JEDI HoloNet

::Your datapad glitches, and suddenly a Human male takes shape in front of you. He is a middle-aged gentleman, with a scar that has blinded his right eye. The man is adorned in a mixture of armor and Jedi robe. He appears to be on the bridge of a Republic war cruiser. Soldiers work behind and around him with urgency::

“Hello. I am Jedi Master Kudor Okun of the Ossus Temple. I am from the planet Galidraan in the Outer Rim – within the now infamous Thanium sector. My people have a strong sense of … honor and justice. And despite not being raised on Galidraan for more than ten years, I carry that quality with me. I have a troubling message. I have seen the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic grow … fat and corrupt like the days of the Clone Wars.

This decay did not happen overnight. We allowed it to happen.

Despite being a warrior, the Jedi Council thought it best to place me under the tutelage of a Jedi Ambassador to the Republic. And while following her around the Senate as a Padawan Learner, I saw nothing but a batch of pigs. I made a friend while I was there. He was only an aid at the time. The current Chancellor of the Republic – Vekau Khorta! We shared … ideas of a better Republic. How sad to see you have become the very thing you swore to destroy.

Three decades ago, I stepped away from the Jedi Order and found purpose serving the Republic military under an alias. I wanted to learn if the Republic was truly beyond saving. Those men and women I served with were real. Not people living in a fantasy on Coruscant or in a hidden temple. I rose through the ranks, and only when my identity was discovered was I discharged from the military. But the men and women I met … they are with me still – now and forever.

They truly cared – unlike the people serving in the Republic Senate or Jedi High Council. -Especially- the Secretary of Defense Arn Hulos. Why you allowed that snake into your cabinet I will never know.

Have you ever questioned why the Republic and Jedi Order won’t involve themselves in the horrors currently taking place in my homeland? You should. They’re cowards.

My contacts within the military learned of a Sith Imperium superweapon that the Republic was attempting to steal under the Fel Empire’s noses on the planet of Corma. With that and the discovery of my homeland’s rulers being assassinated by The Third Estate, I could stand by idly no longer.

I have taken the superweapon, and plan to gift it to the Thanium Alliance to end this war with the Stenax. And then I will set my sights on The Third Estate, whose threat potential rivals the Mandalorians during the Mandalorian Wars.

This is a call-to-action to all Jedi and Republic military. Reject cowardice and embrace courage. Join me, and together we shall see a swift end to this war and the corruption that enables it.”

Above: Alliance Forces regroup after a massive push against Stenax lines in the Iverkal Range, Mossak

Camp Zatar – Kirstvel Bay, Mossak — The Thanium Alliance Defense Force (TADF) has confirmed the seizure of the “Stone Idol of Vol,” a revered Stenax artifact, in a special operation, the details of which are still classified. High Commander of the TADF Lagyanes Bendix, a Stenax himself, announced that the idol, which the Stenax believe to be an avatar of their god, Vol, is now in Alliance hands.

The loss of the idol is a major blow to the Stenax Empire, whose recent expansionist push is fueled by a zealous interpretation of their religious doctrines. Since the death of Emperor Hautrn, who sought peaceful reforms, militant leaders of the Covenant of Vol have claimed their conquests are divinely ordained. This religious fervor has driven the brutal Stenax advances on fronts across Mossak, Felucia, and Draukyz. Recent reports from the occupied planet Draukyz detail a horrifying and rapidly rising civilian death toll, a grim parallel of the Stenax Massacres four centuries ago.

In a press conference at Camp Zatar, Commander Bendix explained the critical impact of the idol’s seizure:

“Our cultural practices say we are only to use our wings when we are under the blessings of Vol. Without their Idol, the Stenax of the Empire will take this as a horrible omen… Tactically, this new advantage cannot be understated. The Stenax people, as a matter of honor, will need to swear off use of their wings until the Idol is returned.”

This tactical shift is already evident on the battlefield. Preliminary reports from the front lines confirm that Stenax soldiers are no longer using their wings in combat, a stunning development that removes a massive advantage the species holds over others.

While the fighting remains fierce, the loss of their primary symbol of divine favor has created a new sense of hope for Alliance forces. According to Bendix, the Stenax will likely intensify their efforts to reclaim the idol and Vol’s favor, but the strategic landscape of the war has been fundamentally altered.

“This is a massive win for the Alliance,” Bendix declared, “and we intend to capitalize on the new tactical landscape of the war.”

Andee Nevaro, Affiliated Press

Tragedy struck yesterday evening in the undercity of Coruscant, where veteran investigative reporter Tayven Rissar was found dead under circumstances authorities are describing as a “botched mugging.”

Rissar, 41 Human Male, had built a reputation as a relentless voice in the sector, best known for his work exposing corporate graft in the Corellian Trade Spine and the misuse of humanitarian aid.. Sources within the press community suggest he was preparing a major story involving religious institutions and their financial backers, though officials have refused to comment on the specifics.

The Coruscant Security Force reported that Rissar’s data-slate and notes were missing from the scene. When pressed, CSF spokespeople stated that “ongoing investigations prevent us from speculating on motive.”

Colleagues described Rissar as “fearless” and “unflinching,” noting that he had expressed concern over surveillance and unusual visitors in recent weeks. His editor, Deyna Halorr, remarked:
“Tayven believed in shining light into places others were afraid to look. He told me just days ago that his next piece would ‘shake the faith of the Core itself.’”

The Jedi Order, frequently a subject of Rissar’s criticism, has issued a brief statement of condolence from the Jedi High Council:
“We mourn the tragic loss of any life cut short. The Jedi stand with the people of the Republic against crime and violence in all its forms.”

No suspects have been identified. Officials urge calm, stating that violent crime remains rare in the mid-level sectors.
Funeral arrangements for Tayven Rissar are pending, though memorials have already begun across the Independent Press Guild’s channels.

Editor’s Note: At the time of his death, Rissar was finalizing an exposé on “the unseen hand guiding galactic institutions.” Whether this work will ever see release remains uncertain.

The usually quiet frontier settlement of Outpost Vornis has seen a sudden surge in criminal activity following the circulation of a holorecording that appears to show a Jedi being bested in combat. The recording, which spread rapidly through networks and backroom cantinas across Duneeden, depicts the robed figure of a Jedi collapsing after a brief skirmish in the outpost, to the thrill of gathered onlookers.

Local authorities report that theft, illegal spice trading, and smuggling operations have nearly doubled in the past two weeks. “When word gets out that a Jedi can fall, even here, criminals start to believe the law can’t protect this outpost,” said Officer Stown, head of Investigation of the Judicial Department of Duneeden.

The recording, though unverified, has emboldened local crime syndicates. Residents that live within the Hydroplanes claim to see more armed thugs patrolling the streets than law officers.

“It’s like the balance of power shifted overnight,” said a resident of Imeara, who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisal. “If a Jedi can’t keep us safe, what chance do we have against gangsters?”

For now, Outpost Vornis teeters on the edge of lawlessness, its citizens caught between fear of organized crime and the fading hope that the Jedi will intervene.

In a major agreement between ExO Jugal Ody and EckCzar Vahn Goreing, the Corporate Sector Authority (CSA) has agreed to integrate itself into the political and economic apparatus of the Third Estate with massive economic gains expected for the corporations represented in the Direx Board. Of the fifty-five members of the Direx Board, forty-eight voted to assent to the final draft of the annexation agreement negotiated between Ody and Goreing. The Direx Board and ExO will all have official stations within the Third Estate government, and their direct control over their industrial zones will be enforced not only by their previous security forces, but also by Third Estate enforcers as well.

A key provision within the annexation agreement is the use of “leased labor” and creation of “labor camps” within CSA space. Through its time in power, the Third Estate has systemically dispossessed its non-human populations of their homes, communities, and political power. These populations, having lived in deplorable conditions in assigned locations determined by Vahn Goreing’s Minister of Domestic Tranquility, will be moved by the state from their locations in the Gordian, Esstran, Sertar, Northern D’Astran, Nembus, Wyl, Aparo, and I Sectors to labor camps across the respective planets of the Direx Board in the Corporate Sector.

Republic Outcry was immediate in the Senate Dome. War Hawk Senator Boonka Illeeb from the Herglic Space sector furiously lost his temper at his podium as he shouted, pointing directly at Chancellor Vekau Khorta,

“This is exactly what I said would happen cycles ago when this body instituted Tariffs after the collapse of D’Astran Legacy Bank! I said then that the CSA would be driven closer to the Third Estate and now here we are! With this new industrial base powered off of slave-labor, every single news story about the atrocities that are committed in the Corporate Sector that reach your ears are your doing by supporting that legislation! Shame on you!”

Chancellor Vekau Khorta, who currently has the lowest ever recorded popularity rating in modern history, adjourned the Senate session of the day early and has made no public comment on the matter at this time. Polling across sectors currently represented by the Preservation Society warn that, unless something with Chancellor Khorta’s chancellorship changes soon, the whole party may disintegrate and vanish from the halls of the Senate entirely.

Meanwhile, the annexation of the CSA will over triple the industrial capacity of the Third Estate moving forward. Already CSA stocks have skyrocketed as their facilities and factories are being turned over to contribute to the growing Third Estate’s industrial war machine. This has caused anxiety and panic among nearby sectors such as Chorlian and Bosph who see themselves as the next stepping-stones for the rapidly expanding authoritarian Goreing regime.

Reporting from Coruscant, this has been Quan Regal of the Affiliated Press