(OOC note: Yes, it says "Open" in the title, but it isn't yet. We will let you know when you can jump in. Until then, follow closely, because you're probably going to need to know what's going on.)




The Empire was in tatters. The Coalition, as always, was sitting on its hands. The Confederation had turned into shit-eaters. The mysterious and nonsensical “Alliance” was busy sowing chaos and discord, presumably even among its own ranks. The Commonwealth was hiding behind its wall of neutrality.

Precious few galactic organizations remained both intact and active. There were the Cree'Ar with their terrifying technological monstrosities and unknown origins, the Reavers with their mindless rampaging through the Rim, and . . .

. . . and the League of Nations, whose internal strife had just given way to renewed focus.

An emergency meeting had been called after word arrived of Emperor Chaddwick Fearsons' death. Lord Admiral Dakkon Blackblade had attended the initial call to order, taking the opportunity to pledge his personal allegiance to Fearsons' final order. The fate of the Jutraalian Empire was now, publicly and totally, in the hands of Jedi Master Zark Ekan.

The revelation had shaken the Rotunda to its core. A recess had been called to await word from Master Ekan. In the interim, new alliances were forged as the old crumbled with the news. With Tirahnn reemerging in League politics, Fearsons dead, and the strength of Jutraalian forces now in the hands of the Jedi, the petty schemes and dark ambitions of many League members had been stopped cold.

The League was changing, and with it the galaxy would be reshaped.


League of Nations Rotunda, Obroa-Skai


At the behest of Herron Fenn, representative of Obroa-Skai and head of the League Assembly, the young Jedi stood. Now at the head of the Jutraalian seat, he offered a courteous nod to the representatives from Ossus before addressing the entire Assembly. “My friends, my allies, today I come bearing a request from Master Ekan himself.

"Emperor Fearsons committed his military force to the defense of the League of Nations, deploying his great fleet to protect member worlds from the threat of outside aggression. Today, I must ask you to excuse that commitment.”

The gasps of shock and shouts of fear reverberated throughout the room. The loss of the Jutraalian fleet would seriously compromise the League defense plan. Whole member worlds would be totally exposed to attack. It was, quite simply, unconscionable.

But the young Jedi pressed forward with his message. “Master Ekan intends to dispatch the Jutraalian Fleet to assist with the timely and thorough curtailing of the Reaver threat. Honored representatives, the time to do good is at hand.”

“But what of the League's protection?” A Kel Dor asked, his concern evident.

The Jedi was quick to respond. “My friends, if we do not stop the Reavers soon, there will be no protection for anyone.”

“But what of the Cree'Ar?” A Gotal asked warily. “Do you not have a responsibility to protect us from them?” Thanks to the influence of the Antarian Rangers, the government of Antar IV had staunchly opposed the Cree'Ar declaration against Force-users. Withdrawal of the Jutraalian fleet would leave many such pro-Jedi worlds within the League vulnerable to Cree'Ar attack.

The Jedi's features had grown solemn. “The galaxy we live in is full of dangers, seen and unseen. We must fight those evils we can, right those wrongs for which we have the means, or we are no better than those who act out those wrongs, who abide in those evils." The Jedi paused for a moment, his inner turmoil evident. "I do not have a solution to your problems. I don't have an answer to your questions. I can't promise you everything is going to be alright. But we have to do something. We have to stop this before it's too late.”

“Regardless, we can't do it alone,” The Vor representative said.

“The Coalition's anti-Reaver Compact?” The Shili member suggested.

Irola Thane, recently reinstated representative of Tirahnn, shook his head at the notion. “It's already gotten so bogged down with political interplays that it hasn't even managed to file a request for assistance from the League. The Prime Minister's Compact is a great start, but we're going to need more, better, and faster.”

“Agreed.” The Obroan leader, Herron Fenn, finally spoke, immediately drawing the Assembly's full attention. “If we are to stand any chance, either of preserving our own freedom or resolving the threats posed by the Reavers and the Cree'Ar, then we must act, and we must do so in unity. We must reach out to the remainder of the galaxy, and find the common ground upon which to build our last, best hope for freedom and safety. And we must do it quickly.”

The Togruta from Shilli spoke up again. “A conference? But who do we invite?”

“Everyone, of course,” The Vor answered. “We cannot allow political conflicts or social barriers to hinder us from this goal. If we are going to organize an effective opposition to the Reavers and ensure protection against the Cree'Ar, then we're going to need the assistance of everyone willing. The Coalition, the Confederation, the Commonwealth . . . the Empire in all of its various states of disarray, even smaller forces from across the galaxy. It's time to put our differences aside and focus on the true enemies encircling us.”

“But where would we host this meeting?” The Carratos representative asked. “What place is left with the neutrality and security necessary to host it without bias? How can we ensure everyone will come?”

Herron Fenn sat bolt upright as revelation dawned upon him. “I have an idea.”



Sinsang


Before its self-isolation, the world of Sinsang had had ties to the New Order of the Galactic Empire, the Galactic Coalition of Planets, and the League of Nations. It maintained its own defense force independent of any of those political entities, and coupled with its varied trade ties, its massive industrial capacity ensured it the economic power to endure even the most severe of galactic economic catastrophes.

There was perhaps no better place to host this meeting. Now, to convince the Sinsangese of this . . .

The escort craft had been left well outside the system; there would be no international military incident today. Instead, the League diplomatic yacht entered the system alone, reverting from hyperspace well away from Sinsang.

Herron Fenn hoped the Sinsangese still monitored League diplomatic channels, because there wasn't anything in the etiquette book about which comm channel was appropriate for reinitiating contact with an isolationist world. Whatever the case, the communications officer entered her commands, and Herron became very aware that his next words might very well change the galaxy forever. “Honored leaders of Sinsang, I am Representative Herron Fenn, head of the League of Nations Joint Assembly. I am here today at the head of a League delegation, in the name of peace, to seek out your friendship once more.

“If you would permit us to land, there is much the League of Nations would like to discuss with you.”

Freight traffic had slowed down since Sinsang had withdrawn itself from Galactic politics. It was still more than before they had entered, with the deals they made and were still beholden to with the Coalition. Today was the same as every other day.

Or at least, it was.

As soon as the yacht entered the system and its registry was picked up by the Sinsangese, the servicemen in the naval facilities on Gaising were listening.

A young lieutenant listened intently to his earpiece, taking quick notes of the transmission into his terminal. Normally, incoming traffic was dealt with by the civilian Shipping Service. But, the circumstances demanded a different touch.

“Sir.” Lieutenant Tseng said, listening to the transmission. “We’ve got a diplomatic envoy from the League of Nations requesting to land. Its serial codes and registration codes check out.”

“The League? I received no word we were supposed to expect a diplomatic shuttle….” Commented the Commander of the Watch, to no one in particular. “Tell them to take up a position outside of the shipping lanes, but let them come into orbit. Have them wait until we get confirmation from planetside.”

“Aye, sir.” Lieutenant Tseng confirmed, sending out the necessary transmissions.

--------------------------------------

Bei-diang

As the shuttle touched down on the landing pad in the city core, a small group of diplomats were awaiting to greet them. There were no banners, nor bands, and even the media was absent. Just a handful of Sinsangese men and women in finely tailored clothes, with a small honour guard.

When the League representatives began to come out the shuttle, one of the Sinsangese men in the crowd stepped forward with a smile and offered his hand to Herron Fenn.

“We are honoured that the leader of the League Assembly himself would come to meet with us personally.” The diplomat said, as if the past fall out with the League had never happened. His voice warm and cordial, with no sign of the cold relations Sinsang had recently with the Galactic Powers. “We only wish you would’ve given us more notice as to arrange a proper meeting for you and your fellows.”

“The Chairman is currently busy, but will be able to meet you all later this evening. Until then, I will be available to discuss anything you wish. There are suites available at the Imperial Arms hotel for you all. The arrangements are being taken care of as we speak.”

“Oh, where are my manners. I am Chairman Cheong Hwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. It is a pleasure.” He said; with a small bow to the group, but not letting off talking to allow another a word in. “Pleasure, I’m sure. If you could follow me we have conference room ready to begin discussions.”

With a motion, he entered the building motioning for the rest to follow him inside. He still continued on with practiced ease. They made their way down the short hall to a lift. With a press of a button, a soft hum began to emanate from the shaft.

“There will be some food platters available, in case you haven’t eaten in a while. We are, sadly, unaware of the time your shuttle was set to.” The Minister said, with a hint of disappointment to his voice, but he rose back to his previously chipper tune. “But don’t spoil your appetites. It will be lunch shortly, local time, and we’ll have our catering service bring anything available you wish from culinary choices across the galaxy.”

“But I digress, we have business to discuss.” The lift door slid open, and the Minister stepped inside.

As the League delegation filed into the conference room, the Sinsangese Minister's constant flow of commentary finally broke, allowing Representative Fenn an opportunity to explain himself. “My apologies for arriving without notice,” He began, accepting a proffered seat. “With the HoloNet in its current state of disarray and all previously established lines of communication between the League and Sinsang severed, the League felt that the magnitude of the situation dictated the most direct course possible.

“Time is precious, Minister, now more than ever before. The Galaxy is a dangerous place, but it is all that we have. The threat posed by an unchecked Reaver expansion, the terror brought by the arrival of the Force-hunting Cree'Ar; these are matters which supersede political boundaries and government jurisdictions. The fate of the Galaxy rests on how its denizens face these threats. Alone, we are all doomed to failure.

“But together . . . together, we can prevail. The League of Nations intends to organize a galactic conference with the aims of coordinating an effective defense against the Reavers and determining the true threat posed by the Cree'Ar.

“Sinsang, with its political and economic ties to so many galactic governments, is an ideal location for this conference. Minister, the League is aware of its own strained ties with some galactic powers. If not for more pressing events, we would have almost certainly been thrust into militant conflict with the Galactic Empire only a few months ago. We need a world, a people, and a government that can be trusted to remain neutral and objective, or this conference will fail before it has even begun.

"Simply put: as Head of the League of Nations Joint Assembly, I am here to petition Chairman Hwan and the people of Sinsang to host a Conference for Galactic Unity. In the face of these universal threats, cooperation and understanding are our greatest tools. Only together can we pervail.”