NationStates Jolt Archive

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Only two days prior the Battle of Coruscant had left the city and Republic scarred. The Separatists had managed to bypass the defenses and launch a raid directly into the heart of Republic. Worse yet, they had abducted the Chancellor and during the fighting, it was learned, he had been cut down by General Grievous. Though the Confederacy felt defeat that day, they had stabbed a spike through the heart of the Republic and retreated to fight another day.

Rumors about that fateful day ever since surfaced and pervaded society already. The story tells of Strike Group Five led by Captain Lorth Needa at the Battle of Coruscant. After Grievous had personally infiltrated the planet and had stolen away Chancellor Palpatine, he returned to his ship and prepared to pull back into hyperspace. His plan was to later send demands and threats back to the Republic for the return of their Chancellor, but unfortunately for all parties involved, everything went wrong. As Grievous returned to the Invisible Hand, it was promptly surrounded by ships under the command of Captain Needa. He issued an ultimatum to the Confederate General: surrender or die. Grievous, however, had no intent of surrendering and responded with a threat to kill Palpatine if he was not allowed to leave immediately. So soon after the abduction, most still did not know of Palpatine's disappearance and thus Needa did not believe Grievous. When he ordered the fleet to fully open fire on the Invisible Hand, Grievous executed the Chancellor and escaped as his ship crashed down into the surface of Coruscant. Soon after boarding another ship, he fled the system, followed shortly behind by the remnants of his attack fleet. Upon hearing the "truth" of the story, Needa couldn't help but feel completely responsible for the death of the Republic's Chancellor. Whether he is still capable of command or is too broken down is a mystery so soon after the perilous events and only time will tell. Or so the story goes...

The roar of the Grand Convocation Chamber echoed with a furious pounding, reminding Bail Organa of his new role and responsibility. He stood, waiting momentarily, on his podium in the holding office below the Senate floor. The day before, at an emergency meeting of the Galactic Senate, Organa had received an overwhelming majority of the support and votes to elect him as the new Chancellor. Having just taken the Oath administered by Vice Chair Mas Amedda, today was the first official day of the Republic under Bail Organa. Slowly the podium rose through the floor and up thirty meters into the grand chamber, bringing Bail Organa, his chief aide, and Mas Amedda into full view. Normally it would require some urging to quiet the Senate and its numerous arguments, but today was different. A single torch rose above the podium in commemoration and commiseration of the late Chancellor that led the Republic for eight difficult years. Now was time for the new Chancellor to give his speech, memorializing his predecessor and reassuring the galaxy that the Republic would be victorious...

All around the senators turned towards the center where the podium jutted up from the floor. The respected yet unfamiliar face of Bail Organa appeared where the late Palpatine had become a fixture. They watched and listened intently... some more than others.

Padme Amidala, senator from Naboo having taken Palpatine's previous position in the Senate, was one of the Loyalist favorites to replace the late Chancellor. However, when it came to voting, she was rebuked heavily, receiving a vast minority behind three other senators. Whether the rejection angered her was apparent to no one as she kept her stoic and yet passionate face. She stood waiting, dressed in high fashion, with the others, though perhaps slightly more judgmental. Though her mind was now on nothing but the Republic, a day earlier, as Anakin returned from the battle, she had revealed to him that she was carrying his child.

Both their secret relationship and his growing nightmares of Padme's death have been wearing on the young Anakin Skywalker. Though young he has already proven to hold skills comparable to many of the Council members. For this reason, however, he is impatient and arrogant, traits that have led the Council to be wary of him. Many times already Anakin has been shown to be driven blindly by emotion, against the Jedi code. Recently, in the Battle of Coruscant, after learning about his mentor Palpatine's death, Anakin seemed to be possessed by a bloodlust, slaughtering everything in his path. He now stood in a pod not too far above Padme, knowing that being with her would raise too many questions, but being without her would hurt him too much. While everyone's eyes turned towards the rising Chancellor, Anakin's stared intently at his love.

Watching the young Jedi grow from skilled pod racer to one of the most talented Knights ever witnessed in the order has produced both awe and fear from his peers and superiors. Mace Windu, particularly, is rightly concerned about his emotional state and since the battle ended he has been keeping a close watch on Anakin, or else having someone do it for him. Now, though, despite the appearance of a Jedi in the midst of the Senate being a rarity, Mace rose with the Chancellor, standing on the lower level with the Sergeant at Arms. Hidden beneath the Jedi cloak, Windu stood stoically, watching the Senate intently as they in turn looked back, though never seeing him. Obi-Wan Kenobi was asked to keep an eye on Anakin at the moment. Instead of watching from a far, Kenobi had simply entered Anakin's pod and leaned up against the rail next to him. He more than most had a strong suspicion that something was going on between Anakin and Senator Amidala, but he had said nothing to provoke his former apprentice. Anakin's lock on Padme was only one of numerous hints of confirmation.

Thus Obi-Wan Kenobi watched Anakin, while Anakin watched Padme, while Padme watched Bail Organa as Windu stood by... watching them all.

During the announcements that would shape the future of the Republic, many Jedi chose to remain in their enclave at the Temple. Some sat in meditation, others researched in the great library, a few discussed the war and planned their strategies, and still others dueled to sharpen their skills. Kit Fisto, a revered Jedi Master, sat with the likes of Plo Koon, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and others in the Council area, wrapping up a discussion on recent events and preparing for the next Council meeting whenever it was. The most recognizes and revered of them all, however, was not discussing the war wisely, meditating powerfully, or practicing skillfully. Instead, Master Yoda was instructing the younglings in their earliest years of lightsaber practice. For a day all classes had been cancelled and the youngest of the Order were sealed under the Temple for their security during the Battle of Coruscant, but now that the danger had passed, classes continued and Yoda seemed as happy to be with them as ever.

Aayla Secura, a female knight and Twi'lek, was quickly climbing through the corridors of the Temple spires to the Jedi High Council. Recently she had received a transmission from the jungle home world of the Ewoks. It was a quick burst transmission with little information, but whatever it was, there seemed to be trouble on Endor. The nature of the trouble, however, could not quite be determined based on little information given in the message. All efforts of the young Twi'lek to respond had met with failure, so she now marched to the Council to bring the matter to their attention. Sending help was usually an obvious and given response, but now that the Republic's forces and Jedi ranks were spread thin across the galaxy, and thinning every day as the Confederacy pushed forward, such a response was not certain. A debate would have to be had to determine the nature of the Republic's response from nothing to a single Jedi to an army.

Elsewhere in the Galaxy...

With the war only beginning to ramp up, the Republic forces and Jedi were spread far and wide across the galaxy...

Recent intelligence gathered during the Battle of Coruscant pointed towards a possible attack on the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk. As such, the Republic sent a nearby Sector Army under the command of Jedi Quinlan Vos to reinforce the Wookiees and prepare to repel any invasion. There was a secret in the galaxy, however, that Quinlan did not know about. His love, Khaleen, a beautiful woman who lurked in the dark places of the world, was pregnant with his child. As he battled for the Republic and she stayed on the corrupt world of Nar Shadda, she had yet to tell him of the joyous news. Before dealing with the matter of bearing a child, however, Quinlan had to prepare the defense of an entire species.

On the Smuggler's Moon, Nar Shadda, a crime infested world fought over by neither the Republic nor the Confederacy and out of the true reach of the Jedi, darkness was rising. It was a world controlled by the Hutts where bounty hunters converged Jedi often never returned from. Such was the case for Cin Drallig's most gifted student, Serra Keto. One wonders why a Jedi Knight would travel alone to the infested moon circling Nal Hutta; perhaps she was lured there for she did not return. Aurra Sing, a former Jedi padawan turned Jedi hunter, was about to collect another bounty. She had laid her trap perfectly and despite Keto's skill, she found herself in an escapable situation. Within moments her body was crushed and her force signature disappeared from the universe, leaving only a slight echo in the force as a signal to her death. Cin Drallig, being close to his former padawan, would feel it the most, even more than Yoda, and immediately know something was wrong. Soon he too was traveling to the Jedi Council to bring this disturbance to their attention.

After their near success in activating the Infinity Gate on Dathomir, the Nightsisters were scatted and broken badly. Over the next decade, however, Gethzerion, the leader of the witches, gathered the sisters back together and began restoring the clan to some deal of power. Furious at Master Quinlan Vos and the Jedi for thwarting their plan to take control of the powerful Infinity Gate, the Nightsisters have been plotting their revenge and debating joining the reformed Sith in their war against the Republic and Jedi Order.

Grievous, the master general of the Confederacy, now no longer restricted by Sidious's plans for failure, has been planning their new strategy to destroy the Republic. Factories have begun increasing their production of droids and millions have been activated to combat the Clone Army's offensives. An entire reformatting of their strategy was underway between Grievous and the Separatist leaders including Nute Gunray and others. They would be settling in for a long war of attrition in which they would eventually win with superior, ever-increasing numbers.

Now Dark Lord of the Sith, Count Dooku scours the galaxy for his apprentice to carry on the 'Rule of Two.' However, for everywhere he looks in the galaxy, he also lends an eye to the heart of the Republic and Anakin Skywalker. His power, he knows, rises with every passing day, making him both a useful tool to turn to the Dark Side and an apprentice to be wary of.

But still more mysterious than everything else, is a frozen pod floating through space with a lone occupant. For nearly four thousand years this ancient being has remained in suspended animation, waiting for someone to wake him and restore him to his power. Whether he walks the light or dark path is just as mysterious as his very existence.

The scene has been set, the curtain peeled back, and the Shroud of War lifted...

The rippling blaster-fire reached a thrashing crescendo as it ruptured through the shifting lines of Jedi assault, resplendent blades falling likes reeds under a sharp wind as an inifinity of glinting structures burst from the inky night and stole another with a grating and a fury of wretched wailing. All around a crashing chaos of debris struck the fractured ground while macabre spectres fell flaming, their rainfall of smattering crimson slickening grisly countenance and staining scorched flesh as the inexorable tide of demise, rushing up cracked steps after the swift dartings of their flickering weapons, consumed the potent signature of metallic beasts who guarded the great door.

The broken moon lit the dark corridors with an eerie glow, the shrill sound of shattering skulls as dark hoods revealed the grinning damned, wielding an uncomprehendable fierceness as they broke the company to the sound of weeping children. The entire Temple shook as monolithic cannons thrust mighty beams into the heart of the trembling structure, swirling lashes of energy whipped randomly at the mortals as the building began to disintegrate, banshee laughter as flesh was caressed from defiant faces, blazing eyes so bright with ceaseless rage, powderized in the frothings of crackling death which exhausted the echoing halls.

Fisto, so small and lonely as his arm is ragged then nothing, the dripping of ichor traces delicate lines to his beating hearts, it's then that his vast optics notice the gloom within the light, a pale face so twisted he doesn't recognize, then, reaching a bitter hand to stroke the soft locks he knows. Fear registers on the face, a hasty fumbling produces a potent gouge as the scarlet pierces the yielding Master, a characteristic smile adorning the remains before they crumple to ash.

Kit awoke in the icy waters, carefully removing himself from the AquaPod he blinked the fresh light of another day. Hard days, another day of meaningless words, every day the dull sound of marching would herald more soldiers sent off to the front, every day the requests for talks between the Separatists and Republic was met with silence. The Republic increasingly demanded the Jedi to be solely warriors, a perturbing notion which would need addressing later by the Council...


OoC: I figured somebody needed to post, and while I'd rather it was somebody better than me, I gave it a shot.

It had only been a couple of weeks since the dark betrayal at Norval II, but Mandalore (Spar) had already gathered the survivors of the ambush and began plotting. After being ambushed by the Jedi, only thirty or so of the Mandalorian Protectors had managed to escape, scattered across the galaxy and far from their home on Mandalore. A few had attempted to return, at the very least to salvage some equipment and technology. Some even succeeded in doing so, but others were cut down as they returned home by the Republic forces now occupying the planet. It was lost...

Thus Mandalore the Resurrector gathered the scattered Mandalorians and brought them to Raxus Prime to establish a new base. It was a waste-covered planet filled with toxic debris and a poisonous surface, so as they stood before their leader outside their new fortress (http://images.wikia.com/starwars/images/7/74/RaxusPrime1.jpg), they remained fully suited in armor and gas mask.

"Brothers!" Spar, the great Mandalore, said in a powerful voice to the twenty-four Mandalorians that stood before him. "At first we were cast off by the Republic and their Jedi. Now we have been spurned by the Separatists and their Sith Lord. Today we start a new chapter and begin a NEW ERA for the Mandalorian Warriors!" Once Protectors of their home planet, they had now been renamed and reestablished as the great warriors of history and myth.

"Our betrayal will become our blessing. We will bolster our numbers, training new members and creating a new Mandalorian power!" His words were met with a unified cheer from the elite commandos before him. He began again in nigh a whisper, "Beneath our new home lays an abandoned factory. We shall begin anew, creating weapons to wage our war against the galaxy. Brothers, who is with me!"

A roar of approval meant the beginning of the rebirth...

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And so it began. The factory beneath the tower roared to life. Technology and data recovered from their home on Mandalore was put into production. New suits of armor, weapons, and eventually Basilisk War Droids and StarViper-class attack platforms, designs from MandalMotors. They even managed to begin production of some war droids furnished to them by the Separatists before the betrayal.

But they would need more than just weapons to begin making their influence felt. They would need more warriors. A call went out to the people of the galaxy, especially to those on the occupied planet of Mandalore, for entrance into the elite Mandalorian Warriors. Soon, potential entrants would begin replying, and Mandalore would make contact and bring them to the new base on Raxus Prime so that they could begin training.

The Mandalorians would rise again...

Count Dooku, alias Darth Tyrannus, stood aboard the bridge of the Providence-class carrier/destroyer of the same name. The Providence was the pilot of the class, and hence was named as such. The Dark Lord of the Sith himself was contemplating many things, including the need for an apprentice. He himself was old, and no one could deny that fact. With no apprentice, the Sith would be no more. With a narrow-minded fool like Grievous as the Leader, the Confederacy of Independent Systems would fall, leaving in its wake squabbling planets, which would be easily conquerable by the Republic.

One of the candidates for the Count's apprenticeship was young Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi Knight that Dooku himself had fought, and beaten. Tyrannus knew that baiting Anakin to come to him would prove itself easy, as the arrogant worm would be eager to avenge the severing of his forearm.

(I'll wait to post as Obi-Wan until we have an Anakin.)

OOC: I will post tomorrow.