The power of fine dining has brought the end to many horrors. Soldiers have thrown aside their arms to have a savory meal and a thirst quenching drink. Sith and Jedi suddenly find themselves pulling credit chits out of their robes instead of their lightsabers. Many a dinner party has been had in the past where treaties were signed, trade franchises created, or new governments who wish fair treatment to their constituents suddenly sprouted out of tyranny.

Sonfax's Port Nesh Diner threatens to become one of these places as it sits upon the precipice of immortality. Originally a standard diner inside of a spaceport on the blue collar world of Corellia, it seems that the proprietor of the establishment has moved up in the galaxy since closing that first location only a few weeks ago.

The new location on the relatively unknown, isolationist world of Voss comes with a few hang-ups. Diplomatic or trade passes to the planet are rare, but easily attainable if one does not mind the 180 basic standard day waiting period for travel. While it is unsure how the self-made Twi'lek man managed to get his hands on the lease to a Voss establishment, the only thing that matters is the food and how darn good it is!

The news of the Rakghoul plague is finally setting in. Over a dozen worlds have reported cases and the Republic Containment Bureau is being slowly stretched to its limits. For many of us who sit in our homes and drink our tea, it seems like it's a universe away. How could something so lethal touch us? It's a big question, and one that never really has an answer.

Truth be told, the most recent inflow of statements and comments about the Rakghoul plague outbreak has overwhelmed every major news publication. Yesterday, Galactic Action News imbedded a reporter in an RCB containment unit on Tatooine. The footage of this action was streamed, live, from their HoloNet site. Within minutes it was overwhelmed by traffic and the entire net-site is still down as of this afternoon.

Vicious and difficult to train, the wild Nexu is not an uncommon sight on worlds with gladiatorial arenas or a desiring a big draw for big game hunters. The Nexu made their predatory living in the chilly forests on the Idona continent of Cholganna, world primarily made of rainforests and tree-based cephalopoids which the Nexu effortlessly hunted whenever they hungered.

Naturally agile, the Nexu had an odd feature which set them apart from most felines: a forked tail. Making up almost half their natural length, their forked tail acted as both a device to swing from trees as well as graspers when their paws or mouth weren't enough to get the job done. The majority of Nexu used their tails to wind up prey upon killing a particularly meaty kill, often bringing the carcass back to their nest.

Standing at one meter tall and four to five meters long, the Nexu have four sets of eyes: two to see as most sentient races do, including humans, and one to see on the infrared wavelength, leaving them to be hunters who cannot be fooled by conventional camouflage or simple hiding. Having superior reflexes to most animals they fight, the Nexu are flexible warriors. At one moment they can be swinging from a tree with their forked tail, or body slamming a fleshy combatant with the sharp quills which trail down their back. Their claws, as well, are extremely sharp. They can cut most humanoid species in half, several Mandalorian gladiators finding themselves slack jawed when the Nexu's talons cut directly through their beskar armor, leaving their entrails to pour out for a slow kill.

Alderaan has always been a world of pacifists. Artisans, philosophers, medical professionals, and some of the most lucrative inventors and politicians of the past several thousand years have come from the soul of the Republic. We of older stock are able to remember Alderaan in her pre-war prime. Beautiful and angelic with its soft curvatures and its desires for ecological and societal harmony; it worked for the longest of times...until the Sith Empire invaded.

Now in recovery, Alderaan is embroiled in a brutal civil war which takes more civilian lives than it does soldiers of any House. Suicide bombings, violent political riots, as well as full-on assaults from one minor House on another's estate riddle the landscape, dotting the idyllic landscape with blotches of blood. Blood perpetrated by the Empire.

While the mad Bouris Ulgo attempts to claim the crown as his own, House Organa pines for peace, yet the bloodthirsty Imperials and their heavy-handed grasp on House Thul's Duke will not allow a united Alderaan even if ninety-eight percent of the population yearns for the days before the assassinations; the days of being the Republic's guiding soul through level-headed calm, peace, and the ideals of being excellent to one another.

Last week's article on the current status of Balmorra drew a lot of ire from those outside the Galactic Republic. Imperial lackeys and Sith mind slaves alike expressed their displeasure and outrage at our 'propaganda' which was nothing more than individual citizen opinion and facts put forward by us.

Like it or not, Empire, Sobrik is going to be free and run by a democratically elected leader soon. After all, we have BlasTech's very own Amaare Margolis, Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire supporting the people of Balmorra. Not a government, but the people and their ideals!

This week's topic was one which needed attention. Throughout the history of galactic politics and colonization, the planet Tatooine has always been brought up for one reason oe another. Sometimes it was repopulated for swoop racing, other times by a group of criminals who wanted a safe haven from law and a good place to gamble; or big game hunters who wanted to hunt the elusive desert Krayt Dragon or the brutal Hulak Wraid.

But why in the name of the Republic would our government—or the Sith Empire—want to invest in this dustbowl? Why would Sith Lords, spies, Republic soldiers, and Jedi all run off to some backwater planet with two major settlements which have always been run down little dumps?

That's what Voices of the Republic asked earlier this weekend. Let's see what the galaxy has to say!

Sonfax's Port Nesh Diner has a prestigious history of bringing joy to the masses; originally conceived only a few months ago when the Twi'lek owner and head chef purchased the lease on a commercial shop inside of one of Corellia's busiest spaceports. At first, the success was noticeable and grand, the progress matched only by the endless line of hot food and cold drinks shooting out of Sonfax's hands as he struggled to keep up with the orders of so many hungry, happy patrons.

The self-made man of the hour, Sonfax, doesn't plan to end the legacy of his culinary expertise. While there was no closing statement, or any final moment where he looked back into the popular haunt and somberly shut off the lights there was...an air. An air of happiness, and of regularity. One where we knew the environment and we, the patrons, ultimately inhabited the world that this kind, happy Twi'lek man made for us all.

Sobrik has been liberated. Balmorra and their formerly exiled government has finally moved in to attempt to re-gain control and return the quality of life to their people. Formerly naive, the Balmorran hierarchy has been bloodied enough to finally become a mature, strong force which will only accept safety to the world which has seen a rough occupation, resistance, and final liberation since Republic military forces pulled out after the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant.

Always a strategic asset because of the manufacturing plants and the proximity to the Core Worlds. Galactic Republic support dropped over the years and then the Empire found themselves squelching a staunch resistance which never quite seemed to die, even with the deaths of leaders and brilliant tacticians. While the politics of each Balmorran citizen differed, the majority of them wished to simply get on with their lives. The resistance—and, later, the Galactic Republic's outright liberation of the planet—made many tired. It made many of them resent the Republic more for what they percieved as abandonment.

The Empire, however, proved a bad thing for Balmorran industry. Production was stifled under strict Imperial trade laws, companies began to pull out due to them and the general attitude which the Empire holds to worlds which disobey the local Governors who have free reign to administrate how they wish.

So it began to hurt. And it began to bleed. Citizens feel the most of the pain from both the resistance, oppression, and the economy's nosedive. Let's see what the people of the galaxy have to say about the state of things on Balmorra during the Imperial occupation.