Star Wars/Mass Effect: Concursion

Chapter 1: In Service to the Force

500 hundred years after the events of the Battle of Yavin IV, the Republic has morphed into the Grand Imperial Republic. A Coruscanti government now controlled by an unelected Imperial family that rotates between noble houses every six generations. There is also an Imperial Senate which holds considerable legislative powers under the auspice of the monarch whose sole job is to make sure the Senate runs smoothly, and without corruption. The new Grand Imperial Republic has grown to comprise over 1.5 million direct systems, divided into twenty thousand sectors controlled by appointed Moffs. Grand Moffs form the upper house of the Senate and work in an advise and consent role with the monarch. Soon after the reformation the Jedi have left the comfortable confines of Coruscant to return to their ancestral home of Tython. At great cost, they restored the ancient temples and have grown to their Old Republic size of around ten thousand Masters, Knights, and Padawans, all with unique focuses within the Force arts again.

In addition, the New Order has reconstituted the old Antaarian Ranger force which still trains on Toprawa but accepts faithful recruits from across the galaxy. Once graduated, they are moved to Tython where they perform duties ranging from security, piloting, and intelligence gathering. Another new branch of Force users, the Imperial Knights, are now based in the old Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and serve the Force through fanatical devotion to the Emperor, who is always a Force sensitive.

The extra-galactic invaders, the Yuzhaan Vong, had convinced the galaxy that inter-galactic threats were all too real, and to survive next time, whether a century from now or ten thousand years, the galaxy has to be more ready than it was under the loose confederation of the New Republic that almost debated their way to the end of civilization as we know it. The New Republic was born out of a backlash to the Old Empire it had replaced. Like most backlashes driven by idealism, it seemed to go too far. Attempting to transform a civilization that had been governed under various forms of centralization for twenty thousand years into a loose confederation of equal member systems, seemed a bridge too far. Its flaws evident almost instantly in the corruption and gridlock that poisoned its ill formed senate. This new status quo could've probably chugged on for a few centuries under the base momentum of an economic society as large and as old as theirs. But the Yuuzhan Vong preempted the slow death that libertarian democracy on so large a scale was sure to bring.

The citizens of the galaxy knew two things for certain after the Sekot Accords; that they wanted more stability and security than a confederation could offer, and they didn't want to go back to the old Palpatinian Empire. But not everyone agreed, and in the spirit of this new Imperial Republic, those who wished it were given leave to form their own free systems. And so was born the Galactic Alliance of Free Systems.

The Galactic Alliance comprised a handful of roughly twelve thousand systems scattered across the galaxy that did not want the stability and security offered by the Imperial Republic. These systems operated as absolute democracies as matter of admission. Being cut off from the lucrative trade benefits that came with being part of an ever expanding empire, they did their best to make up for it with their commitment to free trade within their own spheres of influence. The Jedi work under their own mandate, but consult closely with both governments. In addition, about a thousand Jedi chose to leave Tython and reassemble on Fondor under a new Council led order they called the Brotherhood of the Light. The Brotherhood began wearing white robes to distinguish themselves from their former brethren, and many were so committed to the Light side of the Force they refused to carry a weapon. After a few decades of mild tension they became the Order's closest allies in the Force.

While the new order bared no resemblance to Palpatine's, non-human houses had held the Imperial saber, the Jedi Order had decided to cut official ties with the government. They agreed to train a new order of Imperial Knights, who would take over their old temple on Coruscant, while they rebuilt their ancestral home on Tython in the Deep Core. Once Tython was remade in the image of the old Je'daii Bendu, they set about pursuing their own Force driven agenda. Quite often, their interests aligned with that of the Imperial Republic, but they were no longer the body's official peacekeepers. Under the Treaty of Ruusan signed by Empress Shasta Fel, any child with a midi-chlorian count higher than two hundred would be sent to Tython if their family allowed it. Any child under two hundred would go to the Imperial Knights on Coruscant.

Ven Sala sat back in his chair and glanced around the vast historical library at the Old City Archive, the rebuilt repository for galactic history. There were wings for many different intellectual pursuits, and was the only center of its kind on Tython. Unlike the rebuilt Temples of Healing, Science, Arts, Force and Martial skills, the Old City Archive was administered by regular citizens. The majority of Tython's population was made up of Jedi and their Antaarian allies, but there were also about ninety thousand regular citizens. Many were devoted members of the Temple of the Force, while others were adherents of other faiths attempting to escape persecution under the protection of the Order. One of which, a matriarchal order of Twi'leks, deemed heretical on Ryloth, had lived in the mountain village of Kalikori since the Great War nearly five thousand years ago.

If truth be told, Ven had spent far less time here than he should have. Not only because it was good for the Jedi to interact with the regular citizens. Since leaving Padawan Kesh, the large athletic Jedi had spent most of his time at Quigong and Stav Kesh, honing his Force and martial abilities to the point where he was quickly becoming regarded as one of the Order's preeminent blademasters. But as his old Master, Kelong Sai, had told him; "your skills and power in the Force are useless at best and dangerous at worst without the knowledge to apply them correctly." So, Ven had spent the last few months almost exclusively at Kaleth on one of the planet's more serene southern continental plains. It was a far cry from the bitter cold and high altitude that marked the setting for Stav Kesh. And if he was honest with himself, he had neglected the Order's cerebral pursuits almost entirely since his passing of the trials.

His contemplation was broken by some whispering from across the room. He looked over to see the Archive's Head Archivist, the Ithorian Momaw Bilduga, gesturing to his Padawan, Nair. Locking eyes with him, she flashed a characteristic ear cone to ear cone smile, and walked briskly over. Nair Nesboa was originally from Ryloth, a planet that had the odd descriptor of being both Republic founding world and semi-autonomous seat of its own system. This partial independence was a result of its native species inclination towards an overbearing patriarchy that saw even female relatives sold into various types of servitude. This independence usually meant the Jedi had to pay to have a Force sensitive Twi'lek female released into their care. Given Nair's deep blue skin, stunning features, and lithe but muscular figure, Ven had no doubt where she would be now had she not been chosen as a vessel of the Force. And at seventeen standard years, she was nearing her Trials.

"Master, I'm still not used to searching for you here" she said with a gentle harangue, smiling at the playful turn in their master/apprentice relationship.

"I'm still not used to finding myself here Padawan, but we are all forever growing in the Force."

"Even Grand Master Rhysode?" She asked, turning serious for a moment.

"Even she."

It was Nair who had now turned contemplative, and Ven steeped his hands in front of him. "I imagine you flew here from Padawan Kesh?"

Now she was snapped out of her thoughts, "what? No master. I mean yes. Master Nu at the Temple told me to find you and report to Kaleth. Apparently they couldn't reach you by comm."

Ven felt a rush of mild embarrassment and pulled the cylindrical com device out of his robe's inner pocket. "Yes, I turned off my comm when I came in…I guess I've been here longer than I thought."

"That's good Master. It didn't sound urgent. Plus how are you going to teach me everything if you don't know everything?"

He rose, and draped an arm across her shoulder, pulling her close to his side in a moment of lighthearted bonding before they walked out of the archives and into her waiting shuttle, bound for the Order's new home of the High Council.

Kaleth was just a forty minute flight from the Old City. The large tri-tower temple fashioned from dark Tythonian granite rose high out of the Ban Forest. While Ven could see a slight resemblance to the now Imperial Temple on Coruscant, the towers were as wide as the central building there. Each tower rose out of a wide pedestal at the base of each. High above, near the apex of each tower they were connected by a large, enclosed walkway. At the crown of each tower, sat a windowed council chamber. The western most tower council met to discuss and administer the Order's agricultural projects. The eastern tower held the meeting place for the Order's Master healers, where they planned remedies for the galaxy's various plague and war victims. The lone northern tower, whose pedestal hanger the pair of Jedi were currently landing in, held the Order's High Council.

They moved briskly, but not urgently, passed the hangar's Antaarian security guards, and into the temple proper. Like the outside, Kaleth held a rustic feel to it. The walls and columns were cut from furbished granite while the floors were made from Esselian marble. At various places throughout were bronzium statues of great Jedi of generations past. It reminded Ven of holos he had seen of the temporary temple on Yavin IV, founded by the great Master Skywalker after the fall of the Old Empire. They got into the inconspicuous lift, with its granite doors, and started the quick ride up the council chambers.

"What do you think it is master?" Nair asked, a little hesitant over her perceived nervousness.

He decided not to use the moment to impart a lesson, instead settling on the simple truth; "A mission of some kind young one. I believe if there was a galactic emergency we would see more activity."

The lift opened into a large vestibule. On either side of the old fashioned Tythonian Oak doors were two Rangers; Vedron and Calissa. Ven greeted each by name. "We have been summoned."

"Yes Knight Sala, they are waiting." A wave of the Elomin's hand opened the double doors inward. Inside they saw Jedi Douce Andiso, and her Padawan Amiono Thule, already waiting inside.

Now this room was nearly identical to the Imperial Council on Coruscant. They walked into the center of the room, over the marble floor overlaid with the symbol of the Order, and bowed deeply to the council in general, but Grand Master Rhysode in particular. The current Grand Master was a human, but for the first time in many generations humans were outnumbered on the High Council eight to four. There was a Gotal, Togorian, Togruta, Klatooinian, and two near humans; a Zeltron and a Pantoran. Two other members; a Dornean and a Whipid were present by hologram.

"Jedi Sala, Padawan Nesbo," the graying Human Grand Master intoned, her hands steeped in front of her chest in a meditative posture.

She continued without waiting for a verbal greeting from either pair, "Early this morning we received a request for assistance from Doran. Our allies in the Baran Do have lost one of the more promising students to the Dark Side of the Force. They believe he is planning a takeover of the order…and unfortunately, he has seduced a number of the younger mystics to his cause. You and your Padawans will travel to Doran and meet with Shama Heeple, one of the Council of the Path members. She will be your liason on planet."

A simple nod was all the dismissal they received and they bowed deeply in return, before turning on their heel and marching back to the vestibule, and their next mission in service to the Force.