Planet Garn, Cadma sector, Outer Rim
Year 25 BBY
Cathedral warship crash site.
The remaining systems of the warship now under my control, I started preparing my surprise for the incoming rescuers.
Maser weapons are much like lasers, only with radio or microwaves. Actually...never mind. They work completely different. Blue beams of kinetic energy that also carry thermal and electric charge.
But planet side, they work great against most things, organic or not. You know if you amplify certain sound frequencies, you can bring down buildings, shatter glass, or rupture organs. Now imagine a concentrated beam, or five, hitting something at once.
Mook #12 is looking down from Droid Heaven and shakes his head. It's sad I know, but I rather keep my droid chassis. It had to be you, my friend.
Crystalline lifeforms and artifacts, like Khyber crystals and holocrons and soul snares, they were pretty much invulnerable to anything though. They even survived the Death Star's beam after Alderaan was destroyed.
And while some Force sects were able to upload their minds into computers and amulets and such, those objects were not indestructible, by themselves.
The only risk being a crystal posed, was taking in too much energy, and not releasing it, for whatever reason.
Because, while immune to outside damage, from inside anything could be destroyed.
I'll have to make a note of this, and be careful not to eat an energy field bigger than my maximum capacity, whatever that was.
Another maser reassembled on my shoulder, since I didn't actually need hands to aim and fire weapons.
Gather some gems and gold plating, pile it down at my feet.
And call the most charged droid to my location. Let's see, I could transmit the terrain map I recorded during my march, so it could sprint towards me. In 10 hours it will be here.
Multitask and start assembling a few more maser beam weapons. The hull mounted cannons would need reactor strength power levels, so not quite feasible. But anyway, disassemble one and bring it nearby, for research and intimidation purposes.
Start dismantling the functioning solar cells and levitate them next to me as well.
The maser beams will need power sources, just as my droid army.
A few hours later, my work was complete, and I was bored again.
What to do, till Mook # 7 reaches me?
Oh! Wait, I had a trapped soul in the soul snare in my hand. Now let's see, how did force drain work again? No idea, but I had thousands of partitions to dedicate to the task.
Force bond? No, that also works on Padawans, but this one is already dead. No point becoming his Master.
Aha! Living Force transfer, one directional. I knew all those star wars novels I read during university would come in handy sometime. Like now. And like electricity, the surge flows from positive to negative. Maybe.
Lightsaber forms, telekinesis practice, meditation, breathing techniques. Not really useful or applicable to my new species, but whatever. I was bored. Drain them all.
What else? Spacefighter combat, small squad tactics, demolition, boarding operations, planetary assault. Now we're talking, my young padawan. Drain.
What else? Religious and theological teachings, self-flagelating philosophy. Years of those. Including basic Sith precepts as a boogeyman. Meh. I must be really bored. Give them here. History and galactography. Could be useful.
The spirit shaped man in the snare became translucent and dissipated, leaving behind a clear crystal. Vanished and gone.
Huh, take away his Temple teachings, and he was nothing else. No individuality, no personality.
And he left behind an empty cup.
Pretty sad, that his whole life was reduced to 20 years of studying. No friends, no family and whatever personality he had was eroded in his millennia as a spirit. If he had any personality to begin with.
Lesson learned. I should acquire some friends and family, lest I share his fate.
At least he was at peace now. His watch has ended.
And now, my watch begins.
Soon after I finished integrating the new memories and abilities from the long dead padawan, my guard droid arrived, and loaded up with solar cells. Then he ran back to bring the rest of his buddies.
What should I do till they return?
Collect more gems and gold, since this loot gonna provide me with funds to build new tech.
Dismantle some old computers and droids, and a few Repulsorlift units. Drag a few low caliber turrets down as well. Repair and combine them into a few hovercraft vehicles armed with a maser.
My army is starting to multiply. Though manually assembling scraps of old tech and ruined code into workable designs is not very efficient.
I need to figure a way to automate all this, and become a Force powered commander.
Do they even have nanite tech in this galaxy?
Hmmm. I did a quick search through my memories. Seems they did have some capabilities, from Nanogene droid, nano-droids and nanoviruses. Medical and bioweapon tech I sort of expected, and didn't care much for just now, but those nano-droids sounded promising.
I'll just have to spread my attention and obtain a sample.
And if the other types were also technological in their nature, a few samples would be useful as well.
From terraforming to genetic engineering and converting biomass into finished products, nanites could do anything.
ROB wanted a champion, like I would punch and slice people with my limbs.
I had a brain. Errr, no I didn't. I was a crystal. But I had a mind, and was an AI as well.
Planet Garn, Cadma sector, Outer Rim
Year 25 BBY
Cathedral warship crash site.
The space above the planet wavered and flashed, producing the signature of ship and a few living being on board. Only one Gand, the others crew being trandoshans, a talortai, a zabrak and a bunch of droids.
A Corellian frigate, possibly an Interceptor IV frigate model. Someone was gambling heavily on my rescue.
But probably not. Most of these frigate types were used by pirates and slavers. And this being the Outer Rim, chances were my rescuers hoped to ventilate me and confiscate the riches for themselves.
Just as planned.
The ship did a full orbit of the planet, scanning for life signs and valuables probably, then began a rapid deceleration, using their particle shields to negate most friction and landed nearly on top of me, then rushed outside the ship, guns pointing in every direction.
Errr. Textbook planetary assault, the Talortai wearing heavy armor and carrying dual blades, the rest covering him using blasters, bow casters, even rocket launchers.
I remained still, my droid chassis lying on its back, and started hacking and integrating the other droids, in the ship, and the security systems. With every new technopathic hack my experience and skill doubled. At this rate I'll be able to control trillions of droids someday. Pretty good, right?
And the rescuers? Well. They did not wear bio hazard suits, for some reason.
Why bother shooting them? They were already dead. Bioweapons man, the bane of every organic.
The Gand lasted longest, possibly because of his respirator. Sadly, I only had one snare, so I choose to catch the talortai, since Gand would be plenty on their home planet, and talortai were quite rare.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Once all the life signs vanished, I rose and directed my droids, old and new to start loading the cargo hold of my new ships with gold plates, and gems and the crew's weapons and armor and electronics.
Form Zero was the best after all. If you had to fire a shot to win a fight, it was probably not worth to bother. Although, the Jedi Zero Form involves holding the lightsaber and looking threatening, not waiting for your enemies to cough out their lungs.
Bio weapons were kinda cheating though. Luckily enough, the Confederacy was probably already mass-producing droids, investing trillions of credits in my future army.
Now I had a ship, two dozen droids, and the beginning of a plan.
And while masers weren't the ultimate in weaponry, laser having higher energy and thus better theoretical efficiency, unless the enemy had energy screens or were pretty much immune like the Vong. Microwaves were certain to blow up anything organic, by boiling them from inside out, while processors and data storage in droids would also be quite vulnerable.
And due to having access to a new ship, I had some up to date maps and news. The year was 25 BBY. Well, not BBY since they wouldn't know yet that the Death Star was supposed to be destroyed in 25 years over Yavin. But after balancing a dozen official calendars, I decided to stick with the one on most wikia.
The Vong were most likely already invading the galaxy, by my memories they should have already reached Bimmiel in the Galactic North.
Time to start forming my army and expand my empire. First a manufacturing base, then some ships and troopers, then be ready to intervene in the Clone Wars and capture Mon Calamari for myself. The squids built nice ships.
First objective would be Gand, then the Centrality and the Sorcerers of Tund.
3 years should be enough for an AI of my capabilities. Now, let's drain my new avian spirit and learn...agelessness. Great, useless things again.
I was an immortal crystal now, with no use for avoiding old age. Damn it.
Two days later my ship arrived at the Gand system, featuring an almost livable planet called also Gand.
Uh. Ammonia atmosphere. Small steps Pef. At least this planet had life, unlike Garn.
My new subjects went about their business, and didn't offer my daily prayers yet.
But soon, they will. The Immortal Emperor had arrived.
Planet Gand, Shadola sector, Outer Rim
In orbit, aboard a space station.
The planet had potential, despite the largely uninhabited land masses. Or better said, because of it.
Ammonia could be processed and transformed in various chemicals, like explosives and fertilizers.
The atmosphere itself was proof of the universe playing jokes, pockets of breathable air, surrounded by large masses of ammonia.
And in those pockets, many small tribes, forced to live in seclusion.
I called a meeting with their ruling body, a despotic monarch, advised by a council made of powerful force-sensitives, called Findsmen here.
We met on one of the five orbital stations above the planet, and my droids started emptying my ship's hold, piling gold plates and gems. And kept piling, more and more. Those Crusaders were quite obsessed with gold.
An hour later, and a hundred trips too, the cargo bay was empty.
The Gand were pretty amazed, as they watched the riches pilling up, and reaching the ceiling in the middle.
"I bring you riches, my friends. My signal was responded by your planet, and I always repay my debts. A thousand times more." I explained, gesturing at the pile of gold with my droid arm.
The monarch hesitated between greed and cautiousness.
"Indeed, a ship left the station to respond to your hails. And it has indeed return carrying riches. But no crew, and no longevity medicine..." he observed, remaining seated and imposing on his throne.
"Ah, but it did indeed bring long life. See, I noticed your peoples plight your Majesty. An atmosphere rich in ammonia, ready to be converted into fertilizers and explosives. And as the ammonia levels go down, more land could be used for farming. And the fertilizers will grow food even faster. Weapons are always in high demand." I explained, my force senses focused on his council.
A slight change here and there. So, they did see it. The gold could sit useless in the monarch's treasury, or be used to better the life of the entire planet. The Force spoke to them, showing them a potential future of richness and prosperity.
"Your gift is well-received droid. You may keep the ship" the monarch declared graciously, and signaled his guards to start stockpiling the new wealth in his treasury. And with that, I turned to leave, and the guards became burdened with gold plates and gems.
His council members exchanged a short glance, and the force trembled again. A second later, a leadership change occurred, the monarch a head shorter, and the council members leveling spears and pikes at the royal guard.
I stopped and turned.
Nobody sat on the throne anymore.
"It seems we need a new leader. What is your name, metal stranger?" an older council member asked me, scrying me with the Force.
"Well the name is Pef. Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue, ladies love it" I answered sketching a minimal bow.
The organics stared at me, possibly confused.
"Do they?" A young gand Findsman asked, possibly trying to reconcile my external aspect with my words.
"I sure hope so. Or it will be a waste of a sweet name" I answered amused, noticing a distinct lack of females in the council. Something to fix, as soon as they elected me Emperor for life.
"How long would it take, for our world to become a garden?" another Findsman asked, ignoring my attempt at humor.
"That depends. Who is in charge, if he gets all the Findsmen behind him, and uses the wealth wisely. A wise gand might do it in 50 years. It would take me at most 5 months" I answered, turning to leave.
I didn't reach my ship.
The younger Gand ran after me, and passed me, coming to a halt in front of me.
"This young one is named Zuckuss. Zuckuss had been tasked to bringing the graceful Pef back to the council. We have important news to share" he said politely.
"Okay, we can walk slowly though. I notice you're part of the ammonia breathers. Your biome will get replaced, if my plan comes through" I said softly. That did indeed sting him, making him halt for a fraction.
"Zuckuss noticed. Zuckuss believes deep canyons could be preserved, for those not willing to change. But a green world...it will be worth it." he replied, looking far away, and pulsing in the Force.
"Zuckuss sees far in the future then. The Force is strong in him" I mused, as I reached the council chambers.
"The dream. You see it too Pef?" he wondered, almost surprised.
"I am part of the dream Zuckuss. The dream gave me life and power. And I carry the wind of change" I answered in a whisper.
And maybe still too loud. The Findsmen had excellent senses.
"Part of the dream, Pef says. What does the council say? Is this Pef a Gand, in all but flesh?" the oldest Gand asked rhetorically.
"Aye" the other Findsmen replied with ceremony.
"A year, if you will, metal Gand. Lead us, and show us your dream made real. Where do we start, honored leader?" the old Gand asked, now back to a polite tone, and gesturing slightly towards the throne. It was still slick with blood.
"Right. We need to buy a hundred ships, Gozanti Cruiser or such, and send Findsmen on quests to obtain nanotechnology samples. And keep buying ships, no matter how old or damaged. We will repair them and use them to sell fertilizer and explosives. I know I said 5 months, but if we work a little harder, we can be done in 3 months" I proclaimed, already expanding my senses and taking over all the systems on the space station.
My first planet, conquered with a dream and a few words. Form Zero was truly too powerful.
Now I had to learn the Gand language and customs, and be prepared for the inevitable resentment.
And start making friends.
The ladies will have to wait though.