En route back to Planet Gand.

Ventress and Solana went on, towards Jabiim and Lythia system as more pirates were preying on people there. And the Galactic Republic did nothing to stop it. Oh well, their loss.

My empire will grow even larger and richer. Ventress had already learned the right strings to pull and make planets join us, with consensus and ovations. And sometimes a knife in the back.

Solana had to learn how to work independently as well, even if she bought herself a thousand crystals and biotech samples. Research was well and good, but politics came first.

Lira, the Togruta Voice and Angie were sent towards the Centrality, on a goodwill tour. And to spread word of the Empire's work to pacify the sector and stop piracy, while calming down spirits and fears of potential confrontation.

Also, make us appear benevolent and kind, not just rich and warlike. Pave the way for the eventual takeover.

And thus, my ship was suddenly too quiet, Jaybo getting the hang of dismantling and controlling a tiny mouse droid, show admirably fast growth in force ability, especially technopathy and code assembly.

"It's too quiet, there's no fun people on board and assembling a holocron is too hard" Nashira complained, staring at the organic-mineral soup bowl that Solana left for her. Her own attempt was melting already, and looked sickly.

Was that an invitation? I could never tell.

"You want to know me better?" I asked hesitantly.

"Hah, no. I have a synthskin droid in my room already, and it's below standards. Why would I want a talking one?" the Fallanassi leader replied with a dismissive gesture. Right, I wondered why she had purchased a simulacra droid without connectify links. Now I didn't want to know.

"So, about Solanus...what did it do to you?" I mused, scanning her again. She seemed a normal human but...I wasn't so sure anymore. And Solanus was too crafty to be obvious.

"Just polished my own skills and implanted them back, and better. Nothing to worry about" Nashira replied curtly.

"Okay then. But if there's a new thing, and it's hard to control, you'll let me know, okay? I promised you sanctuary..." I said softly.

She nodded but stayed silent.

Okay then. She'll tell me if she needs help. Maybe. Probably. Possibly. Not likely.

'Pef, your Zeison Sha maid took a frigate and left. Along with 7 billion credits and a contact Lucrehulk. Should I order a pursuit?' Dora asked cautiously through the Voice bond.

Ah, the bait worked after all. I was beginning to doubt she cared for her people.

'Protective detail at long range. She took fertilizers and construction droids.'

'So, she went home, to save her people too. 7 billions is just 7 thousands credits per capita. They won't last long.' Dora calculated rapidly.

'It's winter. More will survive this way' I answered, feigning a disinterested shrug though the bond.

'Magnificent bastard. You planned this, from the start!' Dora exclaimed, pulsing adoration and devotion.

'Love you too' I concluded and let the bond go. I'll be home soon enough.

Nashira opened her eyes, and stared at me for a few seconds.

"That was Dora, I think. And you're feeling proud and content. Did another planet join?" she wondered, forming a realistic doppelganger of Dora in front of me.

Kriff, she mastered it all. Almost. This Dora wasn't feeling any emotion.

I tried it too, but only a few triangular shapes appeared, my construct worthy of pacman and other 80' games.

I made it stick out a single red pixel for a tongue, then it crashed and broke into holographic shards.

"Don't worry, one day I'll master it too. It just takes patience" I muttered, not feeling envious at all.

"But not today. You're also the first droid to learn the Current, so we can overlook your handicap" the woman said politely, and smiled sheeply while closing her eyes again.

Gah. I was not handicapped. Misunderstood genius. Yeah. With ADD. And no heart.

Well, maybe a crystal heart.

Planet Gand, Pef Empire

On board Celestial Throne

"Whoa, you mashed two Lucrehulks together? And made it your capital! How did you fix the gravity plates?" Jaybo exploded with questions, again.

"All gravity is oriented towards the planet. The vertical arms have elevators and apartments, like skyscrapers. In space" I explained with a smile.

"Oh. That makes sense. But you need to cover it up, and make it a sphere. Like an artificial moon!" the boy exclaimed. Yea, let's not give people ideas.

"The horizontal donut will be, for parks and stuff. But we don't need that much space, or have enough armor plates here" I replied gently, while floating towards the Avatar lab.

Time to poke and prod the original donor, and begin growing the test clones.

'Bendu says hi. And wants to see you and all your maids and Voices' Wialu sent through the bond, along with a few images. Yeah, no. Not gonna jump around for anyone no more. If I could help it.

'You have a ship, and he's not a god or an ocean, yet' I replied politely. A long pause followed that, and I began to worry.

'Okay, he's still laughing. I'll stop by and pick him up when we finish the Lothal visit. Anything else?' Wialu sent, with a hint of exasperation in her aura. What, I made the reindeer-gorilla laugh, that had to be good...

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Hmm. She was ranging quite far north. Maybe Drongar ?

'Go to Drongar and harvest half the bota plants. Maybe transplant some. They'll all die soon anyway' I sent and waved away the bond.

"Was that my new mom?" Jaybo asked, poking curious at my kyber crystal embedded in my armor.

Wait, new mom? What did that woman tell him? Or did he think Vette...

"Wialu, not Vette" I answered as I lifted him up on a medbay table. My surgeon droids clicked their scalpels in anticipation.

"Will you cut off my head and place it in a crystal jar, like Vette said you did to bad people? Cause I wasn't that bad, last week..." the boy asked curious and quite scared.

"Hmmm. Only if you'll be awful bad. For now, vaccines and tests. But, if you really want to, I guess we could cut a finger..." I mused, pretending to think it through, with a raised pinky finger, towards his nose.

"Well...if it's for science, and really important, a finger may be worth it" Jaybo declared in a serious tone, holding his pinky up as well. Huh, this was true dedication, almost reaching yakuza or Van Gogh levels.

"Eh, it's kinda small. We'll wait till you grow up, and have manly fingers" I answered in a serious tone as well.

"Deal" he concluded, hooking his pinky in mine and swearing on it.

He'll make a great Primarch, someday.

I began the trials, while making the kid pass out with a puff of sleeping gas.

Guess I could test more things at once, and see if pain wakes the subject up.

A few hours later, the boy woke up and counted his fingers with some emotion.

"Toes are fingers too" I said politely, and laughed inwards at his rapid examinations.

"Yeah, I knew that. So, are we compatible?" he spoke in a more serious voice.

"I can probably upload even into a tree or probe droid, but the markers I test deal with force connectivity." I said, reading the midichlorians levels again. My own form was artificial and didn't even have midichlorians, and was perhaps the main limiting factor for my range and abilities meant for organics.

But, looking at the numbers on this detector... Damn boy was almost a Skywalker.

And too old to be made into a Jedi. My gain. If it wasn't claimed, Pef will take it.

Planet Gand, Pef Empire

Golden Throne, the Avatar Lab

24 BBY third month.

My surgeon droid placed the tiny clone in a nutrient bath, and closed the incubator gently. Transference took less than a minute, since the little thing barely had a few neurons.

Okay, now let's try two abilities at once, agelessness and acceleration. With two different partitions. Breathe deeply, and start.

Twice speed. Under the electron microscope, the cells began dividing faster, and still not losing any telomere length.

Three times speed. Still the same. The infant was in mild pain from bone growth.

Four times. My normal combat speed. Telomere still constant. Pain was reaching acute levels.

Five times. Minor heating of self. Telomere wobbling. Okay, let's back off slightly.

4.9 times, still wobbling. 4.8 telomere vibrate slightly. 4.7 telomere appear stable. Organic self level of pain: chronic. Neural probe. Shunt pain to emulated medium. Organic self stabilizing. Heart rate too rapid. Inject relaxants. Heart rate nominal.

Now, my first organic self should grow into a man, in 3 years. A bit too long. Then athletic and force training...3 more years.

Normal speed for the Kamino clones already surpassed, by cheating gloriously with the force.

Not ideal, but at least I had my Avatar.

Okay, let's build a Holocron pouch now.

The soup rose around the small zygote and began encapsulating it into a cube. 3 tiny kyber crystals, barely as small as a sand particle, pushed with telekinesis gently, one beside the heart and two inside the faint impression of a skull.

Place the power gem instead of a kyber key. The soup solidified around 60 centimeters in length and 20 centimeters wide.

Hopefully the Force will be smart enough to figure it out, and stop the crystals inside the brain growing too large.

And twist and lock.

My first Rakata style Holocron, containing myself. Huh.

Palpatine would have a heart attack.

Now, let's imprint breathing, meditation, agelessness and acceleration.

And done.

The tiny Pef should know what to do. I hope.

'Solanus says you're a little crazy. Solana thinks you're a bit more' Solana sent through the Voice bond, ignoring the hypocrisy of her own existence being my inspiration. If Solanus could build himself a daughter, I could too. Perhaps. Maybe. Eventually.

I stopped the abilities on my two partitions, reducing the force gradually.

The holocron pouch began glowing brighter and brighter as it began powering itself up. Kriff, I knew I forgot something. Soon the whole galaxy will feel this.

Imprint hide in light and hide in shadow. The holo Pef got the idea instantly, and the brightness disappeared.

And now we wait.

It should hatch soon, if my calculations are correct. Maybe 3 months or 5.

I placed the holocron inside the pouch I made for it in my armor, then climbed inside too.

Hmmm. I hope Avatar Pef will know to knock first. Or the inside of this armor will be quite cramped.

I just made myself pregnant with myself, using another male's genes to do it.

Ah, I was almost a Hutt now.

When I stepped out of the lab, Dora was there to pat my belly with loving eyes.

"What name will you give him?" she asked, bouncing her green leku in curiosity.

"Avatar, I think. And perhaps Peffy in more intimate contexts" I mused, thinking of my other avatars in another galaxy.

"I can feel him, through the bond. Almost like I'm carrying him myself" Dora said softly, and hugged my power armor with adoration.

Okay, this was a bit strange, even for star wars.

Then again, the Force is a pathway to many abilities, some considered to be...unnatural. I bet you don't know who first said that.