| The origins of Uhl Turhaya (translates from Old Corellian to mean the bright star) are shrouded in myth and legend. Some say that the syndicate was founded during the fledgling days of the Republic, when an enterprising group of colonists sought to make an easy profit by smuggling along the newly mapped Corellian Trade Spine. Others claim that they rose to prominence during the decades following King Berethron e Solo's dismantling of the Corellian monarchy, in which multi-stellar corporate conglomerates overthrew the Corellian parliament and created a government of unrestricted – and often unregulated – commerce.
Wherever their origins lie, Uhl Turhaya has always been associated with one family: the Longstars. Though the syndicate drew on numerous Corellian families to make up its numbers, there was always a Longstar at the head of the syndicate hierarchy.
Following the death of his father, Midys Longstar (a young man of twenty-five years old at the time) inherited the position of leader of Uhl Turhaya. Having been raised with an awareness of the legacy that awaited him, Midys took to the role with ease. Under his leadership, Uhl Turhaya experienced three decades of prosperity and growth, establishing itself as a formidable power within the Corellian underworld. It's speculated that at this time, even the Corellian government and CorSec itself were under Uhl Turhaya's sway.
The seemingly endless rise of Uhl Turhaya was stalled when, unexpected, Midys Longstar was diagnosed with a condition known as 'Bitter Winter' – a rapid-onset degeneration of memory and mental agility. Within years the effects were beginning to show and, worrying about both his brothers health and the health of the syndicate, Kas Longstar – younger brother of Midys – began to take over control of Uhl Turhaya. A spice-user who had difficulty separating business from pleasure, Kas' leadership of Uhl Turhaya was short-lived as an ill-planned business venture lead to Kas and many of his senior enforcers being thrown in jail by CorSec, who had used the change of regime within the syndicate to plant a number of undercover agents and moles.
With Kas Longstar's arrest, many of Uhl Turhaya's books and accounts fell into CorSec's hands. Law enforcement moved swiftly to shut down all apparently legitimate operations in the syndicate's name, with only a handful of members who were off-world at the time managing to escape the systematic dismantling of Uhl Turhaya. Amongst those not present were Midys Longstar's children, including youngest son Vinthern, a boy of seventeen who was on Nar Shaddaa at the time, where he had been assisting in the delivery of a weapons shipment. Intended to be Vinthern's rite of passage into the syndicate, the news that many of his family members and friends had been arrested did not have the anticipated effect of turning him away from a life of crime.
Instead, he began as his ancestors has done, laying new ground-work, finding new contacts and business opportunities for the time when Uhl Turhaya would rise again...
|
