Born into the powerful Fey'lya clan on Kothlis, Arf had always been a renegade in the eyes of fellow Bothans. Determined to break the power of Supreme Chancellor Signet Mezzileen, Fey'lya left Kothlis and founded the Democratic Republican Party and organized riots and protests against Mezzileen's regime. After a particularly violent uprising on Coruscant, the planet was put under martial law by Mezzileen. When the Jedi protested, they were driven to Ossus and the planet soon came under siege by the Republic fleet. Fey'lya, seeing a chance to gain powerful allies, gathered an alliance of rebels to break the blockade and joined with the Jedi in an attempt to topple Mezzileen's government.