Before departing Ilum, Corvus had made sure the Sith spaceship was operational, and stole any CIS access codes that the craft contained.
After an awkward goodbye in which Keira was constantly staring at him, Corvus had set off with Yon, Jax, and his prisoner, Triss.
As for their destination?
It was the birth place of the Jango clones.
Kamino.
If Corvus really wanted to affect the outcome of the war, then tampering with the famous cloning facility would be one of the keys to achieving victory.
Now, of course, he could probably discover a method to completely destroy the various installations, but that sounded tedious, and like a lot of work.
No, what he had in mind was something much more devilishly delicious.
With his superb Computer skill, Corvus intended to hack into the database that contained the commands for the chip implants that went into the clone brains.
What Corvus had in mind for them was an ironic revenge. One that would transform Palpatine's most loyal stooges into an army that were solely loyal to the Jedi, loyal to Revan!
Of course, he wasn't so delusional to think that even a hundred thousand clones could kill Legends Palpatine. But certainly they could make his life a living hell, and maybe even force him to go on the run.
Yeah, Palpatine could pull ships out of the sky as easily as a child reaching for their mom, but by handicapping Palpatine of his goons, his means to exercise his will upon the galaxy would be severely hampered.
Just the thought of changing the clones' implant was enough to fill Corvus with diabolical energy.
But this was a plan that required patience. Although the clones had accelerated growth and training, it took ten years for them to fully mature. This was a long con plan-one he hopefully never had to undertake-but was more achievable than blowing up every habitable spot on Kamino by himself.
That didn't mean he wouldn't cause havoc.
Thanks to his meta knowledge, he knew that the Kimonoans were actually quite the conceited race of eugenicists. Their cultural hierarchy was based upon their genes instead of strength or wealth, and they highly looked down upon all other species as lesser beings.
During the Imperial era, they rebelled, thinking themselves better than Palpatine, and the Emperor sent Vader to crush them.
Knowing all this, and the fact that the Kimonoans were only doing this clone job for money. Corvus figured he might be able to convince them to switch sides. Either through Persuade or a [Mind Trick].
Kamino, of course, was but his first amongst many targets. Making inroads with the Corellians, relieving Mygeeto, and paying a visit to the gangsters of Nal Hutta were all things Corvus had in mind for this expedition. These targets were most important to him because they all belonged to four very important factions. If he had time, he would like to make inroads with the Mon Calamari, Mandalorians, and Echani, but he didn't want to bite off more than he could chew, and would take each problem one at a time.
Starting with Corellia, it was no less important than Alderaan in terms of influence. They were a founding member of the Republic, and held strong Jedi sympathies. Whereas Alderaan produced some of the most fearsome professional soldiers & cultural icons, Corellia produced ships upon ships upon ships! They were a manufacturing hub at the crossroads of two trade routes, and possessed a strong military culture. Influential, powerful and rich, Corvus had to have them. In Legends, the senator, Garm Bel Iblis was a founding member of the Rebellion, and was one man Corvus intended to sway to his cause.
Mygeeto of course, was a major planet within the CIS holdings, and held significant financial holdings rivaling Coruscant. By relieving this jewel of the Confederacy, Corvus would further prove himself to the leadership council, and begin his status as a figurehead amongst the CIS. Furthermore, Mygeeto's production of starfighters would be critical to the war effort. For this campaign, Yon and Jax would become especially helpful, and he could finally put them to good use.
Lastly, there was Nal Hutta, famed capital of the Hutt Crime Family. Strictly speaking, Corvus didn't intend to spend much time there, but he had promised Prince Xizor a promotion within the Black Suns. If he was to plant his own puppet within the realm of organized crime, then this was the way. The wealth of information would make rescuing his brethren in the Jedi Order that much easier.
During war time conditions, it could not be understated how important information was. The scum of society often knew things before journalists or politicians, and could even include smugglers who knew of rarely used-yet strategically valuable-hyperlanes. It would be irresponsible of Corvus not to exploit this resource. If he were a traditional Jedi, he would never think of extorting a criminal. Good thing he considered himself a Je'daii.
And it was all possible thanks to the Falcon. He would be bypassing the defense fleet, and minefields at Kamino thanks to the access codes he had stolen from the Inspectorate HQ. To any Republic asset that scanned the Falcon, it would ping back that she was a high value asset under the strictest, and highest security clearances. Those sensors that scanned the Falcon were to erase all records of her as soon as the ship had entered the system.
It was with such a plan that Corvus had left Ilum, and began the 8 day journey to this famed water planet. Located in Wild Space-a region beyond the Outer Rim-even the Falcon, with her top of the line hyperdrive couldn't make the jump any faster.
Considering Ilum was in the Deep Core, this travel time was nothing short of miraculous. Corvus would have to thank Senator Fang Zar next time for his generous 'donation.'
Travel times aside, Corvus took this opportunity to grow closer to the Padawans, teach them some skills with the hopes of making one of them a Jedi Knight.
At the onset of the journey, Corvus had officially accepted Yon as his disciple so that the 10% comprehension buff from the [Mentor] ability would apply to him.
Sitting in the central room, Corvus was lounging on the couch, and was looking down on his two students who were seated on the floor in meditative poses.
Whilst they looked at him, and probed him with the Force, Corvus would repeatedly go invisible, and then drop the illusion.
That's right, he was attempting to teach the two little helions how to go invisible. If they could, then they could join him during his stealth ops.
For the last 6 days, they had been looking at him with little progress, and it wasn't for a lack of motivation. They knew that if they wanted to participate in the mission on Kamino, that they would have to learn how to hide themselves from sight.
Corvus spoke in a low, steady tone to the boys, like one would expect from an old martial arts master.
"Remember the mantra of the Shadow.
I am at Peace; for I know Emotion.
I have Power; for I also have Knowledge.
I have Passion; for I am Serene.
I can embrace Mortality; for I know Death.
I am balanced through the Force.
Reach out, feel my presence. Focus on my breath in the air, the pulse of my heart, the heat from my form.
Breathe. Inhale. Exhale.
I am.
I am not.
I am.
I am not.
The galaxy is.
The galaxy is not.
We are the Force."
Upon finishing his statement, Corvus felt a very weak, tenuous bond develop between himself and his students. His mastery of shadows for the briefest of seconds seemed to seep into their psyche, and for less than a second each boy had become invisible.
"I did it!" Yon exclaimed, and jumped up from his spot with a smug look of satisfaction.
"Master, what was that? Is this a Force Bond?" Jax remained reserved, and asked from his seated position.
"Congratulations, Yon, but now that you have both initiated this skill, it is time to work towards mastery. As for your question, Jax, yes, this is a week Force Bond, one that shall grow stronger as the trust we place in one another grows." Corvus smiled encouragingly.
"Bleh, a Force Bond with Jax? And no offense Master, but with a man?!" Yon crossed his arms, and made a grossed out face.
"I am honored to have made this connection, Master. Please, instruct me further." Jax bowed his head.
"Haha, you kids are too much. Now that you have a basic understanding of this technique, it is up to you to find your own path. There is no one way to reach invisibility, and if you blindly followed me, I am afraid I would lead you astray." Corvus shook his head, and chuckled with a wry expression on his face.
"Nonsense, Master. You are already more skilled than those worthless so-called Masters who sat on the council. Always prattling about the Code. You are a real Jedi Master!" Yon praised, and dismissed the Jedi High Council with a tone filled with barely repressed vitriol.
"I am glad you have such faith in me, Yon, but temper those expectations. I am but one cave amongst the mountainside. My skill in invisibility does not hide sound, or block the detection of pheromones. I have much to learn. Should either of you overcome me in skill, it shall be my proudest day." Corvus said with genuine warmth.
The path to power was alluring, and pride was one of Corvus's weaknesses, but was a man not proud of his children? There was no shame in being surpassed by your own sons. Although they had not known one another long, the Force had affirmed their relationship. Corvus would do everything in his power to see these boys grow into men.
"You two have been quite busy focusing on this feeling. How about we take a break. Let's practice our reflexes, and precognition." Corvus suggested.
"With this little space? How will we use our lightsabers here?" Yon questioned. He looked like he wanted to say something insulting, but bit his tongue since it was Corvus who made the suggestion.
"Dense as always, Yon, Master never said anything about lightsabers." The white haired teen then picked up a gaming controller that was lying around, and placed it in his lap.
"Videogames? Oh no, not after what happened with Zork!" Yon crossed his arms and pouted.
"Videogames train hand eye coordination, and spacial awareness in a safe environment. Besides, where is your competitive spirit, Yon? Your Master is joining in this time, wouldn't you like the chance to defeat me?" Corvus taunted.
"...well, when you put it like that…you're going down, Master!" Yon clenched his fist, and had a fire in his eyes.
"Very well. Jax, grab Tess to join us. Yon, prepare some pizza." Corvus nodded, and then ordered.
"Yes, Master." Jax stood up from his place.
Yon muttered something under his breath about stinky girls, but Corvus ignored it. If he was going to redeem this young girl, then socializing with people her own age would go a long way. Some people on Earth went down dark paths, by simply being there for them, a friend or family member could make life bearable for them. This was Corvus's attempt to make good on his promise.
Emerging into the galley, Corvus looked at the two white haired teens, and wondered if they were Echani, a race of near-humans renowned for their combat prowess. Yon, meanwhile, emerged with a tray full of heated pizza. Shaking his head at the silly teenagers, Corvus levitated a controller over to Triss.
"Alright everyone, this is where the fun begins."
Killing Sith, training, and brainstorming the destruction of the Empire was exhausting.
Sometimes all a man needed was to chillout, eat some pizza, and play some games.
Glancing at his new family-Yon arguing about move sets, Jax being contemplative, and Triss slowly glomping over the quiet Jax-it let him know he was doing the right thing.
Peace couldn't come soon enough.
~~~~~
AN: Kamino hoh! Time for some actual insurgency & revenge. You send a hit squad on my boys, the Jedi? Well, beware an angry space wizard who can go invisible, and abuses Mind Trick like it's a doorbell on Halloween!
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