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substituted the BGCT history as per Orphaea's request
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This is a chronological list of significant or noteworthy events in the history of [[the galaxy]].
This is a chronological list of significant or noteworthy events in the history of [[the galaxy]].


==Year -35==
==Notes on Dating==
During the last decades of the Galactic Republic, the galaxy was in turmoil. Petty conflicts between member worlds and wide-spread corruption in the Senate and the government's bureaucracy led to events that would change the course of the galaxy forever.
One of the most significant consequences of the First Galactic Civil War was the loss of a universally observed standard calendar. As worlds seceded, occupied, or simply cut off from the rest of the galaxy, regional and planetary calendars became increasingly common, further exascerbating communication and logistical difficulties throughout the galaxy.


Taking advantage of the economic instability in the rim regions of the galaxy, the Sith approached the disgruntled Trade Federation, urging them to demonstrate against the Galactic Republic's trade restrictions with a show of brute force. The Sith, using subtle force persuasion on the weak minded Neimodian Viceroy, convinced them that an assault on the planet of Averam in the Seswenna sector would send the right message back to Republic politicians on Coruscant.
During the reign of Spytek, the Empire attempted to unify the various systems in use throughout Imperial and allied territories. The resulting 'Combine Galactic Time' or CGT, the combination of the most widely observed calendars, soon became the standard calendar in use throughout the galaxy, although some regions of space (particularly the Hapan Cluster) are known to maintain their own calendars in addition to, or in lieu of, Combine Galactic Time.


As news of the Trade Federation's aggression reached the capital planet of the Galactic Republic, the Senate was thrown into disarray. Multiple senators called for the resignation of the reigning Supreme Chancellor who had signed and enforced the trade restrictions. Drayson, the young and charming senator of Averam, personally led the call for new elections.
Combine Galactic Time relies on a calendar and day duration almost identical to Coruscant local, with 365.25 days in each year (rounded to 366 days every four years) and 24 hours in a single day. In practice, the three Fete Days of the former 368-day calendar are no longer observed as days separate from the remainder of the calendar, but are celebrated as the first day of the appropriate month.
 
The period after Combine Galactic Time became standard is often referred to as 'the Combine'. Similarly, the galaxy prior to Combine Galactic Time may be referred to as 'pre-Combine' or 'BCGT' (Before Combine Galactic Time).
 
Dating events during the last few decades of pre-Combine history is not always possible with exact accuracy, due to the difficulties mentioned above and the reduction in the number of days in each year.
 
==The Scattering of the Sith==
For a thousand years, the [[Galactic Republic]] had endured the ravages of the New Sith Wars; the great campaign between the Republic and the New Sith Empire. The result of the final Battle of Ruusan is known to all: Sith Lord Kaan unleashed a force-powered thought bomb, destroying the Sith remnant forces and Lord Hoth's Army of Light alike.
 
Victorious, the Republic under Tarsus Valorum initiated the Ruusan Reformation, restructuring the Republic so that the galaxy may again know peace after a millenia of war.
 
However, while the war had been won, the [[Sith]] had not been exterminated.
 
A handful of [[Sith]] – those that had survived the thought bomb, and those that had been offworld when the cataclysm occurred – survived and gathered together. Being few in number, they knew that they would be quickly exterminated were they to reveal the fact of their existence to the Republic and continue the war.
 
Rather than cause the total destruction of the [[Sith]], they agreed to scatter across the galaxy and observe the Rule of Many; the Many being the Sith Orders that they would create. Each surviving Sith Lord would take apprentices and form an order. Each apprentice would take apprentices and form their own orders, and their apprentices' apprentices also. The Sith would grow so secretly that not even they themselves would know their true names or number. Even if found and destroyed, it would require only one such order to endure for the Sith to survive.
 
We may only imagine what might have become of the galaxy had less, or other, Sith survived.
 
==Supreme Chancellor Drayson's rule==
During the last decades of the [[Galactic Republic]], the galaxy was in turmoil. Petty conflicts between member worlds and wide-spread corruption in the Senate and the government's bureaucracy led to events that would change the course of the galaxy forever.
 
Taking advantage of the economic instability in the rim regions of the galaxy, the [[Sith]] approached the disgruntled Trade Federation, urging them to demonstrate against the [[Galactic Republic]]'s trade restrictions with a show of brute force. The [[Sith]], using subtle force persuasion on the weak minded Neimodian Viceroy, convinced them that an assault on the planet of Averam in the [[Seswenna sector]] would send the right message back to Republic politicians on Coruscant.
 
As news of the [[Trade Federation]]'s aggression reached the capital planet of the [[Galactic Republic]], the Senate was thrown into disarray. Multiple senators called for the resignation of the reigning Supreme Chancellor who had signed and enforced the trade restrictions. Drayson, the young and charming senator of Averam, personally led the call for new elections.


As elections proceeded, the ongoing situation on Averam caused many of the senators to sympathise with Drayson and vote in his favour, beating such popular candidates as Zee Wolf of Alderaan and Mon Akira of Mon Calamari. He emerged as a clear victor, vowing to ensure the stability of the Galactic Republic and promises of a democracy free of corruption.
As elections proceeded, the ongoing situation on Averam caused many of the senators to sympathise with Drayson and vote in his favour, beating such popular candidates as Zee Wolf of Alderaan and Mon Akira of Mon Calamari. He emerged as a clear victor, vowing to ensure the stability of the Galactic Republic and promises of a democracy free of corruption.
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Using the military might of Kuat and Rendili, Averam was liberated quickly and the Trade Federation went into retreat, though little was done to prosecute its leadership. As years went by, Drayson carefully extended and strengthened the influence and power of his office with the backing of the very same corrupt types he had originally vowed to vanquish.
Using the military might of Kuat and Rendili, Averam was liberated quickly and the Trade Federation went into retreat, though little was done to prosecute its leadership. As years went by, Drayson carefully extended and strengthened the influence and power of his office with the backing of the very same corrupt types he had originally vowed to vanquish.


==Year -25 to -22==


==The First Galactic Civil War==
===State of the Republic===
971 years after the Ruusan Reformation, 25 years pre-Combine, the Republic was a shell of its former grandeur. For several decades, instabilities and disputes arose between member worlds with increasing frequency. Piracy, corporate abuse, terrorism and threats of secession were rife. Combined with a corrupt and self-serving Senate and a stagnant bureacuracy, the Republic simply failed to function.
In that year, tired with the Republic's lack of support, a loose coalition of Outer Rim planetary governments and corporate interests calling itself the Confederacy of Independent Systems, backed by the monolithic Trade Federation unilaterally declared its secession from the Republic, proceeding to train and arm a vast army of organic beings and droids.
Shocked at this outright declaration of rebellion against the Republic, though no doubt also shocked at the loss of commercial interest that the Confederacy represented, large segments of the Senate were thrown into action. However, the Republic's bureaucracy hindered them yet again and the Supreme Chancellor Endis Valorum took no action. Inspired by the success of the Confederacy or disillusioned by the inability of the Republic to act, more worlds left to join the Confederacy or, more often, form their own spheres of interest.
Desperate to restore Republic control over the seceeding worlds, in 24 BCGT Supreme Chancellor Valorum ordered the formation of a Grand Army of the Republic to defend and restore order. At first it was hoped that clones would form the backbone of the Army, however the gestation and training period for clones, even with Spaarti cloning technology, combined with massive losses of both troops and infrastructure, meant that clones were ultimately only utilized for elite formations or special projects.
===The Republic Falls===
As the war progressed, and with the territory nominally loyal to the Republic dwindling daily, the Republic was placed under martial law and more authority moved from the Supreme Chancellor and the bureaucracy to the military. By 22 BCGT, the Republic had largely become an alliance of military commanders observing the niceties of the Republic rather than a true democratic state.
Seeing the devestation being wrought across the galaxy, the Jedi began investigating the possibility of Sith connivance in the current war. In particular, Master Bodo Baas began investigating the power structure of the Republic itself to discover whether the war had a Sith origin, or whether the Sith may be taking advantage of the galactic climate. His search would prove futile; the Republic had simply become too heavy for its foundations to support and was collapsing from within. If there was a Sith presence, it was on each Sith's own terms in accordance with the Rule of Many, not as part of a great plan.
By -10 BCGT, the Republic had been pushed back to the Expansion Regions, and the military had had enough. In an extraordinary session of the Senate, Grand Admiral Hyram Drayson, commander of the prestigious and strategically vital Core Fleet, set aside the (effectively powerless) Supreme Chancellor Valorum, dissolved the Senate and declared the formation of a Galactic Empire out of what was left of the Republic, with himself as its Emperor. What opposition he may have faced was quickly eliminated by his Jedi bodyguard known only as 'Agent 21'.
With Drayson's reign came new demands on the galaxy. Conscription was not unheard of on Imperial worlds. Massive recolonisation and reconstruction works were started. The Empire observed institutional pro-Humanism: a not entirely surprising outcome given the human-dominated Core that formed the bulk of the Empire faced non-human-dominated threats from the Rim. The Jedi Order, much reduced by over a decade of conflict, was not prosecuted directly, but the Jedi no longer held their position as esteemed peacekeepers of the galaxy.
==Empire Rising==
===Consolidating the Empire===
Drayson's move did not go unopposed. Other prominent commanders quickly became independent warlords and rival claimants to the new throne, in addition to the existing threat of the seperatist governments. While Drayson had enough support and military force to consolidate the core worlds under his authority, it would be a matter of diplomacy and combat that would decide the remaining territories.
It was more by chance than by skill that Drayson became the dominant warlord of the new Imperial territories, and many years before he had a true claim to the title of Galactic Emperor. While competent, the Emperor was not a tactical or strategic mastermind, but managed to attract many officers under his banner. The disaffected rallied around a leader with purpose, the weak attached themselves to a leader with power, the talented felt they could control a weaker man. In any case, Drayson was master of his Empire, such as it was.
Despite these personal failings, Drayson's reign also saw a number of successes. The Imperial Military was successfully restored to the glory it had enjoyed at the height of the civil war, and numerous new technologies were developed including the massive Super Star Destroyer. As Grand Admiral of the Imperial Navy in addition to Emperor, Drayson enjoyed the successes of the commanders under him and ensured his relative popularity with Imperial loyalists.


Drayson's term as Supreme Chancellor brought much prosperity to the core worlds of the galaxy and his popularity among the elite of the galaxy ensured that any questioning of his policies regarding the situation in the outer rim and the handling of the Trade Federation after the occupation was considered taboo. He appointed his most trusted advisors to key positions, ensuring his absolute control of the Galactic Republic's top workings.
===Birth of the Rebellion===


It soon became clear that the Trade Federation, once again influenced by the Sith, had sought the assistance of many economical powers such as the Commerce Guild, Corporate Alliance and Black Sun in an effort to create a new government superpower independent of the Galactic Republic. The Confederacy of Independent systems was formed in the Glythe sector, in close proximity to the galactic core.
Not all were happy with the new regime. Individuals and groups throughout and beyond the Empire reacted to the fall of the Republic with hostility, and low-level insurgency was rife. By 3 BCGT, this insurgency was loosely united under the banner of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, or Rebel Alliance, under the nominal command of Supreme Commander Jacen Lord. Forming the Alliance was a combination of former Republic officials, ideologues supporting democracy, worlds and forces that had originally seceeded from the Republic but remained sympathetic to its goals, and opportunists joining for adventure and profit.  


Jedi Master Bodo Baas was dispatched to the outer rim to investigate rumours of industrial activity and traffic to systems which were not on the galactic charts. He stumbled upon Kamino, a aquatic world which population excelled at the art of cloning. The Kaminoans informed Baas that the Jedi Council, acting on behalf of the Senate, had ordered a clone army to be created for the Galactic Republic some ten years earlier. Upon conferring with the Jedi Council on Coruscant, Baas found nothing that would indicate that the Senate had ordered such an army, nor that anyone on the council had relayed such an order.
However, while united in a common goal, the separate interests forming the Alliance were by no means friendly to their own. In 2 BCGT, Lord was supplanted by Maverick. The latter's command was little more successful than his predecessors, with corruption and conflict occasionally leading to armed violence not uncommon. No less than eleven attempts were made to overthrow Maverick, who was required to carry the favour of a range of charismatic commanders in order to remain in power. Despite these issues, the Alliance was at this time the second most influential force in the galaxy behind the Empire.


The Confederacy of Independent Systems began an all-out war with the Galactic Republic, starting with attacks in the Sumitra and Centrality sectors. The chaos that ensued, and the appearance of the mysterious but convenient clone army, led to the creation of a centralised and uniform Republic military, followed by the Senate granting emergency powers to the Supreme Chancellor.
===Galactic Rebuilding===


While curious about the clone army's origin, the Jedi had little time to investigate as the responsibility of leading the war was thrust upon them. The clone wars began to spread to all corners of the galaxy, with more and more starsystems joining the conflict daily. During this time, the Republic's military annexed many of the fleets and armies belonging to its member worlds, in order to more effectively fight the new enemy.
Despite the Empire and the Alliance, much of the galaxy remained under the control of other forces. Under Dark Princess Gabriella Storm, the semi-legitimate trading organisation Black Sun quickly became the preeminent authority over large sections of the galaxy. Access to large quantities of desperately needed resources on the galactic black market allowed Black Sun to command the loyalty of many worlds, while the prowess of Black Sun's elite military subjugated any worlds unwilling to accept the organisation's occasionally ilicit dealings.


Suntzu was appointed as commander of the Republic's outer rim defence forces while Vodo Bonias remained on Coruscant, acting as Supreme Chancellor Drayson's chief military advisor. Meanwhile the war saw the rise of many prominent figures in the ranks of the Republic military. Piett, Lodge and Simms were just a few of the officers who served with remarkable distinction and were hailed as heroes of the Republic while being eased in to Drayon's inner circle.
The Bounty Hunter Alliance was the last of the major powers in the galaxy. In regions where lawlessness abound, power often came at the business end of a blaster. Its history blurred by the nature of its business, it is believed Suppa was the first leader of the Bounty Hunter Alliance. Throughout the galaxy, when people and worlds had nowhere else to turn, the Alliance would be there ready to bring justice for a price. The prosperitory of the Alliance would wane in later years, as planetary and regional governments rose and order restored.


The war had terrible consequences and the ranks of the Jedi Order were slowly but steadily thinned down. The Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Relm, urged Drayson to give diplomacy another try, but the Supreme Chancellor remained defiant as he was unwilling to bow down to the Confederacy's aggression.
Smaller fiefdoms dominated other areas of the galaxy, spanning from several sectors to a mere handful of worlds. These protogovernments could rise and fall in the span of a single year, often relying on economic or military dominance or control of certain trade routes or resources to maintain their authority. Of these, some of the more prominent were Maharettan, Klysteron and Kanchin. The Hapes Consortium also endured as it ever had, though it had been weakened by the Hapan Civil War some decades previously and had become more reliant on diplomacy and trade with the rest of the galaxy, though it largely maintained its traditional isolationist stance.


After three years of horrid conflict, the Confederacy, in a seemingly rash move, attacked the Republic's capital world Coruscant with a fleet under the direct command of several of its most prominent leaders. As the battle ensued, several Jedi were able to board the flagship of the Confederacy and capture many of its leadership figures.
==The Second Galactic Civil War==


While the war raged on in the galaxy, the Confederacy leaders were put on trial on Coruscant. While they had been in the Viceroy's inner circle, they had little knowledge of who the true leader of the Confederacy was, other than that he was a prominent force user. This led to speculation, by Drayson controlled media, that the Jedi Order was behind the entire conflict in order to bring an organised military under their direct control.
===The Fall of Drayson===


The captured Confederate leadership was conveniently murdered in their cells by a lightsaber shortly after, further feeding the rumours about the Jedi's involvement in the causes of the conflict. Several Jedi Knights were pointed out as the ones who had ordered the clone army and also influenced the Trade Federation's Viceroy. As the Jedi trio met with Drayson to discuss the accusations, they were attacked by the Sith in the Supreme Chancellor's office.
Drayson's reign can largely be described as one of internecine warfare against warlords and insurgents, but by 4 BCGT, his authority had been effectively consolidated and the Empire had hegemony over the galaxy up to the coremost reaches of the Expansion Region. But the conflict was not over.


The final stage of the Sith's plan was now in motion. Drayson, sporting several lightsaber cuts on his cheek and arms as well as some deformation on his right arm from force lightning, addressed the Senate, informing them of the Jedi betrayal. Throughout the galaxy, the Republic military began to murder their Jedi generals, though many were able to elude the clone troops. Drayson announced the formation of the first Galactic Empire to thunderous applause from the senators. Meanwhile such senators as Zee Wolf, Mon Akira and Syrous looked on with concern before aiding the escape of Masters Relm and Bodo Baas from Coruscant. As their goal had been achieved, Vodo Bonias met with the Confederacy's leadership on Vinsoth. Once the Confederate military had deactivated, the Sith Lord wiped out its leadership, effectively ending the conflict.
There is no exact point to determine when the Second Galactic Civil War started. Indeed, it is unclear whether the First Galactic Civil war ever ended, or whether there are in fact two separate conflicts or one single conflict spanning decades. However, the events of the later part of 2 BCGT are useful as a starting point indicating that war on a massive scale was returning to the galaxy.


== Year -22 to Year 0==
Drayson's fleet had begun a routine deployment to fend off another unidentified attack on Imperial territory. Commanding one of the sections of the fleet was Captain Vodo Bonias. Having won the battle, Drayson's ship was fired upon by forces loyal to Bonias. Suffering critical damage, Drayson's forces were driven off for parts unknown, while Bonias' forces acclaimed him Admiral and he returned to Coruscant triumphant.


The transition from Republic to Empire went smoothly as much power already rested with its leader, Drayson. He sought to finish all Jedi throughout the galaxy and also established a mighty military. Though there was a growing fear among those who still believed in such ideals and democracy that the Senate would eventually be dissolved. This gave rise to the creation of the Rebel Alliance, led in secret by senator Zee Wolf and Mon Akria and the remaining Jedi which were in hiding.
Bonias would not return to the position he might have expected. With the flight of Drayson, the throne nominally fell to his Naval Chief of Staff, Admiral Suntzu. Attempting to mollify Bonias and consolidate his rule, Suntzu approved Bonias' rank of Admiral and additionally appointed him Moff of the Boeus Sector. At the same time, he initiated projects favouring the Imperial Navy, drawing the ire of General Balsaraph, Commander of the Imperial Army. This soon spread into almost direct conflict between Balsaraph's Army and the Navy under Suntzu and Bonias.


Eventually the Sith were confident that they had been hidden long enough and decided to dispose of Drayson who had been an effective puppet, but now rather useless. While Drayson escaped the attempt on his life, Vodo Bonias, with the help of the head of the Imperial Army, Balsaraph, named Suntzu to Emperor of the Galactic Empire following a brief skirmish between ships loyal to the two authority figures.
Heavily beset with troubles, and his popularity with the public rapidly decreasing, Suntzu gave up the throne after a mere month and retired into obscurity. By the last days of 2 BCGT, Vodo Bonias had his throne.


As the Senate was dissolved by the new despot supported by the Sith, many former senators fled the core worlds, fearing persecution at the hands of the tyrannical government. The establishment of new regional Moffs had made the Senate obsolete. Many of the former senators flocked together in the outer rim, making their formerly underground resistance a full scale rebellion with an organised military.
===The Prince of Coruscant===


The reign of Emperor Suntzu lasted for less than two months and was a design created by the Dark Lord Vodo Bonias to strengthen his own coming ascension to the throne and to allow the Sith to set up a shadow organization within the ranks of the Galactic Empire, including Officers like Spytek and Simms.
Shortly after Bonias' ascent, Drayson revealed that he had survived the attempted coup against him. With Bonias refusing to surrender the throne, Drayson declared the formation of the Order of Darkness, an ostensibly purer iteration of the Empire, while revealing a great secret: he was a disciple of one of the many Sith Orders that had been established since the Battle of Ruusan nearly a thousand years ago.  


Little more then one month after that Suntzu was named Emperor Vodo Bonias removed Suntzu from the throne of the Galactic Empire and claimed it for himself. Balsaraph, who willingly had helped Bonias to overthrow Drayson and place Suntzu on the throne felt betrayed and embarked for the rims. Several months later Balsaraphr met up with the former emperor Drayson. The two exiles merged their forces and formed the Order of Darkness (OOD) as a tool to take back the throne. But the imperial war machine supported by the sith easily destroyed their opponents making it an futile attempt. The following years remained somewhat calm as the Imperial Military strengthened their hold of the core systems and expanded outwards, incorporating more and more system into the Empire. But in the outer rims rumors could be heard about the organization known as the Rebel Alliance and no one could say what the future would hold for the galaxy. Order and stability, peace and democracy, only one thing was certain war was once again coming to the galaxy.
Shortly thereafter, Admiral Dyvel Price consorted with Evax, one of her officers, to defect to the Order of Darkness. This was successful, and the Imperial Navy was deprived of a significant portion of its force. Near simultaneously, many senior military officers were purged and General Balsaraph, his exile certain, fled the Empire with part of the Imperial Army, giving the Order the military resources it required to present a real challenge to the Emperor on Coruscant.


==[[Year -1]]==
==[[Year -1]]==

Revision as of 09:15, 3 May 2011

This is a chronological list of significant or noteworthy events in the history of the galaxy.

Notes on Dating

One of the most significant consequences of the First Galactic Civil War was the loss of a universally observed standard calendar. As worlds seceded, occupied, or simply cut off from the rest of the galaxy, regional and planetary calendars became increasingly common, further exascerbating communication and logistical difficulties throughout the galaxy.

During the reign of Spytek, the Empire attempted to unify the various systems in use throughout Imperial and allied territories. The resulting 'Combine Galactic Time' or CGT, the combination of the most widely observed calendars, soon became the standard calendar in use throughout the galaxy, although some regions of space (particularly the Hapan Cluster) are known to maintain their own calendars in addition to, or in lieu of, Combine Galactic Time.

Combine Galactic Time relies on a calendar and day duration almost identical to Coruscant local, with 365.25 days in each year (rounded to 366 days every four years) and 24 hours in a single day. In practice, the three Fete Days of the former 368-day calendar are no longer observed as days separate from the remainder of the calendar, but are celebrated as the first day of the appropriate month.

The period after Combine Galactic Time became standard is often referred to as 'the Combine'. Similarly, the galaxy prior to Combine Galactic Time may be referred to as 'pre-Combine' or 'BCGT' (Before Combine Galactic Time).

Dating events during the last few decades of pre-Combine history is not always possible with exact accuracy, due to the difficulties mentioned above and the reduction in the number of days in each year.

The Scattering of the Sith

For a thousand years, the Galactic Republic had endured the ravages of the New Sith Wars; the great campaign between the Republic and the New Sith Empire. The result of the final Battle of Ruusan is known to all: Sith Lord Kaan unleashed a force-powered thought bomb, destroying the Sith remnant forces and Lord Hoth's Army of Light alike.

Victorious, the Republic under Tarsus Valorum initiated the Ruusan Reformation, restructuring the Republic so that the galaxy may again know peace after a millenia of war.

However, while the war had been won, the Sith had not been exterminated.

A handful of Sith – those that had survived the thought bomb, and those that had been offworld when the cataclysm occurred – survived and gathered together. Being few in number, they knew that they would be quickly exterminated were they to reveal the fact of their existence to the Republic and continue the war.

Rather than cause the total destruction of the Sith, they agreed to scatter across the galaxy and observe the Rule of Many; the Many being the Sith Orders that they would create. Each surviving Sith Lord would take apprentices and form an order. Each apprentice would take apprentices and form their own orders, and their apprentices' apprentices also. The Sith would grow so secretly that not even they themselves would know their true names or number. Even if found and destroyed, it would require only one such order to endure for the Sith to survive.

We may only imagine what might have become of the galaxy had less, or other, Sith survived.

Supreme Chancellor Drayson's rule

During the last decades of the Galactic Republic, the galaxy was in turmoil. Petty conflicts between member worlds and wide-spread corruption in the Senate and the government's bureaucracy led to events that would change the course of the galaxy forever.

Taking advantage of the economic instability in the rim regions of the galaxy, the Sith approached the disgruntled Trade Federation, urging them to demonstrate against the Galactic Republic's trade restrictions with a show of brute force. The Sith, using subtle force persuasion on the weak minded Neimodian Viceroy, convinced them that an assault on the planet of Averam in the Seswenna sector would send the right message back to Republic politicians on Coruscant.

As news of the Trade Federation's aggression reached the capital planet of the Galactic Republic, the Senate was thrown into disarray. Multiple senators called for the resignation of the reigning Supreme Chancellor who had signed and enforced the trade restrictions. Drayson, the young and charming senator of Averam, personally led the call for new elections.

As elections proceeded, the ongoing situation on Averam caused many of the senators to sympathise with Drayson and vote in his favour, beating such popular candidates as Zee Wolf of Alderaan and Mon Akira of Mon Calamari. He emerged as a clear victor, vowing to ensure the stability of the Galactic Republic and promises of a democracy free of corruption.

Drayson was, in truth, a talented politician who had become a puppet for the Dark Side from early on in his political career. Two of his most trusted advisors were Vodo Bonias, a former Republic military attach� to Averam, and Suntzu, a senator representing "the Ten" and Kuat in interstellar matters. The two had carefully shaped him over the years to make him do their bidding. While headstrong, he was not immune to the subtle influences of the Dark Side.

Using the military might of Kuat and Rendili, Averam was liberated quickly and the Trade Federation went into retreat, though little was done to prosecute its leadership. As years went by, Drayson carefully extended and strengthened the influence and power of his office with the backing of the very same corrupt types he had originally vowed to vanquish.


The First Galactic Civil War

State of the Republic

971 years after the Ruusan Reformation, 25 years pre-Combine, the Republic was a shell of its former grandeur. For several decades, instabilities and disputes arose between member worlds with increasing frequency. Piracy, corporate abuse, terrorism and threats of secession were rife. Combined with a corrupt and self-serving Senate and a stagnant bureacuracy, the Republic simply failed to function.

In that year, tired with the Republic's lack of support, a loose coalition of Outer Rim planetary governments and corporate interests calling itself the Confederacy of Independent Systems, backed by the monolithic Trade Federation unilaterally declared its secession from the Republic, proceeding to train and arm a vast army of organic beings and droids.

Shocked at this outright declaration of rebellion against the Republic, though no doubt also shocked at the loss of commercial interest that the Confederacy represented, large segments of the Senate were thrown into action. However, the Republic's bureaucracy hindered them yet again and the Supreme Chancellor Endis Valorum took no action. Inspired by the success of the Confederacy or disillusioned by the inability of the Republic to act, more worlds left to join the Confederacy or, more often, form their own spheres of interest.

Desperate to restore Republic control over the seceeding worlds, in 24 BCGT Supreme Chancellor Valorum ordered the formation of a Grand Army of the Republic to defend and restore order. At first it was hoped that clones would form the backbone of the Army, however the gestation and training period for clones, even with Spaarti cloning technology, combined with massive losses of both troops and infrastructure, meant that clones were ultimately only utilized for elite formations or special projects.

The Republic Falls

As the war progressed, and with the territory nominally loyal to the Republic dwindling daily, the Republic was placed under martial law and more authority moved from the Supreme Chancellor and the bureaucracy to the military. By 22 BCGT, the Republic had largely become an alliance of military commanders observing the niceties of the Republic rather than a true democratic state.

Seeing the devestation being wrought across the galaxy, the Jedi began investigating the possibility of Sith connivance in the current war. In particular, Master Bodo Baas began investigating the power structure of the Republic itself to discover whether the war had a Sith origin, or whether the Sith may be taking advantage of the galactic climate. His search would prove futile; the Republic had simply become too heavy for its foundations to support and was collapsing from within. If there was a Sith presence, it was on each Sith's own terms in accordance with the Rule of Many, not as part of a great plan.

By -10 BCGT, the Republic had been pushed back to the Expansion Regions, and the military had had enough. In an extraordinary session of the Senate, Grand Admiral Hyram Drayson, commander of the prestigious and strategically vital Core Fleet, set aside the (effectively powerless) Supreme Chancellor Valorum, dissolved the Senate and declared the formation of a Galactic Empire out of what was left of the Republic, with himself as its Emperor. What opposition he may have faced was quickly eliminated by his Jedi bodyguard known only as 'Agent 21'.

With Drayson's reign came new demands on the galaxy. Conscription was not unheard of on Imperial worlds. Massive recolonisation and reconstruction works were started. The Empire observed institutional pro-Humanism: a not entirely surprising outcome given the human-dominated Core that formed the bulk of the Empire faced non-human-dominated threats from the Rim. The Jedi Order, much reduced by over a decade of conflict, was not prosecuted directly, but the Jedi no longer held their position as esteemed peacekeepers of the galaxy.

Empire Rising

Consolidating the Empire

Drayson's move did not go unopposed. Other prominent commanders quickly became independent warlords and rival claimants to the new throne, in addition to the existing threat of the seperatist governments. While Drayson had enough support and military force to consolidate the core worlds under his authority, it would be a matter of diplomacy and combat that would decide the remaining territories.

It was more by chance than by skill that Drayson became the dominant warlord of the new Imperial territories, and many years before he had a true claim to the title of Galactic Emperor. While competent, the Emperor was not a tactical or strategic mastermind, but managed to attract many officers under his banner. The disaffected rallied around a leader with purpose, the weak attached themselves to a leader with power, the talented felt they could control a weaker man. In any case, Drayson was master of his Empire, such as it was.

Despite these personal failings, Drayson's reign also saw a number of successes. The Imperial Military was successfully restored to the glory it had enjoyed at the height of the civil war, and numerous new technologies were developed including the massive Super Star Destroyer. As Grand Admiral of the Imperial Navy in addition to Emperor, Drayson enjoyed the successes of the commanders under him and ensured his relative popularity with Imperial loyalists.

Birth of the Rebellion

Not all were happy with the new regime. Individuals and groups throughout and beyond the Empire reacted to the fall of the Republic with hostility, and low-level insurgency was rife. By 3 BCGT, this insurgency was loosely united under the banner of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, or Rebel Alliance, under the nominal command of Supreme Commander Jacen Lord. Forming the Alliance was a combination of former Republic officials, ideologues supporting democracy, worlds and forces that had originally seceeded from the Republic but remained sympathetic to its goals, and opportunists joining for adventure and profit.

However, while united in a common goal, the separate interests forming the Alliance were by no means friendly to their own. In 2 BCGT, Lord was supplanted by Maverick. The latter's command was little more successful than his predecessors, with corruption and conflict occasionally leading to armed violence not uncommon. No less than eleven attempts were made to overthrow Maverick, who was required to carry the favour of a range of charismatic commanders in order to remain in power. Despite these issues, the Alliance was at this time the second most influential force in the galaxy behind the Empire.

Galactic Rebuilding

Despite the Empire and the Alliance, much of the galaxy remained under the control of other forces. Under Dark Princess Gabriella Storm, the semi-legitimate trading organisation Black Sun quickly became the preeminent authority over large sections of the galaxy. Access to large quantities of desperately needed resources on the galactic black market allowed Black Sun to command the loyalty of many worlds, while the prowess of Black Sun's elite military subjugated any worlds unwilling to accept the organisation's occasionally ilicit dealings.

The Bounty Hunter Alliance was the last of the major powers in the galaxy. In regions where lawlessness abound, power often came at the business end of a blaster. Its history blurred by the nature of its business, it is believed Suppa was the first leader of the Bounty Hunter Alliance. Throughout the galaxy, when people and worlds had nowhere else to turn, the Alliance would be there ready to bring justice for a price. The prosperitory of the Alliance would wane in later years, as planetary and regional governments rose and order restored.

Smaller fiefdoms dominated other areas of the galaxy, spanning from several sectors to a mere handful of worlds. These protogovernments could rise and fall in the span of a single year, often relying on economic or military dominance or control of certain trade routes or resources to maintain their authority. Of these, some of the more prominent were Maharettan, Klysteron and Kanchin. The Hapes Consortium also endured as it ever had, though it had been weakened by the Hapan Civil War some decades previously and had become more reliant on diplomacy and trade with the rest of the galaxy, though it largely maintained its traditional isolationist stance.

The Second Galactic Civil War

The Fall of Drayson

Drayson's reign can largely be described as one of internecine warfare against warlords and insurgents, but by 4 BCGT, his authority had been effectively consolidated and the Empire had hegemony over the galaxy up to the coremost reaches of the Expansion Region. But the conflict was not over.

There is no exact point to determine when the Second Galactic Civil War started. Indeed, it is unclear whether the First Galactic Civil war ever ended, or whether there are in fact two separate conflicts or one single conflict spanning decades. However, the events of the later part of 2 BCGT are useful as a starting point indicating that war on a massive scale was returning to the galaxy.

Drayson's fleet had begun a routine deployment to fend off another unidentified attack on Imperial territory. Commanding one of the sections of the fleet was Captain Vodo Bonias. Having won the battle, Drayson's ship was fired upon by forces loyal to Bonias. Suffering critical damage, Drayson's forces were driven off for parts unknown, while Bonias' forces acclaimed him Admiral and he returned to Coruscant triumphant.

Bonias would not return to the position he might have expected. With the flight of Drayson, the throne nominally fell to his Naval Chief of Staff, Admiral Suntzu. Attempting to mollify Bonias and consolidate his rule, Suntzu approved Bonias' rank of Admiral and additionally appointed him Moff of the Boeus Sector. At the same time, he initiated projects favouring the Imperial Navy, drawing the ire of General Balsaraph, Commander of the Imperial Army. This soon spread into almost direct conflict between Balsaraph's Army and the Navy under Suntzu and Bonias.

Heavily beset with troubles, and his popularity with the public rapidly decreasing, Suntzu gave up the throne after a mere month and retired into obscurity. By the last days of 2 BCGT, Vodo Bonias had his throne.

The Prince of Coruscant

Shortly after Bonias' ascent, Drayson revealed that he had survived the attempted coup against him. With Bonias refusing to surrender the throne, Drayson declared the formation of the Order of Darkness, an ostensibly purer iteration of the Empire, while revealing a great secret: he was a disciple of one of the many Sith Orders that had been established since the Battle of Ruusan nearly a thousand years ago.

Shortly thereafter, Admiral Dyvel Price consorted with Evax, one of her officers, to defect to the Order of Darkness. This was successful, and the Imperial Navy was deprived of a significant portion of its force. Near simultaneously, many senior military officers were purged and General Balsaraph, his exile certain, fled the Empire with part of the Imperial Army, giving the Order the military resources it required to present a real challenge to the Emperor on Coruscant.

Year -1

Year 0

The Galactic Empire officially acknowledges the existence of the Rebel Alliance, following a Rebel declaration of war.

The Combine "starts".

Year 1

File:Swc site screenshot.jpg
The Star Wars Combine website circa Year 1.

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

A screenshot of the Star Wars Combine's in-game galaxy circa Year 4.

Year 5

Year 6

Year 7

File:SWC-screenshot.jpg
The cockpit screen circa Year 7.

Year 8

File:Swc site screenshot 2008.jpg
The Star Wars Combine website circa Year 8.

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Year 12

References

  1. ↑ "Interview with Centrepoint Station Leader. October 1999."
  2. ↑ Balavan Bobil - ezBoard - Public Profile
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