A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

Switch Wars

 

In the decades prior to the Switch Wars, the Republic was seen by many as a failing entity, plagued by corruption and mindless proprietary methodologies that led to systems plagued by inconsistent performance, especially those where the paths were not being traversed across the fibers of the universe at light speed.

Secession grew during the period following the Invasion of HDCP, and integrators and corporations became disillusioned with the Republic after the law was passed to place taxation on all video routes to outlying displays.

A loose affiliation of separatists was formed pushing for a new philosophy to take the place of the stagnant Republic. Eventually, this Separatist movement established itself as the Confederacy of IP-based Switches (CIS), a body formally opposed to the Galactic Republic. The members of the CIS included the AVNU Alliance, Just Add Power, SVSI and the Haivision. Although the Republic recognized that many of its members were in rebellion, it refused to formally acknowledge the existence of the CIS as a practical methodology, deeming that doing so would legitimize it. 

As the Separatists gained momentum, Senator HDMI convinced the Galactic Senate to a vote of no confidence in the previous regime.  He made new promises of a rebirth of the Republic, introduced new standards, and assured more open trade routes to the displays of far reaching systems.  He even enlisted the help of many well known Jedi Knights to protect him and to champion the Senator as the one to be trusted with the safety of the Republic.  “Let’s wait and see!” was their battle cry.

Just when it seemed that Separatists may be poised to deliver a major blow to the Republic, one Jedi returned from the Valens system with a whole new army.  It was a legion of HD-BaseT clones developed secretly with the coordination of HDMI, for the sole purpose of reinforcing the Republic against the Separatists.

As time went on, the Republic used the Trade Publications to prematurely declare HD-BaseT the victor over the CIS and the AVNU alliance.  HD-BaseT, which had been developed and communicated as an interim solution on the way to the open access the people of the galaxy had been expecting, was now made the new apprentice to HDMI.

Senator HDMI, who had been unknowingly manipulating both sides of the war, used the war time strife to dissolve the Senate and become the Emperor of the new Galactic Empire.  The Empire continued to control all trade routes and tax every signal entering and exiting the system, as well as determining what shipments could be delivered to which ports. It acquired the CIS’s blue prints for the Video Star, a giant category cable based switching system, designed to control all routes to the Galaxy.

The Emperor and his Apprentice Darth Valens now had the ultimate weapon at their disposal to smash the separatists, and also had a tractor beam to pull many other passing ships into their midst and further build the Empire.

In the darkest corners of the galaxy however, a new Rebel Alliance was being formed.

The question is who will be the pilot to navigate the trenches of the Video Star and deliver a crushing blow to allow open access of signals across all star routes to displays across the galaxy, despite which system they are in?

Will Darth Valens turn back to its idealistic youth and help the rebels to toss HDMI, with its short-circuiting architecture and evil eye signatures, over the rails and into the void of space despite the implications to itself?

Will the Jedis reassemble with renewed purpose under the tutelage of the wise Jedis of the past who had been forced into the shadows by the Empire?

The epic drama unfolds…