Post by Darth Xaos on Apr 23, 2015 1:07:22 GMT
Anthem: Liberation March
Emblem: Eight-spoke wheel (‘Wheel of the Stars’)
Motto: “Liberation, Dignity, Unity”
System of Government: Federal One-Party Republic (de jure), Theocratic Magocracy (de facto)
Founding Document: Articles of Dissolution
Constitution: Galactic Liberation Party Charter of Operations, 5th edition
Head of State: First Consul
Head of Government: Chair of the Galactic Liberation Party
Commander-in-Chief: Military Executor
Executive Branch: First Consul, Proconsuls
Legislative Branch: Galactic Liberation Party Congress, planetary legislatures
Judicial Branch: First Consul, planetary courts, Commissar of the Military Police, GLP Congress, Fraternitas Inquisitorius, Scourge
Capital: New Bethrezen
Official Language: None (de jure), Basic (de facto)
Currency: Union Federal Credit, planetary currencies
State Religious Bodies: New Sith Brotherhood, various Sith Cults and Dark Sider organizations
Style of Calendar: After Galactic Liberation (AGL)
National Holiday: Dissolution Day (a.k.a. Union New Year)
Date Established: 0.1 AGL (31.5 ABY)
Formed from: New Sith Order territories, Obsidian Union (criminal cartel), Galactic Liberation Party (GA Senate political faction), various radical political groups and breakaway governments, Brotherhood of Independent Traders, Stygian Caldera settlements
Date Reorganized 0.4 AGL (31.8 ABY)
Core Ideologies: Romantic Nationalism, Anti-Jediism, Revolutionary Conservatism/Political Reaction, Corporatism, Integralism, National Mysticism, Active Citizenship, Radical Traditionalism, Militarism
Articles of Dissolution
The Force alone governs the purposes of life.
This has been the truth, whether acknowledged or not, that has guided the destinies of all the Galaxy’s peoples since their genesis. It is the Force that conditions the physical qualities of each planet and it is from these physical qualities that are derived the inherent nature of a species. Any state that would seek to establish a mandate that transcends the boundaries of a single culture has only one legitimate use for its power: the protection and enhancement of all species’ Force-given natures.
Each person, each civilization and each species has no right but to fulfill that nature. To do otherwise is to wander down the path of alienation which leads to atrocity and disorder. Such truths can scarcely be denied at this time; barely over a year ago was achieved a hard-won victory against invaders whose monstrousness was an obvious consequence of their disconnection from that sacred source of life. To deny the Force is to deny life.
Yet what of that nation which boasts of responsibility for this victory? Is the Galactic Alliance in truth any different from the Vongish hordes? Though Coruscant’s government presents an image of sympathy and earnest desire to protect, aid and comfort their citizens, the merest of examinations dispel this myth. Did they not sacrifice the populations of entire worlds before the forward march of the Vong by withdrawing their fleets and legions to the Core? Did they not take the cowardly course of appeasement with the Vong? And since the war’s end have they not lavished their personal spheres with wealth acquired through harsh taxation whilst leaving insufficient funds for reconstruction? No honest sentient can deny these observations.
The Galactic Alliance has not arisen as an organically emergent property of its subjects’ natures but has been imposed by schemers whose beliefs and goals are utterly divorced from anything natural. The peoples of the Galaxy are no longer willing to permit their traditional ways of life, which are founded in their respective natures, and the products of generations of struggle, to be overwritten by the grey, lifeless and contrived theories of a handful of Coreward intellectuals. As such, this document formally dissolves the Galactic Alliance on the basis of authority granted by the Force. Let those who henceforth protest for the legitimacy of such a state be recognized for what they are: oppressors, thieves and plunderers.
But what of the origin of that abomination which this declaration has abolished? Its roots extend back epochs before its founding and it is but the latest participant in a parade of societal dysfunction and horror. The true responsibility for the greatest calamities in recorded history, when studied closely, can be placed at the feet of a sole actor: the Jedi Order! It is factual that in each age of development the Force grants those sensitive to its stirrings a mandate to lead its creations in fulfillment of their purposes. The Jedi lost that mandate more than twenty five millennia ago yet they have clung to power with all the tenacity of a Ysalimir on its perch. And no honest historian, when unbiased and well informed, can deny that every great calamity that has occurred since has been the direct result of this decadent state of affairs. From the Galactic Civil War to the Clone Wars to the Republic Dark Age and stretching back further still to their inception during the Force Wars, the Jedi and their collaborators bear responsibility for all the Galaxy’s tragedies.
And by what methodology have the Jedi furthered their malignant interests? Sham democracy. Rare was a vote in the Old Republic Senate that did not have the blades of Jedi hanging over it, intimidating the representatives to do as the Jedi desired. Unusual was the instance in which the Jedi actually lived up to their self-proclaimed status as guardians of the galactic order in lieu of using that role to press their own agenda. Inconceivable would be an occurrence in which these manipulators would not rescind their protection from any who did not obey.
On the basis of these indignities -and a thousand others beside- do the myriad peoples, cultures and species call for a new order. One founded in the natures of its constituent parts and led by those both willing and able to conform to the Force’s will for this age. Let none resist or deny our Union for to do so is to resist and deny the Force itself.
Written on this, the first day of Galactic Liberation, by the hand of Darth Xaos, Dark Lord of the Sith
Witnessed, affirmed and ratified by the rightful governments of
Ambria
Ashas Ree
Athiss
Begeren
Codia
Corbos
Illiabath
Iridonia
Jaguada
Kalsunor
Korriz
Krayiss
Nfolgai
Nicht Ka
Svolten
Uba IV
Umbara
Trandosha
History
Early Period
After suffering its First Schism, a devastated New Sith Order determined to move its secret centers of operation to the Stygian Caldera. Though they’d had some holdings in the region beforehand, the expansion of activities brought the Sith into contact with the local populations. Some of these had been here for a long time while others were refugees from the Yuuzhan Vong War. Regardless of origin these communities were universally atomized and in a stage of low economic development. The Sith were quick to fill this power vacuum and became the Caldera’s de facto government. Though it would soon suffer through a Second Schism and be subordinated to the Sith of Ni’Novia, the New Sith Order continued to recruit and establish more fringe elements in the wider Galaxy under its influence. One of these was the Obsidian Union, a criminal cartel founded by the Sith in years past that gave them a presence in many sectors. Another significant group was the Galactic Liberation Party, a faction formed in the GA senate in protest to the Cal Omas administration’s perceived failures in matters related to post-war reconstruction, the illegal slave trade flourishing in fringe areas and increasing bureaucratization. Sith Lords were able to gain covert control of this movement soon after its foundation. Additionally there were other insurrectionary groups and marginal populations which aligned with the Sith. As the Obsidian Union was the primary instrument for maintaining cohesion in this widely dispersed conspiratorial web its name became a byword for the entire endeavor. In time a Third Sith Schism saw the New Order overthrow their erstwhile rulers and paved the way to open war against the Jedi and GA.
Foundation
With the New Sith Order finally emancipated from the Ni'Novian Ascendancy, Darth Xaos, the Dark Lord of the Sith and leader of the Unionist conspiracy, decided that it was time for the Union to openly declare its existence. The GA replied to the declaration by decrying the Union as an illegal insurrection and warning that any who fought for it would be arrested. This haughty dismissal ultimately galvanized the population of the fledgling Union in their repulsion of the GA's immediate, violent reply.
During this time the Union was organized differently than it is today. The federal government was an overt theocracy wherein the Dark Lord shared power with his Sith Council. The Dark Lord proposed new legislature and it was ultimately ratified or refused by a vote of the Council. Additionally, the military was organized in a more monolithic fashion with both planetary garrisons and federal forces being part of the Union Defense Force, which was headed by Darth Unrivaled. The planetary governments of this period, however, were run in an identical manner and had a similar relationship with the federal level of government. This early form was rife with corruption as the Sith Council was divided into factions that were more concerned with advancing their interests than fighting for the cause of the Union as a whole.
First Union Civil War
Eventually the situation reached a boiling point with Houses Raziel and Unrivaled declaring themselves to be a separate Order of Force Users called the Sith’ar. This announcement was the spark that ignited the First Union Civil War. With much of the Union Defense Force siding with their commander-Unrivaled-the loyalist Sith had to draw on local militias for most of their forces. This proved to be a major edge for the Sith’ar early in the conflict.
Determined to strike a decisive blow, Darth Xaos sent a taskforce to distract the Sith’ar military stronghold of Yaxon VI while he and a second group attacked the Sith’ar spiritual capital, Malachor V. The diversion at Yaxon went far better for the Loyalists than planned, however, with Darth Unrivaled’s flagship exploding with him in it and Darth Asariel being shot down in her fighter. With the assault on Malachor resulting in the death of Darth Raziel and the remaining Sith’ar, the Sith’ar military forces-now leaderless-were presented with no option other than surrender.
Reformation
With the destruction of the Sith'ar and the end of the Union Civil War, Dark Lord Xaos sought to refocus the Union's energies back on the GA, however, the uncovering of another treasonous conspiracy forced the Union to turn inward once more. Darth Byss, whom Darth Xaos had suspected of treachery even prior to the Civil War, was discovered to be organizing a rebellion against the Dark Lord’s rule. Fortunately, this treason was caught in its early phases by Lady Vidia and was crushed. This led to the total destruction of House Kratos as none of Byss' House remained loyal. With a Fifth Schism averted before it had begun, Xaos decided that both the New Sith Order and the Union were in need of reform. After nearly a month of introspection and consultation with his closest advisors, Darth Xaos transformed the New Sith Order into the New Sith Brotherhood and reorganized the Union's federal government and military into their current incarnations.
The Snowfall Era
The Galactic Alliance Defense Force (hereafter referred to as the GADF), emboldened by rumors that Consul Xaos had been assassinated by a group called the Seven Kings, sent a fleet to attack Yaxon VI. The Union defenders, led by then Military Executor Darth Venom, staved off the GADF fleet. Within in an hour of the victory, Xaos appeared on a live holofeed from New Bethrezen, dispelling all rumors of his death. It is still remembered with humiliation by the GADF. The Battle of Yaxon VI, combined with the defection of GADF wunderkind Kana Kuran and a successful Union-backed revolt on Dantooine, served to presage the Union lightning-advance known as the Snowfall Campaign.
The Battle of Yavin IV served as the opening to the Snowfall Campaign. Though strategically unimportant, Yavin IV’s significance as the one-time base of the Alliance to Restore the Republic combined with the presence of the Jedi Praxeum, served to make the battle a major spiritual victory for the Union. The Jedi Council, gravely shaken by the loss of the Praxeum and the Enclave on Dantooine, sent a newly-revived Order of the Silver Jedi to assassinate key members of the Galactic Liberation Party. The fanatical Silver Jedi, however, were ultimately slain by the New Sith Brotherhood.
From this point in the Campaign on, conflicts intensified exponentially. The Battle of Dac proved to even the most dismissive amongst the GA's inner circle that the Union was a serious threat. Supported by the Union, a resurgent Quarren Isolation League took control of Dac and forced a mass emigration of all Mon Calamari from the planet and surrounding region of space. The Union hailed it as a victory of the oppressed over their oppressors, the GA decried it as an atrocity and all called it the point of no return.
The penultimate stage of the Snowfall Campaign came with the secession of Hutt Space from the GA to the Union. Unwilling to sacrifice the income produced by the Hutts, the GA sent a large fleet, led by Supreme Commander Cha Niathal herself, to Teth, from where they were to spread across Hutt Space and crush the revolt. However, a Union fleet was waiting to defend Teth and, despite having one-third the numbers of its GADF opponents, it defeated the invaders utterly and claimed the life of Cha Niathal. Darth Marda earned much acclaim for his command of this battle. However, the greatest shock was yet to come.
Roughly a week after the Battle of Teth, the GADF sent all available forces to Sullust in response to intelligence that the Union planed to attack there next. This intelligence ultimately proved to be a plant and the feint distracted the GADF from the Union’s true target. With Coruscant defended only by a small planetary garrison, a Union strike force commenced a raid against the very heart of the GA. Known as Operation Snowfall, which gave the Snowfall Campaign its name, the raid left both GADF Headquarters and the Jedi Temple in ruins and sent shockwaves throughout the galaxy. In addition to the more notorious battles, large numbers of Union-backed revolts occurred during the Snowfall Campaign. At the end of the Campaign, the Obsidian Union controlled significantly more planets than it did before the Campaign began.
Shortly after the raid on Coruscant, the Chiss Ascendancy decided to join the Obsidian Union as a semi-autonomous state. Galactic Alliance Intelligence sent numerous operatives into Chiss Space who would eventually receive the blame for a series of assassinations and bombings. The New Sith Brotherhood arrived to deal with this threat and ferret out the GA agents. On Csilla, Darth Xaos encountered Jedi Grandmaster Luke Skywalker and the two fought to a standstill. Although the Union managed to drive their enemies out, Skywalker and the majority of the GA operatives escaped with their lives intact.
Xaos’ Death and the Interregnum
Receiving word that Luke Skywalker was on the Union border world of Vjun, Darth Xaos immediately seized on the opportunity to attack. Xaos instructed the Union defenders to make no aggressive action and the Dark Lord came face-to-face with the Jedi Grandmaster. The Dark Lord soon discovered that he had been lured into a trap as Luke Skywalker initiated an ancient ritual. This rite had been used to banish the Dark Underlord back into Chaos ages ago. Within a few moments Xaos lay dead, his body was taken to Ossus for study but was later recovered by Union Intelligence operatives.
In the period that followed the Consul’s death-called the Interregnum by most Union historians-a political stalemate between the members of the Brotherhood’s Dark Council resulted in the inability to appoint a new Dark Lord or Consul. During this time, the momentum that had built up from the Snowfall Campaign ground to a halt. No new planets joined the Union, inefficiency and corruption flourished in the lack of a clear authority. Tensions grew thick within Union space and soon erupted into violent conflict.
Second Union Civil War((Written by Darth Ares.))
Several months after the death of Darth Xaos, the members of the Brotherhood received messages from Lady Vidia ordering them to Korriban alone with proof of their loyalty to the Union. Determining her messages were a sign that she was making a long-expected bid for power, the Brotherhood moved against her, pacifying her forces on New Bethrezen with the assistance of the Brotherhood of Independent Traders. Against the Sith Brotherhood’s urging, on Korriban the Purebloods of the Stygian Empire, under the direction of their recently-crowned Emperor, Darth Exolus, engaged Lady Vidia and her forces, inciting brutal counter-attacks and beginning the Battle of Korriban. It was at this point it was discovered that the body of Darth Xaos was missing and information recovered from Vidia’s House Sentia revealed she had managed to recover and partially repair the Scepter of Ragnos. With her plan clearly to siphon Xaos’ power into herself, the Brotherhood quickly moved to action, their own plan consisting of three steps: recover the Scepter of Ragnos and body of Darth Xaos, retreat from Korriban to New Bethrezen, and summon the aid of both the still-loyal High Admiral Kana Kuran aboard and the Star Dreadnaught Righteous Fury, and the Chiss Ascendancy to assist them.
The Brotherhood, on-board Darth Reaver’s flagship, the Xendor, soon arrived at Korriban and landed on the planet. Darth Exolus meanwhile, was soundly defeated by Vidia and made her prisoner as the battle between her forces and the natives continued, resulting in heavy casualties to the Pureblood species. Despite the unexpected arrival of long-missing Sith Knight Darth Rayden and his apparent allegiance to Lady Vidia, the Brotherhood continued its plan, successfully recovering Darth Xaos’ body and Marka Ragnos’ Scepter from the latter’s Tomb. Darth Exolus was also recovered during this period, and after a brief skirmish with other Brotherhood members Darth Rayden was brought firmly back onto the Brotherhood’s side. Under heavy assault from Vidia’s forces, the Brotherhood then beat a hasty retreat back to New Bethrezen aboard the Xendor, with Vidia’s in pursuit, signaling the end of the Battle of Korriban after heavy devastation to the planet and populace.
Lady Vidia’s position as Military Executor meant that she was able to deprive the Brotherhood of any aid from the Federal Military or Planetary Militias. Reinforcements from the Red Sith were intercepted and destroyed on-route by Lady Vidia’s forces, causing the secession of Dromund Kaas and leaving the Brotherhood with only the forces of Darth Reaver’s Jaig Legion, New Bethrezen’s defences and the ships of the Brotherhood of Independent Traders. Heavily outmatched, the Sith Brotherhood agreed that the only hope they had was to hold until Kuran arrived with reinforcements, beginning preparations; Darth Lucifer and half of the Brotherhood would assist in repelling ground forces on the station, whilst Darth Reaver would command the defence of the space around it. Lady Vidia’s forces, lead by her flagship, the Star Dreadnaught Vornksyr 1 arrived shortly thereafter, beginning the Battle of New Bethrezen. Despite being hopelessly outnumbered, the skill and determination of the station’s defenders, combined with Darth Reaver’s skill in Battle Meditation and Force Illusion confusing the opposing force, turned the battle from a rout into a long, drawn-out melee, which the Brotherhood was slowly but surely losing.
After lengthy combat, the tide turned in the Brotherhood’s favour with the arrival of the Righteous Fury. High Admiral Kuran, having been assigned to Ilum by Lady Vidia for fears his men were more loyal to him than her, had spent the last several months compiling disparate reports, stories and bits of data into conclusive evidence of Lady Vidia’s treachery, which he immediately broadcast to Vidia’s fleet, turning them against her. Immediately thereafter, reinforcements from the Chiss Ascendancy arrived, annihilating Lady Vidia’s ground forces. Vidia herself fled and boarded the station, deluded into thinking she was powerful enough to defeat the entire Brotherhood herself. Within the halls of House Sentia, Vidia met with the majority of the Sith, separating the masters from the rest and killing one apprentice in the process. But before the fight could begin, the three masters and Vidia were confronted by the spirit of Darth Xaos, who revived the fallen apprentice and instructed Lucifer to build the late Dark Lord a grand tomb before departing. Outnumbered and outmatched, Lady Vidia was personally slain by Darth Lucifer as the last of her forces were destroyed by the Brotherhood, concluding the Second Union Civil War.
In total, the war lasted only a few standard days.
The Recusancy Period((Written by Darth Ares.))
Although small in scale compared to the previous Union Civil War and Sith Schisms, the Second Union Civil War had far-reaching effects that continued for several months after its end. The period immediately following the War was initially marked by a number of disparate rebellions against the Union government, most notably on the planets of Leona, Arda, Almania, Sembla, and Lianna. The reasons for these rebellions varied; whilst some planets with close ties to the former Chair of the GLP were outraged at the death of Lady Vidia, others saw the turmoil as an opportunity for personal profit, and yet others objected to the appointment of a Consul in Xaos’ stead, having viewed him as the irreplaceable heart and soul of the Union.
The majority of these rebellions were settled peacefully by Union diplomats, whilst the more violent of them were quelled by the local planetary militia forces. Only Leona, Arda, Almania, Sembla and Lianna required the intervention of the Federal Military and members of the New Sith Brotherhood, due to military build-up or the attempted fomentation of rebellion in the surrounding systems. Of particular note was the rebellion of Lianna, which necessitated the large-scale deployment of the Federal Military and full attention of the New Sith Brotherhood. The cause of the rebellion, initially appearing to be an action of the ruling Salles/Santhe family, was revealed to be a surviving caste of Sith’ar heretics lead by Marc Aion, who had murdered and was impersonating several powerful Santhe family members. Aion attempted a ritual to bring into the galaxy beings who he described only as ‘the Ancients’. Though he seemingly succeeded, gaining terrible, otherworldly powers, he was ultimately slain in combat by Darth Lucifer, the new Dark Lord, and Darth Reaver. When news of the Sith’ar plot was revealed, the remaining Liannans surrendered. The swift resolution of the rebellion also produced applications by the Cronese Magnate and Tion Hegemony to join the Obsidian Union.
The second major concern that faced the Obsidian Union during this period, following the resolution of the various rebellions, was an Alliance General by the name of Wedge Antilles. The Galactic Alliance, expecting widespread chaos in the wake of the Second Union Civil War, had deployed a large fleet consisting of both Alliance and Mandalorian forces helmed by the Lusankya II under the command of Antilles and Mandalore Boba Fett to the borders of Hutt Space, where they began conducting heavy raiding operations against the Hutts. Having learned from the battles of Yaxon and Teth, the fleet proper remained out of Union territory, forcing the Union to confront them on their home ground. In the battle that ensued, the assembled Union fleets suffered heavy losses and even heavier damage to a number of their greatest warships, but succeeded in destroying the space stations used by the Antilles-Fett Taskforce as the core of their staging ground. Following the Union retreat, the Taskforce – despite taking only comparatively minor losses – was recalled further Coreward, and the raiding operations ceased.
But perhaps the most major event of this period for the New Sith Brotherhood was the discovery of another Sith Order separate from their own. The name of this group, initially encountered by a small Brotherhood expedition on Utapau, was the ‘One Sith’, and in this period they clashed with the Brotherhood three times: once during their initial discovery on Utapau, once during the Regency Contestation on Korriban, and once on New Alderaan. The result, each time, was effectively a tie, and though the One Sith were incredibly well-informed about their Brotherhood counterparts, the Brotherhood was able to discern almost no information about their new enemies in turn.
In the months that followed the Battle with the Antilles-Fett Taskforce, the problems facing the Union shifted from a military front to a political one. With the exceptions of several small skirmishes, the Outer Rim raids, a raid on Abhean and the addition of the planet Centares to Union holdings, the Alliance and Union returned to the unofficial ceasefire they had enjoyed for the past three years. The Union fleets, heavily damaged, underwent widespread repair efforts, whilst some of the losses suffered were mitigated by the discovery of several Clone Wars-era Banking Clan treasury stations and the loot and starships they contained, in addition to heavy raiding and boarding actions carried out over several weeks in the Outer Rim territories south of the Core.
These were, however, comparatively minor events compared to those that ultimately emerged as a result of the actions of Darth Exolus. As the Emperor of the Sith species, the former territory of which formed the very core of Union space, Exolus came into conflict with Dark Lord Lucifer, another member of the species who, in response to Exolus’ actions during the Civil War (which caused the secession of a major Sith Clan and widespread devastation of Korriban) and attitudes towards Lucifer himself, challenged him for the regency of the Sith species. In the political debate on Korriban that followed, the One Sith revealed themselves again, attempting to assassinate Darths Exolus and Lucifer in support of a third candidate, Kaleval. They failed, but ultimately allied briefly with the New Sith Brotherhood when the candidates were attacked by the resurrected Sith King Adas, restored to life by the successor of past Sith Emperor Vitiate in the Deep Core. The clash saw the apparent death of Kaleval and disappearance of his body, the disappearance of the One Sith present at the events, and the appointment of Darths Exolus and Lucifer to Co-Regents of the Sith Empire.
This appointment, and the disagreeing views on their species’ future path, resulted in the second series of events relating to the Red Sith that emerged. Darth Exolus won the support of the Clan Lords for his favoured vision of the future: independence from the Obsidian Union. When the Clan Lord’s demands were presented to the Union, the disagreements split the Congress between refusal and acquiescence. Rush Leroun, Archon of Khar Delba and prominent member of the Zsinjists faction, became the central figure of the Congress members who wished to deny the Clans, outraged at their demands that the Union colonists within former Sith space be forced to leave and urging military action in response. On the opposite side of the divide was Iriluna Enaterie, whose supporters urged a mutual agreement rather than flat refusal. These disagreements came to a head when Darths Exolus and Lucifer formally presented the demands to the Obsidian Union Congress. In the uproar that followed Darth Exolus’ declaration that he would allow the Galactic Alliance and Jedi brief access to the Red Sith space within the Caldera under specific conditions, an assassination attempt nearly took his life. The parties ultimately responsible were never found despite intense investigation, and the disastrous events lead to the Obsidian Union deciding to open talks to renegotiate the Clan Lords’ demands. In a narrow victory, Rush Leroun was voted the Union’s representative in these talks.
The talks were conducted on New Alderaan, at the recommendation of Darth Ares. These talks ultimately proved successful, resulting in the admission of the Red Sith Empire to the Obsidian Union as a sovereign entity, a number of planets officially becoming Red Sith territory rather than the whole sector, and a number of colonization agreements. During these talks, Rush Leroun mysteriously vanished without a trace, but even despite his disappearance the terms were accepted by the Union Congress and the matter finally closed.
The Treaty of New Alderaan is generally treated by Union historians as the end of the Recusancy Period, named as such because of the rebellions that marked its beginning and disagreements with the vassal Red Sith Empire that marked its end. Following the Treaty, and with the exception of the elimination of a Dark Side order that attacked Union-influenced Duro, the period bears no further events of note until the resumption of the war against the Galactic Alliance.
Politics
The Obsidian Union operates on a federal system that places special emphasis on the federated group’s self-governance. The Union consists of three kinds of governmental organizations: member planets, semiautonomous states and the federal bodies. Semiautonomous states are multiple planets united under a single government. In these states the powers normally allotted to individual member planets by the Union are instead held by the interplanetary organization. Planets and states are given latitude to organize their society with minimal interference from federal authority.
First Consul
Though the basic Unionist political theory centers on the need for every culture to follow traditions and customs grounded in their unique natures it also recognizes that this in itself cannot produce a unified galactic nation. A central, impartial point of authority is needed to allow the myriad peoples to be both true to their nature and part of a cohesive whole. Originally this role was allotted to the Sith Brotherhood but, after the Union’s first civil war and the organization of a formal federal government, the position of Consul was established. Since renamed to First Consul, this is the position of utmost authority in the Obsidian Union. The Consul’s theoretically unlimited power is rooted in an objection to the Galactic Alliance’s governmental forms. Unionism rejects what it sees as artificial division of representation on the basis of sector and advocates that each culture must speak its own interests directly. But, in a galaxy containing a near-innumerable variety of species, representative government will inevitably at times slide into gridlock, chaos or corruption. Because of this, Union apologists argue, an absolute executive will ultimately be less damaging to liberty than an unchecked, bureaucratized legislature. The original Union Consul was Darth Xaos, having previously led the Obsidian Union under his authority as Dark Lord of the Sith. After his death there was an interregnum where the Dark Council collectively held Consular powers until the Second Union Civil War saw the ascension of Darth Lucifer.
Proconsuls
The generic term used by the Union to describe the chief executive of a planetary government, though few planets actually refer to their leader by the title. The nature of a Proconsul’s power varies with the nature of their world’s government. Proconsuls run the full gamut from figurehead to absolute ruler. Originally this position was called Archon but it was changed along with adding the “First” descriptor to Consul in order to emphasize a more direct connection between the Union and its member planets.
Overseer
The Obsidian Union’s federal level is perpetually involved in a myriad of special projects. Sometimes these are done in collaboration with local governments or other entities but just as often they are sole efforts. This bewildering array of initiatives requires centralized oversight in order to prevent waste, delay and disorganization. Said task falls under the Overseer’s auspices. Appointed by the Consul, the Union’s Overseer, and the agents operating under their authority, must ensure that all special federal operations proceed on time and under budget.
Scourge
Nowhere in any official Obsidian Union document is the position of Scourge mentioned. It is only through hushed rumor that word spreads of it at all. The Scourge is tasked to covertly eliminate high-ranking individuals within the Union’s power structure whom the Consul deems to be disloyal. Utilization of the Scourge is designed to prevent internal conflicts that might result from an open movement against an influential Unionist.
Grand Inquisitor
Opposition to the Jedi is enshrined in the Obsidian Union’s founding documents, as is the belief that the Jedi Order subverts political structures. This logic necessitates a special police force designed to counter Jedi and other Force users hostile to the Union. The branch of the New Sith Brotherhood called Fraternitas Inquisitorius serves this function and is lead by a Grand Inquisitor. The Union Inquisitorius is derived from the similarly named group that served the Galactic Empire, and is almost identical in function and methodology. An Inquisitor has significant power, able to requisition troops and command local authorities. More often than not, those Force Users operating under the Grand Inquisitor’s mandate are judge, jury and executioner.
Galactic Liberaton Party
The Obsidian Union is, as previously noted, a one-party state and its federal-level legislature and bureaucracy are functions of the Galactic Liberation Party. The Party’s primary organ is its Congress, comprised of representatives from Union worlds and important Party functionaries. The GLP Congress is headed by the Chair of the GLP, who is appointed by the First Consul. The Chair has significant powers in the Congress; controlling the agenda of each session, determining when a discussion can move to a measure and then to a vote and possessing the exclusive power to form and dissolve committees and sub-committees.
The Congress’ primary purpose is to create policies which regulate the interactions of the Union’s constituent planets and institutions. That these are officially termed “policies” rather than “laws” is significant and reflective of the Party’s sociological positions. Laws are an expression of a member planet or semi-autonomous state’s organic authority; the Congress makes policies and the Consul issues edicts but only a culture may define its own laws.
Another key function of the Congress is writing each edition of the GLP’s Charter of Operations; the closest thing the Obsidian Union has to a constitution. There is a similar ideological angle visible here, where distrust of the Galactic Alliance’s reliance on a central constitution is bred into the fabric of the GLP. The Charter is essentially a collection of policies, precedents and terminology that are deemed of special significance to the Union’s federal operations. There have been a total of five editions of the GLP Charter thus far; the first three under Darth Xaos, the fourth after his death and the fifth immediately following the ascension of Darth Lucifer. The Consul may call for a new edition at any time or a 2/3rds vote of the Congress can be used for the same effect. The Congress can also simply amend the current edition with a majority vote.
A final, and not originally intended, prerogative of the GLP Congress is establishing the Consul. It was the Congress that voted to collectively grant Consular authority to the Dark Council after Xaos’ death and later affirmed Lucifer as successor.
Political tendencies within the GLP
Yet, seemingly in contradiction to this one-party system, the ideologies of the GLP Congress’ members are actually fairly diverse. This seemingly arises from the ‘big tent’ approach of inclusiveness that is inherent in the Obsidian Union’s emphasis on local culture. Since the Union sees the diversity of its membership as a strength this perception translates into a wide and often shifting array of tendencies represented in the party. Even the term ‘tendency’ marks a transition from the older usage of ‘faction.’ A change that was officially mandated in the 5th edition GLP Charter as the latter term came to be seen as reflecting the divisiveness that surfaced during the troubles following the Second Civil War. Below are lists of the largest and best known tendencies from the Union’s present and past.
Current Tendencies
Neo-Imperialism: There is, of course, only one empire that this term could refer to. Other imperiums must be qualified (Sith Empire, Infinite Empire, Xim’s Empire, etc.) but only one is ever simply called *the* Empire. And Neo-Imperialists desperately want that empire back. Their motto is ‘Peace and Order,’ which are also the chief benefits they promise their system will produce. After all, a Neo-Imp will smugly claim, things were so much more peaceful and prosperous before Endor. Their policies tend to center on the themes of unconditional support for a strong Consul and a powerful military. Even by the deeply militaristic standards of the nation they reside in, the Union’s Neo-Imperialists are conspicuous for their saber-rattling.
There was a time when the Neo-Imperialists were the largest and most influential tendency by far. With a majority in the Congress membership and the aid of like-minded Chairs, their biggest problem was that Xaos repeatedly refused to allow their resolutions to change the title of ‘Consul’ to ‘Emperor.’ Those days ended with the Second Union Civil War; now stigmatized by a strong association with the losing side, Neo-Imperialism rapidly deflated. For a time it even seemed that this tendency might go the same way as the others that vanished in the face of this national trauma. This rapid decline was halted by the advent of Zsinjism, which could have been described as a tendency within a tendency. Ostensibly meant to be Neo-Imperialism in the style of the post-Imperial warlord Zsinj, this movement’s only meaningful content was opposition to Red Sith independence.
With the end of that particular crisis (and the surprisingly rapid easing of bad feelings it had engendered) Zsinjism lost relevance and died out. Though something of a laughingstock now due to its retrospectively obvious irrelevance in how events ultimately developed, Zsinjism did succeed in stopping Neo-Imperial extinction. Presently, a quiet struggle for control of the tendency is being waged between the old guard trying to reassert itself and a new crop of power players from the Tion Cluster states that seek to clean up Neo-Imperialism’s image in the Union.
New Republic Purists: Hope is a funny thing. Sometimes it burns brighter the further away one is from their dreams. When the dreamer has achieved their goals often they will find the reality to be less than what they had expected. The Alliance to Restore the Republic was populated by men and women who had little more than their hope. It was their vision of a better future that sustained them through over two decades of Galactic Civil War. But when, at last, their New Republic was secure it did not take long for the light of their new dawn to fade. The intent to avoid falling into the same pitfalls as the Old Republic had been conspicuously expressed in the New Republic’s founding document yet this seemed to do little to prevent many of the old problems from resurfacing rather quickly.
The new Senate began to emulate its predecessor, becoming fractious, indecisive and prone to corruption. These problems became so deeply entrenched as to contribute to defeats in the defense against the eventual Yuuzhan Vong invasion thus forcing a total reformation of the New Republic into the Galactic Alliance. But, once the threat of genocidal armies had been averted, it didn’t take long for the process of legislative decay to begin again even with the new countermeasures. Outside influence wore away piece by piece at the protections and efforts to create additional safeguards were stymied by stubborn political rhetoric. As frustration grew so did desperation for some explanation. So many had lost their lives fighting for a republic and some individuals were willing to accept any narrative that defined the cause without invalidating the decades-long struggle they had undergone.
It would ultimately be the Obsidian Union that provided them with a seductively simple rationale: it was all the Jedi’s fault. The Jedi, it was said, had been corruptly manipulating the Senate ever since the foundational days of the Galactic Republic. Jedi influence led the Republic to fight the Hundred Years Darkness, the Sith Wars and a dozen other conflicts that could have been resolved non-violently save for the fact that such a resolution went against Jedi interests. And, so, from those who heeded the Unionist version of history were born the New Republic Purists; men and women who strive for a classical republican style of government free from dysfunction in general and the Jedi specifically.
Prior to the Second Union Civil War, the Purists were a vocal but small and marginalized contingent. The dominance of Neo-Imperialism in those days ensured that few wanted to identify themselves this way. But, once the dust had settled from the assorted political cataclysms that followed the war, the Purists emerged as one of the largest beneficiaries of the shake up. The sharp decline both in influence and reputation Neo-Imperialism endured suddenly turned the Congress’ pariah into its new star. Planets that had aligned themselves with the Neo-Imperialists out of convenience flocked to the New Republic Purists in a bid to distance themselves as much as possible. This rise in size conveyed a sense of stability in uncertain times which would in turn attract many dislodged by the implosion of other blocs; though the large numbers of members-of-convenience has begun to muddle the tendency’s platform.
The Purists regard the dictatorial power of the Consul as a surety against the GLP Congress developing the same shortcomings that had plagued the senates of the past. The purpose and proper exercise of the Consul’s authority is to be used sparingly in moments when the form of government is getting in the way of true justice. As such, the Purists have become some of the most vocal supporters of Darth Lucifer’s Consulship. The new Dark Lord has exercised his power conservatively, and devolved many areas of concern that Xaos had managed autocratically to the Congress’ committees.
CIS Revivalists: When is a cause truly lost? That is a question uniquely suited to vex galactic historians. If the history of the Sith has demonstrated anything it is that even a nigh-extinct faction can rise again. And perhaps that is why, roughly fifty years after the Clone Wars’ end, a new wave of Confederacy of Independent Systems admirers has emerged in a Sith-led nation. But it would surprise many to learn that this ideology, based as it is in the long-gone political realities of the Clone Wars, simmered under the surface for decades prior to the Union’s rise.
After the Separatists’ defeat concluded the Clone Wars, the newly-minted Galactic Empire had to spend years defeating tenacious CIS holdouts. Even after these holdouts’ defeat, numerous underground radical groups continued to operate on Separatist ideology. Such groups would ultimately join with the Rebel Alliance against the Empire in the Galactic Civil War. Mutual hatred for Palpatine’s regime ensured that Neo-Separatism remained less an ideology and more a historical aesthetic even past the Civil War’s conclusion in 19 ABY. Despite its official opposition to Separatism since the days of the Alliance, the New Republic did very little to discourage certain planets and sectors from establishing CIS nostalgia as a cultural touchstone. But what was viewed as a harmless local eccentricity began to intensify in the wake of the Yuuzhan Vong War. As the perception built that Coreward worlds were receiving greater funding and attention than those on the Rims, CIS Revivalism began to enter its current stage.
In the GLP today, the Revivalists are a major tendency. During Xaos’ administration, the advantage given to this tendency by his unspoken favor was exceeded only by the edge Neo-Imperialism enjoyed thanks to Lady Vidia’s more overt support. The shake-up which followed the Second Union Civil War saw many politicians seeking shelter in the Revivalists’ sphere, allowing the Neo-Separatists the arguable claim of most influential tendency. The general policy lines from the Separatists favor intertwining political and economic structures. Governmental representation for guilds, syndicates and corporations remain a constant push for the Revivalists. They view the Consul’s authority as an axial point around which the frenetic motion of this political-financial dynamo would orbit. CIS Revivalists also advocate the establishment of an upper legislative house, the relation of which to the GLP Congress would be analogous to that between the old Separatist Parliament and Separatist Council.
Isolation League: Though a group that only recently emerged as a full-blown tendency, the Isolation League has a past that stretches back much further in Galactic history than the others. For most of its existence, the organization’s full title was the Quarren Isolation League. Originally founded prior to the Clone Wars as a political movement advocating for Quarren rights on Dac, it would eventually side with the CIS and lead a series of ultimately unsuccessful uprisings against the planet’s government. The shared oppression the Empire imposed on Mon Calamari and Quarren alike caused the tension between the two species to cool during this time. But by the end of the Galactic Civil War the old divide was becoming obvious again and the League resurfaced (though explicitly banned as an organization by both the Imperial and New Republic governments of Dac).
The League operated in a clandestine manner for decades, building up support and contacts not only on Dac but throughout neighboring systems. The new Quarren Isolation League was quick to link up with the Obsidian Union but did not launch their revolt until the Snowfall Campaign. Though several key leaders were later executed for extreme negligence by Darth Reaver when a GA-backed counter-revolution almost undid this Union territorial gain, the League survived. Though for most of its congressional history it was an unofficial faction composed of the leaders of Quarren Space, the Isolation League has recently incorporated portions of several disbanded factions to become a true tendency. As such they have officially dropped ‘Quarren’ from their title to reflect the broader base they now represent.
The Isolation League’s chief platform is protecting the interests of individual planets from being marginalized by the large voting blocs of semi-autonomous states. This subject had long been boiling under the surface in Union politics but none before had dared to take charge of the delicate issue. The League has found a niche for itself among those representatives and voting officials who fall between the CIS Revivalists and Diversity Alliance politically. However, this appeal can, paradoxically, also be the League’s greatest stumbling block to expansion. For, being in the middle, they lack the appeal of both the Revivalists’ established political base and the DA’s deeply passionate adherents.
Diversity Alliance: Even compared to the Isolation League and the Unification Movement, the Diversity Alliance is a newcomer to the GLP Congress. This DA is actually the second organization to hold that name; the first having been a radical movement that rose to prominence and was suppressed within the span of a year just prior to the Yuuzhan Vong War. The current Diversity Alliance is a revival of that movement and shares the same stated aim: the protection of non-human species against the sort of exploitation and marginalization they suffered under the Galactic Empire.
Having spent years as an underground movement on Ryloth prior to seizing power in a Union-backed revolution, the new Diversity Alliance is more internally organized than most of the other tendencies. Their cohesion even surpasses that of the Isolation League, which paid for its post-Civil War growth with decreased centralization. This has contributed to their rapid rise to prominence by allowing them to actively spread their views rather than waiting for others to join. The DA has set up enclaves and rallies on numerous Union planets they believe to be potential recruiting grounds. Another advantage is the suitability of their message in a nation with a non-human majority but also a history of Imperial sentiment.
Naturally, the Diversity Alliance has an antagonistic relationship with the Neo-Imperialist tendency but the other tendencies also mistrust the DA due to the latter’s aggressive recruiting. DivAl has arguably even more enthusiasm for First Consul Lucifer’s administration than the NR Purists, both because of Lucifer’s non-human ancestry and because the Consul was on the frontlines of the Ryloth revolution. Both Ryloth’s planetary government and the Diversity Alliance as a whole are led by Oaena Tarkona, a surprisingly young Twi’lek said to be the lost daughter of the first DA’s leader.
Unification Movement: Hutt space is sometimes confused for a semi-autonomous state by outsiders. In fact, each planet (and some moons) are individual members. But the governments of these worlds are, in fact, both the pawns and prizes for a subtle game of political influence among the Hutt Clans. But some among the Clans view this arrangement as more trouble than its worth. They advocate reforming the Hutt Empire of old and recapturing territories lost to the Empire after the Clone Wars.
But these Hutts are still a minority and could not rise to Union-wide significance on their own. So they sought out and joined with another political minority, namely citizens of the Tion Cluster who want to see their three nations reunited. With the alliance struck, the Unification Movement was born.
The Movement is perpetually opposed by the Isolation League. The League’s criticism of the semi-autonomous states’ special status informs their stand against new ones being formed. In response, the Movement has built a platform around advocating the expansion of semi-autonomous states as an institution. They argue that, as the Union continues to grow, the GLP Congress runs the risk of becoming chaotic and unwieldy should the majority of member planets be independent.
Former Tendencies
Anti-Jedi Groups: A tendency that fell apart by succeeding. Anti-Jedi sentiment quickly became so deeply ingrained in the Obsidian Union that this tendency spent most of its time preaching to the choir. Without anything to oppose, the Anti-Jedi Groups lost their political coherence and dissolved into other tendencies.
Core-Based Radicals: Political exiles from the Core were a significant political bloc in the Union’s early years, mostly coming from those who supported the GLP when it was still a legal GA senate party. However, as the Union expanded almost exclusively in the Outer Rim, the expatriates became too small a tendency to wield power on their own.
Cultural Conservatives: A tendency that was organized around the anxiety that the Galactic Alliance was aiming to impose a Galaxy-wide culture that would overwrite local customs. The political uncertainties that followed the Second Union Civil caused this tendency’s members to seek greater safety in larger blocs.
Isolationists: A diverse assembly of planets which wished to remain aloof from the Galaxy-at-large. They would ultimately merge with members of several disbanding tendencies and organized under Quarren leadership into the Isolation League.
Outer Rim Revolutionaries: The Revolutionaries were essentially an area-interest tendency, seeking to ensure that the Union remained focused on the Outer Rim. The ORRs’ political line was that, because the Outer Rim had historically been exploited by the Core worlds, the Rim needed special efforts to recover. As the Union became territorially concentrated in the Outer Rim, this tendency became superfluous and disbanded.
Sith Sympathizers: This tendency had always thought that it was in a unique position of unassailability within the GLP. Based as they were on the notion of restoring the ancient Sith Empire’s glories, the Sympathizers assumed the New Sith Brotherhood’s prominence in the Union would sustain them no matter what. However, the Stygian Throne Crisis caused the Sympathizers to be painted in the same light as those member of the Sith species pushing for independence from the Union. Though the tension engendered by these events have largely cooled, the Sith Sympathizers are unlikely to be re-established.
Economics
While remaining aloof socially, economically speaking the Union’s federal government is intimately involved with local industry. Prior to the Union’s rise, many of its key worlds had underdeveloped or entirely undeveloped economies. Through years of careful coordination, the Union has helped build up corporate, financial and industrial systems that serve to fuel its ambitions. The financial wing of the federal government (especially the Union Bank) serves as intermediary in disputes between local governments, workers and the rapidly emerging Unionist corporations. With the amount of pressure available for application in this way strife between workers and management or between the public and private sectors is kept from developing to the point that it threatens national stability. But the ultimate goal of this federal investment and oversight is to channel the wealth generated by the new economies of Union space to the cause of Galactic Liberation. It can be (and some have) argued that there is no real distinction between the Union’s military-industrial complex and its general economy. Indeed, the official policy seems to be that the metric for judging all forms of production is their impact on arms and vessel production while the motivation for funding social programs is the creation and preservation of healthy, growing populations to provide soldiers. As such heavy industry and mass-scale agriculture have become the dominant forms of production. Scientific and technological development is bent towards improvements in the aforementioned sectors along with medicine and other practical concerns over theoretical work.
However, this almost paternalistic federal involvement in economic life is only one side of the coin. It is accompanied by an often-unpredictable monetary policy. Specifically, the Union is the only large scale galactic nation in millennia to allow its member planets and states to issue their own currency. Indeed, the value of the Union Credit is determined by a derived value of all Unionist currencies. Poor planets tend to opt out of this option, using the Union Credit in lieu of local coinage. As a result local currencies are issued by the healthiest local economies and the value of the Union credit is kept high, giving fiscally weaker worlds more purchasing power. The game every independent credit issuing planet and state plays is keeping the Union Credit high but their own credit value even higher with as few rivals being valued above the Union Credit as mathematically possible. This has been described by GA economic analysts as a form of casino capitalism in which the house (i.e. the federal layer) always wins in the end and independent credit-issuers are kept in a Sisyphean struggle for dominance. Those innovators who stumble on the idea of devaluing the Union Credit while keeping their own currency high tend to experience…professional misfortune. The current stand-outs among the independent currencies are those issued by the Tion Cluster states and the planets of Hutt Space, with the Stygian Imperial Credit making some forward motion.
The relationship between the Union Credit and the GA Credit is complex and murky. For its part the GA does not recognize the Union Credit as a valid currency anymore than it recognizes the Obsidian Union as a legitimate government. Possession of Union Credits in GA space is a misdemeanor and engaging in trade with them is a felony. But the Union is more flexible when it comes to its enemy’s money. Practically speaking, the Union cannot afford to ban the GA Credit as it must continue to do business in border regions and in the depths GA space itself. In particular, Unionists tend to do business with the Corporate Sector Authority using the GAC. Opportunities are also present in the fact that this one-way street of illegality allows the Union to convert large sums OUCs into GACs when the unofficial exchange rate changes in favor of the GA. Of course, the Union does not simply let market forces have their way with said exchange rate and Union Intelligence is actively engaged in operations to devalue the GAC.
Military
A central phrase in Unionist theory is “total mobilization.” This is a social-tactical methodology first put forth by Darth Xaos that states, in order to successfully wage pitched war against the significantly larger Galactic Alliance, the Obsidian Union must primarily regard every issue as it relates to military endeavors. Years of this philosophy’s application have led to a society where militaristic notions color its citizen’s daily experiences. Significantly greater portions of the population are found in the Union’s armed forces than in those of the GA. A quarter-year without expansion of the military is seen as a serious warning sign. Federally mandated conscription was once necessary to build the Union forces but went out of effect during the expansions of the Snowfall era.
Early on all divisions were united as the Union Defense Force but, after the First Union Civil War, a distinction was established between federal forces and planetary ones. Both branches ultimately answer to the Military Executor, however. Beyond the Executor, there are sprawling Ministries dedicated to meeting the needs of such an expansive armed presence.
Federal Military
By far the largest and most important segment, the Federal Military is commanded by a High Marshal and further subdivided into the Terrestrial Forces, Stellar Navy, Starfighter Corps, Stellar Marines and Military Police. Terrestrial Forces covers units meant to engage in planetside battles. It is by far the most diverse of the federal divisions, having specialized infantry, land vehicles, sea vessels and an air force. Terrestrial Forces are under the authority of a Supreme Commander. The Stellar Navy consists of the capital ships brought to bear in the Union’s cause and is commanded by the Grand Admiral. Fighter wings are organized under the Commander of the Starfigher Corps. Those commandos trained in ship-to-combat and orbital drops fight under their Master Chief Officer as the Stellar Marines. Finally, the Military Police have diverse responsibilities. In addition to the usual duties implied by the title, the Union’s Military Police also serve civil functions, acting as gendarmes for the Consul’s judicial authority. In addition, the Military Police are the Union’s National Guard. These myriad task are overseen by their Commissar.
Local Militias
The term militia might normally conjure to mind images of dirty moisture farmers with rusty hunting blasters, but in the context of Union military organization it refers to the forces maintained by member planets and semi-autonomous states. Of course some militias are the aforementioned dusty farmers but many, such as the armies of the Tionese states, the Hutt fleets and the Stygian Empire’s legions, are modern fighting forces of considerable effectiveness.
Private Forces
Certain political commentators have noted a “democratization of violence” in Union space that sets the nation apart from most of its historical predecessors. Laws controlling weaponry or limiting the establishment of armed groups can only be found locally, the Obsidian Union’s federal level does not engage in such controls. As such a wide variety of mercenary groups, private armies and armed political movements have emerged in its territories. This was not a haphazard occurrence, as might be supposed, but instead was intentionally encouraged in order to make re-conquest of Union territory as difficult for the GA as possible. It was also a necessary concession in attracting pre-existing armed groups to Unionism. Many high-ranking Sith Lords will assemble their own forces; the most well known examples of these being Jaig Legion and the now-defunct Wachetroopers.
OUI
Though not directly part of the military, Obsidian Union Intelligence plays a key role in the war effort. Its agents are found operating in concert with, and often monitoring, Federal and Militia forces. The Union Intelligence of today is a highly diverse group. In it are former agents of fallen nations, pirates, hackers, ex-special-ops soldiers and many others. This wide divergence of background allows for eclectic and unpredictable operational methods that have distinguished UI Galaxy-wide over its short history.
Culture
While Unionist ideology opposes what it sees as the GA’s attempts to impose a pan-cultural identity contrary to the unique nature of species, the Obsidian Union is not without cultural notions on the national level. Central to many of these norms is a sense of active participation in the cause of Galactic Liberation. Many Unionists feel this is ultimately what separates the Obsidian Union as an organic whole from the Galactic Alliance as an alienating hegemony: the active participation of its peoples. Other key elements of developing Union culture are cultural independence as the true definition of freedom and hero-worship centered on the Sith as the historical champions of resistance to Jedi puppet-rule. These ideas are equally nourished by the efforts of the Union’s leadership and the attitudes of the most devoted Unionist civilian organizations.
Media
The development of mass communication in the Obsidian Union was conditioned by two factors. Firstly, the awareness that the GA Senate would use its regulatory powers to shut down Union attempts to broadcast over the Galactic Holonet. And second, the majority of Union founding territories either had advanced communications infrastructure that were obsolete, decayed or damaged or never possessed such equipment in the first place. This resulted in the development of the Union Shadownet. Based on the model of the old CIS Shadowfeeds, the Shadownet connected the early Unionists and replaces the old Holonet systems whenever a territory falls into Union hands. Though initially operated solely by the federal government, the Shadownet has been undergoing gradual privatization since shortly after its creation. Both the GA and Union have done their best to prevent general access to their rival’s media system in their respective territories but there are several border regions that enjoy unofficial access to both Holonet and Shadownet.
Religion & the Force
Official Obsidian Union lines state that the Union recognizes freedom of religion. This is true in the way its authors mean but a person operating with the definition of religious liberty used in GA space is ill-equipped to understand its Unionist meaning. Belief in the Force is explicit in the Articles of Dissolution and the basis of Unionist theory relies heavily on it. This is in stark contrast to the GA which usually maintains an entirely secular political language. While a universal separation of religion and the state is considered the basis of religious liberty in the Galactic Alliance, in the Union this is seen as an expression of the coldly mechanistic nature of their enemy state. Religion, according to Unionism, is an organic cultural expression and to exclude its political participation is to exclude the possibility of a galactic nation built on the basis of natural relations. But, it is noted, this also precludes one religion repressing another, for all faiths are ultimately expressions of the same Force. The Jedi and their allies, says the Union, constitute an exception to this rule because of the existential threat they pose to the natural order.
Because of this philosophy, the power of religion is significant within the Obsidian Union. The most obvious manifestation of this is the commanding role held by the New Sith Brotherhood. The Brotherhood has also engineered or encouraged the creation of various Sith Cults. This, the Brotherhood claims, shows their moral superiority over the Jedi who do not share the practice of their religion with those not sensitive to the Force. Nor is the Sith Brotherhood the only organization of Force Sensitives within Union Space. Again, the Sith hold this up to contrast with the Jedi, whom the Sith say are not-so-subtly condescending to and suspicious of non-Jedi Force Users. A lush niche in the Union economy has emerged catering to the growing number of Sith cultists and the fascination with the Force encouraged among the general population from above.
The Arts
Despite its military-industrial focus and youth as a nation, the Obsidian Union has had a noteworthy history in regards to artistic expression. Early on, not long after the first Union Civil War, Darth Xaos and Lady Vidia launched a program to unify the embryonic art community in Union space and focus it into a means of furthering the cause of Galactic Liberation. Over the years between the two Civil Wars, direct government intervention created a style that emphasized neo-classical depictions of Union troops, monuments and officials.
As both Xaos and Vidia pursued their interest in this project, their independent efforts produced two distinct sub-schools of Unionist art. Out of the latter’s patronage emerged the public art which adorns streets throughout Union space and the jingoistic pulp adventure shows that regularly stream on the Shadownet’s entertainment feeds. Xaos’ artistic disciples beat a more academic path and began to create operas, paintings, sculptures and novels which glorified past Sith nations. This Sith Romanticism ultimately became synonymous with Union high culture and would feed the growth of Sith Cults among the affluent.
The Second Union Civil War, and the events that surrounded it, ultimately demolished this centralized control of creative expression. The first, and most obvious cause, was the deaths of both Xaos and Vidia. Rudderless, both currents continued on with their task mechanically, not really producing anything to rival their previous works. A near-total loss of federal funding was the next blow; Darth Lucifer’s administration had more immediate concerns than his predecessor’s sociological experiments.
Each of the two sub-disciplines suffered its own unique set-backs as well. Artists who had been associated with Vidia began keeping their heads low, dreading that they might be arrested in the wake of the civil war. Fear of government purges were equaled only by fear of popular anger in this group and they mostly retired quietly on strongly Neo-Imperialist planets. Sith Romanticism avoided this initial suspicion by its association with Xaos. Indeed, as nostalgia for the late Consul grew, Sith Romanticism enjoyed a brief spike in public interest. But this only delayed the fall from grace that was waiting around the corner. As tensions between the emerging nation of Red Sith clans and the Union began to reach a fever pitch, the Sithese style of the romanticists lost all appeal. Like many segments of the Union, post-civil war Unionist art was faced with a power vacuum.
Few would’ve imagined that the solution to this void would emerge on a podracing track. Fretyln Mentela was a fan favorite in the Zygerrian racing circuit. A Zygerrian herself, Mentela took particular pleasure in beating out big-name racers from other planets (often using highly aggressive tactics to do so). One fateful race, Fretyln was trying to force a Gran rider into a crash. She was utterly dedicated to forcing this rider, who came from a non-Union planet, into defeat. Not only was she unconcerned with actually winning the race, she didn’t care if she crashed herself in the process. And, in the end, that is exactly what happened. Though her Gran rival died in the resulting fiery wreck, Mentela crawled out mostly unscathed. She would later discuss the wreck in a manner that made it sound similar to a religious experience, describing how she was “cut with the white-hot iron of joy” in that moment.
Retiring from the racing track, Fretlyn Mentela began to write a series of short stories, poems and plays designed to convey the essence of a philosophy that was beginning to emerge in her mind. This aesthetic system entered its mature phase and was given a name with the publishing of the Dynamicist Manifesto. In this manifesto, Mentela called for a total overhaul of Unionist ascetic, calling the old styles, “The pathetic aping of obsolete Empire-style” and “mired in morbid obsession with the past.” She offered her Dynamicism as a replacement for the dying classicism that had thus far gone unchallenged. Dynamicism sought inspiration in speed, steel and flame. The essence of Unionism, the manifesto proclaimed, could be seen in heavy industry, the explosive chaos of combat and the mind-bending blur of a speeder in motion.
Mentela acknowledged no boundaries in her quest to publicize her manifesto. Most infamously, she rented an airspeeder and dropped print outs of the text onto the streets of New Bethrezen below. Soon her stunts attracted a crowd of interested artists from many different disciplines and the Zygerrian used the small fortune she had acquired podracing to relentlessly promote these new Dynamicists’ work. Soon stages, canvases, holofeeds and theaters throughout the Union displayed the operatic and industrialized violence of Dynamicist ideals. Mentela began to give lectures in major Union cultural centers, to wildly differing results. In the newly Union-aligned Cronese Mandate she acquired many new converts to the Dynamicist movements. While on New Bethrezen, her lecture series was discontinued on governmental orders after she repeatedly entered into fistfights with members of her still largely classicist audience during said lectures.
At present Dynamicism is reaching its zenith as an artistic movement. With no real organized competition, it has become the unofficial style of the Obsidian Union. Dynamicism has even begun to dominate in official propaganda and public art. Mentela and her followers make no secret of their intentions to go even further and become the official style of Unionist art. They preach loudly, through words and through their work, that their philosophy reflects the purest expression of the nation’s founding beliefs: violent, crimson destruction of the old order and remorseless, steely progress to found the new.