Author's Note
When I finished the Legacy's End series 2 years ago I thought I'd more or less maxed out of Star Wars fanfic and that if I were to do any more large-scale projects it would have to be in an era untouched by other material. Legacy's End went about as far into the future as it could, but the fictional history of the SW universe goes back millennia and there are plenty of eras that have been referenced without ever being actually depicted.
In the end I felt drawn to the very oldest piece of ancient Star Wars lore, dating all the way back to 1980 when Brian Daley conjured up Xim the Despot, a quasi-mythic warlord who comes off as a Star Wars version of Alexander or Genghis Khan. Depicting his era takes us way back to a time before the Republic, before the Sith, even before reliable lightspeed travel. There's no Jedi Order worth the name, only explorers reaching out from their ancestral world of Tython to discover a vast galaxy that knows little of the Force. At the same time new civilizations are reaching for the stars, building fledgling empires, and colliding with each other.
In building up this era I drew lore from other EU works like Dawn of the Jedi and Knights of the Old Republic, but I owe the most to Jason Fry, a stated Xim enthusiast who's filled in lots of background in various guidebooks, and to Michael Kogge, whose 'Despotica' plays/poetry/metafiction are some of the most wonderfully bizarre things ever published under a SW banner and are well-worth digging up.
Different depictions of 'historical' Star Wars have come in different flavors. Tales of the Jedi went for a medieval and later ancient Egyptian look. KotOR took its design from the prequels while High Republic went for a high fantasy vibe. I decided the age of Xim should be more low-tech, which ironically makes it feel more sci-fi. If you're conjuring an aesthetic in your head, think less traditional SW and more Battlestar Galactica and especially The Expanse.
Despot's Reign is the first installment in a trilogy depicting Xim's rule from rise to fall. Compared to some of my other stuff it's a compact story, designed to establish brand-new characters and setting with one propulsive plotline. Enjoy.
Dramatis Personae
The Gravity Scorned
Ajek Kroller, captain and pilot
Reina Kroller, his daughter and navigator
Vaatus, his son and engineer
The Explorers
Mal-Oba Talyak, Jedi Master
Erakas, Jedi Knight
Essan, Jedi Knight
The Revenant
Quoll, Chief Elder
Shen, her son
Rone
Vosh
Kaim
The Empire
Xer VIII, Pirate King of Argai
Xim, his son and successor
Marco IV Jaminere, Lesser Prince and First Viceroy
Sait Kadenzi, an admiral
Etan Loreac, a researcher
Oziaf, a T'iin T'iin