JEDI HoloNet

Blurry images from long range scans have detected a sizeable fleet had amassed some time ago over Dubrillion, a planet that can be described as one of the core worlds of the Galactic Empire. Along with the formations of ships, points of light appeared on sensors, which experts have told correspondents is evidence of turbolaser fire. The display held both the attention of Republic Navy officials and thus, the focus of the sensor array throughout its duration.

Though full scans are classified, the official report disclosed the following:

“Nothing in our scans of the event seems to show any sign of casualties. In an engagement of this magnitude, it is dubious to suggest that the combatant factions would emerge unscathed. Even at this range, sensors would be able to detect signs that indicate the destruction of battleships; large and briefly appearing dots of light, disappearing objects, and radiation particles. This leads us to believe [REDACTED]”

The rest of the report was redacted, censoring the conclusions of naval officials. Was this some type of naval training exercise? Or is there some growing discontent amongst factions of Imperial nobility? Obviously, this event occurred some time ago as the images received merely traveled at the speed of light, rather than at hyperspace, which begs the question of what was the Empire up to those few days ago and what they could be up to now.

After days of auditing election results, we’re happy to be the first news outlet to confirm that Senatorial Incumbent Senator Kielbras Pol’cal has won re-election for the Gordian Reach. A member of the Diplomat party, it was an uncertain race in the face of a major political reorganization that has swept through the halls of the Senate on Coruscant. Over the last cycle the two major parties, the War Hawks and Diplomats, have found the edges of their parties fraying into several new political parties including the Centrists and Preservation Society among others. Due to this, many in the Gordian Reach were seeing voters looking to new leadership in the form of the ultranationalist candidate Ralskun Direeb from the local Independent Reach Party.

Upon hearing the confirmation of his re-election, Senator Pol’Cal had this to say to his constituents and the Republic at large,

Over the last cycle we’ve fought a hard-won campaign against those who held values antithetical to the spirit of the Republic. People who believe that diversity is a weakness instead of what we know it is as a strength. People who value intimidation, coercion, and force to rule over discussion, fair play, reflection, the rule of law, and the consent of the governed.

The people of the Reach have spoken and re-affirmed that we hold true those values of the Galactic Republic. We, the people of the Reach have declared to the Galaxy, in the face of a growing totalitarian threat on our border, that while the democratic process can at times be frustrating, can at times feel as it it is stuck in gridlock, and can be an easy system to fall into disillusionment and cynicism, it is this way because of the beauty of its institutions: The design of democracy is to allow all beings to express their voice, to have a seat at the table… This means that no answers come easy but, when they do come, they are the right ones that will help the most beings who have given their trust to those institutions in the form of their votes.

Ralskun Direeb did not give a consolidation speech but indicated that he was going to pursue a legal course to investigate what he claims was ‘possible interference on the part of the Jedi monitors’ during election day.

We are happy to report that there is absolutely no evidence that any of the ballots were tampered with. However, there was a possibly volatile and deadly situation with an attempted terror attack that was discovered and dismantled by members of the Jedi Order’s branch from Rannon. More details to be released on this situation as evidence in the ongoing investigation gets declassified.

With the current Senate election season over, the new and returning members of the new coalition-style government on Coruscant turn to their first major order of business: nominating and electing a new Chancellor for the upcoming legislative sessions. With the dramatic new field of several parties, we can expect a far more eventful Chancellery Race than we’ve seen in decades.

Reporting from Coruscant, this is Quan Regal of the Affiliated Press

Major news in the Back Reach today, as final results are in. After a series of local audits to confirm, it’s now official that a new populist, grassroots, party in the Back Reach, The Roilers, have swept a number of major elections. 

Most notably, the de-facto capital system of the Back Reach, Feena, has seen the Governorship of the planet, as well as 40 percent of the local legislature (the largest proportion of the coalition-style parliament on the planet) flip to their control. Every major system on the Ardan Cross Hyperlane including Chenowei, Pygorix, Kalishik, Arda, and B’trilla have seen major gains for the nationalist party. 

Newly elected governor of Feena, Vahn Goreing, a former ace pilot who served under the Wyld Empire*, had this to say at his inaugural speech:

Today marks the beginning of a new Era for our sector. I was born here on Feena. I have seen the Republic continue to forget about our brother and sister systems on the other side of The Roil. We’ve seen our Reachmen and Reachwomen fall into living in squalor. We’ve seen dysfunction in the Republic cause homeless rates to skyrocket while they fully fund expensive foreign conflicts to interfere with the destinies of those systems who choose not to bow to their rule. 

The Republic claims to be a “Democracy for all Sentients”, but time and again they quibble and bicker about what Coruscanti Oligarchs they will send their next trillion-credit budget bill to. All the while, systems continue to deal with disasters, equipment failures, and random acts of terror that go unanswered! We say no more!

To all of our siblings who live cowed under the yolk of oppression under the guise of a government ‘for the people’, we implore you: take your own destiny into your hands! Support Ralskun Direeb in your upcoming election for the Senate, and he will lead you to independence, to join those of us who have given ourselves the tools and weapons to forge our own destiny. We will reclaim the glory of the Reach’s two bygone empires. Come with us as we forge the “Third Great State” of the Reach!

Senatorial Incumbent Senator Kielbras Pol’cal gave this rebuttal later that day from the sector capital of Torque,

People of the Reach. I implore you, do not allow yourselves to be swayed by this ultranationalist propaganda. The Roilers, who are only just now a legitimate political organization, were only to achieve such a status by bullying, intimidating, and using strong-man politics on the worlds who are across the Nebula. The majority of our brothers and sisters in their independent systems do not support them! They have been silenced through coercion and suppression! 

You, now, have the choice to vote to continue to uphold the values that our ancestors bequeathed to us. To continue the legacy of Rebellion versus tyrants like people of the reach did centuries ago, to continue holding close the values of Skywalker and the reforged Jedi Order in this very sector! That Order who, to this day, continue to be the example we can follow. You, in this election, have the choice to maintain our course for a people’s government, governed by good judgment, reflection, and the rule of law… Listen not to those who want to take us so many steps back into oppression, xenophobia, and totalitarianism!

The race is heated, as polls show that both candidates Kielbras Pol’cal and Ralskun Direeb are neck-and-neck along species lines. Ralskun Direeb is far, far ahead in the polls of majority human populations on the agriworlds and factory-districts of Reach planets, while Senator Pol’cal is leading by a wide margin in mixed-species urban city-centers on trade planets such as Torque.

All eyes in the sector are on the polling booths which will open at 08:00 Torque time on 435.25. Given the rising wave of violence in systems on both sides of The Roil, the Jedi Order has volunteered its members as a neutral third party to oversee the elections and maintain a security presence, drawing ire from Roiler politicians. Senator Ralskun Direeb,

It is clear that, while ostensibly the Jedi Order is not in bed with the Republic, they have never made it a secret that they hold a deep sympathy and bias towards the Republic. Many of the Order’s own leadership team were soldiers in the Republic army, or commanded Republic soldiers in conflicts as recent as the Wyld Crisis! Anyone who truly believes that these ‘security details’ from the Order are anything more than goons who will intimidate the body politique of the Gordian Reach into maintaining the status quo are at best willfully ignorant or at worst in league with the cabal of oligarchs that play behind the scenes both in the halls of both Coruscant and Ossus.

 

Know this: Anything that happens on election day is certainly orchestrated by the entrenched powers whose self interest relies on the current galactic order of exploiting those who cannot rise to speak for themselves.

The Galactic News Network will be providing live coverage and updates on the turbulent senatorial election in the Gordian Reach on 435.25, so please tune in then.

* It should be noted that, along with all other military participants of the Wyld Conflict, those not directly associated with War Crimes were given full pardons at the end of the war so long as they agree to not participate in any hostilities towards the Republic, League of Sovereign Systems, or any of their allies.

Companies such as Czerka Enterprises, Lerrimore Contracting Company, and Corellian Engineering Corporation – in cooperation with the Bank of Aargau, have granted 50 million credits to the University of Coruscant, Corellia University, and Mrlsst Trade and Science Academy. This unrestricted donation is meant to bolster creativity and ingenuity in the respective school’s engineering and science departments.

This contribution has been met with wide acclaim by the public.

One student from the University of Coruscant – Jaq Roznex (20 M), majoring in engineering, is thrilled.

This is insane! My class and I will be able to finish our robotic project without my professor coin pinching. Never thought companies like Czerka or Lerrimore cared like that.

We were able to catch up to Republic Senator Menzyx Kallian, a rising star in the Senate, leader of the Centrist party, and former executive for the Bank of Aargau, on the Senate floor – and he had this to say on the matter:

I am proud of the ceaseless work the Bank of Aargau has done to finance the Republic. And it is my firm belief that we are approaching a precipice. Every day I see more homeless people, more violence, and not on Tatooine where you would expect such a thing, but on planets that were once the models of dignity like Coruscant and even Aargau, my home. Why? The people of this great Republic, of all classes and races, have been crushed by the weight of its… imperialistic overreaching. More conflict in our Outer Rim territories? What a surprise! We must instead focus on investing in the next generation of top minds. Without their innovations, their… forward-thinking, it will be impossible to improve our infrastructure. It is imperative that we raise the quality of life and make smarter use of our resources, or this… fractured Republic will shatter.

Research done by the Affiliated Press Voter Study Group shows that Senator Kallian has had a significant uptick in the quarterly Senatorial polls since this interview. Time will tell if this really is just the nudge the Republic needs.

Reporting contributed by the Affiliated Press.

Shown above: Jovan Station minutes before chaos broke out, killing 80 people and injuring over a hundred more.

Devastation today at Jovan Station, a deep space station and trade hub located at P6 subgrid C in the Gordian Reach. Abruptly, and for a second time in the last cycle, Industrial Automation’s line of DE units, ones that had been recalled, repaired, and vetted by Quality Assurance specialists before being reactivated; exploded and sent out EMP shockwaves that resulted in damage throughout the station. System failures and collateral damage from unit detonations caused 76 people to die during the events, as well as four others who succumbed to their wounds at a later time.

During the commotion, several storage bays opened and thousands of credits worth of goods were lost. Eyewitnesses spotted at least one freighter taking advantage of the chaos to recover several dozen crates that were adrift in space before departing and making a jump to Hyperspace. Due to the electromagnetic blasts that occurred throughout the station, flight control was unable to identify the transponder code of the freighter in question. The Republic is offering a 10,000 credit reward for anyone who has information that can help in identifying the thieves.

Industrial Automation’s spokesperson has not made any public or official comment yet. Anonymous sources from inside the business have reported that there’s mass chaos within the droid manufacturer as the leaders of the corporation hunt for people on the inside who may be conducting sabotage or other espionage inside the business.

Senatorial Candidate for the newly formed Independent Reach Party, Ralskun Direeb, had this to say on todays’ events:

It pains me to see my people, the noble and dignified people of the Gordian Reach, betrayed yet again by the incompetence of the Republic! Over the last several weeks all that my supporters, and future constituents, have been demanding is basic security and stability for their families! This is the problem with the bureaucracy of Democracy. These democratic elites on Coruscant care about nothing other than their re-election campaigns! When I’m elected to office, I will waste no time in using my voice to introduce a secession document for all systems so that we can create our own government that will reclaim how great the Gordian Reach used to be!

Of note, Candidate Ralskun Direeb was wearing an armband on his sleeve with the emblem of “The Roilers”, an ultranationalist group that has been holding, often violent, protests in the independent ‘Back Reach’ as well as on Torque after the terror attack there. The movement is gaining in momentum, and only time will tell how this latest incident impacts the radical movement in this sector of space.

Shown above: The logo of “The Roilers”, an often violent Ultranationalist group dedicated to creating an independent state for the Gordian Reach.

Reporting Contributed by the Affiliated Press