The Corellian League Back Story - Chapter One - Part 1

It is a dark time for the Republic.

It has been a tumultuous time since the end of The Great Galactic War and the signing of the dubious Treaty of Coruscant, a time of fragile peace, shadowed maneuverings, and the ubiquitous threat of Sith pervasions. The scars left by three decades of war still riddle the Core Worlds and Outer Rim territories. The Galactic Senate is unable to protect the interests of its populace, and as a Cold War quietly takes form the innocent suffer within its shadowy wake.

With thousands of Jedi lost during the war and six of its Master’s slain during the Sacking of Coruscant the order has reluctantly withdrawn to their home planet of Tython. Amid the scorn leveled upon the Jedi for failing to hold back the Sith onslaught, a handful of Jedi embark upon a bold and perilous path.

A family of four Corellian Jedi, hailing from two lines long known amongst the green robes, has refused the mandate to return to Tython. Noval Colton and Bel Drayson, cousins and Jedi Consular Masters have returned to Coruscant with their former Padawans to survey the destruction. Tormax Drayson and Perth Colton, 2nd cousins themselves, are promising young Jedi Consulars. Off world during the Sacking of Coruscant, Tormax and Perth have joined their Masters in the indelible search for knowledge, Jedi relics, and the training of the mind to reach beyond mandate and code. That search has brought them to the empty halls of the Jedi Temple, to the scars still marring the Coruscant cityscape, to a moment of reflection and a time for resolution.

Opposed to the Treaty of Coruscant and fearing for the safety of Corellia under its auspices, these Jedi seek to restore peace and prosperity to their home planet at any cost.

They are accompanied by Jedi Knight Jaxon Rone, whose former master was slain during the sacking of Coruscant. A native of Coruscant, Jaxon is an accomplished master of the lightsaber and ardent guardian of the force. He is unyielding in many ways, most of all in his belief in the Jedi code. It is strange then that Jaxon volunteered to remain with a small contingent of other Knights on Coruscant rather than joining his brothers and sisters on Tython. Perhaps he did so out of devotion to his homeworld or perhaps he was waiting on the Draysons and Coltons to return, to be reunited with comrades Tormax and Perth, friends and fellow initiates from his youth.

''The great engines of the Republic cruiser flared brilliantly, rings of blue fire lifting the vessel from the starport. The cruiser lumbered across the Coruscant skyline, the dusk hues of crimson and gold shimmering upon its metallic surface, the deafening roar of the engines trailing in its wake.''

Five Jedi stood upon an observation terrace of the Jedi Temple, long shadows cast behind them into the now vacant halls of the temple. A pall of solemnity hung over them, forlorn gazes sharing the image of the cruiser now growing distant upon the horizon.

“I never thought this day would come,” one of the Jedi, Tormax Drayson, said at last. He was a young Jedi Consular, a tall human of slight build and fair complexion. His blue eyes bespoke a measured countenance, a balance of intellect and wisdom. He shifted uncomfortably beneath his robes and slipped several fingers beneath his utility belt.

The eldest among them and master to Tormax, Noval Colton smiled at his once Padawan. “Never is a bold and unyielding word, my friend. It should be stricken from the vernacular of a Jedi, particularly a Consular.” The aged Jedi Consular stroked his beard, looping several silver-gray tendrils about his finger. “But it is not of Coruscant or empty halls that you should concern yourself with now.” Of course…Corellia. Always Corellia. Tormax smiled; his master was right, of course.

“Yes, Master.” He said at last, conceding the point.

With the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant a great imbalance had weighed upon political boundaries. Both the Republic and the Jedi were now unable to afford the proper security to those in need. Tormax’s home planet of Corellia, one of the great industrial centers of the galaxy and a founding member of the Republic, was in duress.

A quiet, discounted murmur found their ears.

“Something to add, Jedi Rone?” Noval asked without turning to regard the Jedi Knight behind him.

Jaxon Rone stiffened, unaware his ruminations could be heard. “Apologies Master Noval…I meant no disrespect.” Jaxon’s thin lips twitched beneath his neatly manicured goatee. He was tall and well built, his muscles honed from years of physical training. “Though not all of us find abandoning Coruscant so simple a task.” Jaxon Rone was, in fact, the only Jedi among them who did not hail from Corellia.

“This temple…this planet. They are the only home I have ever known.” Jaxon was a young and stalwart Jedi Knight, but the sadness welling beneath his piercing blue eyes betrayed his convictions, even if for but a moment.

The other elder Jedi among them, Bel Drayson, finally spoke. “It is an admirable thing you do, Jaxon. Korah Vorn was as much my friend as she was your master. I can think of nothing more keeping with the Jedi code that aiding us in protecting her home planet.”

Jaxon nodded silently. The notion offered little consolation and bitter comfort, yet he accepted it none-the-less. Korah had fought valiantly during the sacking of Coruscant, and like so many Jedi, so many of their brothers and sisters, she had died at the hands of the Sith Empire’s treachery.

“It is no easy task to deny the council’s orders,” the last of the young Jedi, Perth Colton, added. Perth was a brilliant young Jedi Consular, once Padawan to his second Uncle, Bel Drayson. The glimmer of exploration never escaped his eyes, whether it be for knowledge within the Jedi Archives or on missions of discovery with the master he referred to simply as “Uncle.”

“Nor should it be,” Bel offered stoically. “If Noval and I have instilled anything in you young ones…it is to challenge yourselves, your preconceptions, and those mandates you believe in your heart to be questionable. “ Perth had heard similar philosophical musings from his Uncle many times before, from their days spent with the ExplorCorps to long hours of study and discussion in the archives aboard the great praxeum ships.

Noval nodded approvingly. “Feel the force in all things…even in the decisions that may seem dubious, decisions that may come to define your very existence.” He looked to each of them in turn, reassured in the steel of their gazes that upon this path they would be vindicated. “Now my friends…we return to Corellia.”

The saga continues... Chapter One - Part 2