The Society: Prologue

The Society: Prologue

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Coruscant

Wynn Dorvan, Chief of State of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, has never felt so powerless and weak.

The conflict with the Lost Tribe of the Sith and the dark side entity Abeloth had devastated the already socially fragile Galactic Alliance. Coruscant felt the immense damage particularly, as the bulk of the Lost Tribe's actions had taken place on the galactic capital. The Sith killed thousands themselves, but the volcanic eruptions caused by Abeloth resulted in billions of additional deaths amongst the civilian population. Not to mention the two trillion credits' worth of structural damage to the city itself. Though the conflict occurred three years ago, much of the damaged portions of the city were still being reconstructed. And there was no way to bring back all of those who had perished. This further divided the Alliance—the Senate suspected the Jedi to have done something wrong, even though they were the ones who defeated the Sith. The Senate voted to exile the Order off of Coruscant—despite Wynn's attempt to veto the decision—and forced them to relocate. Unity would not return through more division, Wynn had told them. But they were intent on it.

The Jedi had agreed to leave, of course, and relocated to a temple on a different planet. Wynn personally thought it was a foolish mistake to do this—making the capital again vulnerable. Meanwhile, the military was divided on what actions should be taken, especially with the slave rebellions in the Outer Rim. Some thought it was the duty of the Alliance to intervene and put down the rebellions, while other officers thought that they should stand by and do nothing. The Corellians were acting especially with a bias against the Alliance government, reminding Wynn of their attempted secession that occurred not too long ago, several years back, and the conflict that it resulted in. These developments disturbed him, and they seemed to grow worse. Other issues had come up, such as the increase in crime overall throughout the Core Worlds, and assassination attempts on senators here on the capital. Luckily, the Order was willing to send several Jedi to Coruscant to investigate these matters, off the radar of the Senate. Wynn was expecting them in about a day.

This was quite absurd, in the Chief of State's view—the Alliance seemed to be at war with itself. Wynn had spent much time pondering this issue, how the previous leaders were able to keep stability and unity, unlike him. His ministers were not very useful at this time, since they seemed as divided as the Senate. Wynn sighed quietly, and stood up from his seat in his office. Walking over to the window, the Chief of State looked out at the lights of the planet's skyline. There were significantly less than there had been before. Sighing again, Wynn walked over back to his desk, and looked for a certain data chip. He remembered that General Darklighter of the Galactic Alliance Marines asked him to look over recent arms purchases by the military, to confirm it and give his approval. Scanning the desk with his eyes quickly, Wynn realized there was no such date chip here. Odd, very odd indeed, he thought to himself. The general told him that he would have an adjutant bring the chip to his office, and Wynn told him to inform the adjutant to leave it on his desk. Not that there was anywhere else to put it.

The Chief of State was about to contact General Darklighter to ask him on the matter when his comm link buzzed. He took it out of his pocket and answered.

"Yes, this is the Chief of State . . . "

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Hyperspace, near Coruscant

Jedi Knight Vyrkan Xentas looked at the blue lines outside the starship as they travelled through hyperspace. He has seen it many times before, but it fascinated him every time. He was among the team of Jedi selected by Grand Master Skywalker and the Council to return to Coruscant and aid Chief of State Dorvan in solving the internal crisis going on there. Xentas began thinking about the few details that they were given by the Grand Master before a voice interrupted his train of thought.

"Knight Xentas?"

The Jedi Knight, as if broken from a trance, quickly looked over at the source of the voice. Master Naxon Vorr was the overall leader of the team, assigned to the role by Skywalker. A Rodian, Master Vorr had recently been promoted to the position of Jedi Master. Other than that, the two Jedi did not know each other very well. Well, they had quite a bit of time to get to know each other, and the others on the team.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to inform you that we are going to reach Coruscant soon," said the Jedi Master.

Xentas nodded. "Very well."

The two Jedi turned their attention on the viewport, remaining quiet for several moments. Xentas decided the break the ice.

"So, what specifically will we be doing on the capital?"

The Rodan turned to look at him. "I am not sure myself, to be quite honest. I guess whatever the Chief of State asks of us."

There was another pause.

"It seemed like he was referring to the rising crime rates. Personally, I think law enforcement is a job for the Coruscant Security Force, not the Jedi Order," said Xentas.

Vorr's facial expression suddenly darkened. "I believe there is more afoot here than petty crime."

Xentas looked curious now. "Indeed? And why is that?"

"Well, look at the situation—this is all happening in seemingly a coordinated manner. The Alliance is becoming more divided while social unrest begins, and the crime rates are growing."

The Jedi Knight nodded. "Seems like the Black Sun is up to something again."

Master Vorr just looked worried. "I hope that that is all it is."