Star Wars: The High Republic: The Acolyte: Peace, War, and Legacy

Eleven years later…

Time has passed, and things have changed… but as word spreads that a new mercenary contract has been put out to end the Gungans, and that a link to a missing Jedi has been discovered… the adventurers of the past may find themselves on a collision course with their old decisions… and their delayed fates may yet come to haunt them.

@Lady_Belligerent, @HanSolo29, @Jabba-wocky, @Jedi Bluth, @Kahn_Iceay,@Nehru_Amidala, @adaml83, @Mitth_Fisto, @TheSilentInfluence

 

Eleven years.

It’s a long time.

But also, a flash.

The wide and general perception of the Gungan-Naboo War was that it was, by and large, a minor and local affair. The Jedi Council exiled the heretical followers of the Potentium, led by the Jedi Master LEOR HAL, and the Senate focused upon managing the Jedi response to the actions of the fallen Jedi Master SOL, who slaughtered half a dozen Jedi...

But anti-Jedi politics have minimal impact upon Coruscant and the safe Core Worlds, and so CHANCELLOR GRAUL is eventually elected off the back instead of his heroism at Naboo…

… but now, with an anonymous invite to the Naboo’s annual FREEDOM OF NABOO celebration to the Chancellor’s office and specific Senators…

… and also the BOUNTY HUNTER GUILD receives a new mercenary contract to assist in the final extermination of the Gungans…

Is fate to repeat itself?

 

How will what has happened, what is happening, what is to happen affect you?

Let us see.

https://boards.theforce.net/threads...-mandalore-the-naboo-and-the-statue.50060497/

One more time.

 

One Post A Day!

No Combos!

One Month Game!

Starts First December 2024!

 

Character Sheet

Name:
Image:
Faction:
Equipment:
One Sentence Bio:

All prior players have priority on character acceptance, on the basis of continuation of your arc. New players are more than welcome!

OOC (Out of Character): The year is 121 BBY.

 

GM Approved
Character Sheet

Name: Helena
Image:



Faction: Ruler of Naboo
Equipment: Blaster
One Sentence Bio: Helena was groomed from a young age to be Queen, and she’s damned good at it.

 

GM Approved!

Character Sheet

Name: Chancellor Willem Graul
Image:


Faction: Galactic Republic
Equipment: Personal datapad and comlink; hold-out blaster hidden in a shoulder holster
One Sentence Bio: With his smart business sense and political acuity, Willem is the sole heir to the noble Graul Family; he now serves as the Supreme Chancellor, having gained prominence following his role in the Naboo Crisis eleven years ago.

 

STAR WARS

EPISODE 0 - PART II

THE HIGH REPUBLIC

THE ACOLYTE

PEACE, WAR AND LEGACY

PEACE IN THE MID RIM. EVEN AS THE GUNGAN-NABOO WAR QUIETS, THE JEDI ORDER HAS BEEN DRIVEN TO TAKE A NON-INTERVENTIST APPROACH, AT THE ORDERING OF THE GALACTIC SENATE.

WITH THE ELECTION OF A NEW STRONG CHANCELLOR, THE REPUBLIC HAS REINED IN LOOSE CANNONS, EVEN AS THE JEDI COUNCIL EXILES THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE NABOO CRISIS ELEVEN YEARS AGO.

BUT NOW, DURING THE STATE OF THE REPUBLIC ADDRESS, THE YEARLY NABOO PEACE CELEBRATION HAS BECOME INTERWOVEN WITH THE GALACTIC SENATE ONCE AGAIN…

TAG: @Kahn_Iceay, @Jedi Bluth, @TheSilentInfluence, @HanSolo29, @Lady_Belligerent, @adaml83, @Jabba-wocky, @Nehru_Amidala,@Silvertough

 

Naboo



A simple world, capital of the Chommel Sector, a region in the Mid Rim. With three moons, it was, eleven years ago, just another planet in another system in another sector - to distant Coruscant, anyway.

Nominally part of the Galactic Republic, Naboo had stood mostly apart since the Nihil Crisis decades ago, owing to several bruising battles fought when the Jedi failed to prevent the Nihil from absorbing the planet into their territory. The eventual liberation came, but a year of trauma remained.

It had originally been colonised by colony ships sent from the Core World of Grizmalt, a world of royalty that includes the Sunrider, Tasia and Grissmath dynasties, known for sending ships as far and wide as the now-irradiated Meridias, the fabled lost world of Renatasia, and of course, Naboo. The rulers of Naboo could trace their lineage back at least four thousand years, all the way to the monarch that had sent her daughter away from the Core.

They were royal blood.

Ancient, in-fact.

The humans had always known about the Gungans, the natives of the planet, but they kept to their underwater cities, and the Naboo kept to their cities.



Otoh Gunga, established by Boss Gallo, roughly three millennia ago



Theed, the Capital, established by King Jafan, seven hundred years ago

It still isn't entirely clear how the war began.

But, twenty nine years ago, it did.

Whether it was a Naboo team that infringed upon a Gungan underwater city while drilling for plasma -

Whether it was a Gungan General that acted unilaterally and slew a group of Naboo divers -

Whether it was the terrorist bombing of Theed by anarchists who wanted to hand Naboo back to the Gungans -

Whether it was a Royalist false-flag operation designed by the Six Houses to generate sympathy -

Who knew.

What was known, that for years the plains outside of the Cities had been an area requiring patrol.


The Plains

That the swamps of Naboo were a no-go.


The Swamps

That the war had seen several underwater cities destroyed, but Otoh Gunga had never been found. Even the Jedi had not betrayed its location.

That the war had seen several Naboo cities flattened, but Theed had resisted assault following the formation of the Naboo Starfighter Corps, flying brand new Zebra starfighters.

But even now, the first city founded by the colonists, Dee'ja Peak, is abandoned...

… so while events eleven years ago have healed, at least visibly…

… but not in the hearts of all…

... and yet, everything will soon change.

Again.

TAG: @Kahn_Iceay, @Jedi Bluth, @TheSilentInfluence, @HanSolo29, @Lady_Belligerent, @adaml83, @Jabba-wocky
@Silvertough, @Nehru_Amidala

 

CORUSCANT





IC: Rugess Nome
The Senate Chamber

It was an auspicious era.

Willem Graul of Nubia, after a brief tenure as Senator, was, thanks to a variety of support, by both the Rim and Core Factions, Chancellor.

Legislation had passed afresh, ungumming the divided Senate of yesteryear, providing investment and commitment to the Republic anew. Rugess Nome, officially present on behalf of his own starship company, sat in the selfsame pod as Senator O’Loingsigh. It was the State of the Republic address, after all.

Full attendance was to be expected. At present, O’Loingsigh was de facto leader of the Core Faction, thanks to Rugess only in part. He turned his Bith eyes to the Rim Faction, seeking out a no name Senator, Hego Damask, also head of the Banking Clan. The Muun sneered at Rugess, and Rugess glowered back.

It was no secret that the two were rivals on the Senate floor, both seeking the Chancellor’s support. His actions at Naboo had caught the eye of the Rim, and his Nubian heritage made him the darling of the Core.

Three years ago, both sides had agreed Willem was the perfect compromise, and his Chagrian second, Fen Amedda, as requested by the Rim Faction in exchange for their support. Conversely, the Core Faction had wanted some legislation to allow jump-start Outer Rim commerce - tax free sectors. Thus Rugess Nome was able to be in the chamber, and also Hego Damask to be both a Senator and head of the Banking Clan.

Nonetheless, Rugess stood as soon as the session began. “I’ll leave you to this, my friend.” He nodded to O’Loingsigh. At that, he stepped off the pod into the corridors without another word. As was his way.

The Vice Chancellors State of the Republic Address came to an end, and the first piece of business was enacted. The Senator from the sovereign state from Naboo was speaking. No, in a rather irregular state of affairs, a young female Lady of the Naboo houses.



Ederlathh Palpatine smiled up at the Senate, looking directly at the Chancellor, and then at the heads of the Core and Rim Factions. “Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak. Eleven years ago, the Jedi Order struck at Naboo, seeking to bring to justice a terrorist. In the violence, my Queen’s son died, and our collective efforts against such matters brought peace in our time. Now, yearly, we celebrate that peace.”

“For the eleventh anniversary of our peace, we would invite a delegation from the Republic, extended to the Chancellor, the Core and Rim Factions, and to whomsoever wishes to attend our Celebration.”

There was a murmur of discussion. Naboo was a Mid Rim world, but aspired to its Core World heritages, much like its neighbour Eriadu, or distant Serenno. Rugess had left no instruction about this for O’Loingsigh, but it wasn’t on the docket, either.

A short update jumped across the datapads of the Chancellor and O’Loingsigh, and others too, who might be sufficiently well connected.

The Bounty Hunters Guild is taking on applications for a security mission to Naboo.

Not untoward, such events oft needed protection. The last line.

Client confidentiality is active.

After the legal quagmire of the last Naboo crisis, lawyers had been levelled, and the Guild retained its right to protect its clients. Which meant, of course, this was not a request from the Naboo.

But for the wider Senate, and indeed the smiling Ederlathh, the invite hung in the air.

TAG: @HanSolo29, @adaml83

 

NABOO



IC: Sola
Theed

The Palace was what it was.

Architecturally, it had been restored and the scars of the events eleven years ago had been mostly erased. Thanks to the Royal family, most of the civilians had been unhurt, though property damage had been severe - especially at the Royal Hangar. The Republic had gone to great lengths to pay and restore what they could, as apology for what they had done.

The losses, though - they were permanent. Sola knew that her Queen carried a scar from those dark days. Her son, yes, but also Mandalore, who she seemed to have a blossoming relationship - killed in its infancy. Sola hadn’t seen the Queen nearly half as alive since then.

And yet, she remained a damn good Queen, as Sola would say. The Naboo had flourished, but that didn’t mean the nobles weren’t as difficult as ever. The Nubian royal yacht had been commissioned at the agreement of Houses Palpatine and Veruna, annoying House Tapalo - who was reminded by the political defeat eleven years ago every time he was the yacht.

However, while Cosigna Palpatine was on-world, his sister had left for Coruscant and was now addressing the Senate to request attendance by Chancellor Graul, Senator O’Loingsigh and Senator Damask - to the Yearly Peace Celebration. Sola knew the first two from the Naboo Crisis, but the latter was the head of the Rim Faction they were nominally allied with.

The latest Court drama that Sola was due to report on was Lord Tapalo reaching out to House Malreaux of Vjun for a marriage, and then House Veruna had retaliated by courting proposals from House Picturion of Karfeddion. Both were relatively new nobility - originally pirates, which was not abnormal but it did make them second tier even if they had some military might behind them…

Sola had her report to hand but apparently the Senate was on the screen. She eyed the traditional addition to the Inner Court - Governor Bibble. Sola managed not to pull a face, but she did when she saw Ederlathh Palpatine in the Senate, not their Senator, who honestly Sola had not remembered the name of.

Perhaps Ederlathh was their Senator now…

… Sola had enough in her plate with the Court, let alone the pending Peace Celebration. The Peace Globe was held deep in the Royal Palace, to come out once a year.

Sola announced herself, unsure as to the reaction of the monarch to Ederlathh. “Your Majesty?”

TAG: Lady_Belligerent
—-
IC: Boss Nass
Gungan Depths



The Otoh Gunga Council had been summoned to discuss matters. Once a year the Naboo made a rather loud amount of noise about the Peace Celebration, which half the Council was convinced was a ruse to cause the Gungans to drop their guard, and the other half thought it was deliberately designed to antagonise the Gungan youth.

The battles over the Sacred Place and Gallo Mountains, let alone the Battle of Theed, had been costly to Gungan kind, moreso than the Naboo. Their casualties had been absorbed by the Mandalorians, and so the Naboo could enjoy their peace.

The Gungans, less so. So Boss Nass was sure to call upon his closest advisors. One among them was Binks, who had matured into a statesGungan of sorts, after the death of Crepaud. Nass would remember his oafish approach to the Naboo and Outlanders all those years ago, but for now they were the only veterans on the Council of the prior battles - not that the war was truly over.

It had merely settled into a more cold period, with less violence than not. Flares, yes, but nothing truly catastrophic and manageable. The Grand Army of the Gungans remained ready to deploy, and would do so for the foreseeable future. Whatever Boss Nass intended to say to Binks was interrupted by the Old Speaker activating.

For eleven years it had been silent, and Boss Nass had only kept it to hand out of habit. Just in-case the man communicated.

And so, Nass fumbled the com-link, and it triggered. The man was not visible. Nass knew he was an Outlander, advising the prior Boss, and now here he was.

“The Naboo are hiring mercenaries again. The Peace Celebration is a ruse to convince you to lower your guard. Be prepared for many Outlanders - they will come in great numbers soon.”

At that, Boss Nass looked to Binks in fear.

TAG: @Jabba-wocky

 

ELSEWHERE

IC: Cradossk
Guild Headquarters



The wily Trandoshan regarded the missive. He also sighed, slightly. It begun again. What was it with this blasted world? He keyed a claw, and, sitting upon his throne in the audience chamber, peered down at the relatively new mercenary to the Guild. Trask Thul.

“Protection needed on Naboo. Some big peace event. Last time I had a contract here, the protection was the outreach kind, against the native Gungans. You on board with it?”

A sniff of his snout.

TAG: @Silvertough
—-
Concord Dawn

A Mandalorian worked his field, Vhett, as he was want to do so. His helmet and armour were on the scarecrow, as it’d been a long time since he’d had a contract. Indeed, there was a long time since he’d done anything.

His first wife had passed into the Manda, and his children had hit age and had their own missions and contracts now. He made food for himself, a little extra for when they came home, man’s a little bit more to barter with at the local markets. Vhett’s handiwork had left him a muscular, if not lean, and he sopped sweat from his brow.

But the helmet suddenly activated, and he looked up from the crops. Heavily lifting himself, and reaching for the helmet, he read the message within.

The Bounty Hunters Guild is taking on applications for a security mission to Naboo.

Not untoward, such events oft needed protection. The last line.

Client confidentiality is active.

Vhett grimaced, placed the beskar helm to his ear, and keyed Goya Hotgo. “You see the contract?”

He had also sent it in to an old Mandalorian friend of his. He wondered if she and Mandalore the Destroyer would pick up on it.

Not that Mandalorians needed much governance… so the Mandalore and Rowan Organa spent most of their time in privacy.

TAG: @Kahn_Iceay, @TheSilentInfluence
—-
Yullion

What the former Naboo guard was up to, who could say. He had been inducted into the Mandalorians eleven years ago, but peace and family had found him.

He was Ryan Bluth.

But he had two set of contacts.

One, from the former Naboo Royal Guard network, requesting he return to guard a Naboo peace celebration.

Secondly, from the Bounty Hunters Guild, which included Mandalorians, former or otherwise, as standard.

The Bounty Hunters Guild is taking on applications for a security mission to Naboo.

Not untoward, such events oft needed protection. The last line.

Client confidentiality is active.

Was that a concern?

What would his family say?

But, if he didn’t go, and a scheme was already a foot - how many of his former comrades would get caught up in the mess?

TAG: @Jedi Bluth
—-
Enarc

Half a sector away from Naboo, Misha Var was on a mission. Enarc was a world that belonged to the Trade Federation, and so the Directors Board knew, when they needed to make an example of a thief, to use a bounty Hunter.

Misha had been hired to track down and kill a Rodian who had stolen his freighter and cargo, and gone to ground. The Federation had described the contents as highly valuable prototypes, and were now hidden in a warehouse on the edge of the capital city. Three hunters had been killed so far - and so Misha was next.

The warehouse was protected by the freighters own shields, reinforced to defend the building. Which meant that it was a ground approach or nothing, until the Federation could get a heavier craft from the Republic. Which would take a week or two, knowing the Senate. So.

An empty district, a warehouse, with reinforced windows and roof, and one entrance. How would Misha handle this?

TAG: @Nehru_Amidala

 

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IC: Queen Helena
Royal Palace - Theed

”Enter, Sola,” Helena responded to her handmaiden’s request.

”Why is Ederlathh Palpatine there?” She motioned to the display with feed from the Senate. “This is highly unusual,” she said, her eyes narrowed as she watched the young woman.

After a few minutes she pressed a button to mute the Senate session and sat back, “what do you have for me, Sola? Please let it be something less annoying than seeing Ms. Palpatine crashing the Senate proceedings.”

TAG: @Sinrebirth