Jedi Insurgency 210

Waiting on the outskirts of the large KDY research facility, Corvus was with Jax, whilst everyone else had chosen different entry points, or had already infiltrated. 

The Super Eclipse was upon them, and the very last specks of light were twinkling out of existence. Prepared for this eventuality, bright white lamp posts were everywhere, flooding the area with beams of light. However, this celestial phenomenon was quite interesting, and drowned out the light, making the scenery appear dim, and gloomy. 

Darkness spread throughout the Force, yet it was not malicious. As many kids ran around performing acts akin to trick-or-treating, a quiet balance of cheerful life, and cool night intertwined. 

As the sun was totally blocked out, the conditions for his quest were finally fulfilled. 

[Class Promotion Quest

Master of Shadow: 

-25% All stats & abilities. 

10/10 Defeat mirrored self 

1/1 Witness an Eclipse

100/100% Meditate on the Shadow Wrath State

Rewards: Shadow Wrath State

Jedi Master (mid)] 

Upon completion, his level was directly advanced to 30, and he gained several new Force Points, an open attribute, and skill points. He wasn't too worried about investing those at the moment, and would hold onto them for when he was either in transit to Coruscant, or during his next life or death duel. Instead, he was happy to have that curse lifted off his shoulders, and return to form. The upgrade in rank would be a nice surprise for his enemies. Previously, his Force Powers had been locked at Tier IV, and like he demonstrated with [Heal] could only be advanced with arduous training. Now, he could invest points to suddenly upgrade an ability to Tier V mid fight. 

Additionally, he gained a new ability. 

[Shadow Wrath State]: Cloak yourself in shadows. All stats are doubled. The power & cost of all Force Powers is doubled. Consumes 10% of your FP bar every minute. 30 minute cooldown after use. 

It was somewhat ironic to Corvus that the debuffed state he was in rewarded something that doubled his stats, and the potency of his Force Powers. Ultimately, the [Shadow Wrath State] was an incredible reward. When paired with the [Darkside Siphon] ability he gained from his Jedi Shadow prestige class, he could theoretically maintain that appearance for a long time. If he was fighting on a Darkside Nexus, or against multiple Darksiders, then perhaps he could even maintain it ‘indefinitely.’ 

The thought of running around with double stats at all times was enough to make Corvus giddy with joy. This might not seem like much, but it was a godly buff! With his current System, he only gained an attribute point every 4 levels. Up until now, he had only invested 6 total attribute points, with one free point left unused acquired at level 28. Now that he knew his attributes had been doubled when fighting Darth Maul, it just went to show how terrifying of a Sith he had become. Learning Dathomiri magick had truly made the horned Zabrak a terrifying foe! 

Whilst Corvus was breathing in the darkness, and rubbing his hands together like some 2-bit villain as he imagined his future path to power, his student was having a revelation of his own. 

“I feel like I could speak to the ghost of my friends.” Jax softly spoke up. 

Glancing at the excessively pale skinned teen, Corvus reached out with his senses, but nothing came back. He supposed he wasn't particularly close with anyone who had died in the Star Wars universe.

“Perhaps you might find her yet, Jax.” Corvus seriously intoned. “This ‘night’ created by the convergence of moons & planets is something special. Gyndine has played host to a great battle in the past. If at anytime you wish to follow the call of the Force, and depart from this mission, I encourage you to act upon that feeling.” 

Jax stared at him for a long, silent moment, before bowing his head. “Thank you, Master for understanding.” 

Although only a sentence was spoken by the often quiet boy, Corvus could feel the intensity of the emotion in those few words. Looking up at the starless sky, he too wished he could speak to those he had lost on this night. 

His kyber crystal flashed, bathing him in a warm glow, and a hesitant hug met him from the side. 

“Jax?” 

“You looked like you needed a hug.” His student smiled, and then without another word, walked away, disappearing into the gloom. 

“He's growing up.” Corvus softly whispered to himself, and sighed. Before he knew it, his twin students would be away, commanding armies of their own, taking in impressionable youths to teach, and mold into accomplished Je'daii. 

Growing older was a blessing, and a curse. There was nothing more satisfying then seeing the seeds you had sown grow into blossoming trees. Yet the longer he stayed in this galaxy, the more he feared losing those he had grown close to. Would he have the heart to train Luke, Leia, Galen, or any other new students should he lose Jax or Yon? The worst outcome for a parent is to pass after their own child. Would he change, becoming more like Yoda or Dooku? Become withered & withdrawn, or bitter and uncaring? He hoped such a day would never pass, yet on this night of dark remembrance, the Force was warning him that this future might be. 

With melancholy as his mantle, Corvus gripped his lightsaber, and invisibly trudged towards the facility. Alarms had been blaring on and off for the last 30 minutes, and the security personnel wore angry looks on their faces, whilst many employees were walking out the front gate. 

Weaving through the crowd, he easily entered the base, and began to make his way towards the executive suite. Whilst Madine was busy stealing the blue prints from the R&D department, Corvus decided he'd have a little fun himself. 

Taking an open carriage monorail on a horizontal journey through the facility, he felt like a protagonist at the start of a videogame before some insane xenos, or demons broke through a portal, and invaded. This method of travel was clearly a means to control who entered/exited, transport supplies, move people to work, and show off the facility to investors. Because during the ride, he had a clear view of offices, rooms full of computers, spare parts, a firing range, and the assembly. Overall, this 30min ride to the executive suites had been just like the prelude before a tutorial.

Unfortunately? There were no explosions, or flames everywhere (not yet at least), as Corvus was technically the bad guy evil terrorist in this case. 

“Executive Suites 1-A” A pleasant mechanical voice chimed in. 

Stepping off the monorail, Corvus saw a young, beautiful blonde bombshell with clenched fists march onto the monorail angrily. Behind her was a square chinned, spray tanned executive trying to call her back. 

“Miss Alexis, please, the alarms are just malfunctioning. I'm sure we could finish our meeting-” 

“It's over Donathon.” The girl icily declared, and then departed into the distance as the monorail took off. 

“Damned bitch is lucky her father is who he is.” Donathon scowled, and marched away. 

Corvus scratched his chin in thought, that girl must've been the CEO's daughter. Honestly, Jax really had the Devil's luck with women! Sexy alien babes, Princesses, and now this dynamite CEO chick! Clucking his tongue, he followed behind the executive. According to the files Madine had presented during their meeting under the restaurant, he knew that this man was in charge of the facility. 

Donathon slammed his office door, but that didn’t stop Corvus from [Shadow Hopping] into the room a step behind him. Watching the man down an alcoholic drink, then snort a line of ryll, and watch security footage of the blonde bombshell like some creep, Corvus decided he had seen enough. Time for some fun! 

With a wave of his hand, he put the executive to sleep, and then hacked his terminal. 

First things first, he edited the emails between him and Alexis, making it look like they had conspired with rebels. He then CC'd that to an ‘anonymous’ account, and added in some new emails from their rebel contact, V. Using his superb slicing skills, he backdated this info to make it appear as if these communications had all been sent a week ago. 

Although he felt bad for incriminating Jax's little girlfriend, Madine's idea to honeypot her had some merit. If he could blackmail the CEO of KDY, then perhaps there could be some benefits to be had. Of course, he wasn't delusional enough to think he could place KDY under his thumb with this move. Kuat was, afterall, one of the founding members of the Republic, and held as much power and influence as say Corellia or Alderaan. Besides, unlike the monarchy of Alderaan, Kuat & KDY were governed by shareholders. A CEO, no matter how influential, did not hold ultimate power. If even Papa John or Steve Jobs could be ousted on Earth, then Alexis’ dad could too. 

Which is why Corvus wasn't going to be openly spreading this information to the Imperial authorities. The only outcome from leaking this ‘collusion’ would be the sacking of the CEO, and KDY continuing business as per usual. But, by blackmailing the CEO in private, he could gain a lot of insider information ahead of time, then slowly, insidiously plant his people, and evidence within the company. 

By the time the shareholders discovered that the CEO had been colluding, it would be too late to remove him! Because in the Empire's eyes, all of KDY would be full of the cancerous rot known as betrayal, and all of the upper echelons would be in need of purging. 

Of course, this was an extremely long-con idea, one that might take one, two, or even five years to fully manifest. The war might even end before there ever was a need for this contingency. However, at the end of the day, Kuat Drive Yards would be in the palm of his hand. Not today, perhaps not even during the Clone Wars, but by the time of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, the number one ship & weapons manufacturer in the galaxy would belong to Revan. 

Setting these emails up, Corvus had a big joker-like grin spreading from ear to ear. Flagging all of these posts, he then sent them to his own official government email. Opening his account, and acting as Agent Bond, he then copied everything down, and made several forms plastered in legalese. For the coup de grâce, he then changed into the all black agent's uniform, and with a wave of his hand, woke Donathon up. 

Pressing record on the terminal camera, a scene began to unfold. 

“This is Special Agent Bond, representing the Imperial Inspectorate, are you, Executive Donathon Da'na, prepared to answer for your crimes?” The modulated voice asked. 

“Yes.” Donathon bowed his head and said under the persuasion of the Force. 

“Do you admit to colluding with Alexis Kuat of Kuat Drive Yards in aiding and abetting the Rebel Alliance?” 

“Yes.” 

“Then face your sentence.” Bond leveled a blaster at Donathon's face. 

Lifted from the trance, the executive's face suddenly morphed into one of fear. 

“No, wait-” 

A blaster shot rang out, and the corpse slid to the floor. 

Bond leaned down into the camera, his black mask all but taking up the entirety of the screen. 

“Mr. Kuat. I believe we need to talk.” 

The recording cut, and Corvus sent it, alongside the doctored emails to the tech CEO. 

Tapping away at the terminal's keyboard, he wore a sinister grin. 

What else could he do to ruin this facility?