Emerging into the Kamino System, the Falcon glided past a thick wall of slumbering mines, multiple orbital stations, and a fleet of Imperial cruisers.
This was thanks to the ship's IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) signal that Corvus was continuously broadcasting.
Any ship or system with a scanner detected this transmission, and instead of investigating, would instantly wipe their memory banks. All data of the Falcon was terminated as soon as it was recorded per Imperial Inspectorat protocol.
As such, the Millennium Falcon was like a ghost as it slipped past the mighty defenses of Kamino, and flew into the stormy Tipoca City. This planet in many ways felt primal within the Force, yet it was contrasted by a sterilized feeling left behind by the kaminoans, and their pursuit of genetic perfection. The contrast was odd, but somehow, Corvus felt that thus planet held a very 'balanced' feeling within the Force. Wild dangerous animals crowded the dark depths of this endless ocean world, whilst large white towers sprang from the water, withstanding the constant storm of rain raging outside. If he had the time, Corvus would love to meditate on this feeling. Alas, there was work to be done. Kamino wouldn't sabotage itself.
Drawing near the capitol city, Corvus-who was within the cockpit of the Falcon-Paused as he made some last minute decisions regarding his infiltration.
To begin with, the boys were not good enough to enter the cloning facility whilst invisible. As it stood, neither Jax nor Yon could hold onto that state for more than half an hour. Honestly, it was remarkably impressive that they could accomplish that much with only 8 days of study, but the [Mentor] ability was just too strong. Corvus really couldn't wait to teach his students more, but that would have to wait for another time.
Now, knowing that the Padawans couldn't follow him, it left him with two options moving forward.
One, he could land the Falcon at a public spaceport, and invisibly insert himself within the cloning facility. Or he could very publicly land within the complex's hangers, and pretend to be the Imperial agent that his ship's ID made him out to be.
The first idea would have the benefit of diminishing any links between the Falcon, and the inevitable terrorism that Corvus planned to unleash upon these long-necked aliens. It also carried with it the lowest amount of risk. By operating entirely from invisibility, he could slip in, do what needed to be done, then slip out. A clean infiltration if there ever was one.
However, the second option carried with it much more interesting options. For one, using the workbench, Corvus could craft himself a full suit, and fashion stormtrooper armor for both Jax & Yon, allowing them to come along. Not that he needed their help in any way, but Corvus was serious about educating them and fostering stronger bonds of trust. Besides, if he was going to cosplay as an Imperial officer, bringing along a pair of guards would only add to his legitimacy. Imperials were so smug, seeing a high ranking officer without guards would be suspect.
But that was just the bare bones idea, by entering the facility so openly, Corvus could do something that would be impossible if he went unseen.
Act as a pest.
Corvus knew that the kaminoans held rebellious sentiments, and that typical Imperial arrogance had pushed them over the edge. Why, when Tarkin visited the facility during the Bad Batch series, he had all but pushed the long-necked race into that path. With the good Grand Moff dead, it was up to Corvus to live up to the high minded ideals of Imperial xenophobia.
Mentally grinning to himself, Corvus found that he liked this idea much more. As a bonus, he would have someone tour him around the facility, showing off all its weak points, and most critical infrastructures. Just like when he raided Galactic Bank, Corvus discovered he'd much rather have someone show him where the most valuable things are. Getting lost and exploring was fun in video games, but he was on a tight schedule.
Everyday that elapsed meant there was more time for Palpatine to undo the clusterfucked economy, and rally his forces against the CIS. Each day was one closer to Vader becoming the absolute monster that he could be. Corvus really couldn't afford to slack with pressures like that pushing him on.
And should he be unable to enact every bit of freedom loving revolution upon the kaminoans with his Imperial identity, he could always fly to a public spaceport in Tipoca City, and enter invisibly anyway.
It was a win-win!
Pleased with this plan, Corvus un-Paused, and hailed the Tropica City Military Complex.
"This is the Millennium Falcon requesting vector points for landing."
"Millenium Falcon, this is Tower ZQ-9. What is the purpose of this unexpected visit?" A soothing-almost fairy-like-voice said over the comms.
"Tower ZQ-9, this is an investigation regarding the clone implants, and comes at the request of his Imperial Majesty. Provide an approach vector." Corvus said in as arrogant and demanding a tone as he could muster. Essentially, he was pretending to be a pretentious Brit.
"...." radio silence met Corvus, and he was forced to slow the Falcon down lest he fly over the city, or circle it looking like a fool.
Torrential rain was constantly splattering against the ship at the moment, and distant thunder magnified this minute of silence.
"Approach vector 1,1, 3-5. Welcome to Tipoca City." The voice almost robotically stated before cutting the transmission.
Corvus smirked, glad that his plan to pester the kaminoans had a rotten start. By the end of the day, the egotistical eugenicists would hold a special level of vitriol towards the Empire.
Sitting in the cockpit next to him, Jax and Yon were both looking at Corvus in a combination of anxiety, and anticipation. Well, Yon was. Jax was rather calm given the situation.
"So, master…can we come along?" Yon asked furtively, and reminded Corvus of a rabbit sticking its head out of its hole.
Corvus wanted to laugh. This outwardly bloodthirsty student of his was getting a little skittish now that they were so close to the action.
"Peace, Yon. We can only maintain the shadowed state for at most half an hour. Master Corvus will likely leave us aboard the ship whilst he takes care of other matters. No need to worry or fret." Jax, seeing through his rival, and understanding the most likely course of action, succinctly stated.
Corvus withheld a laugh when it looked like Yon became a little twitchy, reminding Corvus of the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Toons.
"An astute observation, my apprentice. Ordinarily, what you suggested would be the case, however, since I am landing within the military complex, I do not intend to act from the shadows. Can either of you guess why?" Corvus asked in the hopes that he could broaden their minds, and learn to think outside of the box.
"To kill them better?" Yon spouted out the first thing that came to mind.
Jax frowned, and he looked off to the distance muttering to himself.
"Oh, I know. To turn them against the Empire!" Yon exclaimed, and slapped a fist into his open hand.
Corvus blinked. He hadn't been expecting that.
"...actually, you are correct, Yon. Well done." Corvus lightly nodded, and praised.
"Hah, take that, Jax!" Yon smugly crossed his arms.
Jax, meanwhile, was still staring away in thought.
"But Master, how will you act as an Imperial?" Jax eventually asked in a confused tone.
"Duh, we saw that Master can take items and store them in another dimension. He must have disguises in there. Master, you killed over a thousand guys, you have all their outfits, including an Imperial one, right?" Yon laughed, sure in his victory over his rival.
Corvus scratched the back of his head, not expecting Yon to be right twice in a row.
His two apprentices were like fire and ice, chaos and lurking darkness. It was kind of aggravating being the measuring stick between a rivalry, but it certainly wasn't boring!
"Right again, Yon. I'll be working on our disguises over in the other room once we land. The two of you will act as my guards, and Yon, not a word out of you. I'll do all the talking." Corvus said.
Yon had a scandalized look on his face, and was uttering all sorts of excuses, and Jax was silently smirking, but Corvus ignored them in favor of taking the Falcon into his designated hangar.
Once he landed, Corvus noticed a welcoming party at the far end of the hangar. There was a squadron of clone troopers, and Taun We, the female kaminoan who greeted Obi-Wan in Episode 2 was at a door.
'So the Prime Minister's administrative aide has come to greet me, hm?'
Corvus raised a brow at the 'red carpet' treatment, and rose from his seat to go to the workbench.
"Explain to Triss that she is not to leave the Falcon. Let her know that as this is Kamino, any Dark Adept would be shot on sight." Corvus said over his shoulder.
As for why he didn't tell the white haired teen girl? For one, he had shit to do, and for two, she was kind of scared of him. Getting brought back to life by a mysterious man could do that to a person. Plus, he currently had her tightly bound ever since they entered the System, and had her door locked. No way was he having a flight risk roaming free on his ship, even if she did seem to be getting along with the boys.
Shaking his head at the thought, Corvus went to the ship's workbench, and got to work crafting two sets of stormtrooper armor, and a unique Imperial-esque outfit that came with a mask and a cloak.
For this op, Corvus wanted his face to remain hidden, and whilst he knew he would appear odd, the kaminoans actually had little to zero interaction with humans or other species. From their perspective, this mask may be odd, but it wouldn't be entirely out of place. Now if he had run into some prissy Imperial officer who was like Tarkin, they'd throw a hissy fit seeing an officer in a mask. Thankfully, he could rely upon cultural ignorance.
The bad guys always got the best swagger, especially in Star Wars. There was literally no other look more iconic than Vader's suit. And now, Corvus would be adding onto that legacy.
Equipping his all black outfit, Corvus looked like some Moff that didn't know the meaning of the word 'restraint' and ordered genocide because some kid accidentally dropped food on his spotless black boots. Frankly, he cut a sharp figure.
'Perfect.'
The image of Imperial arrogance was almost complete.
"Jax, Yon, come change into these!" Corvus called to another part of the ship.
Taking the uniforms, the boys were quick to change, and flanked Corvus, acting as his honor guard.
Standing at the ramp, Corvus turned to the two of them to say a few final words before they embarked on this mission.
"During this infiltration, I will act, and say things that I do not necessarily agree with. In some cases, I may appear overtly malicious. Keep in mind that the way I conduct myself is typical of the Imperial officers Palpatine surrounds himself with. The purpose of this mission is to foster distrust between both parties, and to seize upon targets of opportunity. We are to gather intel, and identify weak points. If either of you should have a suggestion, feel free to message me over our private comms channel. Now follow me boys, and keep quiet." Corvus said in a serious tone, and then lowered the ramp.
Strutting down the ramp with the exaggerated swagger of a Grand Moff, Corvus flicked his cape, and did his best to appear as pompous as possible. His shiny all black equipment and multiple Imperial rank insignia screamed 'self important asshole.'
And it worked.
"Officer on deck!" A clone Captain yelled.
The squad of clones stood at attention, and made a satisfying sound effect as their armor moved in sync.
Corvus nodded at the troopers. He could see why the Prussians and other old school nobles played soldier. The sleekness of clone armor and precise formations were just cool.
"Greetings, I am Taun We, the administrative aide to Prime Minister Lama Su. How can Kamino assist the Empire?" The softly spoken, gigantic pale alien lady asked.
Corvus realized he needed an identity to go under whilst he was undergoing this infiltration. Why not go with the most classic name in spycraft?
"Agent 007, but you may refer to me as Bond, Miss We." Corvus said through a voice modifier attached to his helmet.
"Bond, then. May I inquire as to the nature of this visit? I understand that you have expressed concerns regarding the nature of our implants, but I assure you, all our creations are perfect. The odds of a malfunction are less than 0.01%." Taun said in a confident tone.
"Assurances do not concern me, administrator. I am on a mission of discovery. The war against the Separatists rages on, and His Majesty requires proof that Kamino intends to keep to its commitments." Corvus said in a cold tone. He also made sure to subtly leak a hint of negative emotions through the Force.
To the uninitiated, or weak of will, this tiny bit of mental pressure would be enough to trigger a fight or flight response.
Taun took a step back, and placed a hand over her chest. Even the clone troopers looked a little anxious.
Yon shifted excitedly in place, as if he couldn't wait to use his blaster, whilst Jax stood ram-rod still unreadable.
"Kamino will keep to its commitments, Agent 007." Taun mustered up her courage, and all but hissed back as her pride in her people came under attack.
"That remains to be seen, administrator. Take me around the facility. Impress me." Corvus said in a not so subtle threatening tone.
"This way, Agent." Taun turned around, and said in a diplomatic tone.
However, the Force revealed everything. Underneath that fairy-like facade was a raging anger surging to the forefront. She was like the "perfect" girl who was accustomed to achieving first place, and was suddenly shown up by a more talented, prettier woman.
Oh yeah, she was pissed.
Corvus smirked to himself under the cover of his mask.
Kamino would be in rebellion by the time he was through with this waterlogged planet.
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AN: Read up to chapter 130 at: patreon.com/KarpQQ
I update there every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday