[The Last Days of 19 BBY]

[Inner Sanctum, Personal Deck of Moff Daron Stormcrow, Executive Security Solutions City-ship/Capital-class Warship Stormcrow {II}, Task-force Cavalier, In Orbit Gerrenthum, Gerrenthum System, Anoat Sector, Greater Javin Region, Outer Rim Territories]

It was rare to have time to do droid-work of late I noted bringing up the holographic interface in my droid maintenance workshop. Really all I'd been able to manage in the last few months was maintenance of my bodyguard droids, and ensure the system for my personal deck was functioning to my criteria, and was clear of any issues. Which was unfortunate as I wasn't Anakin or Kazdan with their almost instinctive understand of droids and how to make them must efficiently. Instead it was time and effort with me thanks to my years trying to master the subject with them, and I had a much better understanding of 'dumb droids' as they called, or in truth non-sapient droid creation as I saw it.

Though...in truth they were about as intelligent, a bit moreso really, as well trained guard dogs with my bodyguards and I'd gotten a decent 'IT' section established to work on that system with the B-1 knockoffs we used. Even if they bitched and moaned about the 'extra work' having to programme scenario analysis rather than rely on 'let the droid do it!' I'd pressed on that as I did not want a droid rebellion. Honestly...this horrifyingly toxic mix of creating intelligent self-aware machines and the organic need to treat them like under crap really confused me I thought bringing up my long-term designs.

"The Force at work probably..." I muttered to myself sitting down and begin to look over the logs before flicking to my design notes on the Custodian and Librarian projects. It would explain the constant repetition of events, especially related to droids, and the ignoring of sentience and sapience of the higher end droids, especially the tactical and assassin models. If you couldn't feel them through the Force, they weren't a person...when simple options like a Matrix-like planet to 'retire' machine intelligence to was easily within technological abilities. I couldn't even put such an idea forward without risking resistance at a time like now when I could not afford it.

'Can't give up their unhappy little slave class of course and not having some to be smug to, and lord it over' I reminded myself with a sigh noting the far greater need for processing power in Librarian. The Holocron-like idea appealed more and more as I binned yet another adjustment due to incompatibility with other design concepts. The original concepts had changed and varied over the two years since I'd started the basic concept behind the dynamic duo; settling on Custodian {of Civilization} and Librarian {of Force Knowledge} as my intended end models. Unfortunately that meant...

"How do I effectively store so much information yet make the design mobile...hmmmm?" I wondered resting back in the chair and comparing a number of possible design outlines for Librarian. All of them were falling short, and I'd really need a ship to process them...but holocrons clearly had as much knowledge stored, in a more interactive format, but came with so many negatives as well. Really I had to consider creating a knowledge spirit or being and stuff it into an AI husk...or something with a similar effect to manage humanoid chassis to allow hiding if required.

Of course the problem with that course of action...well, I had Jedi aboard, and needed as future, so maybe best to the pure technological solution as this sounded suspiciously like Sith alchemical techno-sorcery of some sort I noted. Taking my notepad in hand I made a note to think through the idea in more detail when I cut myself off from the Force during a later meditation and training session. Even getting a 'basic' set of information for both was awkward, especially since I was envisioning something like Standard Template Construct as a design basis for Custodian.

Far too much tech was 'black-boxed' not to function, or had data-blocks to cease functions when outside data-parameters, that I could understand the constant technological fallbacks throughout the history of the Galactic Republic. Still the Stormcrow could crack a decent bit of stuff if needed, so that was one option. If I had to retreat in the wake of defeat, or if the Vong invasion proved to devastating to the galaxy as a whole, then I needed a fall-back to help with maintaining basic civilization, or simply avoid most worlds turning into the primitive shitholes that populated the Galactic Republic right now...

I chuckled at that "Yeah, that could be a problem too, try and fix my own territory first I guess..."

--

[The Last Days of 19 BBY]

[Jedi Loyalist Venator-class Star Destroyer Gray Paladin, Exiting Hyperspace near gas giant Alaris, Kashyyyk System, Mytaranor Sector, Mid Rim]

"Exit from hyperspace successful..." Laranth Tarak, Jedi Knight and now Rebel Naval Commodore somehow, heard her friend Jax say from the sensor console as the flare of hyperspace ended and a great gas giant came into view along with distant worlds and a sun "...engaging full sub-light burn now!"

"Have we been seen us yet?" she asked...demanded gripping the rails on the damaged tactical display, eyes surveying the screen "What have they got in-system?"

Their Star Destroyer wasn't in the best of shape, either in terms of full combat abilities nor in the experience of their crew, and playing escort on a dangerous blockade-running attempt was very stressful to say the least. It wasn't like the Order had let her go off play 'Republic General' like the other good little droids in the Order, and jumping from glorified freighter captain to captaining a Star Destroyer was certainly...a thing. Even now she was pretty sure Grandmaster Yoda would much prefer a 'proper' Jedi Knight, with a 'proper' shiny energy sword fetish, be in charge of her ship – but tough luck in the Force for him. She and her crew won the damaged ship fair and square from its surviving clone crew when they'd put in for repairs.

Jax nodded, voice calm "Yeah...two Lucrehulks with three escorts around Alaris Prime, their launching Vultures and Scarabs, so they've definitely seen us. Deploy the package?"

"Drop'em Jax, prepare to do a short jump as soon as their committed!" she replied staring at the screen and resisting the urge to rub her lekku or blasters when stressed "Z-95s and bombers, how long till they get clear?"

"Another forty seconds!" the young Zeltron dressed in a crude approximation of the old Antarian Rangers uniform at tactical replied confidently "Recommend we open up with main turbolaser batteries...we aren't likely to hit at this range, but it'll make them sure we're burning hard for Alaris Prime or Tranosha even if we jump"

"Do it Illara!" Laranth replied as the Venator accelerated at its maximum sub-light power orders flowing as the two dozen starfighters and fifteen bombers left the open landing bay of the Star Destroyer "Have we transmitted sensor data yet?"

"Yes, confirmation from Renegade Squadron...now!" Jax confirmed ten seconds later giving a thumbs up gesture from his station "Syncing jump for three minutes, thirty seconds!"

Laranth nodded "Okay, maintain the countdown Jax, set hyperspace mines for four minute count!"

It was a race now she knew, watching as turbolaser fire started to be exchanged with the enemy blockade squadron coming out to engage them. Good news was the enemy had taken the bait...the bad news was that they'd taken the bait and their turbolaser fire was proving more accurate than her own crew's. Easy to take note of she found as the Gray Paladin began to shudder under the impacts of said turbolaser fire, but their Star Destroyer continued to plow through space as the seconds ticked by. Their small squadron of star-fighters engaged the enemy droid-fighter swarms as the mix of Republic and reworked Seppie bombers launched their ion torpedoes at range...

"Thirty seconds! Our bombers just jumped out!" Jax called and Laranth nodded as he continued "Z-95s should be jumping soon!"

Normally the older Z-95 models couldn't do hyper jumps, but they'd put in the effort to modify them, even if it cost some speed and agility in exchange, but right now she couldn't worry about them, just her ship and star-fighters stored within "They'd better, now I need hyperdrive ready to go. We've done our part, so it's time to leave!"

They'd drawn in the alert squadron over Alaris Prime, and once they jumped out the hyperspace mines would temporarily screw up hyperspace around Alaris while the main group jumped in to Kashyyyk. If things worked out they'd breakthrough the blockade force, now split apart from reinforcements and their positions marked by her ship's sensors, and pass under the planetary shield. That was the plan at least...but that was for the others to try pull off now as the seconds ticked down and her Star Destroyer raced back out of the gravity well and ignited its hyperdrive to surge free of the system...

--

[The Last Days of 19 BBY]

[Northern Mountains, Kashyyyk, Kashyyyk System, Mytaranor Sector, Mid Rim]

The night sky was filled with flashes of light beyond the shimmering shields that flared into visibility every so often as fire impacted it. Yoda watched, through his eyes and the Force, as the engine flares of transports, GR-series he guessed even at this distance, came into view as the secondary shields dropped in a section to allow them through. A costly success as he felt dozens of lights die at the hands of the droid-fighters as star-fighters died alongside one of the small YT-series light freighters as best he could tell from the rapid-fire wookie speech between the operators behind him. None of his Jedi had died this day, and supplies had made it through, so this would be counted as a success despite losses.

He winced as he rested on his walking stick; living in the wilds was not the easiest, especially not when had to conserve his Force usage for when the Sith inevitably came for them. If they could draw in Sidious, and this Imperious, then they could trap them and slay them, and at least deal that blow to the Dark Side and its wicked agents. So far the situation had been better, and worse than he had feared. Better in that he had served as a rally point to many of the Order, and of those mundane folk who still saw the Light of the Republic, and had beaten back the Sith's tools the Separatists so-far.

Worse in that the galaxy had turned against the Jedi nearly everywhere beyond a few dozen worlds...hundreds would side with them but a few of them had any strength to do so as Kashyyyk had done. Nor had the Sith come against them as they hoped, though, with some help of the Force, they had clearly gathered their gaze away from the younglings scattered across the galaxy. With all that he had failed in...he would not allow them the Sith to destroy all they were and extinguish the Light from the galaxy. Even if he felt ill-suited now, at the end of his life, to face such threats...

'Old fool you have become! Let us astray you have!' he could hear the voices behind him of the ghosts, long dead, of those whose ways he hidden away for the good of all. Oh, how they had their revenge as the Sith had as he gazed at the stars; seeing another of them raise of his standard, proclaim an Army of the Light despite all his own efforts to preserve the Republic. Efforts that came to nothing, blind even to the Sith that had walked before him day after day, and taken the Senate and the Republic under his sway unnoticed. Who had created a poisoned lightsaber for them to hold in the Clone Army...and he had taken it blindly, trustingly, without hesitation...

'Rage at my foolishness Hoth's acolytes would'

Scolding oneself didn't help much though, especially when it had been the ghost of Darth Bane that had opened his eyes to his own arrogance, his own fallibility. Too late of course, far too late, but he would not yield now, only do what he could to mitigate the damage his mistakes had caused. Shaking his head to clear away the memories he turned to Attichitcuk's son Chewbacca "Through the shields, safe the transports are?"

"Yes Master Yoda" the Wookie growled back and Yoda nodded, walking with each painful step on the effects of a lifetime's effects of the most energetic lightsaber form, but still moving to show confidence to the others.

"Good, good! Fight we have! Won we have today! Win the next day, then day after, we will! Now friends, come, let us meet the Separatists counter-attack that will come in anger from this..."

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