Refugee Relocation Operation

The Refugee Relocation Operation occurred in 15 ABY when the New Republic evacuated from Coruscant during a massive onslaught by the Galactic Empire.

In the wake of a fierce battle, millions of refugees were left homeless after fleeing Coruscant under the protection of the New Republic Military, which was also bogged down by heavy losses. While many systems offered to take on refugees, most of them ended up finding safe harbor on Dac and O.S. Paladin. The sheer number of now-homeless refugees drew the weakened Senate to open discussions on how to handle the situation. The overwhelming numbers were not only bogging down the military, but were sure to threaten the social and economic structures of safe planets such as Dac and Kashyyyk.

Elite members of the New Republic Second Fleet and members of the Jedi Order began scouting Republic space for locations that might serve as a new home for the refugees. It was a slow process, and after a couple of months, the situation was getting out of hand. The Ithorians had offered at least one herdship toward housing refugees, and Sullust chose to provide six bulk cruisers, which were renovated by Dacan technicians. Prefabricated housing modules were donated by Toprawa. Yet even with all of this support, the conditions refugees were forced to live in were growing dangerous. Rioting and drug abuse was breaking out on O.S. Paladin, hunger was spreading throughout refugee camps, and diseases were beginning to break loose and spread with rabid voracity.

The Senate expedited their task of choosing a new planet into which the refugees could be relocated to. During many sessions, the Senate became locked in debates and unable to make a firm decision, until scouting reports from the New Republic Military and the discovery of the Nyarikan Safeway by the Jedi Order pushed them toward a decision. This previously uncharted hyperspace route skimmed alarmingly close to the Nyarikan Nebula, but Jedi Master Luke Skywalker considered that the gravitational forces of the nebula could serve to hide any ion trails made by fleet movements through the Safeway.

With the navigational coordinates stored inside R2-D2's memory banks, Luke delivered the news to the New Republic Military's command staff. Realizing the benefits of having a secret, safe way to coordinate military and intel operations, leaders like Crix Madine and Leia Organa Solo were suddenly seriously considering Ord Mantell as not only a place for the refugees to call home, but even a place to call a new seat of government.

During a closed-door meeting of key New Republic Senate delegations, an agreement was made that Ord Mantell would become the new home of the New Republic. A resort city would be officially renamed New Alderaan, and a top-secret effort to relocate the refugees through the Nyarikan Safeway began, under the direct control of the New Republic Navy.