Jedi Council: Acts of War 4

The Jedi Council's pursuit is nearly over, as the location where the Yinchorri High Command is concealed is finally discovered. However, the Yinchorri are prepared to fiercely resist, and Jedi have already suffered casualties. How much will Mace Windu, a Jedi Master, risk to bring the aggressive aliens to justice? Only a few lightsabers stand between a mostly peaceful Republic and a galaxy-wide conflict. Expect action and heroism in the classic Jedi style!

In 33 BBY, the Jedi Order deployed a Jedi team, traveling in three Consular-class space cruisers, to the Yinchorri system with the intention of quelling the Yinchorri Uprising. Upon their arrival, Yinchorri starfighters chased and attacked the Jedi cruisers, but the cruisers evaded them and landed at their assigned locations. Their objective was to locate and neutralize the Yinchorri command center. Adi Gallia's Jedi Master team landed on the aquatic moon Yitheeth where they apprehended Olmar Grahrk, a Devaronian mercenary involved in a Sith plot to incite the Yinchorri against the Galactic Republic and their Jedi protectors. Meanwhile, Master Micah Giiett's squad touched down on Yibikkoror, only to be ambushed by the Yinchorri, but Gallia's team rescued them. Lastly, Mace Windu's team on Yinchorr found themselves under siege by a Yinchorri army. However, the arrival of Gallia and Giiett's teams provided reinforcement, helping to repel the Yinchorri. Tragically, Lilit Twoseas and the Padawan Theen Fida perished during the battle.

In the aftermath, the surviving Jedi leaders convened at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Given that the three Jedi teams had failed to locate the Yinchorri command center on the inhabited planets of the Yinchorri system, Master Yaddle consulted the holocron of Tharence Wo and discovered the existence of a fourth world within the star system, Uhanayih. This lifeless rock, translated from Yinchorri to Galactic Basic Standard as "Within World," held significance in Yinchorri beliefs about the afterlife. She proposed that the name had both figurative and literal implications. Master Depa Billaba agreed, suggesting that Uhanayih might contain a base or city. Master Oppo Rancisis added that this would explain why the Yinchorri base had remained undetected on the other planets. At that moment, Bayts entered the room to inform the other Jedi that Windu was attempting to contact them via hologram.

After interrogating Olmar Grahrk, the captured Devaronian arms dealer, the Jedi mission confirmed that the Yinchorri command center was indeed situated on Uhanayih. Windu also instructed his Jedi colleagues on Coruscant to transmit the planet's coordinates to Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum. Returning to Yinchorr, Micah Giiett and Plo Koon's team of Jedi were guarding the battlefield near the Consular-class space cruiser when a Yinchorri sniper shot Giiett in the back. Severely wounded, Giiett urged his comrades to move towards one of the Yinchorri tanks. He also emphasized that they should not allow grief, sentiment, or revenge to cloud their judgment. He encouraged his Jedi to stop the Yinchorri but cautioned against excessive force. He also foresaw that Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi were destined to become renowned Jedi. Finally, he told Koon that he would miss his company.

Master Giiett chose to stay behind to hold off the Yinchorri reinforcements, allowing his companions to continue their mission to locate the Yinchorri command center. As soon as his companions had departed, Micah found himself surrounded by a squad of Yinchorri. He beckoned them closer, feigning a desire to reveal "Jedi secrets." When they approached, he declared that the Jedi were unafraid to die for a worthy cause before igniting his lightsaber and plunging it into the tank's fuel cell. The resulting explosion claimed Giiett's life, along with many Yinchorri. Giiett's demise was transmitted through the Force, felt by his Jedi companions across the galaxy. Even Darth Sidious sensed it in the Force. The Dark Lord then instructed his apprentice Darth Maul to contact Vilmarh Grahrk, Olmar's cousin and an arms dealer working for the Sith Order. However, the Devaronian had already absconded with his relatives. Sidious remained unconcerned, as he was unable to reveal the existence of the Sith since he did not know the identity of Darth Sidious, who was in fact Senator Palpatine of Naboo.

As the Consular cruiser left Yinchorr for Uhanayih, Qui-Gon attempted to console Mace Windu, advising him not to blame himself, as death was an inevitable consequence of war, and the Jedi were aware of the risks before embarking on the Yinchorri mission. Windu appreciated Qui-Gon's words but confessed that he still felt responsible for the Jedi who had sacrificed their lives. Plo Koon interjected, questioning whether guilt or grief was more difficult to bear. Back at the Galactic Republic's capital on Coruscant, Chancellor Valorum met Jedi Master Yoda outside the Galactic Senate and informed him that the Senate had approved the deployment of four Republic Navy attack groups to Uhanayih. While Yoda welcomed this development, he sensed that Valorum was troubled because he had to make many concessions to persuade his supporters in the Senate to endorse a technological embargo against the Yinchorri. According to Valorum, this situation reflected a growing sentiment among the Galactic Republic's citizens that viewed the Jedi as unwelcome intruders rather than protectors.

Eventually, the Jedi reached Uhanayih. However, a massive Yinchorri fleet met them, and they soon came under attack. Fortunately for the Jedi, the Republic Navy fleet, consisting of Republic light assault cruisers and armed Corellian Star Shuttles, arrived to assist. The majority of the Yinchorri fleet was either destroyed or disabled, allowing the Jedi to proceed to Uhanayih. Master Windu then instructed Qui-Gon to contact the Admiral in command of the Republic forces and request an escort for their journey to the Yinchorri high command. Consequently, the Jedi cruiser approached the moon with the escort and entered a vast tunnel that led to the Yinchorri base.

Upon arriving and finding no suitable landing spot, the Jedi cruiser crash-landed into the high command's war room before the defending Yinchorri could seal the blast shutters. Inside the war room, one of the Yinchorri remarked to his companion that Vilmarh Grahrk, the Devaronian, had assured him that the Republic would not intervene. His friend responded that Vilmarh and his men had fled and then ordered the blast shutters to be closed. However, it was too late. The cruiser wrecked the war room, causing significant damage to the Yinchorri. The commander then pleaded with the victorious Jedi not to kill them. Mace Windu responded by noting that those Yinchorri were responsible for the chaos and then asked Adi Gallia about Master Oppo Rancisis's views on the philosophy of "might makes right." Gallia replied that that philosophy is "often recanted" upon encountering a more powerful foe.

Following the Yinchorri surrender, Valorum contacted the Jedi Council on Coruscant to inform them that a quarantine had been imposed on the Yinchorri system. The Republic authorities believed that Vilmarh Grahrk had been the primary instigator of the Yinchorri Uprising and vowed to apprehend and bring him to justice. However, Yoda believed that both the Devaronian and the Yinchorri had been pawns of an unknown party. Valorum also expressed the Republic's gratitude to the Jedi Order and explained that he had dispatched a ship to bring the Jedi team home before departing to attend to other matters. The surviving Jedi team landed in Coruscant on a Corellian Star Shuttle, transporting their dead to the Jedi Temple for cremation. During a debriefing meeting of the Jedi Council, Mace Windu decided to leave the Yinchorri to the Senate and Vilmarh and his accomplices to the Judicial Department.

Due to Micah Giiett's death on Yinchorr, the Council had to fill his vacant seat. Windu recommended Ki-Adi-Mundi, a Cerean Jedi Knight, as a candidate, as he had previously stood in for Giiett and had demonstrated judgment and valor as a former Padawan of Yoda. Windu was hesitant to consider Master Qui-Gon's application, finding him to be headstrong and willful. Master Yoda agreed to consider Mundi's application but expressed his continued concern about identifying Vilmarh's true employer. He reiterated that the Devaronian lacked the motive to incite the Yinchorri to revolt against the Republic and concluded that he had been working for an unknown party.

This party was revealed to be Darth Sidious, the leader of the clandestine Sith Order, which now adhered to Darth Bane's principle known as the Rule of Two. Darth Maul was displeased by the Jedi's victory. However, his Master Sidious disagreed, as the Jedi and the Senate had inadvertently aided the Sith cause by eliminating the Yinchorri as a potential obstacle to the Sith's plans for galactic domination. Maul then expressed his disappointment at not being able to go to Yinchorr and kill more Jedi. However, Sidious advised his apprentice to be patient and reiterated that the time would come when he could indulge his bloodlust. For the time being, he believed that the Sith should savor the resolution of the Yinchorri Uprising as a small victory that the Jedi Council had unknowingly delivered to their Sith adversaries.