The Open-Closed Conflict represented a planetary scale war that engulfed the Open and the Closed, two opposing groups of humans inhabiting the world of Carnelion IV. Each side accused the other of instigating the war and sought total destruction of their enemy, but their constant battles had devastated the environment and technology of their planet. A solitary female scavenger, known as Sera, desired to bring the conflict to an end, but her solution involved the death of all adults involved, with the intention of rebuilding society with the younger generation of both factions.
The initial outbreak of hostilities between the Open and the Closed occurred many generations prior to the Clone Wars within the Galactic Republic. It was a brutal and extended series of conflicts that led the wider galaxy to believe that all inhabitants of the planet Carnelion IV had perished in the fighting. A thick field of debris surrounded the planet, making entry by any vessel exceptionally challenging. Despite the ongoing civil war, the technological devastation caused by the conflict left those involved without the means to communicate with the outside galaxy.
The Open and Closed held deep animosity for each other, each blaming the other for the war's origins. The Closed accused the Open of contaminating their world and cities with the Celadon Sea's toxins. Conversely, the Open held the Closed responsible for starting the war and asserted that they were the only force preventing total chaos on the planet. The two factions engaged in combat using airships, which represented some of the few remaining functional technologies on Carnelion IV. The limited technology that survived was recovered from Carnelion's ruined urban centers. While the Open showed interest in pre-war technology, the Closed viewed it with suspicion.
The poisonous nature of the Celadon Sea forced the Open and Closed to seek refuge in mountain strongholds such as the Fortress-Home of the Open. Those who remained in the contaminated cities on the surface underwent mutations, transforming into beings known as Fishers. Visitors venturing into the areas affected by the Celadon Sea were required to wear breathing masks for survival.
Amidst the seemingly endless war between the Open and Closed, an elderly woman named Sera dedicated her life to salvaging remnants of "the past world" from the "dead lands" surrounding her fortress museum. Sera also dispatched kites containing art, intending to remind young individuals of the "world that once was." While Sera held little hope for the adult Open and Closed, she believed that the younger generation could be influenced. Both the Open and Closed sought to capture and eliminate Sera, as she served as a reminder of their collective loss.
Sera also drew inspiration from legends of the Jedi, acquired from holo-records depicting great warriors wielding "swords of light". Hoping to gain the Jedi's assistance in eliminating the adult Open and Closed to facilitate the re-education of the young, Sera transmitted a communications signal to the Jedi Order using a malfunctioning transmitter that she had managed to reactivate. This signal was intercepted by Jedi Master Yoda, who subsequently dispatched Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan apprentice Anakin Skywalker to investigate Carnelion IV.
Kenobi and Skywalker journeyed to Carnelion IV aboard a T-6 shuttle, which sustained considerable damage while navigating the dense debris field surrounding the planet. Surviving the crash landing, Kenobi and Skywalker found themselves amidst a battle involving Open and Closed airships. Kenobi and Skywalker rescued Mother Pran, an Open female leader, and a young girl named Kolara.
After disabling an enemy Closed airship, Kenobi rescued one of its crew members, a man named Grecker. Kenobi successfully brokered a peaceful understanding between Kolara and Grecker. Kenobi then recruited Kolara and Grecker to assist in locating the source of the distress signal. Working together, the group repaired a damaged airship and ventured into the Celadon Sea.
During their journey through the Celadon Sea, Skywalker impressed Pran and Kolara with his technological repair skills. The travelers also encountered a kite carrying art from a mysterious figure known as the Scavenger. When a group of Fishers attacked the airship, Pran seized the opportunity to abduct Anakin and escape on a glider, intending to utilize his technical skills for their benefit. Mother Pran also destroyed the airship in an attempt to eliminate Master Kenobi and Grecker.
Kenobi and Grecker survived the crash landing. Kenobi also employed the Force to dissuade the Fishers from attacking them. After escaping a Carnelian dragon, Kenobi sought refuge with Sera, who injured Grecker to prevent him from alerting the Closed to her location. She revealed to Kenobi that she had contacted the Jedi with the intention of ending the war, eliminating the Open and Closed, and re-educating the young. Meanwhile, Pran brought Anakin back to the Fortress-Home of the Open, where she sought his assistance in repairing their Mech walkers. She also deceived Anakin into revealing the coordinates of the distress signal, with the intent of eliminating Sera as well.
Anakin successfully persuaded Kolara and the other Open youth to assist him in rescuing the Scavenger and reuniting him with his Jedi master. Subsequently, the Closed laid siege to Sera's fortress museum, intending to kill the Scavenger. They were attacked by the Open, who deployed Mech walkers and airships. Amidst the battle, Skywalker arrived with Kolara and the other Open youth. Despite Sera's pleas, the Open youth joined their older counterparts in the conflict. Kenobi enlisted Anakin's help in repairing the transmitter and sending a distress signal to the Galactic Republic, which dispatched Judicial Forces and the Jedi Order to enforce a cessation of hostilities.
Following the Republic-mediated ceasefire, Kenobi informed Anakin that he had successfully convinced the Republic to deploy forces to Carnelion IV by claiming that the planet's atmosphere contained high concentrations of tibanna gas. While the Republic conducted their gas exploration, they prohibited any further fighting. As a result of his experiences on Carnelion IV, Skywalker realized that being a Jedi meant being connected to something greater and decided to continue his apprenticeship under Kenobi.
The conflict between the Open and the Closed is explored in Star Wars: Obi-Wan and Anakin, a comic book series published by Marvel Comics that details an early mission undertaken by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.