Pijal

Pijal was a terrestrial planet located in the Inner Rim Territories' Pijal system that was connected to the hyperspace route known as the Pijal Hyperspace Corridor. The world had a moon nearly as large as itself and was affected by solar flares from its sun roughly every decade. Pijal's surface consisted of small, green-and-gold island continents surrounded by broad oceans. Several millennia before the reign of the Galactic Republic, Pijal's first pilgrims arrived on the world. After establishing the Pijali monarchy under a royal charter, the settlers constructed the royal palace complex. Several hyperspace routes linking Pijal and nearby worlds were established and the Czerka Corporation commenced commercial mining operations on the planet and its moon. At the height of its prominence, Pijal became one of the first worlds to adopt planetary shield technology. However, centuries after the planet's first settlers arrived, the formation of the Byrnum Maw nebula disrupted the hyperspace routes linking Pijal to the wider galaxy, leaving the world and its inhabitants relatively isolated.

In 48 BBY, arguments ensued between the planet's courtiers over who should rule as regent for the world's crown princess, Fanry, until she was old enough to ascend the throne as queen. At the request of the Republic, the Jedi High Council sent the Jedi Rael Averross to Pijal as a neutral arbiter. For several years, Fanry privately cultivated her resentment for Averross's control of her life and his decisions as lord regent. By this point, the Czerka Corporation had accumulated immense influence over the world's affairs—strengthened by Averross's wholehearted support for their agenda. In 40 BBY, Republic scientists discovered that it was possible to stabilize a section of the Byrnum Maw by establishing hyperspace anchors on Pijal and its moon, which would allow the world to reconnect with the wider galaxy. Averross began collaborating with the Czerka Sector Supervisor Meritt Col to draft the Governance Treaty—an initiative that would strip power from the Pijal system's governing monarchy and instead grant authority to a democratic Assembly of Pijali citizens.

Displeased with the ritual language in the treaty's draft that would irrevocably enshrine Czerka's power on Pijal, the Opposition performance troupe began protesting the Governance Treaty's signing. Unwilling to empower Czerka's abuse of her world's citizens, Fanry began forming revolutionary plans to thwart Averross's aspirations of installing her as a relatively powerless constitutional monarch after her coronation. With the assistance of her royal guard captain, Deren, and her enslaved attendant, Cady, the princess organized a portion of her world's armed forces into a paramilitary division of blackguards. She then enabled their vicious attacks on Czerka vessels and facilities in the Pijal system while she helped frame the resulting incidents on the Opposition. As the strikes sharply intensified, the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, were sent to Pijal to ratify the Governance Treaty's signing and investigate the attacks' perpetrators.

After arriving on Pijal, Jinn and Kenobi conducted several fact-finding missions to Pijal's moon to locate Opposition members with the help of jewel thieves Pax Maripher and Rahara Wick. Undeterred, Fanry devised a fake assassination attempt against herself and conceived a way to sabotage her Grand Hunt, both of which Cady carried out in the hopes that Averross would cancel the treaty signing out of fear. Eventually, Jinn and Kenobi discovered that the performance troupe had been framed for the attacks, but Averross refused to listen to their evidence until after he visited a blackguard base on Pijal. On the day of her crowning, Fanry ascended Pijal's throne as an absolute monarch and decried democracy.

Following a botched attempt to execute Czerka supporters, she boarded her flagship, the Righteous, and prepared to attack the Leverage, a Czerka cruiser commanded by Col. When the queen remained committed to exacting revenge on Col despite the workers aboard the Leverage attempting to revolt against their enslavers, Cady was enraged and held her at blaster-point until she surrendered. Afterward, Fanry abdicated as queen, which allowed her distant cousin Lamia to sign the necessary treaties ending the Pijali monarchy. The new Assembly's Governor Orth subsequently canceled the planet's Czerka contracts. In the following years, Jinn and Kenobi came to view their mission on Pijal as a formative turning point in their relationship, after which they shared a genuine friendship.

Text and facts from the “Pijal” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.