There is no emotion... (A Jedi Order Quest)

[Voikirium]

Research Results 3942 BBY

-Let's Just Be Friends (20/20)

If the Republic should decide to invade the Hutts. If, Force forsake it, a "policing action" is necessary to the Galactic North.

If. If. If.

You would prefer not having to be a party to a war of choice, launched to make some politician's reelection campaign a few percentage points easier. You've had enough war for a life time, seen enough dead and broken bodies drifting through the void. You will go to war if you must, but not for political expediency. So you make some holo-calls, and of course if such a thing should happen you will serve honorably ensuring things do not burn to the ground in the absence of so much manpower.

(-1 Detachment from not joining Republic Wars)
--
-The Holocron of Arren Kae

It is...a curious thing, to look at Kreia before the weight of wine, and age, and oath destroyed her. Before betrayal blackened her heart. Before, before, before.

Your newest master, of course, has the most luck with it. Having spent years studying it in secret, he knows many pass phrases to many stores of hidden knowledge.

"Master Kae." He is bowed, cross legged, before the cube of silver metal. With a brush of the mind that you all feel it activates, and standing there is Kreia. She does not have the look of absolute acedia mingled with fury that crossed her face for those scarce handful of months you knew her, racing to save the galaxy from...well, her. Indeed she looks almost eager to be sought after, for others to seek her counsel, her wisdom. The weight of experience was cruel to her heart, you knew this; but to see her before it was crushed into blackest charcoal is an educational experience.

"Yes? Have you come with questions?"

"There are others who would seek some of the knowledge which you hold."

"Very well. First, I must teach them as I would teach you, student." The holocron turns to the rest of you, the illusory robes shifting as she does. "Tell me, what would you consider your greatest strength..."
--
(Adaptive and fast on their feet +10, +18 Knowledge)

First, sorry for disappearing earlier in the month. We held my grandfather's funeral.

Secondly. Sorry I did not update yesterday, I got roped into taking care of the dog.

Mission report should be up, call it tomorrow at latest?

 

[Voikirium]

Mission Report 3942 Q3 BBY

Mission 1 (The Core, Councilor Mira, 2 Jedi Consulars, 2 Jedi Sentinel, 1 Jedi Guardian, 6 Padawans)
-Guardian Breda Sunguard-

We have been chosen to escort a dignitary from the Yuuzhan Vong, an ambassador. It should be an easy trip, but the Republic, I have no doubts, hopes that we should present a good case for ourselves to him.

Mission 2 (The Inner Rim, Bao-Dur, 3 Jedi Consulars, 4 Jedi Sentinels, 3 Jedi Guardians, 8 Padawans)
-Grandmaster Bao-Dur-

They've found a notable Sith sympathizer within the ranks of the Ord Secunda Defense Force. She's shipping out old surplus from the Great Sith War, which sure isn't that threatening but letting it go is still a bad idea, if for no other reason than there are plenty of pre-steam planets within conquest distance. The good news is, she's an old war buddy, though we dropped out of contact right quick after the war.

The bad news, of course, is that she fought for Revan after he went bad too.

Mission 3 (The Mid-Rim, Consular Atris, 2 Jedi Sentinels, 1 Jedi Master Watchman, 5 Jedi Guardians, 8 Padawans)
-Master Watchman Kador Shirote-

A whodunnit is very rapidly developing between the embassies of Kajjan and Jakra, small, barely Hyperspace-capable worlds, their nearest neighbor Ord Varee, which is not itself exactly a bustling orbit. The two have been at each other's throats since they were stuck on STL slowboats and stumbled on each other, both orbiting the same star. The ambassador of Jakra is dead, with a Kajjan boomerang slammed in his throat. Right now the only, not-particularly-plausible-but-there-isn't-anybody-better suspect, is the ambassador of Kajjan, a man who hasn't wield a blade more threatening than a butter knife since the end of the Years of Plasma and his education at the Monastery of the Sacred Oath, which whatever else you might say about them aren't the murder type.

So now we need to figure out who among this band done did it. A war isn't plausible, but then, neither was anything about the emergence of the Sith.

Mission 4 (The Outer Rim, Councilor Atton Rand, 3 Jedi Consulars, 5 Jedi Sentinels, 2 Jedi Guardians, 6 Padawans)
-Consular Gavran Thol-

The Golden Thirteen-- leaders of the Brotherhood of Drakia, the dominant Force tradition on the planet mostly by virtue of to a greater or lesser extent absorbing the others. Not quite the right term for it, they still exist within the greater tradition as constituent parts by a bevy of political and legal agreements that I have only just started to even begin to scratch the surface on in spite of more than nine months of research.

Right, Thirteen. They want to see that we do still grasp "the purity of the Force", for they worry the "blinded one of pain has diluted our trust with the Way." So now I need to argue in favor of the most esoteric Jedi Philosophy.

Fun.

Mission 5 (The Colonies, Councilor Visas Marr, 1 Jedi Consular, 6 Jedi Sentinels, 2 Jedi Guardians, 6 Padawans)
-Councilor Visas Marr-

The Republic has initiated first contact with the world of Ari, who last month made their first, gasping steps into Hyperspace. Insectoids, they have highly developed their home system, with large settlements scattered throughout their considerably-wider-than-average asteroid belt, established over centuries. There are plenty of rare resources here, that would be quite useful in rebuilding the many worlds that are still wounded by the Jedi Civil War and the Mandalorian Wars.

While their cultures have diverged after their centuries split apart between the homeworld and the Belt, the vast majority are interested in trade. Still, the Republic has requested we join the negotiations, both to ensure no bad agents can get their claws into it and to help keep things smooth between negotiator and negotiated.

Mission 6 (The Expansion Region, Councilor Bastila Shan, 2 Jedi Consulars, 6 Jedi Sentinels, 6 Jedi Guardians, 6 Padawans)
-Councilor Bastila Shan-

There was an accident, in one of the rebuilt dormitories in the Ossus Temple. A fire that nearly killed me and everyone else on the third floor. Whether there was foul play remains to be investigated.

Mission 1 (The Core, Councilor Mira, 2 Jedi Consulars, 2 Jedi Sentinel, 1 Jedi Guardian, 6 Padawans)
-Guardian Breda Sunguard-

I feel that went well.

-Muffled, as though her hands are covering the recorder- How long did you say it will take the ambassador to recover from the kiiki fruit I gave him?

-FAILURE, -20 PP-

Mission 2 (The Inner Rim, Bao-Dur, 3 Jedi Consulars, 4 Jedi Sentinels, 3 Jedi Guardians, 8 Padawans)
-Grandmaster Bao-Dur-

I know, more than anyone, the weight that comes with war. My hands are stained with it.

But she refuses to let it go. All she can conceive to speak of is the War. How the Jedi betrayed us, by refusing to join en masse. How anybody not on the front ought to be kneeling down and kissing her boots for taking charge to fight off the Mandos. I believed in this foolishness once, I know, but I turned my back on it. She refuses. On and on it goes, all without the basic ability to acknowledge that the war is over. That she can leave it behind, once and for all, if she will simply stop this madness.

I do not have high hopes.

Mission 3 (The Mid-Rim, Consular Atris, 2 Jedi Sentinels, 1 Jedi Master Watchman, 5 Jedi Guardians, 8 Padawans)
-Master Watchman Kador Shirote-

But that angle is physically impossible. Unless, of course, the attacker was--

Stars above.

Mission 4 (The Outer Rim, Councilor Atton Rand, 3 Jedi Consulars, 5 Jedi Sentinels, 2 Jedi Guardians, 6 Padawans)
-Consular Gavran Thol-

"All knowledge, and indeed all wisdom, flows from the Force. You would agree with this precept?"

"Implicitly yes, though not to the lack of limits its crudest form might imply."

"Then can it not be said that to know anything is to further know the Force..."

Mission 5 (The Colonies, Councilor Visas Marr, 1 Jedi Consular, 6 Jedi Sentinels, 2 Jedi Guardians, 6 Padawans)
-Councilor Visas Marr-

I find the Ari presence within the Force to be agreeable. An echo of harmony, rather than brutal order; of justice, rather than tyranny; of quiet satisfaction rather than arrogance. I believe negotiations are going well.

Mission 6 (The Expansion Region, Councilor Bastila Shan, 2 Jedi Consulars, 6 Jedi Sentinels, 6 Jedi Guardians, 6 Padawans)
-Councilor Bastila Shan-

Any evidence within burned to the ground.

Except, of course, for the very conspicuous Incendiary Magazine left near pristine within what was left of the common room.

Somebody is trying to threaten us; but I don't know who.

(No Leads)

Mission 2 (The Inner Rim, Bao-Dur, 3 Jedi Consulars, 4 Jedi Sentinels, 3 Jedi Guardians, 8 Padawans)
-Grandmaster Bao-Dur-

I talked to her. About the Mass Shadow. About wandering the galaxy, about the loss we both suffered, about what needed to be done. Not necessarily to forgive, that can be a weight too great to bear, but to let it go and get on with the business of living.

Judging by the small flood of confiscated blasters and arrested smugglers, I would think she has listened.
(+10 PP)

Mission 3 (The Mid-Rim, Consular Atris, 2 Jedi Sentinels, 1 Jedi Master Watchman, 5 Jedi Guardians, 8 Padawans)
-Master Watchman Kador Shirote-

The ambassador killed himself. His eldest child is in the military with a stalled career that massive build-up would kick into hyperdrive, and he was terminally ill in secret, with old and obfuscated ties to the Jakra United Front, a party in favor of preemptive war that went under years ago. So he opened his own belly and let the chips fall where they may.

Naturally, the factions opposed to war have seized on this on both sides, with figures as high as the General Marshall resigning. As these factions are also generally in favor of working with the Republic, that makes us look pretty damn good to the Republic.
(+20 PP)

Mission 4 (The Outer Rim, Councilor Atton Rand, 3 Jedi Consulars, 5 Jedi Sentinels, 2 Jedi Guardians, 6 Padawans)
-Consular Gavran Thol-

That went better than I expected. The Thirteen have given me a small primer on their own philosophy, and seem somewhat impressed. If for no other reason than I figured out how to speak their language-- not the simplified trade dialect, but the formal, Master-Apprentice Conjugation, form.
(+5 Knowledge)

Mission 5 (The Colonies, Councilor Visas Marr, 1 Jedi Consular, 6 Jedi Sentinels, 2 Jedi Guardians, 6 Padawans)
-Councilor Visas Marr-

A trade deal has been established. Their raw materials in return for finished goods. I played little enough part in the matter, but in a show of grace the Republic's ambassador has nevertheless thanked me in front of the Senate Committee for Foreign Affairs, which is a good look.
(+5 PP)

 

[Voikirium]

Mission Report 3942 BBY Q4

Mission 1 (The Core, Councilor Mira, 2 Jedi Consulars, 2 Jedi Sentinel, 1 Jedi Guardian, 6 Padawans)
-Councilor Mira-

Weird things are happening lately on Ord Dabrand, if you can follow the echoes correctly. Lots of strange weather, droughts, increase in crime but decrease in mortality, the whole nine yards. As it was ruled, for a time, by a dynasty of Dark Jedi trying to pull a Freedon, that is very suspicious. The problem, of course, is that unlike Freedon they were slightly more subtle. Capitalists, running a megacorp, and not a brutal king. There was a split between where he did his Dark Side nonsense and his penthouses and so on, but the records saying what was where are lacking. The revolution that deposed them and broke up the Kesos Congolmerate was relatively recent, only a hundred years ago, but that's still enough time for damage and rumor to have seeped in.

I suppose, then, that I'm going to have to go for a walk.

Mission 2 (The Inner Rim, Bao-Dur, 3 Jedi Consulars, 4 Jedi Sentinels, 3 Jedi Guardians, 8 Padawans)
-Grand Master Bao-Dur-

War. I have had enough it to last a lifetime. I have waged it. I have won it. But now I am called upon to end it. The governments of Berchest and Little Atullus are mere days from going to war over who cares because it certainly does not justify the blood they are going to shed. And in any case it's a glorified pretext for the real issue, which is water rights-- the pre-Hyper Space governments on both planets went hard on carbon-fuels even before they were off-world, so clean drinking water has become scarce on both planets. There are asteroids filled with the stuff, but they're rare and expensive, not helped by all the competition. But if someone, say, invented a cheap way to bring them to orbit, or even better down to the planet itself where they could help restore the planet's hydrospheres...

Oh wait, I did. The Telos authority didn't only want me for shields, after all.

I just need to convince them.

Mission 3 (The Mid-Rim, Consular Atris, 2 Jedi Sentinels, 1 Jedi Master Watchman, 5 Jedi Guardians, 8 Padawans)
-Consular Atris-

Pirates. Many of them at that. Fortunately, they aren't Sith. Unfortunately, they really aren't from around here: I couldn't tell you who or what they were, but their ships are big and ugly, with no aesthetic to them. Raw industrial power, bricks in the worst possible sense of the term, but strapped with enough weapons to tangle with anything short of the real big ships and carrying fighter squadrons with them. The only saving grace is there's about four, but four will be enough for them for the moment, being that they're jamming our communications and on our side all we've got is the Citizen Navy of Antras VIII, not exactly the most compelling force to present to the foe.

Mission 4 (The Outer Rim, Councilor Atton Rand, 3 Jedi Consulars, 5 Jedi Sentinels, 2 Jedi Guardians, 6 Padawans)
-Councilor Atton Rand-

There's something strange happening here. It's as though a pressure is building, mounting, growing within the Drakion, like something is poking at them, prodding them, and they won't acknowledge something's wrong. After nine or so months here I do trust them, odd as that may sound, at least as much as I trust any other random group of people. But a planet is a big place, and a history is a long time, and what I'm feeling now reminds me a lot of the same feeling I got when we were being followed by the Sith Assassins with Meetra. Maybe it's internal security, maybe it's something wilder, but I don't trust it, at all.

Mission 5 (The Colonies, Councilor Visas Marr, 1 Jedi Consular, 6 Jedi Sentinels, 2 Jedi Guardians, 6 Padawans)
-Councilor Visas Marr-

Hm. I have had...visions, of late. A holocron, of the Jedi and of the Order. But it is trapped, where I know not; but I saw the stars, insofar as I can see anything before you ask, which should by rights allow me to triangulate their position, following the eddies and currents of the Force which their great weight bends around them in unique ways. Except something is blocking them, stoppering them, like it does not want to be found, as though it waits for a better more proper time. I do not know whether it is the holocron, or if it is something else, but I have this sinking feeling that, whatever it is, I won't be finding the holocron anytime soon.
-FAILURE-

Mission 6 (The Expansion Region, Councilor Bastila Shan, 2 Jedi Consulars, 6 Jedi Sentinels, 6 Jedi Guardians, 6 Padawans)
-Councilor Bastila Shan-

Pirates. Many of them, too, in all their little damned freighters and picket ships. Unfortunately for them, we've got that fancy new station in orbit. It's a bit out of keeping with the Jedi spirit, I suppose, but when the galaxy wants to keep throwing pirates at you you need defenses. It's no planetary defense network...yet...but it does have at least ten hardpoints for missiles alone, not to mention the proton torpedo launched extending on the outer struts or the hundreds of laser-cannon batteries everywhere the designers could manage. A few of these were meant to deter Mandalorian attacks, and they probably would.

Now to see whether they can fight off pirates.

Mission 1 (The Core, Councilor Mira, 2 Jedi Consulars, 2 Jedi Sentinel, 1 Jedi Guardian, 6 Padawans)
-Councilor Mira-

Smiling ghoul. Doesn't seem there was a damn thing he wouldn't inflict on his employees to try and rip another credit out of their hides, and all while trying to hide behind a law he was making a mockery of in the first place; and not the victimless kind of law-breaking, either. Who knows how much time and blood and sweat and tears were wasted so that pathological creature could stick a few more zeroes in his bank account? But the good news, as I've walked the path and followed the echoes he's left behind, I've learned a little more and a little more with each effort, until I've figured out exactly what it was. Now I just need to break into a highly weaponized abandoned penthouse and have it out with a droid.

Mission 2 (The Inner Rim, Bao-Dur, 3 Jedi Consulars, 4 Jedi Sentinels, 3 Jedi Guardians, 8 Padawans)
-Grand Master Bao-Dur-

Things were very close. For a moment, I was convinced the generals were going to give the order to blast my ship out of the void, and you would all be taking orders from Atton. But, the fighter jockeys turned their ships around at the last minute and dared anybody to try anything, and that gave me enough time to demonstrate my boosters. They can be modified, whether you want to deliver the payload directly to the surface or else keep it in orbit for harvest; and this, without needing to go to war over them, since it can be done cheaply at home at the sort of massive scale needed. While there's still baying for blood, without the incentive for even the sane to go to war, things should be considerably less hot, for the moment.
(+20 PP)

Mission 3 (The Mid-Rim, Consular Atris, 2 Jedi Sentinels, 1 Jedi Master Watchman, 5 Jedi Guardians, 8 Padawans)
-Consular Atris-

Tactically, it was a draw. The pirates were warded off from this planet after taking light physical damage but falling apart after we, the force as a whole that is, killed their leader. But strategically, it was a defeat of almost the highest caliber. Most of the Antras VIII Citizen Navy is in drydock or destroyed, six Jedi are in no position to do anything more strenuous than meditate next year, and the invaders, while they splintered, still present a significant threat to nearby systems and the rest of the Mid-Rim. I take complete responsibility, it was my idea to lead a strike team onto the largest ship and the leader was not there, leaving the rest of the force without Jedi support. Not that it did him much good, the much smaller ship he was on got blown up anyway. Nobody walked away happy from that.

They got Iolete...
-FAILURE, -25 PP, Events in the Mid Rim tilted towards Pirates for the foreseeable future unless decisive action is taken, 6 (5 Guardians, 1 Padawan) Jedi cannot be deployed next year-

Mission 4 (The Outer Rim, Councilor Atton Rand, 3 Jedi Consulars, 5 Jedi Sentinels, 2 Jedi Guardians, 6 Padawans)
-Councilor Atton Rand-

Now I'm no expert in Sith Subspecies cuisine, but I'm pretty sure that their own tentacles do not, generally, go into their cooking. So I'm not going mad, at least. Even if my Padawan, and the others, are all trying to hunt me down now. Not paranoid, just right. Not paranoid, just right. I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me...there is no Emotion, there is Peace...flip 1, total 12. Alright. Trapped in a small city that's gone out of its mind to a great or lesser extent, with the Jedi getting hit worse by whatever is doing this but nobody is exactly having a fun time, unless cannibalism sounds like a laugh and a half to you.

But I think figured out what did it.

Mission 6 (The Expansion Region, Councilor Bastila Shan, 2 Jedi Consulars, 6 Jedi Sentinels, 6 Jedi Guardians, 6 Padawans)
-Councilor Bastila Shan-

They tried, and they lost, though it got a little dicey before the Republic reinforcements arrived. After their flagship took a missile to the nose they were willing to surrender, though that came after almost a fourth of the fleet had been vaporized-- not bad, considering it's all converted civilian model, nothing more militant than a YZ-100 in the lot of them. Most will be remanded to Republic custody.
(+20 PP for removing a massive number of pirates from the Expansion Region)

Mission 4 (The Outer Rim, Councilor Atton Rand, 3 Jedi Consulars, 5 Jedi Sentinels, 2 Jedi Guardians, 6 Padawans)
-Councilor Atton Rand-

In this world, all things have a predator. But in turn, all things can be prey. So, if you were something that was hunted by Force Sensitives hunted, how would you hide from them? Simple. You would try and stick yourself in the middle of as many, relatively friendly, Force Sensitives as you possibly could, to hide yourself. And then you'd try and make them act relatively normal. I knocked out Zez-- Sorry Bao-Dur-- and communicated with him through the Force, managed to locate the creature's...nerve center, I suppose you might call it. And then I convinced it to leave the planet, mostly by threatening to submerge every Jedi and Drakion alike within a hundred miles, leaving it exposed to whatever predator it was trying to run from.

On a different note, the thing wasn't just hording people that were strong in the Force. There was a Holocron too, as well as plenty of other lesser notes.
(+25 Knowledge, Gain Holocron of Kavar)

Mission 1 (The Core, Councilor Mira, 2 Jedi Consulars, 2 Jedi Sentinel, 1 Jedi Guardian, 6 Padawans)
-Councilor Mira-

It's been a while since I had to have a shootout with building security, but I pulled it off though I'm sure the Senate will be very pleased to hear about it. Well if they're not happy about that, they can be very happy that I've managed to destroy a seam of old Dark Side knowledge without letting anyone else get too close to it. Every vile ritual he ever performed to always gather more and more money, even after he could have bought his own planet he still insisted on more. He had a connection to the cosmic wellspring, oneness, the galaxy itself whispering, singing to him-- and he wasted it on money and the pursuit of power.

Typical.
(+10 PP)

 

[Voikirium]

Negotiations 3942 BBY Q4

The Republic is embroiled in tensions. Parties representing everything from the Market Socialists to the Social Democrats to the Neo-Liberals are gaining seats as more and more worlds rejoin the Republic, whether they were caught behind enemy lines during the Dark Wars or joined the Sith or cleaved themselves off to claim neutrality-- a neutrality that required arms and armor to be maintained. The Senate is in disarray as these varied groups duel for influence with the population, not helped by the matter of the growing revolution in Hutt Space, the frontier rush with the Yuuzhan Vong, or very simply that a great many people who were opposed to Jedi influence are waking up and noticing that you have, in fact, returned.

Which leaves you with thoughts...

PP: 222
Options:

• Recolonize Jedha (40 PP)
• Build a Temple on Kaesarias (50 PP)
• Establish facility in the Trax Mandate (50 PP)
• Recolonize Taris Jedi Alcove (40 PP)
• Send a Jedi with a Republic archeological expedition(15 PP)
• Expand (Write-In facility) with Republic help. (10 PP) (May be taken multiple times)
• Recruitment Drive-- Recruit 2d5 Initiates (30 PP)
• Build academy on Socorro (45 PP)
• Establish a Patrol Route in the Deep Core (Located near the Yuuzhan Vong Republic, this is the area where the borders touch. Keeping it safe and contained is a necessity.) (+10 PP)
• Deploy Jedi Liason to Valley of Healing (30 PP)
• Request a Letter of Marque, authorizing the Jedi Order to own and operate military grade ships. (150 PP)
• As the Republic's borders have expanded, it has found itself contacting new worlds, new life and new civilizations. To help keep the Republic free from more war, they have requested help training their ambassadors. While your consulars are decidedly more mystic than diplomat, they are still somewhat helpful in the matter. But if they do this, they cannot patrol. A balancing act, then? (+20 PP, at least 3 Consulars must be deployed training Republic Ambassadors through the year.)
• Help the Republic with the new Infrastructure Droids (-20 PP at least, Bao-Dur cannot tell what will happen but it certainly can't be worse than if you do nothing and the Droids lose it)
• Request Republic Aid Fortifying ([]Write-In, must be a world you have already colonized) (25 PP)
• Look for potential locations for Satellite facilities (25 PP)
• Get an invitation to the Special Senatorial Session, where you can make your case on the growing conflict in Hutt Space (30 PP)
• Gather a Dispensation of Industry-- this will allow you to gather Industrial grade resources for your own uses, such as reestablishing a Jedi Starfighter Corp or establishing colonies. Naturally the Republic is...less than eager. (175 PP, gain access to BR and SR)
• Back the Better Border Act, a bill proposed by a coalition including but not limited to the Neo-Liberals that would like to expand the border with the Yuuzhan Vong more properly to help facilitate trade though various defense experts (and "defense" "experts") are somewhat leery about establishing a longer front in case of a potential war. Likely to pass with your support. (+15 PP if pass, -15 if fail))
• Back the Search For Life Amendment, which will fund the establishment of centers throughout the Republic to look for transmissions from yet unknown species and civilizations. In the wake of the disastrous first contact with the Sith it's a bill that's less popular than it likely "should" be, though in turn if you back it it is likely to pass. (+20 if Pass, -20 PP if fail)

--
Sorry I fell off the face of the planet and that this is so short. TLDR: Life sucked the big one all throughout those past few months and it distracted me.

Vote will open Nov 20, 2021 at 10:00 AM

 

[Voikirium]

Negotiation Results 3942 BBY Q4

-Recolonize Jedha (40 PP)

Good news: The Provisional Government, the Aquiline Republic of Jedha, is happy to have us here; their government is...I suppose the best word is woozy, like they've just woken after a particularly brutal nap. The bad news: we really should have made our way here earlier. The old Abbey is crawling with War Droids, mines, acid traps and worse: Revan and Malak really did not want any possible surviving Jedi making their way back to Jedha to build themselves their lightsabers. And of course there was the morale victory of getting to hold a world of such importance, where so many of the old Frozen Beam technology experiments took place. For the moment we only have access to the old Antechamber; the dormitories and the archive alike are forbidden to us, on account of all the droids. The Crystal Cave is an unknown(Jedha 0/100, 0/20, Sentinel Enclave)
-Master Atton Rand

-Expand Telos with Republic Help
(+12, now 167/300)

Certain members of the Telos government trying to toss red meat to nativists throw up a stir about the mingling of peoples and cultures and resources going to the polar facility. So very little work was done actually expanding the facility to more properly house and maintain the Jedi there, though friendly figures within the military did manage to toss us auxiliary power generators. Originally designed for turrets, admittedly, but it took only a little effort to get them humming along powering a small amount of hyrdoponics and aquaponic facilities. Not enough to be independent from the whims of the politicians, but it's something, at least.
-Master Mical

-Expand Ilum with Republic Help
(+10, now 179/300)

The Republic finds shipping supplies this far out-- particularly with so many worlds still scrabbling from the multiple recent wars-- somewhat difficult. To that end we received only a small handful of heaters from Republic bases on Mygeeto and Obroa-Skai, though in turn this has made reentering the small archives that exist somewhat less difficult, with more of the ice forced back. Still, we can only manage brief excursions to the caves-- for now I'd say don't set your hopes on getting to avoid artificial crystals for most of our lightsabers unless we can really get to work on pushing it back, like drills and other equipment kind of really.
-Knight Gayel Ducte

-Expand Coruscant with Republic Help
(+21, now 255/300)

May I say, first of all, thank you master for leaving my Padawans terrified that they're going to be jumped by Sith Assassins as we work on excavating the ruins?

With that out of the way, we've made fair enough progress in opening bits of the Temple that were locked by the Jedi as they fled from Traya. Rather than rely on only Force or Electronic security, they used a good mixture of both. For instance, to enter the Vehicle Pool after they were done securing it you needed both to either know or hack the proper credentials and manage to complete a puzzle out of reach of any living creature I've yet seen. Still, the Room of a Thousand Fountains is lost to us for the moment, though it should not be over long.
-Knight Breda Sunguard

-Expand Tojora with Republic Help
(+22, Now 146/300)

The Republic "donated" a number of prefab shelters that were nearing their end of service. Well, joke's on them-- this world is a near paradise as is, and you hardly need more to live in.
-Knight Guinan

-Request Republic Aid Fortifying Jedha

The situation is tense enough on Jedha that there's little interest in touching off something very loud and very dangerous among the Senate, but by that same token a Jedi presence certainly can't hurt the matter. To that end the Republic has provided basic security scanner, shield generators, and emergency supplies; enough to keep ourselves fed and safe if things should come to worse. I hardly would have minded turrets and generators myself, or an ion cannon, but then when have ever been that lucky?
-Master Atton Rand

Send a Jedi with a Republic archeological expedition(15 PP)

-There was a Mandalorian War sight guarded by one of the native Janissaries they were so fond of using as the war ground itself down over those last months and the Republic was turning its industrial advantage against the Mandalorians. He wanted to efface the corpses of the Clan that had made him a servant; he was...

He was not so gently treated as I was. But in the end I convinced him that letting the Jedi learn from their corpses would anger the Mandalorians more than stealing their strength by corrupting their bodies. They had records of how they killed the Jedi; I can only hope such records are useful in instructing us how to avoid such a fate.
(+25 Knowledge)
-Master Mira

-Deploy Jedi Liason to Valley of Healing

-These...Sith survivors, born of that species though gravely different from the Korriban born. They have little love of us, for all time and distance have made clear that the Jedi and the Republic will not slay them to the last. But they are starting to figure out that only by interacting with the outside galaxy will they ever really be safe, for if their wayward kin were to discover them turned from the path of conquest, they would smother that light. In any case it is of more than a little interest to study the Force as they know it. In many ways it hearkens back to the faith healers and wizards of Korriban before the Exiles arrived and conquered them, and forced them on the path of Imperialism, and wiped out everything they once were.
(+14 Knowledge per turn)

--As the Republic's borders have expanded, it has found itself contacting new worlds, new life and new civilizations. To help keep the Republic free from more war, they have requested help training their ambassadors. While your consulars are decidedly more mystic than diplomat, they are still somewhat helpful in the matter. But if they do this, they cannot patrol. A balancing act, then?

While you will only know the in the fullness of time what the exact effect will be, you have acceded to their request. That said, you have received a somewhat unexpected request: Atris has asked for the duty, for reasons she keeps close to her chest...

[] Accept, cannot deploy Atris next year
[] Deny, Atris can be deployed next year

-Help the Republic with the new Infrastructure Droids

Well, Grandmaster, aside from the shields you've produced the simplified algorithms for economic planning, more than anything else, should be your mark on the Republic. While it will certainly take time to replace the G0-T0 models, at least long enough to determine they can be trusted unlike our mutual holovillain friend, I'd wager you've reduced it and made it safer-- not seeing many potential violent logic breaks in this programming.
-Master Mical

--Get an invitation to the Special Senatorial Session, where you can make your case on the growing conflict in Hutt Space

Oh boy...

(More detailed post up later.)

--BILLS:

Better Border Act: Fails to pass thanks to Diplomatic and Security experts, -15 PP
Search For Life Budget Amendment: Passes, +20 PP
--
Vote will open when I wake up tomorrow.

 

[Voikirium]

Special Senate Session: An Inquiry into the Syncretic Cults of Hutt Space

The Senate tower is nearly empty, compared to its usual hustle and bustle. On most days, reporters, schoolchildren, citizens and more will make their way to examine the wheels of galactic governance at work. They will watch debates, sometimes reasoned, sometimes hellish, between Senators from a thousand-thousand worlds, representing all the peoples of the Republic. The long, lamentable wars, against the Mandalorians, against Revan, against the Triumvirate, might have slowed down the function of this, the beating heart of the Coruscanti government, but they could never, not ever, stop it. Bills, legislation, law voted on here even as Malachor V burned at your hands, as the shipyards of Kuat were ravaged by the traitors of Malak and Revan, as a long echo deafened and silenced the Jedi. It was here that the greatest strategy, to fight off those and every other foe, was promulgated, though carried out across ten-thousand lightyears by commanders and captains and more, all dedicated to the proposition that democracy should not be slaughtered for tyranny.

Now they are once more called here to decide whether they should once again enter a war, with no-one, not a soul allowed entrance though holoprojectors are streaming the debate throughout Republic-- and likely as not, neighboring--space, indeed the Yuuzhan Vong Republic has sent an observer to the event, perhaps the only person not a Senator or Aide or Jedi allowed entrance. A true war, at that-- and let none doubt it. For all the title of the meeting may claim it is about the Syncretic cults, in truth it is a question whether the Republic can, or should, support the rebels within Hutt space-- the slaves rising up to cast down those who would play at the title of Master. Unlike you, though, they cling to the notion that they can master another, and not the skill within the heart, and in that they do dishonor the notion of Mastery itself. Even now uproarious debate makes its way through the thick walls and door of the Chamber, and it requires a surprising effort indeed to cut them out and continue meditating, legs crossed before you. It is good that your prosthetic still hums, lestwise that you would have nothing to distract you. It would be the first true war the Republic has fought since the Dark Wars, the matter of Czerka being considerably lesser than that-- and the Hutts, much greater than that glorified company could ever be.

You feel a presence approach you. Tired, weighted by her efforts, by responsibility, and yet her spirit still faintly pulses, a light in the darkness. Supreme Chancellor Dara. A Bothan. Veteran of the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War, she was a foot-soldier during that long, miserable time, saw friends and colleagues die and watched as the rich and the powerful skimmed needed and necessary credits from relief funds, a do-nothing Senate sat worthless and all the worlds the Sith and the Mandalorians burned were left to rot by the interests of the powerful. Is it any great shock then that she brought with her, as she climbed the political ranks, the Work-Place democracy of the Bothans with her to the Senate? That as she seemed to improve things, others grew interested in the manner, joined her party, let her achieve, if not everything she wanted, plenty, including the reconstruction throughout the Mid-Rim, all while incentivizing the growth of Cooperatives?

"Master Jedi." You open your eyes, and find she looks much the same as she did the first time you met years ago, in spite of the threat of Czerka. "You're looking well, all things considered."

"Chancellor."

"I don't think we're going to vote for war." She sits down next you on the meditation stool, looking off into the distance. "Three apocalyptic wars in less than thirty years. The people of the Republic are tired of that plague, of watching husbands and wives and sons and daughters and friends and kin alike wander off and never return. Of worlds set ablaze by broadsides of Turbolaser fire and dead men floating for the rest of eternity in space, flash frozen. I only barely managed to sell the Czerka Intervention by making very sure the moment we had assets we shuffled them to help rebuild worlds left scarred by the Mandalorians, and even then as I'm sure the journalists will be keen to make their business out of, certain portions of the Senate were quick to try and call up impeachment, damn the Azil and damn that the confiscations of their assets allowed us to rebuild. They will be even less thrilled to face a real state power, one lesser than the Republic yes but nevertheless, they can fight us and they might even win, not on the merits but on the cost of pursuing it which Czerka was never, ever going to, I promise you that, if I had to find their Board of Directors and ki--arrest them all myself. I'll see if I can't get something done, if nothing else I'm sure there are plenty of mercenaries from plenty of worlds looking to settle scores with the Cartel and I won't be stopping them. But what do you suggest, Master Jedi? I am told, after all, that you are the wisest."

[] Write-In your suggestions to the Supreme Chancellor (note: this is broad, and you can even suggest war, she just might not listen. Even if something seems obvious, feel free to suggest it)

And then, of course, there is the matter of what you are going to do:

[] Join the Syncretic Cults in their war, deploying Jedi to aid them and to remind the Hutts that you survived. (Go to war against the Hutt Cartel, aid Syncretic Cults and Hutt Rebellion, likely will gain Detachment)
[] You are sworn to the Republic. You will not betray them in such a way. (Do not join the Syncretic Cults, do not declare war against the Hutt Cartel)
--
Vote will open in roughly twenty-four hours.

 

[Voikirium]

Special Senatorial Session (PT2)

Spoiler: Winning Vote

-[X] Write In: "The Republic may do as it pleases. But if it wishes to recover, to truly recover, then it should not allow the fester to prevent its healing. As long as the Kadijic menace persists, as long as the cartels encroach, there will be no respite, no end to the missing children, the plundered worlds, the climate of fear and corruption. We are all of us under attack, and allowing the cartels to delude us otherwise does not stop them from eating us. We will never be free and peaceful and prosperous so long as the rot of their invasion goes unchallenged. We can lie down and slowly bleed out, or we can actually fix the problem before it poisons us. Make your choice. The Jedi shall make its own. You did not surrender to Exar Kun, nor Mandalore the Ultimate, nor Darth Revan, nor Darth Malak, nor the Triumvirate. It is your families, your friends, your homes, your wellbeings, all under threat, the cartels are simply quieter about it. Do not surrender now. Or it shall all be for naught. Remind your senators that the Kajidics already declared war, and remain at war so long as their occupation of free Republic worlds do nothing to resist."
-[X] Join the Syncretic Cults in their war, deploying Jedi to aid them and to remind the Hutts that you survived. (Go to war against the Hutt Cartel, aid Syncretic Cults and Hutt Rebellion, likely will gain Detachment)

"The Republic may do as it pleases. But if it wishes to recover, to truly recover, then it should not allow the fester to prevent its healing. As long as the Kadijic menace persists, as long as the cartels encroach, there will be no respite, no end to the missing children, the plundered worlds, the climate of fear and corruption. We are all of us under attack, and allowing the cartels to delude us otherwise does not stop them from eating us. We will never be free and peaceful and prosperous so long as the rot of their invasion goes unchallenged. We can lie down and slowly bleed out, or we can actually fix the problem before it poisons us. Make your choice. The Jedi shall make its own. You did not surrender to Exar Kun, nor Mandalore the Ultimate, nor Darth Revan, nor Darth Malak, nor the Triumvirate. It is your families, your friends, your homes, your wellbeings, all under threat, the cartels are simply quieter about it. Do not surrender now. Or it shall all be for naught. Remind your senators that the Kajidics already declared war, and remain at war so long as their occupation of free Republic worlds do nothing to resist."

"Easy for you to say." There's no particular heat in her words as she talks, more for the sake of responding than anything else. "It won't be you having to explain why, when we finally have peace, we need to toss ourselves into the fire of war again. Tell ten-thousand worlds why their sons and daughters marched off to die. See friends and family murdered in the darkest places." The massive door leading to the Senate chambers proper, where they will deliberate, opens, and the Supreme Chancellor turns away from you, marching off with her cloud of aids and assistants to present her ideas, and what support she expects to find in the Senate entirely. So you are left by yourself, with your thoughts and your hopes and your fears...

(+1 Detachment, +10 PP in cost for Negotiations until removed)

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE SUPREME CHANCELLOR, LET IT BE KNOWN THAT:

-Pursuant to the Democracy Abroad, Democracy at Home Act, the Republic will support the Hutt Rebels with war materiel, including food, water, fuel, weapons, armor and more beside, pulled from the surplus remaining from the war against Revan, Malak, and the Mandalorians. (Market Socialist Success)
-The offer from the Yuuzhan Vong Republic to send their own technical experts and negotiators to bring an end to the crisis is DENIED. (Nationalist Success)
-Mercenaries, Bounty Hunters, and other such Guns for Hire that can produce substantive documents suggesting their employment by the Rebels will be allowed prompt and easy travel. (War Weary/Misc Success)
-An Economic Embargo upon all products from individuals, corporations, groups, etc. part of or subservient to the HUTT CARTELS will be levied and enforced by the Free Trade Commission. (Economic Nativist/Populist Success, Neoliberal Failure)
-Be ADVISED: Watch this Space
--
You have made your choice. But what are you now to do?

(Pick and then assign Jedi)

Inner Republic Affairs (+0 Detachment):

The Hutts have their slimy tendrils all throughout the Galaxy. Now would be a good time to fry them. That said, there's only so much you can do trying to hit them this hard here; you'd be better served trying to smash them there, if you want to see and end to it.

[] Destroy Hutt Affiliated Physical Infrastructure, such as warehouses, freighters, etc. (Requires investment of Combat)
-Light (You will hit easy targets, such as warehouses (AT LEAST 15 Combat))
-Medium (You will hit somewhat hardened targets, like freighters (AT LEAST 30 Combat))
-Heavy (You will hit very hardened targets, such as mercenary barracks (AT LEAST 45 Combat))

[] Strike Hutt Illicit Operations and Operators (Requires investment of Skill)
-Light (Retirees "out to pasture", low level product pushers, cheap hired guns (AT LEAST 15 Skill)
-Medium (Slavers, Kidnappers, Expensive Hired Guns (AT LEAST 30 Skill)
-Heavy (Moguls, Kajidii, Overbosses (AT LEAST 45 Skill))

[] Try and funnel support to the Rebels (Requires Investment of Diplomacy)
-Light (The worlds nearby but outside of Hutt Space, who have suffered their depredations (AT LEAST 15 Diplomacy)
-Medium (The Mid-Rim, far, though not far enough, from the Hutts, though considerably wealthier than the nearby (AT LEAST 30 Diplomacy))
-Heavy (The Alsakans, you know, want to reclaim some of their prominence, as do a score of Core Worlds (AT LEAST 45 Diplomacy))

[] Look for Jedi Secrets to Use on the Hutts (Requires Investment of Wisdom)
-Light (You will search the fully developed Temples on Ossus and Dantooine (AT LEAST 15 Wisdom))
-Medium (You will look through Coruscant and Ilum (AT LEAST 30 Wisdom))
-Heavy (You will look through Telos and the Outer Rim (AT LEAST 45 Wisdom))

Hutt Space Options (Possibility of up to 2 Detachment) :

Hutt Space is going to be the most dangerous, but on the other hand it will also hurt the Cartels much more than anything you can do in the Republic.

[] Physically Aid Rebel Forces (Requires investment of Combat)
-Light (You will reinforce Rebel Divisions with small numbers of Jedi Knights on multiple fronts (AT LEAST 15 Combat))
-Medium (You will position Jedi in Rebel Bases (AT LEAST 30 COMBAT)
-Heavy (You will launch raids towards Nar Shaddaa, to help Rebel forces (AT LEAST 45 Combat))

[] Offer Technical Support to Rebel Ships (Requires investment of Skill)
-Light (You will help maintain the current, small Rebel Fleet (AT LEAST 15 Skill))
-Medium (You will help refit the Rebel Fleet with heavier weaponry (AT LEAST 30 Skill))
-Heavy (You will help redesign the Rebel Fleet from its Hutt Origin (AT LEAST 45 Skill))

[] Facilitate Hutt Defections (Requires Investment of Diplomacy)
-Light (You will help Hutts who are actively in the process of defecting to the Rebels escape to Rebel Territory (AT LEAST 15 Diplomacy))
-Medium (You will attempt to convince lower Hutts to stay out of the fighting or to defect (AT LEAST 30 Diplomacy))
-Heavy (You will attempt to convince higher ranking Hutts, such as Vogga who has business interests in selling his fuel, to defect to the Rebels (AT LEAST 45 Diplomacy))

[] Develop Force Abilities within Syncretic Cults (Requires Investment of Wisdom))
-Light (You will help spread basic Jedi Teachings to the Force Sensitive members of the Rebellion (AT LEAST 15 Wisdom))
-Medium (You will try and recruit Force Sensitive Hutts, as well (AT LEAST 30 Wisdom))
-Heavy (You will establish a Praxeum proper on a Rebel held world (AT LEAST 45 WISDOM))

Neutral:

Unfortunately the Republic has made this near impossible, for the moment at least.
--
Vote will open in Dec 14, 2021 at 2:56 PM.

 

[Voikirium]

Jedi Order Patrol Routes 3941 BBY

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] Plan Sustainable Commitment
-[X] Destroy Hutt Affiliated Physical Infrastructure, such as warehouses, freighters, etc. (Requires investment of Combat)
-[X] Heavy (You will hit very hardened targets, such as mercenary barracks (AT LEAST 45 Combat))
-[X] 16 Jedi Guardians (80 Combat)
-[X] Strike Hutt Illicit Operations and Operators (Requires investment of Skill)
-[X] Heavy (Moguls, Kajidii, Overbosses (AT LEAST 45 Skill))
-[X] Mira, 1 Watchman, 15 Jedi Sentinels, 17 Padawans) (71 Skill)
-[X] Try and funnel support to the Rebels (Requires Investment of Diplomacy)
-[X] Medium (The Mid-Rim, far, though not far enough, from the Hutts, though considerably wealthier than the nearby (AT LEAST 30 Diplomacy))
-[X] Grandmaster Bao-Dur, 7 Consulars, 8 Padawans (48 Diplomacy)

Hutt Space might be on fire, and you might to a greater or lesser extent be funneling the fuel to it, but the rest of the Galaxy still exists and it still has its problems. Sith Rebels and mercenaries are still causing trouble; the Exchange still glares menacingly at you, the Hutts and the Republic alike; and the Yuuzhan Vong are making mouth noises about Border Tensions near the Core (Not that you are overly worried they are going to throw themselves into a war with you, it's nice not to have to worry that a major power is trying to wage war on you unlike most). No end of problems for the Jedi, with or without the growing war in Hutt Space-- and it is growing: Boggra the Hutt's estate is currently under siege as the rebels he backs cause trouble on Nar Shaddaa, with his Warmech tearing bloody chunks out of Cartel forces, aided by adventurers from all across the Republic.

Yes, things are...tense, right now. If you adroitly move, you might free countless innocents from slavery; if you falter, uncounted billions if not trillions will die.

No pressure, or anything.

Available Jedi
21 Padawans
23 Jedi Sentinels
19 Jedi Guardians
11 Jedi Consulars
Councilor Bastila Shan (Combat 4 Wisdom 4 Skill 3 Diplomacy 3 Vigilance 3 Vitality 3)
Councilor Atton Rand (Combat 4, Wisdom 3, Skill 3, Diplomacy 3, Vigilance 4, Vitality 3)
Councilor Visas Marr (Combat 5, Wisdom 3, Skill 3, Diplomacy 1, Vigilance 4, Vitality 3)
Councilor Brianna (Combat 7, Wisdom 5, Skill 2, Diplomacy 5, Vigilance 1, Vitality 4)
Councilor Juhani (Combat 7 Wisdom 4 Skill 2 Diplomacy 4 Vigilance 2 Vitality 5)

Patrol Routes:

[] The Core: To be honest, this is likely the safest part of the Galaxy. You'd be surprised if anything more threatening than a few gangsters show up here anytime soon, and not very threatening ones either. Still, whatever does happen here, the entire galaxy knows about it, so if you just want to fly the flag, so to speak, this would be a good place for it.
([] Assign Jedi to patrol, needs 4 Vigilance)

[] The Inner Rim: What should, by rights, be a milk run is instead a thriving cesspool of Sith sympathizers and saboteurs, and plenty of them want to reignite the Dark Wars. We need anybody and everybody: Consulars to try and talk them down, Sentinels to investigate, and Guardians to show some muscle if things get hairy.
(Assign Jedi to Patrol, Needs 10 Vigilance)

[] The Mid-Rim: Wealthier than the Outer Rim, but without the commiserate military force, a surprising amount of Jedi patrols have always been focused here, being pirate bait and all. This is likely where combat, if it takes place, will take place. Sending some real muscle out here would be a wise plan.
([] Assign Jedi to patrol, needs 6 Vigilance)

[] The Outer Rim: A sparsely populated collection of agri worlds, you don't see too much trouble coming here, if it weren't for the Mandalorians. On the other hand, this is likely to be where the majority of your apprentices come from for the time being, so perhaps those more in tune with the Force would be a wise plan.
([] Assign Jedi to patrol, needs 1 Vigilance)

[] The Colonies: A wealthy, industrialized part of the Mid-Rim, they are a usually safe area, not often requiring much work. Though the current war may change that...
([] Assign Jedi to Patrol, needs 1 Vigilance)

[] The Expansion Region: Part of the Galaxy brutally exploited by corporate interests, pushed to the brink by war, and left to die once it was no longer lucrative enough. Chaos rains as Sith-Imposed regimes fall apart. In many cases, the Jedi dispatched here will be the first, last, and only order on world. (Needs 6 Vigilance)
--
Vote will open in Dec 27, 2021 at 10:00 AM

 

[Voikirium]

Mission Reports 3941 BBY Q1

Mission 1 (The Core, 4 Padawans, 2 Jedi Sentinels, 1 Jedi Guardian, 1 Jedi Consular)
-Jedi Knight Breda Sunguard-

The Hutts are trying to slaughter a free and independent people. But rather than put me, a soldier, with a soldier's strength, to the cause of burning them out and helping an innocent people, they have decided it is my duty to keep watch on the Core and ensure nothing unfortunate happens. Rather than letting me turn my saber arm to burning out that poison, they have kept me here, on the homefront; and for that matter, have not taken up this cause, the cause, of freedom to instead...what, slowly ramp up? Ulgh. Do not, I plead, take this out of context: I am loyal, and do trust the Council. It is for that cause, that here, in private communications, that I am willing to speak my mind, which is certainly a greater liberty than I ever had when I served the Sith.

At least I can do something somewhat productive: the daughter of a high ranking Shaper has, apparently, run away from home; she is not half so young as that cause implies. she is not, according to her mother, in her right mind, and I have volunteered us to look.

Mission 2 (The Inner Rim, 8 Padawans, 6 Jedi Sentinels, 6 Jedi Guardians, 4 Jedi Consulars, Councilor Brianna)
-Councilor Brianna-

Jedi archives speak of a world located precipitously in this place, of Jedi.

Ambria.

Unfortunately, its precise location was lost to time when Nomi Sunrider was slain by Darth Nihilus, as were most of anybody else who could possibly know of it. Deeply bitter, as it was where Master Thon did much training of her and himself, as far as we can know (Remind me to keep very explicit records of the journey of the Exile and of the Lost Jedi because I am getting very tired of conjecture, well considered or otherwise). However, the Force has seen fit to grant us a gift, in that the Kiffu Guardians of the Kiffu Sector captured a Sith. And not a mere foot soldier, either: one of the assassins the Triumvirate trained to hunt what remained of the Jedi Order. He knows of its location, for the Sith used it during their Great War, long, long before Master Thon arrived.

She will tell me everything, this I swear.

Mission 3 (The Mid-Rim, 1 Padawan, 3 Jedi Sentinels, 5 Jedi Guardians, 1 Jedi Consular, Councilor Visas Marr)
-Consular Zez Kyrido-

Thank the Force, the Council didn't drag us into all out war with the Hutts; and for that matter, that the Republic has kept itself to simple materiel support rather than boots on the ground. The Galaxy, the Republic, needs time to recover. The wounds of the Mandalorian Wars, the Dark Wars, they still bleed, ragged flesh has not even begun to knit, and core industry still lies wounded. And all the pirates trying to feast on the dead flesh, nibbling away at what healing can take place, certainly aren't helping. Speaking of pirates, a considerable group, headquartered on an old Sith capital ship, are trying to establish themselves as penny ante warlords, and extort supplies from several planets, among them several Ords. While they might have been established for awful reasons, they have their part to play.

Besides, the people there can hardly be blamed for the sins of their forefathers.

So we have set out to offer what aid we can, on the Andrados freighters. We just need to come up with something before we get there...

Mission 4 (The Outer Rim, 3 Padawans, 3 Jedi Sentinels, 1 Jedi Guardian, 3 Jedi Consulars, Councilor Bastila Shan)
-Councilor Bastila Shan-

Something is wrong. Native Ysanna, and a handful of other native species in nearby systems, are disappearing, faint but there, if you have the eyes to see and the will to notice. We are also, unfortunately, near Hutt Space.

It may not be them.

Nevertheless, I will be checking.

Mission 5 (The Colonies 1 Padawan, 5 Jedi Sentinels, 2 Jedi Guardians, 1 Jedi Consular, Councilor Atton Rand)
-Councilor Atton Rand-

I have, following the will of the Council, departed the Drakion, leaving a number of Padawans and Knights in my absence that Bastila can call upon if she needs. For my part I have become interested in rumors of a strange sector, far from here, where ghost ships pop into and out of reality. Supposedly they follow none of the rules of design that regular ships do, looking, for lack of a better word, fragile. Supposedly drawn to study strange lifeforms, that themselves pop into and out of reality.

What can I say? I'm curious, and there doesn't seem anything better to do.

Mission 6 (The Expansion Region: 4 Padawans, 4 Jedi Sentinels, 4 Jedi Guardians, 1 Jedi Consular, Councilor Juhani)

-Response Failed, -25 PP-

Mission 1 (The Core, 4 Padawans, 2 Jedi Sentinels, 1 Jedi Guardian, 1 Jedi Consular)
-Jedi Knight Breda Sunguard-
[Audio recording between Knight Breda and Shaper Mezrana]

[Breda] She's surprisingly prescient, considering he's running on a world he doesn't know and hasn't even seen before.

[Mezrana] She's always been perceptive. Of the layout of cities, and places, and far-off things; she once managed to describe an entire city she had never been to to level I hadn't thought possible. Not great with people-- uh, that is, Vong proper. Surprisingly popular with the member races, however.

[Breda] ...Hm. Tell me more...

Mission 2 (The Inner Rim, 8 Padawans, 6 Jedi Sentinels, 6 Jedi Guardians, 4 Jedi Consulars, Councilor Brianna)
-Councilor Brianna-

She senses the touch of Arren Kae upon me; the echoes of Kreia. She believes that I aim to become the heir of Traya, and I have not dissuaded her of this notion for the time being. Cold, perhaps; but then, we need to know, and she has the blood of the innocent on her hands. I have convinced her that I aim to reclaim an ancient Jedi Secret to turn it against you, my fellow Councilors.

I do not.

But, I will use this to convince her to guide me where I need to go.

Mission 3 (The Mid-Rim, 1 Padawan, 3 Jedi Sentinels, 5 Jedi Guardians, 1 Jedi Consular, Councilor Visas Marr)
-Consular Zez Kyrido-

There are things in the galaxy we will never understand. Creatures beyond our, or I think perhaps any, comprehension. Things living in the stars that feed on pure energy, rather than falling for the pyramid scheme of food; such as the Mynocks, though I seek something much, much larger for my task. And what has more power in a more convenient package than a starship? All we'll need to do is find such an entity; and I can feel one, pulling at me. At my mind and my soul. All for the better then, that we have nine ships to use.

Mission 4 (The Outer Rim, 3 Padawans, 3 Jedi Sentinels, 1 Jedi Guardian, 3 Jedi Consulars, Councilor Bastila Shan)
-Councilor Bastila Shan-

It was the Hutts; and it wasn't. Zygerrian mercenaries operating on a stealth base, a hollowed out asteroid in the infinite void, have been raiding nearby worlds to sell tham on the slave markets, yes of the Cartels but also outlying worlds. The Hutts pay them and look the other way.

I will not.

Mission 5 (The Colonies 1 Padawan, 5 Jedi Sentinels, 2 Jedi Guardians, 1 Jedi Consular, Councilor Atton Rand)
-Councilor Atton Rand-

Well, if the spooky ghost ships, energy eaters, and random stellar events out here don't make you want to turn away, then the flying will. The gravity here has crushed something into a thin paste, not particularly damaging to ships as long as shields stay up but the second something happens, oh boy will that suck grav. And even with them up it's like we're going through jello. I've got Akila running modifications and checks on the shield and the hyperdrive, the other Sentinels keeping the navcomputer up to date, and the Consular blasting any debris-- and there is a lot of it-- that gets too close, but things are a little...

Dicey...

What is that?

Mission 1 (The Core, 4 Padawans, 2 Jedi Sentinels, 1 Jedi Guardian, 1 Jedi Consular)
-Jedi Knight Breda Sunguard-

The girl's not mad, she's Force Sensitive.

That should not be a thing, since the Yuuzhan Vong are cut off from the Force and all; but there she sits. How is a matter I could not begin to describe: perhaps like Master Surik, forming a Force Bond with a sensitive and so given some power? Perhaps a hybrid, crossed with some creature that can still feel the true wonder of the universe? A joke from the Force, played to remind us that we do not understand it half so well as we thought we did?

Whatever the case, I have promised to see her given training.

(+5 PP)

Mission 2 (The Inner Rim, 8 Padawans, 6 Jedi Sentinels, 6 Jedi Guardians, 4 Jedi Consulars, Councilor Brianna)
-Councilor Brianna-

We have found it, and marked Ambria in our navcharts. For the moment I have settled into Master Thon's former settlement. This world, it is a desert, harsh perhaps; but the Force is strong here, and there is little distraction, and many echoes. I hardily recommend we reestablish the Enclave here, as soon as possible.

I have not had the heart to crush the Sith Assassin's hopes, yet; but rest assured, she will be remanded to Republic custody.

[Discover Ambria, possible Enclave site]

Mission 3 (The Mid-Rim, 1 Padawan, 3 Jedi Sentinels, 5 Jedi Guardians, 1 Jedi Consular, Councilor Visas Marr)
-Consular Zez Kyrido-

A powered capital ship could have swatted aside our impromptu squadron with ease. Instead I lured a mature sun eater to the vessel's coordinates; and seeing a source of energy close enough to a star it started, well, eating. Soon enough the thing was left adrift, and so we entered the vessel; and the pirates surrendered.

(+25 PP)

Mission 4 (The Outer Rim, 3 Padawans, 3 Jedi Sentinels, 1 Jedi Guardian, 3 Jedi Consulars, Councilor Bastila Shan)
-Councilor Bastila Shan-

The fighting was fierce at first; but the Zygerrians gave up well enough when they realized who was carving their way through the station. They're here for profit, not to die, and so the moment they realized who we were they started a well-disciplined retreat. I would have preferred to capture them, rather than to see them driven off to greener pastures where they can spread more suffering, and more pain; but I am, disinclined, to complain about what victory I do have. And if the Republic wants to complain about bringing the war to their borders, let them.
(+5 PP)

Mission 5 (The Colonies 1 Padawan, 5 Jedi Sentinels, 2 Jedi Guardians, 1 Jedi Consular, Councilor Atton Rand)
-Councilor Atton Rand-

Well, mark me down for horrified. We saw one of the ghost ships alright, like nothing I'd ever seen before, flicker into our reality for a second. The better part of a kilometer, perhaps point seven, sleek and not overly friendly, though not Sithish either, business like more than anything. Three engines, at least I think they were engines, moved it for the few seconds we saw it in our reality; though two of them had such weird gravity effects that I wouldn't doubt they were tractor beam emitters, either. I didn't see anything that looked like weapons as we know them, but from the way the Force was screaming at me there was something threatening aboard that vessel, if not directly than for what it would mean for us. I think they scanned us, and I know we scanned them, for the few seconds we shared a reality. I bet we'll get to make plenty of transfers for the scans I did get while they were here, though only so much-- I'd say we had less than a minute.

(+10 Knowledge)

 

[Voikirium]

Report on the War

Good news and bad news fills the air as you meditate in the temple, waiting for the envoys from Iridonia who have shown some small interest in bringing the Hutts to heel and have the technological, military and economic development to punch them hard, with friendly agents like the Syncretic Cults at least. More than a few Iridonians have ended up enslaved by the cartels, after all, and there are resources, good and plentiful, which could be used to help repair the Zabrak sphere-- which has lain damaged, sundered even, since the one two punch of the Mandalorian and Dark Wars. As a son of Iridonia, though it has been many years since you have returned, there are figures, notables, you can speak to to make some things happen, even if the rest of the Republic would prefer it not be so.

The good news first: The Cartel starports and bases littered throughout the Republic, the Cantinas they hire mercenaries at, the Bounty Hunter Guild strongholds where they find their assassins, mercenary barracks, they've all been smashed like glass as the Guardians cut their way through like a lightsaber through an ice sculpture, and not half as pretty either, culminating with a raid on Kromus that saw a number of scientists released from quite the gilded cage, making weapons for the Hutts. Quite a few Kajidii learned to curse Mira's name as she led the rest of the Sentinels to arrest them, their agents, their bankers, their chauffeurs, indeed everybody who they ever worked with; nothing quite so dramatic, but it hurt them, all the same. And the Iridonians and the rest of the Zabrak Sphere, as some are fond of calling it, has begun shipping engineers, mercenaries, and volunteers to the rebels, helping stiffen their resistance. They are starting to produce their own warships and so own, though they have not been subtle in requesting further technical support. Still, already rumors suggest they are planning a further offensive to push the Hutts harder next quarter, which the Hutts themselves are divided on, with some attempting to batten down and wait it out and others trying to burn them out.

The bad news?

You lost a Jedi. Naron Vahl, an Evocii who fled from the brutality of Hutt Space and made his way to your doorstep to be trained as Jedi, becoming a Knight last year. Young, and full of a just ambition, he ended up ambushed by an entire kill-team of Mandalorians, saving a ship filled with Twi-Lek slaves; not a one of the attackers walked away, but neither did he, only succumbing to his wounds after the last raider died for it. He believed in the cause, and you sent him to fight for it, and now he has shed his blood for it.

You suspect this will not be the last time.

(Hutt Rebellion resources set to Minor (at least 200 BR, 200 SR, 4I, 4F, 4N; at least 25 Exhausition to Hutt Cartels; -1 Jedi Guardian)

However, this also leads you to a thought. It may require more than you alone to lead this fight. The Order's leadership, such that it is, is stretched thin. There are a few things you can do to try and rectify the problem, if you so desire:

[] Make contact with Yuthura Ban, offering to let her coordinate the Jedi's war with the Hutts and the title of Jedi Master General. (Gain Jedi Master Yuthura Ban, +1 Jedi Master General, -40 PP for angry Republic for baiting the Hutts)
[] Raise Jedi to fill the seats in the Council that are currently lacking. There are meant to be twelve, and the lack is sort of hurting you at the moment. (Promote four Jedi to the Council, -40 Knowledge)
[] Maintain current course
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