“Obviously, somewhere in the past the timeline skewed down into this tangent…”
-Dr. Emmett L. Brown
There is no emotion
There is no ignorance
There is no passion
There is no chaos
There is only order
— The Je’daii Code
“Chewie! Get us out of here,” Han Solo yelled, sprinting down the corridor of the Millennium Falcon that led to the cockpit. He heard the loud grumble from Chewbacca before he could see him.
“No, it’s not Jabba,” he said in reply, turning into the cockpit. Tatooine’s sun cut an edge through the transparisteel glass, duskily illuminating the familiar interior. Outside the walls of the sand colored duracrete of the docking bay rose around them. The Wookiee sat in his co-pilot chair looking at him, his fur a little wilder than usual as he waited for Han to finish what he was saying.
“It’s worse – Je’daii.”
Chewie didn’t audibly react, but his long arms reached out, flicking switches as he readied the Falcon for takeoff. Chewie understood better than any being exactly what a Je’daii could do. Han could hear the engines begin the soft purr that would turn into a full roar, but it was taking too long.
He was warming up the dorsal autoblaster, ready to buy the Falcon more time, when he caught a glimpse of something outside the cockpit.
Two robed figures stood now in the docking bay. Their faces concealed by the long, black robes that covered their faces. Han looked them over, noticing the silver cylinders each held in their hands, and wasn’t surprised when both cylinders illuminated at the same time. Two pale blue energy blades had emerged – the light they emitted was cold, and it didn’t take much for Han to remember the familiar hum the weapons produced.
A mechanical echo of a voice-enhancer sounded from outside, the sound perforating the cockpit.
“Han Solo, Captain of the Millennium Falcon – you are wanted for smuggling and transporting enemies of The Order. You will power down your craft now and be remanded into Je’daii custody until your Sector Council trial. Comply or be destroyed as the Force wills.”
Han looked at his old friend, who nodded.
“I know, pal. We aren’t going out like that, that’s for damn sure.” The Wookiee barked his approval, and Han charged the auto blaster, priming it to fire.
“You will leave them to me, Captain.”
The sound of the red lightsaber ignited behind them, accompanied by the rhythmic snap-hiss of the man’s respirator. Han looked over his shoulder, seeing the towering mass of shining black armor that stood behind him in the hallway. Darth Vader held his lightsaber at his side, looking down at the pair. His voice was deep, but kind – even through the modulator.
“You have done enough. Ensure my master escapes along with the R2 unit and I will meet you at the rendezvous. The Rebellion must survive. “
With that, the figure strode out of view down the hall.
Han looked at Chewie, the corners of his mouth showcasing a smirk.
“I don’t know where you meet these people, pal.”
Backstory
On Tython, home of the earliest Force-users, the members of what would become the Je’daii Order saw the lawlessness and power that sprang from their unchecked, emotional Force use. Wars wracked the planet. Whole villages were destroyed by Force adepts in the throes of power lust. Witnessing this, the earliest Je’daii not only sought to reign in emotion, but stamp it all out together.
So began the long reign of the Je’daii Order. Their power allowed them to conquer many of the early galactic civilizations in an attempt to save them from themselves. At the dawn of the Republic, the Je’daii were considered rivals for galactic power with the newly-founded democratic society. Many wars later, the republic compromised to save itself and let the Je’daii take control. This brought security, and with it the tight grip of a totalitarian society.
Their age old enemy, the Sith, believers that emotion was the only true way to harness the Force, were relegated to memory via war and genocide.
Millenia later – Anakin Skywalker was born, and through an odd turn of events regarding a trade dispute between the Trade Federation and the planet Naboo – Je’daii Master Qui-Gon Jinn found Skywalker on the desert planet of Tatooine. Believing Skywalker to be the “Chosen One” of Je’daii prophecy, Master Jinn brought Skywalker to The Order home world of Coruscant. Grand Master Yoda and High Vizier Windu wanted to destroy the youngling, not wanting the Force to come back into balance as the prophecy proclaimed. Jinn prevailed however and the boy was trained. Jinn was later killed by a warrior proclaiming himself Sith, leaving Skywalker to be trained by Jinn’s padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Skywalker became one of the greatest knights, and when war broke out between the Order and a string of worlds calling themselves the Confederacy of Independent Systems, he demonstrated his amazing skill and aptitude for daring. All the while, privately, Skywalker wrestled with his emotions – the strongest of which was his love for Padmé Amidala, a representative of the Lower Council in the Chommel Sector. They married in secret, even though Skywalker knew that such a betrayal could lead to his execution.
War illuminated many things about the Je’daii to Anakin, who became disillusioned with the Order. This came to a head when his longtime secret mentor, Chancellor of the Lower Councils Sheev Palpatine, told the young Je’daii he had orchestrated the war in an attempt to free the galaxy and that he was, in fact, a Sith Lord. Anakin eventually joined with Palpatine, killing High Vizier Windu in the process. Palpatine triggered a secret order embedded in the Order’s Clone Army which negated their embedded loyalty programming to the Order and gave them the option to fight back. They did. Anakin was pursued by Obi-Wan during his escape and the confrontation on Mustafar left Anakin near death and disfigured.
Palpatine found him, but was forced to fuse his friend’s body with cybernetics to keep him alive. Meanwhile, Padmé Amidala, who had just had Skywalker’s twins, was found and killed by members of the Order on Polis Massa. Their children were brought back for training at the Temple under Grand Master Yoda.
Skywalker, with Palpatine, has now joined the remnant of the Confederacy with leaders such as Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, as well as a contingent of newly freed clone troopers to fight back against the Order in the hopes of saving his children and restoring hope and freedom to the galaxy.
Meanwhile, Grand Master Yoda, dealing with the fallout of Order 66, has commissioned the building of a moon sized space station to give the Je’daii a mobile platform on which to maintain order around the galaxy…
Playing in the Universe
Darth Vader is a good guy So, in that spirit, everything is turned on its head.
In this universe, your players could be on the run from Je’daii enforcers, helping the Hutts smuggle much needed bacta to subjugated planets, or maybe your Force wielders call on the emotion of love or happiness to fuel their Force use.
Yoda and Obi-Wan are currently indoctrinating the Skywalker children in the ways of the Je’daii, which aren’t manipulative in the way the classic Sith are, but more black and white. The Je’daii believe in order above all other things, and can be ruthless in honoring their ideals. They will destroy a planet as a way to end a civil war between its inhabitants or cut off a man’s hand for stealing something to eat when he’s starving. Most are almost robotic in their duty. They have a vast infrastructure under them of non-Force using troops, which used to be clones, but now are a mix from across the galaxy that functions much in the same way the Empire does.
You can decide what changes fit your group, but remember that the fun found in this setting is turning familiar ideas on their head. No matter what you decide to change, you will create a memorable campaign for you and your friends.
Awesome, I really like this idea.