Jedi

The Jedi Order
(About 13 years out of date)

=Overview=

The history of the Jedi, while long and complicated, is nevertheless essential to developing an understanding of the present incarnation of this legendary Order. In order to escape the near complete obliteration of the old Jedi ways by Emperor Palpatine’s New Order, numerous Jedi Knights went into hiding shortly after the dramatic conclusion of the Clone Wars. Known survivors range from men like Quinlan Vos, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ses-Cae Desdina and Gerrick Wolfe to even Master Yoda himself, but the essential point remains that a strong tradition of Jedi teachings did survive the supposed death of the Order—even if those who kept this knowledge were forced to hide until the time was right for their return.

The sudden appearance of Luke Skywalker, the powerful scion of Kenobi’s old apprentice, caught everyone off guard. The naturally talented youth possessed a mastery of the Force that rivaled even Yoda himself, although it took the boy years to realize his full potential. Even after his defeat of his father over Endor and the subsequent death of the Emperor, Luke still waited for over a decade after the Battle of Yavin before founding what would become as the New Jedi Order.

In binding together the various traditions that would create this Order, Skywalker initially drew only upon his own insights into the Force, subsequently creating an organization that bore little resemblance to the Jedi of old. But, unbeknownst to the Galaxy at large, survivors of the Purge were beginning to take notice of this fledgling Order—survivors who were more than happy to contribute their own knowledge and expertise into the mix. Some, like Desdina, preferred to remain in the shadows, immersed in other works and only contributing occasionally to the Order; others, like the Kushiban Master Ikrit, offered substantial advice that helped shape the new organization into a closer approximation of the old.

The Jedi of today work very closely with the forces of the New Republic, forming a relationship that has caused some of the older members—those who remember the dangers of placing total faith in a galactic political body—a great deal of worry. Nevertheless, the Jedi of the current era are focused primarily on assisting the Republic in whatever way they can, from helping relieve suffering on planets embroiled in crisis to leading armies into battle.

=Organization=

Due to the relatively small size of the current Jedi Order, it is understandable that the relationship between most knights, apprentices and masters is relatively a tightly-knit one. The breakdown in numbers can be seen below.

Luke Skywalker, Jedi Grand Master 3 Masters on the Jedi Council 50 Additional Masters 150 Knights 120 Apprentices 144 Unapprenticed Padawans and a handful of Older Initiates (all aged 12+) 200 Younglings (aged < 12)

Total: 668 members

=The Jedi Council=

The High Council
Luke Skywalker, Aineias Trojhirrim, Ses-Cae Desdina

While Luke Skywalker holds the rank of Grand Master over all other Jedi, the Order itself is presently led by the three Masters of the High Council. In addition to these three Councilors, however, nine additional seats exist for various other Masters to have a say in the various subdivisions of the Order. The Jedi Council, then, is actually composed of twelve members, although only the three Councilors handle most of decisions.

It should be noted that only membership on the High Council grants a Jedi the rank of Councilor, and that those Jedi seated on the three subordinate Councils hold the rank of Jedi Master.

Obviously, each of the three subordinate Councils has a very specific function within the Order as a whole, and each of the three report to the High Council once a day.

The Council of Guardianship
Gerrick Wolfe, Ukil Umo, JJ Dutch

The Council of Guardianship is responsible for handling military affairs, coordinating with the New Republic Armed Forces and maintaining security between the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the Praxeum on Yavin and the several smaller bases hidden throughout the Galaxy.

The Council of Knowledge
Saythar Lo'shell, Cilghal, Ikrit

The Council of Knowledge deals with all matters of learning within the Jedi Order. Among their prime duties are the various researches undertaken by men like Dr. Mattim Erraeas, the instruction of younglings at the Coruscant Temple and the continuation of this education at the Yavin Praxeum, the search for artifacts and knowledge and the occasional excavation of rare Jedi-related sites from antiquity.

=The Council of Reconciliation= Corran Horn, Neen-Ja, Sirrush

The Council of Reconciliation is tasked with maintaining peace amongst the systems of the New Republic. It generally handles all matter of diplomatic and relief-aid related activities, and generally helps tie the Republic together. The Jedi Service Corps reports directly to this council.

=The Jedi Knights=

The bulk of the Force-sensitive portion of the Jedi Order may be found in its Knights, who serve the Republic and the Galaxy as a whole in an incredibly diverse number of ways. Taking on everything from diplomatic missions to covert assaults on Imperial military installations, the Knights of the Order are the primary instruments through which the Jedi act in the Galaxy.

In addition to this, Knights are largely responsible for the training of younglings, padawans and older students seeking to join the ranks of the Jedi. As the Order believes in a policy of “Learning by doing,” many times a Knight will bring selected junior members of the Order along with them on less-dangerous assignments—a valuable teaching tool for both the student and the Knight. Further details of the training program are provided in the list of Jedi bases, and need not be covered here.

All members of the Jedi Order serve the will of the Council voluntarily, and obedience is not compulsory. That being said, there has not been a single instance of a Knight or Master disobeying one of the Council’s requests up to this time, as most Jedi are more than willing to trust the wisdom of the Council.

Jedi Knights have access to some of the most advanced weaponry and equipment in existence in order to ensure success of their missions.

=The Jedi Service Corps=

In the proud tradition of organizations like the Antarian Rangers of old, the Jedi Service Corps was created several years ago in order to assist the Jedi with their task of preserving peace throughout the New Republic. While not an actual part of the Jedi Order per se, the members of the JSC are effectively considered honorary Jedi, and all personnel act in accordance with the highest standards of morality and honor.

JSC crewmen and captains come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including everything from former military officers to former slaves freed by Jedi Knights, with occasional ex-smuggler tossed in here and there for flavor. But while their pasts may be different, one thing binds together the men and women of the JSC more tightly than any other organization known: their total and uncompromising belief in the mission and principles of the Jedi.

The JSC serves two functions. First, and most importantly, it is an organization devoted to charity, philanthropy and good works. JSC freighters are often the first on the scene after any battle, disaster or tragedy, bearing foodstuffs, water, medicine and protection for desperate refugees across the Galaxy. Individual Knights will often accompany such missions of mercy, acting as both diplomats and beacons of calm in the chaotic aftermath of such disasters.

The JSC’s secondary duty is to finance the operations of the Order as a whole—a task that might seem insurmountable, if not for the incredible business organization and efficiency of the JSC shipping fleet. With a fleet of transports comparable to that of any major corporation, a fanatically loyal corps of employees and a pragmatic business sense, the JSC is aided in its shipping task by a number of popular inventions, courtesy of Dr. Mattim Erraeas. The true genius of the organization lies in its flexibility, though; any freighter used to ship goods one day can easily bring relief to refugees the next, and the JSC’s efficiency in such matters is the stuff of legend at times.

At the end of the day the JSC rivals even the official shipping fleet of the New Republic in terms of net income. And while actually an independent corporation, the JSC is bound tightly to the Jedi Order in the same way that nationalistic companies may be bound to their governments. A breakdown of JSC resources may be found below.

It should be noted that the JSC is responsible for crewing the single warship operated solely by the Jedi, the MC-90 Star Cruiser [i]Defender[/i]. This heavily modified starship serves as a mobile base of operations for the various missions of the Jedi Order in addition to its military applications. All other ships typically seen operating alongside JSC vessels are New Republic warships, albeit oftentimes with a Jedi Knight or Master aboard.

-35 Container Transports -200 Gallofree Transports -110 Bulk Freighters -126 Light Freighters, mostly YT-series ships

-19,000 personnel, split between crew, maintenance, industrial and medical divisions -5,500 crew assigned to the MC-90 cruiser Defender -300 special operations commandos

=Jedi Bases of Operation=

Jedi Temple, Coruscant
The Temple is the headquarters of the Jedi Order and houses the primary archives, the primary research facilities, and the communications hub of the Order. But more precious than the facilities of the Temple are its primary occupants: 200 younglings who are kept in the safest environment the Jedi Order can offer. These younglings are divided into twenty groups of ten and are taught the basics of the Force, the way of the Jedi, and self defense. Each group is taught by a dedicated "mentor" (knight or master, 20 total) who not only teaches but lives among his students. In addition, the Temple houses a varying number of knights, masters, and apprentices; and its facilities are staffed by approximately 2000 members of the JSC. Anywhere from 70 to 130 knights and masters are present at any given time. Furthermore, the Temple provides a quick "crash course" for those initiates recruited at an older age to allow them to fit in better at the Praxeum where they will be able to train with students in their own age group.

("Dedicated" means a Jedi Knight cannot have an apprentice and be a mentor at the same time.)

Mentors: Desdina, Kintak's NPC sub, and 17 others Research and Archives: Aineias and Erraeas, et. al. Communications and Intelligence: NPC's

Jedi Praxeum, Yavin IV
The Praxeum is the meditative center as well as the advanced training ground of the Order. It is also the permanent home of Grand Master Luke Skywalker. The Praxeum is staffed by around 1000 JSC, and anywhere from 70 to 130 knights and masters are present at any given time along with their apprentices (applicable to those who have apprentices). Furthermore, 144 unapprenticed padawans are trained here in 24 groups of six. Each group is taught by a dedicated "trainer" (knight or master, 24 total) who teaches the group advanced applications of the Force, advanced self defense, and skills required to carry out a variety of missions. Each group will be prepared and occasionally expected to take on missions for the Jedi Order. To promote independence, the trainer will not live in the immediate vicinity of his group but a short distance away.

Furthermore, though a mentor may not have an apprentice, a trainer may. The apprentice in the course of his studies can assist his master in training the group of unapprenticed padawans and may even lead his master's padawans in group missions from time to time. (Basically, think graduate teaching assistant, but cooler.)

Corusca Base, Tierfon
The primary training base of the New Republic Army, Corusca Base was built atop an old military base from the days of the Rebel Alliance. The high gravity and diverse terrain of Tierfon provides a naturally intensive training ground for soldiers and Jedi alike, and the recently installed military-grade planetary shield generators help to make Corusca Base a bona fide fortress. Master Desdina often visits this base for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he helped found the training programs themselves. Corusca Base is always open to the Jedi; as the drill sergeants like to say, “The crazier, the better.”

With the recent escalation of the war against the Empire, the New Republic Council authorized the construction of a warship dedicated entirely to the purposes of the Jedi Order, as a sign of gratitude for their longtime support. The resulting cruiser, which was by all accounts a crown jewel in the noble tradition of Mon Calamari design, has set a new gold standard in the heavy cruiser design. Christened the [i]Defender[/i], the warship launched only a few months ago in a public ceremony.

While the MC-90 class of Star Cruiser was initially created to tackle [i]Imperial II-[/i]class Star Destroyers and win, recent advancements have further streamlined the latest incarnation of ships hailing from this class. New, highly advanced long-range turbolasers and ion cannons give the cruiser unparalleled reach over older designs, and fully modernized sensors have given the ship keener eyes than all but the most dedicated of listening posts. Thick armor, redundant system design and state-of-the-art shielding all contribute to make the Defender a truly fearsome vessel.

Generally stationed above Yavin IV, the Defender serves as the primary starfighter ‘nerve center’ for the most Jedi Operations. When Knights fly alongside New Republic military forces, for instance, they are often given controlling directions from the Defender’s command center; likewise, when a single starfighter is dispatched on reconnaissance, it is generally in constant communication with the cruiser, which then relays the signal to the Temple on Coruscant.

Other
The Jedi Order has an unreleased number of unconfirmed secondary locations. Those with proper access to the Archives know that these are small temples and observation posts with no more than a smattering of Jedi at the former and a handful at the latter. The Council keeps these bases completely secret, even from most Knights, and even the Archives make little more than passing references to them.

Written by: Desdina [[Media:Example.ogg]]