Coruscant... the former Queen of the Core, sitting almost at the inner edge of the galactic habitable zone, along what had used to be major trade routes that had spread its influence far and wide, and to the south of the Jimorban Dust Clouds, which had brought great wealth to the early Old Republic with their busy nebula refineries.
That age, of course, was long past.
Coruscant had been sacked at the end of a terrible war almost 2,200 years before, and only now was it truly beginning to recover from the damage, though much of its once great Galactic City still remained in ruins.
No one knew what had become of the enemy that had laid waste to the capital, save that they had mysteriously vanished when on the verge of total victory.
Much of the credit for the Republic's return to the stars must go to Chancellor Tarsus Valorum. An explorer at heart, he wanted to chart the outlying star systems and expand the Republic's borders, and would soon gain a much-deserved reputation as a champion of the people. So as to better provide for them, and invest more in scientific endeavors, the Republic's small navy was disbanded as an unnecessary expenditure, and its vessels repurposed into science ships.
It wasn't long after being exploratory efforts in earnest that Republic scientists discovered evidence of the ancient "First League", a government very much like the Old Republic, but far older. In light of the discovery, some even began to speculate if Coruscant itself could have once been a colony of the First League, though any archaeological sites unfortunately would have been long since paved over by the construction of the Galactic City.
More discoveries were soon made. There was a mysterious structure, dubbed an "L-Gate", orbiting the Ribellan Vortex.
Hidden in the nebula, but a single hyperlane jump away from Coruscant, was a system with two dry, habitable planets, and a temperate continental moon. Further analysis of the system and referencing ancient records revealed that this had once been home to the prosperous colony of Corellia, a major shipbuilding hub of the Old Republic, and the system was renamed accordingly.
Meanwhile, recolonization of another Old Republic colony, Corulag, was proceeding smoothly.
Analysis of alien logs led the Republic to the Mubblar System, home to the fabled Rubricator, though like Coruscant, the planet had fallen into ruin. The planet and its system was renamed Empress Teta, as it too appeared to have once belonged to the Old Republic, before being overtaken by a species of kleptomaniac rats after the downfall of the Old Republic.
First contact was made with the Curators, floating jellyfish-like molluscoids who lived upon a large but lonely space station. It was situated along a strategically important hyperlane chokepoint, so efforts to fortify the system began. A single well-positioned starbase could do far more to protect the Republic against possible future aggressors than a small navy.
Reports came in of a mesmerizing ocean world, the sea of which was in some way alive. The Jedi Knights, members of a monastic order that had long protected and guided the Republic, recognized it as a holy place and their ancestral home, Ahch-To. Eventually, meditating on the mysteries of Ahch-To's sea would lead to insights into Psionic Theory, awakening many to the same powers as the Jedi.
Chancellor Valorum handily won re-election to a second ten-year term, but it was also around this time that factions began to form. Valorum himself headed the Alien Freedom Trust, while Scientist Hassan Ibrahim led the Conclave of the Force. He did not get along well with Scientist Ammar Ishak, who held considerably more materialistic views and led the Council of Scientific Betterment. Scientist Dragomirova founded the Republic's first egalitarian faction, the Liberty Now Network, but some whispered that she was more than a bit eccentric and had few real principles, and would lead any faction if she thought it would bring her influence.
Contact was soon established with the 'Beta Aliens', who were revealed to be the Orbis of Orbis Customer Synergies, a powerful megacorporation, originally specializing in optical implants, before becoming a hyper-communications juggernaut and absorbing most other industries on their home planet of Slephus Prime.
In many ways, Orbisur ideology was opposed to the Republic's own: they were authoritarians and were dismissive of the Force, focusing on the acquisition of material wealth. Nonetheless, they appeared to be friendly, and had even actively aided the process of deciphering their language by sending the Republic a large data transmission early in the First Contact process. Their relays would be most useful for boosting the Republic's HoloNet signals, and so the Republic Core soon thereafter entered into a Commercial Pact with them.
A massive, ruined Matter Decompressor was soon sighted in Orbis space, orbiting the Pathabaan Vortex, just a single jump away from the Orbisur capital, but for now it would remain but a curiosity.
Further to the Galactic north of Coruscant, another L-Gate was discovered. It was still situated in what could broadly be considered the "Outer Core", but given its greater distance from Coruscant, the region was informally dubbed "The Colonies" instead. And nearby the L-Gate, in the Cyteen System, the ruins of an enormous Ring World were found.
The technology to repair the Ring World was far beyond the Republic, but if it could ever be restored, it would serve as an ideal base for virtually endless foundries and industry. The Ringworld would be renamed the "Kuat Ring", and the system's name would eventually be changed to Kuat at well.
Also in the Colonies, a pre-FTL Machine Age civilization was discovered on Salluria IV, the Raxycodium. Chancellor Valorum resolved to reach out to the Raxycodium when possible, and enlighten them so that they could become full members of the Republic.
Valorum narrowly lost re-election to Hassan Ibrahim, who claimed victory due to the powerful support of the Conclave of the Force, but out of respect for the former Chancellor, Ibrahim continued many of his polices. As for Valorum, he became the highly-respected governor of the Coruscant Sector.
Eventually, enough First League artifacts were discovered to pinpoint the location of its former headquarters, Fen Habbanis III. It was nearby Empress Teta, and both of them lay within the Coruscant sector, undeniable proof that it had once bene one of the most highly-developed and prosperous regions of the galaxy.
New contacts were soon made. The Chinorr Combine were another powerful megacorporation based in the Inner Rim, primarily focused on prospecting and heavy industry, though they also had a very strong technological base, significantly ahead of other known star nations. They were considerably more ruthless than the Orbisur, but they were still amenable to mutual trade with the Republic.
Additionally, to the Galactic South, there was the avian Tezekian Coalition, led by a military junta. Relations between the Tezekians and Orbis Customer Synergies quickly soured due to opposing ideologies and border friction, and the Tezekians soon thereafter declared the Orbisur their rivals.
( I forgot to get a screenshot of first contact with the Tezekians, but they have the same portrait as the preset Kilik Cooperative).
The Republic, reforming its government following the rise of several powerful Merchant Guilds within its Senate (Parliamentary System), had shortly beforehand founded a Trade League with the Orbisur, which would lay the foundations for a broader Galactic Republic, with the Republic Core as its leader. However, this would draw the Republic into War against the Tezekian Coalition.
The Ymorz Enlightened Kingdom had also been discovered around this time, also a nation stretching along the Core. As they were considerably more powerful than the Republic, and it could not afford a war with them, envoys were sent to maintain good relations with the hydra-like Ymorz.
While Chancellor Ibrahim had begun building a small fleet for patrolling trade routes, it was utterly inadequate next to the size of the Tezekian navy. As there was no chance of defeating the Tezekians in open battle, the Chancellor instead decided to focus on further fortifying the Anaxes Station with defense platforms and massing what naval forces the Republic had there. As long as Anaxes was defended, the Tezekians could not invade core Republic territory. The Orbisur would be forced to bear the brunt of the Tezekian assault, though the Republic would continue to support its war effort through trade.
While the Republic was continuing to ready its defenses, an archaeological site was discovered on the ocean world of Bestine, in the Colonies. Excavation would eventually reveal the relic known as the Blade of the Huntress, though that would not be until several years later.
Under increasing pressure to accelerate the pace of the Republic's military buildup, Chancellor Ibrahim switched the Republic onto a war economy, relying on trade with Orbis Customer Synergies to supply the consumer goods that the population needed.
Contact was made with two more star nations, located within the Inner Rim, though on in the Galactic East. They were too far away to be immediately diplomatically relevant in the war, and the Republic lacked envoys to spare at the time. While every effort was made to establish positive relations with them, and at first such efforts were successful, this would have lasting repercussions.
Still intensely dissatisfied with the Chancellor's prosecution of the war effort, Scientist Lutendo Azikiwe formed the militaristic Patriotic Vanguard and announced his candidacy for Chancellor in the next election, though it was still years away.
The arrival of the carvaneers of the Numistic Order and the Vengralian Trim offered new economic opportunities for the Republic.
But none of it could stave off inevitable defeat. Fortunately, the Tezekians had simply set out to humiliate Orbis Customer Synergies, so their territorial integrity remained essentially intact. The Republic Core itself had avoided any territorial incursions by the Tezekians, and the Chancellor pointed to this as the success of his strategy, but very few in the Republic were satisfied. While their own government hadn't been forced to sign humiliating terms, their pride had been wounded just as much, if not more than the Orbisur.
They were resolved to ensure that the Republic would never be so vulnerable again.
