shadow shinobi
I survived getting stabbed, TWICE!!!
- Location
- uk
No a single one survived and they were too hard to kill so they went the better method of killing biological warfare.
For the Empire (Star Wars SI)
- Thread starter Fulcon
- Start date
- Sci-Fi
-
- Tags
- star wars self insert empire
- Location
- Hiigara
The head of a single one survived, and was killed shortly after by Vader. They were exterminated.
- Location
- Somewhere, over the rainbow
That single survivor was beheaded without killing her, condemning her to a life as a head only for Vader to later kill her.
There was also the option of just.....not invading their planet? There wasn't even anything the Empire really needed from their planet, it was on the ass end of nowhere, near Wild Space and the Unknown Regions.
There was no justifiable reason to invade the planet or wipe out the species.
bdun140
I have ideas. Sometimes they're even good.
They did not bow to The Empire, and were therefore clearly a threat. Furthermore, their queen could see the future, and that a power like that is something that must be strictly controlled, if not outright destroyed to keep it out of enemy hands.
- Location
- Hiigara
If and might is never acceptable justification for the indiscriminate slaughter of noncombatants. Period.
bdun140
I have ideas. Sometimes they're even good.
That sounds like Rebel talk there, citizen. If the Emperor says they need to die, they need to die. Simple as that.
- Location
- Canada
I mean leaving potential threats lying about is how the Jedi did things, and look what happened to them.
- Location
- USA
*laughs self silly*
I didn't know I needed this in my life...until I found it.
Have a cookie.
Max Uristwell
Custodian of the Toobs
- Location
- United Kingdom
Wrong thread mate.
Jcc10
User-Script Designer
- Location
- Cyoria, Eldemar
Yeah, I just came back here and noticed that...
I guess I have too many tabs up right now.
- Location
- USA
I don't know...but if there's a Wiki to For the Empire, I'd like to know about it...
Jcc10
User-Script Designer
- Location
- Cyoria, Eldemar
Are there renegade options in For the Empire? Seriously a universe where he helps the emperor would be funny
But no, what happened was I had two windows open, one with the WTR wiki I was doing edits on and one with 7 tabs of stories up. Then I switched to make a comment and did not notice this tab was the one that was active and not the other...
That's what I get for constantly refreshing these pages...
...By the way, how long until I can get my next hit on this fic?
- Location
- USA
Later this week at the earliest, sometime next week at the latest.
On Leave
- Location
- USA
The Following is a Fan-based work of fiction. Star Wars is the property of the Walt Disney Company. Please support the official release.
---
"The repairs are going to take a while," Tori told me, gesturing out to the Highlander. "The pods put so many holes in the ship that the first and second deck might've come off from the main body if they took any more hits."
"But our leave ends tomorrow still, right?" I asked with a frown.
"Yes, unfortunately," Tori replied with a sigh. "The 357th is probably going to be re-staffed and reassigned to another Destroyer while the Highlander is getting repaired, so yes. Our break ends tomorrow."
We were standing on one of the Drive Yards observation decks overlooking the Highlander, a waist-high handrail was all that prevented someone from simply dropping off the face out of the Drive Yards and into the abyss of space below. I think it said something for how damaged she ship was when bits of durasteel were still drifting off of the hull when we pulled into the port.
"Shame, I was almost relaxed," I said with a sigh. "You think we'll get commendations for our performance during the raid?"
"We'd best," Tori replied, squinting out at the Star Destroyer. "Without us at the security room, we would've lost the platoon before you could've taken the Hangar. Giving them those eyes in the halls really turned the tables."
"I agree," I nodded.
We stood there on the catwalk, falling into silence after that. Not much to say. It was almost soothing, in a way, watching repairs on the destroyer take place, watching bits and pieces get reattached or replaced altogether.
"I've been thinking," Tori started, leaning against the railing. "About our date."
"I had fun," I said with a smile.
"I did too," She smiled. "But I was thinking about what you said. About trying to improve the Empire's reputation. You think being…benevolent will help improve the functionality of the Empire as a whole because the citizenry will be more motivated by kindness instead of fear."
"That's correct," I replied with a nod.
"I can see it, I suppose," Tori shrugged. "But what I kept coming back to is the Tarkin Doctrine and why it was created."
"Which is?"
"Rebels, Insurgents," Tori elaborated, moving her hand in a circle. "Pirates, criminals, all people who would absolutely resent any form of increased authority and wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of a benevolent and trusting empire. It's why the Republic couldn't stop the Hutt's or anyone from simply taking control of the Outer Rim."
…she had a point and as far as I know, I've got no proof that the Empire works with those criminal elements as much as shackling them.
"As such, they need to be afraid of the Empire and the penalties for breaking its laws," Tori summed up, putting her arms behind her back. "So, while I see the need for law abiding citizens to love the Emperor…it needs to be scary. For the people's protection."
Alright. Take a deep breath, I hadn't thought about it before, I just took this for granted.
"The reason the Republic couldn't stop the Hutts from taking the outer rim is because they weren't really focused on military might," I said, taking a minute to think out the rest of my response. I almost said 'not because their doctrine was weak' but that would not have gone over well; the Empire as a whole did not have a good opinion of the Republic. "Until they had the clone army, they didn't even have a standing military really – just a small peace-keeping force. I'd wager that most attempts to expand their budget or manpower were stopped by the senate."
"I suppose," Tori shook her head in a non-committal way. "The senate's still a terrible bottleneck, but it's not as bad as it was. I'm very glad that the Moff's and the Emperor became checks and balances against them."
That was technically true. There's a lot of bad things about the Empire, but it definitely got more done in the past fourteen years than the Republic did in fifty. More than half of the things it did were positive, too! I mean, it doesn't outweigh the atrocities the Empire commits regularly but still. "Same, actually. But because of that bottleneck, the republic's military couldn't grow to the point where they wouldn't have needed the clones during the war and they weren't that good at enforcing their own laws, so I don't think we can fairly judge the merits of their doctrine because they weren't staffed properly."
You know, I imagined something called 'The Clone Wars' would be a series of wars using clones. But it's just one war. One clone war. It's kind of misleading when you think about it.
"I suppose," She replied. "But that's not an argument against the Tarkin Doctrine, just an argument for the Republic."
"True," I nodded. "So as for the fear doctrine, I was one question – what do you do to things that scare you?"
"…I don't follow," Tori said.
"Well, personally, I like to shoot things that scare me," I said with a shrug. "I'm a pretty good shot, I'd like to think, so when something scares me, I shoot it. You?"
"Errr…" She blinked. "I do the same. I guess."
"So, here's why I ask," I began. "The Hutt's, the Pirates…they're scared of us anyway. We want to shoot them and put them in prison for doing the things that they do. Nothing's going the change that. The thing is with the Tarkin Doctrine is that it encourages law abiding citizens, human or otherwise to be afraid of us. Most would recognize that it's a lost cause, but some? Well, they're crazy enough to try as we both know."
"You're actually saying that the Tarkin Doctrine incites rebellion?" Tori blinked. "Please tell me you're kidding."
"Not kidding," I said with a frown. "If a person feels endangered by a government, they don't feel like they have a choice. It takes a level of…stupidity to take on a fight like that, but it happens. I've heard of insurgents on Onderon, Lothal, Balmorra. Maybe you've heard of more?"
Rebel Cells. Just cells. I don't know if they're part of the full-on Rebel Alliance and I don't think I'll be able to find out without blowing my cover. Also, Lothal feels important for some reason. If I get assigned there, I'm going to run into some things I think I would rather not mess with, I feel like.
She looked off to the side, then rubbed the back of her head. "I've heard of something on Anoat. But their rebellion is why the Tarkin Doctrine was put in place, remember?"
"Aspects of the Tarkin Doctrine were already in place before then as part of the Emperor's Martial Law in the early days of the Empire," I replied. "To deal with the separatist remnants, of course, but when honest Imperial citizens get caught in the crossfire-?"
"Let's…let's not talk about this anymore," Tori said, placing her hands up, wearing an uncomfortable frown. "I don't want either of us to get in trouble."
"Alright," I shrugged. I suppose that's as good as I'm going to get. She's second guessing things and that'll go a long way into the future as events further unfold. "So, there's a performance at the theatre of Squid Lake tonight. You want to go? It'll be fun."
"…I'd love too, but I've got some things to do tonight before our leave is over," Tori replied with a sigh. "Sorry. Perhaps some other time after our internship?"
Welp. Friendzoned. Ah well, guess she decided that I was a danger to her career. A shame. Perhaps it's for the best though the pang in my chest would like to disagree.
---
"I want you both to understand that you both performed beyond admirably," High Colonel Zipir, if he stood sideways and stuck out his tongue, looked like a zipper. He was tall and rail thin, but he still cut an imposing presence, sitting on his side of the desk in his office. Tori and I were sitting on the other side. "You both showed initiative, bravery and skill befitting Officer's in the His Majesty's Storm Trooper corps. As far as I am concerned, you have both earned your commissions and have a very bright future in the corps ahead of you."
"Thank you, sir," Tori beamed.
"I'm telling you this because neither of you are getting any credit for your efforts in the attack whatsoever," Zipir continued. "All reports of the Incident are going through me and I'm excising your names from the report I'm giving to Moff Teran."
Tori looked flustered, furious and close to tears. Well, beneath the stone mask of Imperial Discipline that she put on.
"May I ask why?" I had an idea of why, but I wanted to hear it from him.
"This does not leave the room. I am only telling you because you have both earned some trust," Zipir said, clearing his throat. "This attack was an inside job, and has the fingerprints of a Moff all over it."
Tori let out a breath.
"The traitor in our midst was High Colonel Ettan, the commanding officer of the Army detachment aboard The Highlander," Zipir explained. "He was attempting to defect from the Empire. He and his fellow conspirators, after sabotaging us severely, took the escape pods when we emerged from Hyperspace. The droids promptly shot the pods down, leaving no trace. This means he was not the head of the operation and a Moff would be able to place him aboard a ship. My suspect is Moff Zeran because Captain of the Line Eitle and I have both had unpleasant encounters with him but our executions would've been unlawful."
He stopped to take a drink of water. Tori had gotten pale.
"By omitting your names from the reports, I'm keeping you both safe from the Moff's swift and unholy retribution," Zipir finished explaining. "Do you both understand."
"Yes sir," We both said.
"Thank you, sir," Tori added.
"Candidate Plite, you seem remarkably calm," Zipir said, looking at me with a thoughtful frown.
"I figured the situation was something like this, sir," I explained with a shrug. "It felt like an inside job, sir."
"Hm. You're smart, Candidate," Zipir nodded in approval. "You'll go far. But you don't need to fear – your achievements aren't going to be totally unremarked on."
Tori perked up. "Sir?"
"In one report I'm explaining your instrumental role in preserving the 6th Platoons weapons and armor, and your takeover of the security checkpoint," Zipir explained, taking a breath. "That report is going directly to Lord Vader, who has requested reports from both myself and Eitle regarding the destruction of one of his Star Destroyers."
Right when I thought you were being a bro, Zipir. That's even worse.
Tori began beaming again. "Thank you, sir!"
"Thank you, sir," I replied, using my tight emotional control to portray some measure of happiness. Darth freaking Vader was going to have my name, up in lights, in front of him. That is not good at all.
"Brigand and I have discussed it and we agree," Zipir started again. "You know everything we can necessarily teach you already, so your internship ends today, marked with flying colors. You'll be on leave until your next internship, as determined by Corps. You will both be given housing assignments this afternoon should you need them and shuttles will take you there tomorrow morning.
"Thank you, sir," We both said at once. In a way, this was a good thing. Provided Vader didn't show up at my doorstep to whisk me off to Inquisitor training, I now had almost a year of alone time with the Holocron.
"If there's nothing else…Plite, you look a little sickly," Zipir said, looking over me with a critical eye. "Is there something wrong?"
"Just a little nervous, sir, about my name on a report to Vader," I decided it was best to be honest.
Zipir tilted his head. "Very wise of you. The report has already gone out, or I'd omit your name as a favor."
Well, that's just great. At least Zipir is, in fact, a bro.
---
Later that evening, I was off duty, sitting in the restaurant with a Mon Calamari Clam Chowder in front of me. It was free of charge, since I was a part of the corps and it was likely the last chance I'd have to eat something fancy like this so I figured why not? It might be my last meal for all I know.
Tori came up in a blue dress that went half-way down her thighs. "Jet, I'm glad I caught you before the night was out."
"Hey Tori," I greeted her with a smile and gestured for her to take a seat. "What's going on?"
"Oh, I just got my housing assignment," She said with a smile. "I was wondering where you were living?"
"Corellia," I just got my assignment delivered to my room not ten minutes ago. If it weren't for the fact that Vader had a report with my name on it, I'd be excited. I've been wanting to see Han Solo and Wedge Antilles birthplace since forever. I'm told the world is gorgeous to boot. "You?"
"Balmorra," She said, holding up the dataslate with her assignment on it. "I'm excited, honestly. Finally, completely free of my parents."
"You and your parents don't get along?" I asked.
"No, no," She shook her head. "They just annoy me is all. No ambition, either of them. Tried to discourage me from joining the Corps, thought it was too dangerous."
"Well…it is dangerous," I replied.
"It is," She nodded. "But I handled it. Well, we handled it."
"That we did," I said with a nod.
"So…can I get your comm frequency?" Tori asked with a raised eyebrow.
I have been un-friendzoned. I think. "Sure. Can I get yours?"
"Definitely," She said and we exchanged frequencies. "Call me when you get to Corellia, alright?"
"Or you can call me when you get to Balmorra," I said with a shrug. "Whichever comes first."
A waiter promptly came to Tori and took her order…she got the steak.
"So," I started. "Why the change of heart?"
"Excuse me?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"After our…discussion, you didn't really want to hang around me," I said with a raised eyebrow of my own. "Now you're wanting my holo-frequency. I don't mean to be rude, even though that's what I'm doing and I apologize, but…I just want to know what changed your mind?"
"I haven't changed my mind on the Tarkin Doctrine," Tori replied firmly. "The galaxy needs a firm, feared hand to keep order. But I realized that you have…reasons for holding your opinions, such as they are and while I don't agree with them…I respect them."
I was actually speechless for a minute. "Thanks, Tori. That actually means a lot to me."
She smiled and leaned forward and…we kissed. Again.
…Fireworks in my brain…
---
Corellia was awesome.
It had freaking space-trains running through the cities, Coronet in particular. I took the train from the spaceport through the city to my assigned apartment. Occasionally, the skyscrapers would part, giving me a glimpse of the mountains and rolling hills beyond the city.
We came to my stop, I got off. The Apartment building stretched into the sky and painted a smile on my face. In I went, my key in hand, to the thirty-second floor to my apartment. It opened right into the living room, a kitchen to the right. Also on the right on the wall was a hall. I walked over there and saw that it branched – on the left was my bedroom, to the right was the restroom. Or 'refresher' in Star Wars-speak.
Why the heck would anyone leave this place?
I don't know.
Anyway, I'm not sure there's anything still left, but I don't know if the Green Jedi enclave still exists…ever existed…I'm not sure which timeline I'm in. Disney, Legends? I thought I was in Legends for a bit since Ryloth is still a bipolar-mess of hot and cold but then I hear about Lothal which I vaguely remember from the Rebels cartoon and I get confused.
Maybe it's some kind of mix? That seems likely.
I'll give Tori a call in a minute, I don't think her shuttle has arrived on Balmorra yet and my comm is not a hypercomm. So I've got some time to settle in…I locked the door, right? Right. Okay. First thing is first; figure out how best to use the Holocron.
Putting my suitcase down in my room, I opened it and withdrew the 'container'. A busted mouse droid, candidly lifted from a garbage load I was helping to process on my last day aboard the Highlander. It was thoroughly gutted, leaving only the wheels inside. I popped open the bottom of the droid and withdrew the Holocron. I got up on the bed, a fold-out thing that came with a surprisingly comfortable mattress, and started meditating on the Holocron. Opening it up.
It spoke to me. I could feel it teaching me, handing out it's knowledge instead of simply sitting there and waiting for me to pick it up. It honestly was one of the most pleasant things to ever experience, like a wave of calm as knowledge filled my soul. But with that knowledge came a simple fact that I didn't know what to feel about.
In order to get the absolute most out of this Holocron, I was going to need to build a lightsaber. A real, true blue lightsaber. And while I wanted to do it…I really, really didn't want to do it. It was risky as heck. I mean, if I could just build a random lightsaber out of random parts, then disassemble the pieces and throw them away when I had to leave. Build a dozen lightsabers to train with over the course of my service in the Imperial Military. The problem?
The focusing crystal is the problem. See, there is no way I can ever get clearance to visit Illum. That place is so highly locked down only the Emperor himself and Vader can visit it freely and that's where the Jedi got their crystals. This is where the Legends/Disney canon divide really starts to bite.
In Legends, Jaina Solo created her own focusing crystal in a geological compressor. The only reason I know it was a compressor is because I researched crystal growing and manipulation in the Academy for the science course. The problem is that, from what I can recall, it was easy to screw up a synth-crystal. You could destroy the lightsaber and blow a limb off if you screw up, which would be very bad. That meant we needed to use a natural crystal, which I'll probably grow using water, a salt solution, and the force. And the fridge.
That takes something called time and I'd need to keep the crystal with me at all times because while I might not be being watched right now, as I progress in my career that's going to change. It's highly likely that I'm going to have spies following my every move, so I won't be able to just keep making new crystals over and over again over the years it's going to take to master Niman. Keeping the crystal on me and hiding it with me is about the only chance I got to stop someone from coming across it by searching my belongings.
I mean, I want too…I really want to build a lightsaber. Who wouldn't want to build their own lightsaber? I mean, I prefer blasters by and large just because they're the more practical distance weapon. Well, I say more practical but given some of the crap the Jedi pull off with them, I'm going to say Lightsabers fall into the 'difficult but awesome' class of weapons. And…well…I want one. Shouldn't be too hard to get the solution, either. This might not be your average salt crystal, but the ingredients won't be too hard to get.
But if I make a lightsaber, I have to figure out how to hide it.
Especially if I'm going to be meeting Vader in the near future.
---
Author's Notes: Alright, I'll come clean – I put no real thought into Tori when I first introduced her. If I want her to be a continuing presence in this fic, I need to develop her much, much more. More personality beyond her ambition and attraction to the MC. So, I'm going to try to do that if I want to avoid the trope 'creators pet' being applied to her.
Next chapter is going to be a montage much in the same vain as Jet's senior academy, going on about life on Corellia, some of the stuff he finds, maybe building a lightsaber. Maybe. Seeing how suicidal we can make Jet if he goes through with it.
Shout out goes out to Raven Uzushi, welcome to the circle of patrons.
Shout out also goes out to Maben00, thanks for your support, you're awesome – you are now a Super Patron.
Shout out to Devil's Bite, you are crazy awesome, thanks for the boat load of support, you're awesome, welcome to the circle of Super Patrons you incredible human being.
Finally, a big thank you too Melden V, Anders Kronquist, Ray Tony Song, makopaulo, Volkogluk, Aaron Bjornson, iolande, Martin Auguado, Julio, Tomer Zwighaft, keefe owens, Jiopaba, Hackerham and Tim Collins-Squire. You guys are awesome, thank you.
Until the next time!
~Fulcon
---
"The repairs are going to take a while," Tori told me, gesturing out to the Highlander. "The pods put so many holes in the ship that the first and second deck might've come off from the main body if they took any more hits."
"But our leave ends tomorrow still, right?" I asked with a frown.
"Yes, unfortunately," Tori replied with a sigh. "The 357th is probably going to be re-staffed and reassigned to another Destroyer while the Highlander is getting repaired, so yes. Our break ends tomorrow."
We were standing on one of the Drive Yards observation decks overlooking the Highlander, a waist-high handrail was all that prevented someone from simply dropping off the face out of the Drive Yards and into the abyss of space below. I think it said something for how damaged she ship was when bits of durasteel were still drifting off of the hull when we pulled into the port.
"Shame, I was almost relaxed," I said with a sigh. "You think we'll get commendations for our performance during the raid?"
"We'd best," Tori replied, squinting out at the Star Destroyer. "Without us at the security room, we would've lost the platoon before you could've taken the Hangar. Giving them those eyes in the halls really turned the tables."
"I agree," I nodded.
We stood there on the catwalk, falling into silence after that. Not much to say. It was almost soothing, in a way, watching repairs on the destroyer take place, watching bits and pieces get reattached or replaced altogether.
"I've been thinking," Tori started, leaning against the railing. "About our date."
"I had fun," I said with a smile.
"I did too," She smiled. "But I was thinking about what you said. About trying to improve the Empire's reputation. You think being…benevolent will help improve the functionality of the Empire as a whole because the citizenry will be more motivated by kindness instead of fear."
"That's correct," I replied with a nod.
"I can see it, I suppose," Tori shrugged. "But what I kept coming back to is the Tarkin Doctrine and why it was created."
"Which is?"
"Rebels, Insurgents," Tori elaborated, moving her hand in a circle. "Pirates, criminals, all people who would absolutely resent any form of increased authority and wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of a benevolent and trusting empire. It's why the Republic couldn't stop the Hutt's or anyone from simply taking control of the Outer Rim."
…she had a point and as far as I know, I've got no proof that the Empire works with those criminal elements as much as shackling them.
"As such, they need to be afraid of the Empire and the penalties for breaking its laws," Tori summed up, putting her arms behind her back. "So, while I see the need for law abiding citizens to love the Emperor…it needs to be scary. For the people's protection."
Alright. Take a deep breath, I hadn't thought about it before, I just took this for granted.
"The reason the Republic couldn't stop the Hutts from taking the outer rim is because they weren't really focused on military might," I said, taking a minute to think out the rest of my response. I almost said 'not because their doctrine was weak' but that would not have gone over well; the Empire as a whole did not have a good opinion of the Republic. "Until they had the clone army, they didn't even have a standing military really – just a small peace-keeping force. I'd wager that most attempts to expand their budget or manpower were stopped by the senate."
"I suppose," Tori shook her head in a non-committal way. "The senate's still a terrible bottleneck, but it's not as bad as it was. I'm very glad that the Moff's and the Emperor became checks and balances against them."
That was technically true. There's a lot of bad things about the Empire, but it definitely got more done in the past fourteen years than the Republic did in fifty. More than half of the things it did were positive, too! I mean, it doesn't outweigh the atrocities the Empire commits regularly but still. "Same, actually. But because of that bottleneck, the republic's military couldn't grow to the point where they wouldn't have needed the clones during the war and they weren't that good at enforcing their own laws, so I don't think we can fairly judge the merits of their doctrine because they weren't staffed properly."
You know, I imagined something called 'The Clone Wars' would be a series of wars using clones. But it's just one war. One clone war. It's kind of misleading when you think about it.
"I suppose," She replied. "But that's not an argument against the Tarkin Doctrine, just an argument for the Republic."
"True," I nodded. "So as for the fear doctrine, I was one question – what do you do to things that scare you?"
"…I don't follow," Tori said.
"Well, personally, I like to shoot things that scare me," I said with a shrug. "I'm a pretty good shot, I'd like to think, so when something scares me, I shoot it. You?"
"Errr…" She blinked. "I do the same. I guess."
"So, here's why I ask," I began. "The Hutt's, the Pirates…they're scared of us anyway. We want to shoot them and put them in prison for doing the things that they do. Nothing's going the change that. The thing is with the Tarkin Doctrine is that it encourages law abiding citizens, human or otherwise to be afraid of us. Most would recognize that it's a lost cause, but some? Well, they're crazy enough to try as we both know."
"You're actually saying that the Tarkin Doctrine incites rebellion?" Tori blinked. "Please tell me you're kidding."
"Not kidding," I said with a frown. "If a person feels endangered by a government, they don't feel like they have a choice. It takes a level of…stupidity to take on a fight like that, but it happens. I've heard of insurgents on Onderon, Lothal, Balmorra. Maybe you've heard of more?"
Rebel Cells. Just cells. I don't know if they're part of the full-on Rebel Alliance and I don't think I'll be able to find out without blowing my cover. Also, Lothal feels important for some reason. If I get assigned there, I'm going to run into some things I think I would rather not mess with, I feel like.
She looked off to the side, then rubbed the back of her head. "I've heard of something on Anoat. But their rebellion is why the Tarkin Doctrine was put in place, remember?"
"Aspects of the Tarkin Doctrine were already in place before then as part of the Emperor's Martial Law in the early days of the Empire," I replied. "To deal with the separatist remnants, of course, but when honest Imperial citizens get caught in the crossfire-?"
"Let's…let's not talk about this anymore," Tori said, placing her hands up, wearing an uncomfortable frown. "I don't want either of us to get in trouble."
"Alright," I shrugged. I suppose that's as good as I'm going to get. She's second guessing things and that'll go a long way into the future as events further unfold. "So, there's a performance at the theatre of Squid Lake tonight. You want to go? It'll be fun."
"…I'd love too, but I've got some things to do tonight before our leave is over," Tori replied with a sigh. "Sorry. Perhaps some other time after our internship?"
Welp. Friendzoned. Ah well, guess she decided that I was a danger to her career. A shame. Perhaps it's for the best though the pang in my chest would like to disagree.
---
"I want you both to understand that you both performed beyond admirably," High Colonel Zipir, if he stood sideways and stuck out his tongue, looked like a zipper. He was tall and rail thin, but he still cut an imposing presence, sitting on his side of the desk in his office. Tori and I were sitting on the other side. "You both showed initiative, bravery and skill befitting Officer's in the His Majesty's Storm Trooper corps. As far as I am concerned, you have both earned your commissions and have a very bright future in the corps ahead of you."
"Thank you, sir," Tori beamed.
"I'm telling you this because neither of you are getting any credit for your efforts in the attack whatsoever," Zipir continued. "All reports of the Incident are going through me and I'm excising your names from the report I'm giving to Moff Teran."
Tori looked flustered, furious and close to tears. Well, beneath the stone mask of Imperial Discipline that she put on.
"May I ask why?" I had an idea of why, but I wanted to hear it from him.
"This does not leave the room. I am only telling you because you have both earned some trust," Zipir said, clearing his throat. "This attack was an inside job, and has the fingerprints of a Moff all over it."
Tori let out a breath.
"The traitor in our midst was High Colonel Ettan, the commanding officer of the Army detachment aboard The Highlander," Zipir explained. "He was attempting to defect from the Empire. He and his fellow conspirators, after sabotaging us severely, took the escape pods when we emerged from Hyperspace. The droids promptly shot the pods down, leaving no trace. This means he was not the head of the operation and a Moff would be able to place him aboard a ship. My suspect is Moff Zeran because Captain of the Line Eitle and I have both had unpleasant encounters with him but our executions would've been unlawful."
He stopped to take a drink of water. Tori had gotten pale.
"By omitting your names from the reports, I'm keeping you both safe from the Moff's swift and unholy retribution," Zipir finished explaining. "Do you both understand."
"Yes sir," We both said.
"Thank you, sir," Tori added.
"Candidate Plite, you seem remarkably calm," Zipir said, looking at me with a thoughtful frown.
"I figured the situation was something like this, sir," I explained with a shrug. "It felt like an inside job, sir."
"Hm. You're smart, Candidate," Zipir nodded in approval. "You'll go far. But you don't need to fear – your achievements aren't going to be totally unremarked on."
Tori perked up. "Sir?"
"In one report I'm explaining your instrumental role in preserving the 6th Platoons weapons and armor, and your takeover of the security checkpoint," Zipir explained, taking a breath. "That report is going directly to Lord Vader, who has requested reports from both myself and Eitle regarding the destruction of one of his Star Destroyers."
Right when I thought you were being a bro, Zipir. That's even worse.
Tori began beaming again. "Thank you, sir!"
"Thank you, sir," I replied, using my tight emotional control to portray some measure of happiness. Darth freaking Vader was going to have my name, up in lights, in front of him. That is not good at all.
"Brigand and I have discussed it and we agree," Zipir started again. "You know everything we can necessarily teach you already, so your internship ends today, marked with flying colors. You'll be on leave until your next internship, as determined by Corps. You will both be given housing assignments this afternoon should you need them and shuttles will take you there tomorrow morning.
"Thank you, sir," We both said at once. In a way, this was a good thing. Provided Vader didn't show up at my doorstep to whisk me off to Inquisitor training, I now had almost a year of alone time with the Holocron.
"If there's nothing else…Plite, you look a little sickly," Zipir said, looking over me with a critical eye. "Is there something wrong?"
"Just a little nervous, sir, about my name on a report to Vader," I decided it was best to be honest.
Zipir tilted his head. "Very wise of you. The report has already gone out, or I'd omit your name as a favor."
Well, that's just great. At least Zipir is, in fact, a bro.
---
Later that evening, I was off duty, sitting in the restaurant with a Mon Calamari Clam Chowder in front of me. It was free of charge, since I was a part of the corps and it was likely the last chance I'd have to eat something fancy like this so I figured why not? It might be my last meal for all I know.
Tori came up in a blue dress that went half-way down her thighs. "Jet, I'm glad I caught you before the night was out."
"Hey Tori," I greeted her with a smile and gestured for her to take a seat. "What's going on?"
"Oh, I just got my housing assignment," She said with a smile. "I was wondering where you were living?"
"Corellia," I just got my assignment delivered to my room not ten minutes ago. If it weren't for the fact that Vader had a report with my name on it, I'd be excited. I've been wanting to see Han Solo and Wedge Antilles birthplace since forever. I'm told the world is gorgeous to boot. "You?"
"Balmorra," She said, holding up the dataslate with her assignment on it. "I'm excited, honestly. Finally, completely free of my parents."
"You and your parents don't get along?" I asked.
"No, no," She shook her head. "They just annoy me is all. No ambition, either of them. Tried to discourage me from joining the Corps, thought it was too dangerous."
"Well…it is dangerous," I replied.
"It is," She nodded. "But I handled it. Well, we handled it."
"That we did," I said with a nod.
"So…can I get your comm frequency?" Tori asked with a raised eyebrow.
I have been un-friendzoned. I think. "Sure. Can I get yours?"
"Definitely," She said and we exchanged frequencies. "Call me when you get to Corellia, alright?"
"Or you can call me when you get to Balmorra," I said with a shrug. "Whichever comes first."
A waiter promptly came to Tori and took her order…she got the steak.
"So," I started. "Why the change of heart?"
"Excuse me?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"After our…discussion, you didn't really want to hang around me," I said with a raised eyebrow of my own. "Now you're wanting my holo-frequency. I don't mean to be rude, even though that's what I'm doing and I apologize, but…I just want to know what changed your mind?"
"I haven't changed my mind on the Tarkin Doctrine," Tori replied firmly. "The galaxy needs a firm, feared hand to keep order. But I realized that you have…reasons for holding your opinions, such as they are and while I don't agree with them…I respect them."
I was actually speechless for a minute. "Thanks, Tori. That actually means a lot to me."
She smiled and leaned forward and…we kissed. Again.
…Fireworks in my brain…
---
Corellia was awesome.
It had freaking space-trains running through the cities, Coronet in particular. I took the train from the spaceport through the city to my assigned apartment. Occasionally, the skyscrapers would part, giving me a glimpse of the mountains and rolling hills beyond the city.
We came to my stop, I got off. The Apartment building stretched into the sky and painted a smile on my face. In I went, my key in hand, to the thirty-second floor to my apartment. It opened right into the living room, a kitchen to the right. Also on the right on the wall was a hall. I walked over there and saw that it branched – on the left was my bedroom, to the right was the restroom. Or 'refresher' in Star Wars-speak.
Why the heck would anyone leave this place?
I don't know.
Anyway, I'm not sure there's anything still left, but I don't know if the Green Jedi enclave still exists…ever existed…I'm not sure which timeline I'm in. Disney, Legends? I thought I was in Legends for a bit since Ryloth is still a bipolar-mess of hot and cold but then I hear about Lothal which I vaguely remember from the Rebels cartoon and I get confused.
Maybe it's some kind of mix? That seems likely.
I'll give Tori a call in a minute, I don't think her shuttle has arrived on Balmorra yet and my comm is not a hypercomm. So I've got some time to settle in…I locked the door, right? Right. Okay. First thing is first; figure out how best to use the Holocron.
Putting my suitcase down in my room, I opened it and withdrew the 'container'. A busted mouse droid, candidly lifted from a garbage load I was helping to process on my last day aboard the Highlander. It was thoroughly gutted, leaving only the wheels inside. I popped open the bottom of the droid and withdrew the Holocron. I got up on the bed, a fold-out thing that came with a surprisingly comfortable mattress, and started meditating on the Holocron. Opening it up.
It spoke to me. I could feel it teaching me, handing out it's knowledge instead of simply sitting there and waiting for me to pick it up. It honestly was one of the most pleasant things to ever experience, like a wave of calm as knowledge filled my soul. But with that knowledge came a simple fact that I didn't know what to feel about.
In order to get the absolute most out of this Holocron, I was going to need to build a lightsaber. A real, true blue lightsaber. And while I wanted to do it…I really, really didn't want to do it. It was risky as heck. I mean, if I could just build a random lightsaber out of random parts, then disassemble the pieces and throw them away when I had to leave. Build a dozen lightsabers to train with over the course of my service in the Imperial Military. The problem?
The focusing crystal is the problem. See, there is no way I can ever get clearance to visit Illum. That place is so highly locked down only the Emperor himself and Vader can visit it freely and that's where the Jedi got their crystals. This is where the Legends/Disney canon divide really starts to bite.
In Legends, Jaina Solo created her own focusing crystal in a geological compressor. The only reason I know it was a compressor is because I researched crystal growing and manipulation in the Academy for the science course. The problem is that, from what I can recall, it was easy to screw up a synth-crystal. You could destroy the lightsaber and blow a limb off if you screw up, which would be very bad. That meant we needed to use a natural crystal, which I'll probably grow using water, a salt solution, and the force. And the fridge.
That takes something called time and I'd need to keep the crystal with me at all times because while I might not be being watched right now, as I progress in my career that's going to change. It's highly likely that I'm going to have spies following my every move, so I won't be able to just keep making new crystals over and over again over the years it's going to take to master Niman. Keeping the crystal on me and hiding it with me is about the only chance I got to stop someone from coming across it by searching my belongings.
I mean, I want too…I really want to build a lightsaber. Who wouldn't want to build their own lightsaber? I mean, I prefer blasters by and large just because they're the more practical distance weapon. Well, I say more practical but given some of the crap the Jedi pull off with them, I'm going to say Lightsabers fall into the 'difficult but awesome' class of weapons. And…well…I want one. Shouldn't be too hard to get the solution, either. This might not be your average salt crystal, but the ingredients won't be too hard to get.
But if I make a lightsaber, I have to figure out how to hide it.
Especially if I'm going to be meeting Vader in the near future.
---
Author's Notes: Alright, I'll come clean – I put no real thought into Tori when I first introduced her. If I want her to be a continuing presence in this fic, I need to develop her much, much more. More personality beyond her ambition and attraction to the MC. So, I'm going to try to do that if I want to avoid the trope 'creators pet' being applied to her.
Next chapter is going to be a montage much in the same vain as Jet's senior academy, going on about life on Corellia, some of the stuff he finds, maybe building a lightsaber. Maybe. Seeing how suicidal we can make Jet if he goes through with it.
Shout out goes out to Raven Uzushi, welcome to the circle of patrons.
Shout out also goes out to Maben00, thanks for your support, you're awesome – you are now a Super Patron.
Shout out to Devil's Bite, you are crazy awesome, thanks for the boat load of support, you're awesome, welcome to the circle of Super Patrons you incredible human being.
Finally, a big thank you too Melden V, Anders Kronquist, Ray Tony Song, makopaulo, Volkogluk, Aaron Bjornson, iolande, Martin Auguado, Julio, Tomer Zwighaft, keefe owens, Jiopaba, Hackerham and Tim Collins-Squire. You guys are awesome, thank you.
Until the next time!
~Fulcon
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- Location
- Somewhere, over the rainbow
Very nice, very nice indeed. There could easily be some Corellian Jedi still alive by this point. But Corellia has plenty of places that could be used to practice out of sight, depending on how far you're willing to travel.
And if you need to get out quickly, well there's always pilots to be found on Corellia.
And if you need to get out quickly, well there's always pilots to be found on Corellia.
Night_stalker
Slava Ukraini!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Given how FUBAR the ship is....
Well, would anyone really msis those decks?
"I mean, if we were on engineering tracks, we'd probably be allowed to stay on...."
That's a bar so low literally anything could be a improvement. Even a Kakistrocacy.
Broken sentence.
"Like go visit a ISB agent Go out and buy some souvenirs."
Look on the bright side! If you get assigned there, you have very good odds on promotion. Or winding up dead.
A planet full of Hans and Wedges? Gee, I wonder why.
That non Force users tend to turn themselves into piles of limbs on the ground when they use lightsabers?
Given your rank, so long as it's somewhat concealed, should be fine.
- Location
- California
He could always figure out how to make a synthetic crystal. Also, for some reason I'd really like to see this go where he reaches that perfect moment to defect, and then remembers all the good shit in his life, and goes nah.
- Location
- USA
Lot's of possibilities on Corellia, it's why I went there. Lot's of good stuff.
Fixed everywhere. Thank you.
That's what he's goin' for, man. Using a method to grow it other than the geocompressor, but going for a synth crystal.
It could definitely happen.
RichardWhereat
Feanor did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Australia
Oh boy, even if you know how to use it, only a master of Soresu would survive Vader, and that's if they're particularly strong in the force. Don't commit suicide by Vader, Jet.
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- Location
- USA
I do like Soresu a lot...but what makes you say that? I figured Soresu because of the Obi Wan connection but why Shii Cho?
- Location
- Somewhere, over the rainbow
There actually is a Jedi Master on Corellia right now.
Matarmeno Krahnn
Granted, he was from the Galaxies game, but still.
Matarmeno Krahnn
Granted, he was from the Galaxies game, but still.
RichardWhereat
Feanor did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Australia
Retracted that about Shii Cho, it isnt any good against a single opponent. Against multiple people though, it's outstanding. Soreso for Obi Wan, but also because it's all about defense without wasted movements. Necessary when countering Djem So.
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