PRESS RELEASE

CLEARED BY JEDI COUNCIL

JEDI ACADEMY

  DAGOBAH (JA P&P.R DIVISION) - The hijacking of Jedi Medical - situation which had been troubling the Order for some months now - came to a satisfying end earlier this week, with the full recovery of the company's assets, the dissolution of the independent Sith Order, the capture of another Sith Lord and the planned release of Tresario's Junior Lieutenant Martijn Plagius.

As some may recall, Jedi Medical had been used as a base of operations and bargaining chip by Sith Lord and infiltrator Dorian Tecto, called Darth Volentus during his time as Dark Lord in the Galactic Empire's Sith cult, and Darth Umbris while he led the independent Sith Order.

His nefarious plans were later thrown into disarray when an operation carried out by Grand Master Leodous Kyron and a team of commandos resulted in Tecto's defeat and capture, after a duel which saw two of the greatest warriors alive clash lightsabers. Following that, the imprisoned Sith was unable to nurture any further machinations, and so his plot was considered neutralized.

Jedi Medical however, remained under the control of Mitos Lau, Tecto's associate and right hand. In view of that, the Jedi Council authorized full surveillance on the Ossus system, the planet's orbit, and on all known Jedi Medical assets, so that if any opportunity presented itself, the Order would be able to act to defend its interests. Shortly afterwards, automated surface scanners detected suspicious movements in orbit, as a ship flagged as belonging to personnel from Tresario was seen interacting with Jedi Medical entities. A Jedi Knight was dispatched, resulting in the arrest of Tresario Junior Lieutenant Martijn Plagius, who was charged with attempted smuggling and conspiracy. The arrest of Plagius brought tensions between the Jedi Order and the Tresario Star Kingdom to dangerous levels, with some analysts going so far as predicting a full on confrontation over the skies of Ossus.

It all reached a happy conclusion for the Order, though, as some days ago Volentus agreed to cooperate and transfer Jedi Medical back to the Jedi and dismantle the Sith Order's infrastructure in exchange for leniency in his sentencing. He was briefly released, and, under guard, allowed access to the terminals necessary to carry out the operations, before being re-arrested and placed back in custody. He remains imprisoned, awaiting his trial which is scheduled to take place soon.

Once Jedi Order personnel took possession of all stock belonging to Jedi Medical, a full audit was carried out which detected further irregularities, leading experts to conclude that Mitos Lau was able to retrieve a number of assets before making his exit. Thus, the Jedi Order urges all members of the Galactic Alliance and all lawful governments to stay alert and apprehend Lau should he be spotted in their territories, to answer for the crimes of conspiracy, theft and embezzlement.

Now clean of all criminal elements, Jedi Medical has been able to restart all past operations, and looks towards a bright future under new management. The masters of the Jedi Council have expressed their confidence that Jedi Medical will be capable of turning over a new leaf, and achieve its goal of elevating the quality of life of the inhabitants of the Outer Rim - where it is based - as well as aid the refugees currently escaping the oppression of the Empire and other tyrannical governments.

As for the Sith Order - an offshoot of the Sith cult harbored by the Empire - its days have finally come to an end.

Originally founded by Darth Maur - aka Myn Kuat - it was primarily composed of Sith disgruntled with the Galactic Empire, who, unhappy with the direction they were being herded in, decided to defect and form a group that they considered to be more faithful to the twisted Sith ideals. This served to attract Forceful individuals from all over the galaxy, who operated behind masks and under the veil of secrecy in their quest for power and Dark side knowledge.

If the capture of leader Dorian Tecto resulted in the Sith Order's paralysis, then the dissolution of the entity drove the final nail into the coffin. This did not stop them from attempting a last ditch effort to damage the Jedi Order, however, as Sith Billtz Jarromael unsuccessfully maneuvered to infiltrate the Jedi Order just a few days ago.

Jarromael, erstwhile apprentice of Myn Kuat, shares with the Sith Order's founder a past in the Empire, having trained as an acolyte there. He followed his master when Kuat defected to found the independent Sith Order, and, during his time in the group, trained several apprentices in the Dark side of the Force. Taking up the moniker of Lord Vrandulondrix, Jarromael rose to briefly command the Sith Order, before passing the mantle to Dorian Tecto.

It was he who shortly before the dissolution of his group initiated contacts with the Jedi Order, claiming a desire to abandon the Sith and convert. The Jedi Council was not convinced, however, and, deeming his groveling overtures an attempt at infiltration, authorized his capture.

Lured to the Dagobah system, Vrandulondrix was confronted by Master Alven Ceres, the leader of the enclave situated there. In the dark cargo hold of a medical vessel, the Abyssin Jedi dueled the Anzati Sith, and was able to disarm and subdue him, sustaining only minor burns to his lightsaber hand. While security cameras in the ship were present to record the encounter, they were regrettably disabled by a jolt of Sith lightning, to the disappointment of Academy students who were looking forward to analyzing the duel in class. A few images were successfully recovered, fortunately, one of them attached above.

Jarromael now stands imprisoned and charged with murder, conspiracy to infiltrate and the dissemination of criminal ideologies. So ends this latest iteration of the Sith Order.

Regarding the other suspect recently arrested by the Jedi Order, Junior Lieutenant Martijn Plagius of the Tresario Star Kingdom has been found innocent of the charges levied against him and is scheduled for release.

Plagius, charged with attempted smuggling and conspiracy and formerly linked to the illegitimate holders of Jedi Medical, comported himself admirably while in Jedi custody, and managed to fully explain and assuage the worries of the Council. Now proven to simply have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, he has been declared innocent, awarded a refund for his inconvenience, and now stands to be released in the coming days, as soon as the ship he is being held in exits hyper-space. Instrumental to his case was the fact that Plagius was able to prove that he was not an enemy combatant, and, that despite of having held a military rank, he instead now plies his trade as a miner in the Tresario civil departments.

Unfortunately, his arrest strained relations with the neighboring Tresario Star Kingdom. King Jude Vatz, monarch of Tresario, was reportedly outraged at the arrest of Plagius and mobilized his fleet to Ossus, in a show of force intended to intimidate the Jedi.

Last week, King Jude rudely issued the Order an ultimatum of twenty-four hours for the release of Plagius, threatening to unleash his Imperial Interdictors to lock down the Ossus system if the Order didn't comply. Suffice it to say, the Jedi Order does not heed ultimatums, whether backed by empty or real threats. The ultimatum ignored without consequences, the judicial process moved along unhindered, and eventually found Plagius innocent in the following days.

In a display of fraternal solidarity towards the Jedi, vessels belonging to several allied governments, such as the Krath Dynasty, the Arkanian Brotherhood, the New Republic, Bothan Media and Rogue Squadron have set course for Ossus and are now converging together to answer King Jude's empty posturing. As it did in Derra to great effect, and as it will do in many battlefields yet to come, the Galactic Alliance stands united against the arbitrary coercion of the Empire and its puppet governments, its members ready to support each other when threatened by the military might of the Imperial Union, despite the blows suffered in the past.

This press report was published by express order of the Jedi Council, as per guidelines in the First Declassification Act. Brought to the galaxy by the Jedi Academy, Press & P.R Division. May the Force be with you.