Varkis Drayce

Following the path of his forebears, Drayce entered the Republic Navy, where his noble birth and sharp intellect propelled him swiftly through the ranks. As an admiral, he distinguished himself as a formidable leader, blending family honor with personal ambition. His notable military achievements include:

• The Battle of Ord Mantell: Commanding a Republic fleet, Drayce crushed a pirate coalition threatening trade routes in the Bright Jewel system with cunning blockade strategies.
• The Zygerrian Slave Empire Suppression: He spearheaded a covert mission that dismantled a resurgent Zygerrian slave network, safeguarding the Outer Rim from chaos.
• The Mandalorian Border Skirmishes: His calculated deployments along the Mandalorian frontier thwarted potential invasions, securing Republic stability.

These victories cemented his reputation as a military genius and his belief that the Republic required a stronger, more assertive presence to survive its challenges.

After retiring from the Navy, Drayce transitioned effortlessly into the political arena, inheriting his family’s ancestral Senate seat for Coruscant. His noble heritage and decorated military record earned him immediate respect among his peers. Yet, Drayce was no mere caretaker of tradition—he sought to reshape the Republic into a hyper-military empire through his philosophy of Republic Accelerationism. He argued that the Republic’s bureaucratic inefficiencies and pacifist leanings were weaknesses that threatened its survival, advocating instead for centralized power and martial strength rooted in the nobility’s historical leadership.

Drayce harbored a deep mistrust of the Jedi Order, a sentiment shaped by both his noble upbringing and historical perspective. He saw the Jedi as a rival power bloc, their influence encroaching on the authority of the Republic’s traditional elite. He often criticized their role in the Old Republic era, blaming their failures for past galactic turmoil and crediting noble families like his own with the Republic’s recovery.

“The Jedi utterly failed to defend the Republic in the Old Republic. Their hubris allowed the Sith to ravage our worlds, and it was the nobility—families like mine—who rebuilt what they could not protect. We cannot afford such weakness again.”

To Drayce, the Jedi’s reliance on the Force and their peacekeeping ideals undermined the structured governance he believed only the aristocracy could provide. In a private moment, he revealed his imperial vision:

“The Republic is a shadow of its potential. It needs a guiding hand to become an empire—unyielding, eternal, and led by those who understand true power.”

Senator Varkis Drayce’s commanding presence in the Galactic Senate was not limited to his fiery rhetoric or strategic mind; he was also known for his penchant for settling political disputes through ritualized duels, a tradition rooted in the noble houses of Coruscant. Eschewing the lightsaber—a weapon he associated with the Jedi Order he so despised—Drayce wielded a vibrosword, a finely crafted blade forged from phrik alloy, lightweight yet capable of cutting through durasteel. Named “Axiom”, the weapon was a family heirloom passed down through generations of the Drayce lineage, its hilt adorned with intricate engravings depicting the triumphs of his ancestors.

Drayce viewed these duels as a test of honor and conviction, a means to expose the weakness of his opponents—particularly those he deemed unfit to guide the Republic, such as alien senators or pacifist humans. While lethal combat was forbidden within the Senate chambers, Drayce frequently challenged his rivals to ceremonial bouts in the Senatorial Combat Arena, a lesser-known venue beneath the Senatorial District where nobles historically resolved disputes. These duels, fought with vibroswords set to a non-lethal stun setting, were as much theater as they were combat, drawing crowds of senators, aides, and Coruscanti elites eager to witness Drayce’s martial prowess.

Notable Duels

• The Clash with Senator T Undara (966 RSY): Early in his Senate tenure, Drayce faced off against T Undara, a Twi’lek senator from Ryloth who opposed his Hutt Trade Embargo Proposal. Branding Undara a “spineless appeaser,” Drayce dominated the duel with precise, aggressive strikes, forcing the Twi’lek to yield in under two minutes. He later remarked, “The vibrosword reveals what words conceal—Undara’s cowardice proves the Outer Rim cannot lead.”
• The Standoff with Senator Kael Vorskan (973 RSY): After the failure of the Mon Calamari Exclusion Act, Drayce challenged Vorskan, a human senator from Alderaan and vocal pacifist, to defend his “weak-willed ideals.” The duel lasted nearly ten minutes, with Drayce’s relentless offense clashing against Vorskan’s defensive agility. Drayce emerged victorious, leaving Vorskan bruised and humiliated, solidifying his reputation as an unyielding force.
• The Symbolic Bout with Senator Gorrak Nol (979 RSY): A rare duel against a Hutt aide representing Nar Shaddaa’s interests, this encounter saw Drayce wield “Axiom” with theatrical flair, disarming Nol’s vibroblade in a single flourish. The victory fueled his anti-alien rhetoric, as he declared, “Even their champions falter before human resolve.”

Philosophy of the Blade

Drayce saw the vibrosword as an extension of his belief in order and strength, a tool to cut through the Republic’s bureaucratic stagnation. He often spoke of the weapon’s symbolism in private circles:

“The vibrosword is discipline incarnate—sharp, unyielding, and free of the mysticism that clouds the Jedi’s blades. It is the weapon of a noble, not a monk.”

His dueling style mirrored his personality: methodical yet ferocious, blending the refined techniques of Coruscanti swordmasters with the ruthless efficiency of a military tactician. Critics accused him of using these spectacles to intimidate dissenters, while supporters praised his commitment to the ancient traditions of the Core Worlds’ aristocracy. Regardless, Drayce’s vibrosword duels became a hallmark of his political career, reinforcing his image as a senator who backed his words with steel.

Drayce’s anti-alien sentiments were rooted in his noble heritage and the historical dominance of human-led Core Worlds in the Republic’s early years. He frequently expressed the view that non-human species lacked the discipline and loyalty necessary for galactic governance, often citing historical conflicts—such as the Tionese Conflict in 312 RSY, where the non-human-led Tion Hegemony challenged Republic authority—as evidence of their supposed inferiority. Drayce argued that the Republic’s survival depended on human leadership, a belief that fueled his distrust of alien-led factions like the Trade Federation and the Separatist coalition.

Drayce’s sentiment led to several notable events that highlighted his ideology and strained his relationships with non-human senators:

The Hutt Trade Embargo Proposal (965 RSY): Early in his Senate tenure, Drayce proposed a trade embargo against Hutt-controlled worlds, accusing the Hutt species of being “inherently criminal” and a “ blight on galactic commerce.” He claimed their “slug-like nature” predisposed them to corruption, ignoring the economic contributions of Hutt Space to the Republic. The proposal was narrowly defeated after fierce opposition from Outer Rim senators, but it cemented Drayce’s reputation as a xenophobe. He remarked:

“The Hutts are a scourge upon the galaxy, their slug-like nature predisposing them to deceit and crime. We cannot allow such vermin to taint the Republic’s commerce.”

The Mon Calamari Exclusion Act (972 RSY): Drayce sponsored a bill to limit Mon Calamari representation in the Senate, arguing that their “aquatic sensibilities” made them unfit for galactic governance. He infamously remarked, “The Mon Calamari belong in their oceans, not in our chambers,” sparking outrage among non-human delegations. The bill failed, but it further alienated Drayce from alien allies and fueled protests on Mon Cala. In a Senate session addressing Outer Rim representation in 970 RSY:

“The Outer Rim breeds chaos because its species lack the discipline of the Core. We humans built this Republic, and we alone should steer its course.”

In 970 RSY, a decade before his famed “War Is Brewing” speech, Varkis Drayce secretly collaborated with Jedi Master Dooku of Serenno to create a Clone Army, a move shrouded in mystery at the time. The project began when the Kaminoans, a reclusive species skilled in cloning, approached the Republic with an offer: a genetically engineered security force to bolster its defenses amid rising Outer Rim unrest. Drayce, then a rising senator, saw this as a chance to forge a military capable of enforcing his vision of order. Dooku, the only Jedi he respected for his noble heritage and pragmatic ideals, joined him, disillusioned with the Jedi Council’s restraint.

The operation was concealed from the Senate and Jedi Order, masked as a modest expansion of the Republic Judicial Forces. Drayce and Dooku oversaw the Kaminoans’ work, commissioning an initial batch of clone battalions—among them the 104th Battalion, dubbed the “Wolf Pack.” These early clones, bred from a yet-unnamed template, were deployed under the guise of “stress testing” to refine their specialties:

• 104th Battalion (Wolf Pack): Under Plo Koon and CC-3636 “Wolffe”, they mastered search-and-rescue, excelling in operations like the Ryndellia Incident (978 RSY), extracting a stranded convoy from pirate clutches.

In 980 RSY, Senator Varkis Drayce delivered one of the most famous speeches of his career, later dubbed the “War Is Brewing” Speech, during a heated Senate debate on military funding. At the time, the Republic was facing growing unrest in the Outer Rim, where a Separatist coalition was forming, driven by discontent with the Republic’s centralized governance. Simultaneously, the Trade Federation, a powerful economic entity, was amassing a significant military force, including droid armies, under the guise of protecting its trade routes. These developments alarmed many in the Senate, particularly as the Republic lacked a standing army to counter such threats.

Drayce’s speech was a masterful oration, blending the great history of the Republic with a warning of impending conflict. He condemned the Separatist coalition, the Trade Federation, and the Jedi Order, while proposing a radical solution: the creation of a Clone Army, an Army that was ready for use as of the speech, in collaboration with Jedi Master Dooku. Dooku, a noble from the wealthy House of Dooku on Serenno, was the only Jedi Drayce respected, as both shared a vision for a stronger Republic, unencumbered by the Jedi’s pacifist ideals. The full text of the speech is as follows:

Esteemed colleagues of the Galactic Senate, I stand before you today not as a harbinger of doom, but as a student of history—a history that speaks to us with utter clarity. if only we would listen. War is brewing… The galaxy has been at peace for centuries, how would it fare in a galactic war? Let us reflect on the lessons of our past to understand the peril of our present. In the earliest days of our Republic, mere decades after its founding, we faced chaos that nearly tore us asunder.

The Great Hyperspace War, in 100 RSY, saw rogue warlords exploit our nascent hyperspace lanes, plundering worlds like Alderaan and Corellia with impunity. The Jedi, tasked with our defense, faltered—their numbers were too few, their focus too scattered, and their reliance on the Force blinded them to the practical needs of a galaxy in turmoil. It was the nobility, families like mine, the Drayces of Coruscant—who rallied the first fleets, who forged alliances with the Core Worlds, who rebuilt what the Jedi could not protect. And yet, we did not learn. Two centuries later, in 312 RSY, the Tionese Conflict erupted. The Tion Hegemony, a rival power, sought to dominate the Perlemian Trade Route, cutting off Republic worlds from vital resources. Again, the Jedi hesitated, preaching diplomacy while Tionese warships burned our colonies. It was the Republic’s noble houses, not the Jedi, who funded the counteroffensive that secured our borders.

Now, in 980 RSY, we stand at a precipice. The Separatist coalition is forming in the Outer Rim, driven by worlds who chafe under our governance, who whisper of independence while sharpening their blades. Worse still, the Trade Federation, led by those avaricious Neimoidians—whose greed knows no bounds, as is the nature of their kind—is amassing a droid army: an uncountable amount of battle droids, cloaked under the guise of ‘trade protection.’ I ask you, senators, what trade route requires an army of such scale? Their intentions are clear: they seek to dominate, to dictate terms to the Republic through force.

And what of the Jedi, our supposed guardians? The Jedi believe they are innocent peacekeepers, in their ignorance, they'll ignite a war. They meditate in their temples while the galaxy arms itself; they speak of balance while the Outer Rim festers with dissent. Their inaction is a spark to the tinder of rebellion, and we will all burn for it.

The board has already been set… War is coming, and we stand on the brink of a conflict that will test the very foundations of our Republic. But fear not, for I have ensured we are not unprepared. In collaboration with Jedi Master Dooku, a noble of Serenno’s House of Dooku and the only Jedi I have ever respected for his higher ideals for this Republic, I have overseen the creation of a Clone Army—a genetically engineered force, loyal and disciplined, now ready to serve as the Republic’s shield and sword. I personally directed their training regimen, forging them into an army the likes of which the galaxy has never seen: unmatched in prowess, unwavering in their absolute loyalty to the Republic. Dooku, like myself, understands the need for order and strength, a vision born of our noble heritage and tempered by the failures of the past. This Clone Army will ensure our security, deter our enemies, and restore order where chaos reigns. We cannot rely on the Jedi alone, nor on the fractured militias of a thousand worlds. With this army, the Republic will rise as a unified power!

Let us not repeat the mistakes of our past. Let us act with the clarity of history, with the strength of our heritage, and with the resolve to forge a Republic that endures. The choice is ours—will we be consumed, or will we prevail?
— Senator Varkis Drayce

Drayce’s speech was a call for militarization, warning of an impending galactic conflict and condemning both the Separatist coalition and the Jedi Order for their roles in the escalating crisis. Delivered with fiery conviction, the speech resonated deeply with many senators, particularly those from Core Worlds who feared the Republic’s fragility.

Senator Varkis Drayce remains a polarizing figure in the Galactic Senate as of 981 RSY. His warnings of war have proven prescient, as tensions with the Separatist coalition and the Trade Federation continue to escalate. His anti-Jedi stance, anti-alien racism, and imperial vision have divided the Senate, but his noble lineage, military honors—symbolized by his medals—and 20 years of political experience lend him significant credibility among certain factions.