A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
Star Wars: Diplomatic Simulations
It is a time of civil war in the galaxy. Thousands of worlds are contested between the Galactic Republic and the advancing Sith Empire. With a savage new offensive, the Sith have begun pushing the Republic and their Jedi forces from the Outer Rim territories.
As the Republic's forces continue to thin and scatter in the wake of Sith attacks, a small task force is sent by the Jedi Council of Dantooine to find the Star Forge, a mythical weapon used by the Sith to create endless waves of reinforcements.
The task force, headed by Jedi Knight Bastila Shan, Republic pilot Carth Onasi, and a newly discovered Jedi Padawan, has discovered clues on Tatooine and Kashyyyk as to the Star Forge's location, as well as picking up additional crew members along the way. Now the motley task force flies to the water world of Manaan in search of the third clue…
A lone Dynamic-class freighter soared through the swirling blue vortex of Hyperspace. The mahogany-orange and sand tan freighter, the Ebon Hawk, had just departed from the forest world of Kashyyyk, but not before its crew incited a wookie rebellion against the Czerka Corporation slavers that occupied the planet. As the Ebon Hawk flew through the faster-than-light travel lane, ten individuals gathered together in the ship's main hold to discuss what had just occurred.
"That definitely could have gone better," you say as you rub a hand against the back of your head.
"How could it not have gone any better?" a brown-furred wookie growls in his native tongue. "My people are free from the slavers now."
"I don't know." A woman in two-tone brown Jedi robes with a dual-bladed lightsaber hilt at her belt speaks up from across the holodisplay in the middle of the room. "Think about what the Czerka will do with a planet-wide insurrection, Zaalbar. Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of wookies will be killed."
Zaalbar lets out a short roar. "You do not know them! My people will fight to the last if it means obtaining their freedom."
Mission Vao, a young blue Twilek and Zaalbar's long time friend, chimes in. "I don't think she meant to offend you, Big Z, but Bastila does have a point."
"I don't know, Mission," a balding old black man in Jedi robes, Jolee Bindo, counters. "I've lived down in the Shadowlands long enough to see what most wookie warriors are capable of. I think that as long as they have the numbers, the Czerka won't stand a chance."
"Commentary: I say let the meatbags fight it out." A rust-red Hunter-Killer assassin droid, HK-47, voices its opinion. "We got what we came for and incidentally caused a major uprising. I fail to see any downside as to how the operation was completed."
"Well I think we should let Kashyyyk serve as an example of how not to stay under the radar." The group's attention turns to a man in a brown-and-yellow Republic officer's uniform with short black hair and light beard. Carth Onasi continues. "The Czerka could have identified our vessel, or even worse, linked us to the previous incidents on Tatooine and Taris, and then our cover would be blown. The Sith would be scouring the galaxy for us and it all would be due to the fact that we couldn't stay out of wookie affairs."
"But if we hadn't interfered, my people would still be enslaved," Zaalbar argues.
"Regardless," a Cathar woman in scarlet and black Jedi robes, Juhani, speaks up with her thick accent. "I agree we need to be more cautious in the future."
"Well I doubt the Selkath on Manaan are in a position for us to liberate them through some glorious revolution we didn't intend to create," you say optimistically.
"But there are tensions on Manaan all the same," Bastila says. "With their kolto harvesting operations, the people of that world are torn between the Republic and the Sith. Tipping the natives' opinion toward allying with either side would place us squarely in the public eye."
Several in the room nodded. With Manaan being the only planet in the galaxy where the healing agent kolto was naturally harvested, it was a valuable planet in the eyes of the Republic and Sith militaries.
"So what then?" The room's attention focuses on a muscular man with grey buzz-cut hair. Canderous Ordo resumes his assumption. "Treat the planet as one big political minefield and try to stay out of anything that isn't our business?"
"Exactly, Canderous," Bastila plainly replies.
The Mandalorian mercenary folds his massive arms and chuckles. "Easier said than done with this group."
"Well there's gotta be a way to prepare ourselves to interact with the populaces of different planets," Mission says.
"Suggestion," says HK-47. "I was originally programed with multiple files that can used for planetary simulation to prepare for upcoming assignments. Each file focuses on a different species."
You raise an eyebrow at the droid. "How many of these files do you have, HK?"
"Answer: two thousand forty three files, Master," the assassin droid responds.
Carth lets out a low whistle.
"And you never said anything about this… why?" you ask with an incredulous look.
"Answer: No one ever asked, Master. Why answer a question that hasn't been presented?"
Jolee puts his hands on his hips and looks around at the others in the room. "Well then, who's going to be the first to try out these simulations?" Everyone turns to stare back at him. "What? I can't do it. I've been alive long enough to encounter hundreds of species. What more could I possibly learn?"
Juhani points a finger at the old Jedi. "So why don't you go and be our emissary in future excursions, Jolee?"
"I would," Jolee replies with a wily smirk. "But I'm too old to always be moving about. Besides, why rob you all of a valuable learning experience by doing all the talking myself?"
Bastila closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Fine. So who is going to be the first volunteer?"
You reluctantly raise your hand with a sigh. "I'll do it if no one else will."
"Exclamation: Excellent!" HK-47 cheers. "I will be in the swoop garage when you are ready for simulation testing."
As HK walks towards the adjacent room where a swoop bike sat in storage, Carth addresses the room. "Well let's get back to work, everyone." He then turns towards you. "You'd better go do a few simulations. No telling what kind of welcome we'll be receiving on Manaan."
You nod in reply and begin walking towards the garage. You pass through the doorway separating the main hold and the garage to find HK-47 standing next to the repulsorlift swoop-racing bike that you "borrowed" from the previous user, along with the rest of the ship for that matter. You walk up to the droid and look up into its glowing red optical sensors.
"Okay, HK. So how are we going to do this?" you ask.
"Answer: The same way we do the turret simulations, Master," HK replied. "Instruction: Just select what simulation you wish to proceed with and I will run it for you."
"Hmm. Alright," you say as you rub your chin contemplatively. "How will you present me the options for simulation?"
"Instruction: Open the 'Simulations' file in my central mainframe. You will see the 'Turret' option as you have seen before. There is a second file labeled 'Diplomatic Scenarios'. Select that file and then choose which simulation you wish to run."
You nod your head and reach for the droid's chest plate. After unlocking the plate, you swing it to the side and bring up the files HK told you. Within seconds of selecting the 'Diplomatic Scenarios' file, a massive archive of selections makes themselves available on the blue display. Numerous scenarios such as "Kashyyyk Tribal Dispute", "Coruscant Protestor Demonstration", and "Tusken Raider Mating Ritual" were available. You shake your head of any thoughts that the last file might have procured. You scan the list until you see a file labeled 'Personal'.
"Uh, HK?" you ask while not taking your eyes of the list. "Did any of your owners leave behind any personal files?"
"Answer," the assassin droid droned. "To my knowledge, none of the masters I've had have encoded any personal files into my databanks, however there are several files that have been encoded separate from my default programming, none of which have been tampered with or accessed by any previous owners. Speculation: it is possible that said files were made before my memory core was erased, so I would not know who programmed the files."
Your eyes widen at the droid's words. So whoever programmed these files was HK's first owner, you conclude. You raise a finger and press the 'Personal' file. Time to find out a few things about your first master.
HK spoke up again. "File accessed. Instruction: Connect neural interface with central mainframe and begin simulation preparation."
You take out a neural band and secure it to your head. Electrical synapses jolt against your head and into your brain as you connect the band to HK's central mainframe. You press the 'Personal' display again.
"Alert: Simulation beginning in three… two… one…"
You open your eyes, ready to see the inner thoughts of the person who initially programmed one of the best assassin droids you'd ever encountered. To your surprise, you see a rolling green countryside with a blue sky and several puffy clouds dotting the expanse.
You look around incredulously at the scenery. "What the-?"
You appear to be on the outskirts of a decently sized village. Dirt roads snake their way between single, sometimes double, story houses made of wood with straw rooftops. A large circular structure juts up from the center of town as its conical spire points up into the sky with several flags fluttering from the top. You'd heard of such structures being the places of governance in the more primitive corners of the galaxy. What were they called...? Oh right, town halls.
What amazed you even more than the atmosphere were the planet's populace. Small equine-like creatures walk along the paths doing their daily duties. Some stood behind grocery stands, others seemed to be selling local goods, while others stood by chatting with one another. A sack of local fruit catches your eye as it seems to be floating in the air with some kind of blue aura surrounding it. To the side, you see a white equine with a horn extending from its forehead that is enshrouded in the same aura. You rub your chin in thought. Hmm. So some of these creatures can wield the Force? Or is it some kind of local magic?
You continue to look around the environment and find that some of the equines are even flying through the sky. Wait- flying?! You tilt your head back and, sure enough, winged equines are flying through the sky. Several seem to be moving clouds while a grey wall-eyed one tries to carry a bag of what appears to be paper letters. You chuckle a bit at the equine's clumsiness as a few letters attempt to escape the bag via the wind.
You put your hands at your hips. "What kind of planet is this?" you wonder aloud.
"Hi!" a cheery voice greets you from below.
You look down to see a waist-high pink equine with a puffy mane of similar color staring up at you with massive light blue eyes.
"Uh… hi?" You return the greeting.
"My name's Pinkie Pie and welcome to Ponyville! What's your name?"
You pause for a moment to think about your situation. Okay, I know this is all a simulation, but sweet mother of Sarlacc this place is weird. If this is a representation of an actual planet, I swear on the Force that I'll never visit. "My name's-"
"Hey Pinkie Pie!" a brash-sounding female voice interrupts you as you look to see who spoke up. To your surprise, a cyan winged equine with a multicolored mane and tail glides towards the pink equine before you.
The pink one turns to address the winged one. "Oh hey, Rainbow Dash! Whatcha up to?"
Rainbow Dash? Pinkie Pie? Was HK-47's owner smoking death sticks when the programming was being made?
"Just getting ready for some practice. Who's this guy?" Rainbow Dash asked as she eyes you suspiciously.
Your hand wanders over your lightsaber as you regard the inquisitive equine. "Just a passerby," you reply carefully. "No need for any trouble here."
"Aw come on, Dashie, don't be such a meanie to our new friend," Pinkie says while hugging your leg protectively.
New friend? What? Your eyes dart between the two equines before Rainbow Dash's eyes soften.
"Well a friend of Pinkie's is a friend of mine," Rainbow said as her gaze on you soon dissolved. "So, what're you up to, Pinkie?"
"Just about to throw a welcome-to-Ponyville party for our newest friend here!" Pinkie gleefully replies as she tightens her grip on your leg.
"Oh..." Rainbow gave Pinkie an uncertain look and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. "You, don't mind if I borrow him for the day, do you?"
You turn to Rainbow Dash in surprise. "What do you need with me?"
"You seem like someone who has a keen eye for athleticism," Dash replied as she looks over your physique. "How would you like to help coach me on my moves. I'm planning on using them to audition for the Wonderbolts."
"Wonderbolts?" you inquire with an eyebrow cocked.
Rainbow's jaw drops. "You don't know who they are? The Wonderbolts are only the best flying team in all of Equestria! And I'm gonna join them," she says confidently. "Assuming I can get my moves right, that is."
Equestria. You go over the name in your head. Fitting. Well whoever these Wonderbolts are, they must be quite the flying team to garner such respect.
"But what about my party?" Pinkie Pie asked as she let go of your leg. "You only get a welcome-to-Ponyville party once. You don't want to miss out on that, do you?"
You look up from Pinkie and look to Rainbow Dash. "Is there no way I can reschedule that observation session?"
Rainbow folded her hooves and shook her head. "Nope. The audition is tomorrow, so you can't put off coaching me."
"And there's no way we can have the party another time?" You ask as you pleadingly look down at Pinkie.
"Sorry, but a welcoming party is a once-or-never kind of situation," Pinkie responded.
You sigh as you weigh your options. On the one hand, you coach Rainbow Dash and help her fulfill her dreams. On the other, you have fun with a one-time-offer party with Pinkie Pie and some of the other townsfolk.
Well, great. Another decision.