Grain (II)

Pellaeon's report reached me as I made my way to the Chimera's detention block.

The fleet had completed its jump, and the logistics division, overwhelmed by the influx of damaged ships requiring immediate attention, hastily assigned vessels to available berths in the orbital workshop. Thankfully, there was still time to address this pressing matter before descending to the surface.

It's best to strike while the iron is hot, as they say. Moff Ferrus must be allowed to savor the fruits of my victory and dream of what's to come before he receives an offer he cannot refuse.

First, however, I issued orders regarding the prisoners and, with Rukh by my side, proceeded to the cell holding the most significant captive from the ambush at Rugosa.

The Marine stormtroopers guarding the cell delivered a terse and efficient report before allowing me and my bodyguard through the door.

Inside, seated directly on the floor with legs crossed in a meditative "lotus" position, was an elderly human woman. Despite the marks of age, hints of her fading beauty lingered on her face. Her eyes remained closed, her expression both serene and intensely focused. She was slender, well-proportioned, and dressed in plain dark attire, somewhat reminiscent of the Jedi tunics from the holofilms.

This attire was the only indication, however faint, of any connection she might have had to ancient Jedi knowledge. Yet, she was no Jedi.

"Get it over with," she said, her eyes still shut.

"What exactly?" I asked, standing about a meter away. Rukh instinctively assumed a position that maximized his ability to either strike or defend.

"You came to kill me, didn't you?" she said, finally opening her eyes. They gleamed with the wisdom of years and a hidden sadness. "Then finish what you came for, Imperial. Celebrate your victory—you'll be completing what the Emperor and Darth Vader could not. You will end the Jensaarai."

"I appreciate the offer, but not today," I countered, declining her suggestion. "I am Thrawn, Grand Admiral of the Empire and Supreme Commander. I came to negotiate, not to exterminate."

"Is that so?" Her surprise was palpable. "You unleashed all your wrath upon us, slaughtered my defenders, burned their minds in their own skulls, cut me off from the Force—and now you wish to talk?"

"Why not?" I asked. "Or will you deny that your people aided Leonia Tavira and her forces in attacking me?"

"I won't deny it," she admitted.

"And will you deny that there was combat, with losses on both sides?"

"No, I won't."

"Then what grievances can there be?" I pressed. "You and your comrades came with clear intent to kill me and my subordinates. You were met with resistance because every living being has the right to defend itself from a threat. I regret that your people died, but so did mine. It was a fair battle."

"Neither I nor my protectors invaded your minds and burned them as though fire through dry leaves," she retorted with a grimace.

"Only because you lacked the means," I clarified. "Had they possessed that power, they would have used it to please their mistress."

The woman winced slightly.

"What do you want?" she asked. "To taunt me before finishing me off?"

"Would negotiations be impossible without that?" I asked. "Despite your eagerness to embrace death, I am offering you an alternative."

"And what is that?" she inquired.

"To live," I replied. "We've examined the data from the Offensive's computers. We know the location of your homeworld. But rest assured, no ships are currently en route to lay waste to the Jensaarai enclave. Instead, I extend an invitation for you and your people to join my service."

"Leonia Tavira once made a similar proposal," she responded bitterly. "Her Star Destroyer loomed over our heads, ready to reduce our settlement to ashes at any moment."

"A compelling, though tragic, tale," I remarked. "If you wish, you may tell it—it will help me better understand why you aligned yourselves with pirates."

"We had no choice," she replied. "The Jensaarai have never known peace. Not since we broke away from the Jedi, and not even after their fall. First, the Jedi nearly wiped us out, and then Darth Vader, to whom we offered our blades, turned against us. We are outcasts in the eyes of the powerful—Jedi see only the Dark Side in us, while the Sith see only the Light."

"And what are you, truly?" I asked.

"We are neither," she said with fervor. "Long ago, our ancestors discovered Sith teachings and realized that power could be drawn from more than just Jedi knowledge. The Order rejected our views and hunted us down. We went into hiding for years, only to be found again. The Jedi killed our leaders, and the survivors barely escaped. Seeking refuge with Vader led to more betrayal. There were fewer of us with each conflict, and we fled farther away, hiding our true nature. We secluded ourselves on Susevfi until Leonia Tavira found us a few years ago."

"She was evading her pursuers, looking for a sanctuary," I added, drawing from the intel I had reviewed from Tavira's ship before the jump.

She had established a cozy base—hiding her Star Destroyer in an asteroid field and dominating the locals, who had long been forgotten. It's no surprise that, after encountering the Jensaarai, her operations ran even more smoothly.

"We only realized her intentions after she manipulated us into trusting her," the woman said, her voice tinged with bitterness. This bitterness was a key trait of the Jensaarai leader—at least according to Tavira's own logs. "We do not seek war; our aim is to study the Force and defend ourselves. This is our creed. To become a Jensaarai, one must undergo training reminiscent of the Jedi path, including crafting a lightsaber. But that's just the beginning. Every Jensaarai must forge their own armor using ancient techniques we rediscovered for refining cortosis and weaving it into the plating. Only then can a student become a true protector."

I had already heard some of this from the renegade Jensaarai, Fodeum Sabre De'Luz, but there was no reason to interrupt the woman. Without access to the Force—thanks to the nearby ysalamiri—it was evident she was struggling, as one might expect from someone attuned to the Force from an early age. This deprivation was intentional—it made her more pliable. If that meant listening to her recount her sorrows, so be it. I had time, and it's always valuable to gather insights from a more reliable source than a dropout who lost his lightsaber. At the very least, it broadens my perspective.

"We choose an animal as our guardian and integrate its traits into our armor. Each protector wears this armor continuously, with the unique features distinguishing one from another—a peculiar concept, but it works for us. Every totem represents a peaceful creature that never attacks first, but fiercely defends itself if provoked. This reflects our philosophy."

"The moon we hid on, away from other settlers, was Susevfi. It was there we first encountered Leonia Tavira. She landed with her crew and initially tried to seduce a local Imperial official. When he refused, she killed him in cold blood, declared the planet liberated from Imperial tyranny, and incited a rebellion against the New Republic. As the Saarai-kaar, the leader of the Jensaarai, I met with Tavira to negotiate and halt the slaughter of innocents. She gained my trust when she learned who I was, only to betray me after I rejected her demand to serve her. She threatened to annihilate the peaceful inhabitants of the planet if we refused to aid her. I had no choice but to comply."

The recruitment methods are quite intriguing—purely Imperial in nature. But what else can you expect, considering that Tavira was once married to an Imperial Moff? Rumor even has it that she personally eliminated his former wife and the Moff himself.

"For months, my Jensaarai followed Tavira and her flagship on destructive raids, aiding her in looting and killing. We are not proponents of violence, but we understood that refusing would mean the death of everyone in our world. Some of us had attuned our connection to the Force to such a degree that we could sense danger directed specifically at Tavira."

"And in doing so, you helped her avoid ambushes," I concluded, finding the concept fascinating. Although I can already see multiple applications, it's clear this strategy is far from infallible. The ambush on Rugosa didn't even involve Tavira directly, and yet the Jensaarai failed to foresee it. The system has its flaws, and if luck is on my side, I'll find ways to turn them to my advantage.

"We also influenced the perceptions of unwelcome visitors so that they saw her ship but could not recognize it," the Saarai-kaar continued. "But your Jedi... he broke through our defenses. When we tried to weaken him, he killed my students—the last who could protect Tavira and save our people."

"Leonia Tavira is now my prisoner," I reminded her. "As is her ship. No pirate left Rugosa unscathed."

"There are still gangs on Susevfi," she replied bitterly. "When her ship doesn't return, they'll slaughter everyone."

"I'm confident we can handle that problem together," I said.

"Together?" she sneered. "How are you any better than Tavira? You exploit my vulnerability, strip me of my power, and prepare to impose your demands."

"But now you're truly paying attention," I countered. "You still have your power—I merely restrict it as much as needed. I offer you my assistance in ridding your planet of pirates."

"And you expect something in return," she stated, unwavering.

"Indeed," I replied. "You will give me the pirates, their equipment, and all the loot they've gathered."

"I expected you to demand our service," she said, clearly taken aback.

"I'm not here to coerce you, although I could," I said calmly. "Under my command, the Empire will no longer hunt down Force-sensitive beings who pose no direct threat. On the contrary, I'd like to invite you and your students to join the state I'm building—a place where you can live without fear, pursue knowledge, teach others, and serve as emissaries of peace and justice—something the Jedi never managed."

"And if we refuse? Will you take our women and children hostage?" she asked coldly.

"No," I answered firmly. "I'll merely wish you luck in dealing with the Jedi and the New Republic on your own. They were already hunting Tavira and have intelligence on those who aided her raids—though that last part is admittedly a bluff. However, with Imperial intelligence, it wouldn't be hard to confirm. After Rugosa, that's a given."

"And if we agree to serve you, will you protect us?" the Saarai-kaar asked.

"Protection, a safe haven, opportunities to study, and access to new knowledge," I listed. "Surely, you don't believe that what you currently know is the pinnacle of understanding?"

"We are well aware that many mysteries of the Force remain beyond our grasp," the Jensaarai leader conceded with a scoff. "But if you don't possess the Force yourself, how can you make such promises?"

"I am sufficiently knowledgeable to provide my allies with what remains of ancient Sith and Jedi wisdom—that is simply a fact," I said. "At the very least, something within the depths of Mount Tantiss would interest the Jensaarai. And beyond that, there's the Yavin system, once a stronghold of the Sith, Korriban, Ossus, and many other worlds that were once sacred to either Jedi or Sith."

"How can I trust an Imperial after all the harm your Empire has caused me and my people?" she asked.

"As a gesture of goodwill, I will do two things now," I said. "First, once you agree to cooperate, your connection to the Force will be fully restored. As long as we work together to protect the galaxy from greater and lesser evils, you are my ally, and I will never again deprive you of the Force."

"But you already have a powerful Jedi—one who killed my best students!" the Saarai-kaar objected, still unconvinced.

"Yes, there was a Jedi in my ranks," I admitted, though I had no intention of divulging C'baoth's origins or explaining that he had since retreated to await Horn's arrival on his world. "His actions against your people only confirmed my suspicions about his madness and the need to sever all ties with him."

"Will you kill him?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"If there is hope he can be helped, no," I said, though I doubted it was even possible to redeem a flawed clone. Yet with the laboratories on Mount Tantiss fully operational, we could easily create another, more stable version if needed.

"But you don't believe such an outcome is likely," she noted.

"I doubt it can be done," I conceded.

The woman paused in thought before speaking again.

"And the second gesture?" she asked as she gracefully stood up.

I signaled to Rukh, who promptly left the room. I knew he was headed to the adjacent cell to remove the ysalamiri and meet someone waiting on the planet. I had no fear of a Force attack—my trusty ysalamiri was snug on my shoulder. Even in a physical confrontation, I was prepared.

I noticed a subtle change in the woman's expression as she sensed the return of her power—no doubt from Rukh removing the ysalamiri nearby. Moments later, Rukh re-entered, accompanied by a young man...

"There's someone else who can further elaborate on my offer. Allow me to introduce him," I said, gesturing toward the freighter captain.

"Mother?!" the Jensaarai student, who had lost his lightsaber, breathed out in shock.

"Fodeum?!" the Saarai-kaar gasped as she locked eyes with the young man. "How...?"

They both stared at each other, a striking resemblance between them. The atmosphere grew tense, but perhaps this reunion was for the best. I could see in her eyes that she had found her long-lost son, and with that, she nodded in agreement.

Well, the emotional family reunion has concluded; it's time to move on to more pressing matters.