy, Pijali citizens continued fervently practicing their devotion to tradition. Several monarchs ruling the world engaged in coronation events before their ascent to the throne, including hosting a Grand Hunt, holding a choral event outside the royal palace, and other parties and festivals. The Czerka Corporation continued commercial operations on Pijal, slowly accumulating more power over the world's leaders. By this point, Pijal's Celestial Watchtowers had fallen into relative dilapidation. The monarchy opted not to repair them, reasoning that soulcraft journeys had become safer.

At some point, a Pijali monarch ascended the throne and lived in the royal palace. Around 54 BBY, the ruler's relative Princess Fanry was born and became next in line for Pijal's throne. During their reign, the monarch continued welcoming Czerka representatives into their court, allowing them to gain significantly more influence over Pijali affairs. In 48 BBY, the ruler died, sparking arguments between the planet's courtiers over who should rule as regent for Fanry until she was old enough to ascend the throne as queen. The courtiers eventually sent a request to the Republic for a neutral arbiter, a motion that they forwarded to the Jedi High Council.

Upon receiving the petition, the Jedi Council chose to send Jedi Knight Rael Averross of the Jedi Order to the world to serve as lord regent on the Republic's behalf. While ruling Pijal, Averross initially struggled to understand Pijali culture but later came to form a deep fondness for the world, taking up the hobby of varactyl riding. As he mentored Fanry to be Pijal's future ruler, the Jedi also helped mediate disagreements between Czerka representatives and courtiers who disliked the company, such as Minister Orth. In 42 BBY, Averross attended a meeting of Senate diplomats in the Galactic Senate Building on the Core Worlds planet Coruscant as Pijal's representative.

As years passed, Averross's micromanaging of Fanry's daily life led her to resent him and his decisions. The Jedi began aggressively promoting the Czerka's agenda on Pijal by allowing them to privatize industries formerly managed by the monarchy. With the regent's support, the company started freely operating the world's penal system, resulting in the enslavement of Pijal's citizens as punishment for most crimes. Additionally, to further their commercial endeavors, Czerka rerouted the energy sent to Pijal's planetary shields to power their factories. Though Fanry detested the cruelty inflicted on her people, she intentionally began to act naive to her courtiers while inwardly promising to help her planet once crowned queen. The princess researched Pijal's past monarchs, finding they had all been powerless puppet rulers under Czerka's heavy influence.

During Averross's regency, scientists working with the Republic discovered that it was possible to stabilize a section of the Byrnum Maw by establishing a hyperspace anchor on Pijal and its moon. Republic Chancellor Kirames Kaj was made aware of this information and became supportive of re-establishing trade routes with Pijal's region of space. By this time, the Pijali native serving as Pijal's Skykeeper began taking bribes from Czerka for commercial favors—much to Fanry's dismay.

With Fanry's coronation approaching, Averross began collaborating with the local Czerka sector supervisor, Meritt Col, to draft a Governance Treaty initiative that would strip power from the Pijal system's governing monarchy and instead grant authority to a democratic Assembly of Pijali citizens. Col and her associates took the opportunity to deliberately insert ritual language into their draft, rendering the Assembly unable to cancel existing contracts and having the end effect of irrevocably enshrining Czerka's power in the system. Once reassured that the Assembly could use its authority to secure the opening of the Pijal Hyperspace Corridor, the regent allowed Czerka to continue drafting the treaty in any fashion they desired.

Around this time, the monarchy conducted a census of the system's citizens to determine the representation proportions for the planet's new Assembly. After the census's conclusion, Czerka officials falsified a copy of the results by making the population of Pijal's moon to appear lower than it actually was in order to limit lunar citizens' ability to voice their concerns about the company's practices. On Pijal's behalf, Averross sent the final draft of the Governance Treaty to the Republic, garnering the approval of Kaj to pursue the initiative. Fanry disagreed with the treaty, knowing that her regent's aspiration to install her as a relatively powerless constitutional monarch would allow Czerka to abuse its influence unchecked in her system. However, she kept outwardly silent as Averross made plans for her to sign the initiative after her coronation.

When a draft of the Governance Treaty was made available to Pijal's citizens, many Pijali felt disillusioned by the ritually binding language in the initiative and the lack of representation for lunar natives. A group of theatrical performance artists, the Opposition, began protesting the treaty by staging informative shows in public temples and playing pranks. Led by the interpretive dancer Halin Azucca, the artists often attempted to peacefully convey their displeasure with Czerka's influence on Pijal and highlight other social issues. In one instance, the Opposition planted balloons near the royal palace, which would decry the company's tyranny on their labels when set off. As members of Azucca's group continued their activities, Averross became infuriated at what he perceived as threatening Pijal's peaceful and prosperous future and refused to listen to any of the artists' concerns.

As Averross's fixation with the treaty's success intensified, Fanry began forming revolutionary plans to overthrow Czerka and spite her regent's aspirations. The princess enlisted the assistance of her royal guard captain, Deren, to organize a portion of her world's armed forces into a secret division of soldiers known as blackguards. Under Deren's directive, the blackguards renovated one of Pijal's Celestial Watchtowers into a fortified base of operations that featured extensive surface-to-air weapons, laser cannons, droidekas, stealth shield generators, and numerous spacecraft from the world's royal fleet. To gather these armaments, the paramilitary division funneled royal wealth through InterGalactic Banking Clan accounts based on the Outer Rim planet Scipio to render funds untraceable, then used that money to purchase vessels and weapons from the Core Worlds planet Corellia.

While Fanry spent increasing amounts of her time planning subterfuge, she conscripted the assistance of her enslaved attendant Cady to monitor Averross's activities and ensure he remained unaware of the princess's revolutionary plans. At court, Fanry maintained a naive facade and presided over several meetings concerning the upcoming Governance Treaty, including one that discussed the construction of a traditionally styled Hall of Assembly building to house Pijal's future representative government. However, these meetings only hardened Averross's resolve to coerce the princess into resigning her power.

Anguished by the ongoing suffering of her people at Czerka's hands, Fanry decided to seize power violently at her coronation and become a warrior queen. She considered that Averross would try to resist her ascension and planned an evacuation route out of the palace's Celestial Chalice. The princess authorized the installation of additional shields and a retractable roof into the amphitheater, which she could use to escape via a royal troop dropship in an emergency. Now viewing the regent as her enemy, she instructed the temple's shields to be powered by kohlen crystals, which repelled Jedi lightsabers. Meanwhile, Deren contacted Thurible—a majordomo serving the Hutts on the Wild Space planet Teth—to discuss the sale of kohlen crystal–powered shields in a mutually beneficial arrangement. After this, under Fanry's directive, the blackguards began raiding caves on Pijal's moon to find more of the crystals for shield production.

Fanry ordered Deren's blackguards to carry out several attacks across Pijal and its moon as her frustrations grew. At first, the soldiers bombed only a few symbolic locations but eventually began striking Czerka properties and Pijali government buildings throughout the system. With Averross's attention focused on discovering the origin of the incidents, Fanry helped frame the Opposition for the dissidence caused by her blackguards. Azucca hurriedly moved the Opposition's operations into hiding on Pijal's moon, and the troupe's subsequent lack of official appearances helped further propagate the illusion of their guilt. At Averross's direction, Fanry kept royal audiences open for the Opposition to speak about their concerns, though Azucca and her group chose to stay silent for fear of repercussion.

With mere days left before her coronation, Fanry ordered her blackguards to sharply increase the ferocity of their attacks, hoping Averross would cancel the treaty signing out of fear. Under Deren's directive, the soldiers used nanotechnology to disintegrate the roof of Pijal's newly constructed Hall of Assembly and continued raiding numerous mining and agricultural facilities while they lay unoccupied during the night. In other instance, blackguards seeded a crimson red chemical in the atmosphere on Pijal's moon and vandalized a temple with a painted message. Averross and Pijal's courtiers were horrified and confused about how to proceed after each incident, ultimately choosing to set up a viewscreen in the palace's Grand Hall to view recordings of each attack after it happened. Fanry was secretly pleased with the chaos her forces were causing, indicating to Deren that his blackguards should continue wreaking havoc.

Not long after, the blackguards detonated an explosive droid inside a Czerka warehouse facility on the planet. When the secret division carried out a strike on a prominent Czerka factory producing nutritional supplements on the world's moon, Averross's fear for Fanry's future prompted him to contact the Jedi Council for assistance in tracking down the Opposition, whom he believed to be responsible for the unrest on Pijal. Though Czerka officials were wary of Averross's plea for outside help, he remained confident in his request for one of his colleagues, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, to make sense of the dilemma.

Upon receiving Averross's request, the Jedi Council agreed to send Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Pijal to investigate the Opposition and ratify the Governance Treaty on the Republic's behalf. Kaj briefed Jinn and Kenobi on their mission objectives in her office and told them of the Opposition's supposed activities on Pijal. The next day, the Jedi pair traveled to Pijal on a Consular-class cruiser and encountered a struggling soulcraft in Pijal's outer atmosphere that blackguards had attacked with a plasma bomb. The duo rushed to rescue the craft, using handheld field lasers to douse the plasma fire on the ship's hull. The Meryx, a nearby Gozanti-class cruiser owned by jewel thieves Pax Maripher and Rahara Wick, assisted their efforts by firing an antiplasma charge to negate the damage done by the blackguards' plasma bomb.

After disembarking the soulcraft, Jinn and Kenobi were introduced to Averross aboard the Leverage, a Branch-class Czerka cruiser, and formally greeted by Fanry and her court once on Pijal's surface. The following day, the Jedi pair began making fact-finding trips to Pijal's moon to locate the Opposition following their briefing at the royal palace. Jinn and Kenobi scanned the moon's surface for life signs that would indicate the Opposition's presence with the assistance of Maripher and Wick's ship, a vessel equipped with a scanner-blocking field to mask their intentions. As they continued their investigation, Jinn began having violent Force visions concerning the upcoming coronation and attempted to discuss what he had seen with Averross. However, the regent was annoyed with his colleague's premonitions and dismissed them as dreams.

Increasingly desperate to delay the treaty's signing, Fanry devised a fake assassination attempt on herself to frame the Opposition for violence against the monarchy. The princess instructed Cady to acquire nanotechnology weaponry in the form of a slicer dart and plant it on a windowsill in the royal chamber. In using the weapon, Fanry hoped to terrify Averross, whose former Padawan had died in an incident involving a slicer dart. The attendant then intentionally tripped the room's alarm while Fanry screamed. Jinn, Kenobi, and Averross rushed to her aid and subsequently launched an investigation into how the "attack" took place. Although the Jedi worried for her safety, Fanry continued participating in coronation celebrations. During one of the palace events, one of the Opposition's pre-planted balloons emerged from the nearby ocean, startling the princess's security guards with its anti-Czerka labeling.

The night before the Grand Hunt, Cady, under Fanry's orders, sabotaged the event's prey, a modified crab droid, by giving it orders to kill the princess. Unaware of the danger, Averross, Jinn, and Kenobi prepared to participate in the Grand Hunt and mounted varactyls. However, during the event, the sabotaged droid attacked Fanry. Though Averross was relieved that the princess escaped the incident unscathed, he began to believe that the Opposition was becoming increasingly violent. In the aftermath, Jinn and Kenobi searched for answers regarding who had reprogrammed the droid but proved unable to discover the saboteur's identity. Deren reluctantly provided the Jedi with recordings documenting the world's recent incidents for their inquiry, keeping some hidden to protect the blackguards' true intentions.

As Averross's paranoia and urgency about Fanry's safety increased, Jinn and Kenobi continued searching for Opposition members on Pijal's moon. During one of their trips, a group of blackguards attacked the pair. Several Opposition members, including Azucca, Reckly, and Bajjo, rescued Jinn and Kenobi and brought them to their hideout. Azucca claimed that her group of performers only engaged in harmless pranks, informing Jinn of the Governance Treaty's ritually binding wording and its detrimental effects on lunar citizens. The Jedi were intrigued by the claims and took note of the leader's insistence that the blackguards, not the Opposition, had been attacking establishments on Pijal.

However, when the pair reported Azucca's information to Averross during a capital dome rally, he refused to believe them and contemptuously defended the Governance Treaty. Jinn hoped to avoid signing the treaty but failed to convince the Council to change his mission mandate. Much to Averross's displeasure, the Jedi Master announced that he refused to serve as the Republic's representative to ratify the document, unwilling to aid the passage of an initiative that would enshrine Czerka's abuse of enslaved workers on Pijal. Kenobi disagreed with the decision, opting to contact the Council behind his Master's back out of loyalty to the Jedi Code's ideals. When the Council agreed to name Kenobi as the treaty ratifier, preparations for the coronation continued as planned. Although Fanry outwardly portrayed childish amusement at court, she was privately furious that the treaty ceremony remained scheduled despite her best efforts to derail it.

While on Pijal's moon, the Jedi collaborated with Wick and Maripher to investigate a Czerka facility but arrived at the location during a blackguard raid. During the skirmish, Wick was captured by the company's forces and forced into service after an RQ security droid identified her as one of the organization's formerly enslaved workers. Having been alerted that the Jedi were in danger, Fanry sent Deren and several Pijali royal guards to assist them. When Averross discovered that Fanry had helped Jinn and Kenobi on the moon, he was furious and confronted her during her visit to the palace treasury. However, she insisted that the monarchy's duty was to protect the Jedi while they remained on Pijal. Privately, Fanry respected Jinn's decision not to ratify the treaty and reflected that she had saved him from her blackguards' attack because he was willing to stand up to Czerka. Afterward, Deren escorted the Jedi back to Pijal aboard a palace ship.

Following his return, Jinn met with Col in Czerka's Pijal headquarters and attempted to bargain for Wick's release. However, Col refused to release the worker from the company's service. The Jedi Master was unwilling to accept this outcome, considering Czerka's use of forced labor cruel and immoral. To assuage his conscience, Jinn planned to rescue the jewel thief with Maripher's aid. On the day before Fanry's crowning, Coronation Eve, the palace's staff hurriedly prepared for the next day's events. Meanwhile, Jinn finalized his rescue plans for Wick and ensured his designated cruiser was takeoff-ready in the palace dock.

Around the same time, Azucca and an Opposition holovid artist tracked a blackguard signal to Pijal's surface. They discovered the blackguards' Celestial Watchtower base and hastily recorded data about the installation onto a datapad. Knowing the Opposition was unequipped to investigate before the next day's coronation, Azucca surrendered herself to palace authorities to deliver her intel to Jinn. Her arrival alarmed Averross and Deren, both wary of the performance artist's intentions. Shortly afterward, Deren's guards took the Opposition leader into custody and brought her to the regent's private office.

In the office, Averross berated Azucca for the crimes he believed she had committed. However, the artist remained calm and passed her datapad to Jinn, which she had access protected with the Jedi's thumbprint. Kenobi and his Master reviewed the data, eventually convincing Averross to investigate the base. Before their departure, Deren warned the blackguards of their impending trip and instructed the soldiers to wipe all transmission logs and evacuate. Afterward, Deren and the three Jedi traveled to the renovated Celestial Watchtower. Upon arrival, Jinn, Kenobi, and Averross were shocked to discover the formidable armament at the base.

After veering around the base's stealth shield generators, the group landed at the fort to investigate. Deren ordered his guards to destroy anything suspicious, despite Jinn's disagreement. Upon investigation, the Jedi soon discovered that the soldiers had wiped most comm logs—only leaving records behind in a deactivated astromech droid that led to Teth, Corellia, and Scipio. Kenobi and Jinn used the blackguards' astromech to contact Thurible. The majordomo informed them that he had been planning to procure lightsaber-deflecting shields from Pijal but assured the pair he had only intended to purchase from someone who had claimed they were a Pijali government official. Alarmed, Jinn considered the possibility that Deren had presented himself to Thurible as a Pijali representative in the past and had warned the blackguards to evacuate before their arrival that day. After ending the call, the Jedi returned to the palace.

Shortly before her coronation, Fanry attempted to sabotage Kenobi's lightsaber by replacing its kyber crystal with a kohlen crystal, hoping to render it unusable. The following day, she prepared for her crowning and entered the Celestial Chalice, swearing her loyalty to Pijal. After completing the necessary vows to affirm her position as queen, Fanry used a ceremonial sword to stab her Skykeeper while Deren activated a kohlen crystal shield around the central dais.

Having completed her seizure of power as an absolute monarch, she publicly decried democracy and justified her violent actions as defending Pijal's citizens from Czerka's tyranny. Fanry berated her Skykeeper for accepting bribes from Czerka and ordered Deren to kill Col. Horrified, Averross left the vicinity to locate any guards still loyal to him, hoping to close the airspace above the Celestial Chalice. Deren pointed his weapon at Col, shooting the woman once before adjusting his aim toward Kenobi. The Czerka supervisor was only lightly singed by the blast and quietly fled the scene, escaping to the Leverage.

Jinn attempted to breach the dais's perimeter with his lightsaber, but its blade bounced uselessly off the temple's shields. Though Fanry was willing to spare Jinn because of his opposition to Czerka and the treaty, she ordered Kenobi's execution. Before the captain could carry out his orders, Kenobi used the orange blade projected from his sabotaged kohlen crystal lightsaber to breach Deren's shield, cutting the man open. The sight of the injured guard prompted Fanry and Cady to escape through the Chalice's roof by using an ascending cable attached to a harness to climb into a royal troop dropship, leaving Deren, the injured Skykeeper, and the court jeweler behind. Shortly afterward, Deren received medical care for his wounds.

Fanry and Cady boarded the Righteous, the recently renamed flagship of Pijal's royal fleet. Once settled, the queen allowed her assistant to have a 2-1B medical droid remove her slave-tracking chip, freeing the attendant from Czerka. The newly crowned queen became furious upon learning that Col had escaped the ceremony but consoled herself that she was now what she had always aspired to be: a warrior queen.

Meanwhile, Averross, Jinn, and Kenobi boarded a Corellian corvette and moved toward the Righteous. While aboard, the Padawan discovered that his lightsaber had been sabotaged via a crystal swap. Their corvette briefly rendezvoused with the Meryx, with Kenobi disembarking to join Maripher on a rescue mission for the enslaved Wick, whom Czerka had put to work aboard the Leverage. Jinn then contacted Col, warning her that the Righteous was preparing to attack her vessel, exaggerating the magnitude of the threat as much as possible. When Col rushed to set the Leverages sensors toward the Righteous, Jinn watched with glee as the Meryx slipped by their scanners undetected.

The Jedi Master instructed their corvette's captain to lock a tractor beam on the Righteous. Unable to break free, Fanry accepted a hologram call from Jinn and Averross from the bridge of her flagship, brushing off attempts to negotiate a peaceful solution to the ordeal. Upon hearing Averross's voice, the queen berated him for his collaboration with Czerka and for treating her as a replacement for his former Padawan to assuage his personal feelings of grief. Despite Jinn's best efforts, Fanry profusely refused to consider negotiating for peace, preferring war.

Meanwhile, Maripher and Kenobi flew into the Leverage aboard the Meryx, slipping into an auxiliary cargo bay. After landing, Maripher donned a stolen Czerka maintenance worker jacket and used a schematic device to navigate the vessel. Shortly afterward, he found Wick working with a group of enslaved workers on a compressor lock line. When Wick refused to leave her co-workers behind, Maripher agreed to assist in leading a revolt for them to escape together.

As the jewel thieves began to wreak havoc aboard the vessel, Col sent the Leverage into lockdown. Still in the cargo bay with the Meryx, Kenobi tapped into Czerka's intraship communications and realized that the company's droids were headed his way to lock the bay's controls. He boarded the Facet, Maripher's starfighter, and accidentially initated its automatic piloting and targeting systems. Unable to find the shutoff, Kenobi attempted to steer the vessel as best he could while the fighter targeted Czerka's droids. The Facet continued to mow down more and more enemies, finishing its attack run on the Leverages bridge after knocking Col off her feet.

Proceeding with her plans, Fanry coldly ordered her flagship and the rest of the royal fleet's ships to prepare to attack the Leverage, knowing Col was in command of the vessel. As the Righteouss weapons powered up, the flagship struggled against the hold of Jinn's tractor beam. The Jedi Master informed her in a second hologram call that the enslaved workers stationed aboard the Leverage were revolting against Czerka, imploring that she could do the right thing and still spite the company. At Jinn's counsel, Fanry's bridge crew turned their attention to the Leverages intraship communications, witnessing the uprising.

Inwardly, the queen remained committed to her path of revenge to spite Averross's suggestion that she listen to Jinn. Displeased that her staff had followed the Jedi Master's suggestion, Fanry insisted on commencing her assault on the Leverage despite the innocent lives still on board and her own crew's disapproval. Although Cady initially believed that her queen would help the workers, she became furious at her former owner's selfishness. The attendant rebelled against Fanry and held her at blaster-point until she surrendered, angered that she had done the monarch's dirty work for her to ensure the revolution came to fruition.

Afterward, the Jedi Master contacted Col and informed her that the current situation in the Pijal system was a major political upheaval, meaning the Republic would free every individual imprisoned against their will, including Czerka's enslaved workers. Col accused him of twisting the law to suit his needs, but before she could continue, she was bowled over by the Facet crashing onto the Leverages bridge and knocking her over. After the revolt, Wick and Maripher helped register Czerka's formerly enslaved workers as Pijal refugees.

Less than two days after the coronation, after a Republic judicial ruling deemed Fanry's ascent to the throne through violent means as illegal, she opted to abdicate her right to Pijal's throne. A distant cousin of Fanry's, Lamia, briefly reigned as Pijal's queen for a few hours to sign treaties transforming the world's monarchy into a democratic Assembly, establish the Pijal Hyperspace Corridor together with Republic officials, and outlaw slavery in the Pijal system. Upon being selected as the new leader of the Assembly, Governor Orth immediately canceled all of Pijal's Czerka contracts. As punishment for her failed revolution, Fanry was placed under house arrest in the Pijali palace for a sentence of four years. Many of Czerka's now-freed former workers chose to stay on Pijal, while others accepted funds from the Republic to settle uninhabited worlds. To the jewel thieves' surprise, Jinn gifted them his Mustafar fire diamond as a parting gift.

Afterward, the three Jedi returned to Coruscant and reported to the Jedi Council. Jinn then declined an offer to join the Council, troubled by the moral dilemmas with slavery that Czerka had confronted him with while on Pijal and the vision he had seen of Fanry's coronation. After Kenobi and Jinn had gotten to know each other better during their investigations, the former was pleased that his Master had decided to continue training him instead of accepting the invitation. In the years following the Pijal mission, Jinn came to feel that he and his Padawan had forged a strong bond while on the world and that it was a formative turning point in their relationship when they overcame their differences to prevent a war. By the time of the Battle of Naboo in 32 BBY, Jinn thought of how he had abandoned his Jedi mandate to ratify the Governance Treaty while on Pijal, considering it reflective of his closely held moral compass, especially when dealing with the evils of slavery.

After Jinn's death that year, Kenobi attended his funeral on the Mid Rim planet Naboo and grieved the loss of his Master while thinking of the mission they had undertaken on Pijal. He considered that their mission to the planet had been the start of their genuine friendship after their first years together being fraught with miscommunication due to clashing personalities. Around 23 BBY, Dooku sent his recently recruited Sith assassin, Asajj Ventress, to investigate his sister Jenza's location. After Ventress found Jenza, the latter told her of Dooku's conversation with Averross about the regent's mission to Pijal years before. While on a mission to the Colonies planet Cato Neimoidia in 22 BBY, Kenobi reflected on his mission to Pijal with Jinn, surmising that he understood his Master's decisions concerning the Governance Treaty much more in retrospect.

Millennia before the reign of the Republic, pilgrims traveled to Pijal aboard soulcraft and settled the world. The planet's inhabitants eventually became known as the Pijali and established the world's capital city. While Pijal's population was predominantly human, members of other species such as Abednedos, Duros, Ithorians, Nautolans, Pantorans, Sullustans, Twi'leks, Ugnaughts, and Wookiees were also native citizens of the planet. The Pijali spoke Galactic Basic. By 40 BBY, the Republic considered Pijal's population relatively small for a world of its size and benign climate.

The Pijali were known for their dedication to tradition, regardless of the obstacles in their way. Their religious views encompassed all aspects of their lives, which the monarchy's practices heavily reflected. When constructing the world's royal palace, the planet's settlers focused on minimizing its outer beauty in favor of adding thoughtful, subtle details. In their isolation from the rest of the Republic, they remained fervently devoted to the foundational concepts behind their traditions despite their faded practical utility. At some point, the Pijali adopted the usage of ritual language phrases into the world's governing laws. One such phrase was, "this shall be preserved as the sun preserves the moon," which reflected absolute permanence. Despite their differing political opinions, most Pijali were fiercely protective of the ruling monarch's safety.

Pijali culture focused on inner beauty rather than external grandeur. The infrastructure of the world's capital city reflected these values by featuring hidden, intricate detailing throughout. Pijal's settlers built several statues and temples to honor Pijal's religion. The Pijali believed spheres and circles were sacred and reflected this in the spherical soulcraft vessels they took into space as a religious rite. At some point, Pijali girls began covering their hair until their age of majority—fourteen years old—to symbolize their transition to adulthood. Fanry followed this tradition, faithfully donning a headscarf until she came of age. The religious beliefs of the world's inhabitants were central to the operation of its monarchy. The royal palace's treasury stored a collection of crowns from which an ascending monarch would select, including one traditional for coronations. Additionally, the palace's Celestial Chalice was constructed to honor Pijali gods and traditions and was exclusively used for ceremonies and coronations. During coronations, Pijal's religious leader—a Skykeeper—offered a ceremonial sword to the future monarch and asked them to swear to protect Pijal from its enemies and preserve its independence. Averross felt that the Pijali were loyal citizens, despite their unwillingness to accept new ideas.

By Averross's regency, not all Pijali supported an absolutist monarchy and preferred a representative government. However, others, such as Orth, felt democracy was a delusional way to operate a planet's government. Within Fanry's court, several individuals, such as Deren, were willing to follow her orders unflinchingly. However, others, such as the Opposition's members, disagreed heavily with how the monarchy operated in collaboration with Czerka. During a rally in Pijal's capital dome, cheering Pijali citizens were thrilled to support their future monarch. Some of the world's citizens also enjoyed choral events, singing traditional songs for Fanry. However, other Pijali became disillusioned with the monarchy due to its support of the Czerka Corporation, which enslaved criminals for minor crimes with life sentences of forced labor. The proposed draft of the Governance Treaty released to Pijal's citizens unnerved many due to its use of ritual language that enshrined its permanence.

Members of Pijal's court preferred to dine in style. Dishes served in the royal palace included shaak meat and fruit alongside lunar wine. Elsewhere on the world, the Pijali enjoyed the fruit punch beverage as well as alcoholic drinks such as Port in a Storm and Corellian ale. The clothing style of Pijal's citizens was outwardly plain but lined with fancy inlining when possible. As the world's crown princess, Fanry preferred to dress in her world's traditional style. She often donned tailored shimmersilk undergowns beneath her simple outer garments. The uniforms of her guards reflected the same aesthetic, retaining utility while featuring stylistic elements. Riding Pijal varactyls for sport became a common Pijali hobby, which Averross took up during his mission to the world. During the world's relative isolation from the galaxy, the Pijali fervently continued their traditions. Among these traditions was the Grand Hunt, a ceremonial rite for all future monarchs. Though the Pijali no longer hunted live game for survival by the time of Fanry's coronation, they considered the event necessary symbolically, despite the safety risks of hosting it for her.

After its initial settlement, Pijal's economy predominantly relied on hyperspace traffic for trade. At some point, the Czerka Corporation began operating on the world to mine minerals on its surface for profit. The planet's economy led it into a brief period of prosperity in which the Pijali began building the capital city's infrastructure. However, the formation of the Byrnum Maw cut off hyperspace traffic to the world and forced the monarchy to rely solely on Czerka to stabilize its economy. Due to this, the company slowly gained more influence over the world's leaders as Pijal became increasingly isolated. During Averross's regency, he allowed Czerka to operate Pijal's penal system. The company began aggressively sentencing most crimes with life terms of forced labor, allowing them to increase their profits. As Czerka established more facilities on Pijal, they also brought more enslaved workers, such as Cady, to live on the world—often for life.

Under Meritt Col's management, Czerka's factories began siphoning energy off the world's planetary shield generators, weakening their strength significantly. The company carefully crafted its draft of the Governance Treaty to enshrine its contracts in the system as permanent, hoping that the opening of the Pijal Hyperspace Corridor would benefit it financially. At some point, the world's Skykeeper began accepting bribes from Czerka and let them use sacred soulcraft docks for commercial use behind the monarchy's back. Fanry discovered this but was unwilling to concede similarly despite Col's insistence.

After forming the blackguards, Fanry searched for ways to counteract the ways Averross could attempt to prevent her ascension to the throne. The monarchy eventually developed kohlen crystal shields, which could deflect the Jedi's lightsabers. Altough she and Deren briefly contacted Thurible to consider selling the shields to the Hutts, they eventually opted not to do so. While gathering the resources needed to arm the blackguards, Fanry secretly accessed royal wealth and sent it to the division. By this time, the world had a well-outfitted fleet of royal ships with adequate armament. Other types of technology were also available on the planet, such as slicer darts and nanotechnology.

By 48 BBY, Pijal's court suffered from infighting regarding who should serve as the world's regent for their crown princess. One of the court's members, the Pijali Minister Orth, argued strongly against any candidate that supported Czerka and insisted that each of the world's traditions remained important. When the Jedi Council sent Averross to Pijal, she and the regent bitterly argued over the company's involvement in royal affairs for several years. Conversely, other Pijali supported Czerka, such as the world's Skykeeper, who accepted bribes from the company. While Fanry was princess, Col served as Czerka's sector supervisor on the planet and spent most of her time in the Pijal system.

Pijal's Princess Fanry was born into Pijal's royal family during the reign of her relative, who was serving as the world's monarch. Fanry also had a distant cousin, Lamia, who eventually served as queen after the former chose to abdicate. The princess spent her early life sequestered in the royal palace. Her royal guard captain, Deren, was devoted to the princess, and she was his only priority. Though he privately disagreed with forming the blackguards, he dutifully helped her form the division without voicing his opinions. Deren was a staunch monarchist, willing to engage in subterfuge and murder on Fanry's behalf. Fanry and Deren collaborated to ensure she could ascend the throne as an absolute monarch without Averross's interference.

After the monarchy announced Governance Treaty's upcoming signing in 40 BBY, several Pijali natives such as Azucca, Bajjo, Reckly, and several other performance artists protested its phrasing. Although they spent some time on Pijal while operating as the Opposition troupe, they hid on Pijal's moon while being framed for the blackguards' attacks. Meanwhile, other citizens on the world exhibited apathy regarding the world's politics, such as a cantina's Wookiee bartender and its hostess Selbie. The monarchy also had a resident court jeweler and a tribune. Several Pijali served in the world's armed forces, including a captain, a security chief, and a comm officer. Within Pijal's royal palace, several enslaved workers, such as Cady, were attendants to the monarch and other nobles. The princess's retinue included several Pijali in groups of royal guards, honor guards, and, secretly, the blackguards under her command. During the blackguard campaign, a Pijali guard was stationed in the palace's Grand Hall to monitor the group's violent attacks.

Pijal's royal palace was built by the world's settlers centuries before the Republic's reign to honor their gods and traditions. Its sweeping grounds were situated near a thickly forested area outside the planet's capital city. The complex was carved into stone cliffs bordering Pijal's ocean, with only the Celestial Chalice elevated above the treeline. The grounds of the royal complex had neatly manicured lawns and iron fences. Inside, the palace was richly ornamented in subtle ways not apparent at first glance, owing to Pijal's focus on hidden internal beauty rather than ostentatious decor. Polished stone surrounded the main entry doors to the palace, which led onto a long walkway.

The palace featured a Grand Hall leading to the monarch's throne room, which was detailed with intricate scrollwork. Kenobi considered the palace's decor impressive compared to the Core Worlds planet Alderaan's royal palace and the chief's fortress of the Outer Rim planet Lah'mu. The Celestial Chalice was constructed as an integral part of the Pijali palace and was used for ceremonies only a few times during each monarch's reign. In contrast to the rest of the complex's decor, gilding and blue tiles opulently decorated the temple. The Celestial Chalice could be accessed through a set of doors in the palace's royal reception hall. While Fanry was crown princess, she authorized the renovation of the Celestial Chalice to install kohlen crystal–powered shields near its central dais and a retractable roof.

Inside its halls, the palace featured furnished living quarters for Pijal's monarch, regent, and several guests. Pijal's royal complex also had a cavernous, marble-tiled library, a dock hosting the world's royal fleet, and a formal dining room. Elsewhere on the complex's grounds, the monarchy maintained a private office for Averross to conduct formal business while on Pijal. The office fell into relative dilapidation under the regent's care by the end of his stay. The world's royal treasury stored the crowns traditionally used in the planet's coronation ceremonies. As Fanry's coronation approached, she and other ladies of her court visited the treasury to peruse through its database and select a crown for her ascension to the throne. A brief stroll away, the monarchy's Pijal varactyls were kept in stables, a short distance from the Grand Hunt events' starting area.

As her coronation approached, Fanry collaborated with Deren to form the blackguards and establish their base in a renovated Celestial Watchtower—a facility Pijal's first settlers originally constructed to watch over their soulcraft journeys. Once complete, the base featured deep trenches around its central compound and landing pads for blackguard vessels. Anticipating that her future aspirations would necessitate violence, Fanry approved the installation of extensive surface-to-air weapons, laser cannons, droidekas, and stealth shield generators.

During their campaign across Pijal and its moon, blackguards stored at the site royal fleet ships that had been repurposed for paramilitary use. Much of the establishment's armament was procured from Corellia, using royal wealth funneled through Scipio. In 40 BBY, the blackguards launched several attacks from their base, primarily targeting Czerka facilities and government buildings. When the Jedi Master, Kenobi, and Averross investigated the base, Deren instructed the blackguards to wipe all communications logs and evacuate. After discovering that the blackguards' kohlen crystal–powered shields repelled lightsabers, the Jedi returned to the palace.

Not long after Pijal's first settlers arrived, the Czerka Corporation commenced commercial mining operations on Pijal. By the time Averross had been sent to the world in 48 BBY, the company had established numerous facilities across the planet's surface and rerouted power from Pijal's planetary shield generators to operate them. By 40 BBY, Czerka had moved most of their operations to the world's moon, though they still maintained a warehouse near Pijal's capital city. That year, blackguards rigged a droid to blow up the warehouse, leaving it in flames. Though the attack resulted in no deaths, the recording of the incident infuriated Averross.

Czerka's headquarters for the Pijal system were located near the royal palace. The establishment had a private office for Col, a guard station, and a work yard. Maripher brought an antigrav crate of kyber crystals to the headquarters, trading them with the sector supervisor for credits. Jinn later came to the offices attempting to bargain with Col for Wick's freedom, but she refused to free the enslaved worker. Around this time, several Czerka vessels, including the Leverage, remained stationed in Pijal's atmosphere while Col was on the planet.

Shortly after their arrival on Pijal, Pijali settlers constructed sacred docks for their soulcraft, which the world's serving Skykeeper managed. The docks were spacious enough to hold several soulcraft. By the time of Averross's regency, most of the Celestial Watchtowers had fallen into disrepair. During Fanry's childhood, she learned that Pijal's current Skykeeper had been accepting bribes from Czerka, allowing the company to utilize sacred docks for commercial purposes. Not long after, at her coronation, Fanry berated her Skykeeper for his dereliction of duty regarding his religious position, including the bribes he had taken.

By the time of Averross's regency, the Pijali monarchy operated several important government buildings on Pijal. While acting under Fanry's secret orders, blackguards initiated attacks against several of those establishments. During the strikes, the blackguards also hit numerous religious temples where performing arts had formerly been practiced. At some point after the Governance Treaty's drafting, the Pijali monarchy constructed the Hall of Assembly building to house Pijal's future democratic Assembly. The spherical structure featured an entirely mirrored surface, making it shine like a star during every evening's sunset. Attempting to prevent the treaty's signing, Fanry instructed her blackguards to destroy the Hall of Assembly using corrosive nanotechnology to disintegrate the building. Afterward, investigators reviewed surveillance of the event and later discovered what had destroyed the building.

Pijal's capital city was constructed near the royal palace by the world's initial pilgrims and prospered during the world's early economic growth. However, after the Byrnum Maw formation, the city's infrastructure progress stalled. At some point, a cantina operated on Pijal, as did several temples, with at least one being considered a primary religious site. By 40 BBY, it featured a large metropolitan capital dome hosting performances by the royal orchestras. The amphitheater had hover platforms, royal viewing boxes, and an antechamber near its rim. In 40 BBY, a festive concert rally was hosted for Fanry in the capital dome to celebrate her upcoming coronation.

Pijal was created for Master & Apprentice, a novel written by Claudia Gray that was released on April 16, 2019. The planet was first pictured in a StarWars.com article revealing an alternate cover for the novel on March 26 of the same year, which was available for purchase exclusively during the Celebration Chicago convention hosted one week before the novel's mass-market release.

Gray collaborated with Cavan Scott, the author of the Dooku: Jedi Lost audio drama released the same month as Master & Apprentice, to ensure their stories reflected their characters' personalities the same way. Scott worked Rael Averross's character into a Dooku: Jedi Lost scene in which the regent briefly attends a meeting on Coruscant on Pijal's behalf.

While developing Master & Apprentices plot, Gray hoped to capture Jinn and Kenobi's relationship at a time when their different ways of doing things clashed. The author attempted to write their mission to Pijal in a way that would add more contextual depth to brief moments depicted in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Gray compared the struggles with slavery that Jinn encountered in The Phantom Menace to his encounter with Rahara Wick on Pijal, an individual formerly enslaved by the Czerka Corporation. By writing about Jinn and Kenobi's Pijal mission in Master & Apprentice, she sought to help readers understand their stories better and hoped their interactions in the novel felt like a natural part of their journeys.

The author felt that Jinn's moral compass made him feel conflicted about his Jedi mandate on Pijal of signing the Governance Treaty because it supported Czerka's enslavement practices. As Gray outlined her initial story frame for Master & Apprentice, she sought to find an evil entity for the novel's characters to engage with on Pijal. She asked Lucasfilm if she could include the Czerka Corporation in her novel as a reference to the 2003 Star Wars Legends video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which she was then given permission to do. Gray characterized the company as evil because it used enslaved Pijali citizens for labor despite droids being cheaper to use than organic workers.

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