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Warning, this article contains spoilers from the Imperial Agent class history. Don't read if you don't want to know them.
The Great Hyperspace War changed many things in the galaxy. The Sith Empire was destroyed, and had to rebuild itself in a new form. Within the Galactic Republic, the Jedi saw their prestige greatly increase. And one of their political allies became one of the main figures of the time. But you cannot rise up without making enemies. Some remembered that the Sith were the heirs of fallen and banished ancient Jedi. This war became for them a simple duel between Jedi factions which had taken the Republic hostage. Unacceptable! But saying it in the presence of the Empress of Koros, a system soon renamed Empress Teta, was difficult. Several opponents of the victorious ruler's Jedi advisers have therefore gathered in a secret society. And it quickly exceeded the limits of their sector.
After the signing of the Koros convention, which established what they called the Star Cabal, the first members included politicians, business leaders and even criminals. Over the next thousand years, they struggled to climb the hierarchies: the former moved closer to more powerful leaders, the latter absorbing wealthier economic groups, and the latter carving out their way to the heads of the cartels. They sent ships to make sure the Sith Empire was destroyed, but discovered the existence of Dromund Kaas. Should they denounce her? No, that would lead to a new war which they sought to avoid. They infiltrated the new imperial society and entered the same posts. They could now manipulate two galactic powers, or at least try to do so. In the Empire, certain ranks of power were only available to the Sith. And the Jedi Wars in the Republic prove that their hold was not complete. But they had enough grip to slow some events down. They set up a base hidden under the Republican prison of Belsavis, where the bodies of the best of their leaders were put in stasis. And established from old technologies the SCORPIO artificial intelligence to protect them.
But quickly, the objectives of the Star Cabal evolved. Originally, it was to prevent a new war between the Jedi and the Sith. This required a weakening of the political position of the Jedi, in particular. But after a while, their leaders thought they might as well replace the leaders of the two galactic powers to impose a peace in their image. Then simply take power. Less and less consulted, the residents of Belsavis became troublesome prisoners who could only assist without taking action. When the Sith Empire attacked the Republic, its agents did their best to keep the fighting as deadly as possible. Especially towards Force users, who suffered from very bad press. The result of this policy was the exile of the Jedi from Coruscant after the signing of the treaty that ended the war. But it was not enough. They exploited the turmoil of the Cold War to push for a resumption of conflict. But in doing so, they caught the attention of Imperial Secret Service agent Operator Nine.
From the elements found by Operator Nine, the Imperial Secret Service traced the trail of the Stellar Cabal to Belsavis. The prisoners in their stasis chambers helped reprogram SCORPIO to have the AI confide everything it knew. For Cerbère and the Minister of Secret Services, this group was too dangerous to be left active. And although they left their careers in battle, they made sure that everything was settled on the subject until the end. During the Battle of Corellia, Operator Nine sneaked up to the orbital station that served as the archive of the Star Cabal and copied their Black Codex. Thanks to these records, the Empire was able to send agents to capture or eliminate members of the group beyond their direct reach. The Star Cabal had lived. Their goal, whether it was the first or the second, had become unachievable: the war to be avoided was on, and it was now out of control. Jedi and Sith could now take back their denied place in this story.
The Black Codex now owned by the Empire is the only source with a complete list of Star Cabal members and their activities. But here are a few that speak volumes enough to realize their influence. They manipulated a Voss prophecy in order to have a training facility for their elite agents out of prying eyes. Nok Drayen, the most powerful criminal leader at the time of the Treaty of Coruscant, was one of them. Within the Underworld, he was the strongest voice advising against getting involved in war. When the Jedi settled on Tython, they had to deal with a group of Twi'leks doing the same. Kolovish, one of their leaders, had pushed in that direction to watch over the Jedi for the Star Cabal. Yem Leksende, boss of the infamous Czerka Corporation, was also one of the group's decision-makers. The SIS Hunter agent, actually the Cabal's main henchman, hijacked a mission to a special weapons warehouse to steal them and attack both sides with them. One of the actions that prompted the resumption of the conflict. A program has been implanted in genetically improved Imperial Secret Service to neutralize them if they get too close. When this proved insufficient, the Cabal pushed its relations with the Dark Council to dissolve this Imperial Secret Service. Yet despite all of these resources, the Star Cabal was wiped out. That such a secretive and dissident group no longer exists can only provide relief to those who have heard of its existence.
