The Giant Corporations that Started in Night City

Chapter 348: Hacking the Core Database! Imperial Arbiter Darth Rigg!

"So judging by this, it's going to be really hard for us to lose this battle against the Empire!"

Jack Wells grew increasingly confident in their chances against the Empire after seeing how differently the two sides treated their ground forces.

Since its founding, the Universal Megacorp had never overlooked the development of its army, continually investing in cutting-edge single-soldier weaponry and equipment.

After all, only a balanced development of navy and army would allow the Megacorp to tackle a variety of formidable enemies across the multiverse!

Now, with the Empire's ground forces being so weak, the Megacorp's clone troopers naturally saw an opportunity to ruthlessly crush a beaten foe.

"Open fire!"

With a sharp order from the clone squad captain over the comms, every soldier took aim with a hardlight cannon and unleashed a barrage on the Empire's defensive platforms.

Caught completely off guard by the sudden hardlight bombardment, the Imperial troops had no time to react. In the blink of an eye, the dense barrage left them in disarray.

Dozens of defensive installations were wiped out within seconds. Explosions from the linked munitions depots added to the chaos, triggering chain reactions across the base.

The entire Scarif military base descended into total turmoil!

What made things worse was that the clone squad split up and dispersed into the jungle, launching guerrilla strikes to maximize disruption and pull Imperial forces in multiple directions.

Each clone trooper was heavily armed and equipped with compact mag-lev mobility platforms that periodically resupplied them with ammunition.

Thanks to this, the firepower each clone could bring to bear was on par with an entire standard Imperial squad!

When the clone troops began bombarding the surroundings with hardlight cannons, the Empire's first reaction was to assume an entire reinforced battalion had landed.

Otherwise, there was no way their base could be suffering such a devastating onslaught.

Panic alarms blared across the Scarif base as soldiers and support staff scrambled in confusion.

At that moment, Orson Krennic, Director of the Death Star project, was stationed at the top level of the Tower Fortress, reviewing all transmissions ever sent by Galen Erso.

The commotion outside soon reached the command office. Hearing the chaos erupting beyond the tower, Krennic was clearly stunned.

This was supposed to be the Galactic Empire's security stronghold—one of the most heavily fortified core facilities. How could it be suffering such a breach?

Was the planetary shield network just for show?!

"You idiots! Can't you see the Rebels are wreaking havoc outside?! Get that distress signal out, NOW!"

Furious at his petrified aides, Krennic erupted, shouting, "Move your asses and clean up the mess before the insurgents overrun us!"

Judging by the level of destruction reported outside, Krennic estimated that an entire enemy legion had somehow infiltrated the planet.

Otherwise, such severe damage would've been impossible. They had to call for reinforcements from Imperial High Command immediately.

Meanwhile, the chaos stirred up by the clone squad had given Paul more than enough cover. The entire area around the Tower Fortress was in complete disorder.

Despite numbering fewer than a hundred, the clone troops—now scattered through the tropical rainforest—were unleashing a level of firepower that mimicked a full-scale invasion.

Their mission was clear: stay concealed in the jungle and bombard key Imperial infrastructure, creating maximum noise and disruption.

Driven by the AI chips embedded in their brains, each of these clones was an elite warfighter. Though not as monstrous as Astartes or Spartans, their tactical execution and cohesion were exceptional—perfectly suited for guerrilla combat.

Using their superior individual weapons, the clones deliberately targeted Scarif's ammo depots, landing pads, and fuel reserves—specifically aiming to trigger cascading explosions that would plunge the Empire into chaos and confusion.

It didn't take long before the damage inflicted by the clones began to drastically increase the Imperial casualty count.

At this point, Imperial command staff, including the Empire's official Arbiter, Darth Rigg, were baffled: how could Scarif—the Empire's security centerpiece—be facing such intense bombardment?

Logically speaking, no enemy force that large should've been able to get past the planetary gateway undetected!

While the battle raged outside, Paul and Chani had already slipped into the Tower Fortress under cover of the confusion. With the endless explosions and violent tremors echoing around them, it was hard to believe this chaos was caused by a single clone team.

"Good thing we didn't send them in on a direct assault," Paul muttered. "Otherwise the Imps would've started destroying all the sensitive data before we got anywhere near it."

Judging from the battlefield outside, Paul—like High Marshals Jack and Johnny at HQ—had clearly spotted the weak point in the Empire's ground forces.

Given the disparity in single-soldier combat capabilities, it wouldn't have been difficult for the Megacorp to take the base by force.

But Paul couldn't risk letting the Empire erase the Death Star design schematics. That data was too valuable to lose.

The Galactic Empire's only military edge over the Megacorp came from its armada of Star Destroyers, the Death Star, and the in-development Starkiller Base.

As for their ground troops? Against the Megacorp's Astartes, Spartans, Fremen Legion, Transformers, and even their Kaiju-hybrid beast units—well, not even the Rebels, Resistance, and all the galaxy's lunatics combined could hold a candle to that.

"Red Queen AI has successfully breached the system. The route to the Death Star databank is ready. Go grab the goods!"

Upon receiving the return signal from the Red Queen AI, Chani immediately uploaded the infiltration route to Paul's retinal display. The two of them moved in sync as they dove deeper into the Tower Fortress.

…

Meanwhile, David—now aboard the Heirloom flagship leading the Megacorp's expeditionary fleet—had just reached the outer edge of the Scarif system. Through the clone troopers' helmet feeds, he could see everything happening on the ground.

Upon learning that the outer shield gate had been sealed by the Imperials and that Paul had been completely cut off from external comms, David checked the time.

Then he turned to Megatron, who was standing ready for the extraction mission.

"No matter what happens, begin shield destruction in 25 minutes. We'll take Scarif by force if we have to!"

[Understood.]

Megatron responded flatly.

Before the mission, Paul and HQ had agreed on a strict 25-minute extraction window.

If that time elapsed—regardless of whether or not the Death Star schematics had been retrieved—the Megacorp would initiate a full assault and destroy Scarif's planetary shields.

If it came to that, so be it. They could always spend a decade reverse-engineering the Starkiller Base on their own.

Back at the Tower Fortress—

While the stationed stormtroopers scrambled to defend the under-attack landing zones, Paul and Chani used the temporary troop gap to slip inside.

Once in the interior corridors, Paul immediately noticed that though the number of guards was smaller than outside, those who remained were all elite single-combat specialists.

Meanwhile, the Tower Fortress was crawling with patrol droids, and the Red Queen AI still needed more time to fully hack them all.

But Paul had no intention of waiting around for the Red Queen to finish.

In a situation where every second counted, reaching the target just a moment sooner could mean the difference between escape and entrapment.

[Calculating optimal route in real time—!]

With patrol droids appearing throughout the fortress at random intervals, the Red Queen dynamically adjusted Paul's path, constantly rerouting them to avoid detection.

Once Paul secured the database and connected the Red Queen's physical interface, all the data could be instantly uploaded to Megacorp HQ.

This would eliminate any risk of the Empire wiping the files in a scorched-earth move—and allow the Megacorp's expeditionary forces to launch a full-scale assault without hesitation.

As Paul neared the top floor's core database, he chose to abandon stealth entirely in favor of speed.

Drawing his lightsaber, he cut down every enemy in his path without hesitation.

The moment a squad of stormtroopers rounded the corridor and spotted him, they were met with a lethal flurry of lightsaber and hardlight blade strikes. In mere seconds, only mangled corpses remained.

With help from the Red Queen, the Tower Fortress's alarm system had been locked down, preventing these soldiers' cries for help from reaching command.

Besides, with so many sirens blaring outside, the upper levels of the tower were unlikely to notice any new commotion.

Slashing his way forward in a kill-on-sight blitz, Paul and Chani rapidly reached the database chamber.

The sentries posted at the entrance barely had time to speak before their throats were slit, collapsing lifeless to the ground—just more victims of Paul and Chani's blades.

However, as the doors creaked open—unlocked remotely by the Red Queen's successful hack—what awaited inside was a fully mobilized death squad.

They had clearly been lying in ambush.

Leading the squad was an Imperial Arbiter clad in a black cloak, gripping a twin-bladed spinning lightsaber. His face was hidden beneath a sleek black helmet, exuding mystery and menace.

The Arbiter examined Paul carefully before sneering, "So you're the so-called Jedi who showed up on Jedha."

"Didn't expect you to survive the Death Star, but no matter—saves us the trouble of hunting you down. I'll finish you all right here and now!"

With that, he readied his stance, preparing to block Paul's advance.

But Paul didn't charge in right away. Instead, he locked eyes with the Arbiter, muttering under his breath. He was invoking his sonic command ability.

"Kneel—!"

The word carried power. The death troopers surrounding the Arbiter dropped to their knees one by one.

But the Arbiter himself only wavered slightly—unlike the others, he resisted the command.

"A terrifying power indeed… no wonder the grunts couldn't stop you."

Steadying himself, the Arbiter gripped his lightsaber tightly and declared, "I am a wielder of the dark side of the Force, Imperial Arbiter Darth Rigg!"

"You may be talented, boy—but when it comes to lightsabers, you're no match for me."

With that, Rigg lunged forward.

Paul met the attack head-on, parrying blow after blow and quickly executing a spinning maneuver to force Rigg back.

Only then did Rigg begin to realize something was off—Paul's technique wasn't that of a Jedi, nor did it resemble any dark side style. It was completely unorthodox!

"You're not using the Force… What are you?"

Rigg's expression darkened. As a Force-user, he could normally sense his opponent's power level within a few exchanges.

But after several probing strikes, he felt nothing—not the faintest trace of Force sensitivity. Just a strange, foreign energy that was oddly familiar yet completely unknown.

"Figure it out after you beat me!"

Paul feigned a prolonged duel stance, but in the next instant, took advantage of everyone's momentary hesitation and sprinted deeper into the database chamber.

He wasn't here to duel Rigg—his real target was the data. He rushed to the server console and quickly connected the external interface.

Chani stepped in to intercept the enraged Darth Rigg, blocking his path with her hardlight blade.

"If you want to get through, you'll have to go through me first."

Rigg snarled, "Then I'll cut you down first!"

Their lightsabers clashed in a furious exchange.

Meanwhile, Paul reached the mainframe and inserted his portable drive. The embedded virus immediately began uploading the data to Megacorp HQ.

Back in the duel, Rigg's expression twisted in confusion as his supposedly unstoppable lightsaber failed to slice through Chani's hardlight blade.

Only a handful of exotic materials in the galaxy could withstand a lightsaber. And this woman's weapon didn't look like a lightsaber at all…

Then, using the Force, Rigg sensed the same strange energy within Chani that he had detected in Paul.

"You… you're the same as him? Why can't I feel your connection to the Force?!"

At that moment, Darth Rigg truly panicked.

It was the first time in his life he had encountered something like this. Could there truly be another form of power beyond the Force in this universe?

That… that was impossible!

"Enough talk!"

Chani drove Rigg back with a burst of strength. From his blade techniques and aura, she could tell: Darth Rigg was starting to doubt everything.

He was beginning to suspect that Paul and Chani weren't from this galaxy at all.

In truth, the probes and spies sent by the Warborn had already drawn some attention from the Imperial Senate. But those incidents had been too isolated to serve as concrete proof of an extragalactic invasion.

Now, however, Rigg had witnessed it firsthand—an energy force wholly unlike the Force.

And that left him with only one terrifying possibility: the enemy was from beyond the stars.

(Show your support and read more chapters on my Patreon: [email protected]/psychopet. Thank you for your support!)