Planet Gand, Pef Empire

On board the Celestial Throne

25 BBY

Vette looked at my head, where the armor had a photoreceptive band then lowered her eyes towards the hole made by the proton torpedo in my chest. Now I knew how the Death Star felt, before it died. Cheated.

"I thought you said Jedi are weaklings...nothing more than crazed fanatics with glowing sticks..." she wondered, patting her own armor on the chest with worry.

"Most of them yes. This one didn't even have a lightsaber. And because of that, she was stronger, faster and smarter. I can deal with a hundred lightsabers, but a smart Jedi? Kriffing dangerous..." I explained, while dismantling my old armor and starting assembling a Cataphract power armor variant.

Quadruple phrik alloy all over, no matter the cost. 100 millions per armor was still nothing. Barely worth an entire space station.

"Huh, if you were organic, she'd make a good wife, eh?" Dora asked, rising an eyebrow with amusement. Her eyes lingered lustily over my droid chassis, like I was in my underwear now. Which, I kinda was...

"Except Jedi don't marry...most of the time" I muttered, running defrag and debug over the droid processors. 90% fried when the pulse went off. Only my newly learned energy absorption saved the day. Maybe coat the droid in an ionizing resistant coating? Some kind of artificial skin?

I called a new droid and went in bathroom to change. I mean, exit the chassis and enter the new one.

Open new partition, project Slipskin. Test organic materials for ion weapons resistance. A Vong captive would be useful now.

Maybe one of the dragon species floating the galaxy in vacuum?

I could make myself a dragon avatar too...

"Pef, you're taking a leak?" Vette yelled from outside the bathroom door.

"I'm changing my clothes!" I yelled back, annoyed. The girl was fun, but also highly irritant.

"What, you were naked in there?" she asked curious, after I walked out in my new droid. She kept walking around my new chassis, and checking me up and down.

"I already saw him naked. Even took a bath with him, he's so cute..." Dora commented, her attention focused on her datapad, and my plans for Centrality.

Always have your plans looked at by a novice. If they spot obvious flaws, makes your chances of accomplishing the task much safer. And Dora had already spotted a few. A droid chassis had no chance to compete for scrivener elections. Damn discrimination and racism. I'll have to wait for an organic avatar.

"No way...you two...in the jacuzzi...naked..." Vette stuttered, looking at us with a mix of emotions, from envy, to embarrassment and arousal. What was the crazy girl thinking it happened in the tub? I wasn't a crystal dildo...

"If only my blue and fabulous maid would love me more, and think about my goals! I could make her my Voice, and share glorious baths with her too!" I proclaimed, punching the sky dramatically.

"Not fair! Everyone has fun and adventures except me! I'm going out. The Hutts might have found new weapons for me" Vette complained, stomping out of my apartments, and bashing a droid with her power armored hand. Another 1123 credits...

Whatever. Let's see now, add a pair of droideka sensors on my helmet, since they used different frequencies than just visible light. Might come handy someday, if another sneaky force-user blindsides me.

Extendable vibroblades in the armguards.

Micro-missile launcher. Concussion, incendiary, ion charge, flashbang.

Sleeping gas dispenser, acid capsule, nerve gas...yeah. Sometimes I might need to be ultra lethal.

I'll need to learn the tricks from Jal Shey too. Those gloves were amazing. Maybe imbue my armor too.

Now let's see. Alchemy rituals. Call on the spirits, let your mind bring the symbols from your desires...errr.

A violet sphere with Latin words floating around appeared around the power armor, the words red and blue, and linked with golden threads.

Damn magic. Latin wasn't gonna be invented for a billion years, and that in a galaxy far far away.

Whatever. Potentia...that was strength. Animus... was spirit.

On the vibroblades, scribe Vici...conquer.

On the photoband, scribe Vidi...seeing.

On the chest, defendarius. Pretty much rune magic. And on the boots, Mobilitas et Levitas.

My future Astartes soldiers will wear similar armor one day, while they battle the xeno and defend the realms of men...

The magic subsided, and I began examining the new armor. Didn't seem much different. The words were just faint golden tattoos.

Let's hop in and power up with the Force.

Ah. Much better now. I could see more clearly, even change bands and see where Vette has dropped cake on the floor.

Okay, maybe a bit too much.

'Pef. The evil woman wants to know how you found her and how many holocrons you have' Lira, my togruta Voice, sent through the bond, clear as if she was in the room. That was the animus, perhaps.

'I found her reading the past. And I have more than one holocron. Ask her how many she has read' I answered at once. Lira seemed in pain.

'Okay she has stopped choking us. She says she wants proof'

'Dathomir, Talzin, sold' I transmitted, knowing some of her past already.

'Hey, it worked. Seems we're coming back alive, after all...' Lira sent with some relief in her aura.

'You will never die Lira. Immortal in the Force' I sent back and let the Voice bond fade.

Planet Gand, Pef Empire

Celestial Throne, the Redbox.

25 BBY

Luxum entered the room and gave me a hug, then turned towards the holotable, depicting the approximate routes of the holocrons.

The pilots were instructed to change course randomly, and even head down or up the galactic disc. The ships would be in a sector we could predict, but even we wouldn't know exactly their position. Safer that way.

"Well done Luxum. 11 billion people get to survive now. And you made 500 billion credits too. Quite an improvement" I said with an admiring tone.

"I murdered people Pef. Maybe bad people...but..." the Iron Maid said with grief and guilt in her aura. Okay, maybe it was time for another type of Voice. A builder not a destroyer.

"No Luxum. I ordered the operation, I bear the blame. You only sliced some networks and acquired funds to save your people. Go and make sure they survive. Planetary shields, orbital platforms, factories, shipyards...you know my goals. See you later, dear maid" I replied, patting her shoulder.

"Yeah. I'll do that..." Luxum answered with resolve in her aura, and glided away.

Her apprentice, the Tsil crystal remained in the room, looking around curious.

"Strange teachings for your followers, Balanced One. Randomness here, building civilizations there. Opposing the whole galaxy, and saving them too, if they agree to listen" Ray said, mixing words with telepathic images of skyscrapers and butterflies flying in zigzags. Their kind was even more alien that I expected. Or maybe Luxum had the Jedi Knight background, and seemed more familiar.

"Your own race keeps the galaxy safe from the plague, pretty maid. We all do as we must" I mused, calculating timetables and growth rates for my empire. Not enough ships, not soon enough.

I needed a thousand times more shipyards. Not enough workforce, or technology, or factories.

I had to keep investing, to make the sector rich and flourishing, to accelerate the technology race.

Find more unique individuals whom the Force guided and protected. Maybe some of those changelings, or famous bounty hunters.

A couple of droids who broke their restraining bolts and were sapient and independent.

Ancient tech, from the Kwa, or the Celestials and the Rakata. Miracles were happening every day in this galaxy, you just had to keep your eyes open. And have large enough pockets.

Cloning tech, a few samples already obtained from the Hutts, but buggy and unreliable. Send more Findsmen out there, risk their lives for a chance at a better future.

"The light weakness the plague, but it will come back. It always does" Ray answered, showing me dead cities and burning ruins.

"An antidote then. Use Vong biology, and gene-tech to obtain it. Save the galaxy, sunshine" I told the Tsil, who was possibly not a female, nor young. Seemed too wise for either.

"Fight shadow with darkness, and hope to bring light to the other side. A wise droid once said" The crystal maid mused, and left as well. I sent the codes to give her access to funds and ships and probe droids. Maybe she can find a way.

Zuckuss remained silent, working on the holoprojections, only rarely twitching in pain, as his new fingers were raw and sensitive.

I stood beside him in silence, watching the Empire grow in slow motion. Too slow, for a galaxy this large and dangerous.

"Dark healing is kriffing painful" he said after a few hours.

My hand fell on his shoulder and I pulsed revitalize and reinforcement, making him glow white for a second.

Damn Gand, too proud to ask for help.

"We'll rest when we're dead, my friend" I said softly, and went to meet Wialu at the hangar bay.

She was positively glowing with contentment, the Voice bond singing with joy.

Guess she found the Sith then.

As the hangar door opened, I looked at her with amazement. She had become younger and more beautiful.

Her hair was half brunette now, and the lines on her face had vanished. If she kept growing stronger, she'll be like that Jedi woman, biologically immortal.

She might not need me soon...

"Hey Pef. Don't fall in love now, we have work to do" Wialu spoke crisply, probably misreading my long stare.

Or maybe not. She could feel me through the bond too.

Vera appeared as well, her faceplate open and looking around curious.

Lots of shield screens and scanners and slicer droids, plus a ton of defensive emplacements each with different weapons and designs.

I was now possibly the largest individual buyer of advanced tech in the galaxy. Already corporations were sending me prospects and bragging when I bought some of their inventions. Being stupidly rich had its perks too.

What I needed was a planet full of people, and ready to be taken over and industrialized.

And lots more force-users.

I went to hug my maids, grabbing them both to my armor's chest.

"Welcome home. Anything new?"

"Schematics for a Sith interceptor fighter. Can track things through hyperspace. And has cloak too." Wialu said, with the tone of wife dangling her bra in front of me.

Yeah, exactly like that.

"Mhhmm. I think I've seen one already. A Jedi variant though. The lady pilot kicked my ass and left me wanting more..." I muttered in disgrace.

"I see. Come to my rooms in half an hour. We'll have long bath in the jacuzzi and you can tell me everything, poor droid" My Fallanassi maid said in a seductive voice, patting my shoulder as she glided past me, still radiating glory and contentment.

I stared after her in confusion.

"Pef, you're so kriffed." Vera, my red twi'lek maid added, with a commiserating voice.

Huh. I suspected Wialu might actually do it, wrong species or not. I hoped so too.

Planet Sanctuary, Pef Empire

The silent circle

In the middle of a pine forest, on an uninhabited island in the middle of large lake, there's another forest.

The olbio trees I imported from Myrkr are growing here. And in those trees, lazing around, or playing between leaves, live a thousand ysalamiri.

And beneath the forest, there's a special place now. A Rakata force field emitter buried deep under a bunker is forming an impenetrable barrier around the island, and is protected by a legion of droids, and a theater shield and a hundred missiles launchers.

Disguised ray shields and particle shields and ion cannons and masers. Everything my empire could do, while still being secretive, has done.

A hiding place for our holocrons. A few houses, covered in armor and then with moss and grass like hobbit dwellings, dot the island, housing the students and the keepers.

A number of Fallanassi and Jal Shey and even a few Zeison Sha along with a few younger Sith from the former Sorcerers of Tund live here and study the holocrons.

And now, I do too. So much wealth of knowledge. Damn Jedi and their secrets. After I absorb another holocron, I breathe and meditate and try to learn the secrets of the Rakata tech. So far I reached maybe 4 percent.

But one day, one day I will learn enough to dismantle it and reverse engineer it. Maybe a thousand years from now, but time is less of a factor now.

Some holocrons were locked, either by lacking a kyber crystal key, or having enough force connection and knowledge to convince the AI guardian to open it. But slowly, one by one get unlocked and reveal more secrets, from hidden historical facts, to locations of artifacts and obscure sects.

But the most valuable one was the Adas's holocron the first original holocron made by those not Rakata. It contained the very essence of the former Sith ruler Adas, who learned the technology of making holocrons from the Rakatans themselves about 27 millennia ago.

And the spirit, just like Andeddu, was using mind alter liberally, influencing anyone in range.

But unlike Andeddu, he wasn't willing to come out and play, and enter a soul snare.

Just seemed content to weed out the weak, and test the courage of those trying to learn, by abusing fear and psychosis and dozens similar abilities.

Pretty much impossible to use, unless you were also an AI, or a mind alter Master like Wialu. And even then, the spirit restricted his knowledge to old histories and images, and said nothing of force abilities or artifacts.

That's why I had a few Sith younglings brought here. Adas still felt a connection to his race, and was willing to teach them scraps of knowledge, every word worth diamonds.

Calming them and healing their minds of nightmares was worth it, when put in balance.

Every single student was instructed to inquire of different subjects, from teleportation devices, to shields and weapons and scanners. Adas sometimes said he didn't know of a subject, but I wasn't gonna believe him.

He was hailed as Sith'ari in Sith legends. That meant he held the entire knowledge of his race, for those times.

And considering he learned from Rakata and even drove them away from Korriban, he had to know much more.

Another matter of just biding my time, and sacrificing innocents. I got quite good a doing that.

Take another breath, and then a break. Even the Jedi Holocrons contained entire libraries, and were overwhelming to absorb.

And sifting through gigabytes of gibberish of theology for a scrap of useful information was mind boggling. The Jedi were absolute masters at saying deluge of words for hours and hours while still saying nothing.

Shift+delete, another gigabyte of lectures. A single word in a billion mattered. Tython.

Connect to my ship, encrypt the text in English, then a dozen other keys, send to third Hand. Another batch of fresh Findsmen, now newly promoted Captains, will begin searching the Deep Core. Maybe a few will survive and not end up in my prison.

I could use more Hands. But they'll have to prove themselves, or get favor with the Force. Either possibility was great.

"Join me for lunch, dear Pef. I wanna talk to you about something" Wialu asked me, again using the harsher voice.

Man, these women were abusing me!

And Wialu, quite literally. Not that I was complaining... I got see her beauty inside and out.

And I got to test various forms of vibration abilities...

Anyway.

"Of course, adored Voice. Your will is my will" I answered politely, raising from the kneeling stance and following Wialu into her hut.

She sampled the meal my droids made, and nodded almost content.

"Your cooking skills are getting better, adored Emperor. I want to select a successor, for the Fallanassi" she said, watching me intently.

Huh. That was something, alright.

"I see. You used me and now you're leaving me. Oh poor fate, why am I so unfortunate!" I wailed, shaking my head, and sobbing fakely.

"Moron! Why would I leave a trillionaire Emperor? True, your cooking sucks, but you will learn. No, the Force is calling me on a quest. Somewhere north of here, around Mon Cala"

Oh. Oh!

The Force. What was important out there? The moons of Iego... the Bendu, on planet Atollon , Planet Lothal...

"Iego, Atollon and Lothal. A technopathic orphan and a grey Bendu. Maybe the Calrissian family?" I mused, rifling through my memories.

"Hmmm. You were useful after all. All three of those. And a genetic template for your Avatar, if the the orphan is a boy. You will be his father..." Wialu said softly, and came to hug me tightly.

"Okay. Take a Lucrehulk too, and enough droids to establish an imperial presence. Fertilizers and explosives too. Lothal had famine I think..." I muttered in her ear.

"I'll take Vette and 50 corvettes too. To secure trade routes and stop piracy. You can buy more" she murmured, barely audibly.

"Yeah, I can buy more twi'leks. " I joked lightly.

"I can set you on fire, you know" Wialu said conversationally, and rose upset from my lap.

"Sorry, my love" I answered weakly, and cursed the day I fell for this woman.