Chapter 80: Concerning Information
Summary: Unexpected finds and some positive progress.
Warning! Chapters 79-82 were all published back-to-back! Make sure you don't miss any of them!
Chapter 80: Concerning Information
Izuku frowned, expression focused as he walked through the mostly-completed Lucrehulk, Aayla trailing alongside him with an entirely too similar expression. For that matter, Shaak Ti was wearing much the same look, though her Padawan did not. Asajj lacked sufficient understanding of the wider galaxy to have quite grasped the implications of what they'd seen as they toured the ship. Not, of course, that it was entirely new information. They'd been called here to Nimban and its shipyards for a reason, after all. Unknown to anyone prior to their takeover of the system, Hoersch-Kessel Drive Inc had bought out virtually the entire sprawling shipyard complex. Then, just for good measure, they'd also expanded the already impressive shipyards still farther. All to a single, solitary, end.
The mass manufacturing of Lucrehulks.
In and of itself, that wouldn't have been too big of a deal. The massive transports were the company's biggest and most profitable contract. With Nimban being their headquarters system, and the Hutts honestly having a less bullshit 'tax' system than the Republic, at least compared to what it levied against Mid and Outer Rim worlds, the choice made an objective amount of sense. So much so that, despite not being a fan of the Trade Federation, their original plan had been to allow the company to continue operations with minimal disruption. A signal to the largest corporations that they weren't going after Hutt Space as a way to screwed the megacorps over.
Then, before the could act on that idea, someone had gotten a look at the Lucrehulks being built here. The local commander had immediately kicked what they'd found directly up the chain, straight to Izuku's office. Do not pass go, do not collect $200 dollars. Which, frankly, Izuku couldn't blame the man for, given what he'd stumbled upon. These Lucrehulks weren't merchant vessels, after all.
They were a complete redesign into a battleship.
Twenty-four heavy quad turbolaser batteries, four twin heavy turbolaser batteries, one hundred and sixty point-defense quad laser turrets, and four hundred twin heavy laser cannons. Not to mention room for 1,500 vultures, and at least three full divisions of ground forces. Just to make the intent of the modifications all the more blatant, the already impressive shields of a standard Lucrehulk had been beefed up farther, battleship grade armor had been fitted, and its redundancies and damage control systems had been massively upgraded.
There was absolutely zero question in any of their minds, after touring the ship to confirm the redesign personally, that it was a monstrously powerful warship. One that even the League's new Paladins would find a tough nut to crack. Oh, odds still heavily favored the Paladins in a one-on-one. Their Particle Beam could seriously fuck up even a ship with shields and armor as heavy as was present on this redesign. But two of these Lucrehulks? Two versus one, would be maybe fifty-fifty odds for the Paladin taking both out but getting absolutely wrecked in the process. Three of them and the Paladin would likely lose outright without destroying all of its opponents.
"Well. I suppose the question remains. Just what the fuck were the Trade Federation doing building so many of these?"
Izuku's voice was tight as they all re-boarded the Wandering Fate, which had brought them over from the Knight Errant. The question was a painfully obvious one that they'd all been wondering even before they'd toured the ship. A few vessels like this could have been justified as system defense for critical Trade Federation worlds, much like Kuat or Corellia had those god-awful multiple-kilometer long in-system dreadnaughts of theirs. But there were fifty of the new Lucrehulk design under construction in the Nimban system, and records indicated at least four times that number had already left the yards here. Probably quite a few more, given that they hadn't managed to take all the records intact.
It was Shaak Ti that finally stated what Izuku, Aayla, and herself had all been thinking.
"War. There's just no other reason to build them in such numbers. They are preparing for a large-scale war. Not even attempting to forcefully expand the old Trade Defense Force in a way that the Senate couldn't make them comply in shutting down would justify so many genuine battleships."
Izuku sighed as it was finally put out there, a statement that couldn't be taken back.
"Which means the question becomes…war with who? We are the obvious option, if they'd cottoned on to our build up and sold the Hutts on arming themselves against us. But if that's the case, then where are the two hundred of these monsters already in service? Are they all protecting the Hutt Throneworlds? Are they that paranoid?"
Shaak Ti, Aayla, and even Asajj's heads all instantly shook, even as Izuku's own feelings in the Force rejected that idea. Aayla was the one to voice it out loud.
"No. The Force is clear on that much. They weren't meant for fighting us. Unfortunately, that can only mean one possibility. Well, two, technically. But the idea they were preparing to fight the Hutts or another extra-Republic power seems unlikely at best."
They all nodded at that, even as Shaak Ti let out a sigh that mirrored Izuku's earlier one.
"Which means they are meant to be used against the Republic. The only question remains if that is as a deterrent…or as an aggressor?"
Izuku, having taken a seat in the Fate's lounge, drummed his fingers on an armrest as the others did the same. Each of them, even Asajj as it finally clicked for her why the others were so tense, looked as troubled as he felt as they took their own seats. There were a long few moments of pause, before Aayla slumped and spoke.
"As much as I don't want to say it, as it could stir things up just when things seemed to be calming down, I think this is something we're going to have to forward to the Jedi Order. We're far too committed, at the moment, to our own efforts to spare the manpower to track those ships or figure out what the Federation is up to. As I see it, our only three choices are reporting this to the Senate via Padmé, reporting it to the Judiciary Forces, or reporting it directly to the Jedi Order. Two of those three leak information like a sieve. The Jedi Order isn't great about information security either, but they are a lot better than the other two options."
Shaak Ti winced at the casual assessment of the Jedi Order's lacking information security. She didn't protest the assertion, though. There had been one too many incidents over the years that made it obvious they had leaks. They'd been trying to tighten up on that angle since the return of the Sith was discovered during the Invasion of Naboo, but they honestly lacked the institutional expertise needed to do a proper job of it. She'd already seen the radical differences between how the League maintained its security so successfully and how the Jedi Order…mostly failed to do so.
"I can pass the message directly on to Master Windu, as I did with the events of Tisht. That way, at least it will be somewhat contained, as Master Windu is intelligent enough to connect the Trade Federation with possible Sith influence, given the presence of such during the Naboo conflict. That will see the matter given as tight of security as the Order can manage…though it might also mean they can't investigate as thoroughly."
The others all nodded. Shaak hadn't tried to hide her reporting to Master Windu regarding the fight against and defeat of Beldorion the Hutt. Something Izuku was grateful for, as she'd also allowed them some degree of input on what she'd reported back. She'd kept the aftermath and the sudden awakening of so many people to the Force out of her report as a result. In fact, she'd bluntly agreed with them that it would likely just confuse the issue and potentially rip the Jedi Order apart, given the already existing arguments that had been brewing when she'd left. She could always claim that the extent of it hadn't been known when she'd first sent in her report. Though, now…
"How much of a problem is it going to cause you if you report it, while continuing to not mention the new Ossus Academy?"
Shaak grimaced, her expression alone saying that the prognosis wasn't great. Aayla slowly shook her head.
"Wrong move then, I think. No, I think this is something we can handle through our own contacts. The Sith connection you mentioned means there's perfectly legitimate cause to use my personal connection to Master Tholme to pass this information along. He's one of the best positioned to act on the information anyway. Not to mention it will be a tacit sign from myself and Izuku that we're still willing to work with the Jedi Order, instead of being potentially at odds with it."
A certain amount of tension left Shaak Ti's shoulders at the suggestion. Internally, Izuku wondered for a brief moment if she would have kept the Academy out of the reports if she'd been forced to send an update. For now, at least, they could hopefully put that off just a little bit longer. The Academy was barely established at this point, and might not survive scrutiny and pressure from the Jedi Oder. Well, whether she would have or not, it was time for a bit of a conversational redirect.
"I think we might also want to summon Padmé back anyway, in her role as representative of the Galactic Senate to the League. I'd planned to wait until the first meeting of the expanded Council, as a showcase of progress towards democratic representation. But if we do it now, we can make some indirect suggestions that she and her allies might want to look into what the Federation is doing, without giving specifics. That might turn up something without causing a full leak of the information. It's not like the TF isn't going to know we found out, after all. So long as we don't shout it from the rooftops, we might avoid a confrontation with them."
Aayla nodded sharply, though it was actually Asajj who made a surprising suggestion.
"Why not reach out to the Trade Federation yourselves? If you offer to buy out the yards and ships rather than just seize them, you might end up convincing them you're not an enemy. That you're too focused on the Hutts to care about whatever they are up too."
The others present all blinked, but Izuku slowly nodded.
"It would be expensive, but we've already seized billions of credits from the Hutts and Hutt businesses. If it keeps the Trade Federation from deciding it needs to back the Hutts, possibly with those ships, a backroom deal like that might just be our best move. Since we'll be passing the information on through the Jedi Order, we can even claim that it was the various independent Jedi now working with our movement that 'must have passed it on,' rather than the League. Heck, we can even make that true by using one of the Almas Jedi as a physical courier to Tholme. It would be more secure than a hypercomm call and provide a provable cutout."
As they both considered it, Shaak Ti and Aayla slowly nodded.
"Right, then this is what I suggest we do…"
It would take a few hours to sort out the hows and whos of the matter, and no one would be entirely happy with the result. But they would come to a working agreement in the end…
... ...
Celeste was simultaneously satisfied and worried as she snuck out of the Hutt palace. Getting down on Ulmatra, let alone all the way through the heightened security on the local Hutt's personal palace, had been difficult. In fact, without the abilities of her apprentice, who had come so far with her illusions that she could outright cloak their ship, it wouldn't have been possible at all. Probably a good thing that Allaya Djo had decided she liked the outside world enough that she was sticking around, even if she'd never be a proper Jedi. Her mother might have been pissed about that, if not for the combination of everything her daughter had brought back and promises to try and get the Singing Mountain clan more instruction.
Celeste hadn't at all understood why the Force had practically pushed her into making that particular promise during a recent return trip to Dathomir. Though she had a sneaking suspicion now that it might have something to do with whatever solution Izuku and Aayla came up with for the new Awakened. The rather overblown title for the surge of Force Sensitives created by the events of Tisht, or such they were being called when she'd left, at least. Whatever the case, the promise and Augwynne Djo being able to feel the weight of it in the Force had dampened any problems with keeping her apprentice. Though, in truth, Allaya was closing in on being more of a partner than a student at this point.
None of which was relevant to events of the moment.
No, what was very relevant was that she had gotten into the secure servers of the local top Hutt, and she'd found exactly what she'd hoped for. A match for the ship that 'Darth Plagueis' had used to visit Tisht. Even better, the Hutt had actually flagged the ship, as her own information network had identified the owner as someone important. The ship had, apparently, belonged to a Muun named Hego Damask II. That fact had been obscured by several shell companies, but the Hutt had found out in some fashion or another, and the system had auto-flagged the ship as a result.
Unfortunately, while it was the strongest lead yet to someone who might be one of the modern Sith, assuming it wasn't just someone using Damask via a skill like Force Dominate, there were some problems. Even just looking at the Hutt's own files on the man had instantly told her two very important things. First, that Hego Damask had been an incredibly wealthy man with extremely high levels of influence in the Intergalactic Banking Clan. Second, that he was supposedly dead.
That part she wasn't completely certain she believed. If he'd been a Sith, not just a pawn of one, he might well have faked his death. The Hutt hadn't had a specific interest in the man, but general information that had been collated by the Hutt's network showed that the IBC and Damask Holdings had both barely mentioned the man's death. Even odder was that there were absolutely no indications of what had happened to the man's incredible fortune. One that was easily vast enough to buy and sell planets like so much candy. That was suspicious as heck, but she wasn't sure if it was suspicious in the sense of a faked death…or possibly in the sense of a covered up death that might have been carried out by a Sith apprentice overcoming his master.
It could be either, or even something else entirely. At that level, politics and business were intertwined firmly, and an assassination by a corporate rival wouldn't be out of the question either. She would need to find out far more about Hego Damask and those that had been in prolonged contact with him. The trick was going to be in figuring out how to do it without alerting anyone that might still be on the lookout for such an investigation that she was performing one…
... ...
Shaak Ti wasn't a particularly arrogant Jedi, making it very easy for her to admit when she was impressed. Which, as she barely managed to deflect one of her opponent's flying shields, only to nearly 'lose' her head to the lightsaber coming in behind it, was certainly her opinion of Izuku Midoyria's combat ability. She resorted to an Ataru dodge, not her best form and certainly not a great form to use against someone whose primary sparring partner was far better at it than Shaak. Still, it worked to get her clear, and she managed to put enough 'umph' into her next telekinetic deflection of one of those shields to buy her a tiny gap to attack through.
She'd very quickly discovered that the only hope she had of beating her opponent was to get in close and stay there. Something she did now as she resorted to moves that could only barely be considered a normal part of lightsaber combat, improvising several that were closer to unarmed combat moves than blade work. That, she quickly realized, was a losing proposition. A realization that came with a foot to her abdomen in a move so clean that Midoyria had to be heavily trained in unarmed combat. More heavily than Shaak herself.
Crud.
She was once again stuck attempting to weave through and deflect the trio of shields that Izuku was using for this match, attempting to identify another option and coming up irritatingly blank. This wasn't her first spar with the man, but it was the first one where he'd used his full combat style against her. Previous matches had been lightsaber to lightsaber only, and she now fully understood why Aayla had recommended they start off that way. Mister Midoyria was more than decent with a blade in hand, but hadn't been Shaak Ti's equal. In fact, it had only been incredibly good footwork and movement fundamentals, which she now realized must be sourced from whatever unarmed style he knew, that had kept him from being entirely overwhelmed.
The difference between his bladework and everything else he knew wasn't overly surprising, in retrospect, given that Aayla and he had admitted that his own people didn't use lightsabers. That, in fact, it had only been under the influence of Aayla, Morne, and eventually Tholme, that he had learned to use one. The fact that he was decent with what she recognized as an older version of Shii-Cho and a more modern version of Shien/Djem So, said a lot about both his talent and efforts. Though she now suspected he'd been building on an extremely good combat foundation to start with, which did explain some of his more unpredictable movements.
Realizing she wasn't going to get an opening unless she made one, Shaak bullrushed one of the shields instead of dodging. Concentrating all her skill with telekinesis into freezing it for just a moment, she used it as a stepping stone to accelerate back toward her opponent. Who, unfortunately, looked impressed but already had an answer in the form of a counter charge that pinned her against the shields coming in behind her.
She managed to hold him at bay for a few moments, until one of the shields rammed into her back as she failed to deflect it entirely. Something that was inevitable, as his telekinesis was far stronger than her own, in pure spite of the aftermath of Tisht having left her stronger in the Force than ever before. Crying out, she tried to fold and roll over the strike to her back…only for her distraction to cost her as he managed to rip her lightsaber from her grip with more telekinesis. A blade at her throat a second later caused her to yield and drop to the floor with a pained groan.
There was clapping from one side, and Shaak cracked an eye in its direction, seeing a smirking Aayla.
"Impressive! Even if Izuku was only using half of his shields, that's better than most manage the first time they fight him!"
The fact that her statement rung true was galling. Shaak might not be particularly arrogant, but she did have her pride, and she'd been considered one of the better blades in the Order. Still…
"I will attempt to take that in the spirit it was likely intended, even if I currently do not feel as if it was a great success."
Aayla giggled, even as Izuku knelt beside her. Shaak blinked in surprise, and barely managed to suppress a moan as she felt warmth flood her body, focusing on the injury to her back. Force Healing, too? Cruder than what she'd have gotten from the Healing Halls, or from a healing trance of her own, but it wasn't an easy skill to apply to others. She was going to start feeling inadequate if he kept doing things like his.
Or possibly jump him, given the way that unique aura of his felt when he was directly in contact with hers. She'd always gotten rather passionate about a good fight, part of why she was so good with a blade despite being a counselor, and that feeling wasn't helping her cool down. Thankfully, Aayla distracted her before her train of thought could derail any farther down that particular path.
"I wasn't kidding, Shaak. His style is so unlike anything most Jedi have run into that he's a nightmare to fight. Celeste is the only one I know that can routinely beat him, even Master Tholme was hard pressed most of the time, and you know how good he is."
Shaak nodded at that, feeling a fair bit better at the idea that Master Tholme apparently had just as much trouble with Izuku's odd style. Tholme was well known to be among the best general combatants in the entire Jedi Order.
"I admit, the style is a part of the problem. Mostly, however, I believe it is the sheer skill with telekinesis that did me in. I am no slouch in that department, but I could barely deflect one shield at a time even with my full focus on it. Worse, unless I miss my guess, you were enhancing your movement with it at the same time, weren't you?"
Izuku nodded, those distracting healing hands pulling away, making Shaak realize that she was mostly better. Some light bruises left at worse. Pushing herself up to a locus position and accepting her saber back from her opponent, she continued.
"Doing all of that simultaneously? I'm not sure I'd bet on anyone but Masters Yaddle and Yoda to pull that off. Worse, you can control more of them. I'm not even sure how to go about fighting that."
Aayla's snort and headshake was exasperated and fond alike.
"You already hit on the only method I've found. Mobility and trying to stay in close, simultaneously. Half the reason I've pushed Jar'Kai as far as I have is out of a need to keep the pressure on him in close combat. I'm not as good as you with telekinesis, though I've managed to pick up his movement boosting ability, which seems to be a form of the old Force Speed ability."
Shaak nodded, having thought it might be. The modern version of that ability, which Shaak had been employing just to keep up, was mostly mental. It focused on using the Force to accelerate thought and reaction times more than physical movement. Though channeling the Force into the modern technique did strengthen muscle a bit as well, leading to increased physical speed. What Izuku seemed to be doing was more visceral than that. Almost puppeting himself with telekinesis, though not quite that far. More encasing the entire body in the Force in such a way that movement in the Force became movement of the physical body, too.
She could grasp the idea of how it was done, but actually reaching the point you could pull it off must take countless hours of practice. Something Izuku all but confirmed as he spoke into the conversational gap.
"It was a good match, as Aayla said. This time you were fighting parts of my original style more than my blade work, so I've had quite a few more years of practice with it. I was originally almost purely a telekinetic and telepath, with an unarmed fighting style taught to me by someone who was a battle maniac with enhanced strength. I promise you, I invented my personal version of Force Speed entirely out of self-defense."
His tone was so utterly dry at the end that a laugh tried to burble past Shaak's lips. Merely letting them twitch a bit instead, she nodded at him.
"I suspected after that kick that I'd chosen poorly and you outmatched me in unarmed ability."
Izuku grinned.
"I do most people. Miruko was a monster at close combat. Barely 159 cm, but pure muscle and vicious spite bundled into that tiny package. I couldn't consistently win against her, despite her having no telekinetic ability at all, until I managed to create the speed technique. That let me at least keep up long enough to grab her in a telekinetic hold, though she made even that hard by figuring out how stay in high-speed motion so much that I usually couldn't do more than slow her. Not until near the end of my time with her."
A sad smile flitted across his face, one that spoke of old pain and let Shaak know why this 'Miruko' wasn't still around. Still, it was there and gone in an instant. Clearly a pain that had long been dealt with properly and a person whose memories were mostly good despite the loss. A healthy response she was pleased to see present, given how powerful a user of the Force he had proven to be. Finally propelling herself to her feet, she bowed lightly toward him.
"Thank you for the spar. I'd love to try again, when I've had a bit more time to think on how to counter some of your fighting style. It's certainly an interesting challenge, and one I can learn a lot from, I think. As for now, I believe we only just have time to get cleaned up before the upcoming meeting."
Aayla and Izuku both glanced at the chrono on the wall and sighed.
"So much for Aayla and I getting a spar in. How did Asajj do?"
Aayla, herself covered by a sheen of sweat, though not nearly as much as Shaak and Izuku were, grinned at the question directed her way.
"Stubborn thing. Talented too. She might well have beat me as I was at her age. As it is, she was having trouble adjusting to dual-blades once I brought them out. She actually shows some signs of possibly being good with them, though. By the third fight she was tracking them in a way most struggle with after a dozen. You might consider testing her for Jar'Kai use, Shaak."
Shaak blinked, but nodded. It was unusual for someone to be naturally pre-disposed forward dual blades, but hardly unheard of. Given that Aayla was one such rare case, taking her advice to test for it was purely good sense. Doubly so since she'd likely be willing to give some pointers to Asajj if it proved she was skilled in that area. It wasn't something Shaak had ever learned, having quickly discovered it didn't suit her at all when she attempted it. Most Jedi tried at some point, but very few more than dabbled with Jar'Kai. Shaking the thought off, she let her lips curl into a teasing grin as she reminded them they needed to get moving.
"Well, that's for later. For now, are you coming to shower with us, Aayla? Or are you going to try squeezing in a quickie with your boytoy?"
Izuku blinked, seeming surprised at the blatant comment, but Aayla blushed perfectly. Despite the fact the girl was a tease, she apparently didn't handle being on the receiving end well. At least not from a fellow Jedi. Chuckling, Shaak strolled past her, leaving Aayla to follow behind. Sensing her about to fire back, Shaak doubled down.
"Ah, so you don't think you'd have enough time. Reasonable. I imagine his stamina comes in handy for more than just fights…"
Aayla's spluttering was fun, even if something told Shaak she might be playing a dangerous game. Ah, well. She had thick skin and enough embarrassing stories about a younger Aayla that she was sure she'd survive the inevitable retribution.
... ... ... ... ...
A/N 1: So, oddly enough, I actually didn't plan for the Lucrehulks when I originally drafted the general Crusade outline. But when I was dealing with Nimban, I realized that...'waaaaiiittt' they have their HQ outside the Republic. Wouldn't that be a PRIME place to build up some of their secret ships? Obviously, given the sheer numbers, the Shipyards at Nimban aren't the TF's only location for building those battleship refits. But it makes 100% sense that it would be the first place that they started building them that way from the keel out, instead of refitting their existing fleet. The Hutts aren't likely to narc on them, after all. So, a bit of a windfall for the League, but also a complication in that they now know the Trade Federation, at least, is Up to Something.
A/N 2: Meanwhile, Celeste has a solid clue about a Sith in the current chain. It's not the current Sith, of course. She also doesn't have any sort of absolute proof. But it's a thread that no one, not even Sidious, is aware of. Which means she now has a chance to start slowly cracking who the current Sith might be. Even if that still won't be an easy task.
A/N 3: Shaak Ti vs Izuku. I thought this was both a good chance to get some interaction with Shaak Ti AND address something that I've occasionally been accused of with Izuku. Specifically, some people on various platforms have somehow gotten it into their heads (I have NO idea how), that I underpowered him. He's not even remotely underpowered, he's just very rarely been placed in a position he needed that power. Some of it was shown off finally against the Dark Jedi Hutt, but this little sparring match finally gives a fairly direct comparison.
Shaak Ti, in canon, would already be a Master on the High Council. One noted to be a rather skill combatant too. Here, she only didn't reach that point because Izuku and Co wiped out the Kazarak Slaver's Guild and Shaak got tapped to help rebuild the government of Kazarak. She is, if anything, even better than she was in canon since doing so likely meant surviving dozens of assassination attempts. Not to mention the boost she's getting from a freshly deepened connection to the Force post-Tisht. Yet, she still lost to Izuku...while he was sandbagging, at that. While he's nowhere near her or Shaak's level with a saber, having only been using one for a few years, Izuku's monstrously gifted with telekinesis, and had an unarmed style pounded into him by Miruko. Of the Jedi, there are only a bare handful that could actually take him in a serious fight, and that handful actually DOESN'T include Windu, as Windu's fighting style is geared toward fighting darksiders, which Izuku isn't. Yoda would school him. Celeste can take him apart. A few others would give him a serious fight. But he's quite far up there in personal power. It's just not the type of power he's using most of the time at this point.