Jedi Insurgency 180

The guy was a ball of positivity, and was nervously shaking. 

“Relax. You are doing a good job. I am proud of your peoples dedication.” Corvus complimented, and cast [Valor] on Cenk to calm him down. 

Although he stopped shaking, Cenk bowed his head, and spoke to Corvus in a respectful tone: 

“The compact promised us survival, we swore oaths of obedience in return. The Revan does not need to praise us for what has been decreed.” Cenk shook his head, and patiently explained. 

The alien then led them down several different elevators, and along many different halls. Everywhere they went, the walkways were chalk full of people. Kitted out in their war gear, the Revanites thumped their Force Pikes upon the floor every step of the way. 

Yon had his hands behind the back of his head, and sported a feral grin. He was having the time of his life, as if the praise for his Master were well deserved. 

“I say, Master, your new servants are better equipped than any standard clone trooper, and by all accounts, train their entire lives for war. Why not use them all to conquer Nar Shaddaa?” Yon asked, his aura full of bloodlust. 

“My silly apprentice, how many people do you think reside on Nar Shaddaa?” Corvus replied, his lips had stretched wide in amusement. 

“Oh come on, Master. Eriadu was home to hundreds of millions, and we easily took it.” Yon rolled his eyes, the way he spoke was as if he were begging for Corvus to let him go to the movies, or stay at a friend's house. 

Chuckling to himself, he ruffled the short teens hair. “That was because I removed their obviously corrupt leaders, and healed everyone of their ailments over the course of a week.” 

“Well, aren't you killing all of their leaders now? Just heal everyone again!” Yon slapped a hand into his palm, as if everything were solved. 

“The situation is slightly more complex than that. It wasn't until Tarkin wantonly began to kill his own people wholesale, that they truly started to believe. Besides, I had an army in orbit with laser guns pointing down. Here, I have what, ten million soldiers? Elite they may be, but for a protracted war without aerial superiority, that isn't nearly enough men for an all out assault.” Corvus shook his head, and began to enter lecture mode, slightly dropping the playfulness from his voice, to impress upon this student of his the seriousness of this conversation. 

“There are over a trillion sentients on Nar Shaddaa, it is one of the five most populated locations in the galaxy. During peace time, most worlds maintain a planetary defense force of about 1% of the population. That would be 10 billion troops.” Jax spoke up, and said with a thoughtful look on his face. 

“Tch, show off. So what if it's ten billion! Master just has to throw a slave revolt or something, and steal the Hutt leadership's command codes. Order the military to stand down, or even shoot upon one another. They're all from different clans to begin with, and don't trust one another, right? Isn't one of your plans, Master, to sow distrust between the various clans?” Yon pouted, and offered his counterargument. 

Corvus slow clapped, impressed by Yon's off the cuff analysis. Although he was still bloodthirsty-not a great trait for a Jedi-he was results oriented, and had done some heavy lifting during their two weeks apart. Credit was due, where credit was deserved. 

“Well done presenting an alternate means of attack, Yon, I think your idea has merit, and is worth considering.” Corvus nodded at the teen, acknowledging him. 

“Ha!” Yon pointed at Jax's face, and beamed with happiness. His scowl melted away due to the praise. 

“However, despite all of the chaos that would ensue, I would refrain from deploying these soldiers. Cutthroat the Hutts may be, but no matter how much infighting there is, nothing would unite them like a slave rebellion. Jax, do you know the percent of a population that fights during total war?” Corvus crossed his arms, and explained his position, before turning to the ice blue eyed boy. 

Jax furrowed his brow as he did some quick calculations, and recalled some history. 

“During the Great Hyperspace War, when Coruscant was ‘relatively’ safe, about 12-13% of the population was mobilized. When the Great Galactic War was waged, and Darth Malgus razed the Temple on Coruscant, up to 33% of military aged men were recruited.” Jax slowly spoke, quoting ancient history. 

Yon looked as if he was going to sputter, but Corvus held his hand up. 

“Your idea is worth implementing, but keep in mind, these are our allies. Not some disposable droid, or mindless autamotan. Simply because their fervor is beyond anything you have experienced before, does not mean I shall spend their blood carelessly. You had best remember this when one day you are in command.” Corvus pressed upon the lackadaisical teen with the full might of his presence, wiping the casual smirk right off his face. 

Seeing the boy wilt, Corvus then took on a softer approach, not wanting him to become depressed or lose morale. 

“In principle, there is nothing wrong with what you said, boy. I will very likely steal their command codes, and sow chaos across the ranks. This is in line with a Jedi Shadows' thinking, and proves that you are doing our Order proud.” Corvus praised, and then tried teaching the lad from a different angle. “Since you are such a capable shadow, then surely you can see why a full frontal assault wouldn't be the most optimal path?” 

Yon slowly nodded, and regained some of the arrogant pep in his step, as the chorus of Force Pikes, and the Revanites echo in the Force became impossible to ignore. 

“You’re right, Master. Needlessly wasting the lives of such loyalists would be a foolish idea. I'll strive to create different opportunities for our side. If these two weeks apart have taught me anything, it's to be creative when executing the mission.” Yon boasted, referencing his long kill list. “Unlike some people, who have trouble keeping their lightsabers in their pants.” He snickered, glancing at Jax, and then at Omega/Triss. 

“Oi!” Omega rolled up a sleeve. 

Triss gave him a disinterested, apathetic look, and then turned to observe the cultists. 

Jax ignored Yon, and turned to Corvus with an enquiring expression on his face. “The worship of these Ongree is sending shockwaves through the Force, I feel that the rest of our community will find it to be…unsettling. That it may act as a beacon for our enemies. If war upon Nar Shaddaa is untenable, then I suggest we find them transport off world.” 

Corvus internally grimaced, as Jax made a good point. As much as he would like to use them to conquer Nar Shaddaa, that idea was a fantasy. At least, if he did throw them into the meatgrinder, there'd probably be a 90%+ casualty rate. It was important to note that the Hutt's were actually genius roboticists, and had initially expanded their empire through a combination of droids & slaves. 

Furthermore, from the comics or tv shows, one might assume that there were only 5 or 10 Hutts in the entire galaxy, maybe a hundred max. But in reality, there were millions, possibly hundreds of millions of them on Nal Hutta, and abroad. The slugs were a clan based society, where the lesser Hutts served as middle managers for businesses, and slave management. They enacted the ‘CEO’ type leader's vision, and often served as Captains for warships, researchers, scientists, or engineers. 

Imagining a thousand year old scientist, it made one wonder what the world would be like, if great men like Einstein, or Newton had a thousand years to ponder. Although Corvus was sending assassin droids after these middle managers, it would take time to thoroughly dissolve the Hutt Cartel. 

The reality of the situation was, that unless he had overwhelming force stationed above Nar Shaddaa/Nal Hutta, a direct assault was a pipe dream. Their accumulated resources over the millenia, huge population, and ideal location meant any protracted conflict here would result in a zero sum gain. Which is why he was going to slowly erode their grip on power. Whilst the clans fought one another for supremacy, Prince Xizor, Hondo Ohnaka, and Boba Fett would be muscling in on their turf. 

Change most often did not occur with the flip of a switch, but through a gradual shift. Like a man deciding to grind for those muscles, or grind for that $, Corvus was in this war for the longhaul, and would grind away at the slugs until their Cartel was no more. 

Turning to Jax, he gave a big thumbs up. “Excellent suggestion, my apprentice.” 

He then issued an order to Xizor for a quick pick up. Ordinarily, transporting several million sentients was a tall order. Especially on such short notice. However, for the galaxy's tenth richest trillionaire, and owner of the top three largest shipping conglomerates, it was a trivial task. 

‘God, I love having minions.’ Corvus thought to himself. 

Speaking of which…

“The Revan, we have arrived at Your most holy shrine.” Cenk bowed, and pointed forward. 

What awaited them was a three story tall machine. It was all silver, square, and looked like a pure block of metal. The only thing that made it appear like an actual device, was the large portal on both ends, where a conveyor belt went through both sides. A computer screen, and keyboard terminal were on one end, as well as a big red button. 

“A demonstration is in order. Load the sacred script of life!” Cenk clapped his hands, and directed a pair of robed cultists towards the controls. 

They pulled out an old school floppy disk, and carefully inserted it into the Infinite Engine as if it were some sacred scripture directly written by the hands of God. A solemn air began to fill the chamber, and a hundred Ongree wearing robes showed up. They started to chant alien words in a low voice. 

One Ongree-who was at the base of the machine-disrobed, and bowed towards Corvus. Tears were streaming down his face, and an ugly upside down smile was spread from ear to ear. He was an old, shaky thing, appearing as if a stiff breeze would knock him over at any moment. 

Corvus watched on with a heavy heart, knowing that this was how the Revanites within this mega skyscraper had lived for thousands of years. 

“That man is going to kill himself. Isn't it the Jedi way to stop things like that?! Or is everything you've taught me a lie?” Omega turned to Jax, and desperately pulled on his arm. 

“The Jedi do not typically interfere with cultural practices…” Jax muttered, although even he didn't sound like he believed the words he was saying. 

“You don't feel it, do you? He is proud to do this. Happy, relieved, loved. You've been at this for how long, and can't even sense something so basic?” Yon scoffed, and stared intently at the cultist. 

Corvus internally nodded. The old man was weeping, not out of despair, but because he was being of use to his people. That he could do so in the presence of…

“I praise The Revan for his gift. From His blessing, I was born. May my death gift life.” The elderly Ongree stated, and then stepped onto the conveyor belt. 

“May your death gift life.” The rest of the Ongree who were present chanted. 

Someone pressed the big red button, and the Infinite Engine came to life. Whirring sounds began to buzz, and an excruciating pain filled the void for one second, and then the sound of construction grew louder. Corvus felt his heart squeeze, as the cultist's final moment was no different than that of cattle. 

The infinite Engine glowed a soft red, and thrummed with power. A steady current in the Force was breathed into existence. He was somewhat reminded of the nascent consciousness in his kyber crystal. 

Almost like this machine was alive…

‘Maybe it is.’ His sixth sense whispered. 

“Hunger. Boundless hunger. It wants more.” Jax softly spoke, whilst Omega buried her head in the back of his shoulder, frightened by its noise. 

Corvus held his tongue, and watched the procedure from beginning to end. 

What came out the other end exceeded his expectations. 

A full banquet of hot and ready food-enough to feed hundreds-emerged from the conveyor belt. 

“This is amazing.” Yon stated breathlessly, and then turned to Cenk. “But why don't you use this new mass to create an endless feedback loop for resources?” 

The Ongree leader bowed his head. 

“What the holy sepulture can only take that which was freely given. Intelligent species produce the best result. The deceased, or inorganic matter is feasible, but much less satisfactory. It will not accept the gifts, those who tried met terrible fates.” Cenk cryptically said. 

Corvus furrowed his brow. To operate the Infinite Engine optimally-where matter produced, exceeded the matter input-he'd have to use living sacrifices. 

Glaring at the machine, he now truly believed that this was a piece of the Star Forge modified by Darth Revan. The Star Forge was a Darkside instrument that brainwashed its users to feed it an unending stream of resources. 

It would appear that the Infinite Engine was likewise, a Darkside artifact. 

To a people surviving inside a skyscraper, this artifact seemed viable, but to use it on a mass scale to produce resources, droids, or weapons…that was a line Corvus was unwilling to cross. 

However. If he could plant this baby on an agriworld, then all hope may not be lost. Just because it could be fueled better by the living, didn't mean he had to be stupid about it. 

Staring at the Infinite Engine, he felt it pulse, inviting him within its chambers. Corvus felt his breath hitch. The Darkside was strong with this artifact, but he felt that it was promising him power. Somehow, it had sensed that he was a fraction of the old Darth Revan. 

A short vision ensued, in which he fed it 100 Ongree, and it would remake his body to once more be on par with that of Revan from years long past. 

Corvus sighed, and silently refused, pushing the device's nascent intelligence to the back of his psyche. 

“We've seen what we came here for. Xizor can remove it with a tractor beam…come on, we have some criminal scum to remove.” Corvus said with a heavy voice, and then turned to lead his group out. 

Each of the other Force Sensitives seemed to have received the same offer. Two in his party were quick to join him, one struggled, and one only followed after Cenk dragged them along. 

Corvus didn’t notice any of this, as sinister whispers constantly needled at him, urging him to act. 

‘100 lives. Become whole. Many dead. Your stained hands. What is. 100 more?’ A devilish voice whispered through the Force. 

‘Begone. Not friend. Leave.’ His bonded kyber crystal interjected, completely silencing the Infinite Engine's diabolical demands. 

‘Thank you.’ Corvus breathed in relief as he felt the soothing coolness of his kyber crystal shining in the Force. 

‘Love. Strong. Together.’ 

Smiling to himself, Corvus nodded, and felt a spring in his step as he left the bowels of the super skyscraper. 

Whilst the Infinite Engine was a dangerous artifact, it would have its uses…but if a bushel of corn wasn't effective, than he was better off locking it in some hole, and forgetting it ever existed. 

~~~~~~~~

AN: Maybe some of you would take the offer…but it isn't the Jedi Way. Besides, what if you offered 100 souls, stepped inside the machine, and then in its greed, ate you too? Or, as a Darkside artifact, was straight up lying the entire time?