A Changing Galaxy

By Morrie Mullins
Living Force Plot Director and Campaign Designer

A great deal can happen in nineteen months. Gen Con 2002 marks the 20th month of the Living Force campaign, and we'd like to take this opportunity to look back on the events that have unfolded so far, through the eyes of one of the historians at the Jedi Academy on Almas.
Warning: If you haven't played all of the modules from year one (and some of those from year two), the information below may contain SPOILERS, and you're advised not to read it!

It began, if reports are to be believed, with a smiling face in the sky. While the Metatheran Cartel had made its presence known in the system for some time - having contributed to unrest, but always managing to keep their upturned noses clean - the disruption of the Reidi Artom celebration found the people of Cularin in a state of disquiet like never before.

The image of Velin Wir stayed with the people of Cularin -- the way he smiled down at them, the way he wheedled and cajoled and laughed in that strange squeak of a voice. He was never a pleasant individual, but the depths of his treachery remained, at that time, unknown. Within a matter of weeks, things grew clear. Wir had commanded that Cartel harvesters cut one of the sacred ch'hala groves of the Tarasin, and a movement surfaced within the Cularin underworld to remove the Cartel from the system.

Following a period of intense political maneuvering, Wir's machinations were revealed, and Wir himself died at the hands of the citizens of Cularin. This was, in many ways, a remarkable turn of events - not in the sense of Wir's death, but in the manner that it came about. Cularin has never been a hotbed of political activism, nor has it been a great center of commerce. Yet despite all of the inertia the galaxy has to offer, the citizens of Cularin stepped out of their daily roles and began to take a very welcome proactive approach to the well-being of their home. They became, on the day the Cartel left the planet and went into orbit, heroes.

To have watched such a transformation with an historian's eye is rare indeed. There are moments when cultures shift, when people realize that there is more to their lives than they had ever imagined. Those of us who read of times and places far removed from our own are familiar with the idea of such shifts, but to observe one in progress, to see a people transformed - it has been simultaneously numbing and exhilarating.

I digress. Following their remarkable discovery of the plot involving Wir and his subsequent death, it would have been easy for the newborn heroes of Cularin to sink back into the safety and obscurity of the surrounding populace. They did not. Instead, their reputations led them to be called into service to assist Nirama in dealing with a group that we now know as "The Cell." The Cell appears to have been a splinter faction within Nirama's organization that, dissatisfied with his leadership, elected to replace him rather forcibly. Through the intervention of Cularin's heroes, the coup was averted, and Nirama remained in control of smuggling in the system. While the Jedi Academy can offer no official opinion in the matter, history does show that benevolent leaders who provide stability are almost universally preferred over unknown leaders who might kill to obtain power. Therefore, speaking as a historian (if not a Jedi), I believe that the choice of Nirama (the known power) over the Cell (an unknown quantity if there ever was one) showed wisdom.

The conflicts that followed seemed to build upon one another, almost as if they had been designed to do so. The presence of a fallen Jedi was discovered just in time to prevent him from wreaking havoc on the system, although the Jedi himself was neither captured nor killed. Of late, the Academy has been engaged in transporting the remnants of his attempt at power to the Jedi Council on Coruscant, so that better defenses may be put in place.

One of the most disturbing developments of the previous year was the discovery of a hidden base within the Cularin system constructed by the Thaereian military. Master Lanius had felt a disturbance in the Force, but it was too vague and distant for him to make out clearly until it was already nearly too late. By the time he arrived at the scene, Cularin's heroes had already discovered the base and were in the process of making their exit. The Thaereian military has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, but their peace-keeping forces have been under much more intense scrutiny.

A year after their dismissal from Cularin, the Metatheran Cartel again attempted to regain entry to the planet, this time through political maneuverings within the highest levels of Cularin's government. With the assistance of "unfortunate circumstances" surrounding Hedrett's Councilor Westa Impeveri in particular, it appeared that they might succeed. It was not to be, however, and they remain in orbit above Cularin, conducting business as usual.

Most recently, there have been signs of a growing darkness throughout the system. Much of the darkness, it appears, is localized in the Sith fortress on the far side of Almas. This comes as little surprise to anyone, although the timing - which coincides with a darkness that is making itself felt in the Asteroid Belt - may yet be cause for concern.

In watching the heroes of Cularin, I have learned a great deal. One day, I hope that my records will serve as a means for other historians to understand the age in which they live, as the writings of those who have gone before have assisted me. What is perhaps most exciting of all is the definite feeling I have that the best of our heroes is yet to be seen.

Oden Malksch
Historian, Almas Jedi Academy