Border dispute on Ansion

Background

As the Separatist Crisis intensified, both the Commerce Guild and the Confederacy of Independent Systems sought to expand their influence by recruiting new planets. During this time, Ansion became a target of interest. This was because Ansion served as a crucial element in a complex network of treaties and alliances, including the Keitumite Mutual Military Treaty and the Malarian Alliance, which connected other, more strategically important planets. Consequently, if Ansion were to secede from the Galactic Republic, it was predicted to trigger a domino effect, potentially causing the loss of numerous worlds (forty or more) within interconnected star systems from the Republic.

Shu Mai, the Presidente of the Commerce Guild, spearheaded the efforts to orchestrate Ansion's departure, acting under the guidance of the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus and in collaboration with Mousul, the Ansionian Senator. Soergg Vosadii Bezhin, a Hutt, served as their local contact on the planet. Their strategy involved exploiting the long-standing border dispute between the urban government, known as the Unity of Community, and the nomadic Alwari tribes. The goal was to persuade a majority of city-states to collectively support Ansion's secession from the Republic.

The mission

Arrival on Ansion

The Jedi Order dispatched two teams of Jedi—comprising Masters Luminara Unduli and Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with their respective Padawans Barriss Offee and Anakin Skywalker—to persuade Ansion to remain within the Republic. However, challenges arose from the outset. Soergg the Hutt instructed his majordomo, Ogomoor (an Ansionian male), to obstruct the Jedi's mission by any means necessary. Two days prior to Obi-Wan and Anakin's scheduled arrival on Ansion, Luminara and Barriss were attacked by mercenaries hired by Ogomoor. While they initially repelled the assault, the second wave began to overwhelm them. At that moment, Kenobi and Skywalker arrived ahead of schedule. The Jedi swiftly defeated the remaining mercenaries before proceeding to meet with the Unity Council of the Unity of Community.

Plan for unity

During that meeting, the Jedi Order's diplomatic representatives pledged to convince the Alwari tribal leaders to cede at least half of their land to the industrialized cities, thereby reaching an agreement to remain within the Republic. However, before they could depart from Cuipernam, Ansion's capital city, to begin their search for the Alwari on the Ansion plains, Barriss Offee was kidnapped by Kyakhta and [Bulgan](/article/bulgan], two of Soergg's enforcers. These Alwari outcasts (from the Tasbir clan) released the Jedi after the Padawan healed their mental impairments and deactivated the explosive devices that Soergg had implanted in their necks to ensure their obedience. After returning Barriss to the Jedi, Kyakhta and Bulgan agreed to guide the offworlders in their search for the ruling Borokii overclan.

Search for the Borokii

After acquiring six purebred suubatars, the Jedi, accompanied by their Alwari guides, departed Cuipernam and commenced their search. Following a brief river encounter with native gairks, they encountered the cautious Yiwa clan. Mazong, the leader, declared that the Jedi must first prove their worth and demonstrate that they possessed souls, unlike the "great but soulless Senate," before they would offer assistance.

To accomplish this, the Jedi were asked to perform at a ceremonial feast held that evening. During the feast, each Jedi delivered a heartfelt performance. Barriss initiated the performances with a compass dance, an impressive display of acrobatics involving movement and light (using her lightsaber), which greatly impressed both the Alwari and Skywalker. Anakin followed by singing a poignant Tatooine ballad that his mother had taught him during his childhood. Subsequently, Kenobi captivated his audience with a heroic tale, and Unduli presented a mesmerizing demonstration of the Force, manipulating particles of sand that swirled around her in a captivating dance of light. The Yiwa were so impressed by the performances that they agreed to provide the Jedi's Alwari guides with the coordinates necessary to locate the Borokii more efficiently.

Shortly after departing the Yiwa, the Jedi and their companions encountered a massive swarm of native kyren. These small, yet deadly, avians traveled in packs of up to two hundred million. The Jedi party and their suubatar mounts sought refuge behind jijite columns until the swarm passed. Shortly thereafter, they encountered several chawix, carnivorous plants that used the wind to travel and ensnare their prey.

A new companion

As the Jedi continued their pursuit of the Borokii, Barriss Offee observed a small creature pilfering supplies. She tracked the Gwurran to hillside tunnels, where she encountered its tribe. The pygmy-sized Gwurran began hurling rocks at her, but ceased their attack after the Padawan deflected them with her lightsaber. Upon discovering that the Tooqui had taken the supplies to feed his tribe, Barriss promised the Gwurran a celebration, during which the Jedi would educate them about their world and the galaxy. Following Offee's reunion with her comrades, the Tooqui expressed his desire to join the Jedi on their quest. After some discussion, they agreed to allow the warrior to accompany them.

Encounter with the Qulun

Soon after, the group spotted a caravan on the horizon, identified by Kyakhta and Bulgan as the Qulun, a trading clan. A patrol of Qulun riders approached them, and upon learning of their search for the Borokii, the clan's chief trader, Baiuntu, invited the group to their camp to dine and sample their goods. As they conversed within a portable trade room, Baiuntu drugged and imprisoned the strangers (except for Tooqui, who escaped down a kholot hole). The trader admitted that his deception was motivated by Soergg's promise of a reward for preventing the Jedi from returning to Cuipernam before the vote on Ansion's secession.

Uniting tribe and city

Despite the delay caused by their capture, Tooqui rescued the Jedi, and they traveled north to the valley-encamped Borokii overclan. They presented their proposal to the clan leaders, using a tuft of fur from a surepp. The Borokii elders agreed, but only if the Jedi resolved a conflict between the Borokii and the Januul. The Jedi agreed to "deal" with the Januul and managed to settle the conflict diplomatically. They returned to Cuipernam, but were delayed by Soergg, who had hired mercenaries to dispatch them. Rescued by the Bayaar-led Alwari honor guard (from the Situng Borokii and Hovsgol Januul subclans), the Jedi reached the municipal-hall gathering of the Unity Council, which was voting on secession. Because the Jedi had resolved the border dispute by achieving an accord with the Alwari overclans, the Unity voted to remain within the Republic.

Aftermath

Ansion remained a member of the Galactic Republic, and the planet's Alwari ruling councils united under the Council of Alwari Elders. The Separatists' plan to issue demands to the Republic upon Ansion's secession was delayed. Count Dooku viewed the failure as a minor setback and advised Shu Mai that their success was inevitable.

Upon their return to Coruscant, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were reassigned to protect Senator Amidala of Naboo, whose life was threatened by the re-emergent Sith overlord.