Jedi Insurgency 176

After ending the call with Tann, Corvus leaned back into his comfortable couch, and had a cheesy grin on his face. It was nice to know that she cared. Not just anyone would fly across the galaxy because of a vision. 

That said, if Tann could foresee him experiencing a close bout with death, then perhaps this was serious. 

His plan thus far, was to eliminate the Dark Prince of the Black Sun crime syndicate, and pin the blame on the Hutts. Then, he would assassinate the remaining Hutt leadership, and point towards Darth Maul's organization, the Shadow Collective. Ideally, there would be a great deal of internal strife, and civil war. Within the chaos of this conflict, he had intended to goad the Dark Jedi, Beldorion, to come to blows with Maul. Whoever emerged the victor would then become a target for assassination, or an ally of convenience against Palpatine. That was the way he saw it. 

However, it was possible there were things he hadn't accounted for, or overlooked. Thankfully, his students, and the Bad Batch were on Nar Shaddaa, and he could ask them for their opinions. Although Corvus had shown himself to be a decent decision maker, that didn't mean he was stupid enough to ram his forehead at a problem again and again. He was man enough to know when to ask for advice, and seek the help of others. It would be a lie to say he wasn't a proud, arrogant SOB at times, but a Jedi was not an island unto himself. Even Luke, for all his power, could only achieve victory over the Empire with the help of his father, and his friends. 

Corvus was thankful for his allies, that he had people to rely upon. Commander Pots, and Admiral Clip, for example, were carrying the Republic forces in the Galactic South. Their leadership, and strategic minds were what allowed him to galavant across the galaxy, performing special operations. Thanks to their oversight on Eriadu, management of Malastare, and coordination with the Starcrusher Corp, millions of men were being trained, and warships were being produced every day. 

Furthermore, the missions Yon, Jax, and the Bad Batch had completed made this operation on Nar Shaddaa possible in the first place. Mid level gangsters throughout the quadrant had been put to the sword, and based upon Xizor’s reports, mistrust between the various criminal factions was at an all time high. His plan of sewing discord between the Hutts, and the Shadow Collective was working. 

What he needed for this operation on Nar Shaddaa was an edge, and he might just have the right group in mind. Back during the days of Kotor I, Revan had stolen a piece of the Star Forge, and using his own understanding of the Force, transformed it into a device he had dubbed the Infinite Engine. As it was technically Rakatan technology, this small, football sized object had the potential to grow both in size, and output. 

Revan then gifted the Infinite Engine to his servants on Nar Shaddaa. These servants were members of the Cult of Revan, and nominally were of the Ongree species. Instructed to feed their deceased into the device, the Infinite Engine could then transform that matter into any other material. The cultists used it mostly for supplies to survive, but also inserted their newborns into the machine, altering their molecular structures, making them stronger, and more robust than the typical Ongree. 

The only problem with this story, was what happened later, during the events of SWTOR. A player character working for the Sith Empire had a mission to seize the Infinite Engine, and slaughter the locals. However, the PC can choose to leave the device behind, and spare the cultists. 

On this trip to Nar Shaddaa, Corvus wanted to see if they were still alive, and if the Infinite Engine was salvageable. The Ongree would make for a fanatical fighting force, and could help shore up his weaknesses during the upcoming op. It was a fact that he was severely short on manpower, and as great as his students & the Bad Batch were, there was still the possibility of being surrounded, and drowned out by tens of thousands of blaster bolts. There was no reason why they couldn't have a backup plan, should a decapitation strike fail. 

He had spent several hours like this, deep in thought, and when his chronometer beeped, he knew that he was nearing his destination. 

Moving into the cockpit, Corvus coated the Falcon in a cloak of invisibility, and then exited hyperspace. His light freighter exited into real space, and he had to almost immediately buck his ship to the side to avoid a collision. Tens of thousands of cargo cruisers, hundreds of thousands of light freighters, and millions of smaller shuttlecrafts choked the space above Nar Shaddaa. Although it was only a moon, this planetoid was a megalopolis like any other. Boasting a population in the trillions, it was the hub city for crime, and every possible illicit activity. 

Raw, blaring emotion, like neon lights pulsing at your eyes poured from the moon. Ecstasy, loss, and a thousand other experiences permeated this hotbed for life. 

It was only thanks to his experiences on other worlds that he didn't lose himself in the Force. The moon was characterized by endless seas of metal buildings, large patches of smog so dense, the city underneath couldn't be seen. In terms of pollution, there were several yellow splotches that were covered in outrageously toxic waste stacked so high, that an entirely new type of environment had been born. Looking down at the massive megalopolis, Corvus felt his heart ache. 

‘All that exp…!’ He thought to himself, and tightened his fist, lamenting what could have been. 

The day that he brought the Tho Yor to Nar Shaddaa, was the day he either reached max level, or his exp reached a cap due to another promotion/prestige quest. 

‘It should've been you, not Tatooine!’ Corvus internally sighed, a wry smile was planted across his face one last time, before he focused on Nar Shaddaa once more. 

If he had more time, he would have loved to have joined in a swoop bike racing event, climb the ranks of a Pazaak tournament, or watch some bands perform. Although he wasn't partial towards places like Las Vegas or Macao, he could appreciate the spectacle. However, as a book nerd, Tython, or the Death Star were places he would much rather tour. The incredibly dense crowds on Nar Shaddaa were enough to make his skin crawl. 

Call him boring, but meditating on the Force, discovering new powers, teaching his students, and seeing the smiling faces of those he healed were much more fulfilling than going into the big city or clubbing it up. 

Whilst he was having these thoughts, Corvus was constantly bobbing, and weaving through the insane traffic. It wouldn't be so difficult if he wasn't flying an invisible ship, but he didn't want his presence to be known. The Millennium Falcon was becoming a little too recognizable, as evidenced by his encounter with Hanzo. On a planetoid like Nar Shaddaa, where there are cameras everywhere, and you had to pay to dock anywhere, the odds of getting accosted by some random criminal goon were waay to high. 

So he'd had his students, and the Bad Batch set up a safehouse ahead of time. 

Reaching the coordinates of his navicomputer, he sent a text, and a pair of nondescript doors to a hangar opened up. Parking the Falcon a second later, the doors closed shut within a minute of opening up. 

Exiting the ramp, Corvus examined the facility his men had purchased/seized. It was a spacious warehouse, with rows of junk stored on many different shelves. Six other spaceships were parked near his, and up ahead, he saw three distinct groups. 

Jax was holding onto twin blue lightsabers, and had his eyes closed in meditation. The wintery white haired, blue eyed teen was deep in the Force, and ignoring all of his surroundings. Surrounding him were Omega, Triss, and two alien girls he didn't recognize. Omega was bubbly, and her voice was quite loud whilst she preached Jax's accolades. Triss, meanwhile, was looking uncomfortable, and kept glancing at the other teen girls’ well developing figures. The aliens-one blue, the other red-were enraptured by Omega's tale, and constantly glanced at Jax. Those naked lust filled gazes practically sang in the Force. 

To Jax's credit, he completely tuned them out, and as his understanding of the Zilo Beast deepened, the aura of majesty, and tyranny that cloaked his form became more difficult to constrain. This very same aura seemed to draw the ladies attention, but also kept them at an arms length distance. 

As for Yon, he had a scowl on his face, and a kyber crystal in hand. He looked like he wanted to do anything but meditate, however, each one of his breaths would stir the stale warehouse air. It almost felt like he had introduced the concept of Spring to the wind, and it carried with it a surprisingly pleasant odor. Corvus was somewhat shocked by this development, but then again, the boy would do anything for power, even if that meant taking advice from ancient Jedi windbags. 

Smiling at the progress his students had made since he last saw them over two weeks ago, he then turned to a closed office space. A serious aura permeated the room, and the blinds were closed. The Bad Batch were planning an OP. 

Entering the room, he saw that the lights were off, and a holotable was casting a flickering blue glow of Nar Shaddaa’s skyline across the faces of CF-99. 

“General.” Hunter grunted in acknowledgment. 

“Don't mind me, gentlemen, by all means, please continue.” Corvus waved him off, and then posted up by the door, and crossed his arms in interest. 

Hunter nodded, and stared down the rest of his men from the holotable. His eyes narrowed as the projection of a palace rotated slowly into view. Key areas were highlighted with different colors. The model detailed landing pads, security checkpoints, data rooms, and other points of interest. 

“We've gathered intelligence from multiple sites these past two weeks. Everything points towards a big meeting being held at Gora the Hutt's palace. Seems like the Hutt Ruling Council are all gathering to discuss something.” Hunter said, beginning the meeting. 

“This place is a fortress.” Tech said, adjusting his goggles as streams of data scrolled beside the hologram. “Multiple redundant power grids, overlapping security patrols, three sets of shield generators covering both energy & physical attacks, mercenaries, droids, and an excessive number of anti-air batteries.”

“Which is why we aren't going to hit it head-on.” 

“I can slice their security net. Cameras, motion sensors, internal comms—gone. They’ll be blind and deaf, at least for a few minutes. Longer if I’m lucky.” Echo’s said, extending his scomp interface-the slicing tool that had been grafted onto him during an experiment-with a soft whir. 

“You’ll have your window, we just have to make it count.” Hunter said, rearranging the map, and then glancing at Wrecker. 

“While Echo’s playin’ with wires, oi’ll be busy mak'in things go boom. Hangar’s on the lower east side, fuel lines run right under the deck. A few charges there, and kablow.” Wrecker loudly clapped his hands together for emphasis. “Big fireball. Lotsa screamin. You'll love it General, oi promise ye.”

“That will certainly be a distraction of sufficient magnitude, my muscular minded friend.” Tech agreed dryly. He then expanded the hologram, isolating a ring of emplacements along the palace’s upper spires. 

“Once Wrecker initiates the diversion, I will access the palace’s fire-control systems. The anti-air batteries use IFF tagging to avoid friendly fire. I can reprogram them to do the opposite.”

“How devious.” Echo scratched his chin, and glanced at his brother with an arched eyebrow. “I didn't think you had it in you, Tech.” 

“Yes, well, after we freed the slave pen on Raxus IV, I find myself with little pity for these criminals.” Tech pressed up his goggles, and replied in an almost acidic tone. 

“We all got a bone to pick with them mate, just don't let your personal grievances get in the way of the mission.” Hunter-acting as the leader-pulled his trooper back. 

“Ahem, so any ship broadcasting a Hutt signature gets lit up? That's the plan, right?” Echo-the second in command-fluidly continued the discussion. 

“Precisely.” Tech agreed. 

From the shadows near the back wall, Crosshair was cleaning his gun, and didn't even look up when he spoke. 

“Officers and lieutenants will try to restore order. They won’t get the chance. I’ll move ahead of the chaos. Anyone giving orders won’t be doing it for long.” Crosshair's voice cut in, calm and cold. One second he was there, the next his camo cloak shimmered, hiding him from view. 

Hunter looked to each of them in turn, committing their roles to memory, and shared a sharklike grin with his brothers. Then he reached down and lifted a helmet from the table. Its design was Mandalorian in nature, and appeared to be old and worn. 

“When the blackout hits and the hangar goes up, I'll walk through the front door. Gora hires mercenaries all the time. I’ll sell myself as one more gun looking for credits and protection. While they’re busy fighting fires and losing officers, I get inside.”

Wrecker chuckled. “You sure you don’t wanna blow the front door too?”

“Not until it's time.” Hunter thinly smiled. 

“And the Black Sun?” Corvus entered the conversation, and questioned. 

Hunter shared a grin with his boys, and then saluted Corvus. “See, General, me and the lads thought you might ask that.” 

Pulling out a remote, he clicked a button, and a shudder rolled up, revealing a richly garbed Falleen. The green skinned alien was bound, gagged, and blindfolded. 

“Evidence has already been planted, everything points to Beldorion. Words been put out, an all out war is brewing. I click this button, and a message declaring the Black Sun start shooting at the Hutts is received. All that we're waiting on is for your servant, Xizor, to waltz his way in, and claim the credit once peace has been achieved.” Hunter declared with pride. 

“The pre-recorded order will mask our assault. It's flawless.” Echo added on. 

“Heh heh, the scum-slickers arn't gonna know wot hit'em!” Wrecker slammed a hand into a fist with pleasure. 

“You men are a blessing. Hunter, Echo, Crosshair, Tech, Wrecker, you men have done so much for me. You're been with me for months now, and I want each and every one of you to know that I appreciate everything you have done for the Republic.” Corvus sincerely spoke from the bottom of his heart, and lightly bowed to them. 

Even if they had messed up with the Jar Jar incident, the Bad Batch were badass super commandos. They were just as important as Pots or Clip. No man could wage war on the galaxy on his own, and here these beautiful bastards were, exceeding expectations once again. 

The hologram dimmed as Tech shut it down. For a moment, the only sound was the distant hum of Nar Shaddaa’s endless traffic, seeping through the walls.

Hunter lowered the Mandalorian helmet over his face, and gave Corvus a thumbs up. 

“Trust in us to accomplish the mission, General. Zero hour is set for 6hrs from now. Of course you're free to provide your support, but I doubt we'll need it.” Hunter cheekily replied. 

Corvus chuckled, and laughed along with Echo and Wrecker at Hunter's joke. 

“An interesting proposition, gentlemen. I have a mission of my own to complete. Should I succeed, I believe my reinforcements shall be more than sufficient.” Corvus swirled away, moving towards the hangar. 

Although the Force wasn't warning him, or providing any danger pings for this mission, that didn't mean he couldn't be extra prepared. The Ongree enclave, and the Infinite Engine awaited him. 

~~~~~~~

AN: Time for another productive walk. The next 24hrs on Nar Shaddaa are going to be wild, yo!