Planet Gand, Pef Empire,

Celestial Throne

25 BBY, tenth month

The year will come to an end at the end of the month, I still have nothing to my name. Well some trinkets here and there, but nothing important.

It was time for a change of pace. So what if the Centrality and the Avatar project were going slow?

I had a thousand of planets in close range, all not part of the Republic or other significant regimes.

It was time to expand aggressively and claim territory.

And I had just the right tool for the job.

The newest maid wasn't love at first sight though. Oh well. At least I got someone to test elemental directing on. Reduce amplitude by 5 percent. Change color to red.

Ventress was still spamming at my feet, while I electrocuted her again.

"Did you learn your lesson, dear maid?" I asked politely.

"Yesss. No hitting your Voices. No force choking them either" she muttered with clenched teeth.

Alright then. If she says so.

"Excellent. Now, I have 50 Lucrehulks being filled with our prime exports, explosives and fertilizers and droids. Also, 5 Mon Calamari made cruisers and 200 corvettes. Your turn..." I said after she rose and knelt on her pillow, eying the lightsaber next to her.

"You're giving them to me?" she asked incredulously.

"Look at the map, dear maid. What do you see?" I asked instead, the holomap showing the Slice, bordered by the Centrality in the south and Mon Calamari to the north.

Gand beeped warmly in green, with thin green lines linking us to about 40 other stars. Those stars were yellow with a green contour. The Mutual Protection Treaty. Or rather, our navy protecting tribal planets from slavers. After we sacrificed a hundred Findsmen to chart trade routes to them. Jumping blindly through hyperspace was still the most dangerous job in the universe.

"We're small and surrounded by enemies and wild space. And we have a big enough fleet here, and another smaller fleet currently anchoring our flank at Iego. What...you want me to paint the map green?" she asked after staring at the map for a minute.

"Do this and you will have a Voice and become immortal. Lira is coming with you, in case normal negotiations are enough. And remember..." I added, raising a finger in warning.

"Yes Pef. I learned my lesson. No choking your precious Voice. Not unless she asks me really nice" Ventress said, with a pretense of understanding, and hiding naughty thoughts.

"It's not her, it's me. She speaks with my Voice. How can I speak if you strangle her?" I yelled, making the throne room tremble.

"Oh! You mean literally, she speaks with your voice?" The Nightsider maid wondered, in a small voice and with bewilderment.

"Yes. What she says is my will. Am I clear?" I boomed, but Ventress still seemed confused.

"He means I am legal instrument, not a ventriloquist. In the Pef Empire, his words are law. And my own words too" Lira explained calmly, taking Ventress's hand and walking away, gesturing with her other hand, and pointing here and there.

Oh well, maybe Lira will get through to her.

Asajj will not go around doing Sith work, and then die forgotten and betrayed. Maul was already digested, and his body atomized by Vera. She brought me his lightsaber though, since it was a historical artifact.

Good grief, I was becoming Grievous, collecting lightsabers.

But I didn't see the cyborg meshing with my court. Better let him lead the CIS armies and massacre Jedi.

Zuckuss did his best impression of a laugh.

"My people still think you are a magician, speaking through your females lungs" he said softly and patted my shoulder with a hand looking almost human, with just some residual chitin on the backhand, and thicker nails.

"It's sometimes the truth my friend. If my Voices need to, they can speak to my mind and ask for advice. But I prefer to let them choose for themselves. Or else, my empire will be a just shadow theater, mimicking my actions like low class droids."

"Hmmm. Trust, but keep a secret leash. Good plan my Emperor. I'll do the same with my females, one day" the Gand said with a philosophical tone, while arranging another deal, this time with some Umbara companies.

Good thinking my friend. Sometimes you're wise.

"The girl is full of hate. You shouldn't trust her, my Emperor" Zuralee said, examining her own hand. The nails were even longer now, and thinner. If I was organic, I'd been trembling looking at those things.

"She will be strong one day, maybe just like me. She just needs friends and family. And staying away from damn red sticks. All Findsmen could use those, but they'll all die even faster. Armor and rifles keep danger away, swords make you rush towards it"

I mused, replaying the scene back at Greyforge again in my mind.

Why did the Jedi steal the changeling? Why risk so much by attacking me?

Was she trying to learn the alter ability? It felt like elemental shaping of a sort, maybe water.

Did she want to use the changeling for another mission? Or maybe for something the changeling learned from Jal Shey?

Was it a rescue mission for a Jedi spy? So many possibilities.

And the Jedi will be back. I was almost certain. She had to be wondering how I survived.

Planet Gand, Pef Empire

Celestial Throne, Throne room

24 BBY, first month

I am holding another council, the medium council this time.

Ventress had moved fast and efficiently adding worlds to my empire, the minor worlds by simply replacing some dictator or noble with another patsy who swore allegiance, establishing a spaceport and droid garrison and giving the okay for our corporations to come in for mining and farming and building factories and housing.

The larger populations were added to the Mutual Protection Treaty and given a place in the large council. Probably by Lira.

Still the same deals, sending Servants and corporations to administrate and build, but with more tact and public ovations.

They also got to contribute with soldiers and engineers to our ships and shipyards, first on their own planet then expanding to nearby ones, once the planet was defended and secured.

Wialu did the same thing but gently and being praised for humanitarian work.

Only problem so far... cyborgs. And crazy droids perhaps. A delegation from Yaled IV was now standing in front of me, and we chat peacefully.

"ZIMM is the only god. We can only worship ZIMM!" they said politely.

"You mean the droid leading you? That ZIMM?" I asked politely too.

"He is a war robot, not a droid. He is holy!" they replied more politely. Hmmm. No wonder neither Lira nor Ventress wanted to decide on this matter. They sent the crazies to me.

Anyway, the cyborg upgrades were super nice, and they even had synthskin over their prosthetics.

I sliced and hacked the databases and looked around a little. They were not that crazy as I first thought.

ZIMM had a human mind inside, just like me. Just that, that human was Xim, a famous tyrant of 25 millennia ago.

Guess I had to go on a fast trip.

"Well then. As a fellow divine droid, I have to see him. We'll go tomorrow. Anyway, do any of you need new limbs? I have state-of-the-art facilities, the most modern tech from Corellia and Coruscant..." I baited my hook.

"For free?" one of them asked cautiously.

"Eh, just leave the old parts here, I collect antiques." I answered with a bored voice. Fake, of course.

"Great one, you may have a touch of holiness in you, after all" the cyborg replied, already disarming himself, of his left arm. And sinker already... Project Slipskin finished in record time, almost for free.

I grabbed the hand politely, then stopped the rest of his friends.

"Go and visit the mall and the holodrama hall, my friends. You can take anything under 50 credits for free. When you return, the technician droids will help you with new prosthetics" I said magnanimously.

"A holy droid indeed!" another cyborg declared, pumping a fist at the sky.

Yeah, conquering a planet for 50 credits. Sometimes star wars was too easy. Next, I'll win a planet at sabbac.

A droid came to take the precious arm to the Slipskin lab for reverse engineering.

"Next delegation, Planet Baros." Dora announced in an official voice, since she was a Voice.

"Immortal Emperor, our planet sends thanks for getting us rid of pirates. We were hoping to be allowed to join the MPT. And maybe holotransmiters and other perks of the civilized galaxy." A reptilian male said politely, through his protocol droid.

Let's connect, download his language, customs, and social cues.

"Esteemed Brubb. I can offer much more. Your planet has a billion people. They may want to join the navy and travel the galaxy, or the army and battle invaders of a thousand races. Join my Empire now, while I have room in my council. A thousand planets are bribing me with ships and money for this privilege. Only I have too much of those. I need brave men, strong and talented, what say you?" I asked rhetorically, placing two hands wide, to invoke the sun.

"We can? Ah, yes, of course we can. An entire galaxy to see and explore. And glorious battles you promise... I'll carry your words to my leaders, on your amazing FTL ship. I believe you will have soldiers aplenty, Immortal Emperor" the Brubb replied with his hands wide open as well.

"Go now, fast, before the place is taken!" I encouraged him, pushing a little persuasion.

"Right away, I am running!" the Brubb leader yelled, as his delegation ran after him.

My friends on the council looked at me confused, not having understood a word of Brubbese.

"They want to join" I translated politely. My council nodded gravely. They got used to it, after the tenth planet did the same.

"I'll direct a contact Lucrehulk to their planet. They may want plastic toys and thermal detonators." Zuckuss said wisely, putting his new fingers to use, by swapping commands on his datapad.

"Next delegation. Planet Toong'L" Dora called.

Hey, I knew these guys from Tund.

"Emperor Pef, our plight might be familiar to you. Two decades ago our home planet was hit by comets and the environment was destroyed. We plead to join the Empire and serve, as soon as your powers restore our planet green again, like you did with Gand"

the leader of the delegation said, directly to the point, and in basic.

"Next week I can make the trip. I have promised to visit war robot ZIMM first. Might take me some time to fix the planet though..."

"How long, Immortal Emperor?" the man asked anxiously.

"Perhaps two weeks. I have to see how bad it is for myself..."

"Oh. That's no problem, at all. We also have knowledge of a few secret routes, once the planet is green..." the man added politely.

Great, fewer ships and Findsmen dead in exploration was quite worth it then.

"Next?"

"Just a voice message, Pef. From planet Solanus" Dora explained, playing the message.

"The Wills are five. Come see us, before them, Immortal Pef" the voice said, resonating strangely in the force.

"Who sent the message?" I asked confused.

"The planet. It's sentient, says here" Dora answered, holding the datapad and showing the message that Ventress typed.

Okay then. Couldn't ask a planet to visit me.

"Next month then. I'm busy till then" I said with a sigh.

Building an Empire was quite hard work.

Planet Yaled IV

ZIMM shrine

A cyborg civilization is different from anything I imagined.

No school buildings for example, since they learned in virtual. Many communal activities also took place in chatrooms and virtual halls and holoconferences and holoprayers.

People were still growing crops, and tending animals and working in factories, but it was a very quiet planet.

Much less transportation or public activities. Many more cyberclinincs and parts vendors. Also, weapons vendors.

Children were implanted early with chips and Vbrains, but the major work wasn't done until they were teenagers and had finished growing.

But, the planet stagnated, due to theocratic rule, and little commerce and lack of spaceships.

These people needed energy and drive and passion.

"Take me to your god" I demanded as I landed.

"Prayer time starts in one hour, holy droid. The temple doors only open twice a day" the lead priest said via a chatbot link.

Great. Time to take over the networks then.

Place a technopathic AI in the middle of a town of cyborgs. This was better than anything.

Unlike droids, these people created and invented, just not much technology, mainly also art and theological debates and videogames and training simulators.

I rapidly began creating my own company and selling games featuring power armor combat, spacefighter simulators, both for flight and design, then bigger and bigger ships, pitting them against extragalactic invaders modeled after the Vong.

Give them a few minor creative rights, to add mods and new system maps.

By the time the temple doors opened, I had a fanbase of thousands. I guess they didn't have many visitors, anyway.

I walked inside the temple at a slow pace, running a dozen scenarios concurrently.

Okay the thing was big. Something like from Warhammer universe, with huge arms and powerful guns.

Mostly normal tech, but a few things appeared xenotech too.

Connect to the robot's warmind, copy the OS, debug, translate.

"Anyone in there?" I asked politely.

"Another high priest. Has it been another decade?" A confused voice wondered, while also calculating strange equations and painting naked women and riding dragons.

Huh. Dude was totally wasted.

Let's try, Ctrl+delete? It worked!

The extra mind vanished, leaving me in control of a war droid, full of yummy tech.

"My fellow citizens. A great enemy is invading the galaxy, hailing from the north of our galaxy. Alien gods aided by powerful bioships, a hundred kilometers long and trillions of bioengineered soldiers.

My soul will go to battle the Yuzon gods on the celestial fields, while my friend Emperor Pef, will remain in this pitiful material plane, and battle the Vong, the monsters with mundane weapons. I urge you to give him all the help he needs, our race and the galaxy are at risk. Farewell, faithful subjects. The Force will aid us!" The huge robot boomed, speaking aloud the first time in millennia, and saying the same thing in holoprayers.

Zimm town came to life, as expected.

People were crying and urging their god to save them, while praying for victory.

"My friends, ZIMM is not gone forever, once he is victorious he will return. It might take a billion years, but he will win.

Trust in ZIMM who trusts in you. And trust in the Force, to guide us. Now, let's pack the town up and go to our destination. A system full of asteroids, where we will build the ships to fight the Vong.

For the Empire!" I proclaimed, using the same cyber networks as ZIMM did.

"Emperor Pef and ZIMM, for the Empire!" a small child yelled, reading the text I placed in his mind.

A few others joined, then peer pressure and religious indoctrination did the work.

"For the Empire!" the crowd of cyborgs yelled with delirious joy.

Oh well. At least they'll die happy.