o50.5 D.B.Ya.
The "Black Sun" base on Drongar was plunged into silence. Droids worked peacefully on the base, as if nothing unusual. Except that this time something had changed in the visits, and today, almost a year and a half after my arrival on Drongar, they were visiting the base for another harvest of bots… But this time, the visitor documents listed someone more significant than the Rodian Nigzore Amari. This time, the Vigo of the "Black Sun" herself arrived on the planet – the Anzati Jarko Itari. I had no appearance of this sentient being, although a biometric model of this person was uploaded to the droids' memory so that they would know with certainty that this was their boss.
During my entire stay on Drongar, I became much stronger. However, my current strength is not a cause for pride. There will always be a bigger fish, so I never stopped training, justifying the nickname they gave me back at the Temple, when I was a youngling – "Training Maniac." And it paid off, because, thanks to diligent training, I lived much longer… than some of my classmates. I even lived to the point where I could start thinking about my views on the Force… My body became more muscular, I definitely had something to be proud of. I didn't get taller, maybe even got shorter… Now my height was about one hundred and seventy centimeters… During this time, I had to patch my suit many times, as it wore out due to being in the aggressive environment of Drongar… As for the Force… For me, during my entire stay on this planet, numerous meditations – the Force became precisely energy. I developed in this direction. Energy that has no polarity.
And it is the sentient being who directs it, in one direction or another. When a Jedi or a Sith tries to comprehend the Force, using emotions or their absence, it's like putting a filter on the energy itself. And they strain it, separating a part of the Force… I, in accordance with my so-called views, learned to use energy in its full capacity. And my views resembled the classic views of a Jedi, with one exception. I did not entrust myself to the Force itself; I tried to control it. In the end, the Force is energy produced by midi-chlorians. Our energy, originating from our blood, if you look at it that way. And since it is our energy, we must know how to control it.
Not blindly follow its current and will. And to the will of the Force, if necessary, one should listen, but not follow… In other words… My current views resembled the fruit of a perverted love of Jedi, Sith, and a pinch of Je'daii… I drew my view on physical development from the teachings of the Matukai. Although Lorm Decer chuckled, still calling my views "like the ramblings of a potentium, but much more potent, apparently caused by constant consumption of bots" … And it's foolish to hide it, the bot had an euphoric effect. As for my views… For now, it's just an intermediate form, and I still have a lot to clarify for myself. And it's better to return to the Vigo's visit now.
Usually, Jarko did not visit the base, according to the local logs, but now the Anzati decided to fly in. Learning information about the Vigo of the "Black Sun," the largest criminal syndicate in the Galaxy, would not be superfluous. After all, she could later be handed over to the Order. Eliminating this Vigo, whatever it may be, in the future, could make the Galaxy cleaner, even if only a little. I noticed the image that appeared on my computer. The ship with the Rodian and the Anzati had already landed, and both came to where the bot seedlings were. The Rodian appeared in a classic mercenary suit, with two blasters at her belt. And the Anzati… From the very beginning, she literally captivated the gaze. It was noticeable that she behaved as uninhibitedly as possible…
Raven-colored hair cascaded onto her bare shoulders. Jarko's skin was unnaturally white, I would say – pearlescent. Her eyes… Orange, they curiously studied her surroundings. But the most important thing was the outfit of the high beauty… Or rather, almost its absence. Of clothing, there was… a scarlet "bra-armor" and a light skirt of the same color. She clearly loved to attract gazes, because her body was perfect, or rather, close to that definition. A vibroblade hung at her belt, and on the other side – a blaster. A typical pirate, really.
(author's note - THIS IS PURELY APPROXIMATE!)
"Well, well," the mentor peered at the holovideo, "wow, what a beauty. Oh, I'd play with her!"
"That would be even more shameful than dying from a shot in the back," I noted. "She's an Anzati. You know how they can kill, right? But I can say right away – a terrible choice of clothing for a crime boss. One of… She looks more like a Queen of Whores than someone who controls bot supplies in many areas of the Galaxy."
"Don't judge a book by its cover," Lorm said, "she's Gifted. And you know from your own experience that we don't have to dress in pompous armor to be dangerous. You're not in pompous armor, and yet look what you can do at twenty."
"I'm still nineteen," I shook my head. "But you're right. She looks less erotic and more dangerous. It's unlikely she could do anything to me in a direct fight."
"Usually, if a sentient being can't even oppose a Jedi in a direct fight, they won't become a Vigo. Don't underestimate her," Lorm said seriously. "I shouldn't have to remind you – what your 'headlong rush' and 'thoughtless attack' led to. I'm like this," he raised his hands, "only because of it."
"Yes, and I've already apologized…"
"Do you seriously think that apologizing to a dead man, who became so because of your stupidity, is enough?"
"Do you really want to discuss this now?" I asked him with a sigh.
"Hmmmm… No, we've had enough of the previous five times," he shook his head. "But I would recommend you avoid open confrontation with her. Play with her, as you Shadows like to do. Strike from a hidden position, decapitate immediately, and quietly leave. You're not going to dramatically jump out in front of her and say: 'Well, hello,' to attract her attention and a dozen of her guards?"
"Do I look like an idiot?" I blurted out.
"No, outwardly you look like a sephi, but mentally and intellectually, you sometimes behaved not like an idiot, but like a childish moron. However, the further you go, the more you improved. Your plans became better, you matured and got smarter… But still, I'd give you a couple of slaps… Such a smug face."
"Your Force Lightning training is enough for me," which Lorm Decer, unlike physical contact, is quite capable of using. Although then I have to recharge the medallion "again," because the ghost remains in reality as long as the medallion "has enough charge." By experimental method, I found out that if Lorm doesn't use the Force, but just drips into my brain as a ghostly copy, it lasts about seven hours. If he uses the Force, then it all depends on the power of the technique. In fact, he uses the Force that I pour into the artifact itself. And when it runs out, it has to be recharged. Although such use, along with bot stimulation, taught me to better feel and control the Force flows. Which helped my sensory techniques, as well as other techniques, jump in quality, like pyrokinesis, enhancing physical abilities, telekinesis, ionization… And I also learned to create weak Force Lightning, which was enough for painful sensations and paralysis. But I managed to develop my teleportation to the level: "I can use it even in battle once," which greatly inspired me.
"Then be quiet and continue your analysis…"
"What am I doing?" I exclaimed at my mentor's words. "You're the one who got distracted by this whore. She's only interesting to me in terms of how to attack her from a side where she won't feel me until the very end."
"Hmm," Lorm said thoughtfully. "If that's the case, then you've truly gotten better."
Meanwhile, Jorka and Nigzore were talking.
"I think," the Anzati sang, as if, "that you are not noticing the obvious, Nigzore."
"Mistress," the Rodian knelt before the Anzati. "Have I sinned in something? Perhaps you will tell me? I will correct everything! All for you to continue to… 'help' me!"
"My dear Nigzore," gangsters of the "Black Sun" and B1 droids stood around the girls. They were in the middle of a bot farm. Jorka took the mercenary by the cheek and forced her to look at her. "You remember, don't you? Only the best are worthy of my help. If you want me to continue to… 'help' you… you must prove yourself," she smiled erotically. Mda… The gangsters practically melted next to her. Is she using the Force when she speaks? "You were supposed to… But you didn't notice," the Anzati clenched her fist, and Nigzore was lifted into the air, judging by how exactly… Force Choke? "That we are… being robbed," she sang sweetly. "And why should I help you?"
"Mh… my… mistress," the Rodian struggled in the air. "I… kh…"
"Your soup is sweet, and I wouldn't want to refuse its monthly consumption," what? "Monthly"? "But you failed me. Therefore, you don't deserve to be my soup. Not to notice how the sprouts disappear, not to correlate the statistics from the farmer droids… Everyone wants me to spend time with them, but no one, for some reason, wants to work for it," she said sadly, still holding the struggling Rodian in the air above the ground. "And that makes me sad, Nigzore Amari. I found you as a girl, raised you and taught you. I showed you paradise… And you showed me your stupidity. I pity you," she said sadly, drawing a vibro-sword from her belt and immediately piercing Nigzore with it.
"Kha…" the Rodian fell to the ground as Jorka released her.
"It's good that I'm wearing a red dress," the woman said with disgust, kicking the head of the deceased Rodian with her foot. "But it's bad that you stained the bot with your blood. You should have killed yourself somewhere else. Take her away," she approached one of the droids, from which I could and was observing. "And now I'm addressing you, little rat. I know that you see and hear me. I don't know who you are, but I recommend you surrender. You were naive to think that I wouldn't be able to detect discrepancies," the station's scanning system allows for precise control of the number of plants. That is, it analyzed the records… Gradually, over a year and a half, I introduced some inaccuracies into this system, or rather its report, understating the number of plants by three or four units to create an extract… But she somehow managed to guess the discrepancies. How? Was she alerted by the fact that the monthly number of plants sharply decreased? When Nigzore appeared at the base, once a month, she checked everything manually and there were no questions. Apparently, such "dips" alerted Jorka herself. That's why she freaked out. "And also your 'gifts in the Main Computer system'," she noticed the controller program too? Either she's a god-tier slicer, noticing a program that Jedi Shadows use for hacking, or she has one of them among her subordinates… Which, in principle, doesn't change the outcome. But she doesn't know where I am or my identity yet. This makes my situation easier. "But you weren't just stealing from an ordinary bandit, but from Jorka Itari, the Vigo of the 'Black Sun,' responsible for this territory. Let's make a deal, thief. I promise to show mercy if you surrender. If you can bargain for your pathetic life, I'll even let you work for me."
At the last moment, I almost laughed. A classic trap. Judging by her facial expressions and gaze, as well as her tone of voice, she wants to play the role of being impressed by the skills of a beauty. Naturally, a thief, if not particularly smart, might think: "cool, she likes me" and surrender. The end is somewhat predictable. She'll devour such a thief…
"Hmmmm…" I rubbed my chin. "There's no need to stay here anymore," I typed a command for the B1 droids. "Since my presence here is known, I guess I'll leave."
"I agree with that," Lorm said. "You got the maximum you could on this planet."
"Yes, the effect of the bot extract has started to weaken little by little. I've increased my Force affinity and am happy with my progress. It's time to take care of other matters. But first," I began to pack my things with the Force. And, before shutting down the computer, I pressed "enter," sending a command to the droids. "Here's a surprise, bitch," I grinned. I wasn't going to leave such a good feeding ground for the syndicate. In fact, I was now ordering all the droids to attack Jorka's guards and Jorka herself. As well as a self-destruct signal to the base, but… A datapad call? I answered, and Jorka Itari herself appeared before me. Wow… I managed to pull up my hood, hiding my face.
"You're too insolent, thief," she said. "I know where you are now, and I know what order you gave to MY BASE. You're playing too rough, little thief. I'm giving you one last chance…"
"Hahahaha (Author's note - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nko6o_EZ2o)," I laughed. "Don't waste your eloquence, Jorka Itari. I know who you are. You're wrong to think that by exposing me and my machinations here, you've outplayed me."
"And you think you haven't? The planet is blocked by my cruisers, and the "Black Sun" troops are already coming for you. You won't get out of here…"
Yes, in a normal situation, it would be time for panic. But… I had already managed to call my ship. With its peculiarity – bring all the Super Star Destroyers that have ever existed and both Death Stars. Without the technology that detects the stygium coating, you can't do anything to me. The only moment when I'll have to deactivate it is when activating the hyperdrive. But with my hyperdrive, acceleration to superluminal speed will be very fast. So they won't even be able to scratch me.
"I heard you, Jarko Itari, but you know nothing about me. That's what will destroy you if you plan to challenge me. Goodbye, Jarko. And I hope it's not for you… Because if it is, I'll chop off your head, and send your body to conquer the stars, hahahaha," I turned off the datapad.
"It seems you've gone a little off the rails…"
"Just a little," I shook my head, approaching the Star Way and activating the timer on the bombs that were in my cave. "Just a little."
"On the other hand, you could be given a monument while you're alive if you didn't get some phase shift in our Galaxy."
Returning to the ship's helm, I listened to a huge number of beautiful epithets from VV, who was glad that we were leaving the planet… But first, I need to "help" the "Black Sun."
"There are five fighters on the radar, master. They are approaching rapidly," VV reported. Yes, I turned off the cloaking field because I was going to attack the "Black Sun" base.
"Prepare the missiles, VV. Let's give them a fireworks show according to the second plan… Since the first one didn't work out," I engaged the afterburner, accelerating sharply and heading for the "Black Sun" farm.
"Mistress," Jorka turned her attention to the gangster who had arrived with her at base-4, which was her main source of income. "A ship has departed from the enemy's hideout towards us."
She looked at Shaik K'ler, a man recently recruited by her and the most talented slicer in the north of the Galaxy. It was his data analysis and mathematical mind that allowed them to track the leak and then discover the "gifts" and theft.
"Was it possible to establish who our thief is?"
"No," Shaik shook his head. "His face – no base system has seen it. Even in the biometric memory of the droids, he is registered in a hood. I have already deleted his data, but… In the ones I found – he always appeared in a hood, which hid him. No peculiarities… He's like…"
"An assassin," Itari said. "Trained, or trying to act as stealthily as possible. And I must admit – he has the potential for it, and he knows how to do it. What about the ship?"
"It's gone," Shaik replied. "I've managed to study all the bases there are. This ship, a modified version of the 'Star Courier,' is not in any Republic database. Not even a Jedi one…"
"This is bad," Jarko grumbled. Tendrils shot out from her cheeks and slid into the nose of the gangster standing before her. She controlled the process perfectly and was capable of gradually… or immediately… drinking a sentient being. This time, to stabilize her condition, she had to drink the soup immediately. Which she did. The gangster instantly felt an incredible euphoria before his death.
"Mistress?" Shaik asked in surprise.
"If my assumptions are correct, then a very tense future awaits us, slave," she grumbled. "This bastard could be… a Jedi Shadow!" Her fists clenched. Of all the Jedi, it was the Shadows who caused the most problems in combat. They are the hardest to detect and are the most skilled in killing. A Guardian can wield a lightsaber as much as they want, a Consular – can use the Force as much as they want… But a Shadow… A Shadow is someone who can use both the Force and a lightsaber with the desire to kill. She survived many Jedi only because most of them – didn't even think about killing. But of the two Shadows she encountered – in both cases, she was on the verge of death. "And his clothing… Shadows wear, more or less, the same outfit. And this one resembles the one who caused a stir on Roisse-VIII almost two years ago… But… Is his ship approaching here?" she looked at the computer data. "What is he going to… Ah?"
She moved to Shaik and took him by the elbow, heading for the exit. The Anzati's physical strength allowed her to drag the rather plump Shaik.
"Leave the base, but before that, activate the PD facilities! He's going to attack!"
Against the arming of such a ship, and the analysis of its weapons, based on scanning, she saw — the base would not last long. A bastard Jedi… Even if he were a Grand Master — she would take revenge on him! Finding the Shadow is not easy, but even she does not exist just like that. Yes… He won't even be able to leave the planet! Meanwhile, the ship opened fire. The automatic system, of course, tried to damage the Courier, but the missiles were shot down by heat flares, and the turrets could not penetrate the shield. Meanwhile — the missiles sent by the Courier destroyed the turrets, and then the strike hit the third floor, where the main computer was working. With the first attack, the ship destroyed the energy infrastructure, disrupting the power supply. The backup generator cannot fully supply this base… The next strike hit the main computer. Leaving the base, she could not get into her fighter, because one of the missiles hit it, and she watched in fury as the enemy ship crushed and destroyed what she had been creating for so long… When the Jedi switched to the farm itself — fighters from her cruisers arrived.
But what is one pilot, untalented, against a fully gifted one at the helm of a starship? She felt… This bastard turned out to be very strong, though she had managed to kill no worse than him in three hundred years of life. If this bastard survives today — she will take revenge on him. And he survived… After dealing with the fighters, he attacked the farm, starting a fire there. The bot… A precious bot, which has value for everyone — gifted and untalented — was burning, due to hits from the ship's turbolasers.
"Bastard! You son of a Hutt, you degenerate! I'll cut you to pieces! I swear, you'll answer for everything, Jedi! Hey, Shake! Connect me to the ships! I want them to raise and send every Hutt ship that can shoot after him! Every one, do you hear me? Everything that can go "pew-pew", launch missiles! Get me this bastard. I don't care in what form!"
And the "Star Courier" headed upwards, clearly intending to leave the planet… Yes, let him try. Fifteen Gozanti and three dreadnoughts. Her fleet will turn him into cosmic dust… Ten minutes later…
"This is Captain Nakhir," she heard the voice of one of the dreadnought captains. "The enemy… He… He disappeared from our radars, passed our cordon… And then… Went into hyperspace…"
"Are you kidding me, Nakhir?!" she exclaimed angrily.
"No, Mistress… We messed up…"
The fleet this Anzati managed to assemble was truly powerful. And the specialists there were competent, they organized a thorough blockade in orbit of the planet, scattering to the sides of the "Black Sun" station. I know what I'm talking about, I studied tactics from Anaxis's materials. However — theoretical and practical tactics are two different things, and I didn't have time to observe them now. What do we have as a result of a year and a half of staying on Drongar? I developed Force affinity, mastered many Force techniques to the best of my ability, and even learned to use Lightning. However — it's definitely not like what Vitiate or Sidious threw around. But I'm still learning… I also managed to study tactics and later — the strategy of troop actions in DDG. Even if only in theory, and all my knowledge in these disciplines, without serious practice — is a joke… And I understand this. You can graduate from as many General Staff Academies, or various military universities, and so on… Without real practice — you are just an "officer for show." On the other hand, why am I worried? This universe can provide me with practice.
Exiting hyperspace, I immediately jumped a couple more times, exiting onto the Perlemian trade route, one of the five main ones. The traffic on it is such that it's easy to get lost. Moreover, I have another advantage that will save me from detection — my games with the transponder. Yes, perhaps visually they saw the Star Courier. But I reconfigured the transponder so that at first they should see a VCX-100 ship. For a while, this will throw them off, and I… I can think about what to do with all this for now. About three months ago — I started sending information about "Black Sun" and Jorka Itari to the Order. Because I understood that I would soon have to leave Drongar… Maybe the Council will come up with something — what should we do with it? I would send a group to capture or eliminate her. Considering what resources she trades… Wait, I didn't say anything about the bot… Well… Now is the time to tell the Order everything. Yes, I destroyed one base on Drongar with a strike, but she can build another and restore her business. The outcome is not the best, so… I pressed the button and the data flew to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. All that's left is to wait…