Chapter 27: The Sith Empire
We returned to the Citadel, where for the first time in a long while, exclusively good news awaited me – without any unnecessary stress. The massive bacta tank project was realized faster than the most generous forecasts, the first trials went excellently, and soon some members of my team expressed a desire to be cured of all ailments.
Miranda, as the project leader, was the first to immerse herself in the bacta, and after just three days in the healing fluid, she was able to overcome her affliction. Tali'Zorah wasn't shy either, occupying the second capsule to boost her immune system.
As for the others... no one else took sick leave.
Especially Legion and Saren – one completely synthetic, the other maximally close to it. Together, they prepared the site for the construction of the superweapon near Rannoch, set up supply lines, and completed the transfer of personnel – not one or two, but tens of thousands of engineers and builders. And, in my humble opinion, in peacetime, no one would have undertaken such a massive project as the Death Star. Only in an era where survival is at stake is such a thing possible.
I remember when I saw the experts' estimated construction cost, I even figured: hundreds of my lifetimes wouldn't be enough to create one such weapon. Even if I robbed galactic banks and tycoons all my life, I wouldn't scrape together half the necessary sum. Perhaps, in a sense, it's good that the Reaper fleet is moving toward us. Fear in the face of their approach is also a currency, in a way.
But preparation for war proceeded not only through construction.
There was also the usurpation of power without the usurpation of power.
Through "Galactic News," the extranet, and other media, we spent months planting the idea of the current regime's weakness in the consciousness of sentient races. But we didn't just feed them lies; we backed everything up with scientific facts, except perhaps counting the captured opinion leaders and brainwashed scientists. We also leaked all available information about the Reapers and their ability to control sentient beings to the masses. And according to Saren's plan, I was smoothly elevated to the rank of messiah – the chosen one, who not only resists indoctrination himself but can also protect others.
Furthermore, we approached the issue from a military standpoint, ruthlessly informing the population about the insolvency of the current defense in the face of the enemy. The only chance for salvation, as we claimed, was strengthening control and redistributing resources to the military sphere under the leadership of someone protected from Reaper influence.
This yielded quite a few pros, but... if the Reapers don't show up within ten years, the risk of rebellions by the thousands will become real. Although even in that case, the chances of riots were slim. The covert processing of elites was successful: rulers, tycoons, generals, and admirals – everyone I could reach was now under my influence.
But I'm not a Reaper, right?
Unlike them, we acted sensibly, through competent PR.
I strengthened the legitimacy of my power with achievements: victory over Sovereign, destruction of the Collectors, saving the galaxy from the first Reaper invasion attempt through the Citadel relay, eliminating the geth threat – true, through close cooperation with them for the benefit of society.
This was just the tip of the iceberg.
"Inspired" by my successes, councilors and leaders themselves began to insist on a new order and the transfer of power to Starkiller. The fact that they were "helped" to arrive at such a decision is better omitted and buried deeper.
By the time of the official transfer of powers, the picture was as follows:
Humans generally supported enthusiastically – their representative was becoming the ruler of the galaxy. Even "Cerberus" didn't interfere, as the idea of humanity's dominance over other races suited them quite well.
Asari: partially processed matriarchs loudly approved, their Council member hastened to resign, and the rest remained silent, following a policy of adaptation. Their race understood which way the wind was blowing and didn't want to come under fire.
Turians respect strong authority. If their commanders approve something, subordinates obey without question. And considering that my course largely coincided with their way of life, many supported the changes even without orders.
Salarians: ultra-loyal scientists worked for the Empire, dissenters disappeared. However, most of the lizards stayed out of politics. Promises to lift restrictions on research and provide access to technologies from my galaxy were enough for them.
Quarians and geth had already received everything they wanted and didn't object to the new order – as long as the old agreements remained in force. Besides, they hated the previous regime, which had declared them outcasts and enemies.
Volus loved money. I don't know exactly what their indoctrinated rulers promised, but they treated the changes with dollar signs in their eyes. For now. By nature, they are traders and capitalists, so they expected an expansion of their influence. If we take control of the independent systems in the near future, they will get what they want. True, it's better they don't know about the size of future trade duties.
Krogan – with their tribal system, we didn't even bother negotiating. Wrex hadn't yet taken the honorary place of king, and the salarians hadn't managed to develop a more lenient version of the genophage for population control.
As for organizations... The criminal world of Omega is loyal to us. Cerberus is calm as a boa constrictor.
Justicars generally supported the new order and agreed, along with Spectres, to retrain as the Inquisition – to maintain discipline and eliminate dissenters. The agreement, however, was not selfless. The Justicars made a deal due to the expansion of the zone of influence, from asari-controlled planets to the entire galaxy, and light suggestion of obedience through the Force. The Spectres agreed due to complete indoctrination and loyalty to Saren.
One way or another, through protective blocks, brainwashing, or almost complete mind control – I tried to secure my valuable resources, protect them from the Reapers.
The logic is a bit strange: "Enslave first so others don't get it."
Eh, it is what it is.
— I sense the spirit of a Prothean in you, - Javik spoke, sprawling in an armchair.
The Councilors' office had already been remodeled into the gloomy abode of the Emperor.
Didn't steal tastes from Darth Sidious, but borrowed.
— Conquer, subjugate, impose your will, - the Prothean grumbled, getting to his feet and approaching the window with beautiful views. — The only reason my race held out so long in the war with the Reapers was unity. We enslaved the weak and irrational, forcing them to work for our survival. Lost. But... - Javik narrowed all four eyes. — Lost with dignity! Did everything to destroy these insignificant creatures once and for all in the next cycle!
— Thousand-year fossil, - Saren snapped, digging into his omni-tool. — A loss is a loss. It cannot be dignified.
— I thought Protheans were different... A peaceful race living in harmony with the galaxy. And leaving so much beautiful heritage... - the beauty Liara sighed doomed.
— And we thought you were idiots incapable of adding two numbers, - Javik snorted. — But even you were better than these overgrown beetles. How did they even evolve into sentients? A mistake of nature.
— Is he always like this? - Miranda asked, leaning next to me.
— Well, we're similar, - I noted. — I don't see a single bad trait in him. Especially in our difficult time.
— That was hurtful, Starkiller! - Saren responded. — Overgrown beetles? We are turians! A noble race with a thousand-year history of wars and victories!
— Somehow your art of war didn't help during First Contact, - Shepard quipped, sipping an invigorating drink.
— Here we go... Should have stayed and calibrated a couple more guns, - Garrus lay down wearily on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. — As soon as we gather, an argument arises immediately for any reason. Wouldn't be surprised if I fall asleep here and wake up to shots at my temple. Or a bullet hole in my leg.
— I see great darkness in the hearts of those gathered, - Samara covered her eyes with her palm.
— Remove your palm, - I suggested. — You'll see light.
— Of which there is less in you than in the others, - the asari parried.
— We should gather in a more favorable setting, - Benezia spoke wearily, the first to suggest a joint drinking bout. Or something else.
— And why are Ashley and Kaidan silent all the time? - I drew attention to the two most inconspicuous members of our company – soldiers to the bone, refusing to join the evil collective.
— Ha-ha... Don't think I can give valuable advice, - the guy answered nervously.
Ashley just nodded silently. Even Tali was more talkative, albeit with her oddities. She refused to take off her suit even after immunity restoration, citing quarian traditions.
— Ashley, - Mordin sang. — If she spent as much time studying xenobiology as cleaning her rifle, she could be more useful.
The salarian shifted his gaze to Kaidan and narrowed his black eyes:
— Biotics... impressive. But too crude an approach. Need to train the mind.
Only sparks from the eyes were missing for the complete picture.
Suddenly loud footsteps were heard in the corridor. I scanned the space – a krogan. Shepard invited Wrex as the only representative of his race before the "entertaining event."
The door shook deafeningly from a blow, leaving dents.
Eh, vandal. I pressed the unlock button with telekinesis and let in the crazy squad addition. Definitely, for complete madness, we only lacked a disgruntled krogan. Although we could also call the Rachni Queen, whom I ordered to reproduce on a separate planet – to build up an army.
— What is this nonsense?! Where did you drag me? To a coronation?! Seriously?! - Wrex spread his paws. — If it starts again: "Let there be order in the galaxy!" – I'll go straight for the gun. Once was enough. Brought order, spreading the genophage on my planet!
— Ha! Finally someone with balls appeared! Tell Starkiller the truth to his face! - Garrus started to get worked up.
— Not my business, - Shepard sighed, crossing her arms. — But for the truth, you can be crushed with a finger, Wrex.
— Let him try! Let's see who's faster – my "pet"... - Wrex lightning-fast snatched his pistol. — ...or his finger!
With a slight movement of my finger, I snatched the weapon from his hands with such force that the krogan crashed face down on the floor. Ha, he jumped up instantly and froze, seeing the gun barrel pointed at his face. Telekinesis is a terrible force.
— Score: finger – one, krogan – zero, - Saren shrugged.
— Cursed biotics, may worms eat you! - Wrex grabbed his weapon without a shadow of fear and attached it to his belt. — And damn the rachni! I came not only to kick your "little god's" ass. Better tell me – what are you going to do with the krogan?
— There will be no more stillbirths. We will cure the genophage, but change your biology, bringing it to a common denominator. One union – one child. Mordin is already working on this, - I nodded towards the salarian. — I don't see another option. Your species under normal conditions produces a hundred eggs per clutch. Even on the scale of an entire galaxy... in a few centuries you will destroy yourselves due to lack of resources.
— Five hundred eighty-six years by my calculations, - Mordin voiced instantly. — Overpopulation. War for food. Collapse. Death of civilization. Interference in nature – a mistake. But also mercy. Conclusion? Compromise is necessary.
— Grrr... - Wrex growled. — A clutch of one egg? Or a hundred where one survives? If the second – we are enemies.
— No. Biological modification. One egg – one cub, - Mordin clarified. — Not a hundred.
— This... I can still present to my people. Not as punishment... Will they listen? Doubt it... Damn! - flopping onto the sofa next to Garrus, the krogan grabbed his head. — Why can't everything be done as it was? Hate this galaxy.
— The Reapers don't love it either, - Saren noted maliciously.
— At least you didn't have to wake up after fifty thousand years of suspended animation in a world where everything you knew turned to dust, - Javik chuckled, not looking up from the window. — We had a civilization. A great civilization. Long before your "enlightenment."
— Who's this four-eyed freak? - the krogan barked. — Looks like my ex-female – she also whined about "past greatness" with the same ugly face.
After half an hour of such skirmishes, we finally waited for the hall to be prepared for the transfer of power ceremony. Formally, it was already in my hands – all that remained was to give a speech to the assembled ambassadors, leaders, military, and tycoons. And a live broadcast to the entire galaxy – mistakes were not allowed.
Entering the hall, I saw three Councilors completing their resignation. When the whisper died down, I went on stage. But didn't just stand, but with the help of the Force rose into the air, hovering at an equal distance from the podiums.
— In this sacred hall, where the fates of billions are decided, I address you in the hour of greatest danger! - my address, enhanced by the Force, thundered under the vaults. — Our order, built by centuries of cooperation, stands on the edge of the abyss. We have become victims of betrayal – not external, but internal! Those entrusted with protecting the galaxy either sat idle or deliberately weakened us before the coming storm!
Raising my hands, I strengthened the impact:
— But even now, when darkness thickens, I believe in our unity! In your wisdom, representatives of the Milky Way races! Together we will overcome the crisis! Crush enemies – be they corrupt bureaucrats, weak-willed strategists, or those secretly clearing the way for the Reapers! Together we will make the galaxy unshakable!
I deviated from the speech prepared by Saren, recalling the best examples of oratory:
— Henceforth, in the name of survival, our fragile alliance will become a single Galactic Empire! With me at the head, it will gain greatness beyond the possible! We will ensure safety, stability, and a future for all races – for a thousand generations!
Mentally I went through recordings of Palpatine's speeches – if borrowing, then from the best.
— The new order will protect our values by force of arms! We will not retreat before the Reapers – we will meet them with a united front! Let the enemy know: the Empire will crush anyone who encroaches on its well-being! - secretly catching my breath, I moved to the finale: — We have taken on a great burden, but the races of the Empire – synthetic and organic – are ready for trials! Our call will be heard by thousands of planets: from doubting Citadel worlds to independent Terminus systems! From near frontiers to unexplored depths of space!
A sound signal announced the end of the speech. The hall exploded with applause, which was ironic. Under loud ovations, the last remnants of democracy and majority decisions quietly died.
Henceforth, the galaxy will know the rule of the Sith Empire!
Chapter 28: The Shadow Broker
With the new policy, I no longer worried about the lack of resources for building our superweapon against the Reapers. But didn't sit idly by either, and directed all free time to uniting the galaxy into a single whole.
For the first time in tens of thousands of years, our corner of the universe began to get rid of such a fanciful concept as an "independent system." Mercenary bases, powerful syndicates, dictators' territories, armies of entire worlds – I began to aggressively subjugate all this and annex it to the Empire, usually personally leading vanguard attacks.
Perhaps this radically distinguished me from the cautious policy of Darth Sidious, sitting on the throne under the protection of Inquisitors. It was easier for me to break through enemy defense systems with the help of intelligent EDI and the "Starkiller-I" space fighter than to wait months for the results of galactic fleet operations.
Honestly, such an approach was also dictated by the need to preserve as many living resources as possible for the coming war with the Reapers. Even expansion was conducted far from the goal of enrichment, and why? The Empire's cash funds were enough for whole centuries of any projects. But the number of our army left much to be desired.
More resources – more Force; therefore I put my all into gathering galactic lands. In just six months, the Sith Empire completed territorial expansion, leaving only a couple of hundred exceptions – lifeless systems inhabited only by unintelligent animals. Occasionally came across humanoid rudiments of evolution, but we had no time to wait for their development. Reapers were stepping on our heels. And more and more organics under their influence tried to sabotage our preparations, and their main goal became the "Death Star," but thanks to the geth, losses remained minimal. Their collective mind was priceless: as soon as the Reapers tried to reprogram part of the system, the others instantly detected and neutralized the threat. With organics, everything is more complicated. The larger the project became, the more people participated in it – which means more breaches appeared.
It is simply impossible to save everyone. Because of which we missed construction deadlines, and a one-year project stretched to two. Only after a couple of years did we manage to "put on its feet" the World Destroyer.
A spherical ship the size of a large satellite released a crimson beam capable of piercing a planet through, destroying the world core and causing a monstrous explosion.
Salarians reduced recharge time to thirty seconds, geth increased pulse duration, and quarians and turians worked on the guidance system.
This was more than enough to destroy a dense formation of the Reaper fleet. But during recharge periods, it was required to guard our hulk more carefully than a human infant in a predatory jungle.
Our enemies will surely try to disperse, attack from different directions and destroy our... however sad it may sound, only effective weapon against them at any cost.
Ironic.
Once my plans were grandiose in scope: build a dozen "Death Stars." But in two years barely finished one, spending more resources on the project than required for colonizing a dozen desert planets.
War promised to be costly...
And Force visions became gloomier, as if warning of clouds gathering over the galaxy. We delayed the inevitable as much as possible – Inquisitors left not a single spoiled organization even a chance to accelerate genocide. But you can't run from fate. You can only prepare for its blow: strengthen key planets, transfer the economy to a war footing, put everything at stake for the survival of not just a species, but cosmic civilization as a whole.
To distract myself from oppressive thoughts about the approaching confrontation, I busied myself with my team. Better to have loyal companions than those who ask unnecessary questions about the increased level of autocracy in the galaxy.
Garrus Vakarian received one of the highest positions in the Inquisition, becoming Saren's second deputy. Two turians received practically unlimited powers: could eliminate undesirables without trial or investigation, hiding behind "highest interests of the Empire." If Garrus almost didn't use this, Saren cleaned up a hundred former ill-wishers. True, he didn't go further than personal scores – didn't want to dig a common grave, knowing perfectly well about the forces of the galactic enemy. Every useful unit for us in this difficult time was worth its weight in element zero.
Tali'Zorah vas Starkiller – the quarian received an addition to her name in honor of my ship, the most formidable and famous in the galaxy. I acted cunningly, coordinating the renaming with her admirals, leaving the quarian no room for refusal. Acted maliciously, heh, now Tali is forever linked to my "ship of death" – so terrifying that even close associates nervously swallow, receiving an invitation to "take a ride" to the next rebellious system.
Jane Shepard... Well, paying the bill for a joint dinner was enough for her. We knew each other even before the whole story with Sovereign, so her loyalty was initially above zero. Although at the first meeting the girl vividly demonstrated the rebellious spirit of an earthling who grew up in slums and is used to fighting; first for survival, then for other people's ideals in a game called "team is family."
Miranda Lawson received everything according to agreements: the most innovative research complex in the Milky Way, a guarantee of safety for herself and her sister, a bullet in the forehead for her own father... and learned to beg gifts from me through bed. Eh, fatal beauty.
Mordin Solus and Urdnot Wrex – their goals coincided perfectly. One dreamed of correcting past mistakes, preferably without new ones. The other craved a better future for his race, where females don't go crazy, and males don't burn in radioactive wastelands. Mordin not only developed a cure for the genophage, thanks to the bacta we bred, but also created a peaceful virus for genetic modification of krogan. We poured colossal funds into the project without hope of payback – but now every krogan voluntarily joined the imperial army. Not as a slave, but as a well-paid fighter. Problem? Toads ceased to be a "renewable resource," as during the war with rachni. But a way out was found unexpectedly: we discovered krogan cloning technology and a viable sample calling himself Grunt.
Luck!
Without thinking twice, I invested a fortune in an army of clones, but time will tell if these investments will pay off. Anyway, we put the krogan population under strict control, no more problems with them.
Samara, together with a squad of Inquisitors, former justicars and spectres, finally found her long-standing target. The asari huntress threw all forces into catching a daughter with a unique biotic mutation – Ardat-Yakshi. Morinth, like her kind, could suck life force from organics.
Useful skill, I thought... and, to my surprise, reached full agreement with Saren. The turian secretly sabotaged the mission to capture the target alive. Later I "corrected" the victim's consciousness, rewriting the personality to a more... manageable one. Killing part of true nature – sounds vile, but one less corpse in the crematorium.
Legion is the only one among us who received nothing, even after the geth's help in creating the "Death Star." But I gave synthetics everything I could at the first meeting. In turn, they thanked from the bottom of their hearts, for example, geth recreated PROXY – my old drone companion from the home galaxy.
True, it wasn't him anymore. Personality construct, combat skills, even obsession with trying to kill me to maintain my combat form – everything was preserved. But no shared memories remained, which overshadowed the joy of reunion.
However, you don't look a gift starship in the engine compartment, right?
There were other pleasant additions to the Sith club:
Zaeed Massani – one of them. Saren, having studied his dossier, conceived an ambitious plan to unite mercenaries through the former leader of the Blue Suns – with which he successfully coped. If previously Aria ruled hundreds of disjointed groups, now her power on Omega faltered. Under her control remained solid and poorly managed rabble, and elite squads united into "Dawn of the Empire" under Zaeed's nominal leadership. The scales balanced, elite mercenaries united, Aria lost the monopoly on power. Perfect, now it will be harder for Reapers to operate in this sector.
Another gift was the legendary thief Kasumi Goto.
Saren recruited her, appointing her head of Empire network security. Risky to take a hacker with a dark past for such a post, so I had to implant a couple of limiters in her consciousness, one of which – "do not act against the Empire." No more was required, and I don't break personalities unnecessarily. Only notorious psychos like Morinth, that same daughter of Samara. Pure truth, if excluding sacrifices made in the name of establishing a new regime.
Jack. According to Saren, the strongest biotic in the galaxy, languishing for years in Purgatory. We reviewed the cases of all prisoners, freeing those who agreed to serve or were useful. Funny: looked for useful personnel everywhere, under stones included. As a result, found poorly manageable Jack with a strong biotic field, which interfered with both my hypnosis and Reaper indoctrination. To conclude an alliance with her required a subtler approach – ultimatum of submission or destruction purely in words.
The only one whom I unjustifiably ignored with appointment or help – Liara T'Soni, slaving away for four. The more I ruled, the wider became the circle of her duties. All troublesome matters I delegated to her...
Got greedy, yes.
However, you can't leave the most devoted person without a reward!
I decided to transfer the captured Shadow Broker ship with all resources into Liara's reliable hands, ordering to carefully check, study and systematize data before sending to Saren. Our spy network already functioned as a finely tuned mechanism, but information accumulated by the Broker could be useful for final cleaning or re-education of undesirables.
Strolling through the corridors of the trophy ship in the company of the asari scientist, I proclaimed enthusiastically:
— Accept as a gift! - imperiously raised a hand, pointing to terminals with data.
— Even more work? - Liara's left eye twitched unnaturally.
— Secret materials. Can't trust them to the first comer, - shook my head, crossing arms behind back. — My purchases on the extranet, correspondence, recordings of conversations, former contracts. The Shadow Broker dug up a lot of compromising material that needs to be destroyed.
— You speak... cautiously, - she noted. — Nervous?
— Worried, but not for compromising material. Recent vision during meditation... mere months remain until invasion, - mentally estimated deadlines. — Galaxy is almost united. Weapons are abundant. But the Reaper fleet is too large and strong, and also well informed through indoctrinated organics. Meaning, enemies won't go all together under the guillotine... Will have to destroy in parts, sacrificing millions of lives.
Liara thoughtfully approached the terminal where all Broker data was stored.
Extremely sad that this is the only legacy from him. The body of the galaxy's main informant suffered too much during the raid. Regrettable. I would have gladly extracted information directly from his brain, were it at least partially intact.
Sending Shepard on a raid was a bad idea.
— The sooner we start evacuation, the better, - Liara advised, launching the analysis procedure.
— Nowhere to run, - I shrugged. — Citadel won't fit everyone, only the elite. Unless resettle refugees closer to Rannoch – in the most protected system with the Death Star at the ready.
— Placing everyone in one system is impossible, mass transportation – even harder, - she sighed, flipping through files. — Maybe Saren will find a solution?
— What hopes on a former enemy, - I smirked, remembering her kidnapping.
— No ally against Reapers is more reliable than a good enemy, - Liara parried. — Speaking of our enemies. What about the Illusive Man, haven't you recruited him yet? With Cerberus resources it will be easier for us to protect refugees.
— Since the founding of the Empire our "friend" hasn't made sudden movements, - I considered the capture option. — But if he defects to Reapers in the midst of war, there will be no end of trouble. Perhaps, in a week I'll visit the Illusive Man for a talk under a hail of bullets.
— And earlier?
— Tired. Hmm, like a slave in quarries.
— Not for you to complain about fatigue, - she threw reproachfully over her shoulder. — I want to rest before the end of the world no less than you. Feel at least a little joy before the arrival of those who wiped out civilizations for cycles.
— Can invite on a relaxing date, - I offered. — Romance under the barrel of the Death Star. Sith-touching.
— You are destroying the atmosphere, - the scientist grimaced weakly, but immediately exhaled:
— Damn you. Now I'll agree even to this, - irritably turning off the terminal, Liara turned, putting a hand on her hip. — I choose the restaurant.
— Clothes, meaning, me?
— If you appear in your signature look...
— You offend, every dog in the galaxy knows my suit. Will change and take off the mask.
— What an honor, - her tone dripped with sarcasm.
— All for the beautiful lady, - winked demonically, forgetting that yellow eyes are hidden by impenetrable glass. — M-m. They say asari have special ideas about intimacy?
— We prefer mental unity... physical not...
— One doesn't interfere with the other, but only enhances, - tactfully omitted the fact that even a matriarch won't penetrate my consciousness for full contact.
Will have to impress Liara the old-fashioned way.
And still interesting: how good are asari in bed?