Alderaan - Love and Intrigue

Hoth will be the final game and the second joint game with both sides active, there will not be direct PvP, the two disparate groups will have to work together to survive on the Frozen World and work with the mysterious Gree who seem to be testing the Republic and Empire to see if they are Black Bisector or Blue Parellel, whatever that means.

It will take place about five years after this game and the Cold War is still underway with fear of open war always on the horizon. More information to come.

Year of 3648 BBY

Month 6

Tensions are high on Alderaan as the tail end of the spring season approaches, the annual Festival of a Thousand Flowers is always a wonderful beautiful time especially as people settle into the idea of an uneasy peace. Still politics swirls about as House Thul continues to grow closer to Panteer driving a wedge between Panteer and Ulgo; while House Organa tries to keep the peace. Though that becomes more difficult as Imperial backers of House Thul show growing influence on the planet, although barred from deploying military forces there is a small delegation lead by Lana Beniko, an influential Sith, strictly on the planet as an advisory council to House Thul and Panteer. There is also the question of succession as the Queen is expected to announce who the next heir will be.

Can love and romance survive these politics?

Month 7

As the Festival of a Thousand Flowers comes to an end, Alderaan remains strong and united behind Queen Panteer. What follows towards the middle of the month are a series of official engagements first with all three of the children announcing future weddings; Crown Prince Gaul Panteer, heir to the throne would wed the Jedi Knight, Kataryzna Ulgo which may go a long way to mending the wounds of the failed insurrection. Prince Joran Panteer and Jocaasta Teraan announced their official an engagement along side Jameela Panteer who will be wed to Galen Sol. The new couples are prepped and will embark on a tour of Alderaan territories which will last approximately six months. The first wedding will be for the Crown Prince in a year’s time followed by the twins in a joint wedding ceremony the following month.

Animals, think of the Animals: Blai Frayus tends to the creatures affected by the dark side and starts a sanctuary to tend to a great deal of creatures, in recognition of his efforts the Queen even offers some of her prized thranta to the young noble.

Month 8

Duchess Ulgo comes before the crown and once again pledges her loyalty and fealty to the Queen in an official ceremony, the Queen shows mercy and accepts the reaffirmed fidelity but also levies her justice by striping key lands from Ulgo and delivering them to House Thul and House Lanar. It is a blow to the might of Ulgo but the Duchess accepts, though in time there will probably be future conflicts… but such is the way of Alderaan nobility.

House Lanar Returns: House Lanar receives a great deal of support from House Thul, who invest a great deal of resources to get the small family back on their feet. In turn Riss begins promoting unity among the Houses and promoting support for a united Alderaan.

Month 9

Pirate attacks in the outer rim begin to grow as Republic begins to focus on recovery and pressure from constituents in the Core want an end to the constant deployments of military in the outer regions keeping families divided. This forms a vacuum that allows pirates and other unsavory folks to exert their influence in those regions.

Princess Fashion: Alysele Organa becomes the it girl for fashion among the cool youthful people of the Republic, Jedi Chic goes large supported by influencers like Daz Hoshin. Plus all the proceeds goes to a fun that helps to fund orphans of the Republic. The Jedi Council does not approve of the venture but admit that it does more good than harm and do not intercede.

Month 10

Crown Prince Panteer resumes his duties on Coruscant, even though he is constantly on the move due to his engagement tour he does make time to advocate for tighter security and to warn against threats like those that tied to sow chaos on Alderaan. As for those responsible it seems the events have caused them to go to ground and burn many of their expendable agents. Whatever plot the Clever Man was cooking was foiled by the peaceful reconciliation of the Alderaan nobility. In the months that follow the claims of a grand conspiracy at work fall to the wayside as the bulk of the blame falls on Bouris Ulgo and his accomplices. But still those that know stay vigilant.

Month 11

The Blackguard are honored by Queen Panteer for their actions during the failed insurrection which has been come to be called Night of Ulgo’s Folley. She is surprised to find many Jedi by their side, including Jedi Knight Kataryzna who expresses a desire to create a splinter order called the Paladins. They are given leave to reclaim the site found by Kellen Rist and his associates, and with some official backing will begin the long process of establishing Paladin Fortress.

Month 12

A relatively quiet month, though back in the Empire the civil war was turning to the tide of the Empress as her allies had crushed most of the resistance with the aid of the Minister of War’s tactics and the Intelligence and machinations of Darth Baras, who was quick to ingratiate himself with the new regime and expose enemies of the state. The end of the war came with what is called in the Empire the Night of Black Tears, the Imperial world of Kovaal, a mining Industrial world was sacrificed in the name of the Empress, all three billion souls, for their role in the rebellion. The act quickly broke the resolve of many of the hard liners and although there was resistance, it was less a war and more a minor conflict.

In the years to come, Kovaal would become a site for a new Sith Temple and Academy built on the literal bones of the dead for students to probe the Dark Side and delve into sorcery.

Unlikely but Risty Business: Duke Rist announces that his family will be downsizing their mortality operations, and proposed for parliament reforms to end the barbaric practice of sanctioned mortality. This is met with a great deal of resistance but within the year the reforms are passed by a slight majority and the practice would soon be a thing of the past. Meanwhile Zayne Rist reacquaints himself with his family, and the Force.

A Model Marriage: House Andrim and Alde unite in matrimony, a tremendous affair for both houses. This coupled with Aurilie Alde promoting unity helps to push back the growing xenophobic sentiment among the people of Alderaan. With the support of Jocaasta Teraan the message grows quickly and builds into a large and fierce loyalist movement... perhaps one could say Alderaanian Nationalist movement.

Year of 3647 BBY

The early part of the year was dotted with minor border conflicts between the Empire and Republic, thankfully the exchanges were more posturing than outright violent conflicts but it led to a three month crisis that war could be imminent before hostilities started to die down.

On Coruscant the refugee crisis reaches a head as public opinion began to turn against them, there are violent clashes in the streets and extremism is on the rise and with the Jedi predominately off world due to the destruction of the Temple their influence is not as heavily felt in the Core.

By the sixth month things deteriorate into fighting in the streets and martial law to bring order to the crisis, in an unpopular move local authorities begin forcibly moving migrants and refugees to outer rim colonies that are under financed as much of the aid from Alderaan, and other wealthy core worlds, goes to the Core and then outward though an initiative put forward by Princess Jameela Panteer and Senator Leontyne Saresh looks to divert much needed funding and resources to impoverished Republic worlds.

The move was extremely popular and gave Senator Saresh a great deal of influence and power and made her very popular with the people, especially in the many territories of the outer regions of the Republic. Saresh formed the Republic People’s movement and has used that to successfully push forward progressive legislation that favored the outer territories, while hugely popular it did anger those folks in the Core Worlds who felt they were being exploited for the sake of far flung strangers.

In the seventh month of the year, Crown Prince Gaul Panteer was wed in a highly broadcast event across Republic Space, it is estimated that the wedding cost in excess of five billion credits and was a ten-day affair. The wedding was highly formalized and followed all the esoteric customs and standards of Alderaan nobility, and it sparked debate on excess but overall was seen as the events of the decade. In the following month a smaller but still lavish joint wedding was held for the twins and their respective spouses.

Museums are Cool: The damage to the museum is repaired with a great deal of support including Blai Frayus who dedicates a whole wing to Galena and Jameela or Natural History. The museum is repaired just in time to hose Kellen Rists latest finds on Dantooine, relics from the era of the Mandalorian Wars, priceless artifacts.

Knightly Orders: The Order of the Heart is formed Alderaan by a Hutt of all sentient beings, Desilijic Keyhote is even honored by the Queen with Knighthood, causing a resurgence among young people on Alderaan in knightly orders and honor. Emphasizing a more romantic view of battle, service, and dedication to love. Young hutts back in Hutt space hear of this and take on the more... supremacist/fealty aspects of this resurgence.

Year of 3646 BBY

With the proper submission of Kovaal, the Sith Empire turned to fierce reforms of their military, it was a bloody purge spearheaded by the Minister of War. One of the major goals was to minimize the war games of the Sith and codify a system that allowed Sith to request military escort or requisition military forces but no longer would they have free reign to just use the military at their will.

This would anger the Sith, or as they were becoming known the Old Blood, but the new Sith paradigm emphasized a greater focus on exploring the secrets of the Darth side Sorcery; an exploration of mysticism and a wave of Sith Mysticism was seeping into all sectors of Imperial life. This was further emphasized by the shift in education at the Sith Academy with a greater focus on exploring Sith doctrine and mastering the Dark Side.

Sith Sorcery was on the rise and sentient sacrifice was practiced in some of the more extreme factions of the Sith. Over the coming years, this movement would grow and although sentient sacrifice would always be fringe, practices that emphasize blood sacrifice, scarification, and pain meditation would proliferate through Sith Empire society.

Meanwhile in the Republic towards the end of the year, there were scattered reports of conflict with forces that resembled the Sith but did not fly their banners and officially disavowed by the Sith Empire. By the end of the year the Dread Masters revealed their hand seizing several outer rim worlds, many worlds submitting to them willing through terror and fear.

Too Fast, Too Commissioned: Miyi Thul and Garth Thul participate in the early fighting, both having returned to service in the Republic Navy, their three children at home with lovable Xero Thul. Major Miyi Thul is the XO of the Tenacity while Garth is promoted to Captain and leads the fighter wing on the Tenacity. The Tenacity held the line even against the turncoats earning much distinction for the duo.

Mixing it up with Mixo: Verash Organa quietly relocates to Pantora to better oversee her trade deal she made with Durasay, if that meant spending more time with her paramour well... just the perks of doing business. Besides she had a new obsession, collecting relics tied to the darker side of the Force.

Year of 3645 BBY

The Dread War was a test of the recovering Republic as their forces deployed in earnest, but it was a difficult conflict as many of the worlds had submitted willingly and their governments were dismantled, but the people at large suffered. The war would rage for three years across dozens of worlds, but the opening salvos were not in the favor of the Republic as their forces were turned on their allies, the initial defeats were demoralizing for the Republic Armed Forces with mass desertions in the field to the side of the Dread Masters.

These defeats brought fear tat the Empire would strike at them but nothing came. One can thank the Hutts for the Empire turned their gaze upon the Hutt Cartels as they cracked down on drug trade within their territories in a shadow war.

While the fighting happens in the galactic south, Crown Prince Gaul and his wife celebrate the birth of their first child, and future queen, Vishani Kataryzna Panteer. The announcement is met with much fanfare and pictures of the young family shoots to the top of most searched lists across the Holonet.

Meanwhile on Tython there is a minor conflict that threatens local, though technically illegal twi’lek pilgrims, from the flesheater sentients but they are pushed back by a joint Jedi and Killik force proving that there is a possibility for peaceful coexistence from the displaced species but still many Jedi and locals are wary of the alien hives relocated to the system.

XOs to the XO: Cynella participates in the Dread Master conflict as an XO of the Blue Gallant, distinguishing herself in several conflicts all across the conflict. Even as she is with child.

Digging up Money: Kellen Rist establishes a corporation to further support his archaeological aspirations and fund personal projects, getting backing from Verash Organa who sees value in the endeavor and even offers a few select pieces she would like him to look into for her new collection on Pantora.

Turtling Up: Nudimsu tracks down some nice hardware for personal use while he goes on many adventures with his totally not paramour, Lana Beniko, it's purely, sometimes, nude platonic fun. She becomes mainstay of the Turtle but not a true member, but they have many an adventure. Hacha does Hacha things as the Turtle continues to grow in infamy and importance in the world. Almost as important as the Infinite Destiny, okay maybe more but don't tell them that. The Turtle spends time involved with the Dread Masters conflict serving with distinction. Please ignore the Sith Lord in the corner.

Year of 3644 BBY

The hunt for the Star Cabal for now comes up fruitless but clueless disposable agents that have been left to hang on their own and are curtailed and several operations are purged of the influence, but it seems that this organization has gone to ground.

Especially after the Nar Shaddaa Impasse, agents of House Rist tracked down a potential target and this led to an explosive confrontation between the Cunning Man and Duke Rist, when they finally confronted the enigmatic figure, they found only a holo-terminal and a stunning reveal that their lost sister Vidara Rist was the Cunning Man, knowledge that for now remains with House Rist. She escaped into Wild Space, where rumors hold another Empire waits.

But thanks to the efforts of several prominent individuals in the Republic and Empire the agents of the Star Cabal are forced to go to ground for now, it may be decades before they to resurface and with the Cunning Man, one of their major agents possibly revealed they have suffered heavy setbacks to their plans.

With that settled the war against the Dread Masters reached a denouement over the world of Bankor, but the forces of the Republic bolstered by Jedi Battle Meditation were able to push back the Dread Masters and push them back out of Republic space but the dozens of worlds they controlled are now filled with traumatized and terrorized peoples who may never recover from such pure dread.

Perhaps that was the goal all along.

Not a Sol to Tell: Galen Sol spends time on Tython training with the Jedi to further his skills but still remains independent of the Order. His wife spends her time on the planet exploring ancient Jedi ruins while their son resides back on Alderaan with their extended family.

Changed Man: Daz Hoshin completes his trials by surviving for eight months on a Dread Master controlled world, helping local dissidents fight back but the things he saw and experienced haunt him and eventually draw him to join the Sixth Line Jedi. He begins to minimize his influencer role but old habits die hard.

Year of 3643 BBY

The conflict versus the Dread Masters had consumed much of the resources of the Republic, and although the Empire had consistently disavowed the distrust remains that isn’t just what the Sith Empire wanted in the first place. Still with the conflict behind the Republic by the beginning of the year the people were renewed with animosity versus the Sith, and Senator Saresh’s strong-arm stance versus the Empire was taking root in the Republican Senate and talks of perhaps a preemptive strike versus the old enemy were being floated though the appetite for war was not enough to move the moderates in the senate.

Meanwhile with new elections finished, the freshmen senators, including the young, but distinguished, Niall Organa, were set to bring fresh blood and direction to the Senate and Galactic Republic. The young war hero replacing Crown Prince Gaul Panteer, leaving him to spend more time with his daughter and future queen of Alderaan.

With the Republic having pulled more resources for the conflict with the Dread Masters, pirates had grown bold and their attacks were affecting everyone and growing in intensity. The White Maw operating in and around the Hoth System were becoming increasingly problematic for the Empire and Republic; the Republic lost civilian transport carrying a few thousand refugees called the Baraliner and the Empire suffered the loss of a military escort, the Dark Legion combat frigate, in the region.

In response Darth Baras who was touring the region for dissidents directed a small detachment to pacify the pirates meanwhile a humanitarian mission sent by the Republic was just about to the enter the Hoth system… neither side aware of the other in what is considered contested territory.

The events of Hoth begin here.

Opposite of Wet Dreams: Layne keeps having dreams of her time back on Korriban... or the red wastes and seeing the ghosts of her lineage... are they trying to reach out to her? The dreams always end with her finding Spindral in an icy cave at the top of a mountain.

Not without my Cubs: Breela Po learns that her children may be alive and working as "indentured" servants of the White Maw in the Hoth system.