Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Star Wars. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with commercial aim. I make no money from it.
Phase 2: From the Darkness
=RK=
Part 3
Mother Machine chamber
Belsavis
My disjointed dreams shimmered for a long time before the visions tapered off and I was left into blessed slumber. Eventually I became aware again. It was a slow process through which I had to fight drowsiness every step of the way.
It took me some time to become coherent enough to notice the Force. It was all around me. It was both light and dark. It caressed my nerves like a warm summer rain. My heart beat with joy at the soft touch of my power. I gathered around me like a blanked and drowsed off into a healing trance.
The next time I awoke, I felt normal. There was no trace of the exhaustion pressing upon me the last time and my mind was clear. The Force shimmered around me under my guidance forming a barrier between whatever surrounded me and myself. Only then I allowed my mind to expand and feel who was around. There were twenty Clones in quite large if cluttered space, with a lot more in the complex surrounding me.
I could feel my touch upon their minds. They were mine through and through.
There was just one question whose answer escaped me. Who the kriff was I?!
That thought opened the proverbial floodgates and my mind was flooded by memories.
My half-forgotten life on a primitive world called Earth. My firs death. The deal I made. I remembered awakening as Delkatar Veil, an officer of the Eurasian Federation in a different world. I remember struggling to keep my mind mine while fragmented memories of a dead man my first taste of war threatened to claim my sense of self.
I fought. I made friends. I fell in love.
I died. Again.
I was offered another deal and jumped in without figuring out all the strings attached.
I remembered another life. One of slavery and pain. I recalled my first conscious taste of the Force. The screams of my master were oh so sweet!
I was found by a Sith who dragged me to Korriban.
I remembered the academy. My training to become an expendable weapon while Coruscant was sacked. I remember the peace between the Republic and the Sith Empire which saved and damned me in the same time.
I had a choice. It was a simple one, yet its consequences changed the galaxy. They continue to do so to this day.
I could have killed myself. I could have attempted to run. The consequences for failing either of those didn't bare thinking about, but I could have done it. Instead I chose to stay. For the love of a woman in a different universe. For a chance to protect a world I chose as my home. For the strength never again to be weak. For the power to forge my own path.
I remember choosing to become a monster. I remember the trap I fell into. The Eurasian Federation, its Earth which is the one I would call home if I'm asked to chose between it and the world upon which I was born so long ago. Natarle… I could barely remember them. If someone asked me today if I would return, I didn't know the answer.
I remember my service to the Empire. Both the bad and the good. The friends I made and the two women who kept me reasonably sane. The enemies who I either crushed or subverted. The decades of conflict…
It all ended in a flash of light above Korriban…
I remember being raised in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. I remember Master Yoda as my favorite grandfather figure in my youth. I remember the friends I was trained with before I got chosen by a Jedi as their Padawan. I remember my master.
I remember how proud I was when I earned the title of Jedi Knight.
I remember my failures – all of the Padawans I trained were dead.
I remember Geonosis, where the Clone Wars began. So many good people perished there. So many more followed as the conflict took a life of its own.
I remember meeting a real Sith for the first time. It was exciting and scary. It was surprising.
Veil was different.
I remember him shattering all my preconceptions.
He changed the way I saw the world. He deceived me. He seduced and betrayed me!
I remember my fury and shame. How my eyes were opened for the way the Sith toyed with me and over a slippery slope that ended with me betraying the Jedi Order.
I remember how naive I turned out to be. I remember when the whole galaxy was swallowed by the Dark Side. I remember hundreds of my friends blaze through the Force as they died.
Master Yoda, Plo Koon and so many others…
I remember facing Veil on Kamino. I remember his fury. Even half-crazed with hatred and anger he crushed Rancisis.
We fought. The Force guided me. I was astounded when I cut off his hand… yet I lost…
I remember cutting my own hand… I could recall the shock kicking the fury out of me. I could see myself on the rain soaked platform. I, we fought. I, won/lost.
I remember Kamino scream and die. I remember the Force itself how in pain as a wound was torn into it.
I remembered the madness. I caused it. I ended it. I broke a whole fleet so I could bind them to myself.
It was a necessary act. It was a crime that I could never forgive.
Who am I?
I couldn't even recall my original name. Am I Delkatar Veil officer of the Eurasian Federation? A pilot who was an ONI operative? Was I the slave I could remember? Lord Vael, the Dark Lord of the Sith? Shaak Ti, the Jedi Master?
Who am I?
A monster, a Sith? A guardian, a Jedi?
Who am I?
The Force sensed my distress. It could hear my question even if confused it. The Dark Side was overjoyed by the prospect of more conflict. The Light was content that I might walk a way that ends with the destruction of both the Jedi and Sith.
Who am I?! My mind screamed through the Force. My awareness expanded. I could perceive all my memories. I could see when one person ended and changed into another. The officer was turned into a slave, the slave into an acolyte and the acolyte into a Sith.
Delkatar Veil, Lord Vael. He was the most important. He was the one who eventually made a choice with his eyes wide open and all the relevant information. Vael chose the Empire. It was his new home. His future.
That's who I used to be. Yet my home was gone. My future – hijacked.
I was Delkatar Veil. A soldier, general. A Sith. A Mandalorian. Mandalore.
I made a choice too. A wife I failed. A home under siege. A galaxy set on fire.
The Force listened. Something stirred at the back of my mind. The Force heard my decision. Accepted it an acted. My being felt a subdued light pulsing within me.
If I was Delkatar Veil, then I couldn't be Shaak Ti. Shattered pieces were bathed by the soothing light of the Force. I could hear a relieved sigh.
"Veil! What in the name of the Force did you do?!" A female voice screamed in my mind. This wasn't the Dark Side trying to influence me once again.
Not, this was the Force kriffing with me.
My eyes snapped open in shock.
"TI?!" I exclaimed aloud.
Of all the Emperor damned…
"What did you do?!" Shaak Ti snarled from within my mind.
I am Delkatar Veil, the Dark Lord of the Sith and I have a Jedi stuck inside my head. Again.
Damn it, Force!
Part 4
=RK=
Mother Machine chamber
Belsavis
"Ashaa, good work." I congratulated the Mother Machine after I got myself out of her bio-fab module.
"I'm still waiting for you to fulfill your part of the bargain." Ashaa grumbled.
"You're getting fixed first. Unfortunately I won't be able to keep that frigate supplying you with energy for much longer. You'll have to do with the portable generators until I could find a better solution."
"You're stalling." Ashaa grumbled.
"Veil! Answer me!" Ti continued to ramble and I continued ignoring her with hard earned practice.
"There's another war going on. If I'm to live up to my side of our deal I need to win it first."
"That's not my problem." Ashaa grumbled.
"My presence and that of my people puts a target on you. There're a lot of folks out there who would gladly glass the whole continent for a chance to take me out." I tried to be reasonable. "Trust in this if nothing else – you're too useful to simply forget."
"You left me here for four thousand years!" Ashaa snapped.
"From my point of view only a few years passes since our last meeting. You weren't the only one on ice for all those millennia."
"I wasn't frozen! I was offline! Do you know what that feels like?! I was nothing!"
"I'll make up to you. Once the war is over I'll build you a whole modern reactor complex. Planetary shield. Garrison to ensure no one comes in to shoot you up!" I promised.
"Really?!"
"You saved my life for a second time. I owe you and I pay my debts."
"I'll believe it when I see it. No more healing without a bunch of big powerful generators hooked up to me, you hear mister!" Ashaa exclaimed.
"We've got a deal." I smiled.
"We already have one." She huffed.
Who the kriff programmed her with the personality of a teenager anyway?
=RK=
"You're insane!" Ti muttered.
"Am I?" I thought at her.
"I saw what you believe you remember. It could have been a simulation. Or old fashioned insanity. Even without your out of this dimension delusions, you're still crazy!" The Jedi rambled.
"You know I merely see the world in an alternative ways. Who ever decided what's sane?" I shot back.
"Most of the galaxy."
"That isn't a valid argument." I intoned and strapped myself in a seat.
Ti simply wouldn't shut up once our situation sunk in. It was already becoming irritating. It was a good thing I had a very long time to practice ignoring voices in my head – real or otherwise.
"We're good to go." I called the pilot of the assault shuttle which came down to bring me back to the Freedom.
The ramp closed and we got in the air a few seconds later.
"What was that? I wasn't paying attention." I inquired.
"Damn you!" Ti snapped.
I continued to tune out the Jedi on our way back. A shower and a fast snack later, I was meeting my top commanders the nearest conference room complete with a proper holo-projector.
"You certainly look better." Joanna proclaimed after examining me for a few seconds.
"Being physically thirty five or so again is much better." I nodded in agreement. "We've got some decisions to make."
I sat down and used the Force to activate the holoprojector. A detailed map of the galaxy appeared between us.
"Wilhuff, you'll be glad to note we'll be stopping at Eriadu. We're leaving our most damaged ships with your brother there. Where do you think you'll do more good – back home or with us and eventually at Coruscant?"
Tarkin frowned.
"Gideon has things in hand or so you say, general. Once we'll assess the situation I'll make my final decision, but I think I'll be more useful at Coruscant."
"Good to know. I'm bumping you up to Rear Admiral in the Republic Navy pending confirmation from HQ once we're in contact with the capital. You'll act as admiral Holt's XO for the fleet. Recommendations? You know I would like us to strike for Mandalore, though getting there would be almost as hard as reaching Coruscant."
"I appreciate it, general." Tarkin smiled with satisfaction.
"From Eriadu we should strike either towards Naboo or Malastare. Whichever world still holds." Joanna suggested.
"Then it gets tricky. We might be better of blitzing through the central sectors controlled by the Separatists. They shouldn't have powerful garrisons there. After that…"
"Skirt through Daalang, take a jaunt through Hutt space, then fight our way to the Eastern Quadrant." I examined the map. "Randon is a central CIS hub. Probably heavily defended however, from there we have a straight flight to Kashyyyk. That leaves us within one or two jumps from friendly space."
"If the Navy hasn't pulled back deeper from the rim." Tarkin pointed out."
"It's better chance than trying to get to the Core directly. The Separatists would be concentrating as much hardware as they could between Kuat, Corellia and Fondor." Joanna added. "While I want to go home, a direct dash for the Core won't serve us well."
"We'll go to Naboo if it still holds. It's one of the naval staging grounds under OP plan Red. Then we'll decide for sure on our next step. I want preliminary strike plans for Kalarba, New Cov and Milargo. We'll either wreck everything we could or run as fast as we can depending on the enemy resistance we meet. Use the best estimates based on our most recent intelligence. We'll update the plans if we got new Intel at Eriadu or Naboo."
"You know we might not be able to break through the Confederation's central sectors, right?" Joanna asked.
"The alternative is that we're stuck here in the Western Quadrant until the war is decided one way or another. We're cut off from Coruscant and the bulk of our industry. However we've still got a powerful fleet and the Confederacy is going to be scrambling to digest its new gains and reinforce the line at the Core. We're a target anyway. It was a miracle we got here without a major battle after Kamino. We won't be so lucky again."
"You call that luck?!" Ti exclaimed and continued to fume and mutter when I ignored her.
"We won't win this war while on the defense." Tarkin inclined his head. "We can keep the enemy off balance. Force them to spent resource chasing them. There are many smaller forces who're supposed to avoid contact until either reinforced or an opportunity presents itself so they could strike. There are significant reinforcements we could link up with in a lot of the sectors we'll be passing through."
"Good point." My attention returned to the map and I smiled.
The Confederacy controlled most of the galaxy at the moment. That meant they were stretched rather thin outside of the front-lines and strategically important locations. They would be moving whatever reserves they've got into striking distance of the core or into the Galactic East. My biggest problem was the fleet we fled from at Kamino. Facing it whole would mean likely a mutually assured destruction. However short from such a concentration of firepower we could win multiple engagements before being ground down to nothing. Linking up with a few laying low battle groups would be quite useful. Picking up potential reinforcements from Naboo would be even better…
"I'll get the fleet moving towards Eriadu if that's all?" Joanna asked.
"Please do so, admiral."
=RK=
Republic R&D Complex
Location classified
"Are we all here?" Valentra asked.
Telar was sitting next to Kenobi at a large round table deep withing the premiere military R&D facility on Coruscant. They were here to meet a large group of analysts and engineers who were busy analyzing the various battles fought since the war began. They would be presenting their conclusions about the efficiency of various weapon systems, tactics and giving recommendations for upgrades to both the army and navy.
"We're all accounted for, sir." Commander Adar Tallon confirmed. He was the officer in charge of designing a viable replacement to the current small craft in the face of Guardian and Umbrella systems. He was also the highest ranked officer among the scientist and analyst contingent and nominally in charge of them.
"Let's begin then. What's first on the agenda?" Obi-Wan opened the meeting.
"Capital ship performance." Tallon began. "After going over all available data, we can confirm admirals Yularen and Coburn conclusions. While our cruisers could still be overwhelmed by superior numbers, in any major engagement our forces will be at a significant advantage when facing lighter Separatist ships. When our cruiser can rotate in and out of the line of fire, the numbers of Munificent frigates needed to overwhelm a single Venator raises sharply from six or seven to at least fifteen… if they survive long enough to overwhelm her shields."
"That's better than expected. What about a larger number of even lighter ships?" Valentra asked.
"Only in overwhelming numbers. Concentrating fire at a maneuvering ship with proper support isn't exactly easy and lighter ships are even easier to kill. However, a viable tactic we observed used by both sided is exiting hyperspace in close proximity to enemy ships and overwhelming them with concentrated firepower. Such maneuvers are most useful against isolated or small groups of ships. Using similar tactics large number of fighters or missile armed ships could still prove dangerous to cruisers equipped with the basic Guardian system. Our Block II upgrade for Venators, Victory Star destroyers and Acclamators would make them much less vulnerable to such attacks at anything but point-blank range. Unfortunately the same isn't true for the Block I system. Trials and limited real combat testing at Kuat shows that ships purposefully built with Guardian from the ground up are at least an order of magnitude more effective against small craft and missile strikes."
"The people who gave us the Guardian could name any price they wish. Especially if they could improve it even further." Valentra nodded in approval. "Recommendations for disrupting pinpoint hyperspace attacks?"
"Attach number of interdictors to each fleet. We've got designers working on a light cruiser variant equipped as both interdictor and PD platform."
"Noted. We'll get back to them later. Further recommendations?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Increase funding to the shield development department. They've got some fascinating theoretical work on making spaceship ray-shielding useful while the deflectors are at full power. As we all know, the particle shields are usually much weaker and can't be powered at more than ten percent without interfering with the deflector fields. New theoretical work suggests that it might be possible to bring them up to fifty percent without major interference. That would make bomber mounted proton torpedoes a non-factor as longer as the shield holds."
"Granted." Valentra leaned forward. "Why am I hearing of this just now."
Tallon looked uncomfortable.
"It appears that the department leader isn't exactly popular around here..." The commander winced.
"Office politics?" Telar sneered. "Are you telling me that a potential game-changer in space warfare wasn't pursued aggressively because someone dislikes the people who came up with the idea? Was the same true for the Guardian? I've seen the specs. We should have had similar system installed long before the war began!"
"More or less..."
Valentra let out a quiet string of vile curses.
"Once we're done here I'll be talking with the Director. He better have good answers..." Telar seethed. "Small craft. What do you recommend? Our losses are becoming unsustainable considering their lack of effectiveness."
"We're examining an idea by general Veil as well as a preliminary design he submitted before he left to deal with Crimson." Tallon pressed a few buttons and a holo image of a red craft appeared over the table. "This is the first potential prototype of Project Dragon Wing. X-311 Dragon. This is a Mobile Armor concept, specked for anti-ship strikes..."
"What is the MPE canon?" Obi-Wan asked after examining the Dragon's primary weapon and its designation.
"Something Project Antares is working on." Tallon smiled. "Multi-Phase Energy canon. Directed anti-matter weaponry."
"Anti-matter hasn't been used in a very long time." Valentra frowned.
"Do you know why, sir?" The commander's smile grew wider.
"Containment. When the containment system is taken into account anti-matter weaponry doesn't have bigger effective payload than other more conventional warheads which are safer to use too." Telar recalled.
"That actually hasn't been the case for some time, however no one seems to have been interested in doing more research into anti-matter."
"Antares. How far along is that project?" Kenobi asked.
"We'll have viable missile warheads ready for testing within the month. A useful storage system for something like the X-311 should ready within two to three months. Larger variants for mounting on capital ships will actually be ready for testing sooner. About six weeks if there aren't complications."
"If Antares prove viable its going to strain our logistics even further if we implement its fruits." Valentra grumbled. He would be the one tasked with figuring out how to do it in the first place. Upgrading ships, building anti-matter factories, the logistics of it all… "How would anti-matter canons compare to capital ship sized turbolasers?
"Certainly more powerful against armor. We'll have to actually test them against deflectors."
"See it done and get back to me ASAP..."
Interlude: Pef's continuing misadventures
=RK=
Author: Pef from the space battles forums. This update's posted with his permission.
In Hyperspace, en route to Nar Shaddaa
ETA 55 days
Finally, I had learned all the Jedi code. Though, I liked my own variant better.
There is no death, there is the Force? Really?
Death was programmed in all living beings. Even if the biology of this galaxy was slightly different, infusing every living being with the force, death was still part of the natural cycle.
Death, yet the Force. This made more sense. There is death, there is also the Force. And from my memories, I knew even this wasn't an absolute. Force ghosts, Sentient holocrons, uploading memories into clones, whatever else the Sith knew.
Death wasn't absolute, and could be delayed or even avoided with the Force.
And if the Force could promote regeneration, this was the ultimate step in telekinesis. Biokinesis.
I had memories of powerful biokinetics, from my readings. I knew what biokinesis actually meant.
I will have to buy a few droids as well, and test some things. Some of those droids seemed almost sapient. Perhaps some part of their matrix was blocked or censored, limiting their ability to think for themselves, but humor was certainly an attribute of sapience. It was the only redeeming quality of the Jedi, as well.
They programmed themselves, from a young age, to avoid emotions, to fear the Dark side. But fear was also an emotion.
It was no wonder they tended to go homicidal, even genocidal, when they encountered these so called Dark side users.
I opened my eyes to check on the girls.
Swan was also busy meditating, having found some kind of enlightenment in my own version of the code.
Clarisse was busy studying everything about ships. Her cooking was still horrible though.
Close my eyes again.
Lifting things was still impossible. It had to be some kind of mental block.
Action at a distance. Yeah, it appeared impossible, but I knew I could do it, at small scales. Shifting electron orbits to transmute elements in drugs. Reading surface thoughts and emotions. Clairvoyance, precognition. All were action at a distance.
So why not simple telekinesis. Every Jedi had some mastery over it. Every Sith as well. But not me.
Was this my special brand of the Force? Did I even need telekinesis?
Accelerating at full speed, I could snap the neck of most races, just with my own hands.
And my original mantra, where did it come from? Why those lines? Thy were not in the Jedi code.
Perhaps a variant of the old saying? 'May the Force be with you?'
But the part about strength, and being set free?
I might need a Sith teacher too. Maybe there'll be a Sith slave on Nar Shaddaa...
Not likely though.
I wasn't that lucky.
Plus keeping peace on my ship would be horrendous.
The lizard jumped from the tree and into my lap. Pet, pet, avoid the bite.
Ysalmiri are weird. I looked up, counting the leaves. Not enough, not for 55 days.
Time to experiment again.
I walked silently behind the Jedi, and placed the reptile in her lap.
"What the hell! Damn ysalmir. What is it?" She yelled, coming out of her trance with a reflex to draw a weapon from her belt.
She stared at the steel knife, then at the lizard, in her other hand.
"The Vong don't have the Force. They don't use mechanical tech either. And their armor can block lightsabers" I explained, petting the lizard one last time.
Back to the madness.
The girls looked at me strangely.
Whatever. Let's see, detergent, water, bantha milk, sugar. I carried a bunch of containers next to the olbio tree, then began mixing a fertilizer.
Hmmm. Agri corps Jedi must use similar techniques, to feed an entire galaxy. Famine was coming too.
Maybe someone will countermand Order 66 before that happened, or the Vong will have an easy time in this galaxy.
Or maybe I will have to full droids? Was there anyone able to change contingencies now?
Nevermind. My tree first.
Mix, stir, use the force. Then again. I poured the solution in the large crate with some soil and the roots, then again went for the skill cheat.
'Operator, plant growing skill please' I demanded, then placed a hand on the bark, and let the Force do its thing.
No, less roots, more leaves. Like that. Now more leaves. More.
Kriff, plant biokinesis was hard work. I felt tired, from just one tree.
"You know, Jedi in agri corps need a month to grow tree like that. And they stick their fingers into the ground." the actual Jedi explained, marveling at my work.
"Eh. They'll be dead soon. The famine will be pretty nasty though" I answered instead.
"Why are you worried about these Vong? Most of everyone doesn't use the force" Clarisse asked, having seen something in my words, or maybe in my memories. Who knows how much of our minds touched, while in trance?
"The Vong are an extragalactic race, which have begun invading our galaxy. Biotechnology, way more advanced than ours. Probably on par with the Hutts. And they don't have the Force, unlike living things in our galaxy. Which means Jedi can't sense or predict them." I told them, pointing at the ysalmir.
They stared at the lizard then exclaimed in concert "Kriff"
Kriff indeed.
"Wait, the Hutts? The slimy slugs? They barely have flush toilets" Swan argued, having seen them up close.
"And yet, in my visions, they were able to resist the Vong on their own, even stopping the bioforming of their planets" I argued,
again throwing the burden on a higher force.
"You can't see the Vong, but you can see where they would attack..." Swan muttered, looking at me strangely.
"Something like that. Precognition isn't an exact science. They have already began attacking planets in the west, Chiss Ascendancy should have more hard data." I mused, taking the ysalmir back, and placing it back in its tree.
It didn't try to bite this time. Progress.
"What else then? If lightsabers won't work. Not that there will be many Jedi left..."
"Blasters will work even less. Hunter droids, electrical pulses, sonic weapons, explosives. Massed turbolasers. Railguns. Bioweapons. Problem is...in space, no one can hear you scream"
"No medium to transfer electricity or sound. Explosives can be intercepted. Projectiles too. And biotech is self healing..." Clarisse expanded on my premise. Clever girl.
"We should tell someone. Everyone. This separatist war is pointless" Swan said, very calmly. Damn, her ability to control her emotions was extraordinary.
"Well, Palpatine knew. This is the point of this war. Militarization" I hummed, closing my eyes and falling asleep.
She looked at her apprentice with new eyes again.
Strangest savior in the galaxy, and just barely sane. Probably half Sith by now, judging by how he 'persuaded' his childhood friend to follow him. And practicing a dozen forbidden techniques, without even knowing.
Some of his abilities were off the scale, his force speed and force sight primarily.
Other were clearly unknown or untrained, with telekinesis being simply not possible for him.
The girl was involved somehow in that corporate program, but claimed only to have 'kept an eye' on the boy.
Who knows how many kids were lost, to mad scientists trying to obtain control over the force.
And even more, the boy seemed able to predict hyperspace routes. Like the fabled explorers over the millenia.
The force was clearly aiding him, or maybe he was doing the will of the force?
That code he made up...it felt more true than a code that had guided the Jedi Order for a millennium. And then failed.
Emotion yet peace. To think that three words would change her life around...
She could feel, and still hold the light. The Jedi of old were rumored to have wives, and Master Kenobi took a wife too...
Skywalker, the so called chosen one, also had a wife. Both were excluded from the Order for that, but...
The Jedi were no more. When her own contingent of clones turned their weapons, and she felt her comrades dying all over the galaxy...she was just crushed, didn't even resist being taken prisoner.
Then the clones attacked some other planet and lost, and the scummy scumbags found a broken Jedi to torture, forgotten and chained up in a cell. Then sold her to another group. Then again, to that slimy Hutt.
The ysalmir saved her too. She would have gone mad as well, if she could sense the force on Dandoran.
She, who aced her trials and survived the pit at Geonosis. Broken by slavers and smugglers.
The boy thought she was a virgin. What a joke. Like those slimes would respect Jedi diplomatic immunity.
Just a day more, and she would have fallen, burning their brains and their ships.
Maybe she already did. The code was gone.
Maybe this boy will save her for real. If she could teach him to stay sane.
Maybe, he will be the husband she was looking for.
In Hyperspace, en route to Nar Shaddaa
ETA 45 days
I finally achieved calm, for the first time in almost a month. As foolish as Jedi were, their breathing and meditation work.
And I think I realized what the mantra I was given means. My main power is healing. 'My strength is my own'
Just like a gaming class, my powers are focused on reinforcing the self. Once I master the ability, I will possibly be ageless and live indefinitely.
My strength, my speed, my healing, all part of a perk tree, just like in those games I played in another life. A monk.
The universe had a sense of humor after all. While meditating, I could sense my other selves, idling somewhere in a room, in the back of my mind. And just as I suspected, some of them were nasty beasts.
Others were tricksters or lovers, healers and scientists. My own subconscious, divided and segregated by my own inclinations.
A Galactic Senate, in my psyche, ruling by consensus. It was a wonder I was not paralyzed.
I had to establish a common agenda, where everyone will work together. Stay away from the civil war. Warn the other galactic players of the incoming threat. Recruit my own force users, and arm them with effective weapons. And get rich doing it. Get more wives.
A bit of mix and match, with all these impulses tugging at my brain. Eat more races, experience everything.
I will have to draw some lines, limit myself to not go overboard. Limit mind rape to enemies? But what if I could save millions of slaves by bending a Hutt and make him let them go? Decisions, decisions.
Hmmm, the Hutts were a key player as well. Rich beyond measure, and powerful.
Zul wasn't exactly what I needed though. If even one of my memories was correct, he was playing with an undead plague.
Or maybe it was exactly what I needed. An undead army to fight the Vong? Necromancer mechanics would work in my favor then. With every death, my army would grow...
Okay, I postponed this long enough. Time to find out what is in the cage.
I rose and dragged the cage, and once I left the yslamir range it became much lighter.
So, it was this heavy, I just compensated with the force.
Hmm, it seems there is no lock or door to the secret compartment. The whole lower plate of the cage was possibly cast around the container inside. Two layers, a durasteel layer above, and something heavier inside.
And with a ysalmir on top, not even a Sith would be able to detect the compartment. Very clever.
Now, the question was, should I tamper with it? Opening the mail was taboo for couriers, for a good reason. The Hutts would hunt down those that didn't respect their contracts.
Hmmm. Still. My pad only mentioned the ysalmir sapling. A contraction of terms, somehow including both the tree and the lizard.
Nothing about the cage though. Guess former couriers were expected to collect leaves and feed the yslamir through the grating.
I had to fulfill the delivery now that I've taken it. The Hutt mentioned a hunt. And it was probably a bounty. A few inner selves lit up in excitement, trembling with anticipation of a good fight and more delicious morsels to be tasted, once we won.
Clam down, will you? I've seen that bounty hunter kill Jedi like rabbits. Some hunters were way too dangerous. Victory was staying alive, and not fighting at all.
For all I knew, it could be a Sith talisman inside, corrupting everything and turning anyone in range into undead or rakghouls.
Some victories were too expensive to win.
"Found anything Pef?" my teacher asked, opening an eye to examine me.
"More mystery. Whatever is inside is probably dangerous, and covered with a force absorbing material. Then a heavy layer was poured around it, possibly cortosis, then another layer of durasteel. Just the cage is worth a frigate or even a cruiser" I explained, dragging the cage back into the shade of the tree.
"And with a ysalmir inside, nobody could sense anything. We should get rid of it. Throw the cage into a sun" Swan argued, eying the cage with a bit of fear.
Yeah, no. This was a quest item. And considering the whole life in the galaxy was at stake, I wasn't about to destroy it, just out of fear. Fear is the mind killer. I needed common sense and logic, not unfounded fears. Even an undead plague could be turned against the Vong.
"The cage stays. The force doesn't play around. It lead me to it for a reason." I decided, swiping two fingers in front of her face.
She tilted her head, trying to discern my meaning, but I was just inside the yslamir range.
"Come, let's walk through the forms again" she demanded, pointing at the ghillie suit I made out of leaves.
I draped it over my armor, while she also wore hers. A bit of photosynthesis alchemy, and tinkering with two lanterns, and we had
the equivalent of lightsabers, projecting a tight beam of both green light and ultraviolet.
The leaves would change color to red, if ultraviolet touched them.
Form I, also known as Shii-Cho. Basic moves, often rudimentary, but also the last line of defense, if any others failed.
Form I had no weakness. Strength and speed, straight lines. Much like fencing, back at home.
I matched speed with my teacher, and began my velocities. A series of kata, starting slow, to heat up muscles and ligaments, then accelerating constantly to your maximum speed.
At my maximum speed though, my teacher remained frozen in time.
So, 10% speed then. We mimed our beams hitting each other and rebounding, which put a bit of strain on my arms.
And I just let the force take over, watching and learning. Like a passenger in my own body, I just focused on maintaining my
body, repairing muscles and nerves, regulating my breathing, scanning the room for dangers.
My hands could fight on their own. After 6 hours, my reserves started to deplete, and I would have to start burning whatever fat I had left. Swan was also tired, but she was used to this.
I accelerated to 30%, painting all her suit red in a second. And stop.
"Okay. It appears you learned Form I already. Or possibly stole the knowledge from me. Hard to say, with you." Swan complained, flowing into a kneeling stance.
I knelt in front of her, and closed my eyes. Probably stolen. Learning a form takes years. Then again, my other memories had me practicing fencing, from a young age. I quit a few years later, when I realized my fencing teacher used his left hand, and I learned to fence with my left too, trying to copy his moves. Only my dominant hand was my right one.
I tried for a few months to learn everything over, with my right hand, but it just wasn't the same. I was too slow.
Swan wore a pair of shorts, and the scar marred her perfect thigh. It bothered me for some reason.
The force could heal anything. It could regrow limbs, if used correctly.
I removed my glove, and placed my hand on her scar.
Hmmm. The body wanted to heal, but Swan kept the scar, with the force.
Mental problem then. Guilt, possibly. I examined the rest...oh boy. They sure did a number on her.
"Not a virgin after all" Swan said in a whisper. Shame in her aura. Like it was her fault.
"I can grow the damn thing back, if it matters to you. It will just be more painful first time you make love" I mused, repairing internal scarring and cysts, restoring blood flow to shriveled organs, and growing back the chastity.
I went on with the rest of her body, repairing years of neglect. She kinda abused this body to its limit.
An hour later, I patted her perfect thigh, now devoid of a scar.
"I feel 10 years younger" Swan exclaimed, raising and sketching a few moves, a bit faster than before.
"Shower is free. And you are 10 years younger. Welcome to teenage club, Miss Swan" I answered, taking off the ghillie suit and going back under the tree.
Too much force for today. Now I needed peace.
The Yslamir jumped down from the tree and coiled on my chest. Damn lizard. You're not a wife!
In Hyperspace, en route to Nar Shaddaa
ETA 40 days
The last of Zabrak meat is gone. Three young people eat a lot of meat.
And this last stew was even marginally tasty. Who knew adding olbio leaves to a stew could change the taste so much?
I have started learning Form II, or Makashi. It is very very hard. Swan is much better at Soresu and Ataru, which kinda explains her survival at Geonosis.
I think I will never be a finesse duelist like Dooku. But learning a form also lets you learn the weakness. And Makashi is vulnerable to pure speed. Well, everything is, but Makashi was made to counter strength, to redirect blows and counterattack.
Looks similar to a Japanese style from my other life. Like Aikido, with swords.
One more day of making a fool of myself, then we start on Form III.
Clarisse is studying sublight engines now. Perhaps one day, we will have faster ships because of it. It's strange how ship speeds work in this universe. Slow ships like shuttles make about 40 LPH, while super fast fighters like X wings make 100 LPH.
My corvette will attain 80 LPH, with cruiser class engines. Barely 20% lower than the fastest ships in the galaxy.
And capital ships slug about at 60 LPH.
Can you see now why this is frustrating? A carrier that moves at 0.6 Mach, while its fighters fly at 1 Mach?
Sure, everything is in vacuum, so there's little friction if any, but mass shouldn't matter so little.
This makes carrier task forces much less effective than back in my memories.
I scratch the carrier design and focus on a missile cruiser. More dakka is always welcome.
Let's see, cruiser power plant, sublight engines, hyperdrives 1.0. But a long shape would stagger missile launches and impacts.
I needed a wing shape, like the B2 bomber. Change the orientation, 400 meters wide and 100 meters long.
40 torpedo tubes and 200 missile launchers on top, spread out along the wing. Add a top turret and 20 flak batteries to defend the ship after the payload was launched. 2000 missiles and 40 torpedoes. Pretty much fire, then run.
One ship could take down an entire wave of Vulture droids. And even star destroyers would have to be careful of a couple missile cruisers dropping out of hyperspace near them.
Hmmm. I could add a pair of secondary hyperdrives, mark 12. Just to flit about the battlefield with small tactical jumps.
Best defense, is to not be there when the firepower arrives. Power output at 113%. Damn it.
But I still had volume left inside the ship. 2 small generators, one for each tactical hyperdrive. Power at 97%.
Huh. Damn hyperdrives are power hogs. Still, 70 LPH should be enough for a cruiser.
And save. Project Hummingbird.
"What ship is that? You made another one?" I heard Clarisse wonder, peeking over my head.
"Missile cruiser. The idea is to have all launchers fire at once, and overwhelm defenses" I explained, basking in her loving aura.
"They won't survive long. They'll be priority targets for capital ships" Clarisse argued, as this was very much her business.
"Thus, backup hyperdrives, for tactical jumps. Drop on top of a battleship, fire the torpedoes, then jump away on another hyperdrive. What do you think?"
"Hmmm. 40 capital class torpedos, at point blank. How did you fit so many on a cruiser?"
"Well. Torpedoes are 50 meters long. And the ship is 100 meters wide. One torpedo launcher every 10 meters. You just need to get close enough, then release. Torpedoes have their own engine after all." I replied with a shrug.
"Hmm. Maybe we can add some load bearing pylons, and double the capacity. A Lucrehulk would survive 40 torpedoes" Clarisse said, calculating shield emitters and armor integrity on her own pad.
They would? Damn, this galaxy's capital ships were way to tough.
But, would they survive 100 torpedoes? A ship had two sides in space. I'll need to leave corridors for the regular missiles to pass, but I could add some pylons on top as well. 20 more torpedoes on top, and 40 hanging below.
And pray no stray shot hits a warhead. That will make a pretty explosion.
Hmmm. Could you outfit torpedoes with their own shield emitters? Droideka had shields.
Back to the drawing board then. Man, constructing effective ships in this universe was still hard.
Swan tip-toed next to me as well, curious about what I was doing.
Nevermind. Open a torpedo design, find room for an emitter, pack it back.
Should resist a few fighter laser shots.
Now back to the Hummingbird. Pylons for torpedoes, then 60 more torpedoes. Warnings, the top missile launchers couldn't acquire targets now.
Okay, nevermind the top pylons then. 20 pylons below, each carrying 2 torpedoes. Align the intervals so exhaust wouldn't get in the way. Huh, now it looked like a fighter bomber from my old universe.
Eh, whatever. Don't mess with it, if it works. And save.
"It looks ugly. Like a bird of prey, coming back from hunting" Swan said, barely in a whisper.
"Bird of prey, eh? It certainly is. One of them should be able to one shot a battleship. Right, Clarisse?" I asked back, as Clarisse was finishing her calculations.
"If they all hit at once. Then yes. Even if only 60 hit at once. You added droideka shields to the torpedoes?" she wondered, like nobody else has thought of it before.
"Yeah. Less chance of a stray shot blowing up the ship. And more torpedoes will survive point defense fire" I explained proudly.
"Wouldn't it be safer to simply, double deck the ship and protect the torpedoes with armor and cruiser shields?" Swan asked innocently.
Clarisse and I looked at each other and face palmed in syncron.
"Welcome to the Bird of Prey Corporation, Miss Swan. Your actions today may have saved millions of lives" I proclaimed dramatically, opening my arms wide for a hug.
Clarisse jumped to my chest at once, while Swan took her time, testing the waters.
Still, we were family now. And Swan seemed a little excited too. Hmmm. Young body with raging hormones.
She was a teenager now, physically. Also, newly made virgin.
"Don't rush into things Swan. We have all the time in the world" I muttered, and she hugged me harder.
This felt peaceful too. Emotion yet peace.
Wasn't so hard.
In Hyperspace, en route to Nar Shaddaa
ETA 35 days
Form III is amazing. Every single breath, every single step, designed to keep your body safe.
It was why I started learning fencing, back when I was a kid. I went to the cinema, got mind blown by the floating lightsabers, then rushed home and demanded I had to learn it too. What I got was a smelly metal helmet, and a thin steel sword. And grueling hours of running and jumping stairs.
Now I was back to that, in a metal helmet, and a heavy metal armor, and a pretend lightsaber.
If it wasn't for the actual Jedi teaching me, I might as well stayed home. But a good teacher made all the difference. Well, that, and the force. Without force reinforcement and a touch of short range precognition, your saber will never block a blaster bolt.
Bolts were slower than bullets, but without enhanced reflexes you'd be just as dead.
The first velocities were somewhat similar to Tai Chi but at higher speeds...360 degrees defense, almost perfect.
And if I accelerated at 50% speed, I could take on a division of droids by myself. This was the truth of star wars universe.
A force user was just that good, once one learned to correct way.
So now, I try to do same thing, still in my too heavy armor. But with a lizard coiled around my neck.
Without the force, Soresu is torture. Every single step hurts. Every block reverberates my muscles and bones, since Swan is throwing soup cans at me, at almost escape velocity.
I will not break. Is this what the mantra means?
One last dodge, and the next soup can hits my helmet and knocks me to the floor.
The ysalmir smartly leaps away, and climbs its tree before I reach the floor. How can it move so fast, without the force?
Or maybe not. It projects an anti-force field, but the lizard itself is alive. It should contain force cells, or midi chlorians or whatever else makes this force tick.
I know it can sense predators, so the lizard is also force sensitive. It must have a trick, to be invisible in the force, and still use it.
I lowered myself just at margin of its influence, and poked a hand inside.
Let's see. Internally, the force still flowed, but outside the skin, every single perception was cut off.
Like placing a hand in a bowl of cold water. Numb and dull.
"What did you discover now, my apprentice?" Swan asked, kneeling next to me.
"Hand inside the ysalmir field, and see" I said instead. Better not ruin her own intuition with my simple mind.
We searched and tested for half an hour, trying to find a workaround.
The force still flowed inside my hand. So, theoretically, I could reinforce it, flowing along bones and veins, just keep my force senses contained inside...ouch. One centimeter, and my nerves exploded in pain. One more centimeter, and I felt by blood boil.
Pain is weakness leaving my body. Again. One more centimeter...blackness.
I woke up some time later, both girls fusing above me.
"Idiot, you almost cauterized off your hand!" Swan yelled at me, with true worry in her aura.
I lifted said hand and observed it with the force. Necrosis. Tissue degeneration. Nerves burned. Blood vessels ruptured.
I was missing something again.
'Operator, ysalmir countermeasures please' I asked in my mind, opening myself to the force.
Oh. I was going about it the exact wrong way.
You had to wrap yourself in the field, not push through it.
I pushed some force into my burned hand, and lighting sparked between my fingers. Is this how you gained force lightning?
"Look Swan. Electricity!" I exclaimed proudly.
"At least it's not red. Blue lighting is possible for Jedi too." my teacher replied, with a sigh of defeat.
"I think I can change colors too. Let's see, red is rage, violet is hate..." I mused, sparking different personalities on different fingers.
"I give up. Sleep and heal for now. And no more ysalmir for a few days. Don't want to lose my first apprentice" Swan said, wiping sweat from under her eyes. Maybe not sweat.
Clarisse climbed in bed next to me and I drifted into a hazy dream.
More visions. I wish there was a way to remember them.
In Hyperspace, en route to Nar Shaddaa
ETA 30 days
I woke up next to a naked Clarisse again. Damn it. Why was I missing all the fun?
At least my hand grew back. Cyborg hands would be creepy.
Hmmm. Clarisse had a somewhat larger chest now. Did my lewder personality mess with it?
I counted rapidly all the biokinetics on the ship. Divide by zero. The lizard had to have done it. That's my answer and I'll stick to it.
Not like it could defend itself in court.
'Yes, your honour. The suspect is known to manifest unknown and strange force powers. Perhaps it wanted to be breast fed. Who knows how aliens think?' I argued with the inquisitor.
'Same thing could be said about yourself. Boys are known to adore large chests' the inquisitor argued logically.
'Objection your honor. Everyone loves large chests' I proclaimed triumphantly in my mind.
The inquisitor blushed, and looked down at her quite flat chest.
'Perhaps I should commute the sentence to community service. There are some other citizens who would want larger chests...' the inquisitor mused, her face strangely similar to my teacher's.
"Pef, my love. This is wonderful. Thank you so much!" Clarisse exclaimed, after waking up and noticing the upgrades.
I petted the upgrades with appreciation. Whoever did it, he surely knew what I liked.
"Pef, time to train!" my teacher yelled, bursting in my room.
"Sure thing Swan. Let me know if you want upgrades too" I replied at once, juggling the upgrades with my palms.
"W-we'll talk about it in private. I have to go cool down. I mean warm up" Swan muttered, turning red and almost running outside.
"Don't make so much fun of the poor Jedi. I bet she never had a boyfriend" Clarisse chided me, a tinge of concern in her aura.
"Hmmm. You know I'll have to get a dozen wives, right? You know how Skywalker went AWOL and crashed his fleet at Second Geonosis. Just one wife is too dangerous for powerful force users. We go mad and burn entire worlds..." I whispered in her ear, while petting her harder.
"Oh. Didn't realize...d-did you just propose to me? While telling me you're getting a dozen more wives?" Clarisse complained, between kisses.
"You'll always be my first. And imagine how much credits I'll get from your parents as dowry!" I argued, lifting her and flashsteping both of us in the shower.
Swan was also in the shower, busy warming herself up. Oh well, go with the flow.
"Sooo, want some?" I asked politely.
Clarisse had always thought she was the center of the galaxy. Everyone told her, and she believed it.
Until a cute boy from her class punched her in the face.
The universe changed then. The boy, called Pef, by his pair of poor and barely civilized parents, became the center of the universe. She noticed how he always knew the answer to any question.
How he always won every fight, no matter how many bullies ganged on him.
Sure, he once received a fork in his neck from that bitch Alessia, but she was taken away and never seen after.
And when high school started, she learned the truth. She was to be the boy's handler. He was a precious experiment, drugged and tested to become the sector's secret weapon. A genius and a force user, but not corrupted by the stupid Jedi.
A number of corporations cooperated on this project, and only the boy remained sane.
All the others, including Alessia, went mad. It wasn't known why, but a special drug obtained at enormous costs from somewhere in Hutt space kept the boy sane. Lack of drugs made him give in to impulses and beat up anyone who looked at him funny.
Which was everyone. Not a good idea.
She used her Kuat connections to stay close and monitor him, until that day, when some high ranking officers in GAR decided it was time to build their own empire, right in the corporate sector.
Feeling, learning to cook and clean. Learning about ship systems. She did everything Pef asked, because she was too much in love to care.
And that story ended today, with Pef and his new wives sharing a shower.
"You better treat both of us equal. And anyway, I loved you first" Clarisse told her husband with a stern voice.
"One more round?" he asked confused. Damn him and his oblivious ways.
"The rich girl is spent. I can go on for hours more" Swan interfered, stealing her husband for another ride.
Damn her. She was a Jedi too.
Anyway, Pef said she will always be the first. So what if she couldn't regenerate with the force?
Her love will last forever.