Secession of Sy Myrth

"Since Sy Myrth is largely self-sufficient and quite wealthy, I think the only thing the planet will "suffer" is being released from the burden of Republic taxation."

―Political commentator Brookish Boon^[1]

The Secession of Sy Myrth was one of the defining events of the Separatist Crisis, occurring on the eve of the Clone Wars in 23 BBY. The planet Sy Myrth unilaterally declared their withdrawal from the Galactic Republic and became a reliable stronghold of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, supporting the fight against Republic forces in the region.

History

Conflict of interest

The planet Sy Myrth was located on the inner border of the Outer Rim Territories, and it was an important point for spacers who crossed hyperspace trade routes such as the Salin Corridor and the Triellus Trade Route. Sy Myrth had long been a member of the Galactic Republic and, despite many challenges of the time, remained loyal to the galactic-wide state.^[2]

Senator Toonbuck Toora in the Galactic Senate

Representing the homeworld in the Galactic Senate fell to the Sy Myrthian Toonbuck Toora. She entered the Senate as an idealistic crusader, only to become corrupted by the riches offered in the Galactic Core. Over her many years of «service» to the Republic, crafty and non-confrontational, Toora was content to hoard wealth by exploiting loopholes in the system rather than by challenging those more powerful than herself. Her interests leaned more toward the business end of the political spectrum, and she sided with the engines of commerce during partisan disputes that split the Senate.^[3] She now counts among her friends criminal senators she once held in contempt and rewards loyal supporters with lucrative appointments as consorts or aides.^[4]

Thus, following her own motives, she first sided with Trade Federation representatives during the Naboo incident and later became a vocal critic of the Republic's efforts to regulate Commerce Guild operations in the Outer Rim. Over the course of these political confrontations, she became a prominent opponent of Palpatine,^[1] the senator of Naboo, who managed to get elected Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic^[5] in 32 BBY.^[6]

Proclamation of Independence

During the final decades of the Republic, war loomed over the galaxy, and the last months before the collapse of the apparent peace were a chaotic tangle of intrigue, secret alliances, and betrayals. In 23 BBY, three months before the outbreak of large-scale conflict,^[7] a turning point – or convenient pretext – emerged: the debate over the Military Creation Act, a bill to reestablish the Republic’s standing army in response to the growing separatist movement spreading across many worlds.^[1]

Sy Myrth announced its secession during the morning session of the Senate

At the same time, Republic transports destined for Sy Myrth had been denied passage for the previous 25 days, and Senator Toora had been absent from duty for over a standard month. Even though this had not been stated publicly, such signs appeared to be clear indications of Sy Myrth's impending secession from the Galactic Republic. Eventually, during one of the morning Senate sessions, the Aqualish representative Po Nudo, acting through a trusted droid proxy, formally declared the independence of his homeworld and submitted his resignation.^[1] Aligning with Po Nudo's position, Toonbuck Toora persuaded Sy Myrth to secede from the Republic following the Aqualish secession,^[8] and likewise submitted her resignation.^[1] Shortly afterward, star systems such as Umbara, Thustra, and Persavi followed the lead of Antar, Ando, and Sy Myrth in breaking with the Republic.^[9]

Although the secession of Sy Myrth came as little surprise to Coruscant insiders, correspondents turned to the Chancellor’s office for comment on the events, but none received a reply. Instead, journalists speculated that the Sy Myrthians' defection would be addressed at the next day’s Senate session.^[1]

Aftermath

Refugees crisis

"That the liner registered on anyone's long range sensors proves that the ship wasn't following procedure. Now that we've actually got data readings of it proves this."

―Roonyard Noon, a Sy Myrthian lawyer whose wife and three children were aboard the Wake^[10]

Shortly after the simultaneous independence declarations of Ando and Sy Myrth, various major starlines, such as «Freespan Starlanes Transport», «Romodi Interstellar» and «Galaxy Tours», announced plans to double the number of regular passenger routes from Coruscant. However, these decisions were driven primarily by the Aqualish desire to leave the planet rather than by any significant demand among the Sy Myrthians. The latter were estimated at around 15 million on Coruscant, and they were widely distributed across the various municipalities.^[11]

However, there were still Sy Myrthians who wished to leave Coruscant, and a tragic incident occurred on one of the outbound flights. The Elegant Wake, a Sy Myrthian passenger liner, departed the planet carrying 456 registered passengers, all of them Sy Myrthian refugees returning to their recently seceded world. Its travel route skirted the Merson asteroid belt, which required a reversion to realspace. A Merson raider group emerged from the field, attacked the unarmed liner, and scuttled it. Four days later, long-range sensor data compiled by a BoSS network subspace relay confirmed the incident. Relatives of the victims threatened to file a class-action suit against «Romodi Interstellar», the operator of the liner, for negligence. They argued that the standard silent-running procedure for transiting the asteroid field had been mishandled due to crew incompetence, and that the BoSS data would support their claims. Their pursuit of compensatory damages was slowed by increased bureaucratic hurdles, as Sy Myrth was no longer a Republic world and thus its access to the Courts required special administrative handling.^[10]

Political consequences

"Upon examining the data provided by Senator Farr, we have found evidence of Senator Looruya transferring large sums of credits to Separatist territories on Ando, Sy Myrth and Sluis Van. He has not yet offered an explanation for the transactions."

―SBI officer Nels Bulson^[12]

Soon after, the senator from Rodia, Onaconda Farr, conducted a personal investigation into the activities of hundreds of politicians and judges who had shaped the Republic’s agenda and compiled a list of names exposed for their ties to Separatist worlds. In particular, senator Havriso Looruya, a member of the Chancellor’s inner-circle Loyalist Committee, had been transferring large sums of credits to Separatist accounts on Ando, Sy Myrth, and Sluis Van. The disgraced Senate Bureau of Intelligence used Farr’s list to continue its inquiry.^[12] A week after the scandal, senator Onaconda took Looruya’s place on the Committee, while the Bureau’s investigation resulted in a further 12 arrests.^[13]

Behind the scenes

The Secession of Sy Myrth was first mentioned in a HoloNet News report, HoloNet News Vol. 531 45. However, in the climax of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, which chronologically took place after the report, senator Toonbuck Toora appeared among other members of the Republic Senate – something that should not have been possible, given that Sy Myrth had already seceded in favor of the CIS. In the 101st issue of Star Wars Insider magazine, the regular column “Ask Lobot” highlighted this continuity inconsistency, but also suggested that it might not have been Toonbuck Toora, but rather another Sy Myrthian who, by analogy with the Andoan Free Colonies, could have represented a Sy Myrth colony that chose to remain part of the Galactic Republic.^[14]