Jedi Insurgency 312

Finishing up some other clerical work involving logistics, travel time, pirate raiding targets, troop allocation, and fleet movements after his last meeting, Corvus had no time to dawdle, and moved on to his next executive meeting. 

Spawning into his field of view were a pair of Jedi Masters who sat on the High Council. Members of the Shadow Order, their tasks were covert undertakings that left no record, and blurred the lines of Jedi morality. Excluding Master Echuu Shen-Jon, and Knight Falon Grey-who were executing small time raids with rebel cells-these two men were engaged in more serious, war-altering activities. 

Wearing a small breathing mask, and hiding his heavily tattooed form beneath a drawn hood was the sun-kissed son of Tatooine, Krayt.

Across from him appeared Taron Malicos, broad-shouldered and bearded, dressed in the severe black and gray of an Imperial Inquisitor. A crimson lightsaber hung visibly at his side. 

Corvus remained seated in his office chair, and gestured towards Krayt. The Tusken Jedi inclined his head, then began his report. 

“My insertion onto Byss succeeded. The codes provided by the defecting Intelligence officer were accepted at the orbital checkpoint. I entered under the identity of Varek Sol, an archaeological security consultant attached to the Emperor’s private antiquities division.”

A representation of Byss emerged above the table, showcasing this Deep Core world. Clouds engulfed the planet, churning in unnatural spirals, illuminated from within by violet lightning. Vast storms covered entire continents, yet their movements followed no recognizable atmospheric pattern.

Corvus studied the image, making note of this oddity. “Those formations are artificial, is it in some way related to the Darkside Nexus?” He pondered. 

“Indeed. The storms intensified three weeks ago. Imperial meteorologists were ordered to cease recording them. Navigation now depends upon encrypted beacon corridors that change every six hours. Any vessel deviating from its assigned descent path is destroyed.”

“By orbital defenses?” Malicos mused. 

Krayt wordlessly expanded the image, changing it into footage of another scene. Several vessels appeared as fragmented silhouettes, their hulls blackened and torn apart.

“Sometimes, although more often than not, it is like the storm is alive. I observed lightning alter direction to strike a courier whose authorization expired during descent. Its shields offered no protection, as it was a Force-enhanced attack.” Krayt grimly noted. 

Corvus’s gaze remained on the image. “I've seen something like this in the archives. I posit that this is a Sith ward woven into the atmosphere.”

“That was my conclusion as well. The entire planet has become a layered defensive spell. An invasion would be extremely difficult. Furthermore, they can block out turbolasers, proving to be more effective than any ordinary planetary shield.” Krayt continued to explain. 

“Reaching the Deep Core is difficult enough as it is. Hyperlane routes tend to bend in unpredictable ways, making rerouting for the navicomputers a difficult task.” Malicos remarked. 

“What did you discover?” Corvus pensively asked. Such thick defenses…something remarkable must be occurring on Byss, right? 

Krayt replaced the planetary image with the layout of a sprawling underground installation. Its visible levels alone extended beneath several mountain ranges.

“The Emperor has arrived. Alive, weakened, and recuperating within the principal citadel. I could not approach the inner sanctuary, but I sensed him. His presence was diminished from what I remembered on Coruscant, yet Byss feeds him. The nexus is being cultivated to accelerate his recovery.”

“Cultivated how?” Corvus asked, subtly feeling a bad premonition through the Force. 

“Population centers have been established beyond the restricted zones. Millions of settlers live there, though most appear lethargic and prematurely aged. Energy-transfer conduits have been built beneath their cities. The pattern resembles ancient Sith sacrificial altars.” Krayt darkly intoned. “In a way, the pattern vaguely reminds me of the Infinite Engine you had shared in your reports, Order Master. I fear Palpatine has been inspired.” 

Corvus took a deep breath, steadying his heart. “What else?” 

“The cloning operations are greater than our intelligence suggested. I identified thirty-eight primary facilities and at least twice that number of auxiliary sites. I've spied upon several standard human templates for military use. Others are experimenting with accelerated maturation, engineered Force sensitivity, and tissue capable of enduring exposure to concentrated Darkside energy.”

“Cloning Force Sensitives is almost impossible. What are the success rates?” Malicos hissed his question. 

“Low. One report listed nine hundred and twelve viable births from more than forty thousand gestation attempts. Most died within days. Those who survived were transferred to a facility beneath the Emperor’s citadel. Furthermore, I observed many crippled clones still being equipped, and placed in the simulator for training.” Krayt nodded at his fellow Master, answering him directly. 

Krayt nodded at Corvus, and then continued speaking. 

“There was more. North of the cloning complex stands an institute identified in official records as the Apothecarium. The personnel include geneticists, historians, alchemists, former members of the Republic’s Esoteric Studies Division, and several beings I could not identify. They are cataloguing Sith sorcery and attempting to reproduce it under controlled conditions.”

Symbols materialized over the table: branching diagrams connecting ancient incantations to cloning matrices, neural conditioning, cybernetics, and weapons development.

“Their research included spirit transfer, artificial possession, memory implantation, the binding of consciousness to machinery, and more. I fear that those special Grievous clones that are gracing the battlefield are merely the beginning. Several records referred to this gathering of scientists as Project: Black Seed. Others used the designation Apotheosis. Access beyond that point required authorization from the Emperor’s personal office.”

“And you did not attempt infiltration?” Malicos scoffed in ridicule. 

Krayt replied with a measured deadpan, not rising to the bait. “No. The archive was protected by more than codes. There were Sith runes worked into the floor and walls. They reacted even when I concealed myself in the Force.”

“My invisibility confused the cameras, and a [Mind Trick] carried me past the outer personnel. Neither worked against the final checkpoint. The guards wore helmets monitoring their neural patterns. Any unexplained lapse in awareness triggered an automatic alert. I was nearly discovered while withdrawing. A security officer could not remember authorizing my passage, but his armor had recorded the change in his brain activity. The doors sealed before I reached the transit platform. I escaped through an exhaust system and remained inside it for eleven hours while security teams searched the district.”

“To act with such awareness is why I have recruited you to the Hall of Shadows, Krayt. The information you have shared is vital to our long-term planning, and strategic goals. I have asked much of you, and have a task that only you can accomplish.” Corvus praised, and then began typing away at a keyboard, exercising his supreme Computer stat. “I am transmitting a virus now. Inject it through the institute’s environmental control network. From there, it will alter archive checksums, mislabel tissue samples, corrupt translation indices, and introduce small errors into their experimental models. The virus must appear to be a collection of unrelated failures. A mislabeled string of code here, a calibration error there. Nothing dramatic enough to justify hard rebooting the intranet, but sufficient to make every result suspect. Their researchers will spend months repeating work they believe they have already completed.”

Krayt examined the delivery instructions. “There is an access junction near the southern coolant exchange. I can reach it without entering the principal archive.”

“Upload the virus and leave the restricted district. Do not pursue Project: Black Seed. Do not attempt to approach Palpatine. Once the code is active, lay low. You are worth more to me alive.” Corvus steadily intoned. 

Krayt’s eyes narrowed behind his mask. “There may not be another opportunity to reach so deeply into the facility.”

“There will be no further opportunities if Palpatine captures you.” Corvus warned, and then slightly leaned forward to express the seriousness of this issue. “Do not mistake his injuries for helplessness. He is rich in knowledge of the Force, and his cunning has destroyed enemies far stronger than himself. If he detects you, he may allow you to believe you have escaped. Then, the consummate politician that he is, Palpatine will feed you faulty information intended for us. He may even permit you to sabotage something expendable so that we trust what you bring back next.”

“I understand.” Krayt inclined his head with a brusque reply. 

“Understand further that he knows what a Jedi Shadow is. He remembers the old techniques, and he has spent decades studying how Jedi think. Do not let down your guard merely because you are invisible.” Corvus said, issuing one final warning. 

Krayt bowed his head. “The virus will be delivered. Afterward, I will disappear among the civilian districts and observe only.”

“Good. Your intelligence may have prevented us from walking blind into Byss. You have done well.”

Corvus then shifted his attention to the second projection.

“Master Malicos, what news do you bring from the capital?” Corvus asked. 

Although he did not personally wish to travel to Coruscant, due to Vader’s unique ability to sense him as they-both the Chosen & Heart-were linked, nor did he want the comparatively weak students of his to go, Malicos-that shifty figure-was the perfect spy. Not so important that Corvus would dread his loss, yet just competent enough to be of value. This was his estimation of the ‘once future Dark Jedi’ Taron Malicos. 

“My infiltration of Coruscant was successful. The Inquisition accepted my defection after four examinations, two interrogations, and a duel arranged to determine whether I retained what they called Jedi weakness.” Malicos smoothly spoke with a charismatic orator's voice. His well trimmed beard, and smooth dark armor gave him an austere, aristocratic vibe. 

“Whom did you duel?” Krayt asked in curiosity. 

“An instructor from the Temple Guard.” Malicos quickly replied, eager to move past the point. 

“The Inquisition's headquarters has been established beneath the former Works district, with administrative offices inside the rebuilt Senate quarter. The visible headquarters is a decoy, and the true complex descends beneath the city through structures recently constructed by the Crown Prince. Vader has connected it directly to the Imperial Palace, the security command network, and the principal military transit system.”

A sectional image of Coruscant appeared alongside a detailed map of the HQ. Malicos marked elevators, barracks, private quarters, training halls, security rooms, and interrogation chambers.

“The organization is expanding faster than we estimated. There are thousands inside the wider program, taken from all walks of life. Imperial census bureaus have begun testing entire populations. Those displaying even the smallest suggestion of Force sensitivity are taken. They are then broken into groups according to age and potential. The strongest begin instruction in the Force, whilst the weakest become subjects for research or are placed in auxiliary units. The instructors use starvation, sleep deprivation, isolation, live-fire exercises, and forced combat to provoke survival responses. Candidates are made to climb vertical shafts while exhausted, cross electrified floors, and fight one another over food or medicine. The intent is to force dormant abilities to surface.”

Krayt’s projection remained motionless, but anger entered his voice. “They do this to younglings?” 

Malicos inclined his head, then moved on to the next section of his report. 

“Several former Jedi now serve openly. Jerec has been given authority over recovered archives and the training of specialized hunters. Prosset Dibs, now called the Tenth Brother, oversees urban pursuit exercises. Masana Tide has become the Ninth Sister and is used when Vader requires overwhelming physical force. Bil Valen serves as the Sixth Brother. Iskat Akaris and Tualon Yaluna have both submitted to the Inquisition, though their loyalties remain closely tied to one another. Antinnis Tremayne has also entered the program and shows ambition beyond his present station.” Malicos hesitated before adding. “Vader’s discipline is formidable. Gathering so many differing people of all walks of life…his power is felt by all, none dare raise their voice in rebellion for fear of being crushed. Yet for all the fear, he inspires hope. Hope to those poor people that they can have power, to crush others with their minds, and be feared like Vader. It is sick, twisted, and addictive.”

Corvus silently stared at this Shadow, privately wondering if Malicos would turn traitor, and fall under Vader’s sway? Suitless Vader was just that charismatic. 

“Vader holds Coruscant in an iron grip. The Senate exists because he tolerates its usefulness. The military obeys him before it obeys the ministers. The security bureaus compete for his approval, and even senior officials fear entering his presence without an invitation. He has positioned himself as the Crown Prince of the Empire, as a reformer General protector.” Malicos said. 

Corvus studied the personnel records for the Inquisition that Malicos had transmitted earlier, and had come to a decision. “You will play this role carefully, Taron. Do not rush to dismantle the Inquisition. It is too large, and Vader or his minions will recognize what is going on. Instead, act like a Sith would, namely pursue personal power. Approach those you judge capable of change. Offer knowledge to the ambitious and private instruction to those frustrated by the Inquisition’s methods. Make yourself useful, acting like a friend to everyone. The upper echelons will see this for the powerplay that it is, but that is good. Vader will be arrogant in his confidence that he can crush you at will, whilst Jerec and the others vying for the role of Grand Inquisitor will see you as a threat. The more instability we can generate, the better.” 

Malicos lowered his head. “It will be done, Order Master.”

Corvus looked between the two Jedi Shadows: one concealed beneath the storms of Byss, the other standing within Vader’s fortress on Coruscant.

Neither assignment promised glory, yet their continued espionage was critical to the success of the war. If the Generals wanted to do battle, information was the coin to success. 

“Gentleman, thank you for your sacrifices.” Corvus bowed his head, and then cut the line. 

A tangled mess of webbing was scattered throughout the galaxy, and he was playing his melody, plucking one string at a time. Victory was uncertain, but if he was afraid of danger, he would have hidden away on Dagobah or Tatooine. 

Closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath, he soullessly looked at his flashing communicator as yet another report came through. 

‘My grandparents never talked about this part when recounting their old war stories.’ Corvus tiredly thought to himself, then, pressing the button, once more immersed himself in the role of military commander & Order Master. 

Sleep was for the weak.