Jedi Insurgency 307

Surrounded by the roaring approval of the Starcrusher Corp, Corvus pulled upon their enthusiasm, and used it to fuel himself. 

“My dearest soldiers, my closest of comrades. The Force is our ultimate destination, and every death is not to be feared. But death need not be needless, nor do I consider yours to be cheap. When I recruited you men of Kamino to my banner, I promised you a way out of this war. A future with jobs, families, the rights of citizens…and a normal lifespan. Today, I shall keep one of those promises!” 

The cheering clones & others paused for a moment in confusion, wondering what he was going to do. 

“Today, I shall eliminate the curse upon your bloodline, I shall completely and totally eradicate the fast aging that has so plagued you & your brothers! Now hold still, and hold your chin high, this is going to hurt.” 

Floating slightly off the ground, he activated [Shadow Wrath State], and then a wave of shadows spread forth from his body as the epicenter. 

[Shadow Heal Force Repulse Valor]. 

Focusing keenly on the clones that made up his retinue, Corvus began to alter them, improve them. 

Unfortunately, he couldn't make them all Force Sensitive like the Bad Batch, as that was an opportunity granted by the powerful Force Nexus of Tython, and very circumstantial. However, from that experience, he had learned much. Now that everyone was gathered before him, he not only cured the men of their fast aging, but also reinforced their telomeres, reversing the 2x aging process into a 0.5x multiplier, effectively doubling their lifespans compared to the average Human. Considering their bodies were artificially aged to 21, they should now live to a comfortable 140 to 200 years. 

The entire process took about an hour, throughout which, the brothers barely managed to stand through it all. The pain of body modification was intense, and required all of Corvus's focus. If he were to be attacked right then when his FP bar was low, and his concentration occupied, perhaps even a ‘lower’ tier enemy could get the jump on him. 

Weakness colored his breath, and his skin was pale after exerting such a lengthy, monumental technique, yet the results spoke for themselves. 

Once the last ray of shadow peeled away from them, the soldiers were half a head taller, and slightly bulkier, seemingly barely able to fit in their armor. Before, they were all lithe, now, they could give peak Schwarzenegger a run for his money. 

“Aye, what is this?” Hondo asked from nearby, pinching one finger against the other in wonder. “My iconic voice from years of smoking is gone?! How could you?” The Weequay accused in a flamboyant way. 

Corvus weakly cough-laughed at the alien, as the clones weren't the only ones he had modified. 

“An interesting way of saying ‘thank you.” Pots grinned, slinging an arm around Hondo's shoulder. 

The jacked clone Marshal nodded at Corvus meaningfully as if to say ‘we'll talk later’ and dragged the pirate away. “Now let's talk about those volunteers…” 

“Dismissed.” Corvus said, amplifying his voice with a microphone. 

Once the soldiers started marching off, Corvus-flanked by his posse of Yon + the Bad Batch-turned to the delegation of Umbarans, Wookiees, Trandoshans, and of course Master Tapal + Cal. 

Whilst he had retreated to Umbara, and found this rare large plateau, the planet itself was nearly perpetually covered in a dense purple fog. The people of this world were a pale skinned near-Human species that were essentially the Dark Elf sci-fi species of Star Wars. Corvus held this opinion because they as a culture adhered to an overwhelming one hundred caste system, and operated on subterfuge, cunning, backstabs, and assassinations. 

Previously, Senator Deechi had the planet retain Republic alignment, but ever since his death, they had swapped to the Confederacy. Now that Pong Krell, and Skywalker had eliminated a large number of warriors during a prior invasion, it was unclear who exactly was in charge. 

Across from him, the Umbaran delegation had three distinct Houses, and Corvus could sense a shared hostility between all of them. From what he could tell, it appeared that they were in a silent civil war, but didn't want to appear weak before outsiders. 

According to the information he had read about them in the database he had stolen from the Coruscanti Jedi Archives they, as a species, were obsessed with interpreting body language, trading information as a currency, despised weakness, and that power belonged to those willing to take it. Furthermore, the caste system wasn't entirely rigid, as it was theoretically a meritocracy. Anyone could advance to a higher tier in their political system so long as they were ruthless enough. 

Truly a despicable culture, but one that had produced warriors & killers feared throughout the galaxy. Skilled in light-based technology, many advances in camo-cloaks originated from this world. 

Prideful, arrogant, backstabbing, yet respecting of absolute strength, Umbarans would be a great species to absorb into the halls of the Jedi Shadows. 

Part of the reason why Corvus landed his fleet on their planet was not only to dispense with the rewards ceremony, but also to send a message. By showcasing his overwhelming strength, he was making them understand that he was the biggest dog in the kennel. Likewise, by so publicly restoring the lifespan of the clone troopers & modifiying those present, he demonstrated his power. 

“A masterful display as always, Master Revan.” Tapal was the first one to step forward, and held out a hand. 

“Master Tapal, every day one of my comrades shares the field with me is a good day.” Corvus replied with a big grin, and matched the giant purple cat-alien with a strong grip of his own. 

Their muscles bulged, and a small shockwave spread out from their position. 

“Aaahng!” A shaggy light-brown furred Wookiee joyfully roared. 

“Hsss. So many points.” The lead Trandoshan hissed, barely constraining himself from reaching for his blaster. 

Stepping between the pair of feuding aliens was none other than Padmé Amidala. Clad in a robe made of some scaled creature, and wearing a furry, primitive helmet, she was dressed like some Warrior Queen of old. At her side was a saber, and a blaster pistol. 

Corvus raised an eyebrow. 

“I scarcely recognize you, Your Majesty.” 

“Circumstances have made strange bedfellows, Order Master. Much has changed since last we met.” She slowly, confidently, spoke, nodding towards his all white robes, then looked up towards the spaceships as the clone troopers uniformly marched inside. “Yet in many regards, they stay the same.” 

“These two are Chewbacca and K’zhan. Senator Amidala has convinced them to join our cause. Millions have gathered here for a muster, with millions more on the way.” Tapal explained, his deep baritone full of strength and confidence. “She has done a wonderful job at diplomacy, and deserves praise.” 

“Thank you for the high regard, Master Tapal, although I fear I am unworthy.” Padmé humbly bowed her head, then turned to Corvus. “I apologize for the delay, Order Master. This entire time, I didn't want to believe…didn't think that this conflict couldn't be resolved peacefully. I still think there is good in Ani's heart…but I recognize now that so long as Palpatine sits upon that throne, peace cannot be achieved.” 

As the young mother said that, a heroic resolve spread throughout the Force, and both Chewbacca & K'zhan took a step behind her in support, strengthening her aura. 

“Your actions in gathering support are critical to the future war effort, Senator. The Jedi are forever thankful for your actions, and will continue to seek the restoration of the Republic.” Corvus said in as diplomatic a tone as possible. 

Although he and Padmé had quarreled in the past, and he was somewhat salty that she hadn't tried to rise to war sooner…the fact of the matter was, he needed all the help he could get. The true nature of democracy was working together with people you disagreed with. And in fact, the reason why, for example, Humans became the hegemons of Earth was due to their communication, and ability to put differences aside to work together. 

The galaxy was populated by over a quintillion+ sentients & countless more species, and innumerable planets. To influence this clusterfuck of a war all by himself would be the height of foolishness. Even the Jedi at their peak required the help of others to manage such a large population. Back then, there were tens of thousands-perhaps over a hundred thousand-Jedi, but that would never be enough. Therefore, he was willing to swallow his pride, and work together with Padmé to achieve a brighter tomorrow. Besides, who knew? Perhaps having children had changed her perspective, she certainly seemed more war-like now than at any other time in the past. 

“Likewise, Order Master. I have reviewed the plan you sent out before arriving, and agree that we should besiege Commenor whilst pressing nearby systems. However, I must insist that systems professing their neutrality have their status honored.” Padmé pressed. 

Entering Pause, he began to deeply think about this issue. 

Corvus frowned, as he had been receiving reports from Xizor that the Empire had begun an aggressive trading strategy with neutral worlds as of late. Shady extortion schemes, spies, and corporate shenanigans was at play. Already the Empire was on the mend-economically speaking that is-and that was all thanks to Thrawn’s genius. Although the destruction of 10% of Coruscant was extremely serious, the quick reconstruction by Vader and new meritocracy system in both civil & military services had jump started the Imperial government. 

Thrawn was actively recruiting aliens to the cause, and many intelligent people-held back only by bad spawn RNG at birth-were now finding success in the once ‘it's who you know, not what you know’ governmental system. 

Interestingly, this level of radical change soured many of the upper crust and entrenched players, bringing covert investment towards the Rebel Alliance. Whilst Corvus was all too happy to receive the funding, he was not very pleased to absorb this mixed bag of a coalition. His vision of the Republic was one of reform, where political positions could not be purchased by the highest bidder, and crimes couldn't be bribed away. Thrawn & Vader were beating him to the punchline, and in many regards, seizing both the initiative & the moral high ground. 

In the short term, this benefited the Republic immensely, as war was expensive, and they were short on cash. Bail Organa, for all his generational wealth & Xizor for all his business acumen, could not be the sole funders of this expedition after all, no matter how much Corvus wished it were that simple. 

And in the long run, this would inevitably favor the Empire. Ultimately, workers, soldiers, and talented individuals were the most valuable resources. In a galaxy populated by so many people, he who controls the ideological narrative, controls the galaxy. On Earth it was readily apparent when ‘one side' held dominance in a country, opposing opinions become stifled, and people become fearful of expressing themselves. By maneuvering themselves in such a way, the Empire was setting itself up for a long war. 

Perhaps naively, Corvus had believed he could win this thing in no time at all. After all, his System was incredibly powerful. In eight months, he had gone from the strength of a weak Jedi Knight to the peaks of a Jedi Councilor. But not even Palpatine, for all his power, could achieve complete control. Once again he could only praise the Sith for achieving a political victory. In this war, violence was only one component to achieving success. 

Thank God I invested so heavily in Persuade, then. 

Un-Pausing, he nodded at Padmé. 

“Agreed. Now, if you would, Senator, please introduce me to our hosts, I am most interested in the Umbaran culture.” 

Eyeing the trio of representatives, Corvus knew that there was likely to be some court intrigue in the near future, but that seemed like a job perfect for a Jedi Shadow.