The Giant Corporations that Started in Night City

Chapter 346: The Origins of the Jedi Order! Infiltrating Scarif!

However, the consequences of this were quite severe.

Once the Jedi experienced the joys of playing on "private servers" [i.e., abandoning official orders to pursue personal power], more and more of them began to fall to the dark side, willingly joining the Sith and even becoming Sith Lords themselves.

In order to better integrate with the Sith, some Jedi even used the Force to bypass biological barriers between species and produce hybrid offspring with Sith individuals!

Yes, that's how wild things got back then. With behavior this immoral and disgraceful, it's no wonder many senators of the Republic looked down on such degenerates with disgust.

Learning about this black mark in Jedi history made the corners of Lucius' mouth twitch uncontrollably—he hadn't expected these people to be so perverse.

"Boss, I'm curious—why did Palpatine become the Sith Lord? Didn't the previous Sith Lords leave behind heirs to inherit their position?"

At this moment, Secretary-General Lucy voiced her confusion. Logically speaking, imperial power is usually passed down from parent to child.

But that didn't seem to be the case with the Sith Empire—its Lords appeared to have no blood ties at all, often total strangers to one another.

This kind of succession is hard to imagine in any conventional imperial structure.

In response, Li Ang shook his head with a smile and patiently explained:

"Sith Lords are usually chosen in one of two ways: either by the spirit of a former Lord, or by someone manipulating a powerful Jedi into joining their cause."

"Generally speaking, Sith Lords fall into two categories—either elite Jedi Masters or cunning political figures who wield significant influence."

Li Ang had studied the origins of the Sith Empire in depth and discovered that the Sith were obsessed with power and strength.

This power-worshiping species is almost like a race of Minions, constantly on the hunt for the strongest rebel to crown as their leader.

By luring Jedi to the dark side and installing them as new leaders, the Sith evolved rapidly from primitive tribal origins into a mighty empire.

So whether it was the early Sith tribes or the later Sith Empire, they were essentially a welcoming haven for Jedi who had fallen to the dark side.

In the Sith Empire, any Jedi could have everything they ever wanted—status, glory, and reverence.

But to the Republic, the Sith's "private server" model was a mortal threat to their official "public server."

After all, these shameless and seductive Sith kept luring the Republic's top-ranking players to jump ship—if all the talent left, who would still pay and grind in the official version?

This fundamental clash of interests made reconciliation impossible, no matter how smooth Palpatine's words might be.

The entire history of war between the Republic and the Sith Empire could be seen as the developmental history of the Jedi Order: those aligned with the light sided with the Republic, while those who turned to the dark joined the Sith.

What truly frustrated the Republic was how, after every war with the Sith Empire, a group of Jedi would inevitably defect and become new Sith Lords.

That's the intoxicating allure of playing on a private server.

One of the most famous historical examples involved the Jedi Knights Malak and Revan. During an investigative mission, the two encountered the lingering spirit of a former Sith Lord. After learning of the enticing perks offered by the Sith Empire, they promptly defected and became Lords themselves.

Before their turn, the highest title they held in the Republic was that of a general—more symbolic than practical—and they were still being sent to the front lines to investigate.

But with just a shift in mindset, they were instantly elevated to Sith Lords. To ambitious young Jedi, that kind of promotion was irresistible!

Taking all of this into account, it was easy for Republic senators to view the Sith Empire as little more than a hive of pirates and traitors: a bootleg knock-off, a chaotic den of crossbreeds, and a barbaric power-worshiping tribe.

To the senators who helped usher in the golden age of the Galactic Republic, the Sith were nothing but uncivilized savages that needed to be eradicated.

That's why, when they discovered Palpatine's true identity as a Sith Lord, they found it utterly revolting.

Palpatine himself understood that the Sith title came with serious political baggage.

But he had little choice—if he wanted to build a unified Galactic Empire, he had to secure as much territory as possible, by whatever means necessary.

To avoid further agitating the delicate sensibilities of the old Republic's senators, Palpatine didn't turn the Republic into the Sith Empire after revealing his identity.

He didn't even expand the Sith legions.

Everything pointed to one fact: Palpatine had only taken on the mantle of Sith Lord out of convenience.

Unfortunately, every shortcut has its price. While the Sith title allowed him to climb faster, it also left behind a glaring political stain.

Once Li Ang laid out the full context, the corporate executives finally understood—and it became clear why Palpatine had become such a lightning rod for criticism.

"So in essence, Palpatine's goal was to quickly unify the galaxy into an empire in order to defend against a potential invasion from an extragalactic civilization."

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Reed considered Palpatine's actions. Far from being a mad tyrant, Palpatine seemed more like a visionary leader.

Letting the people suffer while his subordinates took the blame—that's just standard imperial practice. It was only because the Republic's senators had grown soft in their comfort that they constantly cursed his name.

Li Ang nodded. In truth, he admired Palpatine—the man had both cunning and boldness, qualities rarely found among leaders.

Palpatine came from a noble family, rose to senatorial rank at a young age, leveraged his Sith identity to incite war, and eventually ascended to the position of Supreme Chancellor.

He then orchestrated the Clone Wars, dismantled the Trade Federation, the old Republic, and the Jedi Order—all in one masterstroke!

Even Li Ang had to admit: as far as political operators go, Palpatine was truly exceptional.

More importantly, Palpatine had long since realized that the Jedi Order was the root of all chaos.

If not for their constant defections to the Sith, none of these disasters would've happened.

So dissolving the Jedi Order, restricting their development, and bringing them under full state control was clearly the most effective solution.

As a fellow statesman, Li Ang could fully understand Palpatine's every move—sadly, fate simply wasn't on the Empire's side.

After concluding his breakdown of the Empire's struggles, Li Ang turned his attention back to Paul.

At this stage, Paul was the key figure for facilitating contact between the Universal MegaCorporation and the Empire. As for forming alliances with the Trade Federation or former Republic senators, that would have to wait until the company had proven itself on the battlefield against the Empire.

---

Star Wars Universe — aboard the Wanderer-class dreadnought.

To ensure the success of the next operation, David not only provided Paul with a dreadnought-class ship…

He also planned to have him lead an elite team of Adeptus Astartes on a mission to capture the Death Star's schematics.

This was also because Paul's abilities bore some resemblance to those of the Jedi. If he ever got the chance to study the Force, he might actually turn out to be quite a promising candidate.

Back at the flagship's command center, David faced Paul, who was about to depart, and reminded him, "This mission will be extremely dangerous. Even headquarters can't guarantee your safe return."

To this, Paul responded without hesitation, "I don't care how dangerous it is. I'll give everything I've got to complete the mission!"

His tough, unyielding demeanor was a stark contrast to his elegant, almost delicate appearance—and it was exactly that duality that had helped him quickly establish a foothold in the Vanguard Task Force of the Multiverse.

In Paul, David saw a reflection of his younger self—ambitious and driven to improve.

"Alright, then get ready to move out. I'll send you the mission specifics via the comms channel."

Meanwhile, the Mantle's Inheritance, a supermassive battleship the size of a miniature world, was en route to the area. Paul's wanderer-class dreadnought was already prepped and ready for launch.

The blade-shaped warship hovered steadily near the flagship, awaiting only Paul's command to proceed.

As a contingency in case the infiltration failed, Universal MegaCorporation had already prepared a fallback plan: should the Death Star schematics prove impossible to steal covertly, they would launch a full-scale assault on Scarif.

To that end, the Wanderer-class dreadnought also carried a strike team of fully armed Adeptus Astartes. At Paul's signal, they would launch an immediate breach-and-seize operation.

If necessary, the company's soldiers were authorized to eliminate all Imperial personnel present and take the Death Star blueprints by force.

Once everything was ready, Paul boarded the dreadnought. Although no one could predict how this mission would end, he had already prepared for the worst.

Before long, the dreadnought plunged into deep space and, using coordinates provided by the Rebel Alliance, made its way toward the planet Scarif.

After a period of hyperspace travel, the dreadnought finally arrived at the Empire's high-security hub—Scarif.

It was a world so pristine it looked like a crystal ball. Most of the planet's surface was covered in azure oceans, dotted here and there with small green islands suitable for human habitation.

Although the planet's diameter was only about 9,000 kilometers—smaller than Earth—its beautiful environment made it look more like a vacation resort than a military installation.

It was hard to believe the Death Star was developed here.

"This is the place."

Paul looked toward the distant planet, which was enveloped in a full-spectrum deflector shield. Only a single narrow gate allowed passage—he knew then that he was in the right spot.

For the Galactic Empire to spare no expense deploying such high-end defenses on a remote world at the edge of the galaxy, this place had to be critical.

Upon closely inspecting the deflector shield, Paul confirmed that entry was only possible through the designated gate. The rest of the shield was completely impenetrable.

If they attempted to force a breach elsewhere, the Imperial garrison would detect them immediately, which would essentially trigger a full-scale assault.

Paul's plan was to first locate the Death Star schematics and only then, if necessary, launch a diversionary strike to confuse the enemy.

A premature assault could easily push the Empire into purging the relevant data—an outcome they could not afford.

> [To pass through the gate, you'll need valid clearance codes and an officially registered Imperial vessel.]

"Understood."

Receiving the intel from a headquarters agent, Paul decided to hijack an Imperial ship undetected before attempting to infiltrate Scarif.

Fortunately, commandeering an Imperial vessel wasn't a particularly difficult task.

Dozens of Imperial ships passed through Scarif's gates daily, as the Empire was still relatively peaceful—only dealing with minor Rebel skirmishes.

And because Universal MegaCorporation had not yet openly attacked the Galactic Empire, the Imperials hadn't imposed strict inspections on traffic to high-security worlds like this one.

Following the suggestion, Paul had the Wanderer-class dreadnought drift near the edge of the Scarif system, waiting for a "lucky target" to present itself.

Soon after, Paul and chani each piloted their morphing stealth ships, activated cloaking mode, and silently approached a cargo shuttle.

Based on its flight path, the shuttle was most likely bound for Scarif.

In the pitch-black void of deep space, the ships—equipped with cutting-edge hard-light optical camouflage—trailed the shuttle without being detected.

Three minutes later, Paul and Chani caught up and attached their stealth ships to the shuttle's hull. With the help of magnetic boots, Paul stood firmly atop the transport vessel.

"Your turn, Flathead."

At Paul's command, Flathead—a small spider-like AI assistant—crawled over the shuttle's hull to scan for access points.

Before long, Flathead found a weld seam and cut a small hole in the hull. Then it connected its data line to the ship's internal wiring, preparing to inject the Red Queen AI virus and seize control of the ship's systems.

> [Red Queen AI is currently decrypting the system. Please wait…]

While waiting, Paul set his morphing stealth ship to autopilot and sent it back to the Wanderer-class dreadnought—soon, he and Chani would board Scarif aboard the cargo shuttle.

> [Decryption complete. External comms cut. Alarm systems offline. Internal access ports bypassed…]

Had this been a Death Star-level system, Red Queen might have needed a few minutes. But for a standard cargo shuttle, it took less than 20 seconds.

Once the virus had successfully infiltrated, the ship's control deck and lighting systems both shut down. From that moment on, the vessel responded only to Paul.

"Nice work."

Pleased with Flathead's efficiency, Paul slipped through the access hatch it had opened and entered via a narrow passage.

At that same moment, the shuttle's crew remained completely unaware of what had happened. Stumbling around in the pitch-dark hold like headless chickens, they were disoriented and panicking.

This was a sealed cargo bay, after all—without artificial lighting, human eyes were practically useless.

The captain tried to reboot the system, but with the Red Queen's interference, it was a futile effort.

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