Great Galactic Civil War

The Great Galactic Civil War was fought fifty years after the formation of the Republic. The war was fought between the Galactic government and the Monarchy-Democratic Party, better known as the MDP. The divided both the Republic and the Jedi Order. Right before the war the Jedi had explored many previously unknown worlds, rallying more Force-sensitive creatures to their Order. The result was a diverse organization that had various opinions about life. At the start of the war the public support was split almost evenly, however, as the terrorist acts of the MDP mounted high civilian casualties, most favored the Republic by the war’s end.

Origin
At the start of the war the people elected one of their proudest Founding Fathers, Nussle Armadala of Naboo. His running mate was Grey Jedi and former spacer, Mi Trelmark. At the same time a senator named Zargayus Xerime began spreading rumors about the new Republic’s inefficiency. He said that such a large space would not be ruled by committee and that Republic was nearing complete clasp. There he founded the Monarchy-Democratic Party.

Secession
More and more people began listing to the lies of Xerime. In a daring move, Xerime declared himself King of the Galactic Republic. Many senators supported Xerime and his new order. They formed the Royal Parliament on Nubia, the capital of the MDP. The following day Armadala was assassinated. The new chancellor, Mi Trelmark, vowed revenge. The Grand Jedi Master, Sam Palpatine, announced that the Jedi Order would remain loyal to the Republic. However, some of the Jedi supported Xerime and his rebellion. These Jedi fled to Nubia and formed the Grey Jedi Order, under Grand Jedi Lord Zuudome.

Blockade of the Corellian Way and Trade Spine
Due to their strategic location of Nudia, Xerime had a plan to bankrupt the Republic into submission. The Corellian Way was blocked by the stronghold on Nubia and Xerime sent the fleet to cut off the Corellian Trade Spine, disconnecting Coruscant and the rest of the Core Worlds from the Mid Rim. The plan was well conceived and the Republic did not take the move lightly. They prepared counterattack to free up their trade lifelines. The people of the Mid Rim were not pleased by this move either. Though most had yet to join the Republic, many were trading partners with them and felt the impact of the blockade. Xerime, always cautious about making too many enemies, offered to trade with the Mid Rim systems. The Mid Rim was, however, unimpressed by what the MDP had to offer. Just as the Loyalist navy was preparing for the assault Chancellor Trelmark ordered them not to attack. When his Jedi adviser, Plo Broon, demanded he give an explanation, he said that they were still trying to resolve the crisis peaceably. Despite the “peace talks” the people of Coruscant were beginning to starve to death.

Battle of Nubia
The Republic and Mid Rim systems weren’t the only ones being hurt by the MDP blockade. Many spacers found themselves out of business. They rallied together on Rodia and went up the Corellian Way, like they would in the past. When the Royal Fleet tried to stop the spacers they met resistance. To the surprise of the Nubians, the spacers were victorious. Fears the spacers would raid his capital, Xerime ordered the fleet in the Corellian Trade Spine, to come aid them. Due to strategy hit-and-run attacks by the brave spacers the Second Royal Fleet was defeated also.

Declaration of War
After the Battle of Nubia, the people praised the bravery of the spacers and rebuked Trelmark for his lack of actions. Fearing his political career was in jeopardy, Trelmark declared war on the MDP.

Missionaries to Endor
Just prior to the war, Loyalist spacer, Evry Cilll, discovered the forest planet of Endor. The Jedi sent missionaries to the forest world to convert the pagan people. When the war began, the Royalist army was sent to take Endor, as Xerime saw it as a greatly stategic planet if the fight was taken to the Outer Rim. The fierce attack left many Jedi dead and their mission in ruins. However, the Jedi reseved aid from the native Ewoks and help them defeat the MDP. Despite the victory, the damage was to sevier for the Jedi to remain on the planet. Therefore they were forced to leave.

Operation: Forceful Aid
Xerime had hoped that many undecided Mid Rim states would join his alliance, however, after his daring blockades the support had shifted in favor of the Republic. Rather then facing war on two fronts, King Xerime prompted for a different strategy. This plan was Operation: Forceful Aid. Zuudome and his Grey Jedi traveled to the planet Naboo, a close ally to the Republic, while a human Dark Jedi, named Zaa Ru, attacked Aridus. The invasions were designed to show the power of the MDP and encourage Mid Rim systems to join them.

Battle of Aridus
The people of Aridus requested aid from the Republic. Eager to accept a new ally, the Republic sent troops to stop the Royalist. However, the transport ship caring the Loyalist army was attacked, by space pirates hired by Ru. Only a handful of troops made it to Aridus and the planet was quickly taken.

Battle of Naboo
Master Palpatine, his female apprentice, Melli Elmu, and several of their Jedi comrades went to Naboo to counteract the Grey Jedi. When they arrived on the grass-covered planet the discovered that the Grey Jedi had not only defeated the humans on Naboo, but the Grand Gungan Army as well. The Royalist Jedi had control of the small village of Theed. Zuudome threatened to begin killing the people of Theed if the Jedi tried to retake the town. The Jedi worked together to create a cleaver strategy. They were to act as paratroopers and cut the Grey Jedi off from the people, so that they could not kill the citizens of Theed. They knew that getting the ships above Theed in time was the key. Zuudome had placed laser canons of over the village, but the Jedi hoped that he would too busy holding off the attack to make good on his promises. After the Jedi had jumped from the transports, Palpatine went deeper into the town to try to arrest Zuudome. The Grey Jedi launched a counterattack, but the Loyalist held their ground. However, the laser canons began firing on the people of Theed, just as the Jedi Lord promised they would. Elmu rushed into the village in an attempt to evacuate the people. As she dug through the rubble she discovered, to her horror, that her own sister had been killed in the attack. Elmu, filled with unjedi like rage, ran to Zuudome’s headquarters, only to be told that her master had failed to arrest the Dark Jedi. She climbed into an old faction Naboo fighter and perused Zuudome.

Melli Elmu’s Quest
As she left the atmosphere, Melli Elmu stopped Zuudome’s ship, the ‘’Black Mynock’’. She tried to stop the large battleship, to no avail. However, just before the ‘’Mynock’’ went into hyperspace Elmu managed to place tracking device on the Jedi Lord’s ship.

Encounter on Falleen
Zuudome, hearing of Zaa Ru’s victory at Aridus, decided to rejoin the Royalist army on the newly conquered system. He landed his ship on Falleen to refuel before the final leg of his trip. Melli tracked Zuudome to a Docking Bay 94 on Falleen. She surprised Zuudome and passionately attacked the dark lord. Elmu would have killed him; however, Zuudome’s Royalist allies came to his aid and fired round after round of blaster bolts at Elmu. By the time the dust cleared, the ‘’Black Mynock’’ had already departed. However, Elmu quickly continued her chase. Zuudome, realizing that he was being tracked, asked for advice from Zargayus Xerime, who counseled him to go to Nal Hutta.

Sins on Nal Hutta
Melli Elmu discovered Zuudome’s ship on Nal Hutta, being guarded by his men. She quickly eliminated the Loyalist guards and stormed the ship, only to discover it was empty. Betrothed, she continued her search on Nal Hutta’s surface.

Conflict with Orkuss the Hutt
Melli tracked Zuudome to the headquarters of a powerful Hutt crimelord, named Orkuss. It became clear that the Hutt was in league with the Jedi Lord. Elmu marched into the fortress and demanded that she be told Zuudome’s location. When Orkuss refused, Elmu drew her lightsaber to smite the Hutt, however, Orkuss offered Elmu a deal. He said that if she passed a test he would tell her Zuudome’s location. Elmu agreed.

Elmu’s Test
Melli was locked in a dark, underground bunker to await her test. As a large metal door opened Elmu’s opponent was revealed to her. A large, reptilian creature challenged the young Jedi Knight. When Elmu struck the beat with her lightsaber the animal seemed not to even notice the strike. The unwounded creature then attacked Melli with all the more force and rage. However, Elmu retaliated with swift vengeance. Firing bolts of dark Force lightning, Elmu gave the creature a quick, but painful, death.

Revenge of the Jedi
Elmu marched through Orkuss’ headquarters and demanded he make good on his promise to provide her with Zuudome’s location. Orkuss refused yet again and order his men to attack the falling Jedi. Elmu easily slew all of her attackers, but she did not stop there. She whipped out all of Orkuss’ men, slaves and advisers. Soon Orkuss, himself, was the only one alive. Orkuss was not done fighting though. He unleashed a powerful, Force-sensitive cyborg, whose skills had been maximized by robotic parts. The two warriors dueled before the great Hutt. Elmu was grievously wounded in the duel; however, she Force crushed the cyborg’s robotic brain in order to destroy it. Filled with undying rage, Elmu executed Orkuss on the stop.

Deal with the Devil
Having killed her only lead, Elmu didn’t know what to do, until she got help from the person she would have least expected: Zargayus Xerime. Xerime told her had he hated Zuudome for his actions and that he too was trying to kill him. Xerime managed to convince Elmu that her sister’s death was as much the fault of the Republic and her old master, as it was Zuudome’s. The following night Xerime order Zuudome to challenge Melli, which he did. The duel was fantastic, but Elmu proved superior. She cut off Zuudome’s hands then, at Xerime’s order, decapitated the Jedi Lord. King Xerime then offered Elmu a chance to get revenge of the “other people responsible” by making her Grand Jedi Mistress of the Grey Jedi Order.

Battle of Corellia
During the conversion of Melli Elmu, the Royalist forces on Nubia launched an attack on the neighboring system of Corellia. The Royalists were eager to knock the economic superpower out of the war. With Master Palpatine in the Mid Rim, Plo Broon was placed in charge of the Corellian defenses. As Nubian transports rained down on the planet, General Broon held his ground and ordered a counterattack. However, the counterattack failed and the Loyalist fled to the south. Despite this, all was not lost for Corellia. The Royalist could not stuff out the southern strongholds. In the end, the battle ended in a stalemate, with neither side ever fully occupying the planet.

Battle of Kashyyyk
The Royalist continued their crusade in the Mid Rim. Their next objective was to take Kashyyyk, the Wookie homeworld. With their numbers running low, the Loyalist hired Trandoshans to aid in their assault on the Wookies, beginning a long rivalry between the two races. Sam Palpatine, presuming his apprentice had been killed, went to aid the Wookies. The battle was most intense and both sides lost many troops. As Palpatine led his Wookie army, he felt a dark force working. This dark force turned out to be his own apprentice. During the heat of the battle, Mistress Elmu revealed herself to Palpatine. Elmu’s rage was soon made clear to Palpatine, as she relentlessly attacked her old master. As the duel went on, the Royalist began to take the advantage. Palpatine knew he would have to end the duel quickly, or be stuck behind enemy lines. Therefore, he cut of Elmu’s right hand, lightsaber and all. However, Master Palpatine could not bring himself to kill Melli, even as she launched rays of Force lightning at him, with her left hand. In the end, Palpatine used the Force to black out Elmu. He then fled the battlefield. He joined his army in a hidden valley in northern Kashyyyk. Mean while, Royalist surgeons found a knockout Elmu and attached a cyborg arm to her stub. When she awoke, her rage was rejuvenated by her wound. She rallied her troops to crush the Loyalist in the south. But her plan met a bump in the road. The Trandoshans had captured and enslaved many Wookies, following the battle, and were eager to return to their homeworld to trade them. Elmu demanded that they stay, but was outnumbered by the reptilian mercenaries. Sensing the Royalist’s weakness, Palpatine led an attack on the captured Kashyyyk cites. The attacks were very successful, due to Elmu’s sudden lack of troops. The Jedi Mistress then returned to Nubia, shamed and enraged.

Raid on Coruscant
Xerime need to weaken Loyalist defenses on the capital, and therefore organized a series of raids. The raids were led by Zabrak naval officer, Drarw Mauula. Two squadrons were attacked the Galactic City, one of the Chancellor’s Office, the second on the Jedi Temple. Both attacks caused heavy military and civilian casualties; however, they failed to kill their main target: Mi Trelmark. The attacks would have been a lot worse, however, if it wasn’t for the bravery of Guardian Squadron, lead by Loyalist superstar Evry Cilll. It was because of this attack that the Royalists were forced to flee and that Mauula’s fighter was hit. Mauula was forced to crash land on Coruscant. Mauula would not only survive the crash but decided to finish his mission, by assassinating Trelmark. Mauula stormed the Chancellor’s Office and tried to kill Trelmark with his blaster. However, Plo Broon, who had just returned from Corellia, blocked the laser bolt with his lightsaber, and disarmed the Zabrak. Trelmark ordered Broon to execute Drarw, but Broon demanded that he be given a fair trial.

The People versus Drarw Mauula
After refusing to give the Jedi any information, he was taken straight to trial. The trial was viewed, via HoloNet, by both Loyalist and Royalist from all over the Galaxy. Mauula was charged with treason, terrorism and attempted murder. The prosecution demanded that he be given capital punishment. The defense argued that Mauula was a prisoner of war and therefore was given to right to live, by the ‘’Articles of Warfare’’. However, the ‘’Articles’’ allowed for the execution of generals, admirals and enemy heads of state. The question became whether or not Mauula was an admiral. Xerime had given his the rank of admiral, prior of the Raid, but the official promotion ceremony had not been given.

The Great Protest
The trial was taken all the way to the Supreme Court. The day before the trial protesters, whose relatives had been killed during the Raid on Coruscant, demanded the death penalty be given to Mauula. When Mauula arrived at the Supreme Court Building, the crowd went mad. One over zealous protester fired a blaster, intending to kill Mauula. However, he missed and hit one of the judicial guards. The fallen guard’s comrades, fearing an attack, fired at the protesters, killing five people. The panicking protesters fled trampling each other. By the end of the day 53 people were killed. This fueled anti-Mauula feelings on Coruscant, as they blamed the Zabrak for the deaths. This may have been part of the reason that the Supreme Court ruled that Mauula was indeed an admiral and could face the death penalty if found guilty.

Royalists Retaliate
Xerime, knowing the valuable information Mauula carried, ordered Elmu to fix the problem of Mauula’s trial. Elmu would have killed Mauula, but found his cell to be heavily guarded. She therefore tried a different strategy. She stormed the Chancellor’s Office and took Trelmark’s aid, Lady Malgra, hostage. She then fled to Byss, along with her captive. The next day, she offered a trade: Malgra for Mauula. The Jedi Council met with Chancellor Trelmark to discuss the maker. They finally agreed that they could not risk giving Mauula away.

Mission to Byss
Sam Palpatine was called back from the Mid Rim to go to Byss and rescue Lady Malgra. He was able to locate Elmu and her captive. Melgra was being guarded by Elmu and Palpatine was forced to duel his old friend yet again. During the first part of the battle Elmu’s rage seemed to give her power of her former master. However, Elmu relied on emotions, while Palpatine was consistent. As Elmu’s rage began to die Palpatine gained the upper hand. Rather then giving Palpatine a total victory, Elmu killed Lady Malgra and then fled. Palpatine returned to Coruscant, having failed his mission. In light of this, Palpatine gave up his rank, of Grand Jedi Master, to Plo Broon, but kept his seat on the Council.

Deal
After the tragic dead of Lady Malgra, there was little doubt that Mauula would get the death penalty. Fearing for his life, Mauula offered to make a deal. He would give valuable information in exchange for his life. It was agreed. In the end Mauula got life in prison and the Jedi were told of a new Royalist weapon Mauula had described. This weapon was called the Planet Self Destruction Activator, or PSDA. This device was placed into the soil of a planet. The PSDA would then create massive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, destroying a planet in a matter of hours.

Taking out the PSDA
According to Mauula’s information the PSDA was being stored in a Nubian war factory. The Republic quickly composed a strike team, made up of Jedi Knights and Senate Guards, to capture the PSDA before it could be deployed.

Mission to Nubia
The Strike Team infiltrated the Nubian defenses by using one of the new clocking devices to sneak pasted enemy radar. Once on the surface they went to the Monarchy-Democratic Party Headquarters, to take the PSDA. Mean while, King Zargayus Xerime, Mistress Melli Elmu and Grand General Zaa Ru were meeting in the Headquarters to discuss their next move. This provided a distraction for the strike team as the guards were busy with the brass. However, the mission took an unexpected turn, just as the team entered the warehouse where the PSDA was being stored. Xerime had gone to retrieve the PSDA to show his comrades. He was quickly surrounded by the strike team. In a fatal move, an over zealous Loyalist shot Xerime in the chest. Elmu, sensing something was wrong, went to the warehouse to see King Xerime wounded and the Strike Team fleeing with the PSDA. Elmu ordered all the guardsmen in the building to attack. Soon the entire strike team was whipped out. Seeing how close the Republic had come to stealing their PSDA, the Royalists decided to use the terrible device, rather then lose it.

Planting the Bomb
MDP agents were able to infiltrate the Republic’s defenses and plant the PSDA in the disappearing Coruscant soil. However, the Jedi sensed the disbalance that the PSDA was causing and began searching for the device. In the end, it was Trelmark who uncovered the hidden weapon. He told the Jedi had his men had disarmed the bomb and that there was nothing to be alarmed about.

Death of Two Royalists
On Nubia, Royalist doctors tried to heal the wounded King Xerime, to no avail. The very night the PSDA was disarmed he died, creating a vacancy for his office. There were two people likely to become the new Galactic King. These people were Zaa Ru and Melli Elmu. Elmu decided to take the opportunity and challenged Ru to a duel. Zaa knew that Elmu was far more powerful then he and that he could never expect to beat her in a one on one duel. Therefore, he waited. After hearing no response, Elmu marched to Ru’s counters to kill him then and there. However, Elmu could not expect the scene that would follow. When she opened the door’s to Zaa’s home she was struck down by a hailstorm of blaster bolts. Elmu was killed before her body hit the ground. That very hour, Zaa Ru declared himself king.

New Strategy
Zaa Ru wanted to end the war as quickly as possible. Therefore, he planned a risky attack on Coruscant. He rallied all the Royalist forces on Nubia and bored shuttles to begin the assault. Right before the attack, Chancellor Trelmark informed Broon that he had left the PSDA in the ground, to activate in the case of an emergency. Broon, unsure of what to do, went to the Temple to meditate.

Battle of Coruscant
Blood and lasers seemed to engulf Coruscant in the red dew of battle, as the Royalist invasion went under way. The Loyalists and rebels fought in allies of the Galactic City and the death toll mounted every moment. As the Royalist gained ground, the Republican army boxed themselves in and around the Senate, to protect their leaders. The bravery of the Loyalists that day was what gave them the edge. The Royalists, try as they might, could not brake through their defenses.

Attack on the Jedi Temple
As the two armies engaged each other throughout the city, the Grey Jedi attacked the Jedi Temple. The two Jedi factions clashed in a horrific scene of carnage. As Palpatine launched a heroic counterattack, Master Broon remembered the PSDA.

Duel in the Chancellor’s Office
Broon found Trelmark struggling with whether or not to push the button and activate. As Broon opened his mouth to stop Trelmark, a red blade dove through his heart, killing the great Jedi Master. There stood Zaa Ru. Zaa Ru ordered Trelmark to give him control of the Republic. However, Trelmark had studied the ways of the Force as well and out from his fingertips came blue blots of Force lightning. Zaa was not powerful enough to prevent the rays from killing him. Slowly and painfully, Trelmark executed Zaa Ru. As Trelmark carried out the deed, Palpatine sensed the chancellor’s vile actions. Sam ran from the battle at the Temple, which was beginning to turn in the Jedi’s favor, and went to the Chancellor’s Office. Palpatine, when he arrived, ordered Trelmark to stop the “insanity.” Trelmark not only refused, but turned on Sam. Master Palpatine was force to slay the chancellor. When Palpatine walked over to a deformed Zaa Ru, he found him already dead.

Conclusion
The battle ended in a Republic victory, ending the Great Galactic Civil War. The war furthered the cause of democracy and rooted the eager for freedom.

Behind the Scenes

 * The was orginally created by Red Head Rider, but he is allowing all users to edit his work.


 * The Missionaries to Endor section is a spoof on the following user box.


 * A single image was never downloaded specifically for the making of this article. Rather, the author took images from various sources and compiled them onto this page.

Apearances

 * Star Wars: Chronicles of the Great Galactic Civil War