Two distinct factions originating from the planet of Svivren mounted opposition against the forces of the Galactic Empire.
Around the year 4 ABY, Cevva Xuz, a Rodian operating on Svivren, had successfully smuggled numerous weapons through the local customs checkpoints. Despite Xuz's documented connections to the Rebel Alliance, Touno, an Imperial General, appeared either unable or reluctant to apprehend him. Under pressure from Mara Jade, who was actually pursuing a different target, Touno dispatched stormtroopers under the command of Captain Strok to take Xuz into custody. Upon their attempt, Xuz's group responded with blaster fire, leading to a firefight. The confrontation resulted in the deaths of several stormtroopers as well as some innocent bystanders.
In the year 9 ABY, Grand Admiral Thrawn launched an assault on Svivren, along with several other planets that had aligned themselves with the New Republic. The Imperial Navy faced opposition from the native inhabitants, the Svivreni species, who were strongly against the idea of being under siege. This unexpected resistance caught the Imperials completely off guard. After a series of unsuccessful attempts to subdue the Svivreni resistance fighters, the Imperial Navy was forced to withdraw, only to return at a later time to try and occupy Svivren. For a considerable period, the Imperials were unable to overcome the local resistance, and their predicament became widely known, eventually reaching the ears of Samuel Tomas Gillespee, who was residing on Ukio at the time.