Category:Theme: Difference between revisions

Overview

Pax Republica is set in the Star Wars Universe roughly 300 years before the events of Star Wars Episode IV. The Republic and the Jedi are both at the height of their power, as new systems and regions are discovered in the Outer Rim. Slavery is illegal, and though indentured servitude is allowed, it is restricted to prevent the exploitation of workers. Spice is legal, but only for medicinal uses.

The Jedi work diligently to maintain peace, in an ongoing effort to prevent the re-emergence of the Sith, or any who would use the Dark Side to terrorize and enslave the galaxy.

Canon

As the Republic and the Jedi venture further into the unknown regions beyond the Outer Rim, strange events begin to occur seemingly at random. Whole ships enter hyperspace and never return, with no trace. Entire fields of crops suddenly die in the midst of an otherwise excellent growing season without explanation. People disappear without a trace, and their entire family fails to remember them. Seemingly sane people descend into madness overnight.

When Naga Sadow triggered the Cron Drift Explosion using Dark Side powers, he woke something that had been imprisoned for eons in the "space between space", aka hyperspace. Sadow was swallowed up in the cataclysm, and consumed by the creature, the Whispering Dark. Though its prison holds, and the creature remains in a weakened state, it's power and influence will only grow with time. By consuming the former Dark Lord of the Sith, the Whispering Dark learned about the Jedi, the Republic, and the well of dark power which lies at the heart of Coruscant. In time, it will corrupt and influence the sentient beings of the Outer Rim to feed its power, and eventually break free of its prison in order to emerge into real space and feed on enough Dark Side power to consume the galaxy.

Or something.

Setting

Pax Republica takes a somewhat darker view of the Star Wars universe, despite our timeline being set at the height of the Republic and the Jedi Order. While this is an era of relative peace and prosperity in the Galaxy, if one looks beyond the superficial it becomes obvious that not everything is sugar and spice.

The Republic maintains firm control over much of the Galaxy through political, diplomatic, and economic means. The wealth disparity between the Core Worlds and the more outlying systems of the Colonies and the Rim couldn't be more apparent, and there is a great deal of animosity between the "haves" and the "have-nots". The economic situation and mutual reliance between the Core Worlds and the Colonies keep this tension from bubbling over into open hostility. Not to mention the fact that the Jedi serve the interests of the Republic, and an uprising among the outlying systems would warrant a swift response.

Further from the Core, bordering the Colonies and reaching into the known worlds of the Outer Rim is Hutt Space. The Hutts have ruled this region for centuries, even before the formation of the Republic, and the two groups maintain an uneasy truce of convenience. The Hutt Clans are first and foremost a mercantile power, with economic interests taking precedence over all others. Each major Hutt lord maintains a standing force of mercenaries, indentured soldiers and slaves, with enough military force between the Clans to easily rival any force the Republic may muster, save for the Jedi themselves. While the Hutts are eager to do business with anyone with something to offer them, many of their preferred paths to profit fly directly in the face of Republic laws; smuggling, slavery, weapons, and illicit substances are among their more profitable industries.

Though the war with the Sith ended over a century ago, it remains a fresh wound in the memory of the Jedi Order. Never again will the Jedi Order allow the taint of the Dark Side to take hold and threaten the peace and safety of the Galaxy, and they will do whatever is necessary to safeguard against it. The Jedi Council maintains a very rigid, conservative view of the Force, the Light, and the Dark, with little tolerance for even tiny deviations from the letter and spirit of the Jedi Code. Children are removed from their families as soon as their potential is discovered both because their training must by necessity begin as soon as possible, but because the longer a child is allowed to grow outside of the Order, the more potential exists for them to fall to the Dark Side. Those who choose to leave the Order are treated no differently from any who might fall to the Dark Side; one does not simply leave the Jedi Order.

The reputation of the Jedi Order varies the further one gets from the Core Worlds. On Coruscant, Jedi are respected and afforded a great deal of cooperation, even reverence. Out on the Rim, on a world like Tatooine, Jedi may be considered little more than bogeymen, stories parents tell their children to get them to eat their vegetables and go to bed on time. While the Order is at its peak, its numbers remain low enough that outside of the Core Worlds, particularly Coruscant itself, most beings in the Galaxy will never cross paths with a Jedi Knight.

Underworld

The criminal underworld on Pax Republica is comprised of a few key groups which operate both in concert and in competition with one another.

The first and largest group is the Hutt Clans. The Hutts have been involved in shady dealings since the moment they came into contact with the Republic, and are involved in the slave trade, illicit substances, and illegal weapons, among others. The Hutts control a large area of space bordering the Republic, within which the Republic has no jurisdiction; however, their business endeavours cross those boundaries frequently, and the Hutts are known criminals in many areas throughout the Republic. Because of their status as essentially an independent sovereign entity however, a large-scale crackdown on Hutt activity in Republic space would be diplomatically treacherous.

The Black Sun cartel is a criminal organization that took shape in the wake of the Sith occupation of Coruscant and the subsequent liberation. Black Sun is established on worlds throughout the Republic, but its largest and most profitable operations are among the Core Worlds, where they are involved in illicit substances, the slave trade, as well as weapons manufacturing and distribution. There have long been rumours that the cartel funds anti-Republic terrorists in an effort to sow chaos and imbalance, allowing them more freedom to operate under the watchful eyes of Republic Judicials without being the most important thing on the radar. The Republic has known about the Black Sun since their formation; however, they have been unable to extinguish the organization, or even make significant headway in infiltrating them, even after thousands of years.

The Exchange has been around almost as long as the Black Sun, but mostly sticks to the Outer Rim, where they are direct rivals of the Hutt Clans. The Exchange is known for ruthlessness, offering no quarter to those who have crossed them, or any who might get in their way. Even the Hutts and the Black Sun will make a deal when there's opportunity for more profit, but the Exchange has always put vengeance over credits. Primarily engaged in acts of direct piracy and violence, the Exchange is more a loose association of independent criminals than a central organization, making it that much more difficult to track and eliminate.

The Whispering Dark

As the Republic and the Jedi venture further into the unknown regions beyond the Outer Rim, strange events begin to occur seemingly at random. Whole ships enter hyperspace and never return, with no trace. Entire fields of crops suddenly die in the midst of an otherwise excellent growing season without explanation. People disappear without a trace, and their entire family fails to remember them. Seemingly sane people descend into madness overnight.

When Naga Sadow triggered the Cron Drift Explosion using Dark Side powers, he woke something that had been imprisoned for eons in the "space between space", aka hyperspace. Sadow was swallowed up in the cataclysm, and consumed by the creature, the Whispering Dark. Though its prison holds, and the creature remains in a weakened state, it's power and influence will only grow with time. By consuming the former Dark Lord of the Sith, the Whispering Dark learned about the Jedi, the Republic, and the well of dark power which lies at the heart of Coruscant. In time, it will corrupt and influence the sentient beings of the Outer Rim to feed its power, and eventually break free of its prison in order to emerge into real space and feed on enough Dark Side power to consume the galaxy.

Or something.