Chapter 43

Leaving the Astorid dark side focal point temple was a bittersweet feeling. The asteroid was transformed into a majestic work of art and my original reason for hiding my presence was fulfilled with the death of the black sun's leader. Rharo Dine had died of old age but deeper investigation revealed that the man had been assassinated by a street thug while the black sun leader was on his way home. I was sure no one was looking for me and it was time I moved on, but I had a strangely good and peaceful time here.

Vectivus was more like a brother than a dark Sith lord and his family was also sad to see me go.

I walked the halls I had created one last time with Vectivus by my side. We had learnt a lot from each other and grown not just in power but as people. I felt conflicted. Ever since I learned how the Jedi would use their padawans and they're less than squeaky clean reputation I had separated myself from them and gone into the Galaxy on my own. I didn't know how alone I was until I had made friends with an equal and they had adopted me into their fold.

I questioned if it was a good idea to leave here and maybe stay for another ten years but my purpose was complete. We parted ways and I promised I would return for light day. I boarded a mineral transport ship and left. My purpose here was complete but I would be leaving a new family that I hadn't even known I wanted, a bittersweet moment indeed.

It felt like a long couple of weeks ship hopping to get to the corner of the galaxy named after me. Bee's Grove was one of those few things that I had built up that hadn't diminished in quality thanks to the many minefields and killer mining drones that had been erected around the Grove. Many governments tried to incorporate the Grove into their power structure but ultimately failed because while they were able to send fines and embargo Bee's Grove just ignored it. It cost them too much to try to clear the mines and the damage they would receive from forcing their way in wasn't cost-effective. The embargos were also nothing as the close relationship with the Hutts and pirates made smuggling easy and profitable.

Passing the checkpoints leading into the Grove was easy. The powerful army of droids that protected the entrances knew who I was. In contrast, others had to skip through hoops and show a biblical book amount of paperwork as I was let through without a care to the shock of asylum seekers who had waited in line for hours.

Getting home was a nice feeling, I even missed the auto turrets targeting me as I entered my home. Asura droids saluted me and maintenance droids tilted their heads to me. As soon as I sat down, a protocol droid handed me a stack of data sheets. It was time to get my empire back.

The Hutts put on a deeply annoyed act on that I was claiming back my trading routes, but it was fake indignation trying to get any positive advantages they could using great displeaser to get better terms but the simple fact was without me unifying the space routes they couldn't gain any wealth from them. After some struggle, the Hutts handed over the trading routes that they had managed to scrape together.

The Hutts are solo entrepreneurs who don't do well sharing. This way of business was fine but not on a vast trading route system that had been carved up into many different greedy hands. No one was making money, as soon as you left the part of trading routes you protected then you were hit with taxes, payoffs, pirates, government hand-me-downs and any number of ways to steal money. The Hutts couldn't make the same kind of profits they once did when I owned the space routes, and so they just gave up what they had knowing that I would do something about it.

The rest of the routes were stolen by Republican council members but that was easy to get back. Bribing didn't work because the routes were worth tons of credits but threats of violence and blackmail caused the unification of the trading routes. Something the Hutts couldn't do over ten years I was able to achieve in a month. The Hutts were excited that the trade route was as one once again, they gave me presents and thank you slaves when my fleet of transport ships that I had hidden on a moon turned up to start trading and pushing product.

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News spread fast that a successor to the Bee name had taken over. Bee's healing rooms and Bee's food halls fell under my wing immediately as they were droid-run businesses. The Eden ships that produced food were a little complicated as they were privately owned. I gave them the best deals for their grown food. And yet, only about fifty per cent left the poorly run union they had created in my absence. They didn't know who I was and in their mind, I wasn't the old Bee that had granted them freedom and wealth but the ones that did leave hated the fat union that had too many useless people on the payroll that saped their earnings.

Shares, bonds, commodities, funds and hidden savings were safe and sound and where I had left them. The mass of credits from the Dyson energy-collecting swarm even caused me to take a slight breath of shock. That was the power of compounding interest.

Regaining lost power and money was easier than hiding it. The benefits of a well-placed plan supported by loyal droids made it simple.

I got a personal visit from Yoda who was a little surprised at my weight loss and upset that I had faked my death but also happy that I was still around. Long-living species lose their friends a lot and while Jedi say attachment leads to the dark side they too have feelings towards loved ones, even if they deny it.

I made a nice moss salad with a side order of deep-fried sliced root vegetables and a tall glass of spiced honey alcohol while Yoda caught me up on the epic things the Jedi were up to. The Jedi was experiencing a golden age and while they still fought in wars and sent their masters to negotiate, the galaxy's peace was at an all-time high.

And yet, I had to plant an idea. The idea that the Sith still exists. The problem was that the Sith had been gone for roughly four hundred years and even Yoda with his long life had never encountered them. The Jedi were becoming weaker and weaker with every passing generation without the Brotherhood of Darkness constantly probing for weaknesses. Yoda was a good example, he was good with a lightsaber but not the best I've ever seen. There were Jedi lightsaber users who could take on two Yodas at the same time and win. The Sith at their strongest had any number of unusally force users that could bypass a great lightsaber deulist. I needed Yoda to be aware that the Sith was still out there. Now was the time to medal with the time frame just enough to make it easier for me when the shit hit the fan.

I told Yoda about the rule of two. How the Sith had changed from having an army to only one master and one apprentice. I had to tell Yoda about this, he was unaware because of how Darth Bane had wiped out the remaining Brotherhood of Darkness. When he asked me about it I told him simply that I had been around for some time and talked and hired those who were less than clean.

In my opinion, if Yoda knew that there was a possibility that instead of an army of Sith, there was only going to be two then he might be able to spot them when the Sith started to make changes. I had to start to interfere with the timeline now because of what the Empire will eventually make. The Death Star.

I can deal with governments, assassins, underworld bosses and Jedi but a privately owned planet destroyer was problematic. There are about Five hundred and forty years before the clone wars happen and forty years before that when Palpatine starts his plans. Some would say that is plenty of time but I've got to work in the shadows because any super big changes will divert what I know should happen but even that was an excess. It has been many years since I was born and many changes throughout the galaxy I have made, and yet the most important things have still happened. It's like fate is a very real thing in this galaxy and the most important things have to happen. However, just because they will happen doesn't mean I'm going to turn the table over and destroy anything I want safe in the knowledge that fate will make it happen. It's better to be safe than sorry as I'm not one hundred per cent sure that fate is a certainty. I work in the dark and obscurity because I know it works. It's like planting a virus, it works best when no one knows it's there. Yoda stayed with me for two days and left to train his new apprentice.

I spent the next month moving credits around to keep people happy while carefully spending cash on resources. My privately owned moons are steadily filled with more materials. The plan was to increase the Dyson swarm and make even more cash through energy collection.

On the second month back I had a terrible incline from the force. It was weird as the force was just giving me a vague warning that I was in trouble. Something was blocking my intuition.