Napkin Bombing The so - called Napkin Bombing occurred when the Amaxine warriors bombed a conference building of the New Republic ' s Galactic Senate on Hosnian Prime . The Amaxines acted on the orders of Lady Carise Sindian , a traitorous senator , who wanted to create a distraction while the First Order prepared to emerge from hiding in the Unknown Regions and strike the Republic . Because the bombing was only intended to be a distraction but not an all - out act of war , a warning was left on a paper streamer hidden by a napkin inside the conference building , which allowed Senator Leia Organa to have the premises evacuated in the eleventh hour . Although the bombing did manage to spawn confusion in the Senate , further pitting the Centrist and Populist factions against each other , Lady Sindian chastised the Amaxines , criticizing them for not having created a more discreet distraction . Prelude . In 28 ABY , the New Republic occupied vast swaths of space . From its temporary capital on the planet of Hosnian Prime , the Galactic Senate presided over the destiny of the Republic citizens . However , despite the era of peace and prosperity it had managed to ensure , the Republic and its Senate now lacked the guidance of their historical founder , the former Chancellor Mon Mothma . In her absence , two unofficial but powerful factions had formed — the Populists , who believe individual planet s should retain almost all authority , and the Centrists , who favored a stronger galactic government and a more powerful military . Meanwhile , in the Unknown Regions , former warlord s of the long - defeated Galactic Empire remained in hiding , trying to rebuild a fighting force that would allow them to overthrow the Republic and rule the galaxy once again . That government , which would come to be known as the First Order , even had allies among the Republic senatorial class , in the person of Lady Carise Sindian of Arkanis . In an effort to spawn confusion in the Senate while the First Order prepared to emerge , Sindian allied herself with the paramilitary group known as the Amaxine warriors — whose members also sought to restore the might of the Empire — and tasked them with creating a distraction . The bombing . To carry out Lady Sindian ' s order , the Amaxines chose to bomb a conference building of the New Republic senatorial complex on the day a gathering of the Populist party was scheduled to take place . Disguised as a member of the catering staff , a Twi ' lek mercenary planted a bomb in the conference building before darting out of the premises . However , since the bombing was only intended to be a distraction but not an all - out act of war , a warning was left on a paper streamer hidden beneath a folded napkin inside the conference building . When the Populist senator s arrived for their breakfast meeting , they did not immediately realize what was about to happen . It was senator Leia Organa , who had fought the Empire during the Galactic Civil War , who found the Amaxines ' message , which only bore the word " RUN . " Although the security droid s could not detect any hazard , Organa felt the danger was imminent , and she issued the evacuation alert . The others attendees followed her , although initially with reluctance , until the explosion finally happened . The conference building was half destroyed in the blast , and a large number of people were left to either lay on the ground or stumble around nursing their injuries . A number of triage droid s were immediately dispatched on the site of the explosion and started sorting the wounded . Aftermath . As its instigators had hoped , the bombing managed to further sow discord and confusion among the Republic senators . At first , most people had simply expressed genuine shock and concern . Within a day , however , accusations began to surface and circulate . Some accused the Centrists of having tried to eliminate their rivals , while others accused the Populists of having deliberately put themselves in danger in order to paint themselves as heroic victims . Media outlets subscribed to either one of those theories according to their political affinities , with the exception of the Ithorian news service , which seemed to be convinced the Hutt s were behind the bombing . While the bombing did paralyze the Senate , further pitting the Centrist Populist factions against each other , Lady Sindian chastised the Amaxines , criticizing them for not having created a more discreet distraction . Behind the scenes . Although the Napkin Bombing appeared in the 2016 novel " Bloodline " , which was written by Claudia Gray , the concept originated with Rian Johnson , who directed .