ON THE SHORES OF HELL
Following the Battle of Kashyyyk, fleets from the Wookiee colonies pushed towards Gizer, coordinating with the Taanab fleet to catch the First Order in a pincer. Rather than wasting ships on a probable loss, the FO forces at Gizer heeded the advice of the retreating Kashyyyk invasion fleet and retreated to the more secure position of Corsin. Pushing the First Order off Gizer allowed Corellian Treaty forces at Taanab, Hapes, and Kashyyyk to unite and embark on a campaign to capture the Perlemian Trade Route. Using Lantillies as a mustering point, the combined CT fleets in the galactic northeast pushed up past Roche, engaging FO fleets in a series of skirmishes along the hyperlane, restoring contact with allies like the Maldrood Sector and Remnant-aligned Lianna. While the Battle for the Perlemian Trade Route was far from over, the FO losses at Kashyyyk and Gizer prevented a complete lockdown of the hyperlane. This turn of events reopened a vital supply line for the New Republic, restoring the fastest path from Coruscant to Dac after the Mon Calamari 5th Fleet broke the FO blockade at Quermia. The Jedi managed to make a brief return to their old home on Ossus, where they were able to lay the dead to rest and recover many of their lost relics. The Perlemian could not be decisively captured, however, unless the First Order presence in the Sith Worlds was eliminated.
The old Sith Worlds had, unsurprisingly, become occupied by the First Order as its administrative and military capital in the galactic east. Planets like Korriban, Ziost, and Dromund Kaas were considered holy sites for the Knights of Ren, and had been turned into FO strongholds as a result. With the NR occupied in the west and the CT still reestablishing supply lines along the Perlemian, a full military campaign to cleanse the Sith Worlds would have to wait. Nevertheless, Jedi and special operations forces maintained a continuous campaign of destabilizing the FO presence around the Esstran Sector.
Fighter wings from Corellian CVBGs 3 and 4 picked at the edges of the Esstran Sector, harassing supply shipments and destroying spaceborne observation posts to conceal the insertion of commandos and Jedi operatives. Among these operatives was none other than Jedi Prince Ken Palpatine, the supposed grandson of the most infamous Sith Lord in history. To the surprise of nobody, both the NJO and CT propagandists milked the idea for all the laughs they could. The young Palpatine was deliberately assigned to a number of high-profile diversionary operations around Esstran, and news of his exploits soon spread through conventional headlines and the propaganda leaflets dropped into FO lines. As the naval asset closest to the front, the FO's Battlefleet Korriban was tasked with capturing the young Palpatine. In taking the bait, however, the First Order's defenses around Korriban were left with a brief opening, which was exploited by the Corellian Treaty to insert a team consisting of Jaden Korr and a platoon of Duros Marine Raiders. Givin codebreakers had discovered that most of the First Order's Sith and Knights were abroad on campaign, leaving the Valley of the Dark Lords with only a token defense force. During this raid, the recently restored Tomb of Marka Ragnos was demolished and the ancient relics stored inside were put to the torch. While the raid's strategic worth was negligible, the propaganda value was unquestionable, particularly in the face of the bad news that would ensue across the rest of the galaxy.
WHEN THE DRAGON SWIMS, THE WORLD ENDS
"Here be dragons." Once a common map marker for parts unknown, this phrase took on a sinister new meaning during the war. For the first time since the Galactic Civil War, a Duinuogwuin had returned to the known galaxy. Ancient and impossibly powerful, the Duinuogwuin were terrifying foes, easily capable of burning starships to ash when fully matured. Elder Duinuogwuin were not mere organisms so much as spacefaring forces of nature. Some were even capable of tapping into the Force, with recorded Duinuogwuin Jedi appearing in OJO records a handful of times across the millennia. The creature that awoke to the galaxy of 35 ABY, however, was no Jedi, its first roars emanating as a psychic scream that pained and darkened the minds of Force users on planets as far as Alsakan. The first confirmed sighting of the star dragon was recorded in a black box taken from the wreckage of what used to be the Corellian 3rd and 4th Carrier Groups, taken by holocam approximately one week after the Korriban raid. Additional sightings of the dragon were reported at Abhean, Sembla, Elom, and Makem Te, each time amid a cloud of debris and corpses. The few survivors who witnessed the dragon's passing were driven mad or terrified into a silent stupor. Initial attempts to track the creature's movements and kill it were disastrous failures, leading to the deaths of entire fighter wings and flotillas. A further attempt by the NJO to scry the creature's location with the Force also failed, nearly destroying the mind of Jedi Knight Keyan Farlander and briefly rendering him comatose. Additional proper records of the dragon would not appear until the beginning of 36 ABY, but one thing was for certain: until it was found and slain, the dragon would continue to burn worlds and fleets wherever it went.
TOOTH AND NAIL, CLOAK AND DAGGER
The third quarter of 35 ABY brought a brief respite for the New Republic as reinforcements from Dac and other allied worlds filtered in from the Perlemian Trade Route. With these fresh troops, the New Republic Navy was able to continue holding on to Borleias and Uviuy Exen in the face of additional First Order attacks. The defenses at the nearby Pranapur Gulf in the NR's galactic western reaches had become porous, however, and despite the Navy's best efforts, it could not stop the Lascarae and Chereuscid forces from slipping raiding parties through to harass the worlds to the galactic southwest of Coruscant. A counter-attack led by Admiral Pariades along the Hydian Way managed to advance as far as Bogden, but FO raids on the NR's supply lines forced Pariades to retreat back to Champala, where his rear-echelon forces were less spread-out and less vulnerable to opportunistic strikes. Palanhi was later reconquered when two NR fleets under Admirals Tar'fya and Kannek launched simultaneous attacks from Borleias and Uviuy Exen. However, Palanhi was lost again a month later following a counter-attack by a First Order fleet from Bilbringi and the defection of the formerly NR-aligned planet Vakkar to the galactic west.
On the civilian side, Chancellor Fey'lya had briefly managed to delay the NR's economic decline by bailing out various failing corporations. Troops were granted higher salaries to ensure their loyalty, and generals received lavish "bonuses" paid for by the federal treasury. While these measures managed to keep the military from grumbling, civilians took issue with Fey'lya's spending policies, which could only be sustained by massive increases to taxation, which Fey'lya enacted unilaterally rather than seeking the input of the legislature or judiciary. When a lawsuit by Alsakan taxpayers was struck down, the people of Alsakan rebelled, only for the rebellion to be violently suppressed by the NR military. Senator Dorian Hirken of Alsakan was later found dead in his home, officially of "natural causes," after speaking out in support of the Alsakan uprising and criticizing the allegedly poor enforcement of the new taxes in the Bothan Sector.
EXCERPTS FROM PROJECT GN
After ZT alloy's success on the starfighter market, the BOD [board of directors] commissioned R&D Alpha to explore other uses and variations on the alloy. As of 35 ABY, ZT alloy research project statuses are as follows:
Civilian, ground vehicles: ++CANCELLED++
Civilian, hazardous environment: ++ONGOING++
Military, capital warships: ++POSTPONED++ [excessive cost at this stage of product lifespan]
Military, ground vehicles: ++CANCELLED++
Military, infantry armor, unpowered: ++CANCELLED++ [all alloy variants proved uncomfortable, excessively heavy]
Military, infantry armor, powered: ++SUCCESS++ [Mazin Zeta alloy variant cleared for limited production, sale to CT and NR]
[...]
M-IA-P research began end of FY 34 ABY, ended in Q3 of FY 35 ABY. All research and testing occurred at [REDACTED]. Research objectives were to produce a ZT alloy variation with higher energy and shrapnel resistance than the market leaders in plastoid and ceramic armor; to produce this alloy for a lower cost than Mandalorian beskar; and to produce an alloy that would be easily worked into suits of powered infantry armor. Secondary objective: produce a viable cybernetic implant using the alloy. Tertiary objective: produce a boarding shield for spaceborne troops using the alloy. Project was completed with the aid of [REDACTED], a third-party test pilot from the Corellian Navy/New Jedi Order.
[...]
Test Phi-13: Internal reactor incomplete. Mazin Zeta suit tested with umbilical cable link to facility generators instead. Test subject reported satisfactory power supply to all components and satisfactory user-friendliness for power distribution screen in helmet UI...Green readouts on all lightsaber/vibroblade recharge racks. Under power from emergency batteries, MZ suit was able to operate at standard capacity for five (5) Coruscant standard minutes. Without power, movement speed and agility were drastically reduced, to the point that the test subject was rendered combat-ineffective.
Test subject also reported satisfaction and biological compatibility with bionic connection port in left shoulder. Integrated cybernetic implant (left arm) is capable of normal human movements, but test subject reported difficulty performing more inhuman movements (Movements tested: bending fingers backward, bending arm backward at elbow, 720-degree hand rotation) compared to his previous cybernetic arm.
[...]
Test Kappa-17: Full combat test of MZ suit with miniature photon reactor, jetpack, and integrated weapons.
Reactor: Functional. Consistently high output throughout test, recommend shift to full production.
Jetpack: Functional. Accidental collision with droid target inflicted zero damage on jetpack's wings while bisecting the
Rocket punch (cybernetic arm): Functional. Fingertip retrothrusters also functional as return mechanism.
ACP scattergun (inside upper cyberarm section): Functional.
Heat management: Satisfactory. Test subject's experimentation with manual management resulted in unintended outcome of turning the cybernetic arm into a thermal weapon when subject accidentally rerouted all heat distribution into fingertips and arm radiators. Test subject's left hand burned red, but only suffered cosmetic damage to paint. No repairs needed. Additional tests of this function are recommended.
Boarding shield: Test subject reports that shield is easily usable with powered armor, but impractically heavy without it. [Addendum: BOD considers this acceptable.]
[...]
BOD reports that it is pleased with test suit, implant potential, and shield, but recommends further experimentation to reduce costs. See attachment RGM-79 for further details.
YOUTHFUL ARCADIA
"I swear, I'll one-up that Terrik fellow before this war ends, or my name isn't Barpotomous Locke Drebble."
"Your middle name is Locke?"
"We'll find out in a couple of years, Calrissian."
-Barpotomous Drebble and Lando Calrissian, 35 ABY
Two weeks after the Battle of Gizer, New Republic and Corellian Treaty forces defeated the First Order blockade of the Spadja Sector, reestablishing its connection to the Perlemian Trade Route. In doing so, the NR and CT fleets gained the allegiance of Barpotomous Drebble, along with the planets and PMCs of the Spadja Sector. Still beloved among the people of Spadja, Drebble had connections to a myriad of pirates, hired guns, and smugglers. In exchange for official letters of marque from the NR and CT governments, Drebble granted the two blocs exclusive access to the services of his own corsairs and extensive mercenary contacts, along with heavily discounted rates. Experienced mercenaries like VTX United, the Anti-Empire Union Group, the Kell Dragoons, Arzenal, Brave Express LLC, ARX Mithril, and the Grand Galaxy Guard found no shortage of employment in the war to come. The planets of the Spadja Sector also added their signatures to the Corellian Treaty or rejoined the New Republic, contributing their economies and armies to the war effort.
One of Drebble's most famous victories would occur near the end of the year's third quarter, along the Hydian Way. Drebble's new flagship, the Youthful Arcadia, ambushed a First Order convoy bound for the galactic west and the Unknown Regions. In addition to looting the wish-granting (not actually wish-granting) Seven Krayt Pearls of Keman from a First Order treasury ship, Drebble's corsairs also liberated a number of high-profile prisoners of war aboard a First Order penal vessel, including the infamous Talon Karrde and Lando Calrissian. Upon their return to friendly space, Karrde and Calrissian reconvened with a number of their old contacts in deep space along the Corellian Run, pledging to join the war effort on the side of the New Republic and Corellian Treaty so long as the credits were good. Faces old and new came in from the cold: Drebble himself aboard the Youthful Arcadia; Calrissian on Lady Luck; Captain Dash Rendar of the Outrider; Captain Jaxxon of the Rabbit's Foot; Captain Mazzic of the Distant Rainbow; Jet Sable of the Gaucho Quenk; the Crossbone Seven; "Immortal" Hondo Ohnaka and his gang; Jean Solarwind of the Desperado Sun; Captain Buck Reynauld of the Tranquility; and many more. Booster and Mirax Terrik had also been in the fight from the beginning, and were more than happy to continue what they'd been doing already. A rogue's gallery of pirate lords, scoundrels, and ne'er-do-wells answered Karrde's call to arms, ready to reap the profits of yet another galactic throw-down. For better or for worse, the Smuggler's Alliance was back in business.
Naturally, the First Order was in on the underworld game as well, and had been for quite some time. Black Sun's old alliance to the Galactic Empire had transferred to the First Order following the Remnant's anti-piracy campaigns. The Zann Consortium, down on its luck following Tyber Zann's death, had been silently infiltrated by FO agents during the interbellum, becoming a full-blown front for FO Intelligence shortly before the Hosnian Cataclysm. The FO had also experienced greater success than its enemies at winning the support of Hutt cartels, as interbellum New Republic anti-piracy and anti-drug campaigns had been particularly harsh on Hutt Space. Over the coming months, as the Smuggler's Alliance clashed with the First Order's criminal arm, the ongoing galactic conflict would see a new front open up: the Underworld War.