MIKE LIVES! (STOMP STOMP) I am not dead, yay. I have been for the past several weeks been distracted by any number of things, Persona 5, Witcher 3, CK2, Horizon Zero Dawn, my new dog, new classes, crippling loneliness... the normal things. Not sure how long the next chapter will take but I do now that it will happen once I am done with Assassination Classroom crossover chapters I want to get ready. I have been putting those off for far too long. Also I might have the God of War/DxD story ready for a weekly schedule, just something I have been working on for a year now.
Second, I just want to say thank you to every one that has Favorited and Followed this story. This is the number one story for a Star Wars ASOIAF crossover and I couldn't be happier. Also both a shout and call out to ffdrake whose In All Things Balanced I absolutely love, they have recently started a story in the same category and "similar" premise called Song of A Northern Sorcerer. Firstly... come on... come at me bro. Second, show this story some love as it is wirtten by a great author.
Qui-Gon Jinn had for many years of his life known what the Force needed of him, it was never to be the hero or the leader that some among his peers thought he would be. No, he questioned things too often to become a hero or a leader. The former was often a pawn in a greater scheme and the latter needed to have a cause or fight for the status quo. He knew what the Force needed him to be, a teacher. And in that he failed miserably… at least in his eyes.
"You sure that there's something valuable in this mess?" Qui-Gon barely heard the pirate named Dalla Suul ask as they climbed through a ruble of a Taris ruin. The gray stone and grains of construction material long since ground done to sand cracked with every one of their movements. They had found three entrances, and this was the only one that had a visible opening in the ruble.
"Yeah, the intel I have is good." Their leader, the mysterious man that called himself Ulysses, said as he helped hoist up one of the twin Feudal Worlders. Qui-Gon could understand Dalla very well, he was a man that harbored a sense of guilt and anger that drove him to commit acts to numb those feelings. All of this he could sense easily off the man that claimed to be the greatest pirate ever. The twins were even simpler in theory but there was a aura surrounding their feelings that poked and prodded them into certain ways, and they happily went along with these dictations. Their lack of alarm or resistance and even enjoyment of their state made it hard to call it forced on them so the Jedi said nothing about it.
But Ulysses? Now this was a man that Qui-Gon couldn't understand no matter how he tried to come at him. He claimed that he was from a noble family from Dromund Kaas and that he was a treasure hunter. Ulysses carried two swords that could hold back a lightsaber, and use them on par with what looked to be a Jedi Knight. Has a web of contacts capable of finding a long lost Jedi Artifacts. A pair of Feudal Worlders claim to never have seen him fail in battle and hang off his every word like it was gospel. Along with them was a Twi'lek that didn't exactly conform to most of her people's tendencies, but was also from what he sensed was a extremely confident and assured being. These were all clues but there was also a big one that he was hiding that Qui-Gon felt he needed to know.
As the Jedi Master climbed onto the ledge where the mouth of the opening was, he looked up to see the masked face of the man his thoughts were on. A hand was outstretched and he took it. Ulysses always felt slippery in the Force, a perfectly natural thing for someone if they were a secretive and at the same time well disciplined person. But at times when Qui-Gon tried to use the Force to sense how Ulysses was feeling there was always a snap, a split second reaction that caused him to go from a free flowing presence in the Force to a slippery and playful snake.
"Come on, we've found this way in but we still have to see if it actually leads anywhere." Ulysses said as he helped Qui-Gon onto the ledge. The Jedi glanced around, this had been the only way in so if it ended only a few turns in than the only other option was creating a way in. He wasn't sure that the structure could take it given its ancient state. "I got a good feeling about this."
"Better than what I got, you promised me a payday and I'll be getting it one way or the other." Dalla threatened but then they all watched as from behind came a curved dagger held by Felli at his neck and another blade curved ever so gently along the middle seam of his pants this one held by Emmi. "Are we really still doin' this?" Dalla sighed as this wasn't the first time in the expedition that the twins had done this trick.
"They don't like your doubt." Ulysses joked and gave Dalla a pat on the shoulder as he passed him while on his way into the ruins. The girls smiled as they retracted their weapons and winked at Dalla before both skipping off toward Ulysses while the pirate just continued to scowl. The entire thing made Qui-Gon chuckle which only served to draw the ire of the man with the wounded ego.
"Doubt is healthy to have, just make sure it isn't in yourself." Qui-Gon said without thinking, only after he said this did he realize that he was quoting his master. As Dalla just grumbled a few curses he walked away from the contemplating Jedi Master. Those words he had heard from his master had felt so alien to him for so long he had forgotten that they were ever spoken. "I'm sorry master… I can't."
Fay was walking through the brightly colored district of the Sith's stronghold city. She knew of the history of this developing city, her research into Darth Nagash had made her keenly aware of his actions on this world. To say that what she learned further disillusioned her to evil Sith trope would be very true. The Sith of old did not free large numbers of slaves and go about saving people from ancient curses. Her time spent on their world, Terra as the Sith call it, had given her much to think about.
She wasn't about to turn her back on the Jedi and delve into the Dark Side, no matter what type of dive that would be. She was an agent of the Light Side, even if she entertained the idea of needing Balance in the Force she was not ready or ever would be set to find Balance. The Dark Side felt like a horrible inky blackness to the purity of the light in the Force, she did not find the appeal of the passion and chaos of the Dark Side. That being said she had slowly begun to come to terms with the fact her emotions weren't so in control as she thought.
"Instructor Fay! How goes your day?" One of the shop keepers called out to her as she passed. Fay hadn't secluded herself from the world. For one she needed to listen to what these people had to say about their liege lord and second she wasn't at all comfortable having the Imperials and their direct supporters as her only company.
"It goes well Lysoquo, thank you." She replied evenly but with a soft smile. These people were completely unaware of the wider galaxy and their simple lives had this rare unexplainable joy that they didn't even know they had. She had been to Feudal Worlds before, she never wanted this ignorance of how small they really are to be tainted. But that was not to be if the Sith had their way… and Fay could not see their will being defied in this case. "Can you tell me where the Red Woman is today?" That was what she had come down from the keep for.
"Ah, I had thought you had heard of my shop's newest idea." He said with a large and happy laugh as he brought out a large stone pan of several doughy sweet rolls. Fay tightened her lips as the sweet smell of freshly made earthly delights hit her. But thankfully the oddity of this very situation helped keep her mind on task. These sweet rolls were an example of what she had come to investigate, they were a strange movement in cultural direction. The Veiled District of Harrenhal was made up of many different Essosi cultures and a blend of them was to be expected along with Westerosi influence. But the rate at which new food, art, music and all types of cultural markers were being developed in the city was not natural and yet everyone acted like it was. It all still had markings and heavy influence of the native cultures but the direction and speed was very odd and slightly worrying. "But the Red Woman is at the Meeting House."
"Thank you… I'll be back later so save a few of those for me." Fay said as she eyed the sweet rolls, intent on taking home a few for purely research purposes. These desserts were using a Myrish recipe as the base but using a cook technique that didn't come from anywhere. Not one of its fellow Essosi cultures or Westerosi, meaning that instead of the melting pot of cultures that existed here it came from a vacuum. Which simply didn't happen. Fay had been looking into this as she could only come to the conclusion that it was something that the Sith were doing, but the question was how. Rathari wouldn't do something like this, he cared very little for the peasant folk. So this had Darth Nagash written all over it.
Fay had learned that Darth Nagash was indeed a man of culture, or one very willing to adapt one to suit his needs. But even beyond strategic needs, it looked as if he was willing to sculpt people's lifestyles simply to just suit his whims. He was introducing new technology and guiding it down certain paths. And Darth Nagash seemed all to happy to introduce previously unknown concepts to cultures. Things like organized guilds, mass transit, and more recreational things like sports. Apparently he had taught Pierce several sports games he had thought all on his own and now was included in the Acolytes training regime. One involved hitting a piece of wood with sticks all while skating on a frozen like. Another was throwing a odd shaped ball across a field in team fashion. But that was everything she knew he had a direct hand in… the rest simply cropped up out of nowhere.
Her investigations had brought her to the Red Woman, a… not a priestess but also just like one. Fay had hard time understanding just what she was. She had influence, a great deal of it but she was also dismissed by the Sith. Fay had seen Darth Nagash utterly blow off the Red Woman's advances despite the fact Fay knew that he was lustful womanizer. Rathari barely gave the Red Woman any notice at all, and when he did it was always ordering her to fix some problem with the civilians. But she was still on Darth Nagash's council and was allowed to have a great deal of power in the city. Then there were the Sith Runes tattooed on her face and body. When she first met Melisandre Fay had been taken aback by the sight of someone with Sith Runes tattooed on their face almost seemed proud of them at that. Lastly there was subtle aura of influence that surrounded the Red Woman that Fay could tell affected every person around her. That fact was what gave Fay her current theory.
The Jedi eventually found herself standing in front of a tower built entirely in a gothic style very much inspired by core Imperial designs. It was the front square shaped building in a triangle of two other smaller but similar looking towers all connected by arched hallways. The tower on the left was covered in small hanging gardens and small wall fountains meanwhile the one on the right was decorated in braziers and spikes, it was clear as to what they represented. The center tower, the main one that Fay stood in front of, had little accents other than the general design but was a bit larger than the other two. All around the complex were people coming and going, this Meeting House as it was simply called now was a community center as much as it was a church to the Force. Because that's what it really was, Fay saw through the thinly veiled disguise that had been put up in order to avoid conflict with the native religion.
"This never ends well." Fay mumbled to herself as she walked into the main hall of the Meeting House. She had seen cults form to worship the Force, usually they only either worshiped the Light or Dark Side, never both and certainly never the Balance as well. Dark Side cults of course were very destructive things that sought to corrupt all that they could get their hands on. Meanwhile Light Side cults tended to end up venerating the Jedi in some way or another, thankfully the Jedi long held the belief that they weren't divine and squashed these groups just as cruelly as they would a Dark Side cult.
"Tranquil Fay." The Jedi bristled at hearing the Red Woman call her that as Fay was noticed coming into the hall. The entire Natural Order nonsense was only vaguely correct in the grand scheme of things with the Force and Fay wanted nothing to do with it. So being included in its naming scheme left a bad taste in her mouth.
"I asked not to call me that, if you must call me by a title Instructor is acceptable." Fay had already accepted her role in the Sith's plan to the degree of accepting that she was a teacher of the first generation of new Sith. Melisandre just gave a soft knowing smile as Fay walked up to her. Several of the Natural Order followers that had been speaking with the Red Woman gave the two their time and quietly left while giving small words of near reverence to being in the presence of a Tranquil. "Just because I adhere to the Light does not mean you can put a cute name like Tranquil to me, or soften the image of Dark Side users by calling them Passionates."
"But is your soul not at peace, a tranquil sea of calm and serenity?" Melisandre countered and Fay remained silent, not because she didn't want to dignify that with a response but because that wasn't as true a statement as Fay would like it to be. "But regardless, it is nice for you to have come to visit. Would you like a tour?"
"No I would n-"
"Wonderful, follow me." Fay opened her mouth to yell at the frustrating woman but closed it as she remembered that she wasn't on friendly territory. This world had proven to her that she had gotten very used to the respect, and sometimes fear, that came with being a Jedi in the Republic. Here she was only given any authority on the Sith's name and allowance, and here in this temple to the new wave of Force theory she was even more bound to act in certain ways or risk losing all she had worked for. She had the trust of many people here in Harrenhal, and more importantly the trust of the Acolytes. If she was going to be a part of the Sith's revival she needed to steer at least some of them to the light. "What do you think of our main community chamber, here we hold daily sermons from all walks of faith and philosophy. We give differing codes the chance to hold a debate as to what should be best encouraged among the people. Unity, truth, and prosperity tend to be the themes that win out."
"Fascinating." Fay said dryly as they walked through the central hall of the tower. It could hold easily a hundred people at any given time, squares of rows of pews quartered the room and at the opposite from the entrance was a set of podiums. Fay could only assume that it was Melisandre's influencing aura that kept these sermons civil, humans at this tech level could never be expected to act in such a way when it came to such topics unless some sort of controlling element was at play.
"The goal is to of course to encourage positive messages to the people, to better themselves in service of the Sith and the community as a whole." The Red Woman explained as they walked out of the main tower and started walking through the hall toward the left back tower of the complex. "I'm surprised that you came, I had gotten the impression that you disliked me."
"More distrust than outright dislike. I can understand and even sympathize with what you are trying to do… or at least elements of it. But the method you are using is causing side effects to everyone around you." Fay said quietly as they pasted by a group of followers carrying serval jugs of rosewater. "You are tampering with people's minds, influencing them on a unnatural level." Melisandre stopped as they approached the open arch that lead into the Light Side section of the Meeting House. She turned back Fay was surprised by the look of mild confusion that she had on her face.
"I have lived longer than most have any right to, I use all that have learned in my life to spread the truth of the Natural Order. Only by my words do I do this." Melisandre said and Fay could sense no lie come from her. The Jedi concluded that if there was something going on, than the Red Woman was unaware of it. Then the confusion left her face and turned back into the amused smile that tended to be on her face. "Now, let us see what goes on in the House of the Tranquil." Melisandre said as she walked in, Fay sighed and decided to finish this little tour and then go back to the keep to yell at Rathari
Inside was a chamber filled with sunlight, a grassy grove and even a small stone pound had been built inside the building creating a very peaceful and natural atmosphere. Fay was genuinely shocked at the notes of the Light Side that seemed to ping in the Force. Likely wood from the Weirwoods had been brought in and its residual affinity for the Light Side still hung in the Force. Sitting or lounging in the grove were several people simply relaxing, taking in the peace of the moment.
"Well… I can see what you were going for." Fay said as they stood at the edge of the scene.
"Here people come to let the light still their worries and clam their hearts. The followers her I have been training in the arts of counseling and soothsaying. This is where people find their peace and discuss what creates chaos in their lives so they may lessen it." The Red Woman explained with a very satisfied look on her face. Meanwhile Fay was feeling very conflicted, this was what she wanted the Jedi to be but a larger scale. To sooth the worst impulses people had and let cooler heads prevail. Not act as enforcers of a peace that many would call tyranny. "And Next is the House of the Passionate."
"Oh I think I-"
"Come now, must keep our minds open right?" Fay frowned as she felt herself being pulled back and down the hall toward the last section of the Meeting House. Her mind was going wild of the most horrible torture chambers or temples to the darkness. But when she entered the building she was instead greeted to a hall lit by candle light and tasteful red and purple veils and cushions lining the walls and filling the floor respectively. In the center of the chamber however there was a sunken pit with a smooth incline that wouldn't be too difficult to leave but steep enough to where you would have to put in effort to escape. "Here we have the House of the Passionate. Any and all desires are brought to life, properly and safely. Anyone feeling rage in their soul may come and fight it out with one of our followers." Fay watched as Melisandre waved to a trio of burly men all dressed in the robes of the Followers of the Natural Order, Fay could not sense any malice in them.
"Uh…" Fay was having a hard time coming to terms with what she was seeing.
"Or if lustful needs is what someone has than one of our followers can help with that too. Many a former slave of Lys has been drawn to the House of the Passionate. We also teach self defense and better bedroom skills during the weekdays and on the weekends hold community brawls and orgies."
"Okay I think I've had enough!" Fay said as she could feel her inner peace begin to get quite startled. Melisandre just waved and smiled as the Jedi stormed out with a growing embarrassed blush on her face.
Vette was laying back on a now empty crate leaning back on several more. It was her little lounge throne of the camp as she watched the two new boys work to set up tents and dig a latrine. They had rooms and a working bathroom in the Chilling Sound but there was a reason why they were setting up outside. Bait.
"Naz better be sure about this." Vette mumbled as she took a bite out of her stick of jerky. It was some meat from a inner core world. It tasted great but damn was it chewy. Took fifteen minutes to get through one bite but the flavor kept. "Hey! You better be digging that thing deep enough so I don't have to smell shit when I sleep." The two county boys scrambled to work even faster at her orders.
"You aren't like many Twi'leks I've seen, few are willing to take leadership like you." Yensi said as eh walked over to Vette's little throne. Internally she rolled her eyes, in her experience this statement was both true and not. It was true that her people weren't the type to seek out the top spot, in nearly every instance she could think of a Twi'lek was always under someone else. But at the same time that preconception that her people weren't capable leaders was bullshit.
"What, you think I would be some cheap tramp willing to blow every guy on the ship just to keep my place?" Vette growled but Yensi didn't show much reaction to the threatening tone. "Your one to talk, aren't Gran a bit more loyal and peaceful than you clearly are."
"Very true, I guess we are our own beyond the reputations beyond our species." Vette felt that was a bit easy but assumed that he was only trying to gauge her. The two then stared at the humans trying their best to dig a latrine in the most show off way possible, which lead to one hitting the other and it devolving into a fight over something small and pointless. "How is it that humans are never assumed to be one thing or another. When you see a Gran or Twi'lek you immediately come to conclusions in your head but a human? They could be anything."
"They're all crazy, none of them are sane and so they're all unpredictable." Vette chuckled at the theory. It was a interesting thought experiment, thinking why humans were the most wide ranging in types as opposed to most species that tended to conform to one or two molds.
"This include our captain?" Yensi asked and Vette's small smile dropped a bit. "Having us set up here serves us no purpose even if we are expecting a long period here planetside. If we had a larger crew than I could see the need but we all could be in the ship, better yet we could return to orbit when not exploring the ruins for better safety."
"Yeah, but then we could get blasted out of the sky." Vette said calmly but she could see that Yensi stiffened a bit. She wasn't a fool, and knew that whoever was targeting the Jedi they took would be tracking them down. As good as the Chilling Sound's cloaking systems were they were thousands of years old. It would naïve to think that they were still top of the line.
"By who?" Yensi asked and Vette just lazily pointed out into the surrounding wastes.
"Them." Vette had noticed the fact that we being surrounded, droids if she had to guess. She eyed the shifting sands that clung to the massive buildings and rose into dunes around the clearing they had landed in. A slightly raised hill between several fallen ruins. There had been some movement in the still open windows and holes. "We just need to keep making it look like we don't know they're out there and we're setting up for the long haul. In truth none of this junk matters and if push comes to shove we make a break for the ship and leave it all behind."
"The camp is a decoy? Not worried about the loss of equipment and cargo?" Yensi asked as he looked around the camp and noted that it all while looking valuable for a long term stay, in truth the camp was just a shell of what it needed to be. Then he looked to the cargo creates. "They're empty aren't they?"
"Yup."
"Clever."
"Not my first time on a dangerous planet while being hunted." Vette chuckled as there had been many times when Naraiz had done something dumb but didn't have time to revolve it and had to be somewhere else. Now instead of angry fellow Sith secretly sending cuckhold revenge troops it was just some droids.
"I think we found what we were looking for." I said with a shit eating grin on my face before I ducked back behind cover as a feral beast leapt over the fallen pillar I hid behind. It skidded in front of me and then died with a blaster round delivered into its head.
"Shut up!" Dalla roared as he ran past with several of the beasts chasing after him. They were these six legged dog like monsters with quills instead of fur and a bundle of whipping tails that were tipped in these glowing beds that I could assume were filled with some sort of toxin.
Being the gracious leader I was, it was no problem to fire several shots into the backs of the pursuing beasts and saving the pirate's hide. I stood back up and looked over the immediate surroundings. From the hole we discovered in the outer shell of the ruins we traveled deeper inside until we finally came to what looked to be a better preserved section of the ruins. The walls and ceiling hadn't collapsed yet and things more or less looked stable. That was when I wanted to retreat back and head for the ship after placing a small tracking beacon at the entrance we found. But nope, just as we were about to leave we heard several growling noises come from a darkened hallway.
That was when these little beauties showed up and chased us into the labyrinth of ruined hallways and corridors. Where were now looked to be some sort of atrium, it was massive and very spacious. Me and Dalla stood on one of the upper walkways meanwhile the rest of my crew were standing on a large raised pedestal at the center of the room while being circled the remainder of the pack. The beasts hid behind half walls and pillars to avoid being shot but were getting closer and closer with every moment of distraction being taken to move in.
"So much for relying on the Jedi." I sighed as I watched Qui-Gon fire a blaster at a shadow. He didn't have his lightsaber, never did since I met him, and it was obvious that he had lost his nerve with the Force. The Twins were handling their blasters fine… but only fine. They were great with knives but only passable with firearms.
"Should we save them?" Dalla joked as he walked over to the ledge of the walkway and leaned on the railing. "The girls I get by the Jedi? What's his use in all this? Fuck, there's even the chance he could ruin it all."
"I doubt that he would, the Circlet of Saresh is an artifact of a time that the modern Jedi rather not have too many reminders of. Plus Qui-Gon doesn't seem to have the best opinion of the Jedi at the moment." I said fully intending on changing that to some degree. I needed Qui-Gon back in the Jedi so he could train Obi-Wan. If for no other reason than I would love to have a battle of wits with the man. But my petty reasons for manipulating fate aside, I also needed him to just go away. I couldn't go to the more obvious Empire building sites with him hanging around. I was planning on going to Kamino first but can't do that. "And I thought he be a bit better in a fight."
"Yeah… gotta say this really makes me question just how great the Jedi are." Dalla said as we watched them for a few minutes more waiting for our perfect chance to intervene. We reached for our blasters just as the pack drew closer but then I saw something.
A lone beast that clearly was the alpha of the group given its size. It had somehow sneaked its way behind where the three were focusing their attention and had a clear shot to them. It was also on the other side of them so I couldn't fire a shot at it. I really don't want to… they can't kill it given how close it is… I have to. I reached out with the Force, trying to be as stealthy as one could be with it. A quick but strong tug and I pulled the beast to the right, perfectly in the line of sight for several blaster bolts at its face.
Dalla followed my example and began firing at the beasts hounding the twins and jedi. They howled at our attack and a few began running toward but most of the pack seemed to get the idea that if we were alive than that meant their kin had been killed. As the more hot headed of their kind were gunned down as they ran toward us, the rest scampered off into the shadows and tunnels of the ruin.
"Great… now we just need to find our way out of here." I sighed as while we were safe for the moment from getting eaten, we were now lost in a giant building complex with no way of knowing just where we are. I might need to call Vette and have her fly the ship up and do a deep scan of the ruins to get a better idea of where we are. That is if I can reach her.
Me and Dalla strolled our way down to the atrium proper as Felli and Emmi were both being levitated down to the floor by Qui-Gon. The entire place was sandy with eroded building stone and only a few hallways were open enough for anything human sized to fit in it. I knew the hall we took to get in here, but the problem was we had taken several turns and even dropped through a hole in the floor once or twice. We were thoroughly lost and I guess that could be good for finding the circlet given that it was supposed to be deep in the ruin and that exactly where we were but Vette and the boys were still out there with whoever was hunting us watching them. I knew that they were really after Qui-Gon and maybe me but I still didn't want Vette to be taken hostage.
"This was so much fun! Let's find more!"
"Are there more? It was very fun killing them." Emmi and Felli were amusing most of the times but right now there were important matters to attend to.
"I'm curious as to how they normally feed, we haven't seen vegetation and so I doubt there is much in the way of natural pray." Qui-Gon mused and while he was right on all counts he was forgetting the sheer gives-no-fucks nature can have when it comes to logic. Logically speaking there shouldn't be any life on this world period. But here they were… Star Wars logic beats out normal logic. I was more concerned with if he noticed my little trick or not.
"Right now we need to focus on finding a way out. Clearly our mission is a success, we found a way in now if can just double back to the ship so we can plan a real expedition into the vaults." I said with a small sneer. Pulling out my holo-communicator I knew that the Circlet could be only in two places, either a vault in the deepest reach of the ruin or a Republic office with a secret backroom originally meant for their intelligence officers. The vault was where the vision said it could be but I knew the Republic and there might be the chance that it was only intended to be moved there or some other circumstance happened that Satele didn't know about. "Vette, do you come in? We got a little side tracked and need a way out."
"-ss… wa… can't…-" There was a lot of static and her voice… there was something odd to it. Strained… like she was doing something that was taking all her energy. Mmm intensifies. But then it cleared up and the picture showed Vette standing up straight and looking at me with a… directed look. Eh… likely just worried about me. "-Boss, we lost connection with you? Where are you?-"
"We're about at ground level in the target ruins, I think we're in the south lobby but I could be wrong. I'm going to need you to take the ship up and get a deep scan of the structure and lock in on my signal. Send me the scan and we'll get out, maybe we could even ping the target now." I finished and Vette looked like she wanted to say more but was biting her lip in the most adorably pouty way. Cute Vette but now's not the time. I shut off the connection and took a seat knowing that it was best to stay put.
"So that's it? We wait for the Twi'lek and the boys to come and save our asses?" Dalla grunted and did so again at me not answering his complaint. He instead decided to take point and secure the boundaries of our little safe space. I nodded to the twins to follow him and help… while also reminding him of the fact who gave the orders here. I leaned back on the stone slab I took for my seat as Qui-Gon walked over, his face unreadable but I could tell what he was thinking even without the Force.
"I knew you were hiding a secret, you're Force Sensitive." Well the jig is up boys. But… I knew this was coming and that's why I prepared for it. Spinning my elusive nature and distrusting stance toward Qui-Gon prying into my past as precaution against the Jedi finding out I'm Force-Sensitive is easy, it's also a free pass for the future.
"The nobility of Drummond Kaas once cultivated it… now they shun it out of fear of bad memories. Not my family, they romanticize the old ways. Personally I don't really give two shits." Lies but easy enough to sell. A scion of a Imperial patriot family born into the Force but scorns the expectations his family had for him and took to the life of delving into the ruins of the old ages past. It was a story that I had long intended and had sowed the seeds for in the records of the Republic. "What do the Jedi even do with people like me, those they can't take and train from childhood?"
"I'd rather not…" Ah… reeducation or maybe just quietly dispose of them. "But as you know, I am not in a position to tell them about anything you might or not be." Qui-Gon said as he opened his arms wide lazily and turned back around to sit down on the slab of stone opposite to me. Alright… here we are.
"Why is that?" I asked and Qui-Gon looked up confused at that. "You know my secret now, and I saved your life in revealing it. You owe me that much."
"Could use a drink or two before telling this story." He grumbled and I wasn't going to budge. This was a good opportunity to start the healing process. Or at least get him to think about going back. "In the last Hutt War, we weren't prepared. It was the first time that the Hutts made the first move. In a long history of the Republic trying to remove the slugs, they had always played the defensive, its what's they're good at. But this time… it was different. They had real armies, real tactics and a plan to try and strike a message into the heart of the Republic."
I had read up on the new history of the wars of freedom the Republic went on since the turning point in the alterative history timeline, the Ruusan Concord. Instead of the Ruusan Reformation that defanged both the Jedi and the Republic or at least started the process of the latter, the Republic gave the Jedi total control over the Republic military. They also began cracking down on what they saw as subversive elements and external threats to peace. This eventually snowballed into the modern Republic that has fought many wars of conquest disguised as wars of liberation. From the core worlds and outward, the Republic moved to take direct control over entire sectors and either placed puppet governments in charge, auctioned off system control to loyal mega-companies or citizen systems, or even a few were awarded to heroic generals or powerful senators.
The Hutts had been the only ones to deny the Republic. By a combination of sheer bloodthirsty numbers of pirates uniting to protect their crime lord run territory, criminal organizations in the Republic all saying fuck you and sabotaging the Republic behind war lines, and the ungodly amounts of credits the Hutts lay their fat behinds on. But until the most recent war, the Hutts had been content to let the Republic throw themselves at them. It was profitable actually for the Hutts, as they had plenty of time to prepare as they knew another war would come, and playing the defensive when you knew it was coming always was nice. Profit and credits then came as the Hutts had unrestricted access to Republic space to raid and steal all they can without any more reproach than they already were getting in war. Then came the salvage after the war. But the last time was different, and no one knew why.
I could guess that it might be the Rule of Two Sith playing their games but I wasn't sure. The plan that I suspected them to be playing at certainly called for escalating relations with the Hutts but the slugs were extremely difficult to manipulate. Immune to Force mind trickery and very intelligent, more so than they had any right to be in my opinion. So I can't say for certain that it is the Sith or just the Hutts trying to do something themselves.
But the most recent Hutt War was unexpected and very bloody for the Republic. The Hutts cut deep into Republic territory, all the way to the edges of the Core Worlds. Done in a blitzkrieg type attack, the Republic was caught off guard and many worlds were razed and sacked before anyone really knew what was going on. It was a brilliant strategy, ignore the systems closest to you and rush right past them and do critical raids and bombardments of further away systems then immediately pull back to the real targets and then invade them. The Republic was so concerned with the Inner Rim and even Core Worlds that they didn't respond fast enough to the Mid Rim targets after the first wave of attacks. By the time that the Republic did make a response the Hutts had already taken control over many systems and were dug in.
"And where were you in all of this?" I asked as that was the next logical step in this conversation. I didn't want to get into the bigger picture but focus on Qui-Gon here.
"On Nanth'ri, a world near the border of Hutt Space. It was well defended against pirates but there were other muster points that were given more attention." Qui-Gon explained and I tried to think of what I knew about the planet… and came up empty. I didn't even recognized the name. It's not like I had all of Wookipedia memorized or anything, some things slip past. "And so when the Hutts did the ones attacking, we were caught off guard. I was with my padawan, on a training mission to clear out a smuggler den that had come to the attention to the Republic."
"Never expected to get dragged into a war huh?" I asked and he just gave a joyless chuckle.
"Not yet anyway… I will never understand our Order's insistence on dragging our padawans into the battlefield. I can only thank the Force that my master never had to do so." It was my turn to chuckle though with more humor than he had.
"Oh my sweet summer child." I smiled as I realized that this Qui-Gon was a Bran Stark. He didn't understand just how the world worked and yet he would some day see it better than anyone else. But as expected he looked confused at me at the Westerosi phrase. "The world the Twins are from have years long summers and winters, children that are born in the summer are typically seen as coddled or soft by those that have lived through winters."
"Ah… I see. Then I guess I was a summer child as you say." Qui-Gon smiled with me but his eyes were sullen and had a far off look in them. There was loss here, I could guess what happened without the details. But him talking about it was healthy, he needed to get it off his mind if he was going to come to terms with it. Even with the soothing power of the Light Side, loss and pain weren't still very potent to the soul. It was in fact remarkable that the Dark Side wasn't more a presence in him. "I had always known that I would need to fight in some war, some conflict that would never sit right with me. But I never expected to drag my padawan into it… and worse lose him to it."
"His name?" Please… dear fucking god don't be Obi-wan.
"Xanatos." Oh… good… it's the bad one. But why do I get the feeling he's not actually dead but out there doing Dark Jedi things. Eh, that's future Qui-Gon problems. "He was my second padawan, my charge and he died because of my recklessness. We didn't even really know the Republic had been attacked until days after the first strikes had already started heading toward us. Ships filled with pirates, slavers, and all around scum were coming just after pillaging the Mid-Rim and were high off their victory. They felt invincible meanwhile we were shocked and thrown off guard. The navy that was protecting Nanth'ri's was called inward to strike down the raiding fleets… only for those same fleets to appear a day later in the system."
"Hutts either found some sort of hidden Hyperway lanes or had made some sort of cloaking tech to get past Republic sensors." I said aloud as I thought about it. You drop out of hyperspace every time you get near a celestial body that has sufficient gravity to cause a shadow in hyperspace. A fleet needs to escape this shadow before they can reenter hyperspace. This allows sensors to detect a fleet or ship without cloaking tech, it's the reason why there is even a battle line at all in war in Star Wars. But for the Hutts to pull off the type of strategy they did would require them to bypass that rule.
"It was later discovered that the fleets were in fact built and purchased in secret and placed in dark space near the initial targets." Qui-Gon said and my mouth dropped. Those sneaky slugs… that's brilliant! And could only be done if you had a stranglehold on the criminal elements that could and would blow the lid off a secret project like that. This only proves that they all need to die. All of them. Every. Single. One. "That bit of information was kept from the public, and is the reason why the republic has begun monitoring star ship manufacturing." Eh… that might point to this being a Rule of Two scheme then to get the Republic's (cough-Empire's-cough) reach even deeper.
"Create a ready-to-attack fleet behind enemy lines and open a war by having it hit worlds that don't normally have a heavy defensive network due to their location. This causes fleets from further outward sectors to head toward the Mid-Rim, however… the Hutts fleets from the very beginning weren't trying to get deeper as the Republic assumed but to retreat back to safe space and the territory that bordered it." It really was a good plan on the part of the Hutts, it played on the Republic's psychology of the importance of the Core Worlds and the Mid-Rim was the least militarized. The Core worlds were because they were the centers of… everything for the Republic and the more fringe sectors of Republic space in the Outer-Rim were the areas of expansion and needed more military presence to keep it in line. Get the Republic good and scared that the Core Worlds were in danger to draw off the Outer-Rim fleets, and then head toward the Outer-Rim without much danger given its depleted forces. But enough about strategy and war games, I need to get Qui-Gon back on track. "But you say that your padawan died because you were reckless, you don't strike me as a reckless man… now that your sober."
"But I was." Qui-Gon said and I sensed that he was disappointed that I was dragging him back to this. Ah, he got me. He distracted me with grand strategy. "When the pirates came and took out the little naval power left in the system, they didn't take long to land planet side. Nanth'ri had a modest garrison, the idea was that any fleet in the system would soften a invasion fleet if there ever was one allowing the garrison to have a fighting chance to delay the enemy until reinforcements arrive. They weren't prepared for an unmolested and highly motivated invasion force. I was the highest ranking members on the world at the time, so I was quickly given command."
"An untested Jedi being given control over a army of skilled soldiers… how could that go wrong." In canon it should have gone a lot worse. Honestly the CIS should have wiped the floor with the Republic, while the Clones were vastly better than the droids… the same could not be said for the leadership. Plus, the CIS would have made much better troops if they were freed of Sidious' shackles.
"It did. Instead of listening to the command center of the world I went about what I believed instead. I listened to the Force, meditated on what I should do. My reaction was too slow and my tactics were naïve. I foolishly thought that these pirates would go for the civilian centers or other places of wealth." Qui-Gon spat bitterly, I could tell that his military defeat also weighed heavy on him, but that was just a small part on his conscious. "Instead they acted as a true military and attacked fuel depots, staging grounds, and military bases. They completely ignored the easy credits of a raid and worked as a real fighting force."
"The Hutts must have had someone commanding them, someone that could keep the scum on task." It wasn't like it was impossible. Uniting gangsters, criminals, and pirates wasn't actually that hard as all you need is a down payment and the promise of a even bigger payout. The hard part was keeping them in line. The more organized scum could be easily handled as they were used to a command structured, but it was still take someone of supreme skull cracking power to keep them all in line.
"I fought him… it was a Bounty Hunter named Durge." Unhappy noises. Very unhappy noises. Extremely… eternally… destroy the galaxyally unhappy noises. Durge is bumping around the galaxy. I might have hoped that I could face the bastard when I first came into this reality but now I just find the idea annoying. Durge's race is annoying, it's a good thing they are in the double digits now. "I cannot say that I was able to kill the monster but only able drive him off the battlefield. But… in the aftermath of the initial invasion I had lost contact with my padawan."
"That happens all the time, it is war after all." I said knowing that meant little to him but I needed to get to the root of his guilt. Why he saw Xanatos' death as his fault.
"Yes, but it was I that told him to protect the civilians' retreat while I take on the invasion's leader. I was foolishly reckless, thinking that it would be some simple pirate captain or slaver master and I would have no problem. In my blindness to end the invasion quickly, I ignored the officers advising me and abandoned my padawan." Eh… honestly it wasn't a bad judgement call. Really it was just shitty luck he got Durge, if it wasn't him or some other Jedi Killer Bounty Hunter then he would have ended it quickly. And even still, blaming himself for a loss in the rear line of a battle is stupid. That's something you can't account for and even if you do… well no plan survives contact with the enemy.
"Did you see a body?" I asked knowing to never count a person dead unless you actually see a body. Thankfully this was not a comic based reality and dead normally stayed dead. Force Ghosts don't count as coming back from the dead as they most are dead and one with the Force but can materialize for a short period of time.
"No, but soldiers I who had been saved by Xanatos told me of his last stand. He had been protecting a group of escaping families of the base workers. They saw him get gunned down by two gunships… we Jedi are capable of great things but Xanatos was young and even experienced Knights would find a hard time surviving that." Hmm… I've heard more bullshit escape stories. If it wasn't Xanatos I'd actually might buy it however the Legends story of Qui-Gon's second padawan makes me question what I'm hearing. It matters little in the end, I have what I need now.
"It sounds like he died a hero, that's more than what most people get in this galaxy. Most die in obscurity, thankless, and end up forgotten." I said knowing what way I need to get him off his ass. Shame. Or at least redirecting his shame. All I need is for him to get to the Jedi and into the hands of Yoda or some other Counselor who could help him far more than I could. "I'm sure those families will remember him, but some day they will die… and he'll be forgotten again. His death meaningless."
"But he still saved them, their families and all those they will go on to help will only be because he saved them." Qui-Gon argued back but again, this was just leading me to places I could use to… ahem… help him.
"True, sounds like he would have lived to be someone that would have helped many people just as he helped them. Ripples acting upon more ripples of good deeds." I said, it was empty words that sounded genuine. But Qui-Gon was still paying attention and all I needed to do was set him on the right path, preferably on a path away from my ship. "Where did I find you again? Drunk in a bar arguing to be served another drink?"
"I can see what you are trying to say, no need to rub salt in wounds." He said as he stood up angrily but then was shocked when he was forced back down with the Force. He looked at me and I guess he was not expecting me to be so strong.
"A bit of salt to wake you up than to cause you any more pain. Your padawan did more in his short life than what you did, he saved lives while you were little better than a glorified icon of oppression. His memory will live on in the small lives and some dusty archive, or… it could be a small ember than grew into a raging inferno of righteousness." I said staring Qui-Gon Jinn down, my eyes giving a heavy wight of emotion to what I was saying. I meant none of it other than my next words. These words were going to be from a place of experience. They didn't come from a similar place but their meaning was no less applicable. "Quit wallowing in self-pity and be a fucking man, stand up and be better than you were yesterday. That's how you handle life, taking each step forward and making sure you're a better person with each one."
He looked at me and it was like a fog was lifted from his eyes. On the surface there was a mix of anger and denial however that was just a withering branch of his depression trying to claw at his growing spine. On the inside I could tell he heard what he needed to hear. That he needed to be the person that was deserving of the great man that he had a chance to teach. Qui-Gon understood now that he was disgracing the memory of his padawan with actions, and that the only way to do right by his loss was to be a better man that wouldn't make the same mistake again.
Xiade smirked as she watched the holo form of one of her targets flicker out of view. She then turned her head up to the Twi'lek that was so very useful right now. The Sith Assassin circled the entranced woman, Xiade's natural pheromones causing her and the males at the campsite to all surrender themselves to her control. The Twi'lek was impressive, she was resisting as best she could however in the end it was futile.
"Mistress, we have their location. Currently in process of sending Lancer units into the ruin to corner them into a kill-zone." Xiade's smirk faded as IG-99 spoke. Ever since the call from Darth Sidious she had finally noticed that it was far more than a normal droid. For one thing it was a careful watcher and thinker. It had its own plans for their mission, she had no idea if Sidious had sent it new orders without her knowledge but it was obvious they were working for two different goals.
She looked back to the command IG unit and scowled. It wasn't the normal wiry and thin model that the IG units tended to have. It had a roughly broad humanoid frame, exposed wire muscles in his body and arms wined as they tightened and loosened with every movement, its recurve legs were heavy and were installed with taloned feet, and instead of the omnidirectional head the other IG units had IG-99 had a squat flat head but for a line of senor antenna in between four constantly adjusting eyes. In its hands was a massive Vibro-Ax that was outfitted with a blaster pommel, honestly it was a impressive weapon that made Xiade a little jealous.
"Where I will kill them, right." Xiade said pointedly as she stared down the larger being.
"We will ensure optimal mission success parameters with all available assets." IG-99 said in its normal deep and flat voice. Xiade watched as its eyes pushed forward and back with each word it spoke, moving in their sockets in a far more alien fashion than any organic being she had ever seen. It then looked to the prisoners they had. "The taking of new assets was not within our stated orders."
"The ship is unusual, it has cloaking tech that our master is unfamiliar with. We should take it and its crew." Xiade said as she turned her head back to the Twi-lek. Even if she hated it with all her being, there was now a spot open within the Tools of Pelagius. This Twi-Lek could be a good candidate for her master's experiments and training into a new Blade. And the ship was too good to pass up, maybe she would be gifted with it. "You can spare a few droids to keep them under control right?" Xiade said making sure her voice indicated that this wasn't optional.
"The seizure of unlawful property is a tried and true business practice of the Banking Clan." IG-99 answered her without actually committing to any real answer. She watched as several Lancer Droids walked over to the men with fuck-dumb looks on their faces and began dragging them into the ship. She rolled her eyes and looked back into the eyes of the interesting Twi-lek.
"You are going to go into your room, tie yourself up and wait for me." Xiade had once been a master at seduction even if she hated it. She took pride in hers skills and beauty as useful tools for her master, but always thought of herself as a dull tool of death. A blade does not need to look pretty to be deadly. Not that she was a blade anymore, and her cybernetics were now so extensive that in combination with her visible scaring she was far from a beauty anymore.
"F-f-f… Ghh…" The Twi-lek struggled to say something, Xiade was impressed. There were few that could resist her species' allure with this proximity. However just because she was impressed did not mean she could not be annoyed. So with one smooth move, Xiade flicked her wrist and sent the Twi-lek flying into a nearby crate, knocking her out.
"Now everyone hurry up!" Xiade barked out as the feeling electrical pings in her brain had started to get undeniably painful. She needed to end this, kill her target and finally prove herself worthy to her master again. Meanwhile IG-99 just watched the Assassin Asset devolve even further, not understanding the folly of his creators for wanting her to be on this mission.
Reviews
JosephLeeCollins - but that's work... I would have to back and changes things.
Gabe2000 - maybe... I don't know.
Black Magic99 - uh... I'm pretty sure I have stated my intent to do just that. I won't do anything directly crossovery, just Naraiz generally mimicking things in either the form of tech or Force nonsense
Bear - maybe
AO Black - Firstly, on the Rakghoul thing. I have a very dumb and funny fate in story for that. Second, I've tried to watch Tanya but the faces of the female characters are off putting to me. I like the concept though. And no, Naraiz is the only one getting Isekai'ed in this story.
BZee87 - no, mostly because that would be too big of a project and I'd find it boring
ZhaWarudo - First off, cool screenname. Secondly, you my friend clearly haven't explored the right (wrong) places of the internet. Third, Naraiz is I guess a embellished version of myself in some ways. A good way of thinking of it is its kinda like Ainz from Overlord. He has slowly been conditioned into the person he is now, unreconizable to either of his former selves but still at his core both of them.
GhostFang GF - Qui-Gon will discover who Naraiz is much later on, for right now the story needs these things to happen a certain way. I sorta wrote myself into a corner with Qui-Gon here.