473.16 // Hutt-backed pirates declare “campaign of tribute” against Outer Rim; hundreds seized in raids across more than eight planets
OUTER RIM, 473.16 – Hutt-backed pirate groups have attacked several planets in the Outer Rim in a coordinated “campaign of tribute” against worlds left without Republic Navy protection, officials have stated.
A coalition of pirate cartels claimed responsibility for the raids, stating that they would continue to raid any world that refused to pay them tribute. Some of these groups also demanded the Republic recognise their control over key space lanes and moons within the Outer Rim.
The raids have raised fears that the region’s security crisis has entered a new and much more dangerous phase.
Head of the Republic’s Outer Rim Security Committee, Senator Hammond Peramis, has stated that at least 600 people had been kidnapped by pirate groups in the attacks, and at least 10 civilian starships have been captured or destroyed.
The largest raid took place on Rettna IV, where local authorities said gunmen in four landing craft attacked a refinery settlement. At least 240 people are missing. Residents said that the settlement’s local militia was overwhelmed, and likely destroyed.
In orbit over Utapau, pirates boarded a passenger ship exiting hyperspace and took its 79 passengers and crew. Footage released appears to show armed pirates of Nagai origin moving through the ship’s corridors wielding Hutt-import blaster weaponry.
The Galactic Senate has condemned the Hutt Cartel for “a blatant act of hostility”, and stated that it is “preparing a severe response” if its citizens are not freed by the pirate groups. Many of these pirate groups are believed to have strong ties to the Hutt Cartel. The most powerful of these groups, the ‘Sun-Splitters’, are known to pay tribute to Gor’lan the Hutt, one of the leading figures of the interstellar cartel.
The Senate has also strongly criticised the League of Sovereign Systems for the weakness of its space patrols, which they allege allowed pirate groups to move into Republic space without being detected.
A spokesperson from the Malvero government has stated that the “government is taking swift and aggressive action to ensure that its people are protected from outside threats.”