[17 BBY]

[House of Wisdom, Personal Deck of Moff Daron Stormcrow, Eriadu Authority Capital-class Warship Stormcrow, Strikeforce Templar, Republic 5th Fleet, unnamed system, Wildspace Border Regions]

"It is problematic, yes" I heard Celeste agree as she sat with myself within the House of Wisdom, a series of very old Jedi texts highlighted by her "These are the closest texts I can find that would refer to any means to undo the mental damage. Resistance is much easier of course, but the damage that we've seen upon the minds of those sentients the Grysk have subverted is…severe"

I nodded. It was myself, Celeste, and Asajj present. My 'inner council' of sorts when it came to Force related matters, and, in this case, mental influence. Celeste Morne was far superior at such things, even with being thousands of years out of date, but she knew the basics of handling such things better than most. Considering our Library was based on Ossus, which was closer to her time than ours, along with where she was born, that was an advantage as finding texts was guesswork at times "Yes, all medical scans show the same thing, and we can all feel it in the Force. Which, as harsh I might sound in saying it, is boon for sniffing out any infiltrators that the Grysk are clearly intent on sending into the Republic. Or what was left of the Republic anyway"

"That is why you gave it to…Padawan Tano?"

Asajj was amused more than annoyed at that, that sarcastic smirk there as I shrugged, amused myself "Well, apparently, she's a Jedi Knight now…"

"She deserves it more than the idea that Skywalker is now supposedly a Master"

I gave her a look as she chuckled "Perhaps, but that's not the subject at hand. I'm handing data over and showing her how to identify someone who has been subverted because…the Jedi need to know. Even if just for the fact we don't want to have people commanding fleets getting mind broken to serve this Grysk Hegemony, now, or in the future"

Celeste gave a curt nod. She loathed Asajj, but she could work with her, and me, as we all had mutual interests that aligned. More or less anyway, and she was a woman of her word it seemed. As long as it didn't involve the Jedi Code of course "No, that is the correct thing to do. These Grysk will return in force someday, even assuming we are victorious with their current activities. That they have gotten away with their operations till now, and without detection, is of great concern"

Asajj gave a slow nod "My world is…near to it yes, so, yes, it would be best to purge them before they become a greater threat. But, what we have seen, why it does not indicate they are the threat as yet. Despite what is occurring here"

"Which is actually a concern to" I admitted hand on the table, bringing up the galactic map on a holo-display on the table between us, then a second of the area we were in. With a mass of 'don't know' unexplored energy indicators and possible systems out there. Hyperspace, The Force, Otherspace, and various other things made exploration very difficult as what you could see at sub-light was….a mirage in reality. Looking out from a telescope on a world at the galaxy didn't reveal anything but a distorted version of reality in truth, and for thousands of years these areas remained unexplored.

Paused, gave a faint snort of amusement "Though also a benefit in some ways. I'm unsure we would be adequately prepared to deal with a full-blown invasion rather than a vanguard raiding and infiltration force as we appear to be facing"

The Grysk were….not nice people to say the least. Sure, they looked intimidating with their sunken eyes, tapered skulls, and boney angled brow ridges, but it was the culture and mentality behind them that was the true problem for us. They were a nomadic, or semi-nomadic, spaceborne species, and a very warlike one at that, which also enjoyed their mind-rape powers in ritualistic ways. They had an empire out there, somewhere in the unknown regions, that was more a collection of tributary states ruled in the manner like the Sycthians or Huns on Earth would have ruled the steppes. Ironically likely somewhere in the Galactic North-West…

"Because we can eliminate what forces are here, and then return back to Eriadu as we will soon be ordered I expect" I continued as icons flashed on the 'local map' of various locations ripped from the captured Grysk hulls, and then on the Galaxy map "If we're really lucky we'll manage to prevent this raiding band sending much warning home. They clearly are using a hyperlane, or some displacement region, but I suspect the actual knowledge is only with their senior sector leadership based on the lack of charts on the ships we've hit"

"That is surprising" Asajj agreed "Since they've been….very convinced they would win looking through their records"

I nodded, frowning "They certainly figured out a lot about us though, or at least the state of the Republic before the wars, and then of both Republic and Confederate ship designs from the war. So, they have agents out there, albeit I'm fairly sure just mind-broken smugglers, or even these Darshi that serve them. That means we smash them here and now, and then we'll have to watch for their return in years to come"

"And whatever it is that seems to be driving them to this…migration" Celeste stated, then frowned "Though that is perhaps just an invented justification"

'It's the Vuuzhan Vong. I know it's them. Still years…decades away. Yet more confirmation to that warning of my youth it seems' I thought, shaking my head and reaching for other knowledge I had to back up my view that something was driving them "I don't believe so. About…ten, bit more?... years ago something strange happened off at a world called Zonama Sekot. I don't know the route, or the full facts…"

I paused, thinking, pulling up memories "It's second, and third-hand, knowledge to me….but there was an attack there, by an unknown species called the Far Outsiders. A Jedi Master went missing….Vergere I think?...and then there was more strangeness when the Tarkins and ORSF got involved a year or two afterwards and were involved in another battle. Whereupon it turned out the planet had a hyperdrive systems and disappeared off into the Unknown Regions"

Celeste gave have me curious look, while Asajj muttered "What?"

"The planet had a hyperdrive system. Yes, I'm aware it sounds kriffing ridiculous, but it did" I replied with an honest expression of 'what can you do?' as I spread my hands "I know, because I've read the ORSF after action reports, and know our current Grand Moff and Chancellor led that operation. I also know the Jedi involved in searching for the missing Jedi Master post battle, but I was child at the time, and so was he…so information is bit sparse, and Kenobi isn't available to ask for any follow-up details all these years later"

Asajj shook her head "Is there any strangeness or mess Skywalker isn't involved with?"

"Probably, though he is the Chosen One, so the Force does like him sticking his nose into things where it'd be best not going" I responded, sighed "So, that will be another thing to add to the report for later investigation along with preparing for Grysk. If one species is on the move out here…I expect others will in time. But, for now, I think our current campaign will drive out the Grysk for several years at least. At least within those regions we can reach"

That was because I was very hesitant to keep pressing any further into the Unknown Regions, as this area near Wildspace wasn't explored, and that brought a whole slew of risks. And that was just from the navigation, which were working functionally safe, for now, by having Force Users and spending a small fortune's worth of probe-droids we'd built to constantly scout nearby systems and hypercapable regions. Worse they hypercable regions that were in various states of flux, routes shifting as the gravity wells moved around, and natural 'interdiction fields' forming zones as all available records on these regions hinted it. Dipping our toes in the 'pond' as such with our raids was the most that I was willing to do.

I shook my head "I'd reckon we have about three galactic standards weeks to pull this off, and then we withdraw to Mokivj, before journeying to Rattatak"

"Yes, I'll be…home…for a day I expect" Asajj drawled sarcastically, the looked serious "And this mysterious Force User they seek?"

I slumped a little. The report had the Grysk blunder upon an ancient…cryo pod?...it appeared, though the Grysk language left much differences in word choice from Galactic Standard. Whatever the meaning they'd found, intended to enslave…and then found themselves wanting with a 'female human' with clear Force powers, though whether Jedi or Sith or in between was unknown. The Grysk had been actively hunting for her after she'd stolen a small ship, then gotten to Batuu and then….

Vanished. Hence the bounties being offered. I shook my head "Ideally, we find her, but we can't go from one campaign to another. Our ships need down time, just like their crews, and this has been a hard fight"

Losses weren't too bad. We had a 'weight' advantage, though we had nearly lost a few patrols and our ships had taken significant damage despite us being on the attack and having firepower and numbers advantage in all fleet engagements. The Grysk were only starting to react now, after we'd annihilated or captured over eleven of their 'cruisers', along with six times that number of smuggler and pirate vessels. I knew the strength, or hopefully did, of their primary fleet, the one with their supply vessel to support them so far from home. We just needed to pin them down, and then destroy them battle. No matter how bloody it might be to do that.

"They will come soon" Celeste offered calmly, eyes looking distant a moment, before shaking her head "We have destroyed all the work they have done over years in but a few standard months. What we have seen of their culture means their admiral, or perhaps leader of warbands is the better description, can't tolerate much longer considering how you have masked our true strength. We have acted the weaker party, only striking where we have strength, then retreating most all other times"

"Hopefully you are correct" I stated with a nod "But either way we have to engage on our terms, on our timescale, otherwise, when we depart, they'll raid deeply with limited opposition. Considering what we're seeing with the mind-subverted…"

Both nodded, though Celeste spoke as I trailed off, hand gesturing faintly at the local sector map "It would take a lengthy period of time to seek them all out with trained Jedi. Something we lack numbers of. Along with unknown, of equally unknown abilities and allegiance running free amongst them. Allowing them to get a greater hold on the region would be unacceptable"

"Exactly, and as I said why I'm so generous with the knowledge we've gained. I'll have a read of one of those texts later, if time permits, and we can discuss later findings we find on mind treatments" I noted, rubbing my chin and considering matters further. I had reasons to investigate the possible existence of the Vong now at the least, even if the massive Confederate offensive slowly grinding into system after system to the galactic east was the main concern right now. Worlds were under siege, and battles, from what little information we could get out here, were getting increasingly brutal and blood. To the Bitter End indeed. But, here and now, I had to focus on one last blow against this group of Outsiders….

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