Naturally, I had to run. Because even with a cheat like mine, I couldn't defeat all of Jarko Itari's ships. But I can foresee that she got seriously burned. Of course — she's all beautiful and smart, managed to detect me somehow, and I went and dunked her in shit. Completely destroyed or heavily damaged the farm with such precious bota. And then proudly left... Even I, with my old character of the most select pushover, wouldn't have tolerated such insolence and outright rudeness. But Jarko, judging by her behavior, didn't have that. The question is, what next? Yes, I've become much stronger, though my quirks and roaches in terms of 'rather underestimating myself' haven't gone away.
Here I rather adhered to the philosophy: do what you must and let be what will be. And it worked, that philosophy. At least I succeeded in many things.
"On the other hand," I said thoughtfully, watching hyperspace, "there's not much time to think. Jarko will clearly want revenge. But I'm more than confident that I wiped all traces. On her ships' sensors, a completely different ship appeared. The Star Trek could only be identified visually, but there are thousands of Star Courier-type ships across the galaxy. It's nimble, convenient, can be used for smuggling. Traders love it. So finding mine specifically would only be possible when resupplying ammunition. Which would reveal the modified version, since a courier armed with missiles... Hmm..."
"You're not going to rush headlong into this Jarko, are you?" asked the mentor.
I had long since gotten used to his presence; besides, Lorm Decer could sometimes give sound advice.
"Myself — no. I'm not afraid of that slutty Anzati; I'm more than sure she's no match for me in direct combat. What should be feared is the Black Sun. That's not an organization you can handle alone, especially in the Outer Rim. Even in the worlds of the Mid Rim, the Expansion Region, and the Inner Rim, they are noticed, and some politicians literally feed from their hands. No, without serious resources, going after her is suicide. Suppose," I clasped my hands in front of me, "I can physically destroy her. But what then? How soon will the Black Sun try to find me and take revenge? But if I strike at her structure, in the context of attacking a separate organization... That's a completely different matter, I tell you."
"The only thing that comes to mind is the Judicial Forces, completely bought by all these criminals, and the Jedi Order, which feeds from the hands of the Senate, in which there are Senators who already feed from the hands of the Black Sun, and one of them, on the committee for combating organized crime, is personally Jarko Itari's creature," laughed Lorm Decer. "The situation is just terrible."
"Shaking her off by legal means will be difficult, by illegal means — dangerous," I noted. "But leaving her vengeful against me is also dangerous, considering that even without knowing my identity, she can make my life difficult with her meddling. This isn't a fork... It's a stalemate," I said in a slightly sad tone. "It would be good to find allies for this, or to persuade our Order to get moving."
"No matter how dependent the Order is on the Senate, they won't be able to dismiss a certain fact. You did send them information about the effect of bota on a Gifted, didn't you?"
"Hmph," I chuckled. "Naturally, though not all of my research on the bota effect. I don't think many can handle," I propped my chin, "the overwhelming effect of euphoria and omnipotence."
"Only a sensible person with an initial character like yours, a cowardly whiner and sniveler, could, because people like you are naturally modest."
"Well, thanks, mentor, for the kind fucking words," I hissed. "However, people like me can also become angry at everyone upon gaining great power — they start taking revenge. Sometimes, hiding behind their good nature, they themselves turn into those who bullied them — there are a couple of Chinese works where the hero is naturally kind, but then starts doing such dark stuff that it makes the remaining hair on one's head stand on end. And some fanfiction writers even use that dark stuff as motivation for why they can't continue reading the work, in order to explore that universe in their fanfics. I think I saw the latter somewhere..."
"And the latter are the majority. You're a real wonder, Light. I've always been impressed by your philosophical attitude toward grievances. At first I even thought it was from your cowardly nature, but it seems you've simply outgrown... Mentally. Physically, you're still..."
"Please, mentor, just not about height," I sighed. "I'm taller than Grand Master Yoda — that's enough."
"Only a pity in the physical sense," noted Lorm. "So what are you going to do?"
"Contact the Council. Leaving Jarko on my tail, even with zero evidence, is dangerous for me. Eliminating her personally would make the Black Sun think. Run across the entire galaxy and personally kill Vigos in that case? I wouldn't manage even in ten years. So I need an option with legal elimination," I said thoughtfully. "In that case, to everyone I'll be at most a Jedi who was ordered to carry out an order. An executor, who, as usual, doesn't have many options."
"Will the Order help you?" Lorm said thoughtfully. "That's the question. Burying your head in the sand of Tatooine is one strategy. Or hasn't the policy regarding Jonal's betrayal taught you anything? The Council announced that Jonal died of old age, not by the sword of Dooku who executed him."
"They won't hide here, mentor. And the reason is precisely the effect of bota on a Gifted. You weren't a Shadow, but our regulations are actually quite simple. We not only kill Dark Siders, but also participate in hunting any things that can influence, operate, or change the polarity of the Force. Bota is one such thing. Revealing these properties could attract attention. The Order will be interested either in establishing a base on Drongar or in destroying this plant, because it is dangerous precisely due to the feeling of euphoria and omnipotence in a Gifted who takes the extract, since the effect is very fast. An almost instantaneous increase in power and fixing that power at a higher mark than before. A midi-chlorian count of nineteen thousand," I sighed, "and that's after a year and a half of active use."
"Will you disclose this information to the Council?"
"No, of course, I'm not a fool. I only reported the euphoric effect of bota. That should have already raised alarm... I'm more than sure they will authorize an operation to take control of Drongar."
This time the ship exited hyperspace near Lianna, a planet where the company Santhe/Sienar Technologies was located. Coincidentally, they were responsible for creating the Star Courier series of ships, to which mine belonged, though mine had been modified for the needs of a mercenary who served Plagueis.
"Master," came the beeping of BB, "you're being called on a secure channel."
Only the Order could call on a secure channel. They could contact me in various ways, but a secure channel a priori hinted at something interesting.
"I hope they won't sense the medallion," said Lorm, disappearing right in front of me. They shouldn't. I had sufficiently saturated this artifact with my Force. It could only be detected visually. But that's impossible over voice comm. I walked over to the holoterminal behind the cockpit and pressed the signal accept button. Before me appeared the figures of Yoda and a huge Wookiee, against whose background Yoda looked utterly tiny. He was hairy, like all members of his species, and dressed in light-toned clothing, or rather just a cloak. And I knew him... It was Tivokka, elevated to the High Council in place of Yula Braylon. The scandal with her had happened about six months ago; I had received information about her. She had violated the Jedi Code by conceiving a child, and when he was born Gifted and came to study in the Order, she volunteered to look after the younglings. Surprisingly, the Order couldn't figure out for quite a while that Arat Tarrex and Yula were mother and son. The latter had falsified genetic tests and analyses. Arat became a Knight under the guidance of his mother, who even took him as her Padawan.
Only recently he got caught robbing an ambassador with whom he had been sent on a diplomatic mission. He did it to pay off gambling debts. For that, he immediately ended up on the Shadows' radar. Naturally, the 'loving mother' tried to rescue her little boy, but one of the Shadows noted that she was too zealous and something was fishy. He started investigating why Yula suddenly decided to 'vouch' for the guilty Jedi. And he uncovered an extremely unpleasant fact. Everyone, as usual, thought of the classic scenario: a young Padawan, a mature woman who at the time of his Padawanship hadn't yet lost her natural beauty and physical fitness. But the truth turned out to be far more horrifying for the Jedi monks. Arat turned out to be simply her son.
And when the truth came out, some forty years after all the events, which even made Lorm freak out, the reaction was predictable. Arat was stripped of everything, thrown out onto the street, deprived of his Jedi rank. They didn't cut him off from the Force, because that punishment isn't practiced. Then the factor of the ambassador, with whom he was supposed to be on the diplomatic mission but whom he robbed, came into play. He used his connections, and the former Jedi was tried and then sentenced to about twenty years in prison. Deprived of the Order's protection, Arat went to jail. As for Yula Braylon, she was expelled from the High Council, forbidden to take a Padawan, and exiled to the Order's food supply mission, with a guard assigned. A massive Wookiee was appointed in her place.
"Grand Master Yoda, Master Tivokka," I bowed, greeting the members of the High Council.
"Uwaaaa," the Wookiee greeted me. Shyriiwook, or in common parlance: the Wookiee language, I had learned to understand perfectly. Though I still heard the same howling sounds.
"Light," Yoda nodded to me. "Glad to see you after so many years."
"Almost two years have passed," I noted.
"Feel stronger you have become... And interesting things you have sent to the Order, in recent times."
"Yes, Grand Master," I said. "Over this year and a half, I traveled through the north of the galaxy, even enrolled in distance learning at the Anaxis Citadel, for new knowledge."
"Glad to hear that not only in the Force you are progressing," said the dwarf. "But about your travels we wish to speak."
"The Order was interested in your report on the planet Drongar," began Tivokka. (Author's note — listen, let me write the Wookiee's speech as human, normal dialogue. Just keep in mind that the MC understands the Wookiee's growls as normal speech. And we're reading adventures from the MC's perspective here.)
"I figured as much, Master Tivokka. I stumbled upon Drongar completely by chance, perhaps by the will of the Force. A couple of weeks ago, when I started sending you reports about the planet, I came across a strange convoy guarded by 'Dreadnoughts.' And I decided to check what they were transporting. After all, those ships, according to databases, belonged to a trading company that, as it turned out, was suspected of being a firm linked to the criminal syndicate Black Sun. Intrigued, I continued the investigation and traced it to the planet. There I discovered an automated base for growing bota, a special medicinal plant."
"Only the Miracle of Iego, a pharmaceutical company, sold bota officially. Many tried to find out where they got this plant," growled the Wookiee, "but nothing came of it. We even sent a Jedi Knight to find out exactly where they got bota. But he disappeared, presumably died."
"Quite likely," I agreed.
"Something you know, that you haven't yet indicated in the report, hmm?" Yoda asked curiously.
"Correct," I confirmed. "The structure of the Black Sun, a criminal syndicate, is governed by the Vigo Council, each of whom is responsible for a certain part of the galaxy, which may include several sectors and systems. I managed to infiltrate their base and hack the computer. The Vigo responsible for this territory is one Jarko Itari," I brought up an image of the Anzati before the Masters.
"Hmm," Yoda looked at her thoughtfully.
"She is dangerous because she is a Gifted... Anzati."
"Anzati?" Tivokka repeated. "Is that the race that feeds on the brains of its victims?"
"Yes," Yoda confirmed, "the Anzati are a race sensitive to the Force, but due to their feeding method, they are dangerous and often turn to the Dark Side. They are inclined toward telepathy and mind control. There were Anzati among the Jedi; one of the most famous was Volfe Karkko."
"I've never heard that name," noted Tivokka.
"The Order tried to forget about him," noted Yoda. "One of the best he was, yes... But having tasted 'soup' that's what the Anzati call the brains of other sentients — he turned to the Dark Side. They imprisoned him."
"And why didn't they kill him?" I asked.
"The Council decided so; they cherished the hope that Wulff, upon learning of his fate, would begin the path to the light."
"Apparently, he got lost along the way, if he even started it," I chuckled.
"Hmm," Yoda looked at me carefully. "To current problems we will return. The property of bota that strengthens the Gifted, the Council considers dangerous."
"Yes," I agreed. "Most likely Jarko keeps this property in the strictest secrecy, but I found out about it. And... to be honest, I couldn't resist. I had to study the effect."
"And what is the result?" asked Yoda.
"A feeling of euphoria, omnipotence... One dose and the Force... seems to run wild. I believe that without proper control by the user, the chance of falling is high. Not even high, it's almost absolute. But that's not the worst part. Its use causes addiction. Because euphoria..."
"Doesn't just go away," continued Tivokka, "you'll want to try it again and again."
"Correct," I confirmed. "I was there only a couple of weeks and didn't fall into addiction. But I'm sure Jarko has such an addiction."
"She increases her power by taking bota. The Anzati are already strong in the Force," there was another important nuance. Bota could only enhance depending on how strong the Gifted was initially. In other words, the stronger the initial material, the better the effect was felt. That's why I had a jump of as much as five thousand midi-chlorians during my 'therapy.' And for Jarko, the effect wasn't as strong. Her body had long since gotten used to the 'weed' and didn't give the full effect. Still, she was a fairly strong telepath. "The Council believes that this resource cannot be left under the control of the Black Sun."
"I thought so too, which is why I destroyed their base with a strike from my starship. Bota is very sensitive to any changes in conditions. Literally anything can cause it to lose its properties or mutate. My strike on their plantation clearly disrupted their plans, but it is not a solution to the problem."
"The solution to the problem here is the capture of the Vigo and Drongar," noted Yoda.
"And that will be my new assignment?" I asked.
"Not only yours," said the Grand Master.
"I and my Padawan, Plo Koon, will join you, Light Flyingstar," said the Wookiee.
"Well, together it's more fun," I shrugged. This doesn't change the plans, except I'll have to hide the medallion well. "However, my ship and Master Tivokka's ship are clearly not enough to oppose the forces of the Black Sun. As someone who passed exams with honors at Anaxis, I tell you, even with the Stygium coating on my ship, it's a lost cause."
"The Council understands this," said Yoda. "Therefore, the operation will be under the aegis of the Jedi. Where you and Master Tivokka will be the commanders."
Excellent, I'll get to test what I learned at the Academy in practice. That's better than running simulation programs, which too often resemble strategy games... And that's not even considering the interesting cases on the 'commander vs commander' simulators. Some students, during 'multiplayer games' that is, fleet competitions between one Academy student's fleet and another's on a simulation program — managed to hack it and get either god mode, unlimited credits, or instant construction. Needless to say, such an exam became torture for those who wanted to play fair. We only had two such exams during the entire time. After the second one, which I passed only on the third try because some damn idiot cracked the distribution of his simulator, and the examiners frankly didn't care about the incident, I gave up and finished my studies as an external student. I don't have time to suffer from cheaters in an elite military academy.
"What will we be commanding, Grand Master?" I asked.
"The Judicial Forces," the Wookiee answered for Yoda. "We will need to act quickly. Carry out the arrest of Senator Nelson, on whom you dropped kompromat, and strike at Drongar."
"A strike on Drongar and the station is good, Master, but we must not forget about Jorka Itari," I said seriously. "Who knows who else she has under her thumb. Maybe not only Senator Nelson? It's no secret to me that the Judicial Forces are frankly not succeeding in their activities. She, as a Vigo and a Gifted, and with her 'brain-sucking methods,' can cause problems."
"Her own methods?"
"Yes, Grand Master," I nodded. "She has learned to restrain the absorption, stretching the process, as it seems to me, over years. During this, the victim receives something like... sexual pleasure, in simple terms — an orgasm. She probably stimulates the corresponding brain areas while extracting part of its tissue. At least that's what I understood from her slip-ups. Additionally, she can use telekinesis at an advanced level and even demonstrated Force Choke. She wields a vibroblade and a blaster. I can't say at what level. But what's dangerous is something else — she is a quite capable organizer and a skilled leader. Ignoring her existence and simply taking Drongar would be foolish. In the sense that we would also allow the appearance of her victims, or rather the victims of her peculiarity."
"Agree I do," said Yoda thoughtfully, after all my words. "What do you suggest?"
"Physical elimination," I answered. "Destruction."
"Just like that?" asked Tivokka. "Jedi are not assassins."
"We are guardians of peace. And for the sake of peace, sometimes we have to get dirty, Master Tivokka," I looked at him. "Jarko Itari is primarily dangerous to those around her. Therefore, I believe we shouldn't play around with her; we should simply kill her."
"Difficult this is, but with Light I agree. The Anzati will not come to her senses, no matter what words we prepare for her. Therefore Light participates. His duty this is. Your duty, Master Tivokka, is to oversee the attack. On Iego you must meet. And gather there the forces of the Judicial Forces. I have contacted the Corps. Forces they will provide."
"I only hope they will be worthy," I snorted, "otherwise an inglorious end awaits us. The Black Sun is not a force that will fear the fact that they are being attacked by Jedi."
"Worry not, both of you," said Yoda. "The Order will do everything necessary for you to succeed."
"Glad to hear that. Then see you on Iego," I nodded. "Grand Master Yoda, Master Tivokka," I said goodbye.
"May the Force be with you."
* * *
Iego was a well-known planet among the surrounding sectors. Quite developed in terms of technology, a transport hub and… connected to some corruption schemes. Among other things, ships of the Black Sun passed through it. To avoid showing myself prematurely, I preferred to land the ship outside the spaceport, not far from the capital city. Naturally, I slipped in under invisibility so they couldn't detect me. I also ordered BB to keep the ship under invisibility, simply memorizing the surrounding terrain. I landed the ship in a clearing in a patch of woods. The planet belonged to the Republic, relatively nominally. Iego had long become a "smugglers' " planet and had a corresponding reputation, even considering the fact that the headquarters of the Judicial Forces were stationed there. But — that structure either didn't want to, or couldn't do anything about the smugglers. And it was on Iego that I was to meet with Tivokki and Plo Koon…