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Let Chaos Reign Chapter 25: The Mask of Revan

The meeting was one that most would consider surprising with various Mandalorian clans attending it on such short notice. But considering Jabba the Hutt, who had employed their various clan members and had helped keep them afloat with mercenary work, they didn’t exactly have the opportunity to refuse. It also helped people like Pre Vizla, who were well aware of Jabba going to war against the Republic and, by extension, the Jedi.

All of them were speaking with one another, curious about what the attack was, with their own clan members keeping an eye on things to make sure no one was trying to pull a fast one. They were all calm despite how several of what I was assuming were Vizla's Death Watch members opened fire on me on his front lawn.

I didn’t even bother with using the door or even breaking it open. “Hey kids! You want to see a dead body?” I asked them all excitedly when I popped out from under the table at the center of the room with everyone pulling a blaster on me.

“I see I have a lot of takers. Unfortunately, we will have to postpone that.” I fazed through the rest of the table and now stood atop it, arms clasped behind my cloak at the small of my back.

The doors opened with some of the Mandalorians aiming their weapons, only to pause when they saw Vizla and his people rush inside, and the man glared in my direction.

“I take it you're the one that wanted this meeting to happen?” A woman with her helmet off asked me. She looked to be in her mid-twenties with brown eyes and black hair, with yellow armor much like the other Mandalorians beside her, all of which varied from clan to clan.

“I am.” I said, moving over to a chair and taking a seat while everyone else remained standing, even putting my boots up on the table while leaning back. The others all looked at one another before they all watched me.

Vizla was half tempted to try and shoot me after I did what I had to to his people, but guys like him only respected strength and power. The alternative was appearing weak to a guy like him when I was going to sell the image I was going for. I needed to make sure he knew not to cross me, and just a display of Kamui, while powerful, that alone wouldn’t be enough. To both be reasonable, but also if you got on my bad side, you were in for a world of hurt.

“I do apologize for the disturbance. Vizla’s people, deciding to shoot first and ask questions later, forced my hand and were dealt with accordingly.”

“Get on with it. What are you here for?” Vizla snapped.

“At peace, Vizla. I am here because I need your people's aid… that and to fix the travesty that has befallen your people.”

This got the various clan heads interested. “Our services are not cheap. Especially when you have us all here to talk business.”

“What I have in mind is of the utmost importance, and the only thing I can think of that would be valuable enough to ensure you stick to the agreement is this.”

A lazy wave of my hand above the table had a chunk of raw ore the size of a man’s torso form out of a vortex from Kamui before it slammed down on top of the table, crushing it into the floor, and the floor under it cracked from the impact. It was like someone struck a gong with a gust of wind accompanying it.

Vizla looked ready to strangle me but paused when one of the guards attending this meeting got closer and examined the hunk of ore before slowly turning towards their clan head. “It’s… Beskar.” They said quietly.

They all stopped, several had their hands on their blasters, ready to shoot me, thinking I was attacking. I remained in the position I had been in, feet held up in the air like the table was still there and not crushed into the floor.

All of the Mandalorians quickly began to talk amongst one another in a cacophony of noise while Vizla looked between me and the metal on his floor. All of them could hide it well, but even without the Beskar getting shown, the mask I wore had all of their interest.

“Who are you? I thought you were nothing more than a suicidal idiot wearing that mask and robes of the most infamous figure in our people’s history. But with that as payment…” The leader of Death Watch trailed off, eyeing the Beskar like all the others.

Hiding it as best they could was an impossible task. A giant hunk of Beskar just plopped down like that in front of all of them, not a single one of them could hide their desire for it. Even without Haki, I knew I had them on the hook, now to just reel them in the rest of the way.

“Once upon a time I was a fighter, seeking to right the wrongs in the galaxy. Then a conqueror. Now… Now I am just a simple man wishing to have some peace and relaxation. But I cannot do that when several things bother me so much that I must correct them.”

I got up off the chair, and the act of keeping my legs held up was done as I walked around the Beskar. That would likely be enough for one clan to build a few suits of armor for their clan members. I stared at each of them, the red of my Mangekyo Sharingan showing through the T-shaped visor of the helmet iconic to someone all Mandalorians, regardless of era, should know.

“Then why do you need us? As powerful as you are and with that as payment, you should be more than capable of handling it yourself.”

The woman in yellow armor spoke up with several clan members snapping their heads towards her as if she were an idiot. With this kind of payment, why would she take the risk of talking to me about taking it back when I could and likely would be able to handle whatever threats come along? At least, in their eyes.

“Because the current state of your people is one such thing I intend on correcting.” She didn’t flinch when I appeared right in front of her so fast that to them it was like I had teleported.

“Despite my disdain for Vizla here,” My hand waved in the man’s direction. “Who reminds me so much of Mandalore the Ultimate.” Vizla and the others gave me odd looks. “But!” A finger raised in the air before it was wagging in his direction.

“I’ll take a warmongering idiot over the absolute fucking disappointment your Duchess has turned the majority of your people into. Your ancestors were some of the greatest warriors that ever lived without the Force. Even without it, they proved capable.”

I walked in a long circle before stopping in front of Vizla, who had a complicated look on his face. “So a big part of why I am doing this is because there is one thing I have learned in my life-- you never ever take the Mando out of the Mandalorian.”

I emphasized each word with a finger pressing into Vizla’s chest plate. The man stared at me, and instead of getting insulted, he gave me a slow nod of respect.

“Something we can all agree on. What do you want?”

“For starters, I wish for your aid when the Republic comes looking for a fight, and it will happen.”

The Mandalorians all paused before they silently discussed amongst one another if it was worth it before coming to their decision. “You have it… how much more do you have?” One asked me.

“A lot more. Enough so that rock you’re practically drooling over is pocket change compared to what I have left over.”

“Where did you get this much beskar? Whatever was left on Mandalore has long since been depleted.” Another spoke up.

“My secrets are my own, and I doubt you will believe me, but I’ll tell you regardless. I battled your ancient ancestors and brought their Mandalore low in one-on-one combat.”

“Bantha poodoo. You're not Revan, you can’t be.” The woman with the yellow armor that stood by Vizla’s side said, pointing her finger at me accusingly.

With a quick breath of Sun Breathing, I appeared right in front of her, with several of the Mandalorians flinching, hands resting on their blasters. Haki told me they had to fight their natural instincts to shoot me on the spot, viewing me not only as a threat but with disdain. Not at me appearing as Revan but at the idea I was a madman impersonating him in their eyes and how I was a Force user.

“In my younger years, back in the height of that war, I would have ripped your tongue from your mouth. Now… I don’t care. Why would I give a damn what you think or feel about me? If you want to be given some beskar, then all you have to do is fight for me, regardless of who I am.”

My mask came dangerously close to her face. After a long, tense silence she nodded before she relaxed. I give her a pleased nod.

I phased through the giant hunk of metal I had spawned through my ability to generate metals, which was made possible after examining and understanding the raw beskar Jabba had stashed away in his old palace. It took some time, but nothing so long that I wouldn’t have managed to do this in time.

“There is another thing I will require your people's assistance with.” I turned and started to walk away.

Then a different woman’s voice spoke up. “What would that be?” She stood beside Vizla. Her body language showed she was attempting to show she was less than impressed, but I could see past that and tell she was interested like the others, if for other reasons besides the beskar.

“That would be helping train the people of Ryloth. That is of course if they accept my offer.”

“… Why help those rat tails? They’ve been subservient to every species in galactic history, and you want us to train them? What good would it do when they bend the knee to their next owners?” She said with disdain about the Twi’lek race.

She wasn’t necessarily wrong. From practically across the entirety of the galaxy’s history, the Twi’lek people had been conquered and used as slaves, abused by nearly everyone that ever put their boot on the back of their necks.

I was doing it not only because I am tired of seeing them enslaved considering out of most species I had seen as slaves after freeing them on Tatooine, they were the ones that had the most of any kind of slave, but also because Bib did to some extent have a lingering will left in me. I had bristled at her comment towards the Twi’lek race, and it would have angered me originally but not to this extent. It was the type you take personally from the insult because you are one of the people being insulted.

“Because maybe just this once, meaningful change can happen for once. Either that, or they remain subservient to everyone for the rest of their days, and everyone can say without a shadow of a doubt that Twi’leks are only good for being made into slaves and servants.”

The Twi’leks were by far the most sold slaves. Ranging from their women which made up a large chunk of the pleasure slave market, to entertainment of various kinds, to the rest used as any all sorts of uses.

“In the end, I am paying with something you need. So unless you don’t want some Beskar, fall back in line. As for the rest of you, build up your resources and get your people ready. War is coming.”

“What about Duchess Satine? Should she learn of what you are doing, the Republic will come for us, and we won’t be capable of assisting you.”

“That will be handled in due time. For now, wait and prepare yourselves. Above all else, don’t give it away until it is time.” I said with finality before my body vanished from them in a swirl, and the next thing anyone knew, I was gone.

“That went better than expected.” Pitou idly said halfway through another puzzle. She didn’t even bother taking her eyes off of it while controlling the ship with her tail.

Acquire the help of the Mandalorian clans of Concordia. One gold ticket. Use now? Y/N

[Mechanical Tentacles]

|Rare Item|

Spider-Man - A high-tech harness that has 4 mechanical tentacle arms fused into it, you can move the tentacles with your thoughts, or they can move independently according to your commands. The arms possess supernatural strength and have several tools integrated into them depending on what they need to do.

Take down Vizla’s guards without killing them. One silver ticket. Use now? Y/N

[Malorian Overture]

|Uncommon Item|

Cyberpunk 2077 - A heavy-duty, powerful double-action revolver produced by Malorian Arms. This gun is incredibly powerful, even being able to punch a hole in half-borgs with each bullet. You also get 30 bullets every day for it.

Okay, those were some good rolls. "Yes, it did. I was honestly half expecting them to continue fighting far longer than they had. I already don’t like Vizla, but he is of use for now.”

Pitou got the ship moving again as we quickly left the system behind. “Do you think they will remain loyal after giving them some of that metal their people are obsessed with?”

“Not necessarily loyalty, more like their desire for more will keep them close to me if they ever want to get the rest of the payment. Plus, some of those clans have a sense of honor. Vizla probably would take what he could and run with it, the others would be honor-bound to follow me after accepting payment.”

Pitou nodded along, coming to agree with me after she had studied the Mandalorian people, both old and the disgusting newer ones. I wasn’t against pacifism itself, but Satine, from what I remembered of her, wasn’t the most intelligent person. If you want to maintain neutrality from a conflict when your people have been known throughout history as the ones known for conducting war, you need to be capable of fighting any invaders off if you want to be left alone.

Despite my disdain for how the Mandalorians used to be genocidal warmongerers I would prefer to have them be guardians. They wouldn’t seek out needless fights, but if they know a fight is coming they will be ready for it. Balancing out their desires and need for conflict while also keeping them from becoming this sad shadow of what they once were.

“It would be easier if we just killed her and I used my new Hatsu on her.”

I remained silent for a moment, contemplating the idea before discarding it. “While it would make things easier on us, I would rather not resort to murder at every chance we get when things get difficult.”

Satine I didn’t think too highly of, but I could understand her desire for peace and not wanting to end things in violence. Despite what I have done, I haven’t lost my soul, and I won’t sell it for anything. I’m not losing or giving up who I am all because a decent but misguided person got in my way. Even if it made things much more convenient for me.

Pitou shrugged while accepting my reason as she always had. After our… get together, I don’t know what we are to each other. She was attracted to me, it was genuine and not forced because she served me. Haki helped me feel her emotions, along with my nature as an incubus, further showing it went beyond simple servitude.

“Also, I have to agree with that one woman. Why bother with the people of Ryloth?”

“They have lived under the boots of everyone who eyed their planet and people with greed. They have suffered enough, Pitou… and you never know. A people that have suffered as long as they have may prove capable fighters when the occasion demands it.”

She looked doubtful but again accepted what I wanted. So long as it didn’t get me killed or close to death, she would help me achieve it.

“Now for the next plan.” I unceremoniously took the mask and hood off and saw my reflection on the shiny metal in the ship.

What stared back at me was the face modified to look identical to Count Dooku’s. “Well done, Pitou. You may have a good future in the art world if you dedicate yourself to the craft… or be an accomplished surgeon.”

Pitou bowed deeply. “Your praise is too much, Tobi. I am merely your humble servant.”

I walked deeper into the ship and quickly contacted a certain general that had just been sent to his command post. A hologram sprung to life of one of the first prototype super tactical droids, General Kalani.

“Lord Dooku, General Kalani reporting. My lord, why are you contacting me through a channel that isn’t a priority one?” Kalani bowed before getting to the important questions.

I had access to the more secure methods of contacting the Separatists across the galaxy, but I didn’t have access to any that Dooku would use, courtesy of simply not knowing them.

My voice shifted into a perfect vocal mimicry of Dooku’s tone and voice, and my acting skills easily copied his mannerisms and ways of expressing himself, no matter if they were obvious or subtle. “That is due to the urgency of the situation. General Kalani, even though I know you have only been in command for a short time, this mission is of the utmost importance for the entirety of the Separatist movement.”

The droid fell silent, likely processing the information. “I have reason to believe our movement has been compromised. Possibly since its inception.” A few buttons pressed sent some lines of code to Kalani.

“What you see I have recently discovered. It was buried deep within a few droids that had acted rather odd, more so than usual.”

Kalani quickly looked at it and realized what it was. “These are shutdown codes… but they are not controlled by the Separatist High Council.”

“Correct. It would seem we are being manipulated. If the ones that control this reside on the Republic's side, they could shut down our army if we were to begin to win the war.”

“That is unacceptable.” Kalani stated with finality.

“Something we can both agree on, General. It is why I brought it to your attention and why I used a simpler communication line without using anything to indicate I was using them because I may be under watch. The mission I am about to give to you will be of the utmost importance.”

Kalani stood straighter, arms behind the droid's back as it nodded resolutely towards me. “I will not fail you, Lord Dooku.”

“I know you won’t. I need you to scour through the entirety of the droid army and subtly remove this code from both active droids and any being manufactured. Do not under any circumstances tip off anyone else on what you are doing. Even a hint that we are undoing this level of sabotage will cause a galaxy-wide shutdown.”

Kalani remained silent, fully understanding the significance of this mission and why the droid cannot fail. Far too much was at stake.

“I fully understand Lord Dooku.” The droid kneeled before me.

“You will unfortunately be on your own for this mission, Kalani. After this, I will use the Force to wipe my memory of this entire conversation to ensure any spies won’t realize what we intend to do. No matter what, do not get caught, and don’t bring this mission up with anyone, not even me. Understood?” My expression grew stern, gaze boring into the droid's photoreceptors as if weighing the value of the droid's silicon soul.

“Yes my Lord. It will be done, I will not fail you or the Separatists.”

I nodded pleased. “Good. Best of luck to you General Kalani.”

With that the call ended and I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Pitou and I had discussed at length how to go about undermining the droid shutdown codes within each battledroid. The idea of using someone like Kalani since I think he managed to survive up to the time of the empire so why not him?

Sure, he would have people keeping an eye on him, but he could be discreet when the situation demanded it. Along with being a far superior tactical droid compared to his simpler predecessors, he would have the potential to start subtly undoing Sidious’s control. And the rewards showed me it was also worth it for more power.

Tip off General Kalani of the shutdown contingency Sidious had left. One bronze ticket. Use now? Y/N

Set Kalani down the path of freeing the Separatists of Sidious control and influence. One silver ticket. Use now? Y/N

[Louden]

|Trash Ability|

Allows you to increase noises to non-destructive levels that, while obnoxiously loud won't cause damage.

[Breathless]

|Uncommon Trait|

Your body doesn't need to breathe, your body still acts like you are breathing and receives all of the benefits from it even if you don't breathe or are in an airless environment. You can also speak without air.

Now those were some useful things to have. Louden would help if I ever need to annoy someone or just surprise them with a loud sound out of nowhere. The other one will prove invaluable with me practically mastering the act of Sun Breathing.

Maul unfortunately couldn’t hack it, so I left him with the knowledge of Lightning Breathing while leaving him back on Tatooine to continue his training and contemplations on the Force. Last I saw him, he was beginning to lift two of the massive rocks, so he was making good progress.

Pitou on the other hand who I looked at out of the corner of the body I was controlling. Unlike Maul, she could handle Sun Breathing but she refused to use it, instead opting for Lightning Breathing. I think it was because of me. That I was her King, and I should be the only one to have it and she was my servant so she was not worthy of it. At least, that’s what I think her reasons are since she simply said tactically Lightning Breathing was better for her.

Our next stop was on Ryloth. The planet itself was an interesting one, and I could see why the Twi’leks struggled here so much. One half of the planet was scorching hot, the other half was a frozen wasteland, and the only habitable part for anyone was the equator of it.

I looked at the neutral gaze of one Cham Syndulla who sat with a mini table made of rock that was well made and smoothed over between the two of us. When we arrived Cham and his people had been expecting us at his home just as the Mandalorians had.

But unlike the Mandalorians he was more accommodating when he learned that we were willing to help his people and was hearing us out considering what he had heard happening on Tatooine and the rest of the system.

I ignored the hungry gazes of some of the women and the various dancers as it was time for business. Pitou was by my side eyeing everyone and all the objects in Cham's house with interest.

“I didn’t expect you to be a Twi’lek.” Cham finally said after taking a sip of his people’s equivalent to tea.

Sipping my own and hiding the grimace of the taste of it. It wasn’t bad, just not up to my standards. I didn’t expect Cham to just dull out five star drinks and food when his own people, despite doing better than the vast majority of their people on Ryloth, didn't mean they were living it up in luxury.

“People don’t know what to expect from me, let alone know who I am or what race I come from. I also didn’t expect you to have such a warm welcome for people like us sent by someone you of all people would hate.” I said smoothly and turned the conversation back to him.

Cham didn’t fail to notice me prying for information. “You are not wrong. I absolutely despised Jabba and his kin for all that they have done to my people. But from what I have gathered, Tatooine is considered a sanctuary for slaves to be free in the outer rim. That alone is why I welcomed you into my home and didn’t shoot you on sight.”

Finishing his drink, he waved the serving girl off as did I. I ignored the fluttering of her eyes trying to get my attention and focused on Cham. The man despite having no connection to the Force, nor was he a big shot military leader yet he managed to help his people and made a name for himself. Enough that he was a minor nuisance to Jabba when he was alive. Not enough to warrant killing him beyond the occasional bounty placed on him.

“I am glad to see our endeavors on Tatooine have reached so far in the galaxy that even you are aware of the planet's new rules.”

Cham gave me a look as if it was obvious. “Just as I have heard of plant life forming on the once desert world along with rain now becoming a constant sight on the planet. How it is becoming an agriworld… why are you here? With everything Jabba has at his beck and call, why bother with someone like me?”

He finally cut to the chase but I didn’t fail to notice his reverence at the mention of Tatooine becoming a planet that could be prosperous for farmers. That and his mentioning of Jabba’s name had suspicion around it that could be felt. Just as I could feel the warmth and compassion of the people around me.

It was the closest anything I had come to that feeling since Tatooine changed. There was love and compassion here, people cared for one another. That was the thing that made Haki even more amazing, besides the ability to detect people, and even see the future which I was making progress towards knowing I was close to the point that could be achieved, was the good feelings from people around me.

Besides freeing the slaves because I had the power to do so and resources to help them get on their feet, the constant fear, pain of all kinds whether emotional, physical, or even spiritual feeling like whatever higher power had abandoned them since birth, I felt all of it.

I didn’t enjoy that feeling as it made me feel even if it was only a fraction of it. If I focused enough to reduce what I received it still made me feel for those people. It’s why I didn’t screw them over and abandon them to their fates. Seeing the Twi’lek homeworld and how these people were abused and I could feel it all when we first arrived. Cham’s home in comparison was far better acting as a beacon amidst darkness. I intend to spread what has been done on Tatooine to other parts of the galaxy.

“Because you're the only honorable man that has any power on Ryloth that doesn’t abuse it.”

It was a simple statement. But despite that it made Cham fall short. He likely expected pleasantries, me brown nosing him, offering honeyed lies while I stabbed him in the back, or just dodging his questions and giving no answers of any kind. Instead he got a simple honest statement with no lies delivered like a haymaker.

“As for what I intend for Ryloth is simple-- to finally help its people prove to the rest of the galaxy you're not just nice to look at and subservient to everyone else.” Several of the people relaxing around us turned and watched both of us after what was said.

“To see if it is truly within our people’s very nature to be subservient to every other sentient in the galaxy or to prove that notion wrong. To finally see Ryloth free of such despair that grips the heart of this planet and its people. You know, this is my first time being on our homeworld.”

I rose from the table and Cham followed me, eyes never leaving my back as I strode out to a balcony seeing the distant harsh landscape of Ryloth in the distance.

“While your home is nice, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this world is a colossal hunk of shit.”

My hands rested on the rough stone railing with Cham’s jaw tensing. “Several thousand years, and Ryloth hasn’t seemingly changed at all in that entire time. You do realize how pathetic that is, right?”

“Our homeworld has had some changes--”

“They are not enough!” My voice grew stern and my hand sliced through the air cracking against the stone railing and it crumbled with various Twi’leks behind us watching pulling out their blasters.

A gesture from Cham had them hesitantly stand down. Their weapons remained out while they watched me like one would when they realized something was far more dangerous than they had originally believed. Like how adorable Panda’s are then you get reminded it is still a bear. Cham on the other hand if anything wasn’t intimidated and seemed to hang onto my words liking what he was hearing.

“Several thousand years and only a few changes if you can even call them that is unacceptable. It’s why this is being done. Not just because of the treatment our people have endured for so long or every horrific thing that has happened to them. No. The other reason is to truly find out if we deserve it.”

Cham’s face scrunched up at that with the others sporting hurt looks like they couldn’t believe I would say such a thing.

“If you are given the resources necessary to not only make this planet into something worthwhile but keep control of it and not become someone’s slaves again then the rest of the galaxy can see that the Twi’lek people are not weak. If you fail… then this planet and its people are not worth saving… maybe they never were.”

A temperate wind blew past us my silk clothes blowing with it and my crimson lekku gently swaying with it. My eyes bored into Chams who didn’t blink or look away while the others did. They were upset at my words but they also deep down realized there was a point I had. All of their people’s rebellions and trying to free themselves of not only the shackles others had put them in but the shackles their own people willingly placed upon themselves ended in failure time after time.

The kind of shackles that someone did because they came to believe everyone else was right and that maybe being nothing more than a slave or servant was better than paving your own path when fear of the future and what you would do to survive when everything had been taken care of for you before clouded your thoughts.

It also didn’t help that the Twi’leks stored the genetic memory of their ancestors in their lekku, and most of their species' time in the galaxy had been spent as slaves or slavers. So some of them would, without even realizing it, tap into those memories and not realize what they were doing until it was too late because it was just second nature for them.

If I am going to help these people and the others in this galaxy then they need to be capable of standing on their own when given the means to survive and prosper. That includes fighting off people coming to take whatever they have.

The only reason the memories of Bibs ancestors didn’t make me do anything or start taking control was because with my various skills and talents now, I was able to stop that once I learned of that particular ability all Twi’leks had.

I wasn’t about to let some genetic ghost make me do anything I didn’t want to or would normally do myself. Just like the Force or anything that takes away my free will and ability to choose for myself by influencing me it is getting shut down. Hard.

Now the Force I couldn’t stop it from using outside interference to influence me, but while annoying, I was content with my own decisions and choices were entirely my own. That was the big reason why I didn’t want to have any power involved with the Force.

I turned around, arms spread out in grandeur, cloak flowing with the wind as the light was at my back making me look like a majestic savior. “So what is your decision? Do you want the resources and training necessary to prove everyone wrong? Or would you rather remain as things are now with you struggling to find any means to save our people?”

Cham tried to hide it but he couldn’t fight off the look of hope that formed at the edges of the impassive mask he wore.

“That depends. Are we a part of the Separatists?” He forced himself to focus on the stakes and what could be gained. He wanted what was best for his people, and I could respect that.

Eye on the prize and all that.

“No. You will be neutral, but if they or the Republic come and you need help, you will receive aid from me and the Quiet Hand personally.”

A small smile wormed its way onto Cham’s face at the offer, whether it was from not trusting me enough or gratitude at the offer I couldn’t say.

With that Chams decision for both his people and Ryloth itself was made forever changing the planet.

Chaos gacha: