Table of Contents Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………… 1 Welcome from the Dais ………………………………………………………………………… 1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………… 2 Background Information …………………………………………………………………… 2 The Galaxy ……………………………………………………………………………… 2 The Empire ……………………………………………………………………………… 2 The War ………………………………………………………………………………… 3 Topics of Discussion …………………………………………………………………………… 5 Topic One: Aftermath: Peace or Prolonged War ………………………………………… 5 Topic Two: A Strong Central Government ……………………………………………… 5 Topic Three: Economic and Social Impact of War ……………………………………… 6 Character List ………………………………………………………………………………… 7 References …………………………………………………………………………………… 10 Further Readings ……………………………………………………………………………… 10 Appendix ……………………………………………………………………………………… 11 Appendix I: Star Wars Movies Referenced in this Joint Crisis ………………………… 11 Appendix II: Reference Figures and Statistics ………………………………………… 11 Appendix III: Militaries of the Empire and the Rebel Alliance ………………………… 11 Appendix IV: Legends ………………………………………………………………… 12 1 Welcome from the Dias Dear Delegates, We are very excited to welcome all of you to the 2018 Secondary School Interactive Crisis Simulation and our committee, Star Wars: Aftermath. Whether you are a novice or an experienced delegate, we will do our best to make sure you have an exciting and enjoyable conference. Our committee is a joint crisis, set at the end of the Battle of Endor, which sees the destruction of the Second Death Star along with the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. The Empire faces an unprecedented military disaster, the rebellion a tremendous victory. The Galactic Civil War, however, is far from over. The leadership of the Rebel Alliance must come together to plan their next moves, which will hopefully wrest control of the galaxy from the Empire’s iron fist for good. Meanwhile, surviving leaders of the Galactic Empire – its Generals, Admirals, Moffs, and other senior politicians – must also put aside their differences in a time of anarchy and power vacuums if they wish for the Empire to survive. Delegates may or may not have read a Star Wars novel of the same name as this committee, Aftermath by Chuck Wendig. Though we were inspired in many ways by this novel, we are not considering this novel as part of the Star Wars canon for the purposes of this committee. Similarly, the events of the new trilogy (ie. The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi) have not yet come to pass, and, depending on the actions of delegates, may never come to pass. While the events and characters in this committee are fictional and the stuff of fantasy, the issues they face, be they in the spheres of the military, economic, or political are very real issues that modern politicians and diplomats contend with and likely will continue to contend with in the years to come. Have fun researching (we have a feeling you will) and we look forward to seeing you in November! Asic Chen and Neumann Hon Star Wars: Aftermath Committee Directors, SSICsim 2018 Secondary School Interactive Crisis Simulation – 2018 Conference 2 Introduction The Second Death Star is destroyed. Both the Emperor and Darth Vader are believed to be dead. The Empire faces its greatest crisis since its inception, while the Rebel Alliance is celebrating its greatest triumph. Across the galaxy, systems are rising in revolt against the tyrannical forces of the Galactic Empire. The Rebels are working to rally new allies among the independent systems and local dissidents as the Empire tries desperately to regain its hold. Background Information1 The Galaxy The Star Wars universe is set a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. This is a galaxy that has long since mastered the science of travelling among the stars. People live alongside aliens whose home worlds are many light-years away without a second thought. Transportation across a planet is considered a short commute, and transportation between two nearby star systems is occurs on a regular basis. Despite the wondrous technology that is present in this galaxy, however, the inhabitants of the galaxy continue to face many of the economic and social problems that we face. In worlds far from the galactic core such as Tatooine and Jakku, crime syndicates based in the illegal drug, weapons, and slave trade run rampant. Worlds like Coruscant suffer from rampant inequality in which the wealthy live in unimaginable luxury and the lower levels are a hive of poverty, drug abuse, prostitution, and starvation. Yet there are still other worlds, like Naboo and Alderaan (before its destruction) where people all but live in post-scarcity economies and want for very little. The Empire For over a millennium, much of the galaxy had been ruled under the Galactic Republic. The Galactic Republic brought both democracy and wealth to many systems. The Jedi Order appointed itself the guardians of the Republic, and for centuries the galaxy prospered. Slowly but surely, however, it all began to fall apart. Corruption and cronyism grew, and with it came great inequality. It was this state of affairs that ultimately led to the Clone Wars, where the Galactic Republic tore itself apart. Fortunately, from chaos came salvation. In one of its few wise decisions, the Senate granted the then-Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers. Chancellor Palpatine was well aware of the flaws of the Galactic Republic but was limited in how he could act. The corrupt politicians and bureaucrats had many allies in high places, most notably the Jedi Order. Though the Jedi Order may have had noble intentions millennia ago, it was a shadow of its former self. The Jedi Order at the time of the end of the Galactic Republic was utterly degenerate and corrupt, its masters only interested in gaining power and enriching themselves. With a paragon of virtue like Chancellor 1 The following section draws heavily from Star Wars canon. Please see Further Readings and Appendix I for a complete list of works referenced. Secondary School Interactive Crisis Simulation – 2018 Conference 3 Palpatine at the helm, however, the Jedi found their sinister conspiracies against the people of the galaxy thwarted at every turn. Left with no choice, the Jedi launched a brazen coup against Chancellor Palpatine, attempting to overthrow the Republic and replace it with a tyrannical theocracy to be ruled with an iron fist under the so-called ‘Jedi Council’, which in truth was nothing more than the lackeys of the terrorist piece of filth then known as Master Yoda. Luckily, among the ranks of the Jedi, there existed one man who still believed in the rule of law: Darth Vader. He revealed the insidious plot of the Jedi to assassinate the Chancellor and defeated the Jedi assassins. Together, Chancellor Palpatine and Darth Vader moved to eliminate the threat of the Jedi once and for all. When the people of the galaxy realised what the Jedi had tried to do, and from what Chancellor Palpatine had saved them, they named Palpatine Emperor of the Galaxy. The newly-crowned Emperor Palpatine proclaimed the Galactic Empire to thunderous applause from adoring crowds. The War Dissent within the Galactic Empire was as old as the Empire itself. Many armed factions could be traced back to the chaos of the Clone Wars. As Palpatine gained absolute power at the end of the Old Republic, Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan and like-minded politicians met in secret to devise a counter strategy. Throughout the Empire’s prime, guerillas were given support by Senator Bail Organa, Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila, and so on, to destabilize the Empire. In the seventeenth year of the Empire’s rule (2 BBY), a number of rebel factions came together to form the Alliance to Restore the Republic. The Alliance was led by Senator Bail Organa to wage an organized war of attrition against the Empire. The conflict between the Empire and the Alliance escalated in the year of 0 BBY. The Empire had been building a superweapon called the Death Star, a moon-sized deep-space mobile battle station that had the power to decimate planets with a single laser beam. The Rebel intelligence network learned from Imperial defectors that the chief engineer of the superweapon, Galen Erso, had designed a vulnerability into the Death Star’s reactor core. At the same time, the construction of the Death Star was finished, and the weapon was tested successfully on the ancient Jedha City. The entire galaxy was stunned by a weapon of mass destruction with power of such magnitude. After much deliberation and sacrifice, a team of Rebel volunteers were able to steal the Death Star schematics at the Imperial data centre, Scarif. Imperial forces caught wind of the Rebels’ intentions. Desperate to prevent the Death Star schematics from falling into Rebel hands, the Imperial commanders destroyed their own base on Scarif with the Death Star, just as the Rebel infiltrators transmitted the plans to the Rebel fleet above Scarif, commanded by Alliance Admiral Raddus. Intercepted by Emperor Palpatine’s chief enforcer and apprentice Darth Vader and his Star Destroyer, the rebels led by Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan narrowly escaped with the downloaded Death Star Schematics. The Battle of Scarif marked the beginning of the Galactic Civil War, as years of skirmishes and regional unrest culminated into a full-on military conflict. Leia Organa was subsequently captured by Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin. While interrogating Organa and trying to convince her to give up the Death Star schematics, Darth Vader gave the order to destroy Organa’s home planet, Alderaan. The superweapon performed Secondary School Interactive Crisis Simulation – 2018 Conference 4 accordingly, once more shaking the galaxy to the core with the destruction of a major planet. Organa held fast and was eventually rescued by mercenaries Han Solo and Chewbacca, along with Obi-Wan Kenobi, a former Jedi Knight turned hermit, and Luke Skywalker, a force-sensitive farm boy from Tatooine. The group presented the Death Star plans to the Alliance council, and soon after, the Alliance launched an attack on the Death Star.