Prologue
Not so long ago, in a galaxy far, far away….
The Sith and the Jedi, a long and storied history of war and conflict. Though the deeds, and misdeeds, of each are events long past, the 'Old Religion' is still very much alive in this Modern Era of the Galaxy. Starting around 400ABY, both Orders began aggressive expandsion, absorbing, and assimilating smaller systems and worlds bringing more and more civilizations to their respective sides.
Among the many conquered, The Hutts, refusing to assimilate to growing Sith influence, were engaged in a ruthless but short lived campaign. After but a few galactic years of war between the massive Sith Empire and the gangster Hutts, the Hutts were summarily and mercilessly wiped out along with their allies and compatriots. The elimination of the Hutts served as a warning to others of the resolve of this Eternal Sith Empire. Hutt Space then becomes Sith Empire Space, and with it, all its remaining personnel and resources. With funding and personnel from these occupied systems, both orders grow into massive powerful organizations with increasing political as well as corporate pull within the Galaxy.
Over time, and with minor advancements in technology, even a push into Unknown space is met with discovery. With constant discovery of new worlds, species, and hundreds of new civilizations, the ranks of both orders swell even further, as newcomers are swayed, or forced, to either side. More of the Galaxy than ever before is now at the precipice of annihilating itself.
With new ranking systems to correlate with numbers of each faction starting to reach into the millions, we now see teamwork and groups or squads accomplish the goals and pursuits of each faction. Long past are the days of a single wandering Jedi Knight or Sith warrior, as these images and notions are reserved for romantic lore, stories…and recruitment posters. This would lead to massive and world consuming battles between the Sith and Jedi of a war just to come.
The catalyst that sparked the The Last Jedi/Sith War began when the Sith, in 870ABY, struck a hard, fast, and devastating first blow to the Jedi. The coordinated and ruthless initial attack resulted in the destruction of the Jedi Temple as well as key Jedi Outposts, costing the lives of thousands. Jedi numbers and support saw am explosion of new recruits to combat such apathetic and wanton destruction and Sith disregard of life.
At this time, on the front, Force powers and the iconic Light Saber, as well as a great many derivatives, including staves, bows and arrows, pikes and daggers….even the odd battle axe, also are still a common tool of both Jedi and Sith. Incredible feats and shows of Force manipulation are not uncommon, even among the rank and rabble of regular foot soldiers. New powers are, and have been, discovered and once rare powers are now common knowledge, with but a few being forgotten with the passage of so much time. All this, the sheer numbers, new powers, the scales of battles and after 10 years of turmoil, of which some of the bloodiest and costliest battles the Galaxy had ever seen.
As the Sith moved swiftly and ferociously throughout the Galaxy, conquering and subduing…..eliminating all those who would not conform or resisted, their advance is halted after a few key battles. The Jedi manage to push the Sith back beyond the Perlemian Trade Route, freeing 10s of thousands of worlds from Sith tyranny. This resulted in a desperate Sith strike back, the destruction of Coruscant, the Jedi homeworld still rebuilding the Jedi Temple, along with the rest of the system with a yet unknown superweapon. With the power to take out entire systems and the devastation was so total and the loss of innocent life so great, the long and bitter rivalry between Sith and Jedi ended finally when the Jedi sued for peace to end the madness.
This truce, which was proposed just over 300 years ago in 880ABY by the then acting Jedi Grand Master (Jedi Grand Master Ziris). Ziris' proposal was that to end a 3rd Great Galactic War, and prevent further catastrophic loss of life and worlds, the Sith cease hostilities if in return, be allowed to rule a part of the galaxy, not to be interfered with in any way by the Jedi. The Sith, at a surprise to the Jedi, accepted and after drawing a rather large border for their new claim of the Galaxy, remaining behind the Perlemian Trade Route but extending their territory far spin ward into the New Regions of Space (formerly Unknown space) within the Galaxy. The war was brought to an end, only 10 years after it had begun. Those borders remain today, more or less, with the Jedi territories remaining a New Jedi Republic and the Sith forming their own Eternal Empire. While an unpopular notion in its time, given the feelings and opinions towards the Sith and their conspirators, Grand Master Ziris reasoned that for there to be balance, there must exist good and evil, Light and Dark. An unpopular notion indeed, among the conventional older Jedi and especially with those in the worlds and systems who would come to be absorbed into the Empire, but a necessary act for the time as the wise Jedi Grand Master foresaw. And with worlds, homes, and countless lives lost as the direct or even sometimes indirect result of the war, the peoples of the Galaxy growing weary of constant war and struggle gradually accepted Ziris' proposal as peace was very much needed, even if the methods weren't desirable. Peace, however temporary it was fated to be, was more than welcome and was enjoyed for almost a century.
The Kratosians
The Kratosians, a biomechanical race. A race neither Force sensitive, nor affected very much by Force attacks, that stumbled into the Galaxy from Wild Space around 987ABY. The newcomers arrived and made their claim on the Outer Rim into what was once Unknown Regions of space, right into Sith Eternal Empire territory. The vast number of new worlds, star systems, and an array of environments and ecosystems led the Kratosians to believe this Galaxies denizens had not yet discovered space travel (some in fact had not) and that the Galaxy was ripe for settlement. However due to an unfortunate run in, and misunderstanding, with a Sith Exploration Ship (or Patrol depending on which side you believe) that escalated into a small battle (later referred to as the War of First Contact), and then the inevitable retaliation, and another…then another, that, in time, erupted into open war. With the Invader Kratosians forcing their way into the Galaxy and taking worlds by violence to set up outposts and bases, and Sith retaliation and elimination of such worlds, the news and effects of this new conflict reached the Jedi Order and they dispatched they're own infamous ambassadors and intervened in an attempt to orchestrate peace between their old rivals and the Kratosians. The invader Kratosians did not differentiate the two Orders, as all "Magic Users" were enemies. Anger too this did the Sith for the Jedi going against their original agreement of getting involved in Sith affairs, in Sith territory. The Jedi Ambassadors were met with hostility and wiped out. With this, once again the Galaxy was cast back into war, and almost 100 years of peace, gone. Thus began the 1st Intergalactic War.
With the Sith and new Kratosians fighting tooth and nail to wipe one another out and the Jedi, as per their mantra, simply trying to protect the innocent, keep the peace, and defend their own, death and destruction like never before spread to all corners of the galaxy. This was truly the Apocolypse. The Kratosians biomechanical nature meant they were not really Force sensitive, but also unaffected by most Force attacks, as the Sith and Jedi soon discovered at great loss. Up close combat via Light Saber was often lethal for the Force wielders as the Kratosians possessed an odd sort of armor nigh impenetrable to conventional Light Saber attacks and styles. Out of desperation and in an extremely rare joint effort between Sith and Jedi around 1000ABY, after 13 years of losing the war, the creation of the Kyber Crystal Plasma weapons were the fruits of this short lived cooperation. Kyber Crystal Plasma (KCP) weapons, a new type of blaster which used the power of the Kyber Crystals once reserved for Light Sabers, and the Force abilities of the user to generate a powerful blast of Force shielded plasma projectiles not unlike, but many times more effective and powerful than a Light Saber blade. Due to the greatly increased distances with which the new enemy could be engaged as well as the increased damaged dealt, which even the strongest of Force users couldn't hope to recreate with their Lightsabers alone, and far overpowering a conventional blaster, the Galaxy had entered into a new era of warfare. With its creation, Light Sabers were soon retired to weapons of ceremony and decoration as these new weapons, and the variety KCP weapons that could be created for specific jobs and duties, resulted in a pivotal moment of the war against the Kratosians.
At the War of Recompense and Vengeance (roughly translated Sith name for the fray) in 1002ABY at a small, but immensely important newly discovered world in what was once Unknown Region of the Galaxy, these new weapons would see their debut. The small, desolate, rocky world called Klaandatu was used as a refueling station and as a source of mining for valuable minerals and elements essential for Kratosian space travel. Klaandatu, also used as a jump point for Kratosian ships incoming and outgoing from Areas of Engagement against the Sith and Jedi , was surrounded, cut off, and infiltrated by both Sith and Jedi (each not knowing of the other's involvement until after). The Kratosians, caught by surprise and unable to fight on two fronts on the planet's surface and cut off from their supply and means of exfiltration, surrendered and withdrew, leaving behind ships, weapons, and thousands of prisoners. The Sith and Jedi, when met after the assault on the Kratosians, divided the spoils and tentatively retreated to their respective lines without firing a single shot at the other, each knowing the next time they meet, it would not be so. The attack, and the Kratosians first marked defeat, resulted in an unofficial, but rarely observed, cease fire that exists still today, some 200 years later.
The Kratosians, though rarely seen since, very occasionally ambush and engage small patrols of Jedi or Sith, and just as quickly retreat only not to be found or tracked. The prize taken from the rocky world flooded the Galaxy with a wealth of new knowledge and technology. More efficient and powerful ship engines and drives meant travel time across vast distances was halved. Nearly the entire Galaxy now mapped and explored, the Kratosian alloy and metallurgy allowed habitation in once inhospitable worlds. The unique Kratosian body armor remains greatly a mystery, as does the Kratosians themselves. Sadly, the majority of prisoners captured alive so many years ago, either self-terminated or were subjects to tests and experiments and expired or were simply discarded. Meantime, the Sith and Jedi watch one another, the Galaxy rests in yet another uneasy peace.
We arrive to present day, over a thousand years after the events at Yavin, the battle and turning point, between the Ancient Empire and long forgotten Rebel Alliance, which resulted in the successful destruction of the Galactic Empire's First Death Star a millennia ago. The date is 1204 ABY.
Five galactic standard weeks ago, the Sith have a lead on what seems to be a potential new weapon, a witness to someone with knowledge of great power. With this info, and new power, they seek to subdue the Kratosians (their existence and arrival from beyond the borders of the Galaxy not un-useful to the Sith) and quite likely wipe out the Jedi for their arrogant meddling in the first place and thus resorting to the same old Sith Dogma of Galaxy wide domination, in the pursuit of peace of course. At the direct order of the Sith Grand Lord, the Sith Dark Council dispatch a team of Elite Sith Sabers and their Sith Leader, a team that has never failed to complete a mission, and a veteran of countless battles and skirmishes, to the last known location of this much desired intel.