Venan civil war A bloody civil war was fought in the Expansion Region ' s Vena system during the waning years of the Galactic Republic . With Baron Kindoro ' s ascension to the throne on the planet Vena in 57 BBY , the Vena system was opened to free trade , marking an abrupt change from the customary policies constituted throughout its history . Built on the traditions of independence and isolationism , Venan society strongly opposed that measure , and reactionary groups took up arms against the Venan royal family . Following Kindoro ' s natural death , his wife , the Baroness Omnino , rose to power , which considerably deteriorated the state of affairs . Omnino proved to be an even more intolerant and ruthless ruler than her late husband , and adamantly led the efforts to crush the insurgency until her death in 37 BBY at the hands of Jedi Master Qui - Gon Jinn on the planet Ord Mantell . Jinn , along with his Padawan Obi - Wan Kenobi , had unraveled a large , illegal scheme to have Vena admitted as a Republic world and gain support from the Galactic Senate against the Isolationists . When confronted with the truth , the Baroness threatened to kill Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum , to which Jinn responded by swiftly beheading Omnino . Up until her death , the initial crisis and subsequent civil war had raged for at least twenty years . Prelude . Descended from early Hapan explorers , the Human inhabitants of the planet Vena , located in the system of the same name in the Nojic sector within the Expansion Region , had a historical tradition of maintaining an independent and isolationist stance in their star system . They remained unaffiliated with the Galactic Republic , even though Vena and the Republic shared a good relationship , and the Venans would occasionally trade with the nearby Hapes Cluster for items they could not produce themselves . Other than that , Venans preferred to be left on their own . Around 57 BBY , the rise of Baron Kindoro and his wife , Baroness Omnino , to power on Vena changed that historic position . Because Kindoro and Omnino had previously both served as ambassadors to the Core World planets of Coruscant and Alderaan , respectively , their contact with foreign cultures and goods exposed the nobles to certain amenities that were inaccessible from their home system . For that reason , Kindoro implemented economic deregulation and pursued ratification of trade agreements with other worlds in order to make commodities available exclusively to the Venan royal family . Since the Baron and his family controlled shipping , that course of action initially did not find resistance . The civil war . Armed conflict . The radical shift toward economic and cultural openness eventually evoked a commotion among many Venans , who resented not just the fact that only the royal family was benefiting from the new influx of foreign products , but also that their newly imported extravagant lifestyles were dissonant from traditional Venan conduct . The commoners , who rallied together as the Vena Isolationists , called for a return to their closed borders and old - fashioned values , in opposition to the flamboyant way of life that their rulers were adopting . The regents , unwilling to give in to the demands of the protesters , imprisoned the movement leaders and sent them to labor camps . That move aggravated tensions and motivated the remaining members to manufacture weapons , stage terrorist strikes against Venan nobility , and to sabotage cargo ships . The terrorist attacks , however , only worsened the situation . The royal family deplored the commoners ' intrusion into their affairs , while the populace refused to back down . The conflict further deteriorated after the death of Baron Kindoro by heart failure while traveling in Republic space . Baroness Omnino , next in line to power , ascended to the throne and proved herself even more unmerciful than her husband , as she set as her top priority the quelling of the insurrection , even if it meant neglecting raising her son , Baron Sando . She waged bloody war for years against her subjects , who , although facing the Venan government , still wielded a good deal of political power . The Isolationists marked Omnino for assassination , forcing her to take extensive precautions when traveling from the Vena system to avoid pursuit and possible attacks . Throughout the war , the Baronness heavily invested in illegal brain - wave projection technology — mind control device s — in order to influence events outside of her system in her favor , since the devices were unable to effectively manipulate the movement leaders into turning themselves in . Baroness Omnino ' s Republic campaign . The war , however , did not halt Omnino ' s 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 , so that he would try to murder her upon her arrival on Coruscant for a meeting with Republic Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum . In manipulating him so , Omnino hoped to gain sympathy and support from the Galactic Senate against the Isolationists , as well as commence 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 having a new trade route established between Vena and the Republic , although even the Chancellor himself conceded that , if true , it would be a lucrative deal for the Republic for many generations to come . The attack , which took the lives of the aforementioned Senate Guard and another bodyguard who tried to protect the Baroness , successfully garnered commiseration from the Galactic Senate . Omnino , all the while secretly threatening the Chancellor ' s life , made Valorum efficaciously lobby for the admission of the Nojic sector planet into the Republic . Her off - world plot to have Vena admitted as a Republic world and gain the upper hand against the Isolationists was ultimately thwarted by Jedi Master Qui - Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi - Wan Kenobi , who investigated from the beginning and unraveled her elaborate scheme . Omnino had made use of her investment in brain - wave projection technology when she gave a mind control device to land baron Taxer Sundown , so he could provide supplies of Mantellian Savrip meat — considered a delicacy by 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 meant for Sundown to do so by killing the existing land barons , usurping their operations and seizing power on Ord Mantell for Omnino , goals that he successfully accomplished . Jinn and Kenobi were at the shipment loading rendezvous point just as 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 effects of the mind control device , on board her transport to Ord Mantell . After Jinn confronted Omnino with the truth , she threatened to kill the entranced Chancellor . In a quick succession of events , Jinn distracted her and swiftly beheaded her using the " sai cha " technique of lightsaber combat . Aftermath . Up until Baroness Omnino ' s passing , the crisis and subsequent civil war on Vena had dragged on for at least twenty years . Jinn and Chancellor Valorum predicted that her death would resonate with the Republic , generating meetings and delegations to Vena and Ord Mantell to investigate the incidents that led to her beheading . During that period , the Venan rulers , despite popular outcry , successfully connected the Vena system to a major hyperlane known as the Lesser Lantillian Route , which spanned 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 overthrown altogether after her passing , still existing around 1 or 2 BBY , as evidenced by the use of the nobility title of Royal Margravine by the Venan Abominelle during the Galactic Civil War . Behind the scenes . The Venan civil war was first hinted at in " " , a comic series written by Ryder Windham and drawn by Ramón F . Bachs . The series , which was composed 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 fleetingly states that Baroness Omnino is marked for assassination by the Vena Isolationists . The reference to the conflict was only made in the of the arc . The web - exclusive article Before the Rise , published on the Wizards of the Coast website on April 16 , 2002 and written by J . D . Wiker as a scenario supplement for the " Star Wars Roleplaying Game " , later expanded the back - story of the conflict . It explained the reason why Omnino was wanted dead by the Isolationists , serving as a tie - in prequel to the comic series , albeit without indicating the outcome of the civil war . The article also covered three other political factions : the Galactic Senate , the Jedi Order , and the Hutts , all during the Rise of the Empire era .