Post by Darth Xaos on Apr 23, 2015 0:55:12 GMT
In this article you’ll find a list of planets currently held by the Obsidian Union along with a brief description for each. This article serves as a practical look at the planets that constitute the Union and is filled with plot hooks for future Missions and references to past ones. Planets are grouped into regions and maps of these regions will be provided where possible. This article is at present incomplete and more regions will be added over time. The planets are also divided into different categories:
Member Planets: These are planets with a local government. Each has representation in the Union’s federal government.
Founding Planets: As above except the leaders of these planets are signators on the Declaration of Dissolution; the document sent to the Galactic Alliance Senate to announce the formation of the Union.
Fortress Planets: Worlds controlled by the Union’s federal military.
Federal Planets: These fall under the direct control of the federal government, lacking sufficient inhabitation to form a planetary government but sill serving some noteworthy function in the Union.
Spacestations: These are artificial constructs in space and usually possess some local governing organization but lack representation in the federal government.
Other: A combination of two or more of the above or else something entirely different.
Stygian Caldera
Though this name originally referred only to the veil of gas and dust that encircles this segment of space, the area as a whole has been referred to as the Stygian Caldera for many centuries now. Old maps called it Sith Space or the Sith Worlds as they were once the territory of the Ancient Sith Empire. But during the New Sith Wars, the Sith expanded to control an unprecedented percentage of the known Galaxy for an unprecedented amount of time. Soon ‘Sith Space’ came to constitute roughly half of the maps and ‘Stygian Caldera’ began to mean the region rather than the nebulosity. Though the Sith of that era were annihilated at the Battle of Ruusan, the new terminology persisted into modern times.
The region is called the ‘Heart of the Union’ both for the shape suggested by its hyperlanes and because it is the largest concentration of Union founder-planets. Out of the 120+ habitable systems in the Caldera only nineteen (if one excludes the extra-Calderan planets of Corbos and Iliabath) currently have any settlements of note. Though prospectors and settlers have come into the Caldera at a significant rate since the Union’s foundation, most of the inhabitants came during one of two earlier waves of colonization. The first of these occurred during the post-Imperial warlord Zsinj’s rise to power. Zsinj put every part of his territory to work for the upkeep of his military-industrial complex. The warlord, in pursuit of this end, moved large groups of specialists and soldiers into the Caldera. The most visible mark of Zsinj’s rule today are the shipyards at the Khar system, which Zsinj’s engineers restored and modernized. The second wave came with the escalation of the Yuuzhan Vong War. Refugees who no longer trusted the New Republic to protect them fled to the Caldera, hoping that its infamously difficult to navigate nebulosity would protect them from the ruthless invaders.
A final group living in the Caldera worth mentioning is the Red Sith species. The original masters of the Caldera, the species has had dramatic rises and falls over the millennia. They were near extinction when Emperor Palpatine first began to extend his reach into this region and his intercession pulled them back from the brink. What little infrastructure that was rebuilt crumbled with Palpatine’s death but would see restoration and expansion under Zsinj. Though several Red Sith clans worked for Zsinj (notably clans of the Khar system) most were living in isolation during the warlord’s reign. Only since the rise of the Obsidian Union have the clans reformed into a single nation. This new Red Sith kingdom has a complicated and ill-defined relationship with the Union; one that sometimes threatens to erupt in violence.
Ashas Ree (founder): In ancient times Ashas Ree was turned into a planet-sized safehouse. Massive fortresses were constructed on every continent to store wealth, secret knowledge, powerful weapons and important individuals. The planet has generally gone through a two-beat cycle since its formation. Its first standard condition is as described above and has been the case when a dominant Galactic power has held the Caldera. The second predominates during the Caldera’s lawless periods and consists of various groups of squatters jealously guarding their own fortresses and killing anyone who gets to close to them. It was this condition of endless clod/civil war that the modern Sith discovered the planet in. Through careful negotiation, a planetary confederation of individual fortress-states was established. The Unified Peoples of Ashas Ree (as the new government is called) has since directed the energies engendered by inter-fortress rivalry into productive yet peculiar ends. Because no fortress can be seen to be stockpiling supplies for an attack, lest they invite the combined wrath of the Unified Peoples, if one fortress donates soldiers or goods to the Union then the others must follow suit. This has resulted in a sort of game where a fortress seeks to concentrate its best troops into smaller and smaller, yet better and better trained, numbers while maintaining vast hordes of conscripts to send off into federal service. The fortress that wins this game must have the smallest number of elite soldiers and give the largest donations otherwise an opponent can force them to donate some of their elites.
Athiss (founder): There are few high profit industries within the Caldera; most planets have enough agriculture and industry to support themselves but lack any real means of garnering wealth. However, Athiss has managed to tap into one of those rare few cash crops. The New Sith Brotherhood has dedicated a great deal of resources to founding Sith Cults throughout Union space. A byproduct of these cults has been the development of a strong trade in religious icons and lodging for pilgrims. Located on Athiss is what remains of Vodal Kressh’s tomb. This obscure Sith Lord has had a following in past ages and a new cult dedicated to his shade has spread through the settlers of Athiss and, gradually, the rest of the Caldera.
Begeren (founder): During the time of the Ancient Sith Empire the surface of this planet was covered in grand monuments to great Sith Lords of the past. Many of these were destroyed in the final campaign of the Great Hyperspace War and many more were leveled when the Old Republic recolonized Begeren. Today many large and fractured statues still dot the landscape, making Begeren of mild interest to archaeologists and Sith cultists. What truly drives the planet’s economy, however, are its plentiful veins of gems. Another notable feature of Begren is the Abyssin tribes leading a nomadic lifestyle in the world’s arid zones. Once native to the planet Byss, these arachnoid beings fled to Begeren after their planet’s destruction. There had always been an Abyssin presence on Begeren but now the majority of the species resides here. The Abyssins blame the New Republic (and by extension the Galactic Alliance) for their planet’s destruction. This endears them to more recent human colonists who fled the Vong but puts them at odds with longer-established human populations who had sided with the Rebel Alliance.
Bhargebba (federal): Though ostensibly under the aegis of the Union’s federal branch, the reality remains that this planet is controlled by the pirate group known as the Brotherhood of Independent Traders and has since it was formed. The BoIT initially preyed on the planets that would found the Union but were ultimately impressed into the service of the Sith. They have since directed their activities against the Galactic Alliance. Each of the various BoIT crews maintains at least a small facility here though quite a few rarely or never visit. Those compounds that are more consistently manned tend to hold vast sums of filthy lucre and impressive weapons caches. A few settlements have sprung up to cater to the pirates’ needs. These towns have been bolstered by the BoIT’s expansions into legitimate and semi-legitimate businesses since the Obsidian Union’s foundation.
Bosthirda (federal): Bosthirda’s existence since the fall of the Ancient Sith Empire has been a relatively quiet one. The only noteworthy point on the planet today is an abandoned temple built as a refuge by the Prophets of the Dark Side. By the time the modern Sith arrived in the Caldera, however, this temple was quite abandoned. The planet exists on few starmaps and the Union has kept it that way. Its hidden nature might suggest to one that the Union maintains several secret facilities and projects on Bosthirda. Those who have gone to investigate such theories either never return or are oddly insistent that they found nothing when they do.
Ch’hodos (member): Dominated by windswept desert and infested with the descendents of monsters created by ancient Sith Alchemy, there is little to recommend this planet to potential visitors. The settlers who live on Ch’hodos did not come here by choice. But even man-eating chimeras are preferable to facing the Yuuzhan Vong. The colonists struggled for years in the harsh environment until the coming of a Sith Marauder named Darth Nagol. Nagol united the colonies and transformed their peoples into nomadic warriors. No longer the victims of their environment, the neo-tribalists tamed and rode the fearsome War Rhinos native to Ch’hodos. From the best of these warriors Nagol created a fighting force known as the Riders of Nagol. These elite cavalrymen won many battles for the shadow organization that would one day become the Union and from their Force Sensitive members were drawn Nagol’s apprentices. Though the Riders of Nagol where wiped out during the Third Sith Schism, the tribes they emerged from still rule the surface of Ch’hodos. Though the increased scale of the Union’s engagements has left cavalry significantly less relevant to its tactics, the rhino-riders of Ch’hodos are still powerful warriors.
Corbos (founder): Located just outside the Stygian Caldera, Corbos is perhaps most famous as the site of the final battle in the Hundred-Year Darkness. Since then it has had little historical significance and even fewer developed settlements. The New Republic attempted to colonize the planet in 12 ABY but the colonists were devoured by the horrific Leviathans left by the Dark Jedi of the Hundred Year Darkness. The Jedi Order killed the specimen responsible for destroying the colony but others still dwell beneath its surface. Refugees from the Vong War had little concern for rumors of giant monsters when they fled here, however. The colonists dared not venture into Corbos’ tunnels to mine until the coming of the Sith. They provided the settlers with Alchemical devices that could detect the presence of Leviathans, allowing for the initiation of mining operations. The New Sith Brotherhood has made several attempts to capture one of the Leviathans since then but none have been met with success.
Daragon Trail (other): Of particular note is the (former) Daragon Trail. The discovery of this hyperlane was what launched the Great Hyperspace War which caused the fall of the Ancient Sith Empire. Within a few decades of that war, however, the Trail had been rendered obsolete by shifting nebulae and asteroids. This has not stopped a stream of individuals who ruled over the Caldera from trying to clear it again though. Darth Revan, Zsinj and many others poured huge sums of resources into trying to re-open this route to the Deep Core. Ultimately, none of them succeeded. The Obsidian Union harbors no such ambitions, however, and is more than happy to leave a potential Alliance invasion superhighway impassible.
Dromund Kaas (other): The fetid swamps of this murky planet have been witness to ancient secrets long forgotten. The planet produces a mysterious effect (seemingly originating from its Dark Force Temple) which negates blaster technology. Lightsabers are one of the few advanced weapons to function normally. It is because of this effect that the modern Sith chose this world as their headquarters after arriving in the Caldera. Setting up their set of government in the Dark Force Temple, they established settlements and bases across the surface. One of their periodic schisms destroyed most these improvements, and prompted the construction of New Bethrezen. Some of the old bases were ultimately revived and a healthy Union presence is still apparent though the planet has lost most of its importance. Red Sith still live on this planet in a city built atop a secluded lagoon. They had a falling out with the rest of their people not long ago and even more recently agreed to resume normal relations in exchange for a voice in a major bout of reform for the Red Sith clans. Rumors persist of ancient Red Sith cities on Dromund Kaas hidden under layers of vegetation.
Jaguada (founder): Yet another of the Caldera’s inhospitable desert worlds, Jaguada’s population is concentrated in a single city. After the Second Schism, Jaguada was the chief staging grounds for the Sith’s ground troops. Its military facilities were highly damaged during the Third Schism, however, and it never truly returned to that role. The city itself has since recovered, however, and is one of the first stops on the delivery runs from the Khar system shipyards. Recently an investigation by the New Sith Broterhood revealed a well preserved Sith temple complex on one of Jaguada’s moons.
Kalsunor (founder): Long ago, the Red Sith conquered this planet by flooding it with monsters called Silooth; created through an early form of Sith Alchemy. The Silooth extinguished the native Kalsunorans but made attempts to colonize the planet by the victorious Red Sith fairly difficult. Eventually, the planet was abandoned to the Silooth. When the Ancient Sith Empire began to favor Alchemic mutations as warbeasts, its Sith Lords began to capture Silooth for that purpose and the planet became a preserve of sorts. In the millennia after the end of the Great HyperspaceWar, the planet remained forgotten and abandoned by all. Only with the advent of the Vong War did it come to be settled again. Though the Silooth proved a vicious problem to these early colonists, they were still an easier foe to face than the Yuuzhan Vong. In the years since, various settlements have survived and thrived on Kalsunor but the planet is still very much rough and wild. Though its people now have other options for homes, they stubbornly cling to Kalsunor. Years of fighting massive insectoid beasts have left them with a defensive attachment to their homeworld.
Khar Delba (other): Historically a barren and sparsely inhabited planet, Khar Delba became Zsinj’s regional capital for the Caldera and experienced a population boom. Now its robust bronzium mining industry has brought the planet to prominence in the Union. Zsinj’s choice to focus on this planet had to do with the ancient, disused shipyards that orbit it. The platform’s archaic equipment was stripped down to the superstructure and refitted with the best equipment Imperial science had to offer. Though small scale, the shipyards provided Zsinj’s fleets with frigates, corvettes and starfighters. After Zsinj’s death, the installation was the contested object in a seemingly endless series of brutal wars between the citizens of Khar Delba, the colonists on Khar Shian and the Red Sith clans on both planets. The organization that would become the Union solved these disputes by physically dividing the shipyards in two. One was put under control of the Sadow clansmen and the other to the Kressh. Because the Red Sith lacked sufficient manpower, they were forced to rely on the workforce of the colonists. This arrangement kept an uneasy peace going for many years. Cracks in this peace have begun to emerge since the recent upheavals, however. On Khar Delba the colonists clash with the Red Sith over access to Bronzium deposits. Early on these clashes were legal or covert in nature but recently isolated incidences of violence have occurred. The Red Sith worry these will only escalate as Khar Delba’s representative has become a key voice in the emerging Zsinjist movement in the Galatic Liberation Party Congress.
Khar Shian (other): The presence of colonists is smaller on Khar Shian, which is Khar Delba’s moon, than on its mother planet. Settlements on Khar Shian were first established after the colonization of Delba but grew in size rapidly after Zsinj’s fall. In the past Khar Delba sought to enforce violent hegemony on its moon several times, each time being repelled. These conflicts ended when the Sith Order first arrived and sought to restore the shipyards to working condition but Delba has not given up its hopes of annexing its moon. While tensions run high between colonist and Red Sith on Khar Delba, it is not so on Shian. Ancient rivalries exist between the clans on Shian and the clans on Delba, mirroring the conflict between the more recent communities. The colonists and Red Sith of Shian have recognized the value in working together to achieve mutual goals and a cordial if cool alliance exists between them.
Korriban (other): Called the ‘Graveyard of Empires’ by some, Korriban’s call is strong but it is the call of the dead. A merciless, volcanic desert of a planet, no one would care about Korriban were it not for its historical and religious significance. Every organization to refer to itself as a ‘Sith Empire’ has counted Korriban as its spiritual capital. There are two separate burial complexes on the planet. The Valley of the Dark Lords contain the massive tombs of many Dark Lords of the Sith. While the Valley of Golg holds the mastaba, pyramids and catacombs of the earlier Red Sith Kings. Both valleys run off from the planet’s largest sand basin. The borders of this basin are defined by soaring mountains and dormant volcanoes. The basin is much longer than it is wide. From the west side to the east side is a journey of several hours by speeder while traveling from north to south would take days. At the opening of the Valley of the Dark Lords is the Hermitage of Korriban. Built from the remains of a previous settlement called Dreshdae, the Hermitage is something between a city and a monastery. The various structures are connected to each other by walkways and ramps with the dirt streets below being reserved for vehicle traffic. The Hermitage is a major pilgrimage center for the Sith Cults that operate freely throughout Union space. The Hermitage represents the full extent of Union colonization of Korriban. To the east of the Hermitage, on the other side of the basin, lies the city of Ur. Inhabited solely by Red Sith, it is possible that Ur is the oldest consistently occupied city in the Galaxy. A theory that the Union enjoys using to deflate Coruscanti pride. Running up and down the space between the two cities are small Red Sith settlements. These fan out to some extent to the north and south. The two cities and these settlements represent the only civilization on Korriban’s surface. The rest of the planet is uninhabited and mostly unexplored.
Korriz (founder): In the days of the Ancient Sith Empire, a Sith Lord named Tritos Nal constructed a massive workshop dedicated to Sith Alchemy on Korriz. As history rolled on, this workshop was refitted and expanded into a weapons factory by Revan, restored and upgraded to produce vehicles by Darth Ruin and duplicated in multiple sites across the planet by Lord Kaan. The warlord Zsinj manned and retrofitted these factories to produce blasters and tanks for his military efforts. After the fall of Zsinj, Korriz did very well compared to the other Calderan planets. No one dared attack such a heavily armed world and everyone wanted access to their products. The planet joined the Union because it saw the emerging galactic nation as the means to markets outside the Stygian Caldera. Today significant portions of the weapons and planetary vehicles used by the Union’s federal military are produced here.
Krayiss (founder): The second planet orbiting a star of the same name, Krayiss has been a mystery since before the rise of the Ancient Sith Empire. A massive library complex exists here, constructed in the earliest period of the Red Sith’s ascendancy. Emperor Palpatine established a significant research outpost at the library. Even the fall of the Galactic Empire did little to discourage the devoted researchers, who barely took note before returning to their studies. Without the Empire to offer supply drops, however, the scientists were forced to establish enough of an independent economy to survive. When refugees from the Yuuzhan Vong War arrived in the Caldera, Krayiss offered several groups shelter in exchange for labor. With a new working class to draw on, the scientists were able to return to their original fever-pace of study. This initial arrangement eventually led to the establishment of a technocratic government that would go on to join the Obsidian Union.
Illiabath (founder): Though located on the rimward side of the Caldera, Illiabath was the only planet in this region to have a government with loyalties to the Galactic Alliance that went beyond lipservice prior to the rise of the Union. The revolt that ousted the old government marked the first official military action against the Galactic Alliance by the Union. Since then, the citizens of Illiabath have shown a fanatical devotion to the Union’s cause. Illiabath is a common homeworld among the members of the Union’s military and intelligence agencies.
New Bethrezen (spacestation): A giant, metallic torus orbiting an otherwise unremarkable gas giant and the capital of the Obsidian Union. This state of the art station was developed by the Arkanians, financed by the Banking Clan and boasts a diameter greater than that of the original Death Star. The station’s location is a closely kept secret and all travel to and from is strictly regulated. For a long time it was the sole Union facility in its system but it has since been joined by defensive spaceplatforms and a terraformation project that has turned one of the gas giant’s moons into an animal preserve. More information on New Bethrezen can be found here: www.newsithbrotherhood.com/thread/63/new-bethrezen
Nfolgai (founder): The people of this planet were originally brought to it as slaves by the Galactic Empire. They toiled ceaselessly in the mines of this mineral-rich world until a revolt bought them their freedom after the Battle of Endor. Within a few months all the Imperial officials who knew about the Nfolgai operation were dead and the colonists didn’t feel the need to let the rest of the Galaxy know of their existence. The planet and its inhabitants were rediscovered by Zsinj. Despite their reservations about working for a former Imperial officer, the Nfolgaians were swayed to the warlord’s side by promises of access to food supplies and trade. After Zsinj’s fall the planet slipped back into isolation. Though their good relations with other Zsinj remnant groups caused them to join the Union, they still prefer to be mostly left alone by off-worlders.
Nicht Ka (founder): Consisting of single, small atmosphereless planetoid distantly orbiting a blue giant star, Nicht Ka is a fairly depressing system. The planetoid features subterranean structures and tunnels with UV lights and artificial gravity enhancement machines to render it inhabitable. From whence the inhabitants of Nicht Ka came to the planetoid and why remains unknown. Nicht Ka citizens are notoriously tight-lipped on the subject, offering only that their home was rendered habitable not long after the end of the Clone Wars.
Rhelg (federal): In ancient times the Red Sith who founded Clan Kressh constructed their ancestral fortress on Rhelg; after the fall of the Ancient Sith the planet mostly lay forgotten and unconsidered. At an unknown time after the Brotherhood of Darkness was destroyed at the Battle of Ruusan, survivors of the Sith’s non-Force sensitive elite soldiers came to dwell in the citadel. They and their descendants created an order of warrior-monks whose sole purpose was to train until the Sith came to claim their loyalty again. With the coming of the modern Sith to the Caldera, these ascetics have found renewed purpose and fervor. Those that once doubted the prophecies of the return of the Sith found their doubt transformed into new faith. The Sith Cult has no interest in politics and forgoes representation in the federal government, their sole purpose in life is to fight for the Sith. Many of these warriors serve in the Union’s heavy infantry division and, in turn, many heavy infantrymen are sent to the citadel for training. The warriors avoided the danger represented by lack of real combat experience over their millennium of isolation by including duels to the death and even lethal battles including multiple squads as part of their cultural rites of passage.
Svolten (founder): This planet has claim to one of the oddest historical feats ever. It was the site of the longest continuous battle in known history. The Battle of Svolten began mere days before the Battle of Endor in the Galactic Civil War. Svolten had been home to a Rebel base and a small Imperial detachment was sent to subdue it. However, both sides completely annihilated all the enemy’s hyperspace-capable ships in the space battle. The combatants were left stranded on the ground. As the years rolled on, both sides built new bases, established economies to ensure continued supplies and even went through normal lives but the battle didn’t end. It was a military engagement that lasted decades. The fighting was finally concluded with the arrival of the modern Sith. Using a skewed view of the events the two sides had missed in Galactic events, the Sith convinced them that the Galactic Alliance represented a betrayal of both groups’ ideals. With the battle over at last, the Imperials no longer felt a need to stay. Even though many of their number had been born on the planet, the idea that they were invading enemy territory remained a key component of their culture. The Imperial families settled on various other worlds in the Caldera, mostly ones with militaristic cultures. The former Rebels have remained on Svolten and are developing their economy towards the production of hyperspace-capable starfighters; an expression of their desire to never get stranded for multiple decades again.
Thule (other): In the Union ‘Thule’ is almost a byword for poverty. There was a time, however, when this planet of storm-wracked savannahs had a robust economy. Those days were ended with the fall of the Galactic Empire and the residents of the planet engaged in a mass-emigration, leaving Thule to the scattered Red Sith clans present. The Thule of today is inhabited by Vong War refugees and those same clans. The friction that exists between Red Sith and colonist elsewhere in the Caldera is absent here. Both groups are simply too poor to make war on each other. The colonists have multiple settlements across the planet while the Red Sith live mostly in and around the ruins of a massive Sith Temple.
Ziost (other): To look upon its frozen iceworld with its handful of settlements one would scarcely believe that millennia ago it had been the mighty capital of the Ancient Sith Empire. The sole city of any size on the planet is inhabited by the Red Sith of Clan Graush. The Red Sith likewise have many villages and work camps within a days journey of the city. The clan has made a fair bit of cash off selling the products of archaeological digs to the artifact-hungry New Sith Brotherhood. Outside the vale that houses Clan Graush, there are multiple small compounds controlled by the Union’s federal government. These compounds serve one purpose: resupply stations for the walking fortress that is House Maiesta. The massive warmachine carries the Sith Marauders across the face of Ziost as they undergo their brutal training period. The little-known fact that the late Consul Xaos was born on one of Ziost’s moons has spread among certain circles and has begun to draw some traffic here.
The Triad
Despite being the smallest region of Union Space, the Triad ironically stretches over the Inner Rim, Expansion Region and Mid Rim. The region earned its name by consisting of three systems otherwise isolated from the heart of Union territory. These being Ambria, Umbara and Trandosha; all of which are zealous in their support of the Obsidian Union. Though each planet has its own reasons for siding with the Union (often wildly differing ones), simple necessity ensures that they can rely on each other for aid. The Triad is uncomfortably close to the Core for many Galactic Alliance citizens. Unlike other coreward isolated Union systems that can be dismissed as backwater hold-outs, the Triad has interplanetary networks. Its location alone has already damaged the GA economy as Umbara and Ambria neighbor Zeltros. This has put a serious damper on Zeltros’ formally highly-lucrative tourism trade.
Ambria (founder): One will find few mentions of Ambria in most history holos. Its sparse and sporadic population has kept it out of conspicuous historic events. Yet, the ancient lore of both the Sith and Jedi attest that the planet was the scene of little known but vital turning points. Important figures from Jedi Master Thon to Darth Bane have set foot on its surface. Though said to have a thriving population before an ancient cataclysm, Ambria had a negligible to non-extant population for millennia. This changed during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Like many desert planets, Ambia was seen as being able to avoid the Vong’s interest. Refugees developed well-hidden settlements, fearing that they might have to ride out a galactic occupation. And, like most planets thus colonized, when the citizens were able to rejoin larger, galactic society, they held resentment towards the Galactic Alliance. Ambria’s people have been toughened by years of hard living. And they now use the same tactics once developed to repel a Vong invasion when fighting GA incursions. This planet has always been strong in the Dark Side and the New Sith Brotherhood was quick to exploit its foci of power. Lake Natth has sealed within it a horde of wraiths. Many individuals attuned to the Dark Side come to the shores of the lake, convinced that listening to the specters’ mad babbling can reveal the future to a meditative mind. This is a somewhat dangerous pastime considering the Hssiss that dwell in the water’s depths. The remains of a cyclopean megalith from ancient times were unearthed not long after the Union’s founding. A Sith Temple has since been built around them.
Umbara (founder): Concealed and protected by the surrounding Ghost Nebula, Umbara is a world of eternal night. The Umbarans’ loyalties have historically been shifting ones. They first became involved with the Sith when they swore allegiance to Darth Ruin’s empire two millennia ago (Ruin himself being an Umbaran). After the Battle of Ruusan Umbara was repatriated into the Old Republic and displayed no signs of further rebellion for many centuries. However, when the Clone Wars broke out, the Umbarans were quick to side with the Separatists. They repeated their earlier performance after the Clone Wars’ end by providing many capable assassins and spies to the Galactic Empire. When the Empire fell, the species as a whole fell back to Umbara and scrupiously avoided provoking or even involving themselves with either the New Republic or Imperial Remnant. Umbara would remain uninvolved with the Galaxy-at-large after the end of the Galactic Civil War and the Ghost Nebula ensured that they did not suffer invasion when the Yuuzhan Vong came. The Galaxy’s reintroduction to Umbara would come with the formation of the Obsidian Union. When, exactly, the Umbarans became entangled with the Sith of this era is unknown but the proto-Union conspiracy’s earliest participants in the Stygian Caldera say that the Umbarans were already working with the Sith when the latter first arrived in the Caldera.
Quas Killam (other): Once a world of foundries, mines and legendary blacksmiths, Quas Killam’s hammers have fallen silent; its slim populace utterly annihilated by a Yuuzhan Vong crusade. Attempts to Vongform the barren surface proved futile and the invaders abandoned their bloody prize. There have been no attempts to resettle it since those days, however, it has become something of a minor hub for scavengers. The remains of factories and forges are rife with precious metals and even a few impressive melee weapons. The governments of Trandosha and Umbara (which border Quas Killam) have made a fine profit selling salvage-licenses.
Trandosha (founder):
An age-old axiom informs us that, ‘war never changes.’ The Kashyyyk system is an object example of this principle. For generations, the Trandoshans have waged all-out jungle warfare on the Wookies of planet Kashyyyk. One of the many constants in this bloody struggle is that the two groups of belligerents have often carried the banners of opposing galactic powers. During the Jedi Civil War, the reptiles flew the crimson of Revan’s empire while the Wooks rallied under the Old Republic’s aegis. And, in the Galactic Civil War, the Trandoshans captured Wookie slaves for the Empire while the Wookies put their voluntary labor to use for the Rebel Alliance. A détente existed briefly, in the interests of repelling Yuuzhan Vong incursions into the Kashyyyk system. None were under illusion that the truce would last, however, and the two species have now returned to their war-that-never-changes. All that is different now are the flags: the Wookies wave the Galactic Alliance Roundel while the Trandoshians rally around the Union’s Wheel of the Stars. The actual involvement of the two galactic nations in the conflict is minimal, however. As it has always been, the species’ greater allegiances are little more than excuses to fight. Official Union starmaps always refer to the system and its star as ‘Trandosha’ rather than ‘Kashyyyk’ as most other maps in the Galaxy do.
Greater Stygia
Since the rise of the Obsidian Union began, many groups have profited from its existence and many have suffered for it. One group, however, has the unique fortune to see all gain and no loss from the current war’s developments: cartographers. The emergence of a new Galactic nation in the Outer Rim has necessitated name changes to existing planets and features as well as new regional definitions. And this, of course, has required the creation of new maps. The term ‘Greater Stygia’ is perhaps the archetypal example of this phenomenon. Greater Stygia is a phrase that has only been in use for only a few years now and refers to those planets in the Trans-Hydian Borderlands that immediately surround the Stygian Caldera (together the two regions are simply called ‘Stygia’). The vast majority of these planets joined the Union at some point during the Snowfall Campaign. Though few ever felt any real allegiance to the Galactic Alliance, they were not confident enough to become founding members of the Union. Only after the new nation had proven itself through repeated military victories did the worlds of Greater Stygia declare for the Union. This region’s borders are defined in the spinward direction by the Hydian Way, counter-spinward by the Perlemian Trade Route, coreward by the Salin Corridor and the Gordian Reach, rimward by the Corporate Sector. Past the Perlemian lie the Union-held regions of the Tion Cluster and Quarren Space. The Hydian Way, Salin Corridor and Corporate Sector, on the other hand, are strong GA bastions against Union expansion. Though the Union has sent waves of ships and soldiers against these bulwarks, it has thus far been to no avail. Strongly maintained supply lines have kept the flood walls stable against Union onslaught. However, the military forces who maintain these defensive lines have no interest in launching counter-attacks into Union space. They fear abandoning their entrenched position would overextend their forces and ultimately bring about a Union victory. For the time being, the only GA successes come in the form of defensive engagements while the Union can only claim to be triumphant in its privateer actions against the GA-held trade lanes. Unless something occurs to radically alter the state of affairs, this stalemate may well persist long after the fighting has spilled deeper towards the Core in other regions.
(note: this section is presently *very* incomplete and more will be added over time)
Aldivy (member): Covered almost entirely in rich farmlands, Aldivy is a picturesque world. Looking out on its amber fields and crystal-clear streams, one might scarcely believe the history of violence to which the planet has borne witness. Conquered by Darth Revan, re-conquered by the Old Republic, conquered by Darth Vitiate, re-conquered again by the Republic, conquered by Darth Ruin, squabbled over by post-Ruin Sith Lords, re-conquered *again* by the Republic, seceded into the Confederacy of Independent Systems, subjugated by the newly-forged Galactic Empire. Even the fall of the Empire didn’t bring an end to the rural world’s suffering. Having joined the New Republic, the post-Imperial warlord Zsinj annihilated one of the planet’s largest cities in retribution. The only time Aldivy seemed to catch a spell of luck was during the Yuuzhan Vong War when, unlike most of the Galaxy, it was ignored by the extra-galactic invaders. Its allegiance to the Galactic Alliance was always tenuous at best as the population continued to resent the former New Republic for failing to come to its aid against Zsinj. When rumors started to circulate during the Snowfall Campaign that the GA planned to launch a massive re-conquest effort that would leave all of the Trans-Hydian Borderlands under military rule, the Aldivans decided that if they were going to be punished for being near the Union then they might as well get the benefits of Union membership in the interim. Though these rumors ultimately proved to be unfounded, the planet has never looked back. While not as fanatical as some of their neighbors, Aldivy’s citizens posses genuine sentiment for the Union as one of only two nations that did not earn their obedience through violence.
Almania (member): In antiquity, the people of Almania were organized into a brutal caste system and joined Revan’s empire during the Jedi Civil War. In more recent history, the planet was conquered by the Dark Jedi known as Kueller. After Kueller’s death, his lieutenant took over but her government became unstable. A period of anarchy on the planet ensued and ended with a military junta taking power. The lack of a democratically elected government caused the New Republic to refuse Almania membership and subject it to economic sanctions. This, combined with the damage to the planet’s infrastructure during the anarchy, reduced Almania to a state of poverty for nearly a decade. Unlike most of the Galaxy, Almania’s luck changed for the better during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. After repelling several cursory Vong assaults, the planet gained a reputation for safety that attracted war-time refugees. Bolstered by a new wave of cheap labor, Almania’s industrial power waxed strong. When the Galactic Alliance offered Almania membership after its foundation, the Almanians rejected the entreaties of those who had scorned them for years. Almania did not immediately join the Union after it arose, having grown to distrust all galactic nations during its isolation. After the Union proved to be a viable rival to the GA during the Snowfall Campaign, however, Almania petitioned for membership. The planet’s jingoistic society makes it a major recruiting ground for the Union’s Federal Military. It also ensures Almania’s role as the primary defensive outpost to the rear of Stygia. Were the GA to attempt a rear-attack on the Union, Almania would surely be the center of the first line of defense. The planet has three moons: Drewwa, Auyemesh and Pydyr. Drewwa is highly industrialized and produces obscene amounts of weaponry. Auyemesh’s population was largely annihilated by Kueller but has been resettled by refugees from the Vong War. Pydyr used to be populated by a native species called the Pydyrians but they were made extinct by a brutal pogrom initiated by Kueller. Pydyr has been lightly colonized since Almania joined the Union; some stories have emerged among the colonists about encounters with surviving pockets of Pydyrians but these have been dismissed as the tales of drunkards.
Ank Ki’shor (member): Once this world was a possession of the Tion Hegemony, after the end of the Clone Wars, however, the Galactic Empire trimmed down the borders of the formerly Confederate Tion Cluster in an attempt to ease its transition into the Empire. Though the ideals of Imperialism ultimately took firm route in the Cluster proper, Ank Ki’shor never forgot how it had been so rudely partitioned. Quick to join the emergent Rebel Alliance, the world didn’t have much time to enjoy the end of the Empire before it was once again brought to heel by Zsinj. By the time the warlord had fallen, Ank Ki’shor’s population was left with a deep-seated cultural hatred for all things Imperial. Within the New Republic Senate they had been one of the few planets to actively oppose the signing of the Bastion Accords and wanted to press the Galactic Civil War until not a scrap of the Galactic Empire remained. As the historically informed are aware, they did not get their wish. When the unoccupied New Republic planets founded the Galactic Alliance and allowed the Imperial Remnant membership within it, Ank Ki’shor refused to be indulgent any further. The planet never signed on with the new government and fiercely maintained independence after the Vong War’s end. The populace’s collective anger ran deep and burned slow before erupting in a bout of political action that culminated in joining the Union. Ank Ki’shor’s detestation of the GA is so intense that few are willing to risk pointing out the irony that, by joining the Union, they’ve put themselves under the same tent as many neo-Imprialists; the very fate the sought to avoid by not joining the GA.
Draethos (member): Though more properly called Thosa, most individuals in the Galaxy use the name of this planet’s native sentient species when referring to it. The planet’s barren, mountainous landscape strongly reflects the brutal warrior culture of its people. Soft emotions are despised by the world’s inhabitants and those who refuse to take up arms are exiled off-word for their pacifistic beliefs. The species is notably long lived, with the average lifespan being a millennium. As a result, the governmental tendencies of Draethos have historically been conservative in the extreme and the planet to this day functions under a de-centralized feudal system ruled by warrior-aristocrats. Prior to the Obsidian Union, the only Galactic nation Draethos ever deigned to join was that of Darth Revan’s empire. No other government ever impressed them enough to merit joining or succeeded in forcing the planet’s allegiance. After an unusually short (by native standards) period of examination, the lords of Draethos determined that the Obsidian Union’s respect for individual planets’ right to self-determination was sufficient to merit joining.
Emmer (member): The smells of industry hang heavy over the grasslands of this planet. The squat Emmerians were, in ages past, mainline humans but generations spent on this high-gravity world has turned them into a short yet physically powerful near-human species. Their culture as a whole is dedicated to the perfection of mechanical arts in general and the construction of war vehicles in particular. Indeed, the ancient vehicle patterns designed here were Kuat Drive Yard’s inspiration for the AT-AT. Though Emmer’s production facilities hardly mass produce at such a rate to make them a major supplier of vehicles to the Union’s Terrestrial Forces, what they lose in quantity they make up for in quality. Their engineering houses are often granted no-bid contracts to design new and innovative vehicle patterns that might give the Union an edge in planet-side warfare.
Elom (member): A rocky world with extensive subterranean tunnels, Elom is the Union’s primary source of a mineral known as lommite which is the primary component of transparasteel. The planet is inhabited by two different species. The Elomin (who are possibly an off-shoot of the Zabraks) live on the surface while the passive Elom live underground. Heavy-handed Imperial rule ultimately turned both species into strong supporters of the Rebel Alliance and, later, the New Republic. However, their loyalty to the Galactic Alliance would ultimately prove to be less robust. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Elom was left to defend itself like many Outer Rim planets. Unlike many other planets, however, the resistance proved to be an insurmountable obstacle to the Vong. The Elomin refused to meet the invaders in the pitched battles the Vong so adored. Instead, the natives would flee into the underground at the first wave of invasion then launch devastating surprise attacks as the Vong attempted to establish bases. As a result of these tactics, the invaders were never able to take and hold the surface for longer than a few weeks. Left embittered by lack of GA support, this founding member of the New Republic defected to the Obsidian Union during the Snowfall Campaign.
Felucia (member): A mysterious world covered in dense fungal forests, Felucia has a turbulent history. During the age of the Old Republic, the native Felucians came to be dominated by the Gossam-run Commerce Guild. The Clone Wars were particularly harsh on this planet as it location made it of great strategic import. After the fall of the CIS, the Commerce Guild was dismantled and Felucia fell under Imperial rule. A number of criminal organizations would come to influence the Imperial government on Felucia during the following decades. After Palpatine’s death, Felucia changed hands between the New Republic and Imperial warlords several times. It wasn’t until after the Bastion Accords that a stable, independent government would arise here again. At the end of the Galactic Civil War, Felucia was still more heavily populated by the immigrated Gossams than by the native Felucians. The Gossams set about creating a new version of the same system they had dominated the planet under in the pre-Imperial era. This system stayed in place until the re-foundation of the Commerce Guild during the Omas administration. The Felucia-based Gossam corporations initially joined the Guild with great enthusiasm but soon came to resent answering to the Guild’s central authority. After numerous legal cases failed to free them from their binding contracts with the Guild, the Felucian Gossams came to see joining the Obsidian Union as their only road to independence. Today, Felucia provides the Union with the raw materials required to produce medicines and narcotics; both being in high demand in Union space. The Gossams rule while the native Felucians toil in the fields. A number of Ithorian herds fled to Felucia during the Vong Wars and have found a niche as medical researchers. Living out in the fungus’ depths are the feral Jungle Felcuians; they are strong in the Dark Side and often raid settlements on the planet.
Ferro (member): For as long as anyone alive can remember, Ferro was an abandoned world. Its native species, the Ferroans, abandoned the planet and all their near-by colonies in an unexplained mass-exodus around 89 BBY. Where they went and why remained one of the great, unsolved mysteries of the Galaxy for over a century. It was not until the culmination of the Yuuzhan Vong War that the answers became clear. The blue-skinned, golden-eyed Ferroans had discovered the sentient planet Zonama Sekot. Fascinated by this wonder of the Galaxy, they happily abandoned their previous homes to colonize this world. After a bout with the Galactic Empire, the living planet fled into the Unknown Regions and out of Galactic remembrance. Sekot appeared again to bring an end to the Vong War, announcing itself as the seed of the Yuuzhan Vong’s destroyed homeworld. The Vong disarmed their military, renounced their brutal culture and settled on Sekot as it once again withdrew into the Unknown Regions. Not all Ferroans were so keen on the arrival of the new residents, however. Always a withdrawn species, they would not have been pleased to welcome any new settlers, let alone ones that had launched an attack on Zonama Sekot several decades earlier. Debate about the Vong raged among the Ferroans for some time but eventually those who opposed the recent arrivals found themselves in the minority. Infuriated, they departed Sekot, intending to return to their ancestral home of Ferro. By the time they had arrived and set up the beginnings of new settlements, they were surprised to discover that a new Galactic nation had arisen in the region surrounding their old home. Surprise that the rest of the Galaxy wasn’t actually unified under a single government as the Jedi had told them was soon replaced by fascination when they discovered that this so-called Obsidian Union had citizens who held even more simmering resentments towards the Vong than even the Ferroan exodites. Though Ferro is not a vital planet to the Union’s operations at the moment, it promises to soon become one. The Ferroans brought with them the resources necessary to begin producing Sekotan living starships. Supposedly these vessels are faster than anything else ever produced in shipyards and, once mass production can begin, may give the Union an unassailable edge in fighter-to-fighter combat.
Florrum (member): Wastelands dotted with sulfuric geysers dominate the landscape of this inhospitable planet. There are no sentient species native to this planet but it has been used as a base by various pirate and smuggler groups since times immemorial. The world remained lawless and wild throughout history, even the Galactic Empire never bothered to assert its authority here. The only time the world fell under the occupation of a government was when it earned the ire of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Even then the Confederate armies simply showed up, destroyed several of the larger settlements then departed. However, the Obsidian Union’s position that it alone has authority over all piracy operating from within its reach brought Florrum its first invasion intended to establish a permanent hegemony. Union forces accompanied by Brotherhood of Independent Traders crews descended on the planet and enforced their mandate at the point of a blaster. Most of the groups dwelling on the planet quickly acquiesced to the invaders and were integrated into the BoIT’s structure. The Weequay pirate crews on the planet, however, were not treated so kindly. Though they likewise surrendered unconditionally when it became obvious that resistance was utterly hopeless, the Union pressed the attack against them anyway. Official statements suggest that this was done to create an example which would keep the other pirates in line but rumors persist to his day that Darth Xaos had a personal vendetta against these Weequays for reasons unknown. The Florrum planetary government of today is nothing but a shell covering the BoIT’s operations.
Galidraan (member): A world of cold mountains, snow-choked passes, dense evergreen woods and not much else, Galidraan has had very little involvement with the rest of the Galaxy since it was first colonized by the Tionese. A battle between the Jedi and the Mandalorians prior to the Clone Wars is the only real historical event of note to occur on Galidraan. Over the millennia, the situation on the ground has barely changed. Held under the absolute rule of a Planetary Governor, the arrangement starts to seem distinctly less like a modern dictatorship and more like an absolute monarchy when one considers the roots of the system. The first Governor was appointed by the legendary conqueror Xim the Despot and it is still to this that the modern office-holders point to justify their rule. Though the governorship’s legitimacy was reaffirmed by the Old Republic in 44 BBY, this was just a formality that acknowledged what had always been which was made as the planet joined the Republic. The Governor’s Palace (known as Ghastheim) is the most notable man-made feature on the planet and is actually more of a city in palatial form than a singular structure. Ghastheim is the most heavily populated settlement on Galidraan and the only location with starport facilities. All the other inhabited locations on the planet are backward, isolated villages populated by inbred peasants. Rumors persist that, prior to Darth Xaos’ death, Union forces were seen moving equipment into the far reaches of Galidraan’s wilderness for reasons still unknown.
Gigor (member): Mountainous Gigor remained unknown to the Galaxy at large for the vast majority of recorded history. Though Greater Stygia holds quite a few planets that flew under the radar in the earliest explorations of the region, Gigor holds the record for longest undiscovered planet with sentient life in the local area. This may be because the shaggy, ape-like Gigorans never developed beyond Neolithic technological and cultural levels. The planet was first discovered a few decades prior to the rise of the Empire but this scouting expedition failed to find evidence of the natives. It was not until a smuggling ring set up a small base here during the Empire’s height that the Gigorans had their first encounter with extra-planetary life. Seeing the primitive yet robust natives, the smugglers quickly made a business selling the Gigorans as slaves to the Empire. Though the fall of the Empire dampened this operation, it did not end it and the smugglers continued to sell Gigorans to the Mytaranor Slaving Council well into the modern era. As it asserted itself in Greater Stygia, the Obsidian Union made a point of violently shutting down any slavers they encountered. The smugglers’ operation on Gigor was crushed (the surviving smugglers are currently serving life sentences on the Raxus Prime penal colony) and the Union made the unexpected move of granting the primitive Gigorans full member status. This proved a bit rocky at first as the Gigorans were unprepared for what awaited them among the stars (the first Gigoran Representative died of a heart attack induced by the shock of seeing New Bethrezen from the inside). Things smoothed out, however, as Gigoran ex-slaves in other parts of the Galaxy heard of their homeworld’s liberation and returned to Stygia. These Gigorans were far more experienced with Galactic civilization and it is these individuals that serve as intermediaries to the Union’s federal government today. These repatriated Gigorans have modernizing their people on the forefront of their mind but those Gigorans who have never left Gigor are proving resistant to even the slightest technological or cultural advancements.
Karkaris (member): Though ocean worlds have something of a reputation for peaceful beauty among the citizens of the Galaxy, any biologist can inform you of the hard truth that aquatic ecosystems tend to be notably more vicious than their land-based counterparts. This is especially true on Karkaris where the native sentient species is not piscine or cephalopodic but instead trace their descent from sharks. The fact that the Karkarodons long ago developed sentient thought has done little to mitigate the strong predatory instincts present in their genetic memory. The Karkaradons had been strong Confederate partisans during the Clone Wars and suffered for it under the Galactic Empire. Today they display a similar zeal for Unionism and make up a significant portion of the Terrestrial Force’s marines.
Kruskan (member): Only occasionally emerging from extended periods of isolation to interact with the rest of the Galaxy, Kruskan has a dark an ominous past that is exceeded only by its dark and ominous present. In 3,000 BBY Sith Acolytes of unknown allegiance came to Kruskan and constructed a fortress. The Acolytes made no attempt to conquer the native population and instead locked themselves away to engage in their mysterious studies. What ultimately became of these mystics is unknown but they were long extinct by the time Darth Ruin rose to power; leaving only their stronghold behind as silent testament to their presence. In time the native Kruskani forgot why they originally avoided the mountain fortress and simply shunned it out of cultural superstition. The Sith complex remained unexplored and the planet isolated from the rest of the Galaxy up until recent history. The series of events that would propel Kruskan back into the Galactic theater and, ultimately, into the Obsidian Union began innocuously enough. Generations of time having relaxed the fear of the crumbling mountain stronghold, local prospectors mounted an expedition into its outer-most levels. Local law dictated that a percentage of all prospecting finds belonged to the noble on whose lands they were uncovered. Rather than give up any of the precious metals, fine furniture or antique weapons they had found, the prospectors decided to tithe a strange crystal sphere wrapped in metal bands bearing a strange language. Their reasoning being that it looked valuable enough that they could get away with keeping everything else. Little did they know that giving the bauble to the local noblewoman, Regera Girawn, would change the course of their planet’s history forever. As the beautiful young aristocrat picked up the item both her body and mind were overwhelmed. The Sith Holocron had detected her latent Force Sensitivity and sought to unload all its knowledge into her in one glorious burst. Her mind’s eye filled with visions of past, present and future as her flesh sizzled and cracked under the waves of energy. Driven to madness, Regera began to flex her new-found powers and was soon deposed by an angry mob of her subjects. She fled to the opposite side of Kruskan where she hid until a vision in formed her of visitors from the stars. Making her way to the location she had foreseen, Regera was met by an off-world exploration team who had just moments ago rediscovered Kruskan. Using her powers to influence the crew, Regera left with them aboard their ship and, in time, she gained total mental control over the spacers. For years she traveled the Galaxy, acquiring Force Sensitive disciples and sources of Dark Side knowledge before returning to Kruskan. With her new Force Order in tow, she not only came to dominate her former demesne but the entire planet. Moving the center of government to the ancient Sith Fortress, Regera and her followers began to excavate deeper into the ruins. Not terribly long after this new Dark Side magocracy was established, a new set of foreigners arrived on Kruskan. These dark armored visitors bore little resemblance to those men Regera had first encountered. Marching at their head was a man whose presence in the Force was unlike any Regera had previously encountered. Introducing himself with all the courtliness of a noble, the leader proclaimed himself to be Darth Xaos, Dark Lord of the Sith. After several days of diplomatic intrigue between the Dark Lord and Regera, an agreement was reached. Though Regera had no interest in joining Xaos’ Sith Brotherhood (she did not and still does not consider herself and her followers to be Sith, despite their origins) she was quite keen on integrating her dominion into the Obsidian Union. Today, the Regeranites receive significant federal aid in their efforts to excavate and restore the Sith ruins and, in exchange, offer the fruits of their investigations to the New Sith Brotherhood. Union propagandists often use the Brotherhood’s acceptance of a separate Force Order in their territory to contrast the Sith with what they claim is the religious hegemony the Jedi have historically tried to enforce. These claims always conveniently omit the oppressive nature of Regera’s regime.
Lamus (member): Originally colonized eleven generations ago, Lamus was for most of its history an isolationist and peaceful farming world. The colonists, called the A’Mar, had no interest in entangling themselves in the wars and struggles of the Galaxy and even went so far as to dismantle their colony ships not long after first arriving. To someone who had missed out on the past few decades of the moon’s development the current state of Lamus would seem inexplicable. The once peaceful and retiring A’Mar have become models of Unionist radicalism. The cultural hatred for the Jedi Order and intense loyalty to the Sith Brotherhood is almost palpable in the streets of the small agrarian communities. The story of this transformation has its roots in the earliest days of colonization. When they first arrived on Lamus, the colonists landed at the Wellspring, the sole source of the planet’s waterways. Though the bubbling geyser tested negative for any known contaminants, the colonists chose to avoid drinking from it until more extensive testing could be performed. Concerns about drinking water were quickly forgotten, however, when the lifeless planet interposed itself between Lamus and the local sun. The resulting eclipse lasted for days, causing no small degree of panic among the settlers. Ultimately, though the specifics of who drank and why are lost to history, some brave soul dared to partake of the Wellspring’s waters. After it became clear this person was not only unharmed but invigorated by this act, the rest of the group followed suit. When the last of them had drank their fill, the planet moved out of the sun’s way and the dreadful eclipse came to an end. It was a this time that the colonists took on the name A’Mar (meaning ‘People of the Emerald Sky’, a reference to the conditions of the eclipse). One among the newly-dubbed A’Mar’s number was gifted with the abilities of a seer by the Wellspring and foretold that if ever were a being who had already drank from this fountainhead to drink a second time then it would lose its life-giving powers. As time passed several A’Mar rituals evolved which centered around the Wellspring. Every thirty years when the great eclipse would recur, those A’Mar who had yet to partake of the sacred waters would do so. Additonally, during these times, young A’Mar would undergo a coming of age ceremony where they would hunt down a particularly nasty subspecies of Gundark. So the A’Mar went on for ten generations, prospering on the farmland around the rivers that originated with the Wellspring. Then, not too far into the ascendancy of the New Republic, everything changed. A ship of off-worlders arrived on Lamus; these were not the first visitors to the planet and they were greeted cordially. The visitors’ ship had suffered damage and required repairs. The A’Mar leader, after discovering that one of the party was a member of the legendary Jedi Order, offered the parts required in exchange for foreigners acting as guards for the upcoming eclipse rituals. The task seemed easy as only a single child had yet to drink from the Wellspring. Things took a turn, however, once the ritual began in earnest. The hunting party of young A’Mar came to the spring, one of their number badly injured during an encounter with the Gundarks. They knew the waters could heal their dying friend but he had already partaken of them in the past and their knowledge of the ancient taboo caused them to dither painfully. The Jedi Knight, believing the Jedi way precluded sacrificing a life to maintain customs, scooped up some of the water and poured it into the young man’s mouth. As the hunter arose, healthy once more, the bubbling waters of the Wellspring fell silent and the eclipse ended prematurely. At once the hunters realized that the ancient ban imposed by the seer had been no idle warning. The leader of the A’Mar quickly repaired the visitors’ ships and urged them off the moon, rightly convinced that her people would kill the off-worlders if they discovered them. After that point, water only oozed out slowly of the increasingly dry Wellspring. Drought soon gripped the moon unceasingly and crop failure led to repeated famines that devastated the once happy A’Mar. Over the next few decades, the population plummeted as starvation and thirst gripped the moon, seemingly never to release it. The next great change occurred, as the last, with the arrival of off-worlders. The A’Mar were prepared to violently repel the visitors at first but when they saw that the foreign ship did not bear the same symbol as the last one, instead being marked with a red wheel with eight spokes, they cautiously approached these new foreigners. The new arrivals claimed that they were representatives from a group called the Obsidian Union and that their nation’s goal was to help those who had been wronged by the Jedi. Skeptical, the A’Mar agreed to join the Union cause only if the visitors could return the Wellspring to its former state. In the weeks to come, a parade of Union-loyal scientists and mystics examined the murky waters that had receded to the bottom of the pit that had once overflowed with rejuvenating liquid. But it was all to no avail. Finally, the leader of the Union himself came to examine the spring. Though it’s certain the tale of what happened next has been distorted by retellings, the following facts are generally agreed upon by all A’Mar. The leader took a handful of the water and put it in his mouth without swallowing it. For several days he sat by the pit in meditation, utterly motionless, until he suddenly stood, spat the water he had been holding in his mouth back into its source and cried out in an unknown language. At once the waters of the Wellspring roared to life again and the eclipse that had been cut short decades ago resumed. Since that day Lamus has been restored to its former prosperity. No longer isolated, a spaceport has been built on the moon and many workers from around the Union have come to fill the jobs needed to manage the new agricultural boom. The A’Mar as a people are now fanatically devoted to the Union cause. In fact, if the rumor is to be believed, a recent visitor to the moon was shot dead by a local after he accidentally referred to the current date using the New Republic ABY calendar instead of the Union’s AGL calendar. The hunter culture of the A’mAr has brought many of them into the fold of the Union’s ultra-light infantry. Among these soldiers one prize is valued above all others: the head of a Jedi.
Makem Te (member): This rocky, arid world’s cruel conditions are only surpassed by the brutality of its native inhabitants, the Swokes Swokes. These carnivorous beings are a peculiar mix between the standard, advanced bipedal sentient lifeforms found in the Galaxy and flatworms. Bringing these often savage beings into the Obsidian Union’s fold presented little difficulty as they have historically sided with Sith-ruled powers and never bothered to join either the New Republic or Galactic Alliance. The planet’s primary economic activities centers on gem mining and the spice trade. However, the Tract, a massive graveyard that dwarfs even the burial valleys of Korriban, also serves a noteworthy source of income for the planet. The Swokes Swokes’ brutal culture, combined with their regenerative abilities and resistance to pain, often sees them into service as shocktroops in the Union’s military.
Ord Radama (member): Once a major Old Republic fortress world, Radama was the site of multiple campaigns between the Republic and the various Sith Empires that threatened it. However, during the Great Peace of the Republic, the military complexes present on the planet were decommissioned before ultimately being restored to operation by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Empire maintained a fair-sized presence here but the New Republic left the planet to its native Devlikk inhabitants. The Devlikk joined the Obsidian Union primarily because they were convinced a Union invasion was inevitable anyway. However, the Devlikk are an extremely short-lived species (those that had just entered adulthood when the planet joined the Union are now approaching their old age) and younger generations of Devlikk are less circumstantial in their Unionist loyalties. The Union military has restored some of the old fortresses to operation but they tend to avoid the planet’s cities as the natives’ unique sense of direction makes them difficult to navigate for other species.
Sembla (member): As planets go Sembla is still relatively young (though that still makes it a few billion years old). Its youth is evident in its terrain, consisting of volcanic islands and shallow seas which are kept markedly warm by the volcanic activity. Despite its youth, Sembla is home to a sentient species: the Vurk. Reptilian and amphibious, Vurk civilization has been somewhat stunted by its nomadic nature. Though Sembla’s oceans contain large amounts of valuable coral and minerals, mining operations are markedly limited since normal production methods are not possible in conjunction with a nomadic lifestyle. The Vurk are by choice an isolate species and their culture emphasizes self-reliance heavily. This rugged individualism may be what attracted them to the Obsidian Union’s style of governance. Union membership has been a welcome edge for those Vurk wishing to leave the planet; and the species’ warrior traditions have made military service a favored option for young Vurk looking to see the Galaxy. Of growing interest to Union archaeologists are the mysterious ruins around the planet’s equator, which were clearly constructed by non-Vurk hands.
Stenos (member): The bleak deserts of Stenos are punctuated only by rocky plateaus where the native Stenax roost. The planet has an unfortunate history of foreign domination which began when it was conquered by Xim the Despot. It would remain under off-world control even after the fall of the Galactic Empire. The Rebel Alliance was able to use resentment of the Empire’s occupation to establish a foothold here early on, however, to the Stenax’s dismay the New Republic took the lion’s share of the planet’s emerging economy and once again Stenos was ruled primarily by foreigners. Not long after the Battle of Endor, the Stenax’s frustration reached a fever pitch and erupted into an event known as the Stenax Massacres. After slaughtering both Alliance entrepreneurs and Imperial hold-outs on Stenos, the Stenax launched a further attack on both factions’ bases in the Thanium Sector. The Stenax were ultimately repelled by the New Republic and monitoring stations were constructed in orbit around Stenos to prevent future recurrences. It took very little effort for the Obidian Union to kindle rebellion against Galactic Alliance rule on this planet and the wreckage of the old monitoring stations bear testament to the reawakened wrath of the Stenax. However, many in the Union’s upper echelons question the political wisdom of courting Stenos’ membership these days. The Stenax colonies of Belderone and Kulthis broke with their mother planet over the Massacres and today are bastions of GA-loyalty positioned uncomfortably close to Union territory. Furthermore, Union political action in the Thanium worlds is somewhat dampened by Stenos’ membership. The planet also offers little in return, its economy having imploded as a result of the Massacres. And, while the Stenax are powerful warriors, Terrestrial Forces officers’ opinions are fairly unified in that Stenax make undisciplined soldiers and cause more trouble than they are worth.
Syngia (federal): For millennia, horrors untold have bred on this world. Arising from the Alchemically created Genesis Pool, these monstrosities were such that even the Vong War refugees who were willing to brave the Sith-Spawn haunted worlds of the Stygian Caldera gave this place a wide berth. The Pool’s origin is in fact intimately connected with that of the Sith. The Genesis Pool was product of the Alchemic experiments of Remulus Dreypa who was one of the Twelve Exiles; those Dark Jedi whom had become the first Lords of the Sith. In modern times Dreypa is treated as something of a philosophical straw-man in the New Sith Brotherhood’s theologies; this dubious honor stemming from the fact that he was used in the same role in a tract by Ajunta Pall, the first Dark Lord of the Sith, to represent the dangers of impatience and ambition unrestrained by pragmatism (even though Dreypa is not mentioned by name, any well-informed student of Sith Lore knows who Pall was writing about). However, the Brotherhood is not above making use of Dreypa’s Alchemic work even as they decry his misadventures. A sizeable and well equipped laboratory has been built near the Pool and is manned by the Dark Disciples. The Disciples present dedicate their every waking moment to studying the Genesis Pool and the horrid Chimeras it regularly regurgitates.
Tiss’sharl (member): Though possessing many temperate zones, this planet’s population is concentrated in its intensely humid jungle continents. This might seem surprising until one realizes that the native species, the Tiss’shar, are reptilian in nature. However, referring to the Tiss’shar as a single species might be something of a misnomer. In fact, they are a set of six closely related sub-species and even within a single sub-species there is a significant amount of genetic variance. Unlike many such heterogeneous species though, little strife exists between the various genetic groupings. No, on Tiss’sharl the primary tensions exist between the local corporate entities. Taking a cue from the near-by Corporate Sector (or perhaps it’s the other way around) Tiss’sharl is ruled by the Tiss’sharl League; a council consisting of the CEOs of the five corporations that reported the highest profits in the previous five year period. This arrangement discourages tax fraud and under-reporting of profits, as these would actively hurt a corporation’s chances of being appointed to the League. However, it would be a mistake to assume that the Tiss’shar are mercantilists; foreign corporations are eligible to earn a spot on the council if they have a presence on Tiss’sharl. But due to the practicalities of doing business on the planet (primarily the high level of benefits typically expected by Tiss’shar workers) such occurrences are rare. The Tiss’shar propensity towards matters of business necessitates and masks a darker cultural disposition to assassination. Due to a rule which states that the death of a League councilor disqualifies their corporation for membership until the next five year fiscal period, murdering the heads of more profitable companies has become a time honored way raise one’s company’s position. Tiss’sharl’s robust business culture has made it arguably the wealthiest planet in the Obsidian Union that lacks allegiance to some larger group (i.e. the Hutts, the Tionese states, etc.) and it is a pillar of the Union’s economy. The Galactic Alliance has attempted to undermine the world’s economic strength through strict sanctions against doing business with the Tiss’shar but Galactic corporations rarely let a little thing like the law get in the way of profit. The Tiss’shar companies still do business with the rest of the Galaxy through their Corporate Sector partners and what little damage the GA’s sanctions have done are more than made up for by involvement in the emerging Union trade sector. Just as the average Tiss’shar business assumes that the best way to earn their government’s favor is to pay taxes on time and in full, so too does the Tiss’sharl League assume (and correctly so) that the more tax they pay to the Union’s federal government the more influence they gain in the Union as a whole. This combines with a visible Tiss’shar presence in Union Intelligence to give a perhaps inflated sense of Tiss’sharl’s zeal for Unionism.
Vaynai (member): With the exception of a single archipelago, the entirety of this world is covered in shallow and fertile oceans. The large, meaty shellfish harvested here make an excellent food source but, unlike many other Union planets, Vaynai’s economy is not hyperspecialized and has its fingers multiple strong economic sectors. One of the most infamous of these other means of income is the production of a substance called ‘Slick’. Made from native seaweed, Slick’s original purpose was as a healing agent. However, the Union’s easy and inexpensive access to bacta has made this function of the medicine completely secondary to its euphoric side-effects. The Obsidian Union’s lack of federal restrictions on intoxicants has made Slick a hot item in its markets. Less controversial is Vaynai’s strong tourist industry. Catering primarily to wealthy Tionese citizens, a large number of resorts people Vaynai’s islands. The planet has also historically held an association with piracy due to its remote location, and the Broherhood of Independent Traders houses many of its facilities here. The planet has no native sentient species but is populated primarily by human and Nimbanel colonists. Once sizeable Mon Calamari communities could be found here; this changed with the issuing of the Consular edict which banished all Mon Calamari from newly-dubbed Quarren Space. Though Vaynai fell outside of the astrographical parameters of this edict, the Mon Cals had no interest in staying on a planet loyal to a government that had so wronged their people and they departed for Galactic Alliance territory.
Zygerria (member): For millennia the coyote-like Zygerrians were feared across the Galaxy as prolific slavers. The Old Republic ultimately made a brutal example of the planet when it first began to enforce its anti-slavery laws. This incident left the natives with a fierce hatred for both the Republic and the Jedi, who had spear-headed the operation. The slave-based economy resurged under the Confederacy of Independent Systems and, to the Zygerrians’ delighted surprise, the Empire showed no interest in ending it. With Zsinj’s death, however, the New Republic followed the Old’s example and shut down the Zygerrian Slavers’ Guild for a second and final time. The Zygerrians dithered for some time before ultimately deciding to join the Obsidian Union and, indeed, were one of the last planets in Greater Stygia to do so. While the Zygerrians hated the Jedi and Galactic Alliance, the Union’s anti-slavery protocols were no less strict than those of their GA counter-parts. What ultimately won them over was that the Union had a *much* more laissez-faire attitude towards what had historically been Zygerria’s second largest economic sector: gambling. Today Zygerria is the biggest podracing destination outside Hutt space. The near-by Corporate Sector, though GA-aligned, has no qualms about doing business with the Union and has allowed Zygerria to attract racers and gamblers from across the Galaxy. The expansion of the gaming sector was funded primarily by the planetary government’s sale of the many Imperial-built fortresses on Zygerria to the Union. All these fortresses are kept fully manned and Zygerria remains a coveted assignment for Union soldiers, surpassing even the reputation of Respite Base. It is perhaps this association of Zygerria with easy living that is behind the otherwise unexplained romantic fascination with Zygerrian women in certain sub-cultures of the Union’s federal military.
Isolated Worlds
(this section is incomplete and will be expanded in future)
Codia (founder): If, fifty years ago, you were to make the shocking prediction that the Codian Moon’s government would someday have galactic significance then the resounding reply would’ve been, “…What the kark is the Codian Moon?” Originally settled as a ranching colony of an incredibly minor scale, the Codian Moon lies on the spinward most edge of the Unknown Regions. In fact, this ranching colony was so unimportant that no one bothered recording when it was founded and the galaxy just seemed to lose track of it after a while. The seeds of a larger society were first sewn when a wave of political dissidents, fleeing the might of the Galactic Empire, settled on Codia. Soon the loose network of ranches evolved into rudimentary settlements. As the moon developed fledgling contacts with their neighbors, groups of refugees from the constant wars of the Trilon Sector joined the Codian population. After the enemies of these refugees started to pursue them, individual Codian city-states began to offer land and money to mercenary groups willing to defend the moon. The new stability these armies offered brought in more trade and also led to the establishment of several smuggler’s colonies on the Codian Moon. Soon the city-states agreed that further prosperity would be magnified by the formation of a single government. Thus was born the People’s Republic of Codia; an eclectic mix of idealism and skullduggery. The Galactic Alliance ultimately paid no more attention to this emerging local government than the Old Republic had to its colonial predecessor. Word of its existence caught the ear of individuals working to bring about the Obsidian Union, however, and Codia was ultimately inducted into the Union’s initial wave of membership. Core-based astrographers may now know what the Codian Moon is but they still can’t quite work out *where* the kark it is. The moon recently gained some fame within the Union by serving as the mustering point for a strike into the Trilon Sector that brought down the despotic regime of a rogue Sith.
Lao-mon (other): Covered in thick jungle and shrouded in secrets, Lao-mon has been more important to historical development than most will ever realize. The shape-shifting sentient species of Lao-mon, known as the Shi’ido, have erred on the side of isolation for most of their history. If the ancient Shi’idese scriptures are to be believed, the people of Lao-mon were united in antiquity by Nyx; a demi-goddess from a lost empire. She established a Shi’ido monarchy that would last for untold millennia. During her reign, Nyx also taught the mystic secrets of her fallen nation to a select group of disciples and to her own children. These individuals would become the first generation of a persistent tradition of Shi’ido Witches. Though the legends seem uncomfortable regarding the logic of a demi-goddess dying, they do clearly state that Nyx ultimately passed from the flesh. On her death bed the Witch-Queen empowered an order of priestesses to serve as judges and interpreters of her laws. Nyx’s daughter took the throne not as absolute ruler like her mother but, rather, as part of a delicate balance between royal and clerical power. The realm of Lao-mon pursued isolationism as its primary policy for the majority of its history; perhaps out of a lingering fear regarding the monstrosities legend said Nyx’s lost home was destroyed combating. But individual Shi’ido would still venture into the galaxy at large, often returning with great wealth and eventually forming the basis of a merchant aristocracy. Generations would pass before this social web of queens, priestesses, witches and merchant-princes that sustained the realm would be challenged.
The crisis began due to an ambiguity of law. The previous Witch-Queen had died with two possible heirs: her nephew and niece. The succession had historically run on female-preferred primogeniture but it had never encountered a situation such as this. Men had inherited the throne several times in the past but they had all been sons or grandsons of the previous ruler. However, the female claimant in this instance was only related to the previous monarch by marriage. After forging strategic alliances with merchant-princes and select priestesses, the male claimant managed to secure coronation as king. In order to preserve his reign against assassination attempts by his rival -who was now technically next in line for the throne- he issued a royal edict which changed the royal succession to male-exclusive primogeniture. Controversy immediately erupted but the priestesses were split when questioned if this decree exceeded the royal powers provided for by Nyx’s laws. Without a legal solution, civil war broke out. The previously denied female claimant renewed her bid for the throne and was supported by the Shi’ido Witches (into whose ranks she had been previously initiated). The king countered by calling on the merchant aristocracy for support. The merchants had purchased many strange and powerful weapons on their sojourns beyond Lao-mon and also possessed the capability to bring in alien mercenaries. Ultimately the king’s superior firepower won out over the Elemental Magic raised against him. He ordered the execution of his rival to the throne and banished the surviving witches into Lao-mon’s jungles. A new royal army was established to replace the witches as Lao-mon’s protectors. The king had been acting out of nothing more than ruthless political pragmatism and he likely would have been shocked by how future generations would build on his edicts.
As time passed, the Witches’ rebellion was used as precedent to strip away the rights of Shi’ido women. The right to bear arms was one of the first to go. It was quickly followed by a litany of increasingly draconian proscriptions. Though the priestesses’ ties to the old king had saved them from the witches’ fate, they earned the ire of his successors by trying to contest these laws. The kings transferred clerical and judicial powers to the men in their extended families. The irony of these new priests serving a divinity whose gender they were established solely to oppress was lost on the newly-empowered clerics. The fact that said divinity refused to communicate with them was concealed by the newly empowered clerics. The breaking of the priestesshood initiated a rebellion against the royals. This uprising was crushed and further laws restricting women’s rights were passed. These new laws led to a new revolt, which was also crushed and led to more oppression. This vicious cycle continued until the number of would-be rebels was reduced to a paltry sum. The surviving rebels and priestesses fled into the jungles, ultimately meeting and integrating into the witch tribes. At the end of all this, the status of women in the Shi’ido kingdom was reduced to that of a possession. Over the coming generations some few women would escape this fate by fleeing into the jungle, leaving the planet or, very rarely, having a significant accomplishment elevate her in society. For the vast majority of Shi’ido females, however, lifetimes of slavery were all they had to anticipate.
Circa twenty-five years before the battle of Yavin, the kingdom of Lao-Mon -at the time ruled by King Cal’tan- made its first official contact with the Old Republic. The Shi’ido were still wary of off-worlders but pressure from the merchant families convinced King Cal’tan to establish official treaties of passage and trade with the Republic. This would ultimately prove a fateful decision. With a wave of new species visiting Lao-mon came a wave of new diseases visited upon Lao-Mon. One contagion proved so lethal that it killed nearly a quarter of the population. Among the dead were all the current male heirs to the throne. The royal family now consisted of Cal’tan, his wife, several distant female relatives and his niece. The Jedi Medical Corps were ultimately sent in by the Republic to combat the plague. However, these relief workers could do nothing when raiders and pirates came to Lao-mon, lured by the rumors of a rich new world. Popular sentiment called for renewed isolation. This outburst was ill-timed as it came during the fury of the Clone Wars. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine secretly ordered a taskforce consisting of elite Clone troopers and Jedi Knights who had gained a reputation for unscrupulous tactics on the battlefield to annihilate the Shi’ido. The taskforce understood their purpose to be a preemptive strike against a planet at high risk of aligning with the Separatists. Palpatines true motive was actually to create an atrocity he could use as propaganda for his planned purge of the Jedi. The massacre claimed the majority of Shi’ido lives.
The survivors of this atrocity consisted of two groups. First were the jungle tribes of witch and priestess refugees that had amassed since they lost their place in society. Second were the exodites, mostly consisting of merchants who had bribed their way out of their doom and escaped into the galaxy at large. The tribes could not help but take notice of their city-dwelling kin’s fate but knew that they would be attacked by the king’s men if they tried to offer aid. And so they went deeper into the jungles, avoiding the attentions of the off-world invaders. The exodites spread out into Republic space. Since most had backgrounds as merchants, each family of exodites quickly found a niche and prospered while still maintaining a low profile. Those whose businesses faltered, and those few survivors of the royal army, used their shape-shifting abilities to become spies and assassins. Gradually a network of contacts began to form as the exodites encountered each other and also rediscovered Shi’ido bloodlines that had fled Lao-mon to escape the oppression of the old kingdom. A special shadowfeed was created in the holonet to facilitate this communications network. At the first virtual conference, a Shi’idese government-in-exile was established. The loose, democratic council this established made two goals its exclusive focus. One was undoing the customs and mandates that had kept Shi’ido women subordinate for so long. Though this was not accomplished without fierce opposition, the simply realities of a vastly reduced population won out. The other was to coordinate the efforts of the exodites to amass wealth and power in preparation for Lao-mon’s restoration. Despite this goal, and the ruling council’s tendency to couch itself as governing in Lao-mon’s name, few exodites returned to their homeworld over the coming decades. There was a general yet unspoken consensus among the exiles that they were building strength while awaiting a sign to return home.
This sign came with the reemergence of the royal line. Seren’tae, the niece of King Cal’man, had survived the purge of Lao-mon. She had joined a group called the New Sith Brotherhood and had taken the Sith name Phaeotean (upon achieving Mastership she would restyle herself as ‘Rhaenona’). A duel between two Sith in New Bethrezen’s arena is a much watched event on Union shadowfeeds. It was at the culmination of one such spectacle that Phaeotean announced to the galaxy that she was the last descendant of the Shi’ido royal line. She declared that she had been to Nyx’s abandoned temple on Lao-mon and was chosen by the ancient spirit to rule her people. More than a few exodites could be found in Union space; word spread like wildfire through the communications network and the exiles flooded back to Lao-mon. The returning merchants were greeted by the jungle tribes, who had emerged after visions sent to them by Nyx told them of their new queen. In the past these two groups had been sworn enemies but now they were united by the joy of a restored people. The priestesses returned to their rites and adjudications. The merchants became merchant-princes again, continually funneling wealth to Lao-mon through their expansive trade networks. Though the spirit of communication among the merchants remains, the ruling council willingly dissolved itself and recognized the new queen as sovereign. The witches at last were restored to their role as the protectors of Lao-mon. Their ways were given new legitimacy when their queen underwent initiation into the witches’ craft. Becoming the first Witch-Queen since antiquity, Phaeotean brought the secrets of Elemental Magic to her Sith brethren.
Though Lao-Mon’s isolationistic traditions keep them formally out of the Obsidian Union, the fact that the planet is ruled by a Sith means the two are close allies. Despite Lao-Mon’s renaissance, many problems remain for the Shi’ido. Tensions still exist between the genders despite the repeal of the old laws and just what the new balance of power between the Witch-Queen, her witches, the merchant aristocracy and the priestesses will be remains to be seen.
Uba IV (founder): Some wounds never heal. Millennia ago, the Ubese of the Uba system made contact with off-worlders for the first time. The influx of new technology this encounter provided would propel the Ubese clans to increasingly rapid industrial development. More and more this development came to be focused on weaponry. The Old Republic, fearing the exponentially increasing military capabilities of the Ubese colonies, launched a preemptive strike. The Republic fleet’s indiscriminate bombardments activated numerous Ubese weapons caches, leaving Uba I, II and V wracked by endless radioactive firestorms and utterly annihilating Uba III. The surviving Ubese were left with nowhere to run except the toxic Uba IV. The Republic, wishing to cover up its actions, eliminated any mention of the Uba system in galactic records. The Ubese survived on Uba IV, adapting to their poisonous environment. Their hatred for the Republic and the Jedi who served it sustained them over the centuries as they rebuilt their civilization. Soon Ubese transversed the stars again, using the vitriol they nursed to become peerless bounty hunters and mercenaries. When the Seperatists seceded from the Republic, the Ubese threw in with the former. They were eager to bring war and death on a massive scale to the Republic and Jedi at last. The Ubese avoided the fate of many ex-Confederate planets by gleefully serving in Palpatine’s Jedi Purge. Uba IV’s sons and daughters seemed to quietly slip back into their old role as hired guns after the Empire fell and largely went unnoticed in the proceeding decades of conflict. But they had never forgotten and quietly sharpened weapons of war. The Republic had returned, the Jedi had returned and Uba’s ancestral blood debt had to be paid anew. Ubese arms now serve the Obsidian Union and the entire species has taken to the task like a holy crusade. Uba’s wounds may never heal but they will be soothed with Jedi blood.