Cyphar Incident

The Cyphari people, organized into clans, called the planet Cyphar their home. Humans had established a colony known as the Hollenside Enclave on Cyphar, encroaching upon the territory that the Afe clan had possessed for generations. During the Imperial Era, some colonists made a discovery: a vein of pre-spice lay beneath the Afe's cultivated lands. This substance could be refined into a rare variant called scarn. In response, humans initiated raids into Afe territory, with the intention of provoking the native people into retaliatory strikes. The humans hoped such a confrontation would result in human casualties. They believed the Afes would recoil in shame for such action and would consequently be at a disadvantage in any future dealings with humans.

Approximately four months into the conspiracy, Lenora Scath, one of the conspirators, reached out to Nightswan seeking guidance on enhancing their smuggling operation. She explained that their group faced pressure from both the Cyphar government and the Afes, while the Empire ignored their grievances. Nightswan was willing to assist in smuggling metals and other valuables, but he wanted nothing to do with spice smuggling. However, upon arriving on Cyphar and discovering what the conspirators intended to smuggle, he realized he couldn't back out without risking his life. To uphold his reputation as a creator of ingenious smuggling methods, Nightswan advised the conspirators to conceal their contraband inside [shellfish](/article/shellfish]—a trick he had previously employed to transport iridium. Nightswan hoped that his long-time opponent Thrawn, who had previously disrupted the iridium smuggling operation, would notice and address the spice smuggling ring.

Following the implementation of the new smuggling method, the conspirators sought easier access to the pre-spice vein, leading to escalating border incidents. The humans falsely claimed that the Afes were raiding their areas and causing injuries during the skirmishes, even deceiving Mayor Pord Benchel into believing the native Cyphare were responsible. The mayor sent biased reports to Coruscant, demanding the establishment of a safety buffer zone between the Hollenside Enclave and the Afes. This zone would have encompassed nearly half of the Afe's land, forcing them to relocate to areas controlled by other clans. The Afes also appealed to Imperial authorities, asserting that their attacks were merely fair retaliation against human border raids.

Ensign Eli Vanto accompanied Thrawn upon their arrival. Thrawn subsequently convened with Pord Benchel, the colony's mayor, and nine other individuals to hear their grievances. Following the conference, Thrawn and Vanto proceeded to meet with Chief Joko of the Afe clan. After listening to Joko's complaints and gaining a deeper understanding of the dispute, Thrawn scrutinized the surrounding land and observed that the crops were developing abnormally due to heavy metal poisoning. Thrawn advised Joko to relocate his people from the area, anticipating a significant human incursion. Thrawn and Vanto also noticed that the human colonists were moving further northward towards the larger Cyphari cities in order to provoke the Afe clan into attacking.

Thrawn and Vanto remained in the area inside the Afe clan meetinghouse to monitor the human colonists as they trespassed. After monitoring the colonists, the pair learned that the colonists were actually attempting to collect scarn. Thrawn called in Imperial reinforcements and instructed to use stun. After Thrawn and Vanto took up positions, they engaged the colonists just as Imperial forces were landing and after capturing most of the colonists, they learned from Clay Tanoo that no raid were made for the night, instead the conspirators were to move their supply to a safe location, and since the scarn was not a spice yet, it was not a crime.

Thrawn instructed his forces to defend Afe lands in the event of a skirmish, and instructed Lieutenant Gimm to map the scarn vein beneath the land. Once completed, Thrawn ordered the Thunder Wasp to fire, destroying the scarn but also damaging Afe land. The following morning, Joko protested to Thrawn, informing him of his intention to appeal Thrawn's actions to Coruscant. Thrawn's actions provoked fury among his superiors. However, in the end, the majority of the colonists were unaware of the true motivations of their fellow humans.

Thrawn's handling of the Cyphar land dispute brought an end to the conflict between Clan Afe and the human colonists. Furthermore, it disrupted the colonists' scarn smuggling operation and Nightswan's illegal doonium operation on Cyphar. Thrawn and Vanto dedicated the following week to tracking down smugglers in remote systems. A week later, they were summoned back to Coruscant, where they received promotions. Thrawn was promoted to Commodore, while Vanto received his long overdue promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Thrawn and Vanto's career advancement was facilitated by the lobbying efforts of the future Lothalite Governor Arihnda Pryce, a Thrawn ally who had dismantled Nightswan's spy ring on Coruscant.

The Cyphar Incident was first introduced in Timothy Zahn's 2017 novel Thrawn. This novel is a rebooted Canonical origins story of the titular character.