Venan civil war

The Human population of the planet Vena, situated within the system of the same name in the Nojic sector of the Expansion Region, were descendants of early Hapan explorers and maintained a long-standing tradition of independence and isolation within their star system. Despite a positive relationship and occasional trade with the neighboring Hapes Cluster for essential goods, they remained unallied with the Galactic Republic. Above all else, the Venans desired to be left in peace.

Around 57 BBY, the ascent of Baron Kindoro and his wife, Baroness Omnino, to power on Vena disrupted this historical stance. Having both previously served as ambassadors to the Core World planets of Coruscant and Alderaan, Kindoro and Omnino's exposure to foreign cultures and goods introduced the nobility to amenities unavailable in their home system. Consequently, Kindoro initiated economic liberalization and pursued the ratification of trade agreements with other worlds, aiming to provide commodities exclusively to the Venan royal family. Initially, this course of action faced little opposition, as the Baron and his family controlled all shipping.

This drastic shift towards economic and cultural openness eventually sparked unrest among many Venans. They resented the fact that only the royal family benefited from the influx of foreign products and that their newly acquired extravagant lifestyles clashed with traditional Venan values. United as the Vena Isolationists, the commoners demanded a return to closed borders and traditional values, rejecting the flamboyant lifestyle adopted by their rulers. Unwilling to concede to the protesters' demands, the regents imprisoned the movement's leaders and sent them to labor camps. This action heightened tensions, prompting the remaining members to manufacture weapons, launch terrorist attacks against Venan nobility, and sabotage cargo ships.

However, these terrorist attacks only exacerbated the situation. The royal family condemned the commoners' interference, while the populace refused to back down. The conflict escalated further following the death of Baron Kindoro from heart failure while traveling in Republic space. Baroness Omnino, the next in line for power, ascended to the throne and proved to be even more merciless than her husband, prioritizing the suppression of the insurrection, even at the expense of raising her son, Baron Sando. For years, she waged a bloody war against her subjects, who, despite opposing the Venan government, still possessed significant political influence. The Isolationists targeted Omnino for assassination, forcing her to take extensive precautions when traveling from the Vena system to avoid pursuit and potential attacks. Throughout the war, the Baroness heavily invested in illegal brain-wave projection technology—mind control devices—to influence events outside her system in her favor, as the devices proved ineffective in manipulating the movement leaders into surrendering.

Despite the war, Omnino pursued her ambitious side plans. In 37 BBY, she orchestrated a false flag assassination attempt by using the mind control device against one of the Senate Guards protecting her. She manipulated him into attempting to murder her upon her arrival on Coruscant for a meeting with Republic Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum. Through this manipulation, Omnino hoped to gain sympathy and support from the Galactic Senate against the Isolationists, as well as initiate membership negotiations for Vena into the Republic. Individuals close to Chancellor Valorum, such as Staff Aide Sei Taria, believed the visit was part of a strategy to help the Baroness further open her system by establishing a new trade route between Vena and the Republic. Even the Chancellor himself conceded that, if true, it would be a lucrative deal for the Republic for generations to come.

The attack, which resulted in the deaths of the aforementioned Senate Guard and another bodyguard who attempted to protect the Baroness, successfully garnered sympathy from the Galactic Senate. While secretly threatening the Chancellor's life, Omnino effectively lobbied Valorum to advocate for the admission of the Nojic sector planet into the Republic. Her clandestine plot to have Vena admitted as a Republic world and gain the upper hand against the Isolationists was ultimately foiled by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, who investigated the scheme from the beginning and exposed her elaborate plan.

Omnino had utilized her investment in brain-wave projection technology when she provided a mind control device to land baron Taxer Sundown, enabling him to supply Mantellian Savrip meat—a delicacy for the Venan royal family—from the Mid Rim Ordnance/Regional Depot planet Ord Mantell to Vena, after her plan to breed Savrips on her homeworld failed. The Baroness intended for Sundown to accomplish this by eliminating existing land barons, seizing their operations, and securing power on Ord Mantell for Omnino, goals that he successfully achieved.

Jinn and Kenobi were present at the shipment loading rendezvous point when the Baroness arrived at the Ordnance/Regional Depot on her personal shuttle, the Benevolent III, to transport the next batch of Savrip meat. Omnino brought the Chancellor, who was under the influence of the mind control device, aboard her transport to Ord Mantell. After Jinn confronted Omnino with the truth, she threatened to kill the entranced Chancellor. In a swift sequence of events, Jinn distracted her and swiftly beheaded her using the sai cha technique of lightsaber combat.

By the time of Baroness Omnino's death, the crisis and subsequent civil war on Vena had persisted for at least two decades. Jinn and Chancellor Valorum anticipated that her death would resonate throughout the Republic, leading to meetings and delegations to Vena and Ord Mantell to investigate the events leading to her beheading.

During this period, the Venan rulers, despite popular opposition, successfully connected the Vena system to a major hyperlane known as the Lesser Lantillian Route, which traversed four galactic regions: the Inner Rim, the Expansion Region, the Mid Rim, and the Outer Rim Territories. Although Omnino was killed thirty-seven years before the Battle of Yavin, the Venan monarchy itself was not completely overthrown after her death, still existing around 1 or 2 BBY, as demonstrated by the use of the nobility title of Royal Margravine by the Venan Abominelle during the Galactic Civil War.

The Venan civil war was initially alluded to in Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan: Last Stand on Ord Mantell, a comic series penned by Ryder Windham and illustrated by Ramón F. Bachs. The series, comprised of three issues released in December 2000, and in February and March 2001, featured a conversation between Staff Aide Sei Taria and Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, in which Taria briefly mentions that Baroness Omnino is targeted for assassination by the Vena Isolationists. This reference to the conflict only appeared in the first issue of the arc.

The web-exclusive article Before the Rise, published on the Wizards of the Coast website on April 16, 2002 and authored by J.D. Wiker as a scenario supplement for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, later expanded upon the conflict's backstory. It explained the reasons behind the Isolationists' desire for Omnino's death, serving as a prequel tie-in to the comic series, although it did not reveal the civil war's outcome. The article also covered three other political entities: the Galactic Senate, the Jedi Order, and the Hutts, all within the context of the Rise of the Empire era.