The resistance had the advantage initially, but with the arrival of additional Sith forces, their attack had fallen apart. And not only that, but the leadership of the resistance also started to fall apart, forcing a Jedi to take a sole leadership role in leading the resistance.
The reason they lost was not only because of the Sith reinforcements, but also because of how disorganized and incompetent their leadership was. It was actually a surprise that they didn't fall beforehand. Really, they were only surviving off of the weapons they were able to steal from Sith weapon depots and from raids on Sith transports.
The Republic didn't provide support to the resistance, only the Jedi Order did that. And as most knew, the Jedi Order wasn't exactly swimming in weapons. They had procured some secretly through third and even fourth parties to get sent to Taris without it being traced back to them.
Even now that a Jedi had taken the lead role in the resistance, the Jedi High Council still denied their involvement in the conflict, pointing to a group of rogue Jedi. But still taking no measures to stop them.
————
Veldari - Capital of the Veldari Imperium
Daimon was currently inside of the Ring world megastructure that wrapped around Veldari. Specifically, he was standing amongst a massive group of people from various races who were part of the Imperium's Intergalactic Research Group or more commonly known as the IIRG.
The IIRG was established about 400 years ago by Daimon to promote the advancement of the galaxy gradually as time passed. This didn't share Imperial technology with others outside of its sphere of influence, but instead created a massive group of scientists, engineers, biologists, and various other professions that worked together to promote the advancement of civilian based technologies.
Military research was not allowed in the IIRG and was subject to imprisonment by the Imperium if one was found conducting such research.
With all of these professions and species working together, the IIRG was able to publish several technologies which improved civilian life for the people of the known galaxy. These technologies ranged from improved agricultural systems that increased crop yields by up to 400% on marginal worlds, to medical technologies that had effectively eliminated several classes of disease that had plagued certain species for thousands of years, to advanced atmospheric processors that could rehabilitate damaged planetary environments within decades.
A/N: Keep in mind that yes, the Imperium is capable of much greater than this, but those lesser empires, planets, and others don't have access to this level of technology. The idea of the IIRG is to promote the advancement of the typical civilian life across the galaxy.
The IIRG had grown considerably since its founding. What had begun as a modest consortium of roughly three thousand researchers drawn primarily from Imperial member worlds had expanded into an institution with a permanent membership of over forty million individuals representing thousands of species from across the known galaxy.
The Republic had its own delegates sent to every event in addition to its own researches who contributed to this effort.
The Rakatan Dominion maintained a permanent division within the IIRG. Perks of being loyal to the Imperium, which made their development faster than others.
Even a handful of Sith scientists, operating under civilian cover that everyone pretended not to notice, had contributed to several published works over the centuries. Of course, these individuals were closely monitored by the Intelligence Directorate in case they tried to steal technology or use it for military gain.
The gathering Daimon was attending today was the IIRG's centennial symposium, held every hundred years to showcase the most significant civilian technological breakthroughs of the preceding century.
The venue was appropriate for the occasion. A small part of the ring world megastructure that encircled Veldari had been designated as permanent IIRG campus space roughly three centuries ago. This section that was allocated to them was approximately the size of a small continent, and the researchers had done with it what researchers given unlimited space and resources tended to do.
They had filled it entirely, building laboratories and demonstration halls and collaborative workspaces and other informal gathering areas that produced more useful scientific conversation than any formal conference room ever had.
Daimon stood near the rear of the main demonstration hall, which was large enough to comfortably hold five hundred thousand people and was currently holding closer to seven hundred thousand. Around him, the crowd was a mixture of species in varying states of excitement.
Scientists who had spent decades working toward a result were about to present it publicly for the first time. Younger researchers who had traveled from across the galaxy for the chance to see work that would define the next century of development. Some high-ranking people from various empires, here to see what they could look forward to next.
Lord Maxim stood to his right, reviewing the symposium program on his datapad, trying to figure out which one he was more interested in or not.
To his left was Elara, Sera, and Prince Malrik who brought Seraphine and their children with them.
In addition to being a popular event to go to, there was also much more to do after. Most people explored the ring world and visited its various attractions, restaurants, and other locations. This made it a good time to spend with family.
Xerrin and Sorrin had were somewhere in the crowd ahead, which was typical of them. The twins had a way of disappearing into any gathering of and then reappearing at whatever moment was least convenient. Isara stood closer to the family, her eyes moving across the hall, reading the people of the room as she was quieter and more reserved than her brothers.
"Which presentation are you most interested in?" Seraphine asked Malrik quietly.
"The atmospheric rehabilitation systems," he said. "Kashyyyk has three degraded canopy zones that the Wookie's have been working on for two centuries. If the new processors perform the way the data suggests, it will cut that timeline significantly."
"You've become very invested in their forest," Seraphine said.
"It's our forest now," Malrik replied.
Daimon heard this exchange without appearing to listen to it. Four hundred years of watching his son had taught him that Malrik's best qualities expressed themselves most clearly in exactly that kind of statement.
He was more like Elara than he was like Daimon, which was probably fortunate for everyone.
The Hall's ambient noise shifted as the opening ceremony began. A Duros woman took the central platform. "Welcome to the fourth centennial symposium of the Intergalactic Institute for Research and Growth," she began.
"My name is Director Vael Orris, and I have had the privilege of leading this institution for the past thirty-seven years. In that time, I have watched researchers from forty-six hundred species collaborate on problems that none of them could have solved alone. What you will see presented today represents the best of what happens when the galaxy's best minds choose cooperation over competition."
Claps erupted from crowd at her opening statement. What she said was true and many present were here because of the amount of cross species cooperation that was happening.
"We will begin with seven primary presentations, each representing a field of advancement that the review committee has determined carries the highest potential impact on civilian life across the known galaxy. Following the formal presentations, the demonstration floors will open for the remainder of the day, and I encourage everyone to spend time in the collaborative spaces rather than simply observing from a distance. Some of the most significant scientific breakthroughs in this institution's history have begun as conversations between strangers at the wrong end of a demonstration hall."
She paused for a moment before she continued on. "Before we begin, I want to acknowledge something that is not typically part of an opening address. This institution was founded four centuries ago by the Emperor of the Veldari Imperium, not as an instrument of Imperial policy, but as a deliberate attempt to advance the wellbeing of the entire galaxy regardless of political arrangement.
In four centuries, that founding intention has never been violated. No research produced under this institution's auspices has been weaponized. No technology published through our review process has been restricted from reaching the populations it was designed to serve. That record is worth acknowledging, because records of that kind do not maintain themselves. They require constant, deliberate effort from every person in this room."
She looked out across the seven hundred thousand gathered before her. "The galaxy has not always been peaceful in the four centuries since this institution was founded. It has not always been just, and it has not always been kind. But in every year of those four centuries, this hall has remained open, and the work has continued. I think that matters. I think it matters more than most of the things that get recorded in political histories."
The applause that followed was not cult like ones that usually followed after someone says something like this. It was the kind that came from people who had recognized that what she said was true and they were proud of it.
Daimon said nothing. He stood at the rear of the hall and listened to it.
Elara reached over and placed her hand on his arm. "You built something good," she said quietly.
"The people in this room built something good," he replied. "This is what happens when everybody comes together."
Elara smiled and they continued watching as the first presentation began.