Diversity Alliance

The Diversity Alliance was an anti-human alien activist group that sprung up after the Galactic Civil War.

Origins
The Diversity Alliance was formed as a result of the injustices inflicted on Alien species by the Humanocentric Galactic Empire's New Order. A forerunner to the Diversity Alliance was the Alien Combine which was formed in 3 ABY. However, since the Alien Combine was unwilling to take drastic actions (terrorism), it was wiped out by the Empire.

Among the founders of the Diversity Alliance was Nolaa Tarkona, a Twi'lek from Ryloth. The Empire had enslaved numerous Twi'leks. Her half-sister Oola had also been sold as a slave to the Hutt crime lord  Jabba Desilijic Tiure and was killed when he fed her to his pet Rancor. Not wanting to suffer the same fate as her sister, an enslaved Nolaa rose up against her masters and started a rebellion, with the result that she overthrew the Ryloth government and became the first female Twi'lek leader in galactic history. Any Twi'lek that didn't follow Nolaa's ideals were killed, exiled or sent to work in the ryll mines.

Rise of the Diversity Alliance
Soon afterwards, Nolaa started the Diversity Alliance (using Ryloth's ryll profits to finance herself) and spread her message of alien unity to many species across the galaxy. She held many rallies on several alien worlds where she whipped up support for the Alliance. Many aliens joined her including Wookiees, Quarren, Ugnaughts, Trandoshans, Duros and Chironians. The Diversity Alliance seemed like a peaceful aliens-first movement on the outside but Nolaa created the Diversity Alliance as a way for all non-humans to band together against a common enemy: Humans.

The Emperor's Plague
In 24 ABY, an alien scavenger named Fonterrat discovered the Emperor's Plague Storehouse in the Deep Core. There was hidden within it a supply of deadly diseases created by General Evir Derricote almost two decades ago. Though the Galactic Empire had been defeated, this plague warehouse still remained with its supplies of deadly diseases. He then offered to sell a navicomputer module containing information to Nolaa Tarkona knowing of their hatred of Humans though he refused to deal directly with her, suggesting that she sent a neutral party to meet him on Kuar.

When negotiating, he also provided her with one sample of the virus which she use to seal his payment. The neutral party turned out to be the a wealthy Human merchant and shipping tycoon named Bornan Thul (who owned Bornaryn Trading). In exhange for the navicomputer module that contained the coordinates for the asteroid, Bornan paid with a timelocked case filled with credits.

Bornan was then supposed to deliver it to Nolaa at a trade conference on Shumavar but he found out about what lay within the plague warehouse and went into hiding. Enraged, Nolaa hired numerous bounty hunters to locate Thul and bring back the navicomputer. Among those bounty hunters was Ailyn Vel, disguised as her father Boba Fett.

The Jedi Intervene
Later, Bornan's son Raynar Thul (who attended Master Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum of Yavin 4) went to find his father with the help of his classmates Jacen, Jaina Solo, Tenel Ka the Wookiee Lowbacca and his translation droid M-TD. They searched his last known locations stretching from ancient ruined worlds including Ziost to the droid foundry world of Mechis III.

Fonterrat also went to the all-Human colony on Gammalin where he used the plague to wipe out the population. Before the plague had taken its effect, Fonterrat was imprisoned by the colonists. Since the plague had wiped out every one on the colony other than Fonterrat, he died in his cell of starvation since there was no one to take care of him. Meanwhile, Nolaa Tarkona continued her crusade to whip up support among the alien species of the galaxy by visiting the Chromans of Chroma Zed where she recalled Imperial oppression.

Secrets Exposed
Later, Lowbacca was recuited into the Alliance by the female Wookiee Raabakyysh and traveled to their headquarters of Ryloth to learn more about them. Meanwhile, the Human Zekk - a friend of the Jedi - rescued Bornan from bounty hunters and learnt the reason he had disappeared and the top-secret Imperial plague warehouse. Bornan also revealed that Boba Fett (actually Ailyn Vel) had sliced into his ship's navicomputer and stolen the coordinates of the plague warehouse. Ailyn Vel then presented this information to Nolaa, who wished to unleash a Human-specific plague upon the galaxy.

Feeling that Lowbacca only knew the public face of the Diversity Alliance and not the hidden anti-Human sentiment, Lowie's Jedi companions traveled to Ryloth only to get arrested by the local authorities and put to work in the dangerous ryll mines of Ryloth. However, Lowbacca soon learnt what had befallen of his Human companions through Raabakyysh.

The enraged Wookiee turned against the Diversity Alliance and helped them escape the harsh terrain of the planet and zealous Diversity Alliance troops. The Jedi also discovered that the Diversity Alliance was stockpiling weapons for its war against Humans. They were also rescued by Zekk, Luke Skywalker and Lusa (a Chironian who had left the Diversity Alliance over the death of her Talz friend). The Jedi then fled offworld to the galactic capital of Coruscant.

The Alliance Collapses
This incident attracted galacticwide publicity and a special session was held at the New Republic Senate to deal with it. There, before thousands of Senators and representatives, Luke requested that an inspection team be sent to Ryloth to investigate reports of Diversity Alliance aggression. When word of this reached Nolaa Tarkona, she ordered one of her trusted friends the Devaronian Kambrea to entertain the inspection team and cover up the evidence of Alliance aggression. She also prepared a fleet to go the plague warehouse.

Meanwhile on the Jedi/New Republic side, after recording an encrypted message to his wife Aryn Dro Thul explaining their plan, Bornan, Raynar, Zekk, Jacen and Jaina Solo, Tenel Ka, and Lowbacca gathered up some explosives and went to the warehouse with the intent to destroy it. They were almost finished wiring when Diversity Alliance ships showed up. In the ensuing confrontation with Tarkona in the warehouse, some of the plague canisters were busted open, including a Human specifice virus. Bornan sacrificed himself so the plague would not spread, and told Raynar to get himself and his friends off the asteroid.

Meanwhile in space, a New Republic fleet under Han Solo defeated the Diversity Alliance fleet. However, Nolaa Tarkona managed to escape though she would later die on a distant asteroid from a Twi'lek -specific disease. Meanwhile on Ryloth, fighting took place when the New Republic inspection team discovered stockpiles of weapons. However, the fighting was stopped by the Twi'lek Kur whom convinced the Alliance soldiers that they had been misguided and that both Humans and Aliens should work together. This ended the Diversity Alliance which collapsed with the death of Nolaa.

Aftermath
Following the collapse of the Diversity Alliance, the Cooperative Council of Independent Planetary Governments was formed to promote cooperation between the species of the New Republic and to undo the wrongs of the New Order. Kur was also appointed as the head of Ryloth's new government which dispatched two representatives to represent Ryloth in the New Republic Senate: one male and one female.

Delegations from every species on every world that had been aligned with the Diversity Alliance were also brought in for meetings with the Chief of State Leia Organa Solo on the capital of Coruscant. The investigation team assigned to investigate the Diversity Alliance also informed the Senate about information obtained from interviewing former members of the Alliance, including finding out why they joined. Lowie's droid M-TD would provide translations during these interviews since he was fluent in over 16 different languages.

The news of the Alliance's collapse also reach the entire galaxy. Lowie's sister Sirrakuk also became a liaison to war-torn worlds and to investigate and report any incident of violations of sentient rights. The young Jedi trainees which had played a major role in the defeat of the Diversity Alliance would return to the Jedi Praxeum. Later, the threat posed by the Alliance would be considered little to that posed by the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong which instigated the Yuuzhan Vong War in 25 ABY.

Notable Members

 * Nolaa Tarkona - Twi'lek leader of the Diversity Alliance
 * Corrsk - Trandoshan member of Nolaa's inner council and General in Alliance military forces
 * Hovrak - Shistavanen member of Nolaa's inner council and Adjunctant Advisor
 * Kambrea - Devaronian representative on Nolaa's inner council
 * Rullak - Quarren representative on Nolaa's inner council
 * Lowbacca - Wookiee recruit
 * Lusa - Chironian recruit
 * Raabakyysh - Wookiee recruit
 * Sirrakuk - Wookiee recruit

Known species Involved

 * Abyssin
 * Bith
 * Bothan
 * Chironian
 * Chroman
 * Devaronian
 * Duros
 * Gamorrean
 * Kushiban
 * Quarren
 * Shistavanen
 * Sullustan
 * Rodian
 * Talz
 * Trandoshan
 * Twi'lek
 * Ugnaught
 * Wookiee

Appearances

 * Young Jedi Knights: The Fall of the Diversity Alliance
 * Young Jedi Knights: Shards of Alderaan
 * Young Jedi Knights: Diversity Alliance
 * Young Jedi Knights: Delusions of Grandeur
 * Young Jedi Knights: Jedi Bounty
 * Young Jedi Knights: The Emperor's Plague
 * Young Jedi Knights: Return to Ord Mantell
 * Young Jedi Knights: Trouble on Cloud City
 * Young Jedi Knights: Crisis at Crystal Reef
 * Star by Star
 * The Joiner King