Jedi Insurgency 123

Leaving the now purified research facility beneath the Theed National Museum, Corvus had been deep in thought. 

With the return of Plagueis, a hidden dagger that could plunge into his back had been released into the world. Sure, he had his fun taunting the Sith Lord, and even chuckled to himself thinking about how he told the Muun the tale of his own demise. Yet this victory was bittersweet. 

As the architect of the Clone Wars, Plagueis was a schemer, and held many high level connections between the movers & shakers across the galaxy. His academic, and scientific mind meant he could whip up bioweapons on the same level as the Blackwing virus. Furthermore, his combat style painted him more as a sorcerer than some saber enthusiast. Whilst Windu or Yoda would likely triumph if they could close the distance, this was Legends Plagueis, a man who could manipulate life. That was a more impressive feat than anything Yoda or Windu had ever done as far as the Force was concerned. Perhaps only Palpatine’s ability to teleport Force Storms across the galaxy via wormholes could be said to sit in a similar tier. Destruction was formidable, but longevity, and the power to create were equally incredible. 

On Earth, Oppenheimer would forever be remembered as the architect of destruction, but the scientist who eventually discovered the keys to longer life would be just as, if not more famous. 

Plagueis was a threat to him, and it ate at Corvus that he wasn't strong enough to finish him off. Not only Plagueis, but characters like Vader held a strong psychological impact in his psyche. Corvus wasn't fool enough to think he was invincible, hell, he almost fell into Thrawn’s trap! A regular ass blue guy almost got him killed! To win a war of this scale, he needed allies, manufacturing, and in cases like today, incredible personal power. 

This was where exp came in. Ever since he had completed the Jedi Master quest, the exp cap had been removed. 

That being said, the amount of exp required to reach level 25 was a staggering 2,559,000! He was now aiming for level 26, and it was an incredibly uphill battle. [155,928/2,884,000 to next level]. 

To put things into perspective, killing a clone trooper granted 200 exp! Even if he slaughtered an entire Legion of a million men, it wouldn't be enough for him to level up! As daunting of a task as that was now, he was only HALFWAY to the level cap of 50! A level he theorized would place him at the very pinnacle of Revan's power level. 

If there was any silver lining, it was that the hordes of zombies he had slain during this expedition had contributed about a hundred thousand exp towards his next level...however, he was still short by a large margin! What he had to do was fall back on his old reliable, tried and tested methods of farming. The combo of following Path of the Jedi, and disabling mines. Back during his days on Coruscant, he spent 3 days, 12hrs to accumulate 445,000 exp. Now he didn't intend to solely dedicate his time towards this endeavor, but it was a safe, reliable, if not boring way to accumulate strength. The other opportunity, was the big fish. Path of the Jedi.

[Path of the Jedi LI (51): Help the Innocent, Vulnerable, Pure, Just or Weak: 1/51,000,000. Reward: 2,100,000 EXP]

Although the reward was huge, the amount of people he had to help was enough to make Corvus puke blood. He was all for helping out, but advancing from a Jedi Master (low) to (mid) was anything but easy. Like most games, the beginning was easy, but the upper levels were where the true grind began. 

Gazing blankly out the side hatch of the LAAT, he saw the morning sun rise out of the horizon, and expanded his senses into the city. 

Feeling a source of malignance, he knew that the Blackwing virus must have spread to the city. Rubbing his eyes underneath his mask, Corvus quit his moping, and straightened his back. It was time to farm some exp, and do some Jedi work. 

“Tech, I'm transferring you some data on the virus now. I need you to work on a vaccine, the computers on the Falcon were enhanced by you, do you think you can do it?” Corvus questioned. 

“I should manage, sir. So long as I have a point of reference, I don't believe there isn't anything I can't solve.” Tech replied in a confident, proud tone. 

“Good man.” Corvus nodded his head, it felt good to have a genius level intellect on your team. 

“You intend to heal the city?” Obi-Wan asked disbelievingly. 

“Master once cured an entire planet, one city is nothing.” Yon sleepily yawned into the morning air. 

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, and gazed at Corvus critically. 

Corvus shrugged. “It took an entire week, but Yon speaks truth.” 

“Very well. Hopefully we can discover some traces of Queen Neeyuntee whilst we traverse the city.” Obi-Wan added. 

“Should I drop you off at the palace entrance?” Tech spoke up just as Corvus was about to respond. 

“That’s right. You boys go guard Tech while he works, if we need you, you can come support us with the LAAT.” Corvus ordered the Bad Batch. 

“The buggers are smarter than you'd think. You sure splitting up is a good idea, General?” Hunter questioned. 

“Honestly, I'd prefer you men were by my side. But Tech needs to make that vaccine happen. I might cure Theed, but who is to say some squirrel or other small animal doesn't get infected, and takes the disease out of the city?” 

“Sounds good, General, me and the boys will be on call if you need us.” 

What Corvus didn't say-and what really concerned him-was if the mutants took a spaceship, and piloted themselves off of Naboo. In the official Legends book, infectees inherited all the skills of the deceased. It was certainly possible that this could happen. Just in case it did, he wanted some medicine as a back up plan. Although he believed he could resolve everything relatively smoothly now that the Big Bad had been dealt with, didn't mean he had to be stupid about it. It was like playing a match in a game that was an assured victory, perhaps you could afford to slack off a bit, but if you were totally negligent, the enemy could make a comeback and win. Something like that had happened to Corvus before, and he'd be damned if he lost Naboo due to carelessness. 

Besides, taking the W here would be excellent for PR! Obi-Wan would be guaranteed a seat at the Senate after showcasing how helpful the Jedi were. 

Disembarking from the LAAT, Corvus turned to his two students. 

“Jax, Yon, I want you two to film me and Obi-Wan from behind while we provide relief to the people of Theed. Of course, keep your eyes open, and if you come under attack, try to respond non-lethally." 

“Those black veined monsters are disgusting.” Yon voiced his displeasure at being neutered, but a stern look from Corvus had the brat swiftly backtrack his words, and agree. 

As for Jax, he was sensible as always, and merely nodded. 

“Can we please get moving? The tea shops in Theed are something special. Once we are finished here, I'll have to introduce you three.” Obi-Wan spoke with his arms crossed, his Core accent was especially thick at that moment, as if he were speaking with a group of ignorant foreigners. 

Corvus sighed, and started to get to work. “Let's go..” 

Taking the lead, Corvus practiced his newly acquired [Force Sight] ability, and scanned every nook & cranny. In Kotor 2, it was a learnable ability from a companion. Fortunately, his kyber crystal sort of acted as a companion, and helped him unlock this feature. 

Eyes blazing white, he looked through the world with new eyes. The sensations he experienced were intense, and something worth exploring once he had more time. For now, he was focused on removing this plague from Naboo. 

Casting [Heal] from time to time on passing birds, plants, or insects, they entered the city proper. Most of the fog had burnt off, and a partially cloudy, mostly blue sky'd modern metropolis presented itself. 

Lush vines hung from balconies, flower arrangements were abundant, and tons of walkable streets were in sight. This beautiful merger of man & nature was broken as a woman's scream of fear pierced his skull like a banshee's howl. 

“Keep close.” Corvus said to his students, and ran at extreme speeds. 

Seeing a good number of Blackwing mutants mobbing a storefront, he spread his hands and started to channel [Heal] across the entire street. A soft, minty light fell upon everyone present, and the throbbing black veins that had transformed the people into mindless cretins receded. Returned to normal, the victims looked at him in a daze. 

“Who are you?” Someone asked. 

“We're Jedi.” Corvus replied in a warm tone. 

The person who asked recoiled, and many of the people present began to whisper amongst themselves. He overheard them talk about the attack on Palpatine’s life, and his deformity. That as a Palpatine supporter, what was going on now-the diseased, mutated state of the Blackwing virus-might be some plot by the Jedi! 

Corvus’s eyes went wide. He knew from a meta perspective, that the native people of Naboo had grown to resent Palpatine in the future, and did not agree with the Empire. Yet he was so new to his reign, his popularity hadn't had time to decrease! 

Shaking his head, Corvus could only hope that the livestream they were broadcasting could help make their case. Winning at democracy against Palpatine on his home planet was Corvus’s dream. To troll the Dark Lord at his own game would be poetic. The fall of the Jedi had largely been due to their dogmatic loyalty to the Republic. By working to undermine his power like this would both help delegitimize the Empire, and be a check on the old prune's political aspirations. Kenobi had to win this race. 

“We understand your reluctance to trust us. From your perspective, the Jedi must appear to be war hungry power mongers. I know I can't change your mind with my words now, but please watch our actions. Watch our livestream on your favorite streaming platform.” Corvus said in a sincere tone, working that Persuade to its maximum, before once again taking off. 

The citizens he had saved looked reluctant to follow his suggestion, but Persuade against average people was a critical hit. Pulling out smart devices, they began to tune in one by one. What they saw was a group of Jedi, and murderous creatures that were reverted into regular people after Corvus waved his hand. 

One by one, Corvus convinced the people he saved to watch their good work. After hours of activity, he had cleared all of Theed, and couldn't spot any traces of infection as far as the eye could see. 

Walking back to the palace entrance, Corvus stretched, and was about to end the livestream, when Kenobi raised a valid question. 

“We haven't come across Queen Neeyuntee, do you think she-?” 

“Master Jedi, please come quick, there is activity in the mausoleum behind the palace!” A maid came running, and interrupted them. 

Corvus could only scratch his head, as he had searched the entire city, but forgot to check the area behind the palace… 

Following his map feature, he ran to the mausoleum. 

There were only two mutants present, and he easily cured them. Looking around, he made sure that there were no more creatures lurking about.

“By the Force! It cannot be.” Obi-Wan exclaimed. 

Corvus frowned, what had startled Kenobi so much? Expecting a threat or fight, Corvus looked everywhere, but couldn't find what had startled the bearded Jedi Master so much. 

“Obi, is that you?” A familiar voice spoke up. 

Focusing his attention on that voice, he realized just who he had cured! 

Standing across from him was the Queen of Naboo, as well as….

Padmé Amidala! 

~~~~~~~~

AN: I want to reiterate, Corvus is only after Evil Blueberry, and Mint Green Tomboy. There shall be no disintegrations! The Emperor wants them alive! 

That said, we are going to gaslight the hell out of Vader now that we rez'd his wife. Especially after telling him that it couldn't be done, LMAO!