"By the way," I turned my attention to Revan. "I never told you about my romantic exploits. Were you looking through my memories?"
The ghost of Revan usually, when nothing was bothering him, stood and stared into space. Revan himself, by his own account, was in the afterlife in a place with benevolent Force-sensitives. I'd asked him if he saw Bastila, and he'd answered affirmatively. As for the question of him seeing my memories — that worried me. From the very beginning, I considered my knowledge of the future my absolute monopoly. It was a strategic advantage over Palpatine and Damask. No matter what intrigues they wove, knowing a lot, I could seriously salt their game.
"Hmm?" Revan turned his attention to me. "Yes… I think if I use that particular Force technique… But I need a decent, living vessel," he said aloud. "Huh? Did you ask something?"
"Master Revan," I ground out, "I asked you a whole question. Now it looks like I'll have to ask two! What is 'that' Force technique? And why do you need a living vessel?!"
"That's three," Revan noted. "Well, I'll answer in order. First — yes, I saw your recent memories. Surprisingly, I managed to glimpse your memory from about thirteen to twenty years old. Earlier, that is from birth to twelve — I couldn't see. Not enough time. I looked into your mind when you gave me control to transfer HK to you. Second — that Force technique is related to the third question, and third — I need it for your training."
"My training?" I asked Revan.
"You know, at first I didn't care what was happening now. You don't know my descendants, the Sith have changed, the Jedi too. The galaxy's logic remains the same, but the changed factions of Force-sensitives… Anyway, it's no longer my war," Revan shrugged. "But listening to your stories, I realized I couldn't. No matter how hard I tried, I can't just walk away. Returning to the Force, I still think about where we ended up… The Sith read my research and transformed into Bane's Order. From my words, my studies of the Sith path, Bane created his rule and his Order, which would crush the Republic. That's partly my responsibility. You, boy, are quite strong. You have potential equal to mine, or to Steyri's. A strong Force-sensitive without proper training is practically a nobody. And I gave you training. My knowledge of tactics and strategy was based on old ship specifications; I could only offer you some tricks that work in any era," like unexpected maneuvers, especially during planetary combat, where Revan recommended attacking supply nodes simultaneously with a frontal assault. Classic, according to textbooks I'd received long ago. "I loaded you with philosophy, trying to develop your own view of the Force, because when you're confident in your convictions about the Force, you're far stronger than those who simply blindly follow a preset, sometimes not even understanding half of it. And I also trained you in Force Techniques. I gave you trials on Lehon, made you push beyond your limits in every training session, because it's a well-known fact — the harder the obstacle, the better you become after overcoming it." Oh yes, his famous, sadistic training with rancors, fighting HK-47, feral Rakata that showed up once, and not only that… Revan squeezed everything out of me, sometimes putting me on the brink of life and death. "And finally — you fought a prepared, unrestrained HK who attacked unexpectedly and defeated him… I'm satisfied with your progress. Our training is excellent, no argument, but it's not enough. A final stage is needed… The essence of every apprenticeship, whether Jedi, Sith, or even Matukai, is that you surpass your master. Not necessarily in everything, but that you develop those skills and traits in which you are better than your master. However you call yourself a Shadow, your specialization is direct combat."
"But I've attacked indirectly so many times…"
"Yes, but don't forget how excellently you master both Soresu and Ataru, and a basic foundation in other forms. And your Jar'Kai is polished enough. And your Force Techniques are practically created for effective confrontation against almost any enemy. So, you must become better than your master. You're already certainly better than your initial knight-mentor, Lorm Decer. You're probably better than that second one too… An'ya Kuro…"
"I doubt the last one. Kuro always has some ace up her sleeve, a trump card that can turn almost any situation upside down. She's a Shadow, after all."
"We're talking about direct combat; if you take that purely, you'd probably defeat her, but if you add her specialties, a possible attack from a blind spot, traps, and so on, then yes — for now, your experience might not be enough for her. But physically, we've almost hit the ceiling," Revan said. "Now me. I'm your current mentor. You know what I've done with you. You've become better at using Force techniques, concentrating faster, attacking with them. And controlling them. But, as I said, that's not all. The final exam is ahead. And here I'll give you a 'homework assignment.' To test you, boy, I need a free body…"
"You're planning to use possession?" I asked Revan.
"Mmm, yes," the man nodded, "you're right. I intend to possess a living being and test all your abilities in practice."
"So, are there any requirements for the living being?"
"Only that it wouldn't be alive in the sense that I wouldn't have to take its life, and that it could, in theory, operate the Force. We want to test you fully, after all. For that, I need a fair fight. It would be good if the subject had sufficient potential in the Force; after all, I'm used to using techniques without too many restrictions. Without that, the exam would be boring."
"To realize your potential — to fight against Revan? I want to. No, I understand he's dangerous. But dammit... I want to test myself completely. Fighting small-time fallen Jedi and other Dark-aligned Force-sensitives won't let me truly understand what I'm capable of. Even with Jarko, I was practically toying with her. But a fight with someone like Revan... But... a simple body won't do for him... No, I need something durable, unique, and with an affinity for the Force... And also someone I definitely wouldn't mind cutting to shreds. My mood kept sliding into a pit of anticipation. I'm about to fight the Black Sun again... But after that, I can get to Revan's exam... The only question is, what would suit him? Ideally, someone with a talent for the Force... Or exceptional endurance, since a living organism can't handle Revan's Force if it doesn't have enough potential... But there's the rub — not every Force-sensitive is suitable for hosting someone as powerful as Revan. So we scratch that and look for an enduring body that can compensate for the obvious difference in Force power through its natural, physical stamina... Revan... Yeah, that's it...
"You've thought of something," Revan noted, seeing my expression change. The ship had entered Rishi's orbit, and there was a noticeable stir out here. Two whole Dreadnaughts were floating in orbit, along with three Gozantis and at least a squadron of small craft. They weren't stopping anyone, but they were clearly scanning.
"That's right," I agreed. "I have. Finding you a sentient with high Force potential is almost a lost cause. A body from a Master Jedi on the High Council would suit you. Each of them has enough talent, a fine body for hosting. But why would you need that?" The ghost looked at me curiously. "You need an exam, not a permanent host, right?"
"Right."
"So it can be temporary. There's no need to find a worthy candidate who can 'withstand' your Force for a long time — you just need someone who won't fall apart for at least thirty minutes, and I have a whole group of such 'candidates'... On Jebble."
"Jebble?" Revan asked. "Cassus Fett nuked that planet. It's in the same sector as Taris, where..."
"Where you essentially began your redemption," I noted. "Your contemporary — the Jedi Zayne Carrick — sealed someone named Celeste Morne there on Jebble. Essentially a colleague of mine in the craft."
"Hmm, Alek mentioned Carrick. I recall that kid once interfered with my purchase of a batch of exogorths," those creatures that tried to swallow the Millennium Falcon in Episode Five. A terrifying monster.
Exogorth.
"Really? I don't remember those details, but there's another nuance. Zayne Carrick imprisoned not only Celeste in Dreypa's Oubliette, but also the Sith talisman of Muur."
"Sith talismans are not toys, Light..."
"Oh, I can see that from watching you," I remarked.
"Hah," he snorted. "Keep it up, and you might develop a sense of humor."
"Muurs talisman," I continued, "allows you to create and control rakghouls..."
"Rakghouls?" he asked. "You mean those creatures... I see. There were even nekghouls among the rakghouls that could use the Force."
Rakghoul.
Nekghoul.
"Correct. Physically, they have excellent bodies, and some of them can even manipulate the Force."
"And you want me to inhabit a nekghoul, then fight you..."
"Yes, they partly resemble humans, which you once were. So the fight would feel, in a way, like fighting you. A developed body will let you use almost all your physical abilities, and the nekghoul's Force talent will allow you to use the Force. Since it's just a monster, you don't even have to worry about your Force destroying the body."
"There is one catch with rakghouls, Light," Revan said. "Any bite or scratch will infect you with the rakghoul plague. After a while, that pretty face of yours will turn... well, not so pretty."
"It might affect me, but I have a counter. The rakghoul plague was created through the Force. Even without a cure, I can suppress it. Besides, I've studied the Matukai techniques — if you recall, my body hasn't been that of an ordinary sentient for a long time."
"That's true," Revan noted. "Well then. So the next stop, after the fight with the Black Sun, is Jebble."
"Right. And we don't have to see Luna's campaign through to the end. If I can expose Damask's machinations with the Black Sun — especially Kabra's — and maybe even tie Palpatine into it, I can walk away from this war."
"Dream on," Revan said. "They're hardly idiots enough to send someone like a singer along with Alexi Garyn to belt out: 'The current Black Sun boss, Kabra, works for the Sith! The Sith are Damask and Palpatine! Jedi, paint your targets!' That's at least stupid..."
"And at most — funny. Still, I might find other useful information. After all, they're not that different from the Exchange..."
"In terms of influence, definitely," Revan noted.
* * *
Rishi is already a familiar planet to me. Flying past all the checkpoints without much trouble, and even getting a warning to "not cause too much trouble," I landed in a large city that had a reputation among pirates, smugglers... In short, a good reputation among all kinds of scum. Renting a hangar in the spaceport under another fake name, I set out to do what I loved most — gathering information. Jedi preliminary reconnaissance almost always gave a reasonably accurate assessment of things. But it always described the situation in general terms. And I'd already learned to trust only my own eyes and my own hands. Everything else is situational and relative. So on Rishi, I once again used my favorite cocktail of recon techniques. Force Cloak helped avoid attracting the attention of sentients. And Sensory Perception let me catch snippets of rumors that might prove useful for the mission.
Rishi had changed. In the planet's capital, which smugglers had taken a liking to, you could find a huge number of pirates, mercenaries, and bandits of every stripe. A major bloodbath was brewing, and I was partly responsible for it. From what I understood, Jarko Itari's own people were thinking about taking her out. Her ambitions stretched far beyond the position of Vigo — she clearly wanted to rule the Syndicate instead of Kabra. And if her own people had eliminated her, everything would have been peaceful. Internal conflicts like that are entirely possible within a structure like a syndicate. Sure, most of the Vigos are disciplined and subordinate to a common goal, but sometimes they break loose — they're criminals, the scum of society, what can you expect? As Revan had already noted: the lower the faction, the less understanding of honor, reason, and subordination there is. Trash can't live by any kind of rule. That applies both to their treatment of ordinary sentients and to their relationships with each other. That's just the way it is...
But because I got involved, and then the Republic and the Jedi — Gaven Hornly and his commanders, as well as the Hutts — decided the Syndicate was too weakened and started acting openly. That's what triggered the current situation. Taking out the Itari cell had undermined the Black Sun, however insignificantly. The cell was held together by fanatical loyalty to Jarko herself, so her people, upon seeing their leader's death, laid down their arms far too quickly — though some dreamed of revenge. Still, Jarko's entire army, and the fleet of her cell, which by the way was one of the strongest the organization's Vigos could field, quickly fell apart... The fleet was utterly destroyed, with my help. The army was mostly either wiped out or captured. Rare, statistically insignificant groups of Jarko's bandits returned to the organization. It wasn't critical damage, but it was noticeable.
Naturally, the Hutts and Gaven himself became active. Apparently, they had an alliance with each other... So... we clearly have two factions... Gaven Hornly sees an opportunity: eliminating one of the candidates for the new Vigo of the organization, Alexi Garyn, and further dealing defeats to the Syndicate could lead to a new criminal organization rising here under his rule. The Hutts... probably want to seize the resource points, bases, and production facilities of the Black Sun Syndicate's criminal business, and they certainly wouldn't mind having Hornly as a vassal. Or as a debtor... Though the first option is preferable. That would strengthen the Hutt Cartel many times over. So if Hornly's forces fight at full strength, the Hutts will clearly try to hold back, so they can later tell Hornly: "Heel, you cur.".. And the Black Sun, in the person of Alexi Garyn, certainly wants to restore its reputation and crush Gaven Hornly... The war against the Hutts is unlikely to continue if you remove Gaven himself from the equation. Most likely, the Hutts and the Black Sun, once Gaven's organization is eliminated, would go their separate ways, back home. The Hutts would realize that the Black Sun can still hit back. So this whole conflict comes down to the person of Gaven Hornly himself. And to defuse it, he would have to be eliminated.
Where is Hornly? On his Dreadnought, in the Rishi system. I found that out by eavesdropping on stories from Luna PMC people. They usually kept to themselves, with an air that said, "Get close and you'll get a hole between the eyes.".. But even so, I managed to eavesdrop on them. All that's left is to arrange a meeting with Gaven himself. I'm thinking — and I dare to hope — on a broader scale. Eliminating Gaven Hornly right now would get me nothing. Based on the information I managed to glean from studying the Star Wars universe, Kabra, the current leader of the Black Sun, works together with Hego Damask. That very fact stopped me from doing what I should have done in this current situation as a Jedi Shadow Knight. Namely, simply cutting down every leader I could get my hands on. But... defeating a pair of Sith — Plagueis and Sidious — by killing them is almost impossible. They've already done too much damage, and on top of that, in the eyes of the galaxy, they're perfectly respectable sentients. So I need proof of their filth — evidence that could sink Sidious's political career, even if he becomes Supreme Chancellor, even in a cesspit like the Galactic Republic Senate. And I can get that kind of evidence...
The thread from Gaven Hornly leads to his former colleague Alexi Garyn, who was responsible for eliminating Gaven's former employer, Dalridan. And from Alexi Garyn, the thread leads to his direct superior — Kabra. And even though Alexi will most likely physically eliminate Kabra in the future and become the organization's new boss, right now I can, in theory, piece together some information bit by bit... Or find nothing. In that case, I'll just kill everyone: destroy Gaven and his organization, but first thin out the Black Sun as much as possible, using the Hutts and Luna. In this mess — I absolutely couldn't care less about the cost or the casualties. These are bandits fighting; if not me, someone else would have to clean them out anyway.
It was already dark when I sensed a Force-sensitive — one far too powerful to be Nira, one of Gaven's subordinates, or Gaven himself. Alexi Garyn is also Force-sensitive... But the point is, whether it's Nira, Gaven Hornly, or Alexi Garyn — they were all too weak to be taken into the Jedi Temple. Some minor Force tradition might have trained them, but not the Jedi. And I was sensing, it seemed, a Jedi. He was barely hiding. A spy from the Order? No, for espionage they usually send a Shadow... A fellow corpsman of mine wouldn't be so easily detected by me. Sensory Perception would have done its job, sure, but not this quickly. But this individual seemed to be constantly flickering at the edge of my consciousness. And yet this sentient clearly couldn't sense me because of my Force Cloak. That's how well I'd honed it...
Jarko only sensed me at the very last moment. And even then, she dodged not so much due to Sensory Perception, but because of the predatory instincts of an anzati, who hunt for "soup." But this Force-sensitive was behaving far too calmly... I stepped into an alley. Time to find out who it was. Using the Force and three leaps, I jumped onto the roof of a three-story building and approached the edge from which I could sense the Force-sensitive. Standing right at the edge, I took a breath of the night air and focused. My Sensory Perception spread out about three kilometers around me. If I entered meditation and partially dropped my cloak, I could cover a greater distance. Found it... The aura was calm, light, and structured. Clearly well-trained. Distance... Two kilometers three hundred and ten meters. From the looks of it, the aura's owner was in a cantina, surrounded by other sentients. Probably an observer from the Order after all...
For a spy, he was poorly hidden. Ideally, you should use Force Cloak and Sensory Perception to stay unnoticed and listen to information. But as I'd already noted, the aura's owner was, you could say, not hiding at all. Jumping to the next roof, on a building about three meters away, I headed toward the aura's owner. I didn't drop the cloak as I moved... My Force potential is far too high — everyone would sense me, including, most likely, Nira. And I wanted to stay incognito for now. Leaping from building to building, I stopped right on the roof of the cantina where the Force-sensitive was. I need to lure him out. If I go inside, I'll be exposed immediately — even the cloak won't help. I'm too close, my clothes are too distinctive, and a well-trained Force-sensitive won't be fooled. How will he react? Who knows, so it's better to lure him into some alley. How? The solution came quickly... The cantina was busy — sentients were constantly coming and going. So I waited, discreetly caught one sentient who had already softened his brain with alcohol, and planted in his mind the idea of committing the most trivial theft. I pointed out the exact location of my target to the short Twi'lek, then I went back to the roof and waited.
The result came thirty seconds later. As I'd expected, the Jedi didn't draw their saber right in the cantina, compromising their cover, but instead chased after the thief. The Twi'lek led him — actually, judging by the build, her — into an alley.
"Return my things," she decided to use Force suggestion. The woman-knight's voice was calm and clear. Her body was wrapped in a cloak. I could tell from here that she was tall.
Well... Time to get acquainted with a colleague from the Order. I jumped down, trying to pin her to the ground, but she dodged... The woman turned out to be a Nurian. Her dark skin was almost invisible in the night, but I recognized her eyes — the kind that Nurians had. The eyes consisted of vertical black stripes set in an orange iris. She quickly realized I was Force-sensitive and was about to activate her lightsaber, but I was faster, pulling it from under her cloak into my hand. How cliché to hang a saber on your belt on the opposite side from your dominant hand and hide it under a cloak?
"I don't think you should be waving that weapon around here," I said, shaking my head.
"Who are you? And what do you want?" the Nurian asked.
I looked at the Twi'lek I'd used as a means to attract the pretty Nurian Jedi's attention, then said:
"Sleep." The man, under the Force's influence, passed out. "The more appropriate question is who you are, Jedi Knight, and what you're doing here."
"Answering a question with a question is impolite, especially to a lady."
"You clearly haven't noticed, dear lady, but I'm the only one here with a weapon. So let's use rule number zero from the etiquette book."
"Which one? I haven't heard of that..."
"It goes like this: if you have a weapon and your opponent doesn't, then you're the one in charge of the conversation. Then again... You're clearly an intelligent woman and can probably guess who I am and what I belong to."
"A Shadow," she guessed. "I didn't sense you until the very last moment, when you clearly made your intention known. Were you trying to show off your abilities?"
"To study yours," I corrected her. "I am indeed a Shadow. My name shouldn't concern you, but if you doubt it, I can transmit my code. You can enter it into the database to confirm I'm not lying to you." Shadows use that for identification. We aren't always obligated to reveal our names. But the code will simply say: yes, he's that Jedi, or no.
"That won't be necessary; I don't sense any deception in your words. I am Jedi Master Tal; you can just call me Tal," she introduced herself. So that's it. A Nurian and that name... She's the Master that Qui-Gon Jinn was in love with? "But, I assume you're not here on the Council's orders," she guessed.
I returned her lightsaber. She clearly understands I told the truth. Can she sense truth and falsehood? A novice using that technique is easy to fool, but she's a Jedi Master. And she's clearly not new to this.
"Correct. You know we can act at our own discretion unless ordered otherwise, yes?" I inquired. "So I'm here of my own free will. There are some things I intend to accomplish here. And you... were sent as an observer for the military conflict?"
"Yes," the Nurian agreed. "My assignment is to report all movements of all participating factions to the Temple. The Order is concerned about this conflict. The Republic is unlikely to intervene. As far as they're concerned, no matter how many criminals die, it's a good thing," she said sadly.
"A very stupid approach. This isn't a war of annihilation. The victor captures the loser's resources, thus becoming stronger," I said. "But are you here alone? Is there no one else with you?"
"There will be other Jedi from the Order for this involvement, but only if the Order decides to intervene."
"I see," I said.
"What are you planning?" Tal asked simply. "Do you intend to eliminate the bandit leaders?"
She knows the specifics of Shadow work. But no... As I already noted — for now, they all need to stay alive.
"Not yet," I answered laconically, crossing my arms over my chest. "We'll see after. Well, Master Tal, it was nice to meet you. Now that I know you're here, I'll act with your presence in mind. I'll inform you of any actions I take that are of a global nature. For now, keep my presence here secret. Shadows need to work in shadow... If you need anything," I activated the transmission, "here are my contacts."
The woman accepted them.
"Then you..."
"I don't need yours," I smirked. "I'm a Shadow, remember?"
"You can find them in the database," she guessed. "In that case, may the Force be with you."
"And with you, Master Tal. I'll contact you soon."
The Nurian Tal.