Veraun Defenders

"The Veraun Defenders will be great... This, I have foreseen. It's up to you two now to decide how that's going to happen... I have foreseen two things, two great challenges of the Defenders... The first will be warriors of the past come to the future, to overrun the galaxy. The second will be a war to end all wars. Beware the Hutts..."

- Founder Setron Droek

 was an elite group of Force-users which was founded by Setron Droek, a failed Jedi, in approximately 354 ABY. Initially being very low in number and only serving to defend the neutral moon of Veraun, as the Veraunese spread out to nearby systems so did the Defenders, and the group eventually served as guardians for a small Allied Region. Weathering numerous conflicts without a significant part to play, their first major mobilization was against the Black Knights in 10,057 ABY when the Black Knights tore through the galaxy. Although the first system fell, the Defenders rallied and stopped the Knight's northward spread, a key victory in the war. Veraun would remain out of galactic affairs for millennia, until 40,000 ABY when a new war forced them back into action.

Founding and the Early Years
When Jedi Padawan Setron Droek failed the Trials, he was offered another chance; however, in his meditation, he was drawn to leave the Order and form another Force tradition. As he prepared to leave, youngling Areya Shiin approached him, and left with him to become his apprentice. Finding work on mining moon Veraun XII, Droek also took on Force-sensitive boy G'arn T'rovan as an apprentice. After many years of training, G'arn left to become a merchant as Veraun XII switched into a trading world. When he returned, he brought with him three young Force-sensitives who would become the next apprentices of the Defenders. A firefight which was stopped by G'arn and two of those apprentices is recognizable as the first Defender mission. A later attempted raid by pirates was the first time the Defenders took part in a larger mission, with Master Droek himself defeating the main bulk of the pirates. Several years later, after the organization had spread even more, Droek died, leaving mastership to Areya. Several years of peace followed, with the Defenders serving in a 'as the Jedi are to the galaxy the Defenders are to Veraun' type role.

Veraun's Expansion
Veraun's position allowed for a subtle expansion of Veraun's interests, and over the course of the next five millennia systems were quietly−even eagerly−absorbed into Veraun's small empire, being known as the Veraun Alliance. The ruling council, now made of one representative from each planet in the Alliance and three Defenders as advisors, petitioned to become a separate entity from the Galactic Federation Triumvirate. This petition was accepted, and there became a Defender base at each of the fifteen planets, including Veraun itself.

Black Knight Crisis
After approximately five millennia, word came that Sythen Kurak was dead and a strange Force organization was conquering world after world with ease. Readying for a fight, they dug in.

The First Battle
The Black Knights used the Force to conceal their presence, and struck without warning at one of the outer systems of the Veraun Alliance. The Stronghold there fell, but a datacard discovered in the ruins of a crashed Black Knight cruiser revealed that it had not been easy: casualty readings were still frozen across the screens six months later when the planet was retaken, and the ratio for the battle was 35 Knights killed for every Defender.

Rallying and Taking Back
Although the first fight took the Defenders off guard, reinforcements were moved from other Strongholds farther to the edge, and though the Knights threw five campaigns at the planets they were unable to break even one. The final blow came when Areya T'rovan (descended from Areya Shiin and G'arn T'rovan) launched a stunning counterattack and took back the planet they'd lost. Peace and rebuilding followed as the Black Knights were driven from the galaxy. Although the Knights came back, they bypassed Veraun completely, in memory of what was the Knight's most resounding failure.

Caught in the Middle
For another twenty thousand years after the Second Black Knight Crisis, peace reigned. The Defenders expanded even more, with every Force-sensitive child in the Veraun Alliance trying to become one. It was a good thing they did, as the galaxy split into four factions in a long war.

The Making of the Thousand-Year War
Many forewarned of a war, but few foresaw how it would occur. At the very beginning, a Sith cult rose swiftly in the Outer Rim. Numerous Dark-side organizations were absorbed into the wannabe Sith cult, even as within the Core more trouble was brewing. A group of dissidents effectively erased the Galactic Alliance from existence, and replaced it with a reborn CIS. The Hutts, seeing this three-way war unfold, readied themselves for conflict as well.

First Shots Fired
Initially, the Fel Empire, the CIS, and the Hutts were not in fact prepared to attack. The Sith Empire was seated Galactic north of the Hutts, Galactic northeast of the Empire, and far north of the CIS. Although the Veraun Alliance was situated to the Galactic west of all of these groups, it was wary of conflict, and prepared to defend. Word spread across the Holonet that the Sith Empire had launched simultaneous strikes on the Hutts and the Fel Empire. The CIS instantly attempted to spread out their territory in the Southern Core and then southwest. The Defenders reacted to this by readying even more for conflict.

Conflict and Empire's Intervention
Even as the Defenders readied for war, the CIS sent emissaries to attempt to recruit the Alliance to the CIS. The Defender in charge of negotiations was a bit too blunt about the Alliance's neutrality, and the CIS instantly declared war on the small, seemingly easy to defeat Alliance. This proved to be a great mistake, as they wasted entire legions of troops without making ground. However, the distraction this caused was enough for the Empire's First Army (assisted by Leah Skywalker) to launch a massive campaign into the Southern Core. Despite the Defender's warnings, the Veraun Alliance declared allegiance with the Fel Empire.

The Flow of War
Even as the Empire made headway into the South, the CIS diverted forces northward, into Hutt and Imperial territory. After a century of constant warfare, the Imperial territory in the South was reduced to a sliver. The Hutts expanded, reaching southward, and the combination of threats forced the Alliance to send Defenders to reinforce worlds outside their territory. Although some objected to this, it quickly became accepted, and non-Veraun Force-sensitives began to slowly trickle into the Alliance to train with the elite Defenders.

The Big Push
After six more centuries of taking and losing systems, the Empire decided to push Northward, taking hundreds of Defenders with them. This gave them ground on the Sith, but forced them to fight even harder to keep what they had, as the war continued to go on. Leah Skywalker, who had survived through use of the Force, led these campaigns, but many Defenders served under her well.

Organization
At the start, the Defenders were very unorganized, serving simply as protectors of peace and justice. After the Black Knight Crisis, however, they regrouped, making a Council of Masters, each Master commanding a Stronghold of Defenders and overseeing the training of the apprentices there. There were four ranks: Grand Masters, who were the aforementioned Masters, Masters, who were revered and distinguished Defenders who had outlived their service and trained apprentices, Defenders, who were the mainstay of the group and served to protect the citizens of the Veraun Alliance, and apprentices, who were not yet Defenders and trained at a Stronghold.

Training
Training was split into two sections: Time with your personal Master and time with Masters who had chosen to teach the classes. The former was largely focused on worldview, strategy, and field exercises in which the Master would go on a case and the apprentice would be expected to help however possible. Mostly, however, this time served to help form worldview and character, with the Master being a mentor to the apprentice. The latter formed the majority of the time; along with basic classes, the students also learned Force powers and physical training.

Veraun Defenders' Worldview and Force Training
The Defenders took largely after the views of ancient Jedi Hauk, who believed that weapons were a reliance on something other than yourself and thus reflected attachment. However, the Defenders were not entirely anti-attachment: many Masters took partners, though it was considered a bad idea to marry before then due to the danger of the work. The Defenders were considered the highest masters of Control ability in the galaxy, utilizing tutaminis to absorb hits from energy weapons and a combination of curato and altus sopor to heal wounds and focus into the Force, respectively. Training began with extensive martial arts background, continuing on as the student progressed into low-level blaster shots to train in tutaminis, and extensive challenges to increase focus. Although the training was brutal, even the Jedi could not hope to rival the Defenders in this area. As for Sense and Alter, they were less focused-upon, but if a student showed a particular talent in these areas their Master could give them training.