Grand Study
Oligard Estate, Nei’kapo
Cor’neria System — Collective Territory

Natural light poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting faint shadows from the afternoon sun. Outside, rows of green fields stretched into the distance until they met sloped and rounded hillsides. Inside, the room smelled crisp, dry, and clean. Rows of tall shelving contained a wealthy collection of holovids, datapads, and holographic projectors that could bring to life historical galactic battles going all the way back to the days of the Old Republic.

In the center of the Grand Study, an array of high-backed chairs fastened into the floorboards were arranged in a circle. No one chair was raised on any kind of dias or pedestal, so everyone gathered sat at the same level—including the Lord Superior of the Collective.

“So, what have we learned since our last meeting?” Rath Oligard asked aloud to the gathered group of advisors that comprised the leadership of the Collective.

“Sir,” Ghaffa Ordam, Field Commander of Capital Enterprise, spoke first. “Our agents have intercepted the coordinates for this diplomatic meeting between the Brotherhood and the Severian Principate. On top of that, our reports indicate that this sector, known as Lyra-3, holds one of the artifact fragments we’ve had our eyes on.”

“So, not only do we know exactly where to hit them, but we gain another chance to add another artifact to our collection!” Captain Crimson exclaimed excitedly as she brushed a stray strand of auburn hair away from her blue eyes.

Crimson was the poster-soldier for the Collective’s Liberation Front, and was wearing her infamous armor. She had elected to remove her helmet for this meeting with the Advisory Council, however, which made it hard for her to hide the fact that her eyes always seemed to rest on Rath’s. The Captain had been hard at work gathering more recruits to their cause and longed to once again strike back at the wretched Dark Brotherhood.

“Excellent, then we know what our next move is,” Rath regarded Crimson with a faint smile and then nodded in approval as he steepled his fingers together. “We must ensure that the Brotherhood does not enter into any kind of arrangement with this Principate, and we will secure that artifact.”

“There is a...slight complication, sir,” Ordam replied with less confidence than usual in her tone. The Nautolan leaned forward in her chair and placed one hand on the side of her tentacled head.

While Ghaffa had served dutifully throughout the campaign against the Dark Brotherhood, the recent failures at Meridian station had even her on edge. With the loss of Daggo, she had been stretched thin working to assist Kerwin and Sparks with managing the Technocratic Guild.

Rath did not seem angry or annoyed, however. He quietly looked up at Ghaffa from his command chair and waited patiently for her to explain.

“They have chosen a location for the meeting on the edge of their own territory. Near Hutt space, to be exact.” she explained. “And as you know, the Severian Principate was part of the Galactic Empire and is currently a part of the New Republic, so they have a substantial military and diplomatic backing.”

“That of course means that we can’t mobilize our Battle Groups in full,” Sul Pahlee continued, taking his cue from Ghaffa. The Captain of the Collective’s flagship—Skylla—had earned his place within Rath’s inner council for his long term loyalty and service against the Brotherhood.

“Which means that the Brotherhood can’t mobilize their navy at full capacity either,” Rath countered. Even as he mouthed the words, however, his mind was already thinking two steps ahead. “...which also means that in any scenario, the Principate can not only bring the weight of their whole fleet, but also the threat of the New Republic.” Oligard ran a hand through his beard and considered the tactical issues before them.

“Yes. Not to mention, things didn’t go well the last time we made contact with the Principate,” Avitus Oligard, Rath’s Chief Counsel added. “They were not exactly open minded to our cause.”

“You mean they didn’t support the brave soldiers who risk their lives for the greater good of the galaxy,” Crimson sneered.

Avitus regarded her with hollowed, tired eyes. “Yes, it would appear so.”

Beside the Chief Counselor, Arraris Varken grunted and looked out the window and into the distance. The Chief Guardsman had little patience for these kinds of meetings.

“So. Our options are limited. If that is the case, perhaps I should meet with the Principate myself in person—”

“—Supreme Leader, you can’t,” Captain Crimson slammed her armored fist down.

“—Sir, I must insist against that,” Aarraris chimed.

“—let’s not be hasty,” Avitus whispered.

“—we are perfectly capable of handling this,” Ghafa sneered.

“—Ah,” Kerwin mouthed for lack of better input. He was easily drowned out as the combined voices of the Lord Superior’s closest advisors crashed into a deluge of heated discord. Their volume continued to spike as they each tried to speak over one another.

It was times like this that Rath really felt the loss of Daggo Mouk. The mad but brilliant Ithorian would have already been sitting on a piece of technology that would aid them in solving whatever current conundrum was being present. He always had, and it kept the other advisors in line.

The fiery haired leader of the Collective lifted his hand, drawing everyone to slowly come down from their hot takes on the situation. His eyes shifted calmly to the lone holographic figure present at the meeting in the only otherwise unoccupied chair available.

“You have been unusually quiet, Antillus,” Rath’s gilded voice slid smoothly over the newfound silence. “You have an idea.” Like most of his deductions, Oligard made it sound like a statement, not a question.

“I do,” Varryn Antillus’s voice was crisp and clear over his full-body projection. The Chancellor of Capital Enterprises uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. “I have everything I need to re-present our organization to the Principate,” Antillus smiled.

Rath Oligard regarded his longest running business partner with cool, calculating eyes. “You want to attend the meeting yourself, then?”

“Indeed. And this time...” Varryn trailed off, allowing the harsh reminder of the Collective’s previously failed attempts to negotiate with the Principate linger ominously in the air. “This time,” he repeated, “I believe they will be much more inclined to work with us, not against us.”

The rest of the council was quiet. They each exchanged glances and seemed to be thinking more clearly now that the idea of a potential threat to their Lord Superior had passed.

“The Brotherhood thinks they have the upper hand against us,” Antillus continued. “They think that the loss of Daggo and Meridian has crippled us.” While one eye permanently scarred shut, Varryn’s remaining organic eye narrowed dangerously. There was iron in his voice, even over the holocom. “So we will show them how strong we are, and just how fragile they really are.”

“I will leave it in your hands then, old friend,” Rath bowed his head respectfully towards the hologram. Antillus returned the gesture before his projected representation flickered and then departed to leave the chair empty.

The Collective move on from the loss of Meridian Space Station. In the year since their defeat to the Brotherhood, the organization has been hard at work searching for a definitive way to eradicate the Brotherhood and it’s Force users from the galaxy. Coordinates for a high profile diplomatic meeting between the Brotherhood and the Severian Principate approaches, but the Collective will not simply sit ideal. Click here to read the full fiction.

Summary

Cor'neri System

• Welcome to Cor’neria—the Collective’s hidden home system. This fiction takes place mostly here, and covers a major recap of what the Collective has been up to the past year. (This name is what happens when Mav lets me make my own worldbuilding decisions. You’re welcome.)
• Kerwin Drake asks for an additional explanation about the Artifacts the Collective has been after since Ros: Meridian. Hooray for exposition. Kerwin was a Combat Writing target back in Great Jedi War XII, so some of you may remember him.
• Gwendolyn “Sparks”, the demolitions expert, is also the protege of Daggo Mouk. She showed up in RoS: Meridian as well.
• Sparks explains that the Collective has been collecting (heh) crystal fragments of an Artificial Intelligence construct that was once a sentient shard.
• With enough pieces of the artifact, the Collective would be able to create a working prototype that mirrored the original. This would give them the ability to enhance not only their foot soldiers, but to seamlessly coordinate their fleets. It also was said to protect against tricks of the mind from the Force.
• This is the weapon the Collective have been working towards, and they believe it is the key to defeating the Brotherhood and eradicating Force-Users from the galaxy.
• The Brotherhood procured one such shard in RoS: Meridian. It is currently in the possession of Clan Odan-Urr, with an agreement to study it alongside the Dark Council.
• Kerwin reflects on everything that’s happened, and acknowledges the weight of being the new leader of the Technocratic Guild.
• We also get some insight into how the Technocratic Soldiers come to be.
• Daggo Mouk was the former Guildmaster and leader of the Technocratic Guild. He was killed during the Brotherhood’s raid on Meridian and left a clear vacuum.
• Sparks is too quirky and focused on her work to lead.
• Kendra Icasta, who was featured heavily in the events leading up to RoS: Meridian, was not succesful in keeping a hold of the artifact. Her Huntress’ found it, but failed to complete their mission. She put the weight of the loss of Meridian on her own shoulders and has been dealing with her self-destructive tendencies instead of helping the Technocratic Guild move on from their heavy loss.
• This leaves Kerwin as the only viable choice to lead, even though he’d rather not.
• Kerwin summarises what Sparks explained: the Collective needs more shards. They currently have four, the Brotherhood has one.
• Kerwin leaves to attend a meeting of the Collective Advisory Council.

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• We’ve never really gotten to see where Rath Oligard, founder and leader of the Collective, spends his time. His home looks to be a lush farming world, quiet and secluded.
• In his study (my attempts at Star Wars’ing a fancy personal library), Rath has assembled his Advisory Council consisting of:
  • Avitus Oligard — Rath’s cousin and Chief Advisor.
  • Arraris Varken — Rath’s bodyguard and Chief of his Guardsman.
  • Captain Crimson — War hero and poster child for the Liberation Front. In charge of training new troops and recruiting new members to the Collective.
  • Ghaffa Ordam — We’ve seen Ghaffa show up in almost every Collective story. She is the most active and visible leader of Capital Enterprises and was featured RoS: Meridian.
  • Kerwin Drake — We talked about him literally a few lines above this.
  • Sul Pahlee — The Captain of the Collective’s Flagship, the Skylla. He fought the Brotherhood on the front lines at Nancora during Great Jedi War XII.
  • Varryn Antillus — The mastermind behind Capital Enterprises. He is the only person not present, and is represented thanks to a full-body holographic image of himself.
• Rath is given an update on current affairs. More exposition.
• Capital Enterprises agents have intercepted the meeting coordinates for the Brotherhood and Severian Principates diplomatic meeting in a system called “Lyra-3”.
• Crimson is very excited at having another chance to ruin things for the Brotherhood. She also seems to be a bit...hot for teacher? Subtext, yo.
• Rath is pleased to hear this, but Ghaffa quickly amends that there is a potential complication.
• The Severian Principate is part of the New Republic. This means that bringing a large scale naval force (one of the Collective’s strong suits) could draw unwanted attention from the New Republic and their allies.
• This also means that the Brotherhood can’t mobilize the Iron Navy at full capacity. The same goes for the Clans. A double-edged sword that adds intrigue to the coming conflict.
• Avitus reminds everyone that the last time the Collective interacted with the Severian Principate, it did not go well. Apparently, the Imperial Remnant group was not keen on their practice of using Zealots as suicide pilots against their enemies.
• Rath understands the gravity of the situation, and volunteers to go speak to the Severian Principate himself. The Collective was built around his silver tongue, so who better else to fix their previous mistakes.
• Everyone in the room bursts out into protest. They are all overprotective of their Lord Superior, and while they have different ways of expressing it, they argue with one another over why sending Rath in is a bad idea.
• The only person who doesn’t seem to be caught up in the exchange is Varryn Antillus. Rath notices this, and sets up his oldest confidant to step up to the plate.
• Antillus says he has a plan that will ruin the Brotherhood’s potential relationship with the Severian Principate, and get them to side with the Collective.

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• The Kilaeon is a ship within Battle Group Vordania, which one of the Collective assets in their Possessions fleet.
• Varryn is suited up and ready to board a shuttle to crash the meeting between the Brotherhood representatives and the Severian Principate diplomats.
• He checks in with an officer about the plans he’s laid out in preparation.
• Exposition reveals that the plan is to use stolen/recovered ships from the Iron Navy for a future purpose not yet named. Classic misdirection.
• It is also revealed that Varryn had ordered captured POWs (prisoners of war) from the Brotherhood’s forces to be brainwashed into serving as righteous zealots for the Collective. Savage. Still want to join the Collective?
• Varryn clearly has a plan that is going to complicate matters between the Severian Principate and the Dark Brotherhood.
• Get your towels ready, it’s about to go down.
• Up next...Great Jedi War XII

If you’re still curious about the Collective, please see their very detailed Wiki page that I’ve spent a lot of time updating and building out over the past 2 years.

Conclusion

This wraps up the current fictional story arc: Brotherhood Rising. The next fiction will kick off the Great Jedi War XIII story arc. This should cap off the storylines started prior to and post-Meridian as well. We focused a lot on the Brotherhood’s Societies, characters, and internal development, while introducing a brand new faction. I want to thank everyone that’s followed along and been engaged, even if these aren’t your favorite stories ever. I’m excited to finish things off with this Great Jedi War and look forward to seeing what direction the story takes after I pass it on to the next Voice.

More details about the War will follow from the DGM/GM. For now, enjoy the fiction and please support the official release.

Thank you,