Arvon Cade, hero of the Sedition War, has left the Jedi Order due to philosophical disagreements with the Jedi Council, and is now making plans to form an offshoot group of Force users.
On the Alliance Command Ship, Arvon is in his office with Demarak, Jorban, and a pale Dathomiri woman dressed in red. This is Seraj Kel Venda, Jedi Knight and general in command of the Fourth Division of the Alliance Fleet.
"Thank you all for coming. First off, I want to thank all of you for agreeing to join me in this new order." Arvon says.
"Do we have a name for this order yet?" Seraj asks.
"We will be the Guardians of Peace. We will fight for the Alliance. We will report directly to the Chancellor… and the High Command should the Senate decide to reinstate it." Arvon says.
"The Senate is bringing back the High Command?" Seraj asks.
"The Armed Forces Committee is debating it." Arvon answers.
"That's insane! Our command structure works just fine as it is now! The High Command was slow. The bureaucracy just wasted our time! I shouldn't have to ask for High Command authorization for every little thing!" Seraj says.
"If that's what the Senate decides, then that's the way it will be." Arvon says.
"I'm sure the war hero serving as supreme commander has some pull with the Senate." Seraj says.
"Some. I'll do what I can. In the meantime, my emergency powers are still in effect." Arvon says.
"For how long?" Seraj asks.
"I… can't answer that just yet. I spoke with the Chancellor a few hours ago. The latest news from him is… the proposal to end my emergency powers is still in committee as well. Even if it passes that vote, the full Senate is still debating the status of the Star Forge… and the sectors we just annexed. It could be months before they take any kind of action." Arvon answers.
"Good. We should use that to our advantage." Demarak says.
"I intend to." Arvon says.
"As far as this new order goes… I'm surprised Vala hasn't joined us. We don't see eye to eye very often, but I have to give her credit for not being too fond of the Jedi Council. At least we agree on that." Seraj says.
"Vala is staying with the Jedi Order. That's her final word on the matter." Arvon says.
"I see." Seraj says.
"I have accepted her decision. Just as she has accepted mine. The fleet will continue with business as usual, other than the fact that Vala will be a part of the Jedi Order while we will not." Arvon says.
"I can't believe she's staying with them! I thought Vala had more sense than that!" Seraj says.
"Vala believes that she can reform the order from within." Arvon says.
"How? She's not on the council! She's not even a master!" Seraj says.
"I believe she'll get there." Arvon says.
"I concur. Vala seems to have the favor of the majority of the council. Furthermore, I expect Aja's war record to potentially lead to a knighthood in the near future. According to the rules of the Jedi Order, if a padawan passes the trials of knighthood, then their instructor must advance to the rank of master… unless they have already achieved it." Jorban says.
"You really think it will happen that way?" Seraj asks.
"Possibly." Jorban says.
"I would say it's very likely. Now, I did not call this meeting to discuss Vala. We have more pressing matters, so we should get to it." Arvon says.
"Agreed." Jorban says.
"Our priority for now… is the Star Forge. I want us to learn that station top to bottom, and I intend for us to use it." Arvon says.
"You intend to build ships like the Sedition did?" Seraj asks.
"Eventually, yes. But for now, we'll start small. A few droids. Maybe some starfighters. I want to test the viability of these designs before we actually begin using them." Arvon says.
"A reasonable approach." Jorban says.
"I intend to spend a great deal of time on that station. So for now, I'll be moving my office to the Star Forge and assuming direct command. Jorban will be handling Vala's duties until she returns, and will coordinate fleet operations with Seraj and Admiral Denon. Demarak, you'll be on the Star Forge with me." Arvon says.
"What about Vala's division? Is Jorban supposed to command that too?" Seraj asks.
"Admiral Desaro will act as commander of the Second Division until Vala gets back. I've already sent those ships on a patrol mission of the nearby systems to search for any potential Sedition remnants." Arvon answers.
"Good idea. But will one division be enough?" Seraj asks.
"I am sending other forces for additional patrols. This is our space now, and we will ensure that there are no remaining threats." Arvon answers.
"Do you think the Senate will actually let us keep the Star Forge?" Seraj asks.
"When the time comes, I intend to make my case to them. Maintaining the Star Forge as an active base of operations is in the best interest of the Alliance… and galactic peace." Arvon answers.
"I think we're all in agreement on that." Jorban says.
"According to the records I've been looking through, the Empire discovered this Star Forge about a hundred years ago. It was in pretty serious disrepair at the time. Palpatine had to devote most of his resources to fighting the Rebellion, so it took the Empire years to get this station up and running. It wouldn't be until over a decade after the Battle of Endor that the station was finally able to build ships again. While the New Republic thought they had defeated the Empire, Palpatine was building up a new fleet for what he called… the Final Order." Arvon says.
"The fleet that Palpatine used at Exegol… came from here?" Seraj asks.
"That's right." Arvon answers.
"Nobody was able to figure that out sixty years ago?" Seraj asks.
"No. The Sith Temple on Exegol was completely destroyed, and none of the captured enemy ships had any record of Xenoth or the Star Forge. Hell, the only reason the Resistance was able to find Exegol is because Master Rey used a Sith Wayfinder." Arvon answers.
"All we have known about this region until now… is that it's off limits because it's tainted by the dark side. Jedi Council orders. Given the fact that she hasn't exactly been forthcoming with relevant information, I believe that Master Rey may have known about this place, and chose to keep it a secret from the rest of us." Demarak says.
"You really think Master Rey kept the Star Forge a secret from the entire Alliance… and the Jedi Order that she led?" Jorban asks.
"She kept Kylo Ren a secret for sixty years! We have no idea what her intentions are!" Demarak answers.
"He has a point." Arvon says.
"I have to ask… since Vala is staying with the Jedi, can we actually trust her? For all we know, the council will ask her to spy on us!" Demarak says.
"Vala would never do that." Arvon says.
"What if they ordered her to?" Demarak asks.
"The council wouldn't order Vala to do anything like that. She would see it as unethical and would refuse on moral grounds." Arvon answers.
"Vala would refuse an order from the Jedi Council?" Jorban asks.
"For the most part, no. But, if she felt very strongly that the order was wrong, she would. The council… would very likely drop the matter at that point." Arvon answers.
"How do you figure that?" Seraj asks.
"The Jedi Council may contain a few traditionalist morons, but even they know better than to do anything that might piss off Vala's mother." Arvon answers.
"The Queen of Aquilae really holds that much influence?" Seraj asks.
"Aquilae was one of the five factions that founded the Alliance. And the wealthiest. The Aquilae Crown Treasury just so happens to be one of the Alliance's creditors. The Alliance government has an outstanding debt to the Xin Family… of five trillion credits." Arvon answers.
"So… Vala's family owns the Alliance." Seraj answers.
"A chunk of it anyway. If the Jedi Council were to offend Queen Senatha enough, she might increase interest rates, potentially damaging the Alliance economy. That would make the Senate not too happy with the Jedi Council. They know better." Arvon says.
"So, if Queen Senatha tells the Senate or the Jedi Council to jump, they ask how high?" Demarak asks.
"I wouldn't go that far." Arvon answers.
"Corruption in the government is spreading like a plague, and the Xin family has their part in it! Senators are paid off to vote a certain way, and find themselves out of office if they don't cooperate. The Alliance is turning into another Republic!" Demarak says.
"There are corrupt elements in the Xin family, but Queen Senatha believes in the law." Arvon says.
"If she really believed in the law, she wouldn't allow this foolishness to continue!" Demarak says.
"The Aquilae High Council has been conducting an investigation for some time, but… evidence so far has only been circumstantial at best. Queen Senatha will not act without sufficient proof." Arvon says.
"My understanding of Aquilae is that, basically… the Queen has full control, and is free to ignore her council or the courts if she wishes. Even if someone in the family is charged with a crime, who's to say she won't just dismiss the charges and let things carry on as they are?" Seraj asks.
"Nobody in the Aquilae Royal Family has been charged with a crime in centuries, and I know Queen Senatha well enough that if that were to change, she would do what's best for the Aquilae people." Arvon answers.
"So the Queen seems to believe in order. The rest of that family is still corrupt though! The galaxy would be much better off if the Xin family were removed…" Seraj says. She stops speaking when Arvon raises his hand.
"That will be all, Seraj." Arvon says.
"You know I'm right." Seraj says.
"I know that you and Vala have never been friends, but you both have the maturity to keep things civil and do your jobs. You should also know that anything said about Vala or her family will get back to her, because I will tell her. So, if I were you, I would think about that." Arvon says.
"This is a private meeting. Vala isn't here. She's on leave. Does she really need to know what we talk about here?" Seraj asks.
"I tell Vala everything. Period. End of statement." Arvon says.
"Very well." Seraj says.
"Now… let's move on shall we? WIth the Sedition out of the way, we can turn our attention elsewhere. Starting with non aligned space in the Outer Rim." Arvon says.
"The syndicates." Demarak says.
"Exactly. I intend to go after Black Dawn first. Take them out, and we'll cripple organized crime in that entire region." Arvon says.
"Do you plan to use the Star Forge to help with that?" Demarak asks.
"I do. I found a commando droid design in the records that I think might be of use to us. I plan to build a few of them as a test run of our manufacturing capabilities. If they are successful, we'll begin deploying them. In the meantime, I'll send two divisions to the rim under the command of General Rasul." Arvon says.
"Rasul? Why not one of us?" Seraj asks.
"I want all of you… and every other Jedi that agreed to leave the order… to remain here for the time being. You'll all be studying the Star Forge and helping cover for Vala's absence." Arvon answers.
"So… only a few others left the order. Ten of us in total." Seraj says.
"It's a start. The main thing is we are now free of the authority of the Jedi Council. We can formalize the order and its rules at a later time. Once the order is established and people see the good it can do, I expect our numbers will grow. Just… give it time." Arvon says.
"Understood." Seraj says.
"We will still use the Force, but we will be soldiers of the Alliance. We will be an order of action. Not an order of pacifists who sit in their temple and do nothing when lives are at stake. Thanks to the Star Forge, we now have the means to ensure freedom and security for the whole galaxy. For all the drug runners and slavers in the galaxy… there will be a reckoning." Arvon says.
The next chapters are being worked on, and I'm hoping to have an update ready in a month or two, but no guarantees on that due to work and other life things.
To those of you who have stuck with this story, thanks for your patience.