Tustra.
Of course, I wasn't about to head off to Drongar immediately — I should at least study the planet's data first. Especially about the Black Sun organization, especially since I could now freely use the Shadow database Jonal had compiled over his relatively long life for a human. Apparently, the Council had sensibly decided that withholding such information was harmful, at least to us. The database contained information on all major and many less significant events that had happened and were happening in the Galaxy. Some of this information had clearly been concealed by Ezar for personal gain. The main thing I noted for myself was that he knew where Black Sun exported botha to the Galaxy's black market. Why had no one ever managed to hold this organization accountable? The answer was simple — it's impossible to destroy it when only LOCAL law enforcement is fighting it. And that was the whole problem — they were fighting symptoms, not causes. And the Senate wouldn't let anyone launch a full-scale operation because it would cost more than it was worth.
That's how it was. Of course, over a millennium of systemic degradation, criminal organizations had become extremely powerful — something neither the Republic's official army nor the Judicial Forces could boast of today. It was also worth noting that not only criminal structures were strong, like the Hutt Cartel, Black Sun, or the Pyke Syndicate, but also mega-corporations of immense wealth like Kuat Drive Yards, Rendili, Sienar, SoroSuub, the Trade Federation, the Techno Union, the InterGalactic Banking Clan, and others. So it turned out that the Senate and the Republic had only nominal power, thanks to certain odious individuals. No, peace was good. Peace, friendship, bubble gum — even better. It was certainly better than fighting and killing, but... You have to understand that "good" needs to have fists. Or not?...
Alright, back to Black Sun. The organization's structure was fairly simple: nine territories divided into sectors. The territories were governed by Vigos. Each Vigo had... let's say, a capital sector where they resided, and a territory that united dozens of other sectors with their own bosses. Sometimes it was incredibly difficult to identify the Vigo. For example, for the territory that controlled Drongar, the Vigo's identity was unknown. Naturally, I didn't intend to hunt down the leader — it was enough for me to know everything that was already in our database, plus what I already knew. And my knowledge consisted of the fact that during the Clone Wars, one of the GAR admirals was involved in smuggling botha from Drongar together with a syndicate.
War, healing properties, speculation... Botha is still valued today, serving as a kind of "plantain," although it's inferior to bacta in its properties. Nevertheless, when war breaks out, every unit will count, every resource. Especially since healing properties aren't all it offers. Botha helps enhance the Gifted, which is why the Republic and CIS clashed in the battle for Drongar, where the latter suffered defeat. In retaliation, the Confederates carried out a total exterminatus on the planet, causing the botha to mutate and lose all its beneficial properties. Strategically, Drongar no longer held any value, so everyone soon left. Nowadays, those who try to find out where the criminal syndicate gets its botha disappear without a trace, and no one knows about its "other properties" that would definitely interest all the Gifted in the Galaxy so much that they'd start a real bloodbath over it... No one except me. And I intend to use that knowledge. Black Sun has only one station on the planet's surface, and it's completely autonomous, meaning it's run by droids. I'm confident I can quietly hide on this planet, train, and peacefully convince "the Sun" to share its valuable resource with me. Training in such a place would allow me to jump to a qualitatively new level of understanding the Force, which, paradoxically, would make me much stronger. And the fact that the criminals will be short a certain amount of product — that's no big deal. Using it merely as an analogue of plantain is an insult anyway.
Alas and alack, I intended to use botha only to strengthen my dear self. Other Jedi... I don't see the point in making them stronger — few will support my ideas of returning power to a more-or-less reasonable state, since officially the Order is a puppy on the Senate's leash. And let it stay that way for now — I don't intend to play altruist, no matter how vile that sounds. In parallel, using my real name, I enrolled in distance learning courses at the Anaxis Citadel. This time I decided not to create a fictional identity, since I saw no point in it — just more hassle. And I'd be able to get the registration certificate for completing the Academy directly in my name, instead of hacking into the University's databases and painstakingly convincing the system that I am who I am. Although I wasn't even going to do that — my attack on Set Harth must have made the Banites nervous. And they could theoretically have already figured out that Taivi Lanian attacked Set. And then see that he'd suddenly changed all his data. I really could have pulled that off in a few clicks and a day's waiting, but...
Why? Sidious and Plagueis, of course, tried not to draw attention, avoiding attacking Jedi unless necessary, and it was better not to set a precedent — I wasn't ready to confront them. Because to destroy those two, winning on the battlefield wasn't enough — you had to overcome the very structure they and all the previous Sith of Bane's line had built, gnawing into the Republic for centuries. To pull that off, you'd need an unimaginable amount of resources from the entire Galaxy... Which I don't have yet. However, even with such resources, you could easily blow it all — the current Republic and the New Republic wouldn't let me lie: the creation of the Katana fleet and its inglorious disappearance, the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, and so on, and so forth... That's why I jumped at the extra training — it's not enough to have big resources; you need to know how to use them. Some Jedi, by the way, occasionally took courses similar to mine at the Academies... Unfortunately, the closer to the wars, the rarer that became.
My specialization was listed as "Captain" and was purely general, intended for training officers and commanders of combat starships. Naturally, there was a higher level that taught commanding multiple starships, but I decided to master that path gradually. After downloading the materials, I immediately began studying them. First, as everywhere, came the history of the interstellar fleet in the Republic from A to Z... Famous figures, wars involving them... So, the Anaxian classification of combat starships, next... Modern advances in science and technology... More! Ship systems... What do we have here? Right, engines, FCS, turbolasers, communications, missile and torpedo launchers, hangars for small craft... I see... Next come the regulations, standards, and programs for personnel serving on combat starships.
Finally, we were offered to study combat tactics and strategy. Or rather, the latter was just a name. Well, that's understandable — that's the level of senior officers. My specialization only involved commanding a cruiser with possible promotion to commanding three or four such ships... A very murky prospect, I'll tell you, under current conditions. Although there are other organizations in the Galaxy that would snatch up an Anaxis graduate with both hands... Yes, it's hard to maintain competence after so many years of degradation. But Anaxis is still considered elite. Tactics was based on knowing the performance characteristics and one's ship's role in battle. Which is logical, in principle. But with the current system, tactics and strategy are purely a matter of luck. First, because many ships simply aren't standardized... Even those that made up the bulk of the Judicial Forces fleet — the good old "Invincibles" from Rendili — had numerous modifications. You look at one and have no, um, idea — does it have standard armament, or did someone saw something off somewhere and weld something else on somewhere else?
And no matter how you look at it, bringing order to the standardization of everything and everyone isn't possible right now. The problem is the same — the Senate's fear. Well, that's how things are. So, what else was I planning to do?
* * *
The Star Trek had just completed its pre-flight checks and was ready for launch. The Council hadn't given me any specific assignment, so I could freely fly about my own business. Of course, I shouldn't forget my direct duties: destroy dark side adepts, find dark or any other Force artifacts, and bring them to the Order. And there was one direct duty I definitely intended to violate... Actually, I'm no stranger to breaking rules, because if I'd followed them, I'd have died long ago.
After making sure all the prepared supplies were loaded, including those for my camp on Drongar, I started the engines. Too bad I didn't get a chance to talk with Rela — she and her master had been suddenly pulled away on a mission, to the south of the Galaxy, I'd heard. So the conversation with the pretty Twi'lek was postponed indefinitely. And besides... I couldn't give her what she wanted. And I doubt I can give it to anyone... My thoughts were interrupted by the droid's chime.
"Where are we flying? To Tustra, little one," I said. "I want to see my family. My little sister has probably grown up by now..."
The current coordinates appeared on the navicomputer... Tustra. Sernpidal. Drongar. That was the order in which I planned to visit these worlds. While flying through hyperspace, I'd be able to study new theory... I was particularly impressed by the theory regarding structures for Force Techniques. You see, when I was a youngling, results were achieved through simple training and repetition. The anatomical structures used to master techniques were studied minimally. And it was only after starting to study the theory I'd received from the healer that I understood why: the theory in terms of anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry was simply incredibly vast! Of course, someone might say that's obvious, but... what's easier — memorizing hundreds of megabytes of data or mastering some technique through simple repetition, never knowing about some posterior cortex of the cerebrum? As a biologist I knew used to say: "You have no idea how much goes into making our pathetic bodies move. Even just taking a crap." And he was right... Just starting to grasp anatomy — and my own at that, not anyone else's — my brain overheated. No exaggeration. The manuals I received detailed which structure in our body might be responsible for which technique, and how to train that structure. And I can already say that understanding which part of the body is responsible for what will help me master and develop Force techniques. Although right now, I was focused on mastering my own "Heavenly Palm," as I'd dubbed it.
Delving into the theory, I didn't notice how five hours passed. The ship was already in hyperspace. So... I got up from the chair and looked at the computer data. I still had about two days of travel. I was studying theory now: two hours on the materials Anaxis had sent me, and the rest on theoretical biology. Now it was time to stretch a bit. I think this was called active rest, according to Sechenov. Well, of course, in the Galaxy from which Leonid came. As far as I remember, active rest is alternating activities. If you've actively worked your right hand, work your left hand. What activity is the opposite of studying theory? Physical exercise, of course! That's why, in my opinion, this subject exists even for the most bookish theorists, who seemingly shouldn't have to pass those running and jumping standards. Personally, here in this Galaxy Far, Far Away, I'd found practical confirmation of Sechenov's words. When I felt that continuing training would do more harm than good, I simply switched activities. Understanding the logic of Star Wars through knowledge of the canon, my Giftedness, and the theory of active rest — that's what helped me not go crazy... and not overdo it. After completing a set of exercises consisting of push-ups, squats, crunches, and jumps, I headed to the captain's quarters. I'd gotten so caught up that I'd started the theory in the cockpit and even managed to train there... I need to be more careful about that. Reading is one thing, but exercising next to the control station of a ship like this wasn't my best idea. And I was planning to command a whole cruiser...
"BB," I addressed the droid. Even though he'd stayed in the cockpit, he could easily hear me through the ship's internal comms. "Put on some kind of podcast with Galaxy news."
A few seconds later, a broadcast of some show appeared above the holoprojector in my quarters, which stood opposite the bed. And why not, really?
"Greetings! You're with Terint Mirtone," an image of a man with dark hair and gray eyes appeared. "Welcome to the talk show 'Galactic Investigation,' and today we'll continue our discussion of the flagrant incident from almost two weeks ago that occurred on Royiss-VIII. Our guests are leaders of opposing opinions: let me introduce Senator from the Portmouk Sector, Gozi Gauge," a stout man with light hair appeared, "the famous blogger and Jedi fan Alaya Pirts," the angle shifted to a blue-skinned Twi'lek dressed in a luxurious gown, "and a member of the 'People's Inquiry' organization, Trinka Padawnete," a pretty black-haired girl appeared on the screen. Around my age, I thought.
Well... Ten out of ten: wanted to listen to the news — there you go.
"Let us remind you of what happened. Almost two weeks ago, a rather controversial event occurred on Royiss-VIII," the host reported. "At the presentation of the new heir of the Harth family — Set Harth, the thirty-first, for those interested — a Jedi Knight appeared and started a fight with him right in the middle of a banquet hall filled with sentients. It turned out that Set Harth belonged to the teachings of 'dark side adepts' who fought the Jedi a thousand years ago, known as the Sith. And today, even after all this time, we continue the discourse on this event, especially since new information has emerged regarding this circumstance..."
I lay down on the bed and began to listen carefully to their conversation. It was interesting, after all...
"Don't talk to me about new information," snorted Padawnete. "Those aren't the excuses the Jedi rolled out in the Senate, are they? About this attack being a 'planned special operation' aimed at destroying a Sith. Laughable, just laughable, Terint."
"Yes, of course," the man smiled, seemingly ignoring the young girl. "You can support one of the views that will be broadcast here by calling the numbers on your screens. The call is free across all of Coruscant. For other planets, it depends on your providers, but generally won't cost half a credit. Well, today it's time to draw a line under this conflict caused by the action of said Jedi. You either support the measures taken by the Order and that Knight, or you don't. Naturally, each side has its representatives and arguments. First, Senator from the Portmouk Sector, Gozi Gauge, will give his opinion. Almost two weeks later, and after your conversation with the Master of the Order, Yan Dooku, has your perception of the situation changed at all?"
"Ahem," the man cleared his throat. "Overall, the elected king of Royiss-VIII has raised quite justified claims against the Order's leadership. I emphasize — neither His Majesty's security service nor the planetary defense forces knew about the planned operation."
"Moreover: a number of sentients later claimed that even within the Order itself, they couldn't have imagined their Knight would act this way," the host continued the conversation. "Although the Order at least didn't stay silent this time and informed the Senate that everything was going according to plan..."
"For some reason, I don't think that's true," Trinka interrupted Terint again. "They were caught with their pants down and hardly knew what this Knight was going to do. I also have questions for the Knight himself. I'd like to talk to him... Too bad we never saw his face, despite the fact that the Senate and the Chancellor apparently asked for this Knight to be presented in the first days after the event, so they could hear his justification."
"Justification?" Alaya joined the conversation. "Didn't you see that he attacked a Sith?"
"At the cost of the lives of some innocent sentients or the injuries they sustained in the process," Trinka noted caustically. "Yes, I saw. And I sincerely wonder what's wrong with this individual. He attacked with a lightsaber in the middle of a banquet. A weapon that is guaranteed to kill absolutely any sentient! Or didn't you notice," the studio played the clip of my first attack. "He's standing surrounded by a crowd of sentients. It was only by a miracle that Set managed to deflect the strike so the lightsaber didn't hit anyone!"
The Jedi is a scumbag, the Sith is a hero. The Galaxy has forgotten the lesson of a thousand years ago, oh, it's forgotten... Regarding the throw — I deliberately calculated the angle so that even the most skilled Gifted couldn't deflect it toward the innocents, while simultaneously controlling the blade with the Force. Besides, even if it had flown into someone, I could have just deactivated the blade — my reflexes and reaction time would have been enough. At worst, the sentient would have taken the hilt to the head. Considering the initial speed was lost after the deflection, the sentient would at most lose consciousness, maybe get a mild concussion. And definitely wouldn't die.
"What you're talking about is just your assumption. You should have first figured out whether he would have hit anyone at all," Alaya asked. "I've worked with Jedi and seen Knights perform lightsaber throws. They're capable of controlling every centimeter of their blade's edge even in flight. I'm sure the Knight would have..."
"Oh, you're 'sure'?" Trinka asked her opponent. "I wonder what your certainty is based on — that this particular Knight is the same Jedi you worked with, with the corresponding abilities, and not a recent Padawan? Because, judging by his actions, everything points to the latter."
Meanwhile, Trinka's support was higher than Alaya's. Well...
"The casualty statistics. By the way, Trinka, did you notice that sentients died only from Set Harth's actions, not from the Jedi's..."
"No, the Jedi is at fault! As an uncontrolled entity, he attacked, and because of his attack, Set Harth was forced to defend himself. And it was during that defense that sentients died. If he hadn't attacked..."
"Set Harth was a Sith, as the Jedi Order stated," the Twi'lek went on the offensive. "And afterward, data regarding all his machinations was published. The Jedi went to deal with him. Or do you think a sentient who can shoot lightning and handle blasters with telekinesis could be defeated by a special forces squad? Senator Gozi, the special forces of Royiss-VIII, the national guard, or the same army... Is any of them capable of handling Set Harth, using the Force and all the skills he demonstrated in his battle with the Knight?"
A perfectly reasonable question. And the answer was simple — he would have killed them all. However it was, Set turned out to be a fairly competent fighter. His meeting with a special forces squad would have ended with the squad's funeral in closed caskets. Or rather, not even in caskets, but in a mass grave.
"We're not talking about that..."
"Oh no, that's exactly what we're talking about. I want to draw the attention of the Republic's citizens to this," Alaya smiled. "Look at the guards who protect your peace. The police, special forces, the army. And ask yourselves: can they protect you from a sentient who easily wields a weapon that cuts through almost any material? Can they handle those who move at such incredible speeds that they can dodge a shot or deflect it right back at the shooter? And among the Gifted who use lightsabers, there are plenty of masters of Form Three, which specializes in defending against blaster fire. Imagine a lightsaber and the fact that a Gifted is capable of catching a shot with it and then deflecting it. Can your defenders handle those who can use the power of the elements themselves to their advantage — like lightning?"
"So just because Jedi can protect us from such sentients, we should blindly trust them, these child abductors?" Trinka asked. "Those who aren't controlled by anyone? What's stopping the Jedi, say, from usurping power? There's no civilian oversight over them! A code? Rules? Nonsense!"
"Nonsense only for the Sith, which is what Set Harth was," Alaya countered. "The Jedi strictly follow their treaty with the Republic." Yeah, unquestioningly. To be honest, I don't particularly like the treaty itself. It allowed us Jedi — strong, and sometimes even wise beings — to blindly follow the orders of sentients who are mostly stupid and greedy. The Ruusan Reformation... I understand the need for criticism, but thanks to that reformation, we can now be dragged through the mud even for the fact that we use a free toilet! To exaggerate. The program continued. I even, when I came out of hyperspace, took the time to cast my vote for Alaya. In the end, each of the girls stuck to her guns.
."..and I will seek a meeting with this Knight," Trinka stated unambiguously at the end of the talk show, "to hold him accountable for his actions."
Alaya just smiled at her words. Such an understanding, sympathetic smile… It was strange — I'd always considered bloggers not the brightest individuals. Though in reality, there are plenty of smart ones among them. Not all of them are Communists or sentients who didn't even finish nine grades. And if Trinka Padaunete wants a meeting with me, I sincerely didn't want that. She can go to hell, to Plagueis himself. I'm sure he'll appreciate her efforts and maybe even pay for them. Trinka also claimed that a pair of senators heard the pleas of her movement and created a law on "Jedi oversight." Which is already crashing and burning, judging by the preliminary votes. Apparently, the other senators understand they can't pull off this action. The Jedi are patient, but their patience isn't infinite. And the senators desperately fear finding that edge… Well, and on the forums, as always, a battle of armchair experts has flared up.
So be it… I should remember that every action of mine has consequences. And from now on, I need to act even more cautiously and carefully.
* * *
The most interesting thing that happened upon my arrival on Tustra was that my father offered to install a more powerful hyperdrive on my ship. I'd been looking at new hyperdrives for a while myself and was planning to order a replacement from Sienar, but I could never pick a day — though during my studies on Alderaan I could have easily done it. In short, I kept putting it off. But now I have no problems or missions, so I gladly agreed to the replacement, especially since I didn't need to fly anywhere. I planned to rest on Tustra for three or four days. Leaving my ship with the techs at the Astroport, I called a taxi to the Palace Quarter where my family lived. My heart was practically jumping for joy as I watched the surroundings of my home planet, which I'd grown so fond of.
I arrived in the evening, so both my mother and father were waiting for me at home. Jedi are forbidden from forming attachments. But I was taken quite late — usually they try to drag Gifted children into the Temple… Though my case was a rarest combination of factors: me, a native of Tustra, our strict laws that even the Order's recruiters can't ignore, as well as Yoda's friendship with Alaric. My mother and father had barely aged — Sephi, after all. But my little sister Ziri had grown a bit. She was ten now, and the girl would soon start turning into a young woman.
"Brother," she closed the distance the moment she saw me and hugged me. The girl was wearing a purple sarafan that harmonized with the color of her eyes. Mom, whom I saw last and who was, as always, cooking something in the kitchen, was in her usual maid outfit, which she rarely took off even at home. I remember only when we went to public places as a family, she would wear a blue dress or other clothes of the same color.
I hugged my mother, feeling her warmth… If I tried to analyze her feelings with empathy, I might very well swoon from happiness. Within an hour, in the warm family circle, I was chatting and telling them about my adventures.
"It was you on Royiss, wasn't it," my father stated.
"That information is classified," I said calmly.
"But we know it was you," Mom said sharply. "If I could decide, Light, I would never allow you to end up in that situation again. But I understand perfectly that that's impossible," Mayla looked me seriously in the eyes, "so please, be careful. That, unfortunately, is all I can do."
"And don't pay attention to that bucket of slime some people are pouring on you," Dad added. "You're a man, not a pathetic nonentity. What do you care about the opinions of others if you really have justifications for your actions? You do have them, don't you, son?"
"Yes," I sighed, taking a sip of juice. "My justifications, generally speaking, have already been stated many times. If, by the Force, a similar situation repeats itself, I'll do the same. Such actions have a rather high price. Critics will always exist, just like casualties. My duty is to reduce the number of the latter, but… eliminating them is impossible under any circumstances… However, I don't want to talk about work here anymore."
"Right, I'd bet you've already told us everything… That you could," my father grinned.
"Even more, actually," I confirmed. "But I'd like to know how things are with you."
"How could they be? We work, we try to raise something sensible out of this little one. Grandma tried too hard and is now receiving treatment at the 'Waterfall' Sanatorium," yes, a truly picturesque place. A sanatorium built over a waterfall…
"Tell me about it," Mayla sighed.
"Hey!" Ziri exclaimed. "Does it not matter that I'm here?"
"It doesn't," my father parried. "Your brother should know about our problems, and about yours. He's your family."
"And also a Jedi," Mom added. "So don't be shy about asking him for help."
"Does she need my help?" I asked.
"Brother, you're so cool!" my sister said proudly. "Can you show it? That… what is it? The Force! And… lightsabers. Shirley and Koliri will be so jealous!"
"Ziri," Mom said sternly. "Lightsabers are not a toy for children or adults."
"Hmmph!" the girl puffed out her cheeks.
"Mom is one hundred percent right, Ziri," I said importantly, chewing a piece of meat. "What you're asking for is an incredibly dangerous weapon. I can't give it to you. Without the proper skills, I'm afraid my dear little sister will only hurt herself."
"Well, great," Ziri said sadly, eyeing the last piece of fried meat from a local fauna species. Which I absolutely could not allow and, beating my sister by a couple of seconds, snatched it with telekinesis. "Hey! What are you doing?"
"I want to eat," I said importantly. "So sorry."
"Th-That's not fair! Give it back!" she demanded.
"Too late," I laughed, though upon meeting my mother's stern gaze, I still took a knife and split the piece in half, giving one part to my sister.
"Thanks for that, I guess," she snorted, starting on her portion.
We sat up late into the night. Already lying down in my bed, I confirmed that this was exactly what I'd been missing. Family… These sentients, despite the fact that I'd been torn away from them for so long, still waited for me and welcomed me warmly, asking for nothing in return. Family… Perhaps this is one of the most significant values I've gained in this galaxy.